Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 439: Chapter 379: The Astronomical Society Brings Warmth!_1

”Name?”

”Huai Shi.”

”Age?”

”Seventeen.”

”Occupation... a student, right?”

”Yes, and part-time Xinhai Astronomical Society Inspector, Disastrous Musician, Abyss Kitchen Devil, and a whole bunch of other nonsensical titles...”

In the security room at the gatehouse, Huai Shi sat on a chair, earnestly introducing himself and placing his identification on the table.

”...”

The security guard looked at him as if he were some kind of joke, probably never having encountered such a severe case of adolescent delusions. After a long silence, he couldn’t figure out what this person, who had suddenly appeared, actually wanted.

Is he the child of some leader at the factory? No, that can’t be it; there doesn’t seem to be anyone with the surname Huai here.

”And the reason for your visit?”

The security guard tapped his pen on the table. ”Who are you looking for? Do you have a contact number? I can call them out for you.”

”If you could call them out, that would be great.”

The young man sitting across the table also smiled. ”I’m here for Ding NanKe, the owner of this biopharmaceutical company, along with his six accomplices. They have been issued an arrest notice by a Xinhai City Astronomical Society Inspector—that’s me—for violating Border material control regulations. Though, people usually call it a Black Envelope.”

As he spoke, the young man pulled a heavy longsword out of his saddlebag, hesitated, then shoved it back in embarrassment. ”Sorry, wrong item. It’s this...”

This time, a notice with a black cover was placed on the desk and slowly pushed across. It stopped in front of the security guard.

The guard frowned. What in the world is this?

Baffled, he picked up the envelope, looking it over. Convinced it was a prank, his expression grew even more disgruntled.

Then, he saw little red dots landing on him from outside the window... twinkling like tiny stars, sparkling.

Frozen by the lock of infrared laser sights, he looked up numbly. He finally saw the heads of the Suppression Troops appearing over the high wall outside the window, along with the dark gleam of their gun barrels.

The persuasive power of the Suppression Troops’ rifles and cannons was beyond words. In an instant, the security guard understood Huai Shi’s meaning. He obediently knelt, hands clasped over his head.

”I don’t know anything! I’m just a worker...”

The Suppression Troops who burst in didn’t care about that. Whether human or ghost, they pinned them down, administered an injection to the neck, and left the sorting out for later.

Following Huai Shi’s signal, they swiftly vaulted over the wall, initiating the Offensive into the interior. Their movements were swift, their advance unstoppable.

Huai Shi cheered them on from behind.

”Go get ’em!”

”Charge!”

”Keep it up, comrades!”

”The Russian Federation may be vast, but we have no room to retreat! Behind us is Mo—”

He didn’t finish that last sentence, as Director Fu nearly kicked him from behind.

”Will you shut up already! Don’t interfere with the command!”

With a disgusted look, he pointed to someone beside him. ”Hey, Old Wang, give the kid your phone to play with for a bit. Stop him from causing more trouble.”

”I’m an Inspector, boosting morale! How am I interfering with command?”

”That’s called demoralizing, not boosting morale!”

”Fine then. How about I perform a Bach Cello Suite for everyone? Look, Old Wang just glanced over. He wants to listen!”

Old Wang, sitting beside them, gazed at the ceiling, clearly uninterested in getting drawn into this father-in-law and son-in-law’s bickering.

If it weren’t for his good sources, he wouldn’t have known the rumors circulating privately in the bureau: Huai Shi had apparently been taken home by the director’s daughter, and they were sleeping in the same room every night. It was said the director didn’t even dare to interfere... According to Secretary Xiao Li, when delivering documents to their home, he’d even overheard Huai Shi arguing with the family dog... Maybe the director’s been under too much stress these past few days and has already snapped!

Old Wang was pondering when would be a good time to tactfully suggest the director see a psychologist, lost in thought, completely ignoring the two bickering beside him. Then, the sound of gunfire erupted from deep within the pharmaceutical plant. The booming was relentless. Soon, his expression changed. Those bastards actually have grenades!

At that moment, he looked to Director Fu, requesting instructions. Director Fu also knew this wasn’t the time for arguing. He glared at Huai Shi, suppressing his anger. The meaning was clear: What are you waiting for? Get in there!

Huai Shi, however, took out his phone, sat down, and looked like an innocent child who didn’t understand why the ”uncle” was glaring at him.

Director Fu’s face turned red, then pale, then dark. Gritting his teeth, he drew his pistol, preparing to charge in himself.

He was promptly stopped by Huai Shi. Seriously, if anything were to happen to him, how could I ever face my good buddy?

”Alright, alright, I’ll go, okay?”

He pushed Director Fu back into his chair. ”Brother Elephant King, your esteemed person is too valuable to risk recklessly...”

Seeing Huai Shi switch from calling him ”Old Fu” to ”Brother Elephant King,” Director Fu’s face turned a livid green. He was furious but couldn’t lash out, forced to bottle up his anger, which surely damaged his liver.

Huai Shi felt a surge of sympathy. I should bring him a few bottles of liver-protection pills for the New Year. This old brother of mine sure has it tough...

Having teased him enough, Huai Shi finally patted his own rear and walked to the front.

All the resisting enemies had hidden inside a four-story office building. With the windows now sealed, they were armed with various prohibited weapons, in a standoff with the Suppression Troops outside, shouting demands for negotiation.

Unfortunately, this location was too close to the city center for tanks and mortars to be deployed easily. Otherwise, with Director Fu’s temper, he wouldn’t have bothered with any damn negotiations. He’d just let the tank’s main cannon do the talking!

Huai Shi moved behind the cover at the front, took the megaphone from the team leader, poked his head out, and shouted, ”Listen up in there! You are completely surroun—”

The curtains on the second-floor window suddenly twitched. Huai Shi ducked sharply, a shrill whistle flying over his head. He was stunned for a moment, then immediately seethed with anger.

Damn it! I, the esteemed Xinhai Inspector, Beheading King of Jinling, Disastrous Musician, *and* Abyss Kitchen Devil, the rising star of the Jurisdiction Bureau, Fourth-class Military Officer of the Astronomical Society, personally came to negotiate with you! Not only do you refuse to surrender, but you also dare to fire back at *me*? This is outright rebellion! Fine! If you don’t want to eat prison food, then I’ll just have to wipe you all out!

He rummaged through his saddlebag, fishing out a flask-like bottle from a jumble of odds and ends. He weighed it in his hand, then tossed it through the main entrance that the Suppression Troops had blasted open.

The bottle arced through the air and quickly disappeared beyond the doorway.

The smugglers’ goons guarding the door saw a dark object thrown in and nearly jumped in fright. Then they saw it smash against the wall and explode.

A splash of crimson liquid splattered out, spreading across the floor. Two drops landed on one goon’s hand. He looked down at them, sniffed cautiously, and thought in disbelief, Is this... blood?

Immediately, he saw a faint, dark green color bloom within the two drops of blood, like mold. He suddenly felt breathless. He struggled to inhale as his body rapidly went numb.

It wasn’t just him; everyone in the hall felt their bodies stiffen. Countless spores sprouted in their mouths, noses, and the corners of their eyes, spreading swiftly into their lungs.

Half a minute later, everyone still able to move bent over and began to vomit violently, spewing their own blood.

The potent poison from the Abyss directly triggered massive gastric hemorrhaging. Soon after the blood flowed out, it congealed into clots covered in dark green fungal growths.

Before long, the dozen or so stubborn resisters had all collapsed to the ground, gasping their last.

Watching Huai Shi toss something inside and seeing the building fall silent as if sprayed with insecticide, all the men of the Suppression Troops stood there, dumbfounded.

Only Huai Shi, with the air of a lonely master, lit a cigarette and sighed dramatically.

”It’s poison,” he said. ”I put poison in the blood.”

Simply put, he used his rudimentary Alchemy to draw his own blood. He then infused it with a heap of Source Substance and Apocalypse, plus a few drops of Green Crown Dragon Blood. Disregarding the traditional principles of formulation, he mixed it all into a chaotic concoction, used the crudest method to activate its toxicity, and then put it into a makeshift bottle.

The shelf life was roughly twelve hours. It just had to be consumed quickly after opening.

In a pinch, it could even be used as a blood bag and transfused back into himself—after all, it was his blood and his poison; he couldn’t poison himself with it.

Ignoring the particularly speechless look Raven had given him at the time, he felt like a true genius.

After hanging around and finally wheedling two submachine guns and five or six magazines out of the Special Affairs Department, he emerged from behind cover, dual-wielding the submachine guns as he headed towards the hall beyond the door.

”Hey? Anybody home, folks?” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. ”The Astronomical Society sends its warmest regards!”

Unfortunately, no one responded. Only labored gasps could be heard from the ground.

Nowadays, no one appreciates a warm greeting delivered to their doorstep, Huai Shi sighed emotionally. To think the Special Affairs Department offered them tea, and they refused! I’m truly touched by their noble principle of not taking advantage of others.

After being moved for about five or six seconds, he heard faint whistling sounds from upstairs.

Behind him, harsh groans suddenly erupted. Without turning his head, Huai Shi aimed behind him and pulled the trigger.

After a burst of gunfire, a creature covered in green fuzz collapsed to the ground.

But then, more groans rose from the ground. Those same goons who had been at death’s door were now writhing and staggering to their feet, as if they had undergone a ghastly transformation.

Their faces were deathly pale, their eyes shining with an eerie green glow—the telltale sign of Source Substance self-combusting.

One glance told Huai Shi these people were completely lost.

Normally, his poison would only land someone in the ICU for a few days. But now it seemed these men had been injected with Ghoul serum long ago.

Once triggered, they would rapidly undergo a metamorphosis into something neither human nor ghost, madly attacking any living thing in sight... dying without ever knowing they had become someone else’s cannon fodder.

So why get involved in smuggling, especially Border smuggling? Aren’t they afraid of dying too quickly? Huai Shi shook his head, lifting his gun to grant them a swift end.

Suddenly, he felt a jolt beneath his feet and heard a cracking noise above. Numerous cracks spread, and the heavy concrete floor slab came crashing down towards Huai Shi.

In a flash, an elusive shadow leaped through the falling concrete debris. Before Huai Shi could react, it appeared behind him, a sickle slashing towards his neck!

Then, the attacker saw Huai Shi raise his hands, letting go of the weapons he held.

But from beneath Huai Shi’s feet, a dark shadow swiftly rose. It caught the falling submachine guns and aimed their muzzles—narrow barrels of darkness—at the attacker.

Then, Red Gloves pulled the triggers.

Blinding muzzle flashes erupted from the darkness!