The Disaster of Xizhou

"You're not joking with me?"

Gu Yan sprang up from the bed, patted his head to clear it, then checked his phone's incoming call several more times.

He was wide awake, and the caller really was Xu Muchi herself.

That meant this was one hundred percent real.

After being stunned for a long while, Gu Yan finally exclaimed:

"I only took a nap, and an entire country is gone?"

Just now, Xu Muchi had called to tell him:

The entire British Kingdom had been hit by a colossal flood. No, "flood" wasn't quite accurate, because it had fallen from the sky, appearing out of nowhere without any warning. According to estimates, roughly 0.4 billion cubic kilometers of seawater had poured onto the land!

Because it had happened late at night local time, barely one survivor remained for every ten thousand people.

A developed country had been wiped out overnight!

"To be capable of something like this, it must at least be a Judgment-class Honkai beast!" Gu Yan flopped back onto the bed, in no pleasant mood. It hadn't been long, and Honkai had once again claimed countless lives.

Honkai took many forms: Herrschers, Honkai beasts, diseases, and even things like meteorites and earthquakes.

But since the flood had fallen from the sky, it clearly wasn't a natural disaster.

"Why are you telling me about this?" He furrowed his brows and asked into the phone.

"An event this major is naturally something you're entitled to know about."

"Someone will investigate the cause of the disaster. The British Kingdom has many people abroad, and together with the small number of survivors, they'll receive aid from various countries. The countries will also take over the post-disaster reconstruction there."

"If you're interested in what happens afterward, I'll keep an eye on it for you."

"And that's it?" He had assumed she wanted him to get involved. If that was the case, he hadn't planned to refuse.

"Every other S-rank has a dedicated operator and a personal assistant. Strictly speaking, only you, me, and Xu Ying are exceptions." There was a hint of helplessness in her voice.

Xu Ying had long since stopped being under the Ability Department's control. He helped when he felt like it. Gu Yan was different. He was a rising star who didn't care about such matters himself, so everything had fallen onto Xu Muchi's shoulders.

As it happened, Xu Muchi placed great importance on Gu Yan.

"Why don't I have a personal assistant?"

"You choose them yourself. What, am I supposed to conjure one out of thin air?"

"Then... wait!" Gu Yan stopped the conversation as if he had found a crucial point.

Appear out of thin air?

"Did the water appear out of thin air? A little here and there would be understandable, but how much water was that?"

0.4 billion cubic kilometers!

Could that much water really have appeared out of thin air?!

"You mean the water was 'drawn from somewhere'?" But anyone could have reasoned to that conclusion, and it didn't offer any substantial help.

The real question wasn't where the water had come from, but why it had fallen from the sky.

Although investigating the cause wasn't the responsibility of either of them, this concerned more than just individuals. Humanity had to find the cause and take precautions.

Who could guarantee that the next place struck by a flood wouldn't be their own hometown?

"Can you determine where the flood was drawn from?" Gu Yan felt he could use this to give them a warning.

"Countless sea fish also fell with the flood. Based on our investigation of them, the water came from the North Atlantic."

Afterward, Xu Muchi began looking through satellite images from before the incident. Sure enough, in the North Atlantic, they found that a gigantic whirlpool more than two hundred kilometers in diameter had suddenly appeared at the time.

After telling Gu Yan about this discovery, Gu Yan stared at the ceiling and pondered for a moment before saying, "Do you think this disaster..."

"Was it the power of nature, or the work of some person or monster?"

He naturally believed it was the latter! But he needed to guide the people of this world into discovering this "truth" so that he could stand at the starting line and investigate it.

Xu Muchi clearly understood what he meant. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "Our calculations show that the amount of water lost through the whirlpool was also 0.4 billion cubic kilometers."

"And in the satellite images, we found a ship."

"A ship?" Gu Yan had a bad feeling.

"Yes. A cruise ship called the Hera was sucked into the whirlpool. The wreckage of the cruise ship didn't emerge with the seawater."

Even so, they still lacked information decisive enough to settle the matter. The ship's appearance could have been a coincidence.

"This..." Xu Muchi suddenly paused.

"What is it?"

"The whirlpool appeared suddenly, centered on the cruise ship..."

After another brief pause, she continued, "The cruise ship was just found in the Bermuda area. Its exterior is completely undamaged. There are no biological readings aboard, and no one is responding."

In other words, after falling into the whirlpool, the Hera had crossed the Atlantic in an extremely short time and then suddenly reappeared, with everyone aboard missing.

There was no way this could be a coincidence!

What, were they supposed to say it was a supernatural phenomenon? Or aliens?

"This accident wasn't a natural disaster?" Although Xu Muchi had expected it, she still found it difficult to accept.

What kind of freak possessed such terrifying abilities that it could destroy an entire country overnight?!

No, if the British Kingdom had had time to react, this tragedy wouldn't have happened. In other words, seventy million people had been swept away in just a few hours, or perhaps even a few dozen minutes.

Xu Muchi immediately gave the orders. Although the passenger list would be difficult to trace after the disaster, going to the Bermuda area and examining the ship might uncover useful information. They had to track down this potential threat.

That was exactly what Gu Yan wanted. Whether it was a Judgment-class Honkai beast or a new Herrscher, it had to be taken seriously. At present, that cruise ship was clearly of vital importance.

After that... if they needed him, he would naturally help. If not, it was enough for him to guard Haishi.

The Bermuda area, on an island.

The weather was less than clear. Seabirds occasionally skimmed low over the water, while a luxury cruise ship looked distinctly out of place amid its surroundings.

The cruise ship wasn't sailing. It lay silently beached on a reef, shrouded in dead silence.

"Target located. Beginning descent."

The sound of the helicopter's rotors shattered the silence and startled the seabirds, while the downwash churned the seawater.

"That's good." Seeing that the altitude was right, Li Shi leaped from the helicopter, intending to jump straight into the sea.

But just before he landed, the water below began to surge, actively rising to receive him.

Splash.

The seawater moved in a wondrous way, protecting Li Shi's body as it lowered him safely. Then a column of water rose beneath him and lifted him high into the air.

Li Shi waved to the helicopter, then continued manipulating the current to "walk" toward the cruise ship.

More investigators were still on their way. As the person in charge of the operation, he had come ahead to inspect the scene.

"Seriously, what kind of demon or monster has to cause trouble right before the New Year?" Li Shi sighed, his eyes filled with helplessness.

His vacation was only a few days away, yet something this major had happened at precisely this time.

"This distance should do. Let's see your true face..." He controlled the column of water to rise again until it was level with the cruise ship's railing.

Li Shi stepped forward. One foot was just about to land on the deck, but—

"Hm?"

"Th-this..." His eyes widened. For the first time, he felt that his senses could not be trusted.

The sea breeze around him never stopped. Unknown white birds fished in the shallows. Everything was so normal, so peaceful—

Except for the cruise ship behind him.