Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 258: Chapter 226 Oh My God! You are a..._1

Although Huai Shi had entered the building, he still had to wait a bit in the corridor outside the door. There were two people ahead of him: second-place Li Jian Amber and the last Sublimator, who was from Persia.

The Persian was the first to go in. Soon after, he emerged, walking lightly, nodded slightly to the other two, and then left on his own.

Li Jian Amber, who had been engaged in a staring contest with Huai Shi for quite some time, snorted coldly, stood up, and walked into the room.

This time, it took an unusually long time.

About half an hour later, Li Jian Amber came out, holding a Sword Bag she hadn’t had before entering. It was unclear what kind of weapon was inside.

She pointed to the door behind her, her expression flat. ”It’s your turn, number one.”

”Oh my, I’ve never been good at studying, even when I was young. You complimenting me like that... it’s quite embarrassing.”

Huai Shi scratched his head and walked into the room with a cheerful smile. However, as they brushed past each other, he felt Li Jian Amber’s gaze lingering ominously on the base of his neck...

Why is this girl always thinking about helping people get beheaded?

Guess the advanced education at the Social Security Bureau wasn’t enough. I’ll have to emphasize this with Older Cousin later.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him.

He sat down in the chair.

Little Cat was still sitting behind his desk, smoking. An arm extended from the wide mouth of his mascot costume, flicking ash. Seeing Huai Shi come in, he didn’t rush to speak, just silently smoked, as if pondering something.

Huai Shi didn’t speak either, just sat in the chair, waiting for him to start the conversation.

”Honestly, you did a pretty good job, almost like a work of art. You didn’t disappoint me.”

After a long while, Little Cat spoke, ”The hosts hired by those scoundrels, even all combined, can’t match your individual performance. Once they wake up tomorrow, they’ll surely be utterly disgraced, right?”

Huai Shi nodded modestly. ”It’s all thanks to your guidance.”

Mutual flattery is a necessary part of social interaction. A few compliments back and forth don’t cost anything and can even improve everyone’s mood, so why not?

Little Cat just smiled and didn’t speak, reaching to pull open a nearby drawer.

Huai Shi’s eyes suddenly widened.

Here comes the juicy part!

Then, Little Cat took out three things from the drawer and placed them on the desk.

A dusty gray ring, an envelope, and a thin iron chain that looked quite old.

None of the three items looked impressive.

”According to your terms, the mission is completed. This is the reward you deserve—although there were some unfortunate accidents along the way that none of us wanted to see, it doesn’t affect the final outcome. You’re first place, so I must present three of Little Cat Paradise’s best collectibles from over the years for you to choose from.”

Little Cat said, ”You can choose any, but I won’t explain anything to you. No matter what you pick, each of these items is equally valuable to you.”

”...Choose one out of three?”

Huai Shi was stunned. He couldn’t help but lean in to take a closer look at the items on the desk.

They truly revealed nothing special: one was a dusty gray iron ring; another, a common envelope, so thin it seemed to hold only a card; and the last was just a very ordinary-looking thin iron chain...

No dazzling brilliance, no magical sights.

They might as well have been discounted items from a second-hand store.

Huai Shi looked up in astonishment. ”Boss, are you really not giving any hints?”

Little Cat didn’t speak, just shrugged, leisurely watching him struggle.

Huai Shi reached out and touched the ring. In an instant, he felt the Source Substance within him surge like boiling water. He withdrew his finger and touched the envelope; this time, a ripple seemed to emanate from the Book of Fate. Lastly, he touched the iron chain, and to his surprise, his Soul Ability—Hand of Confinement—activated on its own, resonating with it.

Now he could be sure: all three items were definitely no ordinary objects.

The ring aligned well with his Source Substance, the envelope resonated with the Book of Fate, and the thin iron chain directly echoed his Soul Ability...

This feeling was very strange; when he picked up any one item, a sense of emptiness emanated from the powers represented by the other two.

Little Cat had told him any choice would be valuable, but now Huai Shi felt that choosing any one meant losing two equally precious opportunities.

He fell into a long contemplation, agonizing over the choice. His expression changed as he touched one item and then another, realizing he could only pick one... It was heart-wrenching.

During the prolonged selection process, hesitating back and forth, nearly depleting a lifetime’s worth of resolve, he finally gritted his teeth and reached for the ring on the far left, making his decision.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed in his ear, chiding with frustration, ”Fool, where did your ’I want it all’ attitude go?”

Huai Shi was stunned.

Raven?

”You followed me in?” he asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.

”No way! I’m not even there! I’m still at home, so stop talking nonsense.” From the pages of the Book of Fate, lines of text emerged: ”If it weren’t for the fact that you were being teased so miserably, I wouldn’t even bother speaking up... Be careful. Even if it looks like a system panel, this is not a game.”

This guy definitely sneaked in, right?

Huai Shi pondered suspiciously, but no matter how much he probed, Raven remained silent.

He slowly looked up, his hand on the ring, scrutinizing Little Cat before him with furrowed brows. ”Are these three items really the original rewards meant for first place?”

”Hmm?” Little Cat appeared puzzled. ”Why would you say that?”

”If one item aligning with me could be a coincidence, then all three items being useful to me can’t be explained by coincidence, can it?”

”Maybe I just have a rich collection?” Little Cat chuckled softly. ”What, are the rewards I offered not to your liking? You should know, I even brought out two additional items for you to choose from...”

Huai Shi remained silent.

”What do you want?”

Huai Shi asked straightforwardly, ”You already know what I want. But what are you trying to get from me? If I’m not mistaken, your Rank is already equivalent to the Owner of the Great Mob, right? In a Depth Four world, you can stir up trouble and do as you please. What could you possibly need from an outsider like me?”

”It’s very simple, Huai Shi. If you’re willing, I can give you all three of these things,” he said. ”Provided you accept another task from me.”

Huai Shi fell silent for a long time before asking, ”What task?”

If it was possible, he planned to go for it. These three items were too important to him; he had little room to refuse.

”I need someone to help me clean up a bit.”

Little Cat said bluntly, ”Don’t be scared. Thanks to your friend, the cat litter has already been scooped. I’m referring to the entire Little Cat Paradise... Don’t you think it’s a bit crowded?

Perhaps making it more spacious would be a good thing.”

Huai Shi was stunned for a moment. After a brief silence, realization struck him... sending him into shock.

He stared at the darkness under the mascot costume in disbelief.

”—You want me to help you kill those Princes?”

Little Cat didn’t argue, didn’t explain, and didn’t correct. He just watched him quietly, waiting for his response.

”I can’t do it.”

Huai Shi shook his head in refusal. Hadn’t he seen those Princes? Even without knowing their true strength, just from their tyrannical demeanor and the power they displayed, he knew they were beyond his ability to contend with.

Perhaps a Fourth Stage Sublimator could solve this, but it was definitely beyond his ability to confront.

”Don’t worry. Since I chose you, I have complete confidence in you,” Little Cat said calmly. ”In the current Xiematai, only you—it can be said that only you—can complete this task.”

”Why?”

Little Cat suddenly chuckled, examining Huai Shi. ”I wasn’t sure at first, but now it seems... you’re from the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, aren’t you?”

”...”

Huai Shi remained silent, looking down at the envelope on the table, his eyebrows raised slightly. So, was this reward meant to test me?

”Sublimators from the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy have an advantage: they generally possess Abyssal adaptability. Besides their Sublimator aspects, they can basically be considered half Abyssal Creature.”

Little Cat explained leisurely, ”And you are especially unique; you can be considered mostly one. That’s why the Ancient Evil Spirit Castle acknowledges you so much.

Therefore, with my authorization, you can freely access most areas of Little Cat Paradise and achieve what other Sublimators cannot. That’s the first point.”

”And the second?”

”Of course, it’s because you’re especially good at fighting,” Little Cat stated matter-of-factly. ”Just looking at that psychopathic, murderous look of yours, I knew you were the talent I needed! If you ever solidify in the future, you’ll certainly become an extraordinary Hell Mad Demon! I feel so reassured letting you handle things.”

”...”

Huai Shi looked conflicted, not knowing how to respond. He could only ask, ”Is there more?”

”This is the most important third point: I cannot take action myself because there’s an unwritten rule in this amusement park—only a Prince can defeat a Prince. Do you understand?”

Little Cat sighed. ”I can kill them, but they would resurrect in their break rooms the next day, just as they can’t kill me. Only when they are truly defeated by another Prince will the popularity that sustains them be stripped away, and they will be removed from this amusement park.”

”What the hell?” Huai Shi uttered in astonishment. ”Only a Prince can defeat a Prince? Then go find a Prince! Why look for me? Do I look like some rich, second-generation brat whose parents are loaded and powerful?”

”That’s too shallow. Do you think being a Prince just means your family owns some land?”

Little Cat snickered, scrutinizing his appearance before suddenly asking, ”Do you have Magic Long Hair?”

”Hmm?”

Huai Shi was startled, subconsciously touching the ponytail tied at the back of his head—the Mountain Ghost’s long hair... uncuttable... Does that count as Magic Long Hair?

Little Cat then asked, ”Do you have Magic Hands?”

”...”

He looked down at his own hands. My Hand of Confinement... does that count as Magic Hands?

Little Cat nodded, then continued to inquire, ”Do small animals talk to you?”

Does a certain Raven who was just secretly calling me count?

”Have you been poisoned?”

”Uh...”

Thinking about it carefully, that was practically routine for him. Wasn’t he riddled with poisons by now?

”Been cursed? Kidnapped? Enslaved?”

Little Cat fired off the questions rapidly.

The damn thing was, it seemed Huai Shi could relate to every single question!

Huai Shi was speechless.

”Finally, the most important thing...”

Little Cat asked solemnly, ”Doesn’t everyone think that every time your troubles are resolved, it’s because a pretty young lady shows up?”

”...”

Huai Shi was dumbfounded.

It seemed... Little Cat had hit the nail on the head with every point!

And so, Little Cat burst out laughing, clapping his hands and pointing at Huai Shi’s face as he exclaimed in amazement:

”—My god, you *are* a Prince!”