SLURP... SLURP...
In a small courtyard in the suburbs of Hua Country’s Tai City, Shen Feng slurped down a bowl of xiaomian noodles, a look of pure satisfaction on his face.
A plate of chive, egg, and shrimp dumplings sat before him. He would occasionally pick one up, dip it in vinegar, and pop it into his mouth, letting out a contented sigh.
No matter how amazing a person was, or what incredible storms they’d weathered across countless worlds, they ultimately found their true self and original purpose in food.
As Shen Feng ate, he thought to himself, ’In the end, what I’m fighting to protect is really just this bowl of noodles, this plate of dumplings...’
’If this world really turns into the Water World Apocalypse, submerged in seawater without a single decent patch of land, there would be no wheat, no flour, and certainly no chives or eggs. Where would I get dumplings then?’
’I suppose there would still be shrimp, but you can’t just eat seafood every day, right?’
’Eating that for a lifetime would get so old...’
A rich, savory aroma of fat and meat wafted over. Jingwei’s avatar, curvy and dressed in an office-lady-style miniskirt and an apron, walked out of the kitchen carrying a massive bowl. Inside was a whole stewed pig’s trotter and a large pork knuckle.
Shen Feng’s mouth immediately started to water. He rubbed his hands together, ready to dig in.
With a THUD, Jingwei slammed the giant bowl down on the dining table in front of Shen Feng. She looked at him resentfully and said:
"What else do you want to eat?! Is this really something a top-tier artificial intelligence should be doing? Coming home just to make you dumplings, stew pig’s trotters, and braise pork knuckles? Am I a domestic robot?! The Space Wormhole on the seabed has expanded again, and the human armies are going crazy! I heard the Eagle Country People are preparing to launch nukes into it! Do you even want to save the world anymore?"
’Am I the human here, or are you?’
’How can you be so unconcerned with the rise and fall of human civilization?’
Shen Feng grabbed the pork knuckle and took a huge bite. He savored the tender, crispy skin before swallowing the chunk of meat and fat, then finally spoke.
"Relax. The Wormhole is only about three hundred meters in diameter right now. Compared to the hundred-kilometer-wide ones in the Water World Apocalypse, this is child’s play. World Beasts over five thousand meters can’t fit through. Besides, I’ve already sent a portion of the Gray Tide to the seabed around the Wormhole. If any World Beast dares to poke its head through, we’ll devour it."
At that moment, a massive Nanomechanical Cluster lay in wait on the seafloor around the Wormhole, ready for its prey to take the bait.
Jingwei, still in her miniskirt, shot Shen Feng a look, then plopped herself down on the edge of the table, crossing her legs.
"Alright, you little brat. Out with your plan."
Shen Feng sat up straight, his expression turning serious.
"With the latest version of the Nanomechanical Cluster, the World Beasts are no longer a major problem. Our greatest enemies are the ones hiding in the shadows: that sneaky Whisperer, and the one secretly creating World Beasts in a bio-lab in the Shield UY Star Realm. Why haven’t they made a move in person? Or rather, if they do, can we even handle them?"
Jingwei snorted. "Hmph."
"Maybe they’re all part of the same group. Or maybe they don’t get involved personally just because this is more interesting for them. Isn’t it just like when you play games? You turn off your Silicon-Based Brain to play with just your biological brain. Otherwise, what’s the fun in steamrolling everything?"
Hearing this, Shen Feng didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded gravely.
"Yes, that’s possible. But it’s more likely that the Level they’ve reached prevents them from easily crossing the barriers between Parallel Worlds. After all, that Master of the Void character had to make a huge fuss just to descend, and he still got chased away in the end... So, the most urgent task now is to drastically strengthen this world’s greatest asset!"
"This world’s greatest asset?" Jingwei asked, her face full of doubt. "Don’t tell me you mean the True..."
Before she could finish, Shen Feng pointed a finger at his own nose.
"That’s right, me! Why did the Water World Apocalypse languish for over two hundred years and nearly go extinct? Because ’I’ died! Didn’t we get our hands on the World Beast research data? If the fusion of those two viruses can create something so powerful and resilient, we can totally integrate that stuff into my genes. I’m entrusting this glorious and difficult task to you. How about it? You confident you can do it?"
’I can’t believe he cooked up this crazy idea while chewing on a pork knuckle...’ Jingwei narrowed her eyes, scanning Shen Feng up and down. Her gaze finally settled on his crotch as she clicked her tongue and said:
"Sure thing, Xiaofeng. Don’t you worry. You mean the World Beast’s tentacles, right? I’ll make sure to add all the features—ribbed, studded, retractable, oscillating... I’ll turn you into a real jack-of-all-trades."
Shen Feng felt an unprompted chill between his legs. He quickly waved his hands, a forced smile plastered on his face. "Hahahaha, sister, don’t joke around. I’m a serious person..."
"Hmph. Your ’serious’ business? Others might not know, but I do. What exactly is in that 20-terabyte encrypted ’study material’ folder on your Silicon-Based Brain? You even used quantum encryption. I’m just curious what secrets you could possibly have from me. You dare open it and let me see?" Jingwei said disdainfully, pouring a cup of hot water and setting it down hard on the table in front of him.
Shen Feng looked awkward and mumbled sheepishly, "I’m... I’m already a senior in high school. Isn’t it normal to have a few little secrets... You’ve got to have some... uh... some personal space..."
His voice trailed off, and his face turned red.
"Hahahahaha, personal space? If you’ve got the guts, then turn me off at night and go cuddle that stone statue in your bed!" Jingwei shouted, hands on her hips.
"Dad! Mom! You’re back!" A set of cheerful footsteps approached. It was Shen Xiaofeng and Wei Xiaoqing, who had been attending school in place of Shen Feng and Jingwei, returning home.
Seeing the two of them, Shen Feng suddenly remembered, ’Oh right, I have two artificial intelligence children!’
’An adopted son and an adopted daughter!’
He’d spent so long in the Water World that he’d almost forgotten about them.
But now, Shen Feng felt like he’d just grasped two lifelines. He quickly put on a gentle, fatherly smile and said, "Hahaha, Xiaofeng and Xiaoqing are back! Come, tell me, what did you learn in school these past couple of days?"
The former artificial intelligence AlphaGo, now Shen Xiaofeng, was bewildered. ’What’s there to even say about two advanced AIs taking high school classes?’
But since his adoptive father had asked, he could only "pat his head" and wirelessly transmit the events of the past few days to Shen Feng’s Silicon-Based Brain.
It took about 0.03 seconds.
Shen Feng hadn’t expected the kid to report so quickly. He immediately said, "Very good. Then I’ll give you two another homework assignment. You have to finish it today."
With that, he transmitted the manufacturing method for the Quantum Force Field Core and the Space Wormhole generation data from the Water World Doomsday Shield UY Laboratory to the two advanced AIs.
"The assignment is simple. Tonight, you’ll produce two Quantum Force Field Cores plus one Space Wormhole Generator. If you can’t do it, you’ll be punished with main program throttling," Shen Feng said with a smile.
Shen Xiaofeng and Wei Xiaoqing glanced at each other, their faces immediately falling.
’How the hell are we supposed to make that?!’
’The technology involved is completely beyond current human capabilities! We’ve never even heard of this stuff before!’
’What is this crap?!’
They could only turn to Jingwei with pleading eyes.
Jingwei snorted coldly. "What are you looking at me for? If you can’t even do this little bit of homework, what use does your father have for you?"
The former advanced AI Xiaomai’s deskmate, now Wei Xiaoqing, quickly plastered on a smile and said, "It’s simple! Don’t worry, Mom! We’ll finish Dad’s homework tonight even if we have to skip eating and drinking!"
Then she grabbed the hand of Shen Xiaofeng, who was about to argue, and dragged him toward the inner room.
’What’s the point of arguing?!’
’This is clearly a case of scummy parents taking out their fight on the kids!’
’We can’t win in a fight, so all we can do is go vent on some ’Toxic Parents’ forum online...’
By now, Shen Feng had finished gnawing on the pig’s trotter. He wiped his mouth and said to Jingwei, "Alright, enough joking around. How are the system adjustments for the True Apocalypse Game 1.0 coming along? Get the information about the Quantum Force Field Core online first. I have a feeling that’s the key to breaking through this fog and finding the truth."
If a Quantum Force Field could create a Space Wormhole within the same Cosmos, could it also be used to travel between Parallel Cosmoses?
Or, if they truly mastered this technology, could they even go directly after the entity behind the True Apocalypse Game, or find the Whisperer himself?
Of course, this was all just speculation.
Jingwei also set aside her playful attitude and nodded. "The Water World Apocalypse mission in True Apocalypse Game 1.0 is built and ready for the Salvation Army soldiers to go online anytime. But you can already defeat the World Beasts and save this world easily. Is there still any point to all this?"
The original purpose of creating True Apocalypse Game 1.0 was to concentrate humanity’s power to fight the coming apocalypse. Now, that seemed completely unnecessary.
Shen Feng chuckled. "Of course there’s a point... This time, the goal isn’t for them to figure out how to fight the World Beasts. It’s to make them understand what humanity is truly up against... That within the darkness, there is a deeper darkness, and within terror, a greater terror. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves..."
"BZZZT..." Just as he was speaking, a vibration suddenly came from his wristband.
Shen Feng frowned and looked down. A line of text had been projected into the air.
A new mission!