Calamity

Wu Zhong signed the papers and was assigned to some base that very night.

His background was simple, his origins clear. Three generations of his family had clean records, and aside from his grandfather, he had no other relatives.

So there was nothing much to settle. Lu Guangqi said all necessities would be provided free of charge, then drove him toward the suburbs.

The car headed south, drawing ever closer to Mount Lu.

Outside, gales howled, and the sight of gathering wind and clouds remained unchanged. Everyone watched with grave concern.

Seeing their expressions, Wu Zhong suddenly had a thought.

"You said those ghosts and gods were legendary beings, and that they suddenly appeared today..."

"I saw some videos. Could this be related to what happened on Mount Lu?"

He recalled watching a video earlier that day. Some comments had mentioned gods and demons awakening.

He had taken it as a joke and never believed it. But after everything he had experienced, it only took a little thought to realize that the ghosts and gods must have emerged from the swirling vortex amid the winds and clouds over Mount Lu.

Everything matched up.

The young Taoist sat beside him and did not hide it. "That's right. At around seven this morning, a vortex appeared atop Mount Lu's Five Elders Peaks, continuously devouring matter."

"All kinds of ghosts, gods, and monsters were born from it. They took Mount Lu's clouds and mist as their bodies, constantly changing in form, each with different abilities."

"Although their bodies are temporarily fragile—I can blow one apart with a single shot—they are indeed continuously growing stronger."

"And they keep coming without end. They cannot die or be destroyed, and seem able to regenerate within the vortex."

Wu Zhong was astonished. "This is real?"

"Why didn't you keep something like this under wraps? Why let it get out?"

The young Taoist rolled his eyes. "Look at that hurricane outside. A vortex that huge can be seen from hundreds of kilometers away. How are we supposed to hide it?"

"Better to guide than block. Rather than suppress the news, we might as well release it ourselves... through tourism accounts, with some background music added, then steer public opinion. That way, nobody will believe it."

"..." Wu Zhong was speechless. And honestly, he really had not believed it.

He wanted to ask more about the Mount Lu Vortex, but they refused to reveal anything further.

They ignored him completely, and the car fell into grim silence.

Wu Zhong was a little introverted by nature. After getting no response from a couple of remarks, he could only fall silent as well.

He was truly agitated inside, deeply uncomfortable.

Time passed in oppressive silence until he was brought to a military base at the foot of Mount Lu.

Mount Lu Military Airport was nearby, the only airport within the entire Xunyang City area.

After the car stopped, Lu Guangqi led him into an enormous air-raid shelter.

It was brightly lit and immensely spacious. Who knew how much space had been carved out inside the mountain? It also extended deep underground.

They took an elevator down to a bunker, where military personnel moved back and forth.

This was not a newly built underground defense facility. It had clearly been around for years, at least several decades.

Blast-door passageways labeled with letters and numbers lined the area. Lu Guangqi led him to open the door marked B12.

"Buzzzzz!"

The way Lu Guangqi opened the door was unusual. It was neither retinal nor palm-print authentication. Instead, he spread his five fingers, and an Air Shield covered in intricate patterns formed before his palm!

He pressed the Air Shield into a gridded recess beside the blast door, and the door slowly opened.

"What was that? Your superpower?" Wu Zhong asked in shock. It was his first time seeing something so extraordinary, and the visual impact was immense.

Lu Guangqi merely said, "Just a little trick. Come with me."

"I'll introduce you to someone first."

Wu Zhong knew Lu Guangqi would not tell him much, so he asked no more questions.

At the same time, he was secretly stunned. This is what a superpower is. Condensing air with a wave of the hand... Is that the ability to control gases?

He obediently followed Lu Guangqi through the passageway.

Was this a prison? Every so often, there would be an old door.

Unfortunately, there were no viewing windows, so Wu Zhong could not tell whether people were being held inside.

"Click."

When they reached the door marked B12-019, Lu Guangqi swiped it open.

This time, there was no miraculous superpower-based method of unlocking it. A simple access card was enough. Wu Zhong stared hard at the card and watched as Lu Guangqi casually slipped it into his briefcase.

"Endless Summer, you've been quite obedient. Meditating?" Lu Guangqi said as he entered and sat in a chair.

Wu Zhong saw that it was not a cell holding someone directly. There was another compartment inside.

Through the thick glass window, he could see a man in black sitting cross-legged within, his clothes tattered and bearing obvious signs of a fierce fight.

Heavy, clearly custom-made shackles hung from his body. His hands were cuffed to two iron balls, making them look like Doraemon's hands.

"What..."

The moment Wu Zhong saw the prisoner's appearance, his pupils contracted. He had seen this man before!

It was the stern man who had pulled him aside at the roadside and saved his life.

"How about it? Is it him? The one from this afternoon." Lu Guangqi glanced at Wu Zhong.

"Yes, yes..." Wu Zhong nodded heavily.

Thanks to this man, he had survived. Otherwise, he would surely have been run over by that truck. How could he possibly fail to recognize him?

He had actually wanted to thank the man properly, but the other party clearly did not care and had not even left behind a name.

"Endless Summer? That's his codename, right?"

Lu Guangqi answered casually, "Yeah. No one can find this guy's real name anymore. Endless Summer is his designation at the Free Mercenaries' Club, and he's quite famous."

He spoke into the microphone. "Hey, Endless Summer, do you know him?"

Endless Summer slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Wu Zhong, and gave a slight shake of his head. "Don't know him."

Lu Guangqi laughed. "Lying with your eyes open, huh? You saved him this afternoon, and you're telling me you don't know him?"

Endless Summer actually thought about it. He carefully examined Wu Zhong before saying, "Oh, that person? I gave him a casual pull. Never saw his face."

Wu Zhong's mouth twitched. He really was cool.

So he had not looked at Wu Zhong even once from start to finish? What utter contempt for everyone else.

Still, Wu Zhong said, "Brother, maybe it was just a casual act for you, but for me, it was the difference between life and death."

"Oh..." Endless Summer's expression remained calm and cold.

Lu Guangqi eyed him suspiciously. "You don't know him? You think I believe that?"

"A dignified Gold Mercenary comes all the way to this country, heads straight for Xunyang City, and casually saves someone along the way?"

Endless Summer made a vague sound through his nose. "Mm..."

Lu Guangqi slapped the table. "Stop playing dumb with me. You came all the way from Vienna just to casually save a complete stranger?"

Endless Summer found that strange too. "I saved him because I saved him. Do I need a reason? Why do you care so much whether I know him? Is there something special about him?"

"Could this kid also be from the Calamity Realm?"

Lu Guangqi tested him. "He's not. He's just an ordinary citizen, which makes this even stranger."

"Those ghosts and gods did not attack us, yet they sent the Day-and-Night Patrol Gods, going to great lengths to come down from the mountain and take his life. Don't you think that's strange?"

Endless Summer was quite surprised. Upon hearing that, he stared intently at Wu Zhong.

"That happened too? Then... was that out-of-control truck this afternoon actually the work of the Day Patrol God?"

The moment Lu Guangqi heard him mention the Day Patrol God, it was as though he had finally caught a flaw.

He immediately slapped the table again. "Ha! You let it slip, didn't you? We spent an entire day researching them, including communicating with those ghosts and gods, before we barely managed to learn anything about them."

"Yet you immediately identified it as the Day Patrol God's doing, and you still say you don't know him?"

Endless Summer remained composed. "Knowing the Day Patrol God does not mean I have to know this kid."

"Why are you so determined to harp on this? I finally decided to do a good deed, and I got dragged into this mess and had my motives questioned. What a bore... I won't save anyone next time."

"Why do you know about the Day Patrol God?" Lu Guangqi pressed.

The corner of Endless Summer's mouth rose. "I broke into Mount Lu's restricted zone and looked through your files. That's how I know."

"No, no..." Lu Guangqi shook his head. "This calamity only appeared this morning, yet you arrived in the afternoon. That was far too fast."

Endless Summer said indifferently, "No one could hide a calamity this big. The massive vortex at the mountain summit can be seen from hundreds of kilometers away, and the abnormal weather has spread across several cities. Is it strange that I came to take a look?"

Lu Guangqi said quietly, "No. Too fast."

"At around seven this morning, a vortex appeared on Mount Lu and continuously devoured matter. All kinds of ghosts, gods, and monsters were born from it."

"We made direct contact with them and did not gain a rough understanding of their names and abilities until four in the afternoon. The information was stored in the base at four fifteen."

"And you... broke in at four twenty and headed straight for the E02 archive."

"Why? You were obviously after the files, but they had only been stored five minutes before you broke in. And you even knew where they were kept."

Endless Summer did not panic in the slightest. "What else could it be? You have a mole."

Lu Guangqi's pupils narrowed. Indeed, a mole was almost the only explanation.

As long as Endless Summer had been waiting outside for the mole's message, then once the files were confirmed to be stored, the mole could tell him their location and let Endless Summer break in and steal them.

But...

Lu Guangqi sneered. "I don't believe any of my brothers are undercover agents. You possess an intelligence-type calamity item, don't you?"

"Believe whatever you want." Endless Summer looked as unconcerned as a dead pig in boiling water. "Trying to interrogate me with nothing but empty accusations is rather ridiculous."

"Oh?" Lu Guangqi's gaze sharpened. "You've already been captured by me. What exactly are you relying on to remain so calm?"

"Will someone come save you? Or do you think I won't use torture devices?"

Endless Summer said nothing more and closed his eyes to meditate.

Lu Guangqi said quietly, "Tomorrow, the Eternal Thirst Plum will be delivered here."

Endless Summer did not react.

Seeing that he was utterly unfazed, Lu Guangqi said, "It seems you don't know about this calamity item."

"All it takes is one look, and you will fall into eternal thirst. You could drink until your stomach bursts and still not ease it in the slightest."

Endless Summer was not frightened, but Wu Zhong was.

He exclaimed in shock, "What? Eternal thirst?"

Lu Guangqi seemed to need someone to pick up the conversation, so he continued, "That's right. Your thirst will immediately reach its limit and never fade until you die."

"What's even more terrifying is that it does not dehydrate your body. In other words, you only suffer the agony of dying from thirst, but you will not actually die."

"There is no cure for it. Once infected, no one can remove it. Endless Summer, your crimes do not warrant death. We truly do not want to use this on you."

Wu Zhong was horrified. Just one look, and he would be thirsty forever until death, with no cure.

What kind of thing was that? It was terrifying!

Why would something like that exist in this world? It was a hundred times more horrifying than ghosts or monsters!

"You're joking, right? You're just trying to scare him..." Wu Zhong muttered.

Lu Guangqi's face turned grim. "Scare him? I truly wish it were fake!"

"That cursed thing was mixed in with ordinary plums and sold at a morning market in Jinzhou last year..."

"From its discovery to its containment, a total of 113 people were infected with Eternal Thirst Syndrome in that short span of time! That included nine of our comrades!"

"And without exception, every one of them committed suicide."

Wu Zhong's face went pale. Eternal Thirst Syndrome had no cure, so suicide was the only option, wasn't it?

He had gone hungry before, starving for days at a time. That had been agonizing enough.

But thirst was far more painful than hunger... To endure that for an entire lifetime? Just thinking about it was despairing. Living would become endless torment with no end in sight. Suicide would be the only choice.

Yet even faced with such a threat, Endless Summer remained unmoved, his face as cool as ever.

Wu Zhong found it astonishing. Was he really that tough? Well, perhaps he thought it was all a bluff?

But what if it was real? Wasn't he afraid?

Lu Guangqi was also angered by Endless Summer's attitude. "You think I won't use this cursed thing on you? Do you know how severe the Mount Lu calamity is?"

Endless Summer sighed and said, "Of course I know. But is it my fault? Its birth was a pure calamity."

"You should understand that the appearance of calamity items follows no logic and has no traceable origin. They are born from nothing. Anything is possible."

"You people from the 985 Firefighting Unit should stop trying to find some source to blame for every calamity. It's a bad habit."

Lu Guangqi said coldly, "A pure calamity? Hmph. There's no guarantee it wasn't man-made."

"Fine, even if it was a calamity sent by heaven, you must still be deeply connected to the Mount Lu Incident. Otherwise, how could you have traveled all this way and entered the restricted zone so efficiently?"

"And casually saved the first person those ghosts and gods wanted to kill?"

"Tell us everything you know. This concerns the survival of countless people in the future!"

Endless Summer shook his head and remained silent.

Lu Guangqi said in a low voice, "Then there's no other way. Once you're infected with Eternal Thirst Syndrome and restrained so you cannot kill yourself, when you see a cup of water before your eyes, you'll tell us everything."

"Heh. We'll see." Endless Summer gave a soft laugh and closed his eyes to meditate.

Seeing that he would not yield to threats or persuasion, Lu Guangqi could not be bothered to waste more words on him. He swept his sleeve and left with Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong slowly followed him. On the way, he could not help asking, "Is that Eternal Thirst Syndrome real? You were scaring him, right?"

Without turning his head, Lu Guangqi answered, "It really exists."

Wu Zhong's limbs went numb. "Are you really going to use that kind of torture on him? Didn't you say there's no cure? Once he's infected, he can only commit suicide, right?"

Lu Guangqi glanced at him, thought for a moment, then said, "Before he explains everything, we won't let him die... Once infected with such a terrifying effect, death becomes the greatest release. He'll talk..."

Wu Zhong was afraid. Even though it was not being used on him, he was still afraid. "Huh? Didn't you say his crimes did not warrant death?"

Remembering what Lu Guangqi had said earlier, he could not help questioning him.

Lu Guangqi stopped and stared at Wu Zhong for a moment. "That is why his best choice is to confess honestly. Unfortunately, he won't give up until he sees the coffin."

"What? Do you sympathize with him? You saw how arrogant he was. Mercenaries of his level are cold-blooded and ruthless. They are not worth sympathizing with."

Wu Zhong fell silent.

Lu Guangqi led him out of the B12 passageway and back to A02.

The A section was clearly the staff living area. The team members from earlier were all there. Lu Guangqi first took Wu Zhong to shower and change into a new set of clothes. All his belongings were taken away.

Afterward, Wu Zhong was assigned a clean suite. It had a toilet and bathroom, a bedroom and living room, and was cleaner than his own home. The only downside was that there was no internet.

"The cafeteria you passed outside is open twenty-four hours a day. You can eat there whenever you want."

"You can move freely throughout the entire A02 area. If you need anything, you can go directly to Gu Yue. Mm, that's him."

Lu Guangqi pointed at the firefighter who had sketched the Night Wanderer earlier. After giving a few instructions, he left.

Wu Zhong sat blankly on the bed. Too much had happened today, and he needed time to process it.

But after thinking for a while, his brain grew unbearably sleepy. He had not slept well last night, nor had he slept well today. He was exhausted.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. He lay down at once and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow, sleeping dreamlessly through the night.