My Future Refreshes Weekly

Chapter 25: What Exactly Happened That Year?

There was a saying: “With a sharp weapon in hand, the intent to kill would naturally arise.”

In the Transcendent Era, too many people held sharp weapons, yet were bound by rules. Even if they suffered humiliation or rage in daily life, they could only swallow it down, choking on their own bitter fruit.

Until the Arc Light Organization broke the authority of the Transcendent Council, shattered the rules, and left cracks in order itself.

The thoughts suppressed in many people’s hearts naturally began to take root, sprouting and gradually growing.

However, order had not completely collapsed. They still harbored fear toward the Council.

To suppress that fear, and at the same time to conceal their own identities—

Those out-of-control Transcendent thugs would all do the same thing without prior arrangement—

Put on a mask, and become 【Arc Light】!

“Perhaps the very first Transcendent thugs only wanted to hide their identities, borrowing the tiger’s might while being a fox.”

“But this practice successfully awakened the citizens’ fear of the Arc Light Organization, causing Central State City, already in chaos, to completely slip into the abyss.”

“When people fell into fear, they no longer cared whether these were truly a terrorist organization—or rather, these people were Transcendent thugs to begin with, no different from the Arc Light Organization.”

“After the incident of May 24, people discovered that as long as one wore a mask, one could freely unleash the evil within.”

“And so, crime rates in Central State City skyrocketed. Evildoers were everywhere, 【Arc Light】 was everywhere.”

White Crane narrated calmly.

Jiang He felt a chill in his heart: “Was there no way to stop this?”

“You could, with foresight, prevent the incident of May 24 in advance. But you cannot change the human heart.” White Crane said.

“This is 【Loss of Control】.”

Jiang He fell into silence.

White Crane continued his account.

“On May 28, Du Lingwei recovered. I followed her to the Fire Department to train. With the source of Fire Seed, my stagnant strength finally began to grow.”

“On June 3, I successfully broke through the energy-level shackle and became an F-rank Transcendent.”

“During this period, Central State City grew ever more chaotic. The Security Bureau lacked manpower, and the Fire Department was under immense pressure. Rescue operations often turned into suppression operations, sometimes even assisting the Security Bureau in handling violent incidents…”

“Many people were injured. My abilities also began to gradually show their effect.”

White Crane’s words were brief, but they conveyed the chaos of the times.

The Fire Department was under so much pressure that even he, just newly promoted to F-rank, had been conscripted.

When Jiang He later followed Du Lingwei for training at the Fire Department, he would likely encounter the same situation.

Of course, his situation would be much better than White Crane’s.

Not only was his strength greater, but he also possessed a Transcendent Profession of the Word-Spirit path. As long as he used Word-Spirit, he could grow stronger.

He could treat it as cultivation.

White Crane paused at this point.

After so many years, recalling the scenes afterward, his emotions still rippled faintly.

“This situation continued for ten days.”

“Until June 13, 2029, when the Transcendent organization Arc Light reappeared in Central State.”

“This time, it was the real Arc Light Organization. They rampaged through the city without restraint, dragged out many impostors and tortured them publicly, and clashed with the Security Bureau.”

“The battle spread across many areas, and even Lidu Community was destroyed in the fighting.”

“At that time, I was at the Fire Department, so I was spared.”

“In the end, the newly appointed Mayor Zhong Honglian struck, completely annihilating these Transcendent thugs, displaying her authority.”

“This incident also utterly enraged the Transcendent Council. The S-rank 【Prophet】 personally intervened, fully uncovering the identities of all Arc Light members. Overnight, the entire Arc Light Organization was uprooted, every member slain.”

“Arc Light became history.”

If one only heard this part, Jiang He would have believed the Transcendent Council had truly acted.

But recalling White Crane’s earlier mockery, he gained some clarity.

If the so-called 【Arc Light Organization】 itself was nothing more than the product of some S-rank Transcendent—that is, a power struggle among the Council’s upper echelon—

Then clearly, they had now realized they had lost control, and so attempted to restore the Council’s prestige through Arc Light’s destruction.

Could that truly work?

“What meaning was there in this?” White Crane sneered.

“Even if 【Arc Light】 was destroyed, order had already cracked. The loss of control did not end.”

“The situation in Central State City improved somewhat, but the chaos never disappeared—merely retreating underground.”

“In the following months, there were still frequent rampages.”

“Of course, for me, things eased up somewhat.”

“On June 20, the school reopened. I returned to the honors class. With resources supporting me, my strength began to grow rapidly.”

“E-rank, D-rank…”

“Until February 2030, when the 【Cube Incident】 occurred in Central State City.”

“This incident originated from an S-rank Transcendent with a space talent. In one event, he developed a mental illness, fell into self-destructive and anti-social tendencies, and thus conducted a ‘martyrdom’ in Central State City.”

“He proclaimed himself Arc Light’s successor, vowing to shatter the filthy order built by the Council. Directly sacrificing his own life, he forced his talent into loss of control.”

“The space of the entire Central State City was cut apart, twisted, destroyed—like a cube.”

“The incident was resolved in the end, yet it allowed buried darkness to sprout anew.”

“In April 2030, a terrorist organization calling itself 【Darkest】 appeared in Hongfu City, launching a terror attack, creating a bloodbath that shocked the world.”

“Although this organization was eradicated by the Council at lightning speed, in the following years, global crime rates once again soared, with all sorts of Transcendent thugs emerging one after another.”

“In January 2032, the Transcendent terrorist organization 【Wolfpack】 appeared.”

“The Wolf King of the Wolfpack Organization possessed an extremely elusive S-rank talent, shielding himself from the Prophet’s sight. He slew vast numbers of Council forces across various regions, utterly trampling the Council’s authority.”

“From then on, all manner of Transcendent terrorist organizations sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain.”

“And in the eyes of these Transcendent thugs, Central State City, where Arc Light’s first attack took place, became a sacred land.”

“Various thugs came to this city on ‘pilgrimage.’ Various crimes unfolded within this city.”

White Crane paused, then said.

“By 2037, the Central State City we lived in had become the worst city in the world. Transcendent crimes overflowed, terrorist organizations rampaged everywhere.”

“In such an environment, I became a B-rank Transcendent, as well as an ‘enforcer’ of this city.”

So this was the future of Central State City?

A mad 【City of Crime】?

Jiang He truly found it hard to believe that the origin of it all lay merely in a single terror attack.

White Crane did not care whether Jiang He believed. He was merely recounting his own experiences.

Taking 2037 as a turning point, the story afterward became simpler.

“Because I was an S-rank talent holder, even at B-rank I possessed extraordinary strength, enough to face numerous Transcendent crimes and earn merits.”

“In 2040, with resources earned from those merits, I broke through to become an A-rank Transcendent. I changed to multiple S-rank Professions including 【Blazing Red Lotus】, gaining immense combat power. In just a few short years, I became the foremost person below S-rank.”

“Together with Du Lingwei, I guarded Central State City, working hard to govern the chaos of this city.”

“In 2049, I broke through to S-rank Transcendent, truly acquiring top-tier strength, and became a member of the Transcendent Council.”

“With me presiding, Central State and the surrounding cities gradually regained order and peace.”

Jiang He gave a slight nod.

Though things had been chaotic at first, once White Crane broke through to S-rank, the situation clearly improved.

This also fit Jiang He’s own understanding of himself.

He was someone who liked peace and order. Once cultivated and grown, he too should stand on the side of order.

But then, why would things later become…

In his bewildered gaze, White Crane said:

“In 2066, the Prophet foretold the world’s destruction.”

“That same year, I destroyed the world.”

“…??”

So, what exactly happened that year?