Chapter 34

"Don't raise death flags!" Nobara Kugisaki wanted to charge into the screen. "Things like 'I'll come back after this' and 'Everything will be fine' are all forbidden!"

"When that kind of dialogue shows up in a TV drama, something goes wrong nine times out of ten!"

The girls who loved watching dramas all nodded.

"It's pretty normal to say things like that in this situation, isn't it...?" Yuji Itadori, utterly clueless about girls, couldn't help speaking up, only to fall silent under their collective glare.

After all, he wasn't someone who couldn't read the room.

The teacher who truly couldn't read the room, Gojo, spread his hands despite the murderous looks from every girl present. "You're so easy to fool, Nobara. TV dramas are all made up. Even if something goes wrong, it has nothing to do with death flags."

"Shut your jinxing mouth! Drop dead, you disgrace of a teacher!"

"Please let nothing go wrong, please..." Kyoka Izumi prayed quietly.

"Don't worry, Kyoka. I believe in Mr. An and the others. They'll definitely get through this." After Dazai's guidance just now, Atsushi Nakajima had absolute confidence in An Xinyi.

The handful of masterminds, however, wore grave expressions, clearly sensing a bad omen.

As one of the top experts China had sent to assist, An Xinyi had to work alongside all of Sea City's leaders and technical personnel to maintain order, communications, internal inspections, and more. They wouldn't enter the safety pods until one hour before the judgment. Right now, everyone was wrapping up their final tasks.

Yet he felt distinctly unsettled, unable to shake a sense of foreboding.

"Nervous, An?" Zhou Zhou, a fellow Chinese national and Sea City's highest-ranking leader, approached him with concern on his face.

"I'm sorry, Minister Zhou. I'm just a little worried." An Xinyi forced a smile.

"It's all right. I understand. Hundreds of millions had to be sacrificed just to earn us this one chance to gamble." Zhou Zhou patted An Xinyi's shoulder. "Don't let appearances fool you. I'm very nervous too."

They could now confirm that humanity had been all but wiped out in places with underdeveloped technology where Superhumans had no effective countermeasures. Combined with the unending deaths and sacrifices since the disasters began, reliable estimates put the global human population at fewer than two billion. From an original population of over seven billion, it had plunged to less than a third, with nearly all the survivors concentrated in developed countries and regions.

Those weren't mere numbers. They were living, breathing human beings!

And now, aside from exceptional cases such as Noah's Ark and the City in the Sky, the remaining billion-plus people would also face the final judgment.

A sudden commotion came from below. As everyone began to panic, Zhou Zhou stepped forward to reassure them. "Please don't be alarmed. This was arranged in advance."

The crowd soon quieted down. Only a while later did An Xinyi learn that the authorities had long since stationed personnel to round up all the Doomsday Cult members who had escaped the earlier purge. He couldn't help marveling. These were humanity's elite, after all, and couldn't be underestimated. It seemed Dazai's worries had been unnecessary.

Yet deeply concealed worry still lingered in Zhou Zhou's eyes. Only he and a handful of others knew that the last ringleader remained at large. There were also unverified reports that the cultists had once smuggled a shipment of explosives into Sea City, but those explosives still hadn't been found.

If anything went wrong... Zhou Zhou clenched his fists. Sea City had more than seven million residents. Even ten thousand deaths couldn't absolve him.

There were four hours left before the great flood-

According to the plan, Zhou Zhou, as Dawn's highest-ranking official, was to deliver the final rallying address. But that was precisely when disaster struck.

The most deeply concealed Doomsday Cult Leader was actually one of the city's senior officials. He suddenly detonated the bombs, then, before anyone could react, shouted over the broadcast system that reached every resident.

"Everything will be destroyed! Let us offer our souls to God-"

Boom, boom, boom- Even though the Doomsday Cult Leader had already been shot dead, the tremendous explosions left An Xinyi feeling as though the whole world was shaking. Screams and shouts blended into a chaotic roar. He had no idea what to do either and could only try to shelter in a safe corner.

But Sea City's violent shaking tore even firmly secured objects loose. A sharp piece of metal hurtled toward An Xinyi, and in desperation, he could only shield his head with his arm-

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. By the time An Xinyi woke, the explosions and tremors had stopped, but the scene before him was hell on earth.

This conference room had undoubtedly been a primary target. Many senior officials lay on the floor, pinned beneath shattered building materials and debris, their survival uncertain. Even Zhou Zhou, who had been so spirited moments ago, had collapsed, his blood spreading across the floor.

Chaos reigned everywhere. Those still conscious wailed on the ground. People covered in blood crawled, leaving bloody trails behind them. Even those whose limbs remained intact had been driven out of their minds by the sight, staring blankly at everything. Whether they wept bitterly or howled in anguish, they had no idea what to do. Only a few could still help themselves.

An Xinyi tried to move. His head spun, probably from blood loss. After all, the blood streaming from his arm had soaked half his body. His leg was also bent at an unnatural angle, likely broken.

He tore strips of cloth from his clothes and painstakingly bandaged himself to stop the bleeding, then roughly splinted his injured leg. Bracing himself against the wall, he barely managed to stand. He first edged over to Zhou Zhou. The elderly man was badly hurt, and An Xinyi couldn't wake him, so he could only give him first aid to stop the bleeding for now.

"It's over! It's over!" Leo, the chief engineer who had rushed to check all the facilities despite his own bleeding head wound, cried out in horror. "We're doomed!" With that, he sank to his knees in despair.

An Xinyi looked over, his pupils contracting sharply. "Five percent of the power system has been destroyed, and the engine compartment is damaged too?!" Was this some kind of joke? With the final judgment ahead, even damage to one thousandth of the system could have incalculably grave consequences.

All the survivors panicked. Some prayed to God, some stopped responding altogether, and others clutched their heads and sobbed.

Everyone knew they were finished!

With only three hours left, how could they possibly repair it all?

"An'an!" Seeing An Xinyi injured, Ranpo Edogawa jumped to his feet in panic despite having expected it.

A closer look revealed that everyone who had some connection to An Xinyi had reacted to varying degrees. Ranpo Edogawa's reaction was simply the strongest.

What astonishing charisma. Mori Ougai couldn't help marveling. None of those people were ordinary, after all. Aside from Ranpo, keeping their emotions hidden was a basic skill for them. Their reactions now were already quite pronounced.

"What can they do? Three hours... Are An Xinyi and the others really going to..." Doppo Kunikida grew anxious for the people on the screen. He was an upright man, after all.

"Brother, I'm a little scared to keep watching." Naomi Tanizaki burrowed into Junichiro Tanizaki's arms, and he scrambled to comfort her.

"Dazai..." Kunikida couldn't help looking at him. As his partner, he could still recognize Dazai's empathy, however little he showed it. There was no doubt that he cared deeply.

"It's all right, Kunikida." The brown-haired man's voice was very soft, as though he feared disturbing something. "At a time like this, all we can do is believe in him."

Ah, it's obvious, isn't it?

That figure was reflected in Osamu Dazai's russet eyes. Yiyi, you won't let me down.

You are An Xinyi, after all.

"Damn it, those filthy Doomsday Cult fanatics! They should all rot in hell!"

"It's over! We're all going to die!"

"No! Why? Why did it turn out like this?!"

Even these people, with their elite educations and experience weathering great storms, had broken down this badly. Sea City's other residents were worse off still. They had all heard the broadcast, and the explosions that followed had long since plunged them into despair and panic.

"Who could possibly turn this around?" Leo covered his face and wept. "Unless God himself shows up with pliers and a wrench."

"God isn't on duty today. But I can give it a try."

The room actually fell silent. Everyone stared blankly at the man who had stepped forward.

An Xinyi.

He was covered in blood and could barely stand without leaning against the wall, yet an unquenchable flame burned in his eyes.

It was refusal to surrender. It was the will to fight. It was defiance.

"Ha-are you kidding me? You can repair the equipment in three hours?" Disappointment filled Leo with fury.

"Of course I can't." An Xinyi was panicking too. He wasn't yet the future Zero, who had lived through so much that he was always calm and confident. Right now, his heart was pounding and he could barely breathe, because he knew he bore not only his own life, but the lives of nearly seven million people in Sea City.

But he had stepped forward anyway. Someone had to step forward now.

"Then why-" The hell are you talking for?! Leo wanted to swear.

"But we still have seven million people," An Xinyi said, each word deliberate. He tried to meet everyone's eyes with confidence. "Seven million people, five percent of the power system, a damaged engine compartment, three hours. We can do it!"

"But..." Leo wanted to object. Many of them were laypeople.

"Believe in them," An Xinyi said. "Believe in them."

"Are we really going to admit defeat?"

Leo froze, then fiercely clawed at his hair. "Damn the heavens!"

"All right!" The chief engineer, who was always disheveled yet had been the first to check the equipment after narrowly escaping death, clenched his fists. "I'll help you!"

"It's only life or death! What's there to be afraid of?"

"Thank you." An Xinyi thanked him sincerely.

"I'm in too! The worst that can happen is death. Who's afraid of that?!"

"Count me in! I'm going to make sure my daughter sees tomorrow. I'll fight to the end!"

"We have to take a gamble!"

"Haha! With the young folks stepping up, how could us old fossils just sit here?"

As those answers rang out one after another, the chaotic scene quickly grew orderly. They were the elite of their respective countries, after all. Soon, everyone was carrying out their duties, helping the injured, organizing documents, and checking equipment.

As An Xinyi watched it all unfold, tears seemed to glimmer in his eyes. Thank you for your trust and support.

Yes. Humanity would never admit defeat!