Chapter 185-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 185 Motive
So this was the truth. The Initial Zhu Ning had died.
Or rather, Zhu Ning herself had died once before.
Zhu Ning listened to the explanation and didn't speak for a long time. She couldn't determine whether she and the Initial Instance were truly the same person.
It felt as though she'd lived through that life—witnessed thousands of endings, powerless to change any of them. The scar on her abdomen seemed to throb faintly.
What remained before her was only a holographic projection. This wasn't a dialogue—Zhu Ning was merely reading her last will.
"That's the whole truth," the Initial Zhu Ning summarized. "One piece of advice: if you ever gain a time-related ability, you can only change the future—never the past."
Zhu Ning paused. The Initial Zhu Ning was extremely careful. She never said anything unnecessary—especially in something like a final testament. Was this a hint?
What would she encounter in the future?
The Initial Zhu Ning's expression remained calm. "Time's almost up. A few minor things. The system has limits—have you noticed? The system asks whether you accept Random Missions."
Zhu Ning froze. So that's what that prompt meant. If it wasn't a mandatory mission, she could refuse.
Once accepted, it was essentially a "deal" with the system—she'd receive corresponding rewards upon completion.
Zhu Ning was a computer. A computer with insufficient memory. But as the computer's owner, she couldn't freely delete unneeded files.
Too many talents and system items would cause "memory overflow"—which was why new talents stopped appearing and existing ones could only be upgraded. That was a flaw in the system's design.
Zhu Ning had to find a way to break free of the system's constraints.
The Initial Zhu Ning: "Remember what I said? For the system to exist, it requires two foundations: precognition and absorption."
"I'd been going down the wrong path all along. My primary skill was precognition. No matter how high my health climbed, all I could do was see farther and more precisely. I couldn't Devour."
The Initial Zhu Ning: "But you can."
Everything the Initial Instance had set up was meant to awaken Zhu Ning's ability to Devour.
Objectively, Zhu Ning could indeed Devour. She'd consumed a worm and eaten a scrapped Alpha-Series Experimental Subject.
But the Xenomorph inside her was too weak. It fled at the first sign of a fight it couldn't win. She couldn't imagine how she was supposed to eat the contaminant below.
Zhu Ning smiled bitterly. "You want me to eat the contaminant underground? That's like asking an ant to devour an elephant."
She didn't even know where to begin.
The Initial Zhu Ning was, after all, only a holographic projection. They weren't truly conversing. She didn't respond to Zhu Ning's words.
The Initial Zhu Ning: "I know you still have questions. But I can't tell you too much. Too much information would cause you to deviate."
This was the sole outcome derived from countless calculations. She couldn't risk even the slightest deviation.
The Initial Zhu Ning spoke now like a mystic. She said softly: "I can only give you one vague clue. The key lies in Devour and the Mutation Panel."
Zhu Ning's Mutation Panel had never been activated. She'd even tried deliberately infecting herself—but nothing happened.
What did that mean?
The Initial Zhu Ning: "You are the optimal solution I derived. Toward the end, my perception became chaotic. I actually can't guarantee you'll succeed."
Her Absolute Precognition had gradually depleted in the later stages. She could no longer see clear images—only vague shadows.
So the Initial Zhu Ning was gambling on an unknown outcome. And she'd entrusted the wager to herself.
Zhu Ning carefully reviewed the information the Initial Instance had revealed. The greatest threat appeared to be Su He.
The Initial Instance's Purity Points had been absurdly high, yet Su He had still killed her. Could the current Zhu Ning possibly defeat Su He?
The Initial Instance had arranged for Zhu Ning to enter the Sanitation Center with the intention of bringing the apocalypse to official attention.
More precisely—to make contact with Huo Wenxi. The little mystic had intuition-type abilities.
One person wasn't enough. She needed everyone who could be united to help prevent the district-wide infection that was coming.
The Initial Zhu Ning had been constantly tipping the scales in Zhu Ning's favor, finding her reliable allies.
There was likely another consideration: this plan required Prometheus's assistance. Getting Zhu Ning into the Sanitation Center would allow Prometheus to better arrange missions for her.
Every official Sanitation Center mission had been strangely tailored.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ning asked: "What deal did you make with Prometheus?"
The Initial Zhu Ning couldn't answer precisely. She only said: "I'd advise you not to trust Prometheus too much."
Zhu Ning frowned. Prometheus wasn't trustworthy?
Without knowing what deal the Initial Instance had struck with him, how was she supposed to interact with Prometheus? He wasn't an ally, but he wasn't entirely an enemy either.
Zhu Ning organized the information she'd received. The volume was enormous. The Initial Instance's failure likely wasn't due to personal ability—it was that she couldn't do it alone.
This time, Zhu Ning had many people around her. The Initial Instance had charted an extremely precise path for individual activation.
She truly was her own god.
Even if that path led toward a very uncertain ending.
The electromagnetic fluctuations on the Initial Zhu Ning's surface grew more pronounced. Zhu Ning guessed this "conversation" was nearing its end.
The Initial Zhu Ning: "I know you very well. I'm guessing you have one more question—why would I try to save the world when, theoretically, I only have a year left to live?"
Zhu Ning was indeed curious about this. The Initial Instance hadn't found a way to extend her lifespan. Even if she stopped the apocalypse, she'd live a year at most. Why take such an enormous risk for just one year?
They couldn't confirm whether they were the same person, but their behavioral logic was identical.
The one who understood her best in this world was herself.
Zhu Ning couldn't think of a motivation for doing this. If it were simply about protecting the world, she should have stopped after so many failed attempts.
The Initial Zhu Ning raised an eyebrow: "My original motivation was simple. I wanted to outlive the world. Even as a Defective, I wanted to make it to the finish line."
Zhu Ning smiled at this. That really did sound like something she'd say.
"On a public level—this shitty world is awful, but I don't want it to end." The Initial Zhu Ning: "I've met a lot of good people."
Zhu Ning understood her. She'd met a lot of good people too.
The Initial Zhu Ning: "During those countless attempts, I genuinely wanted to give up. Especially since every precognition was fully immersive—every death felt absolutely real."
So real that death's shadow followed her constantly. By the time she actually went to die, she'd become numb to it.
The Initial Zhu Ning paused here. She looked at Zhu Ning for a long time before finally saying: "In one of my precognitions, I saw Zhu Yao."
Bang—
Zhu Ning's knee slammed into the coffee table. She thought she'd misheard.
Zhu Yao truly existed in this world?
The Initial Zhu Ning let out a deep breath. She'd been perfectly composed throughout, but at the mention of Zhu Yao, her expression finally shifted.
She continued: "I died millions of times. In one fragment of time, I saw Zhu Yao—a woman in a white lab coat, hair immaculately neat, collar perfectly straight. Every detail matched my memory. She stood in front of a helicopter with four people beside her—three men and one woman, all armed. Most likely ability users. She appeared for only an instant in that memory fragment, but I'm certain it was Zhu Yao."
Zhu Ning pressed immediately: "Where is she? Who is she—a researcher at Eternal Life Pharmaceuticals?"
Zhu Ning's heart raced. Previously, in Bao Ruiming's memories, she'd learned that the head researcher of the Alpha-Series experiments had disappeared. She wasn't sure if it was Zhu Yao.
But the Initial Instance had seen her in a precognition. Proof that Zhu Yao truly existed.
What was she doing?
Was she still her mother? Was she the one who had created her?
The Initial Zhu Ning shook her head. "By that point, I'd peered into the apocalypse too many times. My memories were scrambled. That fragment was quickly buried among the rest. I couldn't find the cause or context—only that one brief clip."
"I can't determine exactly where she is. I don't know if she's the Zhu Yao I knew. Perhaps in this world she doesn't know me at all. Perhaps it's just my wishful thinking."
Zhu Ning's hands tightened on her knees. Zhu Yao was dead. Perhaps this world's Zhu Yao had nothing to do with them.
"Aren't you curious about yourself?" The Initial Zhu Ning extended her hand, as if examining her own palm—reconsidering who she was. "Why do Alpha-Series Experimental Subjects exist? Why did we succeed? Who created the experiment? Why do we both have memories of the zombie world? Were those memories even real?"
With every word the Initial Zhu Ning spoke, the weight pressing on Zhu Ning's heart seemed to sink another inch.
"Don't you want to know who you are?" The Initial Zhu Ning seemed to be talking to herself now. "I do."
"Finding her might extend our lifespan," the Initial Zhu Ning said. "Or reveal a way to break free from the system."
"If the apocalypse happens, everyone dies. This world's Zhu Yao would die too. Only by finding her can we find the truth."
Zhu Ning's brow furrowed. She looked at the projection across from her. Before, they'd seemed like two separate people. Now it felt as if the two were gradually merging—slowly becoming one.
They shared the same body, the same past, and the same unresolved knot in their hearts.
She wasn't stopping the apocalypse just to protect the world. And certainly not to play some bullshit hero. An overly grand proposition was too abstract and ephemeral—it couldn't sustain a person for long.
Let alone through millions of attempts.
Humans are selfish creatures. Only a concrete, unwavering goal could carry someone through that many brutal deaths. She had hundreds of reasons to save the world.
But she also had her own selfish motive. She wanted to protect Zhu Yao.
Back then, Zhu Ning had been powerless to stop the zombie siege. By the time she arrived, Zhu Yao was already infected.
Zhu Ning had pulled the trigger herself. The bullet entered her own mother's forehead. The muffled crack of the gunshot—these details, Zhu Ning and the Initial Zhu Ning felt with equal intensity.
She still had a chance to stop it.
So she could die ten million times over. She'd been ready to give up, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.
On that final day, the Initial Zhu Ning sat in the garbage room and could resolutely erase her individual consciousness and obliterate her own memories.
She wanted to... make up for that old regret.
The Initial Zhu Ning reined in her excess emotions. She looked up and said: "I've already walked 9,999 steps. The last step is yours."
It was like a relay race. Millions of Zhu Nings acting together, passing the baton. The final step was for this Zhu Ning to take.
"Here's to a successful plan."
The Initial Zhu Ning had once left those words for Ye Fei and Shen Xingqiao. Now she offered them again to Zhu Ning.
Crackle—
Electromagnetic fluctuations rippled across the Initial Zhu Ning's holographic projection. The "last will" had finished playing. The image flickered, and the Initial Instance's figure vanished.
The metal sphere's self-destruct mechanism engaged. It could never be opened again.
The room was empty. The sofa across from her didn't even retain a trace of body heat—as though Zhu Ning had truly crossed the boundaries of time and space to have a conversation with another version of herself.
Author's Note
Happy Lantern Festival, everyone!
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