Chapter 482: Storm

Rustle, rustle—

Under the cover of night, the rice paddies rustled softly in the wind. In the inky blackness, only two beams of headlights cut through the silence like swords.

Through the rearview mirror, Yang Xiao witnessed Chen Ling's transformation. As he saw the familiar face illuminated by the dim light, his heart seemed to skip a beat!

“...It’s you?” Yang Xiao unconsciously tightened his grip on the seatbelt, his brow furrowed. “What do you want?”

“Dr. Yang Xiao, I mean no harm.” Chen Ling's gaze met Yang Xiao’s through the rearview mirror. “I’m here to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Yang Xiao was momentarily stunned. He instinctively recalled Chen Ling rescuing him from numerous disasters in Shennongjia. His previously tense heart gradually relaxed… As Lu Xun had said, Chen Ling bore him no ill will; otherwise, they would have died hundreds of times over in Shennongjia. “Protect me from what? Those monsters in Shennongjia?”

“No, what’s more terrifying than disaster is the human heart.” Chen Ling unfastened his seatbelt and lowered the window. The cool night wind swept into the car, gently lifting a corner of his hair… He gazed out at the inky darkness and slowly began, “Dr. Yang Xiao, do you believe science can regress?”

“Science regress? How can science regress?”

“To be precise, it’s humanity’s material civilization – the towering structure built grain by grain over long ages – which will one day collapse. The era will uncontrollably regress, and disaster will follow.”

Chen Ling sat there in the car, speaking calmly and concisely amidst the wind blowing through the open window. He recounted everything: the World War, the arrival of the Grey Realm, humanity on the brink of extinction, followed by the birth of the Nine Realms, the legends of the Nine Sovereigns, and the Fourteen Divine Paths… By the time he finished, it was past midnight, and the world was silent save for the hum of the car engine.

Yang Xiao was stunned for a long time before shaking his head. “This is too sci-fi… No, it’s too fantastical.”

“But it truly happened. I believe you’ve already noticed some changes within yourself, haven’t you? That extra knowledge in your mind, your perception of magnetic fields, and the absolute authority that’s gradually emerging…” Chen Ling raised a hand and pointed to his head. “You are gradually becoming the Aurora Sovereign.”

Yang Xiao froze. Indeed, ever since he awoke from his coma, things had been constantly surfacing in his mind. He had initially thought it was just fatigue, but his body’s reactions didn’t lie… He could sense something else in the seemingly empty air. However, at that moment, he hadn't realized what he was sensing. Only after Chen Ling’s prompt did he awaken to the truth! Magnetic fields… He could actually vaguely sense magnetic fields?!

“If you still don’t believe me, I can prove it to you…” Chen Ling pulled a flip phone from his pocket and stated calmly, “Are you ready to witness the storm?”

A storm?

Yang Xiao didn’t understand what Chen Ling meant, but the moment Chen Ling pressed the “call” button, a sudden anomaly occurred!

The electromagnetic signals diffused in the air seemed to be guided at that moment, simultaneously converging towards the minivan. In the blink of an eye, they traversed space, appearing like overwhelming fine sand surging above the rice paddies! The flip phone in Chen Ling’s hand was like a core stirring everything. Endless electromagnetic signals began to surge, like a colossal tornado rising from a desert, slowly descending towards the minivan, resembling a pure electromagnetic “waterspout”!

Yang Xiao’s pupils abruptly contracted. He could now perceive the presence of these electromagnetic signals. The once calm surface of the “sea” seemed to be controlled by Chen Ling, frantically converging here. In his eyes, he saw endless streams of information enveloping the minivan, and their location was the “eye” of this storm!

Click—click—click—

City lights in the distance extinguished one by one, as if swept away by the storm’s aftermath, severing all communication signals and electricity. Everything within sight plunged into darkness… Only around the minivan did a roar like a thunderous storm reverberate!

*“When are you coming home? Dinner’s ready.”**“Your child’s performance at school has been very poor lately; parents need to come to the office tomorrow.”**“That boss is such an idiot, all he does is hold meetings all day, sitting there like a block of wood. He’s idle while we can’t even finish our work, damn it…”**“Click here to see the streamer’s hot dance video.”**“According to relevant media reports, this cultural salon was organized by local authorities, aiming to…”**“Attached: A picture of Lin Qiye as a Six-Winged Seraph.”**“Shall we go try out that new place today? I saw on my Moments that there’s a great hot pot restaurant around the corner…”*

Countless messages and electrical signals swirled in the storm, completely engulfing everything around them. Yang Xiao watched in shock and disbelief, clutching the door handle tightly, as if terrified of being swept away by this terrifying storm!

It was a “non-existent” storm, one that only Chen Ling and Yang Xiao in the world could “see”.

The storm lasted for dozens of seconds. When Chen Ling pressed the “end call” button, the surrounding information vanished instantly, and the electromagnetic turbulence swirling around the minivan gradually dissipated, returning to its normal course.

Yang Xiao, still gripping the car handle, finally relaxed. He lay weakly back against the rear seat, watching through the window as the city lights in the distance flickered back on, gradually illuminating the night sky far away… After a long while, he finally composed himself and spoke in a hoarse voice:

“Why… did you choose me?”

“Because I’ve seen you in another era, and you are trustworthy,” Chen Ling replied calmly. “Of course, you can also pretend nothing happened, ignore the growing power within you, return to your lab, and continue to independently research a science that will soon cease to exist, quietly awaiting the end of the world… Or, you can join me in exploring these secrets. Perhaps one day, we can personally reverse the era and prevent tragedy from occurring.”

Yang Xiao leaned back in the rear seat, his eyes filled with weariness and complexity. He turned his head slightly to look out the window, where the city lights resembled distant beacons of civilization, silently illuminating the long night. The crimson meteor streaking across the sky, the mysterious world that brushed past Earth, and the strange monsters emerging from the depths of Shennongjia… This world was no longer the one he knew. He was no longer the ordinary Dr. Yang Xiao. Even if he buried himself back in his secluded laboratory, pretending nothing had happened, it would only be self-deception.

“Knowledge is power.” With the city lights reflected in his eyes, Yang Xiao slowly spoke, “If the knowledge I’ve dedicated my life to can make even a small contribution to humanity… then I will have no regrets.”

Hearing this, Chen Ling paused. A flash of white in the ruined Aurora City immediately appeared in his mind… The Aurora Sovereign, who, with a broken body, single-handedly fought the Forbidden Sea, transforming everything into an eternal aurora. He looked at Yang Xiao through the rearview mirror. The familiar face perfectly overlapped with that of the Aurora Sovereign, and his expression suddenly became complicated…

After a long silence, Chen Ling turned sideways towards the back seat and extended a hand: “Welcome aboard, Dr. Yang Xiao.”