Chapter 60: Fifth Apocalypse: Radiation and Collapse World

Bang

Duan Wenxuan kicked open a hotel’s glass door, causing the fragile pane to shatter effortlessly.

“It seems this is a collapsed world,” Duan Wenxuan muttered, surprised that the fifth world opened by the door symbol presented such an apocalyptic scenario.

After swiftly resolving the Night Church crisis, Duan Wenxuan felt a continuous stinging sensation from the door symbol on his hand. With half a month having passed, he knew it was time to move on to the next world. Hastily returning home, Duan Wenxuan grabbed his pre-packed bag and stepped into this new realm.

Upon arrival, his first sensation was one of discomfort.

A scorching sun hung in the sky, which should have indicated pleasant weather. However, for some unknown reason, heavy smog drifted everywhere above the earth, casting the once bright and intense sunlight with a hazy, deathly pallor. As far as the eye could see, ruins and debris stretched across the landscape.

That alone would have been manageable, but the real issue lay in the pervasive radiation permeating the air. After standing just a couple of minutes, Duan Wenxuan’s skin turned red, and he began experiencing physical distress.

At that moment, Duan Wenxuan was startled and hastily activated his inner energy for protection. However, against radiation, its effectiveness was limited. Fortunately, he discovered that the Twisted Eye could absorb this type of radiation, allowing Duan Wenxuan’s body to stabilize.

It was truly luck on this occasion, leaving Duan Wenxuan shaken even after the incident.

If infected by radiation, there might have been a chance to save him if he survived beyond twenty-four hours. But dying within that timeframe would have been utterly tragic.

With the full activation of the Twisted Eye, Duan Wenxuan could clear various forms of radiation and viruses within a half-meter radius around himself, providing some reassurance as he cautiously explored the surroundings. Yet, throughout the day until evening, Duan Wenxuan did not encounter any living creatures.

Well, that’s not entirely true. In the ruins of this city, abandoned for who knows how long, Duan Wenxuan spotted a few emaciated rabbits with grayish-white fur hopping across the streets. However, their eyes were blood-red, and most had visibly decaying bodies, indicating they too were infected. Apart from these, he didn’t come across any intelligent beings.

Now, as they sought a place to settle down, Duan Wenxuan crossed two streets and found this hotel.

It was evident that this hotel must have originally been a high-end establishment, with most people likely not staying here. Located in the city center, its entrance featured pillars made of white marble on both sides, but one of them was now damaged, with numerous fragments piled at the hotel’s doorstep. The sign above hung crookedly, and inexplicably, a desiccated corpse dangled from it.

Duan Wenxuan casually cleared away the stones near the entrance. The glass doors were closed, blocked by some sofas and chairs inside, suggesting that perhaps someone had resisted something here before. However, it seemed like a long time had passed since then, as a thick layer of dust accumulated on these objects. It was clear that no one had been present for quite some while.

With a shattering sound, the glass door broke apart. Duan Wenxuan effortlessly leaped over the pile of obstacles and entered, immediately greeted by the stale, moldy smell indicative of prolonged lack of ventilation within the hotel lobby.

“Is anyone here?” Duan Wenxuan asked, holding out the paper figurine.

The paper figurines were highly attuned to the thought fluctuations of intelligent beings. After briefly exploring, one immediately returned with a report: the entire hotel was utterly empty, devoid of any people.

“Then let’s temporarily make it our base.”

Choosing this location had two main reasons. Firstly, the hotel’s elevated position offered a wide field of view, and secondly, compared to other buildings, this hotel was relatively well-preserved. Nevertheless, its right side bore evidence of a powerful impact, resulting in extensive damage.

Duan Wenxuan conducted a brief inspection. The hotel consisted of twenty-three floors in total, but the right side was entirely rubble-strewn, leaving it exposed and unable to shield against wind and rain. Consequently, vines and wild grasses had proliferated on that side. Duan Wenxuan even spotted a radiation-affected two-headed snake slithering amidst the vegetation.

The left side fared better, although in several rooms across various floors, Duan Wenxuan discovered piles of bones. It seemed evident that at some point, this hotel had served as a temporary stronghold for survivors who resided here for a while. During that time, individuals likely kept dying continuously, leading them to stack the remains in some vacant rooms.

The eighteenth and nineteenth floors were somewhat cleaner, so Duan Wenxuan casually chose a room to settle into.

In one of the rooms on the nineteenth floor, a massive bay window quietly rested against the floor. Duan Wenxuan sat on the freshly swept wooden flooring, gazing through the glass at the fading sunset’s glow.

Only by experiencing it firsthand could one truly feel the awe.

A world utterly transformed into ruins, desolate and lonely. Even Duan Wenxuan was affected by this atmosphere, sensing a profound solitude as if being the sole survivor amidst all creation. As the sky darkened, he retrieved a solar-powered night light from his backpack and slowly ate bread and sausages for dinner.

During the nights in this world, temperatures would abruptly plummet, becoming very cold.

Fortunately, Duan Wenxuan’s current physique was excellent, mitigating the impact significantly, although sleeping remained uncomfortable due to the lack of bedding. The hotel had no blankets; those who stayed here previously took all usable household items with them upon leaving, leaving behind only empty beds.

At dawn, the first rays of sunlight gently streamed down.

At that moment, just one street away from the hotel, a petite-featured woman with pursed lips slowly walked along. Her figure and appearance were decent, but unfortunately, prolonged malnutrition and radiation exposure had left her skin sallow and roughened. On her neck, there was a fist-sized abscess.

She tilted her head, attempting to tie a silk scarf around her neck to conceal the abscess, though it only provided psychological comfort. Occasionally, slight movements would cause blood to seep out, emitting a foul odor from her body.

About half a meter behind her, another man followed. He appeared to be in his late forties, sporting a receding hairline typical of male pattern baldness. His belt tightly cinched around his waist over his stomach, helping to suppress feelings of hunger. Numerous clusters of blisters covered various parts of his skin, eliciting a nauseating sensation upon first glance.

“Wondering if we’ll find something to eat today,” he muttered, likely due to the long walk making him feel on the verge of exhaustion without breaking the silence.

Currently, all he felt was a burning sensation in his stomach and bloodstream - everything seemed ablaze. The hunger was so intense, he almost wished he could resort to cannibalism.

However, cannibalism was not an option. Under the influence of mutated energy radiation, nearly all humans became infected. Once individuals consumed their own kind, for unknown reasons related to the radiation, they would swiftly suffer and die.

“Water.” The woman licked her parched lips, murmuring her desperate longing.

The man’s stomach grumbled loudly, and with a bitter smile, he strained to move step by step. It had been merely seven years since the Doomsday fallout, yet his memories of vibrant city lights, bustling streets, and traffic seemed almost faded away.

He deeply despised his past self from seven years ago. Back then, he was a prominent biopharmaceutical company owner, seamlessly transitioning from being a scientific talent to a top-tier millionaire - practically the epitome of success. When would he have ever worried about such concerns as finding food?

As for the woman walking ahead of him, she was once a top-tier actress he had helped propel to fame, named Roy, and considered his mistress. Initially, there wasn’t any genuine affection between them; they simply fulfilled each other’s needs.

However, after the Doomsday fallout, all his family members perished within the first year, just like Roy’s situation. Consequently, the two of them continued sticking together, barely surviving.

Unbeknownst to them, they stumbled past a hotel at some point.

The man watched as the disoriented woman slowly walked on, then stopped. “Roy… we’ve been down these streets dozens of times. Are the glass doors of that hotel actually broken?”

Roy seemed not to hear him, continuing her walk.

Breathing heavily, the man looked with uncertainty at the shattered glass. Suddenly, his nose twitched, ”…I think I smell something fragrant… so enticing…”

Duan Wenxuan quietly stirred the instant noodles in the pot, which he had found only after searching through the entire hotel that morning. Subsequently, he built a makeshift stove with stones, dismantled a bed for firewood, poured in a bottle of purified water, and added a pack of instant noodles to slowly cook.

To be honest, there wasn’t much appetite for instant noodles early in the morning. However, Duan Wenxuan had brought along some bread, sausages, and instant noodles. There was still bread available, but due to unusually cold temperatures last night, Duan Wenxuan felt like having something warm to soothe his stomach.

Clang!

A sound resembling something collapsing or falling echoed from downstairs.

The paper figurine swiftly flew out of Duan Wenxuan’s embrace, sensed briefly, and immediately began gesturing to him.

“Two people arrived?”

Duan Wenxuan stuffed the paper figurine back into his arms, feeling not the slightest bit apprehensive about two individuals. Moreover, based on the paper figurine’s description, their mental states were poor, making them even less threatening.

Activating his qinggong lightness technique, Duan Wenxuan leaped down the stairs in quick succession, reaching the first floor promptly. He then spotted a man sprawled unconscious in the lobby. Not far away was a woman who hadn’t yet fainted, her expression somewhat anxious, yet she appeared hesitant to enter the hotel. Upon seeing Duan Wenxuan, disbelief filled her face.

“Are you alright?” Duan Wenxuan turned the man over.

The man’s expression of agony had slightly faded, as within half a meter around Duan Wenxuan, radiation was virtually absent, instantly providing him with considerable relief.

Duan Wenxuan had casually brought his backpack downstairs, prioritizing caution. If anything seemed amiss, he could swiftly leave with his belongings. At this moment, it proved useful as Duan Wenxuan promptly took out a bottle of purified water and poured some into the man’s mouth.

“Water!” The woman outside immediately rushed forward a few steps, gazing longingly at the bottle in Duan Wenxuan’s hand.

Both individuals had dry skin, cracked lips, and their tongues were covered with ulcers and blisters, clearly indicating severe dehydration symptoms.

Duan Wenxuan retrieved another bottle, tossing it towards the woman.

She quickly opened it, gulping down the entire contents. Reluctantly, she licked the bottle cap before carefully preserving the empty bottle instead of discarding it.

After drinking the water, the woman retreated to the doorway, sat down, squinted at the sun, and silently smiled.

Observing the man and woman’s reactions, Duan Wenxuan surmised that the radiation levels at this hotel might be exceptionally high. No wonder the glass doors remained intact; logically, if people had been here before, they would have damaged them and repeatedly searched for supplies. The Twisted Eye acted like a voracious glutton, continuously absorbing radiation with fervor, which is why he showed no adverse effects.

After a moment of thought, Duan Wenxuan tossed the man outside the hotel, while the woman immediately clung to him.

Duan Wenxuan swiftly went upstairs and brought down the freshly cooked instant noodles.

“Here.”

The man gradually regained consciousness, still dazed as a steaming pot of instant noodles was placed before him. Both he and the woman were taken aback, questioning, “Can we really eat it?”

Deciding to help further, Duan Wenxuan threw some bread towards them. As the bread hit them, the reality sank in for the man and woman. Without hesitation, they plunged their hands into the hot cooked noodles, ignoring the burns as they stuffed the food into their mouths. Their mouths visibly blistered from the heat, yet they didn’t falter, even briefly engaging in a scuffle over the meal.

Duan Wenxuan watched quietly, relieved as long as they wouldn’t die. Later, he had questions to ask them.