Final Civilization

Chapter 7: Wife

Han Ming took a shower and reflected on everything that had happened today. For some reason, after confirming his ability to foresee the future and that the wealth in his bank account was usable, the sense of unease he had felt earlier eased somewhat.

After all, if he could foresee the future, then the issue with the bank account seemed... somewhat easier to understand.

Furthermore, this ability to foresee the future gave Han Ming a unique sense of security.

At the very least, if some Wallbreaker was going to chop his head off, he now had some capacity to defend himself.

However, he still felt a hazy, distorted sense of unreality about the world. So, deep down, he urgently wanted to figure out:

What exactly does a Wallfacer do? And what kind of organization are the Wallbreakers?

If the world is about to be destroyed, how do you save it?

Beep.

Han Ming sat on the living room sofa, constantly changing TV channels while timing things on his phone.

When he saw the same TV program appear for the third time, Han Ming concluded that his foresight didn't seem to have a fixed duration.Sometimes it was shorter, sometimes longer. At its longest, it reached 13 minutes.

The constant testing left him feeling mentally dazed, struggling to distinguish between reality and foresight.

"Is the duration of the foresight random, or can I control it somehow?" Han Ming was deeply puzzled. The only thing he could confirm for now was that he could foresee events at least 5 minutes into the future.

And it wasn't without cost, though Han Ming didn't know what that cost was. Currently, he only felt mentally fatigued, but a subconscious feeling told him it wasn't that simple. There seemed to be something else he hadn't yet realized.

His gaze swept over the three large money boxes in the living room. Han Ming thought for a moment, then found a movie starring Cage called *Next* and started watching it.

The reason was simple: the ability the protagonist in this movie possessed was the same as his—both could only foresee a few minutes ahead.

In the movie, Cris Johnson, played by Cage, had possessed this ability since childhood. But instead of bringing him immense wealth and status, this ability subjected him to government surveillance, medical research, and forced testing. So, he escaped the surveillance and became an ordinary person hiding among the masses.

In Las Vegas, to make a living, he performed cheap little magic tricks in a low-end bar, occasionally gambled small amounts, and used his superpower to earn some extra cash.

Later, after being targeted in a casino, he relied on his foresight to calmly evade all pursuit, even when enemies walked right past him.

He even used his foresight to repeatedly attempt pick-up lines to hit on women.

Through this method, he became a master of seduction who could control the psychology of his targets. Seeing this, Han Ming just felt it was too dramatic.

But on second thought, he could also use this ability to repeatedly test other people's reactions. For negotiations or investigations, this would absolutely be a god-tier skill.

After locking the doors and windows, he lay down in bed. For some reason, he had a feeling that those strange dreams would appear again tonight.

Staring at the ceiling, Han Ming thought for a moment, then took a deep breath and turned off the light.

"Good night."

...

The light in the room seemed to have dimmed further, to the point where even with his eyes closed, Han Ming could sense the flickering shadows cast by the ceiling fan's blades cutting through the light.

"So you're saying the world is about to be destroyed, you were chosen as a Wallfacer to save humanity, strange events are happening around you, you can live forever, and you can control all the wealth in the world?"

Familiar words rang out. Han Ming frowned, opened his eyes, and his vision gradually cleared from blurry to sharp.

Inside the police station's report hall, the officer on duty spoke in a dull tone. Due to the lighting, Han Ming could only seem to see the lower half of the person's face in front of him. The other's eyes seemed hidden in shadow.

The police station again?

Han Ming was puzzled in his heart. This time, however, he had a different feeling.

The old-fashioned electric fan, the yellow wooden desk with a glass plate on top, the red metal folding stool, the old-style painted walls white on top and green on the bottom...

A place like Jinghai shouldn't have such an antiquated police station, right?

He focused his gaze on the 'police officer' in front of him. The police-style uniform the other person wore looked like it was at least 20, maybe even 30 years old.

What was going on?

Han Ming had always thought his dreams were part of his ability to foresee the future. Now, it seemed this wasn't much like the future, but more like the past.

Because he had seen the bank in his dream, he had subconsciously assumed the police station was just another omen. He hadn't expected to repeatedly enter this place.

Tap, tap.

The police officer impatiently tapped the table with his pen: "Did you hear what I said?"

A slight chill ran through Han Ming's heart. He thought for a moment and tentatively said,

"No, it might be because I haven't rested well. I've been having some wild thoughts."

"Huh? Are you sure?!" the officer asked in a questioning tone.

"Yes, I probably read too much science fiction," Han Ming said seriously.

The officer fell silent for a moment, studying him: "Then is your wife also acting crazy like you?"

"Wife?" Han Ming was stunned. Why was this situation different from before?

"Who??"

"Stop playing dumb!"

The person opposite suddenly slammed a hand on the table: "What the hell is wrong with you two? Causing a scene, going crazy, preaching about the end of the world and Wallfacers, and now at the police station you suddenly know nothing, is that it?!"

Han Ming looked stunned. This situation... why was it different from before?

"Um..."

Han Ming's mind raced as he explained: "I might really be confused. I've caused you trouble. I... and my wife, we haven't actually done anything wrong, have we?"

His words carried a probing tone, trying to figure out the situation before him.

Hearing him, the officer stared at him with a scrutinizing gaze, fingers lightly tapping the table. After a moment of silence, he turned to look behind him.

At that moment, a female police officer led a woman out from another reporting room.

The woman kept her head bowed low, one hand gripping her arm. Messy black hair completely obscured her face. She wasn't wearing shoes, but her body was clad in an extremely fashionable-looking red strapless evening gown. Her skin had a sickly pale hue.

The female officer brought her over and made her sit next to Han Ming. Throughout the process, Han Ming's gaze remained fixed on her, but he never got a glimpse of this 'wife's' face.

"You two explain yourselves. Based on your behavior, a serious charge of disturbing public order wouldn't be excessive."

Disturbing public order?

Han Ming looked utterly bewildered, his gaze fixed on the woman beside him. The woman was extremely quiet.

So quiet that Han Ming couldn't even sense her breathing.

The red evening gown on her body appeared extremely striking in this dim space, like a smear of fresh blood.

Hah...

Han Ming exhaled hot breath. Stuffy, hot air kept coming. He looked up at the ceiling fan. The huge blades whirred as they spun but didn't bring the slightest coolness.

On the contrary, he saw waves of heat, almost tangible, rising.

So hot.

Han Ming's gaze lowered, but then his pupils suddenly contracted with a shock.

He saw that beneath the woman's long hair, a pair of eyes were staring fixedly at him.

At the same time, the woman's lips parted, as if she were saying something.

Han Ming felt the surroundings getting hotter and hotter. Just then, he suddenly witnessed the sky outside the window transform into a molten golden hell, a crimson red devouring heaven and earth.

A burning storm from the cosmos, like a tsunami engulfing a small boat, instantly annihilated the entire Earth.

Han Ming's mind went blank. Everything around him turned blazing white. The woman boiled and burned.

A dazzling white light consumed Han Ming!

...

Beep, beep.

6:30 AM. The watch alarm rang. Han Ming reached out to turn it off, sitting on the sofa with a look of confusion.

This time, he had seen the end of the world.

Han Ming had at least ten thousand questions in his heart.

Who was the 'wife'?

Why was the setting from the past?

What exactly had the woman said before she turned to charcoal and vaporized?

Han Ming leaned his head back and let out a long sigh.

Just three days ago, he still felt in control of his life and his future.

From university until now, he had a clear plan for his life and future. His annual health check-ups, study, and advancement plans were set in stone.

He strictly controlled the use of every bit of income. While maintaining a decent quality of life, he had also accumulated a considerable amount of savings in Jinghai.

Now, however, that clear life path had been completely disrupted.

"The end of the world... Wallfacer..."

Han Ming buried his face in the shadows: "Once order collapses, what will this world become?"