Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 1290: Chapter 985: Taking a Stand

Deer’s Sing Hall.

”You didn’t see him at all?”

Naito, smoking his pipe, listened to his subordinate’s report and lifted his gaze in astonishment.

The subordinate nodded. ”That’s right. It’s like he doesn’t take any of this seriously at all.”

”That guy Huai Shi has already swollen to this extent? In the end he’s still young—can’t even be bothered to put up a façade. Very good. When Heaven wants someone to perish, it first drives him mad... Addicted to the expansion of Power, blind to everyone else, it won’t be long before he loses the people’s hearts completely.”

Naito tapped his pipe, pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, ”Tell William and Kanda we want to see further results from him.”

He said, ”The sooner the better.”

”Yes, sir!”

The subordinate nodded, turned, and left.

In the gloom, only Naito remained, quietly staring at the flickering ember in the bowl of his pipe.

The faint sparks lit up those cold, sinister eyes.

.

.

The mood on the streets seemed to have changed.

More restless by the day.

Even the dullest of residents were now witnessing more and more clashes and conflicts in the streets. The once-rare sight of suited Extreme Path members now haunted every alleyway, and the troublemakers were multiplying.

Among the unfamiliar faces were plenty of familiar ones.

Flyers from some Free Alliance were scattered everywhere. Rumor had it quite a few shops had been smashed up—because they looked down on outsider Hybrids, or because of wage discrimination, and some simply because people suspected the doctors of prescribing fake medicine.

Street fights and brawls were becoming more frequent.

In some places, strikes had already begun.

The elderly shut their doors and told their children not to run around. When they heard strange noises late at night, men just back from construction sites would wake up, press down on the weapons under their dusty beds, and worry.

Many had already reported the situation to their companies or groups, but the higher-ups remained unmoved, merely ordering business as usual, then reinforcing security.

It left people feeling unsettled.

Apparently, production wasn’t going smoothly either. Several trucks transporting Potion had been in accidents. Some already-signed supply contracts had also been reneged on.

The excuse was excessive pollution, violations of environmental protection statutes, and the need to undergo investigations by the Environmental Association.

Everyone could feel the uneasy atmosphere quietly spreading through Tanbo.

Until four days later, a pillar of fire rose into the sky.

Outside Tanbo, in the outskirts of Kyoto, two trucks collided, detonating explosives hidden in their cargo. Half the warehouse was blown apart, three severely injured, one dead...

The remaining license plates traced back to Tanbo.

Tanbo again.

”All right, I understand.”

Huai Shi nodded calmly and said to the subordinate who had come to inform him, ”I’ll have to trouble you with the follow-up work.”

”Yes, sir!”

The subordinate nodded, turned, and left.

Alone in the office, Huai Shi lowered his head expressionlessly and looked at the report on the desk.

The driver at fault was an employee of Huaizhi Construction, forty-one, male, responsible for transporting materials and construction waste to sites. His vehicle had been bought on loan, with forty-one installments still unpaid.

He had a daughter and a newborn son.

An old-fashioned, honest man, never one for conflict. Even in Tanbo’s most chaotic days, he had never engaged in any illegal activity.

Then, he went missing while working overtime last night, only to reappear mysteriously in Kyoto, and his corpse bore traces of banned drugs...

”The Spirit Reasoning Club again?” Huai Shi asked.

”Mm, they should have a Border Relic capable of manipulating consciousness,” Wood Cottage replied. ”We’ve already mapped out their area of activity and their handler up the chain. We even have a lead on the location of their headqua—”

”Too slow.”

Huai Shi cut him off and told him, ”You need to be faster.”

”My mistake.” The youth lowered his eyes, offering no argument.

”No, it’s only because you’re actually doing something that I can blame you at all.”

Huai Shi shook his head and let out a self-mocking laugh. ”There’s no such thing as a flawless operation in this world... If anything, I’m the one being indecisive.”

Wood Cottage was not wrong; he had already done his best.

It was Huai Shi who was being too demanding.

When something involves hundreds of thousands of people, when the entire city is brewing with undercurrents, how could it possibly be settled with the push of a button?

A thousand days guarding against thieves, and there will still be a lapse.

You can’t alarm the Snake; you have to cast a long line to hook a big fish, to find an opportunity to wipe them out in one sweep and uproot every hidden danger...

So you can only endure and wait.

But everything has a price.

When you watch living people one by one turn into death notices laid before you, you truly feel your own weakness and powerlessness.

It’s impossible to get used to.

Even if he wasn’t personally responsible for every single one.

”This is something I ordered you to do, Little Nineteen. You don’t need to feel guilty or uneasy,” Huai Shi said. ”If it were me, I might not have managed as smoothly as you did... You just have to do your best.”

He said, ”I’ll bear all the consequences.”

It was the only promise he could make.

Wood Cottage nodded, turned, and left.

After a brief silence, Huai Shi once again heard the internal line ring.

A notice from Yuan Yuan.

An envoy from the Yingzhou Jurisdiction Bureau had come calling.

”I don’t think we need any extra pleasantries.”

Huai Shi stared at the fidgeting envoy. ”I recall that my relationship with the Yingzhou Branch isn’t yet at the point of exchanging gifts on a regular basis, so you may as well speak plainly.”

In the brief silence, the envoy sat uneasily on the sofa, shifted his body, and stammered, ”Because of the potential involvement of a terror attack, Deer’s Sing Hall submitted a search application to the Jurisdiction Bureau not long ago...”

”Quick response, I’ll give you that.”

Huai Shi seemed to smile. ”Tanbo is a special pilot city in the Current Circumstances officially recognized by the Astronomical Society. It’s not under their jurisdiction... or are you saying you see it differently?”

The commissioner’s face grew even more tense.

He pulled out a handkerchief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, not daring to meet his eyes.

”This, this... It concerns Yingzhou’s sovereignty, the Jurisdiction Bureau is not in a position to intervene...” The voice of the commissioner pushed out to take the blame was already trembling. ”W-we hope both sides can resolve this peacefully...”

”So in other words, you’re taking Deer’s Sing Hall’s side?”

Huai Shi nodded in sudden understanding, lowering his head to look at that notification on the table, utterly unconcerned. ”Have Le Ne come talk to me.”

”Le Ne—the Minister Le Ne went to London a few days ago to attend the coordination conference.”

The commissioner kept his head down. ”The Yingzhou Branch is just acting according to regulations. We have no, no intention of being hostile to your side.” 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

”Regulations? Whose regulations?”

Huai Shi raised his hand and waved that notice. ”I don’t see the seal of the Central Decision Making Room. Or are you planning to swing the sword of the Yingzhou Jurisdiction Bureau to chop down me, a Special Weapon Officer?”

”I... I... am merely carrying out orders and delivering the message.”

”I know. That’s why I’m not going to make things hard for you.”

Huai Shi said coolly, ”Just crawl back and tell your colleagues that I don’t agree. After Le Ne gets back from the Decision Room, I’ll have a proper talk with him—”

The commissioner looked as if he’d been granted amnesty, nodding frantically.

Like he’d just escaped alive from under the executioner’s blade, almost moved to tears.

He stood up at once, ready to take his leave.

But right after, he heard Huai Shi’s voice.

Calm and curious.

”But before that, can you tell me...”

Huai Shi looked down at the document on the table and asked, puzzled, ”Who approved this application? Who signed off on this notification?”

The commissioner froze on the spot.

In that instant, it was as if he saw the gates of Hell swing open behind him, endless dark savagely surging up to devour his Soul.

But that was nothing more than an illusion.

After that brief daze, he was already drenched in sweat.

Standing there, there was only Huai Shi’s smile.

So gentle.

As if it had covered all of Hell...

.

.

The conversation ended on a friendly note, a considerate reply was drafted, and the commissioner was politely escorted downstairs.

After wishing him a smooth journey.

Huai Shi watched that car flee as if for its life.

He sat down on the bench in the lobby, calmly gazing in the direction they’d vanished, along with the silhouettes outside the doors holding up signs and shouting.

By now, the situation was completely clear.

The pressure from Deer’s Sing Hall was fully on display.

Using its connections with the Yingzhou Jurisdiction Bureau to run a stress test on Huai Shi and squeeze Tanbo’s living space from all sides.

Commerce, daily life, right down to public order... from every corner, they were telling this annoying outsider what happens if you don’t understand how to read the room, if you don’t understand the rules.

They hadn’t even resorted to force—just given Huai Shi a vivid lesson.

And were now waiting for his response.

Either choose to compromise, and join the warm embrace of Deer’s Sing Hall, or keep sulking alone in single-player mode and let Tanbo’s foundations gradually erode...

Nanbu’s strike had indeed landed squarely on Huai Shi’s sore spot.

Yes, if Tanbo’s foundations were shaken, it would put Huai Shi at a disadvantage.

But the premise is—those foundations actually have to be shakable.

He dialed a number on his phone, and when the call connected, he didn’t wait for the other party to speak before bluntly asking, ”Hey, is the stinky little sister there?”

Bang!

A slamming sound came from the other end.

As if she’d been simmering for a long time, Amber snapped back irritably, ”If you’ve got something, spit it out! I’m busy!”

”You had a hand in this?” Huai Shi asked.

Amber was so pissed she laughed. ”Get it through your skull—who’s your biggest partner right now? I’m the one who went and talked those old ghosts into working with you, and you think I’d go stir them up to screw AnFang over? Am I insane?”

”Fair point.” Huai Shi nodded. ”You don’t really come off as someone whose brain’s broken.”

On the other end of the line, Amber closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Calm down, calm down, I can’t stoop to the level of this Wang Ba.

”Listen, Huai Shi, I know you’re pissed, and I know you’re itching to make trouble for someone, but you need to understand: just being Dongxia’s lapdog in Yingzhou already has my blood pressure through the roof. Don’t push me, okay?”

She said, ”If you’re willing to let me handle this, I’ll definitely give you an answer you’ll like. But you know how it is—the Dongxia Genealogy has never done a losing deal.”

These days, the relationship between Tanbo and Tai Qing Heavy Industries was already too tight.

If it went any further, there was the very real risk of losing its independence.

”Relax, it’s not bad enough that I can’t handle it myself yet,” Huai Shi said. ”Just give me a few names.”

Amber couldn’t help laughing again. ”You want me to read you the roster of Deer’s Sing Hall’s top brass?”

”No need for that many. For a precision strike, a few will do—just tell me the ones at the top,” Huai Shi said. ”I don’t mind if a couple of them happen to be people you don’t get along with.”

Amber was silent for a long time, then let out a headache-laden sigh.

”What?” Huai Shi chuckled. ”You’re about to say it’s not necessary?”

”Of course I’m not dumb enough to shove a good thing that comes knocking at my door away... but the price, Huai Shi?” Amber said faintly. ”When you’re not charging me, I get nervous.”

”Then forget it, pretend I never asked.” Huai Shi said smoothly. ”If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now?”

”...”

After a brief silence, the sound of grinding teeth and helplessness came from the other end.

”Wait.”

And Huai Shi’s smile grew even more cheerful.