Chapter 446 Return to Earth - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

Su Miao found herself dreaming. In her dream, she was with her grandparents, father, and mother, all gathered around enjoying a New Year's Eve dinner together, their faces beaming with happiness. She dreamt of her former school, witnessing a sports day event, with the school playground bustling with classmates, each one glowing with joy. Soon after, the scene shifted to an internet café. It was her first visit to such a place, and apprehensive about unwanted attention, she planned to play for just an hour before leaving. However, the game she played was so captivating that she lost track of her surroundings, becoming fully engrossed in her virtual conquests. Originally, there were people intending to strike up a conversation with Su Miao. But seeing her so deeply immersed and battling through the game, they hesitated and decided to steer clear instead. Perhaps because she was having so much fun, Su Miao dreamt of becoming a character within the game, adventuring in the game world, and fighting off bosses... "Su Miao jie jie." "Su Miao jie jie." Somewhere, the voices of Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu called out to her. Awakened by the sound, Su Miao opened her eyes and looked around, but Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu were nowhere in sight. She was in a high tower, where there was a table and two chairs. A young woman with splendid shoulder-length auburn hair sat at the table. Her long dress was adorned with countless stars that appeared to shimmer. Her every move was sheer elegance. "A noble lady," Su Miao judged silently in her heart. "You're awake." "Please, sit. I just brewed this tea." The golden-haired witch invited her, "It smells lovely; everyone loves it." Su Miao rose, approached the table, and took a seat. Without any suspicion, she picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea's flavor was exquisite, invigorating Su Miao with just one sip. "It tastes good," Su Miao remarked, setting the cup down and asking curiously, "Where is this place?" "The Starcaster's Tower," the golden-haired witch replied. "You may call me Starcaster." "Doomsday Witch?" Su Miao frowned slightly. Since when had she acquired such a title? The Starcaster observed her expression and said, "It seems you don't favor that name. How about Starlight Witch or Void Witch?" Su Miao shook her head. "You can just call me Su Miao." The Starcaster was silent for a moment. "Alright, though I cannot reveal my name." Su Miao said, "That's okay. Why am I here?" The Starcaster explained, "I passed by the River of Chaos and saw you peacefully asleep in its waters. I hauled you out. I never thought there'd be a witch napping there, but maybe 'Chaos Witch' is fitting for you." Su Miao was silent for a brief moment and did not reject the new title. Reflecting on her rest inside the River of Chaos, she recalled past events. During the destruction of the Star Sea Realm, she had depleted nearly all her energy. Subsequently, faced with the final strike by the Great Emperor of the Abyss of the Star Sea and the Great Emperor of Heaven Inquiry, she was cast into the River of Chaos. Before falling into the river, Su Miao had confirmed the destruction of both Emperors. With the Star Sea Realm lost as well, she could rest assuredly in the River of Chaos. A book materialized before the Starcaster, and she wrote "Chaos Witch Su Miao" in it with a pen that appeared in her hand. In that instant, Su Miao felt a thread of fate link her to the Starcaster. "You can see?" The Starcaster seemed slightly surprised. "Don't worry, it's just a connection between us; I hold no malice." Su Miao nodded, unperturbed. Indeed, she could see, but her focus was on the laws she observed. As for any malintent, she had already discerned there was none from Starcaster. If harm was intended, there was no need to wait for Su Miao to awaken. "I think it's time I returned." Having finished the tea, Su Miao spoke. The Starcaster said, "Alright, until next time." A pathway emerged in the void, leading directly to Earth's universe. "Thank you," Su Miao expressed her gratitude to the Starcaster, stepped into the portal, and vanished. Upon her return to the cosmos, as Su Miao was about to enter the River of Time to head back to Earth, an overwhelming influx of messages from countless dying universes came to her awareness. These messages conveyed their impending doom and beseeched integration with Earth's universe as a gesture of thanks. Though remnants of them were scant, after merging, they would be crucial in restoring Earth's universe and could significantly enhance its overall quality. For instance, inhabitants of Earth's universe with sufficient conditions might gain substantially longer lifespans. However, should Su Miao refuse, they'd have no choice but to succumb to chaos. The worlds, losing their universal protection, would also be devoured one by one by chaos. Poised in Earth's universe's void, Su Miao questioned, "Is it enough for me to just agree?" The will of Earth's universe responded with a subtle fluctuation, indicating assent to Su Miao. "Alright, I agree," Su Miao decided. Immediately, stars blazed forth, and on the periphery of the universe, numerous collapsing universes began self-fusion. This also caused Earth's universe's River of Chaos to expand boundlessly. Su Miao gazed beyond her universe. She hadn't anticipated that her simple consent would stir such significant upheaval in the chaos. Thankfully, not every universe necessitated merging; otherwise, countless universes devastated by the Star Sea Realm's calamity would amalgamate, creating an unimaginable chaos. However, some universes were so fundamentally damaged that their chances of fusion dwindled. Nonetheless, before their dissolution, they relinquished their universe essences. These essences sailed along the chaos on a special course, eventually drifting to Earth's universe and becoming absorbed into it. Satisfied there were no issues, Su Miao embarked on the River of Time, setting her course for Earth. In reality, when she encountered the Starcaster, she had wanted to inquire. How long had she slumbered in the River of Chaos? That question troubled her. However, when the moment to ask came, Su Miao decided against voicing it. Returning to Earth would provide all the answers she needed. ... On Earth, the landscape was cloaked in silver. Underneath an ancient, towering tree stood a three-story alloy villa. Once a restricted zone, this place was reputedly the abode of the witch, Su Miao. However, rumors spread that the witch wasn't currently residing here, and many years had passed without a glimpse of her. This prompted some bold individuals to establish campsites in the more distant areas from the villa. Gradually, these camps grew in number, evolving into a small town. The small town further developed into a larger settlement. The post-apocalyptic environment was incredibly harsh—temperatures soared and plummeted, seismic activities, floods, cyclones, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and plagues of mutated insects or beasts could strike at any time. Yet, this place was different.   With the alloy villa's monumental tree generating a zone of temperate climate, compared to the unpredictable and perilous world outside, this was paradise. Of course, it wasn't absolutely safe. Anyone attempting to defile the alloy villa or wreak havoc on the environment would face the wrath of the guardian mutant tree. Moreover, the three girls residing in the alloy villa would not hesitate to take lethal action. However, they would not kill without reason. This gave others a sense of security because the girls only rid the world of those who truly deserved it. "Jiu Jiu, you're looking in the mirror again." Xia Xiao An, cradling a book, stood in the living room, teasing Lin Jiu Jiu for her fixation with the mirror. Lin Jiu Jiu replied, "Xiao An, don’t you ever worry about your own looks?" Xia Xiao An retorted, "Alright, alright, I get it. We look 17 every day." Lin Jiu Jiu protested, "Xiao An, are you reading my mind again?" Xia Xiao An said, "Jiu Jiu, do I even need to read minds for that? Ask Luo Li if you don’t believe me." Su Luo Li, emerging sleepily from her room, yawned at the early-morning vanity conversation between Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu. "Aren’t you both eternally 17? What's there to worry about?" Lin Jiu Jiu said, "I'm afraid Su Miao jie jie won't recognize me when she comes back, if I’ve changed too much." Xia Xiao An paused for a moment, took a mirror from her spatial storage, checked her reflection to ensure nothing was amiss, then quickly put it back. The last time they saw Su Miao jie jie was thirty years ago, and during those thirty years, they've been waiting. Waiting for Su Miao jie jie to return, to call their names, to pat their heads. At first, they fretted over whether they'd grow too quickly, and Su Miao jie jie might not recognize them. But after a while, Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu discovered their appearances were frozen at 16 and 17 years old, never changing. But when would Su Miao jie jie return? They longed to tell her that, whether in martial arts or abilities, they could now actually fly. To what level exactly, even they weren’t certain. Moreover, in recent years, apocalyptic natural disasters had diminished, global temperatures were starting to warm, and it seemed the end of the apocalypse was near, with Earth’s survivors cheering in relief. If there was any issue, it was that after Earth connected with the Inner World, a variety of bizarre creatures began invading Earth. However, under the apocalyptic devastation, these peculiar creature invasions were minor inconveniences. Many strange creatures were culled by natural disasters without human intervention. Alternatively, they inadvertently trespassed into a mutant animal’s nest and were torn apart. In some senses, Earth’s ecosystem was even harsher than the Inner World’s. "Did Su Miao jie jie succeed?" Noticing these phenomena, Lin Jiu Jiu and Xia Xiao An were very curious and eager to know. They waited a long time but received no news. “Stop admiring your reflection. Today we need to head to Shelter No. 1. Major General Qin Long Zhang is waiting for us,” stated Xia Xiao An. Lin Jiu Jiu responded, “Got it, got it.” Su Luo Li, still sleepily, turned to go back to her room for more rest. But Xia Xiao An called her out directly, “Luo Li, you’re going too this time. Don’t forget, you’re an important representative of the Yao tribe.” She emphasized the word "Yao tribe" heavily. The reason wasn’t trivial. After Su Miao left Earth, Su Luo Li essentially became completely unrestrained. Especially during a period when Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu were at Shelter No. 1 honing their mech piloting skills, Su Luo Li took the opportunity to wander about. On her adventures, she befriended many emperor-level mutant animals, shared her knowledge, spread the word about the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," and handed out various novels, enlightening them. During this time, mutant animals learned the term “Yao tribe.” Consequently, the rankings of emperor and king levels were replaced with Yao King and Yao Emperor. Mutant animals gained new identities, now called the Yao tribe. Previously, mutant animals were disorganized, unstructured; if they clashed with humans, missiles or nukes would eventually be effective. However, after Su Luo Li's educational endeavors, the "Yao tribe" began to show organization. Things got tricky. This time, Shelter No. 1's meeting aimed to plan the rehabilitation of some major cities. The plan seemed fine initially, but surveys revealed major issues for Shelter No. 1. Part of the city ruins they were aiming to restore had become Yao tribe territory. If humans entered without warning, they’d be attacked. Acknowledging the increasing intelligence of many in the Yao tribe, Shelter No. 1 decided dialogue was necessary. Some in the Yao tribe agreed to talk, but others were defiant, protesting vehemently, even demanding humans hand over Witch Irena (Feng Xiao Shi) for execution, or they wouldn’t cooperate. This was partly due to Su Luo Li’s influence. When Irena heard the mutant animals rebranded as the Yao tribe, she was curious if they had cores similar to those in mythical legends. Thus, Irena ventured into various Yao tribe territories, dissecting some Yao Kings and Yao Emperors for research. Her studies confirmed these beings had certain cores, but those differed from those in traditional tales, suggesting they were a new Yao tribe variant. Upon publication, Yao tribe factions harbored unprecedented animosity toward Irena. They vented threats and sought revenge in various forms. Yet, there were few genuine attempts at retaliation. Such matters demanded attention at the upcoming gathering. Su Luo Li wore an innocent look, detesting the idea of attending meetings. “Jiu Jiu, get the Twelve Ministers to handle this. Why drag me into it?” She didn't want to go. As she pondered a quick escape, Su Luo Li glanced out the window and froze. “Her Highness Su Miao! She's back!” Su Luo Li was overwhelmed with excitement. “You've pulled this trick countless times before. It’s not going to work,” Xia Xiao An said while holding onto Su Luo Li’s collar to prevent an escape. Lin Jiu Jiu positioned herself to block any attempts at retreat, just in case. But raising her head, she too saw that familiar figure. This time, it wasn’t a false alarm. “Xiao An, Jiu Jiu, Luo Li, long time no see.” Su Miao appeared in the room, affectionately ruffling the hair of Xia Xiao An, Lin Jiu Jiu, and Su Luo Li. Among the three, only Su Luo Li seemed considerably older, while Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu remained unchanged since before. Looking outside the metallic villa at the transformed cityscape suggested to her she hadn’t been away from Earth too long. She felt relieved. “Su Miao jie jie!” Xia Xiao An, Lin Jiu Jiu, and Su Luo Li were overwhelmed with emotion. They threw themselves at Su Miao, tears beginning to stream. Su Miao gently comforted each of them with a touch and a smile. Suddenly, her eyes caught the electronic clock in the living room, and she stared at the date displayed in disbelief. June 19, 2159? She had been away from Earth for over thirty years? (End of Chapter)