Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 529 - 497 Sugar-Free Era

Chapter 529: 497 Sugar-Free Era

The cartographer’s tone didn’t sound like they were describing the Mazao I knew, but more like a killing machine wearing Mazao’s skin.

No matter who the target was, they would kill without mercy, walking through the Doomsday Era like a Sin Demon. The Mazao I knew would never do such a thing.

I indeed wanted to seize the opportunity of being in the Doomsday Era to explore more of Mazao’s past, but isn’t this information a bit too explosive? What a dark and dashing nickname "Evangelical Witch" is... No, behind this nickname lies a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. This might not be a very stable thought.

In any case, the Mazao described by the cartographer is still too bizarre.

It’s true that Mazao has values out of step with modern society, and she talks about killing with no reservations, showing no signs of being soft-hearted in battle. However, at her core, she’s still a kind kid.

She wishes for others to live happily and feels pain at the thought of bringing misfortune to those she contacts. She wants to redeem the sins of having caused others’ deaths in the past by saving the world. This is certainly not the mindset of a cold-blooded killer.

Or could it be said that the Mazao I am familiar with has always been performing for me, always telling lies? Such a thing is absolutely impossible.

I thought of the previous phenomenon the cartographer mentioned, where the timeline of the Doomsday Era was in disarray. In the chaotic Doomsday Space-Time, one might encounter another self from a different time, and this self often comes from a possibility of destruction, being more evil and chaotic than their normal-time self.

Therefore, perhaps there exists a Mazao from a different time who is rampant in the Doomsday Era, spreading those chilling dark and bloody rumors.

Meanwhile, the word "Evangelical" in Mazao’s nickname led me to another possibility.

Mazao was once a member of the Evangelical Institute, where she had an unknown past that even she has forgotten. And Huang Quan, an Impermanence of the Evangelical Institute, once accused Mazao, saying she was an "evildoer who claimed to want to save the world but was actually accelerating the Doomsday process."

Perhaps Mazao during her Evangelical Institute period and the Mazao now have different personalities. The former was the "Evangelical Witch" accelerating the Doomsday process, while the latter is the kind-hearted Mazao I know.

Upon hearing the cartographer’s words, Tan Xiang cautiously raised a question: "Well... I understand what ’witch’ means, but what does ’evangelical’ mean?"

"The Evangelical Witch comes from an organization called the ’Evangelical Institute,’ which was the only large human force after the Doomsday descended, and it gathered the most Blessed Monks," the cartographer replied. "If you ever encounter people from the Evangelical Institute, don’t go near them. Just consider them as part of the strange hordes roaming the Doomsday Land and run as far away as you can."

"Why is that?" I was a bit surprised.

Although the Evangelical Institute is a rival force to Luo Mountain, in the Doomsday Era, as the sole large human force, they should stand with humanity, right? Moreover, Huang Quan hinted that the Evangelical Institute is a world-saving organization. Even if they are up to no good in secret, outwardly, they should still be a righteous organization, shouldn’t they?

Unexpectedly, the cartographer said solemnly: "The Evangelical Institute is an evil organization dedicated to exterminating humanity.

"The Evangelical Witch is famous for being one of the formidable front-line warriors of the Evangelical Institute, having slaughtered countless people. Even the ordinary monks of the Evangelical Institute act no differently than Sin Demons.

"They will drag survivors like us from the rubble and kill us, being even more heinous than many monsters. When faced with invincible monsters, we can just hide and wait for them to pass; but the monks of the Evangelical Institute, being human, understand our survival patterns and are more adept at finding and killing us.

"There are even rumors that the Doomsday is the ultimate catastrophe summoned by the Evangelical Institute, part of their plan to eliminate all humanity..."

Could it be that the Evangelical Institute is such an organization in the Doomsday Era? This sharply contradicts Huang Quan’s attitude.

A world-saving organization, committing the atrocity of slaughtering humanity... Could it be that, in the eyes of the Evangelical Institute, saving the world and saving humanity are distinct concepts? Or is there a complex hidden truth?

Tan Xiang then joked: "What kind of Resident Evil corporation is this? Could it be that they accidentally researched some outrageous virus in a lab somewhere, and it accidentally leaked, causing the Doomsday to descend?"

He really is a fan of zombie movies.

I also like them.

"I don’t know about that."

The cartographer first responded simply, then looked at me, asking: "So... Zhuang Cheng, is that girl named Mazao really your former companion and not some enemy?"

Tan Xiang’s expression slightly changed, and he also looked at me.

After thinking, I asked: "Could there be some misunderstanding? I vaguely remember Mazao being a very unlucky girl. She easily attracted strange entities, causing trouble for the team... Could it be that she never personally killed anyone, but rather that the strange entities she attracted did?"

The cartographer lowered his head to glance at a diary, then shook his head: "At least according to the stories I’ve heard from other survivors, the people killed by her died by her own hands."

"Forget it." He closed the diary, "Anyway, you’ve already forgotten the past. Whether the Evangelical Witch was your former companion or enemy... even whether you were a monk of the Evangelical Institute before, these issues have nothing to do with the current you.

"The memories washed away by the frenzy will never return. The past you has thus died and can never be restored. Now you should survive as an ordinary survivor, struggling alongside us,"

Tan Xiang exclaimed: "Ah... is that how it ends?"

"What else?" the cartographer said matter-of-factly.

The nerves of a Doomsday survivor are indeed quite resilient.

Since the cartographer wasn’t concerned, I no longer pondered how to respond, shifting my focus to the wandering spirit, trying to gather clues related to Little Bowl from him.

Unfortunately, for a man who seems to have lost even the most basic speaking ability, I couldn’t find a way immediately. However, one thing could be observed: the wandering spirit possesses a Residence Level soul strength. I confirmed this with the cartographer, who nodded and said that the wandering spirit, as a past comrade-in-arms, has strength not inferior to his. If the wandering spirit were an ordinary survivor, the half-destroyed Fake Water Moon wouldn’t come in handy.

I repeatedly tried to provoke the wandering spirit, but he responded only like a beast, with irrational reactions, constantly glaring at Tan Xiang, who got so anxious and flustered.

After a moment, I concluded that to make the wandering spirit speak, I indeed needed to rely on the Power of Word Spirit.

Although I can’t use the Power of Word Spirit now, as long as I complete the analysis and adaptation of the Doomsday Space-Time order, even partially, I can use the Power of Word Spirit to force a Residence Level character to respond adequately.

This won’t take long; it can be done today.

Though it feels odd to say "today" in a place without sunrise or sunset.

Then, the faint aroma of food wafted up from downstairs, and the cartographer’s stomach growled embarrassingly.

"...Well then, let’s have a meal together first," the cartographer suggested. "In ancient times, they seemed to have a blood oath when forming alliances. We don’t need such formalities here. Sitting down for a meal together can be our ritual of alliance."

Although I don’t need to eat, since there is this ritualistic need, I cooperated. We went downstairs and ate together. We had canned ingredients simmered in a hot pot; the taste wasn’t particularly good, but given the current material conditions, we couldn’t expect too much.

The boy I saw earlier and the girl who had been screaming out of control also sat around the table. The girl had returned to her expressionless, dazed state but at least knew to eat, mechanically using her bowls and chopsticks, and she no longer reacted to me as fearfully as before.

The cartographer placed several candles on the dining table for lighting. Unlike when facing my flame, the girl showed no unusual reaction to the candle flames.

Suppose the "flame-manipulating oddity" that attacked and slaughtered the girl’s team was indeed the Catastrophe Demon; why did she associate my flame with that of the Catastrophe Demon? This question arose in my mind.

Although I have considered whether the Catastrophe Demon might be the past me from the Doomsday Era, according to Mazao and Little Bowl, the Catastrophe Demon is a monster wrapped in black flames, whereas my fireball was not black.

Or did I make a mistake in my premise, and the "flame-manipulating oddity" is not the Catastrophe Demon?

I then noticed that the table had canned tomato sauce, which, for some reason, tasted only sour without seeming spoiled. Tan Xiang seemed puzzled and raised the question.

"After Doomsday descended, sweetness vanished from our world," the cartographer replied.

"What do you mean by sweetness disappeared?" Tan Xiang was stunned.

"Just what it says," the cartographer explained, "Some survivors remember what ’sweet’ tastes like, but no substance can give them that sensation. Even if you ask me why it’s like this, I can’t explain.

"There’s a theory that in the past era, ’sweetness’ was closely associated with the feeling of happiness, and after Doomsday arrived, the concept of ’happiness’ vanished, so did sweetness from this world.

"At least we can still find canned tomato sauce. It’s said that in the past, there was a seasoning called white sugar, commonly found in household kitchens, but I’ve never heard of anyone collecting such an item in the ruins.

"The only substance now that somewhat resembles sweetness, which we can access, is fresh blood. The frenzied Sin Demons pursue the sweet metallic taste of fresh blood, probably because it gives them a sense of happiness."

Tan Xiang murmured softly: "This is not scientific..."

I had a similar thought.

And then, I remembered the custard Mazao made for me in the past.

A dessert that requires a lot of white sugar, Mazao once made it for me after my battle with Ming Zhuo. She said she "somehow remembered how to make this dessert," but in the Doomsday Era where neither white sugar nor the concept of sweetness exists, where did she learn how to make custard?

Ultimately, in this era, does the concept of "dessert" even truly exist?