Silence filled the car. Apart from An Ke, who divided her attention to keep watch outside, everyone looked at Lia, waiting for her story to begin.
Under their gazes, Lia slowly began:
"About seventy-five years ago, this world was still normal."
"There were flowers and wild grasses. The sunlight was warm, and animals ran across the land."
"Although small-scale wars still raged around the globe and divisions remained between nations, just as it had for millions of years, this world belonged to humanity, to every living being."
"And all of that ended with the appearance of one man."
As Lia spoke, the others exchanged glances, but none looked surprised. Even He Zheng kept his arms folded across his chest instead of interrupting with questions.
It was a familiar beginning to an apocalypse story. The only troubling detail was that Lia had trembled when she mentioned that man.
Lia sighed and continued:
"No one knows how he appeared, or how he managed to do everything that came afterward. Some said he was a jeweler with connections to many powerful people. Others said he was descended from royalty and had royal resources at his disposal."
"In any case, soon after he appeared, he amassed an enormous fortune."
"From the internet to real estate, from luxury goods to finance, in less than ten years, he was worth billions."
"With that fortune, he founded the IJ Group, or Imperial Jade Group. Within just a few years, the group released a host of revolutionary technologies that earned him virtually endless wealth, and he ultimately became the Final Producer."
"If..."
"Wait, Imperial Jade? Final Producer?"
Lin Yu asked in confusion. He had not meant to interrupt, but he did not quite understand those two terms.
Caught off guard by Lin Yu's interruption, Lia instinctively moved to