Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 466 - 436 Common Fear

Chapter 466: 436 Common Fear

"Why can’t I appear in this kind of place?" I asked.

Seeing that I didn’t intend to strike immediately, the "preacher" should have realized that I wanted to get information from him. He looked at me with fear while closing his mouth, showing hesitation. I thought he probably wanted to keep secrets but understood he couldn’t do that in front of me, so he began to consider whether he should confess voluntarily.

Before he could make a decision, I directly used the Power of Word Spirit to order him to reveal everything.

In the past, I needed to use the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring to extract information from the opponent. With the Power of Word Spirit, even without the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring at hand, I could achieve the same effect. The "preacher" could only honestly disclose the information he knew, unable to lie or keep silent.

I asked while examining his body, then found the "white book" mentioned in Xiaoqiao’s description. Just as Zhu Shi said, the book’s cover had "Peach Blossom Spring" written on it, and the contents were full of descriptions and praises of how beautiful the "Paradise" was. Interspersed in the text were some mysterious symbols that could influence the viewer’s consciousness.

This influence was not strong. After all, it’s a tool used to interfere with ordinary people’s minds, so it didn’t need to be powerful. No wonder Zhu Shi’s protective wood carving given to Xiaoqiao could block its interference.

Additionally, according to the "preacher," he also used the white book to deflect two agents originally patrolling the abandoned construction site. Although these agents couldn’t wield mana, like Xiaoqiao, they had protective items. Unfortunately, unlike with Xiaoqiao, the "preacher" knew the agents had protective methods, so he first removed all their protective gear and then forcibly "brainwashed" the two.

Two agents who were once my believers thus defected to Taoyuan Village. While some might see them as lacking firm belief, from another angle, those who believe in God usually have dissatisfaction and disappointment with their real life and choose to place their hopes on the other side. Even I cannot deny having such tendencies, wanting to pursue non-realistic adventures more than the current, real life.

And Taoyuan Village’s "Paradise" is exactly the manifestation of the otherworldly world.

As for why the "preacher" dared to target Xiaoqiao, a student at Saltwater University where I study, and even used this unfinished building related to me as a battle trap, thinking I wouldn’t appear here, I got the answer. At first, I wondered if there was a complex reason, but it wasn’t like that at all.

Put simply, it’s because, in his mind, Impermanence is a super figure far away, difficult to consider as a real threat.

To me, he was too small, and to him, I was too great. While he sees ordinary people as mundane, he clearly realizes that compared to a god-like Impermanence, he’s just a small being. So in his intuitive feeling, he and I are like characters living in different universes. Rationally, he thought about whether his actions would provoke me, but in the end, he couldn’t imagine it would truly result in my involvement.

He couldn’t imagine being worthy of interacting with gods, nor could he imagine a god personally causing his actions to fail.

If he were a higher-level demon hunter from the historic Luo Mountain, he’d probably be more sensitive to such things; whereas the "preacher," being outside Luo Mountain and only a Residence Level demon hunter, lacks this sensitivity.

"Worthy of someone who can name his weapon ’Zhuang Cheng’s Blade,’ evidently hasn’t thought about possibly meeting the original owner in his lifetime," Zhu Shi hit the nail on the head with a comment.

While I interrogated the "preacher," Zhu Shi seized the opportunity to briefly "educate" Xiaoqiao on the terms appearing in our conversation, like Luo Mountain, Taoyuan Village, demon hunters, agents, etc., and informed Xiaoqiao that the shadow of the abnormal world might be something she couldn’t escape in her future destiny.

Xiaoqiao looked at the "preacher" with a complex gaze; I guessed she still yearned for supernatural power, at least hoping to gain enough strength in the future to protect herself and those around her.

"May I ask a question?" Xiaoqiao asked.

"Go ahead," I replied.

Xiaoqiao looked at the "preacher," saying, "You also gained stronger power through that so-called dream token, right? But according to Little Zhu, the stronger the power, the deeper the connection to the abnormal world, and the more likely you are to encounter dangerous anomalies. Many demon hunters have died this way... why do you still want to become stronger?"

"Answer her," I was also curious.

"... Attractiveness only determines the frequency of encountering anomalies. It doesn’t mean that as long as you maintain a weak level, you won’t attract anomalous events exceeding your capability," the "preacher" answered honestly. "Cultivators, starting from the Residence Realm, some even starting from a bad realm, can achieve far beyond average human lifespans, yet many die young, as do achieved realm cultivators... even Great Success Cultivators can’t escape this tribulation.

"For a Great Success Cultivator to become an Impermanence is so difficult it’s almost impossible. However, Luo Mountain at most has more than ten Impermanences, yet there are less than twenty Great Success Cultivators to this day. What do you think this unreasonable ratio is?

"If one thinks that staying weak will be exchanged for safety, they will only die faster and more miserably. In fact, am I not falling into the hands of an Impermanence right here?"

His voice carried a tone of self-mockery.

Zhu Shi seemed to resonate as well. And Lu Chan had mentioned before when chatting with me that Agent Kong became a soul-refining murderer out of fear of dying in an inescapable anomalous event one day. The collective fear of demon hunters and agents toward the vortex of the abnormal world is a deeply ingrained concept in their collective consciousness, yet it’s a part I never delved into deeply. Because my perception in this regard is completely opposite to theirs; what they perpetually fear is what I always long for.

If one cannot understand their shared fear, perhaps they cannot truly understand the core consciousness of the demon hunter community. The death-worship culture of Luo Mountain can hardly be said to have no relation to their fear of unavoidable terrifying deaths.

The attitude I hold when facing topics they consider serious might seem frivolous. Of course, I don’t think I’m approaching adventure with a frivolous mindset.

"So... is that your reason for joining Taoyuan Village?" I asked, "Do you think you’ll find the safety and peace you want in ’Paradise’?"

"Why can’t I?" The "preacher" seemed to give up, "I struggled to gain this kind of power, yet those mortals can live more peacefully than us, not needing to worry about inexplicable horrors striking without warning, not needing to worry about losing their lives without a trace...

"If it were just a normal death, that would be bearable, maybe we wouldn’t even know we’re dead and become something non-self; maybe we’d fall into a strange state where death is even a luxury, literally unable to live or die... Who can endure such things!

"Is this what should happen in the real world? Even if I just lay down and dream, it’s more reasonable than this crappy reality!

"In the future, there might even be an apocalypse, with the world ending within ten years! But once you enter ’Paradise,’ you’ll gain endless life and happiness. A nightmare-like reality or a vivid dream, which is the correct choice, is it even a question?"

Xiaoqiao exclaimed in surprise, "What... apocalypse?"

"I’ll explain this to you later."

I first said to Xiaoqiao, then looked again at the "preacher," asking, "What you say sounds reasonable, but it all hinges on one very important premise, that ’Paradise’ can truly be established.

"But are you so certain the Taoyuan Village Master will fulfill his promise and truly complete ’Paradise’? Or even if it gets completed, will it really be the perfect otherworldly world you’ve been expecting?

"Perhaps it isn’t the idyllic dream promised by the Taoyuan Village Master but a sweet lie fabricated purely to fulfill his own ambition. To him, you might just be the necessary material to achieve his ambition.

"Have you all seriously considered this question?"

Upon hearing this, the "preacher" didn’t show hesitation or doubt but rather directly nodded, admitting, "We’re very aware that the Taoyuan Village Master’s ultimate goal isn’t ’Paradise.’

"For us, ’Paradise’ itself is the goal; but for him, it’s just a stopping point, a necessary means.

"This is an open secret within Taoyuan Village, and he hasn’t hidden this from the start."

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