Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Someone Died!
Two months of He Jin’s cultivated spiritual energy suddenly soared within his body, bringing him a rush of warmth. Then it dissipated at an astonishing speed, but that was enough to momentarily relieve the stiffness in his body. He flipped over, screaming loudly, and stumbled towards the door!
Many people around were startled awake.
By the time they gathered, they saw He Jin in his thin pajamas, shivering and screaming, “There’s a ghost, there’s a ghost!”
People murmured amongst themselves.
It wasn’t until several individuals dressed in Crisis Management Department uniforms hurried over and restored order.
But when they entered the room holding talismans cautiously, they saw nothing.
The room looked completely normal.
“It’s true!” He Jin suddenly became frantic, “I really saw something! It was standing at the head of the bed and even knocking on the door! You must have heard it too, it was knocking loudly!”
He turned to look at several neighbors.
But the neighbors looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating they heard nothing.
Even a few members of the Crisis Management Department looked at He Jin skeptically.
“He Jin, have you been under too much stress recently?” someone asked by his side.
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“Yeah, you’ve looked absent-minded lately.”
“Look at those dark circles under your eyes.”
“But it has gotten colder these past few days, maybe you caught a chill.”
“…”
Voices came one after another.
“It’s true! Everything I said is true!”
He Jin suddenly didn’t know what to say, so agitated he was almost jumping.
But just then, a scream suddenly came from not far away.
“Someone’s dead, someone’s dead!” a person ran over, face full of terror.
At this, everyone was shocked into uproar.
If it had only been He Jin saying this, it might have been dismissed, but now someone had actually died?
However, when people learned who the deceased was, they were again doubtful.
The deceased was an old man in his sixties, also in a single dormitory. He was found curled up, clutching his chest in pain, his expression one of agony, resembling a heart attack.
Only He Jin turned pale at sight.
“This is exactly what happened to me. If I hadn’t been cultivating for two months, if I hadn’t had a rush of spiritual power in me, I would surely have died too!” he cried out urgently.
Someone walked over and grabbed He Jin’s hand.
It was Zhang Jibao, the chief of the Crisis Management Department in this area of Donghua City.
“Chief, what did you find?” someone nearby asked their chief.
“He’s not wrong,” Zhang Jibao said seriously, releasing He Jin’s hand, “there’s a severe depletion of spiritual energy in his body that doesn’t look like a natural loss. This is no ordinary event; report it immediately.”
“Yes!” Everyone immediately became serious.
The few who heard this remark were even more startled.
Everyone knew He Jin, who owned more than a dozen houses thanks to his contribution points and whose cultivation skills far surpassed theirs.
If he could narrowly escape death, they wouldn’t stand a chance!
“Nobody should sleep alone in their rooms tonight,” Zhang Jibao announced, knowing that disclosing such news would inevitably cause panic, “and don’t go to bed too late. Try to squeeze in together as much as possible. We will provide each dormitory with an alert talisman, and we will take turns keeping watch here tonight.”
This statement reassured everyone slightly.
Those who could be chiefs in the current Crisis Management Department were generally battle-hardened veterans from the Blood Demon wars.
Contribution points proved their strength and ability.
As the crowd dispersed uneasily, the matter was rapidly reported.
Nationally, similar incidents had happened more than once!
Many people died in their sleep, all manifesting painful expressions, bodies curled and stiff; the majority of the casualties were elderly with poor physical condition or young people who regularly stayed up late and were not in good mental states.
Shen Hao also received the message.
In fact, even before he got the news, he had vaguely felt an inexplicable chill echoing above their entire civilization.
“Has anyone caught the ‘Monster’ up to now?” Shen Hao asked.
“No,” Dong Gong replied, “We’ve stationed the Chosen Ones around high-risk individuals, but not to mention the Chosen Ones, as long as there are more people together, no danger appears, and we also do not have any understanding of how this ‘Monster’ appears and disappears.”
After all, only from that day did the situation start to truly capture attention.
Previously, there were indeed a few cases, but they were extremely rare, and mostly involved people in very poor health conditions, which closely resembled sudden deaths, so it didn’t trigger any alarm.
However, just four days into the Trial, there was a noticeable increase in the number of victims.
Even some young people, merely due to a brief period of stress and anxiety, would become victims.
This could not help but raise concerns.
Based on the experiences from the Blood Demon Trial before, the Trial might not be very strong at the beginning, but it, like a spark, could easily develop rapidly into a widespread inferno.
“Since there are specific target groups, let’s prioritize providing them with some artifacts to try,” instructed Shen Hao, “first find out which artifacts are useful, then figure out a way to mass produce them. Haven’t we already established the profession of Talisman Master?”
“Yes,” responded Dong Gong.
For the past two months, there had been a push to popularize Cultivation and Magic, and although the time had been short, a preliminary selection had been carried out.
Some people with better Talent were gathered together for deeper learning.
The “talisman class” Shen Hao spoke of was one such group, mainly focused on studying the crafting of talismans and had already achieved preliminary results.
If some basic talismans proved useful, there would be no need to spend valuable points purchasing them from the Chosen One Mall.
These people could provide them in large quantities directly.
Even some individuals with outstanding performances were already capable of drawing higher-quality talismans.
With so many people in the world, there were always some geniuses.
This was also one of the benefits of popularizing the Extraordinary Path.
“Furthermore, in these four days, the climate globally has started to show a significant drop, coinciding closely with the start of the Trial, and some experts have also expressed their concern,” Dong Gong said again. “Since the Star Jump event began, our planet’s climate has severely deviated from the established scientific norms and is influenced by another powerful force, which normally wouldn’t change without reason.”
At this point, Dong Gong’s expression was even more serious than before.
The Trial sometimes didn’t just involve the appearance of a clear enemy—he hadn’t forgotten that the Blood Demon’s civilization was destroyed amid a global temperature rise.
Unlike a visible “enemy,” this type of climate change was indeed a true “natural disaster.”
It was essential to remain vigilant.
“This indeed warrants vigilance,” Shen Hao’s expression grew more serious, “the Global United Front should have a corresponding plan, right?”
“Yes,” Dong Gong nodded, “the Global United Front is now actively mobilizing related industries to heavily produce heating products.”
Regardless of whether this climate change was part of the Trial or not, since it had occurred, it was always necessary to prepare more.
Apart from traditional thick clothes and cotton quilts, the production of new types of “heating stoves,” “insulation building materials,” and “insulation cloth” that could be obtained for points from the Chosen One Mall was also being accelerated.
Though Human Civilization was simultaneously popularizing the Extraordinary Path, it still primarily focused on technological development.
The core pathway was to use science to reduce the demand for human labor and then transfer that labor to the extraordinary.
This could indeed complement technology and the extraordinary to some extent.
“Since there’s already a plan, let’s start preparing according to the plan,” said Shen Hao, rising from his seat, “I’ll also go to some places to have a look.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare right away,” Dong Gong said hurriedly.
“No need, I’ll go back to my hometown to check,” Shen Hao shook his head.
He had actually grasped some details about the enemy appearing this time.
But it still needed to be verified.
Indeed, dragging this on was no longer an option.
Among the rankings, three other civilizations showed changes in their performance values.
Yes, eight, not six.
The moment the rankings appeared, people knew that some experts’ guesses were correct: on the other side of the Sun, where it is currently impossible to observe, two more civilizations had emerged.
This means, including their own, a total of nine civilizations were participating in this Trial!
And now, three had already begun to address the Trial, at least gaining points.
Shen Hao, rather than staying at the headquarters of the association, preferred to go and see for himself, possibly discovering something.
It was a good opportunity to visit his hometown.
Shen Hao’s parents had already been brought to the headquarters of the association, the safety of the Mage Tower was unquestionable, but after all, that was his own hometown, and Shen Hao still had emotional attachment to Donghua City.
He took a spaceship alone, heading straight for Donghua City.
At this moment, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Many at He Jin’s factory had not slept all night, and the more it happened, the more uneasy it became. The common point between He Jin and the deceased old man during this period was the lack of rest.
When it was finally dawn, people from the Crisis Management Department came knocking for a roll call, allowing some finally to breathe a sigh of relief, as they got dressed and came out of their rooms.
However, a night passed, and the weather outside had become noticeably colder. Yesterday, an extra coat might have been sufficient, but today, an extra undershirt was necessary, and many had even put on long johns.
However, upon coming out, they discovered that Zhang Jibao, who was taking the roll call, looked particularly grim.
“Two dormitories, eight people, no signs of life!” He looked towards those dormitories. One was not too far, and he had passed by several times on patrol during the night, but had noticed nothing amiss!