Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 417 - 359 Gathering_1

"A big fellow has passed by, so be careful with the reception."

Seven days ago, a Goblin responsible for receiving telegraphs in the Eternal Titan Empire received a signal from a border outpost.

"A big fellow?"

The Goblin sitting on the iron chair looked down at the telegraph and couldn't help but glance outside the window. Seeing countless Giant Beasts thundering in the darkness, he let out a snicker, shook his head, and said, "Who isn't a big fellow here? Making a fuss over nothing."

Five days ago, distant rumbling like thunder could be heard.

The Geological Exploration Center predicted that a strong gravitational source had distorted the geomagnetic field, causing some radars to malfunction.

Three days ago, at the end of darkness, an unbelievable streak of light appeared.

Then, over the next three days, everyone saw a mountain slowly advancing towards them within the sacred and solemn rainbow Halo.

In the thinning vacuum of air, thunder spread! It was as if a God Spirit had descended upon the mortal world. Unfortunately, it looked more like a disco god, carrying a colorful light streamer and playing a gospel hymn on an eternal loop.

And then, a day before, amidst the solemn disco music on an eternal loop, Behemoth raised its head, scrutinizing the iron sphere hanging high in the sky in the distance, still shining with a pleasant light.

Hmm... that must be what they call a satellite, right? It opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue, feeling a bit tempted to take a bite... Is this thing tasty?

Meanwhile, the Goblin supervisor in the telegraph center was already hanging upside down on the signal tower by the Six Winged Immortal Bird.

"This is the big fellow you mentioned?!"

The Phoenix pointed at the advancing mountain in the distance, roaring in its anger, "Then what are we? Miniature toys?"

Under the divine might, the Goblin supervisor cleanly rolled his eyes, frothing at the mouth, and passed out.

Then Huai Shi saw a flash of light rapidly enlarging before his eyes.

"Friend, wait! Wait a moment!"

The burning Phoenix landed on Huai Shi's dog nose and spread its wings forcefully, fluttering them to assert its presence. "Don't go any further! If you move forward, the piece of earth beneath us is going to tilt up like a seesaw."

Huai Shi's presence caused the vast plain to warp faintly. The spirit level indicated a tilt of at least five degrees, and moving further might cause an even greater incline. Moreover, the entire city's operations almost ground to a halt due to Huai Shi's arrival. It was unclear whether this was good or evil, and almost everyone was on full alert.

"Ah? Then I'll just stop here."

Huai Shi amicably halted his steps.

The Phoenix heaved a sigh of relief. Having just told Huai Shi not to move forward, it too felt somewhat embarrassed. After all, it was the one who had invited Huai Shi, yet it was also the one asking him to stay outside the gates. Disregarding manners, according to any rationale, this shouldn't be the case. But the problem was... this fellow was simply too heavy! Even the Phoenix, which had rapidly swollen after its Deification transformation, was now smaller than one of Huai Shi's dog heads. What in the world did this guy eat to grow so huge?

Then, it saw Huai Shi's dog head reveal a simple and honest smile. "I'm a bit tired from walking. Sitting for a while should be fine, right?"

"Ah, of course you can... wait a second!"

The Phoenix instinctively wanted to nod, but recalling the quality research report submitted by the Scholars below, its face went green with alarm. By the time it wanted to prevent what was to come, it was already too late.

The mountainous Behemoth gracefully lowered its four legs. Then, amidst a sudden hurricane, it sat down, lay back, and stretched out its legs, accompanied by a ground-shaking rumble. It was as if a mountain had suddenly slammed onto the entire plain. The terrifying impact spread in all directions, the blast wave sweeping through. Visible to the naked eye, a steel city hundreds of kilometers away suddenly jolted. It leaped more than a meter into the air from flat ground, then crashed back down, emitting a sharp wail of distorted metal.

Ah, it seemed something was damaged...

Finally realizing he had caused a blunder, Huai Shi abruptly looked up, his gaze somewhat bewildered as he turned to the Phoenix. "Is everything okay?"

"It's, it's fine."

The Phoenix swallowed a mouthful of blood and forced a smile.

Damn it, why is this dog so huge!

By the time Huai Shi finally settled near the city, two days had passed. Just moving into the vicinity took an entire day; he had to slow his movements as much as possible to avoid causing further impact. Otherwise, a few more steps, and Unity City below would have been obliterated.

And just like that, Huai Shi made himself at home here.

This should now be termed the Eternal Titan Empire, enhanced edition V3.0.

The original subterranean racial empire had united with several surface cities and groups to form a new city. In addition to its own capital, it radiated out to four satellite cities and, with Huai Shi's assistance, established the first Super Gigantic Metallurgical Base at the foot of the mountain.

Huai Shi's specific job was simply to sit down, lie back, stay idle without causing trouble, and when needed, to spit out a mouthful of fire or saliva to help forge large steel structures or other million-ton alloy equipment.

In return, the city-state specially dispatched an expert team to keep Huai Shi company twenty-four hours a day, engaging in light banter.

It must be said, everyone got along rather well...

Apart from Scholars, there were also many Military Officers and Action Officers among the Explorers. But the one Huai Shi got along with best was another Giant Beast known as Hydra, an Alchemist with an expertise in Source Studies.

With time to spare, Huai Shi simply made up for his lack in Metallography; after all, he was only missing the basics, and he also managed to pilfer a good deal of knowledge about Source Studies from Gru.

"I must say, someone like you is really wasted at the Astronomical Society," said Gru sincerely after a day's teaching. "Ever thought about developing your career at the Stone Pot Society?"

"Hmm?" Huai Shi was pleasantly surprised. "Do you mean I'm some kind of Alchemy prodigy?"

"No, no, no, your talent for Alchemy is actually quite average... Although you do have a lot of experience in Metallography and Source Studies, but... EMMM..." Gru looked as if he found it difficult to elaborate.

He had grasped the level of Huai Shi's Alchemy skills in just two lessons, recognizing his rich practical experience but theoretical shortcomings. This wouldn't have been a big deal, except Huai Shi really had no talent for that field. Give him a recipe, and he could gather herbs and follow the diagrams without issue, but when it came to improving or anything else, hahahaha, they might as well talk about what's for dinner tonight. In short, Huai Shi could be a good assistant or a tool, but he could never take charge in a workshop, let alone introducing innovations or developing new findings.

"So, what do you want me for?" Huai Shi rolled his eyes.

"You can fight!" exclaimed Hydra boisterously. "Does the Stone Pot Society lack Alchemists? What we lack is someone like you who can fight! If you're willing to join the Stone Pot Society, not to mention your Alchemist's license, with my teacher Garand's influence, the society will cover all your Stigma materials in the future!"

Huai Shi's eye roll reached the back of his head.

So, I'd still be a damn tool, huh? Even if it came to being a tool, could being a tool for the Astronomical Society possibly be the same as being a tool for the Stone Pot Society? One was a tool protecting the Current Circumstances; the other could only sit in the gatehouse as a Diligent Stick... The class difference was huge! Moreover, Huai Shi was officially enlisted, not like those contract Action Officers. His status as a Military Officer allowed him to travel freely within the Current Circumstances and most Border areas, converting to at least the rank of a lieutenant. With more mackerel distributed by his unit than he could eat each year, why would he work for someone else? Besides, was his goal to be a tool? It was to be an artist! Can an artist be a fighter? That's utterly disgraceful!

Utterly forgetting that he deserved to be struck by lightning for using the method of Cello Performance to chop people, Huai Shi righteously refused Hydra's poaching attempt. He did this right in front of the Phoenix.

As the host of the Witch's Night recovery this time, Creator·Niflheim, who chose the Phoenix as his proxy, naturally had his reasons. As a retired officer from the Four Great Legions, directly under the Astronomical Society, this battle-hardened Sublimator had a long history. After retirement, he spent a long time developing Hell. Later, he responded to a re-employment offer, joining the Abyss Archaeological Team. He eventually became a relic disposal expert and had made it to fifty-four in one piece. Besides being brave, meticulous, and lucky, he possessed a wealth of conflict experience. Most importantly, he had deep connections. He could be said to be a direct affiliate of the Astronomical Society, a central figure of the Jurisdiction Bureau.

Hearing Huai Shi's steadfast loyalty, he nodded his head in satisfaction.

This young man has potential; once we're out of here, I'll be sure to arrange great things for him!

But in the end, all this was just finding joy amidst the hardship. After being lonely for so long, everyone just gathered together to shoot the breeze.

The long-lasting darkness had affected the mental state of every Explorer. It was said that many conflicts arose in the city every day, only to be quickly suppressed by force. Martial law was in effect. Even the Giant Beasts' violent tendencies had seriously escalated these past few days; everyone was irritable.

In contrast, someone like Huai Shi, who was so huge it was scary, but only spewed trash talk, was truly a role model. His mental toughness had reached the point where social psychologists wanted to give him a thumbs-up.

"You, you're probably the kind of person who, even if Heaven Collapse occurred, would still get up early, sleep early, and have three meals a day on time, huh?"

"Is that good?" Huai Shi asked.

"Well, some people have strong willpower, while others... well, they might just be naturally oblivious."

The scholar who came to give him psychological counseling bowed his head, scribbling and ticking on his notebook, and said, "To be honest, having studied social psychology for so many years, this is the first time I've seen someone's psyche be so healthy yet so robust... It's somewhat excessively impressive. Would you be interested in participating in a study later?"

"As long as you're willing to be my warm-up exercise. Yes, the kind where you're the target."

Huai Shi smiled and bared his teeth, using a gentle smile to dissuade every scholar wanting to take advantage of him.

After waiting another half a month, all the Explorers had almost gathered. It was said that the temporarily assembled telescope indicated there might be more in the distance, but it was too late for them to arrive, so a few Evolutionary Groups were sent out on planes to notify them overnight.

On this side, gathered around the 'Eternal Titan Empire'—a name that seemed utterly farcical—the plain had completely transformed compared to half a month prior. The deathly silent world was broken, now bustling with activity. Giant Beasts, large and small, converged here. Tribes arriving from all directions gathered in one place, forming a new order.

Besides the Evolutionary Groups integrated into the Titan Empire's structure, most Giant Beasts stayed in another outer city or other designated areas. Naturally, someone arranged work and provided food for them.

Only the sixteen Sacred Beasts that had undergone Deification transformation were allowed to enter the mountain top to participate in the final decision-making meeting.

It was hard to determine whether Huai Shi took part in the meetings as a member.

Because he was the mountain where the meetings took place.