Apocaly Utopi apocaly utop

Chapter 17 Tail

Her memory seemed to have been watered down, simmered into a pot of porridge, blurry and muddled. She only remembered that she had been lying in bed, asleep, gradually feeling hotter and thirstier... A man’s gentle voice reached her ears, and she quickly grabbed his hand, whispering in response, "I’m so thirsty..."

"——It was probably at this moment that your ability unconsciously activated, and in your dazed state, you absorbed your husband. When you woke up, naturally, only his pajamas were left on the bed..." Emma’s cold voice echoed in the dark room.

She was filled with apprehension towards the woman sitting on the floor. Just how powerful was this ability to completely absorb an adult in such a short moment of unconsciousness? Not even a single strand of hair was left!

Lucky stared blankly, her expression strange, as if she wanted to both cry and laugh. She let out a near-ferocious "Ha," but tears streamed down her face: "What nonsense are you spouting! What do you know? You’re just making this up because you don’t want to be absorbed by me!"

"...Is that so? Then let me ask you, were you still thirsty after you woke up?" Emma asked calmly.

This sentence was like the last straw on the camel’s back, instantly crushing Lucky’s spirit—suddenly, she let out a piercing wail, startling the others into jumping back—then she buried her face in her arms, curling up on the floor, her body rocking back and forth as if trying to comfort herself, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I... I don’t know!" Lucky cried out, her face wet with tears, her words fragmented and incoherent.

"Everyone said he wasn’t good enough for me, but it’s me... it’s me who wasn’t good enough for him... I wasn’t good enough for him! He was such a good person... so good..." Her cries sounded like torn pieces of cloth, filled with immense anger and pain, making anyone who heard them shudder.

Listening to the woman’s heart-wrenching sobs, Emma opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

"What are you still standing there for?"

Her arm was suddenly tugged, and she turned to see Shirley. Shirley whispered, "If we don’t leave now, do you really want to wait for her to come to her senses and absorb you?"

Emma finally snapped out of it. Looking around, she saw Jack, his face tense, already edging along the couch, almost out of the living room—he looked up and saw the two still standing there, almost furious, and quickly mouthed, "Are you two idiots?"

The two hurriedly quickened their pace, slipping past Lucky. The latter seemed to have forgotten where she was, wailing unconsciously, her fingers digging deep holes into the soft leather of the couch, completely oblivious to the movements of those around her.

The group silently dashed down the stairs amidst the heart-wrenching cries.

After the earlier nerve-wracking experience, the journey back to the supermarket felt much easier. They jogged back to the road in front of the shopping center, quickly weaving through the line of cars, hurrying past them.

The rapid footsteps woke the dying people inside the cars. Many of them struggled to sit up as the group passed, desperately and weakly pounding on the windows. Though they were still alive, their eyes were already lifeless, devoid of any light.

Emma couldn’t help but glance at them—among the dozen or so arms raised behind the car windows, she wondered how many would survive and successfully evolve...

"Wait!" Jack, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to Shirley, instructing, "You keep an eye on the path behind us, make sure that Lucky doesn’t follow. Emma, give me your knife."

A flash of white light, and Emma handed over the chef’s knife, asking with confusion, "What’s wrong?"

Jack gestured toward a white Volkswagen with his chin, his expression grave: "That one over there is about to turn into one of the Fallen Ones."

Following his directions, Emma immediately felt a chill run down her spine—behind the windshield of the Volkswagen was a dark brown face, gender indistinguishable. The moisture had almost completely evaporated, leaving only layers of wrinkled skin piled on the cheeks, the mouth arched high as if a proboscis was about to burst through. One eyelid had fallen off, while the other hung precariously in front of the eyeball, swaying and about to drop.

And those two pale eyeballs were staring motionlessly at the three of them.

Holding his breath, Jack cautiously approached the car, and the eyeballs inside followed, turning to one side.

With a "clang," the driver’s side window shattered. Before the person inside could react, Jack swiftly thrust the knife into the brain of the half-human, half-Fallen One. The process was as quick as a flash of lightning—before Emma could even process it, a muffled groan escaped from the person’s throat, and the body inside the car slumped down limply.

He wiped the knife clean on the corpse’s clothes and handed it back to Emma—seeing her face twisted in discomfort, Jack sighed and said, "I know it looks really unpleasant, but we can’t just leave it alone, can we?"

Emma nodded and put the knife away.

Though the person still vaguely retained a human form, it was clear they were beyond saving—it seemed she would have to get used to such scenes in the future. As Emma started walking again, she suppressed the waves of nausea rising in her stomach—after all, this was very different from killing in self-defense.

Perhaps Lucky was too overwhelmed by grief, as she didn’t seem to have followed them. The three of them made it back to the supermarket without incident, quickly closing the iron gate. After locking it from the inside, Emma slid down to the floor, letting out a deep breath.

Shirley fetched a few bottles of water and handed them out. She also took out the ability-enhancing agent she had grabbed earlier and placed it on a nearby shelf as a light source—it was indeed much better than candles, instantly illuminating a corner of the supermarket like a fluorescent lamp.

After resting for a few minutes, Emma’s thoughts inevitably returned to the piece of paper they had found earlier: "By the way, that thing we found just now..."

As she spoke, she pulled out the piece of paper. The other two immediately focused their attention, their eyes falling on the paper.

The writing on the paper was clearly visible under the silver light—Emma had crumpled the four corners when she first saw it, overwhelmed by the shock.

[VISA]

Place of Issue: Black Death City

Valid Destination: Inferno of Extreme Temperatures

Valid From: Six Months Before the Arrival of the Inferno of Extreme Temperatures

This visa is issued by the Black Death City Visa Officer.

Even though she had already seen it once, Emma was still at a loss for words—she handed the visa to Jack and Shirley, their faces also filled with confusion.

"I don’t get it... When we came here, we didn’t have any visa, and yet we still got in, didn’t we?" Jack muttered, repeating himself several times, turning the visa over in his hands.

"Actually, if you think about it, you and he are different," Emma paused, deep in thought. "You had to stay for a full 14 months before entering another mutated space, but when Buck came to my world, it was still normal and hadn’t mutated yet..."

So, not only could the visa specify a destination, but it could also allow someone to enter before the mutation occurred?

Shirley pointed to the line on the back of the visa that read "Journey Performed," explaining softly, "Buck really did come here using this visa."

"... Have you two ever heard of anything like a visa before?" Though it seemed unlikely, Emma couldn’t help but ask.

Sure enough, both of them shook their heads. Jack spread the visa on the floor, staring at it with a bitter smile: "If we had known about something like this, we wouldn’t have needed to be woken up by a bomb last time."

That was true—Emma lowered her head, filled with a sense of incredulity.

"Regardless of how that guy got the visa, entering six months early is a huge advantage," Jack clicked his tongue, saying to Emma, "You can start preparing while everything is still calm, whether it’s stockpiling supplies or training your body... Your chances of survival are much higher than others in that world."

That was true—"But I think this visa is even more useful for Buck... No matter how well we prepare, we can’t guarantee absolute safety. But with his ability, six extra months meant a lot more potential". Remembering how she had been deceived and confused for half a year, Emma couldn’t help but let out a self-mocking sneer.

Jack sighed and patted Emma’s shoulder in a mature, comforting manner.

"We have no idea how he got the visa, and now we have no way to ask," Shirley said, still fiddling with the piece of paper in her hand.

"Looking at his background, he doesn’t seem like someone who’s been to many places..." Jack suddenly brightened up, smiling as he said, "If we can find the visa officer for the Inferno of Extreme Temperatures, maybe we can survive together without being separated by teleportation!"

Struggling to survive in an endless apocalyptic world, with everyone around you coming and going like drifting weeds—it was indeed an exhausting experience. It was rare to meet people who were so in sync, and if they could become partners, it would be wonderful!

The question was how to find this visa officer—the thought simultaneously crossed everyone’s minds. Just as Emma was about to speak, the iron gate of the supermarket was knocked on, neither lightly nor heavily.

"Are you in there? Open the door."

Lucky’s voice still carried a hint of hoarseness and nasal tone from her earlier sobbing, but her tone had already become much calmer.