Shen Chongyan glanced back. Old Master Jin was asleep, and Jin Wenyue and Lin Wan were leaning against each other, drowsy. However, they would certainly hear their conversation.
"There's nothing you can't hear. Ask away."
"You're clearly very powerful, so why didn't you act sooner? If you had... so many people wouldn't have died."
Shen Chongyan finished speaking and waited for Zhu Zhu to respond for a long time. He felt a little guilty. "I didn't mean to blame you. I just want to know who you are?"
"Who I am is not important. What's important is that their fate is not something I can control. This is their destiny. I can't save everyone. Saving one or two would be unfair. They can only rely on themselves."
"Am I among them?"
"Of course not." She grabbed his hand and gently caressed it. "You are in my care, but you need to save people and make them grateful to you. That's all."
"Why?"
There were too many things and too much time. She didn't explain. "You'll understand later."
"I don't need anyone to be grateful to me. If you're not saving them so I can perform and make them grateful, then I really don't need it. I'd rather be nothing myself than have those people die because of me."
"It's not like that," Zhu Zhu said sternly. "Their deaths are their fate, and it has nothing to do with you. Besides, why do you think I haven't helped them? If I hadn't helped, everyone in this world would have died within five years. Where do you think their powers came from? Nuclear explosion? Nuclear pollution? Or a virus? You're not that naive, are you?"
Shen Chongyan was indeed not that naive. He had suspected before that these things might have something to do with her, but he hadn't dared to confirm it.
"In ancient times, there was the Spirit Phoenix clan. The Saintess of the Spirit Phoenix was worshipped for over a thousand years, and her wishes were granted. Later, the Saintess descended to the mortal world. Her believers, driven by greed for eternal life, killed and ate parts of the Spirit Phoenix. The heavens were enraged and unleashed divine punishment, destroying their country and slaughtering their people, leaving vast lands barren and without life. Whether they were kind-hearted and wanted to save her, or malevolent and wanted to kill her, no one escaped. The humans of every world are one. The sins committed by a portion of the people, when accumulated to a certain extent, will inevitably be borne by everyone. You've learned so much; you should understand this principle."
In recent years, their development had indeed been accelerating. Even two years ago, some scientists proposed that they were finding ways to free humanity from Earth's gravity because the planet's environment had become too harsh, and they needed to find new homes.
Their goal had not yet been achieved, and disaster had struck first.
If Zhu Zhu knew what he was thinking at this moment, she would definitely tell him that even if they escaped Earth, they couldn't escape the fate they were destined to bear.
The three thousand worlds, the karma of humanity.
"...Then, since it's humanity's fate, why are you helping us?"
"You can understand it as being for your sake. However, I also have my responsibilities. My responsibility is not to save a specific person or a specific world, but to balance everything. Everything that is happening now is something they must bear themselves."
"Are there other worlds?"
"Are you curious?" Zhu Zhu released his hand and swerved the steering wheel violently to avoid something falling in front of them, circumventing it. The people behind them were so shaken that they could no longer maintain their composure.
"What was that just now?"
"A corpse."
After passing the more hazardous stretch of road, they merged onto the ring expressway. Zhu Zhu looked at the city situated on the plain. Despite its shortcomings, it was the most suitable place they could find at the moment.
"We will establish a shelter in the satellite city of Chunan City, gather survivors from the surrounding areas, and find people to research the R virus to develop an effective medicine or vaccine as soon as possible. The R virus and the aliens are likely to create new monsters, which will lead to another disaster."
"You had this plan all along?" Jin Wenyue asked from the back seat. "So you've been guiding us here."
"I didn't intend to bring you along."
"But you gave Lin Wan and me powers. You're lying."
As a highly intelligent male lead who graduated from an international school and was proficient in eight languages, Jin Wenyue had only listened to their conversation and connected it with previous events to quickly clarify his doubts.
"You asked me to get you water so you could return the jade tablet to Lin Wan, giving her the spatial ability. Her space was created by you. And that time you didn't save us was to make me awaken my powers. What do you want us to help you with? Help him save people and make him the savior?"
"Something like that," Zhu Zhu didn't refute at all.
"Why should we help you?"
"You don't have to help. I'm not begging you to."
This statement left Jin Wenyue speechless.
This person was so powerful that she could achieve her goals whether they helped her or not. It was them, on the other hand, who would likely have died long ago without the things she gave them and her help all the way.
"Then my memories, were they also caused by you?" Lin Wan was somewhat bewildered.
"Who exactly are you?"
Zhu Zhu didn't answer. She accelerated the car to the front and then took the ramp into the city.
The people behind them were confused. Some made calls to inquire. Jin Wenyue looked at the person driving ahead. "We're stopping in Lin City. If you want to follow, follow. If not, then we part ways."
Shen Qian's car had caught up. Two cars stopped at a fork in the road, discussing whether to follow them.
Having witnessed Zhu Zhu's power, many felt it would be safer to follow them. Old Jin's group wanted to return to their hometown before making further plans. Based on the identities of several retired soldiers among them, one carload of people wanted to follow them.
The other few drove and followed Shen Qian's car.
They drove around the city for a while. The system's voice sounded: [Host, there is a resettlement community in the north of the city. The houses are relatively dense, backed by a scenic mountain. Although not high, it offers some defensive capability. There are no rivers or lakes around, so water access is inconvenient, but otherwise, it's very suitable.]
"Navigate."
The system immediately activated navigation, and Zhu Zhu followed it around the city.
This city was not large. Its economy had not been developed before. To speed up urbanization, resettlement communities had been built in many places. Unfortunately, few people lived in them. After the apocalypse descended, the city had been swept by several waves of aliens. Those who could escape had fled, and those who couldn't could only wait for death.
They circled more than half the city before finally arriving in front of the resettlement community. The overall configuration of the community was decent, with elevators and underground parking. The houses were simply decorated and could be occupied directly if one's requirements were not high.
They found a relatively empty building. Apart from the lack of electricity and water, there were no other problems, and no aliens. They used the previously collected daily necessities to furnish it, letting the old, weak, sick, pregnant, and young rest. The others gathered in the property management office to hold a meeting.
In reality, only the core figures attended the meeting, including the people from the Jin and Shen families, and one ability user from that group.
That person and Shen Qian were both bewildered. "Are we going to live here? This place isn't safe either. I heard aliens often come into the city looking for food. What if they attack us?"