Chapter 51: Winding the World Up Like a Clockwork

Jiang He swallowed hard, his heart pounding violently.

He already understood—he had caused trouble.

But this wasn’t entirely his fault.

It was like someone putting a button in front of you, saying that pressing it would grant endless wealth, with no side effects and no harm to anyone else…

Wouldn’t anyone press it?

After all, Jiang He could never have imagined that as an E-rank Transcendent, merely using one skill could affect the entire world—so much so that even the 【Abyss of Demons】 was disturbed!

Jiang He struggled to speak: “Then what should I do…”

“Chill with it.”

Old Jiang, who had looked stern just a moment ago, suddenly broke into a grin.

“You actually don’t need to worry too much.”

Jiang He froze: “Ah?”

Old Jiang smiled and said: “A Doomsday Declaration triggers a chain reaction—people’s panic, fear, chaos… and even places like the Abyss of Demons, which forcibly manifested before its descent, just to hunt down the 【World Destroyer】, causing the crisis to arrive early.”

“But this doesn’t mean everything about it is bad.”

“Just like how a drowning person clutches at the last straw, or how students cram madly the night before an exam, or how heroes rise in the twilight of a dynasty…”

“When the world enters a ‘dying state,’ those unwilling to perish will unleash all their potential, struggling to grow stronger and resist the ‘Doomsday’!”

“And in a world brimming with Transcendent powers—”

“When all beings give rise to the will to resist the end, with countless wills resonating and catalyzing, people’s potential will be strengthened, and their power will grow even faster.”

“Among them, a child of destiny might even be born—or perhaps a ‘Savior’!”

“As long as you don’t truly intend to destroy the world…”

“Then what you’ve done is equivalent to winding the world up like a clockwork.”

Old Jiang paused for a moment, his face full of smiles.

“We both know that the future holds not only 【Transcendent Rampages】 but also 【Exotic Beast Rampages】. The world can’t possibly remain stable.”

“In this case, awakening people’s sense of crisis ahead of time might not be a bad thing at all.”

So it could actually be explained this way?

A heavy weight lifted off Jiang He’s chest, and he finally felt a little relieved.

“Of course, you must remember this incident.”

“X-rank is no joke. You must act more cautiously in the future.”

Old Jiang’s expression grew stern again as he spoke.

Jiang He nodded seriously: “Understood.”

While the two Jiangs were talking, the boy slowly woke up, dazedly looking around. As if recalling something, his expression suddenly twisted into fear.

He was about to scramble up and run, but Jiang He quickly held him back.

“It’s fine. I already dealt with the demon.”

“Dealt with… it?”

The boy felt around his body. Not sensing anything wrong, he finally relaxed.

He looked up—only to see an identification card.

“I’m a firefighter. To prevent further incidents, I need to know exactly what you went through.”

…

Under Jiang He’s questioning, the boy quickly explained everything.

The matter itself was simple. Just as the bat demon had said, he had been bullied by peers because of his innate disposition.

Jiang He had suffered the same thing before. Naturally, he could empathize and understand why the boy had been lured in by the demon.

If it had been him, he might not have made a different choice.

But more important than that was where the demon had come from—

According to the boy, a few days ago, on his way home from school, he had picked up a palm-sized stone carving of a monster. After bringing it home, the carving turned into a monster, proposed a contract, and promised to help him strengthen his talent, becoming his “familiar,” with the price being his soul after death.

Since the condition was “after natural death,” the boy had agreed. His ability really had improved as well.

But tonight, at around eight o’clock, he suddenly felt a shiver of dread. Not long after, the monster broke the contract and violently attacked him.

Until he was gravely injured and fainted, he hadn’t known what had happened.

Hmm…

Why exactly had the demon broken contract and rampaged? Hard to say.

“Damn it, it was the one who broke the deal first. Just as I thought, it was a liar, nothing like a good demon.”

Jiang He gave a light cough.

By rights, he should have handed the boy over to the Security Bureau.

But when he saw the boy’s panic-filled, fearful eyes, it was as if he were looking at himself just a week ago.

After hesitating a moment, he asked where the boy had found the stone carving, wrote down his contact information, and then let him go home.

He himself stayed in the park, waiting patiently.

It was more than ten minutes later before any firefighters finally arrived.

“We got a report—there was a battle here…” The firefighter got a clear look at him and exclaimed in surprise: “Jiang He? Why is it you?”

Jiang He already had a bit of a reputation in the Fire Bureau. Even if this firefighter wasn’t from the Seventh Squad, he still knew him.

Since it was an acquaintance, explaining was much easier.

Jiang He recounted what had happened, leaving out why he had come in the first place, and focused on explaining the demon’s identity.

After hearing, the firefighter’s face darkened: “A never-before-seen demon… there’s been way too much happening lately.”

“But since you already dealt with the demon, the rest isn’t our Fire Bureau’s responsibility.”

“You just write up a report and give it to Captain Zhang, then he can transfer it to the Security Bureau for investigation.”

Seeing Jiang He nod, the firefighter continued.

“After the Arc Light incident, the city was already in chaos. But tonight, all of a sudden, everyone had the exact same premonition of the world ending…”

“Lots of people were already tense and on edge, ready to stir up trouble. Now they’ve completely exploded.”

“Tonight, the bureau’s phones have been blowing up—incidents everywhere, problems everywhere.”

“Even exotic beasts are restless, with multiple sudden attacks. Nobody knows where they’re even coming from…”

“I just came from Yuteng Road, rushed here, and haven’t had a minute to breathe…”

“Whichever bastard did this… deserves hell!”

Maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe just venting his fear.

The firefighter ranted to Jiang He for a while.

Jiang He said awkwardly: “Yeah… what a bastard.”

The firefighter sighed, glanced at the time: “Alright, I’ve got more to handle. The bureau’s short-staffed right now. You’d better hurry back and rejoin your squad.”

Without waiting for Jiang He’s reply, he leapt away, vanishing quickly into the night.

Jiang He stared in the direction he disappeared, his smile fading.

Although Old Jiang had said the Doomsday Declaration wasn’t necessarily bad—that it was like winding the world up with clockwork, awakening a ‘sense of crisis’ early and accelerating Transcendent growth…

Acceleration also meant problems would explode early.

Understanding this, Jiang He naturally couldn’t just rest easy and go home. He turned and hurried back toward the Fire Bureau.

Tonight was destined to be another sleepless night.

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