49 Apocalypse Rules

’That was Fang Qian just now, wasn’t it,’ Guan Tong thought as he walked down the street.

He wasn’t blind, nor did he have amnesia, and his awareness was far greater than the average person’s. If Fang Qian could recognize him as they brushed past each other, it was only natural that he recognized her too.

But because of things that had happened in the past, he had long since cut off all contact with Fang Qian. Even if they happened to meet now, it didn’t stir any feelings in him; he simply treated her as a stranger and ignored her.

He wasn’t surprised that Fang Qian was still alive.

Her parents, who worked at a research institute, had once leaked her classified information about the Rules. If it happened once, it could certainly happen again.

Guan Tong didn’t know whether her parents had been held accountable, nor did he care.

What he cared about now was finding the true identity of "Big Sis" as soon as possible and taking his revenge, an eye for an eye.

Coming to Pinglu now might be an opportunity.

Since "Big Sis" had connections to the higher-ups, his chances of finding his target were much higher now that he was in Pinglu, where the leadership had relocated.

After all, Pinglu and Yong’an were completely different.

As North Star’s century-old Capital, Yong’an’s defenses were meticulously prepared and nearly impenetrable, making infiltration almost impossible.

But Pinglu was just an ordinary mountain city, not even large enough to be called a major metropolis. On every level, its defenses could never compare to Yong’an’s.

This gave Guan Tong an opening.

Two hours later, he arrived at the location marked on the map.

The accommodation area appeared to be a few large factory buildings that had been converted and partitioned into many small rooms. When Guan Tong arrived, someone assigned one to him.

He went inside to take a look. It wasn’t much different from a twenty-yuan-a-night room at a cheap motel.

Guan Tong wasn’t picky. He had once lived in a building’s utility storage room for a time, a testament to his high tolerance for hardship.

Besides, if he wanted to, he could have stayed in his own shelter outside the city. Then, once things were settled at the academy, he could have moved seamlessly into the much nicer dormitories provided for lecturers.

But his entire reason for entering the city early was to get familiar with the place. How could he do that by staying isolated on the outskirts?

When dinnertime came, administrators distributed canned food to each person.

Since the move into shelters began, people had mostly switched to eating canned food. Many hadn’t had a single hot, freshly cooked meal in months.

But it couldn’t be helped. In this age where efficiency and survival were paramount, the act of cooking a fresh meal—a mundane, everyday occurrence in peacetime—had become a luxury.

It had gotten to the point where, not long ago, many of the more well-off people would show off by posting online about cooking their own meals. This would have been ridiculous before the age of the Apocalypse Rules, but now, it was a genuine bragging right.

Guan Tong himself was indifferent. He wasn’t picky about food; as long as it filled his stomach and provided enough nutrients, he was satisfied.

Furthermore, he wasn’t sure if it was because his Psychic Power was constantly transforming his body, but over the past year, his appetite had been steadily decreasing.

Logically, a nineteen-year-old young man like him, standing over six feet tall, should have the ravenous appetite of a growing teenager. Three square meals a day should have been the bare minimum.

But in reality, he now felt that one meal a day was enough for him. It was hard to say whether this trend was a good or a bad thing.

There had been discussions about this on the forums before. Some believed it was a sign of human evolution, that perhaps humanity would eventually transcend the need for food entirely. But others argued that if that day ever came—when people no longer needed to eat, drink, or sleep—would they still be human? It seemed more like they would become another species altogether.

Guan Tong remained neutral on the matter. He believed in letting nature take its course; as long as he felt fine, there was no reason to resist the changes his body was undergoing.

For the next several days, aside from completing his daily Psychic Power training regimen, he spent his time wandering around the city, occasionally striking up conversations with locals and other newcomers.

This continued until the morning of the 10th, when he received a phone call.

When he answered, a somewhat aged voice came from the other end.

"Hello, is this Mr. Guan?"

"This is Guan Tong. May I ask who’s calling?"

"I am the dean of the Psychic Power Development Academy, Zhou Qinfeng."

"Ah, Dean Zhou."

Zhou Qinfeng had called specifically to introduce himself and invite Guan Tong to the academy for an in-person meeting.

Following the address he was given, Guan Tong arrived at a district on the highest tier of the mountain city. In front of the gates of a university there, a temporary sign had been hung: "Psychic Power Development Academy."

’The former Pinglu University, huh.’

Pinglu University was well-known throughout North Star as one of the best universities in the Western Region.

However, the university was most famous for being built at the highest point of the mountain city. From its dormitories, one could see breathtaking views of mountains, valleys, and vibrant sunsets stretching across the sky. Because of this, students had once voted the Pinglu University dorms a "Five-Star Scenic Viewpoint."

After the dawn of the Apocalypse Rules, all universities ceased operations, and Pinglu University was no exception. It was only natural that the new academy would move in and requisition the campus.

He found the faculty building and went up to an office on the ninth floor, then knocked on the door.

"Please, come in," Zhou Qinfeng’s voice called out.

Guan Tong pushed the door open and entered, finding himself in a small conference room where a total of six people were seated.

Seeing this, he assumed they were in a meeting and turned to wait outside, but Dean Zhou called out to him.

"You must be Mr. Guan?"

"I am."

"Then please, have a seat. These are all faculty members of the academy, and this concerns your appointment as a substitute lecturer."

Hearing this, Guan Tong thought, ’Are they going to make me go through an interview?’

He had assumed that with Shi Jingyi’s recommendation, he would be hired directly without any tests. Apparently, it wasn’t going to be that simple.

After he took a seat, a middle-aged man was the first to speak. "Mr. Guan, you look quite young. If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?"

"I’m nineteen," Guan Tong said.

...

The room fell silent. Even the smile on Dean Zhou’s face looked a bit strained.

’When Lecturer Jingyi had recommended him, I hadn’t thought to ask about his age. While Jingyi herself is still young—only in her twenties—nineteen is undoubtedly pushing it,’ he thought.

"Nineteen... Forgive me for being blunt, but most of the students at the academy are older than that. If you were to teach here, are you certain you could earn their respect?"

Guan Tong glanced at the middle-aged man who had spoken. He recognized him. In fact, he recognized everyone present; they were all lecturers for the academy’s various subjects, and he had seen all of them during their online courses.

"Since when has earning a student’s respect been about age?" Guan Tong retorted coolly. "Shouldn’t it be about ability?"

"So you’re quite confident in your own abilities, then."

"Now, now..." Dean Zhou began. "Since Lecturer Jingyi was the one to recommend him, I trust there’s no issue with his abilities."

"I have the utmost respect for Lecturer Jingyi’s abilities, but whether the person she recommends is qualified is another matter entirely," another man said. "Coincidentally, I have also done some research on the circulation of Psychic Power. Rather than just talking about it, why don’t we see for ourselves?"

Guan Tong asked, "What kind of test did you have in mind?"

"The simplest way is through physical contact. We’ll each use circulating Psychic Power to launch an ’attack’ on the other. Whoever can break their opponent’s Psychic Power cycle demonstrates better and more refined control."

The man paused before adding, "Of course, the total amount of Psychic Power is also a significant factor. I won’t take advantage of you. Let’s both use no more than 100 points of Psychic Power for this ’spar.’ How about it?"

Guan Tong replied, "You can use 100 points. I’ll only need 20."

"You! What did you just say?" The man who had challenged Guan Tong shot to his feet, unable to contain himself. The others looked on, stunned.

"There’s nothing to be proud of by winning on equal footing," Guan Tong said calmly. "If I’m to be a substitute lecturer, a narrow victory simply won’t do."

’Since they weren’t going to be pleasant and wanted to jump straight to a physical challenge, he certainly wasn’t going to humor them. He had to push back, and hard. Otherwise, they would never stop looking down on him because of his age.’

"...Fine! Enough talk. Let’s see what you’ve really got!" the man said, his face flushing red with anger from Guan Tong’s provocation.

Dean Zhou Qinfeng looked like he was about to say something, but he held his tongue when he saw Guan Tong stand up as well.

’He was also curious to see if Guan Tong was really impressive enough to win this contest with only one-fifth of his opponent’s Psychic Power. If he could pull it off, then the substitute lecturer position was truly his for the taking.’