I write obituaries for the gods

Xileina floated up like a lifeless puppet, and golden chains reappeared from various corners of the hall, hanging her upside down.

“The hub is beginning to house the new core,” the elder brother said, opening the bloodstained Bible and marking it. “Core codename: Katrina.”

"The core has been confirmed..."

“Let the devout paladins prepare,” the elder brother smiled. “We need to instill fear in the world in order to pave the way to the Lord.”

"Then let Super America be the first sacrifice."

"..."

Suspended in the center of the module, Xileina stared blankly at everything in the space station with her golden eyes.

In the corner of her eyes, a glimmer of dark blue flickered.

......

"No obstruction ahead, proceed quickly, we will be responsible for aerial surveillance."

"receive."

Lin Chen looked up at the fighter jets flying rapidly through the clouds, his expression serious.

At this very moment, the First Rapid Response Division was on a speedboat, speeding towards the direction of Yudu.

"Damn it, why is there still no signal!" Lucy cursed. "Our headquarters can't be that unreliable, can it? How could these bastards have taken it down so easily?"

“Impossible,” Jiang Zhengge shook his head. “Hopefully it’s just a communication problem.”

He looked up again at the night sky, trying to find that star.

But he couldn't find it.

Jiang Zhengge didn't know what his elder brother's appearance meant, but his instincts told him that tide Leina was in danger.

But he was just a mortal, bound to the earth by gravity, and he couldn't get to Xileina's side.

Just then, Jiang Zhengge's phone rang.

"Have you received news from headquarters?" Li Zhanyi turned around.

Jiang Zhengge took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and found that it had sent a text message.

The sender was the unknown number that Jiang Zhengge had pinned to the top of his chat list.

Jiang Zhengge's heart skipped a beat: This was the number tide Leina had used to sell him concert tickets when she pretended to be a scalper! It must have bypassed all channels of supervision!

He took a deep breath and opened the text message:

"Hello, we're having trouble selling our concert tickets. They're going to rot in our hands if this keeps up. So, we're thinking of giving them to you for free. Is that alright?"

"Whether you agree or not, it's a free gift! The singer at this concert is quite pitiful; she didn't sell a single ticket, and she didn't have a single audience member..."

"To make your concert experience less stressful, here's a complimentary plane ticket for you! Airport contact number: swq12hda2831..."

You absolutely must come to the concert!

"..."

"What is this?" Li Zhanyi asked, somewhat confused. "The airport's contact number..."

Jiang Zhengge remained silent.

He copied the string of gibberish, opened RBAI's radar map, and pasted it into it.

The map quickly identified the coordinates.

This is a coordinate located deep in the mountains of Baiyin District!

The moment Jiang Zhengge saw these coordinates, his breath seemed to stop.

These coordinates can only be the coordinates of that secret launch site!

That launch site that sent rockets into space through subspace, keeping it a secret from everyone!

This means that tide Leina gave Jiang Zhengge a ticket to go to space.

This text message was clearly sent automatically, which means that Xileina was already aware that she might encounter misfortune.

The eldest brother controlled her, just as he had controlled Triton?

Jiang Zhengge felt his hands trembling slightly.

As if by some strange twist of fate, he pulled out the silver custom PM pistol that Xileina had given him at the Rain City Star Carnival from his coat.

"Take it, it's yours. The coating on this gun is special; it can conceal the internal blue energy signal. Theoretically, it can be filled with whale-sound bullets without being detected by the blue radar. It's quite useful... Use it to assassinate a demigod or something."

Inside the stadium's VIP box, the girl was backed by a curtain of rain.

"Such a small-caliber whale-whistle, it couldn't even kill you, could it?"

"If you shoot close to the heart, it should kill him."

They should be able to kill it.

Did she already choose her second back then?

She had long anticipated that she might become an uncontrollable monster, a threat to Rain City.

So she gave the gun to Jiang Zhengge, and also gave him the address.

"Old Jiang, are you alright?"

Jiang Zhengge snapped out of his daze and found Lin Chen looking back at him.

“I’m fine,” Jiang Zhengge shook his head. “The next goal has been set.”

"What is it?"

"We're going to low Earth orbit to destroy the Black Star platform."

Jiang Zhengge closed his eyes:

“Kill Xileina.”

"..."

For a moment, apart from the sound of the speedboat cutting through the water, there was complete silence.

Everyone knew what this decision meant for Jiang Zhengge—he was going to kill the person he loved most, the demigod who had been both his friend and foe.

Everyone knows how heavy this decision is.

A hand was placed on Jiang Zhengge's shoulder. He looked up and met Lin Chen's eyes.

"Old Jiang, we're here." Lin Chen nodded.

Everyone nodded to Jiang Zhengge, their eyes filled with encouragement and worry.

Looking into everyone's eyes, Jiang Zhengge let out a soft breath.

"Thank you," he said.

Do I really need encouragement from a junior now...?

Looking at Lin Chen, Jiang Zhengge couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The naive boy he once took in now seems to have more of a section chief's demeanor than him.

Perhaps, as tide Leina said, I should really retire sooner.

“We’re crossing the outer four islands,” Lucy exclaimed. “We’re almost in Rain City!”

"Om——"

The speedboat glided out of the archipelago, and the vast ocean came into view.

What followed was a series of crimson bursts exploding in the air.

"Boom! Boom!"

The rain was ignited by the war, flames flickered between buildings, and fighter jets swept across the sky from time to time.

The air defense system seemed to have completely collapsed, and the bombers were indiscriminately dropping bombs on the ground, with streaks of fire shooting into the sky.

The city that once enjoyed peace amidst neon lights has now been transformed into a living hell.

Everyone was stunned by the horrific scene before them.

"How could this be...?" Li Zhanyi murmured softly, "The Foundation and the Investigation Bureau have gone to war?"

“Those are B-2 bombers!” Lucy pointed to the sky. “That’s the air force of the super-Americans!”

"boom------"

As he spoke, a silver light shot into the sky, tearing the B-2 bomber into countless fireballs.

One after another, figures flew into the sky and began to fight in the heavens.

“Super America… Foundation… Bureau of Investigation,” Lin Chen said in a low voice, “They’re all waging war on Rain City’s own soil? But… why?”

"Because the table has already been overturned."

Looking at the war-torn city, Jiang Zhengge's expression was complex.

“Rain has always been a battleground for various powers,” he said. “Now that the foundation has openly declared war, there’s no need to hide the economic and cultural struggles that were once just competition. Guns are more direct and effective than any of those.”

When the illusions concealed by modern civilization recede, the world's true face is once again revealed to everyone.

This is a war in the truest sense.

“There are too many air units; fighters can’t directly enter Rain City,” Black Sword’s voice came through. “Any ideas?”

"We'll be the first to land and establish contact with the Investigation Bureau." Jiang Zhengge pressed his earpiece.

"receive."

"boom----"

Another violent explosion rang out, and as flames shot into the sky, a building collapsed with a deafening roar.

Lin Chen gazed at the smoke and dust rising into the sky, and through the flickering flames, a scene of hell slowly unfolded before him.

The new clothes of civilization have been shed, and the flowers of evil bloom on its chest.

The body had been decomposing for a long time, but it was only discovered today.

Tonight, the tide will recede.

......

Volume Two, The Tide Recedes, The End.

......

Prologue: Gods and Men

"I am like the king of a rainy country,"

Wealthy yet powerless, young yet old.

He mocked those obsequious teachers.

Feeling bored with their dog and other animals.

—Les Fleurs du Mal, Part III: Melancholy

......

"Raskolnikov! Come back! Work time is over! Go back to your cage!"

On the Siberian wilderness, the cold wind howled, and heavy snow fell under a leaden sky.

Velemer Perenov Raskolnikov did not respond to the jailer's calls; he once again raised his pickaxe high and smashed it down on the frozen ground.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

One slap, two slaps, three slaps—the hoe struck the potato field, creating one small pit after another.

Velemil's deep blue eyes remained fixed on the field, completely unaware that the jailer had approached him.

"Suk! Can't you hear me?"

The frozen boots were tucked into Velemer's body, knocking him down into the potato field.

The surrounding hardened criminals burst into laughter. It had become a daily routine for this taciturn old man to be beaten by the guards. No one would refuse to see an arrogant old codger being kicked into the frozen ground and covered in bruises.

Velemer got up, glanced at the jailer, and remained indifferent.