Apocalyptic Forecast - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: A Long Holiday

Fu Yi obviously understood the nature of her father’s work. She looked at Huai Shi with a strange expression and asked, “Did you get caught for something last summer?”

“Eh…”

Not knowing what to say, Huai Shi merely nodded.

Fu Yi did not question further. “There’s no need to be afraid of him. He’s just used to being crude, and he doesn’t know how to be a little more… Tactful.

“I think most people who’ve been on the battlefield are like that though. No matter how good their intentions are, they’re not the most welcoming.”

After a while, Fu Yi received a text notification from the Student Union regarding a meeting. She immediately returned to her ladylike persona before leaving the room.

On the other hand, Huai Shi remained in the practice room right until his self-study period at night.

According to Crow’s orders, he was to take his medicine. Hence, he did so and practiced his cello for a few hours before finally finishing the day with a meditation session.

He could feel the elementium in his body fluctuating as it grew stronger and stronger along with his body. It seemed as if it was going to reach its peak soon.

Once his body’s developmental period was over, he could begin preparing his stigma. Crow had told him that she would help him choose the perfect pedigree and type for him.

It was going to require a lot of money again…

Huai Shi’s head began to hurt at the thought of it. However, he had gotten used to his strenuous daily routine.

Practice the cello, mess around with classmates, procrastinate, cope with the inspections carried out by the teachers, make mistakes and get lectured, meditate, post memes, draw cards in his game to get free items, do his homework, prepare for his examinations, take some time off to complete tasks given by the Astronomical Association, read up the records of the Book of Destiny, prepare for his college entrance examinations…

If he had to list down everything he had to do, he would lose his mind.

Although he was unhappy about many of the things he had to do, some of which he felt were not even important, the precious life he was now living was the result of all his hard work.

So regardless of how tough it was, he would without a doubt gladly endure the hardship.

After his daily meditation session, he fled before his self-study period.

What a joke! He had obtained a free-pass, so why should he stay in school until nine o’clock each day? He would be risking missing the last bus. In that case, he would have to try to find a ride back.

He was a man who could finally afford a monthly bus ticket now!

With his cello case in hand, Huai Shi hummed along as he deliberately passed by the classroom block. Then, under the envious eyes of his classmates, he sauntered out of the school gate.

However, he was stopped outside the guardhouse.

“Huai Shi, is it?”

The security guard who was playing with his phone recognized Huai Shi and pointed at the guardhouse. “There’s a package for you… This is the only time I’ll sign it for you, alright? This isn’t a pickup point, so if this happens again, I’ll inform your class teacher straight away to come and pick it up for you.”

“What?” Stunned, Huai Shi’s shifted his gaze toward the direction the security guard was pointing in. His eyes eventual settled on a parcel that had been left in a corner on the floor.

He did not know why.

However, the parcel made every single strand of his hair stand on end.

A cold chill made its way up from the bottom of his heels, tapdanced on his shoulders, crawled up the back of his head, and finally used his eyebrows as a stepstool to leap onto the top of his head. It then seemed to tug on his hair as it gave out a malicious laugh. Huai Shi felt as if his ear was being blown into with a gust of cold wind.

Taken aback, he could not help but stumble.

“What’s the matter?” The security guard glanced at him and shook his head. “Forget it, I’ll get it for you.”

“Wait!”

Huai Shi reached out and grabbed the security guard’s arm. The security guard froze for a moment. He looked back in shock as he stood still on the ground. How could the brat grab his arm like that!

“Sorry, I can do it myself.”

Huai Shi pulled him back to his original spot impolitely. Then, he placed his cello case on the floor before entering the room to inspect the parcel that had his name written on it.

Despite there being some noise coming from a television, he could vaguely make out a ticking sound coming from the parcel.

It was crisp and clear.

Huai Shi remained crouched on the ground as he fell silent and began to ponder. It was not until the security guard nagged at him a couple of times that he slowly got up again. He was then almost thrown out of the room by him. Nevertheless, ignoring whatever the guard was saying, he pulled out his phone and dialed Chief Fu’s number right away.

“Hello? It’s me, Huai Shi,” Huai Shi said as he looked up at the surveillance camera outside the guardhouse. “Chief Fu, can you see me now?”

‘You brat! What do you think?’ The middle-aged man thought as he tried to suppress the anger inside of him. “I’m the Chief of the Special Affairs Bureau, for goodness sake! Do you think I’d have the time to idle around all day long and watch you through surveillance cameras?”

“Forget it.” Huai Shi sighed. “Please bring a few of your men and drop by the school. I think it’d better if you bring a bomb disposal technician though… The school is about to explode, literally.”

“What? What did you just say? Is this some kind of joke?”

Chief Fu was utterly shocked by Huai Shi’s sudden message, and he immediately threw him several questions at a time.

When Chief Fu finally regained his composure, Huai Shi heard a bunch of hurried sentences from the other end of the phone. “10 minutes! Wait for me! Just wait there on the spot and don’t move at all!”

With that, Chief Fu hung up the phone.

Then, Huai Shi called Ai Qing. After reporting to her his current situation, he pulled the security guard along with him and waited at a spot that was approximately a few meters away from the guardhouse.

Without a doubt, the security guard was not exactly that cooperative. As a result, the two of them ended up attracting the attention of many, including security guards who were patrolling the surroundings and teachers who were on their way to class.

After a short while, the clamor came to an abrupt halt as several big, black cars stopped outside the school gate.

A troop of men armed with guns emerged from the cars, and they were quickly followed by Chief Fu who was wearing a bulletproof vest. Chief Fu made his way directly to Huai Shi.

“Where is it?”

Huai Shi pointed at the guardhouse. Without another word, Chief Fu made a gesture to his men. Then, two bulky figures equipped with bomb-proof suits got out of a car and rushed into the guardhouse.

Within seconds, what seemed to be bad news came from the walkie-talkie.

Chief Fu’s expression darkened as he sent a fierce glare in Huai Shi’s direction. At the same time, he signaled everyone to back away slightly.

Not long after, the two technicians came out with their helmets removed. Their messy hair was stuck to their foreheads as sweat dripped from their chins.

“It’s settled.”

Both technicians gave each other a hand in removing their heavy protective gear before they showed Chief Fu what was inside the parcel. The parcel that had been cut open contained what seemed like a few dense cables that had been bound together with circuit boards. The timer on it had been stopped at half an hour left.

“It looks normal.”

From the corner of his eyes, Chief Fu noticed that a hand had reached into the box for the bomb, and the person was holding or even weighing it with their palm. His breath stopped and his heart began to pound as he stared at the bomb anxiously.

It was Ai Qing.

She was seated in her wheelchair, and the hazardous item that still had a chance of blowing her up in a few seconds was in her hands. “What type is it?”

“There are two types involved here. It’s a mixture of both a timer and a contact trigger. Hence, it’s supposed to explode when a person opens the parcel or when its timer runs out. Gunpowder was used as the explosive, so the amount of impact it has should be relatively low. At most, it would’ve just blown up the guardhouse.”

The technician let out a sigh of relief as he sat on the ground and lit a cigarette. “However, if it were opened in a classroom, the consequences would be worrying.”

“…”

Chief Fu had his arms crossed behind his back. Although he was silent, one could see that his veins were popping out of his arms.

“This incident is a vicious threat to public safety.” Ai Qing furrowed her eyebrows warily. “Do we know who sent it?”

Right away, the security guard pulled out the surveillance footage and played it on the screen. The footage showed the person who had delivered the package.

The man in the video had a stoopy figure, and he was wearing a cap along with an old Northern Express uniform. However judging by how he staggered and limped as he walked, he did not seem like a regular delivery man.

From the moment he stepped into view, he kept his face well hidden under his cap. After he had passed the parcel to the security guard at the guardhouse, he got on his bike and rode away.

However, right before he left, he glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner. A challenging look was seen within his eyes.

At that moment, his distorted face that was covered with burn scars was revealed to the camera.

There was not a single trace of gentleness or amiableness on his face.

However, he had a wide grin plastered on his face.

It was as if he was smiling viciously at everyone present.

There was no need for them to dig through their memories. Everyone who was present at the scene of the incident half a month ago recognized his face easily.

He was once the nominal leader of the Saviour’s Association…

“Wang Hai?!”

Chief Fu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “He’s still alive?”

“From the looks of it, yes, he’s indeed still alive.” Ai Qing gave wide grin showed on the screen a steely look. “Alive and breathing, he’s challenging us too.”

Just like that, the brief discussion ended.

There was no doubt that it was a challenge toward the Special Affairs Bureau and the Astronomical Association. Not to mention, the survivor of the Saviour’s Association was as bold as brass as he dared to attempt an attack so brazenly in New Ocean. It was the equivalent of dancing to Shin Takarajima in front of Trench Prison, an action whereby one was completely ignorant of death. (TN: Shin Takarajima is a song by Japanese band Sakanaction. The song went viral when a group of men posted a video of them dancing along to it while being shirtless.)

Considering the circumstances, they had no other options except to kill that son of a b*tch.

From that very moment, the Special Affairs Bureau began their operation. Then, soon enough, every inch of New Ocean was being searched for any trace of Wang Hai. At any time someone found information as to where he was, a group of impatient men armed with heavy machinery would rush the said location gladly to teach him a lesson.

From the very beginning, Huai Shi had a calm expression on his face as he sat on the steps, seemingly deep in thought.

He did not say anything.

He merely remained silent.

He stared into space for what seemed like a long time before he finally regained his composure. Huai Shi turned to Ai Qing who was beside him and asked, “Are they done yet?”

“I think they just started.”

Ai Qing shrugged as she continued, “Don’t stress over it. Someone from the Special Affairs Bureau will send you back first in a bit. Rest well tonight and don’t worry, I’ll let you know right away if we find out anything at all.”

“Okay.”

Huai Shi nodded. Without saying anything else, he took a few steps forward before suddenly remembering something. “By the way, could you help me with the leave of absence procedure?”

“Huh?”

Ai Qing froze for a moment before she met his eyes. She kept her gaze on him for a long time before she finally looked away. She then sighed and nodded.

“Thanks.”

Huai Shi gave her a smile out of gratitude as he picked up his cello case. He turned around and glanced at the school that was calm and peaceful one last time. Eventually, his eyes settled on the dimly lit practice room.

It was as if he could see Fu Yi’s figure standing by the window, staring at himself from afar. Hence, he waved to her.

It was a wave that meant ‘goodbye’.

He stayed put for a very long time before he finally withdrew his gaze and turned away.

.

.

“I’m back.”

A screeching sound was heard as Huai Shi loosened the gate bolt and pushed the gate of the Chalcedony Museum open. Although nobody was waiting for him in the courtyard, he still called out as if he had just reached home.

Nevertheless, the iron gate behind him closed itself slowly, as if responding to his call.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Crow perching beside a boiling crucible. The crucible was placed on the table in the hall, and Crow was flapping her wings at him.

“Hey, Dalang, it’s time to take your medicine.” (TN: The author is referencing a scene from the classical Chinese novel Water Margin. In the scene, Dalang was poisoned by his wife after he had caught her committing adultery with another man.)

“Didn’t I already take it this morning?” Huai Shi asked as he walked over to the table where he then picked up a test tube and drank its contents.

“Think of like it was a snack. It conveniently regulates your medicine prescription.”

Upon finishing her explanation, Crow fell into silence. Then, she tilted her head curiously and looked at Huai Shi intently as if she had just discovered something interesting.

“What?” Huai Shi was puzzled.

“Nothing, I’m just thinking to myself. If it were a normal day, you would’ve responded to my statement a little better. Don’t you think so?” Crow asked, “Huai Shi, did something happen?”

Huai Shi fell silent.

After a long pause, he nodded slowly before turning around. He then headed upstairs to his bedroom.

“Nothing happened,” he muttered with his back facing Crow, “I’m going to sleep now, goodnight.”

With that, he closed the door behind him, shrugged off his coat, and then slipped out of his shoes.

Laying on his bed, Huai Shi stared blankly at the cracks in the ceiling for an extremely long time. Then, all of a sudden, he turned around and buried his face in his pillow angrily.

“D*mn it, I’m so weak…”

.

Perched on a branch outside the window, Crow who saw everything stayed still as she did not bother to offer him any form of comfort.

“Seems like he has suffered a terrible loss.”

She narrowed her eyes. “We need to get back on track with collecting materials for his stigma…”

Deep in thought about upcoming plans and preparations that had to be done, Crow returned to the table in the hall and began writing down everything that came to mind.

Then, came a long night.

Huai Shi’s new school semester, the peaceful life he had yearned for, had come to an abrupt end just like that.

His holiday had started.