Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 515: Chapter 445 Live Broadcast of a Martial Arts Master Bravely Venturing into the Uninhabited Wilderness_1

As everyone knew, Australia was a place where even birds wouldn’t shit.

Over a hundred years had passed, yet the scars left by that war were still deeply etched on this land. And with the brutal power struggle between Egypt and America coming to an end, Australia, what could have been called the Seven Great Continents, had turned into a complete ruin.

It could only be described as desolate.

This was the bitter fruit born from the numerous contradictions accumulated during the Age of Exploration.

The several nuclear explosions, amounting to an equivalent of eighty or ninety million tons, had turned more than half of the land here into a permanent no man’s land, still shrouded in lethal radiation.

The struggle between the Creators and the Sublimators from both sides directly split Australia into two, like a biscuit broken in half. Subsequently, amid intense earthquakes and turmoil, over one-third of the land permanently sank beneath the ocean, creating the most tragic Queensland Gulf in the world today.

If it weren’t for Rome and Dongxia, which were still undivided at that time and had a bit of sanity left to desperately mediate, a full-scale war would have started long ago.

Avoiding the bad ending didn’t lead to any sort of happy end. After Egypt and America dusted off their hands and left, what remained was this tragic scene.

Subsequently, due to a lack of control, the severe condition of widespread desertification spread like wildfire, eroding more than sixty percent of the arable land within forty years.

In the end, all that was left was this silent, dead place.

Australia at that time had only a dozen or so towns that loosely formed a fragile government, subsisting on mineral exports and heavy pollution industries.

No matter how one looked at it, it seemed on the verge of collapse.

Darwin Town, which was said to have been scenically beautiful over a hundred years ago, had now become a ghastly place where even breathing felt carcinogenic.

The town was rundown. Most of its streets were empty, foreign visitors were rare, and even locals were seldom seen. The streets were covered in coal ash and dust.

In the irritating fog that seemed to linger there forever, every passerby hastened along with a mask on their face; many even wore helmets or gas masks.

Looking at the hardcore ways of survival there, it was no wonder that heavy metal music festivals were long dominated by Australians.

Under the influence of this atmosphere, even the prices in the retail stores had become exceptionally hardcore.

A bucket of mineral water, two years past its expiration date, cost over ninety US dollars. Dust-covered instant noodles started at fifty US dollars. The only cheap items were those home-brewed spirits that felt like they might blind you if you drank them.

The entire city was dominated by a few large corporations. Whether it was the supply of water, food, or manufacturing, almost everything was monopolized.

Town residents were nearly all employees of these large companies. Although their wages were meager, they could still buy basic water, food, and other supplies through internal channels.

And the only retail store on the street was that broken-down place in the dock area that only got stocked once a year.

Having just been in the city for ten minutes, Huai Shi started to feel a pain in his lungs and a profound revulsion—even the Mountain Ghost Stigma had become sluggish in this harsh environment.

If he stayed in a place like this for too long, let alone advancing, I might even regress to First Stage, Huai Shi suspected.

Therefore, the first thing he did after disembarking was to get gouged at the convenience store and then buy a map.

First, he needed to figure out where he was. Then, he had to determine how to leave.

After he had visited all the transportation hubs in Darwin Town, he felt utterly miserable. The bus station was virtually non-existent, only serving routes to various factory districts.

As for the train station, it was mostly frequented by freight trains, and even they were just carrying ore from a few surrounding areas. There were simply no trains going to the other end of Australia.

With such a vast desert in between, and several areas of heavy radiation, not even the foundations for tracks could be laid, let alone railways.

And the next ship to Canberra, coming to transport ore, wouldn’t arrive for twenty-seven days.

The ticket seller, after hearing Huai Shi’s situation, could only shrug helplessly. After coughing for a while, he suggested that Huai Shi try to find a way in the next town over.

Getting there was somewhat convenient. He only had to wait five days for a long-distance coach.

”...”

Upon hearing this, Huai Shi felt miserable.

Am I really living in the modern world? Or did I accidentally time-travel back several hundred years? Why is just going on a trip so difficult?

After booking a room in the only run-down inn in the entire town, Huai Shi declined all the services that the plump female manager offered and shut the door. After nibbling on a couple of packets of compressed biscuits with some mineral water, he found his nostrils painfully dry.

After picking at them a bit, blood began to flow from his nose.

Cleaning up the mess with the foul-smelling tap water, Huai Shi leaned back in the creaky chair, his head tilted back, feeling like he couldn’t go on.

If I stay in this godforsaken place much longer, I’m afraid I’ll get pneumoconiosis even before the ship to Canberra arrives.

”Are you an idiot?”

Raven finally couldn’t stand it anymore and rolled her eyes. ”Can’t you just rent a car?”

”Yeah, as if that would be possible,” Huai Shi sighed.

”If we can’t hire one, we’ll just snatch one!” Raven’s voice boomed. ”Are you still a Sublimator or what!”

”...Why does being a Sublimator sound so disgraceful when it comes out of your mouth!”

”Have you become so used to living in a country governed by laws that you can’t adapt to the primal environment anymore?” Raven glared at the dishonorable fellow. ”This is Australia, man! Once you step out of the town, ten steps later you’re completely in a lawless zone. It’s a place where you can get away with murder and arson as long as you’re not caught, a Heaven for all fugitives! Do you really think you can just buy a ticket here and expect it to take you straight across? Or were you really planning to rely on the number eleven...”

She stopped speaking abruptly, halfway through her sentence.

Huai Shi looked up, puzzled, and asked her, ”Rely on what?”

”...” Raven gave him a long look, a smile that made Huai Shi uneasy suddenly appearing on her face. ”Yeah, since trains and cars aren’t running, why not ask the magical number eleven?”

”What?”

Huai Shi was dumbstruck, not even noticing his nosebleed starting again. ”Number eleven? Are you serious?”

”Why not?”

Raven fluttered her wings excitedly. ”Don’t you think it’s perfect? You’re a Sublimator! A Sublimator! I’ve never heard of a Mountain Ghost who’s afraid of radiation. Why not put your own legs to good use? When the time comes, start a live stream, and you might even pull in a new audience. I’ve already thought of a title for you—’Martial Arts Master Live-Streams Expedition Through the Uninhabited Wilderness!’ How’s that?”

”What the hell kind of ’Martial Arts Master Live-Streams Expedition Through the Uninhabited Wilderness’!” Huai Shi pointed at himself, bewildered. ”Do you think even one word of that has anything to do with me?”

”How does it not?” Raven retorted. ”Don’t forget, you’re a certified master of the Orchard Fitness School! What’s wrong with calling you a martial arts master? Don’t let down the spirit of our lineage!”

God-damned Orchard Fitness School.

Huai Shi’s eyes almost rolled to the back of his head. He hadn’t even paid off his tuition fees yet, graduating just by attending trial classes. Forget certification; after leaving, it wasn’t even certain if Luo Lao would acknowledge him as a student.

”Besides, with such a thick skull, why can’t you be considered brave?” Raven asked. ”You’ve made it through so many Hells, are you afraid of an uninhabited wasteland? It’s just a radiation zone, and it’s almost radiation-free now. Even the rabbits are breeding in droves. Why can’t you walk it? Launch a live stream, I’ll incite those girls to crowdfund and send you support. Won’t that be an easy hundred thousand-plus US dollars in your pocket?”

”What the heck?”

Huai Shi heard something amiss and looked at her suspiciously. ”What support? How come I don’t know about this? And what do you mean by ’inciting’? Also, why have I never received any of it!”

”Hey, how can you say you’ve never received it?” Raven became suddenly coy. ”Look, didn’t I buy you those baked buns the other day...”

”You damn bird, you pilfered my money again!”

Huai Shi was enraged, grabbing the deceitful woman by the neck and shaking her violently. ”You even scammed my fans out of their money! I swear I’ll scatter your ashes today!”

”How is it pilfering!” Raven defended herself robustly. ”I worked hard taking all those photos in exchange for that money; I never scammed anyone! Besides, you’re still so young. I was worried you’d squander it, so I kept it safe for you. Isn’t it better if I give it back to you when you come of age?”

Huai Shi really wanted to know how this woman could speak so confidently about something so unconscionable. Today he finally understood the origin of his Paradise Prince Fan Club—it turns out you’re the freaking president! And you’re using that position to scam those girls out of their pocket money!

”Ah, don’t get me wrong. In reality, I’m just the fan club leader, that’s all. The president is mainly the one who foots the bill; it has nothing to do with me!” Raven hurried to explain. ”I’m doing this for your own good, right? You see, even the smallest Correction Value adds up! How do you think your luck came about? Isn’t it all because I helped you defy fate with Correction Values, bit by bit? Otherwise, where would you get the chance to strike it rich! If you don’t believe me, think about it. Has your luck ever been good when your account exceeded fifty thousand dollars?”

Upon careful consideration, Huai Shi realized she might actually be right. All his assets were, in fact, managed and held on his behalf by Uncle Fang, and the majority of his liquid funds were almost always drained away by Raven, this Gold-Devouring Beast, through various means. In reality, he was always short on cash. And just when he’d finally made a killing through some shady dealings, he immediately boarded the Group Star, where one misstep could spell disaster for everyone involved. Although she played a part in the mishaps, it was undeniable that as soon as he had money, his luck never seemed to be good, right?

He thought back over his past. When he was broke to the point of madness, he could at least safely scrape by and get a meal without incident. But once he had a bit of money, he was faced with life-or-death struggles, usually ending up with heavy losses.

”Your original fate, there’s a saying for it: ’Thousands succeed at the cost of one’s demise.’”

Raven’s words left Huai Shi in a daze for a while. He then felt secretly pleased and asked, ”Are you saying my future achievements could match ten thousand people?”

”You wish,” Raven looked at him pityingly. ”You’re the ’one’...”