Inside the supermarket, people watched Ye Shuangluo. Just moments ago, under their gaze, this young man had killed the mutant zombie outside, effectively saving all of them.
However, instead of feeling grateful, they looked at Ye Shuangluo with fear, anger, and resentment.
The looks from the crowd made Ye Shuangluo feel puzzled, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he sincerely thanked a girl holding a gong:
"Thank you for saving me. If you hadn't distracted it at the crucial moment, I would've been devoured by that zombie. My name is Ye Shuangluo. May I ask your name?"
Ye Shuangluo thanked the girl earnestly. The girl just waved her hand and smiled:
"No need to thank me. After all, you were protecting us. My name is Shen Lingling. Nice to meet you."
The girl stared at Ye Shuangluo, as if she wanted to say something but was hesitant.
Ye Shuangluo noticed this and said, "I have something to discuss with her privately. Could you all give us a moment?"
The nearby people, respecting Ye Shuangluo, immediately walked away.
Hmm?
He suddenly sensed something and looked at a bald middle-aged man among the group.
His perception told him that the bald man harbored some inexplicable malice, seemingly directed at both him and Shen Lingling.
Ye Shuangluo frowned slightly. Ever since he arrived, this Bald Guy had been secretly observing him and Shen Lingling, coupled with this subtle malice.
A killing intent gradually rose in Ye Shuangluo's heart. He trusted his perception; there was definitely something wrong with this man. He didn't like dealing with crises when they erupted; he preferred to nip them in the bud.
Once everyone had walked away, Shen Lingling seemed to make up her mind and asked:
"Um… just now, you made a knife appear out of thin air… Are you also a New Human?"
New Human? This was an unfamiliar term, but Ye Shuangluo quickly guessed its meaning. Moreover, he noticed the girl said "also," which meant…
"Yes, I am also a New Human. So, you are too?"
Shen Lingling bit her lip, seemingly making a decision, and said:"Yes, I am also a New Human, from the Time System. I can see the most likely future among many possibilities."
Hearing this, Ye Shuangluo's pupils contracted slightly. The ability to foresee the future was truly high-end. He hadn't expected to encounter it in the Trial World.
"In the future I saw, your shot missed because the Horned Zombie was moving at high speed. After you died, that Horned Zombie killed everyone in the supermarket.
So, you don't need to thank me so much. I was actually saving myself too."
Ye Shuangluo fell silent. To be fair, without Shen Lingling distracting the Horned Zombie, he might indeed have missed the shot.
"Um… since you're also a New Human, do you know where the New Human base in this city is?"
Shen Lingling hoped for a positive answer, but she was disappointed when Ye Shuangluo shook his head and said:
"I don't know. I just became a New Human too."
Hearing this, Shen Lingling became extremely dejected and muttered:
"I see. I thought I finally found an organization, finally wouldn't have to live in fear."
"Um… I also just became a New Human. Why do we have to live in fear?"
Shen Lingling was stunned, clearly not expecting such a question. Her expression turned inexplicably sad as she slowly said:
"You are also a New Human, so you should know that we all turned into zombies first, then turned back."
Huh? Ye Shuangluo was shocked. Turning into a zombie and then back? Was that even possible?
"When we turn back, we gain all sorts of amazing abilities, but… it means we no longer belong to humans or zombies.
Zombies crave us more than ordinary humans, and Old Humans see us as a threat and want to kill us all.
I miss my parents. They all turned into zombies. In my memory, I was just in school yesterday. I only slept for a night, and a month had passed. The world had come to an end."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but squat down and cry. Ye Shuangluo wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, Shen Lingling stopped crying after a short while, stood up, and wiped her tears.
"Sorry, I lost my composure."
"It's okay. Sometimes crying can help release emotions, and you might feel better."
Ye Shuangluo looked at Shen Lingling, who seemed no different from a normal person, and felt a twinge of pity.
She had only slept for a night, and when she woke up, she saw her loved ones turned into zombies, while she became an outcast in the world.
Humans wanted to hunt her, zombies wanted to eat her, and her parents were gone. It was impressive that she hadn't gone insane and could still pretend to be a normal human.
"I'm curious about one thing. Why do Old Humans see us as a threat? If we don't use our abilities, we should look no different from normal people, right?"
After Ye Shuangluo asked this, Shen Lingling's expression turned strange, and she said in a peculiar tone, "Have you not been online much since you turned back into a human?"
Ye Shuangluo shook his head. Although the internet hadn't collapsed after the zombie crisis, he had been busy killing zombies and earning achievements these past few days, so he hadn't had time to check the internet.
Seeing that Ye Shuangluo genuinely didn't know, Shen Lingling began to explain:
"We are seen as a threat by Old Humans because… the New Humans in the Capital staged a coup. They believe New Humans are the future rulers of Earth, and all Old Humans are defective and should be eliminated.
From the day we awakened, there has been a deep divide between us and all Old Humans.
In the Capital, there are reportedly New Humans who volunteered for dissection. It was discovered that New Humans and Old Humans are already two different species, and we even have reproductive isolation."
Reproductive isolation… That indeed meant they were not the same species. Ye Shuangluo now somewhat understood why those people looked at him with such disgust and fear.
Looking at Shen Lingling in front of him, Ye Shuangluo suddenly remembered his two biggest questions since coming to this world.
"Classmate Shen, I have another question. Since the internet is still intact, shouldn't other things be undamaged too?
Why are there so many zombies rampaging on the streets? Shouldn't the authorities have immediately sent soldiers to suppress them?"
"…It seems you didn't watch much news before the apocalypse. When the Purple Moon descended, humanity's most prized thermal weapons all turned into scrap metal."
At this point, the girl's expression turned strange because, just a moment ago, under everyone's gaze, the young man in front of her had used a handgun that didn't look like an ordinary one.
Ye Shuangluo knew what she was thinking but couldn't explain it. Fortunately, the girl didn't press further, which relieved him.
They continued to chat, and Ye Shuangluo took the opportunity to ask his biggest question since arriving in this world.
"What is the cause of this zombie crisis? Is there any information online?
I've encountered many zombies these past few days. They have no aggression during the day but go berserk at night. How do they infect others?"
Yes, this was his biggest confusion so far. From his observations, these zombies would attack any living person they encountered at night, always trying to kill and eat them.
Shen Lingling was also puzzled. This was a difficult question, one that top scientists worldwide, who hadn't turned into zombies, couldn't solve.
"Unfortunately, humanity has yet to discover the transmission route of the zombie virus. There were no signs beforehand, and overnight, the virus spread globally."
At this moment, a mechanical voice from the game system suddenly echoed in Ye Shuangluo's mind.
[World Announcement: Player Tt057 has triggered the world quest "Erroneous Evolution"]
[Quest Description: Humanity's evolution is too slow, which displeased certain beings. So, He decided to help humanity evolve quickly.
However, it's clear that humanity cannot accept this evolution. But evolution is cruel and will not stop because of human will.]
[Quest Objective: Help humanity end this erroneous path of evolution.]
[Quest Reward: Partial world permissions of this world.]
The amount of information was staggering. Besides himself, were there other trial players in this world?
Of course, having other trial players was a minor issue. What truly shocked Ye Shuangluo was the mention of "He" in the quest description.
In most games, novels, or anime, "He" usually referred to a deity.
With the power to destroy all of humanity's thermal weapons and forcibly initiate the evolution of all humans, should I say, as expected of a deity?
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Leave a Reply