The finest race

The assistant on the other end of the phone added, "Minister, there's one more thing."

"Domestic public opinion about the mirages hasn't been too bad. Most people are focused on earthquake relief. At most, they discuss them as curiosities."

"But public opinion outside the firewall is extremely hostile. People have mixed in religious doomsday theories and racial rhetoric... it's starting to turn into a carnival for racists."

Li Xianfeng sighed softly. "Let's focus on our own work. We can't control public opinion abroad. It's always been like that. This isn't the first time."

"The world is made of matter. A few insults won't take a chunk out of us."

As Great Xia continued to rise, the Western world's attitude had grown increasingly hostile.

This time, the global earthquakes had done nothing to ease that hostility. If anything, it was growing worse.

The reason was simple. With several mysterious zones appearing in the oceans and tsunamis striking frequently, the risks of maritime shipping had become absurdly high.

Without ocean shipping, the cheapest form of freight transport, the collapse of global supply chains was all but guaranteed.

At a time like this, Great Xia, with the most complete industrial supply chains, naturally held an enormous advantage.

Meanwhile, as the risks at sea increased, land power might rise again while sea power declined. Eurasia and Africa had the greatest landmass and population. The other continents, isolated overseas, could only shut their doors and practice isolationism.

Under these circumstances, it would have been strange if the superpower with more than three hundred overseas bases hadn't panicked.

In a world where everyone competed to be less terrible, as long as everyone else was worse off, you were the best.

As for the earthquakes that kept spreading and causing disasters? As long as they didn't affect you, what did they have to do with you? From a certain perspective, human civilization was a perfect reflection of a Darwinian society governed by the law of the jungle.

"Mysterious zones: a world of supernatural phenomena. Although I don't know why mirages of these zones have appeared, I'm certain these scenes are real!"

Peter Greer, a professor of parapsychology at Harvard University, posted a message on Bluebird, along with a series of images captured from the mirages and enhanced to high definition using AI.

Coconuts the size of water vats were actually among the most unremarkable things shown.

In one photograph, magnified a hundred times, a mysterious flying creature could be seen in the sky. With leathery wings, sharp claws and fangs, and scarlet eyes, it resembled an enormous bat.

Peter Greer wrote, "According to mathematical calculations, this bat could be ten meters long."

"Only the pterosaurs that lived during the age of dinosaurs ever reached such a size. Those pterosaurs weighed roughly 250 kilograms, and I estimate this bat weighs about the same."

"Its sharp fangs could easily kill an adult."

Another photograph showed a boatload of fishermen landing on an island.

Professor Greer enlarged the photograph and cropped out one corner. "Look here. The plants on the island are slowly writhing. Judging by their appearance, they may be terrifying man-eating plants."

"Fortunately, some of the humans trapped in the mysterious zones may have developed superpowers. They might have the ability to resolve their current predicament."

Someone commented below, "Professor, why have these mirages appeared? Why have the mysterious zones appeared?"

Professor Greer replied, "I have no evidence or information at present, but my personal belief is that the apocalypse has already arrived, yet hasn't truly begun."

"God cast a small number of people into the mysterious zones, then created these mirages to offer a revelation to the entire world, so that some of us might survive the true apocalypse."

"These cinematic mirages exist solely to bring us that revelation."

"Only real death can awaken the world and show us the cruelty of the future. That's why very few of these four thousand people are likely to survive."

Professor Peter Greer seemed determined to shock with every word. "If this hypothesis is correct, the mirages should appear around the world again tomorrow. We will certainly see even more spectacular scenes."

"Perhaps some people will die in despair."

Niu Musk, Bluebird's CEO and the world's richest man, liked the post and commented, "Superpowers, a struggle to survive death, humanity pushed to the brink. God is as cruel as ever."

"It's time for humanity to unite. But that's just wishful thinking, isn't it?"

"The only thing we can be certain of is that humanity will never unite in a disaster. We will only die divided."

After that, users began sharing the post like mad. "Surviving death," "the apocalypse," and "superpowers" provided more than enough sensational appeal to draw countless eyes.

Even people who had survived the earthquakes picked up their phones and frantically tapped like.

In this age of amusing ourselves to death, as long as people were still alive, they had to use their phones.

Using phones was the foremost driving force behind world peace.

Soon, Professor Peter Greer's Bluebird post passed a hundred million likes. With unstoppable momentum, it overtook King Messi's World Cup victory post to become the most-liked post in the world.

And the parapsychology professor Peter Greer gained more than ten million followers in a single day!

But amid the frenzy, the discussion slowly veered off course, and all sorts of competitive boasting soon filled the air.

"God is actually selecting the finest race!"

"A man of our Great River people has the power of invisibility. We truly are the finest people in the world."

"My friend, look at that man floating in the sky. He's a Brahmin baptized in the waters of the Ganges. He'll definitely survive until the end."

"Wake up, my friend. That man you're talking about has already immigrated to America. He told me in private that Ganges water, cow urine, and cow-dung cakes make an exquisite combination."

"Has the one who breathes fire undergone a genetic mutation? How did these superpowers appear? It's truly puzzling."

Some people focused their attention on the man surviving on a deserted island. The other scenes all featured groups, but this yellow-skinned, black-haired man was alone.

Large numbers of self-hating Asians sneered, "He doesn't seem to have developed any superpowers. He'll probably be the first to die. He might not even live to see tomorrow's sunrise!"

"They're a race that doesn't believe in God, after all. Why would God favor them? From the look of him, he's already in despair. He'll go mad soon!"

Of course, there were also some people outside the firewall.

They fired back, "You don't seriously think God will favor someone like you just because you fled abroad, do you? If you were thrown into a mysterious zone, you'd be the first to die."