Post-Apocalyptic Survival Modpack

Chapter 86: Apocalyptic Understanding

Wang Ji's thoughts couldn't help but wander.

If there were no such thing as the apocalypse, this great mage might have been a leader who integrated the world and civilizations, a pioneer of the world, an explorer of the outside world, and the first person to bravely take steps outward.

However, this step he took backfired, leading him to discover the existence of the apocalypse, and he dared not return home for a long time.

In a sense, he even became the 'sinner' who caused the world to suffer its end prematurely.

How could this not be disheartening?

If there hadn't been an apocalypse, would he have come back to visit more often?

Perhaps the world will be a different place then, and we won't have to endure so many upsetting and inexplicable things along the way.

But there is no if.

Ultimately, who can be blamed for these things?

It seems that tracing back to the root cause, we can only blame that mysterious and inexplicable apocalypse.

However, indulging in wishful thinking is never advisable; now that things have come to this, the facts before us are what matter most.

"You always seem so positive, I've never seen you have any emotional fluctuations."

Just as I was thinking this, Osvid was already standing in front of me.

"me?"

Wang Ji pointed to himself, thought for a moment, and said, "There's nothing to be disappointed about. There's a saying: 'When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.'"

There's always a solution to a problem. If you can't solve it, destroy it and rebuild it.

"You've seen it yourself, haven't you? This is how I've always gotten here."

Oswald nodded in agreement, saying, "That's true, it makes a lot of sense."

"If you can't solve it, destroy everything and build a new, healthier one on the ruins of the old."

"Well... but the prerequisite for doing this is to first integrate the old resources."

"Just like now, the ideal community is growing on the corpse of the empire, and it has more potential and is more gratifying."

"If new things are full of vitality and stronger, then the collapse and destruction of old things become valuable and necessary."

After saying that, Oswald changed the subject and said, "Actually, I've been listening to a lot of people's discussions lately."

"The Calamity of the Dead - this event is recorded in ancient texts. Of course, it never actually happened, but it was passed down as a 'doomsday prophecy' and is familiar to many people as an interesting anecdote."

“There are many more prophecies and revelations like these.”

Wang Ji asked, "So you mean that these prophecies are all true, and that the end times were known in advance by those who wrote the books and spread rumors?"

"Do not."

Oswald shook his head: "The apocalypse has always been an illogical thing; its existence is unnatural."

"What I want to say is that this disaster seems to have emerged from people's perceptions, as if something is turning the apocalyptic scenes in people's minds into reality one by one."

Wang Ji was startled.

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm not sure, but we can wait and see; we'll probably have a conclusion soon."

Oswald pulled up the records from those days and said, "Even though the sample size is small and the observation period is too short, the disasters seem to occur very punctually, with one new type appearing every so often."

"Currently, the timing appears to be..."

“Three days,” Wang Ji replied.

A sense of foreboding rose within me.

drop--

New information came from a member of the population concentration task force.

During their work, they discovered an unusual village.

"The village is covered with a strange gray fungus. The villagers have all contracted a bizarre disease. They have lost their minds, are unable to communicate, and will attack any living thing indiscriminately. Some of them have even mutated and evolved, and are losing their human form."

"The team members were attacked upon entering the village and developed some symptoms of infection, which disappeared after drinking milk."

"According to observations, all the iron golems in the village have been eliminated by the mutated villagers and animals working together, and the local network base stations have been corroded by fungi and rendered ineffective."

Could it be...?
Upon seeing this, Wang Ji felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

He looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place him. It wasn't that he had a bad memory; something was preventing him from doing so…

"Just bear with it..."

A voice suddenly rang in my mind.

At the same time, the same message appeared in the chat box.

It's a chat window, not a magic network.

Wang Ji shuddered violently.

"I'll put up with it!"

Under Osvid's slightly puzzled gaze, he shouted and immediately opened a portal, appearing in the sky above the village in an instant according to the coordinates provided by the working group.

Looking down, I saw that the ground was covered with a grayish-white fungus, mixed with a scarlet biomass aggregate containing various organs.

The village has been completely transformed, entirely covered by these things.

A group of monsters roamed above, some of them still holding tools, and you could vaguely make out what they looked like when they were alive.

When the King appeared in the sky, they immediately noticed it and swarmed over, crowding below.

It's over. These people are beyond saving.

There was no one left alive in this place; the entire village was wiped out, all transformed into monsters. A wisp of gas rose up, causing Wang Ji to cough.

A debuff appears in the status bar, but is immediately removed by the protective charm.

[Mycelial infection]

A feeling of being watched rose from within Wang Ji, causing a tingling sensation on his skin and a sense of unease and unease.

However, this unease did not affect Wang Ji at all; on the contrary, it made his mind suddenly clear.

This is clearly something from the 'Fungal Infection' mod!
The swarm mutation a few days ago has become clear; it was a 'zombie plague'.

Both are modules within that limited understanding of the apocalypse.

They ran out on their own without being chosen, and are now trying to make their existence forgotten.

However, they failed due to a notification in the chat box.

The mess before his eyes filled Wang Ji with anger.

"I really need to get under control of you guys."

His gaze fell upon the center of the village, where a skeletal and fleshy creature with a large eyeball stood like a watchtower, staring motionlessly at Wang Ji.

That's the source of the "Anxiety" buff.

A 'sentinel' originating from a fungal infection, it can transmit what it sees to its host.

Anyone who is targeted by the sentry tower is also targeted by the microbial community and the fungal matrix.

However, Wang Ji was not afraid at all. Instead, he stared at the big eyeball, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the eyeball and connect with something deep underground through its perception.

A prototype of the honeycomb mindset.

"Got you."

Wang Ji slightly raised his hand and brought up the spell interface.

"They actually dared to come to us on their own. They're incredibly bold. Is it the stupidity of a wild beast, or the fearlessness of the ignorant?"

Boom!

A massive firestorm swept up, engulfing the entire village and burning everything in sight to ashes.

Although fungi are vulnerable to cold and freezing, this does not prevent extremely powerful flames from burning everything to ashes.

Following the flames came a series of violent explosions, one after another, blasting through the soil and rocks, destroying everything in its path from the surface to the depths of the earth.

This also includes spores that are rooted in the earth and are trying to spread outwards.

After frying for a while, a huge spherical wall made of calcified humus, organ chunks and spores appeared before our eyes.

Wang Ji waved his hand and directly lifted the wall open.

In the very center of the sphere, there was a gigantic monster made of bones, flesh, and spores.

Its brain tissue is exposed and highly developed.

But it doesn't seem to be developed enough.

Wang Ji slowly descended.

The microbial community mother—the nascent honeycomb mind—felt fear.

"What did you say? What did you tell me to endure?"

It dragged its massive body slowly backward, moving further and further away from Wang Ji, while desperately releasing spores and signals, trying to summon some helpers.

But it was all in vain.

Snapped!
With a burning spell cast, everything here turned to ashes, leaving not a trace.

Thus, this microbial community was destroyed before it had even developed a rudimentary form of consciousness, leaving nothing behind.

Wang Ji also breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was discovered early.

This thing isn't particularly strong in combat, but its ability to spread the virus is another story.

In a chaotic era, it might actually develop and evolve into various mutants, forming a huge threat no less powerful than the undead scourge.

But in this day and age, it means nothing.

After temporarily resolving the new anomaly, Wang Ji immediately focused his attention on the Doomsday Cognition Points.

Connecting the events of the past few days, especially Osvid's earlier remarks, he suddenly understood the true purpose of these points.

"The end of the world comes from people's consciousness. Something is turning the 'end of the world' that people generally believe in into reality."

This process is clearly out of control; people's understanding of the apocalypse is varied and complex, and no one knows which one will become reality.

But it's not like that with Wang Ji.

He can influence the course of the apocalypse and forcefully intervene.

This Doomsday Points are not the source of 'out of control'; on the contrary, they are something that can control the apocalypse.

Once this point is used up, other apocalyptic disasters will be forcibly suppressed and unable to materialize.

Even if the world is destined to face an inevitable end and doomsday, it must be done according to Wang Ji's choice.

This is really...

Is it a case of being blind to one's own shortcomings, or simply carelessness?
It can be described however you like.

Right now, Wang Ji just wants to pinch his nose.

Because no matter what, it means he has to choose the least smelly one from a pile of excrement.

(End of this chapter)