Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 125 Humans Live on Hope
"Sister Wang, is there any progress on Xiao Na's matter?"

Guan Tong answered the phone and asked. He believed that Wang Yan must have contacted him because of this matter.

"Yes, Xiao Guan, I just received a phone call. The person on the other end said that I can meet my daughter in a while."

Wang Yan sounded somewhat anxious, as if she was worried about something.

"However, they didn't tell me the specific time or the address, only that they would notify me later and that I should keep my phone accessible at all times... I think these people might have taken Nana into custody. What do you think, Xiao Guan?"

Guan Tong thought for a moment and asked, "Sister Wang, now that you've joined the Public Security Bureau, haven't you considered asking your colleagues to help arrest people?"

“No. The person on the phone knows a lot about my movements and knows that I joined the Public Security Bureau. He specifically warned me that if I mention anything I shouldn't to my colleagues, he would make sure I never see my daughter again... So I can't discuss it with my colleagues. I can only call you, Xiao Guan, to ask for your opinion.”

"This matter is probably a bit troublesome... I'm not in the city right now, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help."

With random times and random locations, even if Guan Tong could remotely manipulate the shadow, there would be no clues to follow.

Wang Yan knew that Guan Tong had left the city before the wartime management was implemented. It was easy to leave the city back then, but now both leaving and entering require a reasonable reason.

“I know, I plan to bring a hidden camera when we meet to take pictures of the faces of the other organization’s members. Then I’ll conduct an investigation based on their faces after the meeting.”

Guan Tong listened to Wang Yan's words and knew that she already had a plan. She called him just to find someone to talk to and relieve her anxiety.

Sure enough, Wang Yan hung up the phone soon after speaking and went to make preparations.

As for Guan Tong, he wasn't very optimistic that Wang Yan could bring her daughter Chen Na back. The key reason was that Chen Na had joined that organization voluntarily.

She joined the organization in exchange for medicine and supplies, which saved her mother's life from terminal cancer. Perhaps in her heart, gratitude towards the organization outweighed hatred, because the organization genuinely helped her.

In this way, if Chen Na herself does not resist the organization on a subjective level, or does not intend to leave out of a sense of responsibility, then no matter how hard others try, the results will be greatly reduced.

Perhaps in Chen Na's mind, she felt that since the organization saved her mother's life, it was only natural for her to help the organization.

Guan Tong pondered for a moment, then decided she shouldn't meddle. Although Chen Na was young, she wasn't the kind of child without her own opinions; she should know very well what she was doing.

Moreover, rather than worrying about other people's affairs, what he wants to do now is relax and unwind.

He has been living under a lot of stress every day for the past month and his condition has not been very good. He needs some time to heal himself.

Just as he had thought, the rules would end, but the psychological damage they caused was not so easy to end.

"Let's ignore everything for now and just relax for a few days."

Guan Tong is not a robot and does not want to force herself to gradually strengthen herself in an endless process.

After making his decision, he stopped overthinking and focused on doing trivial things. Every day he would take a walk, turn over the soil in the yard, and play with the coal balls.

However, the situation for some people in the city is much more serious than his. Many people have been greatly affected psychologically after experiencing this rule.

With this in mind, the authorities announced the reopening of shelters and gathering points the day after the rules ended, allowing people to freely go out, go for walks, or meet with acquaintances.

Some people have appointments to meet and go out excitedly to meet them. But most people don't have many friends and just go out for a stroll in the streets.

The weather in December had turned cold, and people were wearing thick winter clothes when they went out. But what was colder than the air was the expression on everyone's face.

The drones hovering in the air captured images of almost all people with expressionless, poker-faced expressions.

What's strange is that after a month of not being able to speak, now that the rule is over, everyone should be talking non-stop, chatting away with every stranger they bump into on the street.

In reality, people walking on the street deliberately kept a certain distance from each other, had no desire to talk, and many of them had a cold, indifferent expression.

This phenomenon not only failed to improve, but actually worsened in the following days.

Some people even persevered during the rule period, but then suddenly took their own lives after the rule was lifted.

If it were just an isolated case, it would be fine, but as such situations become more common in major cities, they quickly reach a point where they cannot be ignored and require research teams to hold meetings to discuss countermeasures.

……

On December 7, the Countermeasures Research Office held a rules summary meeting.

The data analyst first reported on the casualties under this rule.

"People from outside the city are not included in this statistic because they were not registered."

"Based on data reported from various locations within the city, the total number of deaths in this incident is approximately 165910. Of these, over 130,000 were people at gathering points, and another 30,000 were people in shelters."

Upon hearing this, the people in the conference room felt that the construction of the shelters seemed to be effective, and the casualty ratio was a direct reflection of this.

“It’s worth noting,” the data analyst continued, “that of the 160,000 deaths, about 12,000 did not die from sound hunters, but rather from suicide.” Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Within the 30-day rule period, 12,000 people were involved, which means that an average of 400 people committed suicide every day.

A psychologist lamented, "The psychological damage caused by these rules is enormous, and it cannot be ignored just because the rules have ended. This kind of psychological trauma will leave significant long-term consequences."

“Yes,” the data analyst said. “Of these 12,000-plus people, more than 2,000 committed suicide within the week after the rules ended.”

The people in the meeting room looked at each other, unsure of what to say, and could only look at the person in charge.

Gao Liangwei looked serious. His background gave him some understanding of the psychological impact of a repressive environment.

If this continues unchecked, and a few more similar rules are introduced, collapse is inevitable. It's possible that in the end, the rules won't break humanity; instead, humanity itself, due to various pressures, will cause society to completely collapse.

However, he couldn't think of a solution at the moment.

At this point, the psychology expert said, "The biggest problem now is that people can't see hope. Humans are creatures that live on hope and on the expectation of tomorrow. The mentality of 'living one day at a time' is actually unsustainable... If people can't see hope, they will collapse on their own."

"The problem is, how do we give people hope?" someone said dejectedly. "Don't even mention the general public, even we can only wait for the Firebringers to keep issuing rules."

“No,” Gao Liangwei said. “We built a large number of shelters in the shortest amount of time and effectively reduced the number of casualties under this rule. This is the result of human initiative, and in my opinion, this is hope.”

"That's true, but..."

“I do have an idea,” a sociologist then spoke up, “an idea that can motivate people and generate expectations. However, these ideas might not be allowed.”

"Don't hold back, just say it."

“Okay. So that’s public data, including some confidential data such as casualties.” The sociologist’s words surprised everyone in the room.

Someone wanted to object, but Gao Liangwei stopped them with a look, signaling them to continue listening.

The sociologist continued, "People lack initiative because everything is passively accepted. The rules issued by the fire-bringers, the official arrangements... people have almost no choice in what to do, which creates a strong sense of objectivity."

"Therefore, making secret data public will allow people to see things from the perspective of decision-makers, and they will actively think about how to make adjustments based on this data and information, and even discuss better ways to change things."

"In this way, people feel a sense of participation and will actively offer suggestions to the authorities through various channels, and they will also be able to understand the basis of some of the official decisions. However, there is a saying that 'information is power,' which I think is very true. Disclosing confidential data and information is equivalent to relinquishing a portion of power to the public..."

Everyone fell silent. Ultimately, this was something they couldn't control, not even Gao Liangwei, the head of the research lab.

After a moment of silence, Gao Liangwei said, "If this works, I will strongly urge the higher-ups to agree."

His words eased the tension in the meeting room considerably.

Then a middle-aged woman in her early forties suggested, "If we're talking about giving people hope, I also have an idea. That is to create 'star ascendants'."

Her words left everyone feeling somewhat bewildered.

However, they all knew that this woman had a rather legendary background. She became a sensation as an internet celebrity in her youth, and later founded a large entertainment company, nurturing numerous internet celebrities, some of whom even reached the level of first or second tier celebrities.

She was selected for the research lab as an expert in the entertainment industry.

"Judging from your expressions, you don't quite agree, do you? I understand. You are all experts and scholars in your respective fields. Before the rules of the apocalypse, many of you were devoted to academics and work, so you certainly didn't care about things like idol worship, or even looked down on them."

"However, many people do have a psychological need for celebrities, both men and women. After entering the post-apocalyptic era, most of the celebrities and idols from the previous era have fallen, and there are only a few still active now... I think we should follow the trend of the times and create stars who are the sublimators of the post-apocalyptic era, so that people can aspire to them and have expectations."

Gao Liangwei frowned, clearly not fond of celebrities or idols. But as the person in charge, he wouldn't let his likes or dislikes cloud his judgment.

"How exactly do we do it?" he asked.

“First and foremost is the selection of personnel,” the woman said. “To become a rising star, both strength and appearance are indispensable—unless one of them reaches the highest level. For example, the legendary ‘Shadow,’ if this person were willing to make a public appearance, even if he were extremely ugly, he would still win countless fans because of his formidable strength.”

"After the selection is completed, the selected participants can record some programs. For example, 'The Ascended's Strength Competition', 'The Amazing Uses of Ascended Abilities', and so on. Of course, in order to make the programs entertaining, the scripts must be written in advance... Once the programs are released to the public, people will definitely be interested."

"At that time, we can see who has the best audience appeal based on audience feedback, and then focus on cultivating them, designing more core programs... and even holding autograph sessions later on."

At this point in the woman's speech, someone finally couldn't help but question, "We live in an era where humanity is facing a life-or-death crisis. Isn't it very unserious to be doing these things?"

The woman replied calmly, "I think the post-apocalyptic rules and wartime social management are serious enough. Now people need something less serious to balance out the pressure they bring."

“I agree,” Dr. Zhang said. “The pursuit of happiness is a human instinct. If we suppress it for survival, it may lead to a large-scale psychological breakdown over time.”

After a moment of contemplation, Gao Liangwei nodded and said, "I will report this proposal, along with the data we just released, to the higher-ups for a decision."

(End of this chapter)