Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 504 434 Going on a Trip_1

"At the Southeast Asia Astronomical Association Jakarta Branch."

Raven rolled her eyes and urged him to get going. "Stop dawdling and pack your things! I just looked at the map. From here, it's two days to Madula. Then, you'll take a ship to Australia. After landing, you'll cross the Great Rift Valley and the desert, walk through the radiation zone for a week, follow the bay all the way to Canberra, and then switch ships to reach Antarctica."

"Antarctica?"

Huai Shi was astonished. "What would I do there? I'm not going!"

He always felt there were no good prospects for him ahead.

"No more nonsense, let's go!" Raven's words dispelled Huai Shi's reluctance. "The birth of life is waiting for you!"

"Huh?"

Huai Shi immediately became suspicious.

The birth of life—the only one of the four basic insights he currently lacked.

But isn't that supposed to require having children?

No matter how he asked, Raven let slip no hints, which made him increasingly uneasy.

"Also, why do I have to walk?" Huai Shi asked. "Can't I just take a plane?"

This place was, after all, a branch of the Astronomical Society. With his current authority, he could totally request a plane to fly him over directly.

"Hey, you're out here traveling, not to enjoy yourself," Raven said, glaring at him. "If you don't truly feel the earth beneath your feet, wouldn't that be a wasted trip?"

At this, Huai Shi couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I've already blown several hundred thousand here! Who's going to reimburse me for that?"

Thinking of the five hundred thousand US dollars he spent on the Group Star... for a standing-room-only ticket, his heart bled.

Raven's gaze instantly became evasive.

She didn't have the heart to tell him that the Ancient Tourism Company had already reimbursed the money, including a hefty compensation fee... which she had pocketed herself before Huai Shi woke up...

He's still young; what use does he have for so much money!

Better to keep it safe for him.

I'll give it back when he grows up!

Thus, she consoled her conscience and announced with conviction, "In any case, I guarantee you won't lose out!"

Hearing her words, Huai Shi's heart sank.

What else was there to say?

This time he was bound to take a loss.

Definitely for nothing!

The discharge procedure was easy and straightforward, as it was an internal hospital of the Astronomical Society. After a brief observation, they issued him a discharge certificate.

Then Huai Shi didn't even leave the building, moving directly from the sixth-floor medical department to the fourth-floor administration department for registration and a brief inquiry, and then it was all settled.

The staff member who liaised with him expressed admiration and praise for his mission on the Group Star. After the specific procedures were quickly completed, they informed him that his commendation would soon be sent to Jinling. Huai Shi was feeling guilty about blowing up Osiris and didn't dare to ask more. Once he saw there was no issue, he prepared to slip away.

After this mission, he was granted an additional half-month of leave. Adding it up, he nearly had a whole month, which was incredibly delightful.

Thinking about the pile of documents waiting for his signature at Old Fu's office, and how they couldn't find him, Huai Shi felt even more pleased.

He even blocked Old Fu's phone number.

After turning down the branch's offer of a complimentary express flight back to Jinling, Huai Shi picked up his saddlebag and prepared to depart decisively.

Half an hour later, a young lady who had mustered the courage to push open the hospital room door saw only the empty bed and an orderly tidying up.

"Oh no, he's gone." Next to her, Yuan Zhao, limping with a crutch, couldn't suppress a snicker of schadenfreude.

After he finished laughing, he looked up to find his cousin staring straight at him.

Then, amid his rising phantom pain, he saw Yuan Yuan start to smile as well.

And she raised the Mountain Monarch's Giant Sword...

Yuan Zhao swallowed hard.

"Sister Yuan, have mercy..."

BANG!

"Alright, what do we do next?"

Standing at the entrance of the Astronomical Association's station office building, Huai Shi surveyed the bustling city of Jakarta, its streets teeming with people.

Strictly speaking, this was his first time traveling abroad in the Current Circumstances.

The scenery was strikingly different from Dongxia.

Even the smells in the air became unfamiliar.

He felt as if he'd suddenly been thrown into another world. Yet, unlike the perilous Hell or those bizarre, intricate Borders, here he was completely at a loss.

He didn't know what to do next.

Call a cab?

He was supposed to find a car, right? But should he stock up on supplies first? He didn't have much food left in his bag, and he should probably hoard more water... Should he buy some more bullets, too?

"Please, you're in the Current Circumstances, okay?" Raven sighed on his shoulder. "The Astronomical Society is still around. The sky isn't going to fall. Do you really need to be so overly cautious? Where's this post-traumatic stress disorder coming from?"

BANG!

A car door slammed shut in the distance with a heavy thud, and Huai Shi's hand instinctively went to his saddlebag, gripping the hilt of the Sword of Virtue.

Only after he came to his senses did Huai Shi awkwardly move his hand away.

He felt like Tarzan, completely out of place in his surroundings.

"...Could you try to relax a little?"

Raven sighed. "Forget it. Just listen to my instructions for now. Walk forward, and then take a left..."

Fifteen minutes later, Huai Shi, dressed in a floral shirt and baggy shorts, wearing sunglasses, and carrying a newly purchased backpack, walked out of a store with a map clenched in his hand.

The quintessential tourist look.

Exceptionally eye-catching.

But at least it was much better than the armed-to-the-teeth look he'd originally sported.

The trench coat, leather boots, emergency vest, weapons, and the like had all been stuffed into the backpack along with the saddlebag, but Huai Shi still occasionally reached for them, adjusting their position to ensure they were easily accessible.

Only after triple-checking that all his items were with him did he begin to feel somewhat at ease. Holding the map, he looked around and asked, "So what's next? What do I do?"

"Whatever you want," Raven looked at him sideways. "Isn't that what traveling is all about? Walk around, have some fun, eat good food, see some cool sights!"

Huai Shi frowned. "Just traveling?"

"Yes," Raven nodded.

"No other traps?" Huai Shi was skeptical. "No one will suddenly jump out to kill me? I won't inexplicably end up in a car with cult members? A bomb won't suddenly fall from the sky while I'm walking?"

"Would you believe me if I said there aren't any?"

Raven scrutinized his expression, then countered, "Even if there truly were none, would you be able to relax, Huai Shi?"

"..."

After a long silence, Huai Shi sighed helplessly. "I'll try."

"Good, let's make a deal then."

Raven lifted her claw, pressed it on the backpack, and locked a seal directly on the zipper, securing all of Huai Shi's equipment.

She said earnestly, "From now on, you can only use the four thousand US dollars in your pocket. Unless it's a dire emergency—I mean, a truly life-or-death situation—you're not allowed to use your Sublimator abilities, weapons, or even your Stigma. Try being an ordinary tourist, how about that?"

"I'll... try my best..."

After speaking, Huai Shi felt somewhat uneasy himself.

Without those things, he felt as if he had been stripped back to his original form—no, actually... it felt like he was even weaker than before. Even more panicked. Powerless and at a loss in this unfamiliar world.

Back when he had nothing, he wasn't afraid of the world, because the world could take nothing from him but his life. But now that his life had finally begun, he started to panic about the malevolence lurking in the shadows.

He didn't even know how to be a tourist. In this foreign land, he felt a wave of confusion, completely unsure where to begin.

"How about a hint?" he turned to look at Raven.

Life is hard, Raven sighed.

"Okay, one last reminder from EASY mode," she said. "Take a look at the map. Head in the direction of Canberra, find places that interest you, go sightseeing, hike and travel on a shoestring, eat the local food, drink their water, sleep in their youth hostels or under bridges, on the streets, or out in the wilderness; hitch rides based on your looks; busk or perform for money based on your skill; swindle, con, or cheat; or find legitimate work—as long as you're heading toward Antarctica, the rest is up to you."

She paused, then said earnestly, "If you really can't set your mind at ease and want to do something, then go buy a spade and some seeds."

"A spade?" Huai Shi was puzzled. "For what?"

"To do what Mountain Ghosts do best: plant trees," Raven said, lifting a wing to ruffle his hair. "Learn to enjoy the real life of a Sublimator, Little Brag. You've been disconnected from this world for too long."

What kind of advice was that?

Buying a spade in Southeast Asia? To plant trees?

Wasn't that a bit too fantastical?

Well, it was at least better than being clueless...

Ten minutes later, a brand-new folding spade hung from Huai Shi's backpack. He had managed to haggle with the store owner—speaking a mix of Latin, Dongxia language, and some Javanese he'd picked up by analogy—and got it for half price.

Even though the owner had definitely overcharged him after seeing his tourist getup, and the man's eyes had gone wide when he heard a tourist asking for a spade, probably conjuring up all sorts of strange stories.

But at least he got the spade.

He checked his pocket. He still had a little over four thousand one hundred US dollars, roughly twenty thousand Dongxia Yuan. If he were frugal with food and lodging... he didn't know how much he could save, nor whether this money would be enough to get him all the way to Antarctica. He was utterly confused and lost.

Suddenly, the mission seemed daunting—

On the bright side, at least he'd been spared the journey from Dongxia to Indonesia.

Comforting himself with this thought, he flipped through the travel guide, looking over several sections... contemplating whether to visit an aquarium.

Although visiting an aquarium here seemed a bit out of place, Huai Shi was still quite curious.

He had never been to such a place.

Raven lay indifferently on his backpack, lazily basking in the sun as he followed Huai Shi through the streets and alleys. And so, they set off on a journey that seemed somewhat daunting yet, at the same time, very much authentic.

Unrelated to saving the world, unrelated to the joys and sorrows of others, with no perilous death missions or life-threatening dangers in sight.

Huai Shi's first long journey in his life had begun.