Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 949 - 752: Waiting

What on earth?

Huai Shi thought he might be deaf. After digging at his ear for a while, he seriously asked, "General?"

"Yes." Tobio nodded.

Huai Shi, in disbelief, asked again, "The American guy?"

"Yes."

Tobio nodded and pointed to his own car, "Let’s go first, we’ll talk on the way."

The driver got out of the car and handed the keys to Huai Shi, who promptly tucked them into his trouser pocket. Tobio stopped in his tracks, his eyelids twitching violently, "I asked you to drive, not to take the car! I just gave you a Bentley last time, and now you’re eyeing my new car?"

"This is just a habit, you know?"

Huai Shi awkwardly smiled and pulled out the car keys again.

Tobio stood at the car door, waiting for quite a while, but Huai Shi didn’t open the door for him. Instead, he stood there dumbly behind him, watching: "Hey, why aren’t you getting in the car?"

"Huaizhi-kun..." Tobio sighed.

"Hmm?"

Recalling his usual behavior, ’when the boss picks up food, I spin the table; when the boss drinks water, I hit the brakes,’ Tobio remarked earnestly, "The fact that you didn’t become a public servant is truly a blessing for Yingzhou."

Ignoring Huai Shi’s bewildered expression, Tobio shook his head, opened the door, and got into the car himself.

Not to mention, it had been years since he opened his own door, and it felt quite novel.

"So, where are we headed?"

Huai Shi fiddled with his phone for a long time, but couldn’t find the address: "The navigation isn’t finding it."

"It would be strange if the navigation could find it."

Tobio said, "Just head south out of Kyoto; I’ll tell you the way as we go."

"Won’t we get lost?"

"There’s only one road, Huai Shi, no other choice." Tobio closed his eyes, sighed powerlessly, "As long as it’s passable, it won’t be wrong..."

Just as Tobio said.

After leaving the city, Huai Shi found Tobio was right. After a stretch, there was only one road left ahead. Not even a single vehicle was on the road, just Huai Shi’s car moving forward alone.

No checkpoints, no inspections, yet it felt like countless eyes were watching him.

The roadside on both sides was craftily designed with gardens and landscapes beyond anything Huai Shi had imagined, as if he had already driven into the General’s garden.

In the early morning, gardeners began their hard work, diligently trimming branches, respectfully offering their lifelong skills, maintaining the perfect appearance of their creations, without a single blemish.

Even though the General didn’t bother to glance.

An inexplicable pressure weighed heavily on Huai Shi, making him unavoidably tense. He straightened his body while driving and finally asked, "Why meet the General?"

Tobio still hadn’t opened his eyes and simply asked back, "At times like this, who else is willing to acknowledge us besides the General?"

"..."

Huai Shi’s grip on the steering wheel stiffened, finally feeling the pressure he faced these days.

The existence of the Order of Nothingness was like a monumental burden, an unexpected disaster for the Tanbo Inner Circle.

The consumption tax reform bill was caught in a struggle between parties, with endless turmoil. Though the tax point changes sounded mild, their back-end impacts rippled across Yingzhou, even Southeast Asia...

Behind this were the conflicts and friction between the Wu Family’s emerging capital and the old financial cliques behind the Duke. Once the Order of Nothingness was officially promulgated, the Tanbo Inner Circle would be as fragile as wild grass in the undercurrents of ruthless battles and endless skirmishes.

Internal strife and external threats.

Under this enormous pressure, the Alliance tolerated the rocket-like rise of the Huaizhi Gang—uniting all forces and preserving themselves.

Not hoping to win the final victory, just wishing to survive the storm.

The Dongxia factions could close doors and step aside, but Hybrids had no choice. Without seeking protection, they’d end up slaughtered.

Even if dead, their corpses would become scapegoats, sources of all evil bearing sins.

"If anyone can lend a hand now and pull us out, it can only be the General."

Tobio said softly, "All these years, Tanbo Inner Circle existed thanks to his approval. Just hoping for the General’s mercy."

"Will he care?" Huai Shi was puzzled.

"Who knows, it depends on whether we merit his attention."

Tobio rubbed his old face, silently sighed, "For this meeting, I exhausted all my accumulated favors and brought all the treasures collected by the Alliance... If we fail, we’ll have no other options."

Huai Shi asked, "What do I need to do?"

"You don’t need to do anything, you don’t represent the Alliance. Today your role is just the driver, don’t speak, don’t make any unnecessary moves, don’t care about any insults, if they still bother to glance at us."

Tobio said, "You just need to avoid accidents, ensure I make it alive to meet the General."

All the way, Tobio seemed resting his eyes, but in reality, his body under the robe was tense, alert and cautious. Huai Shi felt he was overly sensitive but understood the anxiety of hoping no surprises occur when a glimmer of hope lies ahead.