Chapter 3

At 2:47 a.m., I waited anxiously on the sofa in the living room. I had called Amelia more than a dozen times, but her phone remained switched off. Malibu is an hour's drive from downtown Los Angeles, and even if she wanted to come back now, it would be too late.

The bracelet grew hotter and hotter on my wrist, almost burning my skin. The runes emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness, pulsating faster and faster.

2:58.

I could hear my own heartbeat echoing in the quiet apartment. Outside the window, Los Angeles was still brightly lit; the city that never sleeps was completely unaware of the impending disaster.

2:59.

The bracelet suddenly became scalding hot, and I almost ripped it off, but a mysterious force stopped me. The blue light intensified, and runes began to swirl before my eyes.

3:00.

Time is up.

At first, nothing happened. I looked around, and everything seemed normal. I started to wonder if I was really going crazy.

Then, the earth began to tremble.

This was no ordinary earthquake. As a Californian, I've experienced countless earthquakes, but this one was different. The tremors were rhythmic, like something enormous was awakening deep underground.

The sharp beeping of car alarms came from outside the window, followed by screams. I rushed to the balcony and saw people running out of buildings in a panic.

But this is just the beginning.

The sky began to change color. The originally deep black night sky was gradually dyed red by an eerie red light, as if the entire atmosphere were burning. This red light did not come from flames on the ground, but from the sky itself, just as I had seen in my hallucination.

Then, the real horror began.

Black raindrops began to fall from the sky. At first, people thought it was ordinary rain, but when the liquid touched the ground, it immediately hissed and corroded everything like a strong acid. Car paint began to peel, metal began to rust, and plants withered rapidly.

"My God..." I murmured.

Even more terrifying, those drenched in the black rain began to scream in agony. Strange markings appeared on their skin, and their eyes turned blood red. Some began to attack those around them in a frenzy, as if they had lost their minds.

I realized that this was not just a natural disaster, but some kind of supernatural apocalyptic event.

I rushed back inside and started gathering necessities. The bracelet was now emitting a stronger blue light, as if guiding me. When I touched the emergency supplies, they suddenly vanished, as if sucked into the bracelet.

I stared in shock at the empty living room. All the food, water, and equipment were gone. I tentatively focused my mind on the bracelet, imagining a bottle of water, and suddenly a bottle of water appeared in my hand.

"Storage space..." I murmured to myself. My grandmother's bracelet not only could predict disasters, but also possessed some kind of spatial magic power.

The screams outside grew closer. Through a gap in the curtains, I saw a group of people infected by the Black Rain had gathered downstairs in my apartment building. Their behavior had become extremely violent and irrational; they would attack any normal person they encountered.

My phone suddenly rang; it was Emilia calling!

"Jack! Jack! What happened?!" Emilia's voice was filled with panic. "The sky has turned red, and monsters are everywhere!"

"Amy, where are you? Are you hurt?" I asked anxiously.

"I'm in the basement of the villa, hiding with a few other people. It's terrifying outside! Those people, they're not human!" Emilia cried. "Jack, I'm so scared, can you come and save me?"

"I'm coming right away," I said without hesitation. "You guys find a safe place to hide, I'll figure out a way to get to Malibu."

"But it's so dangerous outside..."

"Trust me, I will come to save you."

After hanging up the phone, I started making plans. It's usually an hour's drive from downtown Los Angeles to Malibu, but right now there's chaos and danger everywhere. But I have to go; Amelia needs me.

I took out some protective gear from the bracelet's storage space—an acid raincoat, goggles, gloves, and a tactical knife I'd bought at an outdoor store. Although I'd never used a weapon before, I had no other choice.

As I cautiously stepped out of the apartment building, the scene before me shocked me. Los Angeles had become hell. The streets were littered with the wreckage of burning cars, and the facades of buildings were corroded and scarred by the black rain. Infected people roamed the streets, their eyes glowing red, their skin covered in black scales.

Even more frightening, unidentified creatures began crawling out of the damaged buildings. They looked like a hybrid of insects and reptiles, with sharp claws and teeth, and moved extremely fast.

I tried to stay close to the wall, avoiding the wandering infected and monsters. My car was parked in the parking lot across the street, but getting there required crossing an open area.

Just as I was hesitating, the bracelet emitted a blue light again, and then I found myself becoming transparent! I looked down at my body and found myself almost completely invisible.

Invisibility! The bracelet not only has storage space, but it also makes the wearer invisible. I was overjoyed; this greatly increased my chances of survival.

Using my stealth abilities, I successfully navigated the danger zone and reached my car. But when I tried to start it, the engine wouldn't respond at all. Not only my car, but all the cars in the parking lot were unresponsive, as if some electronic device was jammed.

Just then, I heard the sound of a motorcycle engine. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle came from the end of the street, the rider wearing full leather protective gear. The motorcycle stopped in front of me, and the rider took off his helmet, revealing a rugged face covered in a full beard.

"Hey kid, you're still alive?" the rider shouted. "It's Bill, just got here from Santa Monica. It's fucking crazy everywhere!"

I deactivated my invisibility, and Bill jumped in surprise: "Holy crap! Where were you just now? I clearly saw no one here!"

"To make a long story short," I said quickly, "I need to get to Malibu to rescue my girlfriend. Is your motorcycle still usable?"

"Of course it'll work. It's an old-fashioned carburetor engine, so it's not affected by electromagnetic interference." Bill patted the fuel tank. "But man, Malibu might be even more dangerous than here right now. I saw what was going on there on the road just now; it was like hell on earth."

"I have to go," I said firmly. "I can pay for your motorcycle, or you can give me a ride."

Bill looked at the determination in my eyes and nodded. "Alright, I admire your courage. I'll give you a ride, but once we get there, we'll go our separate ways."

I hopped on the back of the motorcycle, Bill floored the accelerator, and the Harley's engine roared to life. We sped out of the parking lot and onto the highway leading to Malibu.

The scene along the way was even more terrifying. The highway was littered with abandoned cars, and enormous monsters scurried among them, searching for prey. Flying creatures with bat-like wings, but much larger in size, appeared in the sky, swooping down to attack the survivors on the ground.

Bill was a skilled driver, skillfully avoiding obstacles and monsters on the road, but he still encountered several close calls along the way. A giant spider-like monster suddenly crawled out from under an overturned truck and pounced on the motorcycle. I instinctively reached out, my bracelet emitted a blue light, and an energy wave shot from my hand, blasting the monster away.

"My God!" Bill yelled, "Who are you? A superhero?"

"I don't know either!" I replied, amazed by my own ability.

After a thrilling hour-long journey, we finally arrived at the Malibu coastline. But the sight before us made both of us gasp in shock.

Adam Stone's luxury villa district has become a battlefield. Most of the glass buildings are shattered, and corpses and bloodstains are everywhere. Even more horrifying, countless glowing tentacles float on the sea, some reaching tens of meters in length, attacking buildings along the coastline.

"Damn it, what is this thing?" Bill muttered.

I recognized it as some kind of enormous sea creature, perhaps an ancient monster awakened by this apocalyptic catastrophe. Each swing of its tentacles could easily destroy a house.

"That's enough for now," Bill said. "I can't go any further, man. Good luck."

I jumped off the motorcycle and looked at the hell on earth ahead. I knew this might be a one-way trip, but Emilia was there, and I couldn't abandon her.

"Thank you, Bill."

"Take care, Superman." Bill turned the car around and quickly disappeared into the night.

I faced the post-apocalyptic Malibu alone, the bracelet on my wrist emitting a warm blue light, seemingly encouraging me. I took a deep breath, activated my invisibility ability, and began heading towards Adam's villa.

But what I didn't know was that as I cautiously trudged along the edge of the cliff, a pair of eyes were secretly watching me. Those eyes belonged to a tall figure, standing in the shadow of a half-ruined building.

"Interesting..." the figure murmured. "It seems this game is even more exciting than I expected."

The moonlight shone on that perfect face, which belonged to Adam Stone. But he was now a completely different person; his eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and a cruel smile played on his lips. A black energy surrounded his body, clearly indicating that he had gained some kind of power during this catastrophe.

Most shockingly, several corpses lay at his feet, one of whom was wearing a white dress and had long, golden hair scattered on the ground...