Another world...
Peng Lan unconsciously gripped the windowsill tightly, her eyes fixed on the sky.
The apocalypse caused by acid rain came so irrationally and without warning that many people began to doubt whether this world was truly the materialistic world they firmly believed it to be.
Some even believe that this is a virtual world where everyone is a virtual being.
Or perhaps Earth is a prison, and they are all imprisoned, and now, the arrival of acid rain is the outside world's attempt to destroy this prison.
There are all sorts of theories.
The appearance of the sky dome this time seems to corroborate these inferences.
—Besides this world, there are other worlds, and these other worlds are also facing absurd apocalyptic crises.
So, what is the truth of the world? What is the truth of the universe? What is the meaning of their existence?
Is there a wider world outside, and is everything being manipulated?
Is the appearance of this canopy also some kind of experiment or a hoax?
Peng Lan's expression remained unchanged, but a multitude of thoughts churned within her. She even forcefully broke the window frame with her fingers, causing blood to flow down her face.
The assistant watched in trepidation. Had the sky said something terrifying? Why did Captain Peng look so frightening?
At that moment, Peng Lan was taken aback.
The video feed suddenly stopped, and a pop-up appeared, even projecting directly onto Peng Lan's face—
[The preview period has ended. Please pay to continue watching.]
Pay?
The sudden appearance of money-making schemes interrupted all the intense conspiracy theories, and Peng Lan even felt like she had lost her breath for a moment.
His expression turned strange, as if he had been frustrated or constipated.
The assistant asked cautiously, "Captain Peng?"
Peng Lan clicked "confirm," and then another recharge page appeared.
[This viewing requires 10,000 yuan. Please recharge.]
Peng Lan confirmed the payment without blinking.
[Payment successful, welcome to continue watching]
The screen continued playing, and Peng Lan's phone vibrated. She took it out and saw a text message: "Your account ending in xxxx completed a transaction of -1,000,000 on September 27th. Your balance is xxxxxx."
Peng Lan's pupils contracted; it really was a direct deduction!
In the post-apocalyptic world, the money in his account was just a string of numbers, yet it could be used to pay for watching the celestial canopy.
What's the difference between this and watching for free?
At the same time, more than 10,000 people in various parts of City A saw the sky.
"It's a rainstorm apocalypse! So there's another world just as unlucky as us." A young girl crawled out of her cellar and murmured as she looked at the sky.
"Heavy rain is still better than acid rain, right? Looks like we're the ones who are worse off." A middle-aged man watched his family bustling about in preparation for the next acid rain, his face filled with worry and fear. He even felt a little envious of the world with heavy rain.
"Holy crap! So there's more than one post-apocalyptic world! This world really is fake! Hahaha, it's all just a game anyway! Let's play!" A chuunibyou (delusional) teenager gave the middle finger to the sky. "Come on, damn God! Maybe after I die I'll wake up in some game pod and a notification will say, 'Congratulations, your post-apocalyptic life experience is over, hahaha!'"
In a villa worth billions, the servants still came and went in an orderly manner. The young master, dressed in silk pajamas, sat on the balcony, drinking something and looking at the sky with a calm and serene expression. "Ah, this is getting more and more interesting."
In an office building housing many people, a white-collar woman was surrounded by a group of people as she relayed the situation on the sky screen to them. Everyone looked at her with eager eyes, and she was very proud of herself. In the entire building, only she could see the sky screen!
In the hospital room, Yun Eryaozi cried out in distress as she watched the news online. Her injured vocal cords produced indistinct sounds: "There's a canopy again! I can't see! I can't see anything!"
His friend looked at him speechlessly and said, "Your wound has just healed a little, stop howling. I can't see it either, can I? Among all the patients in the hospital, who can see it?"
Yun Eryaozi continued to sob, "You don't understand! You don't understand! This might be about another world, another world! There was once a huge hot topic right in front of me, but I didn't seize it..."
At that moment, a recharge reminder appeared in front of everyone who could see the sky.
The girl in the cellar checked her savings, hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly refused.
Although she longed to know about the outside world, she still had to live her life.
The middle-aged man looked at his family. Prices were outrageously high. Although the government distributed supplies, they were very limited and consisted mainly of basic necessities like food and water. If they wanted to live a better life, they still had to buy things themselves.
He sighed, refused to top up, and decided that living well in the present was more important.
The teenager, feeling a bit delusional, didn't hesitate to top up his account, only to be told that he didn't have enough funds. He quickly went back to his room and asked his parents to transfer the money to him. His parents thought he was joking and insisted on getting to the bottom of it.
This delay caused the recharge page to disappear completely, and he could no longer see the sky.
The chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) boy suddenly lay on the ground and rolled around, yelling, "Aaaaaah! I can't see anything! Why are you asking me all these questions? I hate you all!"
His parents looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
The young master simply raised an eyebrow, recharged his account, and then continued watching videos leisurely.
Although the white-collar woman was a little reluctant to spend 10,000 yuan, she figured that as long as she was willing to relay the contents of the screen, the people around her would share their food and supplies with her, so she wouldn't lose money. She gritted her teeth and chose to recharge.
Yun Eryaozi kept refreshing the news and learned that many people couldn't afford the 10,000 yuan to watch the follow-up to the Sky Screen incident. He immediately laughed gleefully, "Hahaha, if I can't see it, you can't either!"
Because she laughed so hard, she aggravated her wound and started groaning in pain again.
Seeing that his friend was becoming increasingly distraught, he shook his head, finally deciding to leave him alone and silently left the ward. He figured it would be better to use that time to find some supplies for his family.
...
A world of torrential rain.
While people in the acid rain world are struggling with payment, feeling conflicted or regretful, those who are experiencing the first aerial attack are completely bewildered.
Is the sky about to fall?
"Where is that sound coming from?!"
"Our mirage is in the sky! It looks amazing from this angle."
"Disaster forecaster? Is she talking about natural disasters? Did I hear that right?"
The voice from the sky continued, "I know that in your world, it has been more than a month of sunny days without a single drop of rain. In many places, this situation has continued for months, even causing drought and widespread crop failure."
The visuals changed along with the sound, showing drought conditions in many places. Although the visuals were somewhat blurry, the withered crops in the fields and the dried-up riverbeds were clearly visible. In many places, wells had run dry, and people in the mountains had to travel long distances to get water, making their lives very difficult.
Seeing these scenes, even though Shanghai is economically developed and people don't have such life troubles, they still feel worried.
[However, you will soon no longer need to worry about the drought, because starting tomorrow, your world will welcome long-awaited rainfall. This rain will thoroughly drench the parched earth and cool down the scorching heat of the entire world.]
In the video, people cheer and rush into the rain, soaking in the water and shouting, "It's raining! It's raining! The crops are saved!"
People jumped and danced in the rain, took off their clothes and shook them wildly, and even took showers in the rain. Some people worried that the rain wouldn't last long, so they brought out buckets and basins from their homes to catch the raindrops.
The joy and jubilation of the people in the picture were conveyed to those on the ground watching the sky, and everyone couldn't help but relax and be happy.
"Oh, it's going to rain tomorrow! That's great, it's been so hot these days."
"No, you need to get this straight. If this video really has prophetic abilities, that's terrifying."
"Couldn't the government have predicted the rain and then notify us in this way?"
"Where can we find technology now to create such a large canopy?"
The city's meteorological bureau leader frowned. "Did we predict rain tomorrow?"
One person hesitated and said, "No, we only predict that conditions may be suitable for artificial rainmaking in the next few days."
Another person said, "Then what nonsense is the sky spouting? If it doesn't rain tomorrow, everyone will be so disappointed!"
The leader frowned even more deeply. This canopy was really too strange. Could this be done with current technology?
He had someone contact the weather bureau in the neighboring city, but the answer he received was quite unexpected.
The people at the neighboring meteorological bureau were completely baffled. "Sky curtain? What sky curtain? What are you talking about? Rain tomorrow? How is that possible? The data doesn't show it at all."
Before the meteorological bureau leaders could answer, the music playing in the sky suddenly changed, shifting from a joyful atmosphere to a somber one.
However, such worries were unnecessary; the torrential rain wouldn't end so quickly; it lasted for a very long time.
[On the first day of the downpour, you were happy, cheering, dancing in the rain, and strolling under umbrellas.]
[The day after the torrential rain, you were still happy because the rivers and wells began to fill with water, and because the temperature dropped due to the rain.]
[On the third day of the torrential rain, you began to feel annoyed. The three days of downpour had caused flooding in the streets, blocked the city's sewers, and raised the river level to almost the same depth, forcing many places to release water.]
[On the fourth day of the torrential rain, getting around had become very difficult. Public buses were out of service, and supermarkets and shops in the community were running low on stock. Because the roads were flooded, restocking was difficult, making life inconvenient for everyone.]
On the fifth day of the torrential rain, the rain intensified, almost flooding the first floor. People finally panicked, and power, internet, gas, and water outages began to occur one after another. Elderly people and children with limited mobility were trapped in their homes, and for those with little food stored at home, eating and drinking became a huge problem.
On the fifth day of the torrential rain, the water level reached the second floor. People on the first floor and those in low-lying areas had to abandon their homes and evacuate. However, not everyone had anyone to turn to, especially in Haishi, where many migrant workers were left homeless.
On the sixth day of the torrential rain, the rain didn't stop; the wind even picked up. Billboards were blown down, facades collapsed, and trees were uprooted, making the outside world extremely dangerous. Those already homeless and helpless were now facing even more devastation, with many dying in the streets. High-rise apartments were also unsafe; most windows were shattered, leaving a scene of utter chaos. Heavy rain poured outside, and a light drizzle fell inside; some people were even accidentally sucked out of their windows.
[On the seventh day of the torrential rain, no shops were open in the city. To survive, people were forced to wade through the water, scavenging, stealing, and looting supplies. Many died in the streets and in the clashes. The entire city descended into chaos, and the situation spiraled out of control.]
[The eighth day, the ninth day of the torrential rain...]
"Nonsense!" On the rooftop of a private company, which had been set up as an open-air tea room, a group of people stood looking at the sky.
A burly man with a buzz cut slammed his fist on the table and pointed at the sky, "Nonsense! Our country is so powerful, and our cities are so orderly. How could they become chaotic and disorderly just because of a few days of heavy rain, and people die because of fighting over food? Do you think you're writing a novel?"
After he finished cursing, he looked at his companions, wanting to gain their approval, but found that they all had serious expressions and seemed not to have heard him at all.
"Hey, seriously? You guys don't actually believe that, do you?"
Still no one answered him. A woman hung up the phone and said, "It's confirmed. Only people in Haishi can see this canopy."
Another person said, "I asked all the tech companies, and they all thought it was impossible for anyone to create such a canopy."
Another person was typing rapidly on a laptop: "Most of the faces appearing on the screen can be matched; they are all ordinary people in real life, not actors. I even spotted two people from our company."
A moment of silence fell over everyone.
The sound from the sky poured in, so clear it seemed to be right next to my ears.
After months of torrential rains, much of the world was submerged, with coastal cities like Mirage suffering particularly severe damage. Less than two or three out of ten people survived, realizing the rains might never stop. The survivors of Mirage were forced to flee their homes; only by reaching higher altitudes could they hope to survive.
Fortunately, the government had already established many refuge bases in high-altitude areas, finally freeing up resources to support and relocate disaster victims in low-altitude regions.
Hearing this, people breathed a sigh of relief. The big man said, "I knew it! The government would step in! Ugh! I mean, this is simply impossible! Where would so much water come from in the sky?"
Everyone ignored him and instead looked at their boss, who was also the wealthiest, most capable, and most decisive person in their group, a fact he had always maintained since childhood.
Bo Mucheng looked at the sky, his profile as cold and aloof as an ice sculpture.
This feeling of having to look up to others, who already have the whole situation under their control, while he can only guess at his future fate from a few words from others, made him very uncomfortable.
But he still said, "Ji He, take your people and take the fastest plane to the west. That piece of land we looked at before is good. Take it and make it our branch."
He turned to his friend Ji He and said, "Do your best to stockpile survival supplies, understand?"
Ji He was taken aback. The place was at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, which was indeed quite suitable as a refuge during a rainstorm.
He nodded solemnly, "Understood!"
Bo Mucheng then looked at a woman and said, "Xiao Han, notify my family and your respective families to all return from other places. Arrange for them all to go to the branch office by tomorrow."
Xiao Han replied, "Yes."
The burly man scratched his head vigorously. "No, I really believe it! Sending my whole family away? That can't be that exaggerated, can it?"
Bo Mucheng turned to look at him. "Old Xu, do you have a way to get some weapons?"
Old Xu shuddered. "Weapons?!"
"Don't worry, it's just for self-preservation," Bo Mucheng said.
Old Xu scratched his head again. "I'll try my best."
Those who are quick and capable have already begun preparations, while the vast majority of ordinary citizens are still in a state of confusion and panic.
The sky seemed to speak very truthfully and with certainty, but asking them to believe such a doomsday prophecy felt absurd and outrageous.
Zhang Xiao stood on the road, watching more and more people pointing at the sky, discussing and asking each other's opinions.
A few people quietly left the crowd, looking so anxious that they were either stockpiling supplies or making other preparations.
She gave a cold laugh, looked at the sky, clenched her fists, and her eyes were full of resentment.
Why was there no such prophecy in my past life? I knew nothing about it and died so tragically.
But in this life, I was reborn, and then a preview came?
The whole world knows that the end of the world is coming, and there are many people who are richer, more connected, and more capable than her, who are preparing faster and more thoroughly than she is.
They have plenty of money; they will stockpile supplies, buy weapons, purchase ships, and even leave the city early for safer places.
The situation in Haishi will change, and those important figures in Haishi will leave ahead of time. My original plan to befriend powerful people is now basically impossible.
Prices in the city will rise, and supplies may even be subject to control, hindering plans to hoard goods.
Zhao Wu and his family are such beasts, they can make preparations in advance.
What's the point of being reborn then? All my advantages are gone!
Is this canopy deliberately working against her?