Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 575 - 482 Magic_1

"What's going on here?"

Huai Shi stared blankly at a pile of graduation certificates in front of him.

He couldn't accept the reality that his college life had ended before it had even begun.

If this were a joke, that would be fine, but after verifying the certificates with the Astronomical Society's authority, Huai Shi discovered... they were all damn real...

And it wasn't just that. Only after Chai Fei sent a text did he realize the magnificent feat of graduating from forty-three doctoral programs, twenty-six master's courses, and fifty-three universities had already been automatically updated in his resume...

Did I become a working adult in the blink of an eye?

"What the hell!"

Huai Shi took out his phone and directly called Kyoto University. After the person on the other end confirmed Huai Shi's identity, the call was transferred, and his never-before-seen advisor's booming voice told him, "That's right, Huai Shi-kun, you've graduated! Ah, when I recall the time you've just arrived in Yingzhou, it feels just like yesterday. It truly fills one with emotions... Now that you've graduated with such outstanding results, as your teacher, I feel extremely honored!"

I've never even been there, okay!

Who the heck are you! Why the hell do you act like we're so familiar with each other!

After saying this, as if afraid Huai Shi would ask more, the call was abruptly ended.

Huai Shi frowned, then dialed the number for the American Ivy League. After the call went through, over six advisors congratulated him on his graduation in a chorus-like fashion, then, with the enthusiasm of entrusting an inheritance, eagerly anticipated his future accomplishments.

The call ended again.

Silence.

A long silence.

Huai Shi pulled at his own hair, struggling to understand, "What's going on?"

"What else could it be? They're scared stiff of you!"

Raven rolled its eyes. "The Gate of Death Star of the Astronomical Society, the Beheading King of Jinling, the Judge who causes explosions wherever he goes—suddenly decides to go to university, would you be afraid if you were the principal? If you were in admissions, would you dare to accept him?"

"..."

Huai Shi, who suddenly found himself with an infamous reputation, fell into a stupor.

It was as if he could see a group of terrified teachers hiding behind the lectern, waving their hands at him.

Mister, we can talk this over... Please, for the love of God, don't come!

"I'm just going to study!" Huai Shi angrily exclaimed, "Am I going to blow up the school or something?"

"You never know..." Raven looked at him with pity. "Look, sister here does believe your luck has turned and good times are coming... but whether others believe that, that's another matter.

However, this does seem like that guy's style... HAHAHAHA..."

"Who?" Huai Shi smelled a conspiracy.

"Who else?"

Raven laughed gleefully. "Of course, it's your upcoming boss, the principal of the Ivory Tower. That old geezer really does love to play tricks on people... It seems he has high hopes for you."

"How the hell is this 'high hopes'?" Huai Shi was powerlessly enraged.

"Mobilizing his own networks and sending you over fifty diplomas—how is that not having high hopes for you?"

Raven shook its head in amusement. "That guy has always been a talent supremist—no, he should be called someone who loves to toy with talented individuals. He sent you such a big gift before you even arrived."

"High hopes my ass."

Huai Shi was pissed off. "Even if I have no school to go to today, even if I jump from here, I will not go to the Ivory Tower!"

"Hearing you say that, I think this is a done deal."

Raven spread its wings nonchalantly. "Anyway, it's your decision to make, whether to go or not. But I think... maybe it's a good thing not to go, though you might not get your way in the end."

Huai Shi scoffed, "I refuse to believe that if I don't go, he'll actually tie me up and take me there."

At that moment, the rebellious spirit typical of youth dominated his heart.

Moreover, he always had a bad feeling that damn place wasn't safe, probably a hornet's nest, and once he went there, he'd be reduced to a mere tool.

Huai Shi knew himself all too well.

They wanted me to go, most likely not out of appreciation for my talent... but because they craved my body.

Despicable!

After deciding on this matter, he turned back to his gaming, completely forgetting he had other things to attend to. It was only at 6:30 in the evening that he heard his phone ring.

Three missed calls from Fu Yi.

"Hello?" He picked up the phone and asked, "What's up?"

"You haven't left yet, have you?"

The moment Fu Yi spoke, Huai Shi finally remembered what he had forgotten.

"Hello? Tonight Liao Jun is hosting a farewell dinner, you're not planning on standing us up, are you?" Through the phone, Fu Yi could almost see a certain couch potato sprawled on the sofa.

"No!" Huai Shi jumped up from the sofa, saying in a loud voice, "I'm on my way! I'll be there in five minutes!"

"You'd be doing well just to be out of the door in five minutes."

Fu Yi sighed. "I've sent you the address on WeChat. Hurry up, otherwise I'll run out of excuses here before you arrive, and that would be really awkward."

"I said five minutes and I mean five minutes."

Huai Shi hurriedly slipped on his pants and shoes, rushed to the kitchen to apologize to Uncle Fang, then shouldered his bike and stormed out the door.

Halfway there, he stopped short.

Wait a minute.

I have a horse, why would I ride a bicycle?

He carried the bicycle back, then saw the Fat Horse lazily chewing its feed in the backyard. He hesitated, almost spoke, then hesitated again before ultimately choosing the bicycle…

If that horse really started running, it would probably have a heart attack.

I've got to cut back on its food.

Ten minutes later, Huai Shi, who had been pedaling furiously, locked his bike on the street amid onlookers staring as if they'd seen a ghost and rushed into the private room of the hotpot restaurant without even bothering to fix his messy hair.

A wave of heat hit him in the face.

"Sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way," Huai Shi said with an awkward smile, gesturing to a waiter to add another set of utensils.

Next to Liao Jun, the prominent figure at the head of the table, Zhuo Ling asked in surprise, "That doesn't make sense. Didn't Fu Yi say you had a cold and went to the hospital?"

"Yeah, I took a taxi from the hospital," Huai Shi lied without blinking. He pulled out a chair and sat down, only to realize that the private room was already full. A dozen or so young people were all ready to start eating.

He was the only one missing.

Everyone present was a classmate with whom he had a fairly good relationship—well, everyone except Huai Shi.

Huai Shi was practically invisible in the class, especially during his entire senior year when he was elusive, rarely showing his face, so he had no real friendships to speak of.

It was Fu Yi who had brought him along.

Seeing that he was so late, the host, Liao Jun, frowned slightly with displeasure but didn't say much. However, Zhuo Ling, who was next to him, picked up the serving pitcher from the table and filled the small cup in front of Huai Shi.

"You're the only one who's late, making everyone wait for you," Zhuo Ling asked, smiling. "How about three drinks as a penalty? If it's too much for you, I can get you a soft drink instead."

All eyes turned to him. Just as Fu Yi seemed about to say something, a girl who was enjoying the spectacle spoke up first, "Maybe eat something first to line your stomach. Drinking on an empty stomach is harmful."

Huai Shi didn't mind losing face. In front of everyone's gaze, he just smiled and waved his hand nonchalantly. "Actually, I wouldn't mind swapping for a Coke. I'm kind of thirsty."

"Hey, Huai Shi, are you up for this?"

Before anyone else could tease, Fu Yi rolled her eyes first, causing a momentary pause among the others. She didn't offer him an out, instead urging him on, "Just do it quickly. I'm starving here."

"Fine then."

Huai Shi shook his head in resignation and reached for the serving pitcher, but saw Fu Yi pushing a bottle and a teacup his way.

"..."

Even Zhuo Ling was shocked this time. Lady, are you for real?

Those three cups are nearly a jin!

How did he offend you to deserve this kind of treatment?

"Is that enough?" Fu Yi asked, as if it were still insufficient. "If that's too small for you, I can get you a bowl instead."

Huai Shi unscrewed the bottle, took a sniff, nodded, and said, "It's okay, the alcohol content isn't that high. So let's switch to a bowl."

Zhuo Ling swore that if the number on the bottle label wasn't 65, he'd gouge out his eyeballs and stomp on them like lightbulbs.

He was about to intervene, but seeing Huai Shi getting carried away with his act, he began to feel a secret irritation.

We're all classmates. If you, Huai Shi, would just back down and beg for mercy, would anyone really force you to drink?

But now that Huai Shi was acting as if he was waiting for them to talk him out of it, Zhuo Ling decided not to say anything. He folded his arms and stopped anyone else who tried to intervene.

He wanted to see how Huai Shi would manage without anyone persuading him.

The answer was that Huai Shi drank all three bowls.

An entire bottle, a jin and a half.

He gulped it down as if it were water, and it vanished.

Zhuo Ling took off his glasses, wiped them clean, put them back on, and leaned in to take a closer look at the three empty bowls as if he'd seen a ghost.

Huai Shi let out a chuckle.

"It's all water. Got scared, didn't you?" he said with a smirk, waving his hand. "I'm late, so I performed a little trick for everyone. Don't mind me. Speaking of which… can we start eating now?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the boiling red hotpot, looking like he was ready to dig in if no one else did.

The atmosphere at the table, which had just cooled down, was instantly revived, and any slight unease vanished. After all, it was no big deal, and everybody's curiosity shifted to how Huai Shi had performed the magic trick.

While frantically fishing for meat from the pot, Huai Shi waved his hand vaguely, "That's a trade secret; if I explain it, the trick won't work anymore… Next time, I'll teach you all how to swallow the Great Treasure Sword. That's another of my specialties."

Amidst laughter, only Zhuo Ling glanced skeptically down at the empty bottle by Huai Shi's feet.

He couldn't quite figure out what had just happened.

—But that thing was definitely emptied, right?

It wasn't often that someone treated him, so Huai Shi decided to eat his fill.

Sublimators really had an advantage when it came to hotpot; at the very least, he was always the first to fish out the cooked meat.

Originally, he was determined to be the invisible man at the table, quietly eating.

But as he ate, he noticed that the atmosphere was becoming awkward…

A sinking feeling grew in his heart.

This is bad.

They've started talking about admission notices. What now?