Journey to the Nuclear War Wasteland

Shen Feng was shaken, but his expression remained calm. He drank a few more cups with Brother Hai and the others before saying goodbye and riding his bicycle home.

After returning to his rented room, he tapped his wristband. A light screen immediately shot out, forming a glowing projection before him:

The next stage of the game mission is about to begin. Player has unlocked a new world: Nuclear War Wasteland World.

Next came the intensity rating for the "Nuclear War Wasteland World," marked as "low-medium" intensity.

The previous Stone Statue Apocalypse had merely been a low-intensity apocalypse. Clearly, this wasteland apocalypse was far more devastating than the Stone Statue Apocalypse.

The blood-red giant eye icon of the "Real Doomsday Game" remained distinct, radiating an irresistible eeriness.

Why so soon...

Shen Feng frowned and asked, "About how much time do I have?"

The player may choose to enter within 72 hours. Entry will be compulsory after 72 hours.

Shen Feng continued, "Is there any other information about the Nuclear War Wasteland Apocalypse? Can I wear equipment when entering? What functions does the Quantum Backpack have?"

The blood-red giant eye flickered slightly, and another line of text appeared:

The player must explore other information independently. The player may use the Quantum Backpack to carry equipment into the Wasteland Apocalypse. To ensure the player's initial survival, equipment worn by the player will not be stripped away.

Shen Feng nodded slightly. That sounded more like human language. At least he would not have to appear in the wasteland apocalypse naked like last time.

Perhaps because his previous mission completion rate had been relatively high, he had been given some initial conveniences this time.

Three days of preparation were enough.

He needed to think carefully about what to bring.

Food and water, as well as lighters, binoculars, knives... Too bad he could not get a gun. He could only look for one after entering.

He should also bring some industrial goods. A wasteland apocalypse would certainly lack such things.

If the people in the nuclear wasteland had not all died out, there would be settlements. Industrial goods would definitely come in handy then.

Those things would probably be enough to fill the backpack.

Shen Feng picked up the Quantum Backpack he had tossed onto the bed and examined it carefully. The material was extremely smooth—not acrylic, not cotton or linen, not even carbon fiber. It felt slick to the touch, without a single seam.

He pulled out the label inside the backpack and saw several small words printed on it:

Cross-Dimensional Quantum Backpack: puncture-resistant, heat-resistant, fire-resistant, bulletproof, radiation-resistant...

Shen Feng could not help but chuckle. This thing was radiation-resistant too.

Wait, radiation!

His eyes suddenly widened as something occurred to him.

Why had the game system, which had originally not even allowed him to bring clothes, suddenly become so merciful and specifically stated that he could wear clothes this time?

What had it said just now... To ensure the player's initial survival?

Did that mean he might appear directly on land with intense radiation!?

He immediately asked:

"Does the Nuclear War Wasteland Apocalypse have high-intensity surface radiation capable of threatening life?"

A line of text flashed across the light screen:

The player must explore specific information about the mission world independently.

Fuck!

Shen Feng cursed under his breath, rushed to his computer, opened Taobao, JD.com, and other shopping websites, and began searching frantically.

Heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit!

Radiation Geiger counter!

Those were what he needed right now!

He did not know whether he would truly encounter intense radiation, but those items were absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, if he ran into it, he might be irradiated directly into a lump of rotten flesh at worst. At best, he would turn into rotten flesh weeks later, or die of cancer months or a year later.

Even if he got lucky, he would likely spend the rest of his life suffering from illness.

The TV series Chernobyl had just come out, and Shen Feng had watched it before.

Although it had vilified the Soviet Union to hell and back, its descriptions of radiation sickness were all real.

Very soon, Shen Feng found a professional manufacturer of protective equipment online. He immediately spent tens of thousands to customize a heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit and demanded that it be delivered within forty-eight hours.

As for Geiger counters, he simply bought several directly from JD.com.

He then bought a variety of other wilderness survival items, such as windproof lighters and hand-crank flashlights. He bought several Swiss Army knives alone before finally lying down and falling into a deep sleep.

Over the next two days, Shen Feng took two consecutive days off and did not attend class. Instead, he frantically searched online for information related to nuclear radiation, as well as various hypothetical scenarios following the outbreak of nuclear war.

Only then did he discover that, since the 1950s, many people around the world had been preparing for this very possibility. Most of them were paranoid people from Western countries.

They had dug deep shelters and stocked large quantities of long-lasting canned food, always remaining vigilant for the outbreak of a nuclear war.

Fortunately, no nuclear war capable of destroying all humanity had ever occurred.

He even found a booklet called Turtle Ball. It was a nuclear war emergency survival manual provided by some shelter companies during the peak of the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s.

It explained how to seek emergency shelter after a nuclear war broke out and ultimately survive long-term inside underground bunker shelters.

After hypnotizing himself once more, Shen Feng crammed all that miscellaneous knowledge into his brain.

The supplies he had bought online also arrived one after another. Altogether, he had spent nearly a hundred thousand yuan. The heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit in particular had been custom-made for him, with its internal tantalum layer thickened twofold.

With one day remaining, Shen Feng took a stroll around the school, went to a restaurant for a hearty meal, and wandered through the park that night, taking in the feeling of life.

He could not guarantee that this was not the last day of his life. Perhaps after entering the apocalypse, the harsh environment and terrifying beings would take his life.

And even if he survived, prolonged exposure to such a tense, high-pressure environment could easily warp his mind.

So he needed to savor things properly while he still could.

After returning home and turning on his computer, a news report immediately caught his attention.

The Ice Dragon Arctic Expedition Team had decided to temporarily halt its excavation of the stone statue ruins in the Arctic ice fields. Only the stone statue that had first been salvaged would be retained, while the entire ruins site would be permanently sealed.

As for the reason, it was said to be for the protection of the Arctic region's ecological environment. Moreover, current technology was not yet capable of perfectly excavating these prehistoric ruins.

Shen Feng could not help but let out a sigh of relief. He understood that his letter had worked.

After all, once they understood the terror of the Stone Statue Virus, no matter how much they doubted it, they would rather believe it existed than risk it being real.

The stone statue that had already been salvaged was the strongest proof.

That way, Stone Statue Disease would not break out in his home world for the time being.

Once everything was ready, after confirming there were no major oversights and filling the Quantum Backpack to the brim, Shen Feng put on the heavy-duty radiation hazmat suit that night. Holding a Geiger counter, he said to the wristband:

"Begin the second-stage game mission!"

The moment he spoke, that dizzying sensation struck again, and everything before his eyes went black.

Then came a sound like metal sheets being torn apart:

"Clatterclatterclatterclatterclatterclatter..."

It was the sound of the Geiger counter detecting ultra-high-intensity radiation.