Trust him, when he heard that the world might end in the next few days, he didn't panic. Why would he? Just a boy whose father was caught up in a plane crash and whose mother had been lying in a hospital bed for the past three years, in a coma. It felt like there was nothing he was living for.
But talking about the world ending, it all started like this:
The year was 2040.
In an inconspicuous island nation named Yingdao, located in the East China Sea.
There lived a boy named Marcus Cheng, he lived in Haicheng, the capital city of Yingdao.
He was in his room, a modest one-bedroom apartment with a bathroom and an open-concept kitchen. He sat on his bed, facing the flat-screen TV, playing a game on his PS5, which he had just bought last week with his part-time job salary. It had never been easy, but as a seventeen-year-old with a dad who died in a plane crash and a mom in a coma, he had no choice. The country was still lacking in terms of welfare.
Back when he was playing his game, a game that required helping in-game people so that players could earn points and skills, which would in turn make them overpowered to fight in-game villains. Yes, villains created by the game developer. He thought the developer was probably some philanthropist. Why would a person need to help people, collect points and skills, and level up just to fight overpowered villains? But he didn't care. Why would he go around helping people, even in a game? He searched every nook and cranny and found a way to claim points and skills, leveling up, and then fighting villains.
But something happened. He heard a loud noise. He knew his neighbors were crazy; they just wouldn't stop being dramatic over little things. But what he heard was something he couldn't overlook, even though he was on the verge of beating the hell out of a supervillain.
"Fuck! We're all gonna die, the earth fucked up!!"
"Bro, I thought the star was small and not enough to go supernova. What the fuck is that newscaster saying?"
"They are just saying, bro, we are fucked with a radiation apocalypse in a few days to come."
"What the heck are they talking about?!"
Marcus couldn't help but yell out.
Wait, I thought I heard the word "die."
What did they mean? Tsk! Those fucked-up neighbors.
When he glanced back at his flat-screen TV while his controller was still in his hand, the villain had already defeated him.
"Damn!" he yelled out angrily.
I thought I heard them say "Newscaster." Let me check the news channel.
He took the remote control and changed the interface to one of the local news channels.
~Abracadabra TV~
Fucked up name, a newly created news channel huh?
he thought.
There she was, a lady with long brown hair, wearing a white shirt. She didn't even button up the first button, which revealed an ample portion of her generous bosom. She was indeed busty.
She sat in front of an elevated platform. It seemed she had almost finished casting the news, but Marcus was lucky to catch the briefing.
~The international space station has confirmed an impending supernova event from the nearby star, Epsilon Eridani, approximately 129.6 billion kilometers away from the Earth, After thorough analysis, the data revealed that the radiation possessed immense energy capable of penetrating lead, concrete, and human bodies thereby causing genetic mutations. It was estimated that the particle radiation would reach Earth in the next five days. That is all for today~ the newscaster concluded before the channel switched to an advertisement.
"Hmmph," he grunted. "So... are we all going to turn into mutated organisms? But I must say, dying is better than becoming mutated.
Ew!" He made a sound of disgust, his mind flashing back to horror movies where humans mutated into deformed, unknown organisms.
*************
Here he was, still going to school early in the morning. But seriously, why would he, when the world was doomed in the next three days? He knew he just felt like it.
Anyway, let's just see what's going on in school.
He thought.
He was in eleventh grade at Yunxi High School, an inconspicuous private school on PunchMe Avenue, an avenue named after a boxing club. He could afford the tuition because it was cheap. After all, education is vital—or at least, that's what he thought.
It was the second week of September, looking up at the sky, he noticed it was a cool Monday morning, and the sky was clear and blue, a refreshing coolness that whispered of the approaching autumn. He heaved a heavy sigh and moved on, Marcus remembered how he went outside to gaze at the night sky the previous night, normally, gazing at the clear night sky...
Epsilon Eridani, the star closest to Earth which was about 129.6 billion kilometers from Earth near the celestial equator was said to have been caught in the back hole's gravity two years ago—2038, with increasing speed due to the pull, the star swung around the black hole and was flung out in a new direction at a much higher speed than it had before, but it speed diminishes over time, making it settled towards the celestial equator—Gravitational Slingshot Effect.
For a few hours every night, Epsilon Eridani could be seen shining brightly in the night sky, even if there were gathering of clouds in the night sky, its light could still be seen, but yesterday was different...
It shone brighter than ever, dominating the night sky like the sun, reminding Marcus Cheng of the impending danger...
When he got to class, it was as rowdy as always, with students chatting carefreely. His face contorted puzzlingly as he passed through the rows of seats.
Do they really have any idea what is going to happen?
Then he overheard one student saying, "Hey! Come to my house tonight. We're doing it all night every day, no time to waste."
The boy was talking to a girl, one of the gregarious types in his class, the kind who always brought a box of makeup to school. He didn't even know they were dating.
"Shitheads!" he muttered.
He didn't have a friend or girlfriend, perhaps because of his attitude. But seriously, it wasn't his fault; he just felt distant from everyone. Maybe it had something to do with his mom... he didn't know.
Their pot-bellied PE teacher entered the classroom. Marcus wondered how such a man was accepted to teach physical education. The teacher was the complete opposite of body fitness, with three strands of hair dangling atop his bald head and a protruding stomach that bounced with every step.
"Damn!" he thought. Anyway, he didn't care, as long as he advanced through grades and graduated. He didn't think he had money for college, so he would just find some work with his high school certificate.
"All is well," he thought, or so he believed...