Chapter 212: Chapter 208: True Apocalypse Game Resurgence
The signal that appeared at the last second brought information about the key compound for the Inconstancy Potion.
As for the signal’s source, Shen Feng had initially thought it came from the True Apocalypse Game wristband, but he ultimately discovered the device was still off and completely unresponsive.
The signal’s source was also very close by. It wasn’t the wristband; it came from the study!
Aside from some of Shen Feng’s books and study materials, the only other thing in the study was that stone statue!
Meanwhile, according to Jingwei’s check, an electronic signal had briefly appeared in a corner of the study.
It was extremely faint, yet strong enough for the virtual reality system to receive.
Precisely where Ji Jiuyun’s stone statue was located!
After witnessing the "one is a billion, a billion is one" scene at the undersea statue ruins, Shen Feng now had no problem accepting that the statue could emit a signal.
He had originally brought the statue back with only a vague sense that it might be useful, or simply as a memento. He never imagined that he would now actually receive its help!
As Shen Feng spoke, he stared intently into the statue’s eyes. At the same time, the Nanomechanical Cluster had already silently covered the surface of his body so he could handle any sudden developments.
’After all, that "one is a billion, a billion is one" entity was clearly bad news. Even though Ji Jiuyun’s statue provided the key compound for the Inconstancy Potion, who knows what its real objective is.’
However, to his slight disappointment, nothing happened.
The statue before him didn’t crack a smile, shake off its dust, and come to life, nor did it emit any thought waves to communicate with him.
It was as if this were merely a stone statue.
Shen Feng stared a while longer, mobilizing his Silicon-Based Brain to continuously project his own thought waves at the statue of the girl before him, but he still received no response.
’It’s just a rock.’
The golden retriever circled the statue’s feet, glancing between the statue and Shen Feng, its eyes full of confusion and worry, as if it thought there might be something wrong with Shen Feng’s head.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Feng said to the statue before him,
"Pardon the intrusion."
He then reached out, took one of its fingers, and squeezed gently.
It was still a hard texture, the unmistakable feel of stone.
He then continued his inspection up the arm. The wrist, the forearm, the shoulder, the face, and the hair—all remained unchanged.
It still felt like stone, incredibly hard.
Then, with a frown, he reached out and felt the statue’s chest. It was still incomparably hard.
Lifting his head again to meet the statue girl’s "gaze," Shen Feng couldn’t help but blush.
"WOOF WOOF!" Da Jinzi, at his side, barked twice in curiosity, tilting its head as it watched the young man before it, utterly perplexed.
Shen Feng suddenly snapped to his senses, cursing himself internally. ’What a fucking idiot! Blushing at a statue? Seriously?!’
’This is insane!’
"Tsk tsk, I never would have thought. Our little Xiaofeng is hitting puberty..." Just then, a slightly coy voice came from behind him.
Shen Feng spun around to see Jingwei standing there in a maid outfit with a short skirt. Covering her face in a parody of shyness, she continued,
"A young man may be hard, but he’s not harder than a rock. The saying ’sincerity can pierce metal and stone’ was talking about an Arrow. Are you so desperate you’re not being picky? How about this? Your big sister can give you some money. You could go to Peach Blossom Street downtown. Around midnight, some human females with ’sprained ankles’ show up there, in dire need of your rescue..."
Shen Feng facepalmed, his expression darkening. "Where did you even learn all this? Can’t you learn something wholesome for a change? ... Have you found anything else regarding the statue’s signal?"
Jingwei’s expression turned serious as she said,
"Nothing. That’s the strangest part! The signal’s appearance was extremely abrupt, yet it bypassed the Virtual Reality Space’s encrypted firewall and materialized directly inside. I later scanned the statue’s internal structure but found nothing unique. It seems to be just a rock... made of silicon, of course."
Shen Feng nodded.
That matched what he had felt earlier when he tried to perceive the statue of the girl with his brainwaves.
There were no electrical signals being transmitted within it, no presence of a "mind."
’Perhaps Ji Jiuyun’s thoughts are extremely slow in her statue form?’
’No, that’s not right either. Then how did she obtain the chemical formula for the Inconstancy Potion?’
’Or maybe her energy is too faint, and she can only accumulate it slowly, releasing a signal to communicate with the outside world only after reaching a certain level?’
Shen Feng was deeply puzzled, but he also understood this wasn’t something he could figure out in a day or two.
Besides, considering the "one is a billion, a billion is one" entity, even if the statue of the girl before him possessed a mind, it was hard to say whether it was really Ji Jiuyun.
’I’ll have to take this slowly. It can’t be rushed.’
With this thought, Shen Feng waved his hand. A writhing mass of the Gray Tide surged up from the floor, forming a series of metal bars that enclosed the statue of the girl.
This was done both to protect Ji Jiuyun’s statue and as a precaution.
If it happened once, it would happen again. Shen Feng now eagerly awaited another communication from Ji Jiuyun.
After taking care of all this, Shen Feng left the study and went to a corner of the first-floor living room.
This corner had been excavated to form a small swimming pool. It currently held no water, only the silver-gray Gray Tide, churning like waves.
A metal sphere composed of the Nanomechanical Cluster was slowly emerging from the pool.
The metal sphere then slowly opened, revealing its contents.
It was a glass jar, tightly sealed and wrapped in black electrical tape.
Inside were Yamaguchi Sora’s brain and two eyeballs!
After several days of transport through the undersea Gray Tide network pipeline, it had finally arrived before Shen Feng.
Yamaguchi Sora’s brain had undergone massive mutations and possessed extremely high vitality, enough to survive independently in a culture medium for a long time.
Shen Feng picked up the jar, looked it over in his hands, then carried it back to the study and placed it in a compartment on his bookshelf.
Yamaguchi Sora’s brain was now imprisoned in endless darkness. Shen Feng had no intention of communicating with it for the time being.
After all, for a person like him, only the cruelest punishment would be commensurate with his sins.
However, Yamaguchi Sora was connected to the Master of the Void, so he might prove useful at some point in the future.
Keeping it in his study as a collectible was a testament to Shen Feng’s twisted tastes.
Come to think of it, he acquired new collectibles after every apocalypse. From a collector’s point of view, it wasn’t so bad.
In a hidden compartment below the bookshelf, he also kept the banknotes from the Parallel World of 2025. He had spent a little less than half of the gold bar, and the rest was hidden in there as well.
None of these things were very useful now; they were more like mementos.
After finishing all this and taking one last, deep look at the statue of the girl, Shen Feng closed the study door. Shuffling in his slippers, he headed downstairs to the living room with Jingwei, plopped down on the sofa, and started watching TV.
Compared to using his Consciousness Antennae to enter the global network and monitor the situation everywhere, Shen Feng now preferred to just watch the news. It was a form of relaxation.
Right now, the TV was broadcasting the progress of pandemic prevention efforts in various regions.
In places like New York, which had been designated as epidemic zones, the air was now filled with the blue tinge of disinfectant spray.
"...The quarantine sites in Yan City have completed their pandemic prevention work... Through the joint efforts of dedicated individuals in the global medical community, the nations of the world are working hand in hand to overcome this challenge..."
"...The outbreak in the New York epidemic zone has been completely resolved, but the city-wide riots caused by the panic are still ongoing... The mayor of Chicago has announced a city-wide curfew until the period of unrest has passed..."
"...After the pandemic was brought under control, someone attempted to extort the Washington-headquartered Eagle Country America Bank by faking a ’new type of virus.’ The suspect has now been apprehended..."
"...The epidemic zone in East Japan is now completely under control. Pandemic control forces have begun entering the area to clear out the remaining infected..."
"...All buildings in the core area of Tokyo have vanished, turning it into a desolate, uninhabited land. This was reportedly caused by East Japan’s pandemic control forces using thermobaric bombs in a carpet-bombing run to eliminate the zombie tide... Other reports claim the destruction was caused by the zombie tide itself at the peak of the outbreak..."
"...The honor of saving humanity belongs to healthcare workers worldwide. At the same time, there are reports that the most critical core data came from a mysterious individual..."
Shen Feng ate some fruit, sprawled on the sofa in a comfortable slouch while watching TV, feeling utterly content.
From these news reports, it was clear that the pandemic prevention efforts were truly nearing their end.
However, the major riots in Western societies would probably continue for a few more days. After all, it’s something of a tradition for them. They love to riot even when there’s nothing going on, so it would be unreasonable for them not to riot now that there’s an actual crisis.
Compared to the survival of human civilization, these were all minor details.
Watching Li Tongchen, Yuval, and the others flatly deny the existence of any "mysterious person" during their television interviews, Shen Feng couldn’t help but smile knowingly.
’After this incident, Li Tongchen and the others have completely proven their selflessness and spirit of sacrifice. They are absolutely trustworthy Disciples.’
’Perhaps I should enhance their own strength so they can be of more help to me in the future...’
’At the same time, the number of members in the Salvation Army can be expanded again.’
’And I can give the existing Salvation Army Warriors more authority, allowing them to select new players on their own.’
’Instead of me selecting them personally, they can be recommended by other players.’
’That would also save me a lot of energy to focus on other things.’
’These original ten thousand or so people already possess immense perseverance and resolve. In many cases, a lot of things no longer require me, their Commander, to handle them personally.’
’New changes need to begin...’
Just as Shen Feng was thinking this, his wrist suddenly buzzed. The previously dark and inactive wristband flared with a bright red light.
The "True Apocalypse Game" was active once more!