Chapter Ninety-Four: The Revival of Stellar Power

The blow to come may be even greater.

Though it seemed that the newly awakened heroes and evolvers had grown formidable in strength, the survivors’ room for living had, in truth, been squeezed far too tightly.

In the past, the most numerous hunting creatures in this city were the fanged demons, beasts that even ordinary people could kill if they fought with their lives on the line.

But now the fanged demons had vanished. In their place appeared flame demons, iron-chain demons, liquid walkers, and crocodile beasts, all of whose power had already reached the level of first-tier evolved hunting creatures. For an ordinary person to go out and encounter any one of them meant only one end.

Death.

In just a single day, many small bases were discovered by hunting creatures. Only first-tier evolvers might manage to escape; ordinary people were slaughtered, and the daily death toll was beyond counting.

And this time, there was no means of resistance.

At night, Zihui sat on the edge of the rooftop of Celestial Vault Tower, gazing at the city swallowed in darkness.

She had lived in this city since childhood and knew how prosperous it once had been, a city that never slept.

But now it held only a trace of light, and even that was an existence that inspired fear.

Zihui opened a can of beer and drank. Sadly, even after several cans, she felt no drunkenness at all.

Her body had already grown able to resist alcohol’s numbing effects.

Just then, the rooftop door opened, and Qin Hao stepped out.

Without turning her head, Zihui knew who had come.

Qin Hao walked over to her side, picked up a can, opened it, and took a sip.

He frowned slightly, finding the taste somewhat strange.

Before the end of the world, he had been busy surviving and making money. Though he worked part-time at a barbecue stall, he had never drunk alcohol. After the end of the world, there was even less reason to talk about it. Alcohol was, after all, a kind of energy, and one that could no longer be produced; things like this had become luxuries.

Now that he tasted it, he found it nothing special.

Qin Hao set down the can and stood at the rooftop’s edge, looking down at the quiet city.

Having absorbed the gene of the clawed civilization, Qin Hao now possessed night vision.

In just one month, the city had changed beyond recognition.

Everything seemed worn, as though life itself had gone cold and stale.

“Why don’t you comfort me a little?” Zihui suddenly asked.

Qin Hao looked at her and saw her perfect profile, and beyond that, her steadfast heart.

“I don’t think you need that kind of comfort,” Qin Hao said.

Zihui nodded, pretending to be strong.

“True. I am hard enough-hearted. Otherwise, back then I wouldn’t have dragged a thousand people into that mission. So many died, and they were all my fans. Actually, when that fan died today, I felt a strange sense of relief. I said I would take care of him, but then I thought, if he stayed, he would only be a burden. Maybe one day he’d fall into depression and kill himself anyway, and then wouldn’t I be even more upset?”

“You didn’t know the rules the first time,” Qin Hao said.

He said it casually, but he also knew that this excuse was probably one Zihui herself had used countless times.

“Yes, I didn’t know the rules. And besides, I gave everyone so many chances to survive in this apocalypse. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? But…”

Zihui felt immense pressure.

She was only twenty years old.

“Why is it that you can always stay so calm? It’s as if the apocalypse has always been under your control. You never get sad, never care,” Zihui said, looking at Qin Hao.

Qin Hao let out a faint laugh.

“Because I’m… selfish enough,” Qin Hao said. “I don’t have to bear the weight of other people’s lives. Whether they live or die has nothing to do with me. I can give them a chance, but whether they can survive is their own problem.”

Qin Hao saved people and helped humanity endure, but humanity did not mean one person in the narrow sense of you or me.

Twelve million survivors—if, as in his previous life, only one tenth lived on, then among those 1.2 million people, who exactly would they be, and what did that have to do with him?

That was their own ability.

Hearing Qin Hao’s words, the wavering in Zihui’s heart finally settled once more.

“That’s true. Actually, I’m far more selfish than you are. After all, I’ve been feeding them and protecting them all for my own sake.”

Zihui smiled softly, then suddenly said, “Qin Hao, let me lean on you for a moment. I had thought that this afternoon, you would have held me.”

But Qin Hao had only rested a hand briefly on her shoulder.

Qin Hao froze, then looked into Zihui’s eyes. In them, he saw a trace of dependence.

Perhaps it had always been there, born of his strength, born of the way he had changed her life.

Qin Hao reached out and drew Zihui into his arms. Only then did he realize how small and tender this girl truly was, despite her strength and her deep schemes.

The embrace lasted only a few minutes. Thunder rolled across the sky, and the howl of the wind rose, as though a heavy rain were about to descend.

Though it was the rainy season, ever since the alien civilization’s invasion, this city had not seen rain.

Tonight, however, the downpour came crashing down.

In such weather, not even human beings would venture out, let alone beasts. Especially flame demons: even with star energy protection, the effects of this environment would make them uneasy.

The night passed without incident.

At dawn the next day, the evolvers stepped out of the base cautiously, only to discover with astonishment the changes all around them.

Overnight, the grass on the ground had grown a full meter tall. The trees along the roads had swelled noticeably, and some roots had even broken through the soil to emerge above ground.

Even the air in one’s breath carried a faint trace of star energy.

Qin Hao had not expected this either.

“Star energy revival, and all life evolves.”

This had happened in the seventh month after the invasion.

At that time, Qin Hao was still in Yangchuan City. It had also been a stormy downpour, and vegetation had surged wildly while plants, animals, and insects all mutated.

“Perhaps because I’ve hunted enough creatures?”

Star energy revival was not a worldwide change. In some places, where star energy was abundant, it was triggered quickly, as with the Kunlun Mountain Range.

In some cities, however, star energy erupted only at the very end. Perhaps it was because human population had damaged the environment, or because steel and concrete had obstructed the surge.

Whatever the reason, star energy revival was good news for any city.

For at this moment, the humans here, so long as they lived, could awaken abilities.

“This is a little strange. Everyone should be careful when going out today. But remember, if any zombies appear, eliminate them at once,” ordered the base commander, Li Lan, after which he arranged patrol duties and the construction of city walls.

“Mr. Qin, are you still going to hunt the voodoo demon today?”

Several heroes came over.

Qin Hao knew that no spatial black hole from the ancient demon civilization would appear today, so he had no intention of wasting time here.

The city had already been cleared. He would next go to the imperial capital to take a look. If the pursuit there was over, he planned to hunt voodoo demons in the two cities near this one.

If he had a duplication technique, he would have wanted to hunt across the entire world.

“I’m not going for now. Let Zihui go; she can handle it too. Zihui, give me a Thousand Sects Eye. If anything happens here, notify me immediately.”