49 Apocalypse Rules

「More than a year ago.」

"Son, you have to hold on!"

"Ming, even if Mom and Dad aren’t around anymore, you have to be strong, you hear?"

After speaking to their bewildered young son, the middle-aged couple, each holding a cup of water, exchanged a look and resolutely downed the contents of their cups.

"Dad, Mom, what are you talking about? Didn’t we agree to hold on together?!" The young man looked at his parents, confused, not understanding why they were saying such things.

After the Fire Thief announced the first of the Apocalypse Rules, the family of three had managed to stay awake for over forty hours, constantly monitoring, reminding, and encouraging one another.

But the exhaustion was plain on all three of their faces, especially the middle-aged couple’s. They were nearly at their breaking point.

A minute ago, they had asked their son to pour them each a cup of water. After saying what sounded like parting words, they drank it.

In response to their son’s question, the middle-aged couple could only weep silently. Before long, their expressions turned grim, and they grew drowsy.

The young man immediately realized the key point: there was something wrong with the water in the cups!

’What happened? I just poured it from the kettle... Did they put something in it?!’

"Ming, while you were in the bathroom earlier, we secretly put a large dose of Sleeping Liquid into the kettle," the mother said with difficulty.

"We know we can’t last any longer, but you have to live!" his father said. "Once we fall asleep, you’ll be able to get two ’Sober Mint Candies.’ The period of wakefulness they provide should be enough for you to last until the rule ends."

The young man shuddered. "This... what candy? Why..."

"After we’re gone, you can call your grandmother at this number. Your grandmother... she’s not an ordinary person. She can take care of you from now on."

The young man’s face was a mask of bewilderment. "I..."

"Your mother and I once told you that your grandmother passed away before you were born. That’s not true. It’s just that our life philosophies are the complete opposite of hers, and we couldn’t accept some of the things she’s done, so we didn’t want any contact with her..."

The father choked up as he spoke. "But in this world now, people like us can’t survive. On the other hand, people like your grandmother can live very well. She was the one who told us about the Sober Mint Candy item... You need her protection to live on."

Just a few minutes later, under the effects of the large dose of sleeping medication, the middle-aged couple, who had already been awake for two days and two nights, fell asleep one after the other.

The young man heard a series of notifications.

[You have obtained: Sober Mint Candy]

[You have obtained: Sober Mint Candy]

The young man numbly read the item’s description and understood why his parents had asked him to pour the water. Because of that action, he had become the one who "put his parents to sleep," thus receiving the hidden reward.

"Heh, heheh..."

The young man suddenly burst out laughing and rushed to the window, intending to leap out.

But a blast of cold wind snapped him back to his senses.

’If I die, won’t every last trace of my parents disappear from this world?’

’They went to such great lengths to keep me alive. Am I really going to repay them with suicide?’

"No..."

Tears streaming down his face, the young man gritted his teeth and ate one of the Sober Mint Candies.

Along with a state of absolute clarity, a powerful, irrepressible rage surged from the depths of his heart.

"What I have to do is get revenge. On this... world!"

WHOOSH!

Jiang Ming’s eyes snapped open. He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

’It’s been over a year. Why did I dream about that day again?’

He sat up, got out of bed, and left the room.

A short-haired woman in a suit was standing at the door. Seeing him emerge, she smiled and said, "Good morning, Mr. Jiang."

Jiang Ming said, "I’ve fully adapted to my new legs. I can leave now, right?"

The short-haired woman said, "Well... the Commander-in-Chief said it would be best for you to rest a while longer. Mr. Jiang, you could easily wait until after the eleventh rule is over before taking action."

"No need. I know my own body," Jiang Ming said. "I want to speak with the Commander-in-Chief directly."

"Very well."

The short-haired woman took out her phone, dialed a number, and handed it to Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming took it and said, "Commander-in-Chief, I’ve recovered."

A gentle, mature woman’s voice came from the phone. "Child, haven’t I told you? You’re my grandson. You can call me Grandma."

"...I’ll stick with Commander-in-Chief."

"Sigh, have it your way. So, you’ve adapted to your new legs?"

"Yes. Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for going to the trouble of finding an Ascender with regenerative healing abilities to treat me."

"Silly child, there’s no need for thanks between us."

"In any case, I wish to leave here as soon as possible."

"Hmm... Ming, I know you’re eager to get revenge on Shadow, aren’t you?"

"If I can find that woman, I will kill her."

Of course Jiang Ming hated Shadow, who had nearly killed him. The situation back at the base had been a hair’s breadth from disaster. If he had hesitated for even a second before using the Teleportation Item, the consequences would have been far worse than just losing his legs.

"Shadow is a man. The woman was just an illusion created by an appearance-altering item he used."

"What?"

"Child, if you want revenge, there’s an opportunity right now. That Shadow has appeared. I was already planning to use this current rule to eliminate him for good. If you want to take revenge with your own hands, I can have you join the strike team."

Jiang Ming’s eyes narrowed. He said without a moment’s hesitation, "I want in."

...

On Mingdao Mountain, Guan Tong sat in a small courtyard, holding the two items he had received from Dragon Soul.

[Mind Specialized Solvent]: Upon use, increases the user’s maximum Psychic Power by 15-30 points, based on their body’s potential. This item is tradable.

[Psychic Power Growth Patch]: Upon use, increases maximum Psychic Power by 1 point per day for 10 days. This item is tradable.

Both of these items were undoubtedly extremely precious and would fetch a sky-high price on the market.

The officials’ willingness to give them to Guan Tong made their intentions clear. If not to recruit him, then at least to foster a good relationship.

As the saying goes, "you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours." Guan Tong could feel the officials’ sincerity and was naturally willing to return the favor in the future.

’These two items will increase my limit by at least 25 points, which is equivalent to nearly four months of natural growth for me right now... and that’s just the minimum.’

’If the first one, the solvent, has a good effect and gives me more, the benefits will be even greater.’

Guan Tong didn’t overthink it and chose to use them immediately.

He drank the solvent. His Psychic Power surged within him as if boiling, then quickly calmed down.

Then, he used the Growth Patch and opened his Terminal Panel.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Civilization Observer]

[Psychic Power: 350 (350) (2005)]

[Sublimation Coins: 3,686,120]

[Comprehensive Bio-information Evaluation: Excellent]

"350! A total increase of 29 points. The solvent gave me 28, and the Growth Patch added 1... Not bad at all!"

Guan Tong was pleasantly surprised by the information on the panel. The solvent could increase it by a maximum of 30, so getting 28 was a sign that his body’s potential was very high.

He guessed that potential was likely determined by age. He was 19 this year; though technically an adult, his body hadn’t completely stopped developing. Furthermore, over the past year, the subtle influence of Psychic Power had greatly changed his physical condition. The most obvious change was his height, which had shot up by several centimeters, from over 1.7 meters to over 1.8 meters tall.

’If I were a bit younger, I might have gotten the maximum bonus of 30 points... but 28 is still great!’

Since the Growth Patch would continue to add 1 point per day for the next nine days, Guan Tong would gain a total of 38 points of Psychic Power from these two items. He was very satisfied with this result.

’At this rate, my maximum Psychic Power should reach around 365 by the end of May. Speaking of which...’

Guan Tong took out the [Wordless Book]. He had previously speculated that once his Psychic Power exceeded 350, he might be able to write on the sixth page.

’It’s exactly 350 now. I wonder if it’ll work?’

He tried to write and found that it actually worked this time! But before he could even feel happy, all 350 points of his Psychic Power were drained in the next instant!

And in return, all he got was a tiny black dot on the page...

’...So I can write on it now, but given the consumption rate, it’s still going to be difficult to write anything proper in the short term.’

At this, he couldn’t help but think back to when he destroyed the Earth Vein Pillar. Having so many people continuously channel their Psychic Power into him... he had to admit, it felt incredible.

’It would be great if a large group of people could do that for me while I write in the [Wordless Book]—it’s not impossible, actually, but the prerequisite would be that I’d have to join the officials and reveal the secret mechanics of the [Wordless Book].’

Even though his cooperation with the officials had been pleasant this time, Guan Tong currently had no intention of joining them. Sometimes, collaborations are pleasant precisely because the two parties are separate. If they were to merge into one, things might not be so pleasant anymore.

After putting away the [Wordless Book], Guan Tong thought about the future.

’During this magnitude 5 earthquake, it was already hard to stand steady without the help of items. Starting with the next one, at magnitude 6, the situation will become even more severe. The ground might even split apart at the epicenter. I wonder if the officials have made preparations for ’airborne transport’...’

’Also, the officials have probably started to suspect that I’m Shadow. Will this cause any problems?’

Guan Tong mulled it over for a moment, then shook his head. ’I probably don’t need to worry about this issue. No matter what the officials think of ’Shadow,’ even if they believe Shadow is a problem, it definitely won’t affect our current cooperation. Otherwise, if some accident were to cause problems with the mission to mitigate the earthquake disaster, no one could bear the consequences.’