Dark clouds gathered above the city, faintly suggesting that a mountain storm was about to arrive.
In the central laboratory of the research institute, every monitoring system was flashing red with warnings.
On the map displayed across the enormous screen, countless red circles repeatedly appeared and disappeared, or flickered incessantly.
A group of high-ranking officials gathered in front of the monitoring system, their nerves already stretched to the breaking point.
It had been fifteen days since the hundred elite members who had been sent out returned.
Fifteen days ago, the hundred Xuanmen elites who had been dispatched had returned completely intact, completely beyond everyone’s expectations.
Although some had suffered injuries of varying degrees, compared with the number of casualties they had secretly anticipated before the expedition, the outcome was truly astonishing.
The only person who had not returned was Xu Muchan.
According to those who had come back, Xu Muchan had been covering the rear at the very end. Under his guidance, everyone else had left the Black River’s territory one after another.
No one knew what had happened afterward.
Yan He and Pei Rong, who had been the last to leave, naturally became the main targets of questioning.
But Xu Muchan had revealed very little information. Everyone repeatedly analyzed and scrutinized their few brief exchanges, yet they still could not uncover anything new.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that their plan had succeeded at least halfway.
As for the uncertainty surrounding the other half, it lay with Xu Muchan, who had suddenly disappeared.
No one knew whether his disappearance meant that something had gone wrong midway.
Amid this unease, everyone waited patiently for several days.
Xu Muchan still did not appear.
Instead, the Religious Association was the first to bring good news—the gods who had previously stopped responding had unexpectedly begun appearing and manifesting their divine powers one after another over the past few days.
With the assistance of these gods, the disciples of the various sects were much more efficient when suppressing the evil entities causing disturbances. Even the casualties had decreased.
This change greatly boosted everyone’s morale.
It also proved that the plan Xu Muchan had proposed at the beginning was feasible.
For a time, the evil entities causing trouble in various places were gradually swept away. Although the problem of contaminated water sources had not been completely resolved, many areas where work and classes had been suspended were finally able to restore order and return to normal work and life.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last.
Before the alarms could be completely lifted, the monitoring system suddenly began issuing warnings across the board.
The red circles representing tidal surges repeatedly lit up and disappeared on the map.
The high-ranking officials who had hurried over after receiving the news were momentarily unable to figure out what was happening. The atmosphere in the laboratory sank into an oppressive silence.
In the midst of that suffocating atmosphere, several phones suddenly rang at the same time.
The sharp ringing echoed through the laboratory, exceptionally jarring.
Once the calls were answered, the messages coming from the other end were essentially identical—
Something had happened.
With no time to worry about the monitoring system flashing red across the board, everyone hurried out of the laboratory and crowded around the floor-to-ceiling windows in the corridor.
Outside, dark clouds rolled across the sky.
It looked as though a black river had stretched across the horizon, boiling water roaring above the city like the arrival of the apocalypse.
At the edge of the city, continuous mountain ranges rose abruptly from the ground.
The towering, precipitous peaks blotted out the sky and almost replaced the high-rise buildings that had originally stood there, making it difficult for people to tell for a moment whether they were witnessing a mirage or some terrifying reality descending upon them.
At the summit of the mountains, two enormous, roughly humanoid shadows could vaguely be seen entwined together.
Their ridiculously enormous limbs stretched outward, while countless thick black vines wrapped around those limbs. The portions hanging down slithered between the mountains like groups of snakes.
From a distance, it looked like a strange giant tree baring its claws.
The source of the black river suspended above the city was precisely those continuous mountain ranges.
Only after looking closely did they realize that the rolling black clouds were not clouds at all, but viscous streams of water gathered together.
Like black clouds pressing down upon the city, they advanced toward it, as though in the next moment they would transform into roaring water dragons and crush human civilization.
“Didn’t they say the plan succeeded? What’s going on?”
“Notify everyone to immediately enter wartime readiness. Whether this is the Final Tidal Surge or not, we cannot just sit here and wait for death!”
Countless orders were issued from the capital and transmitted to every region at the fastest possible speed.
Jiang City received the news as well.
When Wei Yao was evacuated with his family, he did not forget to bring the statue of the Goddess Jinhua with them.
Because the evacuation had been so hurried, the family of four shared a single Jeep. Wei Yao and his grandfather sat in the back seat, with Wei Yao lowering the window halfway and sticking his head out to look around.
The young man gazed at the black river stretching across the sky and muttered,
“Are we really going back to Yundong? It’s such a long way to Yundong. Wouldn’t it be safer to just stay at home? If it really is the end of the world, there’s nowhere we can hide anyway, right?”
Old Master Wei glanced at him and rubbed his cane.
“If it really is the end of the world, then perhaps the Wei family’s ancestral graves will be the only place we can hide. After all, that’s where the old Wei family’s roots are…”
To this day, Wei Yao still couldn’t understand why his grandfather was so enthusiastic about their Wei family’s main clan, which seemed to have nothing to do with them.
When you got right down to it, they really only knew one ancestor.
Besides, that old ancestor had disappeared long ago, and no one knew what he had gone off to do.
He secretly curled his lips but didn’t argue. Instead, he turned around and glanced toward the trunk.
The statue of the Goddess Jinhua was lying awkwardly on its side inside the trunk.
He muttered again,
“I heard Daoist Priest Yan He say that all the deities worshipped at their temple have been found and brought back. I wonder when Godmother will come back. If we’ve gone to Yundong, won’t she have trouble finding us? Has Godmother ever been to Yundong?”
Old Master Wei saw that he still had the energy to worry about all sorts of random things. He wasn’t affected in the slightest by the oppressive, tense atmosphere.
For a moment, he didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him.
In the end, he could only sigh and shake his head.
No one paid Wei Yao any attention.
Then, all of a sudden, he shouted again and stuck his head out of the window.
“Godmother?”
From the passenger seat, Bai Shanshan turned around and reminded him,
“Yao Yao, be careful!”
Wei Yao was so excited that he couldn’t hear his mother’s words at all. He stuck his head out and greeted the tall figure that had suddenly appeared outside the car, his face full of delight.
“Godmother, it’s really you?”
The enormous body of the Goddess Jinhua was sprawled across the roof of the car, several arms clinging to the vehicle like a spider. Her long snake tail dragged behind her.
She lowered her neck from the roof and poked her head down.
A pale, ghastly face, half-hidden by black hair, hung upside down outside the car window, silently staring at the people inside.
It was an extremely terrifying sight.
If this had happened in the past, Wei Yao might have instantly transformed and screamed like a startled chicken upon seeing her.
But perhaps there had simply been too many changes recently, too many people they had been separated from.
Thus, when he saw this strange and terrifying face again after such a long separation, the first thing he felt wasn’t fear.
It was the warmth and joy of reunion.
So Godmother is fine after all.
Wei Yao’s mood instantly brightened. He pulled his head back a little and leaned against the car window as he talked to the Goddess Jinhua.
“Godmother, do you know what’s going on? It shouldn’t really be the end of the world, right?”
The Goddess Jinhua merely looked at him and gave no response.
But he continued talking anyway.
“Godmother, do you know where Old Ancestor and Xu Muchan went? If you can’t tell me, then just tell me whether they’re safe right now.”
This time, the Goddess Jinhua actually reacted.
Her face turned toward the majestic mountain range standing on the horizon, and she raised one hand and pointed toward it.
Wei Yao didn’t understand.
“What does that mean? They’re in that direction?”
He stuck his head out farther and narrowed his eyes, trying hard to observe for a moment.
“I can’t see anything.”
The Goddess Jinhua withdrew her hand, returned to her original position, and fell silent again.
Wei Yao let out an “Eh?” and spoke in a deliberately whiny voice.
“Godmother, give me another hint…”
Wei Jianguo, who was driving, listened to Wei Yao rambling on by himself as though performing a one-man comedy routine.
He couldn’t help glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
But there was nothing in the mirror.
His son looked as though he had completely lost his mind, leaning against the car window and talking to himself.
Perhaps the vehicle traveling behind them had noticed the scene.
It suddenly accelerated and roared past them.
As they passed one another, the driver even turned his head and gave Wei Jianguo a strange look.
Wei Jianguo pressed a hand against his heart and turned to his wife.
“When we reach the next service area, you drive. My heart feels a little uncomfortable.”
By the time Wei Yao’s family finally made it to Yundong with great difficulty, martial law had begun in various places as well.
The strange, elongated river hanging above the cities pressed down on everyone’s nerves.
The continuous mountain ranges standing on the horizon, together with the two enormous shadows entangled atop the mountains, were even more like grim reapers standing by and watching everything.
Although the cities still barely maintained their operations out of sheer momentum and habit, rumors about the end of the world grew more and more intense, causing crime rates to rise sharply everywhere.
After the threat of the evil entities causing disturbances had been resolved, unrest broke out among humans themselves.
The military, which had previously remained on high alert but had rarely had any opportunity to be of use, was finally deployed in full force.
Martial law was imposed everywhere to prevent serious incidents from occurring.
During the first week after the strange Black River appeared, the government announced that the country was entering a wartime state.
Everyone was tense and on full alert.
During the second week, the wartime state still had not been lifted, but people’s taut nerves gradually began to relax.
Some people were celebrating wildly in anticipation of the end of the world.
Others were praying under the pressure of the situation, wishing the end of the world would just come already and get it over with.
During the third week, aside from the fact that the sun was nowhere to be seen day after day, leaving everyone depressed, nothing happened.
The towering mountains and rolling river remained.
But neither disappeared nor changed in any way.
The end of the world still did not come.
After three weeks of living under the crushing pressure of death, everyone gradually entered a state of whatever happens, happens.
Criminals attempting to take advantage of the chaos were quickly suppressed, and ordinary people gradually returned to their normal routines.
As long as the end of the world didn’t come, life still had to go on.
People still had to go to work.
Students still had to go to school.
Wei Yao sat inside a mud-brick house in the middle of nowhere, holding up his phone and speaking seriously to his parents.
“School has reopened. There are only sixty-seven days left until the college entrance examination. I have to go back to Jiang City.”
The phone screen displayed the notice about classes resuming in his class group chat.
Wei Yao genuinely couldn’t stand staying in this lousy place any longer.
If the end of the world really was coming, he should be comfortably waiting to die in his villa in Jiang City—not feeding mosquitoes in this godforsaken place that didn’t even have an internet connection!
Wei Jianguo and his wife exchanged troubled glances with Old Master Wei, who was calmly brewing tea.
Actually, after staying here for so long, the couple also wanted to go home.
Unfortunately, all major family decisions were made by Old Master Wei.
Even though they were both already well into adulthood, they still didn’t dare disobey their elder.
Bai Shanshan gave Wei Yao a meaningful look, then glanced at Old Master Wei, who was calmly brewing his tea.
Wei Yao immediately understood.
He held up his phone and rushed over to Old Master Wei.
“Grandpa, school has reopened. You don’t want me to fail to get into college, do you? We should hurry back.”
Old Master Wei took a sip of tea and thought for a moment.
“Go ask the Goddess Jinhua. If she agrees too, then we’ll go back.”
Wei Yao was instantly delighted.
Grandpa can’t see Godmother anyway. So whatever I say goes!
He pretended to make a trip to the room where the Goddess Jinhua was worshipped, then quickly ran back.
“Godmother agreed!”
The moment he finished speaking, the enormous face of the Goddess Jinhua appeared outside the window.
Her vertical pupils stared at him through her disheveled black hair.
Wei Yao immediately felt guilty and smiled ingratiatingly at her.
Fortunately, the Goddess Jinhua didn’t bother arguing with him over such a trivial matter.
Wei Yao turned to look at Old Master Wei.
Old Master Wei leisurely finished his cup of tea before saying,
“All right. Then pack your things. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
Wei Yao immediately cheered.
His fingers flew across the keyboard as he sent a message to the group chat:
[You guys wait for me. Dad’s coming back tomorrow!]
The moment he sent the message, a long, sharp howl suddenly came from outside.
Wei Yao instinctively covered his ears.
Then he realized it seemed to be the voice of the Goddess Jinhua and hurried outside.
Just as he was about to step through the doorway, a huge hand pushed him back.
Wei Yao stumbled and fell onto the ground.
He looked up and saw the Goddess Jinhua turn her head toward him.
“Don’t come outside.”
Behind her, the mountain range that had stood far away on the horizon suddenly began to move.
The Black River originating from the mountains seemed to have been affected as well.
It began to churn and surge.
Countless splashes of water flew into the air, and outside the house, torrential rain suddenly began pouring down.
Rain mixed with black liquid pounded against the ground.
The black liquid seemed almost alive.
Once it landed, it quickly seeped into the soil and disappeared.
The abundant rainwater washed across the earth, gathered together, and flowed toward the distance.
Whether the rain was simply too heavy and obscured their vision, or whether the changing weather had affected the mirage, no one knew.
But the majestic mountain range that had stood on the horizon for nearly a month without changing gradually began to fade.
In the end, it disappeared like mist and clouds.
Wei Yao stared upward with his mouth hanging open.
Hearing the rain, Old Master Wei and Wei Jianguo’s wife stood behind him.
Their voices were filled with worry.
“Why did it suddenly start raining? We don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.”
The rain continued intermittently for an entire month.
Across the country, preparations for the end of the world turned into flood control and disaster relief.
It wasn’t exactly good news.
But when compared with the end of the world, this outcome didn’t seem to be the worst.
Because after a month of rain, the black river stretching across the entire sky finally disappeared together with the majestic mountain range.
The sky, washed clean by the rain, revealed an intensely saturated blue.
The sun, which had not been seen for so long, hung high overhead, desperately radiating heat and baking the damp earth.
The summer heat was beginning to show itself.
Although nothing could be said to have gone particularly smoothly, the brilliant blue sky above and the bright sunlight seemed to be telling everyone that the end of the world was probably still a very long way off.