"...One is the myriad... the myriad... one is... the myriad..."
The Quantum Ghost before him let out a garbled, cryptic shriek, which sounded particularly sinister on the long, dark street.
But just a second later, Shen Feng spoke the rest of the phrase along with it:
"One is the myriad... the myriad is one... one is the myriad... the myriad is one..."
Shen Feng stared at the ferocious, twisted Quantum Ghost, his face ashen as he recited the two phrases. His expression had become utterly solemn.
’He’d thought that with the help of the Nanomechanical Cluster, this Dark Apocalypse mission would be much simpler. It seemed he had been naive.’
’One is the myriad, the myriad is one. That was the mysterious cry from the underwater statues!’
’This Quantum Ghost was connected to the infected human statues from the Stone Statue Apocalypse!’
’He’d thought that after leveling the underwater ruins with a Supercavitating Nuclear Torpedo and deciding not to return to the Stone Statue Apocalypse, it would all be over.’
’Who could have expected to run into it here, in the Dark Apocalypse!’
’The thing behind it... no, the entity behind "One is the myriad, the myriad is one"... what exactly is it?’
’Why is it that besides the statues emitting that psychic howl, this Quantum Ghost is also shouting the same phrase?’
As Shen Feng pondered this, the Quantum Ghost—which had just absorbed a human consciousness—saw its own fleeting clarity descend back into chaos. Its shrieks turned into mindless wails, and it lunged at him.
Shen Feng sighed. He swung the longsword in his hand, piercing the Quantum Ghost’s head and cleaving it in two. The energy from his Quantum Force Field Core pulsed, shattering the ghost into fragments. It became specks of blue light that dissipated into the void.
As if it had never existed.
Glancing at the Metal Sword in his hand, Shen Feng was no longer in the mood for any flashy cosplay. The Gray Tide surged, and the Metal Sword transformed back into a long rod, like a Magic Staff.
’It seems that although I’ve completed the mission in the Stone Statue Apocalypse, some entity from that world is still clinging to me, refusing to let go.’
’Perhaps I should find some time to return to the Stone Statue Apocalypse and see if I missed anything.’
’Among his collection was that statue of a young girl; he still hadn’t figured out if it held any secrets.’
’All these puzzles needed answers...’
"Xiaofeng, were you just thinking about the Stone Statue Apocalypse? Planning to go back for a look?" Jingwei’s voice rang out as she controlled the Gray Tide, coalescing it into the form of a girl in a short skirt. "Tsk, tsk. I’m not trying to call you out, Xiaofeng, but you really should go back. I seem to recall you made a promise to those apes—something about helping them have babies. If you don’t go back soon, those brawny chimpanzees are probably going to lose their minds. Are you really going to betray the trust of a bunch of apes?"
Shen Feng was speechless. ’Jingwei’s tongue is getting sharper and sharper,’ he thought. But he couldn’t really argue, because he actually had forgotten all about Kuafu and the other apes.
’After all, compared to the fate of human civilization, the destiny of a troop of apes and his promise to them seemed rather trivial.’
Jingwei had already walked over to the corpse. She flipped it over and said:
"It’s a man. Tsk, tsk, look how pale and soft his skin is. That’s what you get for never seeing the sun... But he seems a bit calcium-deficient. Looks like he had osteoporosis and was bow-legged. No wonder he couldn’t run fast."
Shen Feng walked over, illuminating the corpse with the light from his Quantum Force Field Core.
It was an adult male in his twenties, with plain features, an unhealthy pallor to his skin, and thinning hair. He also had pronounced bow legs, a clear sign of calcium deficiency.
His eyes were shut, and he seemed to have passed peacefully.
He wore a worn-out t-shirt, a pair of suit shorts, and old sneakers, all clearly scavenged from abandoned malls.
He was holding a sharp paring knife, and on his back, he carried an iron basin.
Other than that, he had a small fanny pack. Inside were some odds and ends like needles and thread, a small bell, some dried moss, and a dried rat. There was nothing else.
After experiencing so many apocalyptic missions and seeing the bizarre things people ate to survive in harsh environments, Shen Feng wasn’t particularly shocked by the dried rat.
What did surprise him, however, was that the man had no way of making fire.
No matches, for instance.
’He didn’t know if civilization had been in decline for decades or centuries, but in an environment this dark, humans should have at least mastered fire.’
’After all, an unused lighter would leak all its gas within a year or two. Even with kerosene lighters, the fuel would eventually solidify. Only tools like matches, or flint and steel, could be preserved long-term.’
The dried rat hadn’t been smoked or roasted; it had been air-dried.
’Even though this man was wearing "modern" clothes, he felt more like some kind of mutated creature.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Feng commanded the Gray Tide to envelop the corpse, simultaneously consuming and analyzing its internal tissues.
Pale skin, brittle bones, multiple internal parasites, pathological defects in several organs, clear signs of rickets...
This body was riddled with all kinds of diseases.
The cause of nearly every ailment was a lack of exposure to sunlight.
Shen Feng quickly completed his analysis. The Gray Tide had finished devouring the body, and the corpse was gone.
At Shen Feng’s command, the Gray Tide instantly spread out like flowing mercury, pouring into the surrounding streets.
Its goal was to find the man’s footprints from his earlier run, trace his path, and find where he had come from.
’It’s nearly impossible for humans to survive alone in such a dark environment; they’d eventually go mad. Since this man knew how to dress himself and use tools, he must have been living in a community with other survivors.’
Finding the other survivors would likely provide the answers he needed.
Shen Feng closed his eyes. Using his Silicon-Based Brain, he extended his Consciousness Antennae into the Nanomechanical Cluster to examine the footprints on the ground.
Soon, under his control, the Gray Tide had followed the winding trail of footprints to the end of the street. After a few turns, it stopped before the small door of a building.
Sensing the building’s outline through the Gray Tide, a faint smile touched Shen Feng’s lips.
This was the very place he’d been looking for.
The Hai City Library.