Apocalyptic Forecast - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Hell Yeah I Do!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Sorry, I don’t. No time, thanks.”
At the port, Ai Qing coldly rejected the man who stuck to her like glue, offering to treat her to a meal again and again. Instead, she pushed her own wheelchair past the police tape.
As for the man chasing her, he was stopped by the cops at the scene of the explosion. Having crashed face-first into a barrier, he turned back empty-handed.
“Whoa, you sure are cold.”
Liu Dongli leaned against the wall and tsk-tsked. “You don’t always have to be so cold, Miss Ai. If you ask me, you should keep a spare around.”
Ai Qing’s wheelchair stopped next to him.
The girl looked at him expressionlessly until the hairs rose on the back of his neck. He could not help but turn his gaze away, and finally she said slowly, “If I have learned anything from my personal experiences, then there’s one thing I should know above all else: no one would truly love a rich crippled girl.”
“Urk…”
Liu Dongli froze for a long time before he forced a smile. “Don’t say that. You’re so pretty, and besides, love is never logical.”
“Yes, that’s why I don’t bother talking about it.”
Ai Qing looked at him. “Besides, I’m wealthy.
“I paid you to work, and you’re under the Astronomical Association’s watch right now, so I advise you not to talk about your gigolo experiences to your invigilator.”
Liu Dongli shrugged helplessly and stopped talking, following behind her obediently. Right now, he was her bouncer and bodyguard… not a career with a very bright future.
After the storm that lasted through the night, the scene at the port was already unrecognizable. All the clues had also been utterly messed up by the actions of some fools.
The scene of the explosion was a partially collapsed warehouse. There was cement everywhere, and seven or eight containers had been burned into puddles of metal on the floor. The ground was even messily painted with a mixture of ash and blood…
“What a good job.”
Ai Qing nodded approvingly.
“…Are you being sarcastic?”
“No, that’s my honest praise.”
Ai Qing raised a brow and said with rare happiness, “These crimes related to border relics tend to be extremely odd and confusing. They’re never easy to solve in the first place, and who knows where to find clues. If I can’t solve them, it’ll be a stain in my achievement reports.
“Now there’s someone to step up and take the blame, so I don’t have to shoulder any of the burden. When the Governance Bureau comes knocking, those idiotic smart alecks can go ahead and take the fall.”
“…”
The corners of Liu Dongli’s eyes twitched, and he had no idea what he should say. Compared to these dark and murky secret struggles, his career as a gigolo suddenly seemed as pure as an angel.
Just then, Ai Qing’s phone began to vibrate.
There was a text.
She lowered her head to give it a glance, then she paused, as though deep in thought.
After a long time, she turned off the phone screen.
“What’s the matter?” asked Liu Dongli.
“They found a few more bodies. All layabouts with a history of drug abuse.” Ai Qing spun the phone on her fingers deftly and said with a sarcastic jest, “Who knows how long they were tortured and interrogated before they died. Tsk-tsk, that’s definitely one way to die.”
“Are we going to the morgue again?”
Liu Dongli sighed helplessly at the news and touched his face. Going to the morgue so often was bad for his skin.
“Why would I go there for no reason and hurt my eyes?”
Ai Qing turned her wheelchair around and said mildly, “Since we’re done looking at the crime scene, let’s all go home. When they’re panicking around like headless flies, I’ll step forth to graciously save the day.”
Liu Dongli was stunned.
“…You found a clue already?”
“I only came here as a matter of formalities. The really important things could be deciphered from a brief glance at the crime scene and the coroner’s report.
“According to the customs declaration, the cargo here was supposed to be electronics headed for Europe, but the company that signed the form sells leather bags. Further investigation only led to a bunch of other scapegoats.
“Judging from the marks left at the scene, we can already tell that it was an internal struggle amongst some guys who’re using the border relics for their own profit… As for the exact reason, it’s probably because the money was distributed unevenly. What happened next is the reason why we’re on this case…
“All of the above could be deduced by just looking at the reports. The part that I’m interested in is this right here—”
Ai Qing reached out her hand and pulled a small bag of powder from the wheelchair pocket with two of her slender fingers.
“What’s this?”
Liu Dongli had already perfectly mastered the role of the fawning servant.
“Some psychedelic drugs found on the scene. New product,” Ai Qing said. “The results from the Research Department are out. There’s some elementium mixed in there. In other words…”
“This was made from the box-shaped border relic?!”
Liu Dongli felt a chill down his spine. If that thing could be such a terrible influence, then the seriousness of this incident might have to be amped up again.
Ai Qing said wistfully, “If I wait a while before reporting this to the higher-ups, can you imagine what will happen to those old fogeys trying to trip me up from the shadows?”
“…Wait a sec!”
The back of Liu Dongli’s head suddenly felt a little cold. “Why did you tell me all this? Aren’t you worried I’d let it slip? You’re not gonna silence me forever, are you?”
“I told you because I wanted you to let it slip, duh.”
Ai Qing casually swung the packet she was holding, saying nonchalantly, “Don’t you take pride in your communication skills? In that case, hurry up and tell them this: Their lives are in my hands now, so if they want to continue living their happy parasitic lives, they should hurry up and come beg me with their tails wagging…”
F*ck!
Liu Dongli almost wanted to slap his own mouth a couple times. Why did he have to ask? No, why did he have to laugh at her earlier?
Look where that put him now. Within ten minutes, she had wrapped him up in her schemes.
This woman was a little too bent on revenge, huh?
After a long silence filled with shock and revenge, Liu Dongli astutely noticed the biggest problem. “But even if they relent, you’ll still have to be able to solve this case first, right?”
“Who says I can’t?”
Ai Qing turned around, and though there was no smile on her lips, there was plenty of jest in her eyes. “Do you really wanna know, though?”
‘Sorry, I don’t want to know, not at all!’
Liu Dongli’s face twitched and he extinguished the last spark of his curiosity. This woman was the absolute worst…
…
“Hell yeah I do!”
On the other hand, in Huai Shi’s house, the young man nodded and replied to the crow’s question without hesitation.
‘Do you want a soul?’
The suspicious air around that sudden question felt like the beginning of a deal with the devil. Any normal person might hesitate for a bit, but he did not even pause.
After the string of strange phenomena he had experienced over the past few days, after he understood his current situation, he began to grow quite a bit bolder. After all, he would die if he did not survive this incident, so what was there to be afraid of?
Although he had no idea what a soul was, that did not stop Huai Shi from yearning one. Not only that, he wanted money, power, and bewbs… Hold on, a soul was something everyone already had, right?
The crow asked again, “Everyone in the fairy tales ends up living happily ever after. Do you really believe that, though?”
She was a little unhappy that she did not get the troubled hesitation she expected, and as a result, even her explanation was unenthusiastic. “The difference between normal folk and Ascenders lies in the existence of the soul.
“In this era, there’s something called the White Silver Sea. Well, I suppose it would be more accurate to call it an enormous natural spring. They call it a miracle on the same scale as a perpetual motion machine, and it’s one of the cornerstones that make up this huge world.
“Its true core is the White Silver Sea, culminating the reflection of all humanity’s elementium. Apparently, it’s an enormous sea, larger than you can imagine, and all existing human intelligence merely branched out from that.
“The route of Ascension is basically casting your body of metal and rock through the White Silver Sea, ascending into a soul of gold— That is the original aim of all alchemy.
“Only then can humans own a soul and the title of Ascender.
“Otherwise, your being and consciousness can only exist within the network of sparks in your head. That isn’t enough to withstand the darkness and danger that exists outside the interior…”
“You keep mentioning the border and the interior. Are you saying there’s another world out there?” Huai Shi interrupted with a question.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. And it’s more than just one other; there are tens of thousands out there…” The crow sniggered. “Nevertheless, this isn’t something you should worry about right now. Why don’t you focus on awakening your soul first?”
“…” Huai Shi’s only choice was to listen carefully.
“Right now, the Astronomical Association is in charge of protecting the White Silver Sea. According to the sedimentation rate of all humanity’s elementium, there should be three to four hundred spaces allocated every year. However, you’re nowhere near qualified for that. Before the list is even released, each section of the Governance Bureau has already divided up the numbers, and the waiting list is ten years long now… In truth, most Ascenders do not rely on the Astronomical Association’s special clearance. Instead, they awaken on their own, like illegal stowaways. That’s the path you’ll be taking.”
Huai Shi gulped and nodded solemnly, “And then?”
“To everyone else, this process is naturally fraught with peril. It’s even more dangerous than a modern city slicker trying to survive out in the wild. It’s like boarding a rocket and leaving the ozone layer armed with only a handful of items— Not only do you have to resist the pull of the White Silver Sea, you have to face all sorts of accidents and challenges. No one knows what’ll await you ahead.
“If you wish to succeed, you will need both skill and luck, but even if you have both, your success won’t be guaranteed.
“Not only do you need enough elementium, a powerful trigger, and the perfect opportunity, you will need a bit of luck too… It tends to be like a lottery. It’s completely unreplicable, but the human population is huge after all, so one or two tend to succeed.”
“What if I fail?” Huai Shi asked.
The crow seemed to laugh without a word, and it made Huai Shi’s blood run cold.
“But relax, you don’t have to be worried about this.”
She raised her wings and patted Huai Shi’s shoulder. “You have a unique advantage going in, young man. With the Book of Destiny in hand, you’re basically already stepping on the road to the heavens.
“Other people might be Icarus, but you’re climbing a ladder. You’re completely safe!’
“Then… what should I do?”
“It’s simple,” the crow said. “Just go out and kill people.
“If you kill them yourself, the records in the Book of Destiny will surely be more complete, right? Not only that, once you kill someone, you’ll gain their skills, so once you kill ten, you’ll be a veritable genius! With this, the more people you kill, the stronger you’ll become, Huai Shi.”
She murmured into the boy’s ear, “There are a ton of people looking down on you, right? I’m sure you hate their guts, don’t you? Not just your classmates and your teachers, but also your parents who abandoned you… This world isn’t kind to you, so why must you be gracious to it?”
Huai Shi was stunned.
‘Ah, so I really did scare him after all?’
For just a second there, the crow felt joy. When Huai Shi raised his head, however, she seemed to see a hint of something in his eyes… pleasant surprise?
“Really?” Huai Shi sounded disbelieving. “All I have to do is kill people?”
“…”
“In that case, let’s start with Li Wuyang.”
Huai Shi counted off his fingers, saying, “It’s his fault for bragging about his wonderful dad and perfect uncle to me all the time. He’s rich but not kind, so he should die! Oh, and there’s that woman who’s always winking at him, I bet those two hooked up a long time ago… Third up is the English teacher who keeps saying sarcastic things about me in class… Ah, and that stupid fatso who thinks I stole his money. His older brother is a piece of work too, who keeps picking fights in the school. I’m doing society a favor by removing him, right? That stupid agent Old Yang should die too. I bust my butt with my job, but he just has to say a word or two and he gets to take 20% as commission…”
As he said that, Huai Shi raised his head and looked at her expressionlessly.
“—They offended me, so all of them deserve to die, right?”