Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 546: Chapter 445 Event Branch_1

Heavenly Kingdom Paradise.

It is unknown when, but people began to call that land by this name.

Clean drinking water, order on the streets that allowed one to walk safely during the day, and hepatitis B vaccines.

Things that were trivial to people elsewhere, as common as air, were as precious here as an oasis in a wasteland.

But in the end, the beautiful Heavenly Kingdom was merely a fleeting paradise.

Six years later, as tensions between Rome and the Russian Federation escalated, a sudden bombardment turned everything to ashes.

That day, the screeching blackbirds once again sowed seeds of hatred upon the scorched earth, reaping a harvest of rising flames.

Everything teetered on the brink of chaos.

What was once Paradise was now nothing but ruins.

Under the suppression of the two nations’ joint operations, only the last vestiges of resistance still made futile attempts to salvage what was lost.

The roar of bombs thundered in the distance.

The fading sunset streamed through the shattered window, illuminating the blood on Huai Shi’s forehead and his white hair, now stained crimson.

At this point, nothing more could be done.

He lowered his head and lit his last cigarette.

”You should go, Xiao Xian,” Huai Shi said softly. ”Those beautiful wars, worthy of your devotion, have ended. The path you had to walk is now complete. So, the time to leave has come.”

In the reflection of the broken glass, a dim twilight shrouded his head, like a shattered crown.

”—All that’s left for me here is this unjust Crown,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Behind him, from the shadows untouched by sunlight, a still-gentle figure silently emerged and looked down at him. ”Shall I avenge you?”

”Revenge?” Huai Shi couldn’t help but laugh. ”This achievement, this earthly Heavenly Kingdom... wasn’t it built upon my desires? When I die, this undeserved miracle will return to nothingness with me. Is there truly any injustice remaining that would warrant such a grand act of vengeance on my part?”

”No lingering resentment?” Luo Xian asked.

Huai Shi shook his head. ”None.”

”No regrets?”

”None.”

Luo Xian then chuckled softly, caressing his cheek. ”But there’s no satisfaction either, is there?”

”Yes...” Huai Shi closed his eyes, murmuring softly, ”How can one ever be satisfied, Xiao Xian? How can redemption be made to last forever...?”

”Who knows?” Luo Xian slowly shook her head, giving him one last look. ”These are not matters for me to ponder. But I at least know I should do something. That’s enough.”

”Is it truly enough?” Huai Shi asked.

”Who knows?”

Luo Xian took a step back, turned, and walked towards the door.

Faint sounds of gunfire drifted from outside.

Before that door could open, Huai Shi couldn’t stop himself from looking up, his gaze fixed on her retreating figure. ”Xiao Xian, were you ever truly happy?”

Luo Xian’s footsteps paused slightly.

”Who knows?” Again, she answered his question with the same words.

The woman turned back, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and offered him a final smile. ”If I ever was, it must have been because of you.”

She said, ”Goodbye, Huai Shi.”

”Mm.” Huai Shi lowered his eyes. ”Goodbye, Xiao Xian.”

The door closed.

Gunshots rang out, then quickly faded into silence.

Gunshots erupted again—thunderous, then abruptly ceasing, only to resume in a repeating pattern.

Finally, amidst the roaring, everything fell silent.

Only the sound of footsteps, drawing steadily closer.

Step by step.

In the end, the disintegrated door collapsed in the dust.

Masked soldiers filed in, their dark gun barrels aimed at the man in the chair. Even though he was now utterly alone, they remained as vigilant as ever.

They stood in disciplined formation, weapons ready.

Heavy footsteps approached from outside the doorway.

The bloodied officer crossed the line of guns and came to stand before Huai Shi. Looking down at his weathered face and salt-and-pepper hair, he asked coldly in Latin, ”Tuner?”

Was he addressing me? Huai Shi didn’t know, yet he couldn’t help but laugh.

”My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,” Huai Shi lifted his gaze, staring at the Destroyers before him, at the disintegrated Heavenly Kingdom Paradise, and whispered softly, ”Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

”Nothing besides remains. Round the decay...”

I am the King of Ten Thousand Kings; gaze upon my works, ye Mighty, and be humbled! Besides this, nothing remains...

And so, he raised his pistol, aiming it at the enemies before him.

Huai Shi pulled the trigger.

A deafening gunshot boomed, engulfing him like a torrential rain.

In the sudden darkness, he smiled, falling backward with his gaze upturned. In his hand, the toy gun that had shot out a colorful flag clattered to the ground, landing in the slowly spreading pool of blood.

Around the ruins of Paradise, only vast expanses of yellow sand remained.

Desolate and lonely, stretching in all directions.

「The End: Part Nineteen—The Death of Pharaoh」

As the final, lingering notes of the cello faded, the Golden Hall erupted in a tidal wave of applause.

On stage, the strikingly young man nodded, rose, and, holding his cello, bowed to the audience. In a moment of dazed clarity, he realized he had unknowingly scaled heights he had never before dared to imagine.

The rising star.

That’s what almost everyone called him.

But this praise sometimes left Huai Shi feeling startled and bewildered. Was this praise truly for me? Did I really have what it takes to bear such a heavy responsibility? Wasn’t it all a bit too much like a child’s game? Or... had I, unknowingly, truly become this strong?

”Congratulations, Huai Shi.” As Huai Shi emerged from backstage, Old Zhao, who had been waiting patiently, stepped forward and embraced him tightly. He hugged his most outstanding student, praising him generously, ”You’re even more of a genius than I imagined.”

”It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching.”

”Alright, you two, enough with the mutual flattery,” the old Professor from the Vienna Music Academy chuckled as he watched them. ”Come on, let’s go grab a drink to celebrate. I know an old rascal who’s been hoarding a good bottle for twenty years. We’re making him cough it up today, no matter what!”

”Didn’t you quit drinking, Professor?” Old Zhao asked.

”It’s a special day for my student; we have to celebrate properly,” the old Professor replied, taking out his car keys. He waved them forward as he led the way. ”Let’s go, let’s go!”

Huai Shi and Old Zhao exchanged a glance, shook their heads with a helpless smile, and followed closely.

Just as he was leaving, Huai Shi paused for a moment.

At the audience exit, a familiar-looking silhouette emerged from the crowd.

Seated in a wheelchair, she was departing silently, woven into the throng. Sensing his gaze, she looked back, nodded slightly, and then vanished soundlessly into the crowd.

Huai Shi froze.

He felt as if he had seen her somewhere before, but couldn’t pinpoint where.

”Huai Shi, what’s wrong?” Old Zhao called back, noticing him.

”No, it’s nothing.” Huai Shi shook his head, averted his gaze, and turned to leave.

On this day, he had finally taken a firm step on the path in life he had long dreamed of.

A future brimming with glory and accolades awaited him.

Yet, occasionally, waking from a dream, Huai Shi would sit up in his chair. He would gaze silently at the foreign city’s nightscape beyond his window and couldn’t help but wonder:

With a life like this, would I truly be happy?

But this was just one of countless absurd thoughts. Not worth mentioning.

”What’s wrong?” His wife, stirring from sleep, wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and leaned down gently. ”A nightmare?”

”Just couldn’t sleep, don’t worry.” Huai Shi patted her hand, drained the last of the wine in his glass, and returned to bed, soon falling into a deep sleep once more.

「The End: Part Forty-Six—The Ideal Future」

...

Amidst the roaring gunfire, the Yin Family Old Master collapsed into a pool of blood.

Amidst the crisp clatter of falling bullet casings, Huai Shi gazed down at the old man’s face, frozen in disbelief even in death. He felt no joy, nor did he perceive any difference in this death compared to any other.

Ultimately, in death, everyone is the same.

He dragged a chair over, stepped past the corpse at his feet, and sat down before the main entrance. Silently, he gazed at the manor before him, the distant sounds of desperate screams, shouts, and gunfire faintly reaching his ears.

A methodical extermination was underway.

Eventually, everything fell silent.

Finally, Liu DongLi, spattered with blood, emerged from behind the door. He stood beside Huai Shi, bowed his head, and reported, ”All members of the Yin family have been eliminated. However, we found two children...”

Huai Shi looked up at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

That calm gaze made Liu DongLi stiffen involuntarily, a chill running down his spine.

”Isn’t your statement contradictory?” Huai Shi asked, his expression puzzled. ”If *all* members of the Yin family were ’eliminated,’ then there wouldn’t be ’two children left.’ If we have to trouble ourselves with extra thoughts just because they’re children, wouldn’t we then need to set up a special express lane for the disabled too?”

”...I understand.” Liu DongLi nodded and turned to leave.

After two abrupt shots, no other unsettling sounds followed.

Only a tranquil silence remained.

Huai Shi took a deep breath of the faintly sweet air and closed his eyes.

「The End: Part Ninety-Two—Blood for Blood」

Tomorrow’s News: Yingzhou Regional Headlines

”Monster from Dongxia Lands in Kyushu”

”Blood-Soaked Executioner Nears China”

”New Head of the Li Jian Family to Travel to Kansai”

”Sword of Disaster, Huai Shi Occupies Osaka”

”The Great Commander of the Kunitsu Line is Approaching Kanto”

”Crowds Cheer, the Supreme General Arrives in Kyoto”

「The End: Part Six Hundred and Forty-Four—The Path to Dominion」

...

On the television, the host jubilantly announced, ”Recently, our country’s renowned cellist Huai Shi and pianist Ai Qing have joyously tied the knot...”

「The End: Part Four Hundred and Thirty」

...

”Once Green Day, always Green Day!”

...

”Quick! Tell Huai Shi that Liu DongLi is a traitor!”

...

”Little Qing!!!”

In the far south of the Current Circumstances, amidst endless blizzards, the All Spectrum Heaven Sphere thrummed with a tremendous roar, its terrifying heat melting countless tons of ice and snow.

Here, in every instant, vast quantities of Source Substance were consumed, fueling the ceaseless divergence, propagation, and weaving of boundless possibilities...

But now, even the New World Program had reached its breaking point.

It was overwhelmed.

Within it, the unfolding Event Branches were about to surpass tens of thousands of stages, yet they continued to extend wildly, endless variables accumulating and erupting from within.

”Stack overflow imminent!”

Amidst the piercing alarms, ST looked up in disbelief, gazing at the youth floating within the sphere’s phantom image. ”Unbelievable... How can one person’s life hold so many possibilities?”