The Calamity of Xizhou

"You're not kidding me, are you?"

Gu Yan shot up from the bed, patting his head as if to clear his thoughts. He checked his phone's call log several times.

He was wide awake, and the call was indeed from Xu Muchi herself.

This meant the matter was 100% real.

After a long pause, Gu Yan exclaimed in astonishment:

"I just slept for a while, and a whole country is gone?"

Just moments ago, Xu Muchi had called to tell him:

The entire British Kingdom had been hit by a super flood. No, "flood" wasn't quite right, because it had descended from the sky, appearing out of nowhere with no warning. It was estimated that approximately 0.4 billion cubic kilometers of seawater had poured onto the land!

Since the incident happened late at night in local time, survivors were almost non-existent.

A developed country, wiped out overnight!

"Whatever did this must be at least a Judgment-class Honkai beast!" Gu Yan collapsed back onto the bed, his mood far from pleasant. It hadn't been long since the Honkai had once again claimed countless lives.

The manifestations of the Honkai were diverse: Herrschers, Honkai beasts, diseases, or even meteorites, earthquakes, and so on.

But since the flood fell from the sky, it clearly wasn't a natural cause.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked into the phone, frowning.

"It's such a major event, your status naturally qualifies you to know."

"Someone will investigate the cause of the disaster. The British Kingdom has many people abroad, and along with the few survivors, they will be aided by various countries. The post-disaster reconstruction there will also be handled by other nations."

"If you're interested in the follow-up to these events, I can keep an eye out for you."

"And that's it?" He had thought she was calling him to get involved, and if that were the case, he wouldn't have refused.

"Other S-Class have dedicated operators, private assistants. Come to think of it, only you and Xu Ying are special." Her tone carried a hint of helplessness.

Xu Ying hadn't been under the purview of the Ability Department for years; he helped out whenever he felt like it. Gu Yan was different – a rising star who didn't care about these matters himself, so the task fell to Xu Muchi.

But it worked out, as Xu Muchi attached great importance to Gu Yan.

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

"You chose it yourself. I can't just conjure one out of thin air for you, can I?"

"Then... wait!" Gu Yan seemed to have hit upon a crucial point and paused the conversation.

Appeared out of thin air?

"Did the water just appear out of nowhere? A little bit here and there might be understandable, but that's how much water?"

0.4 billion cubic kilometers!

That much water, appearing out of nowhere?!

"Are you suggesting the water was 'summoned'?" But this was information anyone could deduce, and it didn't offer any substantial leads.

The truly critical question wasn't where the water came from, but why it fell from the sky.

Although investigating the cause wasn't their responsibility, this wasn't a personal matter. It was something humanity needed to understand and guard against.

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

"Can you determine where the floodwaters were summoned from?" Gu Yan felt he could use this to provide a hint.

"Countless sea fish fell along with the flood. Based on investigations of these fish, the water originated from the North Atlantic."

Then, Xu Muchi began reviewing satellite imagery from before the incident. Sure enough, in the North Atlantic, a massive vortex with a diameter exceeding two hundred kilometers had suddenly appeared at that time.

After sharing this discovery with Gu Yan, he stared at the ceiling, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You believe 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 to discover this "truth" so he could be at the starting line to investigate.

Xu Muchi clearly understood his meaning. After a moment of silence, her voice came through, "After calculations, it was found that the amount of water lost through the vortex was also 0.4 billion cubic kilometers."

"Furthermore, we discovered a ship in the satellite imagery."

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

"Yes, it was a cruise ship named Hera, which was sucked into the vortex. The wreckage of the cruise ship did not appear with the seawater."

However, they still lacked definitive information. The ship's appearance might have been a coincidence.

"This..." Xu Muchi suddenly paused.

"What is it?"

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

After another moment, she continued, "The cruise ship has just been found in Bermuda. Its exterior is intact, there are no biological signatures on board, and no one is responding."

In other words, after falling into the vortex, the Hera had crossed the Atlantic in an extremely short time and then reappeared, with all its passengers missing.

This situation couldn't possibly be a coincidence!

Are you trying to suggest supernatural phenomena? Or aliens?

"This incident wasn't a natural disaster?" Even though she had expected it, Xu Muchi found it hard to accept.

What kind of freak possessed such terrifying power to wipe out a nation overnight?!

No, if the British Kingdom had had time to react, this tragedy wouldn't have occurred. This meant that in a matter of hours, or even tens of minutes, seventy million people perished in the deluge.

Xu Muchi immediately issued orders. Although it would be difficult to track down the passenger list after the disaster, they might find useful information by investigating the ship in Bermuda. They had to track down this potential threat.

This was exactly what Gu Yan wanted. Whether it was a Judgment-class Honkai beast or a new Herrscher, it needed to be taken seriously. Now, it seemed that cruise ship was of utmost importance.

Then... if he was needed, he would help. If not, he would just guard Haishi well enough.

Bermuda, an island.

The weather wasn't exactly sunny, with occasional sea birds flying low. A luxurious cruise ship seemed out of place in its surroundings.

The cruise ship wasn't sailing; it was quietly stranded on a reef, utterly silent.

"Target acquired, commencing descent."

The sound of helicopter rotors shattered the silence, startling the sea birds and churning the water with the downdraft.

"That's good enough." Li Shi, seeing the altitude was appropriate, leaped from the helicopter, intending to dive directly into the sea.

But just as he was about to land, the water below began to churn, actively welcoming his descent.

Splash.

The flow of the seawater was peculiar, protecting Li Shi's body completely before a column of water rose, lifting him high.

Waving to the helicopter, Li Shi continued to control the water current, "walking" towards the cruise ship.

More investigators were still en route. As the person in charge of this operation, he had come ahead to survey the scene.

"Honestly, what kind of demons and monsters have to cause trouble right before the New Year!" Li Shi sighed with a helpless expression.

He was only a few days away from his vacation, and yet such a major incident had occurred at this time.

"Close enough. Let me see your true face..." Controlling the water column, he rose again, leveling with the cruise ship's railings.

Li Shi stepped forward, one foot about to land on the deck, but...

"Huh?"

"This, this..." His eyes widened, his senses failing him for the first time.

The sea breeze around him never ceased, unknown white birds fished in the shallows, everything was so normal, so peaceful—

Except for the cruise ship behind him.