Apocalypse Forecast

Suddenly, the style of the painting changed.

The promised fantasy background transitioned into sci-fi, and now it’s turning into a ghost story?

Isn’t this going a bit too far?

The horror seeped into his bones like icy water, but Huai Shi’s mind started to wander, trying to distract himself, despite feeling terrified.

Especially when he flipped through the Book of Fate, recalling there were ten people when they set out...

When did it become seven?

And since when does seven minus one still equal seven?

It’s hard to understand what exactly is happening.

The sudden change left him frozen in place. When he lowered his head to observe the display on the arm of his space suit, he felt a shock no less intense than before.

——[Depth 0]

They still remained in their Current Circumstances, never swallowed by Hell. Yet everything had unknowingly changed beyond recognition.

"What’s wrong, Huai Shi?"

Iz detected his anomaly, seeming confused, and asked on the public channel, "Are you okay?"

"...No, I’m fine, just catching my breath."

Huai Shi replied calmly, holding onto the jet engine, counting the number of safety ropes through the gloves of the space suit with the resonance of his fingertip echoes:

"1, 3, 3, 2, 4...5, 5, 7."

It’s seven people, no mistake!

"Try counting again." Tong Ji’s voice sounded, seemingly amused.

"0, 1, 2, 10, 11...21."

Suddenly, Huai Shi felt increasingly horrified; it really was 21 people!

Wait...

His mental count paused for a moment as he repeatedly compared the records in the Book of Fate, realizing something was amiss.

Why does my count come out differently each time?!

"Because reality has already changed, Huai Shi." Tong Ji sighed beside his ear: "To be precise, it’s been altered under the radiation of Helios’ Mystic Rituals.

It’s become something you can’t comprehend..."

In the deathly silence, Huai Shi sweated profusely.

Clearly, everything seemed normal, clearly, they were still slowly approaching Helios, about to reach that kingdom’s gate several kilometers high.

But something had already changed without them even noticing...

"This is ’The Philosopher’s Fancy’."

Tong Ji said, "To be honest, it’s rare material; if collected and sold in the Current Circumstances, each gram could be equivalent to a source crystal undergoing three transformations, right?

Usually, only souls filled with the essence of craft and wild imagination produce such sediment when burned, and unexpectedly, here it is vast like the sea.

Such an exaggerated scale, if reported back, would certainly attract many gold-diggers?"

"Wait, are you saying...burned?"

"Indeed, the burning of source substance."

Tong Ji replied seriously: "In other words, you could consider those intangible things as the ashes of the deceased on Helios, and only when burning this many outstanding alchemists along with their obsessions would such an exaggerated scale be produced?

In the sudden catastrophe, their souls were annihilated, source substances extracted by the engine of Helios, burned, leaving only ashes filled with personal insights and distorted fantasies, radiating outward... seeking release in the vastness of space.

Wasn’t that unfortunate self-combusting fool the same?

Engulfed and interfered by them, immersed in understanding, unknowingly stepping onto the road to ruin... The more one obsessed over alchemy, the more one would be attracted by such temptation, like a moth to a flame.

Ultimately, futilely consumed by fire into ashes...never comprehending that the insights gained were merely illusions!"

It was merely fancy generated from the source substances of the deceased.

What seemed philosophically insightful lies.

Just like truths and essences known in dreams, seemingly precious, attempting to record everything frantically, only to find upon waking that discoveries were absurdities like ’bananas have large skins too.’

Even a slight contact can lead to cognitive barriers.

Thus, ’The Philosopher’s Fancy’ serves as a primary raw material for meticulously inspected forbidden drugs.

Its greatest effect is brainwashing.

Making one deeply believe in absurdities.

"Including what you just comprehended, forget it as soon as possible." Tong Ji warned: "It’s merely a momentary obsession, without any real value."

After a long silence, Huai Shi dryly asked, "So, have I merely been influenced by them? Did nothing actually happen?"

"No, in fact, many unnoted things have already happened, Huai Shi, many. Just that some are worth attention, while others aren’t."

Tong Ji laughed meaningfully: "If I told you that compared to when you set out, not one person is missing, but two?

Do you still remember who shouted ’don’t look’ at the beginning?"

"..."

Huai Shi fell into a daze, unable to discern whether she was speaking the truth or joking.

"This is the true essence of Alchemy, Huai Shi, distorting reality through source substances, mystical rituals, burning disasters and miracles."

Tong Ji mocked: "With gain comes loss—the desire to extract miracles inevitably creates equivalent disasters. But whether success or failure, both represent destruction of common sense.

Once the engine of Helios starts distorting, this destruction begins to spread and expand.

Currently, you’re feeling cognitive influence; perhaps later, even math itself will become ternary, humans grow three eyes, four arms, even becoming cylindrical, or lost within non-Euclidean spatial structures..."

"That’s why you can create a genuine ’Hell’ without changing the depth."

At this moment, beside the jet engine, Huai Shi looked up, staring at the massive gate that was as large as a square.

They had already landed on an extraordinarily vast platform that evoked a sense of unease, right at the end of Helios, with the only path ahead of them.

This was the authentic ’Gate of Hell’.

Huai Shi had given up on counting the number of his teammates, as it was already meaningless.

Through Tong Ji’s words, he had come to understand one thing.

— That it was impossible to bestow ’trust’ in others here at all.

Apart from oneself, no one could determine if the status and mental state of others were normal, whether they were still their companions. Even oneself might unwittingly turn into an unexpected appearance.

Everyone must fight alone.

Even if they were supposedly a team and were close at hand...

"Do you understand, Huai Shi? Here, anything can be changed, and anything can betray you..."

Tong Ji solemnly reminded him, paused for a moment, and suddenly her tone became cheerful, "But think on the bright side, you can always trust your big sister me!"

As she spoke, she whistled merrily, "This is a great opportunity to spend time alone with your big sister, strengthen bonds, and unlock new rewards, you must cherish it~"

That’s it.

Listening to this, Huai Shi felt no sense of gratitude, only an increasingly piercing chill in his heart.

This world was so cold and indifferent.

Only the little dog of friendship in his arms had some warmth, yet that little dog of friendship wore a sneering look, full of disdain...

Imagine, in a nightmare-level instance, the leader doesn’t take action, the teammates are unreliable, some even smoke and slack off, and you don’t know how many are still breathing.

The most critical thing is having to succeed on the first attempt without a chance to resurrect and retry.

The only teammate you could rely on was a heartless bad woman and a broken dog that wanted to eat everything and bite everything...

One could almost see the crematorium beckoning warmly.

Huai Shi’s tears nearly burst forth.

He would never have come had he known nothing good awaited high above!

Atop the eerily vast square, at the forefront of the group, a disciple of Garandor and an alchemist from the Stone Pot Society took out a brass-colored oil lamp from the satchel beside him.

He raised his sleeve, giving the lamp’s handle a vigorous rub.

Then, right there in the vacuum, a pea-sized flame magically ignited, scanning the surroundings with its flickering light like a phantom, casting strands of wandering luminescence.

Finally, a projection from the Child of Leviathan emerged.

Dim and flickering.

Like a video call with poor reception.

The elderly man, leaning on his cane, lifted his eyes, appearing before them, surveying the surroundings, using the light cast by the border relic to probe everything around.

"As expected, the Gate of the Kingdom is farthest from the central engine; everything here is normal—"

His voice paused for a moment, the vague projection suddenly turned toward their location, his sharp gaze sweeping over them.

As though trying to identify something that did not belong to the group.

Within the group, Rachelle’s expression stiffened, growing more uneasy: "Great Grandmaster, what happened?"

"No, nothing, Rachelle."

Garandor slowly retracted his gaze, merely saying, "You can proceed. Behind the gate should be a safe area where you can take a short rest."

Thus, the leading disciple nodded, operating the jet engine, taking out his beacon from his arms, and slowly drifted toward the tightly shut gate.

Just like special effects in a poorly made fantasy TV series, disappearing into the rippling water patterns.

Soon, a signal signifying all was safe came from the other end of the safety rope.

Everyone held onto the same safety rope, slowly moving forward.

They brushed past Garandor’s phantom.

One, two, three...

Until the very last member of the group, a person lacking presence, suddenly went rigid when passing by, their steps became staggered.

Silently collapsing.

As if crumbling down.

The helmet, full of holes, fell from the already shattered astronaut suit, decayed skeletal remains breaking apart in the cold vacuum, leaving only a fragmented skull tenaciously rolling forward.

Sustaining a long-standing obsession from ages ago, yearning to step upon Helios’ domain.

Finally, stopping before the gate.

The last dim flame snuffed out in the eye socket.

He was dead.

For he had seen too much...

.

And in the space beyond the gate, Huai Shi raised his head, staring at the blood-soaked, dire scene, and the pervasive crimson.

Huai Shi’s eyes widened.

He took a long draw of oxygen, neither too cold nor too hot, perfectly suitable inside the astronaut suit.

Then, he began to genuinely doubt: Has Garandor grown senile?

What the hell kind of ’safe area’ is this?