Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Yangyang and Xianxian had also seen Tang Mo being carried in earlier. To keep them from worrying, they weren’t allowed inside the tent.

But children aren’t fools. Neither of them was in the mood to play now; they just stood guard beside the tent.

“What exactly happened?”

After Lin Yi and Xiao Tao left, Wen Jianshu asked with a solemn expression. He now understood that the situation was incredibly dire, not some trivial matter.

“Tang Mo fused with the Space Pearl, but her method was likely too extreme, and it damaged her sea of consciousness.”

Lin Yu explained succinctly.

Although Wen Jianshu was not a superpower user, his intellect and strategic abilities were far beyond that of an ordinary person. For that reason, he was highly respected, both in their previous base and within the current protective zone.

And while he didn’t have a superpower, he was no stranger to the topic of attribute values. In fact, he had read more research on the subject than most superpower users.

“Her sea of consciousness was damaged?”

Wen Jianshu’s expression grew even more grave. He knew that damage to the sea of consciousness was extremely serious and almost irreversible.

“To repair her sea of consciousness, we need someone with an attribute value far exceeding Tang Mo’s—and someone whose energy she won’t reject,” the Sect Leader added.

“However, there is one other method.”

Lin Yu looked to the Sect Leader, seeking to confirm whether the idea they had both just considered was truly possible.

Although he had just found the answer he was looking for in the dozens of pages of the manual, Lin Yu still wasn’t certain.

The Sect Leader met Lin Yu’s gaze, understood his question, and nodded.

“The only option now is to wait for Qin Ling to return. Tang Mo shouldn’t reject his spiritual power. Although his attribute value is lower than Tang Mo’s, Qin Ling has an Agility Pearl that has already fused with him. As long as we transfer the energy of the Agility Pearl into Tang Mo’s sea of consciousness at the moment his power makes contact with it, she should be able to wake up.”

This was the theoretical support Lin Yu had found after searching the manual for a long time.

The reason someone with a much higher attribute value was required was that the energy used to mend the sea of consciousness would remain in Tang Mo’s body, converting into her own energy—it couldn’t be reclaimed.

For a person with a slightly lower attribute value, losing that much energy at once would cause severe damage to their own body. Beyond that, it’s also a question of whether they would have enough strength left after such an output to control the energy and repair the sea of consciousness.

But Qin Ling doesn’t have this problem, even though his attribute value is, in theory, also insufficient.

To a certain extent, however, his energy is divided into two parts. In other words, the Agility Pearl inside him can be separated and given to Tang Mo individually. That kind of separation is much less damaging to a person.

Although the energy inside the Agility Pearl has fused with Qin Ling, it is not, after all, his innate energy.

As for why Tang Mo wouldn’t reject Qin Ling’s energy, that point needed no explanation. Never mind Lin Yu and Wen Jianshu; anyone who knew them and had a pair of eyes could see it.

While nothing was ever said explicitly, in the end, the two of them had no intention of hiding it.

“Qin Ling should be back soon.”

Hearing there was still a solution, Wen Jianshu finally relaxed a bit.

Everything would be fine once Qin Ling returned.

With Qin Ling’s capabilities, no one considered the possibility that he wouldn’t return.

“However, there’s another problem: the matter of the Five Beads fusion.”

The Sect Leader continued, following up on Lin Yu’s point.

If they had only been confirming that one possibility, they wouldn’t have spent so long poring over the manual.

They had confirmed a piece of bad news as well.

“The Five Beads fusion? Momo has already fused with four of them. If Qin Ling can give Tang Mo the one he fused with, won’t that directly lead to the Five Beads fusion? That would be a double blessing!”

Wen Jianshu didn’t understand. Momo was only one bead short.

‘Once Qin Ling gives her his, won’t everything be perfect? What else is there to worry about?’

“It’s not that simple. For the Five Beads fusion, five already-fused pearls must merge inside a single person’s sea of consciousness. But if Qin Ling’s Agility Pearl is used to repair Tang Mo’s consciousness, it will be completely integrated into the repair process. In other words, if that pearl is used for the repair, it will be consumed.”

At that point, there would no longer be five beads in the world, let alone a fusion. Humanity’s hope of returning to an era of peace and prosperity would naturally cease to exist.

The Sect Leader left the rest unsaid, but everyone present understood.

“But even if we don’t use the last pearl to repair Momo’s sea of consciousness, there’s still only one left. We can’t complete the Five Beads fusion that way either, can we?”

Wen Jianshu raised an issue from another perspective.

“No. If Qin Ling’s energy successfully enters Tang Mo’s sea of consciousness, it can be used not only for repair, but also for plunder.”

Everything concerning the Attribute Pearls was written with absolute clarity in the manual, leaving no room for ambiguity. Any theory could find its justification within its pages.

Once everything had been said, silence fell upon the tent.

Sang Er looked at the still-unconscious Tang Mo, not knowing what to say.

It was as if a giant scale had materialized before their eyes. On one end lay the hope of all humankind; on the other was Tang Mo.

The choice was too cruel, too difficult. No one could make a decision right away.

“Let’s wait for Qin Ling to get back first.”

In the end, it was Wen Jianshu who spoke up, tabling the decision for the time being.

With Qin Ling still not back, there was no use in thinking about it.

The tent fell quiet once more. Everyone retreated, leaving Tang Mo a quiet space to rest.

And yet, Tang Mo had heard everything—every conversation, every event that had transpired inside the tent.

Tang Mo’s current sensation felt very familiar, much like the feeling of her soul separating from her body after her first death.

She couldn’t feel her physical body, let alone control it, but her consciousness was gradually returning.

But this consciousness was like a gas without a container, floating who-knows-where.

Tang Mo felt as if she didn’t belong to this world anymore; she didn’t know where she was or whether she was dead or alive.

It was as though she were watching the world from a third-person perspective, observing everything happening around her own body.

‘Am I dead?’

Tang Mo suddenly remembered her client from the previous mission world, Xu Yin, who had retained her perspective for a short while after death to watch the world.

‘I seem to be in the same state right now.’