49 Apocalypse Rules

It was clear from looking at them that their leader had a unique fondness for this type of woman.

"The Commander-in-Chief has been in her room alone for over ten minutes. I hope nothing happened."

After Jiang Lanying went into the room and shut the door, she hadn’t come out. This made the people waiting outside grow more and more anxious.

"Could it be that the Commander-in-Chief..." one person began worriedly.

"Impossible!" another woman immediately interrupted. "The Commander-in-Chief has weathered all sorts of storms over the decades. How could she give up so easily?"

"That’s right. If the Commander-in-Chief were that fragile, she wouldn’t have led us all the way here."

As they spoke, the door was pulled open from the inside.

The woman they called Commander-in-Chief, Jiang Lanying, slowly walked out.

She was still dressed in simple cloth garments, her white hair meticulously combed. She looked no different from when she had held great power in the past.

Only by looking closely could one faintly discern a hint of exhaustion in the wrinkles on her cheeks.

"Didn’t I tell you all to get some rest? What are you all doing standing at the door?" Jiang Lanying said, waving her hand dismissively. "Go on, rest."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"

The young women each found a place to sit, drink water, and rest.

One woman didn’t move, remaining by Jiang Lanying’s side. She then spoke up, "Commander-in-Chief, what should we do next? Are we leaving the country?"

The other women also looked over, their eyes filled with the same curiosity.

Jiang Lanying nodded. "Leaving the country is a certainty. The only reason we made it here from deep within North Star territory was that their armed forces were busy with disaster relief. Otherwise, we probably would have been intercepted long ago."

"But the evacuation of the earthquake victims is now mostly complete. The freed-up manpower will definitely be sent to hunt us down. We must cross the border before they find us... But don’t worry, I’ve already arranged for a pickup."

A pickup?

The women looked at each other, all of them confused.

As the Commander-in-Chief’s personal guards, the people closest to her, they had no idea she had a contact outside the country.

"It’s normal that you don’t know," Jiang Lanying said. "I only contacted this person a short while ago. They agreed to get us out to a safe place after we negotiated their payment."

One woman couldn’t help but ask, "Commander-in-Chief, who is this contact?"

Jiang Lanying didn’t answer immediately. Instead, her calm yet intimidating gaze slowly swept over all her trusted guards.

"Before I tell you, I need to be sure that no one will betray me."

Upon hearing this, a certain woman’s heart jolted, but she quickly controlled her expression, looking just as resolute as the others and showing no cracks in her facade.

"Conveniently, there’s a rule for this. Swear an oath to me," Jiang Lanying said. "Swear that you will not betray me. Not all at once. I want to hear you one by one."

"Yes!"

Whoever Jiang Lanying walked up to would swear a solemn oath: "I swear that I will never, ever have any thought of betraying the Commander-in-Chief."

Soon, when it was that woman’s turn, she took a light breath and said with an incredibly resolute expression, "I will never betray the Commander-in-Chief."

Her performance was perfect. Jiang Lanying nodded, showing no suspicion.

Only the woman herself felt a sudden emptiness in her heart after taking the oath.

’She knew she had broken the rule by lying.’

’Once the Rule Stage ends, she will be punished.’

’But she had done it without hesitation, because she knew that as long as she could survive, that was all that mattered.’

’Even if she could never tell the truth again, with a million Sublimation Coins on hand and a guarantee from the director of Ascender’s Home, survival wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, if she could just live long enough, there might be a chance to erase the rule’s punishment in the future...’

After all the girls had sworn their oaths, Jiang Lanying’s expression relaxed considerably.

Even though these girls were her confidantes, raised by her since childhood, practically Death Warriors, it was hard to guarantee that none of them would get other ideas while on the run like this.

Now, with the rule providing an extra layer of insurance, she was much more at ease.

"Now, I can tell you who our contact is. You’ll never guess."

...

「Strategy Research Room, Dormitory Area.」

Silver Fox of the Dragon Soul Squad was currently in Wang Yan and Chen Na’s room.

"Nana, do you really have to go?" Wang Yan looked at her daughter worriedly. "You’re so young. Mommy is really worried about you participating in such a dangerous mission."

Chen Na shook her head. "Mom, with Silver Fox and the others, it will be very safe."

"That’s right," said Silver Fox, who was standing to the side. "Wang, we will all protect Na."

"But..."

Wang Yan was hesitant.

Regarding this mission, all she knew was that the authorities were pursuing a group of important fugitives. The fugitives’ identities and their crimes were classified information that could not be disclosed to her.

The mission planners believed that Chen Na’s large-scale, high-precision Perception Ability might come in handy during the operation, so they had included her as a member of the team.

When Chen Na found out, she accepted it calmly. Her mother, Wang Yan, however, was somewhat resistant, unwilling to let her daughter undertake such a dangerous mission.

"Silver Fox, can I talk to my mom alone for a moment?"

"Of course."

After Silver Fox left the room, Chen Na spoke with unusual calmness. "Mom, I know you’re worried about me. But when the authorities need me to contribute, I can’t run from it. Our safety and our standard of living were exchanged for this value I can provide."

Wang Yan looked at her daughter in surprise, not expecting her to say something so mature at such a young age.

"Nana, you... Who told you all this?"

Chen Na shook her head. "No one told me. I figured it out myself."

"..."

Wang Yan looked at her daughter’s innocent little face and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

’This should be an age of innocence, but the series of disasters and changes brought about by the arrival of the Apocalypse Rules have forced a child’s mind to mature far too early. Isn’t this its own kind of cruelty?’

"Mommy understands." Wang Yan stopped trying to dissuade her. She just hugged Chen Na and reminded her, "Then you must protect yourself during the mission."

"Mhm, I will!"

A moment later, Chen Na came out of the room and said to Silver Fox, who was waiting in the hallway, "Silver Fox, my mom agreed to let me join the mission."

Silver Fox ruffled Chen Na’s hair. "Na, if you’re scared, I can talk to the higher-ups and tell them you won’t be going this time."

"No, if there’s a chance my ability can be used, then I have to go and do my part. Guan said that in this era, everyone has to do what they can, so I don’t want to just hide in a safe base all the time either."

Hearing this, Silver Fox asked curiously, "Who’s Guan?"

"He’s a big brother I met during the ’June Snow’ rule. Actually, I should probably call him Brother Guan Tong, because my mom calls him Guan, and I was being mischievous back then, so I just copied her..."

Before Chen Na could finish, Silver Fox cut in, surprised. "Guan Tong? Don’t tell me you mean the Guan Tong from the academy who’s temporarily filling in for Lecturer Jingyi? I can’t believe you two actually know each other."

"Yes." Chen Na and Wang Yan had spoken to Guan Tong on the phone recently, so they knew he had gone to the academy to be a lecturer and were very impressed.

At the mention of Guan Tong, a look of fond remembrance appeared on her little face. "Guan helped my mom and me a lot, but we haven’t seen each other in a long time."

Seeing Chen Na’s downcast expression, Silver Fox thought for a moment and suggested, "Isn’t he right there at the academy? How about I take you to see him tomorrow?"

"Really?" Chen Na was first overjoyed, then her brow furrowed. "But I remember that we can’t just leave the base without orders..."

Silver Fox smiled. "Silly girl, we’re about to go on a dangerous mission. It’s just to see someone before we leave. The higher-ups will definitely approve."

"That’s great! Thank you, Silver Fox."

"Alright, I’ll go report this to the higher-ups. You go give your Guan a call and tell him you’re coming to see him. Have him clear his schedule in advance so we don’t make the trip for nothing."

"Okay! I’ll go call him right now!"