Apocalyptic Forecast - Chapter 12
Chapter 12: My Overbearing Bodyguard Sticks To Me
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Huai Shi had never dreamed that he would meet the school idol before reaching the peak of his life, and he even earned a personal bodyguard, the kind you hear of in legends.
The only problem was that this bodyguard was a flirty gigolo, and that was not the least of his flaws…
Before Huai Shi could protest, Ai Qing had efficiently handled everything, and she even assigned Huai Shi a twenty-four-hour bodyguard— the poor unfortunate Liu Dongli.
Liu Dongli did not dare to do anything too brazen while Ai Qing was here, but once she left, he began to wander around the Chalcedony Museum pretentiously.
“What a mess! Such a waste of a decently classy house… Where’s my room?”
Huai Shi rolled his eyes. “There are plenty of empty rooms, and there’s a bed in the storeroom. Take your pick.”
“What do we eat? I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“Noodles in plain water, you interested?”
“Where’s the washroom?” He pulled out his tubes and bottles again, looking worried. “I need to moisturize. The UV rays outside have been too intense lately.”
“If you don’t have a habit of taking four steps back whenever you enter the washroom, you just gotta turn the corner here. Also for your information, I don’t have a water heater, so you’ll need to boil your own water. Firewood’s in the backyard.”
“Tsk.”
Liu Dongli clicked his tongue crossly, but Huai Shi did not know if it was because he could not take those four steps back, or because he could not bathe freely. After he toured the entire mansion, providing free commentary the entire way and expressing disgust at Huai Shi’s front yard, backyard, living room, balcony, bathroom, and everywhere else, he finally remembered something. Taking out his phone, he said, “Hey, what’s the WiFi?”
“I don’t have one!”
After he fell for Ai Qing’s candy-and-stick approach, Huai Shi had been in a rather foul mood, and his gaze on the gigolo was especially unfriendly as well. “Are you here to be my bodyguard or my master here?”
“Do you even have to ask? I’m here to be your master, of course.”
Liu Dongli harrumphed and walked out, his hands behind his back. After a while, he returned with a large black plastic bag over his shoulder. “Where’s the shovel?”
Huai Shi looked at that human-shaped plastic bag, his heart feeling a little creeped out. “What are you doing?”
“Burying the body, of course.” Liu Dongli retorted, “Or would you rather have this thing lying around in the corridor?”
“…Where are you gonna bury it?”
Huai Shi was wary now.
Liu Dongli did not say anything, but he looked out of the window, and Huai Shi immediately leaped to his feet. “No way! Do you have a body buried in your garden? That’s sick!”
“Then where should I bury it?”
“There’s plenty of space on the mountain behind the house. Get it as far away as possible!”
“Tsk, what a pain.”
Liu Dongli was lazy to do it, but he did not protest anymore. Carrying the body and the shovel, he left.
It was only after he walked out of the door that Huai Shi heaved a sigh of relief.
“Phew, he’s finally gone.” The crow reappeared, though Huai Shi had no idea where she had been. “It’s their fault I’ve been hiding all day.”
Huai Shi looked at the stupid slacking crow and instantly grew angrier. “Where the heck were you just now?!”
“Cleaning up your mess, duh. That girlie’s very astute, you know, so why do you think you’re fine even though you scattered all that Disastrous Dust?” The crow rolled her eyes.
The mere mention of that made Huai Shi’s temper flare in frustration. “What the heck was that thing? Why did it come out of my hands?”
At first, he thought he would awaken some mysterious power when he was on the brink of death, but all he got was the skill to make magical chili powder. Who could survive such a letdown…?
“Uh, how should I say this? Strictly speaking, it’s a rare elementium material, distilled from a ton of death destruction into a powder of extremely high purity…”
The crow thought it over for a bit before replying, “If you want me to say why you managed to scatter some of that stuff, I’d say it’s because you read the death records, and your own unique attributes allowed you to distill the terror you felt when you faced death. That was added to the loose elementium hanging around, and the two mixed to form high-grade Disastrous Dust.
“However, that isn’t your soul ability, just a side product that appeared when you instinctively used your attribute. If I had to make an analogy, I’d say it’s like the noise from a washing machine, the water dripping from the air-conditioning, and the radiation from the microwave.”
“Could you use any better way to describe it?!”
“Alright. I guess you could say you’re now— something Iike a negativity machine, I guess.”
“That ‘I guess’ does not really matter, does it!”
Huai Shi was furious, and he glared at her angrily. “Besides, what stupid skill is this? Can’t you get me something better?”
“I want to, but…” The crow shrugged. “Some people just can’t be helped, you know?”
“…”
Huai Shi glared at her for a good long while, but soon he came back to the present. “Wait, if negative emotions can be distilled, then the same goes for positive emotions, right? Does that mean I can make some Shut-in Happiness Dust whenever I want?”
“Oh, are you talking about Relieving Dust?” The crow nodded. “You can, but the problem is… you need happy memories to begin with, right?”
“What are you implying? Of course I have happy memories! I’m totally happy!” Huai Shi thumped his chest angrily. “Do you have any idea how joyful my life is? I’m happy from morning to night, and I stay just as happy the next day after I wake up!”
“…”
The crow stayed silent, just looking at him until Huai Shi turned his head away awkwardly. “Let’s change the topic…”
Just like that, the cruel reality forced him to accept the fact that he was a negativity machine.
“Since there’s someone in the house now, I’ll have to go into hiding for a while as a precaution. That means you’ll have to rely on yourself from now on.”
The crow heard the footsteps from the back door and hurriedly said, “Just so you don’t get exposed, you shouldn’t read the death records while there are others around. Try meditating on your own.”
“Meditating?”
Huai Shi was gobsmacked. “How do I meditate?”
“Didn’t I give you the WiFi password?”
The crow stretched her wings nonchalantly and flew into the distance, leaving only a few words behind.
“—Search it up yourself.”
…
After an entire afternoon of busywork, Huai Shi finally handled Liu Dongli’s crazy requests to the best of his ability.
In the meantime, Huai Shi also snuck in a breather to search ‘what is Peppa’… no, ‘what is meditation’ on his phone…
It took him three or four hours to go through ten thousand ads and all sorts of weird religious propaganda before he finally came across a fairly reasonable explanation in a foreign online dictionary-slash-encyclopedia.
Basically, there were many types of meditation. The higher-class ones were quite complicated; you had to find a quiet place, preferably with a breeze, a bright moon above, a bamboo grove or a river, and then you would have to bathe and change, stay vegetarian for three days, burn incense and so on…
However, the simpler versions were incredibly simple. All you had to do was lie down somewhere comfortable and close your eyes, clearing your mind of all thoughts. That was all.
Although it sounded a little absurd, at least nothing would go wrong this way. At the most, he might accidentally fall asleep. If he randomly tried some other weird methods, he should consider himself lucky if only his hormones flew out of whack. After all, there was a high chance he would head right toward a possible mental breakdown.
In one of the sites cited by the encyclopedia, Huai Shi found a British Xuanxue nerd’s blog and read the conclusion he had come to regarding the essence of meditation. Setting aside all presumptions of mystery, to the average Joe, meditation was a way to relax the nerves and rest the brain. By clearing away all thoughts and entering a state of deep rest, meditation allowed the overloaded organs and nervous system time to recover and heal.
That was why it did not matter if you were sitting cross-legged, cultivating, chanting or taking drugs. As long as you could make yourself relax and clear your mind, anything went.
The blogger even recommended some of the methods he had personally tried out, listing out the pros and cons. One of the options was writing; the disadvantage was you were highly susceptible to writer’s block and the stress it brings. If someone found out that you named your OP main character after yourself, you would soon see your work going into a spectacularly fast and flashy society-wide death. If you tried playing the piano, its disadvantage was that it was hard to pick up and easy to harass your local community. The blogger stopped trying that method after the third time his neighbor beat him up.
Finally, the blogger came to a conclusion: drawing was the best.
In his final post, he mentioned that he was only using his drawing to focus his attention so he could clear his mind and meditate. He even heard the whispers of an ancient soul from the seventh dimension whispering in his ear, telling him the truth of all things and opening his eyes to everything.
At the end of the post, he even put up a picture of his latest work, a result of his rapid drastic improvement.
“Hmm…” Huai Shi bent backward and tried to put the ‘masterpiece’ of what looked like a mixture of dried goat’s blood, shattered organs and a large eyeball as far away from him as possible. “Bro, are you okay?”
Before he turned off his phone, he checked and he saw that the guy’s last post was dated two years ago.
Besides, the address he left on the blog was that of a city Huai Shi had never heard of before, somewhere called Manchester. He could not even find it in the maps app, so this blogger was probably pulling a prank on him… right?
Once he turned off his phone, Huai Shi looked at his cello and was struck with a brave idea.
He just had to empty his mind, right?
He did not know how to write novels or draw. As for the piano, he could play a little but not very well. Still, the cello should be fine, right?
He was itching to try it for most of the day, so after he heated some water and took a bath, he changed into his more formal performance outfit. After that, he tried to calm himself for some time before holding up his bow under Liu Dongli’s fascinated gaze.
“Do you know how to play Pomp and Circumstance1?”
Liu Dongli ate sunflower seeds and tried to request a song. “I don’t mind Tougen Renka or Gokuraku Jōdo either.”
“Get lost!”
Huai Shi rolled his eyes. When he heard Pomp and Circumstance, he thought that the guy actually knew his stuff, but apparently he was thinking about a completely different song.
“I’ll only play one song from Bach. Listen if you want, but get lost if you don’t.”
With that, Huai Shi ignored him and lowered his eyes, drawing his bow. After he made just one note, however, he stopped abruptly.
He froze on the spot.
The low hum of the string still lingered in the air, slowly reverberating and fading… However, it did not sound the same as it used to. Rather, it felt completely different. It was not a matter of the texture or the rhythm, but there was a layering there that sounded completely unlike the past.
It was like he had suddenly become a different person.
No, it was more like he had suddenly obtained a different cello.
Huai Shi had never thought he would be able to play such a gentle and soothing note with these hands and this old cello. It felt as though even that flat sound had been bestowed with considerable depth. He could feel the sound flowing.
When he played the next note, that layered yet light melody flowed like water from the strings, as though it had been given life. It felt like the music was an extension of his will and his body, and his entire being left that tiny body. He ascended, turning into thick light and rain that spread everywhere, riding the melody and echoing through the large empty hall.
This was a vague feeling that he could not grasp no matter how his instructor tried to explain it, but in this instant, he suddenly realized just how simple it was.
The emotions that inexplicably surged from his chest melded into the low melody through his fingers and the movements of the cello. Like rivers flowing into the ocean, they lifted his consciousness and transported it to a distant place.
“F*ck, did I level up?”
He did not have the time to smack his lips and celebrate. He did not even have the space to enjoy that joy and excitement, because he had been attracted to his own melody now, and he could not help but lose himself in the deep and tragic sound of the cello.
He seemed to fall asleep again. However, the dreams did not contain the same fear and terror that had been surrounding him.
In the silent darkness, he felt like he was soaking in the water, quiet and peaceful.
When he tried to open his eyes, his vision was blurry so he could not make out the details. All he could see was the light in the distance, rippling like the ride.
When he tried to move his limbs, however, that darkness seemed to shatter, and he was back in the large empty hall.
He was floating in mid-air.
When Huai Shi lowered his head, he saw himself, lost in his playing.
It was as though he had become two people. The physical him was lost in the performance, but the spiritual him seemed to have ridden the melody out of his body and into the air.
Suddenly, he realized that Liu Dongli had left the hall without Huai Shi noticing.
Huai Shi went around his surroundings curiously, and he discovered that he could go through the walls like a ghost. He could travel freely, but he could not leave the confines of the Chalcedony Museum.
It felt like he was trapped in between invisible walls.
“This is protection, you know? Don’t misunderstand their sincerity, Huai Shi.”
The illusory crow stood on a branch outside the wall, looking at him like she could read his mind. “Projecting your elementium is a very dangerous stunt. Without the protection of the Chalcedony Museum, you would’ve probably attracted all sorts of dangerous things by now, like a candle in the dark.”
With that, she flapped her wings and swatted Huai Shi right back. He had already climbed to the top of the wall. “Friendly word of advice, before you master the White Silver Stage, don’t try something like this anywhere else.”
Huai Shi barely even heard what she was saying, acting as though he was drunk or dreaming. He drifted like a fallen leaf, wandering here and gliding there, exploring the Chalcedony Museum.
Soon enough, he found Liu Dongli sneaking around the third-floor washroom.
While Huai Shi was occupied with his cello, Liu Dongli had snuck into the third-floor washroom and locked the door behind him. He looked around carefully, and once he was sure no one was looking, he reached out his hand and pulled a bottle out of his small bag.
Huai Shi immediately held his breath.
What on earth was Liu Dongli planning?
Just as Huai Shi poked his head through the wall curiously to see just what the guy was up to, he saw Liu Dongli sigh and reach for the dyed blonde hair on his head… before taking it right off.
He took his hair off…
Huai Shi’s eyes widened in shock. What was happening here?
He saw Liu Dongli turn on his phone torch and face the mirror, shining his glossy bald scalp. His expression turned tortured. “I lost another two strands… Ah, I lose some every time I use my ability… That woman is vicious…”
Liu Dongli held the two thin strands of hair, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. After he cursed Ai Qing for being heartless, he gave a long sigh and dug some cream from his bottle, rubbing it evenly across his head. When he heard that Huai Shi’s cello had stopped playing, he quickly put on his wig and left in a rush.
As the playing ended, a speechless Huai Shi was also pulled back to his body by an invisible force.
He opened his eyes and saw Liu Dongli sitting right where they left off, praising and applauding Huai Shi as though he had never left.
“That was some good music.”
Liu Dongli advised Huai Shi seriously, “But there’s still room for improvement.”
For some reason, it felt as though there was suddenly pity in Huai Shi’s eyes when the boy looked at him.
…
Either way, nothing happened that night.
The next morning, before the sun was even up, Huai Shi was woken up by Liu Dongli’s rude knocking.
After a rare night of normal sleep, he opened the doors tiredly and saw Liu Dongli with two eye bags, black as coal.
His eyes were bloodshot.
“What happened to you?” Huai Shi was stunned. “Why do you look like you saw a ghost?”
“What do you think?”
Liu Dongli looked at him wistfully. “What on earth is the matter with your house?”
“What do you mean by that? It’s just a little worn and old, right?” Huai Shi leaned back in contempt. “Why are you city folk so soft?”
“Soft, my butt! If it’s old and worn, I can just treat it like a camp. But you never told me your house is haunted.”
Liu Dongli’s expression turned even more vengeful. “Since midnight, I kept hearing dripping water in the toilet. That’s one thing, but the floorboards keep creaking! I can hear every single footstep clear as day!”
“Old houses are all like that, right?” Huai Shi took his toiletries downstairs nonchalantly, and he even asked calmly, “Have you never seen aging facilities before?”
“Do the aging facilities in your house sigh?!”
Liu Dongli was downright losing it now. “Aren’t you afraid of your house being haunted?!”
“…”
Huai Shi was quiet for a while, the pity in his eyes deepening. After a long time, he patted Liu Dongli’s shoulder gently. “Old Liu, you must be tired, right? Ghosts don’t exist in this world…”
It was only long after Huai Shi left that Liu Dongli, who stood frozen on the spot, finally realized what Huai Shi had said. Liu Dongli was so angry that he wanted to beat up Huai Shi’s entire family right here and now, creating a full combo while he was at it.
“If you don’t want to call me First Brother, fine, but what the frick is Old Liu?! I’m old enough to be your uncle!”