49 Apocalypse Rules

Ba Song’s exclusive Psychic Power item was called the [Infinite Hand Cannon], a very powerful offensive item.

Its power came from the fact that the user could freely adjust the Hand Cannon’s might by controlling the amount of Psychic Power injected.

If enough Psychic Power was injected, a single shot could even destroy an entire building.

In addition, it could fire different types of shells. Ba Song had developed three types himself: besides explosive shells, there were also gas shells and incendiary shells.

After obtaining this Infinite Hand Cannon, he had quickly eliminated his two biggest rivals, seizing their territory and assets.

If the Apocalypse Rules were a pure hell for most people, then for Ba Song, this powerful exclusive weapon was a small comfort.

However, the eternally confident man now found himself staring at the unwavering figure, and for the first time, he began to doubt his own abilities.

Facing Guan Tong’s taunts, Ba Song switched the Hand Cannon’s ammunition type. "Have a taste of this!"

BANG!

This time he fired a gas shell. With an audible SSSS, a large amount of toxic gas began to spread throughout the basement.

Ba Song himself wasn’t afraid; he was immune to the toxic gas his own weapon produced.

But if an enemy inhaled this gas, their skin would soon begin to fester, leading to an agonizing death.

"You’re not afraid of explosions, are you? In a sealed environment like this, I’d like to see you dodge poison gas!"

Ba Song’s shout was more to bolster his own courage than anything else.

To Guan Tong, however, it was all rather laughable.

He had to make the Shadow turn intangible to evade explosive attacks, but this type of gas was completely ineffective.

He controlled the Shadow to stand right in the densest part of the gas cloud, utterly motionless.

When Ba Song saw this, his confident expression faltered.

’Explosions don’t work, and now the poison gas is useless too?!’

"Ba Song, just give up. You’re no match for me."

Hearing Guan Tong’s voice, Ba Song’s face darkened. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then try this!"

He switched the Hand Cannon’s ammunition to incendiary and fired a shot. Flames instantly engulfed the Shadow.

’It worked this time!’

A delighted look appeared on Ba Song’s face as he watched the Shadow being consumed by the massive fire.

Guan Tong, controlling the Shadow remotely, hadn’t expected Ba Song’s Hand Cannon to have so many tricks up its sleeve. It was a bit like his Silver Hunter, which could fire different types of bullets.

Unfortunately, this was also of little use against the Shadow. It would only burn away the clothes the Shadow wore as a disguise.

And so, Ba Song watched with his own eyes as a pitch-black, solid entity walked out of the flames. In his fear, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he blurted out, "Shadow! You’re Shadow!"

Guan Tong was a little surprised to hear this.

’Has my reputation already reached the Andai Kingdom?’

"I see, so that’s why! No wonder my attacks didn’t work on you! No wonder you could find this place! Because you’re Shadow!" Ba Song said excitedly. "The World’s First Ascender, Shadow!"

Hearing this, Guan Tong sensed that Ba Song was up to something. He remained silent for the time being, quietly watching the man’s performance.

After determining the person before him was Shadow, Ba Song put on a sickeningly greasy smile, his expression the very picture of sycophancy. "I can’t believe I have the honor of meeting the legendary and illustrious Shadow God! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Shadow God, I’m certainly no match for you. How would I dare oppose you! If you wouldn’t mind, I am willing to become your subordinate and follow your commands!"

"..."

"I know you’re powerful, Shadow God, but I, Ba Song, if I can say so myself, have several hundred men under my command, all of whom you could use! Oh, right! I also have connections with the Andai Kingdom’s officials. Whatever you need, I can provide it!"

As if afraid Shadow would refuse, Ba Song rattled off one benefit after another of taking him on as a subordinate.

"Right! You know about the eighth rule, don’t you? I raised a batch of ’human cattle.’ I used them to max out the five-hundred-point increase to the Psychic Power limit! If a similar situation arises in the future, I can have them do the same for you..."

It would have been better if Ba Song hadn’t brought it up. The moment he did, the image of the prisoners in the warehouse flashed before Guan Tong’s eyes, and he felt an overwhelming urge to slaughter the man on the spot.

But before that, there was one thing he had to do.

"Hand over the fragment first," Guan Tong’s voice rang out.

Ba Song’s expression shifted slightly. Though he was still smiling, his eyes were full of vigilance. "Shadow God, I think I’d better hold on to the fragment for now. How about this? We’ll spend some time together, and once I’m sure you truly see me as a trusted subordinate, it won’t be too late for me to give it to you."

"..."

"Don’t blame me for being cautious. What if I hand over the fragment, and you decide to kill me right after... right? So I’ll hold onto it for now. Even if you threaten me, I have to do this to save my own life."

Ba Song had made up his mind. Since Shadow was here for the fragment, as long as he refused to hand it over, he could stay alive.

If he did hand it over, it was very likely Shadow would strike him down the very next second.

"Shadow God, please don’t be angry. Don’t be rash. If you kill me, you won’t get the fragment, will you?"

Listening to Ba Song, Guan Tong suddenly asked, "So, you’re confirming that the fragment is on you."

Ba Song nodded. "That’s right. But like I said before, I’ll only consider it after we get to know each other better..."

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

The next moment, with a CRACK, a piece of black plate armor under his clothes shattered, struck by some kind of Psychic Power attack.

"Shadow, you-?!"

’So he does have an item that defends against Psychic Power attacks...’

This wasn’t the first time Guan Tong had encountered something like this. Many of the wealthy and powerful Ascenders he had met would buy and carry items that could defend against Psychic Power attacks.

This meant that his preferred sneak attack method—invading with his Shadow—would easily fail and be detected when used against such people.

When Ba Song realized he was under attack, his face changed drastically. His fawning expression vanished in an instant as he cursed, "Are you crazy?! Don’t you want the fragment anymore? Kill me, and the fragment disappears with me!"

"Are you sure about that?" Guan Tong said. "What’s the last sentence in the fragment’s description?"

’The last sentence?’

Before Ba Song could recall it, Guan Tong had the Shadow attack again.

This time, he didn’t hold back. A multitude of Shadow Thorns shot toward Ba Song. In his haste, Ba Song could only raise his Hand Cannon and pour all of his several hundred points of Psychic Power into it.

"I’ll give you everything I’ve got, Shadow!"

BOOM!!!!

The explosive shell, infused with over four hundred points of Psychic Power, was astonishingly potent. The explosion instantly destroyed the entire basement, collapsing the walls, incinerating supplies, and even causing the house above to cave in.

Ba Song had already taken cover in a corner and wasn’t crushed by the collapsing ceiling. He was panting heavily and just about to look for a way out when an excruciating pain shot through him!

SHUNK!

A Shadow Blade, over half a meter long, had pierced through his body from behind.

COUGH!!!

Ba Song vomited a large mouthful of blood. In his fading consciousness, he finally remembered the last sentence of the Puzzle Fragment’s description:

This item cannot be destroyed and is tradable.

"Cannot... be destroyed..."

At death’s door, Ba Song finally understood why Guan Tong had dared to attack him.

The key was in the three words "cannot be destroyed."

That’s right. Normally, when an Ascender died, all the items they owned would vanish along with them.

In a sense, this vanishing could be understood as "being destroyed."

So, if an item was specifically marked with the words "cannot be destroyed," did that mean that even if the Ascender who owned it died, the item itself wouldn’t disappear?

Guan Tong wasn’t sure, but he was willing to take the gamble.

Because if he didn’t, a cunning person like Ba Song, no matter how sweet his words, would never hand over the fragment.

His heart completely destroyed, Ba Song died instantly.

And at the moment of his death, a shining fragment quietly appeared, falling onto a piece of rubble beside his corpse.

When Guan Tong saw this through the Shadow’s vision, he immediately knew his gamble had paid off!

"Just as I thought! Items marked ’cannot be destroyed’ are dropped upon the holder’s death!"

Guan Tong immediately manipulated a Shadow Line to pick up the fragment and quickly retreat.

By now, the massive explosion caused by Ba Song’s Hand Cannon had attracted the attention of the entire estate.

People from all over the estate rushed over, gathering around the collapsed house in confusion, not knowing what had happened. Fearing another explosion, they didn’t dare start digging rashly.

Their attention was completely drawn to the wreckage from the explosion, so naturally, none of them noticed the rapidly retreating Shadow Line.

When it returned to Guan Tong, he eagerly took the fragment in his hand.

In that instant, the fragment’s ownership changed, shifting from "unowned" to an item belonging to Guan Tong.

[You have obtained: Qimo Star Chronicles - Fragment 1]

[Qimo Star Chronicles - Fragment 1]: A partial mural recording the history of Qimo Star. There are 5 Puzzle Fragments in total. Assembling them all will grant the complete "Qimo Star Chronicles." The holder of a fragment can sense the location of other fragments. This item cannot be destroyed and is tradable.

’It’s Fragment 1, the very beginning.’

As Guan Tong was thinking, a mural suddenly appeared in his mind.

Just like what he had seen in the Fog Gate cavern, the mural’s information, containing new content, was poured directly into his mind.

"This is..."

Guan Tong quickly processed the information from the mural.

The content of the painting mainly depicted a wide variety of environments.

There were boundless oceans, peaks that pierced the heavens, and rolling hills covered in green grass. Each environment was depicted with such stunning realism that it felt as if the beautiful scenery was right before him, close enough to touch.

Within these environmental murals, some Exotic Beasts could also be seen living their lives. The images of these Exotic Beasts were incredibly vivid. Some were hunting prey, others were raising their young, and some were gathered together, jumping and playing, giving Guan Tong the feeling that they were in the early stages of forming some kind of "tribe."

After Guan Tong had fully processed the information from Fragment 1’s mural, a single word that could summarize it all emerged in his mind: "Homeland."

Yes, the brushstrokes of this mural radiated a profound love for a homeland. One could imagine that whoever created this mural must have possessed an extremely deep love for this planet’s environment and for the creatures living within it.

Only with such love could one create a mural so stunning, so perfect, so lifelike. After viewing it, Guan Tong felt an inexplicable urge to cry.

He quickly composed himself and thought silently, ’I now have Fragments 1 and 3. That leaves 2, 4, and 5... Getting those three probably won’t be as easy as this time.’

Holding the fragment, Guan Tong checked the locations of the other fragments displayed in his mind. He could see that the position of the one originally in the Soloma Empire had moved to a tropical region.

Apparently, the fragment’s holder in the Soloma Empire was also on the move, actively trying to collect the other pieces.

The last remaining fragment was located in the Sakura Prayer Nation. This nation, with a pre-Apocalypse Rules population of over three hundred million and formidable technological strength, was not to be underestimated.

...But for now, there was still one more thing to do.

Guan Tong hadn’t forgotten that while Ba Song was dead, his estate had not yet been destroyed.