"Because, in that little fellow's prophecy, fifteen people died and twenty-three were heavily injured..."
Even Elder Jin, who had seen his share of stormy seas, found his voice trembling at this moment.
Not a sound was heard.
The entire office fell into dead silence!
Elder Jin suddenly took out his phone and pulled up the recent call log.
"Four-thirty-two in the afternoon."
"One hour."
"Exactly one hour. And the casualty numbers match up, too..."
Everyone looked at Elder Jin in blank astonishment.
If someone had predicted an earthquake an hour in advance, perhaps they had simply detected it early using some scientific method.
However.
If even the casualty figures were predicted... this was no longer something that could be detected by scientific means!
This was a true miracle!
A genuine prediction of the future!
Yet, could anyone truly foresee the future?
To possess such an ability... calling one a god would hardly be an overstatement.
"Gulp." The female military officer swallowed, her iceberg-like face carrying a complex expression. "Could it be that gods truly exist in this world?"
"Don't ask me, I—I can't make sense of it either right now." Elder Jin waved his hand, but the next moment, the old man slowly stood up.
The confusion in his eyes transformed into decisiveness, and the majesty of a Luzhou Military District commander emerged.
"Hong," Elder Jin looked at the female officer, his tone resolute. "Level one combat directive: bring that little fellow to me. I want to speak with him face-to-face!"
"Yes!" Hong snapped to attention and saluted, looking spirited and capable, readily taking the order. "Guaranteed mission completion! I'll go check right now..."
"No, don't check! If what the kid said is true..." A flash of complexity crossed Elder Jin's eyes. "He probably knew we would come looking for him all along. Since he took the initiative to call me, he has already shown goodwill."
"Then we, too, shall converse with him openly and above board. I will make the call myself to ask where he is."
"Also, remember, we are not arresting him—we are inviting him! Hong, mind your attitude!"
At these words,
everyone stared in shock.
Elder Jin—who was he?
Leaving aside his past deeds from earlier years, today's Elder Jin was a man carrying five stars on his shoulders, a general of the nation!
Back when the Kameda Country's left-wing party ran rampant and provoked the majesty of our nation's territorial waters, Elder Jin ignored all opposition and directly lined up three hundred battle fleets at Kameda Country's ports with their cannons aimed squarely at Kameda soil; if the National Chairman hadn't personally called, he would have nearly bombarded the capital of that tiny island nation.
Such an overbearing military district commander was actually going to personally call a little fellow just because of a prophecy?
And he even wanted Colonel Hong to mind her attitude?
"Elder Jin, this..." a middle-aged man said in a low voice.
"There's no need to persuade me," Elder Jin said in a deep voice. "If what that little fellow said is true, what he has to tell us will likely exceed all of our imaginations!"
"Aside from the prophecy just now, the little fellow said one more thing."
"When the three-month period expires, the gods descend."
"Gods..."
As soon as the word "gods" was uttered,
everyone fell silent.
Five minutes ago, had Elder Jin uttered those two words, everyone present would have assumed he was joking.
But now...
Elder Jin sighed and dialed his phone.
At the same time.
"Lin Fan's parent, I have to say a few words to you. Lin Fan's performance today is entirely due to your poor upbringing." The middle-aged teacher stood on the podium, casting a cold glance at Mother Lin standing in the doorway. "With the college entrance examination just a year away, this is a major life event for the child!"
"You parents shouldn't always just care about your own matters; the child is what matters most. Lin Fan left school without authorization this afternoon..."
"Yes, yes, you're entirely right." Mother Lin nodded repeatedly with a flushed face, tugging at Lin Fan. "Hurry up and apologize to the teacher!"
That evening, the teacher notified Mother Lin that Lin Fan had left school without permission.
Mother Lin, who had just finished stewing spare ribs, dragged Lin Fan straight back to the classroom where evening self-study was still underway.
Lin Fan didn't actually want to apologize, but seeing his mother bending over to make amends, he still sighed. "Teacher, I'm sor—"
"Ring-a-ling."
His phone rang.
"Student Lin Fan, you actually dare to bring a phone to school?" The middle-aged teacher walked over with a cold face.
"Teacher," Lin Fan glanced at the caller ID, "let me take this call first. This call is very important."
"Very important?" The middle-aged teacher sneered. "Lin Fan, get this straight: there is only one year left until the college entrance examination. If you don't take the exam, how will you face your future life..."
"My future life probably won't have a college entrance exam."
Lin Fan sighed and picked up the phone.
"Hello. Yes, Elder Jin, it's me."
"I'm at school, mm, Class Three, Sophomore Year. Are you sending people straight from the military district?"
After he hung up the phone,
bursts of laughter erupted across the classroom.
"What? Elder Jin?"
"The military district?"
"Ha, Lin Fan must be out of his mind. Does he really think he's somebody?"
The middle-aged teacher also laughed. "Lin Fan, fine, it seems you really are quite the character. You and your mother just stand right there; I want to see who comes looking for you!"
On the other side,
Luzhou Military District.
Ten military jeeps roared out through the gates.
In the lead military jeep, Hong gripped the walkie-talkie and said coldly, "Target individual confirmed: Lin Fan, currently at Luzhou No. 1 High School, Class Three, Sophomore Year!"
"Floor the accelerator. This person is exceptionally important. I want to find him in the shortest time possible, not a single second to be wasted."
"Request traffic control from the local authorities!"
"All operating personnel, fully armed and loaded, in case of unexpected situations. Also," Situ Hong's tone suddenly turned somewhat peculiar, "everyone, mind your attitude, be polite. Remember, we are going to invite someone!"
Across the entire city of Luzhou, at this moment, all traffic lights turned solid red! Traffic control personnel even diverted all vehicles on certain designated roads to ensure that no vehicles blocked the way!
In the sky, the roaring sound of helicopters could even be heard!
All of this was serving Lin Fan alone!
Some passersby looked in astonishment at the military jeeps speeding down the road, taking out their phones to take pictures and wanting to post them online.
Yet at that moment, they suddenly discovered that even their phones had lost signal; the entire city of Luzhou had become a signal dead zone!
Even the contents captured by phone cameras were automatically erased!
"Could... could something major be happening?" A passerby put down his phone and curiously watched the departing military vehicles.
Just five minutes later.
"Screech!"
Ten military jeeps slammed on their brakes, parking in a neat line at the school gates.
The doors pushed open simultaneously, and a squad of fully armed operatives stepped out in unison, falling into formation.
"Move out!" Hong led the team into the campus.
"Tramp, tramp, tramp!"
Rhythmic and heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor—the sound of military combat boots striking the ground, making even the floorboards vibrate.
The boisterous laughter in the classroom abruptly stopped.
Lin Fan turned his head, watching the doorway with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Bang!"
The classroom door was pushed open, and walking in amidst the cold wind was an iceberg-like woman, spirited and capable in military uniform.
Behind her were operatives uniformly dressed in black combat gear and fully armed!
"You..." The middle-aged teacher's expression turned to one of astonishment.
"Guards platoon of the Military District Commander's Office on official business, unauthorized personnel stand aside." The uniformed woman was like a sharp military saber, radiating a freezing aura throughout her entire person.
Seeing this, the students turned pale.
Studying books day in and day out, they had never encountered anyone with this kind of presence before!
"Are you student Lin Fan?" The uniformed woman scanned the room, walked up to Lin Fan, and forced a stiff smile onto her cold face.
Lin Fan's gaze, however, showed not a trace of panic; he merely nodded. "You're here. Situ Hong, it's been a long time since we last met."
A trace of surprise flashed in the uniformed woman's eyes.
Let alone a student, even ordinary adults would likely be unable to stand steady seeing this kind of array.
Yet the youth before her seemed to have known they would come all along, carrying a composure that did not belong to his peers.
Even... faintly possessing the kind of detached majesty and authority of someone in high office for a long time, much like Elder Jin.
Hong instinctively sensed that the youth before her actually gave her an extremely dangerous feeling!
Moreover, how did this fellow know her name? She didn't know him at all; how could it be that it had been a long time since they last met?
A trace of confusion also flickered in the eyes of the operatives behind her.
"Elder Jin's order: please come back with us; Elder Jin has some matters he wishes to discuss with you face-to-face." Situ Hong suppressed the confusion in her heart, her tone stiff yet extremely polite.
"Alright, let's go." Lin Fan nodded and turned to look at Mother Lin.
"Xiao Fan, this... what bad thing did you do..." Mother Lin had always been honest and meek; although she was no longer young, she was still badly frightened upon seeing this scene.
"Mom, don't worry, I'm going to do a good deed and save the world." Lin Fan smiled, then turned and bowed to the middle-aged teacher who was frozen in place.
"Teacher, I actually really want to study, but right now, there are some things I must do."
"I won't be able to take the college entrance exam, but I will work hard to ensure that all of you can still take it."
"Starting today, I am taking a leave of absence. The duration of the leave..."
Lin Fan didn't continue, gave Hong a look, and turned to leave.
The duration of the leave.
Gone forever, with no return.
From then on, ordinary high school life would never return, replaced instead by a life-or-death battle against the gods to the bitter end!
Following Lin Fan's departure, the classroom fell into dead silence.
"He just left like that?"
"Am... am I seeing things?"
"Such a massive display—could Lin Fan be a wanted criminal?"
"Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen a wanted criminal of any level get this kind of treatment? That's the guards platoon of the Military District Commander's Office... gasp..."
"Just now, that female officer said 'please', right? She invited Lin Fan to go along?"
The classmates looked at each other in dismay.
Five minutes later.
Inside the Luzhou Military District Central Office.
Elder Jin silently lit a cigarette, his aged yet clear eyes looking at the youth before him, and said with a complex tone, "I have many things I want to ask you, but for now."
Elder Jin paused slightly, speaking word by word: "Please prove the existence of the gods first."
Chapter 4: Audience with the National Chairman
Elder Jin sat behind his desk. Although already sixty years old, his build remained robust and upright.
Just sitting there, the old man exuded a formidable aura that made one want to submit involuntarily.
A vessel bristling with martial might!
Yet.
Facing this old man whose status and position were beyond reach, Lin Fan shook his head. "You're not qualified."
"I'm not qualified?" Elder Jin tapped the desk expressionlessly. "Do you know who I am?"
"I know. In fact, I know who you are better than you do yourself." Lin Fan sighed. "I said, I am a god of the future—to be precise, I was reborn from fifteen years in the future. In my previous life, you died before I did."
"Jin Minsheng, you were the first person to perceive that this world was changing. Although many scientists have now detected environmental changes, they have all explained abnormal climates and rising sea levels using scientific methods."
"And you, although ignorant of science, are the most vigilant general of the nation. Even in times of peace and prosperity, hailing from the borders, you remained prepared for danger in times of peace. Faced with sudden climate changes, you didn't brush them off like others did, and you were the first to suggest that the rapid climate alterations were caused by the descent of some entity."
"Furthermore, you were the strategist who first regarded those entities as hypothetical enemies, defying all opinions and public pressure to vigorously develop nuclear weapons, proposing the Nuclear Chain Project."
"Your conjecture was entirely correct; we are about to wage a war against entities we have never seen before."
"It's just a pity you didn't anticipate that the power of those entities would far exceed your imagination. Traditional weapons, and eventually even nuclear weapons, ended up losing their utility."
"Those entities are gods. And you were the five-star Golden General who died first in the Ocean God's invasion."
"The World Alliance of the New Era called you the Bell-Ringer of the End Times. It is only regrettable that people initially failed to take your foresight and warnings to heart."
"That is also why I came to find you first."
Lin Fan recounted everything smoothly, without concealing his respect for the old man in his words.
Because in his previous life, this old man's name was etched in the hearts of the entire Daxia!
The Bell-Ringer of the End Times!
Jin Minsheng!
Lin Fan still remembered how, when that Ocean God descended upon Daxia, churning up a hundred-meter tide and sweeping in with all manner of Sea Beast Believers to slaughter, it was this old man who stood on the coastline, greeting the so-called gods with guns and cannons!
He was the first person in history to dare raise firearms and artillery against the gods!
His famous quote even inspired the humanity of the New Era:
"Greet the gods with guns and cannons!"
He even nurtured the human faction's only Military God, Situ Hong!
And Lin Fan had joined the coalition forces one week after that Ocean God invasion, fighting alongside Jin Minsheng until the very end, ultimately watching helplessly as the old man was devoured by Sea Beast Believers.
Right up until the end.
The old man never released his grip on the trigger, his roar swallowed by the sea beasts amidst the gunfire.
Listening to these fantastical words, Elder Jin looked at Lin Fan, yet his seasoned gaze saw only sincerity and a hint of concealed sorrow.
This...
"What you're saying is true?" Elder Jin furrowed his brow.
When others brought up the greenhouse effect and offered explanations for environmental changes, Elder Jin indeed had a radical thought—what if the greenhouse effect was merely some kind of offensive measure?
In theory, such an offensive measure could not be mastered by humanity.
And even if humanity truly mastered it, they couldn't possibly use it, because it would harm all of humankind.
But what if the enemy wasn't human?
Elder Jin had never told a soul about this thought; sometimes he even felt that he had been mentally tormented by his past life amidst a hail of bullets and artillery fire, prone to associating everything with warfare. But now...
At this moment, listening to Lin Fan's unbelievable words, not only did Elder Jin not disbelieve them, but he believed them all the more.
"I can prove this is true," Lin Fan said in a low voice. "But would proving it to you actually be useful?"
"I know that with your status, your word is law in Luzhou. If you are dead set on doing something, even the administrative governor of Luzhou cannot stop you."
"However, if the opponent is truly a god in the literal sense... relying solely on Luzhou's strength, can humanity survive? Or do you only hope that the common folk of Luzhou survive?"
"Those gods are not as kind as the legends and myths suggest. They harbor a deep longing for the land of this world, for the lives of this world."
Elder Jin was silent for a moment, a flash of decisiveness shining in his eyes: "What do you want to do?"
"I want to see the National Chairman!" Lin Fan said in a deep voice. "Three months from now, the gods descend! Only when the whole of Daxia goes all out will humanity have a sliver of hope!"
"And only by proving all this to the National Chairman will it truly be useful!"
"Trust me," Lin Fan's eyes were red, his fists clenched tight, "I have seen a more tragic scene. I have seen tens of millions of people displaced from their homes; I have seen blood stain the rivers and mountains of Daxia red."
"I have seen towering buildings collapse and the nation fall. I have seen the people of one country after another kneel before the descending gods, offering up their souls to become walking corpses singing praises to the divinities."
"That scene—I am unwilling to witness it a second time!"
"Tomorrow morning at six, I must see the National Chairman!"
Elder Jin's expression suddenly turned solemn: "You say you are a god of the future, then who on earth are you?"
Lin Fan said in a deep voice: "I, Lin Fan, am the head of Daxia's five Guardian Deities in the future, Supreme Commander of the Asian Alliance, Commander of the Daxia Coalition Forces, Six-Star Saint General, Daxia's God of War personally conferred by the National Chairman, human God of Slaughter, and the Asura God."
"There are also some less pleasant names, such as the One Forsaken by Gods, the Wretch Abhorred by Deities, and the Outcast of Gods and Demons. But those don't matter."
Elder Jin smiled bitterly: "Quite a few titles you have there. No wonder a little fellow like you didn't flinch upon seeing me, the Grand Commander. Haha, Six-Star Saint General, Daxia's God of War... do I have to salute you in the future?"
"That won't be necessary. By the time I came into my fame, you were already dead. Before you passed away, I was your final guard!" Lin Fan replied bluntly.
Elder Jin was momentarily at a loss for words, rubbing his face. "I must be out of my mind to actually be willing to believe you and want to gamble on this with you."
Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice: "You're not out of your mind; it's this world that's gone mad."
"However," Elder Jin said in a deep voice, "a prophecy could persuade me, but wanting to see the National Chairman is not that simple. You must produce genuine evidence of the gods' existence; otherwise, this is a slap in my face."
Lin Fan nodded. "Therefore, I requested to see the Chief tomorrow morning at six. For now, I must ask you to do a few other things..."
At 4:30 AM, a military aircraft took off from the Luzhou Military District.
Escorted by twelve fighter jets!
Destination: Jingzhou!
Such a luxurious lineup, even in wartime, was reserved exclusively for national-level elders, which was enough to show how highly Elder Jin valued Lin Fan.
"Whoosh!"
At 5:30 AM, the fighter jet formation landed at the Jingzhou Military Airport, where ten unmarked, pitch-black SUVs were already waiting.
Each SUV was specially manufactured, utilizing twenty-millimeter-thick steel plating, equipped with three layers of special blast-proof glass, and outfitted with a blast-resistant chassis capable of taking direct hits from various rifles or even firebombardment—completely a mobile terrestrial fortress.
Still the treatment of a national-level elder!
The moment he landed, Lin Fan headed straight for the Central Courtyard!
"Little brother," the special operations officer driving the car said with some surprise. He usually shuttled around VIPs of immense wealth and nobility, but this youth before him was a first, prompting him to ask out of curiosity, "What line of work are you in?"
"Heh," Lin Fan smiled complexly, "I'm here to teach you all how to slay gods."
The driver was slightly stunned, while Elder Jin, sitting beside him, said with a cold face: "Don't ask what you shouldn't. Have you forgotten the confidentiality protocols?"
The majesty of a lifetime of military campaigns poured out from the old man.
The driver's expression instantly turned stern.
He had originally thought the youth was just joking, but given Elder Jin's battle-ready demeanor... could gods really exist?