Chapter 677: Blood Moon

Meanwhile, on Earth…

It was the middle of Winter. A big snowstorm that just stopped caused many cities to be covered in thick layers of snow. Night had just fallen, and the snowy moonlit night was exceptionally quiet.

A massive telescope stood quietly on a mountaintop. It was from Dawn Academy’s Earth Division. In the spacious yet somewhat chaotic office, the lights were on and smoke could be seen.

“Mr. Mao, have you forgotten to take your pills? Why did you suddenly ask us to spend the night on overtime?”

“Exactly, it’s the weekend today, and the weather is so cold. You know as well that our air-conditioning has been broken for a long time. We’ll freeze to death if we spend the night here.”

“It’s worse for me. I had a date scheduled with my girlfriend, and an order sheet summoned me back.”

…

The complaints in the office did not stop. As Dawn Academy’s Earth Division, the department was registered as an observatory in name, but the actual use was to provide benefits to the outbound students during the holidays every year, or to assist in recruitment. Basically, it was a place for menial tasks that did not require much skill.

The staff here knew as well that they were basically there to retire. Even though it was hard for them to continue with their training on Earth, they could enjoy a very high pay and a peaceful life on Earth.

No one expected that the Earth Division, which had never worked a single hour of overtime, would suddenly receive an order from the dean of Dawn Academy, assembling all the members that night to wait for further orders!

The order did not make sense. To those of them who were merely ordinary members that were only at Bronze-rank in skill, they could not grasp the meaning behind it, and so they could only complain to their superior, Mao Tianying.

As the division head, Mao Tianying was also assigned menial tasks normally, but his tasks and the people he interacted with set him apart from everyone else. However, he was extremely frustrated at the fragmented and incomplete information he had.

The ashtray in front of Mao Tianying was already full, and was emitting smoke. He narrowed his eyes, seemingly thinking about something. On his desk was a freshly printed document, and on the document were a few large words: ‘There will be a super blood moon tonight that is rarely visible, even once a century.’

The document actually did not have any secrets, and it was actually just a lunar eclipse. Blood moons happened because Earth’s atmosphere reflected and refracted the sunlight, causing the sun’s red ultraviolet rays to hit the moon more intensely, which gave the appearance for a red moon.

It was an incredibly normal astrological event; it was just that the few variables very rarely coincided, and it had not happened for around 150 years. Because of that, it caused a lot of attention all around the world, but all of that was definitely not something Dawn Academy’s Earth Division would place any importance on!

‘Curse the main division! Why are they being so tightlipped this time?!’

Mao Tianying cursed in his heart as he frowned deeply. He did not know whether it was because of the clamor in the office or the feeling of uneasiness for what was to come. He finally let out a breath, deciding to do something. He straightened his body, rapped his fingers on the table, and the office quieted down.

Mao Tianying was still the person in charge of the Earth Division. Without anyone higher up being sent in by Dawn Academy, he was in charge of everything on Earth.

“Little Li, open up the telescope,” Mao Tianying said calmly.

“What?” Little Li was a middle-aged woman, and she was confused at the order, so she asked, “Mr. Li, aren’t the orders for us to await orders tonight? How could you still be in the mood to watch the eclipse?” It was a super lunar eclipse that only happened once every 150 years, so it was no big news. Everyone already knew about it, but no one would have tied that news with the special orders they received that night together.

Mao Tianying was usually an even-tempered man. After all, he sat in an awkward position without any actual power. He knew that he had to be more humble, so he never minded being questioned by his subordinates usually, but that night, he felt incredibly frustrated.

Mao Tianying definitely knew a lot more, such as the fact that Xiao Lin had encountered a blood moon in New Washington before, and had disappeared in Judge Academy for a period of time. That news was considered a secret, but Mao Tianying naturally had his own sources of information. Even though he did not know the details, even though it happened in the New World, it was still not that long ago, and now Earth was about to have its own blood moon.

Mao Tianying might not be that capable, but he felt that the two incidents could not possibly be unrelated.

However, what was it?

The division head got more and more frustrated, and his tone was impatient. “Don’t forget I’m still the division head. We are working now, so you just need to follow my orders!”

The office fell completely silent, and the woman from earlier could also feel Mao Tianying’s nervousness. Everyone exchanged looks and they started to feel like something was wrong. The atmosphere seemed to become much heavier instantly. The others dropped their conversations and cigarettes, and sat back in their places.

Their work rate had increased by a lot because of that, and very quickly, the observatory regained its original purpose. The large telescope activated, and the lens shifted toward the bright and round moon in the sky. At that same moment, there were also countless telescopes on Earth aimed at that rare sight.

Mao Tianying’s eyes were fixed on the moon on the screen. Under the enhancement of the telescope, he could even clearly see the craters on the moon. He looked at his watch, and in another half an hour, the eclipse would start.

“I hope nothing goes wrong,” Mao Tianying mumbled.

…

In the New World, at the old war site far away from Dawn Academy, at the deserted graveyard which was the location of the tournament semi finals, Dawn Academy was facing the Royal British Academy…

“I hope nothing goes wrong!” Xiao Lin told his team behind him with some worry. It had already been a few hours since they went into the graveyard, but other than the endless tide of undead spirits, they still had yet to meet anyone from the Royal British Academy, which gave him an uneasy feeling.

Outside the graveyard, the mysterious fog had already completely enveloped the graveyard. Dawn Academy and Royal British Academy’s people were forced to work together to handle various high-ranked undead spirits as they awaited reinforcements.

Xiao Lin still did not know any of that.