They began unpacking the supplies they had received: medicine, spray, protective goggles, masks, helmet-like hats, gloves, pH test strips, mineral water, and food.
There were only two masks. Father wanted to give them to Grandma and Qiqi, but Grandma refused.
“You two go out often, so you should use them. I stay at home all the time, what do I need this for?”
Seeing this, Qiqi also refused.
“I don’t want one. Mom and Dad should use them.”
Qiqi noticed her mother’s feet—soaked pale white with bleeding wounds. She quickly rushed over as Mom winced in pain while washing her feet with water, yet still insisted,
“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt.”
Father frowned as he applied medicine to her wounds.
“Right now, all the water on the roads is acidic. Ordinary shoes won’t last—the soles will rot through after walking too much. From now on, you shouldn’t go out anymore.”
Mother sighed.
“Alright. We’ve already brought back the alkali. I’ll try adjusting the water at home. The little we’ve stored is for drinking—we don’t even have water for washing.”
Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered.
Everyone looked up at the lamp.
Father said in a low voice, “I just noticed… many of the power lines outside have probably been corroded.”
“Then won’t that mean power outages? No internet? Life like this… Every time I think about those images on the Sky Screen, my heart fills with panic.”
Mother whispered, “If that acid-resistant city really exists, that would be wonderful. Do you think it could be in our A City? Otherwise, why would the Sky Screen only appear here and not anywhere else?”
Father couldn’t answer this question. Just then, a wave of exclamations—or rather, cheers—came from outside.
“The Sky Screen is back!”
Father dashed out immediately. Mother quickly put on her shoes. Even Grandma suddenly wasn’t frail anymore, and Qiqi followed the adults outside.
But soon Grandma brought her back, and the two of them watched from the window while her parents remained outside, wearing the only two filter masks.
In the sky, a massive screen appeared once more. This time the title read: 「The Only Hope in the Acid Rain Apocalypse.」
That familiar female voice spoke.
[Hello everyone, I’m Weizi. Last time I mentioned that the acid rain apocalypse was coming. By now, you should have experienced the first acid rain and entered the adaptation period of the apocalypse.]
Villagers gradually came out and stood beneath the sky.
They wore protective goggles to shield their eyes and filter masks to prevent breathing in acidic air that would corrode their respiratory systems. No one blinked as they stared upward. Some even raised their phones to record.
At that moment, the entire A City was bathed beneath the Sky Screen. Government departments had long been waiting for this day and immediately conducted comprehensive recordings, promptly reporting to their superiors.
“Once again, the Sky Screen has only appeared in A City. A City is indeed a special place.”
But some people in A City couldn’t see the video in the sky at all, nor could they hear any sound. They panicked and hurriedly asked those around them.
“You can really see the Sky Screen? This isn’t staged?”
“Of course I can see it! You can’t? Did the acid rain damage your eyes?”
Those who couldn’t see: “…”
There really was nothing in the sky!
After comparing notes, they discovered many people couldn’t see the Sky Screen. These people couldn’t even see the videos and photos that others had taken of it.
In their eyes, those phones all showed black screens.
This was truly terrifying.
It felt like being excluded from some critical circle.
After more questioning, it turned out that all these people were those who had given the Sky Screen video a “thumbs down” three days ago.
These people: !!!
Just a single dislike—and the consequences were this severe? They wanted nothing more than to travel back three days and slap their impulsive past selves!
[The adaptation period is a crucial time and also your last chance to save yourselves. I’m sure you’ve already encountered acid rain and found it terrifying.]
[But I must tell you that the current acid rain is merely an appetizer. It usually only lasts a few hours and won’t have a pH lower than 1. However, in the formal apocalypse, acid rain will often last for several days, and rain with a pH below 0.5 will appear frequently.]
People were stunned, followed by extreme despair.
According to the Sky Screen, who could possibly survive under such conditions?
Now, like birds reinforcing their nests, they were desperately fortifying their homes. But when the real acid rain came, one downpour would destroy everything. Facing it directly meant certain death—unless they could hide underground!
But even underground might not be safe!
On the screen, torrential rain fell endlessly. A city was swallowed whole. When it was over, only unrecognizable ruins remained—even mountain peaks had been worn smooth.
Horrifying. Truly horrifying.
The leaders of A City, and those in other cities watching the broadcast, all had tense expressions. The atmosphere was grim and oppressive.
Younger officials flared their nostrils, emotions stretched to the breaking point. One couldn’t help but speak out.
“This disaster is designed to annihilate humanity! It makes no sense at all!”
“Silence!”
The speaker could only choke back their anger and sit down.
As the image of the ruined city faded, Weizi’s voice came again, filled with regret:
[In the face of such natural disasters, humanity is small indeed. Yet Heaven’s cycles are not absolute—where four paths close, one path always remains. Somewhere, there will always be a final chance at survival.]
People’s spirits lifted.
Here it comes! The key point!
[In the previous video, I mentioned that there exists such a place, like a paradise untouched by the acid rain’s destruction. There, everything is as if the apocalypse never happened—life is even better than before.]
The screen once again showed illustrated pastures, mountains, gardens, homes, sunlit streets, and smiling people.
At Song’an County Middle School—now a shelter housing many people—everyone gazed up, entranced.
“Where is this place? I really want to go there.”
A young teacher frowned as he stared.
“In this world on the screen, there seems to be a dome over the sky. Could that dome be what protects them from the acid rain?”
A student said, “Does such a city really exist? This artistic style feels so fantastical… what if this place doesn’t exist yet?”
“Wait!” Another student pointed at the screen.
“Did you see that? In the garden plaza—there’s a statue! I remember this statue appeared in the last video too!”
Other students immediately took out their phones and checked the previous video for comparison.
“It’s true! In the last video, there was also such a statue at the entrance of the pasture. There are words beneath it… Damn, I can’t see what’s written!”
The young teacher’s eyes flashed. A statue that appeared twice, with words beneath it—could it be hinting at something?
[I know everyone yearns for this place and hopes to live there, but regrettably, I don’t know where this place is either.]
[All I can tell you is that there is a person who, during the adaptation period, used somewhat unscrupulous means to continuously accumulate resources, and little by little built this acid-resistant city.]
The crowd erupted.
One person?! A single individual built such a place? How is that possible?
“‘Somewhat unscrupulous means’? What exactly does that mean? I want to hear about it too!”
“So within just this one-month adaptation period, they managed to accumulate enough? How is that possible!”
“Where exactly is this person? Tell us clearly!”
“I have a feeling this person is here in our A City. Otherwise, why would the video be projected here?”
“I think the opposite—because they’re not in A City, that’s exactly why it’s shown here. Otherwise that person would know about it.”
Ordinary people buzzed with debate, saying all sorts of things. Some even began observing those around them, hoping the chosen one was nearby so they could ride their coattails to fortune.
Others had already begun analyzing.
The world doesn’t lack sharp minds. If even middle schoolers noticed the statue, others naturally would too.
Although the illustrated images might not be realistic, a distinctive statue appearing in various locations would surely reveal some information.
Whose statue would appear throughout a city?
Either the founder—or the ruler.
And both pointed to that mysterious person.
At A City’s Public Security Bureau, Jiang Ying looked anxiously at the sky. With just this much information, how were they supposed to find the person?
A colleague approached.
“You were discharged today? Why not stay in the hospital longer?”
Jiang Ying shook her head.
“The hospital is full of acid rain patients with no beds left. Besides, they didn’t detect any drug residue in my system, so I was discharged.”
Jiang Ying asked, “What about that fat guy?”
“Still locked up, I think. These days have been incredibly busy—who has time to deal with him?”
After chatting briefly, they didn’t dwell on the matter and continued watching the Sky Screen.
[If this range is too broad, then here’s another clue: this person loves to stare at the opposite sex, especially attractive ones. His entire success came from the opposite sex.]
Jiang Ying pondered.
“Loves to stare at the opposite sex? A man?”
Her colleague replied, “Women can stare at the opposite sex too, and men can also be described as attractive. Anyway, it sounds like some kind of pervert.”
Pervert? Jiang Ying suddenly recalled that night—the fat man with his lewd expressions and behavior.
Who knows what methods that fat man used. If there hadn’t been many people around, including her colleagues, she might have fallen right into his trap.
An absolute humiliation!
Even more shameful was that for the entire next day, she couldn’t stop thinking about that guy—particularly wanting to find him, to nestle in his arms. The more she thought about it, the more her breathing quickened and her body heated up.
Jiang Ying stopped her thoughts, her face twisted with embarrassment. If anyone knew what she had been thinking, she would want the ground to swallow her whole.
Hospitals across A City were filled with acid rain patients—mainly those who had insisted on staying outdoors that night. Yun Eryao was one of them.
His entire body was corroded by acid rain and covered in ointment. His mouth and esophagus were severely damaged; he couldn’t eat at all. Now he kept struggling to look out the window:
“What… are they… saying… what…”
He had given a thumbs down to the Sky Screen three days ago and now couldn’t see anything. His friend, recording while speaking,
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything later. Hey, I told you to have some respect.”
Yun Eryao shed tears of regret. If only he had known, he wouldn’t have given a thumbs down or livestreamed. Now he was in this state and couldn’t even see the Sky Screen.
Throughout the hospital, most patients were like him—people who hadn’t believed in the Sky Screen and had maintained a contemptuous attitude. That’s why they had given thumbs down and acted recklessly.
Seeing others looking at the sky, discussing the screen’s content, while they knew nothing—as if they had become deaf and blind, excluded from the Sky Screen—
All they felt was regret. Immense regret.