Two days later, at a military base somewhere in the west, Shen Feng sat beside a missile silo, staring blankly at the sky.
Just a moment ago, a dozen or so strategic nuclear missiles had been launched from this base, heading toward distant cities and volcanic-seismic belts.
Kuafu and the three Ape Cavalry were also sitting nearby. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they looked dusty and utterly exhausted.
Over the past two days, they had first driven to the nearest few missile bases, then commandeered a helicopter from a military airfield, crisscrossing the entire territory of what was once humanity’s great Eastern Power.
Coordinating the few remaining satellites with data found at the military bases, they had launched every strategic nuclear missile they could find.
With little rest for two days, even the Ape Race, despite their excellent stamina, was feeling the strain.
The contrails left by the missiles were dissipating in the sky. Shen Feng did a mental calculation; it was almost time for the asteroid to hit the Dark Apocalypse’s Reverse Dyson Sphere.
Unlike the two hundred nuclear warheads that had been publicly declared, this former Eastern Power possessed closer to two thousand. And that was just the land-based strategic missiles; the number would be even higher if one included the nuclear submarines now resting on the ocean floor.
This was hardly surprising, though.
In the old world, it was impossible for the major nuclear powers to be completely transparent with one another, least of all a rising power like this one.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Human civilization had been utterly wiped out in this world, replaced by countless stone statues and the Myriad Will, which had departed for some unknown dimension. Everything that had once defined human civilization was now insignificant.
At this moment, Shen Feng found himself almost missing the Dead Hand system.
If this world had a functional Dead Hand system, things would have been much simpler. He wouldn’t have had to spend so much time rushing all over the place.
These nuclear missiles alone were enough to destroy several hundred million statues. Combined with the resulting volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis, the total number of destroyed statues should reach about a billion.
However, he still had no idea what state the Myriad Will was in, or if it had been affected at all.
Or perhaps his theory was wrong from the start. Maybe the Myriad Will wouldn’t be affected by the destruction of these statues at all—that the intermingled Quantum State Life Forms had completely detached from their former physical bodies to become something else entirely.
There was no way to know yet.
Just then, a rumble echoed from afar. A mass of Gray Tide that Shen Feng had released had already devoured a nearby town and was now sweeping onward.
In addition to direct nuclear strikes, Shen Feng had also left behind vast swarms of Gray Tide to endlessly devour buildings and statues.
After all, he had deep feelings for the eastern land beneath his feet; he couldn’t bring himself to use nuclear weapons on it indiscriminately.
The Gray Tide had already received Shen Feng’s command: except for the large territory where the Brain Apes lived, it was to continuously devour the world’s statues. It would only self-disintegrate once every last statue and city ruin had been consumed.
This process could take a very long time—weeks, or even months. But while Shen Feng was away, the Gray Tide would continue its work of devouring the statues, making it a more persistent solution than the nukes.
"Xiaofeng, it’s about time to go," Jingwei’s voice said. "The asteroid will hit the Dark Apocalypse’s Reverse Dyson Sphere system in three hours. We aren’t going to find any more nukes in that time."
Shen Feng nodded and raised his wrist, speaking to the device there.
"Requesting return to the Dark Apocalypse mission world... I want to go to the Sea City Ruins."
At the same time, he turned to Kuafu.
"I’m going back now," he said. "One day, you will understand what I’m doing. The continuation of human civilization and the fate of your Brain Apes all hinge on this. So pray. Pray that we win this victory, and then... wait for my summons."
After the last two days, having witnessed Shen Feng’s technological power that seemed almost like Magic, Kuafu had completely accepted his proposal. With a solemn expression, he said to Shen Feng:
"Honored Savior, may you achieve the ultimate victory and bring a radiant future for both humans and apes. I will lead my people and await your summons."
As he spoke, he lowered his head, placed a hand palm-up on his crown, and bowed to Shen Feng.
Among the Ape Race, this was a gesture of absolute submission and fealty.
Behind Kuafu, the three Ape Cavalry copied the gesture, their expressions reverent.
An oval portal had already formed in front of Shen Feng. He raised a hand and touched the palms of the four apes before turning and striding into it.
As Shen Feng departed, the portal rapidly closed behind him, vanishing without a trace.
Staring at the spot where the portal had vanished into the void, Kuafu’s three guards couldn’t hide their shock. They even let out bestial cries, like animals that had just witnessed a Divine Spirit.
Only Kuafu narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with excitement and relief. He spoke to the other three apes in a low voice.
"Do not be alarmed. Soon, we too will embrace this Cosmos of infinite mystery..."
He turned his head, watching the Gray Tide in the distance methodically consuming statues and buildings. Kuafu murmured again:
’Perhaps... as humans... What a mad world.’
...
The moment he stepped through the portal, Shen Feng found himself back in a vast, dark city ruin.
To be precise, it was a large, smooth crater.
This was what remained of the Sea City Ruins, half of which had previously been consumed by the Gray Tide.
The entity behind the "True Apocalypse Game" hadn’t been evasive this time, directly granting Shen Feng’s request.
The entire world remained shrouded in darkness. Jingwei had already re-established contact with the Reverse Dyson Sphere in low-Earth orbit. She began observing the asteroid hurtling toward Earth and monitoring the status of the massive Quantum Life Form, the Myriad Will.
"The Myriad Will is still drifting in deep space. The asteroid is on its projected course and will impact the Reverse Dyson Sphere in approximately one hour and forty minutes. We need to divert enough of the Gray Tide to intercept it," Jingwei reported, her usual playful tone gone.
Shen Feng nodded. With a wave of his hand, the nanomechanical battlesuit covering his body flowed off him and merged into the ground, immediately resuming its process of consumption and proliferation.
He took off his backpack and opened it. A pale blue glow immediately radiated from within, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Tilting the bag slightly, he let dozens of Quantum Position Cores roll out onto the ground.
Immediately, the newly proliferating Gray Tide on the ground enveloped these Quantum Position Cores, absorbing them into its mass and gradually shaping them into the embryonic form of a building.
"First, initiate Plan B. Find ten thousand survivors and build the Quantum Position Core Shelter," Shen Feng said. As he spoke, the Gray Tide beside him had already formed the base of a tower, which was steadily growing taller.
At the tower’s peak, Beast Gold Energy surged within the Nanomechanical Cluster, erupting in a brilliant light. It illuminated the surrounding several hundred meters as if it were day, creating a beacon that pierced the endless night. It shone brightly over the Sea City Ruins, a lighthouse to attract the human survivors living in the dark.
After surviving in the darkness for so long, no one could resist the allure of the light.
They would come to it like moths to a flame.