True Apocalypse Game

Shen Feng nodded slightly, understanding that this thing was indeed useful.

Although the people of this world had no common currency and mainly bartered, there was still a universal medium of exchange.

Glass lenses.

In truth, they were the bottoms of transparent glass bottles.

This kind of item was indispensable for people living at sea.

A single glass lens could serve a great many purposes.

Its greatest use was to focus sunlight, using the high temperature at the focal point of the convex lens to start a fire.

Another function was making telescopes to see things far away at sea.

For a sea vessel, a telescope was extremely important, whether for finding schools of fish or locating floating ore belts.

The sharp edge of the lens could even be used to cut through the tough skin of fish or scrape off scales.

And if a hole was drilled in the edge or it was wrapped in a leather casing, it could be worn as a beautiful necklace—a true symbol of power and status.

Because of this, glass lenses held an extremely high status and value in this world.

After all, they could summon fire.

And although glass products were occasionally found in the floating ore belts, their numbers were still small.

The bottle bottom in Shen Feng's hand had been knocked off one of the few glass bottles the pirates had found in a floating trash belt yesterday.

The other pirates all had one or two of these bottle-bottom lenses as well, which made them absolutely ecstatic.

The guard who had climbed the crane tower quickly climbed back down. The glass lens in his hand was gone. He looked at Shen Feng solemnly and said:

"The Minstrel is meditating, but he is happy to see you. Go on, stranger."

Shen Feng smiled slightly, nodded to the two guards, and climbed the crane tower's ladder.

He climbed at a steady pace, observing the entire Floating Island Market from the height of the crane tower.

From here, he could see that the largest area of the Floating Island Market was the shipyard and trade district. The other areas were mainly used for drying fish, and there were even simple floating net cages for deep-sea farming, though he couldn't tell what was being raised inside.

Many children were swimming and playing in the waters around the Floating Island Market, their faces bright with happy smiles. They were clearly of the generation born into this apocalypse.

Compared to those who understood the former glory of human civilization, these children had the least emotional baggage and were the most accepting of reality.

Soon, Shen Feng reached the door at the top of the crane tower. He knocked lightly, and a slightly hoarse voice came from inside:

"Come in."

Shen Feng opened the door and slipped inside. It was a room of about ten square meters. The most precious thing about it, compared to the rooms below on the Floating Island Market, was that it was farthest from the sea's surface and therefore the driest.

The room's "floor" was covered with some dried seaweed and pieces of styrofoam. Although very simple, it was coated with seashell powder that made it sparkle.

In the center of this "room," a petite figure sat cross-legged, their long hair cascading over their shoulders.

The moment he saw the person's appearance, Jingwei's voice immediately sounded in Shen Feng's mind:

'Are you kidding me?! Why is it another woman? What kind of luck do you have? What's the deal, would it kill them to make a supporting character a guy?'

The Minstrel sitting there was a golden-haired young woman with wheat-colored skin.

She wore a robe made of interconnected black and white squares, which also resembled a suit of armor.

Shen Feng looked closer and saw that the small squares were covered in letters and various numbers—they were keyboard keycaps!

The Minstrel was also leaning on an iron staff, into which a slightly damaged keyboard was embedded.

Shen Feng couldn't help but click his tongue.

'As expected. When a civilization is lost, things like cargo cults tend to appear.'

After all, the common people of this world already referred to Science as "the Magic known as technology."

He was already quite used to all this, so he didn't show much surprise.

At that moment, the Minstrel was also sizing up Shen Feng. Her gaze was sharp, and her pair of turquoise eyes seemed to instantly see through his thoughts. She said:

"Minstrels are all women. Men cannot endure such long voyages; they cannot stand the prolonged dampness between their legs. Outsider, you seem surprised by this?"

Shen Feng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, surprised that she could tell he was an outsider in an instant.

'But what exactly does she mean by "outsider"?'

'From another Floating Island Market? Or another sea?'

'Or... another world?'

The Minstrel stood up, her bare feet touching the floor. She walked to the crane tower window and looked out, speaking as if answering Shen Feng's doubts, yet also as if talking to herself:

"From here, one can see the entire Floating Island Market. You are clearly not the former captain of the Beast King Pirate Group. After arriving at the market, you didn't seek comfort from the women who sell their bodies, nor did you go drinking the salty wine brewed from seaweed. You came straight here. Furthermore, your features are uncommon, and you wear clothes no one has ever seen. Therefore, you are an outsider, searching for an answer you aren't even sure of yourself."

Shen Feng nodded slightly.

'Even though civilization has been all but annihilated, human intelligence has never vanished. That, at least, is a comfort.'

Deciding not to beat around the bush any longer, he asked directly:

"How exactly did the World Beast flood the entire world? Is there any land left for humanity? Does the Holy Armor still exist? If so, where is it? And what powers it? Also, do you know what a Space Wormhole is? What specific struggles did human civilization put up before being submerged by the tsunami? Does the World Beast still attack humans now?"

With each question he asked, the Minstrel's eyes grew a little brighter. When he had finished, she tossed the glass lens in her hand and said:

"Each of your questions could be an epic unto itself. I originally thought someone who could afford a glass lens would be generous, but it turns out you're the greediest of all."

Shen Feng, growing impatient with her roundabout way of speaking, pulled a metal-cased, windproof lighter from his pack. He flicked it on and held it out to the Minstrel, saying:

"I don't like delays."

The Minstrel's eyes instantly lit up. She took the lighter, staring cautiously at the flame on top, and murmured:

"This is... the Demon Fire known as a 'lighter'?"

A headache building, Shen Feng tightened his grip, about to snatch the lighter back.

The Minstrel quickly grabbed the lighter with both hands, clicked off the flame, and tucked it into a close-fitting pocket. At the same time, she said:

"Normally, I should refuse, as you've asked far too many questions. But, seeing the sincerity of a heart that has drifted across the sea in search of answers, I can tell you everything, just as it happened."

Her expression then became solemn again. She returned to the center of the room, sat cross-legged on a mat woven from fish skin and seaweed, and used the lighter to light some Dragon's Saliva Fragrance on a nearby shell plate. She said gravely:

"Outsider, I will now chant for you the three great epics: the Epic of the Sinking World, the Savior Heroic Epic, and the Epic of the World Beast. Prepare yourself to listen to this great history."

Just then, Shen Feng's bracelet vibrated sharply. He immediately looked down and saw a block of text flash across the screen:

"Welcome to the Water World Apocalypse mission.

Mission Objectives:

1. Find and collect Beast Gold (10 grams).

2. Find and collect Super Giant Mechanical Armor Technology (complete).

3. Find the cause of the rising sea level.

4. Close the Undersea Space Wormhole (optional mission; completion grants a huge reward, no penalty for failure).

5. Save this world, return the sea level to its original position, and revive human civilization (optional mission; completion grants a huge reward, no penalty for failure).

Time Limit: None.

Players with a mission completion rate below ninety percent will be eliminated by the system."