Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 611 - 572 "No Other Way

Chapter 611: 572 "No Other Way

The natural will obviously can affect the Post-mortem World, which is why Mazao always encounters misfortune there.

However, to say that this is all the natural will’s effort to save itself, placing all the burden on Mazao’s shoulders, seems somewhat exaggerated. The natural will might also be making efforts in other areas, and Mazao might just be one part of it.

I couldn’t help but think of the giant full moon hanging over the night sky of the Post-mortem World. The Naraku Gospel which the Evangelical Institute now worships also seems to be an unknown will from outside that has invaded the human face of the Post-mortem World. Could it be the same entity capable of radiating its power into the Post-mortem World as the natural will?

But it seems illogical; if it’s the manifestation of the Earth’s natural will, then it should manifest in the form of the Earth. Why does it appear as a full moon?

Is it that my suspicion is in the wrong direction, and Naraku Gospel is not the Earth’s natural will?

Little Bowl seems to have shifted his thoughts to another area, "...in this light, the reason Sister Mazao can’t associate Brother Zhuang Cheng’s mana fluctuations with the Catastrophe Demon likely has a part of the natural will’s influence too."

From the achieved realm cultivators we have captured to the little girl adopted by the cartographer, anyone in the Post-mortem World who can perceive mana fluctuations and has some understanding of the Catastrophe Demon can link me with it at a glance.

Yet Mazao, who had once encountered the Catastrophe Demon head-on and was almost killed by it, couldn’t do the same; it doesn’t make sense.

It was understandable when we first met; Mazao was severely soul-injured and had low perception, while I was at the Great Success Rank, the gap between me and the Catastrophe Demon was too vast to compare. But even after I became Impermanence and she significantly healed her soul, she still didn’t seem to realize the connection between me and the Catastrophe Demon.

Is it because Mazao worried I might be concerned about the "future self" that once hurt her and Little Bowl, so she intentionally didn’t bring it up? It can’t be that. She’s not good at lying or acting, unable to hide the truth from me.

Little Bowl seems to have found the answer at this moment.

"It might be because if Sister Mazao realized from the beginning that Brother Zhuang Cheng was the Catastrophe Demon, she might not have chosen to act together with you." she said, "And from the perspective of natural will, someone like Brother Zhuang Cheng, a born human god, can be regarded as one of the ultimate errors among heaven and earth, so it tends to create situations for Sister Mazao and you to be together.

"The soul is a gathering of consciousness, and those who have suffered such trauma can easily have memory gaps. Although Sister Mazao later repaired her soul with the Shen Gui Spirit Pill, there likely remained some losses. Important memories might be recovered under the Power of Return, but secondary details like ’Catastrophe Demon’s mana fluctuations’ may not fall into this category. This allows room for ’coincidences’ to be arranged."

"...Sounds just like a story protagonist," I said.

In many fantasy adventure stories, it’s often revealed in the late stages that "the protagonist’s background and journey so far are the result of the final antagonist’s meticulous arrangement" as a "shocking truth."

And Mazao also exhibits similar traits. The misfortune she has borne until now is due to the weighty mission bestowed upon her by the natural will to "save the world"; her life experiences thereafter, too, are arranged by an invisible hand.

Some fantasy novels collectively term "those like the protagonist" as the so-called "Child of Destiny," whose life is filled with countless trials and opportunities, and who carries the luck of "surviving no matter how dire the situation," all to quickly grow into a strong presence—this may correspond to Mazao’s rapid growth into a Great Success Rank cultivator during the Evangelical Institute period.

The closer to the center of the stage, the more constrained one becomes. What appears to be the glamorous lead actor is often the most powerless puppet. All gifts from fate are secretly marked with a price tag.

Even if Mazao learned the whole truth, she would most likely choose to accept the mission to "save the world" after the shock, quite like a protagonist in an adventure manga.

Little Bowl quickly understood my meaning and then said, "But more of the many coincidences that led to Sister Mazao and Brother Zhuang Cheng being together probably stemmed from my wish."

"So you are one of the ’invisible hands’ arranging Mazao’s destiny?" I teased.

Little Bowl flashed an embarrassed smile.

No. 7 glanced at the achieved realm cultivator beside, who was pretending to be an ostrich.

"Then next, I will investigate his memories to see if we can gather information on Du Shuo Mountain’s technical data and the Divine Seal Fragment," she said.

The achieved realm cultivator showed a fearful expression, saying, "You... you won’t kill me afterward, will you?"

"Do you think you don’t deserve to be killed? Clearly determined to find a way to advance into the Living World and kill eight billion humans, and having already killed uncountable survivors in the Post-mortem World?" No. 7 asked.

"We have no choice!" the achieved realm cultivator said excitedly, "We have explored other directions... but for the continuation of our race and the world, this is the only path!"

Hearing this, No. 7 was momentarily taken aback, then said, "You actually managed to hide part of your thoughts... Oh, it’s because Zhuang Cheng said earlier that it wasn’t allowed to lie or conceal under our questioning, so you can say it as long as you initiate it yourself? A slick one, you’ve found a loophole so quickly.

"Or could it be that you’ve hypnotized yourself for so long that you’ve almost believed it? What ’explored other directions,’ do you really think I don’t know your nature? Huang Quan indeed ordered you to explore other directions, but you only did it as a formality, with little actual effort. I had already grasped these matters through intelligence personnel.

"The human extermination plan was the first method you found, but it doesn’t have to be the last. If you had diligently explored all directions before concluding that ’this is the only possibility,’ I would have nothing to say. But you stopped researching all other routes after getting this method, actively giving up all other possibilities. The underlying reason is still that you think all humans other than yourselves are insignificant, isn’t it?

"What ’only path’? Spare me such sophistry!"

Cold sweat dripped down the achieved realm cultivator’s face as he turned his gaze towards me. He evidently knew that I held the most power of speech here, and trembled, saying, "You... no, sir, since you were summoned as the Catastrophe Demon, you shouldn’t be a hypocrite like Hongcao, should you? I..."

"I don’t care," I said, "I am not opposing your Evangelical Institute because of that kind of reason. You can do whatever you want, be it killing humans or promoting Extraordinaryism; you are free to do as you please. Just don’t complain or regret when it’s your turn to get killed.

"Now don’t be in a rush to die, first open your memories about the internal situation of the Evangelical Institute for her to see. Once we’ve extracted all the intelligence from your mind, leave the room, close the door, and find a place where no one is paying attention to end your life."

I applied the Power of Word Spirit in the latter part of my speech, leaving the achieved realm cultivator unable to resist, despairingly compliant. No. 7 stepped forward, took hold of his head, and began to establish telepathy, receiving the memory images transmitted from his side.

I have no standing to criticize this achieved realm cultivator because there isn’t much difference between us. Not morally, but in the sense of "taking the first path found as the only path."

Honestly, I do not have a must-have motivation to be enemies with Huang Quan, nor do I need to stand against the Evangelical Institute. It’s just that, for some unknown motive, Huang Quan has a compulsion to kill me and has attempted it twice. Since they want to kill me, it’s only proper for me to retaliate.

That said, I am not merely drifting with the current, acting out of external pressure. I am also enjoying the conflict and pursuing higher intensity conflict. Consequently, even if I need the technical data of Du Shuo Mountain and the Divine Seal Fragment from Huang Quan, I wouldn’t first attempt a dialogue to ask why he has a fundamental conflict with me, nor seek to resolve or de-escalate the conflict.

Tooth for tooth, blood for blood, driving the conflict to its most intense stage. I seemingly have no other way—I assumed this from the start. Do I really have no alternative? Was this the conclusion after actively exploring other routes?

"No other way" is just a dispensable excuse; I simply want to have a straightforward clash with Huang Quan.

It is likely that Little Bowl has seen through my thoughts, but she didn’t comment, continuing to flip through the documents on the desk.

Besides those related to Mazao, there were some other documents messily placed on the table. Little Bowl seemed to quickly sift through and identify parts worth noting, her gaze settling on one of the documents.

She picked it up, frowned for a moment, then made a slightly hesitant sound, "This is..."

"What did you find?" I asked.

"...It’s information related to Taoyuan Village," Little Bowl said, "Brother Zhuang Cheng, I remember you mentioned that the Evangelical Institute has established a cooperative relationship with Taoyuan Village in the Living World... is that correct?"

"Yes." I was immensely curious.

Ever since I heard from No. 7 about the human extermination plan by the Evangelical Institute, the cooperative relationship between Taoyuan Village and the Evangelical Institute has been a major mystery in my mind.