Chapter 23 – Global Anomalies

Su Lifeng didn’t manage to get through to anyone that night. When he tried calling again, he was greeted by the blunt notification that the other party’s phone had been turned off.

“What a pain…” Su Lifeng muttered, putting his phone down with a burgeoning headache.

He typed out another text message and sent it off. If she still refused to come back, he would just have to find the time to go look for her personally. However, he wasn’t at all confident that he would actually be able to find her.

Su Lian, his younger sister, had a personality that was almost the polar opposite of his. Unlike him, who spent all his time in libraries and laboratories, Su Lian was a very “trendy” young woman. She loved traveling and was passionate about exploration; it was common for her to disappear for ten days or half a month at a time, only to come home covered in mud.

With the arrival of summer break, she had become even more extreme. She didn’t even know that Su Lifeng had gone on a Cruise Ship trip, let alone that he had narrowly escaped a brush with death.

While this was partly because he didn’t usually tell Su Lian much about his own affairs, the girl’s eccentric and independent streak was still a source of constant worry for him.

Compared to Su Lian, who cared for nothing besides her adventures, Su Lifeng seemed to be at the other extreme.

After seeing the news about the mountain splitting open on television, he had developed an extremely ominous premonition. He immediately began searching frantically on his computer.

On several unofficial forums, he found numerous discussions regarding the frequent natural disasters occurring lately. Some netizens mentioned certain incidents that hadn’t been reported in the mainstream media but felt similar to the mountain splitting disaster. Su Lifeng did a rough count and found that there were already dozens of such incidents. Even after filtering out the likely exaggerations, there were still about twenty or so credible cases.

After absorbing the Wisdom Species, Su Lifeng had personally felt the rage and urgency of that High-class Xenospecies. It seemed that although it hadn’t been able to enter this world at the time, it had fully initiated a plan to continuously open Spatial Gates all over Earth, sending a steady stream of those Black Threads through.

However, Su Lifeng also knew this wasn’t entirely because of him. The group of Xenospecies on the ocean had clearly come to learn about the organisms of Earth. Once they had made contact with the most powerful intelligent life on the planet-humanity-a full-scale invasion was the natural next step.

At that moment, Su Lifeng spotted another post: “I think the extreme weather everywhere might be related to these disasters. It’s like a human body-if an internal organ gets sick, it’s bound to cause a chain reaction, right? Earth is definitely in big trouble, and in the end, it’s us ordinary people who will pay the price. I wonder if the government has any contingency plans?”

Su Lifeng’s heart stirred as he read this; the person’s words made a lot of sense. Although this netizen was only speculating, Su Lifeng knew the truth for a fact.

Others, however, were dismissive of the netizen’s theory. Some replied with skepticism: “How do you think they can deal with it? Even if you’re right, the time and location of these disasters are completely random. Besides, the trouble caused by extreme weather is already enough to deal with. Most countries where these disasters occur only get a mention or two on small websites, but from the government down to the public, no one really cares. For example, the floods in Siam are said to be the largest in two hundred years. That country has also seen these cracks and Black Mist, but who has the time to worry about that…”

Su Lifeng quickly clicked the link the person had posted below, which redirected him to a page sharing news about the cracks appearing in Siam.

What caused Su Lifeng’s heart to sink was that this particular crack had appeared in a small tourist town…

“A tourist captured the situation at the time and posted it on an image-sharing site, attracting many comments. Some said the crack looked like a gate to another world, and some even curiously asked the tourist if they had walked inside. However, because the local area has been battered by heavy rains recently, the tourist hasn’t logged in again since posting the photos. Some travelers who enjoy novelties want to go see it for themselves, but the area has been cordoned off for days. They might not have a chance to go until after the rainy season…”

Su Lifeng scanned the reposted content quickly before dragging the page down to the image.

The photo showed a massive fissure that had opened in the ground. A crowd had gathered nearby, and one of the people standing closest to the crack happened to be looking back, his face captured clearly in the shot. One look at those familiar eyes sent a cold sweat through Su Lifeng’s palms.

A Xenospecies…

Su Lifeng was certain now. The lack of follow-up news reports wasn’t just because the government of Siam was too busy with flood relief; there was a deeper reason.

It was common for governments to selectively suppress information to avoid widespread panic, and Su Lifeng knew of plenty of examples. For Siam to lock down an incident to this extent-especially with so many foreign tourists present-meant the situation had to be severe.

What truly unsettled him was that the region bordered several other countries, including Huaxia…

“But similar mountain fissures have appeared within Huaxia as well… For now, I can only hope the Xenospecies don’t emerge too quickly,” Su Lifeng thought.

He returned to the thread and saw a new comment from a user: “Oh my god, is this the end of the world?”

Su Lifeng closed the browser, his heart heavy once again.

Over the next two days, in addition to conducting deeper tests and experiments in the lab, Su Lifeng searched for a place to store food.

Once the Xenospecies truly entered the public eye and shattered the illusion of peace, food-the most basic necessity for human survival-would undoubtedly become scarce. In fact, with the frequent natural disasters lately, grain prices had already begun to rise. This had triggered several ripple effects; for instance, the crime rate had spiked noticeably, and local news was filled with daily reports of violent incidents.

However, in Su Lifeng’s view, as long as the Xenospecies hadn’t appeared yet, nothing else mattered. He kept a close watch on the areas near the cracked mountains and the border regions adjacent to Siam, but everything remained quiet. No new information was being released. Yet, the more silent it became, the more uneasy he felt.

He was also facing a more practical problem: money. A lot of it.

As an ordinary student, there was only one way for him to get his hands on that much cash in such a short time-selling his house.

Property prices in Ningnan were relatively high. If he listed it below market value, he should be able to find a buyer quickly.

As for a bank mortgage or loan… he had no experience with them and didn’t want to waste time waiting for the approval process.

Su Lifeng realized then that his social experience was severely lacking. Had he known, he would have participated in more activities in the past…

Property Agency was the largest real estate firm in Ningnan. Su Lifeng told the taxi driver to “find a real estate agent,” and he was driven straight there.

As soon as he walked through the door, a woman in professional attire and heavy makeup approached him.

Zhang Ling had been an agent here for a long time. One look at Su Lifeng’s appearance and style told her he was likely a student looking to rent. It was the start of the school semester, so there were many clients like him.

However, students rarely had high budgets. Zhang Ling wore a smile, though her interest was flagging. “Hello, sir. Are you here to rent? What kind of place are you looking for? We have many listings in the school district for your consideration, across various price points…”

Su Lifeng shook his head. He was about to pull out his property deed when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Take your time looking. I’m going to go sit over there.”

He followed the sound and caught a glimpse of a figure turning around. He froze for a moment. “Jiang Yushi?”