The moment the words left his mouth, a ripple of exchanged glances swept through the room.
Confusion twisted into sudden, desperate realization for some, while others practically vibrated with excitement.
"I know! Isn't that old man Fu's kid? She was raving about the apocalypse weeks ago and got locked up in the psych ward for it!"
"I heard about that too! She warned me straight to my face!"
The activity center instantly erupted into a deafening clamor.
Seeing the bait swallowed, the tight knot in Su Jin's chest loosened a fraction.
He tapped a quick sequence into his phone, hoisted the megaphone, and barked, "Quiet! Settle down!"
It took a few more sharp commands to force the room back into a tense silence.
Faces that had been hollowed out by despair just minutes ago were now flushed with a terrifying, manic hope.
Su Jin let a faint, calculated smile touch his lips. He was just lifting the megaphone again when a sharp, piercing ringtone blared from his hand.
Over two hundred pairs of bloodshot eyes snapped to the device.
Su Jin didn't miss a beat. He smoothly answered the call, pressing the phone to the megaphone so the audio blasted across the hall.
"Please confirm identity," a stiff, mechanized voice demanded.
"9527, Li Haocheng," Su Jin replied, his voice a deadpan military clip.
"Director Li. The War Preparedness Command Center confirms Apocalypse Protocol 'Dawn-Zero' is active. You are ordered to reorganize all units within three days. Arm with live ammunition. Proceed immediately to the First Military Base in the northern suburbs for assembly. Branch forces are currently executing clearing operations and will rendezvous upon completion. Acknowledge receipt and repeat, over."
Su Jin let his gaze rake over the trembling crowd before leaning into the megaphone. "Inform Command that civilian personnel are preliminarily organized. However, conditions are critical. Civilian physical health is failing, and we lack tactical gear. We cannot make the northern base within three days. I will provide continuous updates to Command. Over."
Heavy static crackled over the line for a suffocating second before the voice returned.
"Copy that. Over."
The simulated call—meticulously spliced together by Cheng Du beforehand—clicked dead. Below the stage, the sound of dry throats swallowing echoed in the quiet room. Shoulders shook.
A phone... a working cell phone?
And the military was running clearing ops! The government actually had a doomsday protocol, and they were already moving!
Su Jin held the black rectangle aloft, his tone icy and professional. "You heard the dispatch. I won't waste oxygen repeating it. As for how I have a signal, it's simple. Mayan communication relays don't rely on standard cell towers; it's point-to-point encrypted transmission. The state possesses the sister terminal."
"Back to the matter at hand! I know some of you have already pieced together the identity of the savior mentioned in the Mayan prophecy, so I'll stop dragging it out. That person is right here in this compound!"
Su Jin threw his arm out, pointing dead at the main double doors.
By the entrance, Fu Hu and Cheng Du shared a fleeting look before heaving the heavy doors wide open.
Fu Qingdai stepped across the threshold, dressed in an immaculate white gown, her face touched with just enough makeup to look unearthly in the dim light.
Surrounded by a horde of survivors caked in dried sweat, grime, and fear, she looked like an absolute anomaly.
Her ethereal features practically glowed. As she walked, the hem of her dress fluttered, carrying a faint, clean fragrance that cut through the stench of unwashed bodies. For a breathless moment, she was nothing short of a descending goddess.
Two hundred and thirty-five pairs of eyes locked onto her, welling with desperate, burning tears.
A savior. The savior was real, and she looked the part!
Ignoring the weeping masses, Fu Qingdai locked eyes with Su Jin and strode straight toward the stage.
A small, encouraging smile cracked Su Jin's stoic facade as he offered his hand down to her.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she masked it with a gentle, serene smile. Taking his hand, she stepped up onto the platform.
...
"Tch! The hell is this, a wedding march?" Cheng Du muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Shut your damn mouth! You want them to hear?" Fu Hu hissed, glaring daggers at him. "Do you have some kind of beef with my kid? Pull any more stunts and I'll wring your scrawny neck!"
"Whoa, hey! Wouldn't dream of it!"
...
Up on the stage, Su Jin and Fu Qingdai stood shoulder to shoulder.
Su Jin pivoted to face the crowd. "Allow me to formally introduce Fu Qingdai. She is the savior identified and verified by the State Security Bureau. Her prophetic talents manifested well before the apocalypse hit. The government and I firmly believe she is the key to guiding us through this cataclysm."
"And I can tell you this with absolute certainty: since the world ended, she has successfully foreseen the future once again."
Staring out into a sea of feverish, starving eyes, Fu Qingdai felt her throat constrict. She swallowed hard, forced her spine straight, and parted her lips.
"I have seen what is to come. This nightmare will pass, and the nation will rise from the ashes. But getting there... that requires all of us to fight as one."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Su Jin aggressively led the applause, clapping his hands raw.
The core crew from the sixth floor immediately joined in. Like a spark hitting dry tinder, the scattered clapping detonated into a thunderous roar.
Survivors completely overcome by the sheer weight of their emotions began screaming themselves hoarse.
The activity center was drowning in a tidal wave of applause and weeping.
Blood pumping furiously in his veins, Su Jin chucked the megaphone aside.
He roared over the din, "I know you're relieved! But a prophecy alone isn't enough to survive! The miracles bound to her are already bleeding into reality! Under her guidance, we have awakened abilities that defy logic itself!"
"This is a mass extinction event! But in the crucible of death, we evolve! Now, witness the dawn of this new era... Cheng Du!"
At Su Jin's bark, Cheng Du practically vaulted onto the stage, buzzing with hyperactive energy.
He threw his arms wide and violently triggered his Ability!
Roaring, localized jets of blinding flame erupted from his forearms, casting harsh, leaping shadows across the hall. The sheer kinetic force of the fire sucked the oxygen from the air.
The crowd shrieked in absolute awe, their hysteria spiking into a brand new, feverish crescendo!
In that split second, the soul-crushing terror of the apocalypse was vaporized.
"The evolutionary lock is broken!" Su Jin screamed, his voice razor-sharp and frantic. "Follow Qingdai, and you could be next! We aren't just prey anymore! Combine this power with military artillery, and we don't just survive—we conquer! Every single one of you can live to be a founding father of the new world."
"Now tell me, are you ready to slaughter your way through this war?!"
"YES! YES! YES!" The entire hall pumped their fists, screaming until their lungs gave out.
"Will you bleed for Qingdai?!"
"YES! YES! YES!"
"ARE WE GOING TO WIN THIS WAR?!" Su Jin howled, eyes bulging.
"WIN! WIN! WIN!"
The frenzy peaked, the sheer decibel level of the chanting threatening to blow the roof off the activity center.
Chest heaving, Su Jin took two slow steps back. He stared at Fu Qingdai's rigid spine while keeping the writhing crowd in his peripheral vision.
Down below, Fu Hu and the rest of the core team hadn't lost themselves to the mob mentality. Instead, they were staring back up at Su Jin, their eyes shining with heavy, unspoken tears.
Seeing their expressions, the exhausted dam inside Su Jin broke. Scalding tears finally spilled over his lashes, tracking through the grime on his cheeks.
It wasn't just the adrenaline of a successful con. It was the crushing, agonizing weight of shared suffering.
He had kept the lid screwed on tight for too long. He had watched too many bodies pile up, smelled too much rotting meat.
He despised this putrid, festering world from the very marrow of his bones.
And yet, this fragile, manufactured hope was a blinding flare in pitch darkness. Even if it was stitched together with bald-faced lies, even if their statistical odds of surviving the week were functionally zero.
He would rather choke to death on a lie of hope than let despair butcher him in the dark again.
If they were just moths diving into a bonfire, then so be it. Let them burn.
Slowly, the rabid chanting began to wind down. Su Jin gently escorted Fu Qingdai down from the stage, viciously scrubbing the wet tracks from his face before turning back to the mob, his voice dropping into a lethal, commanding baritone.
"From this second forward, we restructure. You will hold yourselves to the disciplinary standard of professional infantry! Report your skill sets immediately. We are drafting combat and logistics squads based on your intel. Anyone who disobeys a direct order will be stripped of our protection and thrown to the curb!"
"Fall in line, prep the convoy, and let's march on the military zone!"