Chapter 171: Chapter 170: The Purification Society’s Lurker
Soon, the hooded youth appeared atop the crest of the Gray Tide.
His appearance was different from the last time. He seemed to possess features from every race, yet belonged to none of them.
Everyone felt a sense of déjà vu, but they couldn’t recall where they had seen him before.
Some anthropologists and medical experts in the group instantly understood. His face was likely an average, a composite of the faces of youths from every race.
This was why everyone felt such a sense of familiarity and warmth toward him.
The Gray Tide continued to morph, forming a long staircase that rose thousands of meters high, straight into the clouds, as if piercing the heavens and reaching a place no one could ever access.
Shen Feng sat down a few dozen steps up, resting his elbows casually on his knees with his hands clasped together. He looked down at the fervent expressions of the Salvation Army Warriors below and asked with a smile:
"How does it feel to be completely wiped out?"
As soon as he said this, the players all looked ashamed. Embarrassed smiles appeared on many of their faces.
Besides the main forces annihilated on the 9,000th floor, the small squad of several hundred led by Li Tongchen, Vasily, and Satoshi had also been utterly defeated.
After all, the situation on the 10,000th floor was completely different from what they had anticipated. The entire event seemed to be nothing more than a conspiracy orchestrated by the mysterious entity controlling the Gray Tide.
It was a huge trap, but one they had no choice but to walk into.
"Commander!" The Legion Commander snapped to attention and saluted, breaking the awkward silence.
The other players also saluted the youth:
"Commander!"
"Commander! It is a great honor!"
"We are ashamed. We hope the Commander is not disappointed..."
"..."
In the real world, they were all proud, top-tier individuals unacquainted with failure. They never expected to stumble so completely in the Gray Tide apocalypse mission.
Shen Feng nodded and said:
"The controller of the Gray Tide is an invincible existence within this world. For ordinary people, facing it means certain defeat. Your loss was not unjust."
The Legion Commander frowned and asked Shen Feng with a sincere expression:
"If that’s the case, how should we respond when the Gray Tide disaster breaks out in the real world? Please enlighten us, Commander."
They had long understood that the disasters occurring in the "True Apocalypse Game" would eventually manifest in the real world.
From the looks of it, the Gray Tide apocalypse was an unsolvable crisis. Ordinary humans didn’t stand a chance.
The Nanomechanical Cluster was like a colony of termites, silently and secretly corroding and converting everything into Nanomechanical Insects, then erupting when the time was right.
An attack that could neither be anticipated nor defended against was simply insurmountable.
When you go to war against the Gray Tide only to find that your own weapons have already become a part of it, how are you supposed to fight?
Hearing this, all the players present pricked up their ears, eager to hear the Commander’s solution.
In their view, perhaps it was precisely because the Gray Tide was so terrifying and difficult to resolve that the Commander had them experience this horrifying disaster through virtual reality devices.
Shen Feng smiled slightly and said:
"The Gray Tide apocalypse was originally bound to happen, but I have already stopped it at the source. So, the apocalypse from the game will not appear in the real world. You can all rest assured."
Hearing this, the crowd first felt a wave of relief, which was then followed by a tinge of disappointment.
They were relieved by the Commander’s power and foresight, but disappointed that they couldn’t contribute.
They were elites who could make things happen in the real world, yet before this youth, they suddenly felt rather useless...
Shen Feng’s expression turned serious as he continued:
"Although the Gray Tide apocalypse won’t happen in the real world, it has long been a reality in a highly similar parallel world. The root of it all was a researcher whose daughter had cancer, but he didn’t have enough money for her treatment... This researcher was the creator of the Gray Tide apocalypse..."
"As for you, in that world, you became the last ember of hope—an ember that was fated to be extinguished..."
Shen Feng then gave them a brief account of his experiences in the Gray Tide apocalypse, including Arthur Seldon’s revenge against the entire world and the tragic struggles of that world’s Salvation Army Warriors.
To avoid unnecessary complications, he omitted Arthur Seldon’s real name, referring to him only as the inventor of the Nanomechanical Cluster.
Shen Feng spoke with captivating eloquence. His voice had a rhythmic cadence, like a beautiful piece of music, complemented by the ever-shifting light and clouds in the sky, leaving the players utterly mesmerized.
When they heard that Shen Feng had already saved that world and entrusted the reborn world to their parallel-world counterparts, the players felt refreshed and uplifted.
Although everything Shen Feng described was incredibly bizarre, and they still had some doubts, they were about eighty percent convinced.
After all, Shen Feng, who presented himself as a Savior, had no reason to deceive them.
However, they also realized something rather awkward—it seemed the Commander had them experience the Gray Tide apocalypse... simply to torture them?
’No, of course not...’ The players shook their heads internally, dismissing the thought.
’The Commander must be doing this to temper our willpower, to increase our Spiritual Power by making us endure this terrifying mental agony. It’s to prepare us for other disasters, to save human civilization... right?’
The trauma of dismemberment and pulverization was just too painful, and many among them had experienced it dozens of times!
Then they heard Shen Feng continue:
"The world is chaotic, but it has its fundamental laws. Many times, perhaps a single small act of kindness can save the world. So, be good people, my friends..."
"Also, Cthulhu’s Purification Society is likely a branch of the Whisperers. You must all be careful. The affiliates we’ve identified so far include the Snake Eye Mercenary Company, the Rattlesnake Military Industry Company, and others. I will share the relevant information with you."
With a wave of his hand, Shen Feng made a large amount of data appear before the crowd. It detailed the founders and owners of these two companies and their intricate connections to the Purification Society.
Besides these two companies, there was also a great deal of information and clues about other personnel that Shen Feng and Jingwei had found on the deep web in recent days. The level of detail far surpassed anything the players had previously shared among themselves.
Seeing how thoroughly Shen Feng had investigated, many players looked ashamed.
They had received the game system’s prompt many days ago but hadn’t found a single clue...
Meanwhile, a few people, including Nick, showed looks of sudden realization upon seeing the information about the Snake Eye Mercenary Company.
They had all heard about what happened in Wuyou Town, Nebraska, in Eagle Country, but they had been clueless about it.
Only now did they understand that it was all the Commander’s handiwork.
"Furthermore, I saw that it was convenient for everyone to share information in the game space, so from now on, the entire game system will be open to you at all times. The three apocalypse missions you have completed will all be converted into virtual reality versions for you to load. Everything here is quantum-encrypted, so there will be no information leaks. You can communicate freely and without worry."
The youth continued:
"Additionally, I will select the one thousand top-performing individuals and grant them tokens, making them new Disciples as encouragement. Let us strive together."
The last word had barely left his lips when the youth’s figure rapidly dissipated into the Gray Tide, as if he had never been there at all.
The players couldn’t help but look regretful yet excited.
All the news the Commander had announced left them thrilled.
First, if they could freely choose to enter the True Apocalypse Game, it could become a platform for them to exchange information. It would also be extremely secure, allowing them to even reveal their real-world identities to those they trusted.
Second, a thousand people would receive the Commander’s token and gain the title of Disciple!
This was even more significant for them!
As the most elite group of people in the world, the Commander’s recognition was more important than anything else!
’I just wonder if I’ll be one of them?’
After nearly half a month, they had finally passed the trial of the Gray Tide apocalypse mission and met the Commander. Their emotions were still in turmoil.
Many of them chatted for a long time within the game mission before gradually logging out of the True Apocalypse Game and returning to the real world.
From now on, the game would be their base of operations.
At the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Headquarters, in the Director’s office, Nick stood up from his game pod and took off the helmet.
His expression was a mixture of relief and gravity.
After a moment of thought, he picked up the intercom on his desk, dialed a few numbers, and issued several orders. Then, he left with his new secretary, Kristen, and a few special agents, getting into a car headed for the airport.
A few hours later, he appeared in an underground smuggling tunnel on the border between Eagle Country and Mexico.
The tunnel was extremely wide, built jointly by several major Mexican Lone Eagles, and had just been seized by the Central Intelligence Agency three months prior.
The group moved quickly through the tunnel and soon arrived on the Mexican side of the border.
The agents were all Nick’s trusted subordinates, but they were confused, not knowing what mission the Director was leading them on.
As the secretary, Kristen was even more baffled as to why an office worker like her was participating in this kind of mission. She hadn’t even had time to change out of her high heels, which made walking through the tunnel very uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Nick, who was walking ahead of them, stopped.
The others also halted. They saw Nick slowly turn around, a gun now in his hand.
To everyone’s shock, the muzzle shifted slightly, pointing directly at the beautiful secretary, Kristen.
"Talk. What was the Purification Society’s purpose in placing you by my side?"
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