Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 623: Chapter 518: Night Watcher (Thanks to Mojito, the League Master)_1

Ivory Tower, in the office.

In front of the gigantic television screen, the game was paused.

”Have we departed?”

As if hearing the distant sound of a train’s whistle, Luo Su turned his head, his expression filled with confusion. ”Did I forget something?”

He waited for a long moment before finally remembering that his new secretary was also on the train; now no one was there to remind him.

He helplessly shook his head and looked away.

”Well, it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

He picked up the controller again, musing sincerely, ”It’s all good, all good...”

Outside the window behind him, a gust of wind blew in, flipping open documents on the desk. A red-marked warning letter, tucked among the files, silently slipped into the trash can.

* * *

Clearly, this time, Huai Shi and the others hadn’t been able to hitch a ride on the Rainbow Bridge’s Inner Ring transport. They had to rely on conventional methods, taking transit between Borders, gradually descending deeper until they were fully prepared to enter Hell.

Therefore, compared to other more convenient and faster methods, the journey would inevitably be longer.

However, the advantage of conventional methods was that their safety was better assured. Fixed routes often existed between Borders, and many organizations regularly cleared surrounding threats to ensure these routes remained open.

If they had been in the Asia region, they could have taken advantage of dark currents to travel faster. But outside the domain of Asia, the Endless Sea was nowhere in sight.

In its place was an endless downpour of iron rain from the sky.

Huai Shi sat by the window, looking out at the vast, barren wilderness, the torrential Mercury River, and the cracked earth.

It was as if they had arrived in some sort of Gobi Desert.

Heavy clouds shrouded the Sky Dome. As lightning flashed, the clouds intermittently revealed a silver, metallic gleam. At times, without warning, condensed iron rain would plummet to the earth from these clouds that resembled liquid metal.

The metallic substances, which had aggregated into fist-sized chunks in the clouds, would roar down towards the earth like a meteor shower. They left searing trails before quickly drying, crumbling into dust, and vanishing without a trace.

Occasionally, one could see people riding massive motorcycles, dressed in heavy protective suits, closely pursuing the clouds. They waited for the iron rain to fall, then skillfully used tools to extract small cores from the metallic chunks before they completely disintegrated, storing them in canisters.

However, these gleaming cores were often few and far between; more often than not, their efforts yielded nothing.

When iron rain occasionally struck their protective suits, it would erupt with blinding sparks and deafening bangs.

And in the distance, under the gloomy sky, huge, grotesque spider-like silhouettes slowly crossed the horizon. Like moving mountains, they followed the path of the iron rain, gathering resources.

Seeing such scenes, Huai Shi knew they had entered the territory of the Russian Federation.

These were all manifestations of massive amounts of material from Hell, rising with the tides of the Abyss and condensing upon reaching the Borders. Many large Alchemy Workshops would buy these undissipated cores in bulk to extract various common materials.

This was equivalent to scavenging.

In the Russian Federation, many Borders and outposts relied on similar industries for profit. After all, what fell from the sky was free for the taking and shouldn’t be wasted, merely requiring some effort to collect.

”That model... is a Peter Grelre, isn’t it? Is it still in service?”

Andrea lifted her gaze towards the mountainous, spider-like giant construct in the distance, a wave of nostalgia washing over her. ”When I first graduated from university, I interned on it... Back then, Anton was already the second officer on the Peter Grelre. That’s where we met.”

”Are you Russian?” Huai Shi asked with curiosity.

Andrea smoothed her slightly wine-red hair, her eyebrows lifting pleasantly. ”Only partly, I guess. My grandmother and my ex-husband are both from there. My family moved to America during my father’s generation. In high school, a lot of Little Green Pools saw I was thin and small and wanted to play their nasty sorority power games with me, so I had to ’communicate’ with them using the fine traditions of the Russian Federation... Honestly, thinking about it now, it’s hilarious.”

”Impressive, most impressive.”

Huai Shi cupped his hands in a gesture of respect. He hadn’t expected the woman before him to have Russian blood. No wonder she had drunk two jin of alcohol without batting an eye at the dinner a few days ago and had even composed a sonnet on the spot.

He hadn’t expected her to be so incredibly formidable to the core.

”Oh, give me a break.” Andrea glanced at him, found a comfortable sofa in the teachers’ compartment, lay down, and started playing a game on her phone.

The game’s volume wasn’t low.

In the corner, Martin looked up, saw Andrea, said nothing, and discreetly took out earplugs from his pocket, politely pretending not to notice.

Huai Shi had initially thought she would pull out a thick tome to read, like Martin. He was surprised to find her so trendy and up-to-date.

”Where are we headed next?” he asked casually.

”Next stop is Trinity Monastery. We’ll refuel there, then pass through Fire City in the Middle East, make our final supply stop at the Abyss Outpost in America, and finally make a deep dive directly into Hell—that part will be quick. It’s just the earlier leg of the journey that’s a bit troublesome. Can’t be helped; it’s a rather remote area.”

After nodding, Huai Shi slept a bit more, waking up when it was time for dinner.

Everyone took turns going to the dining car for their meals.

The ingredients in the dining car were plentiful, and the chef’s skills were decent; even hot pot was available. Watching the students eating hot pot and singing songs, Huai Shi felt his scalp tingle with unease.

”With things this lively, aren’t we asking for trouble?”

”It’s fine. They’re not little kids. Are they going to scald themselves with hot pot?” Andrea waved her hand dismissively.

”No, I mean, isn’t the atmosphere a bit *too* cheerful?” Huai Shi mused.

Even though everyone had been serious and composed when they first boarded the train, their true, boisterous student nature eventually emerged as the journey progressed.

It’s fine to be relaxed and happy, as long as they don’t get complacent, Huai Shi thought. After all, a brutal education awaited them at their destination. Before that... perhaps enjoying hot pot and singing merrily on the way to Hell wasn’t such a bad idea.

Then, a single sentence from Andrea shattered his musings.

The Professor said, ”I started it...”

”’Right,’ Huai Shi conceded.”

He shook his head, mournfully reflecting on the deteriorating ethos of the Ivory Tower, then raised his hand to order a plate of tripe. He’d seen it on the menu.

The train was also tasked with transporting supplies and water to the Hell branch, so there was plenty of everything. The downside was that if you wanted something special, you had to prepare it yourself.

But no one dared to let the Hell Kitchen Demon cook for them. So, Huai Shi could only resign himself to cooking the tripe alone, feeling utterly dejected and shivering theatrically.

After dinner, during the last few hours of rest, the students busied themselves playing games or using the Wi-Fi to send messages. After they passed Fire City, all these electronic devices would be collected.

Firstly, there would be no signal in Hell. Secondly, unless they were professional models treated with Alchemy, it was debatable whether these devices would even work outside the Current Circumstances. Sometimes, they even posed an explosion risk, so it was simpler to collect them all.

Taking advantage of this time, Huai Shi, along with Yuan Yuan and Lin Nineteen, distributed identification tags to everyone. Each group was also issued a specific model of short- to medium-range walkie-talkie.

It was worth mentioning that Little Nineteen seemed to have become the ”best friend” of many. Boys and girls alike were fond of this seemingly harmless and enthusiastic young man, and they were also deeply curious about what exactly was inside the birdcage he carried, which was covered by a black cloth.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yuan, who was genuinely safe and harmless, was regarded with more deference.

Due to her dignified and serious demeanor, few dared to strike up a conversation with her. She also showed no interest in chatting. After finishing her tasks, she returned to her seat, put on her headphones, and calmly cared for her weapon.

As she worked, the Mountain Monarch’s Giant Sword would occasionally emit a low hum, exuding a chilling aura.

Huai Shi watched her for a while, then said nothing and turned to leave. Since they all seem prepared, there’s no need for me to waste my breath. Better to use this time to go back to sleep.

One perk for the teachers was having sleeping berths, so they didn’t have to make do with chairs.

Amidst the faint, noisy discussions from outside his compartment, Huai Shi gradually fell asleep.

The train sped onward, crossing a vast distance before gradually nearing Hell. When the endless wilderness disappeared from view, it was replaced by the sight of eternal fire burning beneath the steel tracks.

As Fire City drew near, Huai Shi opened his eyes to see a figure standing at the head of his bed.

”You’re very alert,” Andrea chuckled softly. ”I thought you might suddenly draw your sword and try to stab me.”

”That would be overly alert.” Huai Shi shook his head and rose from the bed. ”What’s up?”

”I’m going to get some sleep during the second half of the night,” Andrea said. ”Martin’s still just a kid; I can’t really rest easy leaving it to him. So, the night watch duty is yours.”

After a pause, her expression grew serious. ”If you need to protect the train’s safety, you have full authority to act as you see fit, without any reservations.”

”You trust me that much?”

”If you had drawn your sword just now, I wouldn’t be so reassured,” Andrea replied. ”Any other questions?”

Huai Shi asked directly, ”Do you think we’ll be attacked on the way?”

”Perhaps.”

After a moment’s thought, Andrea decided to brief Huai Shi. ”This mission is framed as support, but it’s more like an emergency response... There’s a problem in the Town of Dusk.”

”Hm?” Huai Shi frowned. Her words were frustratingly vague.

”The specifics are highly classified; probably only the school’s leadership knows the full details.” Andrea paused, then continued, ”From what I gather, after they received the distress call from there, when the Research Department was considering personnel, aside from me, you were the first person they thought of. The likelihood of you needing to engage won’t be low.”

Huai Shi couldn’t help but shake his head. ”On the bright side, maybe they just want to hear a Cello Performance?”

”Or perhaps they’re just craving a good meal,” Andrea smiled. ”The Research Department should have told us sooner; we could have brought an extra dining car.”

Joking aside, Andrea truly admired Huai Shi’s unflappability.

He’s truly worthy of his S-level rating from the Asian Astronomy Association as a Two Flowers and Red Sticks, their designated future top enforcer. Who knows? Maybe he’ll end up dispatching enemies while playing the cello and cooking a meal.

Even though Huai Shi was a First Stage lower than her, the moment he accepted this responsibility, Andrea suddenly felt a great sense of relief.

An inexplicable peace of mind settled over her.

* * *