Apocalyptic Forecast - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Again

Just as he kicked open the gate, he saw dried-up tobacco leaves carelessly piled together in the courtyard. In addition to that, tools were strewn all over the place. Then, dust flew everywhere and yellow coloured dirt covered everything.

However, Huai Shi did not see any enemies.

He only saw a skinny woman making a great effort to hide two little girls behind her back. Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at him.

Her eyes were full of horror.

“Ex– excuse me…” He swallowed. “Wrong place.”

Just as he was about to turn around, he was kicked down by his comrade that was next to him. Immediately after, he heard the roar of an assault rifle, the sound of consecutive shots being fire, and faint screams.

Not to mention, as well as the sound of blood being spilled.

He did not have time to look back.

Someone seemed to be shouting something in the distance. Then, something was seen soaring through the air before an explosion followed.

After that, there was no sound at all.

Everything fell dead-silent.

Only a sharp buzzing sound could be heard within his ears.

An RPG had come from nowhere and turned everything into a wasteland(TN: RPG here refers to a rocket-propelled grenade).

Huai Shi, sprawled on the ground, subconsciously crawled forward. All of a sudden, someone pulled him up and yelled in his ears. However, he could not hear clearly, so he only pulled the trigger in front of him wildly in the direction the team leaders were pointing in.

There was no response even after his magazine had been emptied.

Then, he saw corpse after corpse after corpse after corpse after corpse…

Women, children, elderly people, and even more children, tall and short, plump and thin… Some whole, some broken.

The entire thing was happening too fast. Too fast that he could not react.

He could not find the enemies the instructor had told him about until before the battle seemed to be over. Right after the battle, he was dragged to the plaza by his enraged comrades and beaten up.

While his head was still dizzy and he was in a trance, the instructor came forward to him. The middle-aged man had a mustache, and he lowered his head to look at Huai Shi. After a long while, the man gestured with his hand behind him.

Somebody then brought two struggling enemies forward.

Right after, Huai Shi was helped off the ground by the instructor who gently patted off the dirt on his body. Next, the instructor put his own gun in Huai Shi’s hand and said something as he pointed at the screaming children on the ground.

Huai Shi could not hear clearly and looked around in a dazed state. Nevertheless, all he saw was the calm expressions on his comrades’ faces.

He then saw that the corpses that had been strewn all over the place had been dragged to the plaza and stacked into a mountain.

The blood of the corpses flowed out from a single area, forming a river.

The instructor said something, but Huai Shi still could not hear clearly. Thus, his comrade slowly lifted their guns and took aim at him. He froze.

The instructor said something to him again one last time.

This time, Huai Shi was finally able to hear what the instructor was saying. What the instructor had said was, “Fire.”

Subconsciously, Huai Shi pulled the trigger at the two enemies.

Once, twice, thrice, four times…

Very quickly, the gun’s magazine was emptied, and the two enemies on the ground had become rotten flesh that no longer moved. Only blood began to ooze out and flow nonstop from their bullet wounds, painting the yellow ground black.

At that moment, Huai Shi finally saw his own face being reflected by the corpses.

Through the lifeless eyes of the two little girls he had just killed.

.

In the room, Huai Shi opened his eyes.

He began to spasm violently. He bellowed something at Crow and then started vomiting.

Bending his waist, he fell to the ground and puked until his tears nearly began to fall.

First, he felt horror, then sorrow, at last, regret. At the end of it all, he was only left with rage and disgust—a deep rage and disgust at himself.

He had actually fired…

At two little girls who had no ability to resist…

“Motherf*cker…”

He wearily covered his face, unable to repress the urge to cry. “Motherf*cker….”

Even when he burned Red Glove to death, he did not feel a thing. However, through this nihilistic record, he suddenly understood the grave horrors of death; he was greatly against the act of murder.

There were no enemies there at all, only the elderly who had lost their sons in the war, women who had lost their husbands, and kids who had lost their fathers…

It was a meaningless massacre.

He had actually fired.

He knew that it was just a record. Even if he had been killed, there would not have been any consequences, yet he actually fired… at two little kids who could not at all be considered enemies even in the slightest bit.

Because of horror, fear, confusion, or… weakness.

What had Red Glove done in his past, that bastard!

And what did he do?

“Seems like I was too hasty in pursuing success and chose an actual combat course that wasn’t quite suitable for you.” Crow looked at him remorsefully. “This was my fault, not an issue with you. Just rest tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll readjust it…”

“No, just give me a few minutes—”

Huai Shi cut her off. “Just a few minutes are enough.”

Silence fell.

After a short while, Huai Shi finally calmed down. He got up and then made a trip to the bathroom where he wiped his face clean of snot and saliva before returning to the hall.

He said calmly, “Do it again.”

“Are you sure?” Crow asked suspiciously.

“Again.”

Huai Shi repeated, “Again.”

After some time, it was as if Crow seemed to have realized something as she smiled.

She said, “Okay.”

Reality branched off; darkness struck.

Huai Shi opened his eyes and was greeted by the scent of dry dirt. The hot wind blew in from the window. The instructor made his orders from the passenger seat.

“Kill them all, don’t leave a single one alive.”

Huai Shi nodded and said, “Yes.”

Then, he lifted his gun, aimed it at the driver’s seat, and then pulled the trigger.

Amid the roars, his gun spat sparks.

Soon after, the driver was dead, and a rotten paste was left on the broken car window. The car swerved as it lost control and rolled over.

Huai Shi felt the howl of the wind beside him. As the car violently turned about, a group of people pounced on him. Very quickly, he was pressed to the ground by his comrades.

Then, the rear passenger door opened.

The expressionless instructor walked in, lowered his head, and looked at him.

“You’ve failed.”

He said and then pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Huai Shi’s brain was blasted.

Huai Shi opened his eyes. He began panting and sweating profusely.

Quickly, he grabbed the warm water that was placed on the table and downed it in one go before saying, “Again!”

“Alright.” Crow nodded, and darkness struck once again.

“Kill them all. Don’t leave a single one alive.”

Hearing the instructor’s voice, Huai Shi smiled and pulled out a dagger from his boots. Without much effort, he sliced it across the neck of his comrade that was on his right. Fresh blood poured out of the slit neck, dying the dust flying in the air a crimson red.

Time seemed to freeze.

At that moment, Huai Shi drew his gun and fired it continuously, repeatedly pulling the trigger at his comrades who were in front and at the back of him, as well as on his left and right. Brain juice burst out, regiment after regiment.

However, he was killed yet again very shortly after.

“You have to pay attention to some strategies,” Crow said. “In theory, you have the possibility of annihilating them all and emerging unscathed. However, I have to remind you, what you’ve been reading is Red Glove’s records. In other words, whatever happens, what each person will do—all of them are based on his previous subjective judgment. Understand?”

“Not really.”

“Never mind. You’ll understand very soon.” Crow withdrew her gaze. “Again?”

“Okay!”

Huai Shi opened his eyes once again. In the car, while the instructor was giving out orders, he flexed a little, slowly warming up his neck and checking the equipment he had on him.

He had an army knife, a handgun, an assault rifle, a bulletproof vest, and a walkie-talkie as well as a few bullet clips in his quick response vest.

He also had a grenade.

Weighing the heavy item in his hand, Huai Shi faced his comrades’ gazes and smiled, his pinky finger discreetly pulling the grenade’s safety pin.

He counted down softly.

Three, two, one.

At that moment, he pounced and crashed against the door of the rear passenger seat. His entire body then fell out of the car ungracefully and rolled on the ground. The thorns and shrubs on the roadside pierced him all over. Both his hands were in immense pain.

However, he soon heard roars from behind him.

The speeding transport truck on the road suddenly quaked. It jumped tens of centimeters into the air without any reason. Immediately after, the metal container expanded like it was being inflated and blood-red fire escaped from broken cracks.

Very quickly, its shape morphed in the middle of its incineration, and it rolled to a stop.

Huai Shi propped himself off the ground, breathing heavily under the exposure of the blazing sun. However, he then saw it. Amidst the wreckage, the bent metal door started producing a sharp screech.

Shortly after, it was kicked open.

From the passenger’s seat, the cold-looking instructor slowly walked out. He coolly side-eyed Huai Shi’s dumbfounded expression. He clearly looked like a normal person—there was no influx of elementium or trace of stigmas on him—yet he had managed to survive the violent explosion and not even a single hair of him was singed.

“Whatever happens and what each person will do are all based on Red Glove’s subjective judgment. That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

Huai Shi could not resist laughing, mocking that fellow Red Glove. “Just how big is the psychological shadow that was cast by your instructor?”

If not, how could his instructor, who was obviously just an average person, come out completely unscathed of a grenade explosion?

Did the fellow really believe that his instructor was some unkillable James Bond?

“How unexpected, 7794.”

The instructor looked at him indifferently and stretched his neck unhurriedly. His fingers lightly tapped the handle of the whip tied to his waist, making a sound that made Huai Shi’s body suddenly tense up.

Tap tap tap…

The sound of the finger knocking on the whip was the sign of torture and punishment.

The first time would be torment, the second would result in heavy injury, and there was no third time.

Unsure how many times he had seen his fellow comrades be whipped to death on the drill ground, Huai Shi unexpectedly felt Red Glow’s remaining despair and fear, his will to resist swiftly crumbling.

The instructor walked forward, ignoring his trembling opponent, and extended his hands, pressing them to Huai Shi’s head.

He twisted.

Pop!

Huai Shi’s neck broke.

Bang!

Huai Shi opened his eyes in a rage and smacked his fist on the table. “Coward!”

He did not know if he was cursing Red Glove or himself. After all, in the memories of the countless training, he had come to deeply comprehend the instructor’s coldness and cruelty.

“It seems you’ve come to understand the limitations of the subjective recorder, huh?”

Crow gave an odd smile. “People who are unable to pull themselves out of their fear and confusion cannot give an absolutely objective record of everything.

“Still, this is where the beauty of recorded experiences lies. It lets you possess the possibility of exceeding the recorder.”

“How?” Huai Shi asked.

“It’s very simple,” Crow said. “Just beat up everything. No matter what happens, no matter who’s obstructing you, as long as you use your own method to deal with them all, it’ll be okay.

“No matter how hard an arcade game is, there’s always the possibility of achieving an all-clear. Passing with just one token is only the basics of the basics. On the contrary, passing quickly and without injury is the true goal—”

She paused, smiling slyly. “How is it? If you feel it’s difficult, do you need a cheat? As long as it’s in the Book of Destiny’s record, it’s easy as pie even if you want to edit yourself to be as almighty as a god.”

“No.”

After Huai Shi rested a while and felt his energy pretty much recover, he massaged his faintly-pained forehead and prepared to start, but then he saw Crow pass him a cigarette stick.

“Seeing that you’re so gutsy, I’ll give you a blue bottle for free.”