Published: February 13, 2025
CHAPTER TEXT:
"Are you really not going?" Park Soo-young sat down next to Xia Lei and handed her a bright red apple.
Xia Lei took it, bit into it with a crisp sound, and chewed while looking at the distant fields.
Those were the farmlands cultivated beneath Cloud Summit Villa. From here, the view was excellent, with a green base glimmering with delightful golden hues. Many machines moved about, occasionally emitting soft sounds as they started up, slowly traveling through the early autumn air towards this side.
These machines had a wide range of functions.
Some were for weeding; with the countless mutated plants today, weeding was not just a labor task but a battle.
Some were for defense; the ripening crops had a fatal allure for certain herbivorous mutated animals. They could appear anywhere, coveting these delicacies, and once an opportunity arose, they would swarm in.
Others were for irrigation.
Today's crops were not as 'obedient' as before.
"Hatsune is over there with Luo Luo, Gao Yi, and Xia Bai, achieving a beginner's double first." There was some apple juice on Xia Lei's lips, making them shine in the sunlight.
Teacher Park thought for a moment and smiled, "Are you going for a three-peat?"
"Yes." Xia Lei nodded, "Zhong Ming has already said that this time, our side will get a lot of agency qualifications. Although the next novice battlefield will be tougher, our strength will also be much greater."
A three-peat, especially in the universe, Park Soo-young's mind conjured the shadow of a certain person, making it feel a bit surreal.
Once just an ordinary member of the school, she gained some fame because of having a beautiful girlfriend. But who would have thought that he would not even care for the king of Earth, going directly against the All Races of the Universe? And everyone in Cloud Summit knew that the leader's goal had always been the slave races outside of Earth.
When legends are far away, they are just names, but when legends are nearby, they evoke the deepest shock every time they are recalled.
"Everyone is fighting for spots; why aren't you?" Xia Lei asked as she finished the apple, leaving only the fine core.
Park Soo-young shook her head, "Actually, I want to go and take a look. You know, for someone like me who has had a refined life during peaceful times, going to a city in the universe for afternoon tea, or visiting the unique cities in the Survivor Fortress, should be quite comfortable and pleasant."
"Before, my wish was financial freedom and then traveling the world. So now it should be becoming invincible and traveling the universe?"
After saying this, Park Soo-young and Xia Lei laughed together.
"Alas." After laughing for a while, Park Soo-young said, "But I know now is not the time. On Earth, we are stable. Aside from the battles in the secret realm, the only large-scale battles on Earth are assaults on cities and the extermination of parasites. Even in such cases, we don’t need to exert all our strength."
"What we can hope for is that perhaps in a few years, Earth will stabilize and usher in a brand new era."
"I actually look forward to that." Teacher Park squinted her eyes, her smooth and white face radiating a holy light. Her profession gave her perhaps the most sacred aura in the apocalypse.
"But I am still needed here. In every battle, if I am present, we can save some lives. Their families will wait for their return, then smile, embrace, eat, and stroll together..."
"After each battle, I am willing to walk around the nearby settlements, feeling that atmosphere."
"And then I feel my life has value, my choices have value, and this world is still worth my effort."
"Even if... many people just disappear and are never seen again."
Xia Lei hugged Park Soo-young after hearing this, knowing she was thinking of her parents, who were abroad when the apocalypse hit. Even knowing the odds were grim, not having news still held some hope.
But with Cloud Summit unifying the globe, places where Park Soo-young's parents had gone and nearby areas had been searched by Cloud Summit’s teams and avoidance, but they had found nothing.