The umbrella-shaped head of the Space Wormhole Generator, which had been spinning as rapidly as a particle accelerator, suddenly decelerated and ground to a halt.
The image on the metal screen vanished, turning completely black.
Even the Nanomechanical Cluster that formed the screen was completely fried, disintegrating on the spot.
A momentary instability in the energy transfer had fried some of the Space Wormhole Generator’s components.
Shen Feng’s conscious tendrils instantly retracted to his Silicon-Based Brain. He gazed at the Space Wormhole Generator in the void outside the window and wiped the sweat from his brow.
That last scene had been utterly terrifying.
’How could a World Beast be so enormous?’
’It took up the entire Solar System!’
’What kind of matter is it even using to expand itself?’
’And how was it born?’
’And then there were all those bizarre versions of Earth he’d seen in the other Parallel Cosmoses. Almost all of them had major issues.’
’Human civilization couldn’t possibly survive in those extreme environments.’
’They were nothing but apocalyptic landscapes.’
Shen Feng had previously "seen" some signals from Parallel Cosmoses through the Transfer Towers belonging to "Destructive Shen Feng" in the Biohazard Apocalypse, but it had never been this effortless.
It seemed now that this modified, debugged, and patched Space Wormhole Generator was the real deal—far more advanced and powerful than the one he’d gotten from Shield UY.
After all, the previous Wormhole Generator could only create Space Wormholes within their own Cosmos, whereas this one could reach directly into a Parallel Cosmos!
The significance of that was self-evident.
A surge of Gray Tide roiled, and Jingwei once again formed a curvaceous substitute body.
"Xiaofeng, you can’t be so impatient when you’re ’channel surfing.’ Fast-forwarding too much can cause a short circuit. Be more careful next time," Jingwei teased Shen Feng in a mock-serious tone. Her expression then turned solemn as she continued,
"We have no idea what’s really in the Parallel Cosmoses. If we run into something that can attack across the cosmic barrier, or even come face-to-face with a Whisperer... with our current strength, I think we’d be better off just picking out our coffins now."
Shen Feng nodded.
"Good point. We need to lower the power input. We could just get a blurry image and then use an AI program to fill in the details..."
Then, Shen Feng broke into a smile at Jingwei and said,
"Maybe next time, we won’t need some cheap fitness tracker. We’ll be able to find our home world’s coordinates and break through the spatial barrier on our own. The entity behind the ’True Apocalypse Game’ made space-transfer technology out to be so mysterious, but it doesn’t seem like such a big deal now."
"That’s all for later. But I’ve already calculated the spatial coordinates for the Dark Apocalypse. By the time we go back, the Ideal Country project might be complete."
After she spoke, Jingwei took the Obelisk and helped Shen Feng stuff it into his Quantum Backpack. She zipped it up; it was a perfect fit.
Shen Feng took the backpack with a knowing look, raised his arm, and spoke to the wristband:
"Dark Apocalypse mission complete. Requesting return to home world. I also request to change my reward and bring back one item: the Space Wormhole Generator."
The words had barely left his lips when text flashed onto the wristband’s screen:
"Requested item exceeds energy transport limit. Request denied. Preparing for return to home world."
Hearing his request was once again denied, Shen Feng shrugged and pursed his lips, saying nothing more.
By now, he had a much better understanding of the entity behind the "True Apocalypse Game" and knew it would absolutely deny his request.
After all, this powerful Space Wormhole Generator rendered the barriers between Parallel Cosmoses practically nonexistent. It also meant that Shen Feng could gradually escape the control of the "True Apocalypse Game"!
But it didn’t matter. He had already mastered and perfected all the parameters and data, so whether he brought the actual Space Wormhole Generator back with him made little difference.
He glanced through the porthole one last time at the Reverse Dyson Sphere and the Earth outside. He saw the advanced AI, "Nuwa," meticulously following his instructions. Space elevators were descending to the surface, and the entire world was in the process of recovery as the Ideal Country project was gradually implemented.
’I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.’
A wave of vertigo washed over him, followed by a sudden flash of white light and a tremor beneath his feet. The next instant, the light vanished. Shen Feng found himself standing on a solid floor, back in his rented apartment in Modu Sea City.
The luxury flat overlooking the Huangpu River.
Shen Feng had no time to admire the beautiful view outside. He plopped down on the sofa, savoring its softness and the warmth of the sun. He cracked open a can of cola, took a few big gulps, and sighed in satisfaction.
The sound of paws pattering approached, and a large golden retriever bounded out of the bedroom. It pounced on Shen Feng, licking his face enthusiastically while wagging its tail nonstop, as if to comfort him after his ordeal.
"Hahaha, Da Jinzi! How’ve you been? Did you miss me?" Shen Feng asked with a laugh, ruffling the dog’s fur vigorously.
He had brought Da Jinzi with him after moving from Tai City to Hai City. Although his time in the mission world was only an instant in his home world, Da Jinzi seemed to have sensed something.
After playing with the golden retriever for a while, Shen Feng got up, opened his Quantum Backpack, and took out the mysterious black Obelisk. He went into his study and solemnly placed the object on a bookshelf with his other collectibles.
On the middle shelf, to the left, was Yamaguchi Sora’s brain floating in a nutrient solution. To the right was the petrified head of the previous Cthulhu, Pablo Escobar. In the center sat the mysterious black Obelisk.
On the shelf above that rested the tip of a World Beast’s tentacle, a piece of Sacrificial Metal, a bar of Beast Gold, and a Quantum Force Field Core.
The whole arrangement had a very postmodern look.
After surveying his collection, Shen Feng walked over to a corner of the study.
A life-sized stone statue stood there, dressed in a white lab coat. On its chest was an ID badge that read: "National Academy of Sciences Senior Researcher, Ji Jiuyun."
Shen Feng narrowed his eyes, once again staring intently into the stone girl’s eyes, using his psychic waves to sense for any fluctuations of consciousness.
Just then, the sound of soft footsteps came from behind him. It was Jingwei, who had changed into a realistic biological avatar. Barefoot and wearing a loose-fitting nightgown, she entered the study.
"Since we can’t detect any conscious fluctuations and have no way to communicate, why don’t we just try smashing it with a hammer?" Jingwei said, her face completely serious. "You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Maybe if we grind it into dust, we can learn something from its microstructure."
Shen Feng looked at the unresponsive statue and said,
"Logically, if there really is a Quantum State Life Form inside, wouldn’t smashing the statue destroy it? Besides, I get the feeling you have an ulterior motive."
Just then, a news report came from the TV behind them:
"...The White House has ordered... the forced closure of the consulate in Houston... reciprocal retaliation..."