The progression of his Petrification Disease seemed to have accelerated.
Thankfully, it was still in the early stages of infection, so he had plenty of time left.
After reading through the data, Shen Feng didn't feel much of anything. Instead, he was remarkably calm.
He had already theorized about how the Petrification Disease might have originated.
Generally, there were only two possibilities: one, it was developed in a lab; two, it came from some unknown region that humanity had yet to fully explore.
Just as the Ebola virus came from the jungles of Africa, the initial strain of the Petrification Disease originated from beneath the glaciers of the Arctic.
He had originally thought the Brain Apes were the cause of the Petrification Disease, but now it seemed he had misunderstood them.
They were merely byproducts of the Petrification Disease's mutation process.
From the moment the Stone Statue Virus appeared, humanity's ultimate fate was sealed.
This terrifying virus continuously mutated, ultimately becoming the final form of the Petrification Disease and triggering the mass extinction of the entire human race.
In a way, it was like a time bomb planted by some cosmic prankster, hidden beneath the Arctic glaciers, waiting for a curious humanity to dig it up.
He had more or less figured out the origin of the Brain Apes. Now, he just needed to obtain a tissue sample to complete his mission.
Come to think of it, the appearance of the Brain Apes had forced him to the Huicheng City Disease Control Center, giving him time to properly review the other detailed files on the Petrification Disease.
He still had about three to four days of food and water. The safest plan was to hide here until the Brain Apes left, then find a way to leave for the Capital.
Shen Feng shifted into a more comfortable position in front of the computer and continued to browse through the various files.
The files stored here were almost entirely research data on the Petrification Disease, along with reports on various situations after the outbreak.
Starting from the earliest files, he could practically feel the entire arc of society's journey from confusion to shock, then to panic, and finally, to utter extinction.
Regarding this terrifying virus, the Petrification Disease, various researchers had proposed new perspectives beyond just prevention.
Patients in the initial stage of the Petrification Disease would experience increased strength and a significant improvement in brain function.
According to the research, this was likely due to the initial siliconization of some of the body's cells, which caused these changes.
In the early days of the Petrification Disease outbreak, many even believed that if humanity could stabilize the virus at this stage, it would trigger a massive evolution in the physical capabilities of the entire human race.
After all, a diminished sense of pain, enhanced skin and bone density, and improved brain function could certainly be called an evolution.
However, this stage typically lasted only two short weeks, followed by a decline in mobility and gradual organ failure. Their resistance to physical trauma, however, skyrocketed.
It was said that some late-stage Petrification Disease patients could even withstand pistol rounds at close range.
What caught Shen Feng's attention, however, were two particular research papers.
One paper proposed that after the human body becomes completely silicon-based, although no brainwave activity could be detected, a weak electromagnetic pulse, very similar to brainwaves, was constantly emitted from within the petrified human.
Therefore, the paper's author theorized that even after humans completely turned to stone, they might still possess thought and consciousness. They were still alive, just in the form of a statue!
Once petrified, these humans became a new form of silicon-based life, possessing a nearly eternal existence!
It was just that this silicon-based life form's perception of time was completely desynchronized from the surrounding environment.
The second paper's hypothesis was even more original.
The author believed that after becoming silicon-based life forms, the petrified humans might have entered a new age of interconnected thought.
Each silicon-based human's body was like a massive, silicon-based information storage device, capable of holding vast amounts of data. It was even possible they could exchange information through some method currently beyond human comprehension.
It even suggested that the bodies of all the petrified humans, using the entire Earth as a foundation, might have formed a single, colossal processor, spontaneously simulating a brand new world—or even a brand new cosmos.
In that virtual cosmos, the minds of all the petrified humans were liberated, free to create and destroy with infinite abandon.
Simply put, the petrified bodies had become servers, and the collective consciousness of humanity had created a Virtual World.
Because of this, once petrified humans appeared on a mass scale, their consciousness was no longer tied to their individual bodies. It roamed freely in that Virtual World. The destruction of a single statue would have no effect whatsoever.
These two papers left Shen Feng dumbfounded.
Though they were only theories, their scope was truly breathtaking, like a Celestial Horse galloping across the heavens.
'Could these statues... really be alive!?'
Shen Feng walked up to one of the statues and observed it closely.
This was the statue of the director of the Huicheng Disease Control Center.
He was posed with one foot on the ground and the other suspended in midair, as if in the middle of taking a step.
Shen Feng looked down at the statue's feet. After so many years, a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the floor.
He hadn't noticed it at first, but now he saw that behind the statue, hidden in the accumulated dust, were three deep footprints!
Although these three footprints were also covered in dust, they were clearly much shallower, and they became more distinct the closer they were to the statue's current position!
Shen Feng checked the other statues in the room, and his breathing grew ragged once more.
Behind every statue were two or three footprints of varying depths, clearly left at different times over the years.
'Are they really moving, but at a speed tens of thousands, millions, or even hundreds of millions of times slower than normal?'
'Did these statues take several years just to take a few steps?'
'In that case, what does the normal world look like to them? Is it just a blur of rapidly shifting, grotesque shadows?'
Shen Feng rubbed his forehead. This was all too complicated for him right now. Beyond mere survival, he didn't have the energy to figure any of it out.
Right now, he was more concerned with the whereabouts of the "Pangu Virus," also known as the "Stone Statue Virus Type 2."
According to the information in the database, the final dose of the "Pangu Virus" had been requisitioned by the Huicheng Disease Control Center for research.
But before the research could even begin, the Stone Statue Virus had a full-scale, massive outbreak.
'That means the Pangu Virus syringe is still in this building!'
And thanks to the continuously operating solar power system, the syringe should have been perfectly preserved.
Shen Feng scouted around the research lab, put on a pair of medical gloves, and walked over to a metal cabinet that still looked pristine. He entered a password he had retrieved from the computer system.
The cabinet door slid open instantly, releasing a puff of cold air. Even after several years, the refrigeration system was somehow still running.
Rows of vials, sealed in glass racks, appeared before him. They were all samples of various viruses and vaccines collected during the Petrification Disease outbreak.
Most of these had once been terrifyingly potent, but by now, they were likely all inert.
Shen Feng unlocked a hidden compartment and pulled out what was inside.
A small metal cylinder.
He placed the metal cylinder on the table and pressed a button. It opened immediately, and a puff of white gas hissed out, pushing up a single syringe.
'This is it! The Pangu Virus syringe!'
Only a trace of liquid nitrogen remained in the cylinder. The contents of the syringe were a murky brown, making it impossible to tell if it was still viable.
Shen Feng took a deep breath and picked up the syringe.
'Who cares? Even if it's ineffective, the virus in me is just going to progress to its final stage anyway.'
'When you're covered in lice, you stop itching. Since I'm already infected with the Stone Statue Virus, I might as well take a gamble.'
He then abruptly jabbed the needle into his own forearm and pushed the plunger.
A cool sensation spread from his arm, then throughout his whole body.
Shen Feng waited for a moment, but when nothing unusual happened, he tossed the empty syringe aside in disappointment.
'It must have expired.'
After poring over so much data and going through all that, Shen Feng finally felt exhaustion wash over him. He cleared off a sofa, lay down, and fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he was jolted awake by a series of roars. His eyes flew open to see the entire research lab bathed in fiery light!
Shen Feng shot to his feet. The walls of the lab were brightly illuminated by a light shining from outside.
He quickly rushed to the window to look outside.
Night had fallen and the sky was completely dark. In Huicheng's central square, not far from the Disease Control Center, a massive bonfire was raging. Flames shot dozens of meters into the air, casting a brilliant, fiery glow over the entire area.
A dense mass of Brain Apes sat around the bonfire, as if conducting a grand ceremony.
And the fuel for the pyre was thousands upon thousands of stone statues!