Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 612: Chapter 510 Luo Su (Thanks to the Alliance Leader Suo Tong)_1

In an instant, a sudden dead silence arrived. Throughout the prolonged silence, Huai Shi finally realized what he had actually said.

He stood there in shock, rooted to the spot. He was genuinely trying to appear shocked, at least to give the impression that he was truly taken aback. But when he turned around, he saw a smiling face behind him, intently gazing at him.

And by his side were countless beastly eyes. It was a terrifying multitude of wild beasts, far surpassing any type and number Huai Shi knew. Countless wild beasts hid within that shadow, forming a tide that suddenly erupted, covering everything.

And there, amidst the sea of tigers and wolves, in the mountains, and in the thickets, stood an old man in a black suit. His white hair reached his waist, and he held a cane, carefully examining Huai Shi’s appearance, smiling.

”Why be so surprised, Huai Shi?” the now unveiled principal finally asked softly. ”It is indeed... on you, isn’t it?”

And so, a million wild beasts lowered their gaze, with all the savageness in the world, looking towards Huai Shi. Huai Shi was shocked. This time, his shock was indeed genuine.

His mind went blank, with nothing but a buzzing sound. As his biggest secret was unveiled, his vision suddenly went black, and he nearly lost his footing. He couldn’t catch his breath.

Struggling to open his mouth, he tried to speak amidst the scrutiny of countless wild beasts, but his mind was a torrent of thoughts, jumbled by fear, panic, and shock into an incomprehensible mess. He could only blurt out in astonishment, ”—Old Turtle, what are you talking about!”

And so, after holding it in for a month, Huai Shi finally blurted out ”Old Turtle,” even though it was at the most inappropriate time.

But after cursing ”Old Turtle,” Huai Shi surprisingly felt unbelievably refreshed and became calm once again. In the silence, the myriad phantoms of wild beasts had somehow dissipated.

Only the two of them faced each other. The principal scrutinized Huai Shi’s face, puzzled, as if he was no longer certain.

”...Hmm? Am I mistaken?” He was baffled for a moment, then smiled apologetically. ”I’m sorry, I must have scared you pale.”

Huai Shi kept silent for a while, his expression twitching, and eventually, he let out a sigh of relief. ”Principal, don’t make jokes like that. It’s terrifying.”

”No more joking, no more joking.” The principal’s smile warmed again, and he patted Huai Shi’s shoulder. ”Let’s first put the knife down—”

It was as though he saw the Sacrificial Knife that had silently emerged in Huai Shi’s right hand behind his back. He scratched his graying hair, asking curiously, ”—And why exactly did you call me Old Turtle?”

Huai Shi: ”...”

Principal: ”...”

An awkward silence descended once again. It wasn’t until a long while later that Huai Shi coughed twice and asked, ”Can we change the subject?”

”...”

After a brief silence, the principal couldn’t help but shake his head, tapping the ground with his cane. In an instant, the set of sofas that had just been sent back to Huai Shi’s home reappeared here, right behind Huai Shi.

Even the tea on the table came along with it. ”Okay then, sit down, have some tea, and let’s talk slowly.”

The old man shook his head helplessly. He sat down first, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed. ”If you ask me, young people just can’t take a scare. Back in the day, during the chaos in Utopia, someone told me that half the people had fallen into the Abyss, and I didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. This generation’s Guardians of the Heavenly Kingdom really aren’t up to par.”

Even though he had sat down, and even if the principal wasn’t going to suddenly kill him in the next moment or so, Huai Shi’s heart was still incredibly tense. He had no idea where he had given himself away.

He also didn’t know where Raven was at this moment or why she hadn’t taken him to flee yet. All he could do was try to buy time. ”...How did you find out?”

The principal was still calm, merely glancing at him before shaking his head. ”If the only person in the world who knew that the Book of Fate here was a fake couldn’t guess what was happening with you, then surely there must be something wrong with the world.”

Huai Shi fell silent.

”You guessed right, the Book of Fate here is a fake.” The principal turned around, looked at the countless matrices behind him, and with a slight wave of his hand, the illusory projection disappeared without a trace. ”Decades ago, when the Heavenly Kingdom fell, I didn’t find a trace of the Book of Fate... From that moment on, I made a fake one, placed it here, and told everyone that the Book of Fate was safely stored in the Ivory Tower.”

He sighed softly. ”From that time on, I started looking for the Book of Fate, Huai Shi.”

”How did you find me?” Huai Shi asked.

”It wasn’t difficult. In fact, with the simple goal of ’where is the Book of Fate,’ it was surprisingly easy, like waiting for a rabbit by a tree stump.” The principal laughed, examining the teenager in front of him. ”About a year ago, I felt the presence of the Book of Fate for the first time. That feedback was brief, just a fleeting moment.”

A year ago. Huai Shi frowned. Wasn’t that... exactly when I Sublimated?

”At that time, on that day, during those two hours, a total of ninety-seven thousand, one hundred forty-one noteworthy events occurred all over the world. Among them was the attack on Xinhai by Green Day, and the one whose Soul awakened was an obscure young man.”

The principal put down his teacup, looking solemnly at the young man across from him. ”From that day forward, your life became completely different, didn’t it?”

”...”

After a brief silence, Huai Shi shook his head, unable to suppress a sigh. ”Earlier than that.”

This time, it was the principal who was stunned, falling silent for a long while.

”What’s the matter?” Huai Shi asked, puzzled.

”No, it’s just that I’m only now realizing it.” On the sofa, the elderly man suddenly leaned back as if relieved, scratching his white hair, and finally accepted this reality. ”So the Book of Fate really is on you.”

Huai Shi’s eyes twitched wildly as he restrained his anger, glaring at him. ”...So everything you did before was just to trick me!”

”Isn’t that possible?” The principal began to laugh proudly. ”I just planned to try... just try...”

”...”

Huai Shi clammed up, finally grasping the vast difference in level between himself and the Old Turtle in front of him. After that, he didn’t plan to say anything more. Let him be as strong as he wants; I’ve already had my moment.

After all, Raven is still hidden in the basement. As soon as anything goes wrong, she can immediately take me—wait, could I have been sold out by her? Huai Shi was shocked once more, his heart turning cold. That heartless woman is finally going to betray me!

”Don’t be afraid. This is the true inner core of the Ivory Tower,” the principal said, seeming to misunderstand something as he comforted him. ”Whether it’s the Jurisdiction Bureau or the Existence Institute, the Great Secret can’t detect anything that happens here—” He paused, his expression turning strange. ”That is to say, no matter what happens here, the outside world will not know.”

”So what?” Huai Shi indifferently drew the Sword of Virtue and placed it on his knee, sitting up straight. ”Principal, do you think I’d give up resisting?”

”Give up, Huai Shi.” The old man shook his head. ”Without that gun, you don’t stand a chance of winning.”

”Even a desperate struggle is much better than sitting and waiting for death, isn’t it?” Huai Shi said coldly. ”Principal, you might as well come at me and see if I’ll surrender without a fight. Before I die, let me experience the gap between myself and a veteran Fifth Stage Sublimator; it’s better to die with a clear understanding.”

”That’s what I’m saying. Young people always have this habit of fighting and killing, which really shouldn’t be encouraged.” The principal sighed helplessly. Raising his hand, the scepter he held turned into a fat cat, which jumped into his arms and purred contentedly as he stroked it. He said, ”I was hoping that, by you coming here, we could be honest with each other.

”I am one hundred and twelve years old, Huai Shi. The youngest of the survivors from Utopia who are still alive are over ninety years old.

”For people like us, even if we obtain the Book of Fate, what can we really do with it? A Utopia already ravaged beyond recognition, an empty Heavenly Kingdom, a worthless book that can’t provide me with anything but a meaningless identity?

”It chose you, Huai Shi, so it’s yours now. Just as we never intended to take Auden’s inheritance, you really don’t have to worry about me doing anything to you.

”Otherwise, I would have had no reason to bring you here. The Ivory Tower has countless places more suitable for murder and hiding corpses, and just as many plausible excuses for your disappearance.”

Huai Shi was amused, retorting, ”So, now that I’m lying on the chopping block and haven’t been killed, I should be grateful to you, Principal? You pressured me into coming here with fifty graduation certificates, just to tell me this?”

”Good, Huai Shi. I can feel that you’re starting to be frank.” The principal looked up, studying his stern face, and couldn’t help but smile. ”I’m beginning to recognize the real you, just as you have already seen the real me.”

”Nice to meet you, Huai Shi,” he said. ”I am the principal of the Ivory Tower, the former Preparatory Recorder of the Heavenly Kingdom, and one of the candidates for the Book of Fate before the Heavenly Kingdom fell.”

The white-haired, elderly man introduced himself, reaching out his right hand to Huai Shi. ”—My name is Luo Su.”

Huai Shi looked in astonishment at his serious demeanor, then at the hand presented before him. He hesitated for a long while before shaking it.

Then there was a SNAP.

Everything went dark before his eyes.

It felt like he’d touched a live high-voltage wire. He involuntarily convulsed on the sofa, his hair fried to a crisp, unable to move.

It took a long, long time before Huai Shi finally came to, gasping dully and looking up at the old man, who had a malicious grin. ”You didn’t think I’d forget you calling me Old Turtle, did you?”

In front of him, Luo Su held the cat, glancing sidelong at Huai Shi’s disheveled state. ”This is the first lesson I’m teaching you as your mentor, kid.” He paused, a schadenfreude-filled smile spreading across his face. ”—When a leader says they’re not angry, they’re lying to you.”