Chapter 24: Kotodama, The Pollution Source Is a Shortcut Laden with Perils!

『Day 81, after the official Special Operations Squad left, you kept digging into data on secondary Awakeners and looked for Awakeners who wielded kotodama arts…』

『Day 82, you kept gathering intelligence.』

『Day 83, a party of Tier-2 Awakeners challenged you; with the crowd watching, you sat calmly, manipulated flame with your mind, and killed the foes, proving your dominance remained… Many people inside the Safe Zone cheered for you, believing you had already joined the authorities. 』

『Day 84, you continued to gather intelligence.』

『Day 85, …』

『Day 86, you still had not found another Awakener who could use kotodama, but the Father God Listens talent activated.. You learned that Awakeners who simultaneously acquired kotodama during awakening were rare yet did exist, and these people might possess Strength enough to threaten you. 』

『Day 87, you kept secretly observing and studying Tier-2 Awakeners…』

『Day 88, …』

… Tier-2 Awakeners could not be mass-produced.

… A spell was only required during the first awakening; rather than a spell, it was better described as a class.

… A Tier-2 Awakener might gain kotodama arts during awakening… put more simply, a superpower… and Awakeners with such Strength were generally far stronger.

Su Ze unhurriedly wrote each new piece of information onto paper.

Frankly speaking.

He felt an even stronger sense of crisis than before…

Relying on Fallen Benefaction, he could still one-shot Tier-2 Awakeners with ease.

Even a Tier-2 Awakener who possessed kotodama arts was not necessarily his match.

Yet the gap between his strength and that of his opponents was undeniably narrowing.

During the 80-somethingth day, nobody could challenge him…

Around the 90-somethingth day, perhaps still nobody could…

But what about at day 100, or day 200?

What would happen after that?

Would Awakeners keep growing stronger?

All of these questions flooded Su Ze’s mind.

“What if it was a gold-grade combat talent?”

Su Ze could not help but entertain this thought.

If his constitution was doomed to keep him from becoming an Awakener, and he could not grow stronger the way most people did, by relying on the uncanny rules, then he could only depend on his own talent.

Perhaps a gold-grade combat talent could carry him far enough in doomsday.

『…』

『Day 99, the number of Tier-2 Awakeners kept rising, and you therefore gathered enough information; you now possessed more than one advancement recipe…』

『Day 100, the Father God Listens talent suddenly activated, and you heard fresh news… An Awakener had shattered a pollution source, survived, and thus advanced to Tier-2 Awakener. 』

『Day 101, you pondered and re-examined the pollution source; notably, after the heavy fog, pollution sources in every Contaminated Zone had become even more concealed…』

『Day 102, the Father God Listens talent activated again, and from other Tier-2 Awakeners who possessed kotodama arts you learned… The pollution source was a shortcut to awakening; although it was ten times more dangerous, success was still possible, so you were tempted to try but hesitated. 』

『Day 103, you kept hesitating… Chen Keqing thought you were unhappy and spent the whole day trying various ways to cheer you up, so you abandoned the idea of taking the risk. 』

… The pollution source might be a shortcut to awakening.

Su Ze calmly continued jotting the new information onto paper.

The earlier information now seemed rather one-sided…

Destroying a pollution source might not be an absolutely fatal move.

Instead, it was a shortcut.

A shortcut that let one become a Tier-2 Awakener without exploring any recipes.

Yet shortcuts came at a price: challengers might have to face ten times the danger.

That involuntarily set Su Ze thinking.

“I’ve destroyed plenty of pollution sources myself, so why have I never succeeded? Is it because the difficulty is too high and I missed every chance, or am I simply incapable of becoming an Awakener, so nothing I do matters?”

To tell the truth, Su Ze was a bit tempted at this moment.

Just like his simulated self, he once again began to harbor thoughts of becoming an Awakener…

Having such thoughts was only natural.

On one hand, the new information made him think there was a chance worth trying… what if he actually succeeded?

On the other, watching others grow stronger every day while he remained in place made it impossible for someone of his temperament to stay idle.

However…

His simulated self seemed to have been captured by a tender embrace.

He quickly abandoned any notion of adventure.

When he thought about it, it made sense.

He had a top-tier safe house and a beautiful girl who coaxed him all day long… why risk his life?

『Day 103, to help Chen Keqing become a Tier-2 Awakener, you studied an all-new recipe…』

『Day 104, using the new recipe, you successfully helped Chen Keqing advance to Tier-2 Awakener; she rode you hard all day, fortunately your body was sturdy enough.』

『Day 105, you heard that the authorities’ operations were running much more smoothly than before and that the supply routes were now very stable.』

『Day 106, …』

『…』

『Day 110, another group of Tier-2 Awakeners challenged you in your jurisdictional Safe Zone; you had long known they harbored ill intent, and you killed every one of them.』

『…』

『Day 115, heavy fog.』

『Day 116, the Contaminated Zone changed yet again; you realized yesterday’s heavy fog might have been a signal, so you immediately investigated the altered Contaminated Zone…』

You accidentally destroyed the pollution source.

『Day 117, after arranging your last wishes with Chen Keqing, you hid inside Avalon, yet you still could not evade the nightmare assault… You encountered a formidable enemy in the nightmare, exhausted all your healing energy, and died. 』

… Heavy fog was a kind of signal; after it passed, every Contaminated Zone would change.

… Avalon also had threats it could not block; for me personally, shattering a pollution source still meant certain death.

His expression did not ripple in the slightest.

Su Ze wrote every piece of the newly obtained information onto paper.

『Simulation Assessment: you broke your survival record.』

『Please choose one of the following three simulation rewards:』

『1. Explosive Drummer (green)』

『2. Tier-2 recipe (fantasy)』

『3. Flame User (green)』

Su Ze ignored the simulation rewards outright.

Never mind whether these rewards were trash or not.

He must not forget that one of today’s simulation goals was to obtain enough doomsday intel.

Unless a gold-grade talent appeared, he would not stop the simulation; even a purple-grade talent reward would not halt his steps.

At this moment.

The simulator entered a ten-minute cooldown.

Su Ze sat upright in the soft chair, tilted his head back, and stretched his brows.

Staring expressionlessly at the ceiling, he muttered after a moment, “If I don’t pick a combat talent, will the simulated me just keep hiding in Avalon?”