From the end of the world

Chapter 222 Not Here 2
Ma Zao used to live in the doomsday era when there were deadly dangers everywhere, so her awareness in this direction seemed to be relatively weak. However, perhaps because she was also worried about whether her unlucky physique would affect others, she realized more quickly than me that the hostile Great Impermanence might start a war in the city and affect innocent people.

Thinking back, maybe she had this concern earlier. Why didn't she say it? The reason was definitely not because she couldn't accept the life of hiding away from people... Could it be because she was worried about me? Because I went against the Great Impermanence for her, so she was a little considerate of me?

However, I am not the kind of person who doesn't care even if innocent people are harmed. If conditions permit, it would be better to move to a place far away from people. Moreover, if I really show such a cold-blooded attitude, I will definitely lose Ma Zao's trust. That is the last thing I can accept.

The daily life I had lived up to this point really seemed to be drifting away from me.

I probably really shouldn't be in a crowd, and I may have unconsciously avoided thinking about this in the past. Am I really just sure that my fire won't hurt people, so I don't think about staying away from the city; or am I still nostalgic for my daily life?

While I’m screaming in my heart that I want “adventures beyond reality,” am I also reluctant to leave this “cradle”?
After finishing our meal, we went back to the hotel to pack up our belongings in the room and then go through the check-out procedures.

Now looking at this room again, although it is just an ordinary hotel room, but thinking that Ma and I had slept in the same bed here for two nights, it is inevitable that I have some feelings for this room.

After that, we will live together in the wilderness. If we think carefully, we won't be left without food, water or a place to sleep. At least as for food and water, Ma Zao and I can teleport in and out of the city at any time to replenish a large amount of daily necessities. We can just figure out the rest. I don't know if it's feasible to go to the furniture store to buy a bed and then make a big hole in the mountains. Also, although it's not necessary, it seems that we can take this opportunity to try hunting in the jungle and collecting edible plants.

As I was thinking about it, I actually found a lot of fun in it, and I also had an unspeakable expectation for the upcoming camping life - I wonder how many people have imagined surviving in the wilderness with a beautiful girl? Moreover, with the extraordinary strength of Ma Zao and I, it is enough to make up for the lack of many camping knowledge.

It's incredible. Even the melancholy that had been brewing before seems to be diluting.

But what does Ma Zao think of me?
During the previous two nights, I certainly couldn't sleep with Ma Zao hugged close to me, because that would make me look like a pervert who likes little girls; and Ma Zao didn't hug me again, which made me feel a little regretful. Maybe it was because she felt that there was no need to continue to strengthen the transmission mark on me.

I often wonder if Ma Zao treats me as the opposite sex. It's not that I doubt whether she has a sense of the opposite sex - after all, we have known each other for a while, and I can see that she is very clear about the difference between men and women, and she definitely doesn't have such a low-level misunderstanding as "a man and a woman can have a baby as long as they hold hands or kiss." She has traveled to countless places in the apocalyptic era and must have seen many dark things that even an adult like me can hardly imagine.

In other words, she should have known that I was a man and that I had desires in that area. It was just that she probably didn't think of herself as a woman - to be more specific, she never thought of herself as a "woman who might be looked at in that way by a man", so she behaved in a way that lacked a sense of distance.

Just when we had almost packed up our belongings, we suddenly felt the presence of a living person approaching the door. Because we were about to leave, we didn't even notice to lock the door. Ma Zao stopped and looked at the door. The presence soon left, and we returned to normal. Then, Ma Zao seemed to notice something, walked towards the door, and picked up a small object from the ground.

I walked over and took a look. It turned out to be a small card promoting "special services" with pictures of several mature women doing provocative actions. Common sense said that it was not something that a little girl of Ma Zao's age should look at, but she didn't show any strange look on her face. She even took a look at it and handed it to me as a matter of course.

"Zhuang Cheng, are you interested in this?" Her tone was like she was walking on the street and pointing at a fried chicken shop on the street and asking, "Do you like to eat this?"

"No, I'm not interested."

I answered without hesitation and threw the card into the trash can.

She said in a tactful tone: "But you must have that kind of pressure. You may not have this opportunity in the future, so it's better to get rid of it as soon as possible."

Don't say it as "excretion".

I reiterated that I had no interest.

"Really? You're not interested in this..."

She seemed to be thinking about something, and then she finally made up her mind and brought up an old question that she hadn't mentioned for a while: "...Zhuang Cheng, why would you do this for me?"

"Why...meaning?" I quickly realized why she was repeating the same old tune.

"I know you are kind, and I know you want to work with me to stop the apocalypse, but... is it really just because of this?"

She stared at me straight with her pure eyes, as if she wanted to see into my inner world, but at the end, she couldn't help but become hesitant, revealing her nervousness, and asked: "Or, that, you are...you to me..." It seems that the false image I created in front of her in the past is no longer enough.

In the past, I fabricated two false motives to explain why I was so determined to help Ma Zao. One of them was "I am kind", so I couldn't turn a blind eye to Ma Zao, a little girl fighting alone; the other was "I want to stop the end of the world", which became very strong after I showed my evidence of the existence of the end of the world - the fragment of the seal. In addition, Ma Zao asked me for help on the second bowl, so we finally united.

However, up to now, Ma Zao has seen all my activities - it may be an exaggeration to say that, at least she did not directly witness my activities in the independent reality space, and she was in a sleepwalking state when she dealt with Lu Youxun and his men. Regardless of whether she sensed my ruthless killing of those demon hunters in a sleepwalking state, just summarizing my style of doing things is enough to make her doubt the "kind" image I had previously created.

In the matter of "stopping the doomsday", my progress is even further than hers. Before she got any clues related to the doomsday, I had already obtained the fragments of the divine seal, contacted the humans of the doomsday era, and even contacted the master of the divine seal who was suspected of causing the doomsday - it seemed that even without Ma Zao, I could investigate the doomsday alone, and she couldn't help me in terms of combat power.

She had no idea that without her, it would be impossible for me to even come into contact with the strange world.

So from her perspective, my motivation to fight against the Great Impermanence for her was too weak. In the past, I might have just said this out of spite, but now I really did it, no wonder she was confused.

She wanted to reconfirm my sincerity.

I must be extremely careful with this question. But how should I answer? Do you want me to tell you the truth? I thought of Yin Yue's "illusion" again and crossed it out in my heart.

Seeing that she was hesitant to talk, I took the initiative to bring up the topic and asked tentatively: "If I really like you...what's the problem?"

“…I don’t think this is the reason,” she said.

"Why?" I asked back.

She touched her body and said, "Look, my body is not as plump as the woman on the card..."

"It has nothing to do with that kind of thing."

I deliberately emphasized the tone, trying to create the image of a "loyal man who would risk his life for the girl he loves."

"It's okay?" She was shocked. "Then, then are you...really doing this to me?"

I think the direction of my efforts should be correct. Although Ma Zao should know about the relationship between men and women, she probably doesn't know what love is and how far love can take people. Moreover, I have already shown her the image of being loyal and righteous. As long as she believes that I really like her, she should be convinced of the motivation I created.

Furthermore, I really have a liking for her, so it is not difficult to pretend to be like that. Even for me, even if I have removed her bad luck, it is not that hard to imagine that I would go against the Great Impermanence just for her.

Everything was perfect, and I was almost in awe of my talent for lying. But when it came to cheating Ma Zao, I always seemed to be unparalleled in my performance, and I was always amazed at it.

But on the other hand, I am almost reaching the limit of my patience.

How outrageous it is to speak false words and even take one's true feelings into consideration just to play around with Ma Zao, a simple and kind-hearted girl.

Facing the world and myself sincerely and having a clear conscience until the last moment, this is the style I should have.

Looking at Ma Zao who was at a loss, I felt more and more that I shouldn't go on like this.

At this time, Mr. Zhu brought new news, making the future of Ma Zao and me even more confusing.

(End of this chapter)