Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

“But what about all these fish in the ocean? They all look so dumb and clueless. They can’t have much of a brain, can they?”

Most of the fish Tang Mo had seen were cute, but they didn’t seem very intelligent. How could that be explained?

“Are you an idiot? I already told you, the creation of mutant beasts requires a baptism of resentment. Humans can barely catch fish from the deep sea like these, so they’ve hardly ever seen humans. Naturally, they don’t have much resentment. Haven’t you noticed that most of these fish are species you’ve never seen before?”

Da Jing said disdainfully.

Tang Mo thought about it carefully. It seemed that was indeed the case.

“Of course, some species that were heavily fished turned into mutant beasts and now enjoy attacking humans. Those types of fish didn’t originally live in the deep sea. After mutating, it wasn’t just their appearance that changed, but their habitats and behaviors as well.”

It’s not like no fish attack humans. The ocean is vast, after all.

“I get it. You’re saying that fish with immense resentment also can’t withstand that much power and fail to become mutant beasts, which is why so few of them attack people. But didn’t you say there are two ways mutant beasts are formed? What about the other way—the species that never existed in this world before? Why don’t those newly emerged creatures attack people?”

There was still one thing Tang Mo didn’t understand. Besides, she was idle anyway. There was nothing better to do than get to the bottom of things.

“The fish you’re seeing now are basically all creatures that originally existed in the ocean. Their rather peculiar appearances are just changes brought on by mutation. As for those natural-born mutant beasts, there are almost none in the ocean.”

For some reason, Da Jing’s tone seemed to carry a hint of pride as it spoke.

“Is it because of you?”

Tang Mo picked up on the meaning in Da Jing’s words and pressed on with her question.

“Of course. I’m the one who calls the shots in this sea. Those creatures born from resentment are disgusting. I’d never let them live in my waters.”

Da Jing made its disgust for those wraith-like creatures perfectly clear.

‘So that’s how it is.’ Tang Mo nodded. The confusion in her heart was now completely resolved.

‘No wonder there aren’t any. It turns out this big whale cleared them all out.’

“You said the apocalypse is a punishment… so when will this punishment finally end?”

Tang Mo thought that while Da Jing’s personality was a bit childish, its breadth of knowledge was undeniably vast.

Even though she was about to say her goodbyes, Tang Mo was still very concerned about when the apocalypse might end.

“When humanity truly understands the meaning of the apocalypse, passes the trials, and fulfills the requirements, perhaps then it will end.”

Da Jing had clearly thought about this question before and had its own answer.

‘Understand the meaning of the apocalypse, pass the trials, fulfill the requirements…’

Tang Mo silently mulled over those words.

‘Perhaps the process of collecting the Five Beads and all the experiences in the Illusion World aren’t without reason. It’s not just about making humans complete tasks, but more about allowing people to truly understand something more precious in the process.’

Tang Mo thought of the big, pink bead she had once disdained and suddenly found herself missing it a little.

“If you weren’t in your current state, you might really be humanity’s hope.”

Da Jing said earnestly. Although it was also quite disdainful of Tang Mo, it had to admit the girl possessed many excellent qualities.

Da Jing knew Tang Mo already had four beads; she was truly not far from having all five.

Moreover, as a consciousness, the pink energy emanating from Tang Mo made Da Jing feel very at ease.

Energy was usually something that would make others feel wary, but the pink energy on Tang Mo was different. Instead, it made one feel more at peace, with an indescribable sense of reassurance and a desire to draw closer.

The two of them—one human, one whale—chatted like this for a long time.

Tang Mo told Da Jing everything she had experienced in the Illusion World. ‘I’m already in this state, and the world is the way it is,’ she thought. ‘What’s there left to hide?’

Hearing about the Illusion World, Da Jing clicked its tongue in amazement. It had never even seen the things on land, let alone a world in a parallel dimension.

As they continued to chat, Tang Mo went on to tell Da Jing in detail about the ID Watch.

Although she knew Da Jing wouldn’t understand electronic products or the ID Watch, she felt that with its knowledge of the world, it might have a clearer idea of what the ID Watch was all about than she did.

If the ID Watch was initially a product of high technology, then over time, it had evolved to a point where it was completely beyond human control.

Some of the information it displayed was even unknown to humanity. That was something far beyond the reach of technology.

Even with AI, humans can only input commands. It’s absolutely impossible to make an AI output information that humans themselves don’t possess.

“Isn’t it obvious? Since this world has its own energy that can control plants and animals, it can naturally channel that energy into the watches you each wear. The world’s energy exists, but it needs a vessel. If it wants to send commands and information to you humans, what better vessel than those watches?”

The matter of the watches didn’t surprise Da Jing much.

Many people who had fallen into the water had survived inside its body before. Although it had never been to land, it had overheard many of their conversations.

And without fail, the first thing every single one of them did upon arriving was check their ID Watch.

Of course, inside Da Jing’s body, the watches had no signal and couldn’t display any new information.

As for the specific circumstances under which the watches worked and when they didn’t, that was likely influenced by multiple factors like geographical location, magnetic fields, and so on. It wasn’t something that could be summed up in a sentence or two.

Tang Mo nodded. She felt like she had figured out so many things today.

People always panic in the face of the unknown. Originally, they had worried that some evil force or even aliens were controlling the watches, and whether they would be hostile to humanity.

But now Tang Mo understood. If the watch was a manifestation of the world’s energy, then its purpose was simple: to make the world a better place.

Of course, that wasn’t entirely good news. After all, one of the conditions for making the world “better” was to eliminate the weak.

However, among those who had survived this long, there were basically no weaklings left. The remaining survivors were all basically iron-willed warriors.

They either had bodies of steel, willpower of steel, or hearts of steel.

The only thing left for them was to turn in the quest after completing it.

As long as someone could successfully fuse the Five Beads, the world’s wish would likely be fulfilled, and humanity’s wish could be realized as well.

Tang Mo thought again of the four beads inside her, her feelings a bit complicated.