Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 749: Chapter 608 Fate/Hell Order_1

The next day, in the early morning, was the weekly academic office meeting.

As usual, there was a pile of pointless blather.

Then came the educational arrangements for the coming week, the overall management of school affairs, and many trivial matters. These issues had already been resolved by the vice principal. Now, they were being reported in the meeting to see if anyone dared to stand up and raise objections.

Huai Shi was still slouching in a corner like a salted fish.

Headache.

He should have known better than to drink so much.

After slouching a bit more, he lowered his head, feigning thoughtfulness, and prepared to catch a wink. However, he noticed a disconcerting gaze repeatedly from the head of the table.

He looked up; the gaze vanished. He lowered his head; it returned. He looked up again, and it was gone...

He glared at Luo Su. What the hell was this old guy up to?

But Luo Su was drinking tea as if nothing was amiss, exuding an air of someone plotting.

Huai Shi snorted coldly and closed his eyes to rest.

Adopting an air of utter detachment, as if immune to all worldly provocations, he resolved not to engage, no matter what Luo Su was plotting.

Finally, he heard a familiar voice from the head of the table.

”Speaking of which, there’s another matter we forgot to inform everyone about.”

Luo Su put down his teacup and suddenly asked, ”Next month, our exchange program with Kyoto University should be scheduled. We’re departing this Friday, with Mr. Isaac leading the team. Besides the predetermined group, based on the principle of voluntary registration and participation, is there anyone else who wishes to take part in the exchange?”

Although he said this, two sets of eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Huai Shi.

One pair belonged to Luo Su, filled with expectation, his gaze urging, Why are you just sitting there? Get moving! The other was the vice principal’s, full of disdain, clearly conveying, Go wherever you please, just don’t come here!

These two stared straight at Huai Shi.

But Huai Shi, headphones on, was hunched over his notebook, fiddling with sheet music, appearing completely oblivious. He calmly finished two pages before more people in the now silent meeting room began to notice the gazes of the two at the front, turning to look at Huai Shi.

Huai Shi remained calm, composed, and completely unmoved.

You want me to speak up? In your dreams!

But Luo Su was not annoyed or anxious; rather, he took the initiative to kindly inquire with the care and expectation of a senior, ”Teacher Huai Shi, as a Disastrous Musician, don’t you aspire to exchange insights with the Yingzhou Philharmonic Orchestra?”

”Sorry, Principal,” Huai Shi looked up, calmly retorting, ”Their cellist’s skills are famously dreadful in the industry; there’s really nothing to discuss.”

Luo Su was taken aback. ”Is that so?”

”Yes, that’s right, no mistake.”

Huai Shi nodded seriously, his expression clearly stating: I’m spouting nonsense, I’m not going, and I dare you to do something about it.

”Since that’s the case, then let Teacher Huai Shi go and give them some guidance.”

Luo Su smiled and turned back to instruct the vice principal, ”Put his name down.”

Damn it, you were lying in wait for me, weren’t you!

”Sorry, I need to take annual leave next month for my ex-girlfriend’s birthday; I must go to London.”

Huai Shi fabricated a lie that even he didn’t quite believe, sighing sadly, ”Even though I’ve lost this relationship, I hope there’s still a slim chance of salvaging it. It doesn’t matter even if it’s a wasted trip.”

Luo Su was shocked. ”Since when did you have a girlfriend?”

Huai Shi smiled, raising his hand to point at his own head. ”Principal, look at this face of mine. Do I look like someone who can’t find a girlfriend?”

”...”

Then, seizing the moment of Luo Su’s brief astonishment, Huai Shi quickly excused himself due to a stomachache and fled the meeting.

Heh, I’ve grown, Luo Su!

Trying to set me up again? In your dreams!

「In the afternoon, on the corridor outside the meditation hall.」

”Thank you, Professor, for your long-standing care.”

Kusaki knelt on the floor, bowing his head. ”Please forgive me for not being able to stay longer.”

Behind the paper door, an elderly voice coughed.

”Are you leaving now, Mr. Sasaki?”

Kusaki didn’t speak, just bowed his head lower, closing his eyes in guilt, unable to repay the Professor’s kindness.

”Then go. Don’t worry about an old man like me. That’s the way of a samurai, isn’t it? Always having to step onto the battlefield,” said the old man behind the paper door, slowly standing up, gazing at the figure outside.

After a long silence, the old man said softly, ”While obligation is important, I... also hope that one day I can drink with Mr. Sasaki again.

Just like in the stories, after everything is over, we might meet again under a cherry tree, drinking heartily, singing songs, laughing, and not returning until we’re drunk.”

”Even if we miss the timing and the cherry blossoms have withered, it doesn’t matter...”

Please, just come back safely.

The old man ultimately didn’t voice the last sentence.

He just straightened his clothes, propped up his frail body to sit upright, and bid farewell to this friend he had met by chance in the mortal world, ”As you leave, take care, my friend.”

Kusaki remained silent, stood up, and left.

Tears were already streaming down his face.

「After seeing Kusaki off at the station, Huai Shi returned home.」

He was still immersed in the sadness of parting.

Then, he saw the red letter placed on the table.

”Uncle Fang, what’s this?”

He scratched his head, instinctively feeling something was off.

”Don’t know, it was just delivered by express,” Uncle Fang answered. ”I’ve got a feeling it’s nothing good. Shall I throw it away for you, Young Master?”

Huai Shi’s brow furrowed as he looked down at the letter on the table, turning it over and over, observing it as if it were a bomb package.

There’s something wrong with this thing!

Yet as soon as he picked up the letter, it disintegrated in his hands, revealing an iron card the size of a business card, emblazoned with the Chef Demon Competition Committee’s insignia.

[Hell · Chef Demon Designation]

The large characters of the first line alone made Huai Shi’s eyelid twitch.

That familiar scent of a setup returned with a vengeance.

[Mr. Huai Shi, as per a special request from a customer, you have a Chef Demon showdown scheduled in half a month at Yingzhou Nara. We hope you can continue to promote Hell’s culinary culture in the competition, achieve new feats, and reach new heights.

——Hell Kitchen Demon Cooking Competition Committee]

”...”

In the silence, Huai Shi’s expression shifted through a spectrum of colors, as if he were a palette.

A Hell Chef Demon designation...

A designated mission from the Hell Kitchen Demon Cooking Competition Committee.

Huai Shi took a deep breath and roared to the heavens, ”Luo Su, you Old Turtle!!!!!!”

Ten minutes later, after Huai Shi had finished his swearing and calmed down a bit, he stroked his chin, thought it over, and eventually pulled out his phone to call Li Jian Amber.

As if she had been expecting his call, the phone was answered quickly.

”You little stinker, who told you to nominate me?” Huai Shi asked bluntly, with no courtesy whatsoever.

On the other end, Amber was quite composed, her reply succinct.

”Older Cousin.”

Alright then...

So Zhu Hongchen’s schemes are also in motion, huh!

What kind of shameful, secret deals have you all been making behind my back!

Huai Shi snorted, ”Sorry, I’m not going!”

The mood on the other end seemed rather cheerful, as if laughing. ”You owe me a favor, Huai Shi.”

Huai Shi rolled his eyes instantly.

She was referring to the reminder when Huai Shi had run away with Ai Qing.

”That kind of thing can’t possibly count as a favor, can it? I beat you, remember, Amber Sister, so don’t get it twisted.”

”That’s not a problem,” Amber shrugged. ”Xuan Niao said you owe him a favor, too.”

”...”

Huai Shi was once again at a loss for words.

The former could be shirked, but the latter, truly, could not.

After all, the last time he was knocked out by a Regression Drug, he couldn’t control himself and advanced the Jianmu, treating the Dongxia Genealogy like a hotel, coming and going as he pleased, even hopping back and forth between allegiances.

The Qing Emperor even let him use Yu Dai Shan for free!

Anyone else would have been thoroughly dead by now.

Do you think the White Wolf Hook and Danqing Volume are a joke?

After a long silence, Huai Shi couldn’t help but sigh. ”Look, the Dongxia Genealogy is vast with abundant resources; surely, there’s no need to keep fleecing just this one sheep, right?”

”Who said we’re only focusing on you?” Amber retorted. ”Besides, as much as I hate to call on you, I must admit, you have qualities others do not.”

”Good looks?” Huai Shi sneered. ”Miss, I perform for a living, I don’t sell my body.”

”Huai Shi, if I wanted a Cowherd, Kyoto’s streets are teeming with them. Why would I seek out someone as disagreeable as you?” Amber sighed. ”Of course, it’s because you’re cheap.”

Huai Shi was startled. ”How cheap?”

”Seventy million,” Amber’s reply gave him a shock.

”Heh...”

Before Huai Shi could let out a cold laugh, he heard Amber add the unit, ”US Dollar.”

”...You call this cheap?”

Huai Shi’s knees suddenly weakened. He asked incredulously, ”Are all you Hua Clan members running your own money-printing machines or what?”

”Joking aside, no money-printing machine can match the speed of a Hua Clan’s wealth accumulation,” Amber scoffed. ”What do you think the Li Jian family name and the position of its head are worth? What’s the worth of the title of the family’s sovereign? The guardianship of AnFang Country? The stock rights of Guanshan Group...”

”Enough, I get it, I’m a country bumpkin!” Huai Shi’s expression twitched.

Despite the substantial sum being offered, Huai Shi remained steadfast. ”Miss Amber, even country bumpkins have their pride! Do not insult me with money. That’s it then, see you—”

He hadn’t finished his goodbye when he heard a voice from the other end.

”Uji Treasure.”

???

Huai Shi frowned. ”Uji what? Do all you matcha sellers build special treasure vaults?”

”You know what I’m talking about, Huai Shi, don’t play dumb,” Amber spoke coolly. ”I’m referring to the Kyoto Byodoin, the treasury of the Yingzhou Phylogeny—Uji Treasure. You were about to say goodbye, right? Well, let’s leave it at that.”

”Wait!”

Huai Shi raised his voice. ”As a matcha enthusiast, I’m all ears! Tell me more, I love this stuff!”

”...”

On the phone, Li Jian Amber took a deep breath, resisting the impulse to hack this guy to death through the phone.

”Kyoto Byodoin is one of the important bases of the Yingzhou Phylogeny. The Uji Treasure within is a storage place for the Source documents of many Miracles of Stigmata.

The most precious among them are the remains of four major demons, crystals comparable to the Philosopher’s Stone. They are collectively owned by the Hua Clan, and in fact, each family holds different shares.”

Li Jian Amber cut right to the chase. ”If I become the head, then the Li Jian family’s share can be yours.”

Huai Shi swallowed, probing further. ”For research purposes, which four are we talking about?”

”Shuten Douji, one of the pinnacles of Yingzhou Evil Ghosts; Great Oyama Circle, formed from fallen Divine Nature; Fox Demon Tamamo-no-Mae, the one with the highest degree of distortion; and the remains of the third-generation Great Tengu, who achieved the highest mastery in Shugendo.

You can choose any of them. Even if the Li Jian family doesn’t have it, I’ll help you trade for it.”

Li Jian Amber continued, her tone shifting, ”However, this is an extra offer, so your job won’t be as simple as before.

Also, I can’t pay in advance. Only after becoming the head do I have access to it, so the payment only comes upon success. Let’s get the unpleasantries out of the way upfront. Think it through carefully.”

”Oh, come on, listen to yourself!”

Huai Shi’s voice suddenly became charming. ”Dear Amber, you’re really something. We’re so familiar with each other, why talk about things like payment? If a dear friend like you is in trouble, could I just sit by and watch...”

”Enough,” the Teenage Girl on the other end took a deep breath. ”Please stop. I can’t take any more of this nauseating talk.”

”Coincidentally, my stomach isn’t great either,” Huai Shi sighed sympathetically. ”The doctor said eating soft rice is the cure, but I’m afraid you don’t meet the qualifications for that.”

”Huai—Shi—”

A series of CRUNCHES and SNAPS came from the other end of the phone, as if the phone itself was about to be crushed to bits.

”Alright, no more talk, I’ll be there next week!”

Huai Shi’s hands rubbed together excitedly. ”When siblings unite, their strength can cut through metal. Let’s go, FIGHT! Victory is yours, dear Amber! Heart~”

CRACK!

The phone was finally, completely crushed.