49 Apocalypse Rules

The opening ceremony was held on July 18th.

The new students gathered in the auditorium. Dean Zhou Qinfeng gave a welcome speech from the stage, flanked by the lecturers of the various departments.

The students had little interest in Zhou Qinfeng’s platitudes. Most of them were looking at Guan Tong, whispering amongst themselves.

"I came to this academy specifically to study under Ms. Shi Jingyi, but she ended up being replaced. I can’t stand it."

"Yeah. It seems she really practices what she preaches. She must have joined the earthquake relief efforts. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten injured and needed to recuperate."

"Does anyone know anything about this new acting lecturer?"

"There’s very little about him on the official website, just his name: Guan Tong. Is he an honors graduate from last year’s class?"

"I asked a senior who attended every single ’Psychic Power Flow’ class last year. He said he’d never seen this person in class."

"I studied online for six months before coming here to build a good foundation. If this acting lecturer is no good, we should complain to the academy."

Most of the students’ whispers were about Guan Tong. It wasn’t because he was the only new lecturer, but because his course was a crucial, mandatory one, which naturally drew the most attention.

After the opening ceremony, classes were scheduled to officially begin the next day.

However, aside from their classes, the students were also concerned about the new Apocalypse Rules.

The next rule was set to be announced on August 1st. With just over ten days remaining, everyone was on edge.

The reason was simple: the psychological trauma left by the "Earth Dragon Flipping Over" rule was immense.

If another rule that destructive were to be announced, humanity might not be able to endure it.

Therefore, everyone was inwardly praying that the next rule would be a non-survival one, giving human society some much-needed breathing room.

Guan Tong left the auditorium, walked out of the school gates, and found a secluded, deserted spot before activating Body Shifting.

The next moment, he materialized inside his shelter.

"MEOW!"

The moment Coal Ball saw him appear, it let out a cry and bounded over.

Ever since the little fella ate that piece of Demon Flesh and Blood, he had grown much larger with time. His fur had become glossier and blacker, and his claws and teeth had grown stronger and sharper.

To anyone else, a first glance wouldn’t suggest a black cat at all, but rather a small black panther.

Guan Tong played with Coal Ball for a while. He had been observing him for days, watching to see if the side effects of the Demon Flesh and Blood—a "manic and aggressive personality"—would manifest over time.

So far, however, nearly two months had passed, and Coal Ball showed no signs of aggression toward him.

What surprised him, in fact, was that the cat seemed even more "sensible" than before.

That’s right. Coal Ball used to hiss at him occasionally, but since its body began to change, it hadn’t hissed at him even once.

Guan Tong guessed that the cat’s intelligence might have increased as well, allowing it to recognize that he, its master, meant it no harm. As a result, it had actually grown more affectionate than before.

"I’ll take you out for a bit later," Guan Tong said, patting Coal Ball’s head before sitting down at his computer desk.

He logged onto the Ascender’s Home website. As networks across the country were gradually repaired, the site’s traffic had started to recover.

But reaching pre-earthquake levels was impossible.

After all, the dead can’t be brought back to life, and many accounts would likely remain dormant forever.

Guan Tong opened the requests page. He had posted two: a bounty for information on "Big Sis," and a request to find an Ascender with healing abilities.

After Shi Jingyi had been moved to the sanatorium, he had canceled the second request. But the first one was still up, and it had already accumulated many comments.

"So this ’Big Sis’ was the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Who the hell is she to have so much power?"

"Shadow God is still alive?"

"I also thought Shadow God died in the epicenter..."

"Supporting this righteous revenge!"

"Isn’t he working with the government? Are they not helping with the investigation?"

Guan Tong looked through the comments, but no one had provided any leads.

He then opened his private messages and saw that Zhang Minglu had sent him a message a few days prior.

He opened it to find it was about "Big Sis."

His spirits lifted, and he read it carefully.

"’Big Sis’ is a traitor who was hidden among us; she has been identified. She has gone into hiding, but the personnel she planted in the Strategy Research Room and other departments have been rooted out, and the power she wielded has been dismantled. The relevant authorities will continue to pursue her."

Guan Tong couldn’t help but frown after reading it.

From his few interactions with Zhang Minglu, he felt the man was fairly candid and could be trusted to some extent.

’It’s just that this message feels like it’s telling me something, but not everything.’

’For instance, they’ve already identified her, so why not tell me her name? She’s a confirmed traitor and criminal; what is there left to be concerned about?’

Guan Tong was a little disgruntled, but he could understand the intention behind Zhang Minglu’s—or rather, the Strategy Research Room’s—message.

’They sent the message to let me know that even though their organization had a bad apple, she’s been rooted out. The others can still be trusted, so I can cooperate with them without worry in the future.’

Guan Tong closed the private message without replying. He knew they probably wouldn’t give him more detailed information even if he asked.

He then browsed the various sections of the forum. Each board had far fewer new posts, and many of the popular threads were old ones.

With the world’s population so drastically reduced, it was impossible for things to be as bustling as before. But the quiet was also due to the severed fiber-optic cables that cut off connections to foreign networks. Unless they were on the same continent, most countries could only access their local internet.

Currently, besides the North Star People, the only other two nationalities able to log into this forum were the Yingqi People and the Sisiya People.

The Yingqi People could connect because their entire nation had relocated to the former territory of the Andai Kingdom, making them neighbors of North Star. Sisiya, meanwhile, was already on the same continent as North Star, and its terrestrial fiber-optic cables had not been completely destroyed by the earthquake.

Guan Tong figured the next traffic surge on the forum would be when the twelfth Apocalypse Rule was announced. ’Lots of people will probably show up then to see if I, the site admin, have posted any hidden intel about the rule.’

He shut down the computer and took Coal Ball outside.

Outside the shelter’s door, an endless expanse of mountain ravines unfolded before his eyes.

That’s right—he had set up his shelter in a mountain range not far from Pinglu City.

After spending some time scouting, he had chosen a spot at the bottom of a canyon. No one had ever visited this place, even before the Apocalypse Rules appeared, let alone after.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he planned to keep the shelter here for the duration of his teaching post at the academy.

Now outside, Coal Ball began to run happily around the canyon. He was clearly excited by the changes in his body, darting about like a black lightning bolt at astonishing speed.

Guan Tong followed at a leisurely pace, enjoying a stroll and breathing in the rare, fresh air. This deserted, mountainous wilderness was pristine; walking here was much more comfortable than in the city.

"RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE..."

As he walked toward a grove of trees, a sound emanated from within. A rather thick-bodied snake slithered out, arching its back and flicking its forked red tongue at Guan Tong.

Guan Tong could feel its aggression. Just as he was about to pull out his Silver Hunter and put a bullet in it, another figure moved faster.

SWISH!

A black body shot out from the side. The snake didn’t even have time to react before its head was torn to shreds by sharp claws.

The black shadow was Coal Ball, who had been out playing. He made short work of the snake, completely tearing its thick body to pieces, leaving Guan Tong to watch from the side in astonishment.

He had never expected Coal Ball to have such a ferocious and brutal side.

It seemed the side effects of the Demon Flesh and Blood had taken hold after all; Coal Ball simply didn’t display that ferocity toward Guan Tong.

Guan Tong watched as Coal Ball, having effortlessly killed the snake, scampered up a tree to play. ’With that kind of combat power,’ he thought, ’I might be able to bring him out as a War Beast to help me fight in the future.’