Barbie Strikes (Part 2)

As various visions of Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant appeared around the world, temporary agencies established by some countries specifically to deal with the "Antarctic Crisis" discovered, through satellite remote sensing images, that at the same time, the monster's expansion speed in Antarctica began to accelerate rapidly.

As those black substances condensed and expanded in all directions, constantly multiplying, the temperature in Antarctica also underwent drastic changes, first dropping sharply and then rising rapidly, with the heat source coming from beneath the monster that covered most of the glacier.

If this trend continues, Antarctica glaciers and ice sheets will begin to melt rapidly, which will have a tremendous impact on coastal areas and the global climate.

Although the black monster is rapidly expanding, covering an area of over 100,000 square kilometers, it is still far smaller than the more than 10 million square kilometers of Antarctica, and it is not as some media outlets have claimed that "the monster has swallowed Antarctica." However, there is no doubt that at this scale, such a controlled area has already caused a regional impact.

Such an impact occurring in Antarctica will inevitably have global consequences.

Moreover, to this day, no one knows what that black monster is, how it appeared, what it wants to do, how big it will grow, what impact it will have on the Earth's ecology, or what damage it will cause to the human living environment.

Any attempt to approach Antarctica has proven infeasible. Whether it's a ship or an aircraft, once it enters a certain area, it loses control, making it impossible for them to collect samples for research. Everything can only be analyzed indirectly through various optical imaging data from a distance, changes in the composition of the surrounding seawater and air, etc. There is no way to get a definite result; we can only prepare for the worst.

Just as high-ranking officials from various countries' Antarctic Crisis response agencies were holding an emergency online meeting, debating how to deal with the current critical situation, they suddenly received news that after the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusion appeared globally and affected a large number of people, a large number of objects resembling ball lightning were converging from these areas toward the center of the Pacific Ocean.

Clearly, these ball lightning-like objects are related to the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusions that have appeared around the world, and their convergence towards the center of the Pacific Ocean is certainly not a coincidence—in many places that are actually near the sea, these objects still cross entire continents to reach the Pacific Ocean.

These objects flew at altitudes above 3,000 meters, with varying speeds, but even at their slowest, they were still above 250 km/h.

So while the public's attention was focused on the illusion of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant, the leaders of various countries were paying attention to the location where those "ball lightning-like" objects were clustered in the center of the Pacific Ocean.

Representatives from almost every country are privately contacting Chinese officials to inquire about more information regarding the "ball lightning"—just two days prior, China had issued a danger warning to all countries regarding certain areas of the Pacific Ocean. That area lies precisely between the central Pacific Ocean, where the "ball lightning" is currently converging, and Antarctica.

It is clear that the Chinese side knows something.

Peng City.

Beneath the "Guarding Prosperity Building," inside Mr. Liang's secret data center.

He had just finished an online meeting with his superiors with Old He, and the two Zhengyi School watching the news while discussing the topics they had discussed earlier.

"Those 'UFOs' converging towards the center of the Pacific Ocean, they must be Xiang Kun's doing, right?" Old He asked. "The Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusion is definitely related to him, and those 'UFOs' all flew out from the place where the giant illusion appeared."

Mr. Liang, who looked like an ordinary young man, sat at the bar that had recently been added to the underground data center. While pouring tea for Old He, he said, "Didn't you just see Xiang Kun a couple of days ago? Didn't he tell you?"

Old He shook his head. "He only said that he would start dealing with the 'Ultimate Predator' today, but he didn't go into details about how. He only told me to inform our military that all ships and aircraft should not approach the narrow strip of water between the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica. He said that in one day, or at most three days, the 'Antarctic Crisis' could be resolved and the 'Ultimate Predator' could be completely dealt with."

"There must have been quite a few ships in that area before. It's easy to deal with our country's ships, but what about other countries'? They all obediently cleared the sea area," Mr. Liang said.

Old He took a sip of tea, smacked his lips contentedly, and said leisurely, "Anyway, we will definitely inform all countries and all ships that may pass through the area of the relevant warnings, but whether they listen or not is not up to us. After all, we ourselves don't know what will happen. If some countries really don't want to believe us and want to show off, there's nothing we can do, right?"

Mr. Liang glanced at Old He.

Old He glanced at Mr. Liang.

The two looked at each other for two seconds, then both laughed.

After a while, Old He asked, "Ah Liang, how confident do you think Xiang Kun is this time?"

Mr. Liang laughed and said, "Of course I'm 100% sure, is there even a question? Old He, during the online meeting just now, when the leader asked you, you also said you were absolutely certain and there wouldn't be any problems. Why are you asking me now?"

Old He said helplessly, "How can I not say this? You know the situation right now. It's not just about the safety of one country or one region; it could be the survival of all humanity. Xiang Kun refuses to show himself. If I don't take responsibility and give him my guarantee, how can I feel at ease?"

To avoid any strategic miscalculation Xiang Kun the authorities, Xiang Kun had Old He report the general situation to the higher-ups in early November, promising to handle the matter.

A few days ago, after confirming that the "Ultimate Predator" of Antarctica was about to be fully formed, Xiang Kun notified them again, explaining some things that needed attention now and in the future.

The senior leaders naturally wanted to contact Xiang Kun directly to find out the situation, but Xiang Kun was unwilling to show up and said that he would entrust Mr. Liang with the entire matter and let him handle it. Mr. Liang himself also had some social anxiety, so he said he would entrust Old He with the entire matter.

Xiang Kun is elusive and everyone is counting on him to "save the world," so it's not easy to force him. Mr. Liang, on the other hand, is easy to find and has now regained his "human appearance," unlike before when he was so frightening. So, Old He has been keeping him up lately to report to the leaders.

Fortunately, the leader was quite easy to talk to, and after a few conversations, Mr. Liang got used to it.

"Don't worry, Xiang Kun told me that the 'Ultimate Predator' could have survived, but now that it has condensed its entire body in Antarctica, it's practically asking for death. Taking down the 'Ultimate Predator' is not difficult at all. The only thing to consider is how to deal with it in a way that minimizes the impact on the ecology and the Earth's environment, as well as the phased transformation problem after it is dealt with," Mr. Liang said.

Old He nodded. "You have a lot of confidence in Xiang Kun."

"Don't you have it?" Mr. Liang laughed. "If you'd seen him in action, you'd have the same confidence as me. Wasn't the lightning storm in the suburbs terrifying last week? Xiang Kun can easily create a lightning storm ten times stronger than that. And think about all that stuff converging towards the center of the Pacific Ocean, and think about those Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusions we just saw in Peng City not long ago."

Previously, when "illusions of Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant" appeared all over the world, Mr. Liang and Old He. He also went outside to see them, and they also saw the giant illusions in their own eyes.

"We're fortunate he's one of ours," Old He said with a sigh.

Even now, he still doesn't have a concrete, systematic understanding of Xiang Kun's abilities, nor a clear concept of them. However, he has extremely strong confidence and trust in Mr. Liang, and Mr. Liang's almost "superstitious" admiration for Xiang Kun's abilities gives him the confidence and assurance to vouch for him with his superiors.

"Yes, we should be thankful." Mr. Liang smiled. The fact that they could sit here chatting easily and waiting for the "Antarctic Crisis" to be resolved, without experiencing the same fear and anxiety about the apocalypse as ordinary people, was all thanks to their understanding of Xiang Kun's abilities.

He has now successfully connected to the "Super-Sensing Item System" through "Little Radish," and has even found a way to expand his abilities to some extent by combining them with the "Super-Sensing Item System." So even though he could only glimpse the tip of the iceberg of Xiang Kun's ability system through the "hunting trip" a few months ago, he is well aware that Xiang Kun's strength is incomparable to that of ordinary "Mutated Creature." Even the "Ultimate Predator," after having its strongest widespread special factor's influence removed, cannot pose a real threat to Xiang Kun no matter how much it struggles or how much commotion it creates in Antarctica.

However, Mr. Liang was not entirely at ease. He was not worried about Xiang Kun's battle with the "Ultimate Predator," but as Xiang Kun had told him before, the real trouble was the phase of transformation after defeating the "Ultimate Predator."

He was also a "Mutated Creature," and he had undergone many phases of transformation. Therefore, he knew very well that when a "Mutated Creature" was undergoing a phase of transformation, it was at its most vulnerable and without any ability to resist. In particular, for Xiang Kun in his current state to devour the "Ultimate Predator" was to use a small creature to control a large one, crossing too many levels, which would take a lot of time, and there was even a possibility that things would get out of control.

With Xiang Kun's strength, if he loses control...

On the other hand, if he remains asleep for an extended period without protection, could he be attacked by other "Mutated Creature" or malicious individuals?

After learning that Xiang Kun was going to Antarctica to personally deal with the "Ultimate Predator," Mr. Liang raised these questions with Xiang Kun, wondering if he could mobilize manpower to guard him and ensure that his phase of transformation was completed.

Xiang Kun said it wasn't necessary, but he didn't explain whether he had made his own arrangements or found a safe place to make a phased transformation. He only said one sentence, "All the troubles come from within; there are no external threats."

However, judging from Xiang Kun's previous arrangements, he was prepared to remain in a deep sleep for a long time without waking up.

"Ah Liang, once things in Antarctica are resolved, you should go home," Old He suddenly said.

Mr. Liang paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand."

Old He took another sip of tea and slowly said, "Once the Antarctica matter is resolved and some things are on the table, that's when we'll be very busy."

"Aren't Ms. Xia and Dr. Fang there? Actually, they're more skilled at research."

"They still need to rest, but you don't."

Mr. Liang was taken aback, then couldn't help but point at Old He and laugh, "Okay, okay."

A coastal city in eastern China.

Because of the recent surge in sea level, residents along the coast have been organized to relocate to higher ground.

Actually, the seawater didn't flood very high places; it just temporarily obscured the beaches, and the coastal roads were also submerged, resembling the original low-tide locations. However, considering the ongoing severe weather and the deteriorating situation in Antarctica, for safety reasons, the local authorities decided to relocate the coastal residents inland until the situation improves.

This area was already sparsely populated, and now with the heavy rain and strong winds, it should be even less so.

However, not far from the coastline, on the top floor of what was originally a well-known resort hotel, several people were taking photos.

"We just saw those super giants with eight arms and eight eyes in the city, and they were heading towards the sea. We're right at the beach now. If they're real and really entering the sea from this direction, we should be able to see huge footprints over there..."

A girl in a raincoat pointed out from a half-open doorway on the rooftop, explaining the situation while directing the photographer to adjust the camera's direction.

They are not from the TV station, but rather self-media creators.

What topics are trending and attracting the most attention right now?

First and foremost, there's the Antarctica Monster, followed by videos of various severe weather events and their causes.

The former lacked sufficient resources to obtain firsthand information, while the latter was oversaturated. The sudden appearance of Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusions around the world today presented them with an opportunity and a starting point. So, braving the storm, they secretly ventured into this temporarily restricted area to film.

"How is it? How's the result?"

After filming for a while, the female host walked over to the cameraman and asked him a question.

"Say more, there's not enough content...wait a minute, is someone over there?" the photographer said, taking a few steps forward on the rooftop and pointing the camera in another direction to carefully discern the details.

"Someone's here? Let me see... It really does look like someone!"

As she excitedly racked her brains for words to describe how she could fit this person who had suddenly appeared in the downpour into her video, the person seemed to turn around and glance at them.

Next, the man raised his right hand and struck a strange pose.

The next instant, a bolt of lightning struck.