Chapter 270: The Return 9

Chapter 270: The Return 9

Having observed the existence of sorcerers in the Peach Blossom Spring and witnessed the human warmth he longed to see, Ji Xinghai experienced a splendid dream. By the following day, everything had transformed into a fresh world.

He got up unhurriedly, stepped into his slippers, and ran to the mini living room. The game controller was still on the floor, and he stepped over it, pulling back the thick curtains to reveal a desolate world covered with remnants of snow outside.

Ji Xinghai scratched his messy hair and muttered softly, "There's nothing in this world."

Actually, there was something, like the people who had been mutated by strong radiation, and a civilization that could not be salvaged.

Qin Yu, who got out of the car to investigate, discovered this point. In one of the cold winters following the Third World War, the survivors huddled in temporary shelters, being cautious and wearing heavy protective suits (even though the suits were severely damaged, they still couldn't bear to throw them away) whenever they went out.

But often, after searching for a whole day, they could hardly find any usable supplies.

Although it had only been an hour, he had already walked thousands of kilometers outside. Abnormal creatures were always very sensitive to humans, and he could find their locations just by following their breaths.

In those thousands of kilometers, there were only dozens of survival points, mostly along the coast, distributed on both sides of freshwater rivers. The smallest survival point had only about three hundred people, and it was uncertain whether they could survive this cold winter.

Perhaps they could?

The prolonged autumn and winter, the destruction caused by the ozone layer hole that lasted for years, and the high radiation from reflective dust...

Apart from plastic and cement, nothing else could stay on the surface for long. Delicate food and selected fruits and vegetables could hardly survive on the surface, while wild grasses spread wildly. Humans lacked food, living supplies, and all kinds of things.

To be honest, it was already a miracle that so many people had survived under such circumstances.

"I don't know how the Third World War went, but the Fourth World War would probably only use sticks?"

This was what Qin Yu had seen, but it wasn't entirely correct because there were still survivors. They built a new world, a new order, and a new civilization on the ruins—except for countries with large populations and vast territories, many survivors from other countries had no choice but to merge together.

The larger the group, the stronger their survival capabilities, as they could divide labor: some gathered, some made things, some hunted, some guarded the base and cared for the elderly and weak, and even the elderly didn't idle, doing small crafts or teaching children.

Although it seemed that literature and advanced knowledge were no longer needed in this world, some survival points were still striving to pass these down. With such an attitude, they would surely rise again.

However, there weren't many children.

Living in a high-radiation environment, eating contaminated food, and dying once they fell ill, how could they easily give birth to healthy children?

So, there weren't many children who could be born and grow up alive.

They were more precious than pandas, each one a hope and a treasure.

But they weren't pampered; instead, adults encouraged them to learn, fight, and adventure, and accepted the harsh reality of death with tears.

The desolate world, the flickering civilization, all of this fell into Qin Yu's eyes. Who would have thought that he had initially just wanted to find traces left by Ji Xinghai?

A person like him, if he existed, couldn't help but leave traces.

But as he walked, he seemed to find no trace of his existence anywhere.

"What are you doing?"

Qin Yu looked up, and Ji Xinghai opened the window, waving at him.

Looking at him, a small smile involuntarily appeared on Qin Yu's face, and the gloomy world suddenly had light.

One minute later.

"How cute, Qin actually came looking for my traces."

Qin Yu was kissed on the cheek, feeling a bit flustered: "How was Xinghai in this world?"

Sitting back in his seat, Ji Xinghai propped his face with his hand, poking a custard bun with his chopsticks: "Just like before, I pretended to be a recently deceased highly mutated child.

"But I was a fish-tail mutation. It was quite interesting, like giving humanity a little hint in countless twists, suggesting whether they should try living underwater."

"Can you live underwater?"

"Others might not be able to, but I have ultra-high self-healing abilities and can stay underwater for a long time because I can absorb oxygen from water through my pores. So later, I left that small survival point and lived near the estuary alone."

Starting from the fourth world, he found that he had inherited the insect race's rapid recovery ability, hunger, and consumption, and much of the energy consumed would carry over to the next world. The stronger the soul, the weaker the body, and the faster the death.

If he did the opposite, constantly damaging his body and forcing his soul energy to repair, he might live longer, but he didn't want to do that.

"So your main living area is in the sea?" No wonder there were no traces of him on land, Qin Yu asked again, "How was life as a merman?"

"My life in this world was actually quite simple." Ji Xinghai recalled carefully, extending five claws, counting them one by one, then retracting them one by one, "Sleeping, sunbathing, eating river and seafood, eating aquatic plants and algae, collecting clean fresh water, having midnight snacks, sleeping..."

Listening to this, Qin Yu felt that life indeed passed quietly.

"Didn't you do anything else? Wouldn't you feel that powerful abilities are wasted if not used?" He was purely curious because the previous worlds were full of ups and downs, and suddenly turning into a retirement life, wouldn't he feel unaccustomed?

"Wasted? How could it be?" Ji Xinghai retracted his hand.

Discovering that this place was not his homeland, he had become somewhat disheartened but was unwilling to escape through suicide. At that time, this simple life brought him out of his desolate mental state.

Loneliness actually healed him, especially after experiencing the previous world. So later, he began to interact with humans again.

"Learning so many skills is for a better life. Since I could already live well, why should I care whether the skills I learned were useful?"

"But if I have to say what ties I had with this world, it was probably maintaining a long-term barter relationship with three survival bases near rivers."

Three?

Qin Yu seized the key point. To survive, many survival bases chose to live near rivers, but he only maintained a long-term barter relationship with three bases.

A lot must have happened in between. Just like when Ji Xinghai mentioned yesterday, when he first arrived in the previous world, he encountered a village where everyone shared meat, which led to his complete mental breakdown.

These things, which he no longer dwelled on now, were small scars that no longer hurt, but once caused him immense pain.

So, Qin Yu didn’t press further. He naturally inquired about the three bases and said, "They might be the ones I've met before."

"Really? Are they still alive?"

Upon hearing this news, Ji Xinghai felt rather pleased. Perhaps they had indeed left him with many beautiful memories. However, he soon regained his composure: "But so many years have passed; they’ve changed, and so have I. Let’s keep the beauty frozen in our memories. There’s no need to search for them again."

Ji Xinghai had his own judgment on what was worth doing and what wasn’t.

Qin Yu had only mentioned it casually. From his own experiences, he knew that people were constantly changing. From one moment to the next, though still ‘you,’ you were a new amalgamation of parts that had died and parts that had been reborn.

Thus, relationships with others were ever-changing, and nothing should be forced.

Unless, like them, you were bound by a contract. Qin Yu was quite confident about this. He discovered new surprises every day and never tired of them.

"If there's anything I can't let go of... Ah, let’s go diving! I know what I can’t bear to part with now."

Ji Xinghai had no doubts about the ordinary people in this world. They had survived for so long after the war, and things would only get better from here. Although the road ahead would be long, possibly spanning decades or even centuries.

Compared to that, he was more curious about whether the estuary where he used to live had changed. Were his animal companions still around? And those treasures he had collected with great effort—were they still there?

Unfortunately, he hadn’t stayed in this world for very long, only about ten years. He had just reached adulthood when he left. He hadn’t realized then that the radiation, which was lethal to others, actually enhanced his abilities.

Impressive, my Zerg附属能力, you can even absorb radiation? Then why bother with human evolution? Ji Xinghai almost wanted to suggest they propagate in nuclear zones across different worlds, where they would be revered and never driven away.

But the Zerg were too brutal, and he was just thinking out loud.

The two put on their diving suits and boots, then slipped into flippers. They didn’t need much other equipment. Ji Xinghai took the lead and dived into the water first, with Qin Yu following closely behind. The two swam like two sleek black fish with long tails.

His long-term habitat was close to the shore, in a natural bay, part of the shallow sea. Sunlight filtered through the water, casting golden, gentle light that rippled with the waves, illuminating the entire underwater world.

After slightly adjusting to the temperature and pressure of the seawater, they looked around and saw a vibrant underwater world.

Although this land had once suffered brutal nuclear bombings, the destruction targeted human civilization, not the planet itself.

What hasn’t this planet experienced over the years? Civilizations have risen and fallen several times. A collective nuclear dance-off is nothing to it.

At most, it was like an acid wash? Finally, it cleared out the dense, unconscious mites.

So, the ocean world hadn’t been greatly affected, or any impact had long been erased by the passage of time.

In fact, without human interference, marine life had thrived, each species maintaining its optimal population balance.

Even species once declared endangered had returned to normal.

Ji Xinghai circled a magnificent coral reef. He could no longer see any traces of his former life. The area was covered with fragments of dead coral, upon which larger and more splendid coral colonies had grown.

These formed a vast, colorful underwater forest, attracting large numbers of fish and crustaceans. Even sea turtles, with barnacles attached to their shells, were present.

He couldn’t find any of the things he had collected back then.

Ji Xinghai glanced at the sea turtles a few more times, realizing they weren’t his old friends, but he still helped remove the barnacles from their backs. Then his senses spread inch by inch along the seabed.

Finally, he found them.

Besides natural pearls, giant clams, hawksbill turtle shells, and exposed gemstones, there were many treasures he had gathered from various shipwreck sites.

Back then, they were piled up like small mountains, but now they served as the foundation for the coral colonies.

Though they could be moved without harming the coral, there was no point. Ji Xinghai had no intention of disturbing them and backed away.

Qin Yu also sensed the numerous human treasures below. He understood how they got there and had the ability to dig them out without damaging the coral, then fill the gaps with sand from elsewhere.

But Ji Xinghai clearly didn’t want to move them.

"Besides here, I have several other treasure spots, with even more items. Follow me." Ji Xinghai waved him over and kicked off, swimming quickly away.

Qin Yu caught up, and soon their figures disappeared into the deep blue ocean and the silver-spotted schools of fish.