Apocalypse Forecast

”As you wish. ”

Faust danced excitedly, enjoying the sweet pain and anger, and recited words like a poem:

”One ritual, ten gluttonies, the bones of a hundred people, the eyes of a thousand birds, and ten thousand venomous snakes!

Death in a coffin, so weeping, transformed in a place of hell, and thus perishing.

Reborn, with shadows attached to wings, the dormant birds will fly into the sky! ”

Snap!

It was the sound of the armrest breaking under anger.

Ai Qing gritted her teeth and said nothing.

Her most precious treasure was exchanged for a useless prophecy poem?

After his poetic outburst, Faust cleared his mind and straightened his hair, lifted his head, and looked down at the pair of pupils as if he could see the raging magma beneath the ice layer, grinning.

”You have one last question. ”

Ai Qing said nothing.

Faust waited calmly.

Until she finally calmed down and asked her final question.

”Will anyone lose their life because of the Astronomy Association? ”

Faust raised his eyebrows.

He leaned forward with his crutches, carefully scrutinized Ai Qing ’s face, admired her calm expression, and looked at her quietly until he saw her thirst for answers in her eyes.
Then he showed a wicked smile.

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”Do you want to know? ”

He chuckled and stared at her with widened eyes.
”Do you really want to know? ”

Ai Qing said nothing.

”You should have a better question.
What made you weak, little girl? ” Faust admired her face in surprise and arrogance.
”I know who you want to ask, so there ’s no need to beat around the bush.
I can tell you the answer. ”

”But- ”

He paused and said the almost joking price:

”-I want your tears. ”

”I can ’t do it. ”

In silence, Ai Qing looked at him coldly.
”I don ’t have that kind of thing. ”

”Then you ’re destined not to get an answer.
Haha, hahaha, hahahaha… ”

Faust laughed, and the devil who peeked into people ’s hearts mocked his master.
”Why do you still care about others, little girl? Don ’t you hate everything? You hate the sublimators, you hate the powerless, you hate the strong, and you hate the weak.

You hate those who have happiness, but those who lose everything cannot get your mercy.

Is your hatred necessary? ”

”Enough! ”

He grinned and uncovered the last scar.
”Isn ’t what you hate the most yourself? ”

Ai Qing said nothing.

As if she hadn ’t heard it.

”You will suffer forever and cannot be freed. ”

Faust grinned, and his venomous tongue, like a snake, stirred up malicious saliva from his mouth.
”No one can save you, little girl.
Your heart has long been left in hell, in the lonely place where even demons cannot survive! ” ”- ”You will suffer eternal pain, just like your eternal loneliness! ”

”If it ’s just loneliness and pain, is there anything to be afraid of? ”

Ai Qing finally raised her eyes and said softly, ”Since you ’ve had enough fun, it ’s my turn now- ”

At that moment, Faust widened his eyes.

He bent over.

Staring at his abdomen in amazement, the handleless dagger that had entered it.

The dagger was pulled out.

A brilliant sacred light appeared on the spine of the dagger, evaporating every drop of black blood with a hiss.

This was her carefully prepared farewell gift.

Bang!

His body trembled again and collapsed once more, turning into ink-like mosquitoes and flies, pulled back into the book that was violently flipping through its pages.

”Go back to your hell, Faust. ” Ai Qing looked at him indifferently, ”Enjoy your eternal life and omniscience that even slaves pity. ”

”No, I will look forward to- ”

In pain, the demon finally cast a mocking glance at the world, ”The price you will pay when we meet again… ”

The figure disappeared.

The hand holding the sword of the armored man tightened and then loosened, and in the end, there was no movement.

Although she was suspected of damaging the border relics, Ai Qing had not violated any precepts.

So, the pages of the book closed, and the shackles returned.

He seemed to look at Ai Qing with his sealed eyes, for a long time, before retracting his gaze and turning into a phantom and leaving.

In the silence, the study returned to its silence.

For a long time.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

The caller ID showed ”Unknown. ”

.

The phone kept ringing persistently, as if waiting for her response, until she reached out and pressed the answer key.

”Who is it? ”

”Xiao Qing? It ’s me, Qi Wen, do you remember your third uncle Qi? ”

A warm laughter came from the phone, and a slightly old voice sounded, ”I ’m sorry, I suddenly called, I didn ’t disturb you, did I?

I heard from the old man that you ’re in Xin Hai, and I was surprised.
Why don ’t you come and sit with me for a while? Your cousin just came back from America a few days ago, and you young people must have a lot in common.
How about I have him pick you up tomorrow and come to my place for dinner? ”

”… ”

Ai Qing listened silently, enduring the discomfort and gloom in her chest.
She was really tired of that old man who relied on his age to act superior.

”Mr.
Qi, I don ’t need to eat.
I ’m busy with work lately. ”

”We ’re family, don ’t create a rift between us.
Are you still angry with your family? Blood is thicker than water, and there ’s no grudge that can ’t be resolved. ” Qi San ’s voice sighed, ”If you ’re really upset, let your uncle accompany you, okay? ” ”The old man will be celebrating his hundredth birthday in a few months, don ’t be mad at him anymore.
Every time during holidays, the old man always asks, ’Has Ai Qing come back? Have you called her? Even if work is important, family is more important. ’

Besides, didn ’t the old man do it all for your own good? Look, your father succeeded in sublimation, and even you have the tendency to awaken your source material… ”

Snap.

Ai Qing ’s pen cracked.

In silence, Ai Qing ’s eyes drooped, unable to conceal the deep-seated gloom and anger.

Letting the person on the phone ramble on, it wasn ’t until he stopped talking that she finally spoke up.

”Mr.
Qi, that ’s enough small talk for now.
I have work to do, so goodbye. ”

She said, ”And please remember, my name is Ai Qing. ”

”…Ai from Ai Ye, Qing from Tian Qing. ”

”Since that ’s what you think, I have nothing else to say. ”

In silence, Qi didn ’t say anything else, only sighed, ”The old man always said, ’Children who don ’t come home will suffer outside. ’ ”

The busy tone came on.

The phone hung up.

Ai Qing calmly put down her phone, expressionless.

If good news was like pigeons, always taking their time to arrive, then bad news was like crows, always coming in flocks and leaving behind a nauseating mess.

They would erupt in one place.

At the time and place you least wanted them to.

Now, not only did she have work problems from the Guijing tribe and malicious fables left by Faust, but also pressure from her family that appeared at the worst possible time.

Even if this pressure had been expected.

She had long been aware of how precious she was as a puppet.

From the standpoint of the family and her own judgment, she would not allow herself to be separated from the Yin family.

After nearly a century of decline, the Yin family had finally made a comeback, but the distance from their former glory was already too far.
It was unknown how long it would take to restore their former glory.

Compared to the long-standing aristocrats abroad, a few decades could be considered brief, and there were many examples of those who endured humiliation for over a hundred years before returning to the pinnacle of power.

Of course, there were also many who perished.

This was a long and arduous gamble, where every chip was crucial.
In other words, for the sake of achieving this goal, every member of the family, whether from the main branch or a side branch, was a precious commodity.

Moreover, Ai Qing had already become a supervisor of the Tianwen Society, even if she was still a newcomer, the hidden power behind her could reach an astonishing level when necessary.

It can be foreseen that the Yin family is already preparing to participate in the struggle between the main sovereignty faction and the border faction representing the Five Constants within the Tianwen Society.

They may have already placed their bets.What role will she play in their plan?

Forcing her exhausted brain to work, Ai Qing began to envy the professor ’s ability to find large amounts of energy whenever he needed it during the long silence.

Unlike herself, she could only repeatedly add disgustingly sweet sugar cubes to her coffee.

What alarmed her was not the family, at least not yet.

It was this phone call.

What did it represent?

A warning? A heartfelt notification to save her family? Or something else?

It should be more than that.

Irrationally, she had a premonition: Qiqi might not only represent the Yin family.

Even though the Yin family had supported him for so many years, she wondered how the old ghost who held so much potential energy in his hands would be so obedient as to flatter the Yin family in such a matter.

Is his goal really that simple?

No matter how sincere his words were, she still felt a hint of other meanings from Qiqi, as if he was hiding something.

Even those seemingly sincere persuasions seemed to be testing something.

Although she had never had any contact with them, she knew how much power the Qi family had in this gradually declining small city.

Almost like the Huai family back in the day.

On the surface, the Qi family had been mainly engaged in shipping and logistics for years, but secretly, there must have been smuggling involved.

But is this kind of thing rare?

It can be said that it is commonplace, and it is almost a cliché.
Relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the water to eat the water.
If they don ’t engage in smuggling with so many coastal routes, are they even human?

This kind of thing can ’t be stopped, and with Qiqi ’s cunning, he certainly wouldn ’t personally get involved and leave any evidence.

So, what is he trying to test?

What does he want to get from her, a supervisor who is almost like a decoration?

She pondered in silence for a long time, finally letting out a sigh.
It seemed that no matter what, she had to check all the hidden dangers…

In addition to that, necessary precautions must be put in place.

After her contemplation, she picked up the phone.

”Hello, City Library Archive Management Office, who is this? ”

”Professor? ”

Ai Qing asked, ”In addition to the investigation of the Salvation Society, help me find out all the movements of the Qi family in recent years, urgently. ”

The sound of writing came from the other end of the phone, and soon, a deep voice answered, ”Okay, it ’s been recorded.
The price is the same as usual, with a 30% increase for urgent requests.
Is that okay? ”

”Whatever, I just want the results. ”

”One day. ”

The professor replied so, and then the phone was hung up.

Ai Qing expressionlessly put down the phone, but the uneasiness in her heart grew stronger.

After a long time, she closed her eyes and sighed wearily.