Chapter 432 Another Path

From this, it is clear that anything can happen in the world, so even the most absurd hobbies might someday prove useful.

This is a survival diary, chronicling the journey from the outbreak of the apocalypse to the final despair. As Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo read through each entry, they could genuinely feel the gradual shift in the diary owner’s emotions.

From the diary’s content, it appears that this world first experienced many unknown riots and disasters, such as various natural calamities that aren’t particularly common, as well as completely inexplicable phenomena—like an eternal night and blood moons appearing out of nowhere…

However, while the initial disasters were significant, they didn’t lead to total extinction. The real threat arose after the third eternal night—when a significant number of humans suddenly turned into mindless zombies without any warning. There was no virus, no transmission method, not even a way to identify the disaster’s source; it was simply an insurmountable catastrophe.

The world order that humanity desperately maintained completely collapsed under this massive disaster, signaling the true arrival of the apocalypse. It was at this time that the diary’s owner took refuge in a self-built shelter.

Thanks to extensive preparations made before the end of days, this shelter was stocked with enough supplies to sustain the diary’s owner for an entire year without needing to venture outside. The electricity supply also had two backup systems—one linked to the community’s auxiliary power, and the other utilizing a diesel generator inside the house.

Even now, the power supplying this house comes from the community’s auxiliary source, which has somehow managed to keep functioning since the apocalypse; the infrastructure here is indeed quite solid.

In addition to a television and CD player for entertainment, the house was equipped with a radio and other means of communication with the outside world. The diary even mentioned how he transferred the surveillance lines from the community to the shelter, enabling him to monitor the state of the community without stepping outside as long as the power devices were operational.

These preparations for the apocalypse were quite thorough; barring any unexpected mishaps, this man genuinely had a chance at survival.

However, the diary only covered one month’s worth of entries.

In the initial phase, the diary owner expressed great satisfaction with his extensive prior preparation and laid out various survival plans for the future. It was noted that when the diary was written, the internet had not yet collapsed, allowing him to occasionally connect with other survivors, including fellow survival enthusiasts, thus alleviating loneliness through mutual updates.

But seven days later, the internet went down. Although the radio and other communications could still pick up a little information, it was mostly desperate cries for help from other survivors. From the very beginning, he had not received any reports of armies coming to suppress the zombie disaster.

By the fifteenth day, all communication devices could no longer receive any messages. From this point on, the gradual change in the diary owner’s mindset began to emerge in the entries; his initial pride morphed into anxiety for the future. Even with supplies sufficient for another year, survival beyond that duration began to loom as a major concern.

In the midst of this turmoil, he felt the need to venture out in search of other survivors to establish a sustainable survivor base. On the eighteenth day, he finally prepared to officially leave the shelter.

But the outcome of this attempt was far from favorable; the outside world had turned into hell. Not only did he fail to find any survivors, but he also came dangerously close several times to not making it back himself.

As these attempts continued, his pessimistic emotions deepened. By the twenty-fifth day, it seemed he had completely succumbed to negative feelings; his handwriting grew increasingly messy, eventually descending into mere scribbles. On the last page of the diary, Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo spent quite a while deciphering what was written—

“This world is finished.”

There were no traces of blood in several rooms, including the one above, which seemed to imply that the diary’s owner likely escaped from this place.

“Something feels off…” Xia Xinyan flipped through the diary, frowning slightly. “If he was able to prepare so thoroughly for the apocalypse when the world was still functioning, shouldn’t his mindset towards facing the apocalypse be more resilient…? He prepared a wall of CDs for entertainment; it’s clear he considered the issue of mental state, but why did he crumble after just over twenty days?”

Even knowing that the outside world could no longer return to normal, a regular person might break down, but for someone who thrives on survival in apocalyptic settings, shouldn’t this have been an opportunity to prove himself? Even if not to the extent of feeling elated, it shouldn’t have led to such rapid despair.

At least… theoretically.

“There’s really nothing wrong,” Monica explained simply, “at that time, it would have been the moment of greatest shock. This world lacked an emergency protective mechanism, so it directly endured the maximum chaos. The natural disasters mentioned in the diary were a product of this effect, impacting not just physically but fundamentally, causing tendencies towards destruction—like extreme emotions and gradually waning rationality. Even if there were no external threats, he would still completely break down.”

Upon hearing this, Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan fell silent for a moment.

This was their first understanding of what had truly happened in reality.

Before this, it’s likely that no one knew that two years ago when everyone was still enjoying hot pot and singing, the “real” selves and the true world had already fallen into the apocalypse.

Perhaps the diary’s owner is still alive in the real world and may never know he experienced a month-long death sentence.

After putting the diary away in the spatial watch, Xia Xinyan turned to Monica: “Is there still a possibility for survivors in this world?”

“The chance is zero,” Monica shook her head. “The transition process of the world’s state is irreversible. Only when it has entirely shifted from order to destruction can it transform back—this process even gods cannot halt; they may at best try to rescue a few more beings before the world’s demise.”

It’s a pity that during the destruction of this world, there was only a single protective mechanism, which, despite being a roundabout way to protect the world, offered no hope for these true native humans.

Upon learning such things… Xia Xinyan felt quite odd.

Everyone is dead, yet everyone is still alive—this ethical dilemma is too complex for them to grasp at their level.

“At least we still have a chance, right?” Ling Mo said softly. “No need to think too much about all this. Monica said we are still our true selves, right? So we are still alive.”

Xia Xinyan paused, then nodded: “Mm.”