Chapter One: The End Approaches

"Help! Somebody, please! Someone's going to die!"

The desperate cries and the continuous roar rang in his ears as Wujue’s eyes snapped open.

All around him was chaos: wounded people lay sprawled on the ground, debris scattered everywhere, and strange metallic monsters—vehicles he had never seen before—overturned and wailing with piercing alarms.

Where had he ended up? Once a renowned warrior monk of Great Forest Temple, Wujue could only recall that before he lost consciousness, he had been locked in a life-or-death battle with a vicious martial villain. Now, in this unfamiliar world, he was gripped by bewilderment.

He surveyed his surroundings warily and slowly stood up.

A bloodied man grabbed his arm, pleading, "Brother, please help! My wife and child are trapped in the car. I can't move it by myself. Help me, I beg you!"

Following the man's gesture, Wujue saw a black vehicle overturned nearby. As a monk of Great Forest Temple, it was his duty to aid those in peril without hesitation. He agreed at once, rushed over, and grasped the car’s undercarriage. Applying his strength, he realized at once that this thing was no ordinary weight.

The car weighed at least five or six hundred pounds. Even with all his martial prowess, lifting it was a daunting task.

He marveled—what sort of contraption was this? Where did it come from?

Lost in thought, he was interrupted by the man saying, "We can’t move it together. I’ll find more help—please wait here!"

But before the man could leave, the ground trembled violently once again, as if an earthquake was tearing through, turning chaos into utter turmoil.

Inside the car, the woman and child screamed for help.

Wujue’s expression darkened; sensing the urgency, he decided he must act, whatever the risk.

With a mighty shout, he summoned all his strength and managed to lift the car enough to tip it upright.

With a crack, the car door was pried open a sliver. The man, wild with relief, rushed over to wrench it further until, with a final smash of the window, he pulled his wife and child to safety.

Once they were rescued, Wujue’s arms gave out; he could no longer hold the car and let it fall aside.

Such superhuman strength stunned the onlookers, and someone exclaimed, "Incredible! Is he a legendary reclusive monk?"

Yet Wujue felt no joy at the rescue. He only wanted to know: where was he?

"Where is this place? What on earth has happened?" Wujue, calming his breath, asked the grateful family.

Still shaken, the man clutched Wujue’s hand. "Master, thank you! You saved my family—how can we ever repay you?"

"Amitabha. I seek only to know—where am I?" Wujue pressed his palms together in a Buddhist salute.

The man, finally coming to his senses, replied in astonishment, "This is Tianhai City, in the nation of Huaxia. There was just an earthquake—the streets are in chaos. Master, are you a monk? How did you get here?"

Wujue shook his head. The events before his arrival were too bewildering to recall.

"Tianhai City? Huaxia? What is going on?" Wujue frowned in disbelief. "And what year is it now?"

The man, sensing the monk’s confusion, scratched his head. "Master, are you speaking in riddles? It’s the year 2024, according to the Gregorian calendar, and by the lunar calendar—"

A thunderous rumble interrupted him as the ground shook again, more fiercely than before, plunging the surroundings into further chaos.

Wujue braced himself, scanning the area as more of these so-called vehicles toppled over amid terrified screams.

There was no time for more questions. Guided by the Buddhist vow to save all living beings, he turned to the rescued family. "Take your family and find shelter. I must help the others."

With that, he sprang onto a nearby vehicle, using it as a stepping stone to leap over ten feet into the air and dashed away.

The rescued family stared after him, speechless with shock.

***

Wujue dashed about, aiding the wounded, but the tremors grew ever more violent, soon making movement nearly impossible.

With a deafening crash, the ground split open, revealing a massive chasm. Wujue lost his footing and fell.

Years of training now proved their worth. He kicked off a huge stone, using its bounce to leap upward, finally grabbing the edge of the street. Hanging there, he glanced down—dozens had fallen in, some trapped by rubble, some injured, all crying desperately for help.

He hesitated, chanting a silent prayer, weighing how best to rescue them. From his position, the drop to the bottom was at least fifteen feet. He could leap down safely, but carrying others up would be far harder.

He decided he must climb out first.

Gritting his teeth, he started to pull himself up, but suddenly the ground above thundered with another collapse, and Wujue fell again.

Before he could react, a dark blur shot toward him with incredible speed, grabbing him. "Careful, monk!"

A young man, astride a two-wheeled contraption, had saved him, riding swiftly and skillfully to land them at the bottom of the pit.

They finally came to a stop, and Wujue dismounted, pressed his palms together, and said, "Thank you for saving me, good sir. I did not expect to meet another master of lightness skill here."

The young man, still on his strange vehicle, grinned and scratched his head. "I don’t know about lightness skill, monk. I just saw you helping people and thought I’d lend a hand."

Looking up, the rim of the pit seemed insurmountable.

"It seems we need a plan to get everyone out," said Wujue. "Your vehicle—"

The young man laughed. "It’s just an ordinary electric bike. It can carry one more person, but I doubt I could get up there myself. Shouldn’t have rescued you, huh?"

He, too, gazed at the rim above, realizing escape was no easy matter.

Wujue remained calm. He didn’t know what an electric bike was, but now was the time to help the injured.

He tended to the wounded, bandaging some, lifting debris off others to set them free.

After settling most of the people, Wujue began to study the underground environment. If climbing out was impossible, he had to find another way. He had spent his life honing his skills, and if he could find the right spot, he could climb out with ease.

He turned to the young man. "Could you help me? I’ll try to climb out and you assist from below, so we can help the others escape."

The young man laughed, "You’re confident, monk! So many people, and you think you can get them all out? If another quake comes, it won’t be safe above either."

Wujue shook his head—he was not one to give up. He began climbing, but after only a few feet, the earth shook again, this time more violently than ever.

He was flung down, swept away by the collapsing ground, tumbling deeper into the darkness as the surface caved in, burying everything above.

All was plunged into pitch black.

Cries of terror filled the void.

Someone whispered, "The end has truly come..."

End of Chapter One: The Arrival of Doomsday.