Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 516 446: Just Off the Steamboat in Australia_1

"Your original fate was such that in the first half of your life, you were destined to struggle against heaven, earth, and even yourself. The only advantage you had was being tough. If I had left you alone, you would only have had a chance to turn your life around after enduring until you were eighteen. And if that 'salted fish' didn't manage to flip itself over, then you'd be truly tragic."

Raven shook her head, clucking her tongue in pity. "By that time, when others get their shipments, you'd sink your ship; when others get married, you'd be sewing the wedding dress; when others eat meat, you'd even smash the soup bowl. Let's not even talk about becoming a Sublimator. If it weren't for the suppression by the Book of Fate, you would have kicked the bucket a long time ago."

Huai Shi took in a sharp breath.

He always felt that this sly woman was deceiving him, but what she said... seemed to make some sense.

"What about now?" he asked anxiously.

"Now it's still like a sieve, full of holes. It's a good thing I helped you out with a red thread a few times, or else you would have been on your way out already." Raven covered her face with her hands, pretending to weep sorrowfully. "Just think about it, how much have I, your big sister, silently sacrificed and given up for you behind the scenes? And now, you scorn me over a mere pittance! I can't go on living!"

In the midst of Huai Shi's baffled expression, Raven commenced a new round of her performance.

After finally smoothing this matter over with difficulty, she miraculously wiped the tears from her face with a flap of her wings, looking left and right as if nothing had happened. "What are you waiting for now? Hurry up and get ready to hit the road!"

"We're really going on foot?!"

Huai Shi was flabbergasted.

"What else?" Raven retorted. "Want to wait another half a month?"

"Uhh..."

Seeing Huai Shi hesitate, Raven immediately started rolling around on the table like a child. "I don't care, I want to go to Antarctica! I want to go to Antarctica! Huai Shi, I want to see penguins!"

What's there to see in penguins? Aren't you darker than any penguin? Besides, aren't penguins in the Arctic? Huai Shi really wanted to scold her.

But with her prodding, Huai Shi actually felt a bit... eager to try.

Isn't it just a big desert? Isn't it just a few radiation zones? As a dignified Sublimator, could I really be afraid of this? Maybe I should give it a try?

He took out his phone and started searching on the spot: How to cross the Great Desert...

「.」

Seeing that she had successfully bluffed her way through this, Raven secretly heaved a sigh of relief and once again felt a prick of conscience.

Although she really had been using the tiny Correction Value Huai Shi currently possessed to adjust his fate, it was just patching things up here and there. And it wasn't much related to the money she took.

Becoming a Sublimator did indeed subtly shift Huai Shi's fate, yet the greater influence came from the Book of Fate. As the relic representing the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy and the former Authority Relic of the Heavenly Kingdom, it inherently embodied the enormous 412.64 percent Correction Value belonging to the Owner of the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy. A Correction Value sufficient to change the entire Current Circumstances four times over, with some to spare, was vested in it—compared to it, anyone's fate seemed too insignificant. Like a meteor captured by a Black Hole's gravity.

Even if the Book itself held no ill will towards Huai Shi, as long as it existed, it would inevitably exert massive interference and influence over his fate.

The difficulty wasn't in making Huai Shi the guardian of the Heavenly Kingdom; the difficulty lay in… how to prevent him from being engulfed by this overly imposing mission and turning completely into a tool for Utopia's resurgence.

It was just as she had once replied to Huai Shi: wanting Money, beautiful women, to do as one pleased, to rule the world, or even to live forever… for someone chosen by the Book of Fate, all these things fell within the realm of achievable goals.

However, the one thing that was too difficult for him was 'a happy life.'

Before Huai Shi got too close to the vortex, all she could do was delay the process as much as possible, trying to ensure his life was filled with more profound past experiences and beautiful memories. At least to allow him to find a life of his own.

And hmm, maybe make a bit more money on the side...

It was really killing two birds with one stone, a win-win situation, truly a double gain.

But the pace of advancement must accelerate now...

Once again, she calculated the time in her mind and then breathed a sigh of relief. There was still some leeway in the buffer time.

Among all the paths of the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, only the Heavenly Inquiry Route was the most suitable choice for Huai Shi. The unique Sky's Command it possessed couldn't even be interfered with by the Book of Fate.

The faster Huai Shi advanced, the more room for maneuvering she would have. The likelihood of achieving a balance between the two would become greater.

So… maybe next time she should swindle a bit more money?

「. .」

Half an hour later, practically 'the whole world' knew Huai Shi had gone to Australia.

[In Australia, just disembarked the steamship. Crossing the Great Desert for the first time, any tips? Online and waiting, it's pretty urgent.]

Under his plea for help posted on his social media feed, the gentle Xiao Xian clicked 'like'.

"It's not that hard," his Senior Sister commented. "Just bring a shovel, that's enough. Also, remember to bring plenty of sunscreen, or your skin will get dark."

"..."

Huai Shi's eye twitched.

It's like a newbie seeing a European Emperor and a hardcore grinder standing in water that only reaches their ankles—utterly useless as a reference.

Right after that, Liu DongLi shared a link:

[An old man's last words: Ten hidden dangers of radiation zones you don't know. Everyone who's seen it has shared it!]

After Huai Shi opened it, he could only make out two words from every crevice in the text—'hair loss'. He immediately let out a derisive snort and replied with a selfie of his own waist-length hair.

A Mountain Ghost losing hair? That's even harder than Xuan Niao failing to get an SSR from a single pull in a mobile game...

Fu Yi commented: "You went to Australia? Bring me back a boomerang, preferably one that's knocked out a kangaroo and been consecrated! By the way, what should I do if my dog's teeth are grinding? It chewed up my dad's handgun and just pooped out a pile of bullets..."

Right, Huai Shi could already visualize Old Fu raging impotently.

After thinking for a long time, he seriously replied with a suggestion: "It might be an iron deficiency. This symptom is very serious. Have your dad bring back a couple of AKs tonight to supplement its diet."

After taking a long time to read through them all, Huai Shi found that among the multitude of comments, only the one from that Predecessor of the Astronomical Society, the Phoenix Lucian, seemed somewhat reliable.

This Predecessor was an extreme sports enthusiast himself, having devoted considerable effort and time to activities like free solo rock climbing, deep-sea diving, and even trekking, and was full of experience in all sorts of adventures. If it weren't for his restless heart, unsuited to a peaceful life, he probably would not have accepted the peril-laden job in an archeological team.

He enthusiastically provided Huai Shi with a long list of equipment and precautions, saying that Huai Shi could call him anytime if he had questions, and eagerly invited Huai Shi to join the Border Extreme Sports Club.

After work every day, everyone can go to various dangerous areas to court death together. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Huai Shi casually glanced at the club's homepage, only to see an average annual disability rate of forty percent.

He wanted to challenge himself, but he wasn't *that* crazy... He promptly and graciously declined.

Once he had the list of equipment, Huai Shi compared it to the contents of his saddlebag. He then realized that he had most of the items, like tents and various tools, already in his possession; it was just that the brands were different, but the differences were not significant. Most importantly, his food and water storage supplies were also well-prepared.

For the remaining odds and ends, Huai Shi planned to shop locally to see if he could complete his collection. It was during his search around noon that he discovered these items were not as scarce as he had imagined.

It was just that the people selling these things often weren't exactly upstanding citizens.

Everyone seemed to have long grown accustomed to such travelers of dubious origins. Some even hinted to Huai Shi several times that although they didn't know what trouble he was in that made him want to skip town, would he like a recommendation for a good place to go? A certain big shot was currently short-handed... if he was interested, he could make this call; meals and transport provided.

Huai Shi listened, dumbfounded.

Basically, no one believed that Huai Shi was actually planning to cross Australia.

Only a middle-aged woman selling simple water filters, after listening to him while smoking, looked at him with a strange gaze for a long time. "Another one looking to die?"

"Hm?" Huai Shi was puzzled.

The middle-aged woman shook her head, stubbed out her cigarette, then took something out of a cabinet and tossed it on the table. "You're the second one this week wanting to head into the desert... Four hundred US Dollars, non-negotiable."

"There are others?"

Huai Shi was incredulous.

It was like mustering all your courage to become a superhero, only to get famous and be called one of the Calabash Brothers, because, hey, there are six others just as amazing as you...

"Why wouldn't there be?" the middle-aged woman retorted indifferently. "Darwin gets more than a dozen death-seekers like you every year. It's just that there's been a particular spike in them recently."

Huai Shi immediately grew curious. "Has anyone ever succeeded?"

"How would I know?" the middle-aged woman countered. "Even if you succeed, are you going to make a special trip back here to tell me?"

She had a point. And she was very good at swindling money. Huai Shi had to admit.

After selling him the portable water filter, she then ripped him off badly on a gas mask, charging him at least twice the proper price...

But at least, he had finally finished preparing his equipment.

After once again inventorying the various supplies in his saddlebag, Huai Shi turned to the map and began to plan his route.

Then, he was suddenly struck by an idea.

"Hey, how much Correction Value do you think restoring Australia's ecological environment would be worth?"

"If it were achievable," Raven said, "you'd instantly gain twenty percent Correction Value. Depending on subsequent developments, you'd continue to receive at least four percent annually, gradually decreasing until, in the end, it should add up to about sixty-one percent. At that point, you'd be Australia's Savior, the living Buddha whom millions of immigrants would thank every day."

After finishing, Raven added, "But let me tell you responsibly, you're dreaming."

"Eh? Can't a person have a dream?"

"Dreams are good, but some dreams are better left undreamt."

Raven shook her head, a peculiar smile on her face. "Forget you. Even if the Contemporary Green Emperor, America's Agricultural God, Shambhala's 'Growth Sky', and a whole host of others came, they'd all be screwed. You don't actually think Australia's current state came about naturally, do you?"

Gazing at Huai Shi's stunned expression, she added meaningfully, "The waters in Australia, heh heh, run deep."

「.」

And so, after squashing his unrealistic fantasies and resting for another day, Huai Shi set off into the depths of the wilderness and desert at dusk the next day, treading in the dim, yellow light of the setting sun.

He was just one step away from missing the urgent meteorological alert from the Astronomical Society...