CHAPTER 647: 605 PARENTS

I never expected Mazao to be desperate enough to ask me for advice on how to get along with parents.

"If you’re seeking guidance from me, then you’ve got the wrong person," I said.

"Why? Do you not get along well with your parents?"

Mazao was initially puzzled, then seemed to recall something, "Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Zhuang Cheng speak about his parents. You always live alone... Could it be..."

As she spoke, she showed a somewhat apologetic expression, as if feeling guilty for bringing up the topic. She likely misunderstood something. In the "Doomsday Era," death is commonplace, and losing friends and acquaintances is an everyday affair, so it’s easy for her to think along those lines. Hence, I quickly clarified.

"Don’t overthink it. My parents are still alive," I said.

"That’s good then."

Mazao breathed a sigh of relief and then asked with confusion, "Why do I still feel that you’re quite distant from your parents..."

"It’s not your imagination; my relationship with my parents is indeed far from ’close’.

Saying that, I explained my parents to Mazao.

That said, there’s not much that’s worthy of explanation. Simply put, the reason I’m distant from my parents isn’t due to any deep-seated grievances or dramatic elements, but rather a natural outcome. Trying to pinpoint the main reason for my current personality from this context is, in my private opinion, likely a futile endeavor.

Since childhood, my parents only gave me dutiful attention, and once I completed compulsory education and acquired the physical conditions and skills necessary for self-reliance, their focus on me plummeted.

After I entered university, though I wasn’t yet employed formally in society, I effectively became independent as an adult, solving economic issues myself. Their presence essentially vanished from my life.

Why were my parents like this? During childhood, I had similar doubts for a while but later let go. In reality, there aren’t many factors worth digging into; on a nationwide or global scale, parents like them aren’t that unusual. Their marriage was just a compromise, the child was born naturally, it wasn’t a product of love, nor were there any expectations, just fulfilling a life stage.

My parents were simply more self-aware and united in opinion. Some might accuse them of being cold, but they undeniably provided me the material conditions necessary to grow up. I harbor no resentment, only gratitude towards them, and wouldn’t let go of anyone spreading malicious remarks.

However, just like their attitude towards me, I also only have equitable feelings and a sense of responsibility towards them. When the urge for adventure, or even to pursue Doomsday, overwhelms me, the image of my parents rarely appears in my mind, let alone becomes a compelling reason to turn back. If this makes me an ungrateful child with no filial piety, I can’t find an excuse or mood to argue.

And to ask if I ever felt lonely or isolated in childhood, at least I have no such memories. I’m not the kind of child who crumbles from parental neglect or feels life in gray from lack of affection.

When bored, I’d find my amusement, going online alone to browse comics and novels, immersing myself in a bizarre world of fantasy.

Compared to dull and boring reality, that world was undeniably more interesting. Unknowingly, such a seed took root in my heart, and I wanted to find traces of the strange existence in reality. My focus shifted from fictional stories to studying and testing ancient and foreign tales, personally verifying the truth of legends about Magic and Taoist Skill, thus seen by others as an eccentric person.

I knew people like me didn’t fit the mainstream, but I didn’t think I was truly aberrant. Expanding the scope worldwide, there are even more radical and eccentric people than me. For example, those who love extreme sports and walking tightropes between skyscrapers aren’t all from special family backgrounds or have theatrical life experiences; there are those of ordinary descent.

Hence, I’ve never felt my desires were truly unique.

In fact, I’m confident in saying most people in this world resonate with my feelings - wanting to break free from monotonous reality, pursue adventurous glory, or discover if people like them can shine on a magical and enigmatic stage. Perhaps only one in a thousand would take actual steps; I just happened to be that one taking action then.

Otherwise, I might have graduated from unrealistic fantasies like the remaining 999 ordinary people.

Until one day, I awakened a superpower.

Perhaps everything started to change from that point in time.

Thinking about this, I realized I had stopped my narration. Mazao looked at my face with a concerned expression. Seeing this, I adjusted my thoughts slightly and naturally shifted the topic.

"...However, being out of touch for over four months is indeed not good. I spent the New Year in the Post-mortem World, and maybe I should let my parents know that I’m safe soon after."

As I said this, I glanced around, "And..."

Following my gaze, Mazao also looked around, nodded gloomily, and said, "Yes, the atmosphere on the streets has been getting tenser lately..."

Pedestrians moving through the streets carried a silent and uneasy mood, and some shops that were supposed to be operating normally had closed their doors. The air seemed to carry a hint reminiscent of disaster and war movies, making one want to tightly wrap their clothes to prevent the strange wind from creeping into the body.

According to Lu Chan’s report, during the time I was active in the Post-mortem World, many major events had occurred in the real world. These "major events" were akin to atomic bomb-level news in the world of common sense. The frequency of supernatural phenomena in the secular society had finally broken a huge bottleneck, with scope and intensity incomparable to the past.

One of the most typical cases was the massive-size supernatural incident in a southern metropolis.

About half a month ago, that city suddenly lost all contact. The outside world couldn’t probe the internal situation, and no information was transmitted from inside to outside. From an external viewpoint, it was as if a huge bowl-shaped frosted glass covered the entire city, and surveillance satellites couldn’t clearly observe any images inside.

Transport tools couldn’t enter the interior either. After approaching a certain distance, time and space would become chaotic, and vehicles and drones advancing towards the city would inexplicably return. No one knew what changes had occurred inside the city.

Then, a little over a week later, the city’s outer rim suddenly ignited into an immense Fire Sea. Even military alloy armor would vaporize instantly upon contact with the flames. Any attempts to probe that city couldn’t cross the Fire Sea by half a step, and many in secular society believed everyone in the city had been consumed by the flames.

This massive-scale supernatural incident is actually related to the "Firefly" I mentioned yesterday, which was lost outside. I conducted a brief investigation at the site this morning, but I’ll delve into the detailed parts later. This is just a mention as a "big bomb" in the public’s view.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this is just one of the massive-scale supernatural incidents, with countless more shocking events. This has triggered unprecedented panic in secular society, and some people who believed the government and military forces could suppress supernatural incidents have become unable to remain calm.

Some have even started advocating a doomsday theory, thinking human civilization will eventually be devoured by the increasingly intense supernatural events. They didn’t hear of a true Doomsday prediction from anywhere but brewed these serendipitous critiques only from the panic within.

Zhu Shi mentioned to me that, for safety’s sake, she’s considering helping Mazao bring her parents to a safer place, but the specifics will depend on the individual’s own will.

Moreover, to prevent this couple from blindly searching for their daughter, who "vanished in the human world" from the military hospital, Mr. Zhu had previously used spiritual magic to make them believe that their daughter was receiving soul loss treatment in a national institution. Recently, Zhu Shi met with them again face-to-face and sincerely informed them of Mazao’s true situation, roughly explaining the truth of various supernatural incidents happening in the world today.

I might also need to do a similar job for my own parents.

It seems affected by the social status quo; the company where Mazao’s father works has encountered some operational issues and is currently in a state of idleness, while the bakery operated by her mother is temporarily closed for vacation adjustment. This couple should both be at home right now, and as we walked closer, that bakery came into view, Mazao’s "homeland anxiety" getting heavier.

"Am I acting a bit impulsively? I only felt spirited when I said I wanted to meet them, but now that I think about it, if my misfortune got passed onto them..." Mazao seemed to want to back out a bit.

Even if not to the extent of actually stopping and giving up, maybe this kind of scenario was anticipated, which is why she called me over for spiritual support.

"Don’t worry, I can try to suppress your Sweep Star power." I said.

Upon hearing this, Mazao was greatly surprised, "Suppression... Is that possible?"

"It should be doable, but not for too long." I said.

Having grasped the truth of the Sweep Star power, and as the Magic Density increases, my insight into the Sweep Star power and more matters has become clearer and more profound.