Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 62 - 59 Mazao’s friend 2

Chapter 62: 59 Mazao’s friend 2

The mysterious figure I had encountered in the Mist Dream Realm was now gazing at me, even vaguely emanating a sinister atmosphere. I had rejected his trade offer, and perhaps he was now considering whether he should resort to violence to forcibly take the black gemstone from me.

It was indeed a novel experience to be scrutinized by him like this; I did feel that my life was shrouded in an impending, obscure crisis.

However, the black gemstone wasn’t on me at the moment. This was a dream, and the item should be with my body in the real world. Moreover, if nothing unexpected happened, he should be unable to use any supernatural power in this fog just like me.

He was probably a figure who existed in the real world and was very powerful. But here, in this place, he was no different from a mere mortal like me.

The mysterious sense of danger I felt now wasn’t because he had the means to use mystical power, but because the man himself was "inherently immense." Even if he became like a mortal, it didn’t mean he truly became one. He could still exert an oppressive presence.

"Do you intend to make a move here?" I asked.

After several exchanges, I actually had a rather favorable impression of the mysterious person in front of me.

It was not just because he revealed important information to me, but also because of his seemingly contradictory behavior. He seemed to value the black gemstone I possessed, wanting to collect it for himself as much as possible. Under such circumstances, the most prudent course of action would be to keep me in the dark about the importance of the black gemstone, or even to make me believe it was a dangerous object I needed to get rid of as soon as possible. Yet he chose the opposite path.

This certainly wasn’t due to stupidity on his part. When I hesitated about whether or not to reveal my ignorance of what a divine seal was, he had already seen through my act. He possessed the wisdom and eye power needed to understand other people’s mental activities.

He seemed worldly-wise without indulging in vulgarity, carrying an open and honest, even extraordinarily refined air about him.

"...Truly unbelievable." The pressure disappeared from his gaze, and he returned to a calm demeanor, "You are quite powerful. For someone as powerful as you, I have no recollection of you. Could this be what they call ’there is always someone better’..."

He shook his head and then looked towards the depths of the fog, saying, "I was thinking of continuing to explore this place, would you like to join me?"

"Let’s go together." I saw no reason to refuse.

Then, we both advanced deeper into the Mist Dream Realm.

I no longer inquired about his identity. Although I was genuinely curious, the experience of exploring a secret realm with an unknown companion felt refreshingly exhilarating. He also kept his silence regarding my identity. A curious tacit understanding emerged between us.

Perhaps it was just my previous bad luck that had me wandering the fog for such a long time without change. This time, joining forces with someone else, it didn’t take long before we encountered something new.

After just a few minutes of walking, some vague shapes appeared in front of us. Upon closer inspection, I recognized them as things I had seen before.

There were eight massive rock chairs.

Closer to us were seven similarly sized rock chairs, lined up in a row; the remaining, particularly large rock chair was placed farther away, in a confrontational arrangement with the others.

Three individuals had arrived here before us.

Perhaps "two" would be more accurate, since one of them clearly did not resemble a human. The latter’s body was at least four meters tall, sitting motionless on that especially large rock chair, like a giant idol.

The other two sat on the rock chairs to the left, their heights were much more normal. Like us, they also presented as shadowy figures. The one on the far left was tall and lanky, and the seat right beside was occupied by a figure resembling a small child.

I had a recollection of this scene.

The first time I came into contact with the black gemstone, my spirit was drawn into this Mist Dream Realm. Then, I also saw these rock chairs and the three figures seated upon them. It was just that back then, my mental state was not normal, and I couldn’t communicate with them.

Apparently hearing our footsteps, the two of normal stature immediately turned their gazes toward us.

"Who?" The tall and lanky figure called out.

While the childlike figure cautiously asked, "Is it a new companion?"

By the voice, the former was male.

As for the latter... although surely a child’s voice, it was too youthful to be distinct in gender. Solely from the voice, it would be hard to discern, but I felt like it was a little girl’s voice. Moreover, at a glance, it seemed she had relatively long hair.

I glanced at the mysterious person beside me. I had thought he would be the first to start a conversation, but after coming here, he just stared at the giant figure, like the idol, completely petrified.

I also scrutinized the giant; even after our arrival, he remained completely still, almost impossible not to suspect it was just a lifeless sculpture. But just like us, that "sculpture" too was shrouded in shadow, as if it could come to life and converse normally with us at any moment.

Truthfully, I still lacked a sense of reality regarding this Mist Dream Realm. Even though connected to the bizarre, this was after all still a dream.

The two continued to watch us. I decided to speak with them first.

"I was drawn here after encountering what they call the ’Divine Seal Fragment.’ As for him, I do not know him well; we just happened to meet en route. You can ask him later," I said, "Did you also come here after coming into contact with the Divine Seal Fragment?"

"Divine Seal Fragment? As expected..." The tall and lanky shadow seemed to frown, "Yes, we are also contactees of the Divine Seal Fragment. I am ’Number One’, and she is ’Number Two’."

Saying this, he pointed at the childlike figure beside him, who whispered softly, "Hello, big brother, I am Number Two."

"There’s no need to exchange names here, calling each other by numeric code is sufficient," Number One spoke to me in a direct and blunt tone. "You are Number Three, and he is Number Four."

Number Four was the mysterious person beside me.

"Alright, I’m Number Three. Then..." I looked towards the silent giant, "what number is he?"

"He doesn’t have a number. If you have to call him something, call him Zero Number," Number One scoffed. "Are you curious about who he is?"

"Of course, could you please enlighten me?" I asked.

Although Number One’s tone was unfriendly, he was responsive to questions: "There’s nothing to hide. Actually, neither Number Two nor I know what he is, but one thing is clear, the one who dragged us into this nonsensical Mist Dream Realm is this guy."

"It’s him..." I observed the giant referred to as "Zero Number" once more.

At that moment, the mysterious person—Number Four—made a move.

He suddenly strode forward, advancing until he stood before the giant, and demanded in a voice suppressing boundless fury, "—Is it you? Are you the one who has brought the world to this brink of destruction? Answer me!!"

Before, in my mind, Number Four had the image of a person with remarkable cultivation, but now he was like a volcano erupting, aggressively questioning the giant.

Yet, the giant remained as immovable as a mountain.

Number One’s voice, indifferent, came from the side: "Don’t bother talking to Zero Number; he’s in a sleeping state now. If you have any questions, you can wait for him to awaken before asking."

Number Four suddenly looked towards Number One, "Have you spoken to the Master of the Divine Seal?"

"The Master of the Divine Seal... huh, so this guy is the original owner of the divine seal, no wonder he can use the power of the Divine Seal Fragment to draw us in..." Number One pondered and then answered Number Four’s question, "Correct, when Number Two and I just entered this place, he was awake. But after passing on the message, he fell into sleep.

"According to him, once this place is filled, he will awaken again and then announce the reason for summoning us here."

I scanned the remaining empty seats; there were five in total.

If two of those seats were for me and Number Four, that meant three more people were needed.

Then, I asked the question that I was most concerned about at the moment: "If the people aren’t all here, will we be trapped in this place indefinitely?"

"That won’t be the case," Number One said. "It’s just that our spirits are now bound to the Divine Seal Fragment, and we will occasionally be drawn to this place. I guess in a little while, we might awaken from this dream."

That was a relief. Although I was very curious about this place, I would need to return to the real world to find Mazao later.

As for the Master of the Divine Seal they mentioned earlier... If I’m not misunderstanding, is that giant the owner of the "divine seal" that can grant any wish? For what reason has he summoned us here?

What about the "world being brought to the brink of destruction" mentioned by Number Four? From his tone, was it caused by some wish the giant made upon the divine seal? Could it be related to the Doomsday Mazao mentioned?

The scope of the topic seemed overwhelming, leaving me feeling unanchored. I hadn’t even fully believed in the concept of the "wish-granting device."

I voiced my doubts to Number Four, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, merely glaring in the direction of the giant.

"It’s probably related to the Doomsday prophecy spread on Luo Mountain," Number One said with indifference. "I heard there’s an unknown prophet on Luo Mountain who believes that Doomsday will come soon. The increasing frequency of strange events is the sign of Doomsday’s approach."

"Luo Mountain... Doomsday..." I recited these two terms.

The person who appeared in the Mist Dream Realm suddenly brought up "Luo Mountain," which made me feel as though he, like me, was someone existing in the real world.

But from his tone, it seemed he wasn’t part of Luo Mountain.

Him mentioning "Doomsday" stirred a different set of feelings in me.

Originally, whether it was "Doomsday" or the "divine seal," in my mind, they were merely terms tossed around by Mazao alone.

But now that there were others aware of the existence of the divine seal, and with the so-called "Doomsday prophecy," it suddenly felt like Doomsday became a concept with tangible reality.

"What, do you believe in Doomsday too? I’ve heard even among those on Luo Mountain, only a very few people believe in it," Number One continued in a dismissive tone, apparently not believing in Doomsday, "If that’s the case, you probably have a lot in common with Number Two."

"Number Two?" I looked towards the quiet child.

"Yes, the little girl who claims she comes from a future after Doomsday has occurred," Number One said.