The Gray Tide, which had been flowing silently like mercury, surged up in an instant. It formed a curtain wall, like a great wave, that enveloped the dozen or so javelins ground from rebar, freezing them in mid-air. Then, it swiftly consumed and assimilated them before falling back down like the receding tide.
This scene immediately drew several gasps from the surrounding darkness. It was clear that the people hiding there had no way to comprehend such a miraculous sight.
Shen Feng casually slipped on his night-vision goggles, and the darkness became much clearer. He saw dozens of figures hiding among the wreckage of broken-down cars in the abandoned parking garage, waiting to attack him.
They were obviously Xiaocao’s people.
More javelins had been picked up, and even some crossbow arrows were nocked, ready to be let loose at him at a moment’s notice.
The survivors here were clearly extremely wary of him, an outsider. After all, from their perspective, Xiaocao and the other two were bound by ropes, obviously subdued by this person.
Even from a great distance away in the darkness, Shen Feng could still feel their killing intent.
If he were to follow his old habits, he would have certainly stated his identity before asking them some questions.
But after hearing Xiaocao’s description just now, Shen Feng had lost his patience.
With a soft snap of his fingers, the Gray Tide spread out like flowing water, reaching the feet of every survivor and even blanketing the entire underground parking garage.
Before they could react, Shen Feng snapped his fingers again. The writhing Gray Tide instantly came alive. It extended tendrils that bound the survivors, ignoring their panicked shouts as it delivered them before Shen Feng.
"Who... who in the world are you!?"
"Xiaocao! Xiaocao! What did you do to them!? You beast!"
"That blue light... He must be connected to those Evil Ghosts!"
"Are you from another tribe? We don’t have much food here either. If you’re looking for food, you’ve come to the wrong place... I heard there are still some fish in the river. If you aren’t afraid of the Evil Ghosts, you can go..."
"..."
The people who had just been captured were a motley crew of men and women, old and young. All of them had pale skin and were clearly weak, looking as if they had osteoporosis. Their frames were also comparatively smaller.
One upside, however, was that every one of them had good skin and large eyes, which coincidentally fit the aesthetic standards of Shen Feng’s era on Earth.
The moment they were captured, they immediately began cursing or pleading with Shen Feng in low voices. But no matter how intense their emotions, their voices remained quiet, sounding almost like whispers.
Evidently, the fear of Quantum Ghosts was deeply ingrained in their DNA, forcing them to constantly keep their decibels down.
Or perhaps when hiding in the darkness, sound itself had become the greatest sin, so everyone was born to be extremely mindful of it.
Those with loud voices had probably all died out long ago.
Hearing the clamor, Shen Feng didn’t even raise his head. He simply put a finger to his lips and shushed gently, signaling for silence.
Although it was unknown how long it had been since civilization collapsed, this gesture was apparently universal in the Dark Apocalypse. Everyone present immediately shut their mouths and fell silent.
By now, they understood that the young man before them was definitely no ordinary human. It was hard to say if he was even human at all.
The metallic ropes binding them were incredibly tough; their own weapons couldn’t leave so much as a scratch on them.
To the confused and terrified gazes of the crowd, the young man holding the glowing stick simply sat down on the ground. Then, using the light from the stick, he began to read the book in his hands with rapt attention.
From Worms to Flying Birds—How Humanity Mastered Space Wormhole Technology. It was a book akin to creative nonfiction, and its opening paragraph laid out its theme:
"From the dawn of human civilization, humanity was trapped in a corner of Earth, able to imagine the vast cosmos only through a narrow, Earth-bound form of visualization. Though astronautical technology advanced, achieving interstellar migration was a monumental task of unknown duration. The speed of light was a cage, turning us into birds unable to soar freely through the cosmos.
But now, all that has changed with a fundamental breakthrough! The Savior Army Commander, who has been silently protecting humanity from the shadows—the great Savior—has brought Space Wormhole Technology to mankind! From this day forward, human civilization no longer needs to fear the prison of light speed. We will break our cage and become masters of this cosmos!"
Shen Feng quickly skimmed the rest of the book, finding that it mostly described the process by which humanity gradually mastered Space Wormhole Technology.
Specifically, mysterious information would suddenly appear on the computers or desks of certain leading physicists. These people were then taken to a secret location where someone claiming to be the Savior Army Commander, a guardian protecting human civilization from the darkness, would implant all sorts of information related to Space Wormhole Technology into their minds.
After a series of experiments, the scientists discovered that although the technology was unheard of and surpassed human civilization by an unknown number of years, it could still be mastered by humans, who were now poised for a technological leap.
Afterward, several Space Wormhole connection points were established on the Moon. Following successful tests, humanity was considered to have completely mastered the technology. They could now break free from the confines of Earth and enter an age of great interstellar navigation, and so on and so forth.
When this book was written, humanity’s great age of interstellar navigation had just begun.
After finishing the book, Shen Feng’s expression grew even more solemn.
Among the things he was preparing to do in his original world was to announce Space Wormhole Technology to all of human civilization and usher in an age of great navigation for humanity.
It was a carbon copy of what had once happened in this Dark World.
’It’s now certain that this world was once highly similar to my own. It also had a version of me who was the Savior Army Commander. I just don’t know if that "me" had the True Apocalypse Game system. And if he did, I wonder how many apocalypses he experienced, and if they were the same ones I went through...’
Tossing aside the copy of From Worms to Flying Birds, Shen Feng picked up another book, held it before him, and opened its somewhat moldy cover to reveal a yellowed flyleaf.
The Beginning of Darkness - When All Light Has Faded Away.
This one, however, described the process of the sky turning dark.
According to this book, just as humanity built the experimental Space Wormhole to the Moon and was preparing to expand its ambitions toward the entire cosmos, the sky suddenly began to grow dim.
The world’s internet also seemed to have been put under some kind of control, and people had no idea what was happening.
Even the world’s governments offered no explanation to their populaces, instead instituting various high-pressure control measures.
Over the next few months, the sky turned completely dark. All sunlight vanished, and everything was shrouded in darkness, as if the end of days had come.
Then, those Evil Ghosts from Hell appeared in the world.
The book was written in a highly subjective tone, full of various complaints. The writing, however, wasn’t bad, and it described the process of the world falling into darkness with great clarity. But even after finishing it, Shen Feng couldn’t figure out what had really happened. He frowned and tossed this book aside as well.
Then came the third book:
Purification Holy Assembly Saves the World’s Glorious War Epic.