Chapter 356 Twelve Divisions Open the World - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

As Su Miao had speculated, the activation of the Inner World by the Twelve Divisions was not confined to a single region; it was to be initiated simultaneously in multiple locations. After dealing with a spy at headquarters, Pei Xiaomiao and Lin Jiujiu covered some essential points to note, and Pei Xiaomiao borrowed the secretary Tao Yujie from Si Shu, assigning her to assist Lin Jiujiu. Pei Xiaomiao patted Lin Jiujiu on the shoulder, cautioning, "Jiujiu, remember, not everyone in the Twelve Divisions is like me; even with me, do not trust completely." "If you sense danger, don't hesitate to act. If you're faced with a problem and no one can assist you, refer to your sister Su Miao's approach." Lin Jiujiu nodded, "Got it, I will remember." Pei Xiaomiao said, "Good, off you go." Lin Jiujiu waved, "Goodbye, Sister Xiaomiao!" Secretary Tao Yujie slightly bowed as she passed Pei Xiaomiao. Pei Xiaomiao instructed, "Take care of Si Tian, and once you complete this mission, I will reward you with soul essence." Secretary Tao Yujie's eyes lit up immediately, "Thank you, Master Si Ming!" Pei Xiaomiao said, "Go ahead." One aircraft after another departed from the headquarters of the Twelve Divisions. After traveling a certain distance, more aircraft took off from the ground, flying in various directions across the world. These subsequent aircraft were used to confuse other forces. Lin Jiujiu sat in the aircraft, watching the scenery outside, her mind filled with myriad thoughts. Secretary Tao Yujie offered Lin Jiujiu a cup of coffee, "Would you like some coffee, Master Si Tian?" Lin Jiujiu shook her head, "No, thank you." Ever since coming to the Twelve Divisions, she hadn't tasted any of their food. Secretary Tao Yujie wasn't surprised; she set the coffee aside without further comment. "Master Si Tian, if there is anything you need, just let me know." "Alright." ... Six hours later, Lin Jiujiu arrived at the base she was assigned to oversee. A brief period of polar night covered the globe and switched to polar day after 15 minutes. Fortunately, this fell within the Twelve Divisions' expected deviation range, with minimal impact. Upon arrival, Lin Jiujiu assumed she was entering a barren wilderness. However, as the earth rumbled, one metal pillar after another arose. She roughly counted and found there were 64 pillars in total, with a massive Bagua diagram at the center. In the middle of the Bagua diagram was a platform. This was the platform hub her sister Pei Xiaomiao had mentioned. Soon, she would stand at the hub, maximizing the use of Si Tian's power to infuse the hub, channeling its energy to resonate with the powers of the other Twelve Divisions, triggering anomalies in the world and thus opening the Inner World. Numerous aircrafts landed, and Secretary Tao Yujie promptly assigned tasks to the accompanying staff. Before long, a massive plasma shield expanded, covering the entire facility at the center, ensuring the facility remained unassaulted. Secretary Tao Yujie checked the time, approached Lin Jiujiu, and said, "Master Si Tian, there are 12 minutes left until the appointed time. You may enter the hub now." Lin Jiujiu glanced at the time, took a deep breath, and headed towards the platform hub. She felt a hint of nervousness. Upon reaching the platform hub, a holographic screen lit up. On the screen appeared the images of the Twelve Divisions. Si Sui asked, "Are we all ready?" Si Ye replied, "Give me 15 seconds to clear some nuisances." At a platform in Australia, the night enveloped everything, all activities halted, and any reckless attackers charging towards Si Ye had their senses stripped away. Many never understood why Si Ye's power was so horrifyingly effective. "We will never allow this." "Do you need permission?" Si Ye murmured to himself, killing the last attacker, and said, "No problem now." ... Si Chen said, "No problem on my end, but I hope this wraps up quickly." On a platform surrounded by a sea of death, Si Chen felt safer here than anywhere else. Even for him, approaching this place required utmost caution. A careless touch could mean a deadly poisoning. It wasn't that ability users hadn't tried to attack; many succumbed to poison halfway through. ... Si Zhi said, "All clear." This platform appeared clean, with no corpses in sight. However, not far away, Si Zhi's subordinates were disposing of bodies into incineration pits. ... Si Li stated, "All is well here too." Nearby sat the Undead Queen in a blood-red wedding gown. Surrounding her were no fewer than 3,000 undead, including ten elite undead whose aura was tremendously terrifying. Seeing such a mass of undead, neither humans, mutated animals, nor insects dared venture close. ... Si Shu said, "All good here." Around this platform stood over 10,000 formidable ability users. They looked unremarkable, yet all belonged to Si Shu's great library domain. North American ability users came to explore; upon glancing around, they departed nonchalantly. A short distance later, these North American ability users abruptly accelerated, vanishing in a blink. ... Si Ming commented, "No issues." The platform near Pei Xiaomiao was pristine, with few staff and no visible guards. Correspondingly, no one attempted an attack or disturbance. ... Si Di stated, "All clear." Si Heng confirmed, "Ready to begin." Si Zui declared, "Ready." Si Tian assured, "No problem." Si Wu announced, "Well then, everyone, let's begin!" Lin Jiujiu took a deep breath, closing her eyes, fully engaging Si Tian's power. In an instant, a blinding column of light, centered on Lin Jiujiu, infused the platform hub. The long-accumulated energy within the platform activated, shooting towards the sky. As Si Tian, she was the first. As Lin Jiujiu began channeling her power, her marking under her avatar on the holographic screen lit up. Next, Si Di's marking lit up, signaling energy infusion from Si Di. Following that, Si Ming, Si Chen, Si Sui, Si Li, Si Shu, Si Heng, Si Zhi, and Si Wu each funneled energy into their respective platform hubs. At this moment, twelve dazzling beams of light illuminated the Earth, visible to many surviving ability users. Colossal energy pierced the earth and heavens, constructing an immensely complex magic array. Suddenly, massive earthquakes erupted worldwide. Spatial rifts appeared in regions where the magic array manifested, as if the sky was collapsing, and falling stars continuously descended upon the Earth. Simultaneously, bizarre phenomena began unfolding across the globe. Some witnessed a sky filled with gods and Buddhas. Some saw the opening of Hell. Others witnessed the Twilight of the Gods. Some glimpsed the unnamable, descending into madness. Others observed untouchable parallel worlds, devoid of apocalypse, where people lived in blissful harmony. The world, at this moment, truly seemed to have gone insane! ... Sensing the shifts in the heavens and earth, Su Miao stepped out of the villa into the courtyard, gazing at the firmament. "Your Highness, it seems Earth has gone mad..." The Myna perched trembling on Xia Xiaoan's shoulder. "Don't worry, this intensity is weaker than the apocalyptic disaster from a while back." Su Miao looked to the sky, a flash of insight crossing her mind, as if she understood something: "The Twelve Divisions are opening the World Gate, triggering some imminent apocalyptic catastrophes. Some may perish, but overall, it will save many lives." Xia Xiaoan stood beside Sister Su Miao, noticing that a moment ago, Su Miao seemed somewhat unfamiliar. This unfamiliarity wasn't akin to the usual or elegant Sister Su Miao, but rather... How to describe it? It was as if Sister Su Miao was no longer human, but a deity?! [It must be a misperception.] Xia Xiaoan comforted herself. For that fleeting moment, Sister Su Miao genuinely frightened her, the first time she ever felt fear towards her. Su Miao extended her hand, attempting to sense the world's changes, wishing to touch something, yet seemed to perceive nothing. No, she couldn't feel directly, but she could observe. Her mutated cherry tree was growing wildly. In just a few minutes, it rose to over 200 meters tall, quite absurd... Even more astonishing was that as the mutated cherry tree grew, it adeptly controlled the mountain rocks, ensuring the alloy villa didn't shake at all during the process. Ordinarily, the rampant growth of mutated trees could easily cause local ground fissures. "Your Highness Su Miao, what happened to the cherry tree?" The Myna stared wide-eyed at the mutated cherry tree. Upon closer inspection, the cherries on the mutated tree had grown larger and more fragrant, though they were fewer in number. However, she felt a bit apprehensive about picking them. Moreover, the mutated cherry tree seemed a bit unruly. "Your Highness..." The Myna was about to say something more. Su Miao turned her gaze towards the mutated cherry tree, and the mysterious sense of danger dissipated instantly. Not only that, the tree lowered its branches on its own, plucking some fruit and delicately placing them on the table in the courtyard. Perhaps thinking the table wasn't large enough, it carefully laid some leafy branches on the ground and placed more of the enlarged cherries on them. The pile of cherries reached over a meter high, and only when fewer than a hundred were left on the tree did it stop plucking them. The entire process was remarkably sweet and endearing. The Myna blinked, speechless, at the sight. Su Miao raised her hand, used Mage's Hand to pick up a mutated cherry, and took a bite. It was sweet, the taste far better than before. Beyond the flavor, the cherry contained a wealth of magical energy, perfectly suited to her needs. "Why don't you try some too?" Su Miao handed a cherry to both the Myna and Xia Xiaoan. The Myna gobbled down one cherry and, eyes glimmering with desire, wanted more. Su Miao chuckled and gave her two more but no more beyond that. Xia Xiaoan, on the other hand, savored hers slowly. Delicious! Unconsciously, Xia Xiaoan finished the cherry. In an instant, a warm current flowed through her body, invigorating her abilities, evolving them rapidly. Especially her newfound lightning ability; she felt she could conjure terrifying bolts of lightning at will. Besides that, she felt able to fly and her longstanding Taichi Heartflow was advancing swiftly. There was also a slightly tipsy feeling... Xia Xiaoan wobbled, then collapsed onto the ground, sound asleep. Hmm? Su Miao quickly used Mage's Hand to support Xia Xiaoan and moved her inside. It was likely Xia Xiaoan was undergoing another evolution after consuming the mutated cherry. And then there was the Myna... Having finished three cherries, she too fell asleep. Su Miao carried the Myna back to her little nook in the living room. All gathered cherries were stored away in her magical space, reserved for future use. It seemed that when Lin Jiujiu returned and tried a cherry, she would likely fall asleep as well. Su Miao smiled slightly, as if reminiscing on their journey where the two companions spent a lot of time napping. ... "We did it! The Inner World has opened!" Si Wu proclaimed, "You may stop infusing energy now and let the magic array operate autonomously." Lin Jiujiu ceased her power infusion as she stood in the platform hub, puzzled at the surroundings. Si Wu mentioned the Inner World had opened, but she couldn't feel anything. Hmm? Suddenly, Lin Jiujiu noticed a dream bubble at the platform's edge. Unlike the usual dream bubbles she conjured, this one exuded an ominous aura. It was rather eerie. "Master Si Tian, help!" "SOS!" Secretary Tao Yujie and other staff at the edge of this eerie dream bubble cried out in terror as they were swallowed up by it. Was this the gate to the Inner World? With Tao Yujie and others' entrance, the dream bubble seemed to shrink. "Everyone, as the Inner World gate opens, it relates to your unique powers," Si Wu explained. "For example, Si Shu's gate appears as a book, while Si Tian's is a dream bubble. You can enter through your respective entry points into the Inner World." "Furthermore, the gates we've opened aren’t limited to the twelve platforms; gates will appear in many areas worldwide." "These gates, however, are inconspicuous and unstable, requiring discovery to find." "Alright, I’m heading into the Inner World now." "Let’s collaborate again in the Inner World if fate allows!" Si Wu was the first to enter through his designated gate. "Even entering the Inner World requires a declaration. Humanity’s pretensions remain unchanged." Si Zhi remarked before stepping through the gate as the second. Unexpectedly, the newly appointed Si Di dashed through swiftly after Si Zhi’s entrance. No particular reason; wielding Si Di’s powers was purely a stroke of luck. With sufficient strength, no one covets his abilities. However, right now, he was just a tool. "Remember to run once the Inner World opens; many of Si Di's subordinates want his powers," Si Shu had said when giving him the powers. That advice stayed with Si Di. Then, Si Heng, Si Ye, Si Zhi led their teams into the Inner World one after another. "See you in the Inner World!" Si Li left a message, escorting the Undead Queen Du Wenqian and her army of 3,000 undead into the Inner World. Si Chen, Si Sui, and Si Zui then closed the communication, without disclosing if they had entered. Si Shu communicated, "Jiujiu, you can return now. And tell Tao Yujie..." Lin Jiujiu responded, "Sister Si Shu, Secretary Tao accidentally got swallowed by the Inner World; she was standing right at the entrance." Si Shu chuckled, "Secretary Tao is quite funny, daring enough to tread your path into the Inner World. Well, don't worry about her then; her chances of survival are low." It was then that Lin Jiujiu noticed Pei Xiaomiao’s communication had gone dark: "What about Sister Xiaomiao?" Si Shu explained, "Her entry seemed to encounter issues; she has gone directly into the Inner World aggressively. Nothing to worry about." What do you mean by aggressively entering the Inner World? Does that mean nothing? Lin Jiujiu glanced at her own Inner World gate, a change evident in her expression: "Sister Si Shu, what do you mean by issues with a gate, issues..." Si Shu was just about to explain when she noticed Lin Jiujiu’s communication devolve into eerie noises. The communication was abruptly cut off. (The chapter ended here.)