49 Apocalypse Rules

Reports on the elite soldiers’ battle against the Nightmare Beasts were quickly laid out on the conference table in the Strategy Research Room.

The fact that thermal weapons could kill Nightmare Beasts had everyone in the room buzzing with excitement.

"This is great! It’s finally time for human weaponry to show its power!"

"That’s right. With this rule, humanity finally has the ability to launch a full-scale counterattack. If all the cities mobilize their armed forces, I don’t think it’s impossible to repel, or even completely eliminate, the Nightmare Beasts in the Mist!"

In contrast to everyone’s excitement, the director, Gao Liangwei, remained relatively calm. He spoke up, "Don’t be so quick to celebrate. Don’t forget that our soldiers also suffered casualties."

At his words, everyone’s expressions turned a little more solemn.

Gao Liangwei looked at the analyst. "Tell us the results of your analysis of the consolidated intelligence."

"Yes, sir," the analyst said. "According to the reports, although thermal weapons can inflict damage on the Nightmare Beasts, their varied characteristics still pose a huge threat to humans."

"One type, an arthropod-like Nightmare Beast resembling a giant centipede, is incredibly strong and capable of flipping tanks. However, these beasts don’t appear to have digestive organs. Their purpose in attacking humans seems to be simply to expose them to the Mist."

"Exposed to the Mist... The Mist is corrosive and contains neurotoxins. For a human to be exposed to it is tantamount to a slow death," one expert said. "Do the Nightmare Beasts have any other characteristics?"

The analyst replied, "They do. When killed, a Nightmare Beast explodes like a balloon. The fragments disappear into the Mist, leaving no corpse behind, which makes it impossible to collect them for research."

"Has anyone tried to capture one alive?"

"We tried, but it ended in failure after costing us the lives of several soldiers. However, we have reached one conclusion: Nightmare Beasts cannot survive outside the Mist. If attacked, one can escape simply by leaving the Mist’s range in time."

Another expert stroked his chin, speculating, "In that case, it seems these Nightmare Beasts and the Mist have a symbiotic relationship... Could we use equipment like industrial blowers to disperse the Mist and thereby eliminate the Nightmare Beasts within it?"

"A good idea," someone agreed. "If it works, we could solve the Nightmare Beast threat just by placing some high-powered fans around the city."

"Someone tried that right after this rule was released. It doesn’t seem to work. This Mist is very strange. It looks light, but it’s heavy. A normal strong wind can’t disperse it."

Gao Liangwei said, "After the meeting, release this intelligence to the public. Also, notify the people in all the shelters and Gathering Points. Tell them not to worry, that the authorities will deploy armed forces as soon as possible to eliminate the Nightmare Beasts in the city’s Mist."

Everyone nodded. Gao Liangwei continued, "Next, we need to prepare to carry out exploration work in the Mist."

At this, some of them were quite surprised.

"Exploration?"

"If there are only Nightmare Beasts in the Mist, is there any value in exploring it?"

"I understand the Director’s meaning," someone said, catching on. "It’s because the rule’s addendum mentioned something about ’if you decide to explore the depths of the Mist,’ right?"

"Exactly." Gao Liangwei nodded. "I don’t believe the Fire Thief would include that for no reason. Since the addendum mentions being careful during the exploration, it implies there must be something in the depths of the Mist worth exploring. We absolutely cannot overlook this."

"That makes sense..."

"Since conventional thermal weapons can kill Nightmare Beasts, can’t we just assign the exploration mission to elite soldiers? Is it really necessary to dispatch an Ascender squad?"

Hearing this, Zhang Minglu spoke up in disagreement. "No, I believe it’s still necessary to dispatch an Ascender squad. We don’t currently know what the Fire Thief meant by ’exploration.’ If we encounter a problem that only elite Ascenders can solve, then soldiers alone won’t be enough."

"Dr. Zhang is right. You can decide which specific squad to send."

"Understood. This time, I plan to send our most elite unit, Squad One, to participate in the operation... with one additional alternate member."

"An alternate member?" Gao Liangwei asked. "Does this person have any special abilities?"

"Yes. It’s the little girl named Chen Na, who was brought from the Yongzhou Base during the last rule. Her Perception Ability might be of great use in the Mist, so I plan to temporarily assign her to Squad One for this joint operation."

"Then let’s do that."

After the meeting, the authorities immediately released the intelligence regarding the Nightmare Beasts.

Upon learning that conventional weapons could kill Nightmare Beasts, people everywhere cheered with joy.

This was especially true for the ordinary people whose Terminal Panels had already been disabled. Since every rule had required the efforts of Ascenders, they had increasingly felt excluded... But the ninth rule made them feel useful again.

Although they couldn’t use Psychic Power, if they joined the army and underwent some training, they could use guns and cannons. They could still contribute to eliminating the monsters in the future.

Meanwhile, Guan Tong, who was still in his shelter and had just seen the latest official announcement, was truly astonished.

’Guns and cannons can kill Nightmare Beasts? Then... what’s the point of Ascenders?’

At their current level, Ascenders simply couldn’t compete with the destructive power of modern weapons that had been developed over centuries.

If guns and cannons worked for this rule, then the human army certainly wouldn’t be afraid of some mere monsters. But if that was the case...

Guan Tong had been operating on his previous assumption that only Ascenders could eliminate the Nightmare Beasts in this rule. That was why he had chosen not to sell his intelligence earlier, to avoid creating too many competitors.

But now that guns and cannons were effective, Guan Tong knew—while he couldn’t speak for other countries—that given the North Star Country’s usual way of doing things, they would absolutely not just defend. The authorities would definitely send out a large number of soldiers to both clear out the monsters in the Mist and attempt to explore it.

After all, the publicly available addendum to the rule explicitly mentioned "exploring the depths of the Mist." Given the caliber of the Strategy Research Room, there was no way they would overlook this information.

At this rate, the competition would shift from being between Ascenders to being against the official elite troops... and Guan Tong didn’t think his efficiency could surpass that of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers.

’...Forget it. I’ll just stick to my own pace.’

Guan Tong’s initial plan was to use his Shadow to scout and see if he could find the source of the Mist.

But when Yu Hong’s knocking had suddenly gone silent just now, he had tried to use his Shadow to check the situation, only to remember a troublesome problem.

While inside his shelter, he couldn’t make his ethereal Shadow corporeal outside—unless he opened the door.

This was related to the shelter’s properties; it was a completely sealed existence, a special form powered by Psychic Power.

To Guan Tong, being inside the shelter and being outside, while seemingly separated only by a door, was more like being in two different spaces.

Only when the door was open did the shelter and the outside world occupy the same space. This was also why the Shadow Surveillance Eyes he deployed outside would deactivate the moment he sealed the door.

But now, the thick Mist was everywhere outside. If he opened the door and connected the two spaces, the Mist would seep in. Then this safe place would no longer be safe.

’Looks like I have to go out. But first, I need to buy some gear.’

Guan Tong opened the terminal market and searched with the keywords "anti-corrosion" and "full body protection."

He couldn’t get his hands on the officially produced protective equipment right now, so he could only see if he could buy something on the market. If he could, he would be able to save the energy consumed by covering his body with Shadow Armor.

The search results appeared quickly, spanning several pages. They included various items, equipment, and medicines.

Guan Tong checked the medicines first.

[Anti-Corrosive Solvent]: Grants immunity to all types of corrosion for 12 hours after consumption.

Price: 6,000 Sublimation Coins

The effect was decent, but the duration was too short. It wasn’t what Guan Tong was looking for.

He continued scrolling down, and after several pages, he finally found what he wanted.

[Level A Biochemical Full Body Protective Suit]: When equipped, effectively resists various types of invasive, corrosive, and chemical gas damage. Includes a rebreather helmet that provides over 72 hours of continuous, harmless oxygen, after which it must be recharged in an area with non-hazardous air. This item is tradable.

Price: 80,000 Sublimation Coins

A protective suit like this selling for eighty thousand Sublimation Coins was very expensive for an ordinary Ascender. The seller had probably jacked up the price to take advantage of the current rule, aiming to sell it to one of the big groups.

But the reason it hadn’t been snapped up by a group was likely because others didn’t think it was particularly useful. Without knowing the hidden rule, not many people would choose to risk exploring the depths of the Mist for this rule.

Most ordinary people were hiding in enclosed spaces, and the authorities could now dispatch the army to clear out the Nightmare Beasts... All these factors meant it wasn’t selling at this price. Since Guan Tong needed it now, he didn’t overthink it and just bought it.

He equipped it immediately after buying it. A dark black, head-to-toe protective suit instantly appeared on his body, looking very professional.

Moreover, the helmet displayed the remaining oxygen level. Currently, it read: 72 hours (Recharging).

’It seems the inside of my shelter qualifies as a "non-hazardous air area," so the helmet can recharge in here... That’s pretty good.’

Guan Tong had already planned to recall his shelter when he left. Now, if his oxygen ran low while he was out, he could just summon the shelter to recharge instead of having to find a place outside the Mist. It was incredibly convenient.

He then searched the store for the keywords "attack warning," hoping to find a similar item, but the search came up with "No results."

’...Looks like items of this kind are in high demand.’

Guan Tong had wanted to buy one to guard against surprise attacks from Nightmare Beasts and save his Shadow’s energy. But key figures in many groups were likely afraid of being ambushed, so they all wanted similar items. As soon as such an item appeared on the market, the groups’ dedicated buyers would snatch it up.

He thought back to Jiang Ming, the man he fought at the Yongzhou Base. Jiang Ming had undoubtedly possessed an item that could warn of attacks, as well as a precious teleportation item. Both would have cost a lot of Sublimation Coins to acquire... but their effectiveness was undeniable. Without those two types of items, Jiang Ming would surely have died by his hand.

Since there was nothing on the market, Guan Tong didn’t force the issue. He checked his condition, confirmed he was in good shape, then walked to the door and opened it.

The moment his feet stepped out the door and into the Mist, Guan Tong felt waves of danger signals rising in his heart.

Although he knew this was just a psychological reaction to leaving a safe environment, he summoned his Shadow just in case. After activating its vision, he split off several Surveillance Eyes, placing one on his back, one on his chest, and another above his head.

This way, any Nightmare Beast attack, no matter the direction, would be detected.

Guan Tong held his [Silver Hunter] in both hands. This multi-functional firearm, which had accompanied him through countless battles, would certainly not be absent this time.

Since the authorities had already verified that guns had a lethal effect on Nightmare Beasts, his Silver Hunter would definitely have a role to play in this rule.

’According to the information from the hidden rule, to find the source of the Mist, I need to follow the traces of the Nightmare Beasts... These traces, they should refer to the tracks they made when they arrived, right? How am I supposed to track that?’