The Great Ship of a New Era
"..."
"Attention all citizens, this announcement is not a preview of a science fiction story, but a strategic warning concerning the survival of humanity."
"The nation has established a comprehensive defense system against Calamity Beast, but this war between two worlds requires the clear understanding and concerted efforts of every citizen..."
"All emergency measures will be implemented gradually through local Supervision Bureau and Martial Arts Association..."
"Remember—every preparation you make today is a hope for survival tomorrow."
"No matter what the future holds, the motherland will always stand with the people."
"This is the National News Administration. May our mountains and rivers remain forever strong, and our people endure forever."
As the announcer's solemn voice faded, the television screen switched to a silhouette of the Great Wall's beacon towers in the rising sun.
The background noise gradually faded into the solemn sound of bugles, and finally went out.
Shen Heng let out a soft breath and looked at everyone.
The faces of the crowd seemed to show both relief and an even greater sense of heaviness.
They seemed to witness the end of one era, and the beginning of another.
"Does this mean we don't have to hide it anymore?" Wu Cheng turned to look at everyone.
"Isn't that obvious? We've already broadcast it like this, why would we keep it a secret?" Han Ling rolled her eyes.
"So it seems the first victim affected by the announcement of the Calamity Beast has already appeared," Wu Cheng nodded in agreement.
"Huh? Who got hurt by this news?" Shen Heng looked at Wu Cheng.
He was somewhat confused as to how there could be victims so soon after the news was released; if there were to be victims, it should be something that happened later.
Everyone looked at Wu Cheng with some confusion.
"Have you forgotten? Doesn't headquarters have someone who makes memory-blurring spray?" Wu Cheng reminded him.
"You mean him!" Wei Leyang exclaimed, rubbing his chin. "This incident has definitely affected him a lot; he's probably crying himself to sleep in the bathroom right now."
Upon hearing this, everyone chuckled softly.
Shen Heng chuckled softly.
He had heard Wei Leyang mention the origin of the memory-blurring spray when he first went on a mission with Wei Leyang.
Its main component is provided by the ability of a martial artist within the system.
Using this ability, he earned a lot of points from headquarters.
Now that the news about the Calamity Beast has been released and there's no need to hide it anymore, it means he can no longer earn points from it.
As a result, his annual points income will likely plummet from its peak to its lowest point.
Hopefully he can adjust... Shen Heng silently wished him well, then turned to look at Wang Hai.
"Captain, will our work continue as usual from now on?"
"Well, although the news about the Calamity Beast has been released, it won't have a significant impact in the short term. Ordinary people will still be ordinary people; they'll just know about Calamity Beast existence. However..."
Wang Hai looked around at everyone.
"We need to send someone over to follow up on the Origin Power affinity testing over the next period."
Shen Heng nodded upon hearing this.
The Origin Power Affinity Test, as mentioned in the news report, is used to screen applicants for the North and South Martial Arts Academies.
Although the news report just stated that it was designated by the Supervision Bureau, the actual implementation is not handled by the Supervision Bureau.
One reason is that there are too many people.
Linhai City has a population of several million; it's unclear how many will participate in the testing.
Even if only one percent of them participate, the number of people would still be tens of thousands.
If the Supervision Bureau were to be responsible for the specific implementation, they would probably be overworked.
Another reason is that they don't need to operate the affinity test for the Origin Power.
A batch of equipment has been distributed from headquarters; the testing personnel only need to perform the tests according to regulations.
"Should we send someone to keep an eye on things every day?" Shen Heng asked Wang Hai.
Wang Hai thought for a moment and said, "Two, I guess."
"Who and who?" Han Ling's eyes lit up.
Wang Hai looked around at everyone in the room and said:
"Shen Heng and me, Han Ling and Le Gu Nan, Wei Leyang and Wu Cheng."
"I see!" Han Ling said softly, then lowered her head as if deep in thought.
Shen Heng glanced at Han Ling, then turned to look at Wang Hai.
"Captain, is there anything else?"
"That's all."
"Since there's nothing else, I'll go cultivate." Shen Heng stood up from the table.
"Wow, that's great. Shen Heng doesn't seem to get tired of cultivating at all," Wu Cheng exclaimed, looking at Shen Heng.
The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
For the vast majority of people.
Cultivation is not a particularly interesting process.
Especially when you're at a slightly higher level, and you don't feel like you've made any progress after a day of training.
At this point, all that remains of cultivation is boredom, tedium, and exhaustion.
Whether you can persevere at this point depends entirely on your personal willpower.
"If your ability can affect your daily life, I think you can too," Shen Heng said, looking at Wu Cheng.
"This... never mind." Wu Cheng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
Although he had never experienced that feeling, he knew just thinking about it that it must be unpleasant.
In particular, Shen Heng once said that he could only fall asleep when he was exhausted from staying up all night.
"After your Ability Evolution, will it still affect you?" Wang Hai asked Shen Heng with some doubt.
Upon hearing this, everyone realized what was happening and turned their gazes to Shen Heng.
Shen Heng's ability is Sound Wave Perception, which allows him to easily manipulate sound waves.
Logically speaking, the voices he mentioned troubling him should have been eliminated.
Shen Heng looked at the crowd looking at him and said:
"If you want, you can indeed use your abilities to eliminate the incoming sound waves, but that would require constant attention to maintain."
"Besides, it's pointless and might even make me lazy, so I didn't do it."
"Hiss—" Wu Cheng gasped. "So, you deliberately maintained the noise around you to force yourself to cultivate?"
Shen Heng thought for a moment and nodded. "Well, you could say that."
"Pervert!" Han Ling gasped.
Wu Cheng nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now." Shen Heng turned and walked out of the restaurant.
Seeing Shen Heng about to leave, Wei Leyang also stood up from the table.
"Shen Heng, wait a minute, I'll go downstairs with you!"
"Huh? What are you doing downstairs? Aren't you going to rest for a bit?" Wu Cheng looked at Wei Leyang with some surprise.
When practicing, the Five Animal Fist is unavoidable.
Practicing Five Animal Fist right after a full meal is not a very pleasant experience.
Therefore, apart from Shen Heng, everyone else would choose to rest after eating.
During this time of day, they sometimes play cards, sometimes chess, and sometimes watch short videos.
As for which one is capable of doing, that depends on who is resting!
Shen Heng walked to the door, glanced at the person who had been questioned and was now standing there with their hand raised to the side, and silently walked towards the stairs.
A slightly deep voice came from behind.
"The great ship of the new era has set sail..."
ps:
Tomato has a recommendation: I need five new book titles and covers, and I have to finish them before I reach 500,000 words.
I thought it would be quick, but it turned out to be a long time.
Yeah, that's about it.
The next chapter will be posted later.