Seeing the words floating in mid-air, Shen Feng couldn’t help but frown.
It had only been two days since he returned to his home world after completing the Water World Apocalypse mission, yet the True Apocalypse Game system was already impatiently issuing a new mission. This was completely out of the ordinary.
Usually, there was at least a week between finishing one mission and the next being issued. This time, it was far too quick.
’Was it because of what I just said?’
’Did my plan to use Quantum Space technology to find the truth behind all this make the beings behind the True Apocalypse Game system feel threatened?’
Regardless, his current relationship with the entities hiding behind the game system wasn’t exactly pleasant. It was a simple employer-employee relationship, at best; he found it impossible to feel any closeness to them.
However, one thing he could be certain of was that they needed him more than he needed the entities behind the game system.
Unless it was an absolute last resort, they wouldn’t easily erase him.
Thinking this, Shen Feng lowered his gaze to the line of text:
"New game mission commencing. Player has unlocked a new world: Dark Apocalypse."
Shen Feng’s brow furrowed.
’Dark Apocalypse?’
’Is it a dark apocalypse where there’s no light and everyone is blind, or a mythological apocalypse like Dark Destroyer?’
’Do the guys behind the system play old games like that too?’
With that thought, he cleared his throat and spoke to the bracelet:
"When does the apocalypse mission start? What exactly does Dark Apocalypse mean? Give me a bit of a description. I can guess what the other apocalypses are about from their names, but this one is misleading. Should I go get some Magic Equipment?"
He remembered playing the game *Dark Destroyer* before, but he’d only ever entered cheat codes to activate god mode and hadn’t really explored its intricacies.
Another line of text appeared on the bracelet:
"Enter the Dark Apocalypse in two days. Defiance will result in erasure. Dark Apocalypse mission brief: Due to humanity’s insatiable greed, they have been punished by their own fate. The entire world has plunged into eternal chaos and darkness."
Reading the last line, Shen Feng couldn’t help but grin. He understood a lot now.
From just those few sentences, he had already made his judgment.
The so-called Dark Apocalypse was surely a global darkness caused by a technological disaster.
As for why the entire Earth was plunged into darkness, the reason was certainly worth pondering.
Perhaps the sun had been extinguished, or perhaps the sky was obscured by thick clouds, or maybe all of humanity had gone blind?
Anything was possible.
But for Shen Feng, this apocalypse mission would probably be much easier than the previous ones.
After all, compared to the apocalypses he had experienced, the difficulty of a technological disaster was often easier to handle than threats from non-human sources.
However, the "enter in two days" part was a killer.
Shen Feng immediately spoke again:
"The World Beast problem in our own world hasn’t been solved yet. At least wait until I’ve dealt with these issues. Besides, even just buying supplies would take a few weeks, right? Two days of prep time really isn’t enough. How about we start the mission in half a year? Let’s make a deal. We go way back, and our collaboration has been pretty pleasant, hasn’t it? I get all my supplies from you when I need something. With our kind of relationship, we have to make the most of it, right?"
He took the bracelet off and placed it on the table, then lounged back on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking at the bracelet like a small-time merchant haggling over prices.
Jingwei, standing to the side, couldn’t help but be amused, but she didn’t say a word.
She had seen Shen Feng’s shameless antics many times, but this was the first time he’d tried to haggle with the True Apocalypse Game system like this.
’Half a year... Why don’t you just tell it you’ll do the mission after you’ve gotten married, had kids, settled down, and found inner peace?’
The bracelet’s light vanished instantly, as if the controller of the apocalypse game system on the other end had been left speechless with anger by Shen Feng.
But what he said did make some sense.
This time, after a full ten minutes, the light on the bracelet finally lit up again, displaying a line of text:
"Mission preparation time extended to one month. Any further delays will result in immediate erasure."
Shen Feng curled his lip, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.
’Ask for the sky and settle for what you can get.’ Managing to extend the interval to a month was good enough.
The most crucial part was that the True Apocalypse Game system was clearly open to negotiation.
If it happened once, it could happen again. In the future, he could gradually seize the initiative until he discovered what the existence behind all this really was.
Afterward, Shen Feng picked up the True Apocalypse Game system’s bracelet, went down to the basement, found a lead bucket, and tossed the bracelet straight in. He then put the lead bucket inside a metal box, placed that inside a giant safe, and locked it securely.
After doing all that, Shen Feng found a large roll of tin foil, unfolded it, and wrapped the safe in layer after layer. He then coated the outside with another layer of the Nanomechanical Cluster before finally returning to the living room.
Jingwei’s substitute body was standing expressionlessly in the living room, having already uploaded most of her consciousness to the network space.
Shen Feng plopped down on the sofa and likewise extended his Consciousness Antennae. His consciousness, via his Silicon-Based Brain, entered the network cloud space he and Jingwei had built.
The materialized network space now looked like a bustling street. Shen Feng pushed open the door to a corner cafe, where Jingwei was already sitting and waiting for him.
Shen Feng sat down, took a sip of virtual coffee, and said to Jingwei with a solemn expression:
"Since the beings behind the True Apocalypse Game reacted so strongly to Quantum Space technology—even issuing a mission early—it proves that this technology definitely holds secrets they don’t want me to discover... Immediately activate the True Apocalypse Game 1.0’s Water World Apocalypse mission. Gather all the world’s top minds in quantum and spatial physics, mathematics, and other fields. We need to find a way to create and control stable Space Wormholes... Of course, we must also push forward with the biological cell enhancement project at the same time."
Whether it was the Whisperer, the Master of the Void, or the mysterious existence behind the True Apocalypse Game, none of them could be trusted.
The only things he could rely on were himself and the unyielding spirit of humanity.
He had to be prepared before they decided to directly erase his physical body.
Jingwei understood the gravity of the situation as well. She nodded immediately and said:
"No problem. The game’s framework has long been in place. After obtaining the data from Jingwei No. 2 in the Water World, I also underwent an iterative evolution. I’m stronger than before."
"Good." Shen Feng nodded. "This time, let’s try using the latest Nanomechanical Cluster to build the game’s database. Let’s begin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding Virtual Space began to rapidly disintegrate. The ground dissolved into a vast ocean, rain poured from the sky like a torrent, and only a few small Floating Island Markets drifted precariously on the waves beneath the clouds.
Shen Feng and Jingwei’s consciousnesses were instantly transported out of the game system into the network space, where they activated super-administrator privileges.
Signal after signal shot out from the network space, spreading across the entire world, delivering a message to all the warriors determined to save it:
The True Apocalypse Game: Water World Apocalypse mission is now open!