Free Web NovelChapter 788: Chapter 697: Reboot the Future (Part 2) [Double-Length]
"Are you, are you okay?"
"Stay away from me!"
Chichu Chun frantically suppressed the monster stirring within her, shouting back at the person nearby, her hysterical roar making it hard for her to believe it was her own voice.
"Dear passengers, it’s 18:55 New Nara City time. The train is about to arrive at the station. Passengers who have not yet checked in, please proceed to the ticket checkpoint immediately..."
The announcement echoed in the station as Chichu Chun leaned against the wall, inching forward.
The train roared past her, and through the bloodstained windows, she caught a glimpse of countless twisted insect shadows crammed inside.
Chichu Chun realized this was the route meticulously planned by Heidelberg for her.
She steadied her breathing and walked towards the exit. The arrival chime sounded as exclamations and the screams of women rose behind her, accompanied by the cries of a baby.
Chichu Chun let out a sigh, turned her head, and red electric arcs suddenly flashed at her feet!
...
The endless slaughter had dulled the girl’s senses. Mechanically repeating the motions of running and slashing, twisted monsters screeched and burst with blood marks beside her. The fear etched on people’s faces pricked her pupils like thorns, and the wailing never ceased.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Chichu Chun reached the rooftop of the medical building, where Heidelberg’s figure emerged; the man stood in front of the helipad, with a helicopter hovering above, the wind tousling his suit.
The helicopter’s rumbling blades whirred in the air, contending with the girl’s heartbeat, akin to a drumbeat. Chichu Chun’s eyes glinted with madness, her ragged breaths beast-like, and the wailing that once surrounded her had faded at this moment.
Boom!
The helicopter in the sky turned into a rolling fireball, crashing into the night sky.
"Where do you think you’re going, teacher?" Chichu Chun slightly tilted her head beneath the black barrel.
"I’m not going anywhere, Mori Natsuki..."
Before Heidelberg could finish, the Chain Blade had already punctured his throat. Chichu Chun stepped forward, pressing her fingers firmly onto his face.
Grasping his head, the girl smashed it into the ground, the cracks spreading widely.
Once, twice, three times, Chichu Chun slammed Heidelberg’s head into the ground repeatedly, venting the long-suppressed emotions in her heart.
Blood splashed continuously, the cracks spreading and deepening, eventually encompassing the entire area where the two stood.
"Tell me, teacher, why did you choose this path?"
Chichu Chun’s breathing calmed, resembling the girl who once questioned her teacher, only this time her words contained no curiosity, just a deathly stillness.
"I once respected you a lot."
"Mori Natsuki, why did you save those unrelated to you?" Heidelberg’s breath was weak, his voice intermittent.
"You could’ve arrived here sooner."
Seeing the girl only scrutinizing him with indifference, Heidelberg chuckled, the sound echoing from his broken throat as his voice turned hoarse.
"For fame, for fulfilling others’ expectations, to satisfy my desire for attention."
"This world is vast; people’s eyes never fall on the ordinary, only focusing on those onstage."
"Selling Moon Sugar, watching those fools live in drunken stupor, I felt great, as if a spotlight on stage suddenly shone on me."
"I realized I didn’t have to endure others’ contempt and neglect or humbly bow to those around me."
"People finally looked away from my crippled leg!"
"I realized I too could control others’ destinies!"
Watching the man’s increasingly manic expression, Chichu Chun only felt it absurd—an unparalleled absurdity that repelled her, and a deep sense of disgust swept over her.
She wanted to end this conversation; at this moment, the man’s life felt as insignificant as an ant she could crush with a mere squeeze.
Yet instinct compelled her to speak further: "So, you killed so many innocent people."
"No one willingly remains an audience." Heidelberg chuckled.
"You must think that with just a slight squeeze, I’d die like an ant, right?"
"That is the difference between you and me, Mori Natsuki."
"Even now, you still believe everything in this world should operate as you wish!"
"The people you saved are nothing more than tragic verses in a hero’s narrative; you’ve never noticed their sorrow, convincingly believing they should be saved amid disaster, becoming footnotes in the epics praising heroes!"
The man’s roaring words caused Chichu Chun to shudder slightly, a foreboding sense emerging from her heart.
"At the moment the underground network of Moon Sugar covered all of Chichu Heaven, I’ve never felt more alive. I laughed uncontrollably, danced awkwardly, not stopping even when my head was bruised!"
"I began to be dissatisfied with the status quo, started seeking more attention, wanting to step from behind the scenes to the forefront!"
"So, you became the Syndicate."
Chichu Chun had heard enough. With a wave of her hand, Heidelberg’s body was shredded by the Chain Blade.
Heidelberg spread his arms, shouting fiercely: "An actor must first learn to exit the stage!"
"Tonight, the world focuses on me!"
The foreboding exploded in Chichu Chun’s mind suddenly, with alarms blaring across the city.
"Family Values!"
With the man’s death, the shrieks of the Insect Race tore through the silent night sky, followed by the symphony of a world in upheaval, as the insect embryos within the 1.5 million inhabitants of the city erupted simultaneously, unrestrained!
The world rebooted.
...
In the dim study, the backward-moving clock hands slowly ticked, ’tick-tock’, as they reached their end, the golden-haired girl’s dazzling eyes opened, revealing a trace of fatigue.
Just now, the world had ended.
Indeed, it had ended.
The New Nara City incident triggered a series of catastrophic chain reactions, akin to a butterfly triggering a hurricane; when the main family arrived, everything was out of control.
Such an event of annihilation almost shattered the army’s morale. The Battle of High Heaven Pass saw the elite force wiped out completely as the High-level Insect Race emptied their nests, with over half of the Eight-Spider Nest Mothers coming into contact, inducing terror.
The following years, for those powerful enough to walk the world alone, were merely a shift to a harsher survival environment. Big companies reduced their colonial scopes, oppressing the remaining survivors with brutal means.
The story belonging to the ordinary ones ended.
Therefore, she rewound time.
[Reboot the Future]
[Quality: Artistic Grade · Transcend]
[Effect: Deducts 50% of the user’s wealth each use, rewinding to a past ’Anchor Point’. Note: If the user’s wealth is insufficient, ’value’ will be deducted.]
Luckily, she had set the Anchor Point in advance, avoiding the worst-case scenario; her concerns were justified.
The destruction came abruptly; no one was prepared, with only the girl facing such circumstances alone.
Even without Chichu Chun’s final action, Heidelberg would still have chosen to end himself, bringing about the world’s obliteration.
The crux was how ’Family Values’ infected over 99% of the city’s population.
How long had the enemies lurking in the shadows planned for this?
A month, half a year, a year, decades?
Xu Xiaoyou’s biggest fear was reaching a dead end; she returned to a point one month prior.
If the enemies had laid the groundwork before her reboot, then even restarting time would only delay the destruction’s arrival.
Her various assets halved in value; the cooperation projects with major companies at the Light Chasing Garden were nearly ruined, the industry chain was disrupted, and investments were disastrous. Without regulation, an unprecedented financial black storm would crash tomorrow, leading to the world’s end without enemy intervention.
Xu Xiaoyou pondered, determining her first contact.
Meanwhile, at the Light Chasing Tower’s upper floors, Elias, who was enjoying dinner, paused upon seeing the communication alert, thinking he’d seen wrong.
"Dark Gold Rose," what’s she looking for him for?
Elias felt uneasy; ever since realizing he couldn’t purchase her worth and having no way to handle her, she began treating him as an ATM, knocking for coins whenever funds were tight, directly at the headquarters of Cosmic Heavy Industries.
After connecting the call, the girl’s voice, steady as a dead fish, came through.
"Are you there? Lend me some money."
