Chapter Twelve Countdown Twelve
["Destruction's Death" Countdown: 49H44M58S]
Siye Association Headquarters.
After sending the edited video completed by the Void to the [Black Emperor], the Wordless Book returned here, dismissing the entourage of secretaries around her and locking herself in the office.
The underground office was dark, with the lights off and the curtains drawn. The dim room had her leaning back in her chair, slightly tilted, resting one hand under her head as if she were taking a short nap, her eyes closed, carefully recalling the information the Void had given her in the café.
[Destruction awakens from slumber, the deep space gem no longer shines…]
[Civilization… new and old… fades away…]
"According to reliable information, this is a prophecy that has circulated from the Solar Eclipse Society Elders' Council. Although it's not very complete, combined with some recent events, we can analyze something from it..."
"I suspect that the so-called deep space gem refers to the 'Winter Great Diamond,' which is the irregular hexagon formed by Orion's Belt, the stars of the Seven Sisters, Sirius, and the three stars of the Southern and Northern Rivers, visible in the winter night sky. Sometimes when referring to the Winter Great Diamond, the star Alnitak will also be included..."
"If we count Alnitak, the involved stars would just happen to be seven, and the number seven is somewhat sensitive... I believe with your keen ears, you must have heard about the recent whispers suggesting that there are seven factors related to the destruction of the world?"
...
The more she recalled the information provided by the Void, the heavier the Wordless Book's heart became.
If possible, she would rather believe that the Void provided a mountain of unverified information just to keep her and "act spoiled," but unfortunately, the information from the Void was all reliable because…
Aside from the incomplete prophecy from the Solar Eclipse Society Elders' Council, she and her intelligence personnel had already uncovered other information, but those details were too fragmented. They lacked that prophecy, which was like stringing pearls together.
Moreover, some of the Void's deductions carried an undeniable certainty, as if they already knew the final answer and deduced through reverse analysis…
It made her suspect whether he had come into contact with the Solar Eclipse Society Elders' Council and knew some more detailed things but chose to conceal them.
Hmph! Urban legends are still urban legends… The Wordless Book scoffed in her heart and continued to recall the Void's information.
For some unknown reason, the Void's secret contacts with the Solar Eclipse Society Elders' Council, without informing her, made her feel a wave of annoyance.
Perhaps it was because she sensed betrayal?
If possible, the Wordless Book truly wanted to recruit the Void into the Siye Association. With the Void's abilities, he could become her chief secretary, but unfortunately, the Void was unwilling to sign the [Moonlight Project Contract], and she herself didn't feel at ease letting an urban legend roam freely within the Siye Association.
...
"On the night before yesterday, Betelgeuse II extinguished. I accounted for the urban legend events that erupted simultaneously while Betelgeuse II was extinguished, among which the Cataclysm Grade events around the Gate of the Gods along the Euphrates River are the most likely to be related to the factors destroying the world..."
"However, so far, there's no clear evidence indicating a direct connection between the Cataclysm Grade events at the Gate of the Gods and the extinguishing of Betelgeuse II, so we cannot deduce when and where the next disaster will occur."
"However, to be on the safe side, I've also gathered information on areas and cities that pose massive hazards and may trigger Cataclysm Grade events in the near future. If possible, we should contact the local Spirit Energy Organization early to have them take action, or the Siye Association should send someone to investigate."
...
Retrieving her thoughts, the Wordless Book opened her eyes.
The Void's thoughts aligned with hers; if a disaster was about to occur, then as the guardian of the Siye Association, her job was to try to nip it in the bud. This was something she had always done and one of the reasons why Cataclysm Grade events within Z Country were significantly less frequent than abroad.
She sat up straight at her desk and casually wrote down several area or city names on a sticky note.
[Great Pyramids of Egypt], [Mostar], [Free City], [Shanghai]… and so on. Counting them, there were actually thirty-three areas or cities, all sharing a common characteristic: the local Solar Eclipse Society or other terrifying Spirit Energy Organizations were unusually active.
However, among these thirty-three areas or cities, only [Shanghai] fell within the reachable range of the Siye Association.
Could it be a coincidence?
Is it really not the Solar Eclipse Society Elders' Council secretly spreading news, attempting to use rumors to eradicate dissent?
No, it also included the Free City. Even for the purpose of eliminating dissent, the Solar Eclipse Society Elders' Council wouldn’t use one of their most critical gathering places as bait; that sacrifice would be too great.
After pondering for a moment, the Wordless Book shook her head and sighed silently. With a wave of her hand, the writing on the sticky note transformed into tiny starlight, floating upward and gradually merging into her brow.
Then, she raised her hand.
At the moment of lifting her hand, a massive bookshelf, half-virtual and half-real, extended infinitely upwards and downwards, as if connecting to the void, appeared next to her.
She gently took a document off the shelf, and the illusory document instantly turned real in her palm. On the black file bag embossed with the red mourning Gray Owl, the title "Serial Number C0015: Free City" was written.
The Wordless Book felt it necessary to find a target as a breakthrough point amidst the chaotic and unclear information.
The Spirit Energy Organization of M Country had completely abandoned any attempt to rectify the chaos of the Free City over a year ago, and although they were powerless, they still pompously stated that M Country's culture respected everyone's freedom, and they should not interfere too much...
The guardian of the Siye Association, the God of Wealth, who had long been in contact with foreign forces, seemed to be secretly investigating events that pointed towards the Free City. The Siye Association in that vicinity also had enough personnel to take action…
When the Void provided that information, they particularly mentioned the Free City, suspecting that when the next star of the Winter Great Diamond extinguished, there would be a disaster outbreak there…
...
In conclusion, the Free City fits various characteristics of a breakthrough point in the Wordless Book's mind.
But…
Who should she send there? The Wordless Book wondered.
She could, of course, dispatch a clone to the Free City as she did during the investigation of the Yumen Pass incident, but a clone could not stay there long-term for an in-depth investigation. If she couldn’t conduct an in-depth investigation, it would be difficult to touch upon the quietly surging undercurrents of the Free City.
————
["Destruction's Death" Countdown: 2H04M18S]
[Name:]
[Age:]
[Gender:]
...
Seeing the familiar questions before him, Lu Xianbei's eyelid twitched, then he expressionlessly entered Lu Xianbei, Wang Buliu, Lu Qingyi, and other aliases, receiving completely identical feedback.
[Beginning Identification…]
[Identification complete, no related information found in the database.]
It wasn't until he inputted the alias "Disaster" that the feedback changed.
[Identification successful, hunting confirmed, insufficient permission to view detailed information.]
Closing the interface, Lu Xianbei sighed silently.
Although he had evaded most of the Spirit Energy Organizations' pursuers, starting today, all aliases could no longer be used, which left him somewhat melancholic.
"How about it? I told you there'd be no problem, right? Besides the Siye Association guardians, only they have the permission to view the detailed information on 'Disaster'; all your information and files have been completely cleared... Now you can confidently let the old man release that video, right?"
Pushing the wheelchair, he turned around to see Zhang Hainan smiling widely, and he felt a chill.
The last few video shoots of "Black Emperor instantly defeating Disaster" nearly left him with psychological trauma; now, seeing Zhang Hainan's "kind" smile made his heart race.
Although the video was fake, and it was the Zhipianxian who got his skull crushed in the end, the beatings he took during filming were all real...
After reaching an agreement with Qing Ji and Zhang Hainan to film "Black Emperor instantly defeating Disaster," that old man, full of energy, ramped up the intensity straight away, making him witness the most real and terrifying side of Z Country's "God of Thunder."
So much so that after filming, Lu Xianbei had directly fainted in bed for two or three days and was still in a wheelchair now.
If it weren't for the urban legend Zhipianxian, influenced by the powers of the Pink Fluffy Rabbit, who reached an unspeakable dirty deal with him at a critical moment and acted as his substitute to complete the final shoot, he suspected he might have actually been killed by Zhang Hainan.
"Well, the video can be released now, but I have another question," Lu Xianbei said.
"Oh?" Zhang Hainan frowned, "What question?"
"What identity should I exist under in the future?" Lu Xianbei asked, extending his hand. "It's not like I'm the nameless assassin group; I should at least have a name, right?"
"How about…" Zhang Hainan pondered for a moment, "I go ask the Wordless Book again? If she helps you forge a new identity, no one should be able to see through it."
"Then I'd trouble the Black Emperor senior," Lu Xianbei nodded, and then Zhang Hainan held his mourning Gray Owl badge and leisurely left the Mooncatcher Cave.
Just a few seconds after Zhang Hainan left, Lu Xianbei suddenly felt his phone in his arms vibrate. Feeling the phone vibrate, his heart leaped with joy.
After all, under normal circumstances, the only person who would contact him via phone was Miaomiao Sauce.
He took out his phone to take a glance, and as expected, it was a message from Miaomiao Sauce.
However, before he could click on the lengthy message containing apologies and well-wishes from Miaomiao Sauce, he received a new message.
The message was from an unknown contact with a garbled number, containing only a brief sentence—"Excuse me, is this Miss Lan Yi?"
Lu Xianbei, "???"
