ending
dark.
Before that day, no one had ever seen such extreme darkness. People could not tell what was in the darkness because they were deprived of their five senses. They could not even tell whether they were still standing on the ground. It was as if they were floating, drifting from their mother's womb into the universe.
After years of entering a polluted world, people have experienced unprecedented safety.
If you zoom in and use a bird's-eye view to depict everything, then everything is pure black. In this ocean of pure black, there is nothing but darkness.
After mastering science, people have explored the meaning of life, the beginning of the universe, and the origin of mankind thousands of times, from the Big Bang to the theory of evolution.
From science to theology, from the invisible to the visible.
But no entire generation had ever experienced such a darkness, a silence that could have lasted for seconds or centuries.
All people are just a drop of water in the black basin, they converge into a river.
Then, a little light will appear in the darkness, as if someone has struck the first match, and everyone's attention will be attracted by the light. People will gather towards the light source, waving their arms and opening their eyes.
Open your eyes.
My heavy eyelids twitched, the sound of running water began to appear, and I felt a subtle touch on my skin. Asphalt-like black slime was rising from my body, and ash-like debris was floating upwards.
The first group of people who woke up saw the details of this scene. It seemed that everyone had been burned by the fire, so there were embers of black flames on their bodies.
The black mucus on the surface of the eyeballs slid off, and people finally saw a new world. For those who had been exposed to extreme darkness, the light was too dazzling.
People put their hands in front of themselves, but couldn't help but peek through their fingers, as if they were watching a nuclear explosion.
Buzz——
After the tinnitus, other sounds besides the sound of flowing water flooded into my mind, my hearing, vision, and touch recovered, and my five senses gradually returned.
People's eyes stung as they finally understood what they were looking up at.
That is the sun.
There was not a single cloud in the sky, only a scorching sun in the clear blue sky. The sunlight was so fierce and so bright that it seemed as if the boundary between darkness and light disappeared. One could even see the bursting light, penetrating all the darkness and pain, and reaching everyone's heart.
People were like being imprisoned in a dungeon for many years. Only after digging a hole leading to the ground could they see real sunlight falling from the hole.
Before seeing the sun that day, no one suspected that the sky before was fake because there was no comparison. It was like a light bulb hanging on a realistic curtain.
That was a very strange day. After that day, many people recounted their experiences from different perspectives. The stories were absurd and bizarre. Some people added a lot of imagination, while others insisted that it was just a dream.
But no one can avoid two things: extreme darkness and a sudden sunrise.
The sandstorm that killed more than 400,000 people disappeared in the darkness, and the pollution spores disappeared along with it.
Many facilities within the Federation rely on contaminated spores for energy. The power plant was the first to be paralyzed, and the contaminated spores in the transmission pipes were like empty wine bottles, with not a single particle left.
Just like they couldn't explain why there were no contaminated spores in Area 103 after the war, they can't explain it now.
Without the energy provided by the contaminated spores, the high wall defense system built by humans failed, which made many people feel terrified, as if they had been stripped of their armor.
People soon discovered that pollution levels were falling around the world.
After the contaminated spore supply ceased, secondary disasters occurred, with people dying from equipment failure. Humanity activated the backup nuclear power station, and the survivor base resumed basic operations.
The contaminated spores disappeared, the pollution concentration decreased, and the superpowers were also dying out.
Someone with special abilities shook his hand, and the piece of wood that he could lift easily before became motionless.
The demon hunter, who possesses the ability to teleport, remains in the same place no matter how hard he tries.
It was as if they suddenly understood what the ash floating from their bodies at sunrise was: it might be pollution.
Zhu Ning suppressed the polluting factors in everyone's body.
They cannot distinguish non-natural humans in the crowd because the real differences have been eliminated, and even if someone recognizes himself as a bug, they can't do anything.
This caused some people to panic, especially those who had been accustomed to superpowers since childhood. It was like having their limbs severed.
After that day, the first major event was not rebuilding on the ruins, but a civil war that lasted for half a year. It seems that humans are creatures that, once they react, will seize every opportunity to seek death.
During the interregnum after Prometheus' death, some areas ruled by warlords survived and wanted to seize the opportunity to gain control.
The civil war did not last long. No normal person wanted to fight. After the energy was cut off, the witchers' advantages disappeared and local battles quickly fell into failure.
The civil war ended six months later. This land, having experienced the destruction of pollutants and the baptism of human internal war, was already devastated.
Huo Wenxi was elected as the first commander of mankind. In her inaugural declaration, she officially announced the abolition of the "High Wall Act", "Gene Screening Act", "Human Classification Act" and "Wartime Emergency Act".
Human beings are no longer divided into six classes of citizens, first-class citizens are completely deprived of their privileges, and their assets are subject to secondary distribution.
The promise Huo Wenxi made in District 103 was finally fulfilled today.
Huo Wenxi participated in public speeches again and again. Zhu Ning was right, she had a talent in this area and almost lived like a politician.
"We'll be there in twenty minutes." Qin Yun sat in the back seat with a tablet, marking Huo Wenxi's itinerary on the page.
After the disaster, she became Huo Wenxi's new assistant. Her shadow-related abilities disappeared, but her physical fitness was gone after she had received training. Before she had these abilities, Qin Yun was an excellent agent.
Qin Yun is responsible for ensuring Huo Wenxi's safety, work coordination, and daily arrangements. It can be said that Qin Yun is responsible for whatever Zhuang Lin has done.
Now, they are on their way to attend a promotional event in District 12. Huo Wenxi wants to break down the walls between different bases and integrate everyone.
After the disaster, the sky tunnel was out of service. The energy consumed by flying cars was too wasteful, so cars just kept driving on the road.
The closure of the never-extinguished neon signs and the decommissioning of the aerial highways are, in a sense, a regression in human technology, forcing people to return to the way of life of a hundred years ago.
People used to be very afraid of this day, but when it came, they found that the world a hundred years ago was not so scary.
Huo Wenxi was wearing a black suit, and her long braids were completely tied up. She had thought about cutting off the long braids that were in the way, but Huo Jinsheng asked her to keep them. It was a symbol of the Huo family, and the old power of the Huo family would continue to support Huo Wenxi. This was one of the reasons why she quickly gained high support after the war.
Huo Jin has lived longer than her and is more adapted to the alternation of power than her, so she still has a long way to go.
After becoming the first commander, she will lose her freedom, and every strand of her hair has its own intentions.
As the last person to talk to Zhu Ning, something in her was changing.
Huo Wenxi was thinner than before and wore a black eye patch that looked very shriveled. Qin Yun had seen tentacles wriggling under the eye patch, but now she suspected that not only were there no tentacles under the eye patch, but even the eyeballs were gone.
Huo Wenxi did not choose to install an artificial eye. She was very stubborn in this regard, as if the eye would grow back one day and Zhu Ning would appear again.
Qin Yun was just a new assistant and had no right to ask such questions. In fact, she felt lucky that Huo Wenxi could provide her with a decent job.
Qin Yun was always secretly observing Huo Wenxi. She had no expression at all. The light from the window shone on her face. Her left shirt sleeve was rolled up, where a stimulant was stuck.
Huo Wenxi gets very little sleep, so Qin Yun always finds time to arrange a nap for her.
"Don't you want to rest?" Qin Yun asked.
"Need not."
Qin Yun was silent for a while, then asked, "Is Su He still alive?"
"Yeah." Huo Wenxi's answer was very concise. Apart from necessary public speeches, she didn't really like to chat.
Su He was arrested on the fourth day after the war, and Huo Wenxi personally ordered her to be imprisoned in the highest prison in human history, an independent prison one thousand meters underground.
This move made many people dissatisfied, including Qin Yun. Qin Yun betrayed her old employer. The psychological shadow left by Su He on her was too deep, and she was always afraid of retaliation from the Recovery Society.
Although she knew that Su He would not take her seriously, that was Su He.
Qin Yun coughed lightly and asked, "Why didn't you kill Su He?"
Huo Wenxi looked out the window. For a moment, Qin Yun thought that Huo Wenxi would not answer this question because there was no need.
But after a while, Huo Wenxi said: "Su He also asked me this question."
After Su He was arrested, Huo Wenxi visited her in the underground prison. She was wearing a red prison uniform. All people with special abilities had lost their abilities, and Su He was no exception, but people were still afraid of her.
So, in line with the logic of the research institute that created her, she was marked with a red sign so that others would see her and know to avoid her urgently.
Huo Wenxi took the elevator underground and walked through a long corridor. Before she got close, she heard intermittent sounds.
clatter--
It was the sound of snapping fingers, with a certain rhythm, so cheerful and lively.
Huo Wenxi followed the sound of snapping fingers and found Su He. He saw a bright red color. Su He was sitting behind transparent glass with heavy shackles on her hands and feet. The room where she was imprisoned was only two meters, with almost no space to move, but she had no need to move.
According to their observation, Su He only did one thing after being arrested, which was snapping her fingers. People initially thought that she was testing when her superpowers would recover, or that she was crazy. Later, people came to a conclusion that sounded a bit absurd.
She is playing.
That was like some kind of entertainment for Su He, the only sound in the silent underground. She would play cheerful dance music with snapping fingers.
So Huo Wenxi had to come to see her, and that was the first time they met in the true sense.
Su He's hair had grown longer. Her originally neat short hair reached her shoulders, covering her eyes. She supported her knees with her elbows, raised her head when she heard the noise, and snapped her fingers.
Her first reaction when she saw Huo Wenxi was to laugh, a laugh that was exaggerated and even a little provocative.
If Su He was not a person with super powers, she would definitely be an antisocial element even if she was born in a peaceful world. She was born with a destructive temperament, like a burning flame that has never stopped until now.
If she were given the chance, she would destroy everything she touched.
The rhythm of the finger snapping was cheerful, making the atmosphere seem funny.
"Why don't you kill me?" Su He asked.
Huo Wenxi sat opposite her, separated only by a pane of glass. She looked at Su He quietly for a while, then lit a long cigarette.
Su He: "I thought you quit smoking."
Huo Wenxi has image requirements. She doesn't smoke in public. Qin Yun is usually responsible for watching her. Huo Wenxi replied: "No one will notice here."
It's ironic that Huo Wenxi always plays a role when he appears in public, but he can relax when facing Su He.
Su He shrugged, wondering if this was Huo Wenxi's strategy.
"Why are you paying so much attention to me?" Huo Wenxi asked.
"There's nothing I can do. You're playing news for me, and it's all about you." Su He raised his eyebrows to indicate that there was a small TV hanging on the ceiling, playing the news in a loop. There was no way to change channels, so he could only receive it.
That was Su He's only window to the outside world, so she was forced to know a lot of information, such as the news of Huo Wenxi quitting smoking reported by a small TV station.
"To be honest, you are no different from playing house." Su He said.
Su He understood the nature of human beings too well. In Su He's view, equality for all, no exploitation, no oppression, and no pollution only existed on paper and could not be implemented at all.
She was a little disappointed with Zhu Ning's choice. Zhu Ning ended up with such a fragile ending, which even pointed to despair.
Su He: "You don't think that letting me live is punishing me, do you?"
It was a very old-fashioned set that allowed her to see with her own eyes that the world was not destroyed, but was rebuilt step by step.
But all the people Su He killed are already dead, and she is still alive, so it is hard to say that this is a punishment.
"It has no punishment effect." Su He tilted her neck. The shackles made her feel a little uncomfortable.
The statement that living is to punish cannot be true as long as the person being punished does not care.
Huo Wenxi only imprisoned her freedom, without any punishment or abuse. The only thing Su He had to face was loneliness, but weapons did not understand the pain of loneliness.
Huo Wenxi exhaled a puff of smoke without any emotion, knowing that Su He was deliberately provoking her.
Compared to Su He's provocation, Huo Wenxi was more curious about why she provoked him. Was it for fun? Or did she want Huo Wenxi to execute her?
Huo Wenxi: "No, you are the fuse I set for the new world."
"Fuse?" Su He asked.
"Yeah, the fuse." Huo Wenxi seemed lost in memory. "I promised Zhu Ning that I would create a new world. If we make the same mistake again, the pollution will reappear, and so will your superpowers."
Huo Wenxi's gaze stopped at Su He's right hand. "When the time comes, your snap of your fingers will destroy this prison. You can easily destroy everything I created."
Su He's snapping of fingers suddenly stopped, like a clown being interrupted while singing a funny song.
Huo Wenxi leaned forward. "So you are the fuse of this new world. Once it blows, it's all over. To avoid ruin, we have to do everything we can to avoid being touched. Your existence is a deterrent, a deterrent to everyone not to make mistakes. It's more effective than any speech I can give."
Su He's face darkened and his smile disappeared. Huo Wenxi's body moved further and further forward, as if exerting invisible pressure.
"I'm objectifying you." Huo Wenxi concluded.
Huo Wenxi is creating a world that does not objectify others, but she wants to objectify Su He. Su He was born as a gun and will die as a fuse.
Su He clenched her right fist, and the shackles were tight due to the force. Huo Wenxi felt that her body was tense. It was a prelude to an attack, and it also proved that Huo Wenxi had annoyed her.
Huo Wenxi was waiting to see what she would do next. She really wanted to see Su He lose her mind. That would be a secret revenge for her.
Pah pah pah——
But Su He opened his clenched fists and relaxed his clenched back teeth. As a destroyer, Su He possessed excellent control, accurate to every tiny muscle.
The fists turned into clapping. Su He's rhythm was very mechanical at first, but then it became faster and faster. "This time I admit that the punishment is effective."
Huo Wenxi was a little disappointed. This sounded more like sarcasm than a compliment.
Su He is the leader of the Resurrection Society. She was once an outstanding soldier and has gone through rigorous training and screening to get to where she is today.
Until now, Su He has not admitted defeat. He is really a difficult enemy.
The fuse theory that Huo Wenxi mentioned was not just to scare her. Su He must exist, and that would be a real deterrent to all those who knew about it.
Beautiful theories will not drive human progress, but the fear of destruction will certainly drive human progress.
Either create a utopia or leave the world to Su He.
She had thought that this incident had a punitive effect on Su He. Huo Wenxi wanted to make the greatest criminal in human history pay the price, but Su He seemed to be able to endure this pain.
Huo Wenxi finished smoking a cigarette and stood up to leave when Su He suddenly called her, "Are you leaving?"
Huo Wenxi was too lazy to look at her, so Su He asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
Huo Wenxi thought Su He was playing some tricks again, but Su He asked a serious question: "Why didn't she kill me?"
Su He was not as relaxed as Huo Wenxi seemed. She didn't know when Huo Wenxi would come to visit her next time, so she had to seize the only opportunity.
"I've thought about it for a long time. I understand everything, except for one thing," Su He asked. "Zhu Ning just killed me for convenience. Why didn't she do it when she had the chance? I clearly told her how to kill me properly."
Countless people died at her hands, and any court would sentence her to death.
That day, the black slime devoured everything. When Zhu Ning obtained the power of God and devoured the whole world as Su He said, Su He thought he would face his own destruction.
She trembled and embraced the darkness, and the closer the black tide came, the faster her heart beat.
die.
As Su He approached those two words, fear and excitement mixed in her heart. She had lived for so long just for that moment.
She longed to die, but the black goo simply engulfed her, passed over her, like everyone else.
After the tide of black mucus disappeared, Su He looked up at the rising sun with some confusion.
The same question always lingered in her mind: why didn't Zhu Ning kill her?
Zhu Ning himself is already dead, so Su He can only ask Huo Wenxi, who is the person who knows Zhu Ning best.
Huo Wenxi: "Because Zhu Ning doesn't care about you."
Su He was stunned. She didn't expect to hear this answer. Huo Wenxi's punishment and revenge on her were not as heavy as this sentence. It was like a knife that had been hanging in the air for a long time falling.
Su He is arrogant and only regards Zhu Ning, who has become a member of the new world, as a worthy opponent. She drives Unit 03 to a mental breakdown. She enjoys Zhu Ning's struggle. She tells Zhu Ning the truth about the new world and provides her with a new path.
But she didn't care.
Su He was no different from an ant, and that was what Zhu Ning wanted to tell her in the end.
…
"We're here." Qin Yun stopped the car.
The event site had been prepared. Many reporters and people came to the stage. The New Federal flag was flying in the rain. It was drizzling that day, and people were crowded together in raincoats, looking both lonely and lively.
After Huo Wenxi appeared, the crowd became excited, some whistled and applauded, and some people shouted Huo Wenxi's name.
There were two large lamps on the podium for illumination and lighting. The light was dazzling, like the first time people saw the sun that day. They couldn't help squinting when walking towards the podium.
Huo Wenxi came back to her senses from Su He's memories. The answer she gave Su He was correct, because Zhu Ning at that time didn't care about Su He at all, and she also didn't care whether the world would be destroyed or not.
But Zhu Ning, who doesn't care, is willing to make a bet with Huo Wenxi at the cost of his own life.
Why choose to save the world?
"Because I have expectations for humans." Zhu Ning once said this during a series of interrogations at the cleaning center. At that time, the second-generation Zhu Ning had just woken up from the garbage dump not long ago. He was still very "brand new", full of vigor and vitality, unrestrained and flamboyant, and had a strong sense of the second-year syndrome.
She firmly believes that she can change the world and that humanity will get better and better. As she is an athlete, she always has the purest competitive sports spirit deep in her heart.
It can be said that Zhu Ning never escaped the settings of the underlying program throughout her life, or it can be said that was her true background, so there were the first, second, and third generations of Zhu Ning.
Huo Wenxi really wants to ask, after experiencing all this and finding the truth about the world, do you still believe this sentence?
But Zhu Ning could no longer answer, so this became a mystery that could never be solved.
This is a terrible world. It seems that it will never get better and it seems that it will always slide towards the worst ending.
But at this time, someone always has to take a step forward and try to break the terrible curse. Zhu Ning has already left.
Huo Wenxi adjusted his expression. The lights were so bright that only two huge circles of light could be seen. Everything was blurred, and the audience was pulled out and distorted, like a gradually melting oil painting. This gave Huo Wenxi a momentary illusion that this was not the road to the podium, but the road to that uncertain future.
Huo Wenxi had no choice but to walk towards it, even if it was desperate, she had to move forward because Zhu Ning was waiting for her ahead.
[Volume 3: The End of the World: End]
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