Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 587 - 550 Evil Will

Chapter 587: 550 Evil Will

Mazao has a dark past, full of bloodshed and sin.

No matter if it’s because she was just a child at the time, was unfortunately subject to wrong education, and driven by evil teachers and environment to act that way; or because the current her has already lost her past memories, making her different from her past self... Many would likely not see these as reasons to absolve her of her sins. Zhu Shi might be prone to making such a judgment, but this world is not so forgiving. I also believe a person cannot simply wash their hands of their past.

At the same time, I feel these are insignificant issues.

Because I am scum. If the same things happened to me, I wouldn’t care. Thus, after hearing about Mazao’s dark history, I simply feel my understanding of her has become richer. I have nothing more to think about beyond that.

I can still embrace Mazao without hesitation.

However, if Mazao herself knows these things, she probably wouldn’t be able to let go easily. It’s likely this tendency to attack herself that has formed her resolve to save the world.

No. 7 looked at me, seemingly unable to hold back, finally asking, "I’ve heard Mazao later came to be by your side... Has she been doing well lately?"

After Mazao arrived in the modern world, with No. 7’s "secret intelligence channels," she should be able to basically grasp her activities. But what she wants to ask is likely not such rational, objective, and neutral intelligence but my subjective feelings as someone close to her. So I said, "At least she smiles more compared to when I first met her."

"Is that so..." No. 7 seemed uncertain about how to handle this information.

"Lady No. 7, regarding what you mentioned earlier, there’s something that’s bothering me..." Little Bowl said seriously, "Can I continue to ask questions?"

No. 7 nodded, saying, "Of course."

"Why did the Evangelical Institute slaughter the survivors of the post-mortem world?" Little Bowl asked, "Compared to humans in the living world, the number of soul-loss patients transferred to the post-mortem world is overwhelmingly fewer. Merely slaughtering them cannot prevent Doomsday.

"Furthermore, with the chaotic time-space of the post-mortem world, the manpower cost of slaughtering survivor groups is evidently very high. It would be better to concentrate on invading the living world first. Huang Quan’s activities in the living world should partly be for setting up this matter, right?

"Even if the survivor group is destined to be completely annihilated sooner or later, it’s obviously much easier to destroy their sleeping bodies in the living world. I don’t see the value in the Evangelical Institute forcing the executors, including Sister Mazao in the past, to complete such inhumane tasks ahead of time."

Seeing Little Bowl clearly expressing the contradictions, No. 7 pondered for a moment before responding, "There are actually several reasons, one of which is to train for the upcoming large-scale formal execution plan. And behind the scenes, I guess part of the reason is to obtain ’blessings.’"

"Blessings?" I was surprised, "I did hear all blessings are distributed by the Evangelical Institute... Are they really closely related to the slaughter of survivors? Could it be that blessings are made from human souls?"

This last statement was me guessing blindly. Sacred treasures having human souls as the raw materials—the feeling is that this setup appears in many fantasy stories.

"The Evangelical Institute doesn’t have the capability to produce blessings, they are obtained through worshiping certain existences," No. 7 said first, "Are you familiar with ’Naraku’s Will’?"

"Naraku’s Will—as the name suggests, it’s the will of the post-mortem world," I shared my understanding, "It’s said that Ming Zhuo’s Naraku Undying Body was exchanged through a contract with Naraku’s Will."

Considering the post-mortem world possesses the attribute of a common dream for humanity, the so-called Naraku’s Will is actually the collective unconscious of humanity.

However, based on the knowledge here, strictly speaking, the post-mortem world is not merely a common dream for humans, and it definitely cannot just accommodate human souls. The post-mortem world is actually the final resting place for all deceased beings in the ecosystem of this planet. Currently discussing "the post-mortem world as an embodiment of human history" and "Naraku’s Will as the collective unconscious of humans" is only one facet of the post-mortem world.

It is said that before the post-mortem world was established, the dead souls of the Earth’s ecosystem had other resting places... But somehow that knowledge was destroyed and sealed, I only knew of its existence when accessing sealed parts using Impermanence authority, and even that part doesn’t include more detailed records.

"Is the object of worship by the Evangelical Institute Naraku’s Will?" This was my natural association.

And No. 7 shook her head, then said, "After Doomsday descended upon the post-mortem world and made it chaotic and disordered, Naraku’s Will fell into severe depletion. At the same time, an unknown will replaced the position originally held by Naraku’s Will and caused major changes in the post-mortem world.

"Have you ever wondered why the post-mortem world exhibits characteristics of the Doomsday Era after Doomsday arrived?"

I truly hadn’t thought about that, whereas Little Bowl showed an attitude of tacit acceptance.

No. 7’s question is mind-boggling at first listen. Doomsday descended on the post-mortem world, so what exactly is wrong with the post-mortem world resembling the Doomsday Era?

Fortunately, even if my mind doesn’t compare to Little Bowl’s, it’s not stupid. Quickly, I realized the issue.

Doomsday descended upon the post-mortem world, so the post-mortem world should be experiencing destruction. Yet, the truth is, the post-mortem world reorganized, turning into the "future form" of "modern world developed into the Doomsday Era"...

It’s like a young man’s heart being pierced by a murder weapon, he should next turn into a corpse, yet he inexplicably turned into an elderly man gravely ill.

And precisely because of this, all survivors believe they’re in a world after Doomsday, rather than the post-mortem world.

Moreover, the problem doesn’t just end here.

In theory, the Post-mortem World should be a world of souls. However, when I perceive others, the result is not spiritual bodies, but living people with flesh.

If that weren’t the case, there would be no need for No. 7 to explain it to me here. From the moment I met the cartographer, or even earlier, I could have determined that the "Doomsday Era" is the Post-mortem World.

"The current Post-mortem World has been simulated into a ’Living World trapped in a future Doomsday’, along with the souls residing in it being automatically simulated into physical forms," No. 7 said. "Due to the impact of time-space chaos on perception and preconceived impressions, I’m afraid it would be difficult for you to recognize any flaws in it."

"I see, that’s why you initially said that this place ’used to be’ the Post-mortem World..." I suddenly understood.

"All of this is very likely the work of the unknown will entrenched at the top of the Post-mortem World," No. 7 said in a deep voice. "At the same time, this unknown will is also the source of all the gospels. The reason survivors end up becoming Sin Demons at the end of Frenzy is fundamentally because of its existence. It is also the source of power for all the Blessed Monks.

"The gospel is a delusional voice that incites Sin Demons and Blessed Monks to kill, undoubtedly. This unknown existence issuing that voice is something akin to a Demon with a purpose to massacre humanity.

"Yama seems to be able to communicate with that Evil will and has reached some form of agreement with it. Initially, the Evangelical Institute wasn’t called by that name, it was only renamed afterwards."

"A gospel that incites murder... It turns out that the gospel isn’t just the delusional doctrine of fallen Blessed Monks; it truly seduces them to kill?" I asked.

No. 7 nodded solemnly and then said, "The slaughter actions of the Evangelical Institute can also be used to trade various conveniences in the Post-mortem World from that Evil will... Blessing is a major part of it."

Little Bowl fell into contemplation.

To my knowledge, in the Doomsday Era, there exist two kinds of "mysterious voices."

One is a vague and chaotic voice, which is akin to the murmurs of a schizophrenic, possibly the dying "voice of the world," that Little Bowl claims to hear;

The other can only be heard by those on the verge of Sin demonization and Blessed Monks, a voice that incites them to kill.

It seems the former is likely the severely depleted Naraku’s Will, while the latter has replaced Naraku’s Will with an "Evil will."

The conversation was drawing to a close.

Then, Little Bowl and I asked No. 7 several more questions, and she answered all of them, sparing no detail.

"One last question..." I said, "As you know, Little Bowl’s memory has been so thoroughly erased by the Frenzy that she can’t even remember her real name. Do you know any method to help her recover her memory, other than the Three-Life Stone Powder?"

The truth about Doomsday, the purpose of the Evangelical Institute, Mazao’s past... No. 7 had already answered many important puzzles for me. But if there was one puzzle I still couldn’t let go of, it was Little Bowl’s true identity.

Only by helping Little Bowl recover her memory could this puzzle be solved.

But No. 7 replied, "I’m sorry, if you’re ruling out the Three-Life Stone Powder as an answer, then I can’t provide any method."

Little Bowl seemed very concerned about her origins, and when she heard No. 7 say this, she let out a sigh.

Immediately after, No. 7 shifted her tone and said, "But then again... the reason you can’t accept ’Three-Life Stone Powder’ as the answer is because taking it would lead to the fatal side effect of death, correct?

"What if I told you there is a method that not only avoids the side effects of the Three-Life Stone Powder but also enhances its effects, restoring all lost memories... would you be willing to consider it?"

Little Bowl widened her eyes and asked, "There really is such a method... and Lady No. 7 just happens to know it?"

"It’s not by chance. It would be strange if I didn’t know," No. 7 said matter-of-factly. "Not long ago, Zhuang Cheng went to the ruins of the Tai Sui Evangelical Institute to obtain the Three-Life Stone Powder..."

She turned her gaze to me, "Although I don’t know how you know there’s Three-Life Stone Powder there, it’s not a coincidence that it appears there. It is a product born from Tai Sui’s past research. I was deeply involved in the development process too.

"And due to its significant flaws, this can only be considered a failed product."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand. A small paper packet appeared, just like the Three-Life Stone Powder she had given me last time.

She gently tossed the packet over, and I raised my hand to catch it in my palm.

"The Tai Sui Army still has a few more packets of the Three-Life Stone Powder in storage. If you need them, I can choose to give them all to you," she said.

From her words, it’s unclear whether the Three-Life Stone Powder she handed over last time was something she originally had on her, or if it was retrieved from the ruins of the Tai Sui Evangelical Institute.

"Thank you for your kindness, but we only need this one packet," I said, "So, may I ask, what exactly do we need to do to avoid the side effects of the Three-Life Stone Powder?"

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