5 Finding the Girl of the Apocalypse 5

I was truly stunned.

“Sorry, I didn’t understand.”

“Which part didn’t you understand?” Azaya asked.

“Wait a moment, wait a moment…” I gestured with both hands, signaling her to pause.

Let me be clear: I consider my capacity to accept things quite strong. I had already prepared myself mentally to unconditionally accept whatever outrageous identity or background she might claim. Even if she said she had uncovered dark, classified documents from the government or a major corporation and was now being hunted by countless assassins; or if she claimed, like something out of a fantasy tale, that she was an escaped artificial superpowered being from some secret research institute—I could, at least initially, try to view things from her perspective and believe her.

But time travel, the end of civilization, the apocalypse?

Hadn’t the scope of her story just leapt too far? Wasn’t I holding a script for an urban legend or a crime thriller? Instead, this sounded more like a sci-fi disaster blockbuster I’d seen before… Surely, it wouldn’t be followed by some terrifying villainous robot from the future traveling back in time to hunt her down or assassinate an important figure in this era.

Moreover, as a time traveler, wouldn’t it make sense for her to keep her identity secret and exploit invaluable future knowledge to maximize her own benefit? Or was it just that I had read too many online novels and thought this way, while a visitor from an apocalyptic world, unexposed to such cultural tales, wouldn’t immediately think like that?

Well, I might as well listen to her continue. Even if she was spinning a tale to amuse herself at my expense, at least it should be entertaining enough for me to listen. As for today’s class, I could just ask the school for leave on my phone afterward. Classes could be made up anytime; conversations like this, so surreal and rare, might never come again.

“How many days ago did you travel here?” I asked first.

“If I only slept one night before this, then it was yesterday,” she answered without hesitation, sounding sincere rather than making things up.

“You mentioned the ‘apocalypse’ just now—what kind of apocalypse exactly?” I asked again. “Was it a virus that turned people into mindless zombies spreading worldwide? Or did an asteroid fall from the sky? Or maybe a nuclear war finally broke out?”

She must have sensed my skepticism but decided to keep the conversation going.

Compared to when she pretended to be asleep and ambushed me earlier, her attitude had softened for some reason.

“The cause of the apocalypse and how much humanity fought against it… I don’t know. Since I became aware, the world has already been in an apocalyptic era. For a long time, I even thought the world was supposed to be like that originally…” She briefly and genuinely showed a trace of nostalgia before composing herself and continuing patiently. “The biggest difference between the current world and the apocalyptic world is time and space—the time and space in the apocalyptic world are distorted, and survivors can encounter strange and bizarre phenomena at any moment.

“On top of that, there are countless powerful monsters roaming about. Even though there are blessed cultivators among humans, they still cannot reclaim lost territories, much less revive human civilization. Humanity is gradually declining, and the way of survival is becoming increasingly twisted during this decline.”

Unexpectedly, this wasn’t a sci-fi disaster movie—it was a magical wasteland story. As I listened, a certain word caught my ear, one I could not ignore.

“What’s a ‘blessed cultivator’?”

“In today’s terms, I suppose it would be a ‘superpowered person’?” she said uncertainly.

“So there really are superpowered people in this era as well?”

“Probably… I’ve heard there are… But unlike the apocalyptic era, superpowered people in this era don’t seem to be well known.”

“Could it be that their numbers are small in this era, but after the apocalypse, for some reason, they increased drastically?” I speculated, recalling many online apocalypse novel settings.

“No… Although I can’t guarantee their numbers, I’ve heard they have a very large influence in this era…” Clearly, the topic was moving into unfamiliar territory for her. She could no longer reply fluently as before, her tone faltering. “As for why they’re not well known, I don’t know… Maybe there are some taboos or rules. When I arrived in this era yesterday, I tried to gather clues about them but couldn’t find anything right away.”

If she could find them immediately, that would be suspicious. I had traveled to many famous scenic spots to seek immortals and spirits, tried testing many charlatan fortune-tellers and geomancers, and countless times investigated urban legends circulating among the public—all to no avail.

Did such a vast superpowered faction really exist in this era? Even if there were taboos and rules, surely I would have stumbled upon them at least once by accident?

Was she really deceiving me?

I swallowed my doubts and noticed the topic drifting elsewhere, so I steered it back.

“Since you’re a time traveler, how did you travel to this era?”

“You misunderstand… It’s not that I used some method to come here; I don’t even know why I traveled through time. The last thing I did in that era was to try escaping the clutches of the Great Demon together with friends…” She showed a hint of loneliness as she spoke. “But the power gap between the Great Demon and me was too vast. No matter where we ran, we were chased down. In the end, I tried to use spatial transfer to make one last effort with my friends, but somehow only I was transported to this era, and my friends’ whereabouts are unknown… It must be because of me…”

“Hmm?” I sensed the key points: “You? Power gap? Spatial transfer?”

“Right… I forgot to mention.” She pointed to her chest. “I am the blessed cultivator I mentioned earlier.”

“So, you have superpowers too?”

“Yes.”

“To be honest, I couldn’t believe a single punctuation mark of what you just said. Suddenly telling me about an apocalypse felt like pure fantasy.” I admitted frankly.

“I thought so too,” she nodded without surprise.

“But since you have superpowers, everything becomes easier to accept.” I fixed my gaze on her. “If you could use your powers at least once in front of me, I would believe you. Whatever you say, I would believe.”

I meant it sincerely.

Yet she fell silent, hesitating whether to answer honestly.

After a moment, she struggled to reply, “I can’t.”

“Why?”

“When I was escaping the Great Demon, my soul was burned. Even after arriving in this era, when I forced myself to use the blessing—that is, my superpowers—it worsened the damage to my soul.” She gritted her teeth. “When you were talking to the police earlier, I already tried using my powers in the room, but I couldn’t.”

It seemed admitting her weakness before me was very bitter for her.

“If that’s the case, I can’t trust you…” I said. “And after all, why would you tell such important things to an outsider like me?”

At first, she was prickly all over, her tone domineering and harsh, intimidating me.

But now, though she still maintained clear caution and distance, she was willing to spend a lot of effort answering every question I asked, as if completely sincere and without guile.

I didn’t know what inner journey she had undergone. Was it because I had protected her in front of the police? Or was my performance playing the good guy really so convincing that even her cold, mistrustful heart was moved?

She answered my question again.

“It’s actually not that complicated. Although I don’t know why I came to this era, I’ve thought it through. If my time travel truly carries some great significance, it might be to stop the apocalypse from happening in this era.” She became serious. “I must warn more people about the approaching apocalypse, and you are just the first. I wanted to test how someone ‘living before the apocalypse’ would react to my prophecy, so I can gain trust from more people in the future.”

“So now you’ve tested the outcome. As long as you use your powers, most people would at least half believe you. Too bad you can’t.” I teased her lightly.

“Hmph…” She scowled and immediately fired back, “Say whatever you want; I came looking for trouble. I’m leaving now—I don’t have time to keep you company…”

As she spoke, she braced her knees to get up from the bed but suddenly went limp and collapsed.

Many people with low blood pressure or low blood sugar will black out briefly when standing up too fast after squatting. Her symptoms were very similar, or even worse. I hurriedly supported her soft, petite body, but she had already fainted again.

What a troublesome person.

I laid her flat on the bed, then sat beside the desk, watching her youthful, delicate face while pondering the apocalyptic information she had told me.

Apocalypse, time travel, blessed cultivators, superpowered people…

To me, Azaya didn’t quite fit the stereotype of a “cold-blooded, cruel, selfish survivor in the apocalypse.” At most, she was a skilled, eccentric, mysterious young woman. “Apocalypse” and “time travel” were flights of fancy; I couldn’t immediately accept that these “settings” existed in reality.

But I did believe that “superpowered people” truly existed.

My friend’s words echoed in my mind.

—If you’ve never seen true supernatural power, why do you keep investigating legends and tales?

—There must be some positive feedback—some evidence or clues—to keep going, don’t you think?

Yes, I have.

I have clues and evidence that supernatural powers truly exist.

That is myself.

I am a superpowered person.