Chapter 443: Calamity |
On May 11th, the post Si Qi had published on the Weird Game forums continued to snowball.
Players were a minuscule fraction of the world's population, yet they were embedded in every social stratum and profession. Their ranks included high-ranking officials in the Federal government and directors of corporate monopolies, granting them the power to exert an extraordinary influence on the world.
The global turmoil of the past week had left them deeply shaken. While their accumulated resources had allowed them to survive by the skin of their teeth, they knew that another Weird Invasion of the same magnitude would be different. Even if they could find a way to save themselves, they would have no means left to protect their friends, family, or assets.
Adding to their fear, Si Qi had stated unequivocally that the supernatural entities he controlled would kill indiscriminately if he lost his grip on them. This implied a future crisis that was unpredictable, unavoidable, and unending—a man-made catastrophe that could spiral into something as devastating as nuclear fallout, leading to catastrophic losses of life and economic ruin.
No one wanted to see such a future come to pass.
Influential players began mobilizing their remaining forces in the real world, applying pressure on Fu Jue from every possible angle.
A chairman of the Federal Council contacted the Jiang City branch of the Weird Investigation Bureau, demanding to speak with Fu Jue. Upon learning that Fu Jue was still en route, he issued an ultimatum: Fu Jue was to cease all operations immediately, or he would be charged with crimes against humanity.
Powerful corporations with deep ties to the criminal underworld poured immense sums into hiring mercenaries and trackers of every stripe to hunt down Fu Jue. The ideal outcome was to get him under control and force an agreement. If he wouldn't cooperate, however, killing him on the spot was perfectly acceptable.
But the vast majority were ordinary people, struggling to stay afloat in the chaos, barely clinging to life. All they could do was voice their pleas to Fu Jue on the game forums.
#God Fu, I used to be a fan. Please, for our sake, just drop your personal grudge for now. You can deal with it later, can't you?#
#So what if Si Qi is a slaughter-stream player? You think Fu Jue has never killed anyone? This is just another one of Kyushu's excuses to crush anyone who isn't with them!#
#An Open Letter to Fu Jue: Back off, Fu Jue! Stop targeting Si Qi! We refuse to be the casualties of your war!#
Of course, some people questioned Si Qi, seeing him as a terrorist holding the world hostage to threaten the authorities. They believed his statements were merely a means to achieve his own ulterior motives.
In response, the account named "Si Qi" posted again. The gist of it was that he had been looking for a way to die long before entering the Weird Game. Seeing so many people wishing for his death, he wholeheartedly agreed with them. As for what would happen when the entities he controlled went rampant after he died... well, everyone would have to fend for themselves.
If his previous post had been vague about the number of entities he controlled and the potential impact—a mix of bluffs and truths that was hard to verify—this new post was undeniably genuine. Anyone who had watched Si Qi's game streams knew he was an unpredictable madman with significant self-destructive tendencies.
Instantly, a portion of the players who had been condemning Fu Jue turned their fire on those who questioned Si Qi: What's the point of running your mouths? What if you piss off this psychopath and he just blows everything up?
No one knew just how many supernatural entities Si Qi truly controlled. His claim of being able to cause casualties in the hundreds of millions—was it a bluff, or was it the horrifying truth? You only get one life, and it was a gamble nobody was willing to take.
Besides, judging from the post, Si Qi, a mortal bearing a divine name, was very likely the winner of the Final Instance. Even if it was just to secure a place in the new world, it couldn't hurt to start showing him some faith and picking a side early.
Lin Jue and some of his core followers, however, knew the real situation. Not only had Si Qi failed to obtain the authority of the Ancestral God, but the entities he controlled were limited to just four types: the roses, the Colosseum, the Insomnia bacteria, and the Qi Family Village. Even if they all broke out at once, the Weird Investigation Bureau, with its accumulated experience, could contain the fallout within six months.
But the problem was, they were at the center of the storm, and no one would believe them.
Ever since Lin Jue had used all the contained entities as bargaining chips to force the entire Weird Investigation Bureau into submission before the Final Instance, the Federation's top brass had labeled him the same way they saw Si Qi: "a madman who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals." And who would believe the one-sided account of a madman?
It was a textbook open conspiracy—transparent yet unassailable. Even if a clever outsider could see through the scheme, they wouldn't dare gamble on whether Si Qi was bluffing or Lin Jue was telling the truth.
"This is humanity... shackled by skepticism, so clever they refuse to ever truly trust anyone. They'd rather bow to violence than follow justice, wagging their tails and begging for a moment's peace. Just a few careless words are enough to make them abandon their long-held beliefs and turn their spears against their former heroes..."
Si Qi lounged in the back of an SUV, fiddling with a new smartphone as he repeatedly refreshed the game forums. His call was on speaker. "Lin Jue," he purred, "barring any surprises, a rather large number of people are probably wishing you were dead by now. It makes me curious. You, the great savior who champions the cause of 'saving all humanity'—when all of humanity is calling for your head, will you do the honorable thing and kill yourself?"
The voice on the other end of the line was silent for a moment before replying, calm and steady: "In every round of the game, the ending I've written for myself is death. After I kill you, I will quell the chaos you've caused as quickly as possible. And when the dust settles, I will take my own life, ending the thirty-six years of torment this Weird Game has inflicted upon the world."
"A noble sentiment. Just what I'd expect from Lin Jue." Si Qi laughed. "But unfortunately, before you worry about killing me, you might want to worry about your own safety. I do hope you're still enjoying your time in Shangri-La as you claimed, and not on a plane back to Jiang City. A single bomb would be enough to blow you to smithereens.
"By the way, I should probably remind you that your luck won't be as good this round. Edgy teenagers like Fu Jue, willing to give their bodies to a predecessor, are a rare breed. The effect of the [Fallen Savior] card has already been used once. The next time it activates, it will likely require your death to resurrect someone else in your body."
"I know." In a nondescript long-distance bus, Lin Jue hung up the phone.
The phone's screen showed an internal messaging app. A message from a contact named [Listening Wind] had arrived: "Fu Jue, the helicopter that was carrying you just exploded over Mountain City. It was a missile from the Mountain City military base. There are a lot of people in the Federation who want you dead. Be careful. Don't let our investment go up in smoke."
Lin Jue's fingers flew across the screen as he typed a reply and hit send: "Some of them have bad memories. They've forgotten what I told them before I entered the Final Instance. I'll have to remind them."
The moment he saw Si Qi's first post, Lin Jue had anticipated what would follow. It wasn't that he was a master of human psychology; he had simply dealt with the Federation's high command long enough to know the nature of those useless, parasitic worms.
So, the helicopter had secretly landed at an air-raid shelter in Mountain City. Lin Jue and the members of Listening Wind then chartered a bus, posing as ordinary refugees who, seeing the situation improving, wanted to return to their hometown to deal with their assets.
The driver wasn't a Weird Game player, so he had no idea who Lin Jue was. It would also take some time for the news from the game forums to spread, so he was equally unaware that a madman named "Si Qi" was holding the world hostage.
The driver had naturally demanded an exorbitant price, but Lin Jue wasn't short on cash. And if the driver got any ideas about robbing and killing them, the Listening Wind members were armed.
The group set off once more. To cover their tracks, the helicopter that had brought them to Mountain City took off again using its autopilot system. And just as expected, it was shot down by the Mountain City military, who had received word of its location.
It would take time for them to search the wreckage, find no bodies, and realize they'd been tricked. That delay would give Lin Jue enough time to reach Magic City, which bordered Jiang City, and switch to another helicopter for the final leg of the journey.
This explained why, even though a direct flight from Shangri-La to Jiang City would take only ten hours, accounting for rest and potential delays, Lin Jue had told Mu Dongxu that he would be landing on May 12th.
...
Early morning, May 12th. Outside the Near River District in Jiang City.
The once-bustling marketplace was now overrun by wildly growing roses. Thick vines coiled around tilting houses and crumbling walls. The dark green stems bristled with thorns as sharp and long as small knives, from which the corpses of small animals hung, scattered here and there.
Investigators in Weird Investigation Bureau uniforms were suspended high in the air, enveloped by petals. The upper halves of their bodies were buried deep within the flowers' pistils, while their lower halves had been completely corroded by a viscous, pus-yellow slime. Some had been dead for a long time, their remains reeking of rot and decay; others still clung to a final breath, their pained moans rising and falling in ragged gasps.
Five days earlier, the Weird Investigation Bureau had realized the proliferating rose entity was closely linked to the Near River District. The one pulling the strings, Si Qi—or rather, Qi Si—was a resident. And Qiu Lihua, the first infected person to plant the roses, often set up her stall at the morning market just outside the district. Drawing on past experience, they had rashly concluded that they only needed to find the source of the entity and suppress it with full force to stop its spread. And so, the operational teams from Divisions One and Two were deployed in full, surrounding the Near River District.
It was all like a nightmare. They had parachuted from helicopters and landed, spotting the back of a young man in a white shirt and black trousers standing in the center of the district. In their daze, they forgot that Qi Si was far away in Shangri-La for the Final Instance. Assuming the man was the culprit behind the disaster, they gave chase instinctively.
The young man started running, and they followed close behind. By the time they came to their senses, they were deep inside a casino swarming with roses, where they saw Shao Qingmin, the director of the Beidu Head Office's Division Two, hanging upside down from the ceiling.
The man had been dead for a long time. A large bloodstain spread from his chest, which was hollowed out, exposing a heart that had clearly been pierced by a sharp object. And yet, he was still alive. No, he was dead—merely maintained in a supernatural state, capable only of basic reflexes.
At the sound of their approach, the rose-covered heart nestled within his rib cage began to beat frantically, emitting a buzzing hum like an old phonograph record: "Run... it's dangerous here..."
It was a warning just before disaster struck. The moment the words faded, the once-solid ceiling shattered with a roar, and a deluge of vines flooded into the casino from outside, ensnaring the investigators by their necks and ankles.
The lead investigator reacted instantly, pulling the trigger on the young man in the white shirt. The crack of gunshots echoed relentlessly as the youth's body was torn apart by the hailstorm of bullets, the impacts making him dance in a grotesque, chaotic jig.
The young man turned his face toward them. It was an unfamiliar face, not Qi Si's. Half of it was covered in creeping vines, and a single rose bloomed from one eye socket. He was undoubtedly an innocent victim, corrupted by the supernatural entity.
"It's a trap! We've been tricked!" an investigator shouted.
But it was too late.
A slithering, rustling sound filled the air. Having captured their prey, the vines retreated the way they came. In an instant, all the investigators were left hanging outside the Near River District, displayed like a shrike's trophies.
Yang Yao's back looked a lot like Qi Si's. Even his own mother, Qiu Lihua, sometimes thought so. Whenever she saw Qi Si, she couldn't help but be reminded of her good-for-nothing son, and she would always stuff his egg-filled pancakes with extra fillings.
She was very grateful to Qi Si. Ever since the young man had given her that potted rose, good things had happened to her family every day.
Her son had returned home safely and had seen the error of his ways, giving up gambling for good. He started working odd jobs, diligent and quick, and earned a decent amount. Not long ago, he'd even earned the trust of a benefactor. They went into business together and made a fortune.
He was an incredibly filial son. The first thing he did with the money was buy his mother a pile of health supplements. He even built a four-story villa back in their hometown, with a grand, high staircase that really let her hold her head high in front of her friends.
Her son had a family now—a sweet daughter-in-law and an obedient grandson. They all lived with her, fussing over her day and night. Everyone envied the blissful family life she enjoyed...
That day, while on her morning walk, Qiu Lihua saw a helicopter land outside the Near River District. A man in a black suit and rimless glasses got out, followed by several others. They appeared to be armed.
Qiu Lihua knew, with a certainty she couldn't explain, that this man was here to harm her son.
Kill him... I have to kill him... If I kill him, my son will be safe...
With a great cry, Qiu Lihua charged at the man, brandishing a rose vine. The next moment, she saw him raise a pistol and aim it at her.
A sharp pain bloomed in her chest. In an instant, a chill spread through her entire body. Her life ebbed away, and with it, the supernatural influence. Memories that had been suppressed came flooding back into her mind like a tidal wave. It was as if she had been trapped in a nightmare and was suddenly shocked awake. In her final moments, her vision cleared.
She remembered with horror that she didn't have a daughter-in-law or a grandson. Her son had only been back for a week and a half, and he'd gone right back to gambling as soon as he returned... After that, she remembered nothing.
She stared at the blood-soaked ground and the enormous roses whose vines writhed as if alive. She felt as if she were witnessing the end of the world. Through the overwhelming terror, she managed to form a single thought: My son? Where is my son?
With great effort, she turned her head. She saw a body in a white shirt and black trousers lying face down on the ground. Its back had been riddled with bullets, and the pool of blood beneath it had congealed into a brown stain...
Lin Jue lowered his gun. His gaze was cold and heavy as he watched the corrupted civilian's head fall. For once, his perpetually indifferent expression showed a flicker of change.
The members of Listening Wind stood in silence, holding their breath as they took in the hellscape. Never before had they so viscerally understood what the Weird Invasion truly meant for their world.
An investigator who was still barely alive was startled awake by the gunshot. He lifted his heavy eyelids and saw Lin Jue's expressionless face. A flicker of joy appeared in his eyes. "God Fu... Director, are you here to save us?"
But he quickly dismissed the thought. "No, it's all fake... You're just a hallucination. Stop trying to trick me..."
The investigator was young, in his early twenties, looking as though he had only recently graduated from college and started his job. Rose vines crept up his neck, but he never stopped struggling. He kept his eyes wide open, forcing himself to watch the horrifying scene around him, his face streaked with snot and tears, refusing to sink into the beautiful dream the roses offered.
Lin Jue took a few steps forward, looked up at him, and said earnestly, "I am Fu Jue. I've just returned from clearing the Final Instance. I'm sorry I was late. I can't save you. The Weird Investigation Bureau currently has no way to reverse this kind of corruption. Even if you survived, you would end up in the containment cells on the fifth basement level."
It was a cruel but honest answer. Hearing it, the investigator's face lit up with ecstatic joy. "You really are God Fu! You... you'll end all of this, won't you? You'll save humanity? Just like you always said you would..."
"I will," Lin Jue said. "Is there anything else you need?"
For twenty-two years, he had always acted by the book, like a cold, precise machine. This was the first time he had ever promised to fulfill someone's request outside of official regulations.
"Director, I can't hold on anymore..." The investigator's eyelids slowly drooped. "Kill me... Please, kill me..."
The second he closed his eyes, a vibrant rose burst from his mouth, lunging at Lin Jue's face.
Lin Jue sidestepped the attack, raised his pistol, and pulled the trigger.