The Countdown to Natural Disasters

Time: 19:35

The Witch Company was a whirlwind of activity.

Nearly every witch was glued to their computer screens, manipulating mice and wands in tandem, meticulously managing the file data for the final hours of the Dawn’s Prayer open beta.

Tei Lai took a sip of coffee, her gaze never straying from the user peak displayed on the screen.

This task should have fallen to Lammiell, the project supervisor.

However, with Lammiell temporarily away, investigating Chen Zeyu’s background, all significant adjustments and monitoring fell squarely on Tei Lai’s shoulders.

“Lammiell, you’re off on a relaxing trip to the countryside, while I’m stuck here staring at these tedious numbers,” Tei Lai muttered, before burying her head once more in observation and adjustment.

Thump, thump, thump.

A witch, rushing with a stack of documents, ran directly to Tei Lai.

She bent down and whispered something, causing Tei Lai’s expression to change drastically.

“What? Sallya is here?”

“Yes, and she said she’s bringing something for the company.”

Before the reporting witch could finish, a pale purple crow suddenly burst into the office, landing directly beside Tei Lai.

“Oh, Tei Lai, long time no see.”

The crow spoke, its female voice unusually soft and intimate.

“Sallya, I did not authorize your entry.”

Tei Lai frowned, the wand clutched in her hand seemingly ready to unleash a magical attack at any moment.

“Heh, your attitude is still as dreadful as your temper.”

The crow instantly erupted in a burst of purple light.

In its place, standing before Tei Lai, was a woman with purple hair and golden eyes, clad in a tight, light purple dress that accentuated her alluring curves, her cleavage boldly on display.

“Get out! Sallya!”

Tei Lai rose to her feet, her yellow pupils widening, her hair seemingly standing on end like a crack of thunder!

“Oh-ho, how terrifying.”

Sallya remained unhurried, her slender fingers idly twirling a purple curl at her chest, a playful expression on her face.

“I’m warning you one last time! Leave!”

Tei Lai’s voice instantly laced with fury.

Golden arcs of electricity crackled around her raised wand, as if lightning itself was poised to strike from its tip!

“Heh, so eager to chase me away?”

“Do you not need this crucial material?”

“Oh, right! In your eyes, it should be called [Data], shouldn’t it?”

“A piece of Latisha’s [Data].”

Sallya calmly produced a USB drive from her bosom, her expression still composed.

At the mention of Latisha’s name, Tei Lai’s raging anger instantly halved.

She gazed at the USB drive in Sallya’s hand, gradually calming down.

“Oh, the irritable lioness is finally quiet.”

“Care to hear where this [Data] on Latisha came from?”

Sallya made herself at home, settling into the chair right beside Tei Lai.

“Speak quickly, before I change my mind and kick you out.”

Tei Lai remained standing, her eyes fixed intently on Sallya.

“Latisha is your dear friend.”

“I know you won’t easily drive me away before fully understanding this [Data].”

Sallya crossed one beautifully stockinged leg over the other knee.

Tei Lai suppressed her anger, remaining silent as she slowly sat down.

With a casual wave, she motioned for the reporting witch to leave.

Now, with only Sallya by her side, Sallya finally spoke with a full smile.

“I know you’re impatient.”

“This [Data] originated from the White Pine Watchtower.”

“They observed the entire ‘Whale Extermination Battle,’ where Latisha’s suspected Calamity Beast personally annihilated the Harvest God of the Tatakar fishermen.”

“Poor great whale, slaughtered for no reason.”

Sallya’s words were laced with a lighthearted amusement that, to Tei Lai, was nothing short of provocation.

“That Calamity Beast was not Latisha! I’m telling you again!”

Tei Lai abruptly stood up, her hands trembling around her wand.

“I’m merely stating facts. Latisha certainly hasn’t appeared to explain herself.”

“And I’ve already come up with a name for this [Data].”

“Don’t forget, Tei Lai, I’m also one of the initiators of the Dawn’s Prayer project, and I retain the right to recall and adjust [Data].”

Sallya’s tone became unnervingly calm, a method of threat more effective than overt anger.

“…Are you planning to add this data during the Dawn’s Prayer open beta, or are you preparing to remove some data?”

Tei Lai knew well that Dawn’s Prayer was on the verge of its open beta.

Any addition or deletion would have a colossal impact, potentially rendering everyone’s efforts futile.

“Heh heh, since it’s already in open beta, like my child about to be born, how could I bear to sever it?”

“Of course, I’m planning to add it.”

“And I’ve given it a wonderful name; we’ll temporarily add it to your Easter egg segment.”

Sallya directly inserted the USB drive into the computer port.

Before Tei Lai or any other witch could react, a string of vivid red words materialized on every screen.

[Calamity Countdown]

Time: 20:00

Evetti and Chen Zeyu had already donned their gaming equipment.

As for Feng Yan’s friend request, they had long since accepted it through the Dawn’s Prayer peripheral friend list.

The equipment connected their vision.

The sound system finished loading.

A series of white characters flashed across the black screen before Chen Zeyu’s eyes, yet the sound of waves crashing against the beach was already resonating in her ears.

“Is it normal this time?” Evetti asked with concern, her hand still holding Chen Zeyu’s, fearing she might fall into another anomaly like last time.

“No problem, everything’s fine so far, just loading a bit slow.”

Chen Zeyu felt that Dawn’s Prayer was loading much slower than during the closed beta, and it seemed to be loading a significantly larger amount of resources than before.

“Slow loading is normal, after all, it’s connecting to a much larger network with more users.”

“Besides, I heard from Tei Lai that Dawn’s Prayer has added a few special Easter egg storylines.”

“Hmm? Let me check if I can log out.”

Chen Zeyu fumbled with the helmet buttons; the exit key on the panel was still there.

“It’s not pure brain-computer interface technology; Dawn’s Prayer incorporates magical arts.”

“How could you not be able to log out?”

“Besides, Tei Lai and the others can force a logout from the backend.”

“Then I’m relieved.”

Chen Zeyu settled down.

She certainly didn’t want to accidentally transmigrate and be left in the game, struggling to survive and defeat the final boss.

After another moment of waiting, a clear cry of a seabird broke the black screen.

Chirp! Chirp!

The silent black screen suddenly brightened.

Brilliant sunlight streamed directly from above, feeling surprisingly warm.

The azure sky merged with the ocean, waves rolling in, cresting and breaking into foamy white on the golden sand.

Sniff. Sniff.

Chen Zeyu inhaled the air, detecting a slightly salty scent mingled with the fragrance of leaves.

“A lot of magic is being used this time,” Evetti murmured.

“Magic…?”

Chen Zeyu suddenly felt the head-mounted device much lighter, as if nothing was obscuring her vision, and she felt completely immersed in the world designed by Dawn’s Prayer.

“Check your logout button,” Evetti turned to Chen Zeyu, her expression seeming somewhat grim.

“Huh?”

Seeing Evetti’s unusual expression, Chen Zeyu quickly pulled up her panel to check.

[Are you sure you want to log out of the game?]

Confirm.

Zzzzt—

After a surge of electrical current, Chen Zeyu’s complete immersion ended.

The weight of the helmet returned, and she could see Evetti was still online, a smile even playing on her lips.

“I can log out, can’t I? Your expression scared me,” Chen Zeyu asked, frowning.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t, did I? Just log back in!” Evetti replied in a teasing tone.

“Tsk.”

Chen Zeyu spent a moment logging back in.

It was still the same beach, but now many players had appeared.

Dressed in various outfits, they curiously walked along the sand, looking around.

Some even waded into the water to feel the waves, only to naturally get a mouthful of seawater.

“Cough, cough! Damn it! It’s really salty!”

“This seawater is so damn real! Holy crap! The sun is scorching!”

“How did they do this?! Where’s the exit button?! Oh, oh! It works!”

The players’ exclamations rose and fell.

This technology, which completely immersed them in another world, was indistinguishable from actual transmigration; it hardly felt like a game at all.

Chen Zeyu and Evetti watched the players’ revelry.

They weren’t particularly moved, knowing that everything was a culmination of magic and technology.

“Chen Yuqing! Chen Yunyao! I’m here!”

A cheerful female voice called out from afar!

It was, of course, Feng Yan.

Chen Zeyu looked over, offering a greeting.

“…Good evening, huh!”

In Chen Zeyu’s sight, Feng Yan had shed her school uniform.

She wore a white priestess hat, a black armored top, and a skirt of iron plates with black long socks.

In each hand, she wielded a wand and a massive shield.

“Feng Yan, your outfit…”

Evetti was speechless.

This odd, mismatched attire seemed rather peculiar.

“Heh heh! This is an outfit from the closed beta mail!”

“Since I don’t like fighting, I specifically chose a combination of Priestess and Shieldbearer, maxing out self-healing and defensive support!” Feng Yan declared proudly.

“Alright, Dawn’s Prayer indeed doesn’t have fixed class combinations; you can do as you please.”

“Let’s change our outfits too.”

Evetti brought up her panel, ready to customize her appearance, and Chen Zeyu certainly wasn’t idle.

She first opened a gender interface.

Gender: ♀

Chen Zeyu, with a ‘just to see’ mentality, tried to adjust it.

However, a message suddenly popped up on the panel, accompanied by colorful annotations.[Device scanned, gender cannot be changed.]

Easter Egg Annotation: Chen Zeyu, I knew it was you! Still trying to change gender?! You’ll be a good girl for life! Don’t get any other strange ideas. Don’t worry, only you can see this. Your account gender is locked! Gahahahahahaha!

Chen Zeyu’s brow furrowed, her lips twitching in annoyance.

‘Who left this Easter egg for me?! How rude! I just wanted to reminisce for a moment!’

“Why are you still in this appearance? Didn’t you open your mail?” Evetti asked, seeing Chen Zeyu lost in thought, then patted her shoulder.

“Oh, oh, I’ll change right away.”

Chen Zeyu, with a troubled expression, clicked open her mail.

What should have been only two emails suddenly received another.

Curiosity prompted Chen Zeyu to click it open.

The next instant, her panel, as if corrupted, turned from blue to red, and a startling, distorted phrase appeared at the top of the panel.

[Calamity Countdown: White Flame and Dawn Whale]