The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Yu Qing looked at the scene before him: a stunning spy who had just used every means to become his "regular" bride, and a "former" who was kept in the dark but unexpectedly played a key role. He suddenly felt that keeping Rosie around might be very beneficial for balancing and controlling Zhen Mi.

So he deliberately put on a stern face and said to Rosie, "As long as you behave yourself and stop causing trouble, I'll allow you to stay by my side for the full six months of our wedding, okay?"

This unexpected "gift" was a delightful surprise for the lonely Rosie, who immediately stopped crying and nodded in agreement.

Although Zhen Mi was displeased, seeing that the biggest obstacle (the pretext of marriage) had been "resolved" and Rosie had stopped making a fuss, she figured it wouldn't hurt to keep her in check for now, since Rosie would be leaving in six months anyway. So, she reluctantly nodded.

In an instant, the situation achieved a strange "win-win-win" outcome:
Lonely Rosie has temporarily found a home; Zhen Mi (thinking to herself) has completed her mission, saving her life and keeping her task; while Yu Qing has resolved a huge financial crisis without bloodshed, gained a beautiful "regular" bride for free, and even managed to make the people of Shengdi temporarily hope that he is alive.

After all, he was the husband that Zhen Mi was trying to marry, and Zhen Mi's mission would not be completely successful until he died of natural causes or the marriage contract expired.

Yu Qing was thus in a very advantageous position, seemingly being outmaneuvered but actually holding the initiative.

"Great!" Yu Qing clapped his hands, a smile of excitement on his face befitting his "playboy" persona. "Such a joyous occasion, if I don't find a place to indulge in some revelry and celebrate winning back such a wonderful wife, wouldn't that be so unlike me? It would only raise suspicion."

He decided to indulge in pleasure tonight and continue his business at the Fourth Paradise tomorrow, without deviating from his course.

"Are there any fun places in Juyuan? I want to celebrate properly!" He put his arm around Zhen Mi's waist and asked loudly.

Zhen Mi immediately snuggled into his arms, deliberately planting a loud kiss on Yu Qing's cheek in front of Rosie, and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Of course! Let's go to 'Cloud Above Clouds'! That place is so beautiful, it has all sorts of fun activities, I guarantee you'll never want to leave!"

Yu Qing raised an eyebrow, feigning interest: "Oh? You're just bragging, aren't you? Do you have any... kind of entertainment that would make even gods feel ashamed and mortified?"

Zhen Mi seemed to have her secret exposed, and almost jumped up. A strange light flashed in her eyes (Yu Qing did not miss this unusual glint). She excitedly said, "Husband, how did you know! There really is an extremely exciting and extremely private project there, called 'Shameful Fairy Music'!"

Upon hearing that there was something fun to do, Rosie immediately forgot her earlier unpleasantness and couldn't help but shout, "I want to go too! Take me with you!"

Before Zhen Mi could even show any objection, Yu Qing readily agreed, "Alright! Let's go have some fun together!" He then leaned close to Zhen Mi's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "With her by my side, wouldn't my Mi'er appear even more beautiful, charming, and unique?"

This compliment was perfectly timed. Upon hearing it, Zhen Mi's initial displeasure was immediately replaced by vanity and the joy of successfully completing the mission, turning her anger into delight.

That night, Yu Qing left Yao Dan and the little fox behind, taking only the newlywed Zhen Mi and his ex-girlfriend Rosie, and drove to the mysterious "Cloud Above Cloud".

To Yu Qing's surprise, he originally thought "Cloud Above Cloud" was just a fancy metaphorical name, but he never expected that this place would actually be suspended above the clouds!
It was a vast, brightly lit palace complex in the sky, supported by the latest ultra-light composite materials and energy fields. Floating silently 800 meters above the ground, it covered an area of ​​50,000 square meters, resembling a dreamlike sky city. Soft artificial clouds swirled around it, adding to its ethereal and mysterious aura.

In this era, all commercial establishments must adhere to the principle of "resource sharing," with 70% of their resources being open to residents of the city-state free of charge, and only 30% of their high-end areas and services available for profit.

This means that even though top-tier venues like "Cloud on Cloud" are extremely luxurious, many local residents can still be seen playing and enjoying the free areas on a regular basis.

Yu Qing and the others parked their car on the designated platform on the ground and stepped onto the "Ascending Platform." Immediately, a soft yet stable artificial cloud slowly rose, lifting the three of them and carrying them upwards towards the blissful paradise in the sky.

Inside the Cloud, the 40,000-square-meter super lobby is cleverly divided into ten different themed free areas, bustling with people and filled with laughter. The remaining 10,000 square meters is the true VIP restricted area, its entrance gleaming with understated luxury, and the cost is staggering—a whopping 2 million RB per person per 24 hours.

Yu Qing and his group naturally headed straight for the VIP area.

However, as soon as Yu Qing entered the VIP area, he keenly sensed something amiss. This place, which should have been extremely private and sparsely populated, actually had several people seemingly strolling around, but their eyes kept drifting towards them.

More noticeably, several other groups of people arrived "just in time" after him, making the space, which averages less than three people per hour, seem somewhat "crowded."

People from all sides, like sharks smelling blood, have quietly gathered around him. Yu Qing sneered inwardly. Fine, since that's the case, today he'll play the part of a womanizing, extravagant, and harmless playboy, letting them see for themselves how "cooperatively" he's gradually walking into their "hands."

Rosie seemed a little uncomfortable with the oppressive atmosphere of the VIP area, or perhaps she was being sensible, so she went to play in the free area. Yu Qing, on the other hand, spent a fortune, directly selecting the exorbitantly priced "Shy Fairy Music"—a service costing a whopping 80 million RB!

He took Zhen Mi's hand and stepped into a slowly blooming cloud shaped like a lotus flower. In an instant, they seemed to enter another dimension.

Weightlessness—that's the most intuitive feeling.

Before me lay antique-style pavilions and towers, winding paths and corridors, small bridges and flowing water, and even wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys of "houses." All of these were eerily suspended in a pervasive "wine cloud" that emitted a seven-colored light. It was a strange cloud formed by directly vaporizing tens of thousands of kilograms of fine wine. With each breath, the rich aroma of wine permeated my senses, bringing a pleasantly tipsy feeling.

Countless humanoid palace maids, clad in flowing, feathered robes, floated and danced lightly among the clouds and pavilions, like weightless sprites. They themselves were vibrant, human flowers. The melodious and ethereal sounds of string and wind instruments drifted from somewhere, flowing through the clouds and mist, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, stirring the heartstrings.

Yu Qing and Zhen Mi held hands, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, soaring freely amidst the blissful sea of ​​clouds. They rose and fell, moved east and west, forgetting time, forgetting heaven and earth, forgetting all grudges and affections. Here, only endless emptiness existed, yet it was filled with ultimate luxury and sensory stimulation.

Suddenly, colorful clouds gathered, and a graceful, humanoid woman with long sleeves unfolded a breathtaking dance in the air, her singing voice seemingly coming from beyond the heavens. Yu Qing couldn't help but embrace Zhen Mi tightly; at that moment, it felt as if he were in a dream he didn't want to wake up from.

After a long while, they awoke from their dream, both of them with tears streaming down their faces—perhaps because of the extreme beauty, or perhaps because of the unspeakable emotions in their hearts.

A faint sense of foreboding swept through Yu Qing's heart. The ancients said that excessive joy leads to sorrow; indeed, pleasure needs moderation. He softly said to Zhen Mi in his arms, "That's enough, Mi'er, let's go out." Zhen Mi, however, snuggled closer, protesting sweetly, "No~ We've only played for less than a tenth of the time. It's all so wonderful, just like our…wedding…" Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly, carrying a hint of…longing?
"What else is fun? Let's go experience some more," Yu Qing asked, following her lead.

"Come with me!" Zhen Mi suddenly pulled him up and floated towards a pavilion with upturned eaves high up. With a light flip, she hooked her feet on the eaves and hung upside down. Yu Qing followed suit, hanging upside down head to head with her.

"What are we doing here?" Yu Qing asked.

"Look at the stars," Zhen Mi said softly, her voice slightly unsteady.

Just as Yu Qing was about to say that he couldn't see the stars, he suddenly realized that the scene in front of him was completely different—the dome here was actually a huge, specially treated convex lens!

Looking out through it, the deep universe seems to be brought closer, with countless stars clearer and larger than ever before, like cold and dazzling diamonds that are within reach, set on black velvet.

"Tell me, how big are we compared to those stars?" Zhen Mi suddenly asked, her voice carrying a strange sadness and emptiness.

"Like a mayfly in the vastness of the universe, a grain of millet in the boundless ocean," Yu Qing responded softly, the strange feeling in his heart resurfacing once more.

Zhen Mi seemed so familiar with this place; it was definitely not his first time here. But he refrained from asking, not wanting to disrupt the eerie and tranquil atmosphere.

Next, Zhen Mi took Yu Qing to experience several more activities, but Yu Qing could clearly sense that her mood seemed to be low, and a fleeting, elusive melancholy would occasionally flash across her eyes. Her changes in mood were so rapid and inexplicable that Yu Qing was completely baffled.

"She must be carrying a very heavy burden on her mind," Yu Qing thought.

So he suggested again, "Mi'er, are you tired? Why don't we go back? I've already decided to set off for the Fourth Paradise first thing tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing "Fourth Paradise," Zhen Mi's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She quickly looked up, her face breaking into a bright smile again, though it seemed somewhat forced: "I'm not tired~ Let's do one last ride, okay? Just the last one..."

This time, the activity Zhen Mi wants to try is absolutely insane—surfing in a simulated thunderstorm!
Looking at the distant sky filled with lightning and churning dark clouds, Yu Qing instinctively shook his head: "Too dangerous! No way!"

"It's alright!" Zhen Mi urged, her eyes gleaming with an almost obsessive excitement. "We'll be wearing top-of-the-line transparent protective suits, we'll be absolutely safe!"
Just imagine, what a liberating and exhilarating feeling that would be! It's like... like riding the fury of heaven and earth, the entire universe seeming like a lotus flower in the waves beneath our feet! Her description carried a poetic madness.

Looking into her unusually bright eyes, Yu Qing's doubts deepened, but in the end, he was persuaded by her (or rather, he wanted to see what she was up to). "...Alright."

They donned transparent protective suits as thin as cicada wings yet incredibly durable, stepped onto a specially designed artificial cloud shaped like a surfboard, activated their energy field, and like two shooting stars, resolutely rushed towards the raging thunderstorm cloud sea in the distance.

As soon as they entered the storm zone, immense energy enveloped them. Torrential rain poured down, visibility plummeted, and violent lightning ripped through the sky like silver snakes, while deafening thunder nearly shattered eardrums.

They ride the clouds and waves, weaving through the gaps between wind, rain and lightning, performing all sorts of thrilling and exciting maneuvers and dives.

"Feels good, doesn't it?!" Zhen Mi shouted in the wind and rain, her voice distorted by the wind, yet carrying a hysterical sense of release. "We borrowed a piece of sky from God! We really don't want to give it back to him!!"

Yu Qing hugged Zhen Mi tightly from behind, savoring the thrill of this extreme danger, and shouted in her ear, "I'm not going to return this person I borrowed!"

"Me too!!" Zhen Mi turned around, raindrops hitting her mask, her smile appearing exceptionally pale yet radiant in the flashes of lightning. "I'll deny it until the end of time! Until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble! I'll never admit it!!"

"Alright! Then let's stay here in this sea of ​​clouds! Until the end of the world!" Yu Qing was also infected by the atmosphere and responded loudly.

They performed several extremely difficult rolls in the thunderstorm, and then, like two brave swifts, plunged straight into the core area where the lightning was most concentrated and dazzling!

Upside down, amidst the intense feeling of weightlessness and the crackling lightning all around, the two of them burst into laughter. Their laughter was filled with madness, despair, and an indescribable... relief?
However, at that moment, Yu Qing felt Zhen Mi's body suddenly stiffen in his arms.

"I...I feel a little stuffy..." she suddenly said with difficulty, her voice becoming weak and hurried.

"Are you alright?!" Yu Qing immediately became anxious. "Is the pressure too much? Let's stop playing! Let's return the sky right now! If you borrow and return, it's easy to borrow again!" He tried to pull her away from the thunderstorm area.

But Zhen Mi seemed very unwell. She began to breathe heavily, raised her hands, and futilely tried to tear at the clasp of her protective suit around her neck, uttering incoherent commands: "Open...open...let me...breathe...open..."

Yu Qing watched her actions in horror and shouted in terror, "Zhen Mi! Stop! Don't open it! It's a thunderstorm outside! You'll be struck by lightning! Stop immediately! Call for an emergency evacuation! Top priority!"

However, Zhen Mi seemed not to hear his cries. Her eyes became unfocused and desperate, and with her last strength, she gripped the edge of her mask, screaming with her last breath:

"Open it—!!!"

Zila——!
A blinding bolt of lightning, as if drawn by some force, exploded less than ten meters away from them! A deafening clap of thunder and a powerful electromagnetic pulse instantly engulfed everything… (End of Chapter)