"Chen Lie, what exactly are you hiding?"
"Tomorrow night, the red moon descends."
"Red moon?"
"Tomorrow at midnight, the moon in the sky will turn blood red. Then black fog will surge from the ground, engulfing the globe. All plants and animals will mutate wildly. Cats and dogs will become man-eating monsters. Plants will devour the living. Cities will lose order within hours. Human civilization will collapse overnight."
Dead silence filled the warehouse.
Su Xiaodao's lips moved, but this time he didn't crack a joke. The sight of those thousands of tons of supplies vanishing into thin air had completely shattered his common sense.
Jiang Xinyi didn't argue either. She just stared at me intently. "Evidence."
"What you just saw is one piece of evidence. And the tattoos on your bodies."
Jiang Xinyi instinctively looked at her own back.
I went on. "The red moon's energy will activate the tattoos on humans, turning them into true totemic manifestations. Ordinary patterns can only awaken the lowest level physical enhancement. Fierce beast patterns can bestow beast transformation abilities. Mythological totems can awaken true manifestations. The older and more complete the totem, the stronger the destiny it carries, and the more terrifying the power upon awakening."
"So you had me tattooed with Nezha and Erlang Shen to help me survive."
"Your Nezha and True Lord Erlang Shen are top tier mythological totems. If you can endure the red moon awakening, you'll be stronger than the vast majority of awakened."
Then I turned to Jiang Xinyi. "Xinyi, your Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. It's a high tier form that combines offense, defense, purification and battlefield coordination. In the apocalypse, toxins and pollution, psychic corrupting beasts will become more and more common. Your totem is crucial."
"So you liquidated your assets, bought Blackstone Base, and stockpiled national-scale supplies. Getting us all tattooed wasn't on a whim either. You knew something big was coming."
"Yes."
The shock on Jiang Xinyi's face slowly faded, replaced by tension.
Su Xiaodao's expression changed instantly. "Wait, Brother Lie, what about my parents? They're still at the repair shop in the south district."
"Don't worry, I've already sent people to pick them up."
"What did you say?"
It was a live feed from the convoy. A black armored van had stopped outside the old street in the south district. The doors opened. Two bodyguards in black combat gear escorted a middle-aged couple inside. The man wasn't tall. His skin was dark. His hands carried the grease stains of years of repair work.
Su Xiaodao stared at the screen, his eyes instantly reddening.
"Using Blackstone Base's need for maintenance and support staff as a reason, I contacted your uncle and aunt in advance. They don't know about the apocalypse. They just think I hired them for a few days of high-paying work at the base. The convoy arrives in twenty minutes."
Su Xiaodao's lips trembled. No words came out for a long moment.
In the previous life, after the crimson moon descended, Su Xiaodao risked everything going back south to save his parents. But the old street had long been overrun by mutated rat swarms. All he found in the end was his father's broken wrench and his mother's old apron she could never bear to throw away. After that, Su Xiaodao slaughtered beasts like a madman until he finally died in a beast nest.
In this life, I won't let them go through that pain again.
I patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. Your uncle and aunt, I brought them over for you in this life."
Su Xiaodao hung his head, his shoulders trembling slightly. After a long while, he finally looked up, his eyes rimmed red. "Brother Lie. Thank you."
I smiled.
Jiang Xinyi watched this scene in silence, then asked quietly after a moment, "What about my father?"
"Academician Jiang is safe."
"You know about my dad?"
"Jiang Chenyuan, academician of the Dragon Nation Energy Research Institute. Two weeks ago, the military escorted him into the capital's underground base to participate in a top level energy core project. It's one of the safest places in the Dragon Nation right now. As for your mother." I paused.
Jiang Xinyi's mother passed away from illness years ago. It's a wound in her heart.
She didn't press further, just nodded gently. "I understand."
I looked at the two of them, my voice turning grave. "From now on, Blackstone Base is going into complete lockdown. Don't leave the base."
Su Xiaodao took a deep breath. He nodded. Jiang Xinyi also slowly pressed the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden tattoo on her back.
I looked up at the night outside the base. Everything is ready. We just need the right opportunity.
Early the next morning, in the underground living quarters of Blackstone Base, Su Xiaodao's parents had been placed in the safest living pod. Su Jianguo had served in the military when he was young. Although he didn't know what was about to happen, after seeing the defense specifications of Blackstone Base, he immediately sensed something was wrong. He didn't ask questions. He just patted Su Xiaodao's shoulder and said one thing.
"Follow Chen Lie and do a good job."
Aunt Li was busy in the kitchen all morning, insisting on making us a pot of dumplings. Su Xiaodao's eyes were red while eating, but he was still smiling.
Before the apocalypse arrived, having a hot home-cooked meal was already the last luxury for many people.
Last night, I had already stored the last batch of supplies in the companion space. The final ten-ton titanium alloy gate of Blackstone Base was also completely locked down in the early hours. The entire underground fortress was brightly lit, and a long sealed underground energy core was operating perfectly. The surveillance screen displayed a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree, no blind spot view of the outside world.
Su Xiaodao, holding a bowl of dumplings, sat watching the monitors. Jiang Xinyi stood before a giant screen checking the external defense systems. The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden tattoo on her body had fully healed, adding an indescribable sharpness to her cool demeanor.
Just then my phone popped up with a local trending notification. Su Rui was live streaming again.
In the footage, Su Rui was still in his luxurious downtown villa, hosting an extravagant party. Under the crystal chandelier, a champagne tower. Music, beautiful women, rich heirs made the entire live stream look decadent and dazzling.
I glanced at the time. Less than an hour remained before the crimson moon descended.
Su Rui, with Xiao Yujing in his arms, laughed arrogantly at the camera. "Folks, see that lunatic Chen Lie? He's probably hiding in some mountain bunker by now. Selling his assets, hoarding rice, buying pork, even dragging Jiang Xinyi off to get a tattoo. He doesn't actually think the apocalypse is coming, does he? Huh?"
Xiao Yujing, nestled in his arms, laughed uncontrollably. "Young Master Su, don't say that. I really want to see how Chen Lie handles things tomorrow."
Su Rui swirled his wine glass, laughing even more wildly. "If nothing happens tonight, tomorrow I'll take some guys into the mountains and smash Chen Lie's pathetic bunker. Then personally send him to a mental institution."
In the live stream room, mockery, heckling and abuse converged into a frenzy of revelry.
Yet inside the Blackstone base, only the deep rumble of the energy core remained. An eerie silence.
I raised my wrist, glanced at the time. 23:59. Ten seconds left until the crimson moon descended.
The outside world was still in revelry. Inside Blackstone Base, only the deep rumble of the energy core remained. An eerie silence.
Ten seconds later, I put down my knife and fork.
The countdown hit zero.
A hum, accompanied by a dull, ancient sounding reverberation. The entire blue planet violently shuddered.
In the live stream room, Su Rui, who was just arrogantly laughing, suddenly fell silent. Because outside his villa's floor to ceiling window, the night sky's bright, clear moon instantly transformed into a bizarre blood red color, like a bloodshot eyeball staring fixedly at the mortal world.