Chapter 152: Global Transformation (Second Update)

A tier-three city within the Ryan Federation.

On the rooftop of a residential high-rise in this city, many people had gathered to enjoy the night view or gaze down at the streets below.

Some elderly residents, unable to bear the loneliness, had even chosen the roof as the venue for their square dancing.

While the seniors danced happily to the music they played, a few groups of young people nearby had set up barbecue grills.

Many of the youngsters chatted away while munching on skewers.

"Sigh, I feel like I'm rusting away from staying indoors all day. Working during the day and barred from going out at night—who knows how long this curfew is going to last?"

"Going out? Go ahead if you're not afraid of getting hit by a sudden Crimson Moon radiation. I certainly don't dare."

"Isn't it pretty good like this? Buying your own grill, eating barbecue and drinking beer with a bunch of friends isn't bad at all. Besides, even if the Crimson Moon appears, we can still get inside to take cover right away."

"That may be true, but it just feels so stifling. Even going out for a jog is an issue now, and working overtime every weekend has become the norm. The company bosses really are something else."

Zhou Peng took a sip from his canned beer and stood up.

He stretched his sore lower back from sitting for too long, then looked up into the dark night sky.

"Who knows when this damn Crimson Moon is going to disappear? Damn it, it's so frustrating."

"Speaking of which, what do you guys think about those rumors online?"

"Online? You mean the ones saying the Crimson Moon causes biological mutations, along with that so-called irrefutable proof—the 'Silver Dragon'?" asked a man wearing glasses.

"Yeah. There's no way that French Silver Dragon was some biochemical experiment pulled off by their country. That completely defies common sense, right?"

"Besides, could a mere biochemical experiment make that Silver Dragon freeze the ocean and ships in such a terrifying way?"

"That kind of experiment sounds less like biochemistry and more like mythology, doesn't it?"

Zhou Peng said with a trace of disdain, a hint of yearning creeping into his eyes.

Who hasn't been young, and who hasn't dreamed of becoming a superhero? If such entities truly existed in the world, anyone would naturally yearn for them.

They would crave encountering such a miraculous chance to transform their own dull and ordinary lives.

At Zhou Peng's words, the three young men beside him mostly just smiled.

"Alright, look at you, Mr. Smarty-pants."

"Since the state news has broadcasted footage of this so-called Silver Dragon, I'm sure there are inner details about the Crimson Moon and the Silver Dragon that we ordinary folks don't know about."

"It's not hard to guess what they are, but even so, I think we'd better just honestly focus on our own duties. Wild and dangerous thoughts are best avoided."

"Besides, if shining under the Crimson Moon could instantly give someone superpowers, do you think the authorities would need to be this cautious?"

"The radiation from the Crimson Moon is definitely no good thing—that's certain. And it's not like you didn't see that lunatic in our neighborhood two weeks ago."

"That appearance..."

At this point, a trace of fear was evident in their eyes.

The danger of the Crimson Moon was absolute. Biological mutations might exist, but was such a mutation truly a blessing for humanity?

"Sigh, fine, I admit I was getting a bit delusional. But this world really is becoming more and more worrying."

Zhou Peng sighed and sat back down.

"The so-called pandemic is most likely just a cover, but we don't know the specifics of the quarantined zones, which is genuinely unsettling. To be honest, the current situation makes it hard to have peace of mind."

"Alright, would you stop going on about this already? You're really killing the mood. So what if the apocalypse is coming? What can we ordinary people do about it?"

"Instead of worrying about this and that, we might as well live each day to the fullest."

Said a tall, thin, bald-headed man with a ring of hair around his temples sitting next to Zhou Peng.

"Alright, let's drop the Crimson Moon talk. Everyone, drink up and eat your skewers."

"Come on, let's have a toast first."

With that, one of them raised his cup.

Zhou Peng smiled, dropped the subject, and obediently raised his can as well.

"Cheers!"

The group clinked their canned beers together and began to drink.

However, right at the moment they toasted.

Suddenly, a brilliant radiance erupted across the previously dark sky.

A beam of light swept across the horizon, spreading outwards like ripples on water.

At that instant, everyone raised their heads in astonishment; whether young or old, they all looked up at the sky.

By then, the ripples that had just washed past had already faded into the distance.

Yet, following that flash of clear light across the night sky, another beam of bright light immediately traced the exact path of the previous one from the far horizon.

"Damn, what on earth is that light?"

"Am I drunk and starting to see things?"

One of the men beside Zhou Peng even rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky again.

Yet at that moment, following the first two curved beams of light, another arc of light soon emerged from the horizon, spreading and drifting across the sky.

As time passed, these lights gradually grew denser, following one after another in continuous ripples across the firmament.

In an instant, a kaleidoscope of colors burst forth across the entire sky.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—countless rays scattered and rippled endlessly across the heavens.

The brilliant radiance illuminated the entire city, rendering it intensely vibrant and surreal.

"Good heavens, what is actually happening? Why do I have this lingering feeling that something huge is about to happen?"

"Do you even need to say that? Damn it, is this kind of celestial phenomenon normal? If anyone dares to say this is normal, I'll slap them right across the face."

"Something's seriously wrong. It looks like the waters run very deep in our world. This phenomenon is definitely abnormal."

"Did someone successfully undergo the heavenly tribulation to become an immortal? This scene really looks just like the plots in some fantasy novels."

"......"

By now, it was far more than just the rooftop where Zhou Peng stood that was in an uproar; the entire city had been buzzing with frantic voices within minutes of the light's appearance.

Many people stood by their windows or on their balconies, staring up at the abnormal scenery in the sky.

Yet there were also the timid ones, who hurriedly drew their curtains the moment the radiance began to scatter and huddled safely inside their rooms to check the internet.

Meanwhile, the internet across the entire Ryan Federation was already in complete chaos.

The world was by no means short of bold individuals, and many had already started live-streaming, shouting excitedly into their cameras.

"Everyone, look! Colorful ripple lights have actually appeared in the sky above our XX city!"

"This kind of sight is completely unheard of. Isn't this too exaggerated? These lights are actually spreading outward like ripples!"

"Can any of my fellow viewers tell me if this is happening in your area too?"

As the streamer shouted this, the live chat screen was instantly flooded with strikingly similar messages scrolling past.

"It appeared here too!"

"Same here, I'm in Luohe, and I'm way up north!"

"Ah? The north? I'm in Qinghai in the east, and these colorful light waves have appeared here as well."

"......"

"Good lord, after the Crimson Moon, is our world finally about to welcome an otherworldly invasion? Emmm."

"Otherworldly invasion my foot! Judging by these colorful radiances, this is definitely the descent of immortals."

"Immortals my foot, you might as well say someone successfully ascended to immortality through a tribulation."

"Speaking of which, this streamer has some serious nerve, still live-streaming outside. Aren't you afraid this light has radiation too and will turn people into lunatics just like the Crimson Moon?"

"......"

The Ryan Federation was already in an uproar, and the authorities took action immediately, calling departments across the nation to inquire about the origin of the lights.

Much like the Ryan Federation.

After this brilliance spread to the Western Alliance and indeed across the globe.

Even though it was still daytime in the Western Alliance and other nations at that moment, the clear daytime sky still revealed the faint, colorful hues cast by the rippling radiance.

In broad daylight, although this brilliance wasn't as eye-catching as it was in the dark of night, it still sparked heated discussions among people all over the world.

Simultaneously, major nations across the globe began mobilizing their satellites, casting watchful gazes toward the region from which the light source emanated.

Yet, there was truly very little the satellites could capture.

Because the pillar of light enveloping the little deer lasted for barely thirty seconds before completely vanishing.

The only thing left behind was a circular void high up in the atmosphere directly above the deer, continuously radiating a colorful, circular sheen.

This circular void incessantly pulsed with waves of light, and these waves rippled outward across the entire Blue Star, circle after circle.

Such an exaggerated spectacle naturally provoked renewed confusion and questioning among the intelligence departments of countless nations.

However, just as these governments wondered or worried about monsters emerging from the glowing void, the brilliance blanketing the sky suddenly began to emit an even more intense radiance the very moment it spread globally.

Bathed in this light, people on the streets, indoors, and even out at sea suddenly felt a profound sense of inner peace rising from the depths of their hearts.

This sensation slowly bred a feeling of joy, and in that fleeting moment of joy, an image inexplicably surfaced in their minds.

The imagery was wondrously magical, for everyone beheld a world of pure white.

And at the center of this pristine white world stood a giant, divine deer.

As these people looked upon the divine deer within the vision, the divine deer was gazing back at them as well.

The deer's eyes were clear and bright, standing right there and gently watching all living beings.

Gazing upon the divine deer, strangely, not a shred of fear arose in anyone's heart.

Instead, the sight of the deer sparked an irrepressible joy deep within their souls.

"The birth of a divine marvel, heaven and earth rejoice..."

In a certain corner of the Ryan Federation, an elderly man gazing at the sky from a high platform murmured as if suddenly enlightened.

Looking back up at the heavens, the brilliance blanketing the sky was now slowly fading away.

Yet, at the very moment this heavenly radiance faded, a subtle, imperceptible change began to ripple across the entire world.

This transformation occurred in total silence and would soon manifest its effects plainly before humanity.

And amidst this transformation, at the exact location of the void high above the atmosphere where the deer had been, an even more extraordinary and exaggerated anomaly began to take shape.