Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 614: Chapter 512: Summon Dragon Flute (Thanks to the Overlord of memories overlaid by time)_1

After the elevator doors closed, a spectral bird appeared to descend from the sky in the silent underground library, as elusive as a dream.

Raven, perched on a random record within the matrix, gazed down seriously at Luo Su. ”I advised him to accept your invitation, not so you could intimidate my Contractor.”

After a prolonged silence, Luo Su finally exhaled and shrugged helplessly. ”I didn’t mean to scare him... In fact, he scared me.” He paused, then looked up and asked, ”Did he really pass the highest standard of the All Spectrum Heaven Sphere selection?”

”Even higher than the highest standard,” Raven said. ”Out of 60,000 tests, he passed 57,000. The 3,000 failures weren’t because he failed, but because he was unwilling to sacrifice anyone but himself—Luo Su, you should understand what such results truly represent.”

”Unprecedented, right?” Luo Su sighed. ”So, you’ll have to forgive my aging heart; not everyone can be like you.”

”I understand.” Raven’s tone remained firm. ”But this isn’t what we agreed upon.”

”If he were mediocre... no, if he showed even the slightest sign of being unpromising, I would have let it slide, turned a blind eye, and feigned ignorance. But since he has potential, I cannot let him grow wild,” Luo Su said. ”I don’t think my plans are too cruel. On the contrary, it’s because you’re too soft on him, aren’t you?” As he spoke, he raised his eyes to the bird above the dome, eyebrows lifting. ”This is somewhat unexpected. I thought you’d be even more radical than I—”

”HAHAHA! I’m just a weak, helpless, pathetic woman. You must have a profound misunderstanding of me.”

”Perhaps.” Luo Su withdrew his gaze indifferently. ”I don’t think my arrangements were wrong.”

”Indeed, they can’t be called wrong, and are quite appropriate, in fact, but you can’t ignore his thoughts,” Raven said. ”I hope you can guide him as a teacher, not establish a relationship through coercion—my Contractor isn’t the type to submit meekly. Believe me, something unexpected will always be waiting for you.”

”I’ve already seen it.” Recalling how ’War and Peace’ had truly meowed like a kitten in Huai Shi’s arms, Luo Su’s expression turned particularly complicated. ”His talent may be even more fearsome than I imagined. To be honest, I’m starting to regret it; I feel like I’m trying to raise an untamable monster.” He paused, then said hesitantly, deep in thought, ”To prevent future problems, perhaps I should just eliminate him?”

”AHAHA! You could try that.” Raven laughed.

”Just kidding, just kidding. Can’t anyone take a joke these days?” Luo Su shook his head in resignation, a troubled expression on his face. ”Fine, I’ll give your suggestion some serious thought. Rest assured, I am still an educator at heart; I won’t go so far as to ruin a student.”

”So then—” Raven asked, ”what are you planning to do?”

”Let me think.” Luo Su pondered for a long while, then said earnestly, ”Doesn’t Dongxia have a saying? ’When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility upon a man, it first visits his mind and will with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil...’” As he spoke, he noticed Raven was looking at him strangely. ”What’s wrong?”

”COUGH, COUGH. To be honest...” Raven cleared her throat and announced emphatically, ”I’ve tried all of that!” She looked smug and proud, as if boasting.

Persecuting a Contractor, that’s my specialty!

The silence was sudden.

Luo Su stared at her, stunned for a long moment. ”How can you be so shameless?”

Raven awkwardly averted her gaze.

After another long silence, Luo Su asked curiously, ”Was it enjoyable?”

”It really was...” Raven laughed, looking up at the ceiling without answering. Though her long-dormant conscience pricked her slightly, she had to admit it.

It was thrilling!

The next day began. Huai Shi, who had intended to keep a low profile on his official first day in the research department, with dark circles under his drowsy eyes from a sleepless night, greeted his first job adjustment notice at the Ivory Tower. It was announced promptly by the still-expressionless Vice Principal at the start of the regular meeting. Because Mr. Ramanujan, the Principal’s original secretary, had been appointed as the project manager for the second phase of the new Abyss campus and would soon leave the school headquarters for a year-long assignment. Therefore, until his return, the position of Secretary to the Principal would be temporarily filled by one of our fortunate colleagues.

Now, who do you suppose that lucky person is?

Huai Shi had already closed his eyes in despair before the Vice Principal even finished his sentence. Then, a despondent Huai Shi faced the entirely predictable outcome under the Vice Principal’s indifferent gaze.

It’s you! Aren’t you surprised? Isn’t it unexpected?

And so, amidst applause, on his first day in the research department, Huai Shi became the Secretary to the Principal. A male secretary, no less. Such an opportunity was rare and precious. A newcomer, promoted within a month to become the Principal’s confidant, and a major concern for the Vice-Principal. Even if his teaching position remained unchanged, who would dare underestimate the person who drove the leaders and poured their tea?

Old Professor Anton’s hand nearly patted Huai Shi’s shoulder raw. His face was full of satisfaction. He felt the young man hadn’t disappointed his expectations and urged him to work hard and scale new heights.

Huai Shi could only remain numb throughout, trying to avoid bursting into tears at the thought of his miserable future. His eyes were already red, and he could only claim he was moved.

He had considered running away, but he never expected that one wrong move back then would lead to this utter defeat now. He could run, but his house couldn’t! Even if he took a hammer, broke down the basement door, and called out Raven, she would just placate him with phrases like, ”Isn’t that nice?” or ”It’s all for the best.”

Huai Shi would bet his own eyes—he’d let Little Nineteen use them as lightbulbs to stomp on—that Raven was involved in this.

This world was so cold; only the cat in his arms and the student before him offered any warmth. Huai Shi couldn’t help but sigh deeply. Absently, his hand landed on Yuan Yuan’s head, and he began to ruffle her hair as if she were the cat in his arms. By the time he realized what he was doing, Yuan Yuan had frozen completely, her forehead burning hot. She looked like her system was about to crash.

”Sorry, sorry.” To cover his blunder, Huai Shi quickly stuffed the cat into Yuan Yuan’s arms, cleared his throat twice, instructed her to practice her piano diligently, and then hastily slipped away, heading straight for the Principal’s office.

Huai Shi was determined to see what new ways that Old Turtle had devised to torment him today! He swore that even if he had to jump from the Ivory Tower and fall to his death in the Abyss, he would never bow to that old bastard again!

Ten minutes later, Huai Shi emerged beaming from the office door. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to turn back, bowing gratefully to Luo Su, a simple, honest smile on his face. ”Thank you, Principal! You’re truly great!” If anyone dared oppose Principal Luo Su, he’d personally cave their skull in!

Ten minutes earlier, a furious Huai Shi stormed into Luo Su’s office. The first words he heard were Luo Su saying, ”Ah, Little Huai, I recall you’re a Soloist, aren’t you?”

Huai Shi was about to sneer and retort, ”So what if I am?” when the Principal, who had been engrossed in paperwork, looked up and said, ”In that case, how about I lend you the school’s Summon Dragon Flute for a while?”

The sneer froze on Huai Shi’s face before it could even form. He stared, incredulous. ”What?”

”The Summon Dragon Flute.” Luo Su, looking like a benevolent elder, removed his glasses. With a puzzled expression, he asked, ”Surely you’ve heard of it?”

It was precisely because Huai Shi *had* heard of it that he was practically trembling.

Although called a ”flute,” the Summon Dragon Flute was nothing like the delicate, charming instrument its name suggested. Instead, it was a colossal structure, four or five stories tall, buried deep beneath the academy and nearly integral to the Ivory Tower itself. In essence, it was a ”Miracle Imprint” entirely constructed from Secret Rituals and countless expensive instruments.

It was said that once played in conjunction with a Mourner’s Miracle Imprint and copious offerings of Source Substance, a Dragon Blood Legion could be summoned from the Abyss at any time to serve the user. These beings, inheritors of Abyssal Dragon Blood, were mostly terrifyingly powerful entities of the Crowned rank, typically solitary wanderers in the various Hells. Only this ancient pact could compel them to gather and obey.

This veritable weapon of war had always been sealed in the academy’s deepest recesses. Though rumors were plentiful, few could confirm the veracity of the astounding tales surrounding it.

But aside from its capabilities as a weapon of war, the Summon Dragon Flute was also one of the six foremost ”Abyss Telescopes” in the entire realm, second only to the Hubble Telescope constructed by the Astronomical Society at the farthest edge of the Border. At the same time, it also possessed all of the Ivory Tower’s access rights to the Abyss, capable of transmitting signals to any Abyss Horde that had established contact and signed a contract with the Tower.

Simply put, aside from summoning powerful allies with a single command, it also functioned as the world’s largest telescope into Hell and the most advanced ”megaphone” to its denizens.

If Huai Shi could use its search function, he could save an immense amount of time, directly sifting through the Ivory Tower’s databases and vast collection of contracts to find the Abyss Clans most compatible with his Stigma. This would allow him to overcome the greatest hurdle: starting from scratch.

Then, as long as a clan responded favorably and they agreed on recruitment terms, contracts, and benefits, Huai Shi could begin cultivating his very own Abyss Horde starting today!

”An hour might be a little short.” Luo Su scribbled out an authorization slip on the spot. He looked up and asked, ”Will two hours be enough?”

”Enough, more than enough!” Huai Shi clutched the authorization slip, grinning from ear to ear, like a farmer from Equatorial Guinea, who could only burn the midnight oil studying black fungus cultivation, suddenly finding a direct ticket to Europe.

He envisioned a glorious future unfolding before him.