Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 114 - 111 Doomsday Button

Chapter 114: 111 Doomsday Button

If the target of the investigation had the capability to counter Divination, the related information Mazao managed to gather would be fragmented. She once described piecing together these broken shards of information as a "puzzle game." And, since it was a puzzle, it meant that with enough luck, it was possible to directly piece together the needed results.

Perhaps because there was no time limit last time, she couldn’t give an accurate timeframe. But this time was different. For her, with the Broom Star Physique, missing the timing meant she would be unable to track the target, which was equivalent to "definitely being able to track the target within this period."

Even if the Weirdo Maker’s anti-divination strategy was extremely powerful, even elevating the difficulty of Mazao’s tracking from a "puzzle game" to "finding a needle in a haystack," the results might still be fished out by Mazao through sheer persistence or some other inexplicable way a clue might just fall out of the sky.

Who knows what the Weirdo Maker would feel after learning this.

"It’s just like cheating!" Zhu Shi exclaimed.

Mazao, however, seemed to recall the past, her expression turning complex and melancholic. She said, "I was forced to flee and hide everywhere in the past because of this physique that attracted the weird. I never thought that one day I would be able to use it to my advantage..."

"If you’re recalling something sad, I can give you a hug." My words were both caring and a sort of reply to the earlier conversation.

"That would be a crime, Senior Brother Zhuang. Of course, receiving it would be as well," Zhu Shi first made a jab, then said to Mazao, "You were right to lie to Lu Chan before. Even if we really find out where the. Weirdo Maker is, don’t tell him the news.

Although he’s aware of his lack of combat ability, his hatred for the Human Bureau is too intense. If he learns of the clue, he’ll definitely chase after it. Leaving aside how it might interfere with our action against the Weirdo Maker, for him, it’d be like a moth flying into a flame."

"I don’t think he lost his combat ability based on how he stopped the Shadow Swapping Monster earlier," I said.

"The reason he could stop the Shadow Swapping Monster’s counterattack was because the monster had weakened to a dire level, and on top of that, his eye power and judgment as an achieved level Evil, though barely, remained," Zhu Shi said, "But the Weirdo Maker we are facing this time, although there are no reports indicating he has any special powers, considering he fearlessly interacts with those cruel monsters, he may possess power that surpasses those monsters."

I pulled out the key words: "’We’?"

Zhu Shi was shocked: "Are you two planning to take on the Weirdo Maker without me?"

"I thought you’d suggest we bring more people from Luo Mountain." I said.

"That’s unlikely. To avoid alarming our adversary, we’ll surely aim for a small elite operation. And in a short time frame, it’s not possible to gather stronger warriors than you or more reliable allies than Mazao for tracking the enemy. Besides, if the Weirdo Maker exhibits any bizarre abilities, I can discern them immediately and find countermeasures," Zhu Shi said, "My goal isn’t to eliminate the Weirdo Maker, but to obtain information related to the Human Bureau from him, and Mazao, you..."

"My goal is to get information on Doomsday from the Weirdo Maker," Mazao said.

"I’m interested in both types of information," I said.

"Good, our desires for information align. So the direction of our operation will be as follows..." Zhu Shi said, "To prevent the Weirdo Maker from suddenly pulling out a strong trump card, we could directly kill him, but we must at least leave the head intact, which is similar to the approach we take with monsters."

After we confirmed our plan, we found a nearby karaoke bar to enter. Inside the private room, Mazao took out the head of the Shadow Swapping Monster, focusing intently on tracing its historical information with her ability.

I also silently contemplated my forthcoming actions.

Information on Doomsday and that of the Human Bureau—if I had to choose which side I was more interested in, it would surely be the former.

After finding Mazao, my biggest motivation was to investigate the truth about Doomsday with her. I am now fully convinced that the Doomsday crisis is real. Originally, this was the most important thing for Mazao, and now it has become equally important to me.

What I pursued was an adventure beyond reality, and in this world, is there any adventure more magical and thrilling than Doomsday? I can’t quite imagine there is.

The question is, how should I face Doomsday?

To put it specifically—suppose that the cause of world Doomsday was a pair of differently colored buttons, the left one red: pressing it would bring Doomsday. The future turns into Doomsday because someone in the original timeline found and pressed the red button before us.

On the right is a blue button, which can permanently disable the red button’s effect.

After all the hardships, Mazao and I finally arrive in front of these buttons.

Mazao, of course, would want to press the blue button. But what about me?

Would I want to press the red button or the blue one?

I have friends and family, of course I wouldn’t want them to suffer or even die in Doomsday. But... if the red button was placed in front of me, and pressing it would cause society and civilization to collapse, bringing countless calamities to our world, would I really not feel the urge to press it?

I knew my current thoughts were abnormal. But the emotions I was experiencing at that moment were probably not unique to me.

Even if you grabbed a random person living an ordinary life from the street and handed them a button that could summon a super zombie virus to destroy the world, they might feel the urge to press it. It’s strange to say, but the desire for Doomsday seems incredibly widespread. So I felt that there would be no shortage of people who could resonate with my current state of mind.

Desiring to break the monotony of life and plunge into the chaos of adventure—

At the same time this thought surfaced, I also unavoidably became aware of another problem.

Mazao was someone important to me, but we might be enemies.

Of course, making such a judgment now would probably be premature.

If Doomsday were a naturally occurring catastrophe, one that didn’t require a "push," then there was no point in pondering whether I should push for Doomsday. In that case, I’d just honestly take the position of a good person and enjoy the thrill of preventing Doomsday.

"Preventing" is also a form of interaction with Doomsday and doesn’t lack its own "adventure." Moreover, according to prophecies, the end of Doomsday is the world itself becoming nothingness. If that outcome occurred, I wouldn’t be able to adventure anymore. I could, of course, distinguish between a one-time feast and continuous abundance.

...No, I still have to admit, if we’re talking about "the end of the world," maybe even a one-time feast would be worth it. I did have that kind of crazy idea. But that’s not what’s most important right now.

What’s most important now is "information." Partnering with Mazao to fight side by side and investigating the truth behind Doomsday is what’s most crucial. As for what comes after, there will be time to think about that later.

"Zhuang Cheng, your expression is quite profound," Zhu Shi’s voice rang out beside me, "What are you thinking about?"

I turned my head; Zhu Shi was sitting with me in the dim private room on the couch. She shouldn’t have been using her ability to see through lies at the moment.

"I’m contemplating what comes next," I gave a vague response, then said, "By the way, can you help me with something?"

Zhu Shi showed a smile: "Help? If there’s anything I can do, just ask!"

"I feel like my superpower might have undergone some minor changes, could you see if that’s the case?" I asked.

Upon hearing this, she showed a troubled expression: "Look at your superpower? I can indeed see others’ powers, but—"

"Is there a problem?" I asked, curious.

"You’re too bright," she said candidly, "Under the ’Buzhou Mountain’ view, looking at you is like using naked eyes to look directly at the sun. The brightness is so intense that I can’t see what you look like.

"If I use ’Buzhou Mountain’ at low power, I can extract some information from you. That’s how I previously identified that your superpower wasn’t derived from Devil or monster lineage, but then I can’t see the power itself. If I look fully, it turns into the situation I just described.

"I think it’s because you’re inherently a high-density flame aggregate, and seeing your true form actually hinders me."

"My Elementalization surprisingly has an anti-peeping effect?"

This was beyond my expectations, it seems I’ll have to figure out how to research this myself.

At this time, Mazao, sitting on the opposite couch, momentarily set down her head, appearing somewhat fatigued from using her abilities. Zhu Shi poured her a carbonated drink and passed it over. She gulped it down in one go, then let out a small burp.

She seemed to be harboring some concerns. I inquired, and she frankly shared her thoughts.

"It’s about the monster," she said, "Previously, it was my first time seeing a monster from this era speak so much. In my era, monsters... or rather, Sin Demons wouldn’t normally converse with people. They were just like true monsters, solely engaging in frenzied slaughter..."

"Are you starting to feel like there is no connection between the monsters and the Sin Demons?" I ventured.

"There are indeed differences between them. The monsters in this era seem to mostly have the form of a sheep’s head on a human’s body, while the Sin Demons of Doomsday are distinctly different. However, more important than the difference in appearance are the mana fluctuations..." she pondered, "The monsters of this era possess mana fluctuations that are enough to classify them as Sin Demons, something no oddity or monk has."

"We’ll just have to let the Weirdo Maker clarify this for us," I said.

"Right," she nodded, then took a deep breath.

I remembered the soul trauma she mentioned during her conversation with Lu Youxun and asked with concern: "Can you talk about your injury? You said before that the trauma you suffered cannot be healed because it was inflicted by the Great Demon... Is that true?"

Zhu Shi also showed a very concerned expression, watching Mazao with me.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.