Miss Rabbit did not answer the last question.
Raymond waited for a while, but seeing no response, he opened the door and left.
He clearly felt that Miss Rabbit knew something and equally clearly felt that she didn't want to tell him. Returning to his room, Raymond found Ben Mao playing with a ball of yarn, enjoying herself immensely. He couldn't help but envy her carefree nature. After petting the cat vigorously, he lazily sprawled out on the bed in a starfish position, lifted Ben Mao up high, and then placed her to the side.
"I say, dumb cat, what exactly is the Eight Sufferings?"
"Meow?"
"Could it be a thing?"
"Meow?"
"I feel like it sounds familiar..."
"Meow!"
"Sigh, forget it, pretend I didn't ask."
"Meow?"
"Why did I even ask you..."
"Meow..."
After this brilliant conversation, Raymond gave up. He felt that asking Ben Mao was quite silly.
But soon, he acted silly again: "Dumb cat, do you think Miss Rabbit next door is a bit malicious?"
"Meow?"
"She was the one who mentioned the Eight Sufferings, but she won't tell me the details." Raymond couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated. "I can sense that it's related to my memory."
If he could find out what the Eight Sufferings were, he might remember something important.
Additionally, Raymond noticed that when he mentioned his memory issues, Miss Rabbit's expression changed.
His intuition told him that she definitely knew something!
But she just wouldn't say.
"Meow meow!"
"You think she's malicious too?"
"Meow!"
"Sigh..." Raymond let out a long sigh. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, as if talking to himself, "Dumb cat, what's wrong with my memory?"
Raymond had only recently discovered the problem with his memory.
It wasn't that he was slow; it's just that the way his memory was deteriorating was strange. He wasn't forgetting everyday things or what he needed to do. It was just when he tried to recall the past that he found many things blurry.
The first time this happened was when he took Ben Mao and the annoying monkey out and wanted to find some music to educate the monkey. That day, he realized he couldn't remember the brand of the tape recorder he bought in middle school, even though his memory was usually excellent. He could remember many small things, but not that brand of the tape recorder he used to listen to Jay Chou's songs.
But it was just a trivial matter, and he didn't dwell on it. Over the days, though, when recalling the past, he found that he couldn't remember some things, but they were all minor and happened years ago. Even though he prided himself on his memory, he didn't expect to remember everything.
Forgetting some old, insignificant memories seemed normal.
So, he didn't think much of it.
As for dreams, having blurred faces in dreams was common.
Then the eerie rain came, and evolution began.
Raymond and Ben Mao moved to a new place, adapting to a new life. Though it wasn't as dangerous as it could be, it was definitely not as leisurely as before. With the new living arrangements, there were no familiar sights to trigger memories, so for over a month, Raymond rarely thought about the past, focusing on the present instead.
It was only recently, by chance, that he realized he couldn't remember many things!
Not just small things, but significant ones too.
For example, who his friends were, what his parents looked like—these were things he shouldn't forget.
Yet he was forgetting.
It wasn't that he had completely forgotten yet, but he knew that if it continued, it wouldn't be long before he did forget completely—forgetting who his friends were and what his parents looked like. It had only been a little over a year since humanity's extinction, and he wasn't at the age for dementia. This rate of memory loss was abnormal.
Raymond had considered if it was a side effect of resurrection.
But this explanation didn't quite fit because he remembered everything after humanity's extinction clearly, even trivial matters, and he hadn't had any issues with forgetfulness in daily life.
In other words, what he was forgetting were memories from before humanity's extinction.
So, it wasn't that his memory was getting worse, but more like "the past twenty-odd years of memories were disappearing from his mind."
Next door, in Miss Rabbit's room.
After Raymond left, she put the remaining bottles of yogurt in the fridge and then expertly took the remote from the TV cabinet and turned on the air conditioner.
"A six-thousand-year dream, finally coming to an end now." Miss Rabbit murmured as she slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside, the thunderstorm had subsided slightly, but the wind and rain continued.
In the area affected by the volcanic eruption, the rain quickly turned to steam upon hitting the hot lava and burning buildings, shrouding a large area in mist.
From a distance, it looked like a giant white beast lying down.
Miss Rabbit looked out and muttered to herself, "In this light, Little Grudge's 'Natural Calamity' is indeed remarkable. Disasters caused by 'Natural Calamity' and misfortunes by 'Man-made Disaster'—with a little guidance, even the forces of nature become her weapon, and disasters multiply like a chain reaction... In terms of destructive power, it is the greatest of the Eight Sufferings."
She stood there quietly, staring at the storm outside, lost in thought. "But the most troublesome are not 'Natural Calamity' and 'Man-made Disaster'..."
"To meet with those one does not wish to see—this is Resentment Meeting."
"That's the most basic and widespread application of Natural Calamity, and it's passive and uncontrollable..."
"The power to steer fate unknowingly... Little Grudge doesn't get along with others, so one day, Natural Calamity will lead the Eight Sufferings to converge here. But still..."
Thinking of this, Miss Rabbit's face showed a rare look of melancholy as if she was recalling some very old memories, the figure of someone roaring in anger. She sighed and said, "Azure Dragon, this time, you will die. I can't really kill Little Grudge. Even if she leaves here, what would that change?"
The room fell silent. After a long while, she murmured, "In the end... is this fate?"
Raymond thought that this city was probably doomed.
A few days ago, a volcanic eruption occurred, followed by a sudden typhoon. He thought things would calm down, but in the afternoon, a massive earthquake hit, followed by another volcanic eruption. At that moment, he really wondered if he was living on a volcanic belt!
In the days that followed, there were constant earthquakes, both big and small, and occasional volcanic eruptions, not just in the west of the city but everywhere. Fortunately, the Hanghai Grand Hotel where he stayed was unscathed. Though it suffered some damage, it didn't collapse. After all, it was the most luxurious hotel in the city, built with high-quality materials and high seismic standards.
Of course, Raymond hesitated about whether to move out temporarily. If the Hanghai Grand Hotel collapsed, the consequences would be far more severe than the collapse of a two- or three-story building. But in the end, he dismissed the idea. This place seemed to be considered Miss Rabbit's territory, and for over a month, he hadn't seen any other evolved beings enter. If he moved out, who knew where his enemies might come from!
Thinking this way, he decided it was better not to move. Moving might be more dangerous!
Fortunately, despite the frequent earthquakes, the Hanghai Grand Hotel stood firm.
"This hotel's construction quality is impressive; no complaints there," Raymond said as he tended to the carrots he planted, while Miss Rabbit checked the food supplies.
"Oh," Miss Rabbit responded blandly, showing no interest. Then she asked, "Can they be eaten now?"
"Any sensible person would tell you—"
Raymond shifted his tone, "—considering the current situation, it might be ready in a couple of days."
The pots used for planting carrots came from large planters in the hotel. Due to long-term neglect, the ornamental plants in the pots had died, and the soil was dry. Raymond pulled out the dead plants, gathered some rainwater, moistened the soil, and planted carrot seeds.
Initially, he was just trying it out of boredom, not expecting the seeds to sprout. But the carrot seeds sprouted the next day, despite the poor soil and lighting conditions in the hotel corridor. Now, they were nearly mature, growing at rocket speed.
Raymond guessed the cause of this abnormal growth was the thin evolutionary substances in the air.
"If growing vegetables was this easy back then, I wouldn't have missed out on eating them before," he thought, recalling the time his vegetable garden was ruined by an evolution incident just before harvest. He asked Miss Rabbit, "Have you been out these past few days?"
"Yes, to find some food," Miss Rabbit replied, eyes fixed on the almost mature carrots. "But soon, there will be no need to go out."
Raymond: "???"
She's planning to stay home?!
"Ben Mao and I went out a few times too, but we didn't go far. We came back immediately after finding food," Raymond said.
"Because of the fog?" Miss Rabbit asked.
"Yes," Raymond replied. "Looking out from the window now, you can't see the state of the city at all. Besides the frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions, the typhoon raged for several days, which, though it stopped the spread of fires, created a massive amount of fog. The entire city is shrouded in white mist. Without Ben Mao's help, it's impossible to distinguish people from dogs more than a meter away. Moreover, the city is now full of ruins, making it almost impossible to move around. Under these conditions, vision is severely limited, and one must rely more on hearing, smell, and intuition, increasing the danger of going out. In such poor visibility, the modern weapons Raymond usually relied on were useless. Because of the danger, he would return immediately after finding food, without lingering."
However, opportunities often accompany crises. After a series of disasters, who knows how many evolved beings have died in this city? Their number is probably beyond estimation. Raymond was considering whether to explore thoroughly. Thinking of the city's current state, he couldn't help but sigh. "I estimate that when the fog clears, we will see a completely devastated city."
"Oh," Miss Rabbit responded flatly, her expression unchanged. This outcome didn't surprise her.
To put it simply, after Little Grudge triggered the dormant volcanoes underground, the deep crust became uncontrollable. "Natural Calamity" is a troublesome ability. It's synonymous with misfortune and disaster, and once started, it's hard to stop. Both "natural disasters" and "man-made calamities" often cause collateral damage.
However, because Little Grudge is timid and weak, this ability hasn't caused too much disaster.
Killing some evolved beings and destroying a city—is that a big deal?! If "Natural Calamity" were in the hands of someone like Song Song, the world could be destroyed at any time.
"So, how about leaving here and living elsewhere?" Miss Rabbit suddenly asked.
Raymond looked at her in surprise, "This is the second time you've mentioned this to me."
She had said the same thing two days ago.
From what he knew of her, repeating the same suggestion twice wasn't her style. Miss Rabbit fell silent for a moment, then said, "Forget it, it's useless."
Her words were vague, and after saying them, she left without further explanation, leaving Raymond puzzled. But he increasingly felt that the rabbit living next door was somewhat strange. Especially after they went out together and then separated; he didn't know what she encountered, but her behavior had been odd since she returned, clearly hiding something from him.
Raymond sometimes even wondered if Miss Rabbit was really a Chosen One.
But if she wasn't, who was she?
Besides, didn't she say she had obtained a meteorite fragment? Weren't those who got meteorite fragments Chosen Ones?
Did she lie to me back then?
That didn't make sense. Why would she lie?
At this moment, the idea of meeting other Chosen Ones popped into Raymond's mind again, and once it did, it became an urgent desire.