Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 257: Chapter 225 Reward_1

”Too slow, too slow!”

In the brutal laughter, a strange hoarse voice burst forth like thunder. Immediately after, another voice sneered, ”Letting you outsiders step foot in this paradise is utterly absurd... If we have to clean up after you anyway, we might as well start ourselves.”

”No matter what, you’re all just a bunch of trash.”

As the great doors of the pitch-black castle in the center of the square burst open, a black carriage rolled out, charging straight into the crowd. Beneath the iron hooves of the black steeds, a spray of blood erupted. Like a juicer beginning its operation, a continual stream of scarlet pulp was ejected.

Above the carriage, along with piercing laughter, several phantom shadows swooped down, fluttering mid-air, selecting victims to devour. Wherever they passed, all challengers were left as corpses strewn across the ground. Even the hosts hiding in the attractions, torn brutally into the air by a passing shadow, were casually thrown down, smashing into a mess of gore.

Huai Shi, stunned, peeked an eye out from one of the rear windows of the Ancient Evil Spirit Castle but froze in place. The several semi-transparent shadows were enveloped in palpable darkness, bathing in blood as they shrieked. They all bore ”Sword” and Crown, looking every bit like dignified and handsome Princes, but at this moment, they were as fierce as Demons. They ranged freely among the crowd, killing tyrannically, turning one Sublimator after another into corpses. Even those who tried to flee were unable to escape their strange, ghostly speeds.

One Prince wore a grey outfit, his face pale, driving the carriage to crash back and forth through the crowd. Another Prince, surrounded by eight Dwarves, laughed maniacially, drenched in blood. A third, wearing pitch-black crystal boots, trampled everything before him into mud. One had gills behind his ears and bulging eyes like some monstrous fish, swallowing Sublimators whole. A Prince with black hair, black eyes, and coiled muscles brandished a Treasure Sword, taking lives. Another Prince, his long hair flying like snakes, chose victims to devour. And there was yet another who wielded flames, turning everything in his path to charred remains...

In an instant, the Sublimators in the square were utterly decimated. Those who wished to fight back found their attacks merely passing through their assailants harmlessly. The grim phantoms kept closing in, tormenting the Rebels to death amidst boundless despair. The slaughter continued, growing ever more intense...

In the blink of an eye, the amusement park that had erupted in darkness had turned into a true, undeniable Hell.

Until a tattered puppet suit blocked the path of the carriage.

Little Cat raised its head, its patch-covered face filthy, but through its open mouth, the figure hidden inside was hard to glimpse. Only a cold voice came from within.

”Daytime is my work time, and these are my guests,” he said. ”If you have any ideas, you are welcome to execute them through the agents you hired, instead of taking action yourselves.”

Little Cat said, ”You broke the rules.”

The grey-clad Prince driving the carriage froze for a moment. He frowned and looked down at the ragged puppet suit before him as if he had heard a joke, then suddenly grinned, letting out a hoarse laugh.

”Rules?”

A whip lashed down from the carriage, leaving a mark on Little Cat’s suit. Amidst the flying dust and grime, the initially adorable face was divided into two by a scorching mark, with wisps of blue smoke rising from the scar.

Then, Little Cat was grabbed by the Prince with the Dwarves, who hoisted it up by the neck. The Prince, grinning, told it slowly, ”We are the rules!”

The black-haired Prince, returned from the slaughter, carried a Treasure Sword. He laughed sharply, as if boasting of his bravery to the masses, and declared with delight, ”We are the crowd-pleaser!”

”Look, aren’t these the audience who came to watch us? Isn’t this the performance we offer!”

But there was no audience left—only countless corpses lying silently in pools of blood.

Little Cat said no more, only waved its hand.

Then, the sound of a mighty bell tolled from deep within the amusement park.

In an instant, the darkness trembled and rolled back... as if time were flowing in reverse. An invisible force swept out from the castle in the center of the square, pulling at the Princes amidst their massacre, dragging them towards the gate... sending them back to where they belonged.

”This trick again?” The face of the grey-clad Prince driving the carriage twisted. ”Why don’t you, an old relic discarded by time, just obediently return to your trash heap?”

With annoyance and reluctance, he turned the carriage towards the castle. But before leaving, he paused and suddenly turned to ask, ”By the way, I haven’t seen your duck friend in a long time... where did he go?”

Little Cat remained silent.

But another Prince snickered and said, ”I remember there used to be a Dog-headed Man?”

”And his wife... HAHAHA, HAHAHA.”

Another added, and all the Princes laughed heartily, stepping onto the path home with proud, joyful contempt, casting malicious sidelong glances at it as they left.

”Don’t worry.” Someone bent down and whispered in its ear, ”One day, you’ll end up just like them. One day, this place will belong to us!”

The castle doors slammed closed.

In the deathly silence, Little Cat remained quiet, its head bowed, staring into the Reflection in the blood. It was as if it could see the beautiful world beneath a hot sun from ages past—faces full of laughter and joy, expressions of happiness, and the tenderest of dreams...

Sadly, all those things were gone.

The quiet pool of blood rippled, and the illusion of past days vanished.

Only in the darkness beneath the puppet suit, a cold sneer resounded.

”Look, friends.”

”How joyful we once were...”

An unexpected massacre had practically wiped out more than half of the challengers in the square. But already accustomed to the bizarre changes in Xiematai, the Sublimators didn’t take the incident to heart, treating it as a test that was bound to appear. The competition continued, even fiercer than in the morning, with battles erupting constantly. Even those who had been slacking in the square, too unwilling to take on the challenges, after a bloody purge, feared any more delay might lead to a slaughter. Before their last chance evaporated, they all became incredibly diligent.

By the end of the day, over four hundred Sublimators had successfully completed the amusement park, re-qualifying in the resurrection match to return to the competition and step outside Little Cat Paradise. And as many as eleven project hosts were killed by the Sublimators who took over their progress, with no option for a resurrection match, and were directly forced out of the game, full of resentment.

When the organizing committee’s cameras had just finished live streaming a bloody battle in Akihabara and finally turned back to check the rankings, all the viewers who had a premonition and had switched to a laid-back state saw the name of Huai Shi at the top of the list.

Ancient Evil Spirit Castle·Huai Shi: 1,077 people!

And Li Jian Amber, who had been closely following, after chopping until her hands went numb, was still far behind, with just 701 people, relegated to second place. The Sikh Warrior, who was originally third, was squeezed to fourth by another Sublimator who killed a host and inherited their progress. No one expected that this Sublimator, who had hidden all day, would suddenly surge in the final moments, using a meticulously crafted backstab to send the original host to their bitter end before dawn...

As the last qualifying Sublimator left, the gates of Little Cat Paradise slammed shut.

Little Cat Paradise, closed.

But for the hosts, the real show was just beginning. What was the point of enduring the whole day? Was it just to work for free in Yingzhou? People die for wealth just as birds die for food. No one here was a saint helping others for fun. Why else would they work so hard if not for the reward upon completing their tasks?

Without needing any urging from the Sublimators, a ray of light rose before all the hosts who had completed their tasks, save for the top three, and went straight into their hands. One for each person, even Yuan Zhao got one. Yuan Zhao, however, felt increasingly uneasy as he examined the Manure Fork in his hand, which was emitting a golden light.

”This is it?!” He stared blankly, pinching the fork. ”I’ve been shoveling shit for you all day, and you give me the very fork I used?”

Little Cat simply waved its hand, and the ’Manure Fork’ in Yuan Zhao’s hand began to vibrate violently. Then, the verdigris and grime quickly peeled off, revealing the majestic outline of a Trident. Moreover, as Yuan Zhao swung it, a faint hurricane swirled around it, increasing its speed... Yuan Zhao’s Stigma was originally a Second Stage Pegasus, known for its speed. With the help of this hurricane, his speed soared again. With a full-force thrust, even Huai Shi couldn’t see his traces. And the hurricane could turn into invisible sharp blades. Infused with Source Substance, they could be emitted from the Trident at any time, capable of penetrating bluestone from dozens of meters away and gouging deep holes in the earth.

Feeling its power, Yuan Zhao realized he had stumbled upon a great bargain. This was definitely an A-level or higher Border Relic, a precious weapon hard to come by in the Current Circumstances. It was at least a hundred thousand times better than the basic weapon he usually favored. With this Trident in hand, he could even challenge a Third Stage master...

But as powerful as this Border Relic was, there was one downside... The hurricane it stirred always had an indelible stench, which could make people dizzy and weak at the knees with prolonged exposure, and it didn’t distinguish friend from foe...

Yuan Zhao’s heart twitched repeatedly. How could he ever bring this Trident out in public?

Even if he didn’t mind people saying, ”Here comes Yuan Zhao the poop-scooper again,” would he need to fight with nose plugs?

But that was his problem to deal with.

Youth is always full of troubles. Especially Yuan Zhao, who seemed to attract even more troubles.

Huai Shi, after giving Yuan Zhao a couple of playful pats on the head, followed Little Cat’s signal and walked into the building with it.

It was time for the top three prize distribution.

And that’s where the livestream cut off.

「In front of the screen」

Di Ting calmly took a sip of tea. If that brat Yuan Zhao knew that his poop-scooping scene was broadcast to the whole world, even quickly edited and uploaded, and that it had a not insignificant number of views... he pondered with concern. Yikes! He couldn’t bear to think about it any longer. A veritable human tragedy!

Hmm, to prevent that kid from getting too upset and hanging himself on his own front door later, perhaps I should instruct my subordinates not to tell him?

But really, what expression would Yuan Zhao have when he found out he had become the world-renowned ’Poop-poking Boy’?

Truly something to look forward to...