49 Apocalypse Rules

No one could guess the Fire Thief’s intentions. Guan Tong knew only what he had to do now: first, ensure Shi Jingyi woke up, and second, get revenge on everyone who had harmed him.

Whether it was the mastermind of the Qingmei organization, the so-called "Big Sis," or the ones who had framed him for attacking Prince Lado’s motorcade—he would make them all pay.

Otherwise, certain organizations would continue to think that even if he was powerful, as a loner, he was no real threat.

Guan Tong was going to show anyone with such ideas that whether it was an individual or a group that attacked him, they would all face the harshest retaliation. Only then would any others with malicious intent think twice.

As for how to act, beyond posting a bounty, he had another method in mind: tracking them through the network.

Others couldn’t hack or locate his Ascender’s Home website because it ran within the sanctuary of his Wordless Book—a place that didn’t exist in the real world and therefore had no traceable address.

However, the devices used by the other users posting on his site were all firmly grounded in the real world.

In other words, while no one could track his location as the site admin, he could track the location of every user’s device.

He had never considered this before. He hadn’t even deleted or banned users who posted insults, precisely because he didn’t want the site to become his personal echo chamber where everyone could only sing his praises and never voice dissent.

But now, it seemed he had been far too lenient.

Normal criticism could be tolerated, but leaving up posts that spread rumors, slandered his name, or deliberately steered public opinion against him was, in fact, irresponsible.

He had to bring down the hammer.

Guan Tong planned to deal with them one by one. The user who posted about him attacking Prince Lado’s motorcade, the user who started the rumor that his acceptance of Psychic Power was for some "god creation" project... He would trace them all back to their devices, find the people behind the accounts, and show them the consequences of slander.

Besides, he had a feeling that finding them might yield an unexpected boon. The only reason these rumors had gained so much traction was because they mixed truth with lies; if they were entirely false, no one would have believed them.

And whoever was capable of mixing truth with lies was likely the original perpetrator of the events being twisted into rumors.

For instance, the person who claimed Guan Tong attacked Prince Lado’s motorcade was probably the real attacker. And whoever was spreading rumors about a "god creation project" was likely running one of their own.

This way, once he found them, he could deal with them and the evil they were perpetrating all at once.

Now that he had a plan, Guan Tong wasn’t in a rush to immediately put it into action.

He first opened his terminal’s storage. Inside was a jumble of unused items that the authorities had requisitioned for him.

Among them were a few teleportation items and some consumables for restoring energy and stamina. He could save those for later.

Aside from those, there was a golden chest—his reward for clearing the last rule, a Golden Level Survival Treasure Chest.

Guan Tong opened the chest. A chunk of bright red flesh appeared in his hand, startling him slightly.

[Acquired Random Item: Demon Flesh and Blood]

Demon Flesh and Blood?

He examined the item’s description.

[Demon Flesh and Blood]: The consumer’s overall physical attributes will be greatly enhanced, but their personality will become frenzied and more aggressive.

"A pity. It’s useless to me."

Guan Tong was eager to enhance his physical abilities, but not if the price was a change in his personality. He had no desire for his character to be altered by some external object.

Just as he was about to put the flesh back into storage, he heard a "Meow!" from below.

Coal Ball had suddenly leaped to his feet and was now clawing its way up his pant leg, its eyes filled with a desperate longing for the chunk of flesh in his hand.

"...You want to eat this? I doubt you can. It’s an ’item,’ after all."

Still, Guan Tong was curious enough to try.

He bent down and placed the flesh on the floor. Coal Ball instantly pounced on it and began to gnaw.

It can actually eat it?

A look of surprise crossed Guan Tong’s face.

But then he recalled the Qimo Star Chronicles · Fragment. That item had the unique property of being "indestructible." Not only could it not be destroyed by any means, but it would even drop upon its owner’s death.

Could the process of Coal Ball eating this Demon Flesh and Blood be considered a form of "destruction"?

The piece of flesh was no bigger than a finger, and Coal Ball swallowed it all in moments.

A moment later, a strange scene unfolded.

The once-small Coal Ball’s fur suddenly stood on end. Then, the muscles in its legs began to swell, and the teeth in its open mouth grew visibly sharper!

Guan Tong hadn’t expected the item to actually work on the black cat he had adopted. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.

But seeing Coal Ball baring its fangs, he recalled the flesh’s side effects and cautiously summoned Shadow to hover by his side.

If Coal Ball became frenzied from the flesh’s influence and attacked him, its master, then he would have no choice but to eliminate it as a threat, no matter how much he hated to do it.

After ten seconds or so, the effects of the flesh seemed to be fully absorbed. Coal Ball’s entire body was now a size larger, roughly as big as a lynx. Its pure black fur made it look utterly majestic.

It spun in a few circles, licked its fur, and seemed quite pleased with its new form. Then it looked at Guan Tong, ambled over to his feet, and rubbed its head against his pant leg before flopping down on its side.

Seeing this, Guan Tong crouched down and rubbed Coal Ball’s soft belly. The cat showed no signs of hostility, and he began to relax.

"I don’t know if there will be any long-term effects, but as long as you behave, you’ll be fine."

"Meow." It seemed Coal Ball had grown in more than just size; its mind appeared to have sharpened as well. It let out a meow as if in response.

Guan Tong wondered, *Did its brain grow along with its body? Is that why it seems smarter?*

He didn’t really understand it, but this was the first time he’d seen an animal react to an item. It immediately made him think of something sold in the terminal’s store.

The Genetic Optimization Liquid. He wondered if an animal drank it, would it optimize its genes the same way it did for humans? He hadn’t bought it for himself because he had already used the superior Genetic Optimization Base Liquid.

A thought suddenly struck Guan Tong. *If Coal Ball can consume an edible item placed on the floor, then perhaps if I buy the right recovery items from the market and give them to Shi Jingyi, they might just work on her, too.*

At this thought, he immediately opened the terminal’s market.

He hadn’t checked it in days. Upon opening it, Guan Tong discovered that the prices of items had plummeted across the board.

He figured it was related to the huge number of deaths during the last rule, which had crippled the market’s spending power.

He searched for recovery items and immediately went on a buying spree, purchasing them in large quantities. Since he wasn’t sure which ones would work, his only option was to buy as many different kinds as possible and try them all.