Hearing Shen Feng’s words, Kuafu couldn’t help but tremble, an expression of disbelief on his face.
Even though he himself possessed profound wisdom, every time he faced this human youth, he felt as if he were standing on the edge of an Abyss.
With every meeting, the other party seemed to have grown an immeasurable amount—no, it was more like evolution. This rapid evolution left him so far behind he couldn’t even hope to keep up, making Shen Feng seem all the more unfathomable.
Kuafu took a deep breath and said:
"I remember when the apes were destroying the human statues, you were utterly disgusted by it. Why the sudden decision to destroy the statues on a massive scale now?"
This human youth before him never did anything without reason. His sudden return, demanding the indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons on areas where the statues were concentrated, was completely illogical.
’Could those statues pose a threat to Shen Feng’s world?’
’But no matter how you looked at them, they were just a group of ordinary statues. How could they possibly threaten another world?’
A thousand thoughts raced through Kuafu’s mind as he rapidly considered the truth behind it all. His deep eyes were fixed on the youth before him, and he suddenly felt a faint worry that his words might have angered him.
Shen Feng looked at Kuafu with a calm expression and said:
"I suspect you’ve already guessed that there’s something else behind these statues. However, this is not a truth that you and your people can face right now. Even my own people and I could be wiped out because of it... You just need to know that I will still fulfill my promise and grant your race a future."
Hearing this, Kuafu immediately gave a carefree smile and said:
"Honorable Savior, please rest assured. The Brain Ape Race will forever follow your commands and be your most loyal hounds."
He then turned and ordered his people:
"Prepare the horses! One hundred squad leaders, with me! We will offer our undying loyalty to the great Savior!"
At his words, the assembled Brain Ape Cavalry roared in unison. They began to pack their gear and ready their warhorses, preparing to set out with Shen Feng and Kuafu.
The gazes these Brain Apes directed at Shen Feng were filled with reverence, as if they were looking at a Divine Spirit. It was clear Kuafu’s long-term indoctrination of them had been very successful.
’This sage of the Ape Race understood that if the Brain Ape Race wanted to see its intelligence continue—rather than giving birth to hordes of ignorant beasts and regressing into chaos—they needed help from Shen Feng, the Savior.’
’Otherwise, all that awaited the Brain Ape Race was total annihilation.’
’For this very reason, his people had to worship and respect Shen Feng from the bottom of their hearts. Only then could this human youth truly trust them.’
’Otherwise, the human saying, "Those not of our kind cannot be trusted," would be a prophecy meant for them, the Brain Apes.’
’They had to appear sufficiently humble and loyal for the entire race to survive.’
’In the face of survival, things like dignity and honor were utterly insignificant.’
Kuafu led a black warhorse to Shen Feng and said:
"Savior, please mount up."
Shen Feng nodded and swung himself onto the horse. He found it to be powerful yet docile—a rare and fine steed.
Kuafu had also mounted a chestnut warhorse. With an automatic rifle slung over his back, he rode alongside Shen Feng.
Behind them, one hundred Brain Ape warriors, rifles on their backs, were mounted on their own warhorses. Each also led a spare, unridden horse. They were fully assembled.
They had lived in the ruins of Yanjing their entire lives, rarely traveling far from the area. Now, most of them seemed somewhat excited.
Moreover, they were traveling with their Savior.
Kuafu raised an arm, clenched his fist, and swung it down forcefully, roaring:
"Go!"
Then, he and Shen Feng spurred their horses forward, galloping off with a thunderous sound.
The cavalry troop of one hundred Brain Apes followed close behind, their horses’ hooves kicking up clouds of dust as they headed toward the outskirts of the Yanjing ruins.
Although Shen Feng hadn’t ridden a horse in a long time, his body had been enhanced and calibrated multiple times by Jingwei. Coupled with his Silicon-Based Brain, which allowed for precise physical control, and the fine steed beneath him, he quickly adapted to the rhythm of riding.
As he rode, he turned his head to look at the Brain Apes around him.
He saw them with rifles slung over their backs, their expressions proud. They had clearly long grown accustomed to their dominant position in this apocalypse.
After all, with humans gone, these intelligent Silicon-Based Half-Brain Apes were arguably the most intelligent beings left. They knew how to use tools, especially firearms, making them the true kings of beasts in this apocalyptic world.
As they rode on, the farther they got into the suburbs, the more desolate the scenery became—or rather, the more lush with vegetation.
Without the presence of humans, massive amounts of plants had sprouted from every patch of dirt-covered ground. Even the rooftops of buildings were overgrown with weeds. The entire ruined city had completely transformed into a jungle.
Wherever the cavalry passed, small animals like rabbits and feral cats would occasionally dart through the tall weeds. The ecosystem here had clearly recovered well.
Shen Feng was in no mood to admire the scenery. Instead, he continued to run simulations with Jingwei in his Silicon-Based Brain regarding the existence of the Billion Wills.
It currently seemed that the Billion Wills was likely the aggregated state of the quantized consciousnesses of the stone-statue humans from the Stone Statue Apocalypse.
This massive consciousness had already transcended the scope of humanity entirely, and due to the chaotic nature of the quantum state itself, it was utterly inscrutable.
According to the theory of Bose-Einstein condensate formation, this is a gaseous, superfluid state of matter that occurs when bosonic atoms are cooled to near absolute zero.
The statues themselves hadn’t been cooled to absolute zero, but after becoming statues, it was as if time had completely frozen for the consciousness within, entering a solidified state.
Perhaps this was also why only these infected human statues could produce Quantum Ghosts.
And for these Quantum State Life Forms to exist, they still needed to be anchored to some physical foundation—the statues themselves!
According to Shen Feng and Jingwei’s deductions, every time they destroyed a statue, it would chip away at the collective entity of the Billion Wills.
This was, arguably, the only way to harm the Billion Wills.
In any case, this was still just a theoretical deduction. No one knew if this method would actually be effective.
’If it really came to it, my only other option is to use the dozens of Quantum Force Field Cores I brought to build a Shelter and see if I can protect ten thousand survivors...’
Suddenly, a roar erupted from the surrounding weeds, and a huge yellow figure lunged at the deep-in-thought Shen Feng!
Shen Feng snorted coldly. The layer of Nanometer Battle Suit covering his body immediately began to writhe, about to envelop and devour the yellow figure.
RAT-TAT-TAT... A burst of gunfire rang out. Kuafu had reacted instantly, pulling the trigger while the yellow figure was still in mid-air.
A hail of bullets slammed into the yellow figure. The powerful kinetic energy of the rounds stopped it dead in the air for a moment before it tumbled straight to the ground.
It was a powerful lion, riddled with holes by the automatic rifle. Blood poured from its body, quickly forming a pool beneath it. It was taking its last breaths.
Shen Feng nodded slightly. The lion had clearly been lying in wait in the weeds, launching its ambush only when Shen Feng’s group drew near.
The lion was clearly a descendant of one that had escaped from a zoo.
With no natural predators in this apocalyptic world, great beasts like lions and tigers were at the top of the food chain.
But this lion never expected to encounter Brain Apes armed with guns. It was instantly reduced to a corpse.
"Let’s go." Shen Feng glanced coolly at the lion’s corpse and spurred his horse onward, as if nothing had happened.
At his side, Kuafu’s brow was tightly furrowed, his awe for the human youth before him deepening even further.
’He had just seen with his own eyes a layer of something like a metal suit ripple across the youth’s body, only to vanish into thin air a moment later.’
’Clearly, this was some kind of powerful technology, akin to Magic!’
’Just how powerful had this human youth become?’
’He could only hope Shen Feng didn’t view the Brain Ape Race as mere ants, or, if he did, that he would have enough patience for those ants...’
The warhorses galloped on. After switching mounts once midway, they had left the urban area of Yanjing far behind and arrived in the outer suburbs. A vast, military-green fenced base appeared before them.
From a distance, one could see heavy weaponry like armored vehicles and missile launchers. There was even a small airfield with dozens of fighter jets parked inside.
Kuafu turned to Shen Feng from his horse and said:
"Honorable Savior, this is a military base I discovered on a previous hunting trip. It has what you need."
On the base’s gate sign, besides the military’s red star emblem, there was another sign that had clearly been hung up temporarily:
Rocket Force Base 357.