Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 473 411 What Have You Found Out?_1

Huai Shi remained in a daze.

Then he realized... he seemed to have accidentally almost made Yuan Yuan cry?

That's not right. I considered you a friend, but you lusted after my body... Shouldn't I be the one crying at this moment?

Huai Shi coughed awkwardly. "That... um..."

"I didn't!" Yuan Yuan suddenly said.

"No, I mean..."

"I'm not!"

Yuan Yuan raised her voice, her eyes reddening, her composure gone. She resembled a provoked, bewildered child. "I, I..."

"Alright, I got it."

Huai Shi suddenly cut her off. He stood up, took a step forward, and raised his hand to stop her from continuing, apologizing solemnly, "I'm sorry. I got it wrong. I'm really sorry."

He extended the phone towards Yuan Yuan.

"I don't know what happened, but I suddenly found a phone. Even though it's not yours, since I have to go to work next, could you help me return it to its owner?"

He said, "It looks like it's quite expensive, doesn't it?"

Yuan Yuan hesitated and didn't take it, clearly uncertain.

Huai Shi asked softly, "Would you do me this favor, please?"

"Alright... I mean, okay."

Finally, Yuan Yuan took the phone. She lifted her hand to rub her reddened eyes, trying hard to compose her face, but she still didn't dare to look at Huai Shi, her gaze drifting.

"Well, I should be going. It's not very safe for you to be alone; you should head back quickly."

Huai Shi took two steps back, bidding her farewell quietly.

After walking away two steps, he seemed to remember something, turned back, and strode toward her.

Standing in front of Yuan Yuan, his shadow covered the girl in the gray skirt.

She instinctively shrunk her shoulders.

She heard Huai Shi's voice.

"By the way, please remind the owner for me—"

"Not to do this again."

He calmly said, "If you want to take a picture, just ask directly."

After saying that, Huai Shi backed away a few steps, waved at her, and left.

Leaving Yuan Yuan standing there alone, she looked down at her phone for a long time, then raised her head towards the direction Huai Shi had gone.

She sniffled hard.

Only at this moment did she seem like a sixteen-year-old girl.

Heroes do exist in this world.

On her sixteenth birthday, she suddenly realized this, although she had never held any hope for such a fact. Yet everything she saw on the television in the hospital room that day was etched deeply into her memory, with an impact like a raging storm.

She felt somehow different from before.

From a young age, she had been the kind of trouble-free child that all parents wished for: no crying, no fussing, no bother, not nagging to see Santa Claus or to watch cartoons, and sneering at all the naïve things that only exist in storybooks.

Like a little adult.

Her mother always laughed while pinching her face.

But being like an adult wasn't all bad, at least better than her cousin who always caused headaches with his crying and mischief—his immature attitude of treating the world with such disdain was truly too childish.

Apart from family, not everyone will clean up your mess.

She had always tried to face everything with a serious and dignified posture, casting aside those immature weaknesses and fantasies, struggling to confront this vast and indifferent world.

Up until that moment, that was undoubtedly the way it should be.

But suddenly one day, she found out the world was different from what she had imagined.

It was like seeing a firelight raised in the distance during a long night.

Heroes do exist in this world, and he was holding up flames, leading the way. Unafraid and undaunted, walking through the darkness with a smile, as in the stories. There were some differences, sure, but equally inspirational, equally radiant.

For the first time in her life... she felt a twinge of jealousy towards her cousin.

Why would someone challenge enemies for such a juvenile person?

Why could he so easily become friends with people like that?

And why wasn't she the one being protected?

By the time she came to her senses, she had already acquired a limited edition silver card. When she began trying to trace everything left in the wake of that figure, it seemed she had become the vice president of a strange fan club.

For the first time, she felt that having money was great, that the proper demeanor that wouldn't raise suspicions in her parents even if she spent all her allowance was truly wonderful.

Beyond that, there came many more firsts.

Even stupidly cheering for strangers online could make her feel happy.

Even if she was chasing the figure of someone with hopes mostly unlikely to be reciprocated, becoming the kind of person she once looked down upon didn't matter.

This was Yuan Yuan's little secret. The secret forever hidden in her heart, never to be spoken aloud.

...That's how it should have been.

She lowered her head to look at the concerned messages that kept popping up on her phone due to her prolonged silence, and couldn't help but rub her nose.

Hesitantly, her fingers moved across the screen. "'I've been discovered...' she typed, her short message conveying a cry of distress."

"Is the enemy that tough to deal with?"

The approaching Tony asked with curiosity, "Why do you look like you're questioning the meaning of life with that miserable face?"

"No, it's just... I got scared."

Huai Shi awkwardly scratched his head, fell silent for a long while, then shrugged. "It's like suddenly realizing that I might be more popular than I thought, you know?"

"Wow, aren't you just too much?"

Swinging his horse-like face, Tony shook his head. "Parading around with that Cowherd face and saying something that hurts us single dogs!"

"I don't have a girlfriend either, okay!"

"Just want to play around a bit more and aren't ready to commit, right?"

Tony looked at him with disdain. "I've seen lots of scumbags like you before. There was one in the Original Dark Legion just like you; ended up nearly balding. You'd better be careful!"

"...I'm only seventeen. I'll worry about hair loss when I'm your age!"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes. "Besides, can idol business even be called scumbag? I'm just worrying about how to face my female fans..."

"Heh, just as I thought," Tony shook his head with contempt.

"Beast, what else have you figured out?" Huai Shi was stunned for a while. "How did you know?"

Tony countered, "How do you know that I don't know?"

"Alright, no more 'Russian dolls'!"

"No banning 'Russian dolls'..."

"Enough already!"

Huai Shi cut him off. Bickering with this guy, they'd never get to the point. He decisively changed the subject. "Did you resolve the issue on your end?"

"Most of it didn't need our involvement; the Cast Iron Army took care of it directly. But what's next is going to be troublesome."

Scratching his head, Tony led the way. The two of them boarded the express transport prepared by Yan Shi, quickly heading deep into the train.

"Generally, a tough mission means either lack of support from above, leaving you to fend for yourself, or it has bizarre requirements that hamstring you. This time is rare, with hardly any extra conditions; it's practically a picnic."

He said, "Although it's been smooth sailing, we've run into a problem—the High Priest of the Group Star has yet to show his face."

"Intelligence indicates he quietly boarded the train at the Grey Shore Border, but we've searched the entire train and haven't found a trace of him. He probably decided to command from afar right from the start, hiding in some cranny and never meeting his cannon fodder.

I even specially requested a Numbered Curse Bullet to deal with him, but now I haven't even encountered the man. Who knows what he's plotting while hidden."

While complaining, his hands didn't stop moving. He sent detailed information and photos directly to Huai Shi through his phone. "You keep an eye out too. If you encounter him, hurry and call for help. If you can't get help or get away, then you're in trouble..."

The photo showed a strange middle-aged man.

The first impression he gave was one of emaciation, as if malnourished. His eyes protruded, surrounded by thick dark circles—the kind only seen on powerful cultivators who had weathered a tribulation—and his eyeballs seemed to bulge.

His green eyes were particularly startling, carrying a peculiar shadow that could make one feel a chill even through the photo.

"Morando • M • Lande, one of the High Priests of the Group Star in the Current Circumstances, is said to have been blessed by an Owner of the Great Mob and was recently granted the rank of [Nominator].

Additionally, he is a Sublimator who voluntarily entered the Abyss and has been confirmed as a Fourth Stage Stigmata of the American Genealogy: Slender Ghost Shade. He's capable of teleporting through dark places, and intelligence reports indicate he can create clones.

More importantly, he has a Stigmata Relic in his possession, which, combined with his own Stigma, can form the [Miracle Imprint·Dracula]."

Not a single item on that list was something Huai Shi could handle. Let alone the High Priest of the Group Star in the Current Circumstances; Fourth Stage Stigma, the rank of [Nominator], and the Miracle Imprint were all beyond him. Even if he pushed himself now to take on a Third Stage, facing a Fourth Stage would be folly. Not to mention the others, even the former knockoff Authority Angel would have played him for a fool, and the Naming Giver rank is that of an Owner of the Great Mob, a bona fide high-up.

Naming Giver, Clothed, Crowned, and above them, the Ruler.

This is the classification for those who embody Disaster in the Eternal Abyss. All Hell Creatures possessing self-awareness receive a Blessing from some Destructive Element, granting them a unique name, regardless of their strength or weakness.

Once granted a name, they rise from the countless ranks of monsters, acquiring self and aspirations. Truly one of a kind.

And the Clothed learn shame, no longer bound by their original, instinctual ignorance and ugliness.

After shedding their past flaws and limitations, they advance to new forms, beginning to pursue higher wisdom and the Origin Spring of power.

The Crowned go a step further. Recognized by a Ruler as their own kin, they understand etiquette, order, and hierarchy, becoming Envoys of the Abyss, endowed with the honor and status to command their own kind.

Finally, Rulers establish the rules, commanding the infinite Abyss Hordes under them; they are the supreme beings in Hell.

These four are like the castes of India, forming the turbulent order within the Abyss.

Huai Shi, a mere Second Stage, no matter how many hacks he has, is just a rookie; how could he fight them? Moreover, with the Miracle Imprint in his hands, Huai Shi doesn't dare to act rashly; doing so would be a direct path to his demise. So, indeed, calling for others is the right choice. To rely on oneself, who knows how long it would take to overcome.

Besides, there's another problem they need to resolve now.

—The last Remnants of the Group Star on board the Group Star.