49 Apocalypse Rules

On the afternoon of May 1st, the same day the Human Federation meeting concluded, a massive global evacuation began.

It wasn’t just island nations that needed to evacuate. Even continental countries like North Star and Soloma had large coastal cities that required relocation.

In times of peace, cheap and efficient maritime transport gave rise to a number of prosperous coastal cities. But once the great earthquake hits, these cities will be the first at risk of being swallowed by tsunamis.

At that point, whether one lived on high ground or in a shelter, survival would be difficult. Therefore, moving to inland regions was essential.

Island nations like Sakura Prayer had no choice but to evacuate the entire country. According to expert predictions, they might not even make it to the magnitude 10 earthquake predicted for the 30th. The magnitude 9 earthquake on the 27th had a high probability of destroying the islands.

The evacuation had to be completed before then, a monumental logistical undertaking. Many continental nations sent ships and planes to assist.

However, relocating an entire nation was not so simple. People could leave, but everything else on the land could not be taken, a fact many found hard to accept.

In the Capital of Sakura Prayer, officials were desperately trying to persuade a crowd gathered in front of an ancient building. Over a thousand people had assembled, each wearing a headband with the four words "Die Before We Move" written on it.

"We will not leave!" The leader, a middle-aged man in his forties, faced the officials with an extremely resolute expression.

"This Capital City Tower was built by the first Divine Son of our Sakura Prayer nation! It is a national symbol, the very soul of Sakura Prayer! We will never abandon it just to cling to a wretched life!"

"That’s right, we’re staying here!"

A Sakura Prayer official tried to reason with them, "These buildings can be rebuilt after we move to our new home. But if you lose your lives, there’s no getting them back."

"Bah!" an agitated young man spat. "You bastard! This is our home, not some tropical region in a country where everyone is already dead!"

A woman with a sorrowful expression added, "We know we’ll probably die if we stay, but will we be safe if we leave? There are still so many rules to come. Even if we survive this time, what about the next? ...I’d rather die in my true homeland than on some foreign soil in the future."

"This..." The official in charge of the persuasion effort was at a loss for words.

"Just let them stay."

A voice came from behind. The official turned, immediately straightened up, and bowed nervously.

"Prime Minister Black Plain!"

Black Plain nodded. The people holding their ground in front of the ancient building were also surprised to see the prime minister arrive in person.

Hearing him say they could stay, the crowd was overjoyed. The middle-aged man in the lead asked, "Prime Minister Black Plain, you also believe what we’re doing is right, don’t you?"

"No, I do not," Black Plain said. "The national culture represented by the ancient building you’re protecting needs people to carry it on. Without people, these things are nothing more than a pile of rotten wood."

"W-what..."

The crowd froze, staring at Black Plain in disbelief. They couldn’t believe the prime minister of their country would call their most important historical monument "rotten wood."

"Since you’re willing to be buried along with a pile of rotten wood, then stay." Black Plain turned to the official. "Time is short. Ignore them and go evacuate the others."

"Y-yes, sir!"

After speaking, Black Plain turned to leave. He had only taken a few steps before an angry voice shouted from behind him.

"Stop! You bastard, Black Plain! How dare you, the Prime Minister, denigrate our heritage like that! You should apologize to the nation!"

"Yeah! Calling it rotten wood... I think your head’s the one made of rotten wood!"

"With a man like him as Prime Minister, no wonder our country has come to this!"

Black Plain sighed, shook his head in resignation, and got into his car to leave.

Sitting in the front seat, his secretary looked at a tablet and reported, "Prime Minister, besides this location, many people across the country are unwilling to leave. The evacuation effort is facing many obstacles."

"Those who are unwilling to leave, just let them stay," Black Plain said. "It’s their own choice, and we don’t have enough time to persuade them to change their minds."

The secretary asked curiously, "You don’t plan to force them to evacuate?"

"The timeline for a normal evacuation is already tight. If we use force and conflicts break out, it will waste even more time. The one thing we lack most right now is time."

"Understood."

...

「Soloma Empire, the Senate.」

The thirteen senators and the King of Soloma were currently in a meeting, discussing a serious topic.

The Grand Elder said gravely, "Your Majesty, I believe it is time to activate the Terra Plan, which has been shelved for many years!"

"Yes, I agree it’s time."

"Given the current grim situation, this might be our only path to salvation."

The senators voiced their agreement one after another.

The King of Soloma remained silent, his fingers stroking the jeweled top of his scepter.

The Terra Plan was a space colonization program secretly prepared by the Soloma Empire fifteen years ago.

"Terra" was a moon of Celestial Water Star, rich in mineral resources but lacking vital resources for survival, like fresh water.

The original purpose of the Terra Plan was to prepare for a potential nuclear war on Celestial Water Star.

Fifteen years ago, international tensions were high, and a world war seemed imminent. Given the global nuclear arsenal, if a war truly broke out, most of the world’s major habitable zones would likely be contaminated by nuclear fallout.

Therefore, the Soloma Empire had secretly initiated the Terra Plan, intending to partially immigrate to Terra Star on the eve of a nuclear war. They planned to use its rich mineral resources to rapidly advance their technology. As for the lack of resources like fresh water and food, they could be chemically synthesized on one hand, and transported from Celestial Water Star on the other.

But no one expected the tense situation to de-escalate in less than a year. The people of the world grew tired of the somber atmosphere, embracing peace and development as the mainstream, while war became despised.

As a result, Soloma’s "Terra Plan" was shelved and remained so until today, fifteen years later.

The Grand Elder spoke again, "Your Majesty, judging from the eleventh rule, humanity is drawing ever closer to doomsday. We cannot just sit on Celestial Water Star and wait to die!"

"I have only one question," the King of Soloma began. "Honorable Senators, what evidence do you have to suggest that hiding on Terra Star will allow us to escape the Apocalypse Rules?"

"Well..."

The senators looked at each other, speechless.

They indeed had no evidence to prove that escaping the planet of Celestial Water would free them from the constraints of the Apocalypse Rules.

"Your Majesty, we have no evidence. But by the same token, you have no evidence to prove that humanity will still be bound by the rules after leaving Celestial Water Star, do you?"

The Grand Elder said slowly, "From what we’ve seen, the Fire Thief acts more like an AI operating on programmatic logic, releasing rules at regular intervals. So, if it truly is a program, perhaps its operational range is limited to the planet Celestial Water Star. If we can leave this range, the program might just become ineffective."

Hearing this, the senators nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the Grand Elder is right."

"Whether it works or not, it’s worth a try!"

The King of Soloma pondered for a moment before nodding slightly. "I can agree to restart the ’Terra Plan.’ However, conducting a launch test will inevitably attract the attention of North Star Country and others."

"Is Your Majesty not aware that North Star Country has a similar plan?"

"Oh?" The King of Soloma looked at the Grand Elder, a sharp glint in his eyes.

The Grand Elder smiled. "I have a good personal relationship with a high-ranking official in North Star. He told me that North Star’s leadership is also preparing multiple ’Doomsday Response Protocols.’ One of these protocols includes launching a manned rocket to Terra Star to preserve the flame of humanity."

At these words, the King of Soloma’s expression remained unchanged, but the other senators were visibly shocked.

"North Star has a similar plan? Then we must hurry!"

"Exactly! What if they launch a manned rocket to Terra first and declare it the territory of North Star?"

"We can’t delay! We must conduct a launch test as soon as possible!"

The senators looked anxiously at the King. After a long pause, just as they were about to burst with impatience, he finally spoke slowly. "I agree to restart the ’Terra Plan’ today. However, our top priority right now is still preparing for the great earthquake."

The Grand Elder nodded. "That is only natural. No matter how fast we work, a manned launch cannot be completed in a month. But regarding the intelligence on the ’Earth Vein Pillar’... has the King made a decision about the ’devotees’?"

The King of Soloma nodded. "Survival of the fittest. There is no other choice."

...

「Ascender’s Home, General Chat section.」

A poll posted by a user shot to the top of the trending list and stayed there.

"Regarding the selection of the person to make contact with the Earth Vein Pillar, which method do you support?"

1. Survival of the Fittest: Choose an Ascender with high maximum Psychic Power to make contact.

2. Let the Weak Step Up: Choose an Ascender with low maximum Psychic Power to make contact.

3. Lottery: Truly fair and just, no deception.

4. Follow Orders: Let the officials make the decision.

5. Volunteers: Noble, enough said.

The post shot to the top as soon as it was published, with countless users voting and commenting from their own perspectives.

"As they say, ’with great power comes great responsibility.’ In times like these, we should definitely send the ones with high Psychic Power!"

"The ones with high maximum Psychic Power are all shrewd operators, right? I doubt they’d be willing to sacrifice themselves. Plus, many of them are being specially cultivated by the government. I’m talking about those students at the Psychic Power Development Academy who are constantly showing off online about how great the academy is and how the government’s rules prioritize protecting them."

"From a collective, big-picture perspective, we should send someone with a low maximum, right? The Ascenders with high Psychic Power are the hope for the future. We can’t just sacrifice them like this."

"Easy for you to say! Does that ’future’ you’re talking about include normal people? If not, then what the hell does it have to do with me?!"

"What ’let the weak step up’? More like ’utilizing the useless,’ if you ask me!"

"Stop arguing, everyone just vote for the lottery. Whoever gets picked, goes. It’s pure luck, so no one can blame anyone."

"The people saying a lottery is pure luck must still be students. Anyone who’s been out in the real world for even a year or two knows how easy it is to rig a lottery. It’s simple to fix the lots."

"I think everyone knows a lottery can be faked. But voting for the lottery option is just a way to show the officials our stance: that the public demands a fair and just selection process. They can’t just appoint some people to be sacrificed."

"Exactly. Voting here feels more useful than reporting your opinion at the shelter. The officials will definitely see this post. Everyone, come vote and let the government know what the people think."

"I hate to say it, but you’re all wasting your energy voting. In the end, the most likely outcome is still option 4, with the government directly choosing someone..."

"That’s what I was thinking. It’s unlikely the government would let public opinion decide something like this, right? This is a matter of life and death!"

"If they told me to go, I’d go. What’s the big deal? Everyone dies eventually. Besides, whoever goes isn’t guaranteed to die, right? We still need to see what this Earth Vein Pillar actually is."

"We’ll probably have to wait for a magnitude 2 earthquake to find it, right? Magnitude 1 is too weak; normal people can’t even feel it. Or maybe the seismology department’s precision instruments can detect it. Now we just wait for the official announcement."