Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 1208: Chapter 920: Talent Show

Traveling with Luo Su can’t really be called a boring thing.

Setting aside the old man’s constant little schemes every few days and his inherent bad taste, he ought to be quite an excellent travel companion. Considerate, charming, and able to pull out references to sights and stories at the drop of a hat. Even when it’s just casual chatter, every now and then he comes out with something thought‑provoking and philosophical.

If someone didn’t know his nasty true nature, the first moment they saw him, they’d definitely think he was a kindly old gentleman, right?

Unfortunately, times have changed, and the word ”gentleman” no longer carries the same praise it used to.

Luo Su is no exception.

And just as Huai Shi was driving through a tunnel, a flicker at the edge of his vision caught the change beside him. The old man, who’d reclined his seat and was lying there scrolling on his phone, rolled over—and suddenly the entire visual style shifted.

From a refined old man, he became a fluffy white bear, glasses perched on his nose, one bear paw cradling his phone, a huge cigar clenched in the corner of his mouth. He lit it; smoke curled upward.

He looked exactly like a polar bear that had busted out of the zoo, utterly delighted and relaxed.

Who knew what the hell he was doing.

Anyway, when it came to Luo Su’s weird antics, Huai Shi had already grown completely used to them.

He’d lost track of how many similar animal forms he’d seen.

As far as he knew, of all the biological Genealogy summarized within the Current Circumstances, from land to sea to sky, there wasn’t a single animal Luo Su couldn’t turn into—and it wasn’t just the outer appearance that changed, the internal structure shifted along with it.

He could even perfectly simulate the Owner of the Great Mob.

What was more outrageous was that different people saw completely different images when they looked at him. It really made one think of that bastard Woodman—only one changed between human personas, the other between beasts. Who ripped off whom, who could even tell.

What can you say? As expected of a top powerhouse in the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, an old‑school Fifth Stage on the Path of Dusk.

If the vice principal hadn’t told him before, he’d never have imagined it: Luo Su’s Stigma is actually the caretaker of the World Tree, guardian of the spring, the wise giant Mimir of the legendary Vanir God’s Clan.

Looking at him now, you could more or less glimpse what an insufferable presence Mimir must have been back then.

No wonder Odin chopped off Mimir’s head in the myths.

You really couldn’t blame it on Odin’s temper; put anyone else in that position, with some layabout riddle‑spouter slacking at home every day, pointing fingers at you nonstop, they’d probably also feel the urge to cut his head off.

Now, faced with Luo Su’s sudden bout of nonsense, Huai Shi only gave him a calm glance, no fluctuation in his heart, and asked, ”Why are you not being a person again?”

”This is called a persona, you wouldn’t understand.”

Luo Su happily held up his camera for selfies, his bear paw even forming a V sign, looking adorably silly: ”Scarcity drives value, you know, got to be distinctive.

Besides, there’ve been way too many similar personas lately. It’s made me really embarrassed—have to watch every word I say, rehearse every line... What if I accidentally plagiarize someone?

And say plagiarism happens, fine—but if people think I’m uncreative, and even my plagiarizing is this half‑assed, wouldn’t that be pathetic?”

”What the hell are you even talking about!”

Huai Shi couldn’t help wanting to roll his eyes.

”It’s a long story. Just take it as some old guy venting, yeah——”

He paused, then suddenly slapped his head and suggested excitedly, ”Hey, how about we reorganize the Ivory Tower later, turn it into a company? Then I wouldn’t have to be called principal—I could be called president. Wouldn’t that sound way more imposing and tyrannical?”

”Can you not?”

Huai Shi couldn’t be bothered with him and had no idea what kind of wind this was blowing through his brain. ”If you’ve got time, can’t you do something serious? Or at least sleep if you’re not doing anything serious. Stop distracting the driver.”

”No, I insist.”

The white bear in the passenger seat put away his phone, yawned, and suddenly asked, ”Speaking of which, you know about the War of the Worlds, right?”

Huai Shi froze for a moment, not quite catching up.

Fortunately, there weren’t many cars on the road right now; otherwise, it would’ve been bad if they hit someone.

”Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

He asked, ”I’ve heard about it plenty. It’s basically Current Circumstances and Hell having a big war, right?”

”Mm, there’s nothing wrong with understanding it that way, though it’s a bit shallow. I’ll give you a more detailed explanation.”

Luo Su finally seemed to remember his duty as a teacher. He folded his bear paws over his chest, crossed his legs, and decided to use the boredom of the highway to give his student a makeup lesson.

Unfortunately, what he was making up wasn’t harmless calculus or English, but something far more dangerous and twisted.

”You’ve seen that world model the Astronomical Society made, right? The basic textbook for Sublimators.”

”You mean that thing that looks like an iceberg in the sea?”

Huai Shi patted his head and recalled it.

The model was quite finely crafted, a simple and straightforward display of the relationship between the Current Circumstances Borderland and Hell.

Like an iceberg floating in the sea: the iceberg was the Current Circumstances, while the portion of ice below the surface that touched the seawater, along with the floating shards around it, was the Border; and the endless Dark Ocean was Hell’s existence.

”Hm? They changed to a new version? Back in our day, the model was still an island. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. The specifics aren’t fully accurate anyway, but the relative relationship is more or less the same.”

Luo Su lifted his bear paw and drew on the fogged‑up window. ”In short, Current Circumstances is where we live, the Border is the defensive line and dike built from fallen fragments, and Hell is a dead wasteland... As long as the relationship between these three is correct, it doesn’t really matter how you conceptualize it.

It’s just that, much like the entropy increase the Scholars talk about and the Miracle Conservation that Alchemists firmly believe in, even though this world has countless muddled and ambiguous corners, only death is fixed, inescapable—whether for humans, Gods, or the world itself... It’s just that the world’s lifespan is far longer than you can imagine.

I’m thinking... the last time the Doomsday Clock Mechanism ran the numbers... five hundred thousand years?”

”Sounds a bit far off,” Huai Shi said.

”When a person is just born, who can truly comprehend death?”

Luo Su said carelessly, ”When a dead world sinks, it falls into Hell, and a new world sprouts and is born upon its remains. That might be what we call the Cycle of the world... Of course, all kinds of weird crap can happen in between, and maybe, who knows how many years later, everyone might meet again in Hell. But that has nothing to do with what we’re talking about.

So, back to the point—the so‑called War of All Realms is just a little interlude produced within this Cycle.”

”The causes are varied. It might be due to changes in the Current Circumstances, or it might come from some law in Hell. The final result is a phenomenon like ’the tide rising’.”

”Rising tide?” Huai Shi was puzzled.

”The depth changes, Huai Shi. According to observations from the Harper Telescope, every so many years in the Abyss there will be a ’tide’ like this—sometimes big, sometimes small. When it’s small you can’t even detect it, but when it’s big, it causes the coordinates of most Hells to start floating upward...

The currents have come, Huai Shi. After the seasonal change, storms and waves are almost here too.

If we just leave it alone, then pushed by the storm, the Current Circumstances will be submerged by the tides as well—these days are not like the old days; with no God acting as a barrier, the Astronomical Society and the major Genealogies have to work together to organize the defenses.

Meanwhile, countless Hells will slowly rise up from the Abyss, and drawn by the gravity emanating from the Current Circumstances, they’ll collide with one another, producing sparks called war and sowing the seeds of death.”

”That is the so‑called War of All Realms.”

Luo Su propped his chin, watching the beads of water slide down the glass, one strand after another, slicing apart everything he had drawn, turning it all into scattered fragments.

Everything faded into the remnants of water and mist.

”War is about to begin, Huai Shi—Hell against Hell, Hell against the Border, Hell against the Current Circumstances in a chaotic war... It’s not just a war against Hell, it’s a war just like Hell.”

He let out a hoarse, soft laugh. ”If you want to actually accomplish something, there’s no better time than this.”

The first thing that surfaced in Huai Shi’s mind was vigilance toward the Element of Destructive and the Rulers, but then he suddenly realized something. He turned his head to look at the person beside him.

This was the hidden danger he really needed to worry about!

Luo Su, and you still say you don’t know any Martial Arts!

In shock, he almost couldn’t control his tone. ”Didn’t you say we weren’t going to stir up trouble on this trip!”

”Relax, no trouble... I just want to meet some old friends I haven’t seen in a long time before that.”

The white bear in the passenger seat whistled and gave him a meaningful look. ”And while we’re at it, let the old friends meet you too.”

Huai Shi suddenly wanted to jump out of the car.

”Take it easy, don’t feel pressured.”

Luo Su narrowed his eyes, his thick soft paw patting Huai Shi’s shoulder. ”You’re just an excuse, that’s all.

Look, it’s like how kids in Dongxia who get good grades get dragged out every New Year and festival so their uncles and aunties can have a look, sing a song, do a dance, recite some Latin, show off a little talent...

Don’t be shy, and don’t be scared. Whether the uncles and aunties are happy doesn’t depend on you; nobody cares whether your performance is actually any good.

But no matter what, Daddy loves you.”

”Get lost!”

Huai Shi glared at him. This Old Turtle was still taking liberties with him.

He thought for a moment, finally managed to straighten out his thoughts, and suddenly understood. ”You want to use this opportunity to put me up as a banner and string together the remaining survivors of Utopia?”

”You’re not a banner yet, Huai Shi, not by a long shot.”

Luo Su was amused. ”Besides, it’s just a class reunion. How’d you make it sound like we’re plotting a rebellion? A bunch of seventy‑ and eighty‑year‑old geezers holding a little Sunset Friendship Association—surely that’s not illegal?”

Huai Shi said nothing.

He drove in silence.

He only rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and took two hard drags.

He wanted to jump out of the car.

But it was already too late.

There’s nothing more Sorrowful in this world.

From the very beginning, he never should have believed that the gourd Old Turtle Luo Su carried could hold any good medicine!

This old fossil actually wanted to take advantage of the War of All Realms to rebuild the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy...

In the silence, no one spoke again.

Only the soft melodies from the radio floated in the slightly chilly air. Accompanied by an old man’s blurry humming, the jazz tune flew out the window, dissipating into the wind along with the smoke.

Only snowflakes drifted from the sky, gently falling.

In the distance, the silhouette of a city appeared.

Their first stop—Nara—had arrived.