Near a large supermarket in Jing City, people rushing to buy food and hoard supplies have filled the supermarket to capacity.
"Ah..."
Suddenly, someone in the crowd screamed, and then vanished from sight.
The crowded people dispersed instantly, and shouts and yells rose and fell, making the scene extremely chaotic.
People running around would disappear from time to time, further exacerbating the chaos.
"Help! Someone help me!" a person who had accidentally fallen shouted from the ground. Unfortunately, the crowd was so dense that it caused a stampede.
Even those who manage to escape outside the supermarket are not safe; people can still disappear from the streets without warning, and sometimes even the middle floors of tall buildings are gone, with the upper floors collapsing.
The sound of propellers came from afar, and several helicopters from the Investigation Bureau arrived at the scene.
"Pfft--"
Golden sprays were fired from high altitudes towards the ground. These sprays contained tiny gold particles and were a new type of "Revealing Agent" produced by the Investigation Bureau's laboratory. They could be used to deal with Supernatural events that could not be Observation with the naked eye.
Although the situation has deteriorated repeatedly, the government has not given up completely and is actively looking for solutions.
Since the "disappearance" incident, no one has Observation the Fierce Ghost's physical form. The Investigation Bureau is trying to force the Fierce Ghost to reveal itself using this method.
However, they did not have high hopes, since the "disappearance" incident occurred worldwide, and the Source Ghost was most likely a conceptual existence without a physical form, or it might be of an unusually large size.
Sure enough, the golden spray slowly drifted down from mid-air, landing on the ground and building surfaces without causing any damage.
At that moment, a passerby who was running nearby disappeared.
"Spray at his position," said Leader A, who was in charge of the operation.
The helicopter flying low sprayed the gold spray again, the shimmering gold "mist" spraying wildly towards the spot where the passerby had just disappeared.
Unfortunately, the spray still fell directly onto the ground.
"Damn it, the operation failed." Leader A was quite disappointed and had no choice but to retreat.
As the helicopters turned around and were about to return to Headquarters, one of them suddenly disappeared in mid-air, leaving behind a large pile of gold dust that drifted in the wind, shimmering and dreamlike in the sunlight.
However, this dreamlike scene caused everyone present to change color.
The fundamental rules of the Supernatural Revival are still in effect; the Supernatural cannot affect gold. The pilot and all parts and equipment on that helicopter have disappeared, leaving only the gold particles from the gold spray.
"Scatter quickly, don't stay together!" Leader A shouted the order.
Unfortunately, it was too late; the helicopters disappeared one after another at an extremely fast pace.
"I'm an official! I'm more honest and responsible Da Kang! I will continue to serve the people! Please don't hurt me!" Leader A rambled incoherently in his moment of life and death, but it did not save his life.
Such things are happening all over the world, and even people who didn't believe in doomsday theories are forced to believe it after witnessing people and objects disappearing into thin air.
Panic gripped the public.
Although official media in many countries continue to whitewash the situation and attempt to stabilize public sentiment with lies to prevent further collapse of order, the effect is minimal.
Even without official media confirmation, the public already knows that the end of the world is truly here!
On a highway.
Inside a car.
"Damn it, why is the road so congested!" the husband said, sounding quite annoyed.
The wife, holding the child, said worriedly, "What we can think of, others can naturally think of too."
The child was too young to understand what was happening; he was just happy that he didn't have to go to school today, and he lay in his mother's arms, relaxing and playing on his phone.
The road was lined with a long, endless queue of vehicles. Everyone was driving and moving quietly and silently. There was no road rage, no one driving against traffic, and no one honking or cursing. It seemed that all the drivers on this road had a high level of moral character.
After all, cars heading in this direction are people trying to escape to remote areas. In a life-or-death situation, even a fool knows what to do and what not to do.
Suddenly, the road ahead "cut off," the matter evaporated into thin air, turning into a huge crater, and the vehicles and people that were originally there naturally disappeared along with it.
At the edge of the deep pit, some drivers didn't have time to brake and plunged into the pit, while others managed to brake in time but were rear-ended by other cars, resulting in a chain-reaction accident.
An unusual phenomenon has occurred here; people and vehicles are disappearing from the highway from time to time, and in some severe cases, even the ground itself has vanished.
Due to the car accident and the deep pothole ahead, most of the vehicles were stuck and unable to move forward. Some people were so frightened that they abandoned their cars and fled in all directions.
These people, running around aimlessly, disappear randomly during their run.
"Don't go out!" the husband said to his wife, his body covered in cold sweat. "People who abandon their cars and run away die even faster. Staying in the car gives you a chance to escape."
This claim has no basis, but in the face of such an unpredictable crisis, the enclosed space created by a car can provide some sense of security. Wandering around alone outside, one cannot carry too many supplies, and even if one does not mysteriously disappear, one is more vulnerable to harm.
Many people shared this thought and hid in their cars, not daring to utter a sound.
"I want chocolate!" A child cried out from a van in the distance.
There was a family of six on the bus: grandparents, parents, older sister, and younger brother.
The youngest brother suddenly wanted to eat chocolate. He seemed completely oblivious to the danger lurking around him, or perhaps he was simply mentally challenged. In any case, he started making a scene without any regard for the consequences.
"My dear Yaozu, let's eat later, okay?" Grandma quickly coaxed her grandson.
"No! I want it now! I want chocolate now!" The brat threw a tantrum in the car.
The whole family took turns trying to soothe the child, but the more they tried, the more agitated the child became, crying loudly. People in the surrounding vehicles were furious, but dared not get out of their cars to argue with this rude family, fearing that the noise might attract danger.
Seeing the unruly child constantly causing trouble, the grandfather, unable to bear it any longer, slapped... the older girl next to him across the face.
"You good-for-nothing! When I asked you to buy supplies, why didn't you remember to buy your brother's favorite chocolate? Were you doing it on purpose?! You just can't stand to see your brother doing well!"
"No!" the girl explained, shaking her head with tears in her eyes, "I don't earn much money from my part-time job, chocolate is expensive, and it's not good value for money. I'd rather buy rice or flour..."
"Slap!" Grandpa slapped her again in anger. "How dare you talk back! You get out of the car right now and go buy Yaozu some chocolate. If you can't, don't bother coming back!"
The girl was terrified. Making her get off the bus to buy something was tantamount to sending her to her death!
She Daoism favored boys over girls, but she never imagined that her life was less important than the snacks her younger brother wanted!
Her face was filled with a plea for help as she looked at her parents and grandmother one by one, but all three of them were comforting her younger brother, clearly having already tacitly agreed.
Meanwhile, the younger brother gradually stopped crying and fussing. The more interesting part was that he forced his older sister to get out of the car to buy chocolate, and all the conflict shifted to the older sister.
The girl was heartbroken, but forced to leave by her family, she had no choice but to open the car door and get out.
Where can I buy chocolate along this highway?
It wasn't until she stood outside the car that the girl finally realized that perhaps "buying chocolate for her younger brother" was just a trigger, and that her family actually wanted to abandon her.
In the face of the apocalypse, having one less person to eat can save a lot of food, and even the space inside a van becomes much more spacious.
"That's outrageous!" In another car, a young couple with a child witnessed this scene and were furious, but they didn't dare to help the girl who had been kicked out of the car.
Everyone is struggling to survive.
"Compared to that, our child is so well-behaved," the husband exclaimed. Compared to that unruly child who cried and threw tantrums regardless of the situation, their own child suddenly seemed like a little angel.
The child, nestled in his wife's arms, nodded proudly. "That's right, I'm just that sensible."
"Keep it up, don't get carried away," the young father joked, slightly dispelling the heavy atmosphere.
The couple never discussed the end of the world in front of their child, trying their best to postpone the time when the child would face "death" and "misfortune".
However, they seem to have underestimated children, especially those in this era who have easy access to all kinds of information online.
I knew about the end of the world a long time ago, but... my parents are here with me. If we're going to die, we'll die together. So even facing death isn't so hard to accept.
The government convened a meeting.
The nation's top leader, seated at the head of the table, posed a series of questions, exploring how to resolve the current predicament.
Those in high positions have access to more effective information and a clear understanding of the crises facing the nation and even humanity. They can ignore online attacks on government departments, but the pressure of national demise and social collapse, along with the fear of the unknown, left none of these important figures present with a pleasant expression.
However, even in this critical moment, those attending the meeting continued to spout nonsense.
To be precise, what they were saying wasn't nonsense, but rather political rhetoric that they had learned without a teacher after years of navigating the political arena—in short, "empty rhetoric and grandstanding," as no one dared to express the truth.
Saying the wrong thing could have extremely serious consequences, even ruining one's entire political career.
Everyone present had participated in these kinds of pointless political meetings countless times, and some were even the best at them.
At this moment, however, they felt an intense loathing for every one of their kind present. They longed for someone who dared to speak and act, someone who could truly get things done, to appear and offer some meaningful suggestions!
It is regrettable that such good leaders who cared for the country and its people all sacrificed their lives one after another in the previous disasters.
The community of Ghost Tamers in this world is severely suppressed. Faced with global Supernatural disasters, any countermeasures taken by national governments seem to be inadequate, and gold can only protect a small group of people at the very top of the pyramid.
At the hospital, Su Yu, fully equipped with protective gear, refused to take off her clothes and hood, even though she had suffered injuries from the fall.
When she worked for the Investigation Bureau, she secretly kept some gold items, such as Golden Corpse Bags used to contain vengeful Fierce Ghosts or Ghost Slaves, as well as special uniforms for investigators.
By completely encasing herself in these gold-containing items, Su Yu's primary means of self-protection in the Supernatural apocalypse was to ensure she was protected from all angles.
However, she Neglect one thing: while this thin layer of gold could indeed help her ward off Supernatural, it couldn't protect her from physical attacks.
She was walking on the road when the road surface suddenly disappeared, and she fell directly into the pit, resulting in her injury.
Supernatural disasters can trigger physical disasters, a situation Su Yu hadn't considered. Even after being injured and taken to the hospital, she didn't want to take off her "protective shield," preferring to endure the pain.
The medical staff did not insist, after all, the hospital was overcrowded and no one wanted to waste time on a patient who was resisting treatment.
"The doctors and nurses here are so responsible. Even at a time like this, they are still working hard to save lives," Su Yu exclaimed.
The nurse rolled her eyes upon hearing this. Did she really think she wanted to? She was just forced into it by circumstances.
Don't be fooled by the fact that some big shots have secretly built Golden Safe Houses; they still require their lowly subordinates to stay at their posts until the very last moment.
Su Yu lay resting in a hospital bed. The survival rate of injured people in the apocalypse would be greatly reduced. Fortunately, her fall was not serious. She did not break any bones or internal organs; it was just a soft tissue contusion.
She had a pretty good mindset; perhaps she was giving up or adopting a Buddhist-like attitude, but in any case, she didn't experience much despair or frustration.
Compared to the zombie apocalypse in movies and novels, the Supernatural apocalypse in this world is at least a painless death. There's no need to worry about being devoured by zombies, nor about being "resurrected" in a rotten and ugly form after death.
"Look everyone, check out the trending topics!" someone suddenly shouted in the hallway.
Some of the people who heard the sound picked up their phones and looked at the video that was trending at the top of the search results. A group of people were experiencing a "disappearance". A middle-aged woman took out a red veil and put it on her head. Then her whole body emitted a dark red light.
Immediately afterwards, everyone and everything around her disappeared, and she alone survived by sheer luck; unfortunately, the red veil was reduced to shreds.
"My God, is this a magic weapon?"
"This person might have superpowers!"
"It must be some kind of Daoism magic, right?"
People in the hospital started discussing it enthusiastically, their voices filled with surprise and delight.
Because they saw hope—hope against the end of the world!
Whether it's magic or sorcery, anything that can counteract those inexplicable disappearances is a tremendous blessing!
Su Yu put down her phone. She had just watched the trending video as well. As someone who had come into contact with the truth about the apocalypse, she guessed that the red veil used by the middle-aged woman in the video was Supernatural Item.
Judging from the results, although the Supernatural Items could prevent them from "disappearing," they were just consumables. They seemed to be useless after one use, and the red veil that turned into shredded cloth was probably unusable.