Chapter 2
Chen Mengzhou didn't stay where he was. The bloody and rancid stench that filled the air, as well as the increasingly dense roars and screams in the distance, all declared that this was not a place to stay for long.
She quickly scanned the surroundings, her gaze fixed on a relatively intact, half-collapsed residential building. While the building was tilted and the entrance was mostly blocked by rubble, a window on the second floor was open, suggesting she could climb up using the twisted drainpipe nearby.
The new, strange power within her still flowed silently. The dual textures of time and space made her perception of her surroundings incredibly sharp. She could "feel" the weak points in the surrounding space, even vaguely detect a shift in the wind's direction a few seconds later. This sense of control slightly dispelled the chill of the impending apocalypse.
Her movements were light and swift, dodging the cluttered obstacles on the ground and approaching the residential building with the stealthy stealth of a cat. Her fingers gripped the cold, rough drainpipe, and with a slight push, she leaped upwards, her strength far exceeding her previous physical limits. After a few leaps and bounds, she vaulted through the window into the second-floor room.
The room was a mess, furniture toppled over and covered in thick dust. There were splattered dark brown stains on the walls, but fortunately, there were no zombies. She used a tilted table in the room to barely block the doorway. Although she knew it wouldn't stop anything, it at least provided a sense of psychological security.
After all this, an intense feeling of exhaustion washed over her like a tide. Not just physical, but also the immense mental impact and the exhaustion of her newly awakened powers. She leaned her back against the cold wall and slowly slid down to the ground.
Outside the window, the sounds of the apocalypse seemed to be blocked by a layer of glass, becoming blurry and distant. Her eyelids grew heavier, unable to resist the drowsiness that swept over her, and her consciousness gradually sank into darkness.
Not darkness.
It is the dazzling sunlight, the noisy voices, and... the fragrance of grass.
Chen Mengzhou jolted awake, realizing he wasn't on the second floor of a ruined building, but rather standing in a bustling plaza. People were bustling about, neatly dressed. Children were running by, laughing. In the distance, a vendor was even hawking ice cream. The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with white clouds, and the sun shone warmly on him.
Everything seemed too good to be true.
She looked down at herself. Her palms were clean, with no black dust between her nails. She was wearing her favorite light blue dress.
Is this... a dream?
wrong.
The touch was so real, the warmth of the sun, the tickling of the breeze across her skin, the aroma of food wafting from afar... and she clearly remembered that she was in the ruins of the apocalypse just now.
[Time and Space Dual Abilities: Present Anchor (Active) / Future Dream (Passive)]
The cold system prompt sound resurfaced in my mind, but this time it seemed to carry some explanation.
[Future Dreams: During deep sleep, the host's consciousness can randomly anchor a fragment of time in the future, presenting it in the form of a dream. The content of the dream is a projection of future possibilities, and its authenticity remains to be verified. The duration and frequency are related to the strength of the supernatural power and the host's mental state.]
The future? Dreams?
Chen Mengzhou stood there in a daze. Was this peaceful scene before him a fragment of the future? Was it the post-apocalyptic...reconstruction era?
A great sense of absurdity and a glimmer of indescribable hope surged in her heart. She subconsciously walked forward, observing the people around her. They wore relaxed smiles on their faces, as if they had completely forgotten the disaster that had occurred.
She saw a uniformed staff member adjusting a huge holographic bulletin board. Messages scrolled across the screen: "The expansion project of the Seventh Safe Zone has been successfully completed. New residents are welcome...", "Gene Enhancement Potion Type III is now in limited supply and can be exchanged for Contribution Points...", "Beware of space-time turbulence. Please pay attention to warnings when traveling..."
Safe zone? Gene enhancement potion? Space-time turbulence?
These words flooded into her mind frantically, piecing together a picture of the future.
She tried to get closer to the holographic billboard, wanting to see it more closely, but the crowd around her seemed to unconsciously block her view. She wanted to ask, but found that her throat was unable to make any sound. Like a true bystander, she was trapped in this beautiful illusion.
Suddenly, without warning, the alarm in the square shrieked!
“Woo—woo—woo—”
The sound was shrill and piercing, instantly shattering the peaceful atmosphere.
The crowd suddenly fell into panic, the smiles on people's faces froze, replaced by fear and practiced panic.
"Space-time turbulence! It's a space-time turbulence warning! Get into the shelter quickly!" someone shouted at the top of his lungs.
The sky darkened at a visible speed. It wasn't dark clouds, but a strange, distorted purple-black, as if the sky itself had been torn apart. A strong wind blew, stirring up dust from the ground. The buildings in the distance began to blur and shake, like a television image with a poor signal.
Chen Mengzhou felt a huge, irresistible pulling force acting on her consciousness, and the scene in front of her began to shatter and spin like a broken mirror.
Just before she was completely pulled out of this "future dream," she saw a pitch-black crack suddenly open in the center of the square. Several strange, mucus-covered, twisted claws emerged from it, frantically scratching at the air of the real world with a tooth-aching scraping sound. A nearby figure, unable to escape, was swept by one of the claws, half of their body instantly disappearing, before they could even utter a scream...
“Ah—!”
Chen Mengzhou gasped suddenly, jumped up from the ground, and hit his back heavily against the cold wall. His heart was beating wildly and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.
Outside the window, there was still the dark blood-red sky, and the dead silence of the ruins and the faint roars once again came into my ears.
The foul air she inhaled into her lungs reminded her of the cruelty of reality.
She gasped violently, slowly hugged her knees, her fingertips cold.
That dream... was too real. The peaceful square, the terrified crowd, and finally, the terrifying claws tearing through space and the people disappearing in an instant...
A dream of the future? A turbulent flow of space and time?
That is not just the hope of reconstruction. In that future, it seems to hide a horror from space itself that is more terrifying than zombies!
The system's cold prompt tone still seems to echo in my ears - "Projection of future possibilities."
Which future is the real one? The final safe zone, or the unstoppable, instantly fatal rift in space and time? Or... both?
Chen Mengzhou slowly raised his head and looked at the door blocked by the table. His eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the obstacles and see the world outside that was full of dangers.
The last trace of trance in her eyes completely faded away, replaced by an extreme calmness and clarity.
She has the ability to peek into fragments of the future, but this ability does not reveal a smooth path, but a more complex puzzle and deeper danger.
To win over? The strong?
She recalled the fleeting, careless chuckle that flashed through her mind.
Now it sounds like a distant irony.
She spread out her palms, feeling the power dormant in her body that was powerful enough to distort time and space.
First, she had to survive. In this real, bloody present.
Then, she would go and see which of those "futures" would come true.
Or, it's up to her to decide which one will come true.
Her fingertips twirled unconsciously, as if she was holding something invisible.
It's the handle.
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