3113: PROJECT SSS The Nightfall Crusade (BOOK I ASIA)

CHAPTER 1 (The Damnation)

Year 3108 of December 24

Singapore

Near Christmas Eve . . .

It was a beautiful day, just right for getting those final few gifts for the holiday everyone looks forward to every year.

Meanwhile, Sarah, on the other hand, felt a headache when she noticed that Daniel hadn’t moved for about an hour since she had asked him to run errands for her. She assumed that he must have fallen back asleep since he didn’t make any noise.

She looked at him while he slept and mumbled, "Surely you're making fun of me."

She continues to have faith in him despite the fact that she is aware that the criminology class he is taking is at least partially responsible for the weariness he is exhibiting. It would be fruitless to try to argue with him at this moment because Christmas Eve is drawing near and he has responsibilities to fulfill. It would be inappropriate for her to show empathy at this time.

By the time he was twenty years old, Daniel did not have any relatives and was living independently. However, he had demonstrated to himself that he was still able to pursue his studies despite the fact that he did not have any parents that he could depend on for support. In addition to that, he worked part-time at Wcdo, which is a fast food restaurant chain, in order to ensure that he was able to pay for all of his day-to-day expenses. After having to put in the effort required to pass all of the tests, he considered himself quite fortunate to have been accepted as one of the government's scholars.

In addition to that, Daniel is well taken care of by Sarah's family as a result of the tight relationship that exists between Daniel's parents and Sarah's family. Daniel is content with the fact that, at the very least, he can depend on them to provide support whenever he may need it.

When Sarah threw a glass of water in his face, he was shocked and completely taken aback, which caused him to take a seat and grunt.

"That is what you get," she murmured, her lips moving in a smile that suggested she was enjoying the events as they were evolving.

Daniel groaned and combed his hair with his hands after grunting. He admitted that he had overslept, to which he responded only by nodding his head.

She went up to the table, took the money that had been laid aside for him, and handed it to him. "All right, here is the money, and the only item that you are going to buy is the cake that was originally scheduled in Astrid's bakeshop. Please add an egg tart if that's okay with you, all right? A box of it," she added, and Daniel had no choice but to follow her instructions and nod his head in agreement because he was fully aware of the consequences of disobeying her in the event that he did not.

"Duly noted that," he replied, and was going to stand up from his seat because he already planned to shut her mouth the next time she spoke.

"Orchard Road's shopping districts are currently experiencing a renaissance. I am sure the lights are lavish!" She shrieked with enthusiasm. Daniel covered his ears since it appeared as though his eardrums were about to explode as a result of the noise she made.

As Daniel made his way to the central business district, he couldn't help but gaze up at the sky, which was now gradually losing its lovely appearance and turning into a gloomy storm.

"A storm on Christmas"? he mumbled the question out of thin air as he continued to walk and was getting close to being able to view the roof of the building where the bakery is located.

As he got closer and closer to the shop, he finally let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, here we are," as he pushed the glass door, which caused a chime to sound as he entered the room.

A woman who was possibly in her mid-thirties and was most likely the owner of the shop greeted him, and that is to then he realized that he was the only customer inside that should be maybe he thought a lot of going since today is the last minute of shopping. The store was compact and well organized, but even from the outside one could tell that all of the baked goods sold inside were of the highest quality. He is under the impression that her name was also Astrid.

"Hello, how may I be of assistance to you? My name is Astrid ," the lady said politely, and he answered correctly about her name.

Before responding, he gave her a friendly smile and stated, "I am here to pick up the cake that was reserved from the Willows and perhaps to buy a box of egg tarts." He then placed the cash that he had in his hands on the glass counter, and the woman gave him a change while nodding her head in affirmation.

"Please make yourself comfortable while waiting for the egg tarts since we have just baked them this time," she kindly offered, gesturing for him to take a seat on one of the chairs and tables and turning on the television.

"Thank you," he replied and then walked over to the television set in order to find a position from which he could see the news in its entirety.

The woman made her way to the door that he believes led to the kitchen, and by the time she reached it, she had disappeared from view. Daniel was still having trouble accepting the fact that he was actually living in this year, but he wished that he had been born in the nineties rather than this year because the costs of living were much lower back then in comparison to this year. It's possible that he could sell his organs in order to get enough money to cover his day-to-day expenses.

As the years went by, the prices of everything on the market, including food, medicine, and just about everything else, continued to rise. Even the rest of the expenses associated with his studies, including his projects, were all quite pricey. To this day, advanced technology is present everywhere they walk, and he believes that over the next five years, all people will be walking while floating in the air.

Daniel sat down in the rattan chair, took a long breath, and then let it out slowly. This helped him calm his body and mind. He murmured the words under his breath as he continued to watch the news. "I did not have time to do stretching," he murmured.

"We have to take a break from this program because we have Mr. Sinclair is here with us right now with an important announcement. Let's hear it out from him." The reporter commented as the cameraman approached the gentleman identified only as Mr. Sinclair with the camera.

His face was lined with wrinkles, and his eyes were puffy and reddish, which made it appear as though he had not had enough sleep. He was an elderly man who was almost completely bald.

"Dear friends and family, we have already found a location in which we could be able to reside in the event of an emergency that occurs in this kind of generation. We are all aware that the end of the world is becoming ever closer, and for those of you who still don't accept what I'm saying, perhaps you should at least give it some more consideration in the days ahead, even if you don't believe it."

Daniel chortled at his proclamation that the end of the world was imminent. "What kind of entertainment is that?"

He, on the other hand, shut his eyes since he believed that the information that he was about to deliver would be of such an urgent matter. However, he saw a man who was living in prophesy, and he had interrupted the television simply to proclaim such a thing. He made the announcement that a new planet with the name Evelix had been discovered, and that it was identical to the earth. Despite the fact that it is identical to the earth, he said that even if people were taken there one day, they would not be relieved to be living there like they are on earth.

They have spent years upon years constructing a building which is still in the process of being created, that would perhaps right now be able to house at least millions of people, which is not even half of the population of billions of people currently living on earth. And perhaps it was the same as what he had seen in the movies about Mars, where they would grow things inside like trees and vegetables so that they would have adequate oxygen to breathe as well. This was something that he had seen. It had been many days since, even in the newspapers were saying that zombies were approaching, and it didn't mean that years ago because of the pandemic that had gone through in the world, meaning that there would also be zombies.

Daniel was unable to fathom how a planet with such technological advancement could face such a challenge. The planet that he was standing on once consisted of humans, but it has since been taken over by robots. In fact, it is now impossible to differentiate between a human and a robot due to the technological advances that have been made, particularly in Japan.

Even though they are already in that kind of circumstance, Daniel was nevertheless thankful that Singapore itself, or at least some of the town, is still keeping the city that they have grown up in and been a part of their entire lives. It has been preserved by some people, which has resulted in it becoming a tourist destination for people who were born after the advent of virtual technologies.

A woman's voice came from behind him and asked, "What kind of news is that," which caused him to jump back in surprise.

She gave a tittering giggle before placing the box on the table that was situated in front of him. She said something to the effect of, "I was calling your name but it seems like you are preoccupied by that news," which caused him to feel timid as a result of what she said.

He muttered his farewells as he made his way out of the shop while holding the bag which contained the two boxes of his orders. He was greeted by a strong wind, and dust got into his eyes, causing him to grunt. He took a look at the road, and based on what he knew about the area, he anticipated seeing a number of people who were actively making their way here; nevertheless, he saw nobody. It was just him walking down the side road, and he noticed that, despite the fact that the stores he had passed were open, he was the only person there.

He spoke the question out of thin air as he looked through the glass window of a shop that he had just passed by. "Is it too early?" he said.

Because, to the best of his knowledge, it was already getting close to noon, he couldn't help but be inquisitive about the situation. Daniel swiftly removed his phone from his pocket. He was happy that the elderly woman had given him a bag to place his orders in so that it could be more easily managed.

Because social media are sometimes the answer to everything, as soon as he took out his phone, he went straight to his wazebook to look for something that would answer his question. He did this because social media is sometimes the answer to everything.

Because there wasn't much to see on the site, he decided to power down his phone and put it back where he normally keeps it in his pocket.

DECEMBER 25, 3108

One in the morning . . .

After celebrating Christmas, everyone has gone to bed for the night and is currently deep in sleep. Daniel doesn't want to celebrate it because it simply brings up memories of his parents, but he knows that if he does that, Sarah's family would put a lot of pressure on him to participate in the festivities along with them. They had already treated him as a member of their family, which made him pleased, but this did not alter the fact that everything else would remain the same.

He did not feel weary and was not yet sleepy, which is one of the things that makes him inquisitive. He opens his Wazebook once more, expecting that some of his friends will post a picture of them and their family celebrating Christmas, but there was no such picture. Despite the fact that there was a connection to the internet, there was nothing. Daniel exhaled deeply, and as he was about to put his phone down for the third time at that point, something caught his attention and caused him to pause.

It was a live broadcast.

People in Japan are being told to leave their homes as a precaution against a virus that is rapidly spreading throughout the country. A man pointed out a road where there was a fire and commotions of people who were making a crowd just to get in into a barrier where soldiers were standing and looking like they were scanning every person that they let in.

As there are a lot of lights and choppers that can be seen in the background of his picture which makes him sit at the edge of his bed. Even though he is not yet aware of what was taking place within those walls, he gets the impression that there is imminent danger. Even though Japan is very far from where he is now located, he is baffled as to why he was feeling that way.

"This virus is now spreading—we still don't know what it is, but one thing is certain for those who had the opportunity to see it with their own eyes. People who became infected with the virus acted irrationally, as if they had been possessed or something else, but the images of these people appeared in every movie, and I always picture them as zombies. I am well aware that this may sound insane; yet, you will also discover this. Please have faith in your government and comply with any requests to leave the area if they have made such requests before it is too late."

When Daniel looked out his window, he noticed that there was a full moon in the sky, and its light was penetrating his chamber.

He had just settled in to watch the news once again when he was startled by the sound of someone pounding on the door. "Daniel! Daniel! Please open this door as soon as possible!" When he was banging on the door with her fistful hand, Sarah yelled through the crack in the door.

Daniel had to hurry to get there to open the door for her, and when he did, he saw that she had a frightened expression on her face and that she was sweating heavily.

“Sarah? What's the matter?" He inquired as he grabbed her shoulder, and it was clear from the look in her eyes that she was feeling some level of anxiety about something.

“M-mom and d-dad,” she whispered and was stuttering as he said those words.

His brow furrowed. "What is the problem? Where are they?" he asked, and was ready to get out of the room to go check on her parents when she stopped him with her trembling hands and she couldn't even look him in the eyes. It appears as though she was frightened or had witnessed something horrifying.

“Where is your sister?” he added, which had caught her attention and tears were now streaming down to her face and Daniel was starting to get worried.

She grabbed his arm and took him inside of his house to his room, where she and he concealed themselves beneath his bed. He had no idea what was going on, but he followed her lead.

Daniel steadied himself by taking her trembling hand in his and gently squeezing it while staring into her eyes. "Could you just fill me in on what's going on right now?"

Her lips were shaking and she kept shaking her head. “M-mom and dad are eating her. T-they look like-,” she couldn’t finish her words when she started crying again and stopped when we heard footsteps in the dry leaves and it didn’t make sense, but Daniel felt that he had to be silent and not create any noise and thankfully the light in his room was off.

He looked at Sarah and her eyes told him to be as quiet as possible and try not to make any noise. He doesn’t yet know what she had told him earlier about his parents eating her sister, if that is really what she is pointing at. Daniel remembered what he had seen on the social media about what was currently happening in Japan and he felt like it was also happening now at his place if he was right.