Apocalyptic Forecast - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Scrubbing Floors

A fattie’s[1] happy dream.

Perhaps it was because of his strength that he also started to feel a lot more confident. He no longer had the strange dream of going to the Golden Hall in Vienna to snatch the “Little Widows on the Grave”.

After waking up, Huai Shi sat in the garden and practiced the cello for two hours before he received a call from Ai Qing.

“Come out now and wait at the door. Someone will pick you up.” She said, “We have found Wang Hai’s trail.”

There wasn’t even a need for a state machine. Even if only one department in the New Ocean Special Affairs Bureau was operating, it was basically like a net sifting through the entirety of New Ocean.

Ai Qing’s monitoring of the Ascenders via the Astronomical Association coupled with the Special Affairs Bureau feelers amongst the ordinary people ensured that the two sides could cooperate and essentially make New Ocean become a glass fish tank.

Completely unobstructed.

Under her supposedly frantic provocation, in just over a day, almost all the foreign floating population was exposed. After a local fellow who had a past conviction was pulled out and beaten several times, they finally found Wang Hai’s trail through ubiquitous monitoring and searching.

He was supposedly on a barren mountain outside the city, in a manor that had now been abandoned for many years.

Simply put, it was ranked second in the New Ocean’s Haunted House List…

Huai Shi practically laughed out of anger when he found out about this.

‘Damn, what are you guys planning? Are you trying to take first place in the list of haunted houses from me?’

After confirming Wang Hai’s entry and exit in the area, the Special Affairs Bureau was quickly mobilized. Countless macho men carrying weapons jumped into the car, sharpening their swords as they lay ready and waiting. It looked like Chief Fu was really worried about the bomb.

After Huai Shi arrived, he was stuffed into Ai Qing’s car before heading out of the city. Within half an hour, Huai Shi, who was stuffed into his body armor and was also wearing a helmet, arrived at the foot of the barren hills.

“The satellite has confirmed our suspicions. There are traces of activity in the manor.”

The on-site investigators returned and reported, “The target and Wang Hai’s body shape have a high level of similarity, but it is not certain. Do you want to send in a drone?”

“Drones are easily spotted.”

Chief Fu looked through the telescope for a long time and began to discuss the plan of attack with his men whilst staring at the map of the manor. As a member of the Astronomical Association and the only Ascender around, Huai Shi was also stuffed in with the first batch of people to enter the manor. He was shivering all along.

“What’s the use of this thing? Where is the insurance?”

He tried to pretend that he did not know what the automatic rifle in his hand was, as he wanted to escape his duty. In the end, he was tied up by the macho men.

“Wait, I am also a victim! Why am I participating in this offensive…”

He clung to the door and did not want to let go, crying out loudly, “Even if you guys want an Ascender, look for Old Liu! Old Liu ‘s ability is so great! In the past, it took just a glance and a breath and enemies would topple over. I am just a cellist. I can only conjure an ax to throw at people, so just let go of me, why don’t you? … Damn, stop, don’t hit my face! I’ve worked for New Ocean, I’ve bled for the Astronomical Association, I want to see Ai Qing! I want to see Ai Qing!”

“…”

Sitting in the car, Ai Qing looked away blankly. She could not help but want to sigh. “Forget it, let him work with me.”

Chief Fu really could not stand it anymore. He waved his hand and beckoned for his subordinates to stop pulling at him. Any more of this and this kid would start shouting that the Special Affairs Bureau were beating people up, or something along the lines of that.

Tch… What are young people nowadays even thinking?

In reality, Liu Dongli was really good. Come rain or shine, if the penalty was reduced, he was even willing to head into Longtan Tiger Cave. If they had known this earlier, this commodity should have been arrested and given a sentence of a few years.

He sighed and looked down at the blueprints on the table.

The abandoned manor on the mountain had been around for some time. In truth, there were many abandoned buildings near New Ocean. Most of them were built during the glorious period more than ninety years ago. As New Ocean’s economy developed, it became less and less economical. During the boom, there were fewer and fewer rich people as even the real estate industry fell into a depression.

Nobody knew how many houses under construction were left as unfinished buildings. There was also the Longma Building in the old city that had not been completed yet.

If he racked his brains, he could determine that it had likely been built in the same period as the Calcedony Museum.

It was only because there were no longer any unlucky ghosts like Huai Shi who stayed behind to take care of things that it had been facing an early decline due to the wind and rain. Only the tomb keepers in the Houshan Cemetery had patched up the houses just enough to stay in them. After this, because of the rumors of spirits, even the cemetery was no longer guarded, leaving them completely empty.

Now, according to satellite investigations, there were traces of human activity in the dilapidated manor. Except for Wang Hai, the presence of Ascenders was not excluded.

Perhaps the final backbone of the Savior’s Association would be hidden inside. It was hard to say if there would be more staff sent by other organizations acting behind-the-scenes too. When he thought of some other lunatic running around in New Ocean, his brain could not help but throb.

“Ready?”

After confirming their plan of action, Chief Fu checked his weapons and body armor, then took the lead and got into the car of the first commando unit.

“Are we moving now, like this?”

When she saw this, Ai Qing seemed puzzled. Soon, she raised her hand and gestured. “Wait a moment, I’ll make a call.”

At the same time, in the ruined manor on the mountain, a shadow creeping behind the broken wall on the fourth floor of the main building that had almost completely collapsed was looking down the side of the mountain with a telescope.

“Are you sure that the astronomical guy will take the bait?”

The spy was holding onto the phone, feeling a little anxious. “We have been waiting here for two days, why is there not even a hint of him?”

“Don’t worry, they’re almost there.”

Wang Hai’s voice came from the phone. “I deliberately went to the city to wander for some time. If they still couldn’t notice me, the Special Affairs Bureau might as well disband.”

“The Lord has given you one last chance.” The spy said unpleasantly, “Think properly about how to atone for your crimes. I can’t see the use of catching a little devil.”

After saying this, he whistled lowly twice, pacifying the shadows hidden in the upper ruins. The beasts were restless, as if they had gotten a whiff of the scent of fresh blood.

“You don’t know sh*t! Once the hostage is in hand, then we will negotiate.”

Wang Hai’s voice was unpleasant over the phone. “If you’re lucky, you might be able to eliminate the entire New Ocean’s Astronomical Association. What can’t they do? They just went up the mountain alongside the forces of the Special Affairs Bureau. Don’t get any ideas.”

“Four Ascenders, ten shadow beasts, and more than ninety vengeful demons. Even if the entire Special Affairs Bureau’s army comes, this will not be in their favor.”

The spy smiled, bloodthirsty. “I want to see if that face-selling prostitute and the lame woman are as incredible as you said.”

Snap!

The phone hung up.

The weird shadow curled up in the darkness, breathing raggedly, like a hibernating snake. In an instant, the whole manor fell into a deathly stillness, as quiet as a church mouse.

The tweets of flying birds and insects started to sound out again, in contrast to the deathly ruins that were becoming increasingly sinister.

Meanwhile, the galloping convoy came to an abrupt stop on the mountainside. On the ground at the foot of the mountain, someone prepared a mortar in accordance with their previously planned strategy before letting it thunder whilst unleashing its load.

Soon, artillery shells fell from the sky, blowing up the east side of the ruined manor. Huge craters appeared on the ground amidst the flying dust.

Still, there was no unusual movement. They only heard panic shouts from inside the manor.

“Continue?” Chief Fu asked, holding the telescope.

“Wait a second.”

Ai Qing, who was in the car looked up at the direction of the manor. Lifting her phone expressionlessly, she said to the other side, “I need a longsword for cleaning.”

Three minutes later, a howling sound came from the sky.

The dark shadow of steel birds broke through the clouds and roared across the earth at the speed of sound. Under their wings, a pure white steel arrow formed an arc and fell to the ground.

At that moment, the figure creeping about on the top floor was stunned. Its eyes grew large.

What was that thing?

Bang!

Something landed in the compound.

In the next moment, a violent roar and a torrent of fire rose from the ground as the whole mountain shook slightly. Amidst the blazing flames and the sweeping air pressure, the ruined manor began to wail and groan in agony.

The violent change in air pressure crushed the manor into pieces as countless steel fragments started spreading death in all directions. Sharp sounds continuously burst forth from them as they hit their environment.

A huge crater appeared in the middle of the manor. The soil that had turned to lava flowed over the burnt black ground as the foul stench of smoke and dust was picked up by the powerful wind.

A missile!

It was too late for any response. Soon, a low whistling cut through the air again.

The shadow of the steel birds returned.

After dropping off its second package, it flew off in the distance as only a dull noise could be heard echoing through the air.

Immediately afterward, a white cloud of smoke appeared along with something that seemed to be extending toward the earth.

It looked like a tree growing upside down.

Like a cruel angel that hung its wings in the clouds, what followed was a divine light and pure white mist that covered the earth, bringing about equal amounts of fire and destruction.

The terrifying flames seared air whenever the unknown objects fell to the ground, allowing green and red flames to spray out from it. A scorching blast of wind enveloped every corner of the estate, burning everything in sight like a thin layer of white gauze.

The flame danced wildly on the soil, the stones, the ruins, and the flesh and blood. The temperature that was hot enough to melt steel brought with it poisonous smoke and a dense fog that would destroy one’s lungs.

In an instant, the destruction brought by the white phosphorus incendiary bomb descended upon the ruins, with the dancing phosphorus vapor surging about like streams of water that permeated every nook and cranny.

Burning and burning and burning.

First was the terror of the missile explosion, followed by the terror of the heat of the white phosphorus, and finally, the poison mist that wiped out all living things.

The whole mountain was enveloped in destruction.

On the mountainside, everyone looked at the ruined scene with stunned gazes, watching dozens of ghosts each more than a few meters high screaming and escaping the flame. They struggled on the ground, rolling and scraping away their burning bones. However, the terrifying turquoise green flames immediately reignited, this time razing their bone marrow.

In the end, they late prostrated on the ground, no longer moving, only leaving their remains that slowly turned into ash in the flames, along with the sound of bones crackling in the fire.

“…”

The group of soldiers stared at the ruins in front of them as Chief Fu looked back at Ai Qing. “Didn’t you want some captives? Isn’t the white phosphorus incendiary bomb banned from use?”

“Those who can survive will be captives.” Ai Qing waved her hand calmly. “There must be something wrong with the minds of those who still talk about humanitarianism when it comes to terrorists.”

“…”

“Alright, we can go forth now.”

Ai Qing gave the order and finally glanced at Huai Shi. “Now you can go. You will go, right?”

“I will, I will, I will!”

Huai Shi nodded wildly like a bobblehead.

“I am a cog in the Astronomical Association machine! Wherever I am needed, I will go! And bring with me fire with my Fire Qilin[2] AK!”

[1] A derogatory slang term referring to those who are fat and prefer to stay home watching shows or playing games rather than going outdoors and socializing

[2] Mythical Chinese animal