Apocalypse: I Can Upgrade Everything

Chapter 197: If I Die

In the entire convoy, perhaps only that pregnant woman was delusional enough to call Chen Ye a “good person.”

Chen Ye didn’t care for the label. He knew exactly what he was.

“Chen Ye… do you think… there’s still hope for us?”

The girl’s voice drifted beside him, faint and melancholic. Chen Ye remained silent. He didn’t know how to answer.

“Hope” was an incredibly extravagant word in this era—a luxury they couldn’t afford.

Humans were undeniably growing stronger. There were over a hundred known Sequence paths, an array of indescribable Artifacts, and every Sequence Beyonder possessed their own brand of the miraculous. Even the Artifacts held powers that defied logic.

But the Anomalies were evolving too.

In the beginning, few Anomalies could even speak. Most were tethered to the darkness, unable to endure a single ray of sunlight. Now, more of them roamed freely, indifferent to the cycle of day and night. Some had even cultivated human-like intelligence. Above them sat the Rule Anomalies, and beyond those were creatures of even greater terror—like the gargantuan serpent lurking in the Mist River.

Chen Ye exhaled a long, heavy cloud of smoke. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll just manage to survive a little longer than the rest.”

“Hehe…” The girl turned her head. Under the pale, blood-red moonlight, her eyes held no trace of sadness; instead, they burned with a frightening intensity. Chen Ye’s scruffy, unshaven face was reflected in her pupils. “Captain Chu said that even if we all have to die eventually, you’ll definitely be the last one standing.”

She leaned in slightly. “Because you’re cold. You’re ruthless, selfish, and driven. To stay alive, you’d do anything. Maybe only people like you are meant to last.”

Her voice rose with a strange, soaring energy, yet remained hushed against the night.

“Stop talking nonsense,” Chen Ye snapped. He didn’t want to follow her down that path. It was too heavy, too final.

“Chen Ye!”

He turned back, meeting her sparkling gaze.

“Chen Ye, if the day comes that I die… remember, you have to find me a beautiful place. A place just like this. Bury me there.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

It seemed to be the only phrase he could muster. He didn’t believe anyone would see the end of this nightmare—not her, and certainly not himself. The girl across from him was barely eighteen. No, she was nearly nineteen now.

By all rights, she should have been in a bright, spacious classroom. She should have been heading to a snack street with her roommates after class or blushing over a love letter from some campus admirer. Instead, her family was gone, and she was left alone, struggling through the apocalypse. She had gained power, yes, but in the face of the world’s true horrors, that power was nothing but a brittle reed.

“Hurry up and promise me,” she insisted, refusing to let him evade the question. “If you don’t, I won’t even be able to rest in peace.”

“Fine, fine. If you die, I promise to find a spot a hundred times more beautiful than this to bury you.”

“Hehe… Pinky swear. A hundred years, no backing out!”

“Are you five years old?”

“Do it! Or I won’t feel safe!”

“Alright, alright…”

“Pinky swear… a hundred years… no changing!”

“Hehe… Good.”

The corners of her mouth curled into a wide smile. Bathed in the crimson moonlight and framed by her long, pink hair, she looked hauntingly beautiful. In a movie, this would have been the peak of a romantic climax.

Nearby, atop the roof of a box truck, a woman sat cross-legged. One sleeve hung empty and limp at her side. She watched the horizon, her mind as still as the dark water. Her ordinary face was anchored by eyes that looked like ancient, bottomless wells.

Below, Captain Chu sat barefoot on the grass, a cup of freshly steeped tea steaming before him. Iron Lion sat on the ground beside him. Given the man’s current massive physique, few chairs could support his weight without splintering.

“It’s… really beautiful,” the hulking man whispered.

“You big ox,” Chu Che teased. “You actually have an eye for scenery?”

“Captain, I might be a bit slow, but I’m not stupid. I know what looks good.”

“It’s been hard on you,” Chu Che sighed. “The price of the Titan Sequence is far too steep.”

“I think it’s fine this way,” Iron Lion replied with a carefree shrug. “Being a bit dimmer means I have fewer things to worry about. I used to be an insomniac; now, I rarely have a bad night. I sleep like a baby.”

“Hahaha… The side effect of the Titan Sequence isn’t exactly stupidity, Iron Lion. It’s more like… a profound simplicity. Great wisdom appearing as foolishness.”

“Hehe… I’ll take it.” Iron Lion’s face broke into that characteristic, simple-minded grin.

“Great wisdom appearing as foolishness… exactly,” Chu Che murmured.

Just then, a glowing butterfly began to dance around Iron Lion. Its soft radiance illuminated the rugged contours of his muscles. Iron Lion’s jaw dropped as he watched the creature. In his eyes, it wasn’t a butterfly at all. Its body was a tiny, humanoid figure—it looked exactly like the elves from the old pre-apocalypse movies.

“Captain…” Iron Lion whispered.

Chu Che had seen it too. He sat frozen, mouth agape. “Don’t… don’t move. I don’t sense any Anomaly aura.”

Chen Ye and the pink-haired girl were also drawn to the phenomenon. Across the lake, the surface began to ripple without a breeze. Countless “butterflies” rose from the water. They weren’t just flying over it—they were born of it, the very liquid shimmering and taking flight.

The woman on the truck roof looked on with rare surprise. Survivors began to crawl out of their tents and vehicles, their faces etched with awe. Some reached instinctively for their pockets to grab phones that were no longer there.

“My god… what is that?”

“Look at them all… they’re coming from the water!”

“It’s… it’s beautiful.”

“Am I dreaming?”

The scene was so breathtaking it was painful. It struck them at a soul-deep level, a visceral shock of pure wonder. The glowing creatures filled their vision, turning the lake into a magnificent, luminescent sea. Many drifted toward the campsite, bathing the dim camp in a soft, ethereal light. It felt as though they were in the middle of a celestial festival. Rare, genuine smiles broke out across the survivors’ faces.

Chen Ye quickly pulled out his phone, clicking the camera app to capture the sight. But he soon realized something was wrong. Iron Lion was practically covered in them; the creatures perched on his head, his shoulders, and even the tip of his nose.

The pink-haired girl was swarmed as well, the glowing spirits dancing through her hair.

“Chen Ye! Quick! Take a picture of me! Hurry!” she urged, her voice bright and playful.

Even Little Fu, the college student, was surrounded by a dozen of them.

Chen Ye, however, was in a “vacuum zone.” No matter where he moved, the butterflies veered away as if repulsed by him. They treated him like he was transparent—or perhaps, toxic.

The pink-haired girl saw this and nearly doubled over with laughter. Xu Lina and Xue Nan were suffering the same fate. Xu Lina tried several times to approach a cluster, only for the space around her to turn into a void.

Chu Che fared slightly better; at least two or three were willing to hover near him. With a smug grin, the Captain strolled over to stand next to Chen Ye, flaunting his “popularity.”

Zhou Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the spirits circling her, reaching out a trembling hand. Several landed on her fingers and palms. The tiny figures in the center of the wings tilted their heads, observing the human girl with curious eyes, seemingly whispering to one another.

Suddenly, the entire lake erupted in a pale green luminescence. Gasps filled the air.

Chen Ye walked to the water’s edge. The lake had become impossibly clear, as transparent as glass. He could see the massive fish swimming deep below. The “giant” fish they had eaten earlier was a minnow compared to these. He spotted several koi-like creatures that were easily thirty feet long.

Beyond the koi were even stranger organisms—creatures that would have never appeared in any nature documentary or viral video.

“This is…”

Chu Che joined him. The two men, shunned by the butterflies, stood at the water’s edge with unreadable expressions.

“Captain Chu,” Chen Ye whispered, his eyes fixed on the alien depths. “Do you think… this is still our world?”