Forecasting Natural Disasters for Novel Natives - Chapter 21 Part 1

Half an hour later, a vehicle arrived at the volunteer base to transport the bodies. Everyone worked together to load the eleven corpses onto the truck.

After the headshots, the energy within the zombies seemed to rapidly dissipate, causing their bodies to decay with alarming speed. In just half an hour, they had already become unrecognizable.

Everyone watched the vehicle depart. Their stomachs, having already endured several rounds of vomiting, had nothing left to expel. They simply felt completely drained, as if they themselves had been the ones to die.

But there was still work to be done. They had to use flamethrowers to scorch the traces left by the zombies throughout the building, then spray everything down with industrial-strength disinfectant.

Finally, everything was finished. It was time to leave this volunteer base and head to other places that needed them.

Before departing, they used spray paint to mark the exterior wall, indicating that eleven zombies had appeared here, had been dealt with, and had undergone preliminary disinfection, along with the date.

“Let’s go,” Sister Han said hoarsely. She took two steps, then couldn’t help looking back.

The others also gazed at the volunteer base with complicated emotions.

It was hard to believe that eleven lives had ended here forever.

But then again, if not for the Sky Screen, the death toll wouldn’t have been just eleven—it would have been half or even more of them. Many of them might already be dead or turned into zombies by now.

So they also felt a sense of relief.

It felt like every minute, every second, every breath from now on was a bonus.

They looked up at the clear blue sky, not daring to imagine what things would be like now if the Sky Screen hadn’t appeared.

A flock of birds fluttered past across the sky, still carefree and untroubled, seemingly completely unaware of the earth-shattering changes that had occurred in human society, and what a new era had dawned.

*

The battle between humans and zombies erupted fiercely just three minutes after the mass coma ended.

Thanks to the warnings from the two Sky Screen videos, effective quarantine measures and a series of subsequent actions were implemented domestically.

Although some incidents occurred here and there, preventing the ideal scenario of limiting casualties to the initial one-tenth, overall everything was still under control, with hopes of keeping the final casualty count to around one-fifth.

Abroad, countries and people who had scoffed at the zombie apocalypse theory suffered terribly. They were plunged into dire straits from the start, losing over half their population in a very short time. Social order rapidly collapsed, and chaos reigned everywhere.

By the time they thought to seek help from the country that had issued the earliest warnings, that country was already too busy putting out fires domestically to pay them any mind.

*

Wei Yuexin spent a weekend feeling both elated and anxious.

The reason was simple: her fifth video, 「Zombies Are Coming 2」, exploded in viewership—more than triple that of 「Zombies Are Coming 1」.

(For part one, most citizens were asleep and missed it. By part two, all citizens saw it, along with some people who had come to Yongcheng from elsewhere. Most of these viewers gave likes and sent flowers, with very few dislikes.)

With triple the viewership and very few dislikes, her earnings were more than triple as well.

A single video netted nearly seventy to eighty thousand yuan. Wei Yuexin almost laughed herself awake from her dreams.

Now her Doudou backend balance exceeded 110,000 yuan. Although it wasn’t Wednesday yet and she couldn’t withdraw the funds, just having this sum in her account gave her an immense sense of security.

So she wasn’t in a hurry to start the next video. Instead, she carefully rewatched all five previous videos.

She wanted to study why the fifth video had blown up.

The more she studied, the stranger she felt.

This feeling was hard to describe, but truthfully, she had felt it since making the first video.

She felt these videos weren’t meant for game players.

For example, in the fifth video, she had explained the knowledge about ability-user awakening—something only mentioned later in the novel—in quite some detail, and the viewership exploded.

But if the participants were just playing a game, not actually awakening abilities, why would such a video get such a strong response?

And this surge in views—where did these extra few million come from?

In a game, do they add players in batches?

And aren’t there just too many people?

Also, who exactly were these 715 paid subscribers? For three consecutive videos, the number of paid viewers remained exactly 715. Why was it so fixed? And why didn’t others need to pay?

Thinking back to the influx of private messages after the second video was released felt increasingly odd. The tone of those messages really didn’t sound like they came from game participants.

Everything seemed strange.

She vaguely sensed that the audience for these videos was actually someone else.

Because she had always had this premonition, when writing about ability users, she had subconsciously avoided a few key points.

For example, that the energy needed to upgrade abilities required killing zombies.

Also, that after zombies evolved a few times, crystal cores would appear in their brains. These cores contained massive amounts of energy, useful not only for ability users but also for ordinary people.

She felt that revealing this information might lead to many people who didn’t need to become zombies being forced into it. Some zombies that could have been eliminated early while weak might be deliberately allowed to evolve.

If that happened, a small group would benefit, but many, many others would suffer.

Wei Yuexin didn’t want to become such a perpetrator, and was afraid of it.

Wei Yuexin was quite troubled. She increasingly felt that something hidden lay behind all this.

Looking at the six-figure balance, she actually felt like quitting.

She wasn’t very brave, was content with moderate wealth, and had no great ambitions. She just wanted to live a peaceful life. If a big storm came, her slight frame wouldn’t withstand it.

But would this 110,000 even be enough for her grandmother’s subsequent treatment?

Her phone vibrated. She picked it up—it was a message from HR asking if she had made the video for the new novel.

Wei Yuexin’s face scrunched up in even greater distress.

Since suspecting something was amiss, she had been reluctant to contact this HR, finding the other party mysterious and dangerous. She hadn’t expected that just slacking off for a weekend would prompt a follow-up.

If she said she wanted to quit now, would HR cause trouble for her?

Thinking of the 110,000 yuan still not withdrawn, she hesitated, then typed a reply: 「I’m currently reading the next novel. I need to understand it thoroughly before making the video.」

The other party quickly replied with a flexed bicep emoji.

「Go for it!」

But Wei Yuexin felt like that arm was about to swing and punch her in the face.

She held her face in her hands and sighed, feeling like she had boarded a pirate ship. Resigned, she opened the next novel.

This novel was about an apocalyptic world filled with fog.

On a peaceful morning, people suddenly discovered the world was foggy.

On the first day, they could still see about ten meters, so people didn’t pay much attention, thinking it normal.

On the second day, visibility dropped to just over three meters, seriously impacting daily life.

By the third day, they couldn’t even see their own hands stretched out in front of them.

Only then did panic set in.

Then something even stranger happened.

The Fog could change color!

It cycled through red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple! And each colored Fog had different effects.

Red represented scorching heat, capable of burning skin and internal organs.

Orange was muggy and oppressively hot.

Yellow looked dirty, and indeed was—breathing it in too much could cause respiratory illnesses.

Green felt refreshing and was the safest fog.

Cyan was chilly and could cause colds.

Blue carried a cold toxin, the kind that could freeze you to the bone. Being poisoned by it would slow your movements, weaken your physical strength, and make you extremely susceptible to cold.

Purple was the most terrifying—monsters would appear within the purple fog.

Wei Yuexin found this astonishing. So there was this kind of apocalypse too; the author’s imagination was vast.

The protagonist of this book was a reborn woman.

Wei Yuexin exclaimed, “Another reborn one!”

She continued reading, her expression becoming increasingly complicated.

In her previous life, the female lead lived in a base with her elder sister and brother-in-law during the apocalypse.

The base wasn’t very large or powerful, but they managed to establish some production themselves. Their staple food was artificial protein and nutrient solutions, so life was somewhat sustainable.

Everyone in the base had to work. On purple Fog days, every household had to send someone out to fight monsters.

The female lead’s brother-in-law was responsible for fighting; he was also the captain of a combat team in the base and earned a decent salary.

The female lead, being strong-willed, also fought alongside her brother-in-law.

The female lead’s sister stayed home to look after her son.

The family’s life wasn’t great, but compared to others in the base, it was relatively good.

Over time, the female lead started to think: Her brother-in-law was so capable, while her sister was always disheveled, staying home doing nothing—she wasn’t worthy of him.

Wei Yuexin read up to this point, went back to the cover to confirm the female lead’s name—it was indeed the younger sister.

How absurd! How could someone with this kind of character be the female lead?

Just from this pre-rebirth chapter, from the female lead’s perspective, her sister did nothing and was just a freeloader sucking blood from her husband.

But Wei Yuexin saw that on each type of Fog day, the sister managed to take the most accurate and effective measures, ensuring that the female lead and her brother-in-law could rest properly upon returning home.

Do you know how difficult that was?

And on yellow, green, and cyan Fog days—when the Fog was less harmful—the sister would also go out to work and earn food.

Was that called doing nothing?

As for the female lead, who claimed to fight alongside her brother-in-law, she was actually quite coddled, always needing his help and prone to causing trouble. Every time she encountered danger, her brother-in-law had to rescue her.

Really, where did she get the confidence to look down on her sister? Did she really think so highly of herself?

Didn’t she realize that she was the one who essentially did nothing and was the freeloader?

Wei Yuexin felt like dropping the novel, but for work, she had to continue, thinking, “Let me see what qualifies you to be the female lead.”

So on a certain purple Fog day, the base was breached by monsters. Everyone was doomed. Before dying, the brother-in-law didn’t go to his wife and son but tightly embraced the female lead and confessed his feelings.

Yes, he confessed, saying things like he had liked her for a long time but couldn’t say it because of his wife and son.

He said the female lead was his soulmate; they fought, struggled, and got injured together. She was the one he truly wanted to spend his life with.

“In this life, we were fated but not destined. If there is a next life, I will definitely not miss my chance with you.”

After saying this, they both died.

Then the female lead was reborn six months before the apocalypse. She was deeply shocked—her brother-in-law actually liked her!

She also realized that she liked him too! She decided that in this life, she would be with him!

However, at this moment, it was her sister and brother-in-law’s son’s second birthday. She was attending the birthday party with her parents. Watching her brother-in-law’s gentle gaze toward her sister, her heart ached as if bleeding, and she ran out crying.

Then while driving, she hit a man. This man was dressed in black, tall, with a noble aura, handsome features, and a pale complexion, seemingly being pursued.

Wei Yuexin looked at these obviously extraordinary descriptors, fell silent again, and jumped out to check the cover.

Oh ho~ So it’s a reverse harem novel; the female lead’s brother-in-law is just one member of her harem.

“That makes more sense!”

Wei Yuexin nodded. “I thought this novel was abnormal. If it’s a reverse harem novel, then it’s understandable.”

What nonsense!

Even reverse harem novels need proper character development! Whether in her past or present life, this female lead was a manipulative two-faced schemer!

She continued reading with a furrowed brow, skimming anything unrelated to the worldbuilding. The main content was that the female lead obtained a golden finger—a legacy from her grandfather.

Before their grandfather passed away, he left the two sisters a jade rabbit necklace and a toad necklace. Originally, the jade rabbit was for the elder sister, and the toad for the female lead. The female lead found the toad ugly compared to the rabbit and pestered her sister to swap.

The elder sister later didn’t wear the toad necklace either; as it was a memento from their grandfather, she naturally kept it safe. As for the jade rabbit necklace, the female lead had lost it long ago.

After being reborn, the female lead discovered the toad necklace held a secret and simply took it.

She thought to herself: ‘This was originally given to me by Grandpa, and now it’s returned to me after all this time. Clearly, it was meant to be mine. This is fate!’

Wei Yuexin:”…Fate my ass!”

Next, the female lead encountered several powerful men one after another. Her naive and simple-minded (foolish) personality attracted them, leading to various ambiguous situations. She told these men about the impending apocalypse, and so on, so they started preparing.

Wei Yuexin: How does it feel like these men are actually interested in the female lead’s golden finger and her “foresight” about the apocalypse?

Meanwhile, the female lead’s lingering, meaningful glances toward her brother-in-law caught his attention.

The young sister-in-law was youthful, beautiful, lively, and lovely, and the deep affection in her eyes when looking at him quickly made the scumbag’s heart flutter.

The elder sister discovered their improper relationship and was so angry she nearly fainted. She was straightforward and immediately demanded a divorce.

At this point, the female lead felt she couldn’t wrong her sister and firmly refused, leaving her brother-in-law.

The brother-in-law went crazy with anxiety, clashed with the other high quality men, who became jealous and had intimate moments with the female lead. Behind the scenes, they caused trouble for the elder sister, feeling she had upset their precious girl.

The brother-in-law was wildly jealous of the men who could openly stay by the female lead’s side, feeling his married-with-child status was the biggest obstacle. He turned around and divorced his wife, abandoning his son too.

The female lead continued to feel guilty toward her sister. Seeing the apocalypse approaching, how could her incapable sister possibly take care of the child alone? So she insisted on keeping her sister by her side.

The brother-in-law continued to suffer. Why couldn’t he get rid of this ex-wife even after divorcing? But due to the female lead’s “kindness” in not abandoning her sister and nephew, he had to grudgingly provide for them (or more accurately, imprison them) and subjected his ex-wife and son to various forms of disgust and torment.

“…Damn it!” Wei Yuexin cursed aloud.

What kind of circular logic is this!

She felt mentally polluted and quickly skimmed through until she read that the sister’s son, due to the brother-in-law’s negligence, contracted the cold toxin and eventually died. The elder sister went mad and stabbed the brother-in-law.

Whew, finally felt a bit better.

Then she turned the page—Dammit! Why didn’t she kill that bastard?

This scumbag was later saved by the female lead and, because he was now a “pure” single man, finally earned his coveted spot in the harem.

Wei Yuexin slammed the table. “A bunch of idiots! This is infuriating! I’ve decided: in my version, the elder sister is the one and only protagonist!”

Damn it, I’m taking the golden finger from the female lead and giving it to the elder sister! If not her, then hand it over to the state!

Why should a bunch of scumbags have a golden finger and live so well during the apocalypse?

Go to hell, all of you!

*

While Wei Yuexin was rolling up her sleeves, eager to tackle the novel, in a luxury mansion in Jinjiang, the HR woman, dressed in a red dress, lounged lazily by the floor-to-ceiling window.

From her vantage point, she could see the entire nightscape of Jinjiang—the bustling, prosperous world, glittering with lights.

She swirled a glass of red wine in her hand. Her computer was on, displaying a page.

[Zombie World Plot Reversal 70%, Rescue Effect —Five Stars, Star Power gained ×2.]

This harvest was good; she gained 2 points of Star Power.

But this girl had been slacking off the past couple of days. She wouldn’t think she had earned enough money and want to quit, would she?

Who knows how Wei Qingli raised her? A young girl in the prime of her life, only thinking about eating, drinking, and living a carefree life.

In school, she followed the routine, never participated in any competitions or activities, never held any positions or obtained any certificates.

After graduation, she found a relaxed job and was content, not caring about the low salary, not striving for advancement, acting like she was ready to retire.

Put nicely, she was without desires or demands, content with her lot. Put bluntly, she was unambitious and lacked drive.

It seemed she needed to apply more pressure to make her earn Star Power seriously.

Just then, a call came in. She answered, “Hello.”

“Qiao Ruochu has come to Jinjiang.”

HR frowned. “Why is she here again?”

Hadn’t she been here before? Did she still suspect Wei Qingli’s identity?

But soon, HR’s brow smoothed.

She had just been thinking about putting some pressure on Wei Yuexin, and here it came.

When this mother and daughter met, would it be a tearful reunion or would they be sworn enemies seeing red?

She looked at the wine in her glass. “Let her come. Let our young friend also experience what it’s like to be pressured by a wealthy and powerful mother.”

Especially since this mother was the chief culprit behind the coma of her only close relative.

*

On Monday morning, Wei Yuexin sat at her workstation, listless, yawning one after another.

Fortunately, everyone looked similarly sleep-deprived on Mondays; she wasn’t the only one.

She got up to make herself a coffee in the break room. She took a sip, grimaced at the bitterness, then added two creamers and a packet of sugar.

Colleague Xiao Yuan also came in to make coffee. “You didn’t sleep well either?”

Wei Yuexin said, “Yeah, stayed up late.”

Last night, she finished reading that novel, extracted all the key information, and spent a long time pondering the script.

She needed to expose the original female lead’s golden finger, ensure the elder sister got some benefits, and make sure the harem members got their comeuppance.

This wasn’t easy. She had made videos for three novels but never targeted the protagonist so directly.