49 Apocalypse Rules

"Nobody Cares, But the President of the Small Nation of Mogok Was Just Taken Out by an Ascender"

"Most people in the country have probably never even heard of this little nation, right? It only has a few million people. I came here for work a few years ago, married a local woman in Mogok, and settled down. You’ll never guess what happened. Just yesterday, an Ascender led a group of people and took out the president. All the guards were wiped out, too. Right now, that Ascender is on live TV announcing that he’s the new president."

The thread was incredibly popular. Although things had been chaotic abroad for a while, this was the first time anyone had seen an Ascender take out a president.

"For real? Is Mogok’s government that useless?"

"I don’t think so... Even if someone massively increased their Psychic Power limit, that doesn’t make them invincible, right? Do skills and items not have cooldowns?"

"At this stage, could even an Ascender with a ton of Psychic Power withstand a missile from the army? That’s seriously underestimating the power of modern weaponry..."

"Hasn’t the Tulip Federation been in a civil war lately? I saw in the news a few days ago that some warlord used a few hundred rockets to kill dozens of Ascenders from ’Wolf Pack.’"

"Mogok is a small country, after all. Their military probably isn’t up to snuff."

"This sets a really bad precedent. Ascenders using violence to seize power whenever they want it. If everyone starts following their example, won’t it be chaos?"

"We definitely don’t have to worry about that here. No matter how strong an Ascender is, they wouldn’t dare try anything."

Guan Tong browsed through the thread. He felt a tinge of sadness thinking about how many people who had struggled so hard to survive the Apocalypse Rules were now dying in conflicts with other humans.

This situation wasn’t unique to Mogok. Similar conflicts were erupting in other small nations: clashes between the newly risen, powerful young Ascenders and the old, established elite who held power.

These conflicts were difficult to reconcile. Without external intervention, they would quickly escalate to open warfare.

However, in this day and age, it was hard enough for any country to take care of its own problems, let alone have the spare energy to interfere in or mediate the internal disputes of other nations.

Thus, from the middle of the eighth rule until now, about ten days after it ended, the fighting in these places continued. Not only had it not stopped, but it showed signs of escalating.

Guan Tong watched for a moment, feeling grateful that he lived in the relatively stable North Star Country. If he were in one of those smaller nations, he’d probably be caught in the vortex of a massive brawl with no way out.

Several days passed in a flash. On the evening of January 29th, with just over ten hours to go before the ninth Apocalypse Rule was announced, Guan Tong finally finished the last vertical stroke of the character for "Open" on the Wordless Book.

Looking at the character for "Open" in the center of the page, Guan Tong silently chanted in his mind, ’Unlock the Mind Lock, release the limit on my Psychic Power.’

Then, he picked up the book and began to pour his Psychic Power into it in a steady stream.

As the Psychic Power flowed in, the character for "Open" began to glow. It then twisted and warped, just like the conversion of stored Psychic Power, before transforming into a stream of data that shot into Guan Tong’s body.

JOLT!

Guan Tong’s entire body trembled. He felt an impact against some kind of "shackle" deep within his mind.

Before this, he had never even sensed the existence of this shackle. If it weren’t for this impact, he would never have realized there was a restraint deep in his mind at all.

Guan Tong found it hard to describe the feeling. It was like a unique color or scent; until you’ve seen or smelled it, you can’t even conceive of it.

Only by experiencing it firsthand could you know that such a color or scent existed in the world.

"...So that’s the Mind Lock."

Guan Tong was certain of it. The Mind Lock was buried deep within his mind.

If he had to pinpoint a location, it seemed to be near his amygdala.

Beyond that, he could be certain of one other thing: his attempt to unlock it had failed.

That’s right. Although it had created an impact, the impact hadn’t been strong enough to destroy the shackle. It had only allowed him to perceive its existence.

’Was it because I didn’t convert enough Psychic Power?’

Guan Tong glanced at his status panel. He had just used about 100 points of Psychic Power on the book’s page, which was most of the regular Psychic Power he had left.

If he recovered to his maximum, all 309 points, and poured it all in, would the resulting impact be enough to break through the Mind Lock’s restraint?

Guan Tong couldn’t be sure. He only knew that the ninth Apocalypse Rule would be announced at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Until he knew what the new rule was and how to pass it, he couldn’t afford to use up his stored Psychic Power.

Guan Tong took a deep breath. ’Just confirming the existence of the Mind Lock is a huge step forward.’

The first step to solving a problem is discovering its existence.

Now that he had found the Mind Lock and confirmed that the "Open" character on the fifth page of the Wordless Book had an effect, he could wait until he was confident about passing the ninth rule before coming back to deal with the Mind Lock problem.

’I hope the ninth rule is a non-survival type...’ Guan Tong thought. ’That would make things less stressful.’

「...」

On the morning of February 1st, as soon as the clock struck 9, the voice of the Fire Thief rang out right on time.

That mechanical, ice-cold voice announcing the rules had become a nightmare for all the world’s survivors.

Because every new rule announcement signaled the beginning of another struggle for humanity.

[The ninth Apocalypse Rule has been issued]

[Apocalypse Rule Nine: Foggy Nightmare Beast]

[Rule Content: From the moment of this announcement, a Mist from an Alien Planet will envelop Celestial Water Star. Nightmare Beasts hidden within will begin to hunt humanity. This rule will last for 30 days]

[Success Reward: 400 Sublimation Coins, one Silver Level Survival Treasure Chest, one Second Ascender Challenge Invitation Letter]

[Failure Penalty: None]

[Note: If you decide to explore the depths of the Mist, remember this: in the Mist, trust your biological instincts over your ears. When the hair on your body stands on end, immediately take cover or prepare for battle.]

After the Fire Thief finished announcing the ninth rule, Ascenders across the globe let out a collective wail of despair.

"A survival rule! Why is it another survival rule!"

"The Second Ascender Challenge? The challenge is coming again?"

"This is even worse than the eighth rule! I’d rather have first place stolen by someone else than have to face monsters!"

"Damn that Fire Thief, it’s always like this! Such a short break after a non-survival rule, and now a survival one that lasts this long!"

"Nightmare Beast... just the name sounds terrifying..."

"I feel like I’m going to puke!"

The feeling of terror spread rapidly.

People had every reason to be afraid, because every survival-type rule claimed a massive number of lives.

Friends people had just made during the previous rule could very well die in the next. Experiencing that kind of pain a few times was enough to drive a person mad or make them cold and numb.

The fear of a survival rule overshadowed any interest in the challenge. Except for the Ascenders who had participated in the first one, almost everyone else was indifferent to it, focused only on staying alive.

And just as the Fire Thief finished its announcement, a thick Mist began to descend upon Celestial Water Star without any warning.

The vapor had a faint, strange, purple-green hue, giving it a very bizarre appearance.

It spread and billowed out rapidly, blanketing the land.

Ascenders who were outside immediately scrambled to hide in enclosed spaces, terrified of being attacked by the "Nightmare Beasts" the Fire Thief had mentioned were hiding in the Mist.

But a few Ascenders, whether out of sheer desperation or a mental breakdown, didn’t hide. Instead, they walked directly into the dense fog.

Soon, their screams rang out. Some were just short gasps of surprise, others were long, bloodcurdling shrieks that made the skin of those listening from outside the Mist crawl, leaving them to wonder what was happening inside the fog.

But without exception, all who entered seemed to have been swallowed whole and devoured by the Mist, never to emerge again.

「...」

Ten minutes after the rule was announced, a research and discussion meeting regarding the ninth Apocalypse Rule was convened in the Strategy Research Room.

A data analyst reported quickly, "Following the announcement of the ninth rule, all city shelters were immediately sealed. Internal circulation systems have been activated to block out the descending Mist. Outside of the shelters, all Gathering Points are also doing their best to seal windows and doors to prevent the Mist from entering."

Gao Liangwei asked, "Are there any reports on the Nightmare Beasts?"

"Not yet," the data analyst said. "Aside from those who willingly entered the Mist and are presumed to have been killed by Nightmare Beasts, there have been no reports of Nightmare Beasts leaving the Mist to attack humans."

"Does that mean as long as we don’t go into the Mist, we’re safe?" someone asked, a look of delight on their face.

"I doubt it’s that easy..."

"It would be great if it were. We could just hide in a sealed location for a month and pass the rule."

"The situation is indeed not that simple," the data analyst continued to report. "Two minutes ago, the analysis department submitted its latest findings. The Mist is corrosive and has neurotoxic properties."

Everyone was stunned. An expert spoke up, "The Mist is corrosive? Does that mean the doors and windows of Gathering Points that aren’t shelters are likely to be corroded by the Mist?"

"Yes. And the Mist is also neurotoxic. While we don’t have experimental results yet, researchers have hypothesized that exposure without protective gear could lead to skin ulcerations and even hallucinations."

As the data analyst spoke, a notification pinged on the tablet in their hand.

"New data just came in. According to tests from the relevant departments, the Mist also interferes with electronic navigation equipment. Any such devices will quickly fail upon entering the Mist, rendering them unable to perform detection work."

"...What damned planet did this godforsaken Mist come from!"

"Everyone, don’t panic." An extraterrestrial research expert, unlike the others, had a look of joy on his face. "This is the first time the Fire Thief has mentioned an ’Alien Planet’ in its rules. This is enough to prove that the Fire Thief is indeed from an Alien Star. We have finally confirmed its origin! This is worth celebrating."

"..."

The room fell silent. With humanity facing a catastrophe, no one could bring themselves to be happy about something like that.

Gao Liangwei also said, "This is not the time to be thinking about that. The most urgent task is to come up with a strategy for this rule as quickly as possible."

The various experts began to speak one after another.

"Factories need to immediately start manufacturing a batch of protective equipment tailored to the Mist’s properties!"

"Even though the Mist interferes with electronic navigation, gunpowder should be unaffected. We need to mobilize armed forces and try to fight the Nightmare Beasts in the Mist."

"Reinforcement work on the Gathering Points needs to be carried out urgently! Otherwise, if the doors and windows are corroded and damaged by the Mist, and people are exposed... the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"There’s one more thing to be aware of, sir. I wonder if the master of the Ascender’s Home will be selling any hidden information related to this rule?"