Chapter 1908: Ultimate Answer 1

"How..."

"Let humanity 'save' itself?"

"First bestow power, then guide faith?"

"Can guidance succeed.."

Under the starry sky, Lin An slowly closed his eyes, sealing off all his senses.

Like within the Thought Space of a primordial nebula, Lin An instantly split his thoughts into two, as if self-questioning, beginning logical deduction.

The scene suddenly changed.

Within the Thought Space, Lin An seemed to embody a third-person perspective, watching another self.

And the simulated him, just like in reality, silently gazed at the earth.

Time flowed backward in the deduction; he had already "returned" to before the first girl's throat was slit.

"If I hadn't used mental power to kill those scavengers back then..."

"but instead gave her some power..."

Lying on her back on the ground, the girl's eye sockets were red, desperately gazing at the blade swinging toward her neck.

She regretted nothing about her choice; she only knew that this lump of salt, which even before the apocalypse would have been considered dirty if dropped on the ground, might be her only hope.

How much could it fetch? One piece or two?

Without power or talent, she had no choice either; this apocalypse didn't even give her a chance to struggle.

Her and her sister's lives were as worthless as trash on the ground.

However, just as the girl awaited death, a voice that seemed to echo from another world suddenly rang in her mind.

"Do you hate?"

"Are you willing to just die like this?"

"Do you want to resist all of this?"

The voice was calm, like an illusory whisper. The girl listened in surprise to the voice sounding in her mind; in her eyes, at the very instant that voice sounded, time seemed to freeze.

Before the girl could react, that voice endlessly echoed deep within her heart.

"Hate..?"

"Want to resist?"

"Are you willing?"

"Hate!! I want to resist! I want to live!"

Not knowing what the voice was, but at this moment the girl shouted desperately, as if grasping at a straw.

As if venting all her pain and hatred, how could she possibly just die like this, how could she be willing, how could she not hate!!

At the same time, that godlike voice instantly responded to her.

"Then... kill everything you hate!"

Time resumed flowing.

At the same time, in the girl's eyes, the long sword that originally could not be avoided and was heading straight for her neck now fell slowly, as if in slow motion.

A power she had never felt before also surged forth from her body instantly.

This is...!?

Almost following instinct, as the blade drew nearer, the girl's pupils suddenly dilated.

For some reason, she seemed to have awakened the most primitive combat technique, her right hand grabbing the man's wrist with unbelievable speed.

Counter!

Seize the blade!

Upward slash!

With a "puchi" sound, before the man could even react, the rust-streaked blade instantly became like a boning knife, piercing his neck.

Skin and flesh split.

The blood jetting from the artery resembled a shooting fountain.

The hot blood scalded, hot blood drenched his head.

Watching the man's corpse felled by her single blow, the girl, blood-covered all over her face, trembled as she looked at the fallen man.

Like a beast, she couldn't help but want to make some sound from her throat. This was her first kill, and also her first taste of power's flavor!

(I killed him!? I actually really killed him!?)

Without fear, without the imagined terror, at this moment she seemed to tremble all over with excitement, deep in her heart a feeling never before experienced burst forth, even making her want to cry loudly.

Power, this is power!

Besides the excitement, the girl instinctively covered her mouth.

She didn't have time to think further about what was happening; she got up and continued to limp away.

Survive, she must survive!

Soon, sharp shouts rang out behind her. Realizing the girl could actually kill and flee, the few leading scavengers hurried to catch up.

His expression ferocious, the strongest, scrawny man among them lunged forward in a single bound; although not an Awakened One, his speed was no worse than that of a pre-apocalypse sprinter.

"Filthy bitch! Still dare to run!!"

Relying on the power of a pseudo-First Level, the scrawny man lunged, brandishing his cleaver, about to slash at the girl's back.

The wind howled fiercely; feeling the blade behind her, far stronger than an ordinary person's, enough to cleave her at the waist, the girl urgently cried out for help in her mind.

That mysterious power came and went quickly; relying only on herself, how could she possibly survive!?

"Save me! Give me a bit more power!"

"Hum"

In the night sky, Lin An silently watched as an invisible force once again entered the girl's body.

Remember this hatred and despair..

Pfft!

Again, the same scene.

The girl ecstatically felt her ankle healing rapidly, feeling power fill her entire body.

At that moment she ran like the wind, clutching the blood‑stained dagger tightly in her hand, desperately running toward the Safe Zone.

She killed the scavenger leader who had once bullied her; she now had power! She could survive!

Go back! Return to the Safe Zone!

Her whole body trembled with excitement; as the walls of the Safe Zone's perimeter drew nearer, she already saw a large contingent of guarded soldiers at the gate.

Suppressing the urge to scream, the girl clutched her mouth with one hand, fearing the salt lump inside would fall out. The salty, bloody taste made her gag repeatedly, but to her, no matter how unpleasant, it was the hope she had bought with her life!

Seeing the Safe Zone soldiers notice her, the girl instinctively waved her hand, trying to let them see that someone was chasing her from behind.

But in her ecstasy she didn't notice that the soldiers' gazes first startled, then turned full of hostility and vigilance!

In the soldiers' eyes, she, with disheveled hair and covered in blood, looked like a monster mutant!

The blood‑stained dagger in her hand and her mouth clamped shut made her look as if she had just finished eating a person!

Kill her!!

Human lives were as worthless as grass; the leading soldier couldn't be bothered to verify. To them, as long as danger was spotted, it didn't matter if they killed the wrong person!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

Gunfire erupted.

The repeated gunshots and the soldiers' killing intent were like a basin of cold water, thoroughly waking the girl.

(They... took me for a monster!?)

(They didn't see I'm a human!?)

Although she had gained power a second time, her speed was already comparable to First Level.

But no matter how fast she was, she couldn't outrun a bullet, and she stood no chance against a group of Awakened Ones!

Instinctively, the girl again shouted in despair in her heart: Power, please, that one! She needed more power!

At the same time, Lin An, who overlooked the world like a deity, couldn't help but frown slightly.

He could feel that at this moment the girl's hatred had mostly faded, leaving only fear and terror, the instinct to survive.

Even if he had planted a seed in her thoughts.

Although the girl still harbored hatred, realizing that they were enemies—fundamentally not regarding them as her own kind—she could naturally gain power without needing his help.

But it was quite obvious..

The girl could realize that the group of scavengers who wanted to kill her were enemies, the objects of her hatred.

But when facing the soldiers looming above, whom she could only look up to, her innermost feeling was fear; thus, even if she wanted to survive, all she thought of was fleeing.

"Cowardice.. fear.. confusion.."

"After killing the first enemy, her hatred was mostly released."