The system said, "It depends on what kind of superpower is awakened. The more powerful the superpower, the greater the cost."
"Take Qi Heng, the God of Fire, for example. Before reaching the sixth rank, without using his special abilities, the burns on his skin could be healed. But after reaching the seventh rank, his body was just bones."
"Moreover, every time he uses his powers, his bones have to endure the pain of being burned by flames."
Zhang Yun's body trembled uncontrollably. "What about Yiyi? After she advanced to the seventh rank, her originally gentle water-based ability evolved into an aggressive ice-based ability. So what about her..."
System: "Only women can awaken water-based abilities because women are yin in nature and are compatible with water energy. When she is in the water element, it is not too serious, but after advancing to the ice element, she is burdened with the power of ice. Every time she menstruates, she has to endure pain that exceeds that of childbirth. Moreover, she can no longer... have her own children."
"No..." Zhang Yun refused to believe it.
He couldn't imagine that the girl who always followed behind him calling him "big brother," the girl who encouraged everyone with her sweet smile, the girl who always had so many quirky ideas, had been silently enduring such pain all along!
Then, Zhang Yun thought of Yunmeng.
Like Zhang Yun, Yunmeng became a single-restoration evolutionist in the early stages of the apocalypse.
She was also the only person in the original story who raised her single recovery ability to the seventh level and eventually went insane.
Yes, in the original work, she appeared as a disheveled, crazy woman who couldn't speak.
Until her death, people didn't even know she was a girl.
Yunmeng was only six years old when she awakened.
Unlike Zhang Yun, who was treated as an honored guest wherever she went, the base she originally belonged to did not value evolved individuals who could not improve their combat power.
After discovering that her body could heal itself indefinitely, Yunmeng's father tied up the frail girl and sent her to the base's laboratory, exchanging her for three days' worth of food from the administrator.
The depraved experimenters drew her blood, cut her flesh, and even chopped off her fingers to use as specimens for research.
When Zhang Yun found her base, it was the time when Yunmeng first awakened.
Yunmeng awakened a special mental ability that can induce hallucinations in others.
She manipulates the people in the base into hallucinations, causing them to kill each other, with the survivors then committing suicide.
When she uses her superpowers, she transforms into a phantom spirit (a ghost), invisible to ordinary people.
Zhang Yun spent half a day searching the base, where people had died tragically everywhere, before finally sensing the soul of the girl huddled in a corner of the laboratory with his powerful mental strength.
Later, Zhang Yun took Yun Meng back to the Yunze base and told her that she must not use that kind of superpower again.
Yunmeng's body gradually returned to normal after a month, and she would only revert to her soul state when she occasionally used her skills.
After Zhang Yun returned, he discovered that Yun Meng had been maintaining a soul form.
Zhang Yun thought she was just showing off in front of him because she had advanced to the seventh level, which was just childish behavior.
System: "You guessed right, she no longer has a physical body. Her awakened mental ability seems powerful, but it can only be used on people with lower mental strength than her. It's not a powerful ability; it just caused her to lose her body."
"What about He Jiajia? She advanced to the seventh level in the original story, and she was fine too?" Zhang Yun asked somewhat unwillingly.
System: "Who said she was alright in the original story? She's dead."
Zhang Yun was speechless for a moment.
The system continued, "Before she advanced to the seventh rank, she had only ordinary light-type abilities, but not long after advancing to the seventh rank, she extracted a vaccine against the zombie virus from her blood. Don't you find that strange?"
"It's not that her special light-based ability was mistaken for an ordinary ability, but rather that when she advanced to the seventh rank, she exchanged with the Heavenly Dao for the ability to completely annihilate zombies. The price for this ability was the loss of her lifespan for the next few decades."
Zhang Yun: "So, in the original story, after He Jiajia was kidnapped for the last time, she wasn't killed, but rather..."
The system said, "If she hadn't been arrested so frequently, she might have lived a little longer."
Zhang Yun fell silent.
He Jiajia is a saint, not one of those pretentious, white lotus heroines in novels. She is a true selfless saint, deserving the title of "heroine".
You may not like the word "Saint Mary," and you may feel that her actions were unworthy, but her noble character of selfless dedication is beyond doubt, and everyone should respect her.
The system said, "It's different now. Because of your blood, her advancement to the seventh rank this time did not grant her the power to completely kill zombies. Instead, it enhanced her healing abilities. This will only cause her to age slightly faster after using her powers, unlike in the original story where extracting the vaccine would immediately reduce her lifespan by several decades."
"What about Yang Shize? In the original story, didn't he awaken the strongest lightning-type ability? He's already at the ninth level, and there's nothing unusual about him." Zhang Yun ignored the system's "because of your blood" and asked the question that concerned him most.
The system said, "No matter which world, the power of thunder is the core law of the Heavenly Dao. What the protagonist inherits is the core power of the Heavenly Dao. The Great Dao is ruthless. He will gradually become less ruthless from the moment he awakens. After advancing to the seventh level, he will completely sever the seven emotions and six desires."
Yang Shize was a man of deep affection and loyalty. He could bear any physical pain, but the lack of emotional connection was the only real suffering for him.
"Are you mistaken? Yang Shize only established a romantic relationship with He Jiajia after he awakened his superpowers, and they remained inseparable until his superpowers reached the ninth level!"
"If he really cut off all feelings and love after awakening his superpowers, then why is he still dating He Jiajia?"
Is it possible that he never loved the female lead from the very beginning?
“Cutting off romantic relationships doesn’t mean he can’t date or get married.”
"Weren't you also arranged to marry by your family in the previous feudal ancient world?"
Zhang Yun was stunned.
In the original novel, Yang Shize always treated He Jiajia with great respect and courtesy, never overstepping his bounds, like a self-disciplined and courteous gentleman.
The few times they kissed and hugged were all during times of crisis, and He Jiajia took the initiative.
Zhang Yun always felt that this was a sign of Yang Shize's true love for He Jiajia.
Because Yang Shize always seemed sexually unsatisfied when he was with him, it showed that he had a great need for that aspect.
If Yang Shize didn't truly love He Jiajia so much, why would he have kept restraining himself from touching the woman he loved?
Although Zhang Yun didn't admit it, he still harbored resentment about the matter subconsciously.
That's why Zhang Yun always felt a slight resistance whenever Yang Shize was with him.
He never imagined that Yang Shize had never been interested in He Jiajia!
He will be with He Jiajia later, presumably to fulfill the promise he made when he took over He Jiajia's base that he would protect her for life.
Zhang Yun's tightly closed eyes became moist.
Yes! If Yang Shize really fell in love with He Jiajia in the original story, how could he have remained so proper and did nothing when they were alone together, even when He Jiajia was giving him hints?
System: "It is precisely because of the deep emotional bond he has with you that he has been unable to awaken his lightning-type superpowers until now."
Because the love is too deep, I cannot let go, and I do not want to forget.
Also, because he hasn't been forced to the point where he absolutely has to awaken.
Zhang Yun felt a mix of emotions—bitterness, swelling, and warmth—as if her entire body was filled and enveloped by something called happiness.
It turns out that I've been misunderstanding Yang Shijie all along!
Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and a tear fell from the corner of his eye onto the pillow.
Yang Shize, who was sleeping behind him, suddenly moved. He moved his arm around Yang's waist upwards and turned Yang's shoulders so that Yang was facing him.
"Brother, are you not asleep? Why are you moving around so much?" Yang Shize turned Zhang Yun over and then noticed the tears that hadn't been wiped away from the corners of his eyes.
"Why are you crying, brother?" Yang Shize asked hurriedly.
"fine……"
Zhang Yun quickly turned his head away and wiped away his tears, but Yang Shize grabbed his chin and turned him back to face him. "Brother, don't try to fool me with a stupid excuse like sand in your eyes. Tell me, why are you crying?"
Looking at his lover's handsome face, with its earnest and concerned expression, Zhang Yun felt like crying again. He shook his head with red eyes.
"Brother won't tell? Then I'll have to punish you..."
Yang Shize began to undress him.
Zhang Yun looked up at him, then suddenly reached out and pulled his head closer, kissing his lips.
"what ever……"
Such a docile and obedient lover, who lets him have whatever he wants, is too tempting. Although Yang Shize still has doubts in his heart, he has no intention of pursuing the matter further.
...
Moonlight streamed in through the French windows, casting the shadows of the two figures on the wall that overlapped completely, without a single gap between them.
...
After Yang Shize fell asleep beside him, Zhang Yun leaned against him, her fingertips still trembling slightly as she gently stroked his face.
"System, since everything bestowed by Heaven is an equal exchange, there should be a way to get back what everyone has paid, right? As long as we pay the same or more than what they have paid," Zhang Yun asked in his mind.
system:"……"
"I overlooked an important issue before: other people's awakening comes at a price, so why don't I?"
"Don't try to fool me with the excuse that I'm a sycophant of the chosen one. Even Yang Shize had to pay a price to gain power in the face of the Heavenly Dao of this world, so there's no way I could get a free lunch."
"So, I'm a special being, right?"
system:"……"
"Someone like me can definitely do things that others can't, like negotiating with the Heavenly Dao, right?"
"Your intuition is still so sharp."
The system sighed: "You're right, you are a special being. As for the reason, I can't tell you now, but you'll find out later."
And this shouldn't be too long from now.
"It's simple to restore them to their original state; all you need to do is sacrifice yourself and release the power of your life core."
"The core of life contains the essence of a world, which is a great tonic to this world. The benefits you bring to this world and the desire to restore everyone to normalcy are insignificant."
"But the life core has already merged with your body. Once its power is released, your body will also disappear."
Zhang Yun chuckled softly, "But I still have a get-out-of-jail-free card, don't I?"
"...That's right, you can be resurrected using the Immortality Card, but after being resurrected, you will just be an ordinary person, and all the abilities you have now will disappear."
"You should think this through. This life core within you originally did not belong to this world. Whoever finds it owns it. In other words, it is now your personal property. You can place it in your sea of consciousness and bring it to the next mission world to provide you with assistance."
"This is a treasure that can nurture a world. As long as it is nurtured in your sea of consciousness for a period of time, it can evolve into a small world. This will greatly help you become a god... Moreover, even if you don't want it, you can just give it to me, and I can exchange it for 100,000 points for you. Are you sure you want to give up such a huge benefit for the people of this world?"
"I'm sure," Zhang Yun answered without hesitation in his heart.
Since the disasters of this world were caused by this life core, let it heal the wounds inflicted on the people of this world after the disaster is over.
It's just a small, undeveloped world; Zhang Yun isn't that selfish.
In the previous mission world, didn't I also have nothing?
Becoming a god is too far-fetched and not that important to him. He only wants the people in this world who are suffering to be able to live normal lives like everyone else after the disaster ends.
Superpowers, when bestowed upon people randomly without rigorous selection and training, will only cause evil-minded people to wreak havoc on the world and cause great suffering to good-hearted people.
It should never have existed in the first place.
The system was not surprised by Zhang Yun's decision. It did not try to persuade him further, but simply said, "Even if you want to release the power of the life core, you should wait until the zombies outside are cleared out. Otherwise, if all the superhumans in this world suddenly lose their powers, the remaining evolved humans and those mecha legions will definitely not be able to withstand the zombie offensive and will perish directly."
“I understand,” Zhang Yun said.
He was so engrossed in his mental conversation with the system that he didn't notice the hand covering Yang Shize's face being bitten by him.
The pain in his fingertip brought Zhang Yun back to his senses. He looked up and met Yang Shize's bright, star-like eyes.
Yang Shize grabbed his hand and turned to look at him. "Brother, aren't you asleep yet? I shouldn't have been soft-hearted and let you go. Tell me, why aren't you asleep?"
As she spoke, she turned over and tickled the ticklish spot on his waist.
Zhang Yun was too weak to struggle anymore, and could only laugh and beg for mercy, "Haha, Yang Shize, stop it...it tickles...ah!"
"If you want me to let you go, then tell me honestly what kept you up tonight?" Yang Shize asked, pulling him into his arms.
"Because...because..."
Zhang Yun breathed softly, a faint blush rising on his fair face. He looked at Yang Shize, who was gazing at him with deep affection, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably. His usually clever mind couldn't come up with any excuse.
Left with no other choice, Zhang Yun could only lean closer and whisper sweet nothings in his ear, "I...I want you again..."
Yang Shize's breathing suddenly became heavy, and he kissed his face.
"I will always be your brother."
Whether it's this life or the next, no matter in which world or time.
Forever, forever, I belong only to you.
...
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