49 Apocalypse Rules

Pinglu City, in a residential courtyard district not far from the academy.

Faded red walls and white tiles showed the ravages of time. The area looked unremarkable, but the people living here were anything but ordinary.

As evening fell, Yelena returned to one of the small courtyards. A middle-aged woman who was cleaning the yard straightened up and bowed. "Princess, you’ve returned."

Yelena nodded. "Sikokun, I have a mission for you."

"At your command, Princess."

"Investigate the Sisiya community here and find the people my brother sent."

The woman called Sikokun looked up in surprise. "That... person sent someone? Do they dare threaten your life?"

"Not me. They’re threatening my teacher."

Yelena’s icy face was filled with a cold, murderous intent—a side of her no one at the academy had ever seen.

"There’s no reason to involve outsiders in our competition. He’s crossed the line."

"Perhaps this means he’s afraid," Sikokun said. "He’s afraid you’ll surpass him; otherwise, there would be no need to resort to such tactics. This is a good thing for you, Princess. It proves his own confidence is lacking."

Yelena gave a noncommittal response.

Sikokun asked, "And once I find them, how do you wish for me to dispose of them?"

"Kill," Yelena said without hesitation.

"Yes."

After speaking, Yelena returned to her room, sat down, and fell into thought.

Sikokun’s words had given her pause.

’If my brother was truly confident in his own abilities, why would he need to resort to these underhanded tricks?’

’Pulling a stunt like this is a clear sign of his lack of confidence.’

’However...’

Yelena thought back to what Guan Tong had said to her earlier.

From the sound of it, Guan Tong seemed to want to find the person threatening him and deal with it himself.

But that was obviously not going to work.

Yelena knew her brother would have sent skilled assassins. Even if Guan Tong had some combat experience, he was still just an academy teacher. In her eyes, he was no match for professional killers who made a living from taking lives.

Not only would he have a hard time finding them, but even if he did, he would only be putting himself in danger.

Yelena didn’t want an excellent academy instructor to meet a grim fate because of the rivalry between her and her brother. That’s why she had tasked Sikokun with handling the matter as quickly as possible.

As for Sikokun, Yelena had complete confidence in her.

This seemingly unremarkable middle-aged woman was her family’s strongest guardian. Even after the dawn of the Apocalypse Rules, she hadn’t been surpassed by younger guards due to her age. In fact, her power had only grown, and she now ranked among the top fighters in all of Sisiya.

Reining in her thoughts, she closed her eyes and circulated Psychic Power through her body. The pure, unobstructed feeling of this power confirmed that her decision to come to North Star and study at the academy had been the right one.

If she had stayed in Sisiya, she certainly wouldn’t have had this opportunity. Online classes alone weren’t enough. Even if she had figured out how to use actual combat to speed up her progress, it wouldn’t have worked without Guan Tong’s guidance.

There were many key points she might have struggled with for ages on her own, without the guidance of someone who had walked the path before. It was just as the saying goes: a single conversation with a wise person is worth ten years of study.

And time was what she lacked most right now. She needed someone experienced like Guan Tong to help her accelerate her progress.

At this thought, Yelena opened her eyes, a flicker of curiosity about Guan Tong sparking within her.

She had actually come for Shi Jingyi, only to find out after arriving at the academy that Shi Jingyi was taking a leave of absence to recuperate. Her classes were being taught by a substitute instructor.

Initially, she had been very disappointed by this outcome, thinking she had made the trip for nothing. She assumed the so-called substitute would be a far cry from Shi Jingyi.

But she never expected Guan Tong to be of such immense help, far exceeding her expectations. Even if it had been Shi Jingyi, the most she could have hoped for would have been about the same.

’If only I could stay at the academy longer...’

Yelena shook her head slightly. She had her own mission to complete; she was fated to stay here only until October.

...

After watching the variety show Decisive Ascender, the students’ discussions were filled with widespread praise.

Many students debated endlessly about the power levels of the show’s cast, both in and out of class.

"The Snow White Traceless has to be the strongest! That Mecha’s offense and defense are perfectly integrated; it’s practically unbeatable. Normal items and skills are useless against it."

"The Mecha is powerful, but its consumption is also huge. There’s definitely a chance if you fight a war of attrition by kiting it."

"Kiting? Didn’t you see how fast that Mecha was on the show?!"

"I’m still betting on that handsome guy who plays with fire. His large-scale sea-of-flames attack is also unbeatable."

"Survival is what matters most, right? I’m betting on that survival god who can make food out of dirt to be the last one standing!"

"Is no one going to mention Liang God? His hypnosis skill is insane, too! Anyone with lower Psychic Power than him gets knocked out instantly by one hypnosis!"

The students’ discussions were so heated partly because the show featured several internet celebrities.

For instance, the pilot of the Snow White Traceless Mecha had been very active online before the show and was already a highly popular Ascender. Her appearance on screen, coupled with her beautiful looks, attracted even more followers.

After watching the show, however, Guan Tong was a bit curious. The pilot, named Bai Xuewu, was clearly socially anxious, wishing she could keep a ten-foot pole between herself and the other cast members. He had no idea why someone with her personality would agree to be on a variety show like this. The officials must have offered her a pretty sweet deal.

The handsome guy who could control fire was also a social media star, often posting short videos of himself playing with fire stylishly. He claimed to have mastered "Fire Elemental Magic" and even gave himself the title "Fire God." Because he was so over-the-top, he was a polarizing figure online, with as many haters as fans.

Another participant, "I Am a Good Person," who had gotten famous from his posts during the very first rule, had also surprisingly made it onto the show.

His appearance was that of a typical otaku, fitting the stereotype people had of him from his past posts. However, his role on the show clearly wasn’t a combatant; he was more like the indispensable comedic relief used to liven up the atmosphere, a staple of variety shows.

In any case, the officials’ strategy had worked. After the old-fashioned TVs and variety show discs were distributed, the students had indeed shifted their attention, no longer listlessly performing seances for their network devices every day.

Moreover, once the [Digital Detox] rule ended, the show Decisive Ascender would surely continue to air. As long as it was popular, it would probably run for several seasons, turning a whole host of Ascenders on the show into stars.

During their discussions, many students frequently mentioned Shadow, thinking it a huge shame he wasn’t on the show.

"If the Shadow God were on, the show’s popularity would be even more explosive!"

"I agree... Didn’t the officials work with Shadow during the earthquake rule? Why didn’t they invite him to be on the show?"

"The Shadow God probably doesn’t want to reveal his identity. There are tons of people who want to dox him."

"Here’s another way to look at it: if the show invited the Shadow God, would there be any suspense? He would definitely be the last one standing. Who else could be a match for the Shadow God? The show would actually be less interesting that way."

"That makes sense."

"Not necessarily! I don’t think the Snow White Traceless Mecha’s combat power is any worse than the Shadow God’s. I hope we get to see an episode where they fight!"

Guan Tong overheard some of these discussions.

The reason he wasn’t on the show was, of course, that the officials hadn’t invited him in the first place. But then again, just as one of the students had said, he didn’t want to reveal his identity, so he would have refused even if they had asked.

「Two days passed.」

At noon on Friday, Dean Zhou Qinfeng once again called the instructors for a meeting.

The meeting was about the intel Fang Qian had gathered through her monitoring.

Zhou Qinfeng explained the situation to the instructors.

"You may not be aware, but a few days ago, some students were discussing plans on the Mind Network. They’re planning to leave the city this Sunday to go explore the camps of wilderness survivors."

As soon as he said this, the instructors were all surprised.

"Go looking for wilderness camps? Have they got nothing better to do?"

"Yeah, the people still living in the wilderness these days are not to be trifled with. These students are really bold. Aren’t they afraid something will happen?!"

"This is definitely against academy rules. We have to stop them."

Although Guan Tong didn’t speak, he also felt this was a rather suicidal act.

In the past, there might have been many wilderness camps made up of good people who simply preferred the outdoors to living in shelters.

But after several catastrophic rules, most of those camps have disbanded. For the sake of survival, their members have mostly returned to the cities.

Therefore, the ones still running camps in the wilderness now are mostly strongmen, mercenary Ascenders, and the like.

These people live by the law of the jungle, where might is right.

They generally disregard rules and wouldn’t give a damn about the students’ academy status. If the students ran into them, they would be in for a world of hurt. Getting all their Sublimation Coins and items looted would be getting off easy.

"The rule ends in less than ten days. We absolutely cannot let these students stir up any trouble at a time like this," Zhou Qinfeng said gravely. "I already know the students’ meeting time and location. I will notify the city entrance and exit administration in advance to have them set up a checkpoint to intercept them."

"Dean, why not just intercept them at the meeting point?" an instructor asked.

"That wouldn’t be wise. The students would then know that we can access the messages on their Mind Network."

"That’s true."

Hearing this, Guan Tong thought to himself, ’And having the administration set up a checkpoint won’t expose us? The students will definitely wonder why the checks are suddenly so strict on the very day they planned to leave the city...’

"To be safe, after some consideration, I think we should still send a few teachers to keep an eye on things."

After he finished speaking, Zhou Qinfeng singled them out, "Mrs. Chen, Mr. Guan, how about I trouble the two of you to make a trip?"

Guan Tong and the female instructor surnamed Chen, who taught the "Psychological Counseling" course, exchanged a look. Neither of them objected.

"Good, then it’s settled." Zhou Qinfeng instructed the two, "You two need to keep a close watch and make sure no students slip through."

After the meeting was dismissed, Zhou Qinfeng asked Guan Tong to stay behind.

He naturally wanted to talk about the death threat incident.

Zhou Qinfeng said, "Mr. Guan, the security department has been investigating your case for the past few days. But according to them, the criminals were very professional. They didn’t leave any DNA evidence at the scene. I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult to catch them."

Guan Tong nodded.

Even if they found DNA, it would be too late. He had already killed the assassins, so there was no need for an official investigation.

But he definitely couldn’t say that out loud, so he just brushed it off. "Then let’s just forget about it. I think they were just trying to scare me and wouldn’t dare to do anything for real."

"I wouldn’t be so sure. You should still be on high alert. If not, why don’t you go talk to that Yelena girl? Ask her if she knows anything. You might learn something."

"Alright, I’ll go ask her."

Zhou Qinfeng nodded. "Then I’ll have to trouble you and Mrs. Chen with the matter on Sunday. These students, really... can’t they just stay put instead of looking for trouble?"

"Most students are very young, at an age where they crave adventure. It’s not surprising they’d want to look for some excitement after being cooped up in the academy for so long," Guan Tong said.

"Yes, indeed," Zhou Qinfeng sighed. "Mr. Guan, I looked at your file. Your birthday is in January, so you’ll be twenty in just over four months. I have to say, you don’t have any of the recklessness of your age group. You’re much more mature than your peers."

’I’ve lived two lives. My adolescence was over in my last life, so of course I’m different,’ Guan Tong thought to himself.

"Alright, that’s all for today. Get some good rest on Saturday." Zhou Qinfeng patted Guan Tong’s shoulder and left.

Guan Tong thought for a moment about his plans for tomorrow, then he also took his leave.