Chapter 205: Chapter 201: The Master of the Void Descends
Without its master, the mountain-sized corpse tide began to writhe unconsciously.
Countless limbs, driven by the instincts of their former owners, tried to move in every direction. They only got in each other’s way, causing the entire mass to collapse with a thunderous crash. Like a giant worm, it flailed its limbs but couldn’t move an inch.
Countless mouths surfaced on the corpse tide, letting out shrill wails and speaking chaotic, meaningless words.
None of the zombies fused into the corpse tide could ever break free. Even if they could, they could never become human again.
The Evil Spirit Virus’s transformation of the brain was akin to a degenerative disease—it was completely irreversible.
They had become a pack of beasts, a group of pitiful monsters.
But soon, they would no longer have to endure this torment in chaos.
The massive Gray Tide had already closed in the sky above Tokyo, forming a giant metal cocoon that completely enveloped the corpse tide before compressing toward its center.
The corpse tide was rapidly consumed and assimilated, with no more electromagnetic pulses to interfere.
Soon, the massive Gray Tide transformed into gentle waves, spreading out in all directions.
The place where the corpse tide had been was now completely empty, with nothing left behind.
All of Tokyo had been turned into a smooth, mirror-like surface, with no trace of its former buildings or landmarks.
Zombies in the distance, still answering the corpse tide’s previous summons, continued to approach. The moment they touched the ground covered by the Gray Tide, they were instantly consumed and converted.
After a few minutes of calm, the Gray Tide began to decompose, turning into a powder of organic matter and metallic elements.
The yellow virus spore mist was compressed and forced deep underground.
From the sky, it looked as if a massive, silver-gray lake was transforming into a stretch of dark-brown, fertile soil.
Night had fallen. By midnight, the entire Gray Tide had completely vanished, leaving behind only a vast, flat land of dark brown particles.
Buildings, roads, vehicles, electronics, traffic lights, zombies—everything was gone.
It was as if the megalopolis that had stood for centuries had never existed, as if the terrifying scene of a zombie apocalypse had never happened.
It all seemed like a fleeting dream.
The typhoon had passed, the moisture receded. The last of the fierce winds finally tore open the thick, dark clouds, exposing present-day Tokyo to the satellites converging on its orbital path.
The entire world erupted.
Everyone had expected to see a hopeless wasteland teeming with zombies—the very nest of the Evil Spirit Virus.
Although cloud cover and intense electromagnetic interference had previously obscured their view, data analysis had led them to a terrifying conclusion: an extremely powerful creature had likely emerged there, one that existing human forces would be powerless to stop.
If this creature were to leave the Tokyo Epidemic Zone, it could trigger a global extinction event.
The plan to level Tokyo with nuclear weapons had already been put back on the table by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. It was rumored that a certain major East Asian power had already opened several of its nuclear missile silos, ready to launch at a moment’s notice.
But now... it was completely empty. There was nothing there!
The Self-defense Force and the Eagle Army stationed in East Japan, gathered at the northern and southern defense lines, were shocked to discover something. The zombies that had been relentlessly attacking their positions had all turned toward Tokyo, and then vanished without a trace.
In the command center of the Epidemic Prevention Force, East Japan’s acting Prime Minister Yoshikawa Hiroshi stared at the satellite reconnaissance report in his hands, unable to believe his eyes.
Tokyo... was gone!
As if it had never existed in the first place!
"Prime Minister Yoshikawa, the electromagnetic interference has dissipated. We can now use drones to survey the Tokyo Epidemic Zone."
"Survey it immediately!"
Several drones that had been circling the Japanese Archipelago were immediately deployed, heading for the Tokyo Epidemic Zone.
Soon, night-vision footage from the Tokyo Epidemic Zone appeared on the main screen in the Epidemic Prevention Force command center.
As the drones passed over the Shizuoka-Nagoya defense line, everything looked the same as before. Within the desolate city, the occasional figure of a wandering zombie could be seen.
All was normal.
But upon reaching the edge of Tokyo, the scene that unfolded before their eyes stunned everyone into silence.
Without any transition, the concrete-covered city abruptly gave way to a flat, dark-brown plain!
A flat expanse of dark-brown soil now occupied the space where the great metropolis of Tokyo once stood.
The original city, along with the tens of millions of zombies within it, had truly vanished.
There was no powerful corpse tide, no all-destroying nuclear strike. The worst-case scenario was not going to happen.
Yoshikawa Hiroshi’s whole body trembled. He could no longer suppress his emotions as two streams of joyful tears ran down his face.
The buildings were gone, but they could be rebuilt. With the strength East Japan still possessed, it was severely weakened but not destroyed as a nation.
But if the Tokyo area had been subjected to a nuclear saturation strike, then everything truly would have been over.
’As for who destroyed the corpse tide... there’s no doubt about it. It had to be the Commander’s work!’
’Only the Commander could have accomplished this.’
’I just wonder what hardships and suffering he must have endured to do it.’
Yoshikawa Hiroshi wished he could enter the Virtual World of the True Apocalypse Game right now and kneel before the Commander to express his gratitude.
Although his humble prostration could never repay even a tiny fraction of the Commander’s kindness, it was the only way he could express his feelings at this moment.
But now was not the time to seek out the Commander. Although the vast majority of the corpse tide in East Japan’s epidemic zone had been annihilated, millions of scattered zombies still roamed the peripheral areas.
He had to command the Epidemic Prevention Force to eliminate these zombies, completely clear the entire infected zone, and reassure the survivors of East Japan.
At this thought, Yoshikawa Hiroshi wiped his red, swollen eyes with a handkerchief, took a deep breath, and said:
"Notify the heads of all divisions to advance into the Tokyo Epidemic Zone immediately! Exterminate every last zombie and reclaim the area!"
Within the command center’s surveillance system, the Consciousness Antennae of Shen Feng and Jingwei were whispering to each other:
"Shen Feng, you turned Tokyo to dust. Aren’t you worried the Japanese will hate you for it? Look, that acting Prime Minister, Yoshikawa Hiroshi, is crying his eyes out..."
"Don’t worry. Not only will they not hate me, they’ll be incredibly grateful. Those are tears of gratitude. He’ll probably want to kowtow to me."
"Tsk, tsk. Human emotions are so damn strange. Looks like this big sister AI still needs to do some more learning..."
Seeing that the situation in East Japan was mostly under control, Shen Feng said quickly,
"Alright, enough about that. Yamaguchi Sora’s brain is in a Cultivation Pod right now, but it could collapse at any moment. We have to extract his memories as quickly as possible!"
Although they had dealt with the source of the virus, and the most immediate danger was gone for now, there was another problem. Yamaguchi Sora had previously commanded zombies across the globe to spray the Evil Spirit Virus spore mist, causing infections on a massive scale.
According to Jingwei’s statistics, five hundred million people worldwide had been infected by the toxic mist. Many megacities, including New York, had been blanketed by it, leading to city-wide infections.
Adding in the previous latent carriers of the Evil Spirit Virus, the total number of infected people was close to eight hundred million.
Everyone had now been injected with a replica of the Antiviral Serum, so they wouldn’t turn into zombies right away. However, the serum’s effects would only last for seven days.
After seven days, these infected individuals would once again become terrifying zombies, spreading the virus to the remaining survivors.
And this time, everyone would be resistant to the Antiviral Serum. The catastrophe of the Evil Spirit Virus would happen all over again.
Human civilization was still on the brink of collapse!
Furthermore, the Master of the Void, who had just been mysteriously forced to retreat, could very well return to this world!
The crisis was far from over!
In the Virtual Space of True Apocalypse Game 1.0, inside a laboratory at the CDC of the Gray Tide Apocalypse Capital, a group of elite medical experts were still working tirelessly to develop a Healing Potion.
After their previous coordination, these doctors had begun to completely share their information and resources.
Of course, even though they had revealed their real-world identities within the True Apocalypse Game, they were still sharing information through the virtual reality system to prevent any leaks.
After receiving the incredible reports about the current situation in the Tokyo Epidemic Zone, the doctors’ initial joy gave way to an even greater solemnity. They began to race against the clock.
Others might not understand, but they, the elites of the medical world, knew exactly how dire the Evil Spirit Virus infection had become.
The Commander had already done more than enough; now it was their turn to fight.
Seven days!
They now had less than seven days!
The complexity of the Evil Spirit Virus far exceeded anyone’s imagination. They had to race against time, race against Death itself!
...
"Present, past, future, existence, nothingness, eternity—"
The mad roars continued, echoing like waves. The very earth trembled. Gusts of scorching wind carried the sweet stench of blood, as if he were in a hell made of blood.
’I... Where am I?’
Yamaguchi Sora slowly opened his eyes. He found himself sitting on a massive throne of white bone, perched atop the peak of Mount Fuji.
The sky was filled with blood-red clouds and dust. On the ground below, crimson lava flowed like a river.
Countless zombies stood around his throne, stretching to the horizon like a veritable ocean of the dead.
The zombies stood motionless, their eyes black pits and their mouths agape. The roars he had just heard were coming from them.
Before the throne, a dense crowd knelt. They were the rich and powerful from all over the world, and conspicuously among them were the patriarchs of East Japan’s five great political families.
The looks they gave him were filled with fawning adoration and fear.
On his throne, many beautiful and enchanting young women fawned over him, coiling around him like snakes.
He looked up. A dark portal hung in midair, and through it, the will of the Master of Nothingness descended, bit by bit, about to fully arrive in this world.
With just a single glance, Yamaguchi Sora could feel that powerful will’s approval and satisfaction with him.
A flicker of confusion crossed Yamaguchi Sora’s eyes.
’I... succeeded?’
’The Master of the Void has descended?’