Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 540 - 506 The Little Bowl Being Chased

Chapter 540: 506 The Little Bowl Being Chased

The name "wandering soul" was told to us by the cartographer. Considering the cartographer initially lied to us about the identity of the wandering soul, perhaps this name itself is also something he made up. The wandering soul seems to have some difficulty remembering his own name and might have forgotten many things from the past. If the name given here is incorrect, we might not be able to get the information we want from him.

Fortunately, after a moment, the wandering soul exhaled a breath of turbid air, then nodded and said, "Yes, this is my name... Thank you."

"You’re welcome." I also breathed a small sigh of relief in my heart.

The wandering soul glanced at Tan Xiang, then looked at me, seemingly regaining the ability to converse normally, and affirmed, "It was you who rescued me from the hands of that cartographer, right?"

His voice was extremely hoarse, even though the wires in his throat had been removed, it seemed there was still some invisible sharp object obstructing it, "I vaguely remember the things that happened before... You seemed to have questions you wanted to ask me, but at that time, I wasn’t in a rational state enough to communicate with you."

"Yes, I wanted to inquire from you the whereabouts of a person, hoping you could tell me truthfully," I said.

"I cannot guarantee I will answer truthfully because I don’t know who you’re inquiring about," the wandering soul said.

Tan Xiang interjected, "Even if Zhuang Cheng is your lifesaver?"

"First of all, I wasn’t going to die anyway, so I can’t say he was my lifesaver. Secondly, in my heart, some things are more important than my own life. Even if he was indeed my lifesaver, I cannot guarantee I would comply with all demands."

Contrary to his disheveled appearance and past frenzied behavior, the tone of the wandering soul was unexpectedly orderly.

He looked at me once more, then bowed his head, and said, "I’m sorry, what I just said might make you feel I’m an ungrateful person, but at least one thing I can guarantee to you—in the future, whether you want me to be your servant, or for me to go through fire and water for you, as long as it’s not against my moral principles, I will agree.

"The cartographer cast me into hell, but you saved me, I swear I will definitely repay the great kindness appropriately."

"I don’t want you to be my servant or go through fire and water, you merely need to answer my questions," I said, "Do you know of ’Little Bowl’?"

Upon hearing this, the wandering soul’s face was instantly painted with an expression of astonishment.

Seeing this expression, I suddenly felt an ominous premonition—perhaps I’ve just stepped below the wandering soul’s so-called moral line.

Thinking in a positive direction, at least during the days he was imprisoned by the cartographer, he hadn’t forgotten the clues about Little Bowl.

"You’re asking... Little Bowl?" the wandering soul asked hoarsely.

"That’s right, I heard from the cartographer that after you fell into madness, you once muttered the name ’Little Bowl’," I said, "Little Bowl—little as in small, bowl as in bowl—this is the name, right? This is a girl about ten years old, have you met her?"

The wandering soul fell into a long silence, he stared at me wordlessly, seemingly evaluating something in his mind.

After a moment, he said, "Yes, that is the name... and I have indeed met her. You want to know where she is?... Before that, can you tell me why you want to find her?"

"I’m her friend," I said, "She’s currently wandering alone, and I want to offer her protection."

"Are you telling the truth?" The wandering soul stared into my eyes fiercely, "You truly don’t intend to capture her... and offer her to the Evangelical Institute?"

"Evangelical Institute?" I was surprised, "Why did you suddenly mention the Evangelical Institute?"

"The girl named Little Bowl is currently a high-priority target of the Evangelical Institute, her priority is no less than the remnants of Tai Sui," the wandering soul said, "The exact reasons for her targeting are unknown, only that it was a direct order from the Evangelical Institute Master to all monks to ensure her capture alive. Rewards include realizing any wish of those who contribute.

"This is a promise made by the human god, causing great fervor within the Evangelical Institute. This promise also applies to survivors outside the Institute. If one can offer the girl to the Institute, the human god will fulfill their wish, even ensuring a life without survival worries from now on—who wouldn’t be tempted by this?"

Tai Sui remnants? I noted this name, then asked in return, "What about you? Aren’t you tempted?"

The wandering soul said faintly, "My wish is one that even a human god cannot fulfill."

"You’re quite bold with your words. I’m rather curious about what your wish actually is. But before that, I still want to ask you if, by any chance, you never intended to tell me Little Bowl’s whereabouts?" I asked.

"Yes, I cannot tell you where she is," the wandering soul said, "but it’s not only because I cannot tell you due to personal principles; it’s also because I actually don’t know where she’s headed now."

"Then can you tell me where you last encountered her?" I asked.

"I cannot answer that question. However, this time it’s not because I don’t want to answer you, but because I don’t know how to convey the information of ’where’ to you," the wandering soul pondered. "If it’s purely to describe what that scene looked like, that would be fine, but to pinpoint the exact coordinates..."

I understood his difficulty. In the Doomsday Era when time and space have fragmented into countless pieces, expressing "a location’s direction and distance relative to your current location" is almost an impossible task without the basic physical spatial reference frame.

"Alright, then let me take a step back and ask... in what circumstances did you meet her and part ways with her?" I asked. "Such level of information shouldn’t be an issue to tell me, right?"

After some thought, the wandering soul said, "I understand. No matter what, you are my great benefactor, so I will tell you everything I know without threatening that girl."

He began to narrate to me—

An unknown period of time ago, the wandering soul encountered Little Bowl alone at an abandoned dock.

The term "unknown period of time ago" doesn’t necessarily refer to a long time ago. Since time in the Doomsday Era is chaotic, it could as well have been a recent event. It might not necessarily have happened in the past, but could also be an event occurring in the future.

At that time, the wandering soul was being chased by some form of peculiar threat. In the Doomsday Era, this is a very common occurrence. Survivors are either threatened by some bizarre danger or are on their way into such predicaments. For the wandering soul, this was a common occurrence; due to his considerable Undying Body, his margin for error was much higher than other survivors.

But as a consequence, certain things that other survivors would find only somewhat painful would become a torment worse than death for him. The strangeness he encountered then was one that would plunge him into such a hell. If truly caught by that entity, absent extremely good luck, he would face a terrifying and irreversible disaster.

Just as he was about to be overtaken, Little Bowl appeared on his unavoidable path.

No joke, due to excessive panic, the thought of using this girl as bait to throw behind and feed to the entity flashed in his mind, allowing himself the chance to escape. However, before he could commit such cruel act, Little Bowl instead saved his life, helping him escape from doom.

The wandering soul spoke vaguely about this part, but I understood roughly what occurred. Little Bowl likely used her Right Positioning Heavenly Phenomena power, coupled with her innate immense luck and other mystical forces to resolve the perilous situation. I informed the wandering soul that I was aware of Little Bowl’s abilities, and after being astonished, he admitted my speculation.

"Though we knew each other for only a short time, I could see that the girl is not a Blessed Monk. Yet, she possesses powers far more mysterious than those of most Blessed Monks," the wandering soul said. "Take the cartographer, for instance; he has the ability to ’guide direction,’ able to discern the right path for his needs in many situations, or find a way out in a dangerous predicament, right? Compared to that girl, the cartographer is nothing.

"Even without the Blessed Light, she can freely move to her desired locations or return to places she wishes to revisit. Even places she’s never been to—just provide some vague description, and she can reach them purely through a sense or on sheer luck.

"Moreover, even boldly walking in areas lacking cover, she’s rarely attacked by strangeness, and can easily find food and water by slipping into any ruin.

"If it weren’t for her also, like most survivors, having forgotten her past and facing threats from frenzy and Sin demonization, needing constant verification of her name from other survivors, it would truly seem like she’s living in a place without Doomsday.

"However... maybe luck really is conserved. When one is exceptionally blessed in some areas, they’re bound to be played by fate in others. The girl can avoid minor catastrophes, but ultimately it’s hard to dodge the major calamities."

"Are you referring to the Evangelical Institute’s bounty?" I asked.

"That’s just a secondary threat. Compared to the real threat, the Evangelical Institute’s bounty feels like a gentle breeze," the wandering soul said.

The Evangelical Institute is the only and largest human force in the Doomsday Era, coupled with survivors attempting to capture Little Bowl to offer up to the Evangelical Institute, it was hard to imagine there being a greater threat than that.

But the wandering soul’s answer resolved my doubts.

"The Catastrophe Demon is hunting her down," he said.