Apocalypse

Chapter 2: Apocalypse

The fire was lit, and warmth gradually seeped into the cold, damp barracks.

The Short Sword was casually stuck into the ground beside him. Wrapped in bandages, Gu Qingshan sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

His expression was somewhat grave.

His mind kept slipping into blank spells.

He tried hard to recall many things from his memories, but everything was hazy.

The soldier named Zhao Liu brought over a pot of soup, set it over the fire, and covered it with a lid.

Zhao Liu then pulled out a small box and handed it to Gu Qingshan. "Thanks to you, or I would have died at that monster's hands too."

"What is this?" Gu Qingshan asked, taking the box.

Zhao Liu said, "The camp's last two Healing Pills."

"Why aren't you keeping them for yourself?" Gu Qingshan asked.

Zhao Liu shook his head. "I'm not a cultivator. I can't use these."

Gu Qingshan opened the box and saw that there were indeed two pills inside.

He took one out and examined it carefully in his palm.

The pill was in perfect condition; even the thin layer of sealing wax wrapped around it had not flaked off in the slightest.

The pale-green pill gave off a faint, refreshing fragrance that invigorated the spirit at a whiff.

So this was a Healing Pill.

Healing Pills were the lowest-grade health potions. In the past, Gu Qingshan would not have spared one a glance, but now that he had been reborn, his former cultivation was gone and his body was covered in wounds. These two Healing Pills were priceless treasures.

Gu Qingshan could not help asking, "There are only these two Healing Pills left in the entire Military Camp?"

Zhao Liu sighed. "Yes. After everyone died, the supply route was cut off. It's not just pills—there's barely any of any other supplies left either."

Gu Qingshan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. "Are there any Spirit Stones left in the Military Camp?"

"No," Zhao Liu said.

"Then that's bad," Gu Qingshan sighed.

Zhao Liu hurriedly asked, "Why?"

"The camp's Concealment Array is already very weak. Without Spirit Stones to replenish it, the array will disappear soon enough."

Zhao Liu shuddered, scrambled to his feet, and dashed outside like a madman.

If the Concealment Array stopped, the demons would immediately discover this Military Camp. When that happened, death was certain beyond all doubt.

No wonder those two captains had worn such utter despair in their eyes when they left a few days ago.

Gu Qingshan watched him rush out. After waiting another dozen breaths or so, he heard a faint hum from outside.

That sound meant new Spirit Stones had been loaded into the array, restarting it.

Only after hearing it did Gu Qingshan relax slightly.

Zhao Liu had indeed hidden away some Spirit Stones.

In this world, every person was real, flesh and blood. Treating them as mindless NPCs would lead to a crushing loss.

Gu Qingshan had understood that truth long ago.

Before long, Zhao Liu dragged his heavy steps back inside, slowly sat down against the wall, covered his face, and began to cry.

"Why are you crying?" Gu Qingshan asked.

"This time, the Spirit Stones are really all gone," Zhao Liu said. "When the array fails next time, the demons will kill us all."

Gu Qingshan was silent for a moment. Then he broke the sealing wax on the pill, swallowed the Healing Pill in one gulp, and began trying to sense the Spiritual Power within his body.

At first, he was somewhat uneasy, uncertain whether he could sense any Spiritual Power at all.

To his surprise, everything went smoothly. The Spiritual Power in his Dantian immediately answered his summons, working with him to dissolve the medicine and circulate it through every part of his body.

Gu Qingshan felt warmth spreading through his entire body, while waves of numb itching rose from his wounds.

The wounds had begun to heal.

By the time the medicinal power was completely spent and Gu Qingshan opened his eyes again, it was already the latter half of the night.

Gu Qingshan got to his feet and moved around a little. He found that his body was much better, and many of his wounds had formed fresh scabs.

Zhao Liu was still keeping watch beside him, his head bobbing with sleepiness. Seeing Gu Qingshan awake, he asked eagerly, "How is it? Are you feeling better? Can you take me with you when you escape?"

That final question revealed his true thoughts. If not for that, he probably would not even have brought out the Healing Pills.

Gu Qingshan answered truthfully, "I'm better, but it will probably take a few more days before I fully recover my fighting strength."

"Then get some rest."

Zhao Liu stood up in disappointment, turned, and walked out.

After Zhao Liu left, Gu Qingshan sat alone on the ground, lost in thought.

In the era where he had originally lived, the demons from the game had long since entered the real world and destroyed humanity's civilized order.

The remaining humans could only struggle on at death's door, watching helplessly as they awaited the end of the world.

Everything had reached its end.

Thinking back on it now, there had actually been many strange signs as early as when the game descended upon the world.

Back then, every country in the real world had promoted the game with desperate fervor.

Food, money, beauty, power—they would give you everything, so long as you became strong enough in the game.

Many strange incidents had also appeared around the world, but the upper echelons of humanity had kept them tightly covered up, leaving ordinary people completely unaware.

It was not until the first weapon was brought from the game into the real world that ordinary people realized this was not a game at all, but a complete Otherworld.

Everyone threw themselves into the game like mad.

But the demons in the game were truly terrifying, enough to drive people to despair.

Despite hundreds of millions of players pouring into the game to help the Otherworld Human Race resist the demons, the Human Race still suffered defeat after defeat in every decisive battle.

Until the final battle, the game issued a server-wide announcement, declaring that if the battle was lost, the demons would occupy the Otherworld within the game and then descend upon the real world in full force.

The real world was about to be completely destroyed by the demons.

The entire real world went mad.

Every human above the age of five was forcibly ordered to enter the game and create an account.

As the propaganda put it, even a beginner character with no attack power could at least block one attack for the main force in battle.

But in that final battle, the Human Race still lost.

Only the National Guild led by Gu Qingshan completed the task assigned by the system and successfully fought their way before the Final Demon Lord.

When all the other players had died in battle, Gu Qingshan knocked the Final Demon Lord from the Bone Blood Throne. He was just about to gain the chance to kill that final BOSS.

But at that moment, two heavy system announcements rang out in succession.

"The Human Race's final deity has fallen. The Human Race King's City has been breached. Battle verdict: Human Race defeated."

"Game over. The Protective Barrier has shattered. The real world will now begin to be destroyed."

Boom—

A massive roar erupted. People were forcibly driven from the game one after another, forced to watch the apocalypse of the real world descend before their eyes.

Before he could be forcibly logged out, Gu Qingshan raised his weapon without a care for anything else and savagely drove it into the Final Demon Lord's heart.

Before he had time to see the result, Gu Qingshan's vision went black, and he was forcibly expelled from the game.

Yet he did not return to the real world where the apocalypse had descended. Instead, he completely lost consciousness.

In the haze, Gu Qingshan vaguely heard a mechanical voice making an announcement.

"Player Gu Qingshan has killed the Final Demon Lord, preserving the last spark for the World of Despair Fallen into the Abyss. The Final Reward is hereby granted."

Gu Qingshan felt something appear in his hand, and then he knew nothing more.

When he woke again, he was already in the Pit of the Dead outside the Military Camp.

Thinking of this, Gu Qingshan shook his head and sighed regretfully.

What a pity. The game had been running for ten years, yet he had never heard of any Final Reward.

He really wanted to know what it was.

No, wait.

Gu Qingshan suddenly remembered something.

When he woke from the pile of corpses, it seemed that he had been holding something in his hand.

—That Short Sword!

Gu Qingshan abruptly looked down.

The Short Sword was still stuck in the ground beside him.

It was a Golden Short Sword. Its blade bore not a trace of excessive, elaborate decoration, and its sharp gleam was rich and lustrous.

When Gu Qingshan stared at it, he could even see a faint layer of golden light flickering in and out over the Short Sword.

As Gu Qingshan recalled things bit by bit, his heartbeat quickened more and more.

Before he killed the Platoon Leader, this sword had already been in his hand.

For some reason, the Short Sword had felt remarkably handy, so he had not searched the pile of corpses for any other weapon.

Had this sword originally been buried in the pile of corpses, or had he brought it out from the final battle?

Gu Qingshan held the Short Sword, hesitated for a long while, then urged the Spiritual Power in his Dantian into it.

The instant the Spiritual Power entered the Short Sword, golden radiance burst forth from it, spreading into a vast and majestic golden brilliance.

A faint sense of ancient majesty emanated from the Golden Short Sword.

"Unauthorized crossing successful. Activation commencing."

A cold, mechanical voice rang out.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Gu Qingshan felt that even this cold system voice seemed unable to suppress a trace of excitement.

The next moment, the Golden Short Sword exploded in Gu Qingshan's hand into countless motes of golden light.

Those golden motes floated in the air, circled Gu Qingshan twice, then all surged into the space between his brows.

Gu Qingshan only felt a thunderous boom by his ears. His Sea of Consciousness turned blank, and he stood frozen in place, unable to move at all.

After quite some time, the cold mechanical voice made an announcement, laden with deep exhaustion.

"Activation successful. The War God Operating Interface has now been opened."