Chapter 25 – Spatial Ability 空间异能

Lin Yuan stood by the window, his fingers tightly gripping the window frame. His gaze pierced through the hazy rain curtain, looking at the city streets being washed by the downpour. The once bustling neighborhood now resembled a dead city. Occasionally, some flooded vehicles could be seen floating to the side of the road. The strong wind, mixed with rain, lashed at the window, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression.

He let out a soft sigh and turned to look at Cao Yuwei, who was sleeping in the room. His aunt had had a high fever for two days. Her cheeks were an abnormal shade of red, her brows were tightly furrowed, and she mumbled occasionally. Lin Yuan wiped her face with a towel, worried. "With this high fever, hope that nothing bad will happen."

He had tried using the fever - reducing medicine stocked at home, but with little effect. All the ice cubes had also been used up. Lin Yuan held the medicine box, took a deep breath, and said to himself, "In normal times, for this kind of illness, just going to the hospital for a drip would be enough... But now, even the pharmacy downstairs is closed."

The TV in the room was still on, and the news anchor's voice sounded extremely cold and urgent: "Currently, the floods in the Gulf Coast region of Mexico have covered several towns, and the tsunami warning is still in effect. At the same time, the extreme weather in Asia is also intensifying... Experts say that this abnormal weather may be the beginning of the global climate breakdown. Please don't go out and stay safe."

Lin Yuan stared at the screen. The images on the TV showed flooded streets, floating debris, and people evacuating by boat.

He walked back to Cao Yuwei's side, looked at her weak appearance, and gritted his teeth. "Jiuchong Ring, if this continues, she really won't be able to hold on. Do you have any way to help her?"

The Jiuchong Ring replied coldly, "No."

Lin Yuan sighed and whispered, "Now that the doomsday has started, can I let my aunt know about this?"

Jiuchong Ring was silent for a while and finally relented, "Alright, but only give limited hints. Don't reveal too much."

...

Jiang Tianming, wearing a raincoat and tightly gripping a wooden oar in his hand, rowed the small boat with all his might. A strong black dog lay quietly in the boat, its eyes alertly watching the surroundings. Jiang Tianming's home had been flooded up to his waist. Helplessly, he made a simple small boat with the remaining materials at home and, with the dog and supplies, started rowing in the direction of his sister Jiang Yulian's place.

"Little Black, hold on. We're almost at Aunt Yulian's place," Jiang Tianming said as he stroked the black dog's head. His tone was tired yet tenacious. He looked up at the rain, worried. "I wonder how Sister Yulian is."

Jiang Yulian lived in the same community as Lin Yuan, in a 15th - floor apartment. She was a kind - hearted person who often used her experience to teach young people. Although she lived on a high floor and wasn't in danger of being flooded for the time being, Jiang Tianming knew that if the rain continued, his sister might be trapped and run out of resources.

...

Lin Yuan looked out of the window and then down, frowning. Through the rain curtain, he vaguely saw a man rowing a small boat in the direction of the next building.

At this moment, Cao Yuwei on the bed let out a soft cough. Lin Yuan quickly walked to her side. Seeing that she slowly opened her eyes, her expression was still weak, but there was a glimmer of clarity in her eyes.

"You're awake?" Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief and handed her a glass of warm water. "How do you feel?"

Cao Yuwei took the water and took a small sip. Her voice was hoarse. "Much better... But this rain has been falling for too long. It always feels wrong."

Lin Yuan was taken aback when he heard this and hesitated whether to mention some information about the "doomsday." At this moment, a prompt suddenly came from the Jiuchong Ring: "Host, be aware that there is a fluctuation of spatial ability nearby. This will be an opportunity to start sharing information."

Lin Yuan whispered, "Spatial ability fluctuation? You mean...?"

The Jiuchong Ring said, "That's right. Cao Yuwei's physique may awaken some latent ability, allowing her to quickly accept some extraordinary things. You can now appropriately disclose some information, but be careful not to overdo it."

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment and then said softly to Cao Yuwei, "Aunt, don't you think this rain is too abnormal? Even the news has started to remind us to stockpile supplies."

Cao Yuwei looked up at him, her eyes filled with complexity. "I'm not stupid. Of course, I know something's wrong. It could be a natural disaster, or something even worse... Are you hiding something from me?"

Lin Yuan didn't answer directly but said seriously, "No matter what I say next, you must believe me, okay?"

Cao Yuwei was silent for a while and finally nodded.

Lin Yuan raised his head, looked at his aunt, and said slowly and earnestly, "Aunt, actually... This isn't me talking nonsense all of a sudden. Do you remember when I started stockpiling supplies half a year ago? In fact, it was because I had a very strange dream."

He paused and then said, "That dream... was so real that it scared me. In the dream, there was a torrential rain, and the flood washed away the entire city. People struggled to survive in the water, but the most terrifying thing was that after the water receded, the real disaster began. Those drowned bodies, for some reason, suddenly "came to life" and attacked all the living things nearby."

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林远站在窗边,手指紧扣窗框,目光透过模糊的雨幕,看着被大雨冲刷的城市街道.原本热闹的街区,如今宛如死城,偶尔能看到一些被水淹没的车辆漂到路边.狂风夹杂着雨水拍打着窗户,带来一种说不出的压抑感.

他轻叹一声,转身看向房间里昏睡的曹雨薇.小姨已经高烧两天了,脸颊红得不正常,眉头紧锁,嘴里偶尔喃喃自语.林远拿着毛巾帮她擦汗,心中隐隐担忧:"烧成这样,不会出什么事吧?"

他尝试过用家里备用的退烧药,但效果微乎其微.冰块也用尽了.林远握着药盒,深吸了一口气,自言自语道:"如果是平时,这种病去医院打个点滴就好了...可现在,连楼下药店都关门了.

房间里电视机还开着,新闻主播的声音显得异常冰冷而急促:"...目前墨西哥湾沿岸地区的洪水已经覆盖了多座城镇,海啸警报仍在持续.与此同时,亚洲地区的极端天气也在加剧...有专家表示,这次异常天气可能是全球气候崩坏的开端,请大家尽量不要外出,务必注意安全."

林远盯着屏幕,电视上的画面显示了被洪水淹没的街道,漂浮的废弃物,还有人们用船只撤离的场景.

他走回到曹雨薇身边,看着小姨虚弱的模样,咬了咬牙:"九重戒,这么下去她真的会撑不住的.你有没有办法可以帮助她?"

九重戒冷冰冰地回应:"没有."

林远叹气地低语到:"那现在末世开始了,能不能让小姨知道这件事情?"

九重戒沉默了一会儿,终于松口:"好吧,不过只能做有限提示.不要透露太多."

...

江天明戴着雨衣,手里紧握着一根木桨,用力划动小船.船上一条健壮的黑狗安静地趴着,双眼警觉地注视着四周.江天明的家已经被洪水淹到腰间,无奈之下,他用家中仅剩的材料做了一艘简易小船,带着狗和物资开始向姐姐江玉莲所在的方向划去.

"小黑,坚持一下,快到你玉莲阿姨家了." 江天明摸了摸黑狗的头,语气中带着几分疲惫,却也透着一股坚韧.他抬头望了一眼雨幕,眼中多了几分忧虑:"不知道玉莲姐的情况怎么样..."

江玉莲和林远住在同一个小区,第15层的公寓.她是位平日里为人和善,经常用自己的经验教导年轻人.虽然住得高,暂时还不至于被淹,但江天明清楚,若是大雨持续下去,姐姐可能会被困住,资源也会耗尽.

...

林远看着窗外的情况,再往下看,皱起眉头.透过雨幕,隐约看到一个男人划着一艘小船,向着隔壁栋楼的方向前进.

这时,床上的曹雨薇发出一声轻咳.林远赶忙走到她身边,见她缓缓睁开了眼睛,神色依旧虚弱,但目光中透着几分清明.

"你醒了?" 林远松了口气,递过一杯温水,"感觉怎么样?"

曹雨薇接过水,小口地喝了一点,声音沙哑:"好多了...不过,这雨下得也太久了吧,总觉得不对劲."

林远闻言一愣,犹豫着是否要提到一些 "末世" 的信息.这时,九重戒突然传来提示:"宿主注意,有空间异能的波动出现在附近.这将是开启共享信息的契机."

林远低声问:"空间异能的波动?你是说...?"

九重戒: "没错.曹雨薇的体质可能觉醒了某种潜在能力,可以让她迅速接受一些超常的事情.你现在可以适当地透露一些信息,但要把握分寸."

林远沉思片刻,轻声对曹雨薇说道:"小姨,你有没有觉得,这雨下得太反常了?甚至连新闻都开始提示我们囤积物资."

曹雨薇抬头看了他一眼,目光中带着几分复杂:"我不是傻子,当然知道情况不对.可能是天灾,可能是其他更糟的事...你是不是有什么瞒着我?"

林远没有直接回答,而是认真地说道:"无论接下来我说什么,您一定要相信我,好吗?"

曹雨薇沉默了一会儿,最终点了点头.

林远抬起头,看着小姨,语气缓慢而认真忽悠道:"小姨,其实...这不是我突然乱讲的.你还记得半年前我开始囤积物资的时候吗?其实,那是因为我做了一个很奇怪的梦."

他顿了顿道:"那个梦... 真实得让我害怕.梦里,天降暴雨,洪水冲垮了整个城市.人们在水里挣扎求生,但最可怕的是,等水退去后,灾难才真正开始.那些被淹死的人,不知道为什么,竟然重新站了起来,像疯了一样袭击活人."