When the Bell Tolled

As we entered November 2020, just after the start of winter in the lunar calendar, strange weather phenomena were frequently observed around the world.

Many places are experiencing unusually high temperatures, several degrees higher than the average temperature for the same period in previous years, making it hard to tell whether it is summer or winter.

In some areas, tornadoes, super thunderstorms, hail, and other abnormal weather events have occurred frequently, with all sorts of out-of-season and irregular severe weather occurring frequently. Fortunately, these events mostly occurred in sparsely populated areas.

Even in densely populated areas of every continent, various anomalies are occurring, such as persistent high temperatures and dry weather, leading to frequent fires.

Because of the warm winter caused by El Niño last year, many people were speculating that there might be an anti-El Niño or La Niña phenomenon this year, resulting in a cold winter that is rare in recent years.

But to my surprise, this year is even hotter than last year.

Of course, there are also various opinions online, saying that it's not really cold yet, and occasional high temperatures are normal.

However, as time went on, and by late November, more and more strange weather events appeared around the world, and densely populated cities began to be "attacked." Some cities were even directly hit by widespread thunderstorms, and many electronic devices were affected and damaged. Moreover, these violent convective weather phenomena did not receive any warnings from meteorological departments, as if the weather forecasting technology that mankind had developed over the years had suddenly failed.

In fact, several major powers have obtained some special information through satellite remote sensing technology, knowing that the source of the recent abnormal changes in global climate is in Antarctica.

Starting in mid-October, temperatures in parts of Antarctica began to rise sharply and glaciers melted at an accelerated pace. Scientific research teams and other personnel from various countries in Antarctica were just preparing to investigate the situation and find out what was causing the anomalies when they received orders from their respective organizations to evacuate immediately.

Of course, not everyone was willing to go at first. Many people wanted to investigate first and at least figure out what was causing the large-scale temperature rise in Antarctica. However, the series of strange phenomena and dangers that followed made everyone realize that if they didn't leave, not only would it be difficult to investigate the cause of the temperature rise, but it would also be difficult to leave alive.

What happened in Antarctica was not only the abnormal rise in temperature, but also a variety of strange phenomena. After the Antarctica researchers were evacuated from the research station, a large number of black objects, which seemed to be composed of minerals but were also able to grow like plants and exchange matter and energy with their surroundings, appeared, like a layer of vegetation, and continued to spread across the Antarctica continent.

Strangely, after they appeared, the temperature in Antarctica stopped rising and instead dropped rapidly at the same abnormal rate, even falling below the temperature line before the warming.

As the area invaded by those black objects grew larger, related images and photos quickly spread online. Some strange thermal images taken by satellite were used by TV programs and online media influencers for explanation.

Gradually, more and more "doomsday" theories appeared online, including various gods, legends, and reasons for the apocalypse. There were even claims that aliens were about to launch an attack or that ancient beasts were about to awaken. The sheer variety was dazzling.

In fact, similar comments have been circulating online since early October when there was a sudden and abnormal drop in temperature across the entire Eastern Hemisphere.

However, because the impact of the abnormal weather was relatively small and short-lived, such "doomsday" or "end of the world" statements did not cause much of a stir and quickly disappeared from the internet without attracting much attention.

Of course, in reality, Alice did some tactical work behind the scenes, deliberately reducing the chances of these comments being searched and appearing on various social media platforms. She also interfered with the internet devices and operating systems of some malicious individuals, preventing them from continuing to publish related information for a short period of time. Therefore, she was able to quickly stop the spread and influence of that information.

But now, because the weather is changing so strangely and drastically, and Antarctica is experiencing situations that defy common sense, all sorts of information are emerging, various media platforms are reporting on it, and various experts are coming out to refute rumors and provide answers—there's just too much of it.

Seeing this information, everyone will have similar thoughts to some extent. After all, there were too many movies like "2012" and "The Day After Tomorrow" in the past. Regardless of their knowledge background or cognitive system, everyone will have some ideas, speculations, fears and worries about the end of the world.

If Xiang Kun had had Alice use technical means to interfere with and mislead people at the data level before anyone spread images or videos of the Antarctica anomalies and the ever-spreading black substance, it would have been much easier to prevent the spread of these "breaking news" items from the source.

However, Xiang Kun did not do that.

At this point, unless Alice directly cuts off the global internet and all kinds of media, prohibiting the dissemination of all information, or engages in large-scale fabrication to manipulate public opinion and public attention with falsified information, it is impossible to suppress this wave of global panic.

Xiang Kun naturally didn't do that either.

Because his original approach was to start directly from the true source—from the vision itself.

Despite the frequent occurrence of various abnormal weather events and drastic temperature fluctuations, which make people feel like the end of the world is approaching,...

In fact, these changes had already begun to occur dramatically as early as mid-October. However, at that time Xiang Kun and Alice were using the "Super-Link Object Matrix" that they had previously deployed and connected in various human settlements around the world to exert a reverse influence, limiting abnormal climate changes and minimizing the impact.

If we could significantly reduce the impact and duration of abnormal weather changes, just like in early October, it would naturally reduce public panic and attention, and then limit the scope of the solution to Antarctica, making it much easier to suppress information.

However, Xiang Kun's attempt to contain the anomalies ultimately failed. The climate anomalies were destined to escalate, and the resulting panic from such drastic, global weather changes was almost unavoidable. It was not something that could be contained simply by restricting the unusual phenomena in Antarctica.

Therefore, Xiang Kun changed his strategy from blocking to guiding.

Xiang Kun understood why global weather was undergoing such drastic and abnormal changes.

The root of it all lies in Antarctica, or more precisely, in the "Ultimate Predator" that is about to re-establish its form on the Antarctica continent.

Xiang Kun's previous plan was very successful. He lured Mr. Liang out by making him meet the blood requirements of the "Ultimate Predator" in a short period of time. During the process of devouring and undergoing phased mutation, he used "dreams" to format Mr. Liang's main consciousness, and then analyzed and established his consciousness model. This allowed Alice to reverse and disrupt Mr. Liang's ability to control the special factors in other creatures, effectively "paralyzing" him.

Based on Xiang Kun and Alice's deductions, the most likely scenario was:

The "Ultimate Predator" was successfully outmaneuvered and lost control over the special factors within other organisms. However, it's better to live than die. Judging from the "Ultimate Predator's " past behavior, it will likely put up some "futile struggles," but these will have little impact. It will linger on until Xiang Kun's "Super-Link Object Matrix" truly covers every corner of the globe, completely enveloping it and eliminating the threat entirely.

However, after the plan was successfully executed, a low-probability event occurred:

During the process of being "paralyzed," the stability of the High-Dimensional Factor of the "Ultimate Predator" itself was greatly impacted. It was already at a stage limit, and this time it was directly forced to the critical point. It could no longer avoid the ultimate collapse by "breaking down into parts" or entering a state of suspended animation. So it wanted to fight to the death and deliver a final blow.

It was perhaps this near-collapse that caused the "Ultimate Predator's" consciousness to enter a frenzied, bloodthirsty mode, rejecting the "lifeline" left to it by Xiang Kun through Little Radish. Instead of connecting to Little Radish's "Super-Linked Object platform" to dissolve its stage limitations, it chose to condense itself through all the "High-Dimensional Factor" distributed throughout the world and among a large number of organisms.

After being tricked by Xiang Kun and Alice, the "Ultimate Predator" was unable to activate the special factors in other organisms' bodies to influence and control them. However, the characteristics of the special factors were realized through the "Ultimate Predator's " "High-Dimensional Factor." The "High-Dimensional Factor" are connected to consciousness and ignore spatial distance. This is why the connection between the "Ultimate Predator" and its special factors in other organisms still exists.

When the threat of phased collapse loomed, the "Ultimate Predator" chose to establish its physical presence in Antarctica —one of the "vacuums" in the deployment of the "hyper-matrix" of the Xiang Kun "Super-Link Object Matrix".

Yes, Xiang Kun "paralyzed" the "divide and conquer" approach, and the "Ultimate Predator" decided to go all out, directly using a comprehensive physical construction to fight to the death, or rather, to try to destroy each other.

It has no way to actively control the special factors in other organisms, but it can use the connection of "High-Dimensional Factor" and its own stress state of impending collapse, along with the "instinct" of "Mutated Creature," to drive all "High-Dimensional Factor" back to their original state, undergoing a morphological change that is not blood-drinking mutation or transformation, and directly establishing a larger, more powerful, and more materialized entity.

To use an analogy, it's like Xiang Kun previously deprived it of the ability to control its "body," leaving it only with the ability to perceive its body, while its brain could still think and its consciousness remained clear. Now, it's directly activating its "passive ability," abandoning its original body, and then allowing its brain to "grow" hands, feet, or other limbs, creating a new entity.

In fact, even if Xiang Kun did nothing, the "Ultimate Predator" would disintegrate and dissipate on its own shortly after its physical form was completed. The reason it could stimulate the instinct of High-Dimensional Factor to help it re-form its physical form was that it had chosen to perish.

Just like when a company decides to close down and go bankrupt, once the news is released, the construction teams working outside will naturally rush back to settle their wages before disbanding.

The purpose of gathering is for the purpose of dispersing completely.

The problem is that the very process of it "coagulating" into a physical entity is a catastrophe for the entire world.

Not only will it generate massive energy exchanges, but the influence of High-Dimensional Factor extends to the entire world and countless biological communities.

Like a massive mountain of books stacked upon each other, layer upon layer, arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, perfectly fitted and extremely stable.

Each book contains a bookmark. Removing one, a few, or even hundreds of bookmarks individually won't have a significant impact. However, if all the bookmarks in all the books are pulled out together by connecting threads, the entire mountain of books, even if it doesn't collapse, will be greatly affected, potentially resulting in twisting, tilting, or even partial misalignment and scattering.

"The Ultimate Predator" is now removing the bookmarks from all the books, and all at the same time.

Xiang Kun's "Super-Link Object Matrix" and "Super-Sensing Item System" are part of the bookends or shelves in the book mountain. They can be moved to correct the effects of bookmark removal, so that the book mountain can maintain its original state as much as possible when all bookmarks are removed.

Therefore, neither the "Ultimate Predator" nor Xiang Kun can currently manipulate global climate change or control the weather in every part of the world through High-Dimensional Factor. This vast natural system is beyond the precise control and influence of either Xiang Kun or the "Ultimate Predator." All of this is a "side effect" of the "Ultimate Predator" condensing its physical form, while Xiang Kun is merely using minimal force to achieve maximum effect.

Unfortunately, the chain reaction caused by the bookmarks was too great, and the bookends and shelves that Xiang Kun had set up were not enough, and the ability to correct errors was insufficient. So when the impact became too great, he had no choice but to give up.

After Xiang Kun abandons the reverse influence and weather correction, as the "Ultimate Predator's " body condensation process in Antarctica progresses, various apocalyptic weather phenomena will frequently occur around the world, and even more bizarre situations may occur.

This process will be terrifying, but according to Xiang Kun and Alice's deductions based on the changes in their extrasensory information, the impact can still be mitigated. Moreover, he had already allowed people around the world to experience a "mild" aberration in the weather through reverse influence, so with warnings and preparations, the losses will be smaller.

The most crucial question is, what to do after the "Ultimate Predator" form is fully formed?

Although it is a low-probability event now, Xiang Kun and Alice both had contingency plans when formulating their strategies to deal with the "Ultimate Predator".

For Xiang Kun personally, the most conservative and safest way to deal with this is to wait for the "Ultimate Predator" to collapse and perish on its own—after it manifests itself in this way, it will disintegrate in a very short time, the High-Dimensional Factor will dissipate, and dust will return to dust.

The problem is that once the "Ultimate Predator" has fully solidified, it will not be content to simply dissipate. It will certainly do something before it disappears, whether it further invades the ocean, attempts to reach other continents, causes massive destruction before its demise, or directly influences the Antarctica, stirring up the global climate, melting glaciers, and raising sea levels, all of which will bring devastating disasters.

In this situation, Xiang Kun could not remain unaffected and wait for the "Ultimate Predator" to collapse on its own. He had to take action and eliminate the "Ultimate Predator" completely before it had taken shape and caused massive damage or devastation.

Xiang Kun had a premonition of this situation in mid-October, when the "Ultimate Predator" had just begun to condense its main body. That's why when he met Old He in Tongshi Town, he told him that there would be a "globally significant event".

With current human technology, we still cannot deal with the "Ultimate Predator." Even if several major powers joined forces and, disregarding the consequences, dropped nuclear bombs on Antarctica, they could reduce the massive mass of the "Ultimate Predator" to ashes, but they could not truly eliminate it. It would quickly continue to coalesce, and might even develop different material properties due to attacks from nuclear bombs or other thermal weapons, making it even more dangerous.

It's not that human weapons are not powerful enough or lack destructive power, but rather that they are being used in the wrong direction.

It's like punching water, cutting it with a knife, or smashing it with a hammer. No matter how much force you use, it's useless. The water will splash, but it won't be harmed in essence.

Ultimately, it's because human society knows too little about the existence of the "Ultimate Predator" and the characteristics of High-Dimensional Factor. Even Mr. Liang doesn't have any effective way to deal with the "Ultimate Predator."

In this world, the only one who can stop the "Ultimate Predator" is still Xiang Kun.

For Xiang Kun, the real challenge was not eliminating the "Ultimate Predator" or winning the battle in Antarctica, but rather how to control and take over its massive amount of High-Dimensional Factor after completely eliminating the "Ultimate Predator" and causing its consciousness to dissipate.

Comparing the normal transformation stages, "Ultimate Predator" is a colossal glacier at sea, Xiang Kun is a small boat. Not counting underwater, the volume of the glacier above water alone is countless times larger than the small boat. Although the small boat could easily smash the glacier apart, the difference in size is indeed enormous.

Let alone Xiang Kun, even Mr. Liang, whose transformation in the past few months has progressed rapidly and who meets the bloodline requirements of the "Ultimate Predator," has not yet reached the level where he can devour the "Ultimate Predator." The gap between them is too great.

If we compare High-Dimensional Factor to construction workers, Xiang Kun's construction team only has twenty people, but they have all kinds of high-tech equipment, automated management and operation, and AI assistance. They can do the work of several traditional large construction teams, and they are constantly developing new technologies and applying new equipment.

But now, he suddenly has to reorganize a construction team of tens of thousands of people, training and taking over his own workers. Twenty people against tens of thousands—the difficulty is unimaginable. If it were a team against a team, his twenty-odd-person construction team would have sufficient equipment and multiple ways to win, whether through verbal or physical means. But integrating the opponent's skilled workers into the team is much more difficult.

This is why, for Xiang Kun, the best way to deal with the "Ultimate Predator" is to let it disintegrate on its own.

As for the massive amount of High-Dimensional Factor it has accumulated, they will simply dissipate. For Xiang Kun, there is no question of whether they are wasted or not.

His "construction team" was no longer like other "Mutated Creature"; it no longer relied on sheer numbers to increase productivity. Its development had shifted to a different dimension.

If Xiang Kun were to confront the "Ultimate Predator" and personally eliminate it, then according to the characteristics of High-Dimensional Factor, it would inevitably become subordinate to him, merging with his consciousness and his original High-Dimensional Factor, forming a connection. This is unavoidable.

Although he had already made the decision to eliminate the "Ultimate Predator," Xiang Kun could only wait.

Wait until it is fully formed and the regression properties of the High-Dimensional Factor have been fully utilized.

It's not that Xiang Kun Kuntai is preaching "martial virtue" and is unwilling to intervene during the formation of the "Ultimate Predator," but rather that this process simply cannot be interrupted; it's a characteristic of the High-Dimensional Factor.

No matter what he does at this point, or how much he messes with the parts of the "Ultimate Predator" that have already emerged in Antarctica, it won't affect its final formation; it will only expose itself and attract unnecessary attention.

In mid-December, various unusual weather phenomena appeared more intensely and frequently, and the enormous black monster in Antarctica slowly took shape. It was impossible to tell what it was, but judging from its movements, it seemed to be a conscious life form, which caused even greater panic.

Every continent, country, and region in the world has been hit by abnormal weather, whether in sparsely populated wilderness or densely populated cities, whether on land or sea, in mountains or plains, without exception.

Super thunderstorms, hail, and torrential rain have become commonplace, and people are slowly getting used to them amidst their fear.

Twisted Waist City.

Ye Zijun and her filming assistant, Xiao Ding, walked down the street, shooting footage for their video program.

Having been through a traumatic experience in Australia, the two women were quite shaken and had been detained for a considerable time while cooperating with the Australian police investigation. Fortunately, with the help of some friends, it was later proven that the boy's death was unrelated to them; they were the victims, and they were able to return to China safely.

In fact, the two of them also discovered that the Australia authorities did not seem to want to investigate the matter in the abandoned underground passage in depth, and were very secretive about the real cause of the boy's death.

Originally, after this incident, the two of them wanted to rest in China for a while, edit the footage they had shot, and complete the first half of the post-production.

However, in early October, temperatures across the entire Eastern Hemisphere experienced a brief and abnormal drop. In mid-October, various unusual weather phenomena occurred globally, while Western media began publishing a variety of offensive statements targeting China.

Claims that China has too many cars and excessive emissions, too many factories and excessive pollution, and that it should be held responsible for global weather anomalies, completely ignore facts and evidence, blatantly apply double standards, and make baseless accusations. Even outrageous arguments like "Chinese people should eat less meat to protect the planet" have emerged.

Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding were furious, so they came up with a topic: to go to the location and shoot some footage to make a video program and slap them in the face with Western logic.

The topic was submitted to the media platform that Zhao Feng had connected them with, and it was immediately approved. Then the funding for the interview was approved, and they set off to cross the Pacific Ocean.

However, to their surprise, not long after they arrived in the foreign land, the Antarctica monster was discovered, and then all the media and the public's attention was focused on it.

Due to various unpredictable severe weather events, especially the devastation caused by super thunderstorms and lightning storms at sea, most transoceanic flights were suspended, leaving the two women temporarily stranded in New York.

However, this also allowed them to record various video materials during this special period, making them almost like New York-based foreign correspondents for that media platform.

Today, they went out to film videos as usual, and contacted a few international student friends in New York to prepare a program to talk about everyone's different mental states and life situations under the current circumstances.

Normally, with Christmas approaching, the streets should be bustling with people, but the strange and fierce weather has made everyone try to stay outside as little as possible, and there are even far fewer cars.

Just as Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding finished filming a street scene and packed up their equipment, preparing to move to the agreed-upon coffee shop, a clear bell suddenly rang out in the sky.

Then another sound.

Another sound.

Everyone was stunned. They looked up at the sky, where the sun had been visible just moments before, but now it was covered in dark clouds. People had grown accustomed to these strange weather changes over time, but the sound of the bell sent a chill down their spines.

The bells continued to ring at their fixed rhythm, as if coming directly from the sky and from within the dark clouds, spreading indiscriminately to everyone's location. They were magnificent and powerful, inexplicably giving people a sense of urgency and a fear of impending judgment rising in their hearts.

Happy Chinese New Year to all book lovers!

Happy Year of the Ox! May your studies, work, and relationships all be prosperous! May the Year of the Ox bring you great fortune!

─=≡Σ(((つω)つ