Chapter 205: Retreat, Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The rus.h.i.+ng flood was not fierce from the get-go, but the way it manifested was truly strange; seeming to appear soundlessly from underground.
“The water level now is about half a meter high. If I reacted quickly enough and had a boat, I would probably be able to ride the first wave and try to save myself.”
Knowing that it was a simulated world, Su Mo sat atop the iron ore mountain without worrying. He watched the floodwater gradually reach the foot of the mountain, his mind spinning rapidly with different thoughts.
The world extinction flood sounded very intimidating, and was also a type of punishment disaster.
However, in reality, there was still a certain amount of leeway given for survival. As for whether or not one would survive, that really depended on one’s own fortune.
“The water level is rising rapidly. In just a minute, it rose by close to a meter in height!”
As he was too high up, Su Mo could only make arbitrary judgements based on the height of the trees below.
Less than three minutes had pa.s.sed from the start of the disaster till now, yet all objects that were below two meters in height had already been submerged underwater.
Additionally, the most horrifying thing was that the height of the water was still rising!
“If the water level continues to rise at the same rate, the first terrifying peak of the flood will occur at around 12.10am!”
With the game panel keeping time, even if he could not jot this information down in his diary, Su Mo could carve words into the ground as a temporary record of what was happening like he usually did.
He was able to observe this type of punishment disaster from a close distance. If such a terrible flood were really to happen in the future, his chances of survival would double with this experience.
“Eight meters, but it’s still rising! Based on the current water level, even a wooden shelter constructed on relatively high ground might be on the verge of suffering at this point.”
Soon, about a quarter of the iron ore mountain had also been submerged by the flood. Waves upon waves crashed against the mountain before being broken up and continuing to flow into the distance.
As for the wasteland’s lush forest that had been there ten minutes ago, that was now nowhere to be seen. Even the towering trees were bent and twisted by the great force of the flood.
It only took ten minutes for the green expanse to turn into a world filled with muddy water.
At 12.10am, the water level finally stopped at 10 meters.
“It seems like my basin won’t be the acc.u.mulation point for the flood. Based on the direction the water is traveling, the lower alt.i.tude area seems to be in the direction of where Sis is at!”
Humans strived to climb higher, while water naturally flowed downward.
The rus.h.i.+ng flood did not leave trails in its wake. One could only see the pockets of land that remained unsubmerged as the flood raged throughout the wasteland world.
At the same time, because the flood encompa.s.sed the entire wasteland world, as long as one could find the right place in time, it was likely one would survive the initial flooding. Even a punishment disaster was not foolproof and without loopholes to be taken advantage of.
When the surface runoff arrived, the flow of the flood would increase and the water level would rise accordingly.
When most of the high-intensity surface runoff acc.u.mulated at the section of the outlet, the flow of the flood would increase to its maximum value—known as peak flow—and the corresponding highest water level would be called the peak water level.
The terrain of the basin land was of relatively low alt.i.tude compared to the surrounding plains but, at this moment, the flow of water on both sides did not actually converge into the basin, instead rus.h.i.+ng off towards the northwest. This meant that the alt.i.tude of this basin was much higher than the terrain in the northwest.
If one could get into a small boat at this time, even without the aid of an electric motor, one could travel quickly downstream and greatly shorten the length of the journey!
“No!”
“The most terrifying thing about the world extinction flood wasn’t its peak water level or even its force of impact. The terrifying part was that, based on the judgment of the game panel, only a flood that lasted for half a year was worthy of the term catastrophic!”
Even after the 180-day period, the flood would not magically disappear as rapidly as it appeared. Instead, it would remain on the surface until it slowly evaporated and the terrain changed, finally transforming into bodies of water.
This process was an extremely long one. If one were to insist on measuring it based on the human lifespan, the number would probably be measured in double digits or more!
A thirty-meter flood would require at least a few hundred years before the terrain gradually transformed, forming an ocean and revealing new landma.s.ses.
At that point, animals and living creatures would start anew and begin to reproduce on this new landma.s.s, while aquatic animals would also appear where the ocean was formed.
“If I had my Mountain and Sea Painting Scroll, I could try using its great power to change this land and create rivers and mountains…”
Shaking his head with regret and discovering that the storage s.p.a.ce was still locked, Su Mo somewhat guessed the reason.
There was a high probability that the mysterious talisman was the one replicating this world in a different s.p.a.ce.
The system had somehow managed to stimulate the talisman’s potential, causing it to erupt with all of its energy at once, pulling Su Mo into this alternate world.
The talisman was probably capable of simulation, but perhaps such a simulation was too energy-consuming, so once it had been generated, it simply sealed Su Mo inside.
The system panel was even more mysterious. It was not that the talisman did not want to imitate it, but rather that it could not detect its presence at all.
“The question now is whether it was my “soul” that entered this land, or if my actual physical body was transported here as well!”
Touching the rough stone with his hand and exerting a little force, he could feel waves of pain from the friction between his hand and the rough surface.
This feeling was no different from reality.
If it was just his soul, then things would be just fine. If he could no longer handle the disaster, he could bang his head against a wall or simply jump into the sea and commit suicide to return to his own body.
However, if this involved his physical body, then he was screwed. Surviving for 180 days in this environment was extremely difficult with Su Mo’s smattering of wilderness survival skills.
“Based on how much I’d eat daily, the crackers in Earth Tiger’s storage s.p.a.ce can definitely last half a year. As for drinking water…
“It would be sufficient as well!”
The floodwater was not seawater, so it was essentially still a form of freshwater. As long as it was slightly filtered and heated, it would still be potable.
Hence, Su Mo decided to wait and see as he lived on this small platform for a while, continuing to try and figure out the true meaning behind the talisman simulating this disaster in an alternate world.
The water level did not change further, and the light from the blood-red moon was quickly dissipating.
Feeling pain throughout his entire body, Su Mo stood up and moved his arms a little before returning to Earth Tiger and going to sleep.
With the situation already at this point, a stupid thing like committing suicide to try and see if he could return was not something that Su Mo could do for now.
Furthermore, the circ.u.mstances of the world were not to the extent where it could be considered dire just yet. It was entirely possible to attempt persevering through it while searching for a turning point.
The night pa.s.sed soundlessly. The Earth Tiger was not a comfortable place to sleep and, by the time Su dazedly heard Oreo’s barking and opened his eyes, the surrounding scene had turned familiar once again. Oreo’s furry face also appeared within his sight.
“Have I returned?”
He tried to open the storage s.p.a.ce and discovered that there were no restrictions. Additionally, there was no discomfort in his body. Su Mo was stunned.
He had left in a hurry and came back in a hurry too.
On the ground in the distance lay the fallen talisman. It had completely lost its initial l.u.s.ter and, aside from the tell-tale markings, had become no different than rough toilet paper.
Standing up and shaking his muddled head, Su Mo walked quickly towards the talisman and picked it up.
Now that the talisman had been activated by the system, its properties could finally be viewed from the game panel.
[Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret (One and Only)]
[Description: The item that the kobolds received as a reward after they broke through the shackles of knowledge binding their race. However, due to its mysterious nature and difficult activation method, this talisman was not actually taken seriously. It was later found in the ruins by the player “Chen Shen” and its abilities were activated by the player “Wu Feiguang” under special conditions, allowing him to obtain the first level of authority to use the Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret.]
[Current holder: Su Mo (bound)]
[Function: First and second levels of authority unlocked.]
[First level of authority: The Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret has the power to break through the shackles of knowledge. Based on the current disaster and direction of development of the wasteland world, it can predict the events of the next disaster. The accuracy of the prediction depends on the level of influence that the player has on the world. (Current level of influence: 0.035%)]
[Second level of authority: If a situation occurs that would interfere with the judgment of the Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret while it is predicting a disaster, it will automatically erupt with all of its energy, pulling the player into the prediction of the disaster event and conducting an on-site deduction. The intensity and timespan of the deduction simulation depends on the influence that the player has on the world.]
[Energy acquisition: The source of the Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret’s energy comes from the influence that the holder has on the world. The greater the influence, the greater the speed of its energy recovery and size of its energy reserve. On the other hand, when the player dies, the Divulgence of Heaven’s Secret will automatically burst and change its holder.]
[Current energy: 0/9]
“Amazing—so there was still such a good thing within the ruins of the kobold castle…”
After examining its properties again, and selecting its subcategories to carefully review the introduction of each property, Su Mo’s mind was set at ease.
He did not actually physically enter the deduction world, but rather the talisman simulated the world to a certain degree based on his current physical state.
The quality of the simulation was affected by his body; naturally, if his body was in better condition, then the simulation quality would increase accordingly. Of course, if his body was in poor condition, then the simulation experience would naturally be terrible as well.
When he entered it for the first time, Su Mo was unconscious; a state that was amplified by the talisman, so when he was pulled into the deduction world, he very nearly became a half-paralyzed, handicapped person.
As for the cost of death within the talisman’s deduction world, it was not large, nor was it small.
During each deduction, a fixed amount of energy would be used up every hour. Once death occurred, all of its energy would be discharged immediately and would need to be reacc.u.mulated.
This meant that even if Su Mo went into the talisman’s deduction world, if he wanted to stay and investigate over a long period of time, he would have to ensure that his life remained intact.
“It seems that it’ll be difficult for me to enter the deduction world again within a short period of time!”
After checking the talisman’s energy recovery speed and finding out that, if no actions were taken, the recovery rate was only 0.01 a day, Su Mo could only suppress the impulse to enter the deduction world once more.
He checked the time and realized that the nine hours he had spent in the deduction world was equivalent to just nine minutes here in reality. Su Mo was relaxed as he washed up and returned to his small bed, resuming his slumber.
However, Su Mo’s sleep was far from the peaceful rest that he had in the deduction world.
At five o’clock in the morning, a call from Zhong Qingshu rang. While he was still in a daze, the moment Su Mo heard Zhong Qingshu’s words, he immediately awoke and jumped straight out of bed!
“Su Mo, hurry up and get over here! The ruins have begun to take shape!”