Rebirth!
It was much crueler than Tang Ling had expected. The process was not a joyful process of growth and regeneration but a tearing process.
At least, that was what Tang Ling saw.
The one and only three high-tier living beings in the fragment struggled violently before Tang Ling's eyes. The calm lake surface was stirred into pieces and it even felt like a raging wave.
However, struggling did not change anything. Tang Ling watched helplessly as the Sunlight Hades Fish's skin started to crack, its muscles started to disintegrate, and its blood was instantly absorbed by an unknown force.
In less than five minutes, the Sunlight Hades Fish's original form was gone and it turned into a … complicated living organism. Tang Ling could feel that the living organism was brimming with vitality.
Was it a success? Was this what rebirth was like? Turning into a meatball? Tang Ling watched in silence. He could not tell what he was feeling. He was shocked and filled with an indescribable reverence.
Was it the reverence for life? Tang Ling could not tell. All he knew was that the rebirth process was more than that. According to the owner of the deserted island, it would require a huge amount of energy, and throughout the whole process, Tang Ling would have to replenish the energy at the right time.
Just the right time? When would it be? In short, Tang Ling could not tell the exact time at the moment.
It was at that moment that the Sunlight Hades Fish had completely turned into a meatball that was brimming with vitality. It looked strangely familiar.
"An embryo?" Tang Ling's mind had been thinking about Higan. Although the scene before him was shocking, he did not really care. However, at that moment, the term popped up in his mind.
His heart was filled with reverence for the miraculous life. Was this also a way to pass down life? A Sunlight Hades Fish had degenerated into an embryo? Its vitality was even stronger than before! Even with Tang Ling's weak sixth sense, he could still sense the powerful and fresh life force from the Black Dragon King!
"I don't know how to define my rebirth. I've always thought about it. Have I been reborn as myself or have I been reborn together with the chosen host? Or have we both ceased to exist? Have we become a third life form with the shadow of me and the host? You must tell me the answer in the future. "
Tang Ling recalled a conversation he had with the Island Master of the deserted island. Even the Island Master, a super vicious beast, could not see through the essence of life, let alone a young man like him.
He only hoped that he could wait for an answer to tell the life form in front of him, even if it might not care anymore, because it might not be the master of the deserted island.
After turning into an embryo, the 'meatball' no longer struggled. Instead, it slowly sank to the bottom of the lake. During this process, a wave of energy appeared on the surface of the lake where it sank, forming a thin barrier that enveloped the entire lake.
At that moment, the energy barrier shook softly and Tang Ling received a simple yet strong emotion. It was similar to the emotion that the little seed had sent to him in the beginning. It needed energy and food.
Of course, Tang Ling would not ignore it since it was his promise. He picked up a small piece of meat, a piece of bone, and a pot of Sea God's Gift from the shore before he slowly approached the energy barrier.
Should I throw the food into the energy shield? The Island Master could no longer give Tang Ling an answer, so all Tang Ling could do was speculate and follow his own method.
What he didn't expect was that when he tried to throw that fist-sized piece of Vicious Beast meat into the energy shield, the energy shield actually emitted a clear feeling of having too much energy.
"I see." Tang Ling tore the vicious beast meat in half and tossed the meat into the pot.
He tried to toss in another small piece and it was accepted, but any more would not work.
The discovery piqued Tang Ling's interest. He felt like he was feeding some kind of pet.
Was this some kind of relief to his lonely life?
His appetite was much smaller than he had imagined. The owner of the deserted island had left behind at least a ton of vicious beast meat. Don't think that a ton of meat was a big deal.
Just like the volume of fat of the same weight could not be compared to the volume of muscle, the volume of a ton of wood could not be compared to a ton of steel. A ton of super grade Direbeast meat, when piled up, would only be about the size of ten wooden boxes.
Based on that, the embryo had to be half the size of a fist for the first time and there was even a little bit of super vicious beast meat. His appetite was really not that big.
Tang Ling, for example, could only eat a little bit every day, but at least he was getting better every day. If he was just a normal person, it would be strenuous for him to pick up the meat and bones of a super vicious beast.
"Don't eat too much. If you finish all the resources before you grow up, what should I do?" Tang Ling said as he tapped the energy barrier.
Tang Ling thought he was not afraid of loneliness, but now he knew that if he cultivated alone for a long time, he would not feel lonely at all. It was because he knew that if he wanted to, he could return to the crowd at any time.
But now … Without such affirmation and hope, loneliness was like a potent poison. It only took three days for it to spread to every corner of his heart.
He wanted to seize every reasonable opportunity to say something.
That was why humans loved, were reluctant to part with, and cared about their own kind from the bottom of their hearts. That was the theory behind animals.
With that in mind, Tang Ling walked out of the lake. He tried to communicate with the little seed, but it was in a deeper sleep than ever before. It did not respond at all. Its leaves and branches that were brimming with vitality were filled with a withering aura.
Even the roots that were plunged into Tang Ling's heart felt like they were going to fall.
If it were not for the super vicious beast meat left behind by the Island Master to replenish the precious energy every day, Tang Ling believed the little seed would have completely withered.
With that thought in mind, Tang Ling felt sad.
As a matter of fact, with more energy, the little seed could recover a little more. It was just that his current body simply couldn't take any more.
He thought being weak in this world was not a big deal, but now he realized that when a powerhouse was weak, it would slowly destroy his soul and make him unable to protect the things he cared about.
Tang Ling did not know what season it was in this time and space fragment, but his heart was filled with the feeling of autumn.
He did not know if it would rain in this time and space fragment, but his heart was drenched by the cold rain.
He had to be strong. This time, Tang Ling suddenly realized that the difficulty of life sometimes did not lie in the life and death of the body, but in the heart. Perhaps it was burning to ashes, but he had to try his best to light up a fire. There would always be people who wanted to light up and warm the world, including himself.
**
Tuesday, the 17th day of the apocalypse: Rain
When I woke up in the morning, it started raining.
I never thought I would be overjoyed by rain. Does the change in the weather mean that the season will not disappear? Then shall I wait till winter, and then till spring?
If spring comes, will something recover? For example, when I woke up, I was delighted to see my neighbor, Grandpa Wu, heading to the lake. He was going to practice Tai Chi before going home, and Auntie Wu was watering the plants in the yard.
The Shiba Inu that I hated was still being walked around by its owner, and when it saw me, it would howl at me in an unfriendly manner.
No, I don't want to snatch your owner away, even though she is beautiful and I am tempted, but I have a girlfriend.
But I have a girlfriend. Do you know what having a girlfriend means? It means that there are many beautiful girls in this world, but you are destined to fall in love with them a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times. You are not allowed to take action.
So, I think love is a lock, lock all your action ability. What do you think?
X, what am I talking about? Am I fantasizing about communicating with a dog? If there really was a dog that could communicate with me, I would be very willing to do so. Really! I might even cry from the excitement, but I did not.
The silence around me was driving me crazy.
As a matter of fact, it was not silence. There was the sound of the rain, the wind, the rain on the leaves, and the lake. What I wanted to express was … loneliness! Loneliness leads to the silence in my heart!
I'm going crazy! I miss her so much! My lock!
I've regretted it a thousand times. Why did I go on the expedition?
I'm a 32-year-old man, yet I still fantasized about using such actions to prove that I'm a little boy, a teenager?
Or is it because my family background is good and my career is smooth sailing? Then, I got bored and wanted to stand out from the crowd.
I've fantasized countless times that if I were just a normal person, I would go to work on a day like this, squeeze into the subway to eat … Then, I wouldn't have woken up from my coma on the mountain and faced such a nightmare!
Zhang Anyi, my lock, I should have gone on a date with you today. We should have gone for a good meal, watched a movie, did the most ordinary things, and then disappeared together.
Really, I regret it!
Now that it's raining outside, I realize that I've never been in the rain with you before. If it wasn't for this despair, would I have thought of doing such a thing with you in my lifetime?
I don't know.
I suddenly feel like my life has been wasted, and I suddenly feel like I'm cheap. In my despair, I actually realized the meaning of life, but …
Alright, I'm going to sleep. I don't know if I can fall asleep.
Am I a weak man, or am I unusually strong? I didn't die, I'm still alive.
**
Softly, Tang Ling closed the diary. His voice that echoed in the room was gone, leaving only Higan's light breathing.
It was the 17th day of the diary, and Tang Ling had been trapped in the house for 21 days.
Since he started reading the diary on the fourth day, he was reading it with Higan. More precisely, he was reading it while reading to her.
The words in the diary were not a problem for Tang Ling to read. It was the Huaxia language that was passed down from the Purple Moon era.
However, Tang Ling did not want to read it all at once, just like the books in the room. Tang Ling limited himself to 10 pages a day.
As for the DVDs, Tang Ling only watched one of them. He wanted to search for more interesting things in town so that he could watch and play with them once every 10 days.
He wanted to study everything slowly and find something for himself to do. If he did not slow down, the hole in his heart would grow bigger and bigger until it swallowed him whole.
He placed the diary on Higan's bedside, picked up a cigarette, walked to the window, and lit it up.
After that, he would go to the lake to feed her.
Next, should he practice his combat skills, or try to start cultivating again? Tang Ling purposely did not give himself an answer.
He did not want to do the same thing every day. He wanted to persevere, so he had to find something special.
However, he had to be highly disciplined.
For example, he could not stop cultivating, taking care of Higan, and feeding her pet.
Only with high self-discipline could a person grow stronger.
It was a saying that Tang Ling read in a book recently, and he agreed with it deeply.
The cigarette was soon finished, but Tang Ling did not continue. Even though smoking could calm him down and soothe him, this town should be a rich one. There were 17 supermarkets, big and small, and it was not like the Purple Moon era where cigarettes were treasured.
Not being overly reliant on anything was a form of self-discipline.
He came to the lakeside and started to feed it. Recently, its appetite had grown and it could eat a fist-sized piece of vicious beast meat, but that was all. It was still unable to eat the bones left behind by the deserted island owner. It seems like I'll still be able to enjoy the rich resources in the future, won't I?
Tang Ling was not used to counting without Precise Instinct. Fist-Sized? Two fist-sized? A small piece? A big piece? Tang Ling mocked himself before he furrowed his brows.
It had been 21 days …
Tang Ling puckered his lips. He did not know if there would be a future where he could use the resources.
Higan … Higan …
Tang Ling was not in the mood to talk. He tapped the energy barrier that did not change and walked to the lake quietly. He lowered his head and sat down.
He no longer had the courage to look at Higan. Even though she was sleeping quietly in the house, he could stay by her side day and night if he wanted to.
However, he did not!
A single glance at her was painful. Higan's life was slipping away faster and faster. Her face was getting paler and paler, to the point that her lips were covered with a layer of white membrane.
She fed Higan every day, but it was completely ineffective.
She could not digest or absorb the energy. Even if he tried to feed her, she would unconsciously vomit it out after a while.
The only thing she could accept was water.
Tang Ling tried to use vicious beast meat to boil the water, but it triggered a huge reaction from her. She convulsed and vomited. She even had a nosebleed. It was obvious that she could not handle even the slightest bit of energy.
Fortunately, in this seemingly everlasting town, there were many common foods from the old civilization available in the supermarket. The electricity allowed the food to be frozen, so there was no shortage of frozen meat.
The only thing Higan could accept was the soup that was boiled with common food. Tang Ling cooked soup for her every day, but what could he change?
The only way out was to escape this place.
With that in mind, Tang Ling stood up and strode to the other side of the lake. He wanted to go back and have a look.
Although he was reluctant to finish the diary, it was already 17 days later. It was an undeniable fact that there was a survivor in this town a long time ago.
The 17 days of diary also provided Tang Ling with an important piece of information. The reason why the sole survivor existed was because when the incident happened, he was not in this town. Instead, he was somewhere in the mountains. To be precise, he was on a small hill that was not too eye-catching.
As for how he managed to avoid the disaster caused by the space-time turbulence, the survivor did not mention anything. Tang Ling believed that even the survivor did not know what happened. He did not know that this town had become a space-time turbulence fragment, so he would not know how he managed to avoid the disaster.
According to the survivor, he was a backpacker who loved adventures, especially exploring the so-called unsolved and mysterious places in the world.
On normal days, he loved to climb mountains and wade through rivers around his house to train himself.
The reason why he noticed the anomaly on the hill was because of his habit.
What was unusual about the hill? The survivor's diary did not provide an accurate description of the anomaly. All he did was use the word 'miracle'. Based on how hard he tried to describe it, Tang Ling guessed that the survivor saw the river formed by the space-time turbulence.
Why did he see the space-time river before the space-time fragment was torn apart? Tang Ling could not figure it out. On top of that, he was not sure whether it was really the space-time river or not.
Regardless, the hill became his biggest hope of escaping this place. After Tang Ling figured it out, he went back to the hill again.
Obviously, the reward was limited.
Other than some plants that were out of season, Tang Ling did not find anything else.
The situation made Tang Ling have the urge to read the diary from top to bottom. Maybe there would be an answer after that.
However, Tang Ling rejected the thought. Living in a place like this and living like this, he was afraid that he would not be able to look forward to tomorrow.
More importantly, he was just a normal person from the old civilization. What kind of answer could he find?
Therefore, Tang Ling did not finish reading the diary. He had another hope, which was that after his spirit recovered, he would be able to read the diary that the owner of the deserted island left for him. Maybe he would be able to find the answer.
"Almost there." Tang Ling arrived at the hill again.
Due to the long journey, it was almost dusk. The setting sun dyed the clouds in the sky into a pale yellow. The sunlight shone on Tang Ling as if it brought him a glimmer of hope that had yet to be extinguished.
It was indeed fast since 21 days had passed. Tang Ling could feel his bones becoming tougher and tougher again. His torn muscles grew at an insane speed every night. The reconstructed tendons were twisted into sturdier muscles and the broken nerves were reconnected, making them even thicker and stronger.
The recovery speed was definitely unimaginable for a normal person from the old civilization. The humans of the old civilization were too fragile, and many of their injuries were irreversible! However, the people of the Purple Moon era were not like that, and neither was Tang Ling. Otherwise, he would not have survived.
Of course, he had only recovered a little from his prime.
The key was the recovery of his spirit. It was close to the point where he could form a spirit imprint. As a matter of fact, Tang Ling could not open his portable space not because he could not provide the tiny bit of spirit for the Astral Concealment Dimension Fixing Blade, but because his spirit was too damaged to form a spirit imprint that belonged to him.
Tang Ling believed that as long as he could recover to that extent, he would be able to open his portable space. Not only could he open his portable space, but he could also read the article left behind by the Island Master. Most importantly, his Precise Instinct should be back, right?
Tang Ling was not imagining it blindly. Although he was not an Excellencer, he knew the spirit imprint was the foundation of everything. It was like a key, and only with it could he use his spirit freely.
"If that's the case, I might as well not use the Astral Concealment Dimension Fixing Blade and just use the leather pouch." Tang Ling fiddled with the dried branches beside him and muttered to himself.
Of course, it was just a joke. If he really had the leather pouch, it would have been shattered the moment he entered the space fragment.
Looking at the disharmonious winter scenery on the hill, Tang Ling still could not find anything. All he could do was follow the sunset down the hill.
**
The 26th day was sunny.
Higan had not woken up yet.
Today, I listened carefully to her breathing. It was so weak that I almost couldn't hear it.
I was a little scared, but it was not because of the impending separation of life and death. It was because I had yet to make a decision.
What decision should I make? 'What should I do after I bury Higan? I didn't fulfill my promise to the Island Master, but I knew that without Higan, I might lose the courage to live.
Whenever I thought about losing her, I would think about the night when I lost my grandmother and my sister. Back then, it was Uncle Su Yao who supported me with his hatred. What would I have now?
Forget it. I'll stop thinking about it for now.
Before everything comes to an end, I can't lose the last shred of hope. The past few days have been a training for my soul. No matter how many life and death situations I've gone through in the outside world, none of them has been as torturous as these days.
I think I can only be strong and mature after I make it through this.
But, can I make it through? Higan, what do you think?
Keeping a diary is a good comfort. I can understand why the survivor insisted on keeping a diary during those lonely and hopeless days.
I've also recorded 17 diary entries. Consider it proof that Higan and I have been here before.
On top of that, if everything goes well, my spirit will recover completely tomorrow.
However, I don't have high hopes anymore. Everything in my portable space is of no help to Higan's current situation.
My only hope is the diary that the Island Master left behind. I hope it can give me some direction.
I also hope that I can make it in time!
Tang Ling wrote three exclamation marks on the diary before he put the pen down.
The diary could no longer comfort him. His heart was filled with Higan's weak breaths. The Island Master said a month, which was the most he could do. Tang Ling was worried about whether Higan could make it through tomorrow.
Fate was such a cliché. Higan's recovery happened to be tomorrow, and tomorrow seemed to be the day that would decide her fate. How could Tang Ling remain calm under such circumstances?
After all, he was just a young boy.
Irritated, he put the pen down and closed the diary. He went to Higan's room and sat on the edge of the bed. He grabbed her hand and placed it on his cheek, hoping that he could use his warmth to warm her up.
Due to the loss of her life, Higan's hand had turned cold.
"Let's hope that tomorrow …" Tang Ling said softly, but his words of comfort were useless. Even if he knew what to do tomorrow, would he make it in time?
**
The morning breeze fluttered the curtains of Higan's room.
Higan's weak breaths were faintly discernible. No matter how thick the quilt was, plus the heat from the air wither in the room, nothing could warm her up.
Tang Ling was calm as he went through the songs.
During the lonely days, he often listened to songs. The owner of the room, who was the survivor, had left many songs behind.
Tang Ling always had a good impression of the songs of the old civilization, and it all came from the song Vian sang in Reserved Camp No. 1. It was a song about friendship that Vivian sang.
The art of singing seemed to be able to soothe people's hearts and trigger all sorts of emotions in adults.
Staying in the room was the only way for Tang Ling to feel less lonely and be surrounded by the sounds of people.
Today was the day that would decide his fate.
His fate had been decided.
The moment Tang Ling opened his eyes, he realized his spirit could already form a mark. The first thing he did was to read the article that the owner of the deserted island left behind.
It was very useful. It was about the usage of the resources that the owner left behind and how to use them effectively.
It also provided guidance for Tang Ling's future advancement.
Of course, Tang Ling was also concerned about the space-time fragment and the owner of the deserted island's opinion.
As expected of a super vicious beast, its opinion and speculations were close to the truth. For example, the owner of the deserted island had given Tang Ling the answer about the hilltop. It was the only place in the space-time turbulence that defied the rules.
As for what it was exactly, Tang Ling was too lazy to think about it.
Although the hilltop was his only hope of getting out and it might even bring him some unexpected benefits, none of them could help Higan because Tang Ling was not strong enough at his current stage.
According to the owner of the deserted island, no matter how talented Tang Ling was, if he could not advance to a rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior, he would not be able to get out because a rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior could only reach the threshold of the rules after unlocking the genetic lock.
It was only referring to Tang Ling's situation because he had a mysterious ability — Precise Instinct! If it were someone else, they might only have the slightest hope of getting out after becoming a high-rank Purple Moon Warrior.
The owner of the deserted island then explained why it was so. There were a lot of arguments and things to take note of. It promised Tang Ling that it would repay him wholeheartedly.
Unfortunately, Tang Ling was not interested at all.
Tang Ling woke up at four in the morning before the sun even rose. He ran to the hilltop in a frenzy and activated his Precise Instinct.
He wanted to give it a try.
Unfortunately, with his current recovery level, he could only use his initial Precise Instinct. If he had to compare it to the time when he had just left Safety Sector No. 17, he could not even use what Boss Huang had taught him.
He could not even see the most basic energy flow in the rules, let alone find the point mentioned by the owner of the deserted island.
There was no other way!
Rank 3? Even if he advanced to a Purple Moon Warrior now, he could not do anything because Tang Ling had not fully recovered, let alone the accumulated energy!
Tang Ling despaired. He did not know what kind of mood he was in when he walked down the hill.
In the end, he still had to face this day.
The Point
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