Dense rain continuously beat against the huge glass window. Chen Xiao sat by the window, overlooking the street below. The city, which should have been bustling, now appeared exceptionally desolate under the pouring rain.
Suddenly, a cold draft seeped through the window crack, making him shiver.
It was already November, and the seasons in the north seemed to consist only of summer and winter. An occasional cold snap causing temperatures to drop quickly didn't seem out of place, but it cast a shadow over Chen Xiao's heart, making him feel a little uneasy.
"Hey, Chen Xiao, have you heard? Those zero-dollar shoppers abroad are causing trouble again recently."
A middle-aged man with graying hair chatted with Chen Xiao while typing on his keyboard.
Chen Xiao turned his head to look at him, shaking his head with a bewildered expression: "No."
Hearing this, the man immediately perked up, pushed off with his feet, and skillfully slid his swivel chair over to Chen Xiao.
"Let me tell you, this time those zero-dollar shoppers really pushed them too far. Even the army has been dispatched, setting up checkpoints on the streets. Dozens of soldiers just started firing at those people. Videos are going viral online."
Chen Xiao feigned surprise and responded: "Really? That lively?"
"Of course! You know, it's raining all over the world right now, but it seems like the rain in their M Nation is different from everywhere else..."
Chen Xiao had always been uninterested in such irrelevant gossip; his ears automatically filtered out the rambling. Having spent so much time together, he had long grown accustomed to the man's talkativeness.
And seeing Chen Xiao's distracted look, the man suddenly found it boring.
He returned to his workstation and sighed: "Ah, if only Little Tang were here to keep me company."
Chen Xiao looked at him and smiled helplessly, not responding.
"Buzz buzz."
His phone vibrated. He opened it and saw a message from Lin Sinan.
Looking at the content of the message, he frowned slightly, got up and began to pack his backpack, then held his phone to his mouth and pressed the voice button: "Don't worry, I'll be right there. Wait for me."
After a thought, he swiped his finger to convert it to text and sent it.
As he walked out, he said: "Brother Chao, I'm leaving first, something urgent came up."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't! There's still some work unfinished!" Brother Chao quickly tried to stop him.
Chen Xiao didn't stop. As he passed Brother Chao's workstation, he squeezed Brother Chao's shoulder with one hand and smiled: "You've worked hard, Brother Chao. I'll treat you to a meal later."
After speaking, he ignored Brother Chao's complaints behind him and left the office without looking back.
On the street, the heavy rain made the umbrella rumble, making him feel a dull ache in his chest.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. He looked up to see thick, dark clouds piled high, stretching endlessly, completely obscuring the sky and making it hard to breathe.
He reached the intersection, and seeing that the green light was about to end, he quickly sped up his pace.
"Tap tap tap tap tap!"
Just then, a rapid splashing sound came from far to near. Chen Xiao looked up. The streetlights were dim under the rain, and he could only make out a student in a black school uniform braving the heavy rain, rushing towards the intersection.
Chen Xiao frowned. He couldn't cross. He reluctantly stepped back a few paces to make way for the student, to avoid getting his clothes wet from the splashes.
But when he looked again, he found that the student was charging towards him like a bullet, moving incredibly fast. In an instant, he was just a few meters in front, then he leaped, pouncing like a wild beast.
Chen Xiao was startled and quickly dodged to the side. Although he wasn't injured, the umbrella in his hand was knocked away, and his body was exposed to the heavy rain. The raindrops hitting his face made him gasp.
The student missed, and the moment he landed, he turned and rushed back, his movements incredibly swift.
Chen Xiao's heart suddenly tightened. An intense feeling of danger stimulated his nerves like an electric current.
He twisted his body, his backpack sliding into his hand. He stepped forward with his right leg, grabbing the shoulder strap with his left hand and swinging it violently. The backpack drew a perfect arc in the air.
With a muffled thud, the large thermos inside the bag made intimate contact with the student's head, knocking him directly to the ground, where he rolled into the middle of the road.
Chen Xiao's chest rose and fell slightly. He composed himself and leaned against a nearby tree.
At this moment, the green light had already turned red.
"Beep beep beep!"
"Bang!"
The student had just gotten up when he was grazed by a speeding car, sending him flying a long distance. Fortunately, the driver braked in time, and the car's speed had slowed down when it hit him.
The student didn't seem seriously injured, and after a moment, he stumbled to his feet.
The driver poked his head out of the car window. Seeing that the student was fine, his worried expression instantly turned to anger. He cursed at the student: "Are you looking to die?! Are you blind?! Can't you see the traffic light?!"
Hearing the driver's shouts, the student seemed enraged as well. He charged directly at the car, trying to force his way through the car window with both hands.
The driver was startled. After a few shoves with the student, he screamed in terror a few times, then stomped on the accelerator and sped off.
The student was dragged for over ten meters by the car, rolling several times on the ground. After struggling to get up, he still chased relentlessly after it.
Chen Xiao was still standing alertly under the tree, most of his clothes soaked. He quickly picked up the umbrella that had fallen nearby.
Looking in the direction where the person and car disappeared, even though he was usually emotionally stable, a surge of anger ignited within him.
"Are you crazy?!" he roared.
He was inexplicably attacked while walking on the road. He hadn't even seen this student before. It was too absurd!
He calmed himself down. After a moment of hesitation, he still took out his phone to call the police, but it remained unanswered.
"Boom!"
Just as he felt surprised, a loud explosion suddenly came from a distant block.
He abruptly looked up, vaguely seeing flashes of fire between office buildings. Thick smoke billowed upwards, followed by a chorus of alarms and sirens.
"This... it couldn't have been that driver just now."
Chen Xiao's face was a little grim. That area was very close to the pedestrian street. He remembered that the driver had driven away very fast, at least nearly a hundred miles per hour. Could he have crashed into something in a panic, triggering an explosion?
This was the first time Chen Xiao had encountered such a thing, and the police phone wasn't connecting. He couldn't help but feel a little flustered, unsure of what to do.
He sighed, remembering Lin Sinan was waiting for him, and no longer lingered. He quickly hastened his steps towards the subway station.
Next to the subway security scanner, a young security guard was chatting with a female security screener.
"It's been raining for five days straight with no sign of letting up. It's really abnormal. What if it's the end of the world, like in the movies?" the security guard asked.
The girl tilted her head, as if thinking of something terrifying, and shivered: "It's better if it doesn't come. Just thinking about it scares me."
The security guard grinned foolishly and raised an eyebrow at her: "It's okay, just follow me when that happens. I'll protect you, hehe." As he spoke, he confidently patted his chest.
The girl lightly spat and pushed him: "Go stand your post."
Chen Xiao happened to overhear their conversation as he passed by, a hint of weariness on his face: "The end of the world, huh? Let it just happen already. This life is so tiring."
