A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 365 Seven Days of Time Chaos

"Ladies and gentlemen, what we see before us is the Golden Gate Bridge, which was built during the San Francisco Gold Rush..." As always, tour guide Mary enthusiastically and skillfully introduced this attraction to the tourists.

"Oh, God!"

"Is that... is that a rope? Or what?"

"I didn't take any drugs this morning, so how come...?"

Mary sighed. The tourists' behavior this time was terrible. Why were they making such a racket just to see the Golden Gate Bridge?

I may think this in my heart, but I can't say it out loud. I still need to do my job well.

With a professional smile honed from six years as a tour guide, Mary concocted a lie with a charming grin: "Ladies and gentlemen, I understand your excitement. I was just as excited when I first saw the Golden Gate Bridge."

“But…” Mary said, turning slightly to show half the bridge and half the tourists, “I still hope that… Oh God’s stockings! Golden, Golden Gate Bridge? This is the Golden Gate Bridge?!”

Mary's next words caught in her throat, like the cork of an old kettle being sucked in by air pressure. Her pupils suddenly contracted, and what was reflected in her eyes was the steel skeleton of the bridge, twisted and deformed like a melting candle, finally replaced by rough wooden structures and thick hemp ropes.

There were even several workers dressed in work clothes from the last century hammering rivets into the wooden structure, just like the early days of the Golden Gate Bridge construction!

The tour group felt a chill run down their spines, and many vehicles traveling on the bridge also braked suddenly, filling the bridge with a creaking sound.

Clearly, the drivers immediately noticed something was wrong with the Golden Gate Bridge and dared not continue driving.

However, as hundreds of drivers quickly opened their doors and got out of their cars, preparing to escape with their feet on the ground, they were suddenly struck by the fact that everything was still so modern and sturdy, and the Golden Gate Bridge had returned to its familiar appearance.

Wooden structure, rough ropes, 20th-century workers—all vanished without a trace; it all seems like an illusion.

But as the tour group and the dozens of drivers who had just crossed the bridge stared at each other, everyone knew deep down that this was not just their imagination.

Afterwards, traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge was completely blocked, and many vehicles were abandoned on the bridge by their owners. No one dared to stay there anymore, let alone drive away.

Major TV stations and social media platforms flocked to film the event or try to capitalize on its popularity, but no problems were found.

When the news reached the San Francisco municipal government, the staff there clearly knew more: "Damn devils, no, I mean dragons and, the hybrids, right? What have they done now?"

"Immediately contact the thirteen North American companies. No matter what they are doing, make sure they understand that they should stop making such a fuss. We don't know how much effort it will take to suppress this huge public opinion."

"Fuck, here we go again. Someone called the police in the San Francisco docklands saying they saw thousands of vintage sailboats docked, filled with the cargo holds of gold prospectors from the past. What are these people up to?!"

When the thirteen North American families received intelligence from San Francisco, they were powerless to do anything. All the main elites of the families had gone to Tokyo, and the remaining hybrids also had to protect the family's important locations, such as the vault, treasure vault, and alchemical material storage, which could not be left unattended.

Putting aside whether the remaining members of the clan can solve the problems in San Francisco after they go there, even if they can, what if one of their families gets robbed?
That would be a huge loss; the thirteen North American companies couldn't afford it. As for San Francisco, it has nothing to do with them anyway.

Therefore, the thirteen companies in North America informed the San Francisco authorities that they would need to wait a few days before they could go there to investigate and handle the matter.

Various historical artifacts from the past appeared, causing chaos in a few areas of San Francisco. Due to the development of the modern internet, the news spread rapidly and could not be deleted.

The story became increasingly fantastical, with some saying it was a divine revelation, foreshadowing the collapse of the architectural marvel, the Golden Gate Bridge; others saying San Francisco was about to become great again, with gold prospectors returning, indicating that more gold mines would be discovered in California in the future.

Rumors flew everywhere, and people from all over the United States flocked to the place, booking their plane and train tickets to visit.

Under normal circumstances, when faced with such a bizarre turn of events, a normal person would either flee San Francisco quickly or hoard supplies and stay in their basement.

In summary, one should respect ghosts and spirits but keep a distance from them, maintaining a certain distance from these mysterious and unknown things to avoid getting involved and suffering unexpected accidents.

But the talented people of America always manage to pull off some unexpected surprises.

For example, the travel agency where Mary works hastily launched a "Century Shuttle" service, claiming that for an extra fee, tourists could see the bridge's construction history from the last century. In other words, it's a last-minute price increase to let tourists see the Golden Gate Bridge. If you're lucky, you might see the bridge being built; if you're unlucky... The final interpretation right belongs to the travel agency.

For example, at the San Francisco docks, rumors spread that mooring ships in the same spots where gold miners once sailed would bring good luck and lead to the discovery of gold mines, causing berthing fees to skyrocket in a justifiable way.

As for the reasons behind these changes, who cares? Anyway, the capitalists don't care about any of that; they just want to fill their own pockets with more US dollars.

San Francisco authorities urgently contacted a large group of scholars and experts to conduct research, but before the experts could assemble, San Francisco faced even more chaos the following day.

Robert bid farewell to his wife with a heavy heart and drove to work. He had read yesterday's news and online comments.

Yesterday's strange occurrences in San Francisco—from the Golden Gate Bridge to the dock area—have begun to resemble supernatural events. This once-familiar city is gradually becoming strange and dangerous. Last night, Robert and his wife bought a lot of survival supplies, preparing to take a week off. However, his vampire boss refused to grant his leave, insisting that Robert come to work today.

They even said that San Francisco is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, and they must capitalize on this opportunity to make a fortune.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Robert cursed, "Shit! Die, you old vampire, still thinking about money at a time like this... oh no!"

People? Why did several young people suddenly appear in front of the road? Robert's mind went blank, and his body instinctively slammed on the brakes.

"Squeak!"

Fortunately, Robert wasn't driving fast and easily brought the car to a stop, less than two meters away from the young men.

Damn it! Just as Robert was about to roll down the window and stick his head out to scold these reckless young people, the car jolted violently, and a sudden push interrupted Robert's actions.

Robert's head hit the driver's side window, and he winced in pain. Looking back, he saw that a car had rear-ended him.

This time, it was no longer limited to a specific area, but rather appeared randomly on streets throughout the city, with multiple 'people' dressed in disco-style bell-bottoms and sporting afros, resembling figures from the 70s.

They crossed the road recklessly, startling car after car into stopping abruptly, resulting in multiple rear-end collisions like Robert's.

However, these special 'people' didn't care, or rather, they were completely unaware of the car accident, and were even humming music and dancing loudly on the road.

These "people" from the last century, men and women, strolled through the streets and alleys. Their playing and dancing in the street was considered well-mannered and did not disturb the peace.

Some uncivilized individuals were seen firing guns indiscriminately in the street, frightening many San Francisco residents.

Some people screamed, some recorded videos, and it gradually turned into a commotion.

Even though the San Francisco police rushed to the scene, they ultimately found nothing, because those people from the last century had already disappeared.

This time, there were numerous witnesses. It wasn't just one witness on one street, but hundreds of thousands, even millions of witnesses on ten or a hundred streets, who personally witnessed this bizarre scene.

Public opinion erupted once again and spread further. More and more San Francisco residents learned about this, and some smart people began to buy plane tickets to temporarily leave their hometowns. Some rioters also took to the streets to vandalize and loot, saying that this was a sign of the end of the world.

The small-scale riots were quickly suppressed. Meanwhile, experts specially hired by San Francisco arrived in the area and appeared on San Francisco television.

In a calm tone, he told the audience who were interested in the matter that everything that had happened in San Francisco recently was due to a collective illusion.

Experts implied that the incident was most likely linked to certain gangs, as they suspected that the gangs' open burning of large quantities of hallucinogenic chemicals caused the collective hallucinations in multiple individuals.

Otherwise, what else can the experts say? Can they really say that the supernatural exists?

Some people believed the experts' 'scientific' explanations, while others dismissed them, and the third day passed amidst this chaos.

Public transportation in San Francisco was severely affected. As one subway train was running, all the passengers suddenly found themselves traveling on 19th-century tracks. The view outside the windows was no longer a dark underground tunnel, but rather a desolate, undeveloped wilderness.

The train braked suddenly, coming to a complete stop. Sparks flew as the subway car rubbed against the rails, producing a terrifying roar that sent the passengers into a frenzy of screams.

As the plane, packed with passengers, prepared to land, the pilot was horrified to discover that the airport had transformed into a 19th-century landscape, with modern tracks faintly visible on the runway. The dramatic change in the surrounding environment made him too afraid to land.

If the riots of the previous two days only generated public attention and caused a few minor traffic accidents, then today's unrest has endangered the lives of hundreds of people.

Now the public truly realized that San Francisco had a big problem!

Experts continue to emphasize calm, saying that a top-notch scientific team has been assembled to conduct in-depth investigations and scientific research, and that citizens only need to remain calm and wait. However, their voices are becoming increasingly weak because no one is listening.

Many citizens left the city by bicycle overnight, not daring to take any means of transportation.

As for what to do with their jobs after fleeing overnight? Many San Francisco residents chose to block their bosses' phone numbers; what's more important than their own lives than going to work?

Tourists who were initially excited about the adventure cancelled their trips, fearing they wouldn't be able to find their plane at San Francisco's airport. This unexpectedly brought a sudden lull in the workload for tour guide Mary, who had been working much harder than usual.

The entire city of San Francisco was plunged into a terrifying shutdown. Prices began to soar, people began to evacuate, and panic spread uncontrollably.

Moreover, on the fourth and fifth days, the chaos of time became even more severe, and San Francisco became a floating island in the river of time, a living relic formed by the accumulation of errors from all eras.

(End of this chapter)