Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 527 - 453 The Crowned One_1

Logically speaking, shouldn't the other party typically fail to recognize a formidable presence, mistaking a tiger for Peppa Pig? Then, looking down on others, they'd start a fight at the slightest disagreement, only to be handled by Huai Shi, yet still refuse to let the matter drop. First, they send cannon fodder. When the cannon fodder is dealt with, a cadre appears, followed by the leader. Finally, the leader of The Wasteland Child, the Sand King, gets enraged and personally attacks Huai Shi. Then Huai Shi makes a phone call, and the Sand King is obliterated under the bombardment of the Rainbow Bridge?

How did the plot go so wrong from the very beginning? Huai Shi scratched his head, completely baffled. But he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least this time, I haven't been dragged into any trouble.

As for the Sand King's invitation, Huai Shi accepted it after some consideration. A Fifth Stage Sublimator is a major figure anywhere, especially a Crowned One. One could say they are one of the de facto rulers of Australia. The respect was shown to the Astronomical Society, not to him, a mere small fry. No matter what, he couldn't afford to reject such a show of respect. Besides, with free food on offer, how could he possibly refuse?

「. . .」

There was still some time before dinner. Huai Shi took out his phone, intending to look up the background of this Sand King. However, as soon as he turned on his phone, a series of disaster alerts popped up—yes, the ones from the radiation storm a week ago.

Huai Shi expressionlessly lifted his head and studied the embarrassed Raven beside him.

"...Is this what you meant by, 'Since you're after the thrill, then see it through to the end'?"

"Oh my, I never said anything so shameless." Raven covered her face shyly. "You're so naughty."

"..."

Huai Shi rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with her anymore. Sooner or later, she'll be the death of me from frustration.

Using his access privileges within the Astronomical Society, he quickly found detailed information about this Sand King: Reed Turner.

Fifty-one years old, a local Australian Sublimator. At the age of thirty-nine, he inherited the title of the previous Sand King, becoming the new Crowned One and the leader of The Wasteland Child.

What was peculiar was that, for such a top-tier expert, he rarely engaged in combat with others and had virtually no public record of doing so. He also shed the traditionally brutal image of The Wasteland Child. Within just a few years, he completed an internal overhaul of the organization, changed its direction, and actively participated in Australian politics.

Now, he has become an indispensable member of the Australian Government, and The Wasteland Child has transformed from a mere warlord faction into an official Australian border defense force. It could be said that this man made an indelible contribution to Australia's stability. He didn't achieve his position through violence, but through his exceptional leadership and popularity.

Even his former competitor, the biological son of the previous Sand King, refused the inheritance of the Crown on his father's deathbed, choosing instead to entrust this honor to this adoptive brother with whom he had grown up.

In photographs, the Sand King was smiling, exuding a warm and gentle aura, showing no hint of the solemn brutality associated with the Black Sail.

It's hard to imagine that this person was a Crowned One influential enough to significantly impact the Current Circumstances... According to the Jurisdiction Bureau's estimates, the Correction Value accumulated by generations of Sand Kings amounted to a staggering nine percent!

The Crown of the Sand King itself represented the endless deserts of Australia and the countless mines excavated therein. As long as this desert existed and its mineral resources were not depleted, its influence on the Current Circumstances would continue unabated. Accumulating a nine percent Correction Value over several centuries was not surprising.

According to Raven's previous explanation of Correction Value:

People yearn for transformation. Or rather, it should be said that as long as people exist, transformation will emerge. This transformation, applied to the entire world, is manifested as Correction Value and Distortion Value.

Even breathing generates a Correction Value. Although the influence is so negligible—a minuscule fraction, perhaps zero point zero zero...zero zero one—it still affects the Current Circumstances. However, High Stage Sublimators sometimes bring about such tremendous transformations that these alterations become observable.

Both Correction Value and Distortion Value are simply terms and quantifications for this transformation. If the impact on the world is positive, it's termed Correction Value. Conversely, if it causes the world to deteriorate, it's called Distortion Value.

Under certain conditions, both Correction Value and Distortion Value can also be inherited. Provided one possesses a relic in harmony with their Stigma—it could be a Stigmata Relic from the same Genealogy, a Miracle Imprint, or an Authority Relic. After a complex Secret Ritual, this relic can be integrated into one's own Stigma as the primary means of maintaining the Correction Value.

Thus, when a Sublimator dies, their life's work is not in vain. It allows their successors to inherit this gift from their predecessors, saving a great deal of time and carrying on this torch and legacy.

It is said that when truly activating some of the highest-tier Miracle Imprints, one might even need to burn a substantial amount of Correction Value to unleash their true Power, reaching a level capable of altering the world.

But all of that was too distant for Huai Shi.

Raven had never told him, "You must strive hard to find your own life and goals. If you don't put in the effort, your only option will be to return and inherit Utopia's billions in inheritance, and you won't be free to struggle and strive anymore..."