Monsters Are Coming

Chapter 1384 - 360: Building a Nightmare Industry Chain in the Otherworld (Part 2)

Using indulgence and catharsis to prove they are still alive.They don’t lack survival resources; what they lack is the meaning to keep living.

Rumors about doomsday are flying everywhere, and no one knows when the next doomsday will arrive.

So they begin to indulge and seek pleasure, looking for thrills in what they perceive as a limited life.

They are like people trapped by invisible mental shackles, slowly sinking in a seemingly free cage.

Talking about the situation in this city, Guidance mentioned a period of ancient history on Earth.

It was stated that in the 1960s and 70s, just before the new Era of Earth began, there were similar societal phenomena.

The young at that time initiated an anti-mainstream cultural movement known as hippie culture.

A then powerful country on Earth, after experiencing a golden age of rapid economic growth, had a society rich in material wealth and an expanding middle class.

Mainstream society advocated consumerism, encouraging people to pursue material wealth, binding individual value to social status and material conditions.

The younger generation, who grew up in this comfortable environment, felt suffocated by this "standardized" life, believing it suppressed individuality and lacked freedom.

The spark that ignited rebellious emotions was a war at the time.

Casualties, conscription, and repression of anti-war protests exacerbated societal contradictions, prompting young people to express resistance by avoiding military service and protesting on the streets.

Coupled with the influence of the human rights movement at that time, it led to societal division.

Hippie culture was a complete rebellion against traditional values.

They detested the cruelty of war and the hypocrisy of society, attempting to reconstruct values through rebellion.

But this rebellion gradually veered towards spiritual hedonism and materialism, with young people indulging in drugs, spiritual exploration, and psychedelic rock, among other things.

The current state of this city bears many similarities to Earth’s hippie wave back then.

Both were borne out of collective nihilism amid confusion about the future.

The youth of long ago were swept by war and consumerism, while the residents here are trapped by the trauma of the End of Dharma Clan invasion and the fear of when the next doomsday will arrive.

The former countered nihilism with rebellion, the latter with indulgence and thrill-seeking.

Essentially, both are choices made when no spiritual outlet can be found.

In such an environment, material abundance instead becomes a catalyst.

The question of why to live keeps emerging.

So they began to numb their nerves with drugs, just like how the hippies sought thrills through drugs back then.

They vent their emotions recklessly on the streets, mirroring how the youth of that time broke societal shackles through protest marches.

Although they maintain the facade of technological civilization, it’s already been hollowed out by decadence.

The older generation anxiously clings to the old order, while the young choose indulgence and living in the moment; the values of the two generations are like parallel lines.

This societal state is, in fact, the spiritual confusion after the "disappearance of certainty."

Even though the End of Dharma Clan invasion has ended, this widescale disaster was like a heavy hammer, shattering all preconceived notions of a "stable future."

The once-undoubted survival logic and value systems have become shaky under the impact of doomsday.

All thoughts eventually lead to this: since the next doomsday could arrive at any time, what is the meaning of the current order, efforts, or even civilization itself?

When tomorrow shifts from controllable to unknown, people in the city fall into an extreme mental state.

Living in the moment becomes a way to dissolve anxiety. If the future is unknowable, they believe, why not grasp the present thrill, using sensory revelry to counter the void of existence?

This has a fundamental difference from Wei Shan’s previously laid out "New Cassini" city.

The residents of New Cassini live in a city of resource scarcity; they don’t dare to dream of a distant future, living in the moment is more important than anything.

However, the harsh survival environment forces them into a corner; resource scarcity hangs over them like a sword, keeping their attention fixed on where the next meal will come from and whether they can find a safe place to stay tonight.

They also constantly worry about the dangers brought by gang clashes.

A piece of compressed biscuit or a bottle of purified water can temporarily appease their hunger.

All residents have a clear goal, which is to strive to survive.

So they don’t have any nihilistic thoughts.

But this city beneath their feet is not short of resources; instead, it is filled with spiritual starvation.

The body’s needs are met, but the soul finds no soil to take root.

When survival no longer requires struggle, the meaning of living loses its most direct anchor.

Aside from indulgence, they can no longer find a more powerful way to prove they are alive.

During this period, the prevalence of doomsday rumors has amplified this core.

Each rumor about "doomsday return" keeps reinforcing uncertainty about the future.

Thus, society seems to fall into a vicious cycle.

The more confused they are, the more indulgent they become.

The more indulgent they are, the harder it is to find meaning.

The harder it is to find meaning, the more they rely on indulgence to numb themselves.

Contrasting the two cities, New Cassini’s residents are like trudging through the mud, with each step heavy and solid, and the desire to live fuels their progress.

The people here float in weightless space, seemingly free but without anything to cling to.

In the former’s environment, "survival" itself is the answer.

In the latter’s world, "why continue to live" is the biggest question.