Chapter 281 The Meaning of Rebirth

If we were to assess the concept of “world” based on Monica’s realm, the places that could qualify as a world have significant limitations. It’s not simply the universe or confined to a specific planet, but rather life-rich locations that haven’t deviated from their natural trajectory within a certain set of rules.

To put it simply, it refers to places that haven’t experienced “destruction,” or where “destruction” hasn’t yet taken complete hold.

A planet or space has only a slim chance of naturally giving rise to life and propagation. Some suitable places might even evolve into highly intelligent civilizations—like the Earth they inhabit, while other locations will only ever host the most primitive single-celled organisms. Yet, from Monica’s realm’s perspective, both types belong to a normal world because they are healthy.

The forms of “destruction” are various and don’t manifest merely in a singular way, but the ultimate outcome always leads the attacked world away from its natural developmental direction, pushing it toward mutation or extinction. Essentially, “destruction” is akin to the end of the world.

Monica still vividly remembers the most absurd form of destruction she encountered: a world suddenly flooded with an unending wave of shit, turning that planet into a gigantic shit ball—too bad there weren’t any massive dung beetles around to enjoy it.

By the time the investigation bureau discovered the anomalies on that planet and rushed over, all living beings there had been swept away into the heavenly shit sea.

That experience gave Monica a new understanding of the concept of world.

Ahem, I digress.

However, not all worlds that encounter “destruction” end up wiped out. Take the kind of disasters Earth is currently facing: from Monica’s viewpoint, even without the world protection mechanism intervening, it’s quite likely that life wouldn’t be completely extinguished. Instead, it would likely transform into a dungeon world—essentially a place of destruction.

These worlds show civilizations and beings that failed to withstand the assault of destruction, ultimately succumbing to it.

The most direct feeling is that these worlds have turned into dead zones; any normal being entering such a world finds it extraordinarily difficult to exit alive. Such worlds don’t necessarily lack life forms; there might still be many survivors—Monica sees ghosts as another form of life, not too different from humans. But the vengeful spirits in this world have clearly deviated from the regular ghostly ranks.

It’s akin to comparing normal humans to zombies—similar bodies, but zombies obviously don’t belong to the human lineup.

You could also say that worlds completely overrun by zombies are places of destruction as well.

The emergence of these destruction zones is quite easy to explain—when the regional police force lacks sufficient coverage, a sudden catastrophic disaster may hit without warning, making it challenging for the investigation bureau to promptly rescue those worlds.

That’s why these true gods ponder the establishment of fully automated protection mechanisms, such as the emergency measures currently safeguarding Earth.

After understanding all this, Xia Xinyan had one more curious question: “Does that mean there are no normal beings left in such worlds?”

“There might still be survivors,” Monica shook her head. “You have to know that life is always the most tenacious existence. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, life will seize that chance to survive. But in a world that has reached this point, even if a few beings manage to survive, it really won’t have much of an impact on the future of that world.”

Such worlds are already hopeless.

The idea of saving the world from apocalypse by one or two individuals, as depicted in some novels, is purely a fantasy. From what Monica has seen, every world reaching this degree of destruction ends up only with the remaining beings gradually extinguishing in despair, and then the entire world transforms into a true land of destruction.

“Aren’t you going to rescue those survivors?” Xia Xinyan’s expression showed confusion.

Monica merely smiled lightly: “We don’t have that much energy.”

Neither the investigation bureau nor entities above it could personally rescue the few remaining survivors from a world that has already perished. Because that would exceed the established rules, and those beings belong solely to those worlds. Even if you did rescue them, it would be hard to find a suitable place for them afterward.

This approach could be seen as nearly heartless, but it is the normal processing protocol. Already destroyed worlds will be banished to designated abandoned areas, and depending on circumstances, those worlds will be used to study methods for protecting normal worlds—essentially functioning as specimens. Many world protection mechanisms currently in place originated from the studies of these destroyed worlds.

This information left Xia Xinyan rather astonished.

She had always thought that beings such as gods would unconditionally help people in need.

However, after Monica’s explanation, it felt a bit more real.

So, if Earth were to succumb to this cataclysm despite their efforts, even if they were still alive by then, it would probably only be despair left.

It seemed not much different from her previous life—she hadn’t known there was a heaven beyond the world, only that Earth was doomed. So she exerted every effort to save it and resist the cataclysm. And even this life, knowing there are gods beyond the world, those gods won’t interfere in even the slightest; they would watch this world perish with wide eyes. Therefore, she must continue to resist the cataclysm with all her might, at least to secure a bit of hope for herself and those she cares about.

“If… we ultimately can’t withstand that destruction, will you lend a hand?” Xia Xinyan suddenly tilted her head and asked Monica.

In response, Monica pondered for a moment before giving a noncommittal answer: “That depends on the situation at the time, but best not to hold out hope—don’t forget, your world is a testing ground.”

Xia Xinyan smiled: “Alright, got it.”

“There’s no need to be too disheartened. I quite like this world; it resembles the one I lived in before. If possible, I wouldn’t want it to just disappear,” Monica shrugged. “But ultimately, it’s your matter, and you’ll still have to put in the effort.”

“We will.” Xia Xinyan sighed while watching Ling Mo’s silhouette. “We all will.”

Since her rebirth, there’s one question that has persisted in her mind—what on earth is the meaning of her rebirth?

But now, she had come to a conclusion.

She wants to save this world.

Not just for the sake of humanity, but at least for all the beautiful moments she once experienced, for those she cares about.

And… for herself.

And Ling Mo.