Shen Feng's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive. After a few more drinks with Brother Hai and the others, he said his goodbyes and rode his bike toward home.
Back in his rented apartment, he tapped the bracelet on his wrist. A beam of light shot out, projecting a luminous screen before him:
"Next game mission phase initiating. Player has unlocked a new world: Nuclear Wasteland."
Next, the intensity of the "Nuclear Wasteland" was displayed, labeled as "Low-to-Medium" intensity.
The previous Stone Statue Apocalypse was merely a low-intensity world. Clearly, this wasteland would be far more devastating.
The blood-red, giant-eye icon of the True Apocalypse Game remained sharp, exuding an undeniable and eerie power.
'How can it be so soon…'
Shen Feng frowned and asked, "How much time do I have?"
"Player may choose to enter within 72 hours. After 72 hours, entry will be mandatory."
Shen Feng continued, "Is there any other information on the Nuclear Wasteland? Can I bring equipment? What are the functions of the Quantum Backpack?"
The blood-red giant eye flickered, and another line of text appeared:
"Further information must be discovered by the player. The player may use the Quantum Backpack to carry equipment into the wasteland. To ensure the player's initial survival, worn equipment will not be confiscated."
Shen Feng nodded slightly. 'That's more like it,' he thought. At least he wouldn't be showing up in the wasteland completely naked like last time.
Perhaps because he had a high completion rating on his last mission, the game was giving him a few starting advantages this time.
Three days to prepare. That should be enough.
'I need to think carefully about what to pack.'
'Food, water, a lighter, binoculars, knives... Too bad I can't get my hands on a gun. I'll just have to find one when I get there.'
'I should also bring some manufactured goods. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, those are bound to be in short supply.'
'If anyone survived the nuclear war, there will be settlements. Manufactured goods would be incredibly useful.'
'That's probably enough to fill the entire backpack.'
Shen Feng picked up the Quantum Backpack lying on his bed and examined it. The material was incredibly smooth—it wasn't acrylic, cotton, or linen. It wasn't even carbon fiber. It felt slick to the touch and was completely seamless.
He pulled out a tag from inside and was surprised to see a line of small text:
"Interdimensional Quantum Backpack. Puncture-proof, heat-proof, fire-proof, bulletproof, radiation-proof..."
Shen Feng let out a soft laugh. 'So this thing is radiation-proof, too.'
'Wait. Radiation!'
His eyes flew wide as a sudden realization hit him.
Why would the game system, which previously didn't even let him bring clothes, suddenly have a change of heart and specifically mention he could wear his own this time?
'What was that line again? "To ensure the player's initial survival"?'
'Does this mean I might spawn directly in an area with high-intensity radiation?!'
He immediately asked the system:
"Is there life-threatening, high-intensity surface radiation in the Nuclear Wasteland?"
A line of text flashed on the screen:
Player must discover mission world details through exploration.
'Fuck!'
Shen Feng cursed under his breath, rushed to his computer, and pulled up several online shopping sites, searching frantically.
Heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit!
Geiger counter!
These were what he needed to find now!
He didn't know for sure if he'd face high-intensity radiation, but he had to have these things just in case.
Otherwise, if he did run into it, the worst-case scenario was being instantly turned into a pile of mush by the radiation. The best-case scenario was turning into mush after a few weeks, or dying of cancer in a few months or a year.
Even if he got incredibly lucky, he'd likely spend the rest of his life in pain and sickness.
The American miniseries *Chernobyl* had just come out, and Shen Feng had already watched it.
Even though the show dragged the Soviet Union through the mud, its depiction of radiation sickness was all too real.
Shen Feng quickly found a professional manufacturer of protective equipment online. He immediately spent tens of thousands to custom-order a heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit, demanding it be delivered within forty-eight hours.
He bought a few Geiger counters from a major online retailer.
He then bought a miscellaneous assortment of outdoor survival gear—windproof lighters, hand-crank flashlights, and even several Swiss Army knives—before finally falling into a deep sleep.
For the next two days, Shen Feng skipped his classes, taking the time instead to frantically research nuclear radiation and various post-nuclear-war simulation models online.
He soon discovered that people had been preparing for this since the 1950s. Most of them were paranoid "preppers" from Western countries.
These people had dug deep Shelters and stockpiled massive amounts of canned food with long shelf lives, constantly on alert for a nuclear war.
Fortunately, a humanity-ending nuclear war had never actually happened.
He even found a pamphlet titled *Turtle Pol*, a nuclear war emergency survival manual distributed by Shelter companies during the height of the Cold War in the '60s and '70s.
It detailed how to find emergency cover after a nuclear blast and survive long-term in an underground Shelter.
After another session of self-Hypnosis, Shen Feng crammed all of this information, useful or not, into his brain.
The various supplies he'd ordered online began to arrive. All told, he had spent over a hundred thousand yuan. The heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit was particularly expensive; he'd had it custom-made with the inner tantalum layer doubled in thickness.
With one day remaining, Shen Feng took a stroll around campus, treated himself to a huge meal at a restaurant, and walked through a park in the evening, just to soak in the feeling of a normal life.
He couldn't be sure this wasn't his last day among the living. The harsh environment and terrifying creatures of the apocalypse could claim his life the moment he arrived.
And even if he did survive, the long-term tension and high-pressure environment could easily warp his mind.
That was why he had to appreciate this moment while he still could.
Back home, he turned on his computer, and a news headline immediately caught his eye.
The Ice Dragon Arctic Expedition Team had decided to temporarily halt the excavation of the stone statue ruins in the Arctic Icefield. They would keep only the single statue they had initially recovered, and the rest of the site would be permanently sealed off.
The official reason given was to protect the Arctic Region's ecosystem, with the added explanation that current technology was insufficient to properly excavate the prehistoric site.
Shen Feng breathed a sigh of relief. He knew his letter had worked.
After all, once someone understood the horrors of the Stone Statue Virus, even if they were skeptical, they would choose to err on the side of caution.
The statue they had already recovered was the most compelling evidence.
This way, the Petrification Disease wouldn't break out in his world—at least, not for now.
After making his final preparations and double-checking for any oversights, he stuffed the Quantum Backpack until it was full. That night, dressed in his heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit and holding a Geiger counter, Shen Feng spoke to the bracelet on his wrist:
"Begin game mission phase two!"
The words had barely left his lips when the dizzy spell hit him again, and his vision went black.
Then came a sound like tearing sheet metal:
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..."
It was the sound of the Geiger counter detecting extremely high levels of radiation.