NOVEL SIMPLE 0061 – Zoe’s Aspirations
"Actually, I didn't intend to go this hard on you."
"It's mainly because you ran too fast, and I instinctively stopped you."
As the black bear awoke, it was greeted by these mutterings. It didn't understand the words, but it recognized the familiar voice. Opening its eyes, it saw the face that made its teeth itch with annoyance. It wanted to bite her, but instead, it restrained itself.
Zoe noticed the black bear was awake and continued testing her Killing Intent Wave Fist on the surrounding trees. After chasing and knocking out the black bear for the second time, Zoe hadn't gone far. She stayed nearby, experimenting on the plants.
After testing her Killing Intent Wave Fist on the black bear, she casually decided to try it on the forest vegetation as well. However, as before, the results were inconclusive. The Killing Intent Wave Fist seemed to have little to no effect on plants. Apart from her powerful punches that sent splinters flying, the killing intent itself appeared useless against the flora.
It seemed that the killing intent had no discernible impact on plants, possibly due to their inability to perceive emotions. The external manifestations of plants made it hard to determine if the killing intent had any influence. Even when the killing intent was concentrated in her fists, it was merely easier to control but didn't transform in any significant way.
This exercise was purely for fun. Despite her ability to release killing intent remotely, Zoe engaged in this futile play simply for amusement. The killing intent showed no substantial change in properties. It remained ineffective against plants, or at least its effects were not visible. The simple physiological structure of plants might make any influence difficult to detect promptly.
To truly investigate the impact of killing intent on plants, long-term experiments with control groups might be necessary. This could involve growing several plants from seedlings and observing their growth and development over an extended period to see if killing intent had any long-term effects.
After reaching this conclusion, Zoe ceased her assault on the innocent trees. She glanced at the black bear, which, although awake, dared not move recklessly and only watched her warily.
Zoe smiled wryly and said, "Although it only made my control over killing intent smoother, without you taking a beating, I might not have realized it so quickly."
"Come on, I'll take you to eat something good."
With that, she grabbed the black bear by the neck and led it in a certain direction. The black bear offered no resistance. At this point, it had no will to fight back and allowed Zoe to manipulate it, following her reluctantly into a dense forest.
In the black bear's frightened eyes, Zoe picked up a stone shard and threw it with precision, slicing a beehive on a tree in half. The swarm of bees instantly poured out in fury.
The black bear's eyes widened in panic, ready to flee. While bears love honey, they know to run after knocking down a hive and only return to eat once the bees have dispersed. Even though bee stings might not penetrate their thick fur, the pain still made them howl in discomfort.
But with Zoe holding its neck, the black bear's frantic pawing at the ground only resulted in it running in place. It scraped away several layers of the forest floor's rich humus.
The black bear glanced desperately at Zoe beside it, just as it was about to resign itself to its fate.
The angry swarm of bees suddenly fell to the ground, lifeless.
It was as if an EMP blast had been unleashed, causing the fighter jets swarming the skies to crash instantaneously. The buzzing sound around them fell silent in an instant. All that remained was a carpet of bees on the ground, a testament to the urgency of the situation moments ago.
Zoe's killing intent had swiftly and efficiently cleared away the minor threats. Now, with her refined control, she could weaken her killing intent to merely stun the bees temporarily. Observing the bewildered black bear, Zoe walked over to the fallen half of the beehive, shook out the unconscious bees, and stuffed the beehive into the bear’s mouth.
Watching the black bear chew in a daze, Zoe remarked, "Leaving half the hive and just stunning the bees—this is what we call sustainable development."
Without waiting to see if the black bear understood, she gripped its neck again and headed in another direction. Truth be told, she had grown quite fond of this endearingly clueless and pitiful bear. Treating such a formidable creature as a pet was immensely entertaining for Zoe.
Just eating honey wasn’t enough.
Unknowingly, the day passed.
Zoe lay on an outcrop of a mountain, with a now rotund black bear beside her. The bear's expression had transformed from fear to sheer contentment, having been fed all day, and it now basked in a lazy serenity.
Resting her hand casually on the bear's shoulder, Zoe gazed at the sky, which was gradually painted with the colors of the sunset. A glimmer of contentment flashed in her eyes. The evening sky blazed like fire, and the treetops in the distance glowed a brilliant red under the twilight.
To be honest, sitting here, petting a black bear, and watching such a scene was something the old Zoe could never have imagined. Today had been unprecedented.
In a vague, profound way, Zoe sensed the meaning of life. People often say that life has no inherent meaning, or that one must seek out that meaning. Some live without knowing why, simply because others around them are alive.
Zoe had never consciously pursued the meaning of her existence, but in this moment, it suddenly dawned on her—what could that meaning be? Perhaps her ultimate evolution would lead her to move mountains and chase the sun, pluck stars and grasp the moon like a peeble to a man. Maybe one day, she would float beyond Earth’s atmosphere, embracing the sun like a deity.
But in the meantime, during this evolutionary journey, she wanted to try various professions in the world and experience lives she had never lived. She wished to wander the cities, exploring their quiet streets in the dead of night. She's interested on all knowledge accumulated by humankind. She wanted to challenge extremes, to try the most daring sports and activities.
She longed to appreciate nature, to pet big cats, climb high mountains, and dive deep into the oceans and trenches. She wanted to ride a blue whale across the vast seas, to traverse jungles alongside tigers, and to conquer the plains atop a pride of lions.
After a few more evolutions, once she had enough power to protect herself, she wanted to see the world in all of its beauty and ugliness.
Closing her eyes, she listened to the chirping of insects she had spared from her killing intent. Zoe felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.
Time flowed slowly. As midnight approached and the date turned to February 8th, a familiar yet strange wave of drowsiness washed over her. This was her scheduled seven-day sleep.
Having anticipated this, Zoe simply adjusted herself into a comfortable position and nestled into the black bear’s embrace.
At this moment, her fourth evolution began.
For a better future, Zoe eagerly awaited each of her evolutionary slumbers.
