The masked figure, now a chillingly credible prophet, had just unveiled the impossible. The colossal, glowing island, newly risen in the East China Sea, stood as an irrefutable monument to the Seer's power. News channels, military commands, and ordinary citizens across China were still reeling from the live spectacle, from the utter humiliation and then miraculous salvation of the Silent Hunter. The digital intrusion, the control over a warship, the geological defiance – it all pointed to one undeniable truth: the Seer was real, and his claims of foresight were terrifyingly accurate.
Then came the second, more personal blow. As the broadcast continued, the Seer's voice returned, calm and resolute, bringing the predictions directly home.
"And finally," the Seer had stated, the map of a Chinese city appearing on every screen, "exactly 15 days from now, on June 21st, a devastating earthquake will strike this city. It will cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands and displace millions."
A collective, palpable shudder ran through China. The awe and terror inspired by the island's birth twisted into a colder, more personal dread. The island was a distant, bizarre event; this was a direct, localized death sentence. The city displayed on screen was a bustling metropolis, filled with millions of lives. Their lives.
Shanghai, China – A High-Rise Apartment:
Mei Ling had been watching the island's emergence with a mixture of terror and grudging respect. When the Seer named the earthquake, and her city appeared on screen, her blood ran cold. Her phone, which moments ago had been buzzing with frantic, awestruck messages about the island, now erupted with calls and texts filled with pure panic.
"Did you hear him?" her best friend screamed over the phone. "Our city! Hundreds of thousands dead! Do we leave? Where do we go?!"
Mei Ling looked out her window, at the shimmering skyline, the countless lights, the vibrant life of her city. In 15 days, this could be rubble. Her hands trembled as she clutched her phone. Her mind, trained in rational thought, struggled to process the Seer's impossible, yet undeniable, claim.
Beijing, China – Ministry of State Security Operations Center:
The room was no longer filled with frantic analysis, but with a horrifying, stunned silence. Director Zhang stood before the main screen, where the Seer's map of the predicted earthquake zone lingered. The island was a violation, a demonstration. The earthquake was a direct threat to the heart of their nation, to its people.
"Verify these claims," Director Zhang ordered, his voice hollow. "Contact our seismologists. What is the likelihood of a major quake in that region?" Even as he spoke, he knew the answer. The Seer had just proved his foresight. This wasn't a warning; it was a countdown. The geopolitical implications were immense. How do you prepare a nation of over a billion for an inevitable catastrophe revealed by an unseen, uncontrollable entity?
Rural Sichuan Province, China – A Small Farmhouse:
Old Wei and his grandson watched in horrified silence as the Seer's final prophecy unfolded. The island had been a distant wonder, but the mention of a devastating earthquake, with such a precise date and scale, filled them with a familiar, ancestral dread. The ghost of past earthquakes, of lives lost, of homes shattered, rose in their minds.
"Grandpa," the boy whispered, his voice trembling, "he said... hundreds of thousands."
Wei slowly nodded, his eyes wide, fixed on the screen. The Seer had gone from impossible spectacle to undeniable harbinger of doom. Fear, profound and bone-deep, settled over the land. The initial commotion had turned into a chilling realization that the world, and China in particular, was now on a terrifying, unalterable clock. The 15-day countdown to June 21st began, each tick a hammer blow against their sense of security.