The statue depicted a young man. It was incredibly lifelike—even the wrinkles on its forehead were distinct. Looking closely, you could even see the pores in its skin.
Even every single strand of hair had been meticulously sculpted, each one separate from the next. It was impossible to know how much effort had gone into carving it.
Shen Feng's earlier attack with the ashtray had, however, broken off quite a few strands of the statue's hair.
The statue's face was frozen in terror. From its posture, it seemed to be looking down at its own left arm, while its right hand held a coffee cup, now filled with dust.
It was still wearing clothes, but they were tattered and riddled with holes from insects.
'What kind of person would be so bored as to put a statue like this here?'
'Given this level of detail, not even a world-class master sculptor could necessarily achieve this.'
'And who kidnapped me?'
'Or did I sleepwalk here last night?'
Shen Feng was utterly confused. Seeing a fruit knife on a nearby table, he immediately grabbed it and faced the door.
But despite all the commotion he'd just made, no one came in to check. There wasn't even the slightest sound.
'Right, call the police!'
Shen Feng quickly picked up his phone, only to find there was no signal at all, as if he were in the middle of nowhere.
'Where on earth is this place?'
A sudden chill ran over him. He hurried back into the inner room, opened the wardrobe, and found a pair of sweatpants and a short-sleeved shirt to put on.
They fit reasonably well and looked like the clothes from the statue outside.
Then, gripping the knife, he went to the door, took a deep breath, and threw it open—only to find that it was dead silent outside. The guards he had imagined were nowhere to be seen.
This appeared to be an old, street-facing residential complex. The hallway was thick with dust, and weeds were even sprouting from it.
The apartment he was in was on the second floor. As Shen Feng headed down the corridor, he froze.
Another human-shaped statue stood in the hallway. It was just as lifelike, but this one was of a young woman.
The female statue's face also wore a look of terror, its features rendered in minute detail.
The complex outside was also filled with numerous stone statues, all as lifelike as real people, their faces contorted in fear.
He walked out of the complex and onto the street. Wormwood sprouted everywhere from cracks in the concrete. The surrounding walls were covered in rust spots. Cars looked like they had been sitting there for years, their tires aged and cracked, their paint mottled and rusted.
'What is this place? It's like a ghost town.'
The street also had its share of stone statues. Some had calm expressions, some despairing, others terrified. Their postures varied, but all of them radiated a deathly frenzy.
'What the hell... It's like the end of the world!'
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, a thought struck Shen Feng.
'Stone statues... apocalypse...'
'Stone Statue Apocalypse!'
He immediately picked up his phone and tapped the "True Apocalypse Game" icon. Two large words appeared on the screen: In-Game!
He vaguely remembered pressing "Start Game" before he went to sleep.
'I'm... inside the game right now!?'
'Where is this place?'
'A Parallel World?'
'Why has everyone turned into stone statues!?'
As if hearing his thoughts, a few lines of text appeared on the phone's game interface:
"Player has successfully entered the Stone Statue Apocalypse. This Doomsday World is a mass extinction world caused by the Level 7 contagious Stone Statue Virus. Game Objectives: 1. Find the cause of the large-scale Stone Statue Virus outbreak. 2. Search for the final research data on the Stone Statue Virus. 3. Obtain the Petrification Disease virus from Patient Zero. 4. Find and inject the Stone Statue Virus serum to avoid death after infection."
"The incubation and outbreak period for the Stone Statue Virus is 15 to 30 days. Player, please stay alive and avoid permanent death."
Reading these words, Shen Feng felt like his head was about to explode.
He had really entered a Doomsday World!
And a viral apocalypse at that!
The worst part was, he had likely already been infected with this so-called Stone Statue Virus!
"Let me go back!"
Shen Feng furiously tapped the game icon. Another line of text appeared:
"Player can only end the game, receive rewards, and return to the original Doomsday World by completing the objectives."
'I can't go back!'
Shen Feng squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then gradually opened his eyes again.
His heartbeat gradually steadied.
He had struggled on his own since he was young and had faced countless setbacks. That fierce tenacity deep within him was suddenly ignited.
'If I can't go back, then so be it. I'll see just what this Stone Statue Apocalypse is all about!'
Besides, he had always been an apocalypse survival enthusiast. He'd fantasized about it plenty, and now that he was in a real apocalypse, it was, in a way, a wish come true.
Shen Feng's thoughts raced as he began to think rapidly.
He didn't know how long this world's apocalypse had been going on. The most important thing for him to do now was to understand this world as quickly as possible.
With this in mind, Shen Feng crossed a street, quickly found a newsstand, and picked up a stack of yellowed, brittle newspapers.
'Thank God, I can read this!'
"Massive Stone Statue Virus Outbreak! Oceania Completely Petrified!"
"Government Issues New Martial Law Edict. Curfew Begins Today. Looters Will Be Shot on Sight..."
"Although the Stone Statue Virus Continues to Mutate and Become More Dangerous, According to Professor Chen of the National Academy of Sciences, the Latest Vaccine Is Nearing Completion. Defeating the Stone Statue Virus Demon Is Imminent..."
"Xin City Now a Virtual Ghost Town. Is the Quarantine Policy for Critically Ill Patients Effective?"
"..."
The date on the newspaper was frozen on July 6th, which explained why most of the statues were wearing short sleeves.
Just from these newspaper reports, Shen Feng could feel the panic that had gripped the entire world as it faced this irresistible destruction.
At the same time, in front of a statue of a middle-aged man inside the newsstand, there was a yellowed diary.
Opening it revealed a diary written by the newsstand owner during the days of the Stone Statue Virus outbreak.
"May 6th, Sunny
A few customers who came to buy papers today seemed to be moving a little slow. Old Zhang who buys scratch-offs walked like a crab. There are rumors going around about some kind of mutant flu, not sure if it's true."
...
"May 15th, Overcast
The news said a brand-new virus broke out in the rainforests of South America. It's airborne, and the symptoms are a bit like Parkinson's, but much more aggressive. Hope it doesn't spread here..."
...
"June 1st, Rain
Fewer and fewer customers. The name 'Petrification Disease' sounds so weird. Don't know which expert came up with it. Bunch of damn experts. I heard a traditional medicine doctor in town has a prescription that can prevent it. I'll go check it out tomorrow..."
...
"June 17th, Sunny
I saw a critical patient turn into a stone statue with my own eyes today. What the hell kind of virus is this? Even a famous traditional doctor like Doctor Zhou turned to stone. When the hell is the vaccine going to be ready? I hear it's chaos everywhere else. America has already descended into civil war..."
...
"July 6th, Dea—
I think I'm in the final stages too. I can barely hold my pen. With this disease, first you feel your skin losing its elasticity, then your joints get a little stiff, and then it gets harder and harder to move. But it seems the virus mutated again. They say the final stage erupts rapidly in just a few minutes, roo—"
After reading the diary from beginning to end, Shen Feng's heart skipped a beat. He immediately pressed down on his own arm.
'Good. The skin bounced back.'
Through the newspapers and the diary, he now had a rough understanding of the Petrification Disease, but it was far from enough.
He needed more information.
'The library!'
As he thought of this, his stomach rumbled.
He was hungry.
'I wonder if the food in the stores is still edible?'
In an isolated apocalypse like this, the most terrifying thing wasn't some monster, but all the diseases you could get without medicine or doctors.
A simple case of diarrhea could be a death sentence.
Suddenly, the CLIPPETY-CLOP of hooves echoed out, and a sika deer burst out from around the street corner!
Shen Feng couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. 'Meat!'
But the deer looked like it was fleeing in a panic, and it turned and charged straight toward him.
Immediately after, the heavy thud of frantic footsteps followed from the corner as a dozen powerfully-built wild wolves burst out in hot pursuit of the deer!