Inside the supermarket, people watched Ye Shuangluo. Just now, under their gaze, this young man killed the mutated zombie outside, arguably saving all of them.
However, they did not feel grateful; instead, they looked at Ye Shuangluo with fear, anger, and resentment.
The looks from the crowd made Ye Shuangluo feel inexplicable, but he didn't mind. Instead, he sincerely thanked a girl holding a gong:
"Thank you for saving me. If you hadn't helped me distract it at the critical moment, I would have been swallowed alive by that zombie just now.
My name is Ye Shuangluo. May I ask your name?"
Ye Shuangluo sincerely thanked the girl. The girl just waved her hand and smiled:
"You're welcome. After all, you were protecting us. My name is Shen Lingling. It's nice to meet you."
The girl stared intently at Ye Shuangluo, seemingly wanting to say something, but also seemingly having some reservations.
Ye Shuangluo noticed this and spoke, "I have something I'd like to discuss with her alone. Could I trouble you all to step aside?"
The few people nearby, hearing this, gave Ye Shuangluo face and immediately walked far away.
Hmm?
He suddenly sensed something and looked at a bald middle-aged man among the few people.
His perception told him that there was an inexplicable malice emanating from the bald man, and that malice seemed to be directed at himself and Shen Lingling.
Ye Shuangluo frowned slightly. Ever since he arrived, this bald man had been secretly observing him and Shen Lingling, coupled with this subtle malice.
Killing intent gradually rose in Ye Shuangluo's heart. He trusted his perception; the other party was definitely problematic. He didn't like being caught off guard when disaster struck; he preferred to nip crises in the bud.
After everyone had walked far away, Shen Lingling seemed to finally make up her mind and asked:
"Um... a knife just appeared out of thin air in your hand... you're a New Human too, aren't you?"
New Human? This was an unfamiliar term, but Ye Shuangluo roughly guessed its meaning after a moment's thought, and he also noticed the girl's use of 'too,' which meant...
"Yes, I am also a New Human, so are you a New Human too?"
Shen Lingling pursed her lips, seeming to have made some kind of decision, and said:
"Yes, I am also a New Human, a time-type. I can see the most likely future among multiple possibilities."
Hearing the girl's words, Ye Shuangluo's pupils constricted slightly. Predicting the future could be said to be a truly high-level ability. He never expected to encounter it in a trial world.
"In the future I saw, your shot missed because the Horned Zombie was moving at high speed. After you died, that Horned Zombie killed everyone in the entire supermarket.
So you don't need to thank me that much; I was actually saving myself."
Ye Shuangluo was silent. Frankly, if Shen Lingling hadn't helped him distract the Horned Zombie, that shot might really have missed.
"Um... since you're also a New Human, do you know where the New Human base in our city is?"
Shen Lingling hoped for a direct answer, but the result disappointed her. Ye Shuangluo shook his head and said:
"I don't know. I just became a New Human."
Hearing this, Shen Lingling instantly became extremely dejected, muttering:
"Is that so? I thought I could finally find an organization, finally not have to live in fear anymore."
"I also just became a New Human not long ago. Why should New Humans live in fear?"
Shen Lingling was stunned, clearly not expecting the other party to ask such a question. Her expression suddenly became inexplicably sad, and she slowly said:
"You're also a New Human, so you should know that we all first turned into zombies, and then changed back."
Eh? Ye Shuangluo was a bit surprised. Turning into a zombie and then changing back? Is there really such a thing?
"When we change back, we gain all sorts of miraculous abilities, but... this means that we no longer belong to humans, nor do we belong to zombies.
Zombies want to eat us more than ordinary humans, and Old Humans also consider us a scourge and want to kill us all.
Wuwu, I miss my mom and dad. They all turned into zombies. I remember being in school yesterday, but I just slept for a month, and this world welcomed the apocalypse."
As she spoke, the other party couldn't help but squat on the ground and cry.
Fortunately, Shen Lingling only cried for a short while before stopping her sobbing, standing up, and wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Sorry, I lost my composure."
"No matter. Crying can sometimes vent emotions, and that might make you feel better."
Ye Shuangluo looked at Shen Lingling, who was no different from a normal person, and couldn't help but feel a hint of pity.
She merely slept for a night, and when she woke up, she saw her closest relatives turn into living dead zombies, while she herself became an anomaly in the world.
Humans wanted to hunt her down, zombies wanted to eat her, and her parents were all gone. The other party hadn't gone insane and could still pretend to be a normal human, which was already very impressive.
"Actually, I'm very curious about one thing. Why do Old Humans consider us a scourge? If we don't use our abilities, we should look no different from normal people, right?"
When Ye Shuangluo finished asking this question, Shen Lingling's expression became very strange, and she said with an inexplicable tone, "It seems your luck was pretty good after you turned back into a human."
Ye Shuangluo was noncommittal, after all, a Luck attribute of 3 was not for show.
Seeing that Ye Shuangluo indeed didn't know, Shen Lingling slowly began to explain the reason:
"The reason we are regarded as a scourge by Old Humans is because... the New Humans in the capital launched a coup. They believe that New Humans are the future masters of this Earth, and all Old Humans are defective products that should be dealt with.
From the day we awakened, a deep chasm already existed between us and all Old Humans.
In the capital, it is said that there were New Humans who voluntarily offered themselves for dissection, and it was discovered that New Humans and Old Humans are already two different species. There's even reproductive isolation between us."
Reproductive isolation... Then it seems they are indeed not the same species. Ye Shuangluo now somewhat understood why those people looked at him with disgust and fear just now.
Looking at Shen Lingling in front of him, Ye Shuangluo suddenly recalled the two biggest questions he had since arriving in this world.
"Student Shen, I have another question.
Why are there so many zombies rampaging on the streets? Shouldn't the authorities immediately send soldiers to suppress them?"
"...It seems you didn't pay much attention to the news before the apocalypse. When that purple moon descended, all of humanity's most prized thermal weapons had already turned into scrap metal."
At this point, the girl's expression was a bit strange, because just now, under everyone's gaze, the young man in front of her used a handgun that certainly didn't look like ordinary merchandise.
Ye Shuangluo also knew what the other party was thinking, but he really couldn't explain it. Fortunately, the girl didn't press the issue, which made him relieved.
The two continued to chat, and Ye Shuangluo took the opportunity to ask his biggest question since coming to this world.
"What exactly is going on with this zombie crisis? Is there no relevant information?
I've encountered quite a few zombies these past few days. They have no aggressiveness during the day, but at night they're like mad dogs unleashed. How do they infect others?"
Yes, this was his biggest confusion so far. Through his observations, these zombies, once night fell, would immediately attack any living person they encountered, and each time they tried to kill and eat the living person they met.
Shen Lingling was also a bit lost. This was a difficult problem, one that top scientists in various countries who had not yet turned into zombies, no matter how much they researched, could not solve.
"Unfortunately, to this day, humanity has not discovered the transmission route of the zombie virus. There were no prior signs, yet overnight, this virus instantly spread across the globe."
Just then, the mechanical voice of the game system suddenly rang in Ye Shuangluo's mind.
【World Announcement: Player Tt057 has triggered the world quest 'Erroneous Evolution'】
【Quest Description: Humanity's evolution speed is too slow, which displeased a certain existence. Thus, It decided to help humanity evolve quickly.
But clearly, humanity cannot calmly accept this evolution, but evolution is cruel; it will never stop because of human will】
【Quest Objective: Help humanity end this erroneous path of evolution】
【Quest Reward: Partial world authority in this world】
This information was truly extensive. Besides himself, were there other trial players in this world?
Of course, other trial players were a minor matter. What truly shocked Ye Shuangluo was the 'It' in the quest description.
In most games, as well as novels or anime, 'It' generally refers to a deity.
(To destroy all of humanity's thermal weapons with Its own power and forcibly initiate the evolution of all humanity, such an ability... should one say It truly is a deity?)