49 Apocalypse Rules

「May 18th.」

In the early hours of the morning, the personnel assigned to handle the impending magnitude 7 earthquake had assembled at the base, ready for deployment.

Guan Tong was currently standing with the Dragon Soul Squad.

"We’ve learned our lesson from the last magnitude 6 quake. This time, all teleporting personnel are equipped with fall-prevention gear," said Dragon Soul, dressed in a custom earthquake-resistant uniform. "And thanks to your ability, we need far fewer people."

"Mm."

Guan Tong was also wearing a black uniform, custom-made by the authorities for personnel heading to the epicenter. In addition to its standard defensive features, it was equipped with a satellite communication headset for real-time contact with the organization.

He glanced at the personnel for today’s mission. Compared to the massive scale of several hundred people last time, only about twenty were being dispatched now, divided into four squads.

The reason was simple: Guan Tong was currently channeling the Psychic Power of over one hundred thousand people. If he still couldn’t solve the problem, sending more people would be pointless.

As for the purpose of these four squads, Dragon Soul was direct. He explained their first task was to provide assistance, and their second was to protect Guan Tong.

Guan Tong wasn’t surprised by the second task. ’The internal leak proved that not all of the officials are on the same side,’ he thought.

He recalled the initial string of kidnappings targeting High Spirit Users. Back then, after Li Meng had explained the situation, both he and Xu Xiaotian had been astonished. They couldn’t imagine who could remotely control violent organizations across multiple cities.

His subsequent trip to Yongzhou Base had only solidified Guan Tong’s conviction: no civilian force could control a mountain base of that caliber. The mastermind had to be a powerful figure. It was a classic "Enemy at Honnoji Temple" situation.

Now, Dragon Soul’s direct mention of providing protection meant the authorities were also aware of this and feared an attack from their internal enemies.

’But why opt for protection instead of just rooting out the mastermind and eliminating the threat? Probably because there isn’t enough time to find the real culprit,’ he reasoned.

Guan Tong looked at the other three teams and asked, "Besides you, were those three squads also trained by the Strategy Research Room?"

"That’s right," Silver Fox said with a smile. "We’re all here to protect you. Feeling safe and sound?"

"I’m fine."

Guan Tong was confident in his ability to protect himself.

’Having mastered Psychic Power Flow, I can defend against surprise Psychic Power attacks. Besides, I have over a million units of Psychic Power in reserve, and I’m equipped with "Civilization Observer," which has the passive ability "Insight" that lets me see through the effects of Ability Items. I’m not really afraid of any attack.’

Even if things got tricky, he could always use Body Shifting to escape.

’If the enemy really does attack, it will probably be while I’m touching and destroying the Earth Vein Pillar,’ he mused. ’I’ll have to be extra careful then and not focus all my attention on converting Psychic Power.’

After a four-hour wait at the base, a voice came through everyone’s headset.

"Attention! The magnitude 7 earthquake has begun!"

’It’s starting!’

Everyone’s expression tightened. They immediately followed procedure, using a mass Teleportation Item to transport the entire group to the epicenter’s coordinates.

The instant they arrived at the target location, Guan Tong saw a massive, bottomless chasm open up beneath his feet!

As he plummeted, he immediately did as he had before, using a Shadow Rope to latch onto the Earth Vein Pillar and pull himself toward it.

However, the energy unleashed at the epicenter of a magnitude 7 earthquake was far beyond anything they had imagined. Despite their special anti-shock uniforms, a powerful seismic wave slammed into them just a second or two after they arrived.

Guan Tong felt the violent impact slam into him mid-air. Even though he had already donned a thick layer of Shadow Armor, his entire body was still shaken violently.

The other four squads weren’t tasked with channeling Psychic Power; their objective was to protect Guan Tong. So, upon arrival, they immediately used items to ascend and create a suspended platform high above, giving them a foothold to evade the seismic shockwaves.

It was a good plan, but the epicenter, being directly above the seismic source, was the very center of the energy release. The powerful shockwave from the magnitude 7 quake immediately caused several of them to falter.

"HACK!!!"

Hit by the seismic wave, two people instantly coughed up blood and fell unconscious. Dragon Soul and the others rushed to their aid, carrying them to the suspended platform they had created while continuously using various defensive items to mitigate the unending shockwaves.

Even at a height of several dozen meters, the platform only slightly dampened the force of the waves; they were still well within the impact zone and had to use items to bolster their defenses.

"Quick, the medical items!"

"It’s no use, we’re too late... Their internal organs were completely pulverized. They’re gone."

"...Damn it! How could this happen when they used defensive items beforehand?!"

"They must have reacted a split-second too slow and mistimed their items. The force of a magnitude 7 shockwave is too powerful; it destroyed them in an instant."

"What about Shadow...?"

All eyes turned to look down. Because he had to make contact with the Earth Vein Pillar, Guan Tong had to remain below, where he would bear the full brunt of the seismic waves.

They saw Guan Tong’s entire body covered in a thick layer of black armor. Under the assault of the invisible shockwaves, the armor constantly shattered, only to instantly reform, creating an eerie sight.

Night Owl said, "He’s using armor formed from shadows to block the impact of the seismic waves. But it looks like maintaining it requires a constant, massive expenditure of Psychic Power."

"That Shadow ability is incredible!" Flying Eagle exclaimed. "It’s good for both offense and defense, and can even become armor to block shockwaves. Anyone else, even if they could destroy the Earth Vein Pillar, would probably be unable to even get close under the force of these waves."

Guan Tong stood atop the pillar, forced to unleash dozens of Shadow Ropes and bind them tightly around the Earth Vein Pillar just to maintain his balance. While constantly pouring Psychic Power into his Shadow Armor, he focused another part of his mind on converting a massive amount of Psychic Power into the "Power of Rupture" and injecting it into the pillar’s core.

CRACK! CRACKLE! CRACKLE CRACKLE!

He injected over two hundred thousand units of Psychic Power at once, and the results were immediate. Countless fragments burst from the pillar’s surface, breaking away far faster than before.

’Five hundred thousand this time!’

Guan Tong’s heart pounded wildly. To output five hundred thousand units of Psychic Power at once was an unprecedented experience.

He felt as if he had become a massive conduit for Psychic Power. Every pore, every cell in his body was channeling and outputting Psychic Power into the Wordless Book. It was then converted, and the destructive force was injected into the Earth Vein Pillar.

The pillar’s outer shell began to flake away in rapid succession until over forty percent of it was gone. Guan Tong then poured all of his remaining reserves—over a million units of Psychic Power—into it at once!

"BOOM!"

With a tremendous roar, the rest of the Earth Vein Pillar’s outer shell disintegrated. The pillar itself collapsed, and the massive earthquake abruptly stopped.

"Cough!"

Guan Tong coughed. He felt a sweet sensation in his throat, and the faint, salty taste of blood filled his mouth.

’Internal damage?’

He immediately realized that because he was so close to the ground, the seismic waves had still caused him some injury, even with the protection of his Shadow Armor.

"Are you all right?"

Dragon Soul and the others descended to check on him. They had been on high alert the entire time but hadn’t spotted any suspicious individuals approaching.

Guan Tong shook his head. "I’m a little shaken up. I need to leave and recover on my own. Also, I’ve used up nearly all the Psychic Power that was transferred to me over the past two days. We need to continue the transfers during this three-day interval, and I’ll need even more to handle the magnitude 8 quake."

Gao Liangwei’s voice came over the headset. "The plan is confirmed to be viable. We’ll increase the output schedule. Shadow, if you were injured just now, you need to be treated by our medical professionals!"

"No need. It was just a minor shock. I’ll head to the base once I’ve recovered."

With that, Guan Tong left alone. Dragon Soul and the others were frustrated, but they couldn’t force him to see a doctor. They had no choice but to take their two fallen comrades back first.

...

Guan Tong took off the uniform and set it on the ground. He wiped a smear of bright red from the corner of his mouth, a clear sign of internal injury.

He immediately used Body Shifting to return to his shelter, where he began to cycle his Psychic Power Flow, using its energy to heal himself.

This was a method Shi Jingyi had told him about previously. Once mastered, Psychic Power Flow could be wielded as a versatile form of special energy. Its applications were vast: it could be used for defense, offense, shattering the restraints of a Mind Lock, and even repairing some physical injuries.

Guan Tong had never tried it before because he’d never been injured and had too little Psychic Power to sustain multiple cycles.

But this time was different. He had around twenty thousand units of Psychic Power left in reserve, and he now used it all, turning his body into a conduit for a continuous, unending cycle.

This was an insight born from the experience of outputting over a million units of Psychic Power. Back then, he had felt his entire body become a conduit for Psychic Power. The sensation was indescribable, and in that instant, he gained a profound new understanding of high-level Psychic Power applications.

Now, as tens of thousands of units of Psychic Power circulated endlessly within him, Guan Tong could clearly feel his slightly damaged organs being repaired. Other minor ailments in his body were also being erased. It was as if his body was being completely reforged.

After a long while, Guan Tong opened his eyes and stood up, overjoyed. "So that’s it... I finally understand what Psychic Power Flow truly is!"