Walking among the rows of display cases under the anxious gazes of He Zheng and the others, Eve slowly began:
"The story began with a disaster."
"Roughly three centuries ago, in the year 2027, a Super El Niño struck the globe. The Pacific Ocean warmed abnormally, and the extreme weather caused widespread crop failures across nations."
"Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and unchecked volcanic eruptions, compounded by food shortages, plunged some smaller nations into humanitarian crises."
"Meanwhile, as people around the world grew frightened and uneasy, a prophecy began to circulate. It said..."
"Wait! 2027?"
He Zheng could not help interrupting Eve. His eyes filled with bewilderment; he had never expected to hear that number here.
He could hardly be blamed for losing his composure. It was 2027 in reality. Though he knew this world was not the real one, it still gave him a strange feeling. This place was too much like Earth, especially since, according to Eve, all this had happened three hundred years ago.
Before he could ask Ye Lin whether something like this might happen in reality too, An Ke grabbed him:
"He Zheng, don't ask unrelated questions yet."
After An Ke shot him a glare, He Zheng sheepishly rubbed his nose. He had actually wanted to ask what El Niño meant, too.
Unbothered by the interruption, Eve continued at Ye Lin's signal:
"The prophecy said that this world would soon descend into hell, and everything would disappear. Amid endless light, the earth would reverse its direction, and mountains would become oceans."
"When the night was no longer dark, all things would perish without a trace. Everything would have to wait for the next cycle to begin."
Ye Lin raised an eyebrow. Hearing Eve's account of the prophecy, he immediately recalled what they had seen outside.
*The night