If I don't have money to go to college, I can only go to slay the dragon.

Revelation 20:7

At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will come out to deceive all the nations on the four sides of the earth, even Gog and Magog, so that they will gather for war, and their number will be as the sand of the sea.

—

Black yellow sand, countless yellow sand, the wind is no longer whimpering and Xu, the wind has been given a new voice, and even a new shape, they are caressing on the dusky sand dunes like women The light yellow soft gauze covering the face is like a flowing wave rising and falling along the high and low piles of sand.

When Su Xiaoqiang realized that she was still "alive", she took a step forward, and then stepped back a few steps as if she had regained her soul. The feeling under her feet was not the grip of the concrete ground, but the deep yellow sand. Out of control and confused, she fell backwards and fell onto a piece of soft gravel. The surging and indescribable smell filled her nostrils from all directions and almost suffocated her.

Because she was lying on her back on the ground, her eyes only fell on the sky. The only thing she could see in her field of vision was the oppressive yellow-brown color, like diluted blood staining the works using the sky as paper. , the sky took on a physical form because of its color, as if it was about to press down anytime and anywhere, sticking heavily to her cheek.

She struggled to get up, holding the ground with both hands and touching the hot yellow sand, like a person trapped in a quagmire trying to save herself. Although the sand was not deep enough to submerge her, she also seemed to be submerged by sand and water. When it reaches the neck, I feel panicked.

She tried her best to stand up, stand firm, then raised her head and looked forward instinctively. She wanted to know clearly where she was, when she was now, and where the people she loved and cherished were. But the moment her eyes fell to the horizon, she froze, as if she had turned into a statue and was frozen in place, unable to move.

The sky of this world is dark yellow, it may be dawn or afternoon, but now I can't tell the difference. The huge sunset hangs at the end of the horizon, and the yellow sand connects the sky and the earth, as if the whole world is in a desert. The leaning building stood in the distance in the sky, like a dead giant buried half in the loess. They lowered their heads and mourned the withering of the steel forest. The sunlight was their blood, tilting bit by bit until it drained away. The last drop fell into darkness.

There is no doubt that this is a city, the city she is familiar with, but this city has fallen into the ocean of sand. In the sand and dust, the steel giants only have their arms sticking out of the water, and everything is submerged. , endless, deliberate.

She stood in the yellow sand and looked around in confusion and fear. She saw familiar Chinese-shaped buildings, but only the sharp tips of these buildings were left in the yellow sand, but she could vaguely tell that this was Shilan Middle School.

Yes, Shilan Middle School, the ivory tower in the coastal city where the elite students grew up, she recognized it, and there was a voice in her heart telling her that this was that place, the hometown where she had stayed for three years, and the city was also that place. It’s a city, and the school is also that school.

In a daze, she slowly recognized this place based on the corner of the building where yellow sand was faintly exposed. Now the yellow sand has filled up the plastic runway of the playground, the rows of green cypress trees, and even the tall teaching The buildings were also flooded. But she could still vaguely see the tallest arch at the school gate, an arc protruding from the yellow sand, and a sign erected beside the arc. On it, she could only see the vague "Shi" with its head raised mottled out of the yellow sand. The only characters left, and even the word "official", are scholars, and the rest have disappeared, just like the students in this school.

What's going on, what happened? The city of Shilan Middle School. No, what happened in this world?

Huge doubts swept through her mind like a storm, and a storm really came.

The wind suddenly blew, bringing with it a rustling sound, ranging from slight to violent. Countless yellow sands were swept up by the wind and hit the remaining outcropping buildings, making a fine and trivial sound, blowing across the empty sand area. The face of the girl who stood blankly on the empty sand felt like a pain like an ant bite. She couldn't help but raise her hands to cover her face and squat down to avoid this sudden incident. A strong wind is coming.

Fear and helplessness filled her chest. She looked around to find shelter from the wind, but all the teaching buildings in her memory were submerged by yellow sand, so she could only walk out with difficulty. She relied on her memory to pass through He walked past the sand dunes that were once the playground, stepped through the college gate that left only an arc, and came outside. But so what, there is still yellow sand outside, the city is no longer a city, the streets are no longer streets, everywhere you see are long stretches of yellow sand and dead buildings.

Suddenly, the wind stopped.

The trivial sounds in the ears suddenly fell into an arc like a person who committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. After the tiny splash of water caused by the last grain of sand falling to the ground, everything fell into silence. Su Xiaoqiang's hand covering his mouth and nose paused for dozens of seconds. For a few seconds, she gently let go. The light passed through the seam of her hands and shone into her eyes. Her retinas gradually showed a grotesque, strange, performance art, which made the soul fall into deathly silence. picture.

If the steel city is like a giant that drowned in the sea of ​​yellow sand, then floating on the water now are the ants that once lived in the steel jungle. They are now standing on the yellow sand, densely packed, with different shapes, and their bodies are pure white. In the boundless sea of ​​sand, the innocent wax is either prostrate, upright, kneeling, or reaching out into the distance, as if praying for something or fearing something.

Their directions are all the same, east, and they are worshiping toward the east, just like pilgrims.

So Su Xiaoqiang looked further east. There was a tower to the east, not the towering Pearl Tower in her memory. Now she could even see the Pearl Tower that should have been blocked by the city because of the yellow sand. The ground was raised, so now she could see at a glance only half of the sharp points buried in the sand in the distance.

To the east of the tower, there should be the sea. The Pearl Tower is a coastal building, but now the sea has been filled in by endless sand. The vast sea of ​​sand can't be seen to the edge at a glance.

This scene really makes people think that there was a heavy rain in this city and this world once upon a time, but what fell from the sky was not rain, but endless yellow sand, until the city was submerged, the sea was filled up, and evaporated All the water was gone, leaving only this doomsday-like scene.

If there is a disaster, there must be a miracle.

There is a miracle, and that is the majestic black shadow that reaches into the clouds on the yellow sand sea. To the east is the tower, not the Pearl Tower, but the truly majestic pyramid that stretches straight into the sky and makes people fearful.

She is so majestic that you can't see the top of her when you look up. You can only see the brown-yellow clouds that have swallowed up the tower, surging and seeming to be licking the body of the pyramid. One side of her body falls on the endless The sand sea is like a wall reaching the sky. Up, down, left and right are infinity, infinite death and majesty that makes people worship.

Su Xiaoqiang stood blankly in the city submerged in yellow sand. The huge red sunset behind her provided a blood-like light source for everything, illuminating the brown-red end of the world.

She looked at the giant thing beyond the limit of imagination on the ocean of sand in the distance. In her comparison, the wonders of the world that humans were once proud of looked so weak and pitiful. Every pyramid where humans worked hard was just a piece of her square. Bricks, tens of thousands, trillions of square bricks are stacked on top of each other, constantly going up and up, to build this myth, this Tower of Babel that is not the Tower of Babel.

After the great flood, the first rainbow appeared in the sky. God came over and said: "I put the rainbow in the cloud. This will be a sign of my covenant with the earth. When I make the cloud cover the earth, there will be a rainbow." In the clouds I will remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no longer overflow to destroy any living creature of all flesh.”

The flood has arrived, but there is no rainbow or living creatures of flesh and blood. The world seems to have come to an end, and she is the last traveler in this world.

Under the dark and oppressive sky, she walked in the dim apocalyptic city, surrounded by white wax statues on both sides. When the wind blew, they dropped white ash like the embers of a volcano. Su Xiaoqiang didn't know how they were formed. , but they did not question their identities during their lifetime.

She passed two statues standing together. There was a gap of tens of centimeters between them, and an arm was also missing. It can be imagined that if the arm had not been covered by the yellow sand, they should be holding together, probably promising They are not separated through life and death, and what separates them in the end is not life and death, but the natural wind, sand and time.

There is a statue of a man raising his hand towards the east, as if to block something, but the power swallowed him up like floods and storms, leaving behind stalactite-like spikes on his arms and sides, which can be judged by the power. It came from the east, and it was overwhelming everything.

There are two slightly shorter statues in front. No, it's one, and the other is squatting. It should be a weak female body squatting and holding a small child, comforting him and protecting him before the end, telling him that everything will get better. Yes, the child was ignorant, maybe crying, maybe not. Looking at the world-destroying light that lit up in the distance was like watching a firework.

There are old people, young people, and children among the statues. Their faces have been worn out by the wind and sand, but what cannot be destroyed are their past stories, the last images and images left before that unknown disaster. A frightening story about humanity's dim glory, a story that sends chills down the spine.

Su Xiaoqiang walked over step by step. The more she moved forward, the harder it became. She was walking in a sea of ​​white trees. Those who were once living humans like her had now become statues. Indescribable emotions rose from her chest, and were suppressed by the fear and helplessness. She didn't know why she was here, and what all this meant. She just kept walking forward, as if there was something. urging her to move forward until she reaches her final destination.

Half an hour, maybe more, if this is a dream, then this dream is too long. She walked to the Black Prince Building, which was once the tallest in the coastal city. Like the Pearl Tower, this dark building only had a few dozen floors above the yellow sand. The incomplete glass curtain wall reflected on the yellow sand. The girl's appearance, this was the first time that she could clearly see herself in this nightmare.

In the dream, she was wearing a dark green school uniform. She remembered this school uniform, this Kassel College uniform. She remembered more clearly where she was before she came to this world and who she was communicating with. Nian, yes Lin Nian, she couldn't find him here, then this was a nightmare, a real, absurd nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.

She stood in front of the glass curtain wall in a daze, looking at herself inside as if looking at someone else. Never before had she felt that the people in the glass curtain wall were so strange, as if they should not appear in such a bizarre and absurd place. in the scene.

The person in the glass moved, but Su Xiaoqiang did not move.

No, what moved was not the person in the glass, but what was inside the building behind the glass. It was a human figure. When Su Xiaoqiang stared at his own reflection in the glass in a daze, he happened to coincide with the girl's reflection inside, but Su Xiaoqiang discovered his existence the moment he started moving!

"Who?" Su Xiaoqiang took a step back and was about to shout out in fear as if reflexively. But at this moment, a more turbulent wave drowned her words, and the roar came with strong wind.

It was a shrill tearing sound that made the wind roar. With the sound of explosions and huge shadows, Su Xiaoqiang looked back and saw a huge shadow coming from the red sun that occupied most of the sky in the west of the world. His wings were like clouds covering the sky, almost blocking all of Su Xiaoqiang's sight of the sky. The graceful and ancient body was full of endless power, and the black scales with profound patterns reflected the boundless yellow sand world, and Those eyes are the apocalyptic scene of lava!

He came carrying the doomsday, sweeping through the roar and violent winds of supersonic booms. His wingspan covered the entire city. He swept through the air and carried behind him a sweeping black sandstorm, overwhelmingly engulfing everything. . Faced with this desperate disaster, Su Xiaoqiang threw herself on the ground and covered her mouth, nose and head as much as possible.

The moment before she was swallowed up, the thing that passed by a thousand meters high in the sky lowered its head and glanced at the ground. A black sandstorm roared past, and thousands of white statues shattered into powder, along with the vast city. Countless buildings creaked and collapsed amidst the roaring sounds, like sand sculptures collapsing and raising countless dust. The whole city and the whole world surrendered under His black wings like ants.

He didn't see anything in the black sandstorm, but for a moment he turned away his sight and rushed towards his throne, the miraculous tower on the sand sea in the far east.

It took half an hour for the black sandstorm to extinguish, and the city fell into deathly silence again. The water level of the yellow sand rose again, and only four or five floors of the original dozens of floors of the Black Prince Building were left.

Nowadays, the girl is no longer seen on the streets outside. She may be dead, or she may be submerged in the yellow sand and suffocated.

Everything passed in silence, and the end of the world did not collapse because of the girl's passing, as if this was not a simple dream.

There was a clicking sound, as clear and sharp as a silver bottle exploding, harsh and abrupt.

The glass curtain wall on the top floor of the Black Prince Building shattered, and glass shards fell from high altitude and spilled into the sand. The explosion was particularly harsh in the deserted city, but it was quickly and silently drowned out by the desolation of the sand. .

Behind the shattered glass curtain wall, a thin figure stood at the window of a high-rise building. His scarred eyes looked down at the sandy street.

The whole world seems to only have room for one person to appear. It was Su Xiaoqiang before, and now it is him. In the far east, the pyramid of gods and miracles is hidden in the vast clouds. The red sun and blood are swaying, dragging his shadow in the darkness behind him. in the floor.

"We don't seem to have been discovered by Him." Suddenly a woman's voice sounded from behind him, breaking the strange silence.

A woman with long dark red hair and armor walked out of the shadows on the floor, "We can't stay outside for too long, His eagles and dogs are all over the ground, and they will find us sooner or later."

"He glanced at the ground just now. Maybe he discovered us but didn't bother to kill us all?" Someone else said in the darkness, and at the same time, several figures of different heights but extremely heavy walked out.

It is not difficult to guess that they are the real last travelers in this doomsday land.

"The war has not started yet. Don't shake the morale of the army first. Shouldn't you Japanese pay more attention to the spirit of 'jade breaking'? Sometimes I always wonder whether you are an authentic Japanese." A man with a slight Henan accent The voice sounded faintly, "I kind of miss the days of fighting side by side with the Emperor of Japan. At least he can only draw his sword against the enemy instead of saying depressing words that are timid in the face of battle."

"Hey, hey, we are still some distance away from the Great Pyramid. We haven't arrived yet. Are you sure there will be internal strife now?" There was a frivolous voice that was not serious and was trying to smooth things over.

"Shut up, everyone, this is the last chance. This is our only chance to get close to the Kingdom of God. Too many people have died on the way from Japan." The woman whispered, "Remember that the principal was in Shanghai Did you say that when you died in the landing battle?"

"There is no belief in moving forward. It's just that we don't go over there, but pass here." The first man said softly, and then he suddenly laughed softly, "But... we really still have the so-called progress. Faith?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was suddenly lifted up by a companion beside him who had not spoken a word, and slammed into the wall beside him, making a loud noise and shaking off countless mottled pieces of chalk. This behavior caused a stir on the floor. Everyone looked at each other, but no one tried to stop him.

"Eriyi." The woman whispered, "Let him down. We don't have many people now. You should know that he has not lost his faith. Among us, he may be the last one."

The girl wearing a dark red combat uniform who lifted up the man grabbed the man's collar with her right hand, exerting a terrifying force that was inconsistent with her age and appearance. Countless cracks spread on the wall behind the man, and those dark red pupils She stared motionlessly at the man's dim eyes, but the other man just looked sideways and did not make eye contact with her.

After a few seconds, she let go, and the man on the wall fell down and sat on the floor covered in white ashes.

"Sooner or later it will be over, this team will be over sooner or later!" The frivolous voice couldn't help but sigh and began to add insult to injury, continuing to bring the atmosphere to the bottom, "If I had known, I would have followed the vice principal and the group of cowards from the equipment department and ran away with oil on their soles. The Spine of the World has taken refuge, why do I have to come to this death squad to replenish my balance?"

"Genji Brothers"

The woman said, her voice not loud but it attracted everyone's attention, including the owner of the frivolous voice.

"Master of the Inuyama family, master of the Fuma family, master of the Sakurai family, and master of the Ryoma family."

"Rector, Professor Guderian, Professor Manstein, Minister Schneider"

"Chu Zihang, Xia Mi, Mandy Gonzalez, Veleva Helsinki, Lancelot, Susie, Zero"

She read the names one by one, and the expressions on everyone's faces changed differently every time she read a name. Until finally, the man who had been silent by the window gently moved his fingers on his trouser leg.

"Okay." A frivolous voice said suddenly.

"Okay." After a few seconds of silence, he sighed again, "Stop talking."

"We are always standing here for something." The woman whispered, "This is our belief in moving forward. The principal finally taught us these principles when he rushed into the dragon tide on the Bund with an alchemy bomb to turn on time zero; Chu Zihang and Xia Mi died in front of the resurrected remains of the three monarchs, buying the last time for the academic faction to retreat and teaching us what we have forgotten; Mandy Gonzalez used life reading to give him the ability to reach the red The opportunity of the well; Vileva, Susie, and Lancelot used the alchemical matrix as fuel in front of Lu Shen's engine to carry out the final human fire. There are too many, too many things that can't be said. Faith? Predecessors Our faith is our faith. If we have gone before, we must keep moving forward, because we will never forget the faith of moving forward.”

Every time she said a word, the heads in the room lowered lower, but the Japanese man in the corner looked up at the ceiling, the emotion in his eyes unchanged.

"The vice-principal is deciphering the documents in the Great Library to find the final wedge on the road to becoming a god. Our task is to go to the final place to find him, then convince him, and finally bring him back to our side. This is the only way we can reverse the situation There is hope for the ending." She said, "More people may die in this process, but if we don't do this, the beginning of a new era will really be settled."

"New era?"

Some people silently looked out the window of the broken glass curtain wall, the year-round brown sky and the endless wild sand. At the same time, in other parts of the world, there were rivers of ice veins connecting the sky and the earth, and magma torrents surging into the sea. All kinds of doomsday scenes of destruction are being staged. If this is the so-called new era, will the moment the dust settles be the moment when mankind becomes history?

In the end, everyone's eyes couldn't help but fall on the glass-walled window. The man who had remained silent during the discussion was wearing a smart black combat uniform and carrying a huge antique-like weapon on his back. Box, but his back was as straight as a gun stuck in the back of his clothes. The wind and sand blew up the hem of his clothes. From beginning to end, he silently watched the endless yellow sand street without any emotion.

"Lu Mingfei." The woman called out his name.

The man slowly looked back at the woman with long dark red hair and nodded gently, "Sister, I'm fine."

"Just before He passed by, you said you saw a figure on the street?" the woman whispered, "This is already the outskirts of the Kingdom of God. Who would appear in a place like this? Could it be the group from the Old Secret Party? Remains? Want to worship the new god and become a vassal?"

"Probably not." The man shook his head and looked back at the street, the deserted land of yellow sand. "I saw a very familiar person."

"A familiar person? Someone from the secret party?" the blond man asked in a low voice.

"No." The man shook his head gently, "It's an acquaintance who has been dead for a long time."

"People from before the catastrophe?" the Japanese man sitting against the wall said softly, "I can probably guess who you are talking about. Since you know she is dead, how could you see her?"

"If she hadn't died, maybe this operation would have been the key." The blond man whispered.

The red-haired girl, who had not said a word from the beginning until now, pursed her lips slightly, and her eyes showed a little bit of mourning and reminiscence.

"Are you sure you saw her? You are the one with the most superior blood among us, and you are also the one who has never passed through the Nibelung alchemy technology. It should be impossible for you to have hallucinations under his dragon power." The woman said lowly. Said loudly.

"I don't know," the man said, "but I did see her."

"There are always strange things happening after the Red Well Incident, including this one. The vice-principal is still studying how to reactivate the monsters under the ice to become the bodyguards of the new Watt Alheim." A frivolous voice Said with a sigh.

"Maybe." The man looked at the yellow sand in the sky as if he was recalling the horrific scene when the catastrophe occurred at the mouth of the well, but after a while he slowly withdrew his gaze and no longer remembered it.

The huge bloody sun in the distance was about to set on the horizon. The last ray of dawn jumped over the endless sand dunes and shone on the scar on his cheek. He lowered his eyes and straightened the heavy sword box behind his back. He walked towards the crowd of companions and said calmly, "Let's go." Well, we still have unfinished business to do.”