Several hundred kilometers from the ruins of Demon City, a Floating Island Market cobbled together from various oil tankers, large ships, and drilling platforms drifted on the sea.
Tens of thousands of people lived on this Floating Island Market, which could be called the largest of its kind for hundreds of miles around.
The aftershocks of a recent tsunami had battered the Floating Island Market, but fortunately, its inhabitants had weighed anchor in time, avoiding major losses.
Now, the entire Floating Island Market had returned to its usual bustling state, with fishing, hunting, and trade all underway.
Just then, on the drilling platform that served as the heart of the Floating Island Market, a solar-powered broadcast system that had been silent for who knows how long suddenly emitted a burst of static. A moment later, a gentle female voice came through:
"...This is the Red Fortress Base... with a special broadcast... The Savior has returned. As the hope of humanity, you will soon receive an invitation from the Commander to become members of the Salvation Army and welcome the revival of human civilization... The Savior has returned..."
The voice echoed continuously throughout the Floating Island Market. At first, people went about their business, merely confused, but soon they all froze in place as if turned to stone.
A sturdy, gray-haired man grabbed the young boy beside him and asked in a trembling voice:
"Haiwa... did you hear that? Or am I just hearing things? That loudspeaker... what did it say? The Red Fortress Base... Isn’t that the legendary high command of humanity from the ancient wars?"
As the chief Minstrel of the Floating Island Market, he too found it difficult to control his emotions.
According to information passed down through generations, only the Savior and the Minstrel Council could control the Floating Island Market’s communication systems. The sudden appearance of this voice was proof enough of its authenticity.
Haiwa spun around, a huge grin on his face, and shouted, "Uncle Gen, you heard right! The Savior is back! The Commander is back! He’s going to lead us in reviving human civilization!"
"Hahahaha! Hooray! Long live humanity! Long live the Commander!"
"There’s hope! There’s finally hope!"
"The day has finally come!"
"I would willingly die for this!"
"..."
It was unclear who shouted first, but the entire Floating Island Market immediately erupted into a frenzy. Everyone began to await the Savior’s call.
...
Deep in the East, upon a mountain ridge on Hidden Island, rows of buildings stood tall.
As the world’s last intact landmass, Hidden Island possessed the most complete technological relics, including several solar and geothermal power stations.
Skyscrapers stood in dense rows across the massive island. Although they were inherited from an ancient civilization and looked somewhat dilapidated after centuries of reinforcement, they still supported a technologically advanced way of life.
It was an immeasurably better existence compared to that of the human survivors living on the vast open ocean.
At the same time, three damaged Super Giant War Armors stood guard over Hidden Island. Their lingering might was enough to ensure the island had never been invaded by the World Beasts.
Under the leadership of the Eastern Minstrel Council, the people here had always striven to preserve civilization and had even attempted to repair the Super Giant War Armors, but they had never succeeded.
This place was also a key infiltration point for the remnants of the Purification Church, and the struggle between the Minstrel Council and the Purification Church raged on fiercely.
But now, everything changed in an instant!
As the gentle female voice announced the Savior’s return from loudspeakers all over Hidden Island, tens of thousands of survivors poured out of the buildings, cheering wildly to celebrate this momentous occasion.
They would soon receive the Commander’s guidance and fight alongside the Savior!
...
In the area where the South African Plateau once was, on a few scattered islands, the last remaining crystal radios crackled with the declaration of the Savior’s return, and dark-skinned survivors shed tears of joy.
...
Aboard a dilapidated giant ship adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, an old fisherman out hunting for food broke into a wide, relieved smile upon hearing the declaration of the Savior’s return.
...
On the Cordillera Islands, Witch Tower, Charlotte, and the others were overcome with excitement, understanding that the Commander had found the Red Fortress Base. The flame of human civilization would once again burn brightly...
...
Across the entire Earth, every existing broadcast device capable of receiving a signal was playing the declaration of the Savior’s return in various languages. The surviving humans rejoiced, some cheering, others weeping, as they waited for the Savior’s call.
This day had finally come!
Inside the Red Fortress Base, Shen Feng observed the entire world through the satellite system while simultaneously receiving a massive influx of information.
Viewed from space, Earth had become a water planet.
He had originally thought it was all deep ocean, but in the northern Pacific Ocean, near the location of the Space Wormhole, it seemed to be a shallow sea rather than a deep one.
Beneath the surface appeared to be a newly formed seabed, occupying an area of several thousand square kilometers.
At the same time, through the satellite monitoring system, he could vaguely make out the massive forms of the World Beasts.
Just by observing the shifting light and shadows on the seabed, he could see hundreds of World Beasts roaming about!
’With such a huge number, it’s no wonder the sea level rose so quickly.’
Furthermore, according to the data he received, a massive amount of water had also poured through the Space Wormhole back then, seemingly from comets and Ice Meteorites from the Shield UY Star Realm.
’This was clearly the main reason for the drastic increase in Earth’s seawater.’
After arriving in the Water World Apocalypse, he had been almost completely cut off from technology. Now, with his Silicon-Based Brain loaded into the satellite system, he finally felt that high-tech sensation again. He began to probe everywhere, searching for the Super Giant War Armors scattered across Earth.
The fusion of the two Jingweis’ databases was also proceeding very smoothly. Shen Feng could even feel the joyful electronic signals they were transmitting.
An unknown amount of time passed before Shen Feng was jolted awake by an alarm. His consciousness instantly pulled back from the satellite system and returned to his body as he removed his helmet.
He saw red lights flashing throughout the Red Fortress Base, a clear sign of a crisis.
Immediately after, holograms of the two Jingweis appeared before him. The fusion of their databases was mostly complete, with just a few finishing touches remaining, but it was close enough for now.
Jingwei No. 2’s gaze toward Shen Feng had softened considerably. She said urgently:
"Enemy attack! Seven World Beasts are heading this way! The electronic signal fluctuations broadcast from the ground station system just now attracted their attention! This is how the World Beasts destroyed the Human World, bit by bit!"
As she spoke, she waved her hand, and another hologram appeared in the air.
This time, it showed the entire underwater ruins of Demon City and the surrounding area.
In the direction of the Pacific Ocean, seven massive World Beasts were forming a legion and advancing toward the Red Fortress Base!
Their destination was clearly the Oriental Pearl Tower, where Shen Feng was located.
"You little brat, you sure made a lot of noise. Couldn’t you have been a bit gentler?" Jingwei asked with equal concern, simultaneously beginning to calculate an escape plan.
Faced with an attack from seven World Beasts, even Shen Feng’s Golden Mad King’s Super Giant War Armor would be useless; he would still be torn to shreds.
’If you can’t beat them, you have to run.’
Shen Feng glanced at the lab bench in front of him and couldn’t help but smile slightly. "Don’t worry," he said. "Let’s see if this new toy works..."
On the lab bench before him, the original silver-gray dust had vanished along with the Beast Gold. In its place was a silver powder that had now grown to the size of a small snake, coiling there as it awaited Shen Feng’s command.
The original gray color was completely gone, leaving only a shimmering silver light.
It was the light of Beast Gold.
Shen Feng’s Silicon-Based Brain was now completely linked with the Nanomechanical Cluster before him, allowing him to perceive the current state of the Nanomechanical Insects.
’They’ve devoured each other and evolved into their final, complete form. No, it’s more than that. The presence of the Beast Gold Element has given the Nanomechanical Insects a more complex internal microstructure, allowing them to store a huge amount of energy. At the same time, they’re no longer afraid of electromagnetic pulses!’
Shen Feng chuckled and said:
"What are you waiting for? Dinner’s served."
As he spoke, the lab bench before him seemed to be made of ice, rapidly disappearing. In its place was the Nanomechanical Cluster, which had grown larger after devouring the metal bench.
Immediately after, the new Nanomechanical Cluster flowed like mercury out of the Red Fortress Base’s ventilation and drainage pipes and into the subterranean ruins of Demon City outside.
Then, within these ruins that had existed for hundreds of years, the broken walls and remnants of one skyscraper after another began to silently disappear as if they were sand sculptures, transforming into a silver tide that surged rapidly outward...