Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Most people would have gotten tired of hearing about the love lives and gossip of a bunch of small fish and shrimp long ago.

But Tang Mo was different. In her current state, she was just happy to have someone to talk to.

Forget gossip—she would have been thrilled to listen to a discussion about how many kinds of coral there were on the seafloor, what each one looked like, and how many colors and patterns they had.

And so, the fish and the human carried on a pleasant and friendly conversation, one speaking while the other listened.

After talking for a very, very long time, Da Jing finally got tired and stopped.

“Why did you stop?” Tang Mo asked, not yet having had her fill.

“It’s your turn.”

Da Jing had always remained on the ocean floor. Although the reach of its consciousness was vast, it had never extended to the land, nor could it.

Because it was saved by humans when it was young, Da Jing had always maintained a very friendly attitude toward humans and was very curious about them.

In fact, humans had often accidentally found their way into its body.

Even though it was its stomach, it was still part of its body. How could Da Jing possibly not know?

Some would deliberately cause trouble, making it uncomfortable.

But most were relatively well-behaved, so Da Jing would let them live inside. It would even sometimes deliberately reduce the activity of its stomach acid to accommodate them, allowing them to live comfortably and even have children…

To Da Jing, the human activity in its stomach was like watching a live broadcast, and it was utterly fascinating.

But ever since the surface of the ocean froze, no more humans had wandered in by mistake, and its life had become even more monotonous and dull.

It still really wanted to know what the human world was like now.

Tang Mo was more than happy to oblige and began telling Da Jing what was happening on the surface, starting from the beginning of the Ice Age.

The human ingenuity she had witnessed on her journey was truly remarkable—something Tang Mo had never even imagined.

Tang Mo already had a bellyful of words and questions with no one to share them with. Now that she had an audience in Da Jing, she naturally became a chatterbox.

Tang Mo told Da Jing all about humanity’s struggle for survival, marveling at their ingenuity.

And Da Jing was silent, listening intently.

“You humans have always been like this. I mean, like this from the very beginning. There’s nothing to be surprised about.”

Only after Tang Mo finished speaking did Da Jing open its mouth.

“You look as worldly as a hermit crab that’s never changed its shell.”

Da Jing cracked a joke unique to the sea, and feeling rather humorous, it couldn’t help but be pleased with itself.

“Have you humans never thought about why the apocalypse occurred?”

Da Jing asked Tang Mo.

“Why the apocalypse occurred?” Tang Mo repeated the question.

‘After everything she had been through, she had some vague ideas, but they were shrouded in mist, difficult to see clearly.’

“Is it because the population grew too large to be sustained, so this is a culling?”

Tang Mo answered.

In the apocalypse, many strong and able-bodied people gained superpowers, and having a superpower meant a higher chance of survival.

Meanwhile, the intelligent could rely on their sharp minds to carve out a niche for themselves.

As for those who were gluttonous and lazy, or physically weak and foolish in the era of peace, they were the first to die.

It had to be said that anyone who had survived this long was no ordinary person.

They either had power, intelligence, perseverance, or just incredible luck.

‘There had to be a reason for all of this.’

“You’re not wrong, but that’s not the whole picture. The apocalypse didn’t begin without reason. In Earth’s early days, humans were just ordinary creatures in the natural world; they had prey, and they had predators. But at some point, humans slowly climbed to the top of the food chain. Their predators dwindled until, finally, they became the undisputed rulers.

“There’s nothing wrong with being at the top. But without any predators, you humans gradually grew arrogant. You began to wantonly slaughter animals and destroy plant life. Your so-called ‘advanced technology’ polluted the world.

“Nature has its own immune system. If it had let you continue your reckless behavior, the world would have been destroyed sooner or later. That’s why the apocalypse happened.”

Da Jing had an extremely long lifespan to begin with, and the long line of ancestral memory allowed it to perceive things from a higher dimension within the river of history.

Coupled with being idle and bored on the ocean floor, it spent most of its time thinking. The intelligence of whales is astonishing to begin with, so when it came to the matters of the world, Da Jing understood them best.

Tang Mo nodded, remaining silent.

She acknowledged the truth in everything Da Jing said.

“I know you’re curious. Why do most of the mutant beasts in the ocean not attack humans, while those on land will fight to the death to eat you? None of it is without reason.”

Tang Mo listened with rapt attention, waiting for what it would say next. She had been holding on to these questions about the mutant beasts for a long time.

“There are two kinds of mutant beasts in this world. The first appeared suddenly—species that never existed before. The second kind were species that already existed but later mutated. The first kind of mutant beast was born from the resentment of all the animals you humans once slaughtered. The second kind are the beasts that endured the baptism of that resentment, survived, and then mutated.

“If they had died according to the natural law of the strong preying on the weak, it wouldn’t have generated so much resentment.

“But you humans were too greedy. The animals you slaughtered weren’t just for survival. There were far too many meaningless, cruel deaths, all because of your arrogance and self-importance.

“And no matter which kind they are, all mutant beasts have felt that immense, terrifying resentment. That is why they are your natural-born mortal enemies, destined to fight you to the death.”

Da Jing’s words finally helped Tang Mo understand. She now knew why the mutant beasts were so hostile toward humans—why any encounter could only end with one side’s death.

‘So that’s why. The mutant beasts inherited the resentment from the countless bygone lives of their kind. That resentment was so powerful it completely stripped them of their self-awareness.’

“What about you? After the baptism of that resentment, why don’t you hate humans? And I’ve seen other non-aggressive mutant beasts too.”

Tang Mo thought of Da Hua’s family. As long as one didn’t try to harm them, the gorillas weren’t particularly aggressive toward humans.

“Because our kind was not heavily persecuted by humans, the resentment was not strong. The species that could mutate without becoming hostile to humans are all those with little resentment and extremely high intelligence.”

‘It was true. Generally speaking, few humans went out of their way to provoke whales or gorillas, and their intelligence was indeed exceptionally high.’