Two hours have passed. Tan Yan calculated the distance between here and the teleportation point. It would take at least an hour for him to run back at full speed.
He only had an hour and a half left, and it was impossible for him to wait until Liang Xian absorbed all the zombies' crystal cores and defeated the virus and left together.
He couldn't bring Liang Xian back.
Tan Yan didn't know what to say. Promise me to come and see you next time you're "empty"? Such a promise was too vague. He was never one to count on tomorrow, so he couldn't say it out loud.
But he really couldn't bring such a Liang Xian back to the real world, whether for the people in the real world or for Liang Xian who needed the zombie crystal core.
A feeling of powerlessness surged over him. He really could do nothing. He couldn't save the cat, couldn't stop the "void" from spreading, couldn't save the people in the subway, and couldn't save Liang Xian.
Strength... Really useless.
Liang Xian seemed to see what Tan Yan was thinking. He leaned his head against Tan Yan's body and said softly, "Don't put all the responsibility on yourself. The earth doesn't belong to you alone."
He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. The zombie world stopped people from engaging in heavy industrial production. This apocalypse that lasted for more than a year actually made the sky clear. In the real world, city B was covered in haze all year round, and it was impossible to see such bright stars.
It's really nice to look at the stars together with the one you love.
The starry sky seems like a bottomless vortex that sucks in all people's thoughts and makes humans feel their own insignificance.
In the vast universe, human beings are really... too small. Human beings are even smaller than an electron is to human beings in the universe.
"These days, when I'm awake, I often look up at the stars. Every time, I wonder, what is the end of the world?" Liang Xian whispered.
Tan Yan listened to him quietly: "Have you noticed that when the 'void' continues to expand, the surrounding objects and even the space will be sucked in? Logically, only humans return from the teleportation point, and these sucked objects did not follow you into the teleportation point, but why is it that as long as we go back, the absorbed space will also go back
In the apocalypse we have encountered, whether it is a magma world, the disappearance of the atmosphere, the melting of glaciers, the cessation of the rotation of the earth, or the recent parasitic world and zombie world, in these worlds, has the earth been destroyed? Has the universe disappeared? "
"No." Tan Yan replied.
"Yes," Liang Xian smiled, "The first few worlds can be said to be the end of all life on Earth, but the last two, whether parasitic monsters or zombies, only target humans. In fact, even if the Earth disappears, the universe will still exist. The word 'end of the world' has always been defined by humans themselves."
"We have been trying to save ourselves." Tan Yan touched his head, "Why are you thinking so much at this time?"
"Thinking more helps you stay rational," Liang Xian rubbed his head against Tan Yan's neck and sighed contentedly, "I think Qiao Zhixue should have analyzed the problems I just thought of a long time ago, but he just didn't say anything because he was afraid of causing panic."
"Why?" Tan Yan was puzzled.
"Didn't we analyze why the 'void' transmission is one-way before? The conclusion at that time was that the end of the world is a collapsed world, and our world is intact. The pressure makes the 'void' only able to transmit in one direction.
But according to my previous thoughts, the end of the world is just a definition of human beings, and has nothing to do with the universe and the world. So where do the so-called collapse and pressure come from?"
Following Liang Xian's analysis, Tan Yan gradually forgot his frustration and powerlessness, and thought: "Could it be... humans themselves?"
"Maybe it's possible, but not necessarily." Liang Xian, who didn't know that Tan Yan had decided to be with him, took the opportunity to hug Tan Yan's arm. Anyway, he was weak now, and Tan Yan would definitely not have the heart to push him away, so he tried to get as close as possible.
"Then guess where the so-called 'voids' and 'holes' in the world's boundaries come from?" Liang Xian asked.
Tan Yan thought for a moment and shook his head decisively: "I can't think of it, you should explain it, you are smarter."
"I guess it's the world." Liang Xian shook his head, "Or the earth is also conscious. It has discovered that the continued existence of humans is likely to destroy itself, so it uses the movement trajectory of the Rubik's Cube to continuously push humans into other worlds, worlds where humans have already become extinct."
He raised his hand, looked at his right hand which had lost three fingers in the dark, and said quietly: "I once gave a document on increasing grain production to people in other worlds because I felt sorry for them being in the end times. But in fact... we are also in the end times, and the 'void' is the form of the 'end times' in the real world.
I guess the 'void' must have a cycle or limit. When all humans on Earth enter other worlds, or when the Earth thinks that enough time has passed, the 'void' will stop.
If it weren't for you, the Earth would have been extinct forty years ago. Minister Yu and Mom weren't married at that time, and I wouldn't even have been able to be born."
"I'm not that great." Tan Yan shook his head.
Liang Xian knew that Tan Yan always thought of himself as an ordinary person. People of his generation believed that the power of the collective was greater than that of the individual. So he stopped flattering him and continued, "Do you really think I should go back?"
"Huh?" Tan Yan looked at Liang Xian in confusion. He could understand what Liang Xian meant. It was not that he didn't want to go back, but that he shouldn't go back.
Seeing his expression, Liang Xian knew that Tan Yan did not fully understand his series of analyses, so he stood up and looked him in the eye and said, "I just said that the earth is rejecting humans. If this hypothesis is true, then unless humans find other planets suitable for survival in a short period of time and migrate on a large scale, it is impossible for humans to make the 'void' disappear. The end of the world has begun and it cannot be stopped.
What if one day the earth is full of holes, and holes can appear anywhere and at any time 24 hours a day, and there are not two holes, but ten, twenty, one hundred, or ten thousand holes? It is impossible to save everyone with just soldiers and police!
And really down to the last hurdle, I’m still here.”
Liang Xian placed his hand on his chest: "There are only 1% of people left in this world, which is enough to accommodate the residents of the real world. Instead of finding a new planet, wouldn't it be better for me to kill all the zombies here and migrate the people here?"
Tan Yan just touched his head.
"What's wrong?" Liang Xian, who spoke passionately, was a little at a loss. Why did he have this expression
"That's a matter of the future, and we don't know how long it will take. It took forty years for the 'hole' to move from Ping County to City B. What you envisioned may not be realized in the next hundred years. Do you want to stay here forever?" Tan Yan asked.
His words left Liang Xian speechless. Tan Yan understood the meaning of time better than he did.
Tan Yan asked again: "Do you think that I will feel uncomfortable if I leave you here, and are you making excuses for me? As long as I throw you into this world as a coordinate and tell myself that you are still fighting alongside us, can I go home with peace of mind?"
"I..." Liang Xian didn't know how to respond.
Tan Yan is indeed not as smart as Liang Xian, and is not even as smart as an ordinary college student, but why can he see through people's hearts so accurately at this time
"Hurry up and defeat the virus and come home with me." Tan Yan said softly, "You once said that my ability is to enhance. When I used my strong consciousness to hope that you could awaken your ability, you awakened. So now I hope you can return to normal. Can you do it?"
He looked at Liang Xian, his eyes seemed to say, Can I share my strength with you
Liang Xian, who didn't know he had been kissed by Tan Yan in his sleep, raised his head, pointed at his own face and said: "If I could kiss him, maybe..."
He looked hesitant, like a child asking for candy.
Tan Yan smiled slightly and kissed Liang Xian on the cheek.
Liang Xian's heart was beating fast. He held Tan Yan's hand with his intact left hand and said nervously, "Hey, you took the initiative to kiss me. When I can really go back, don't deny it."
He spoke with great trepidation, and even his heartbeat became louder.
"Plop", "Plop"! It beats about once every three seconds, very powerfully. Tan Yan feels that he has never heard a sound more beautiful than this in his life.
Perhaps, he is not without feelings for Liang Xian. Even if he only occupies a small corner in his heart, Tan Yan still likes Liang Xian very much.
No matter whether it is his affection for the younger generation or love.
So he took the initiative to kiss Liang Xian's forehead again and said softly: "I'll wait for you to return to the real world."
"Eh?" Liang Xian touched his forehead blankly, his usual smart look completely gone, "Wait for me to come back, what for?"
Tan Yan just smiled and didn't answer.
It’s not that I don’t dare to say to Liang Xian again what I said to Xiaolu, but I feel there is no need to express it now.
Let’s be happy together when we return to the real world.
"Hey, if you keep being so ambiguous, I won't give up even if I turn into a zombie!" Liang Xian glared at Tan Yan.
"Then come find me." Tan Yan patted his chest, "I'll be waiting for you all the time."
Liang Xian felt his face getting hot, he covered his face and asked, "Am I blushing?"
"Yeah." Tan Yan nodded, blushing in a cute way.
"I don't even know how to grow hair, but now I'm blushing?" Liang Xian asked in surprise.
My heartbeat seemed to quicken, was this the power of love
No, that's not right. Maybe it was really Tan Yan's special ability that took effect and enhanced his consciousness.
Maybe he really has a chance to overcome that consciousness and follow Tan Yan home.
"Wait for me!" Liang Xian hugged Tan Yan tightly, "I will speed up and stop being so slow! The next time you come from the 'void', it will be the time for me to return to the real world."
"What if the 'voids' appear continuously?" asked Tan Yan.
“Um… this…” He really couldn’t do it so quickly!
"Then I'll come in and keep you company." Tan Yan looked at Liang Xian, who had an embarrassed look on his face, and smiled with his eyes curved.
He has already promised to accompany Liang Xian, so he will definitely keep his promise.
Liang Xian felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He really wanted to know if that was what Tan Yan meant, but Tan Yan refused to say. He felt very upset.
You must go back soon!
Time always flies quickly, and in a blink of an eye, Tan Yan has spent three hours among the zombies.
He couldn't really stay for the full three and a half minutes; he needed to have enough time to prepare for entering the "void".
Without any more promises, he waved goodbye to Liang Xian and ran away quickly.
Although he is left in the zombie world again, we will definitely meet again one day.
Tan Yan was not afraid.
The author has something to say: —End of Volume 1—
Ahem, I know this chapter is a bit short, but I can't help it. It's just a small thing, I can't let Tan Yan and Liang Xian kiss each other and then waste another 2,000 words. It has to end when it's time to end.
Don't worry, everyone. This is only the first volume. There will be more to come. There will be a new chapter in the evening.
The first volume is probably about humans getting over their ignorant period about “emptiness” and being ready to face new challenges.
The beginning of the next volume will probably skip some time. I don’t want to write about a world without babies showing off.
You said... Can we just show the baby coming back in the next chapter, and write about the process of defeating the virus in a separate chapter later? Otherwise, I think it's too watery. Do we have to fight against a zombie world for the rest of our lives
ps: The cold is a little better, at least the fever has subsided, don't worry, I will take good care of my health. I always take a break when I'm tired_(:3∠)_