PSW - Chapter 137
Chapter 137
"Aren't that blue liquid and those meteor fragments very important, very precious things? Did you just give them a share like that?"
"The liquid isn't of much use to me, and as for the fragments… I only gave them a small piece." Zheng Yi looked up with a faint smile. "Are you feeling the sting?"
"…They're your things." Yu Yinan pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then continued, "Maybe I am. After all, you were the one who killed that zombie, you were the one who repelled the zombie horde, and you were the one who found and brought back the meteor fragments. And besides you… no one else could have done any of that."
Even though for Zheng Yi, these feats might have been effortless and not worth mentioning, and she didn't care about them… the value of what Humanity's Light could offer in return was disproportionately small.
But after calming down and thinking it over, Yu Yinan understood the difficulties Zhao Haiyue and the others faced. Humanity's Light wasn't a place where Zhou Xiyue's word was law, and Zhou Xiyue clearly didn't have a domineering personality. As for Yun Lingjian and Zhao Haiyue, there was even less they could do or give. When Zheng Yi had absolutely no need for resources like supplies from others, Humanity's Light… really seemed to have nothing that could move her.
Faith? Recognition? Those were certainly possibilities. But Yu Yinan also sensed that Zheng Yi no longer seemed to particularly care about others deifying her, believing in her, or offering their faith. Perhaps it was something she could take or leave?
Yu Yinan fell silent. She thought of the phrase she had originally made up for the "Saint's Bible"—"universal salvation"—and lowered her gaze for a moment before speaking. "I was being narrow-minded."
What sort of conclusions had Yu Yinan jumped to? Zheng Yi couldn't help but chuckle. She hadn't said a thing.
As for why she agreed, why she was cooperating, and why she wasn't too insistent on gaining faith… Firstly, what Yun Lingjian had said about promoting her personally was indeed feasible. The essence of Saint Points was just recognition; it only required binding the term "Saint" to her, Zheng Yi. It didn't require people to worship her as a deity. Cooperating with the three of them was acceptable to Zheng Yi. Secondly, Zheng Yi had a good impression of Humanity's Light, and she had a decent opinion of the three of them as well. Not to mention, Yun Lingjian was a smart person.
As for the third reason…
Being a Saint was, fundamentally, about saving the world.
It was about letting the world incubate safely and become a truly independent small world. Although Zheng Yi still didn't know the reason for the world's collapse… since the meteor fragments were the origin of the apocalypse, wouldn't it be fine if she just collected all of them? The fragments were also beneficial to her own power, so there was no downside.
As for helping Humanity's Light and cooperating with them…
It was actually no different from helping Zhongshan or Xuancheng. In this apocalypse, if you wanted to prevent humanity from going extinct, you had to get everyone to unite and see a reason to keep fighting. There was no harm in helping a shelter like this one—which was developing well and had lofty ambitions—when it was within her ability to do so.
'You once said that a great chaos would befall this world, that the original novel had a poor ending, and that the world would then collapse and be destroyed…'
'So, all I have to do is stop it from falling into chaos, right?'
As for the male and female protagonists… if they wanted to fall in love in this apocalypse, then let them.
[H-How could it be that simple… And we don't even know why the great chaos happens. Is it because of zombies? Or mutated beasts? Or mutated plants? Insects? As for a zombie horde… that's something that happens years later. Most of the zombies infected at the very beginning of the apocalypse probably wouldn't have survived until then, right? That should be impossible.] Zero One couldn't help but say, [This world is so big, there are too many uncontrollable factors.]
Zheng Yi gently patted the back of Yu Yinan's hand. "Jiejie, let's play a savior game."
Yu Yinan looked up at her blankly, instinctively grasping Zheng Yi's hand in her own. A savior game? How do you play? Yu Yinan didn't know anything, but she still answered, "Okay."
[What savior game? Help Humanity's Light grow bigger and stronger, expand beyond Ling Country to the rest of the world, and become a shelter for everyone?] Although it sounded a bit ridiculous, if it was Zheng Yi, maybe it wasn't entirely impossible? [Are you going to be the mastermind behind the scenes?]
'Since I have to look for meteor fragments anyway, I might as well map out all the shelters and bases in Ling Country. I'll do a simple cleanup of the parasites and scum in them, and then let them all know about each other's existence.'
[…Unite all the shelters and bases in Ling Country?] Zero One was dumbfounded. [That's not simple either. Besides, how do you know they won't fight amongst themselves? What if one shelter is short on resources but has many strong ability users, while another is very wealthy but has few people? Or what if a long period without the threat of zombies or mutated beasts makes them let their guard down… Are you going to maintain the balance between all of them from the shadows?]
'Hee hee, what do you think?'
[…] Zero One was brutally silenced. It guessed… it felt that if things really developed to that point, with Zheng Yi's personality, she might just watch the world burn, just like she watched the meteor shower that night.
"How do we play?" Amidst Zero One's silence, Yu Yinan grew a little uneasy at Zheng Yi's quietness. She turned her head to look at Zheng Yi and pressed for an answer.
"The game has already started." Zheng Yi smiled and leaned closer, affectionately reaching out to pinch Yu Yinan's cheek. "It's no different from before. Hmm, it's just about saving the world with great mercy and compassion~"
"Mm, okay." Yu Yinan seemed a bit dazed. After hearing Zheng Yi's words, she instinctively wondered for a second if this "saving" actually meant "delivering them to the afterlife." "No matter what you want to do, I will support you."
Yun Lingjian designed a basic blueprint overnight. The next day, she brought the blueprint to the lab, halted the work on improving the enhancement potion, and led all the researchers to first perfect the design for the energy detection device, trying to create a basic prototype in the shortest time possible. The reason was simple: experimental materials were limited. Rather than wasting time, it was better to build the device. Once the extreme cold period was over, they could have the shelter's ability users carry the device to find more materials containing that energy for them.
Zhou Xiyue also acted quickly. The very next day, while having a meal with Zhou Xiji, she briefly told him about Zheng Yi. Of course, she mainly revealed Zheng Yi's power and the fact that she was the one who had saved Humanity's Light from the zombie horde. Only after Zhou Xiji put down his chopsticks and looked at her seriously did she solemnly explain the matter of their cooperation and her plan to promote this person within the shelter.
"Creating a hero? A spiritual leader? A protector for the shelter?" Zhou Xiji rattled off three terms in a row. His expression didn't change much, and his tone was extremely flat, sounding more like mockery. He looked at Zhou Xiyue and seemed to let out a soft chuckle. "Why the sudden urge to do all this?"
"Is it because resources are tight now, so you've decided to divert resources toward ability users and abandon some of the ordinary people when necessary… and so, you want to give them some spiritual compensation, letting them pin their hopes of survival on a single person?"
"Of course not!" Zhou Xiyue frowned. "The introduction of contribution points already increased the survival chances for ability users. Ability users already have an easier time surviving than ordinary people. There aren't many tasks that ordinary people can do in the base. It's already hard and tiring enough for them to get by here."
"Uh-huh, didn't I agree to your good deeds? Like the special care for ordinary people during special periods." The rationing during the high-temperature period, the distribution of free water, and the use of vacant rooms—hadn't he turned a blind eye when Zhou Xiyue issued tasks for ability users to build temporary shelters for ordinary people to rest in the shade? It was the same procedure now during the extreme cold period, only the water distribution had been replaced with scheduled heating and hot water supply.
Zhou Xiji sat up straight, crossed his arms, and studied Zhou Xiyue. "And the establishment of the school and library. Although Yun Lingjian was the one who pushed for it, don't you few hang out together all the time? I was the one who took all the pressure from Uncle Ji and the others for you."
"…I'm not saying you've done anything wrong."
"Your idea is very good." Zhou Xiji looked at her, first offering a compliment before his tone shifted. "But this is the apocalypse, and resources are scarce. The emergence of ability users has already divided humanity into two groups. Those who failed to gain abilities are the weak—that's the reality. If this is a great evolution, then ordinary people are the ones who will inevitably be eliminated."
Zhou Xiyue's expression changed. Before she could retort, Zhou Xiji raised a hand, gesturing for her to wait, and continued, "Of course, it's not fair."
"So, all the things you've always wanted to push for and do—even if I didn't verbally agree, which one of them happened without my help?"
"I want to save everyone too," he said. "For now, we have just enough resources, so that's what I'm doing. But if the day truly comes when we've run out of food and ammunition, and only a few can survive… whether you and I intervene or not, the ones who live will most likely be ability users. And you and I, and even the shell of this shelter, are merely tools for preserving the flame of humanity."
"Humanity's Light does not need a spiritual leader."
Zhou Xiji sighed. "I don't know why you suddenly came up with this idea, but… if I support you, Humanity's Light will fall into chaos. Even if she repelled the zombie horde, it's been so long. It's not appropriate to bring it up again now to build momentum."
He actually refused?! Her brother, the proponent of the "preserve the elite" theory, actually refused? Didn't he always believe that ability users were humanity's main force for survival in the apocalypse, the choice of evolution? He actually rejected the proposal to have a powerful ability user protect Humanity's Light?
Zhou Xiyue was a bit dazed. She met Zhou Xiji's gaze and belatedly guessed that he had no understanding of Zheng Yi's true power and terrifying nature. He probably just thought of Zheng Yi as a powerful ability user within the scope of his own understanding, believing she didn't have the ability to protect the entire shelter. And in his eyes, her proposal right now probably just looked like an attempt to build hype for her close friend.
Zhou Xiji simply didn't understand, nor could he possibly imagine, that under the absolute, crushing power of someone like Zheng Yi, Humanity's Light wouldn't fall into chaos at all. On the contrary, faced with that absolutely terrifying strength, they would unite as one.
Zhou Xiyue believed that no one who had met Zheng Yi would dare to have any ulterior motives toward her.
"No, brother, you've misunderstood me." Zhou Xiyue composed herself and began to explain. "She is powerful, powerful beyond your imagination. Perhaps you could invite Uncle Ji and the others… invite all the high-level managers, even those who are starting to become dissatisfied with us. As long as you meet her once, you will understand."
Comments
Post a Comment