Shen Feng was startled and scrambled out of bed, but he immediately stepped on something hard that hurt his foot, nearly making him twist his ankle.
A huge gold bar lay on the floor, gleaming brightly.
Next to the gold bar was a portable hard drive.
Looking at his wrist, the black metal bracelet shimmered, as if telling a story.
Everything that happened in the Stone Statue Apocalypse was real!
It wasn't a dream!
He then realized he wasn't wearing any clothes; the ones he wore in the Stone Statue Apocalypse were gone.
The next moment, a sharp pain shot through his chest and abdomen. Shen Feng broke out in a cold sweat and doubled over.
His body was still covered in wounds of all sizes that hadn't fully healed.
They were mostly entry wounds from when he'd pushed his body to its limits after injecting the serum, using his petrified skin to block bullets.
Fortunately, they were all minor injuries.
Shen Feng quickly found some gauze and alcohol in the room and hastily bandaged himself.
"Woof... woof..." A weak bark came from under the bed. The golden retriever staggered out and nuzzled against Shen Feng's leg.
Shen Feng quickly knelt and picked up the golden retriever, immediately feeling its weakness.
The golden retriever's injuries hadn't healed either.
'I need to get it to a vet right away.'
Shen Feng didn't have time for anything else. He tidied the room a bit, covered the girl's stone statue and the gold bar with a blanket, grabbed his bank card, and rushed out of his rented apartment, carrying the golden retriever.
Luckily, there was a pet hospital not far from his place. Shen Feng took the weak golden retriever in for a check-up and was relieved to find there were no serious injuries.
"Young man, what happened here? If you're going to have a pet, you need to take care of it. Why is it covered in injuries?" the veterinarian said with a frown as he gave the dog a shot.
Shen Feng paused for a moment, then explained, "It was wandering alone in the wilderness before. It only came with me yesterday."
A young nurse standing nearby couldn't help but let out a "pfft" of laughter.
"Wandering in the wilderness? That's a little dramatic, don't you think? ...But the fact that you took it in means you're... you're a good person..."
As she spoke, she secretly glanced up at Shen Feng, her cheeks blushing slightly.
'This young man's eyes hold a maturity beyond his years—sharp, yet clear. His long hair is casually draped over his back, and his physique is well-defined. Gazing into the distance, he looks a bit melancholic and lost... he must be an art student, right?'
'His aura is incredible...'
Of course, Shen Feng had no idea what the young nurse was thinking. He looked out at the bustling street, feeling as if he had returned from another world.
'Almost a month has passed... My teachers, classmates, and Brother Hai must be worried sick looking for me. They've probably already called the police.'
He asked casually, "What's the date today?"
The young nurse beside him was taken aback. "It's July 23rd..."
Then she added, "We're in the dog days of summer, so it's really hot. You should be careful to avoid heatstroke, kiddo... What school do you go to? How old are you?"
This nurse was only twenty, but she was already acting like an older sister in front of Shen Feng.
'July 23rd!?'
'One day!?'
Shen Feng clearly remembered that the day he entered the Stone Statue Apocalypse should have been July 22nd!
'A month in the Stone Statue Apocalypse was just a single night in this world?'
'It might have even been just a single instant!'
'What on earth is going on?'
'Is it a matter of different time flows between Parallel Cosmoses, or can the True Apocalypse Game control the entry point in time?'
Shen Feng shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it for now.
The underlying principles were surely as mysterious as the origin of the True Apocalypse Game itself—something beyond his current comprehension.
'It's a good thing my own world hasn't been affected at all.'
Otherwise, he'd have to explain where he'd been, and he'd probably be locked up in a mental hospital as a lunatic.
The young nurse, not giving up, continued to press Shen Feng, "Kiddo, are you in college already? You seem so mature. Are you free this afternoon?"
Shen Feng turned to face the rather cute nurse and said in a righteous tone:
"Miss, I'm still a minor. What you're doing is illegal! Please take care of Xiaojin for now. I have to go to school."
With that, he turned and pushed the door open, leaving the vets and nurses in the pet hospital staring at each other before bursting into laughter and teasing the young nurse.
After leaving the pet hospital, Shen Feng returned to his apartment, stripped naked, and began to examine his body in front of the mirror.
The changes to his body after injecting so many serums had been too terrifying. Even though he was back to normal now, he still had to check if anything was amiss.
Fortunately, aside from the various scars on the surface of his skin, everything was normal. It seemed that the mutated state would only manifest after being activated.
After a nice, relaxing shower, Shen Feng picked up the girl's stone statue and placed it beside his desk.
'I don't have time to study this statue right now. I'll need to think about it long-term.'
The gold bar, however, was a bit of a problem. He had no choice but to hide it under his bed for now.
He carefully put away the portable hard drive, which was filled with all sorts of virus research data, preparing to study it slowly.
Then, he used a pair of scissors to cut his hair short. It was a bit uneven, but it looked clean and sharp.
Only then did Shen Feng pocket some money and head downstairs to a breakfast stall. He ordered a large bowl of wontons, a large bowl of savory tofu pudding, and a hefty portion of fried dough sticks, SLURPING it all down before patting his stomach in satisfaction.
'So satisfying.'
'I hadn't had a real breakfast in almost a month. I was sick of eating roasted meat and crackers every day.'
By now, the sky was bright, and the streets were getting crowded. Shen Feng paid his bill, got up, went to a phone store to buy a new phone, and started walking toward his school.
His old, crappy Xiaomi phone had been modified into the bracelet, which ironically left him without a phone.
Along the way, Shen Feng found he wasn't used to the world of bustling crowds anymore. At the slightest disturbance, even a car horn, he would become highly alert, afraid a beast would leap out from somewhere.
After all, he had spent the last month fighting for his life in the wilderness. He was a completely different person now.
He only started to return to normal when he reached the school gates.
Familiar classmates were arriving one after another, occasionally greeting Shen Feng. Apparently, none of them noticed any change in him.
However, some of the girls who normally didn't pay him much attention suddenly found this young man rather handsome, with his slender build, tanned skin, sharp eyes, and chiseled features. They couldn't help but steal glances at him.
'Why didn't I notice that before?'
"Shen Feng!" Just then, a hoarse voice roared. Li Chang, leading a group of people, rushed out from the side of the school gate and blocked Shen Feng's path.
Shen Feng paused, a confused look on his face. "You're... who, again?" 'It's been too long, I can't quite remember.'
Li Chang flew into a rage and bellowed, "I'm Li Chang! Don't you fucking play dumb with me!"
"Oh, oh!" Shen Feng's face lit up with realization. "Li Chang, as in 'Li Chang the Thief'!"
"Still running your mouth when you're about to die!" Li Chang said menacingly. "I'm gonna be the one to beat you today! Even if you call the cops, I'm gonna kick your ass first!"
"Call the cops? Why call the cops?" Shen Feng scratched his head, looking naive and sincere. "Let's get this straight: no one calls the cops, alright?"
"Haha, kid, you said it yourself! If you've got the guts, follow me!" Li Chang said, his face full of excitement.
He had gotten up early today to corner Shen Feng, his biggest worry being that the kid had wised up and would go to the police. He never expected his target to stupidly set such a rule himself.
"Let's go," Shen Feng nodded.
「Half an hour later, in a park.」
"Bro, bro, WAAAH, I was wrong! I'm Li Chang the Thief! I was really wrong! Please stop hitting me..." Li Chang, his face beaten to a pulp, knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
He bullied people every day, but he never expected to run into someone he couldn't mess with.
The moment they got to the alley, before they could even react, that Shen Feng moved like he was using cheat codes. He instantly slapped each of them across the face, so hard their heads spun, and then followed up with a barrage of kicks and punches.
They were beaten for a solid half hour and were only saved by the school bell ringing for morning reading.
Shen Feng cracked his neck, clicked his tongue, and looked at them with utter contempt.
'These high school trash are way weaker than a gorilla. I couldn't even use my full strength, afraid I might accidentally kill one of them.'
'These punks bully their classmates every day, not knowing their own limits. I guess teaching them a lesson today is a good way to blow off some steam.'
'Besides, after fighting constantly in the Stone Statue Apocalypse, it felt weird not to be fighting. Beating up some kids is a nice way to mentally decompress.'
"If you ever dare to bully classmates or extort money again, you'll strip naked and run ten laps around the school. Got it?" Shen Feng said, now feeling a bit bored.
"Yes, Brother Feng is right to lecture us! Our past actions have truly failed the expectations of our teachers and parents! I'm so full of regret!"
"Brother Feng's lesson has helped me see the error of my ways and saved my future!"
"Brother Feng, thank you!"
Shen Feng rolled his eyes. 'These guys are full of it. Looks like they haven't been beaten enough.'
Just then, the sound of the morning news drifted from a nearby house in the alley:
"...The Ice Dragon Expedition Team has made a major breakthrough in their Arctic exploration, successfully recovering a prehistoric human statue from under a kilometer of Arctic ice..."
Shen Feng shot to his feet!