True Apocalypse Game

The voice from outside the door sounded young, full of energy. It had to be a young man.

Li Tongchen frowned. Murmuring, "Just a moment," he pulled a bulletproof vest from the closet and slipped it on under his jacket. He then tucked a stun gun into his pocket, gripping it tightly with his right hand, and only then did he open the door.

Outside, in addition to a young man in an Opposite Wind Express uniform, stood two guards.

Ever since his real identity had been exposed in the game, the government had suddenly assigned several guards to him under the pretext of protecting important research personnel.

Although he didn’t know which high-ranking Salvation Army comrade was behind it, Li Tongchen was deeply grateful.

However, he also felt it was completely unnecessary.

After all, he had spoken with the Commander. Although he had to be modest, Li Tongchen knew in his heart that the Commander’s interest in him was anything but ordinary.

Therefore, if he were ever in real danger, he believed the Commander would intervene directly to help him.

"Hello, sir. Your package." The young courier smiled and handed the box to Li Tongchen.

The guard beside him swiftly took the package, saying, "Elder Li, please wait a moment."

He then scanned the package with a portable security device before handing it back to Li Tongchen.

Li Tongchen accepted the package with a resigned sigh and said,

"Xiaowang, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. You’re all being far too careful."

The guard, Xiaowang, immediately snapped to attention, saluted Li Tongchen, and said,

"Elder Li, you’re a national treasure, on the same level as Mr. Yuan! Your safety is of the utmost importance. We can’t afford a single oversight."

"Alright, alright." Knowing he couldn’t win the argument, Li Tongchen nodded to the courier, signed for the package, and took it back inside.

Li Tongchen was puzzled, wondering who would suddenly send him a package. He cut open the box with scissors and found a small bottle nestled inside, wrapped securely in foam.

The moment he saw the small bottle, a jolt went through Li Tongchen. There, on the bottle, was a stark red eye icon!

It was the icon of the "True Apocalypse Game"!

’This is... could it be...’ Li Tongchen suddenly felt his breathing grow short.

Just then, his phone, sitting off to the side, suddenly vibrated. The red icon for the "True Apocalypse Game" flashed, displaying a message:

Brain Domain Evolution Fluid, single dose. Consume directly.

’It really is a reward from the Commander!’

’The Commander chose me after all!’

Even though he had vaguely guessed this outcome, Li Tongchen still couldn’t conceal his excitement.

He picked up the small bottle, stared intently at the transparent liquid inside, then, without hesitation, uncapped it and drank the contents down.

’Even though I have no idea what this Brain Domain Evolution Fluid actually is, since it’s a reward from the Commander, it must be something good!’

The thought of taking a sample of the liquid for research never even crossed Li Tongchen’s mind.

If he had done so, not only was the chance of successfully analyzing it virtually zero, but the terrible impression it would make on the Commander alone meant the potential loss far outweighed any gain.

He might even be expelled by the Commander on the spot.

After drinking the Brain Domain Evolution Fluid, Li Tongchen noticed a single drop of liquid still clinging to the inside of the vial. After a moment’s thought, he poured a little goji berry water from his thermos into the vial, swished it around, and then drank that down too. GULP, GULP.

After finishing, he smacked his lips and frowned. It wasn’t what he’d expected. ’Why does this Brain Domain Evolution Fluid have a sweet, fruity flavor? It tastes like peach... which just so happens to be my favorite.’

Li Tongchen sat on the sofa. He felt nothing. In fact, he felt incredibly calm, so much so that he was about to drift off to sleep.

’Looks like this Brain Domain Evolution Fluid is a pretty mild potion. It won’t cause any immediate adverse rea—’

As Li Tongchen was thinking, he was suddenly struck by a splitting headache, as if a bomb had gone off in the very core of his brain!

The next instant, he felt an unbearable pressure in his eyes as if they were about to pop, and his intraocular pressure spiked. At the same time, he felt a coolness in his nose as a liquid trickled out.

He raised a hand to wipe it away. Sticky and red. The coppery scent of blood. He was having a nosebleed. An intense ringing in his ears followed, making him feel as if he were trapped inside a giant bell, his head about to split open!

The intense headache instantly overwhelmed Li Tongchen, making it feel as if his brain were being torn apart while something new grew in its place!

Li Tongchen let out a muffled groan. Finally unable to bear it, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted from the pain.

An unknown amount of time later, Li Tongchen slowly came to on the sofa. He felt ravenously hungry, and the smell of blood filled his nose and mouth. For a moment, he couldn’t quite grasp what had happened.

His vision was blurry, and his ears were filled with a buzzing static.

He raised a hand to his nose. The bleeding had stopped.

Li Tongchen took off his glasses to clean them, but in that instant, he realized the world around him had become much clearer.

He froze, stunned. He put his glasses back on, and this time, his vision became blurry again.

His hands trembled as he dropped the glasses. His vision was clear again. He finally understood—his farsightedness was gone!

His eyes were completely back to normal!

At the same time, he felt an exceptional clarity in his mind, as if a cooling balm had been spread across his brain.

’This was... like some kind of neural modification surgery, and it modified my optic nerves as well!’

Li Tongchen’s mind was working with unusual efficiency; he felt his speed and clarity of thought had increased severalfold.

’But what’s with all this noise in my head? Why is it so chaotic?’

Li Tongchen could now clearly hear what sounded like a voice in his head reading a weather forecast, another sound of two people talking, the roar of an animal, and a jumble of various advertisement jingles.

He frowned, turned on the television, and flipped to the national channel.

"Tonight and into tomorrow..." The voice from the television was identical to the one in his head.

He immediately switched the channel again. This time it was a nature documentary, and the animals on screen were locked in a brutal fight, their roars perfectly matching the sounds he had heard.

Next came a shopping channel commercial, then the international news.

The sounds from the television were all now playing in his head at the same time, and they didn’t stop even when he turned the TV off!

’What is going on? Did my brain get its wires crossed with the television?’

Li Tongchen was completely baffled, but drawing on his professional expertise, he considered another possibility.

A possibility so exciting it made him tremble!

He took a deep breath and immediately dialed the number for his medical laboratory.

"Xiaochen? Get a head CT scan ready for me, now! I’ll be there in ten minutes!"