From the end of the world

Chapter 498 Sugar-free Era
The cartographer's tone didn't seem like he was describing the Ma Zao I was familiar with, but more like he was describing a killing machine in Ma Zao's skin.

No matter who the target is, he will kill them all without mercy, as if he is a demon walking in the doomsday era. The Ma Zao I know would never do such a thing.

I really want to take advantage of the opportunity of coming to the apocalypse to explore more of Ma Zao's past, but isn't this information a bit too explosive? "The Witch of Gospel" is a dark and handsome nickname... No, behind this nickname is a pile of death and blood, and my feeling may not be very stable.

In any case, the hemp described by the cartographer is still too bizarre.

Although Ma Zao has values ​​that are incompatible with modern society, she has no scruples when talking about killing, and shows no mercy when fighting. However, in the final analysis, she is essentially a kind and good child.

She hopes that others can live happily, feels pain for bringing misfortune to those she comes into contact with, and wants to redeem her past sins of causing others to die by saving the world. This is definitely not the idea of ​​a bloodless and tearless killer.

Or was it that the Ma Zao I knew had always been acting and telling lies to me? This was absolutely impossible.

I thought of the time confusion phenomenon in the doomsday era that the cartographer mentioned before. In the confused doomsday time and space, people may encounter another self from a different time, and this self is mostly an individual from the possibility of destruction, more evil and chaotic than the self in normal time.

Therefore, perhaps there is a Ma from a different time who was rampant and killing people in the doomsday era, and then spread the terrifying dark and bloody rumors.

At the same time, the word "gospel" in Ma Zao's nickname made me think of another possibility.

Ma Zao was once a member of the Gospel Institute, where she had a past that was unknown to the public and even forgotten by herself. Huang Quan, the Great Impermanence of the Gospel Institute, accused Ma Zao of being a villain who "claimed that she wanted to save the world, but in fact she was doing things that accelerated the end of the world"...

Perhaps the Mazao during the Gospel Institute period has a different personality from the Mazao now. The former is the "witch of gospel" who accelerates the process of doomsday, while the latter is the kind-hearted Mazao that I am familiar with.

After hearing what the cartographer said, Tan Xiang carefully asked a question: "Well... I know what 'witch' means, but what does 'gospel' mean?"

"The witches of Gospel come from an organization called 'Gospel House', which is the only large human force after the apocalypse, and is also the place where the most blessed monks gather." The cartographer replied, "If you meet people from the Gospel House in the future, don't get close to them. Just treat them as part of the weird group walking on the land of doomsday, and run as far away as possible."

"Why?" I was a little surprised.

Although the Gospel Institute is a hostile force to Luo Shan, as the only large human force in the apocalypse, they should stand on the side of humans. Moreover, Huang Quan also hinted that the Gospel Institute is an organization that saves the world. Even if it is doing something bad in secret, at least it should still be a righteous organization on the surface.

Unexpectedly, the cartographer said seriously: "The Gospel Institute is an evil organization dedicated to destroying humanity.

"The reason why the Witch of Gospel is famous is that she is one of the most powerful pioneers in the Gospel Academy and has killed countless people; and even ordinary monks in the Gospel Academy do the same things as the devil.

"They will grab survivors like us from under the rubble and kill them. They are even more vicious than many monsters. When we encounter monsters that we cannot resist, we just need to hide and avoid them. The monks of the Gospel Monastery are also human beings. They are well aware of the behavior patterns of us survivors and are better at finding and killing us.

"There are even rumors that the end of the world is a super disaster caused by the Gospel Institute, and that this is their plan to destroy all of humanity..."

How could the Gospel House be such an organization in the end times? This was in stark contradiction with Huang Quan's attitude.

An organization that intends to save the world actually commits the evil act of slaughtering humans... Could it be that in the eyes of the Gospel Institute, saving the world and saving humanity are separate concepts? Or is there a complicated hidden story behind it?
Tan Xiang complained: "What kind of biochemical crisis company is this? Could it be that they accidentally developed some outrageous virus in a laboratory somewhere and accidentally leaked it, causing the doomsday?"

He really likes zombie movies.

I would also like.

"I don't know that."

The cartographer responded briefly, then looked at me and asked, "So... Zhuang Cheng, is that girl named Ma Zao really your former partner? And not some enemy?"

Tan Xiang's expression changed slightly and he looked at me.

After thinking about it, I asked, "Could there be some misunderstanding? I vaguely remember that Ma Zao was a girl with extremely bad luck. She could easily attract strange things and cause trouble for the team... Is it possible that she didn't kill anyone herself, but the strange things she attracted killed people?"

The cartographer lowered his head and glanced at the diary, then shook his head: "At least according to what I heard from other survivors before, those who were killed by her were killed by her own hands."

"Forget it." He closed the diary. "You have already forgotten the past anyway. Whether the Witch of Gospel was your former partner or enemy... or even whether you were a monk of the Gospel Monastery in the past, these questions have nothing to do with you now.

"The memories washed away by the madness cannot be restored. The past you is also dead and can never come back. Now you are just an ordinary survivor, struggling to survive with us." Tan Xiang was shocked and said, "Ah... is that it?"

"What else?" the cartographer said as a matter of course.

The nerves of the doomsday survivors are really strong.

Since the cartographer didn't mind, I stopped thinking about how to respond and turned my attention to the wandering soul, trying to get clues about the small bowl from him.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to deal with this man who seemed to have lost even the most basic ability to speak. One thing that can be barely observed is that the wandering soul has a soul strength of the living level. I asked the cartographer for confirmation, and he nodded and said that the wandering soul, as a partner who fought side by side with him in the past, has no less power than him. It would be better if the wandering soul was an ordinary survivor, so that even if I took out the half-destroyed fake water moon, it would be useless.

I tried to provoke Youhun again and again, but he was just like a wild beast, giving irrational reactions and staring at Tanxiang, the weak target, which made Tanxiang flustered.

After a moment, I came to a conclusion. If I want to make the wandering soul speak, I still have to rely on the power of words.

Now I am unable to use the power of the Words, but as long as I can complete the analysis and adaptation to the order of doomsday space and time, even if it is only a part of it, I will be able to use the power of the Words to force such a high-level character to respond properly.

This won’t take long, it can be done today.

Although it does seem a bit strange to say “within today” in a place where there is no sunrise or sunset.

At this moment, the aroma of food could be vaguely smelled from downstairs, and the cartographer's stomach made an embarrassing rumbling sound.

"...Then, let's have a meal together first." The cartographer suggested, "When the ancients formed an alliance, they seemed to have the practice of swearing an oath of blood. There is no need for us to go through such red tape here. Sitting down and having a good meal together can be considered the ceremony of forming an alliance."

Although I didn't need to eat, since there was such a ritual need, I followed suit. We walked downstairs and had dinner together. We ate canned food cooked in a hot pot, and the taste was not very good, but after all, we had the material conditions now, so we couldn't force too much.

The boy I saw earlier and the girl who was yelling out of control also sat around the table. The girl had now returned to her expressionless state, but at least she knew she had to eat, and she moved her chopsticks mechanically, and she no longer reacted to me with the same fear as before.

The cartographer placed several candles on the dining table for lighting. Unlike my flame, the girl did not show any abnormality towards the candle flames.

Assuming that the "flame-controlling monster" that attacked the group that the massacred girl was in was the Great Demon of Disaster, why did she associate my flame with the flame of the Great Demon of Disaster? I had this question.

Although I have wondered before whether the Great Demon of Disaster would be me in the doomsday era, but according to Ma Zao and Xiao Wan, the Great Demon of Disaster is a monster with black flames wrapped all over its body, and my previous fireballs were not black.

Or did I make a mistake in the premise, and the "monster that controls fire" is not the Great Demon of Disaster?

I then noticed that there was a can of ketchup on the table, and for some reason, the ketchup tasted sour but didn't seem to have gone bad. Tan Xiang seemed a little confused and raised a question.

“After the apocalypse, sweetness disappeared from our world,” the cartographer replied.

"What do you mean the sweetness has disappeared?" Tan Xiang was stunned.

"It means exactly what it says." The cartographer said, "Some survivors still remember what sweet tastes like, but they can't feel the sweetness from any substance. Even if you ask me why it has become like this, I can't answer.

“There is a saying that in the past, ‘sweetness’ was considered a taste closely associated with happiness, but after the apocalypse, the concept of ‘happiness’ disappeared, and so sweetness also disappeared from this world.

"You can find cans of ketchup, after all. I heard that in the past there was a condiment called white sugar, which seemed to be common in every household's kitchen, but I have never heard of anyone collecting such items in the ruins.

"The only substance that we can get close to sweetness is fresh blood. Crazy demons pursue the sweet taste of blood, probably because it makes them feel happy."

Tan Xiang whispered: "This is unscientific..."

I had similar thoughts.

But the next moment, I remembered the egg custard soufflé that Ma had made for me earlier.

Soufflé is a dessert that requires a lot of sugar. Ma Zao once made it for me after my battle with the Life Turbidity. She said at the time that "I don't know why I remember how to make this dessert." But in the apocalyptic era where sugar and sweetness don't exist, where did she learn how to make soufflé?
After all, in this day and age, does the concept of "dessert" really exist?
(End of this chapter)