Chapter 490 Clues about the Small Bowl 1
The man in front of me kept talking about "old civilization," "doomsday," and "forgetting," making me feel that my previous speculations were rapidly becoming reality.
His next words convinced me even more.
"It seems you've been overwhelmed by madness and lost too many memories." The man looked at me with pity. "No wonder you don't even know this basic common sense, and you're acting alone... Have you even lost your former companions? Do you even remember your own name?"
As he spoke, his earlier wariness seemed to have subsided somewhat, as if he would decide his next move based on my response.
He even uttered the word "madness"... It seems I really have traveled to the apocalypse. As for his heightened vigilance, I'm not entirely clueless.
In a post-apocalyptic world, if someone can't even utter their own name, it means they're very close to becoming a demon. They are undoubtedly dangerous individuals; in a zombie movie, that's equivalent to almost turning into a zombie. Survivors would certainly need to be extra vigilant.
To ensure smooth communication later, and as a test, I replied: "Are you worried that I might become a demon? Don't worry, I remember my name. My name is Zhuang Cheng."
The man showed no doubt about the term "karmic demon," but instead asked, "You still remember the karmic demon?"
“I don’t know what a karmic demon is either. It’s just that losing your name turns you into a karmic demon… When you asked me if I remembered my name just now, I suddenly remembered this.” I pointed to the strange object nailed to the outside of the drop tower not far away. “Is this what a karmic demon is?”
"No, karmic demons don't look like that. This should just be a strange creature lingering in the vicinity."
The man moved slightly closer to the strange creature, which struggled like a cockroach pinned to a wall.
After observing carefully, the man's expression changed slightly. He said, "I think I've heard of this type of strange thing elsewhere... It seems to be targeting you. You've really run into something difficult."
"Difficult to deal with?" I asked curiously. "Is there anything special about this strange creature?"
If there's anything particularly unusual about it, it's that my incantation power failed to activate when targeted at it. However, this shouldn't be related to the monster itself.
In this brief period of time, I did some analysis, and the reason why the power of words is ineffective is likely due to the chaotic spacetime environment. In essence, the power of words is a privilege possessed by the Great Impermanence in the natural world, and it is established on the order of heaven and earth.
Unlike eusocial creatures like ants and bees, whose social status can be determined by their physiological structure and whose superiors can manipulate inferiors on a neural level through secretions such as pheromones, in human secular society, superiors and inferiors are biologically on the same level. However, ancient rulers could command their inferiors to fight for them, or even to die, just like eusocial creatures. This is the power of order.
Once separated from order, even a monarch is nothing more than an unarmed human being, no different from any other human being once stripped naked. Similarly, the Great Impermanence, once separated from the natural order of heaven and earth, is merely a powerful individual life form, incapable of commanding the myriad phenomena through language.
The apocalyptic era is a chaotic world where social and natural order has been shattered. Not only is the power of words ineffective, but even the laws of heaven and earth are unlikely to be applied here. After all, even the original natural order, which has evolved over hundreds of millions of years, has collapsed, so the so-called power of the Great Impermanence to "redefine the laws of heaven and reshape the image of earth" is unreliable.
Xiaowan had mentioned to me in the virtual realm before that her "Heaven and Earth" Dharma, which she believed to be in a proper position, was not fully effective in the apocalyptic era. The most important aspect, "the ability to communicate with all things in nature," was the most severely limited. According to her, if the world were likened to a giant life form, this life form was actually dead or on the verge of death in the apocalyptic era and could not respond normally to her calls.
She could only vaguely hear some sounds, but couldn't decipher their meaning, or perhaps they had no meaning at all. She just felt that they were very chaotic, like the babbling of a mentally deranged person.
Because his power was so limited, Mazao had never even known that Xiaowan possessed special abilities.
Based on these characteristics, I am now completely convinced that I am in the apocalyptic era.
Getting back to the point, after hearing my question about the strange creature, the man generously provided an answer.
“First of all, the most unusual thing about this creature is that it doesn’t die,” he said. “It seems to live in the memories of the witnesses. As long as the witnesses still remember it, it will come back to life again and again and appear in front of them.”
"Secondly, it will relentlessly try to prey on people who witness it, and it revives very frequently, randomly attacking witnesses several to a dozen times a day, or even more... Don't ask me how long a day is. I calculate a day based on the interval between each sleep. Other survivors may have given up on this unit of time, or they may be calculating it using other methods."
"It will suddenly appear and try to prey on you even when you are sleeping, which is the most disgusting thing about it. And even if you are in a closed room with the doors and windows tightly closed, it will 'refresh' and come in. There is basically no way to stop it from attacking you."
“I see. But this guy looks weak. There must be many ways to deal with him, right?” I said.
"Does it look weak? This strange power is determined by the first impression of the first witness," the man said. "If the witness is frightened by its bizarre, bloody, and terrifying appearance, then its power will automatically rise to an overwhelming level."
"In that situation, even a powerful Blessed monk capable of destroying a street with a single blow would be no match for it. It would be of no use if the witness were no longer afraid of it; its power would not decrease until the witness died; and if the witness became even more afraid afterward, its power would increase further."
"However, this property will not work on multiple witnesses at the same time. As long as the first witness is not strong, he may be able to temporarily repel the witness with the help of others and get a moment's respite."
After his explanation, this seemingly disgusting monster suddenly acquired the absurd and dangerous flavor befitting a post-apocalyptic world.
I tried to examine my mind and memories. Although he said this monster could live within my memories, that was probably just a metaphor; there were no signs of parasitism in my memories. Furthermore, even if the opponent was a post-apocalyptic monster, it's hard to believe it could parasitize my mind, which possesses properties of intense heat and fire.
Seeing my pause, the man seemed to realize something and said, "Ah, sorry, I misspoke. I didn't mean to incite you or scare you... It's all because this thing looks too weak right now. Aren't you afraid of it?"
"I just feel a little nauseous, but I'm not scared," I said.
"Is that so? Perhaps my saving you just now was unnecessary; you could have handled it yourself." The man gave me a deep look.
"Instead of that, could you introduce yourself?" I asked.
“You can call me ‘Cartographer’,” the man said. “It sounds like you’re using your real name over there, but I’m not deliberately hiding it from you.”
"Due to the severe influence of madness in the past, I have forgotten my original name. As for why I have this name now, it's because for a long time in the past, I seemed to want to create a map in the apocalypse... Sounds ridiculous, right? I find it ridiculous too. Why did I have such a goal back then..."
The cartographer muttered to himself in confusion, then shook his head and continued, "Judging from your previous state, you don't even seem to remember what madness is, do you? I'll explain it to you properly later. In any case, because of the existence of madness, it's best for us survivors not to act alone."
"Actually, I'm currently looking for a new partner. Seeing how all alone you are, why don't you come with me first?"
Asaho had mentioned to me before that in the apocalypse, acting alone is a major taboo. This isn't just because one person is weaker, but also because no one will call out one's name in such a situation. Those who act alone easily forget their own names and eventually succumb to karmic demonic possession.
Even Ma Zao, a "Blessed Cultivator" at the Great Completion level who possesses the power of return, needs to work with Xiao Wan to avoid being corrupted by karma, let alone the ordinary survivors.
And the difficulty of dealing with strange situations like the one just now is completely different depending on whether you have help or not.
I was quite surprised that the cartographer would actually want to invite me.
I had assumed that survivors in a post-apocalyptic world would be more distant from strangers. Even Masaru, when he first arrived in the modern world, was always wary of everything around him. In fact, the cartographer is now looking at me with scrutiny and suspicion.
Could it be that for survivors in the apocalypse, the need to team up with others forces them to ignore the potential risks of acting with strangers, preferring to form teams first and then observe each other's character rather than miss the great opportunity to meet other living people? Or is the cartographer the one with ulterior motives, wanting to do something to me, a lonely amnesiac?
"Are you serious about this invitation?" I glanced again at the strange creature nailed to the outside of the drop tower. "I've become its target now, and I might drag you into trouble too. Treating me as a teammate is hardly a smart choice."
“This monster won’t change targets until it kills its chosen prey, and since you’re not afraid of it, you could say it’s been kept in a state where it’s easy to kill. As long as it takes turns sleeping and resting, it’s not a threat at all; on the contrary, it helps us maintain a basic level of vigilance.” The cartographer laughed. “As for danger… in today’s world, where isn’t there danger? Compared to those real dangers, the monster’s current state is a complete joke.”
His statement was incredibly absurd. But recalling the bizarre and outrageous incident I'd encountered before—where someone came up and ripped open my skull without warning, instantly destroying my brain—I could relate and nodded in agreement.
"Then, I'll accept your kind offer and work with you first."
Being in an unfamiliar place, I also need a guide.
“But before that, I must make it clear that I have things I need to do,” I said.
"Oh? Didn't you say you couldn't remember anything?" the cartographer asked curiously. "Tell me first, what is it?"
“I may have two lost companions, one named ‘Ma Zao’ and the other named ‘Xiao Wan’. They are both very young girls. Have you heard of them?” I said.
I know very well that Asaha is in the safe modern world. The reason I mention Asaha's name here is because I want to collect as much information about her as possible in this post-apocalyptic world, in this place that is like Asaha's hometown, and I want to understand her better.
As for gathering information related to Xiaowan, that goes without saying. After losing contact with Xiaowan, Mazao and I have been very worried about her safety. Although arriving in the post-apocalyptic era was an accident, since we're already here, I want to try to see if we can reunite with Xiaowan in this post-apocalyptic world and protect her.
I have now personally experienced just the tip of the iceberg of the dangers of the apocalypse, and I can't help but worry about the safety of my friends.
“Early morning...and small bowls...?” the draftsman pondered.
(End of this chapter)
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