"Something's wrong with this world. The moon is alive!"
Lin Qi had considered ten thousand possibilities, but he never imagined the reason for this world's overwhelming concentration of Extraordinary particles was the moon.
As a Wizard, Lin Qi could feel the mental pressure emanating from that pupil.
Extraordinary Items wouldn't have this kind of aura. Spiritual Power is a unique force possessed only by living beings.
"Lin Qi, what's happening?"
In his arms, Xia Chu felt a sense of security from Lin Qi that she hadn't felt in a long time. Ever since the apocalypse began, Lin Qi had been subtly distant, avoiding intimate contact.
"Close your eyes." Lin Qi's voice trembled slightly.
Even just meeting the gaze of the pupil in the sky through his Spiritual Vision brought Lin Qi an incomparable pressure.
'Heaven knows how many survivors will die this time when the far side of the moon turns.'
'How many people can possibly be left alive in this world?'
Lin Qi wasn't concerned about that. What he was concerned about was that if the moon continued to watch, this Doomsday World would become uninhabitable.
If one accidentally met the moon's gaze, even a Wizard would face certain death.
One would need the Spiritual Power of at least a Tier Three Wizard to have any chance of surviving that gaze.
'As for fighting back?'
'Could a Tier Five manage it?'
Lin Qi thought it was highly unlikely.
'However, certain weapons from the Cyber World might be able to inflict some degree of damage on this moon.'
But those were beyond Lin Qi's reach for now.
Lin Qi grew worried. If he lost the Doomsday World, this crucial source of Extraordinary Items, he could only hide away in the Cyber World and develop step by step.
Relying on his Spiritual Vision, Lin Qi was confident he could develop higher-caliber weapons in the future.
'X-Class... Sooner or later, I'll be able to reach it.'
Just as Lin Qi was worrying, a new change occurred.
Another surging tide of Spiritual Particles washed over them.
To the north, a pillar of ice-blue Spiritual Particles shot into the sky, heading straight for the moon that had turned into a pupil.
Beneath the pillar of light, Lin Qi felt a similarly surging Spiritual Power.
'Another monster?'
The pressure from this Spiritual Power wasn't as great as the Red Moon's, but it was still beyond Lin Qi's comprehension.
The pupil formed by the Red Moon seemed to see the pillar of light and was unwilling to face it head-on.
The enormous eye slowly closed.
The pillar of light couldn't cross the hundreds of thousands of kilometers in an instant. As the eye closed, the pillar's power slowly dissipated.
The spiritual pressure from the north gradually stabilized and then vanished, and the eye of the Red Moon did not open again.
Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Lin Qi felt as though the entity to the north was just putting on a show of force, and the moon seemed somewhat tired.
This was a kind of intuition that came from being a Wizard, and Lin Qi couldn't tell if it was real or not.
"You can open your eyes now." Lin Qi released his arms from around Xia Chu and continued to use his Spiritual Vision to observe the surrounding changes.
The long-distance confrontation between two beings far beyond Tier Five had brought an even more massive amount of Spiritual Particles to this world.
The concentration was approaching nearly twenty times that of the Cyber World.
It was hard to imagine how many Extraordinary Items would be born in an environment with such a high concentration of Spiritual Particles.
Lin Qi felt the pressure.
It came from two sources: first, the two unknown entities, and second, this world itself.
'With such a terrifying concentration of Spiritual Particles, my advantage as an Extraordinary will gradually be erased.'
'No matter how clueless the survivors of this world are, natural-born Extraordinaries will emerge.'
'Not to mention, the state apparatus still exists in this world.'
Xia Chu looked at the silent Lin Qi, feeling an emptiness in her heart.
A tear slipped down her cheek without her noticing.
She sniffled, trying to stop the tears from falling.
Along with Xia Chu's movement, the Spiritual Particles inside the room quietly began to change.
The falling teardrop turned into an ice crystal, hovering before her.
"Lin Qi, look!"
Xia Chu repeatedly slapped Lin Qi's arm. The hard Exoskeleton made her palm sting, but she didn't notice it at all.
"Lin Qi, is this the 'Extraordinary' you were just talking about?"
Xia Chu instinctively controlled the ice crystal, making it float in front of Lin Qi.
Sensing the movement of the Spiritual Particles, Lin Qi's mouth opened slightly. Finally, he said, "Yes."
'Xia Chu became an Extraordinary just like that?'
Not through an established Extraordinary Profession, but by spontaneously becoming an Extraordinary under the terrifying concentration of Spiritual Particles.
'This represents Talent.'
'Perhaps the Cyber World also had periods with high concentrations of Spiritual Particles. The origin of Extraordinary Professions might have been those who awakened spontaneously.'
Xia Chu was overjoyed. "Lin Qi, do you have this kind of power too?"
Lin Qi nodded but didn't demonstrate it.
'Spiritual Vision, Blood Manipulation... neither of these powers is convenient to display.'
Xia Chu's joy grew even more intense.
'Lin Qi has Extraordinary Power too? When did he get it? It must have been after the apocalypse started, right?'
'Maybe the reason he's been distant is because of that Extraordinary Power.'
'But why won't he show it?'
'Could it be that his power is too dangerous, easy to lose control of, and he's afraid of hurting me? Is that why he's been deliberately keeping his distance?'
'And today, he told me about Extraordinary matters... maybe he's planning to lay his cards on the table?'
Xia Chu unconsciously found a reason for Lin Qi's change in behavior.
BZZT...
The radio, modified from a cell phone, crackled to life at an inopportune moment.
Lin Qi and Xia Chu's attention was once again drawn to the phone.
"This is the Modu Rescue Command. Warning all survivors: do not look up at the moon. I repeat, do not look up at the moon."
'The warning came a bit late. Those who saw the pupil of the Red Moon are probably already dead.'
"All survivors, please maintain silence immediately. The danger level of Zombies has increased. Please place a distress signal in a conspicuous location and await the arrival of rescue teams."
"Furthermore, a warning to all survivors who have awakened powers: the government is still in operation. Do not break the law. Do not break the law. Do not break the law. Don't say you weren't warned."
"Residents of the Dragon Country, please believe that the Dragon Country has the ability to resolve this crisis. We have weathered five thousand years of storms; we will not fall now..."
Besides the radio broadcast, the sound of gunfire and cannons could be heard in the distance.
Everything indicated that rescue forces were indeed approaching.
Lin Qi frowned slightly. 'The government in this world is a bit strange, too. It seems they weren't affected by the moon at all. Or rather, they knew in advance that the far side of the moon would turn, but not far enough in advance to issue a public warning.'
Lin Qi deduced some intelligence from the radio broadcast.
'But...'
'The Dragon Country has the ability to resolve this crisis?'
'Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?'
'Given how terrifying that moon is, even the Cyber World might not be able to handle it properly.'
'What would they use to solve it?'
'Nuclear bombs?'
Lin Qi didn't think nuclear bombs had the power to destroy a star.
The technology of the Cyber World had yet to produce star-destroying weapons, let alone this ordinary, modern world.
'Could it be through Extraordinary means? Perhaps the concentration of Spiritual Particles in this world wasn't low even before the doomsday.'
'If that's the case, I'll have to change my plans.'
'Even setting aside the Red Moon, I need to reassess the danger level of this world.'