Chapter 753: Destruction and… Rebirth?
“Why didn’t you eat it?”
Gu Ling devoured the Purple Saros fruit in no time, leaving only the skin, which was as thin as a Cicada’s wings, and a finger-sized core.
The little girl was satisfied. Her cheeks appeared red as if she was slightly tipsy.
She patted her belly and offered Meng Chao.
“…I’m used to synthetic food that tastes like wax. It’s my first time eating such a pure natural delicacy. My taste buds are so stimulated that I can’t bear it.”
Meng Chao said, “Why don’t I eat it slowly while I listen to you talk about Peach Blossom Town’s history?”
“That sounds fine.”
Gu Ling waved her hand and picked another Purple Saros fruit from the vine.
At the same time, she gently plucked a sawtooth-shaped leaf from the vine and rolled it up like a hollow straw.
She poked the “straw” into the fruit as if it was a natural drink. She took a sip and pondered for a moment as she held her head. “It was a long time ago. I wasn’t there myself. I heard it from my grandfather. Where should I start? Oh right, let’s start with the destruction of Earth.”
“Wait, what?”
Meng Chao’s cerebral cortex, heart muscles, and wriggling intestines froze almost at the same time.
He confirmed it in terrified voice, “What did you say? The destruction of Earth?”
“That’s right. Oh, that’s wrong. It’s not the destruction of Earth. I heard that Earth is a very, very big place, a thousand times bigger than Peach Blossom Town, maybe ten thousand times bigger. How could the power of humans destroy it? It’s just the destruction of the human civilization on Earth.”
Gu Ling spoke as if it was nothing like she was explaining common knowledge that women and children all knew. “It’s precisely because Earth’s civilization was about to destroy itself that our Peach Blossom Town and your Dragon City escaped at the critical moment. Isn’t that so?”
“Is… Isn’t that so?”
Deep inside Meng Chao’s heart, there was a raging storm.
He had always thought that Dragon City’s transmigration had been pa.s.sive.
It had been influenced or even manipulated by some mysterious force and had unknowingly transmigrated to the Other World.
However, from Gu Ling’s words, at least the people of Peach Blossom Town believed that they had transmigrated voluntarily and escaped Earth!
“Then did your grandfather ever tell you how Earth’s civilization was destroyed?” Meng Chao grabbed Gu Ling’s wrist as he got worked up.
The little girl cried out in pain, and her Purple Saros fruit almost fell to the ground.
Hearing her cry, the surrounding Green Tide and sea of flowers immediately let out swishing sounds.
Countless vines and pythons that were hidden in them all faced their bodies toward Meng Chao. They opened their b.l.o.o.d.y mouths, showing their canine teeth and emanating hostility.
“I’m sorry.”
Meng Chao hurriedly withdrew his hand and apologized. “I got too excited, Ms. Gu Ling.”
“It’s okay. Anyway, my skin is rough and my flesh is thick. I’m used to falling in the jungle.”
Gu Ling waved her hand and got all the vines, as well as pythons, to return to their original positions. Then, she took another sip of the Purple Saros juice and looked at Meng Chao curiously. “So, you visitors from Dragon City don’t know the fact that Earth’s civilization has been destroyed. It’s no wonder that you still consider yourselves Earthlings.”
“Let me think. What was the name of those things Grandpa mentioned? Oh right, nuclear weapons, thermonuclear wars, and nuclear dust covered the entire world. The endless darkness and extreme cold would last for at least more than ten years. In that environment, which was even scarier than h.e.l.l, it was impossible for Earth’s civilization to survive.”
Meng Chao took a deep breath and tried his best to calm down. He asked, “If you really escaped Earth at that critical moment, how did your grandfather know that the nuclear winter would last for at least a dozen years?”
“Because before we escaped, the thermonuclear war had already broken out. It seemed that countless nuclear weapons had flown into the sky, and there was no way to intercept or defend against them. Based on the number of nuclear weapons, the nuclear winter would definitely last for a very, very long time, killing all intelligent life on the surface of the earth and destroying the entire civilization.”
Gu Ling added, “My grandfather told me that only a very lucky few towns were able to escape Earth before the apocalypse. Peach Blossom Town’s one of them!”
“I see. You didn’t see it with your own eyes. You were just speculating…”
Meng Chao composed himself and said, “It looks like I have to meet your grandfather when I have the chance and ask him about Earth’s destruction.
“Forget it, let’s not talk about that for now. Tell me about what happened after you transmigrated here. I don’t think Peach Blossom Town is big, and the population is not that large. Life must have been very tough in the early stages of transmigration, right?”
“That’s true. The place that we named Peach Blossom Town has beautiful mountains, clear water, the chirping of birds, the fragrance of flowers, abundant resources, and is a legendary paradise. Despite that, the people of Peach Blossom Town still encountered many difficulties when they first transmigrated here.
“However, Grandpa told me that we could only blame ourselves because the people of Peach Blossom Town still clung to the obsession of Earth’s civilization when they just got here. They wanted to resist the whole nature and turn this place into a second Earth.
“They set fire to the mountains and burned the etherealized plants into ashes.
“They were insatiably greedy and slaughtered the monsters wantonly. Even though their stomachs were full, they still brutally harvested the raw materials inside the monsters’ bodies to build their so-called civilization.
“They also wanted to exploit the crystal veins in the surrounding mountains on a large scale. Just as they did during the Earth era, they created rumbling machines that were filled with black smoke, and they used the evil machines to continue devouring this harmonious and beautiful world. Such devouring was never-ending.
“As they continued to cultivate farmland, expand towns, excavate crystals, and develop their so-called ‘civilization,’ some of them gradually mastered methods of cultivation and most of the resources. They became more and more powerful, and the gap between them and the others grew increasingly large.
“Therefore, the Earthlings’ evil nature wriggled out of the bones of these strong men.
“They proclaimed themselves ‘leaders, generals, supreme commanders, pioneers’ and disguised themselves with all kinds of glorious t.i.tles.
“With the help of a force that no one could compete with, they not only extended their devilish hands to the nature around them, but also to their weak compatriots.
“On the surface, they made the banner of ‘rebuilding Earth’s civilization in the paradise of Peach Blossom.’
“In reality, they were all extremely selfish fellows who only wanted to devour the flesh and blood of their compatriots, as well as the spirit beasts, to make themselves and their descendants stronger.
“In fact, at that time, many people in the paradise of Peach Blossom were tired of the endless exploration and conquests. They only wanted to live a carefree life in this paradise.
“After all, the resources here were abundant. Just the collection, fishing, and hunting of the few low-level spirit beasts were enough for them to live comfortably. was there a need to run to the depths of the forest and fight the high-level spirit beasts to the death?
“But those guys who called themselves ‘leaders’ always had a set of grand principles.
“‘What do you mean? We can’t just sit here and wait for death. The devastated Earth is still waiting for us to go back and start from scratch. Indulging in the most basic collection and fishing will set our civilization back thousands of years. If we don’t develop our industrial and technological civilization again, we won’t be able to fight back if we run into a strong enemy.’
“In short, the ‘leaders, generals, supreme commanders, and pioneers’ used such slogans to force the innocent townsfolk to march into the depths of the forest and engage in brutal battles with the spirit beasts who had no grudges against them.
“However, even if the townsfolk risked their lives to harvest the materials of the high-level spirit beasts, or even risked their lives to dig out crystals that contained violent spirit energy from the depths of the mother lode, the benefits would not fall into everyone’s hands. They would only be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the ‘leaders’ who helped themselves and their descendants to become stronger and harder to overthrow, even if it was just a restriction.
“My grandfather said that these guys had not been crowned for long but they had already revealed their true colors. They were a hundred times worse than the powerhouses of the Earth era.
“After all, Earth does not have psionic power. No matter how big the gap between people is, at least their combat ability won’t be much different. Even the most arrogant tyrant could be destroyed with a bullet. Therefore, the powerhouses of Earth were more or less apprehensive when they acted. They were also willing to establish a set of rules that were at least nominally fair and just to support their rule.
“However, in this land full of spirit energy, not only did the experts have money and power, but their combat ability was also ten to a hundred times that of ordinary people. Ordinary people simply had no strength to contend with them. They could only let them have their way like low-level spirit beasts.
“As a result, more and more ordinary citizens discovered that the endless war for survival was constantly destroying them and the spirit beasts.
“Those high and mighty experts, on the other hand, became stronger, richer, and more violent.
“In terms of ‘rebuilding the civilization’, only the families and forces of these experts were truly rebuilt. Even if the size of Peach Blossom Town was ten times larger and its technology was advanced for hundreds of years, with more destructive weapons, the ordinary townsfolk still wouldn’t get many benefits!”
Gu Ling said all this in one breath, and her mouth was dry.
She lowered her head and took a deep breath.
However, she sucked the fruit core of the Purple Saros through the straw made of leaves.
“Pah!”
The little girl spat hard, and the fruit core shot out like a bullet, disappearing without a trace.
Meng Chao was absorbed in her words, and he asked, “What happened after that?”
“After that, those d*mn guys finally got the punishment they deserved.”
Gu Ling tilted her head and thought for a while before she said, “It seemed that one year, after a long torrential rain, the torrential floods and mudslides covered the most important crystal ore veins near Peach Blossom Town.
“The strength of those experts depended on swallowing crystals and cultivating continuously. After ten days to half a month without the nourishment of crystals and spirit energy, they gradually weakened.
“It was the best opportunity. The ordinary townsfolk could no longer tolerate the deception and enslavement of the experts, especially the low-level warriors who were fighting against the spirit beasts in the depths of the forest. So, they secretly formed an alliance with the spirit beasts. Everybody would work together and eliminate all the experts who had harmed Peach Blossom Town and nature. From then on, we would live a happy life together!”