Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 554 - 470: Stealing Chickens Makes Me Happy (Thanks to Alliance Leader Enterprise Penguin)_2

It didn't drive straight in but stopped a long way off.

The driver got out, opened an umbrella, and then opened the rear car door. A young man emerged, shivering with cold and still dressed in only a thin layer of clothing.

He's probably just wearing a T-shirt under that coat, Lu Yan mused.

The young man was unsteady on his feet when he got out of the car and stumbled a bit.

And what's more... he looks even younger than me.

"Just him?" Lu Yan asked, incredulous.

"Yes, just him."

Hu Jing folded his newspaper, stood up, and said gravely, "Don't talk later. Just stand beside us. Bring your eyes and ears, not your mouth. Just treat it as watching a show."

Lu Yan quickly stood up and followed.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a violent snowstorm surged in.

Outside, the hurricane seemed to roar, a continuous barrage of deafening sounds shaking one to the core. Who could have imagined that the largest Abyss Plant Park in Dongxia would be such an extremely cold place?

Certainly not Huai Shi.

Right now, he was shivering, frozen.

But at the same time, he couldn't help but flush red and feel hot all over, as if he were drunk.

As soon as he walked in here, the Stigma of the Mountain Ghost had become unprecedentedly active.

Amidst the abundant earth energy, the gusting snow, and the surging vitality of countless plants, the entire Stigma of the Mountain Ghost seemed overloaded, falling into a drunken state. Paradoxically, this state of suppression was even more unbearable.

The former was like a collective cold shoulder, while the latter was an incredibly passionate yanking and dragging: imagine a swarm of over-enthusiastic aunts swirling around you, frantically asking, "Young man, how old are you? Married? Seeing anyone? Got a job? How much do you make? Where do you work? What are your prospects? When are you buying a house? You know, it's hard to find a wife if you're too young! Need a parking spot?"

He felt dizzy and lightheaded, his vision blurring.

These local forces are too damn enthusiastic! I only got back from that godforsaken place in Antarctica two days ago; I can't take this. It's like being too weak to handle rich food.

"Mr. Huai Shi, from now on, these two will take you inside."

In the raging wind, the driver struggled to hold his umbrella, which had been blown inside out, and shouted next to Huai Shi, "I'll wait here for you to come out!"

"What?" Huai Shi looked over, confused. The driver shouted again, and only then did he react.

He saw a figure staggering towards them through the snowstorm, leaning on trekking poles.

Enveloped in a down jacket, his face covered by a mask, and clutching a file, the figure checked it against the shivering young man before him and asked loudly, "Name!"

"Huai Shi, male, seventeen years old… but damn it, cut the crap!" Huai Shi was furious.

Why the hell is it always the same routine, no matter where I go?! Just get me some clothes already, will you?!

After confirming Huai Shi's identity, the two of them didn't say another word, pulling him around and heading inside. They didn't even enter the guardhouse as they passed it; Huai Shi almost died of envy looking at the air conditioning inside.

"Can't you guys let me have some hot water?!" Huai Shi yelled.

"WHAT?!!" Hu Jing turned around and bellowed back.

"HOT WATER!!!"

Huai Shi roared into the howling blizzard, "HOT WATER! HEATING! I'M FREEZING TO DEATH!!!"

"IT'S ALL UP ON THE MOUNTAIN!!!"

Hu Jing shouted back, "No time for you to rest! The Old Lady wants to see you! She said you're to go straight up the mountain as soon as you arrive!!!"

After Hu Jing had roared this three times, Huai Shi finally understood.

I can barely feel my face anymore. It's too cold.

But beneath the surrounding ice and snow, the surging vitality of those plants was incredibly abundant, frantically tugging at his Stigma, as if wanting to instantly assimilate him into this boundless, frenzied life force, to make him take root on the spot and remain here forever.

Just maintaining the stability of his internal ecosystem was almost more than Huai Shi could bear. Let alone switching to an ecological type more adapted to the cold; if he dared to do so, he feared that in the brief moment his ecosystem collapsed, he would be immediately assimilated by this place...

No, this isn't right. This is completely wrong! A naturally formed ecosystem would never possess such terrifying assimilative power, nor would it display such abrupt, almost fanatical enthusiasm.

Huai Shi closed his eyes. Through the ice and snow, he could feel the vast echoes from deep within the earth's veins and the bell-like rhythm rumbling from the mountaintop.

Every thread of life here is being manipulated by an invisible hand. Someone is deliberately targeting me!

Huai Shi halted, staring straight into the eyes of the two men, a sudden suspicion forming: Are they setting me up?

"Who is this Old Lady?" he asked. "I've never heard of her."

The two men stared back as if they had seen a ghost.

"You've come all the way to Yu Dai Shan and you don't know who the Old Lady is?" Hu Jing was stunned. "Friend, are you trying to give us a hard time?"

If the Old Lady hadn't personally approved this guest, I'd almost think he's trying to stir up trouble, Hu Jing thought.

"You don't know the Contemporary Qing Emperor?"

Hu Jing scrutinized him as if he'd seen a ghost, utterly unable to figure out what this young man's deal was.

But soon, the phone in Hu Jing's pocket began to ring.

He ran to a sheltered corner, crouched down to answer it, and after the call ended quickly, he hurried back, his expression even more spooked than before.

Huai Shi felt like he was freezing into a snowman beside the memorial archway at the foot of the mountain path.

At least it's sheltered from the wind here, he thought. No need to shout to be heard anymore.

I really can't figure out why the Contemporary Qing Emperor would want to give me such a hard time before we've even met face-to-face, Huai Shi pondered. Surely I haven't offended such a colossal figure, have I?