Chapter 595: Chapter 420: Undead Disaster_2
The two entered the tea room, and after taking their seats, Yara’s expression turned serious before she directly addressed him, "Zachary, what do you think about this disaster!"
Upon hearing Yara’s question, Dong Tianyu didn’t seem concerned and casually replied, "What’s there to think about? Just sit and watch. We’ve survived the extreme cold disaster with temperatures tens of degrees below zero. Now, the temperature outside is just about ten below zero, and at most, it’s a constant light snowfall. We’re not lacking food or drink, so we’ll just hang tight at home."
After hearing Dong Tianyu’s thoughts, Yara’s tone grew somewhat gloomy, "Hang tight at home? This disaster might not be as simple as you think.
Have you noticed that since the advent of the disaster, humanity seems to have entered a new round of evolution, with individual strengths continuously improving? That’s why we feel that the disasters are becoming easier to handle with each new occurrence.
But aside from the increase in human individual strength, the danger posed by each disaster to humanity is actually on the rise.
We feel the disasters are getting easier because the rate at which human strength is increasing far exceeds the pace at which the disaster’s power is intensifying.
To put it more plainly, take the inflation before the disaster, for example. Prices have been rising continuously, but so have the wages of the common people, at a rate faster than that of the price hikes. So no one really feels the impact of rising prices.
However, once the rate of price increases overtakes the rate of wage growth, it will be an unbearable disaster for most people.
Inflation can still be offset by savings, but an increase in the power of disasters could cost lives."
Hearing Yara’s words, Dong Tianyu could understand since he’d experienced a rebirth. The last time, his own strength had hardly improved, which is why he died unknowingly during the everlasting night. This time, his strength had increased much faster than ordinary people, making his life much more comfortable and pleasant.
At this moment, Dong Tianyu frowned and asked with a hint of suspicion, "If according to what you’re saying, every new disaster is more harmful to humanity than the last,
then this round of disaster can’t simply manifest as the current cold weather with light snow. After all, during the extreme cold disaster, the lowest temperatures neared a hundred degrees below zero."
Hearing Dong Tianyu’s words, Yara nodded, then took out a tablet, opened a video, and handed it to Dong Tianyu while saying, "You’re right. This is a field video I obtained through special channels. You’ll understand after watching it."
Although the video was silent, its completeness was high, from the skeletons emerging from soil as night fell to the melee between the skeletons at night and then all skeletons retreating underground at dawn—the entire process was thoroughly captured.
After watching the video, Dong Tianyu’s brow was deeply furrowed. The matter of the skeletons didn’t worry him, but the previous disaster had brought the Bug Race, and this disaster featured skeletons paired with cold snowy weather, sparking an ominous thought in his mind.
’Snow, skeletons, Undead Disaster, Ice Throne.’
The murmurs that unconsciously slipped from Dong Tianyu’s lips were soft, but Yara sitting opposite heard them loud and clear.
While Yara could comprehend the first two terms and make an association with the third one, the fourth term was beyond her understanding.
However, seeing Dong Tianyu’s subconscious expression, she knew that these terms were certainly related, so Yara quickly asked, "Zachary, do you know something, could you share this information with me?"
Upon hearing Yara’s question, Dong Tianyu suddenly snapped back to reality, but the previously unconscious expression had now turned unsightly.
Seeing Dong Tianyu’s expression, Yara thought that Dong Tianyu was unwilling to share information without reason and was about to offer to pay for it when Dong Tianyu opened his mouth and said:
"The first two terms probably don’t need my explanation. After watching the video, you’ll see what’s happening in the wild right now. The term Undead Disaster doesn’t need much elaboration either, as the name itself might suggest to you what it entails.
Undead doesn’t need much explanation from me either. Novels, movies, and TV shows have already made it very clear. As for the disaster part, we’ve been through so many of them that, based on the video, calling this one the Undead Disaster is quite fitting.
As for the Ice Throne, it’s from a biography I once read about a prince of a kingdom who, because a city suffered an epidemic, quarantined the city, trapping all inhabitants within... He drew the legendary divine artifact, Frost Mourning, and turned all of his loyal troops into undead skeletons, ultimately patriciding to seize the kingship," Dong Tianyu recounted.
Hearing this, Yara couldn’t immediately make the connection between this story and the current disaster.
Seeing the confusion in Yara’s eyes, Dong Tianyu explained, "Frost Mourning is actually a weapon that only the undead can wield. To pick it up and control it, one must be an entity of great power among the undead."
Hearing Dong Tianyu’s explanation, Yara seemed to have a realization and tentatively said, "Are you suggesting that the divine artifact, Frost Mourning, has appeared on Blue Star, and that is what caused this disaster?"
When Yara made this suggestion, Dong Tianyu waved his hand, "That’s not the case. According to what you said, even if the divine artifact were to descend upon Blue Star, it wouldn’t be now. After all, for Blue Star right now, that thing would be a BUG-level existence. If it appeared in the hands of any undead, we wouldn’t even need to resist. We could just commit suicide and turn into the undead instead."
Relieved by Dong Tianyu’s words, Yara grumbled, "If it’s not related, you shouldn’t have mentioned so much; you almost scared me to death just now."
After hearing Yara’s complaint, Dong Tianyu suddenly asked, "Do you know the four great disasters mentioned in novels?"
Caught off guard by Dong Tianyu’s sudden inquiry, Yara ventured a guess, "Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, wildfires?"
At Yara’s answer, a smile spread across Dong Tianyu’s face. Seeing the smile, Yara felt the urge to punch him but ultimately resisted, asking instead, "Then tell me, what exactly are the four great disasters?"
Facing Yara’s earnest question, Dong Tianyu didn’t tease any further and directly said, "The Contract of Rectitude, Void Demons and high-dimensional invasion."
After Dong Tianyu finished, Yara asked, somewhat puzzled, "Aren’t those only three disasters? What is the fourth disaster?"
"In the early days, there were indeed only three great disasters. The Contract of Rectitude represented the Mechanoid crisis, which is the so-called IA robot rebellion against humanity.
Void Demons don’t actually refer to demons, but to the creatures living in the void as well as the Bug Race. Those creatures from the void usually have appearances similar to the bugs, so they’re collectively known as the Void Demons.
The earliest representation of a high-dimensional invasion was the Burning Legion. This legion invaded other worlds through portals and, upon conquering a world, would transform it into an environment suitable for demonic life. As for what that specific environment is, think about the descriptions in novels or movies.
Those were the initial three great disasters, but with the passage of time and the prevalence of online gaming, the fourth disaster gradually emerged.
The fourth disaster is represented by players. If you consider an open-world game as a real world, then the players’ arrival, where they can gain immense strength just from killing and arson.
And even if the natives of the original world were to kill them, the players could respawn indefinitely. Think about it, isn’t the arrival of players in that world a disaster?
