July 23, 2014. Wednesday, 3:42 p.m. Shan Country time.
The sudden Burst and dissipation of Spiritual Qi in a remote part of the Kachin Mountain Area triggered terrifying Celestial Changes. This event informed all surviving members of the Continuous Prayer Meeting, both inside and outside western Shan Country, that the unprecedented Void Orbit had failed.
Everyone became aware of this, from the "observation teams" rushing to rendezvous to the "logistics personnel" who had prepared the organization's escape route and were meant to disperse after the ritual's success. The members of this Mysterious Organization hesitated, pausing as if they wanted to risk it all. But soon, they heard the thrum of distant helicopters vibrating through the air. The piercing wail of sirens and even the hum of marching troops began to echo from afar.
Before long, the remaining members exchanged glances and made their decision. They all abandoned the plan to rendezvous, retreating one by one. They broke off into smaller units, melted into the crowds, and quietly slipped away.
As a long-established organization, the Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association had contingency plans for a failed ritual. The Bedouin Leader had long ago designated a successor. In the event of this failure, the leader of the Federation branch, third in the line of succession, would take over. Furthermore, the entire focus of the Continuous Prayer Meeting would be withdrawn from the World Island and relocated to America.
—'Besides, judging by the Anomaly, the ritual itself is feasible. This failure was likely just a bitter consequence of being in the wrong era. Since the Old Era didn't work out, trying again in the 'New Era' will just mean we've lost our head start.'
Like snakes, they had patience enough to wait for their prey and their moment.
On a national level, and in stark contrast to the various factions within Shan Country making grand moves and fighting both openly and in secret, the neighboring country of Zhengguo responded with extreme speed.
In fact, even before the celestial disturbance began, someone had noticed a tour bus had vanished. Several tens of minutes later, the missing bus was discovered. The luggage was all there, but every person was gone. This immediately sparked a panic. Some people notified the local Patrol, while Zhengguo expatriates made emergency calls to the Zhengguo embassy in Shan Country. The incident quickly drew the highest level of attention from relevant Zhengguo departments, and even the nation itself.
The disappearances were quickly linked to the earlier "Celestial Changes." After an emergency discussion by the "relevant departments," the suspected mass kidnapping was classified as a "terrorist act." The Zhengguo Government pledged its full support to the Shan Country government's operations to find the missing persons with the utmost speed.
Thus, the Shan Country military moved in immediately, rendezvousing with a Zhengguo special operations team that had been urgently airlifted to the site. The joint force began sweeping the surrounding forest and quickly uncovered numerous clues—all of which pointed to a deliberately concealed cave entrance.
Two elite teams entered the underground cavern with all possible speed, rescuing a total of fifty-seven civilians from various countries. The vast majority were the recently missing Zhengguo tourists and local residents. All of them were unconscious but showed stable vital signs, with the exception of one tourist who had suffered a heart attack and was now undergoing emergency treatment.
As the rescued individuals gradually regained consciousness, their identities were confirmed one by one. It was determined that none of the tourists who had disappeared today were injured or killed. However, the tourists who had gone missing before this incident were nowhere to be found. Instead, deep within a pit inside the cavern, the elite teams discovered a large quantity of human and animal bones. The topmost layer of bones was fresh, but the ones beneath were extremely ancient, likely the remnants of ancient sacrifices of people and livestock.
The murals within the cave indicated that this was an ancient ritual site of immense archaeological value. The fresh remains were presumed to be those of the locals and travelers who had previously disappeared in the Kachin Mountain Range. While this has yet to be formally verified, it is believed to be true.
The turmoil stirring in the Kachin Mountain Area attracted the eyes of numerous nations and organizations worldwide. All tourist attractions in the area were closed as a massive, thorough investigation was set to begin. But even before this, some individuals had already departed quietly, vanishing without a trace.
As for the tourists who had been lost and found, who had just had a brush with death, the next thing to do... was, naturally, to let their loved ones know they were safe.
"I'm fine, Uncle Shao. Yes, it's me. Qiming? He's okay, just sleeping right now… Hah, of course I'm fine! See? I'm still here talking to you, aren't I?"
"I'm fine, really! If you don't believe me, I can perform a whole stand-up routine for you… You don't need me to? Because I'm not one of the Jinmen people, you don't want to hear it? Alright, just take my word for it. Just take my word for it."
"We'll be heading back soon. Yeah, I heard the embassy has already arranged a plane, a direct flight to Spring City. From there, we can just catch a connecting flight or take the high-speed rail back to Hongcheng."
"Oh, Aunt Wen… Yes, yes, please don't tell my parents just yet. You know how busy they both are, right? Since I'm safe now, let's not make them worry…"
"Hey, how could you say we were trying to make you worry on purpose! You and Uncle are incredibly resourceful and well-informed. And hey, I'm not just flattering you! We're really okay!"
"Okay, rest assured, I'm perfectly safe, and Qiming is completely unharmed. I'll bring him back to you both in one piece. Right now? He's fast asleep, so I'm letting him rest. Mm, he just got a little spooked, but he'll be fine. I'm here with him."
After hanging up the call from Shao Qiming's parents, the natural, reassuring smile on Su Zhou's face slowly faded, replaced by a calm expression.
He was currently in a temporary camp set up in a Kachin tourist town, under the protection of the Shan Country army, waiting for the Zhengguo Government's next move.
「July 23, 2014. Wednesday, 11:02 p.m. Shan Country time.」
The sky was clear for a thousand miles, the moonlight like liquid silver. In the mountains, the bright moon cast a pale-yellow, gauzy veil over the sea of forests and ridges.
Su Zhou gazed at the distant scenery, his expression tranquil. Nearby in the camp, his friend Shao Qiming was fast asleep on a makeshift bed of wooden planks, covered by a blanket, his face serene.
'I can't believe this blew up into such a huge deal… The whole world is watching.'
Muttering to himself, Su Zhou opened his phone; the 5G network was blazingly fast. He could see that videos of the "thundercloud that appeared and then vanished," uploaded by netizens from Dian State and tourists in Shan Country, were already going viral on major social media sites. From popular short-video apps to major domestic and international video platforms, related clips were everywhere. On a certain popular chat platform, short GIFs of the event were being frantically shared in countless group chats by meme-loving netizens.
Everyone was asking, either in amazement or as a joke, whether someone was undergoing a tribulation. After all, the way the thundercloud had abruptly materialized and then suddenly dissipated truly looked as if a Thunder Tribulation had been forcefully dispersed. Moreover, many people swore that they had seen rainbow-colored lightning within the clouds, along with a Cyan Jade Thunderbolt in the shape of a Dragon.
"I bet it was a real Ascetic undergoing a tribulation…" Some netizens were clearly convinced. Inevitably, others tried to force a scientific explanation, listing off reams of data about terrain, environment, and wind direction. They would then unilaterally declare that such thunderclouds were quite common, perfectly normal, and nothing to be surprised about, all while putting on an air of "everyone is drunk, but I alone am sober" to show how ignorant everyone else was.
"Pah!"
When Su Zhou saw that comment, he almost couldn't stop himself from firing back. 'I was there in person, you idiot! I saw it with my own two eyes! If that lightning was so damn normal, then may your entire family pay double for groceries!'
In the end, though, he held back… Held back, my ass! A surge of anger washed over him. Su Zhou's thumbs began to fly across his phone's virtual keyboard in a furious TAP-TAP-TAP. He swept through the major forums and video sites like a hurricane, unleashing a saturation flame war until every last thread was locked or deleted by the admins. Only then did he let out a satisfied breath, the pressure in his chest finally released.
"Ahh, that felt really good."
Putting his phone away, Su Zhou gave a big stretch—even though his back wasn't sore and likely never would be again, it was still a habit. "These people don't know jack! I never lie; I was telling them the absolute truth. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"
"Yes, and I never lie, either."
At that same moment, a faint voice chuckled by the young man's ear. "Very few people believe me, either… It's quite odd, isn't it?"