True Apocalypse Game

"That’s... a Trident strategic nuclear weapon!"

Shen Feng bolted upright, scarcely believing his eyes as he watched the missile streak across the sky like a meteor.

’After all this time... the strategic nuclear strikes are still ongoing!’

He finally understood what "Rebirth Day" meant. Rebirth Day was the day of the strategic nuclear strikes!

Beside him, Firefly tugged on his clothes, her eyes fixed on the fiery glow in the sky as she spoke in a mesmerized tone.

"Lie down, lie down. Don’t get so worked up. We can’t change anything, we can only wait for the gods’ mercy. Until then, we might as well appreciate the most beautiful thing in the world. My mama used to say that in this land, people live like cockroaches, but even cockroaches have their own joys. The deadliest things in this world are also the most beautiful... how interesting..."

Shen Feng glanced around. Almost everyone was lying motionless on the tops of various buildings, clearly long accustomed to this Rebirth Day scene.

He lay down again as well, quietly watching the streak of fire falling from the highest reaches of deep space against the night sky.

It was the spectacular sight of an intercontinental ballistic missile re-entering the atmosphere, but no one knew where the nuclear warhead would ultimately land.

Perhaps right here, in Nameless Town.

’If I’m really burned to ashes by the searing heat of a nuke, the pain will only last a moment, won’t it?’

Just then, a new trail of fire appeared from the northwest, streaking overhead and heading east.

This fiery trail was moving extremely fast; judging from its trajectory, it was headed somewhere very far away.

Firefly said excitedly,

"That’s the Eternal Wind of the Northern Bear God! It’s said to blow from the northernmost wastelands of Siberia, forever cold. He and the Great God Jingwei are friends and enemies, a truly enigmatic being."

A chill went through Shen Feng. He had almost forgotten that another once-powerful civilization existed in the north. It appeared their nuclear strike system also remained operational.

But this ICBM seemed to be flying straight over this land and heading east. Where was it going?

’North America? The Pacific Islands?’

At that moment, Shen Feng felt that all of this was completely surreal. ’Can humanity’s hatred really last this long? A vendetta that persists even after death?’

’But those people should have died out long ago...’

Just then, several new points of light rose from the surrounding dark wilderness, like a series of small suns. Some were extremely far away, while others felt as if they were only tens of kilometers away.

The residents of Nameless Town, however, erupted into cheers. Many of them started shouting:

"Praise be to the Great God Jingwei!"

"For all eternity, without end!"

"Great God Jingwei, please grant me rebirth!"

"May the East Wind protect us!"

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

A total of seven intercontinental ballistic missiles, each carrying a nuclear warhead, rose from different locations. Like seven stars, they left this land and flew toward destinations across the globe.

Shen Feng understood. This was the land’s still-functioning nuclear strike system!

The ICBM launch vehicle he had encountered in the wasteland was part of it!

’But where are these nukes headed?’

’Is every former great power getting its share, or is it different each time?’

Just then, the Trident missile in the sky completed its atmospheric reentry. Its light dimmed somewhat, and in the next instant, the single large star became seven smaller ones, streaking down toward the ground.

Shen Feng held his breath, realizing these were the Trident ICBM’s multiple warheads.

Each warhead represented a nuclear blast in the hundreds-of-kilotons, or even megaton, range!

Although there were no ground-based interceptions, the warheads, having re-entered the atmosphere, still followed their programmed procedures, continuously maneuvering at high speeds and changing their trajectories.

They would have been nearly impossible to intercept even in peacetime, let alone now.

They were completely unopposed.

The warheads rapidly fell in all directions, like a field of falling stars.

Although the people of Nameless Town didn’t know exactly what these things were, they knew what they meant.

After living in this wasteland for so long and experiencing so many Rebirth Days, they knew that these meteors, these flashes of light, meant death.

Everyone now held their breath, waiting for the warheads to land.

Soon, a brilliant flash of light erupted from a hundred kilometers away, illuminating the entire night sky.

Then came another flash. There must have been others in different locations, but they were too far away for the light to reach Nameless Town.

A long while later, a rumbling tremor arrived, like muffled thunder rolling from deep underground, and the buildings of Nameless Town began to shake.

Long after the tremor subsided, a fierce gust of wind blew in from the distance, kicking up clouds of dust and blanketing the town.

But the people who had been lying on the rooftops all stood up and began to cheer loudly.

"We’ve been reborn!"

"Haha, we get to live another year!"

"Thank you, Great God Jingwei, for your protection!"

"Reborn! We’re reborn!"

"..."

As the crowd cheered wildly, Shen Feng finally understood the true meaning of Rebirth Day.

To live in this wasteland—or rather, to live on this wasteland of a planet called Earth—was to face a potential nuclear baptism every single year.

If you managed to avoid it, it was as if you had been born anew.

This time, Nameless Town had dodged the bullet once again.

As for next year’s Rebirth Day, that was a worry for next year.

Firefly sat up as well. She looked at the faint glow of fire that had appeared in the distant wasteland and said,

"That direction... I think that’s the Iron Axe Tribe’s City of Steel... Their chieftain just had to give the city a name. They were fine for the past few years, but I guess they couldn’t escape it this year... Places with names never come to a good end..."

The young girl’s voice was full of regret. She had been to the City of Steel before, where she had sold some things she’d scavenged from the ruins.

"A name?" Shen Feng paused, then asked, "But doesn’t Nameless Town have a name?"

Firefly said, "No, Nameless Town is ’the town with no name.’ There are lots of towns with no names. Once you have a name, you might not get to be reborn."

Shen Feng nodded.

’Place names are probably important coordinates for the nuclear strike system,’ he mused. ’Or maybe something happened during the Great War that led the wastelanders to form this belief.’

He frowned slightly as he looked out at the distant wasteland.

He had originally thought that even though the world had suffered a nuclear war and many places were blanketed in radiation, the survivors were living in relative peace and contentment. He’d thought human civilization hadn’t been completely extinguished and believed that in a few thousand, or even tens of thousands of years, it could still recover.

He never imagined that the nuclear strikes had never actually stopped!

No wonder the radiation levels in so many places were still horrifyingly high.

If the nuclear strikes continued, in a few decades, there might not be a single area on Earth left untouched by radiation.

Humanity would be utterly wiped out!

The only slight comfort, perhaps, was that for various reasons, not many nukes fell on this particular land each year...

But just who—or what—was still carrying out these nuclear strikes to this very day!?

At that moment, Shen Feng finally understood the meaning of the missions within the "True Apocalypse Game."

Finding the nuclear strike command systems of the three pre-war great powers could be the key to ending it all!

Seeing Shen Feng’s grim expression, Firefly giggled and said,

"We’ve been reborn, so don’t look so serious. Cheer up! We humans are tougher than cockroaches, you know."

Hearing her words, Shen Feng let out a chuckle, feeling much more at ease.

He then clambered down from the roof, went back inside, and dug out the wreckage of the dirt bike and a pile of assorted parts, then started to repair it.

This was the benefit of a silicon-based brain. He had once seen an exploded-view diagram of a dirt bike in a magazine or on a website somewhere, and he’d also happened to see mechanics repairing motorcycles at a shop downstairs a few times. Now, he just had to retrieve the relevant memories to start the repairs.

The thing was severely damaged, however. He wasn’t even sure if he had all the necessary parts. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Meanwhile, all of Nameless Town was buzzing with activity again, this time in celebration of their rebirth.

In a corner of the town, a group of people had gathered. It was Scar and a few of his men.

Standing before them was a short-haired man who reeked of gasoline. He had a wheel tattooed on his body and was staring at Scar with a sharp, menacing gaze.

Scar pulled a small pouch from his clothes, handed it to the man, and said,

"This is the sample I just obtained today. If it’s ultimately confirmed that this outsider is the Flawless Seed Source, I hope the tribe will honor its promise and give me a fitting reward."

The short-haired man took the pouch, opened it, and found a pair of chopsticks whittled from wooden sticks. They had traces of blood on them.

He casually tossed a bottle to Scar, then turned and vanished into the darkness.

Soon, the faint roar of an engine could be heard, signaling his departure.

Scar twisted open the cap with a smile on his face, releasing a pungent odor.

It was high-octane gasoline.