Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 760 619 Coagulation Syndrome_1

"Miss Huaizhi...?"

On a chair by the pond, Zhenxi looked at her companion with some worry, unable to hide her own unease.

She didn't know what exactly she had said to her cousin, but after returning, she had sunk into silence. Expressionless. Her gaze had become somewhat terrifying. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say... only Zhenxi felt scared. It wasn't fierce or gloomy; her calm was as ever, yet there was some indefinable difference from before.

So distant, like the Mirages and rainbows that flicker at the edge of the sky, making one feel that even if you spent your whole life, you could never reach it.

Huai Shi's train of thought was interrupted. He sighed and raised his phone: "Zhenxi, do you want to participate in the competition?"

Zhenxi froze on the spot, lifeless, like someone who had been caught in a lie. She felt helpless, wanting to run away.

Those eyes were watching her, and the habitual smile on her face gradually disappeared as she lowered her head in unease.

"...I haven't decided yet."

"I... I don't mean to use Miss Huaizhi, I'm sorry. I wanted to say this earlier, but I can't think of what I can offer as compensation. I'm sorry..."

Her tone became hurried when she got to this point, as if she were desperately trying to be believed.

She looked at Miss Huaizhi, frantically explaining, "Just this one thing, please believe me, SuZi, I never thought of using you, I, I..."

In the end, she couldn't continue and lowered her head.

Huai Shi shook his head, passing the phone over: "Have you considered hiring me?"

The teenage girl stood still, disbelieving.

She looked down at the phone, then up at him, then, panicked, averted her gaze, twisting her fingers behind her back nervously.

"But I don't have money... No, of course I don't mean to expect Miss Huaizhi to work for free. I mean, can I... can I write an IOU? No matter how much it is, I will definitely pay it back someday!"

Then, the little courage and confidence she had just mustered shattered before the numbers updated on the phone.

"Seventy Million US Dollars"

Zhenxi stood there, rigid.

Seventy million? US dollars? That's so much... I've never even dared to dream of seventy million Yingzhou currency!

I work at a convenience store, where my hourly wage is eight hundred yen, but only for four hours a day, four days a week. At the noodle shop part-time, the evening shift pays six hundred forty yen per hour, but the Master is a good person, and I get an extra commission... Adding it all up, if I economize a bit, I can save about thirty thousand yen each month.

After graduating from university, I'll find another job and then...

In a flash, countless numbers raced through her mind, and in the end, she arrived at a cruel conclusion.

Poor girl Li Jian Zhen Xi... as long as I live without eating, drinking, or falling ill, I could probably save up that amount in about six to seven hundred years!

The brutal pressure of life hit her all at once; Zhenxi was devastated, unable to recover.

Watching her theatrical despair finally subside into an ashen expression, Huai Shi shook his head and typed another message on his phone.

"Someone has already paid for you."

"Ah?" Zhenxi couldn't believe it.

"You don't need to ask about the details, and don't worry about it. I'll help you."

To prevent her from letting her imagination run wild with strange ideas, Huai Shi quickly typed: "The position of family head might be out of reach, but I will help you solve the problems you're facing."

"However, there will be an extra charge for this: One Million US Dollars."

To avoid her genuinely thinking this trip was some spring outing, Huai Shi still had to be harsh; otherwise, he felt this girl would truly become instantly complacent and start expecting to win without effort.

Revealing just the right amount of killing intent, Miss Huaizhi leaned closer and raised her phone:

"—If you default on this debt, you know what the consequences will be, right?"

The teenage girl, Zhenxi, stood there dumbstruck.

It took her a very long time to come to her senses, still in disbelief and unsure of what had just happened. Panic swiftly surfaced in her heart, and she involuntarily shrank back a little, as if trying to hide.

"Miss Huaizhi... You, you know everything?"

"Crystal clear."

Huai Shi sighed, looking at her ankle peeking from beneath the hem of her yukata, and the faint scar on it... as if she had scraped it against something; it was barely healed, not yet completely closed up.

When he took Zhenxi's hand and rolled up her sleeve, he saw layers upon layers of scars.

Physical injuries, the characteristic early signs of beast-like transformation.

The unusually acute resonance with the Abyss had led to corrosive sedimentation, ultimately rendering the fragile body unable to withstand the changes in its Source Substance.

Such cracked scars had formed between the skin and muscle.

This was the original source and meaning of the name 'Stigma.'

A phenomenon that has appeared since the Middle Ages.

Due to the influence of the subconscious, the wounds might even take on the shapes of nonsensical and meaningless characters, but this couldn't change the fact that a wound was still a wound.

At first, it was regarded as a revelation from heaven, then as a symbol of a pact with the devil, until modern medicine in recent times categorized it as coagulation syndrome.

This was the original sin inherent in Beastified Characteristic Beings, or Hybrids.

Too far from the Heavenly Kingdom and too close to Hell, they were fated to be denied miracles, able only to embrace an end entwined with Disaster.

It was this inherent suffering that filled many Beastified Characteristic Beings along the Border with hatred towards the Current Circumstances and the present Astronomical Society, constantly attempting to rebel.

The foundations of Green Day lay upon this very soil.

For those people, waiting for mercy from the Current Circumstances was no different from waiting for death. It was better to join Green Day for a chance at survival, even if it only meant a little relief before dying; that was preferable to painfully prolonging their suffering.

Unbidden memories of Jinling surfaced—of the old scholar who had been kidnapped by Feng Ping, his eyes filled with hatred and anger, his beastly pupils vertical...

This was the proof of their innate misfortune.

Huai Shi remained silent for a long while before he finally pulled down Zhenxi's yukata sleeve and released her hand.

I can hardly imagine what the scars under her yukata look like... but surely, they're a constant source of agony, aren't they?

He was genuinely curious: How did this girl manage to grow up so carefree? To still be so simple and unbothered by everything, it's truly remarkable.

Like a silly dog.

Yet even like a silly dog, one has to keep moving forward, shamelessly struggling, audaciously living, blindly clinging to that slim hope of good fortune.

Just like I once did.

Huai Shi sighed and lifted a hand to rest it on her hair.

Zhenxi looked up blankly at the pair of eyes before her, frozen in place.

There was no expected sympathy or pity; her wounds did not sway him, but his tranquil gaze somehow gave her an unusual sense of comfort.

It was as if someone was there beside her, someone standing by her side, looking at her miserable state—not to encourage or to pity, but merely waiting for her to keep moving forward.

Just that gaze, as if dispersing all loneliness. Like sunlight.

Just by seeing those eyes, she felt that all her past efforts hadn't been meaningless, that even the most hideous struggle wouldn't be without result.

In the silence, Zhenxi bowed her head, unable to hold back the tears of grievance any longer.

Clinging tightly to the friend beside her, she sobbed, her cries breaking through the stillness.

Like a child who had finally found her way home.

***

When I came to my senses, my tears and snot had completely smudged Miss Huaizhi's front... And it once again confirmed that Miss Huaizhi really doesn't have anything in the bra cup department.

Just the thought is heart-wrenching.

She's so pitiful, I wish I could give her some of mine, if possible.

But before that, maybe I should apologize properly?

"I'm sorry, Miss Huaizhi, I'm so sorry... I'll wash it for you. Please give it to me; there won't be any problem."

Right at her own room's door, Zhenxi kept bowing and apologizing, tugging at Miss Huaizhi's sleeve and inviting her inside, "I have two spare sets of clothes here if you don't mind..."

Huai Shi raised a hand and knocked on her forehead without the slightest courtesy.

These clothes were prepared by the Li Jian family for guests anyway, so why is she making such a fuss? Dragging me to change clothes... is she that eager to witness something indescribably terrifying...?

Casually pushing her back into her room, he then went back to his own room to change... back into the little skirt gifted by Luo Su.

That bastard Luo Su definitely premeditated this. The size is perfect, and it actually looks pretty good on me. Paired with Tong Ji's makeup, the reflection is becoming quite pleasing to look at.

Look at this ethereal elegance, this pitifully charming face, these expressive big eyes... Today's Miss Huaizhi is still flawless!

As if!

Huai Shi felt as if his eyes were going blind.

If this continues, I'm afraid I'm going to head down some terrible path...

The infectious power of the Soloist's Stigma combined with women's clothing is terrifying; I'm even starting to get used to it. I have to hurry and sort out this mess here as quickly as possible.

It won't be long before I can say goodbye to cross-dressing and go back to being the Ivory Tower's popular teacher, Nanbo Bay.

But the more he psyched himself up, the more Huai Shi felt like he was jinxing himself.

The thought of the Great Priestess's transformation Mystic Ritual gave him a headache. It seemed the plan to collect Stigmas and Disasters needed to be expedited.

While he was lost in thought, someone knocked on his door—loudly and rudely, pounding on it, urging him to open up.

When the door opened, it revealed a few ill-intentioned guests outside.

They were clearly seasoned Sublimators, their expressions insolent, ready for a fight. But when they saw that the person opening the door was such a Beauty, they were all stunned into silence.

Behind them, a man who seemed to be in charge stepped forward, examining Huai Shi with an unpleasant gaze, nearly drooling.

However, his eyes quickly filled with regret as they landed on Huai Shi's chest, as if he were heartbroken.

Damn it, what the hell are *you* heartbroken about?!

Huai Shi's gaze grew even colder.

"Miss Huaizhi... is it?"

The leader scrutinized his face with a sly smile. "The Fourth Young Master has requested your presence."