Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 447 387 Brushing Past One Another_1

A sudden chill descended, like a thorn in one's back. In that instant, the entire waiting hall seemed to be entombed by an iceberg. Everyone felt their consciousness frozen by the abrupt coldness, followed by dizziness and faintness amidst the faint thunder in their stupor as they collapsed onto their seats.

Death came without reason. In the vast terror, screams solidified in their lungs, leaving only the chill to spread within while the brutal thunder echoed in their souls.

As they turned their stiff necks in the freezing cold, they saw the figure standing in the corner, as if gazing upon death itself, their eyes stinging. Struggling to close their eyes, they felt the icy blood streaming down from the corners.

It was just an illusion, clearly just an illusion, yet the pain at that moment was so real. Even their hands and feet rapidly began to show black spots of frostbite and necrosis. The furious thunder resonated in their souls, their consciousness dulled.

All because the middle-aged man slightly raised his eyes, those grey orbs cruelly threatening to destroy everything. Huai Shi felt like he was about to die again and again and again and again.

But fortunately, he had already begun to get used to it, with only Death Perception screaming madly in his soul. The Mirror of Nothingness was dim, reflecting nothing.

It simply informed him of one result: if he were to make an enemy of this man, then without any possibility of an unexpected turn of events, Huai Shi was as good as dead.

Under his gaze, a heavy burden was layered upon Huai Shi's consciousness, as if pressing down on his head, intending to drown him in the bottomless ice sea, sinking inch by inch. Death grew ever nearer.

From beginning to end, Huai Shi did not move but only watched him.

"ACHOO!"

The deathly silence was abruptly broken. The Man in Grey shivered slightly and sneezed, his face pale. But the potent illusion that could annihilate any soul was suddenly dispelled.

"Excuse me, do you have a tissue?" He awkwardly rubbed his nose and looked up at the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man waved his hand, and a follower stepped forward, took a pack of tissues from his pocket, and handed it to him.

"Thank you so much." The Man in Grey blew his nose, a long sigh of relief escaping him.

"No need to make such a fuss, Man in Grey. Do I really look like someone who would pick on a kid?" the middle-aged man scoffed, glancing at him before finally turning to Huai Shi. "I was only planning a mild punishment, but you didn't even wet yourself in fear. You do have some guts after all..."

With that, he reached out, picked up the gift-wrapped shampoo on the table, weighed it in his hand, then smirked with a strange smile. "In all these years, this is the first time I've received a gift from someone from the Astronomical Society... No, let's consider it a 'ransom' for sparing you for now. Feng Ping, take it."

With that, he tossed the box to his follower. The young man, whose name sounded familiar, held the box, examining the two bold characters for "hair growth" emblazoned on it with curiosity, as if seeing them for the first time. "Father, is this thing useful?" he asked.

"Of course it's useless, dummy." The middle-aged man smacked him on the back of the head, scolding, "I tried it long ago. It's all lies... Everything from the People of the Current Circumstances is so over-the-top, and after all the fuss, it's all for nothing, just getting people's hopes up."

"Then why do we still want this thing?"

"Aren't we going to Shambhala to see your second brother? I ate the duck I brought along on the way, so it wouldn't look good to show up empty-handed. I heard he's been losing hair lately. He'll be overjoyed when we give this to him; you have no idea how happy he'll be..."

"Isn't it bad to deceive him like this?"

"Idiot, this is called fatherly love! How is it deception? Besides, how many times has he tricked us over the years... By the way, how much money do you have left? We need to switch to a different bus."

"...But the bus fare is so expensive!"

"How did I raise such a stingy brat? You see that Gate of Death Star and you still dare to ride the same bus as him? Aren't you afraid of dying young?"

Thus scolding and arguing, the two turned and walked toward the platform, their voices growing distant until they disappeared.

It wasn't until five minutes later that Huai Shi snapped out of his daze, feeling cold sweat streaming down his back. He heard the Raven in his consciousness sigh with admiration,

"You're so brave, young man... With your expertise in courting death, I'll soon be no match for you."

"Huh?" Huai Shi hadn't had time to react.

The Raven chuckled softly. "Don't you know who you were just talking to?"

"...Who?" Huai Shi was puzzled, then suddenly jumped up from his chair, disbelieving. "Wait, the guy with him just now... Feng Ping?"

Wasn't that the bastard who hit him over the head in Jinling!

"Yes, that's him." The Raven looked at him with pity. "And the one who just talked to you, the one you've completely offended, is his foster father—the biggest fugitive in the Current Circumstances, the main culprit behind the fall of Heavenly Kingdom, known as the eighth beyond the seven Natural Enemies, a thorn in the side of the Astronomical Society... and also, the big boss of Green Day."

"Oh my god!"

Just as he stood up, Huai Shi felt his legs give way, almost collapsing to the ground, shivering.

It felt as if he had been habitually dodging trouble, only to carelessly jump right onto the face of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and after dancing around in its mouth to 'New Treasure Island,' he tapped his way out in a jolly little dance.

Only after he regained his senses did he realize just how close to death he had been.

"You have to look on the bright side," the Raven consoled. "This can be considered a narrow escape. Over the years, not many Members of the Astronomical Association have managed to leave his presence alive... In a way, you've shaken off half of your bad luck here! Though, at least half is still left."

"This was all your doing!" Huai Shi was furious. Not bothering to stay mad at her, he pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Reporting him," Huai Shi replied firmly. "Reporting a terrorist is the unavoidable duty of every Member of the Astronomical Association, okay?"

"Save it. It's useless." Raven scoffed. "If he were so easy to deal with, would he still be considered a major threat to the Astronomical Society? As long as he doesn't enter the Current Circumstances, the Astronomical Society really can't do anything about him... No, now it looks like that guy has already taken a spin through the Current Circumstances and come back out again—I get it now!"

"Hmm? What do you understand now?" Huai Shi widened his eyes, looking at her, clueless about what she was thinking this time.

"I understand the source of your stolen goods... Now that I think about it, I see! That's right! HA HA HA! Fool, you really scored big with your double-cross this time! You've swallowed Green Day's goods!"

Raven was beside herself with joy. "That guy Ding NanKe must be one of Green Day's agents in the Current Circumstances! HA HA! On the surface, he's a smuggler, but secretly he's working for members of Green Day... Adding old grudges to new ones, your reputation with Green Day has probably reached the 'no rest until death' level, right? Maybe in a few years, even the Astronomical Society will award you the title of 'Green Day Nemesis'!"

Huai Shi's face had turned green. As green as Green Day itself.

He could already envision his gruesome future death in some remote corner, and he didn't even want to move.

"Is it too late for me to go back home now?"

"...You've already bought your ticket," Raven said, patting his head pitifully, "and they don't do refunds."

Huai Shi was silent for a moment, then made up his mind. "It's just half a million. I'll just grit my teeth and consider it money down the drain."

"Wait, why half a million?" Raven sensed something was amiss. "Wasn't it three million?"

"..." Huai Shi's expression stiffened for a moment, and he instinctively dodged Raven's gaze. "Um... it's a bit... complicated. You see, four days and three nights isn't that long..."

"Yes, and then?"

"And then I thought, why spend three million just for temporary comfort, right?"

Raven frowned. "So?"

Huai Shi coughed twice, saying embarrassedly, "So I just... AHEM, bought a standing-room-only ticket."

"..."

Silence. A drawn-out silence.

Raven stared dumbfounded, unsure whether to be shocked or admiring, and couldn't help but exclaim, "You truly are a little genius..."

"Who could argue with that?" Huai Shi shyly turned his head away, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Although he agreed with this, he knew that while he was good at everything, his only flaw was being too thin-skinned; he wasn't good at taking compliments.

But after being scared like that, he really couldn't take it anymore. He sincerely did not want to get on the train.

Even if it meant throwing away half a million US dollars, he didn't want to.

Looking at all the people in the waiting room, who seemed so fierce and ferocious, and even top bosses from Green Day coming and going, he was really scared that this would turn into another survival game full of villains.

"This lousy train doesn't have some hidden rule where only one person can survive the trip to the destination, does it?" Huai Shi sincerely doubted this.

Raven sighed helplessly. "I say, have you been persecuted so many times that you've developed PTSD or some sort of paranoia?"

"No, I just... have a bit of a phobia of large vehicles, you understand? What if something unexpected happens, like a Murder on the Orient Express or a Massacre on the Southern Express? Wouldn't I be screwed? If there's a bomb and it goes BOOM, I wouldn't even be able to run."

"...Now's the time for you to show some of that old reckless courage!" Raven gave him a look of exasperation. "Forget it. I'll give you a piece of advice."

"Yeah?"

"See that corporate drone over there who looks like he's about to die from overwork?"

After a brief moment of telepathic conversation, Raven lifted her wing and pointed to a pale man in a grey suit beside them—the middle-aged corporate drone known as the Man in Grey. "As long as you stick by his side the whole way, even if the entire train blows up, you won't lose a single hair."

"That powerful?" Huai Shi found it hard to believe.

Raven nodded. "Yes, that powerful."

"But who exactly is he?"

Even a fool could tell that someone who could chat and laugh with Green Day's boss was definitely no ordinary character, right?

"Emmm..." Raven glanced at him teasingly. "Do you really want to know?"

"Uh..." Huai Shi hesitated.

Noticing Huai Shi's curious gaze, the Man in Grey, who had been waiting for some time, froze for a moment, then tried hard to squeeze out a gentle smile. However, he couldn't hide the reek of exhaustion typical of a corporate drone.

...This guy, looking like he might die from overwork at any moment, doesn't seem like a peerless expert at all!

"So, don't fret about it. You don't need to know too much, just that he's harmless to you," Raven patted his shoulder consolingly. "To tell you the truth, although this guy might be a bit unlucky, he's actually the type who is less harmful than anyone else."

"You can trust me on that." Raven concluded decisively, "He's the only one who won't try to harm anyone."

Receiving such a solemn guarantee from Raven was rare. This made Huai Shi feel relieved, but at the same time, he became suspicious again.

"You really haven't hidden anything from me, have you?"

"Not at all!" Raven's head shook like a rattle drum. "Why would I hide anything from you? This time, I've respected your opinion enough to tell you everything I know."

"Really?"

"Really, really!" Raven's eyes widened, her watery gaze filled with sincerity. "I swear."

And so, Huai Shi finally felt at ease, ready to board the train. He didn't notice the Raven on his shoulder quietly heaving a sigh of relief.

Regarding the Man in Grey, she indeed told Huai Shi everything he needed to know.

Well, except for the fact that he was actually an Element of Destruction...