True Apocalypse Game

What Li Tongchen received was information about a certain terpene compound.

When he saw the basic structure of this terpene compound, he was first ecstatic, but then he calmed down and frowned.

According to his current understanding of the Stone Statue Disease virus, this terpene compound should be able to inhibit its spread.

But that was all.

It would only inhibit the virus’s spread and delay the onset of symptoms, not eradicate it completely.

And at best, it would only buy them about a month.

’Does the entity behind the game not have a vaccine at all, only this simple inhibitory measure?’

But even so, this was enough to make Li Tongchen feel less desperate.

Even one extra day would be a blessing. With more time, perhaps a new solution could be found.

By midnight on the third day, the game time was over.

Of the one hundred medical elites selected by Shen Feng, a total of thirteen managed to prevent their game characters from dying, successfully completing the mission and obtaining partial vaccine information.

Of the remaining people, seven had their game characters die, permanently losing their eligibility to play.

The other players completed the game to varying degrees, but a few of them either didn’t seem to take the game seriously or displayed overly idealistic behavioral patterns. Shen Feng eliminated all of them directly.

Their failure to quickly change their mindset and internally accept the "True Apocalypse Game" indicated that these individuals had poor adaptability. They would struggle to handle unexpected situations and be of little help to Shen Feng.

Furthermore, those who acted overly idealistic in the game would be equally incapable of making the right choices in an apocalyptic disaster.

It was like the famous trolley problem: a train is approaching a fork. One person is standing on the side track, while nine people are on the main track ahead. Do you pull the lever, sacrificing the one person to save the nine?

Many people would get bogged down in a dilemma of morals and values.

But what if the one person were replaced with ten thousand, and the nine were replaced with the rest of humanity? How would one choose then?

An idealistic person, faced with such a momentous decision, would only consider their own moral judgment, and in doing so, cause the vast majority to die.

From a certain perspective, these sanctimonious idealists were also the most selfish of people. Their decisions were not based on rational choice but on first considering whether they themselves would face moral judgment and a guilty conscience.

Ultimately, their subconscious was still self-centered.

After removing these individuals, only seventy-nine of the original one hundred remained.

A line of text appeared on the game terminals of all seventy-nine:

"Congratulations, you have passed the internal beta test and earned the title of ’Player,’ becoming a member of the Player organization."

Only then did they realize that the Player organization was the name of the mysterious force behind the game!

Li Tongchen glanced at the Player title on his phone screen, slipped the phone into his pocket without a second look, and pushed open the door to rush toward the lab.

He had gone nearly three days and nights without sleep. His whole body felt light and unsteady as he walked, as if he were treading on cotton.

But none of that mattered. He couldn’t sleep yet!

Another three days passed, and the expedition team members’ conditions had all worsened.

The progression time for the early stages of Stone Statue Disease wasn’t uniform; it varied depending on the patient’s condition.

The deputy leader of the Ice Dragon Expedition Team was now unable to move normally, his skin even showing signs of cracking.

Throughout the entire Polar Center Building, even the high-level leaders were now showing early symptoms of Stone Statue Disease.

Society was also seeing a large number of reports about acute skin diseases and joint problems.

The Stone Statue Disease virus had already spread rapidly.

The highest levels of leadership, having learned the severity of Stone Statue Disease, were even beginning to consider locking down the entire Demon City.

Compared to Alaska, which was already completely out of control, their ability to execute orders was, after all, the strongest.

However, if a lockdown and martial law were truly ordered, it would undoubtedly trigger nationwide, and even worldwide, panic.

The experimental team had long been standing by under his orders. Soon, following the information provided in the game, Li Tongchen had synthesized the terpene compound and begun administering it to several severely ill patients.

Just two hours later, the patients’ symptoms began to show signs of easing!

Not only did their skin elasticity show some recovery, but even the cracking sounds from their joints became fainter.

It was working!

Li Tongchen didn’t hesitate and immediately reported this news to the highest authorities.

Of course, he concealed the existence of the "True Apocalypse Game."

Immediately after, he contacted the *Lancet* and other international journals directly to publish the composition of the terpene compound and the trial results.

What he hadn’t expected was that the *Lancet* immediately put out a special issue, publishing reports from thirteen of the world’s top medical experts.

The content of the reports was all about the "Stone Statue Disease" virus!

Stone Statue Disease, this name, completely replaced its previous designation of a self-limiting acute hemorrhagic-like syndrome and became the virus’s official name.

Each person’s treatment method was like a piece of a puzzle. When the thirteen pieces were put together, they formed a complete vaccine!

This was something Li Tongchen had never expected.

And he immediately connected these experimental reports with the "True Apocalypse Game."

But, just like him, not one of these thirteen people mentioned anything about a "True Apocalypse Game." It seemed they were unaware, having found these methods entirely through their own experiments.

Li Tongchen also wondered if the others had gone through an experience similar to his own.

Conversely, there were five or six other titans of the medical world who claimed they had encountered a "True Apocalypse Game." They said the game’s developer was likely the mastermind behind Stone Statue Disease and that they had been eliminated from the selection process.

But when asked to produce evidence, they claimed their computers and phones had all been formatted, leaving nothing behind.

Although their words garnered some public attention, they were ultimately dismissed by everyone as jealous ramblings directed at the thirteen doctors.

A few days later, the medical systems of several major nations went into overdrive, and the Stone Statue Disease Vaccine began mass production.

The public had only just learned of the horrors of Stone Statue Disease when the catastrophe began to dissipate.

The thirteen doctors who had jointly developed the Stone Statue Disease Vaccine were immediately awarded that year’s Lasker Medical Award and were considered shoo-ins for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. For a time, they became heroes to the entire world.

While ordinary people might not have fully grasped the situation, the entire medical community already regarded them as absolute heroes.

Only those with some medical background could deeply understand how insidious the Stone Statue Disease virus truly was.

The Stone Statue Disease virus was ultimately classified as a level-five infectious disease. Below it were the level-four Ebola virus and the level-three SARS.

This was enough to illustrate the monumental achievement of the Stone Statue Disease Vaccine, and the greatness of these thirteen doctors.

For the time being, however, none of this had much to do with Li Tongchen.

After several sleepless days and nights of intense work, he was finally able to rest, collapsing in his office and sleeping soundly for a full day and night.

When he was finally awoken by hunger, he got up and, still wearing the same white lab coat he’d had on for days, returned to his desk.

A great catastrophe had been temporarily averted, but Li Tongchen now felt even more bewildered about the entity behind the True Apocalypse Game.

’Who is it? What kind of person could it be?’

A package his assistant had received for him sat off to the side.

Suddenly, his phone chimed again.

Li Tongchen immediately picked it up and opened it.

The blood-red eyes appeared again, and a line of text materialized on the screen:

"Congratulations, Player, for successfully passing the final test. You have obtained the title ’Disciple.’ Please accept the developer’s gift."

’Disciple? A gift?’

A look of confusion crossed Li Tongchen’s face. He then suddenly noticed a striking icon on the package: a blood-red eyeball!

He immediately tore open the box, and a 100-yuan banknote fell out.

He picked up the banknote and examined it with confusion, but there was nothing unusual about it. It could even pass a currency detector’s inspection.

’What does this mean?’

Suddenly, Li Tongchen saw the printing year on the banknote and froze.

2025.