Chapter 166: Chapter 165: In the Human World
’A virtual reality device?’
Nick arched an eyebrow, instantly recalling the news he’d seen over the past few days about the two most popular virtual reality devices on the market.
They had supposedly achieved a breakthrough in neural interface technology, reaching a completely new level that made the user’s experience incredibly lifelike.
In that instant, he understood the Commander’s objective and was thrilled.
A virtual reality version of the True Apocalypse Game would be on a whole other level compared to mobile and PC games!
But on second thought, he was a little skeptical about just how immersive the experience offered by these two devices could really be.
The Eagle Country military and intelligence agencies had their own military-grade virtual reality devices, which offered an experience far superior to the commercial entertainment models.
Vast resources had been poured into their research and development, and no expense was spared on their technology and hardware.
These devices were primarily built to simulate battlefield environments for psychological and reflex training.
Nick had tried these devices before. They were far from mature and still had a long way to go before they could be called "realistic."
’Still, it has to be better than a phone or a computer...’
With that thought, Nick went to the Amazon website and placed an order for The Stars virtual reality device.
The Other Shore Virtual Reality Device was also excellent, and possibly even better, but it was a product of the Hua Country Chrysanthemum Factory. He didn’t mind, but he’d catch a lot of flak if anyone else found out.
Although both virtual reality devices had been announced, neither was officially on the market yet; their launch was still at least a week away.
Shortly after Nick placed his order, Salvation Army members in various countries also began ordering The Stars or the Other Shore Virtual Reality Device, staggering their purchases over different periods.
Most of them used cover or fake identities, and the timing of their orders was widely dispersed, eliminating the possibility of any interested parties tracking them down through their purchases.
Meanwhile, at The Stars virtual reality device factory not far from Silicon Valley, a group of uniformed workers filed into the workshop, ready to begin assembling the new devices.
With the official launch imminent and a huge number of pre-orders, they had to work hard to build up inventory.
Of course, the overtime pay from Google Company was also quite generous.
A Mexican worker wearing an "FT" (FuckTrump) hat walked expressionlessly to his station. He worked on assembly for a short while before heading to the restroom.
The moment he entered an empty, unmonitored hallway, he suddenly leaped up, jumping straight to a ventilation duct opening and grabbing the iron grate covering it.
Then, his entire body seemed to melt like liquid. He flowed through the narrow grate, squeezed into the ventilation duct, and became a pool of silver-gray goo moving through the shaft!
Soon, the mass of silvery goo split into several streams within the ductwork, each heading toward a different warehouse filled with finished products.
Before long, small globs of the silver-gray metallic goo had appeared inside the warehouses, which were stacked high with finished goods.
This goo then subdivided further, breaking into individual metallic droplets that seeped through the cracks in the packaging and device casings. They slipped into one virtual reality device after another, settling into the central control systems to lie dormant...
A similar scene was unfolding at the Hua Country "Other Shore" virtual reality device factory.
Retrofitting the virtual reality devices required more than just a software upgrade; some hardware modifications were also necessary.
Trying to locate the nearly ten thousand Salvation Army Warriors one by one would be too much trouble. It was far more convenient to simply install the Nanomechanical Cluster in all the virtual reality devices.
Besides, as his most powerful tool at the moment, it was best to spread these Nanomechanical Clusters as widely as possible across the globe, making them available for his use anytime, anywhere.
As for the risk of this stuff getting out of his control, it wasn’t a major concern for now.
Although quantum communication couldn’t yet solve the problem of ultra-long-distance signal transmission, as long as a place had network access, the clusters could be detected and controlled by Shen Feng’s Consciousness Antennae.
After all, anyone who bought a virtual reality device would have to connect it to the internet to use it.
Once these preparations were complete, all that was left was to wait for the devices to ship.
Over the next few days, aside from monitoring Brendan, the CEO of Rattlesnake Company, Shen Feng gave himself a break. He went back to school, trying to feel like a normal person again and calm his mind.
While school held no academic value for him anymore, its therapeutic significance was immense.
His body was gradually transforming, but he had to hold on to his human heart.
He had no desire to become a madman like Arthur Seldon from the Gray Tide apocalypse.
’Of course, that’s probably what the Whisperer would love to see...’
"Old Shen, have you seen that new Other Shore Virtual Reality Device from Huawei? It’s awesome! Looks way better than Google’s The Stars! And the tech seems a little more advanced, too. Man, I’m practically drooling over it..."
It was the break between classes, and Ji Xin turned to Shen Feng.
Shen Feng had been back in class for about a week. He had explained away his prior absence with the excuse that he had to "go inherit property from a distant relative."
Though his classmates were filled with envy, they all offered him their sincere congratulations.
After all, most of them knew Shen Feng was all alone in the world and had to work every day after school. It was a tough life.
News traveled fast. A few school bullies with ill intentions wanted to squeeze some money out of him, but they were all driven off by Li Chang and his crew, who had previously been taught a lesson by Shen Feng.
Now, Li Chang and his underlings had become Shen Feng’s loyal lackeys. In their eyes, Shen Feng was such a good fighter that he could be the king of the school if he wanted. Siding with someone that powerful was clearly a good move.
Of course, Shen Feng himself was unaware that he had unwittingly gained a few followers.
As for the more vain girls with ulterior motives, they started fawning over Shen Feng, making him sigh at how times had changed and wonder what was wrong with kids these days.
’Still, it’s pretty interesting,’ he thought. ’Guess you could call it part of the therapy.’
Hearing Ji Xin’s words, Shen Feng smiled.
"You like it? I’ll buy you one."
Unexpectedly, Ji Xin frowned and said in a serious tone,
"Buy me one? Are you kidding? This is brand-new tech, supposed to be incredibly realistic. One unit costs almost a hundred thousand! You can’t just throw money around like that, even if you have it now!"
Seeing Shen Feng still grinning, Ji Xin’s expression turned even more stern.
"Old Shen, you’ve seemed like a different person since you came back. Even if you inherited a fortune, you can’t just be a spendthrift; you have to be frugal. I know it’s your money, and I shouldn’t meddle, but as your friend, I have to remind you. The world isn’t as simple as you think. You’re on your own, and you’ve still got to finish school, find a job, get married... all of that costs money. If you don’t plan carefully, any amount of money can disappear in a flash."
Shen Feng’s heart warmed at Ji Xin’s words. This was a true friend. He said at once,
"Don’t worry, Old Ji. I know what I’m doing. I won’t spend recklessly..."
Just then, Wang Xiaoqin, the class beauty, leaned over from the side. With a grin and a flutter of her big, sparkling eyes, she asked,
"Shen Feng, are you free tonight? I want to ask you to go shopping with me... There’s this store that just got some super cute new Lolita dresses..."
Ji Xin quickly waved his hand dismissively.
"Go on, get out of here. Old Shen’s busy today. Beat it, you gold digger."
Wang Xiaoqin snorted and retorted angrily,
"Who are you calling a gold digger? I saw a dress I want to buy, and I just wanted Shen Feng’s opinion on it. What’s wrong with that?"
Shen Feng couldn’t help but smile as he watched the two of them bicker.
Wang Xiaoqin wasn’t really a gold digger. Her sudden attention was likely spurred on by the competition from the other girls.
’Women,’ he mused. ’They’re all the same. An indescribable obsession with any limited-edition item that everyone else wants.’
’Doesn’t matter if it suits them or not. Snatch it up first, figure out the rest later.’
Lately, his days had been filled with lofty concepts like world destruction, saving human civilization, and terrifying, mysterious entities. A change of pace like this—witnessing the small-scale emotional dramas of individuals—was actually pretty interesting.
Shen Feng suddenly felt himself relax considerably.
A bell rang, signaling the start of the next class.
Footsteps sounded at the door, and their homeroom teacher, Li Dabaihua, appeared at the lectern. "Class," he announced.
"Class, I have some good news to announce. We have a new transfer student from Yanjing, Wei Miqing, who will be joining us. Xiaowei, come on in. Let’s give her a warm welcome!"
Then, to everyone’s astonishment, a beautiful girl walked into the classroom with a smile. Dressed in a Lolita-style outfit, she looked as if she’d stepped right out of a comic book.
The girl had features that resembled someone of mixed heritage. She was radiant, almost inhumanly beautiful, with long hair cascading over her shoulders. She beamed at the class and said,
"Hi everyone, my name is Wei Miqing! I hope we can all get along!"
The students were all stunned speechless, their eyes wide. The boys were instantly infatuated, their faces turning red. Even the girls, including the class beauty Wang Xiaoqin, suddenly felt inadequate by comparison.
’How can anyone be that beautiful?!’
Sitting in his seat, Shen Feng felt his face twitch. Watching this scene unfold, he was dying of second-hand embarrassment.
’Obviously, this "Wei Miqing" is Jingwei!’
’No wonder Jingwei’s been so quiet for the past two days. She was busy pulling this stunt!’
’That thing actually came to school with me!’
Looking at her perfectly immaculate bangs, Shen Feng couldn’t help but rant internally:
’Lady, are your bangs made of iron or something?!’
’What the hell are you even trying to do?!’
’Weren’t my lungs warm enough for you?’
’Did you have to come out here and cause a scene?!’
’You’re going to blow your cover so easily!’
’A Nanomechanical Robot might look like a normal person to the naked eye, thanks to optical refraction and careful coloring and shadowing, but the jig is up the moment someone touches it.’
’It has none of a human’s softness or warmth.’
’It would feel like touching a piece of iron.’
"Lady, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Do *you* need an education?" Shen Feng’s Consciousness Antennae instantly linked with Jingwei as he demanded an answer.
Standing at the front of the class, Jingwei shot him an irritated glare and replied through their mental link,
"I was afraid you’d get yourself killed, so I made an avatar to protect you! I even designed it by analyzing all the most beautiful female stars in human history and averaging their features, and this is the thanks I get? You have the nerve to ask *me*? Do *you* need to go to school?"
She walked straight to Shen Feng’s side, smiled sweetly at his deskmate, and said,
"Excuse me, could I switch seats with you?"
As she spoke, she forcibly yanked the tall, sturdy boy to his feet and plopped down in his seat.
The half-ton metal body sat down, and the stool immediately groaned, several cracks appearing on its surface.
Shen Feng’s former deskmate rubbed his arm, which felt like it had nearly been torn off, and quickly grabbed his bag to find another seat.
This scene immediately sent a wave of whispers through the classroom.
’This new goddess knows Shen Feng!’
’And they probably have some kind of complicated relationship!’
All the boys looked devastated, while the girls were bursting with gossip, but they couldn’t ask anything since class was starting.
Shen Feng rubbed his forehead, utterly exasperated. He said to Jingwei through their link,
"Enough of this nonsense. Let’s start the game!"
Their two Consciousness Antennae instantly entered the network cloud, issuing a new command to all True Apocalypse Game players across the globe:
"Gray Tide Apocalypse, commence!"
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