Chapter 379: Saga of Passing the Fire

Every time Qin Xiaoxia needed to bring someone into Dawn’s fold, he would always start by demonstrating some miraculous fact before revealing the appropriate information.

A person’s capacity for acceptance can be very low, especially for things that are disadvantageous to them.

Yet, that same capacity can be very high, as long as an event is beneficial to them to a certain degree—and that degree doesn’t even need to be profound.

Even if you scale this “person” up to an organization or a country, the effect is much the same.

If reality were a novel, some readers with a god complex would likely sneer, ‘Why would so many people want to join Dawn? Are they all just throwing their money away?’

They often ignore the shock of having their worldview shattered and the irresistible allure of the mystical. The power of curiosity is immense; one need only look at the terrifying rise of legendary tales in the past to see a glimpse of it.

It’s just like the many people who sit in front of their computers, mocking those who get scammed or trapped, unable to escape from various schemes.

However, everyone has a limit to their rationality, and everyone has an emotional trigger.

Some triggers need to be manufactured; for others, you just need to see what people truly need.

And now, with the shadow of doom hanging over everyone, the strict, short-term control policies enacted by the major powers have managed to force a wave of stability. But as mentioned in the Rini Debate, long-term high pressure could lead to someone doing something catastrophically stupid.

In fact, according to Dawn’s current observations, the Dark Tide will arrive in just over a month. In such a short time, the nations could certainly maintain their high-pressure control.

But Dawn is, after all, not the Dawn of history. There’s no harm in stepping out from behind the curtain and into the open.

“So, you agreed?”

Inside Master Sage’s room at the top of the tower, the Red Demoness sat on the corner of the desk, one arm propping her up as she swung her legs from time to time.

Her gaze was fixed on a draft document for a Magic Pattern on the desk.

Qin Xiaoxia had pulled his chair back a little from the desk to avoid being kicked by the Red Demoness’s swinging legs.

“Hey, can’t you just sit in a chair?”

“Nope!”

The Red Demoness glanced around the room.

“Besides, you only have one chair, and you’re sitting in it. So I have to sit on the desk, don’t I?”

“So, how do you want to help? Go on stage? Appear on TV?”

Qin Xiaoxia toyed with the Endless Abyss on his wrist and smiled at the Red Demoness.

“Of course not. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

‘Go on stage? Appear on TV?’

To be honest, if it were for a small, private audience, Qin Xiaoxia would be more than happy to build up the atmosphere, using a combination of facts and theory to immerse his listeners in Dawn’s history.

But he would never do that in front of the whole world.

He wouldn’t choose to speak while showing videos like Tao Xingzhi. Dawn wouldn’t specifically record videos of them eliminating Demons, and the limited video evidence from the World Alliance nations was pale and unconvincing.

Nor was it appropriate for him or another member of Dawn to deliver some monologue-style speech on screen.

Without sufficient factual evidence, they would just look like clowns.

But these things were no challenge for Master Sage.

“Perhaps I’d long foreseen this day!”

As Qin Xiaoxia spoke, he reached out his hand. The Red Demoness passed him the Scroll from the desk, and in doing so, discovered a printed-out Chinese manuscript underneath it.

“Like a musician plucking the strings with their fingertips, whether in ancient times or now, the power of Dawn has always been breathtaking!”

…

The riots of the past two days had not only frayed the nerves of the government, but of the general public as well.

The riots caused by a small minority deepened the apocalyptic fear felt by everyone else.

Moreover, public safety had become precarious. Though only a few days had passed, people had grown cautious when going outside, walking quickly and trying not to linger.

When they did go out, their destinations were mostly major shopping malls, supermarkets, and stores.

These places were now patrolled by police, and the transport and distribution of supplies were protected by armed forces. It could be said that these stores were no longer run by their original owners, but were completely managed by government authorities.

The global financial system was collapsing. Stock and futures markets had become mere decorations, filled with unsellable chips; shutting them down was only a matter of time.

This year, New Year’s visits were mostly limited to nearby relatives, if they happened at all. People avoided traveling far. Most chose to stay home and wait for the scheduled informational programs, getting their news from major websites.

Everyone was constantly monitoring changes around the world, terrified that the apocalypse would suddenly arrive.

For most people, the one silver lining in this catastrophe was that when they learned the secret, their closest loved ones were by their side, sparing them that particular worry.

But there were exceptions, like the many military families whose relatives and children were not with them. They could only stay home and pray for their loved ones’ safe return.

Qi Yunfei and his two cousins gathered around the computer, clicking through the information on the Special Security Team’s official website.

Their fathers were three brothers, and coincidentally, each brother had two sons. Even more coincidentally, the older brothers of all three college students currently in front of the computer were serving in the military.

The families lived near each other. While their fathers had occasionally bickered over trivial matters in the past, at this critical juncture, their relationships had become closer than ever before.

And since the younger generation had always gotten along well, they naturally spent a lot of time together.

On this official website, there wasn’t just information, but also a corresponding forum where government-backed administrators answered questions in real-time to help the public better understand the situation.

“Hey, Xiaofei, go back to the homepage. It looks different from yesterday!”

Qi Yunfei, who was controlling the mouse, did as he was told. Sure enough, he and his other cousin also noticed a new symbol on the homepage.