Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 127 Official Announcement
brush.

As the strip of cloth was torn off, Wang Yan adjusted to the transition from darkness to light.

She found herself in a windowless room, unable to see what was happening outside.

A man wearing a mask stood in the corner of the room, silently watching her.

Wang Yan recalled that about ten minutes earlier, she received a phone call on her way to work at the Public Security Bureau, telling her that this was the time for her to meet her daughter, Chen Na.

Without giving her any time to prepare, a car appeared and took her away. The car had a partition and the windows were completely dark, so she couldn't see the outside world and didn't know where it was going.

Upon reaching their destination, her eyes were blindfolded, and she was led into a room of unknown location.

She glanced down at the miniature camera she always wore on her collar and was surprised to find it was gone, clearly having been discovered and taken.

What exactly are these people...?

"Crench."

The door opened, and Wang Yan turned her head. When she saw who had come in, her eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she rushed over to hug her daughter.

"Nana!"

"Mother……"

The mother and daughter, who hadn't seen each other for over a month, both shed tears.

Wang Yan wiped away her daughter's tears, stroked her hair, and asked with concern, "Nana, where have you been all this time? That organization didn't hurt you, did it? Your hair..."

At this time, Chen Na had cut her hair into a neat, ear-length bob, and she looked somewhat like the short-haired woman who had come to find them before.

"Mom... I can't talk about things related to the organization these days... Are you feeling better?"

Wang Yan paused for a moment, then nodded: "It's all right. After taking that pill, I went to the hospital for a checkup and they found that the cancer cells had disappeared."

"That's great..." Chen Na smiled with delight upon hearing this.

"Nana, Mom knows this is what you got in exchange for a deal with that organization, right? Tell Mom what they want you to do?"

Chen Na shook her head: "I really can't say, otherwise... I'll need to help with some things. I feel it's only right, after all, they really gave such precious medicine and cured your illness, Mom..."

"..."

Wang Yan was speechless for a moment. She couldn't refute it, because it was the truth.

Without that medication, she would probably be dead by now. Because after her initial hospital checkup, the doctor clearly told her she only had one or two months left to live.

Chen Na said, "Mom, don't worry about me, I..."

Just then, the door opened, and the short-haired woman walked in: "Chen Na, it's almost time. You know, we only allowed you to meet briefly, not to have a long talk."

Chen Na nodded reluctantly.

Upon seeing the short-haired woman, Wang Yan immediately stepped forward and questioned, "Who exactly are you people? Why are you making a deal with a child? What are you trying to do?!"

The short-haired woman said calmly, "Don't get agitated, Ms. Wang. From beginning to end, we have never forced your daughter to do anything. She voluntarily joined us in exchange for the life-saving medicine for you, Ms. Wang... You should be happy to have a daughter who loves you so much."

"You!" Wang Yan's chest heaved with anger. She was naturally moved that her daughter was willing to sacrifice herself for her, but as a mother, how could she accept that her daughter was in an unknown organization, doing things that were dangerous and unknown?

“Mom, it’s okay… I really did it voluntarily,” Chen Na said, stepping forward. “I’ll apply to see you again later. We both have to live well!”

“Nana…”

Looking at her daughter, Wang Yan felt that in just over a month, her daughter seemed to have matured a lot in terms of her mindset. She would never have said such things before.

"Alright, Chen Na, we've been overtime for a long time." After the short-haired woman finished speaking, Chen Na nodded, hugged Wang Yan, and turned to leave.

Wang Yan tried to stop her, but was stopped by the short-haired woman.

After Chen Na left, the short-haired woman said, "Ms. Wang, we know you've joined the Public Security Bureau, and we know you want to investigate us. But I advise you, for your own sake and for your daughter's sake, don't do anything unnecessary."

Wang Yan glared at the short-haired woman: "When are you going to let her leave?"

“This is not something I can decide. And Ms. Wang, you may not have thought about it carefully. Your daughter’s survival rate would actually be higher here than if she stayed with you… because we have sufficient resources to invest in and help her navigate the rules, while what resources would she get if she stayed with you?”

Wang Yan was taken aback upon hearing this.

"That's all for today. Before you leave, let me remind you one more thing: if Ms. Wang can live a peaceful life and not do anything unnecessary, the organization will allow your daughter to visit you again. But if you insist on going against us, then her next application will not be approved. You'd better think carefully about what you're doing."

After the short-haired woman finished speaking and left, Wang Yan stood there for a few minutes before finally leaving the room.

After going downstairs, she found that she was still in the city center, and there were many people strolling around.

Yes……

We're in an unregulated period now. During unregulated periods, shelters are open, and people who have been cooped up for a month are all coming out. Even though there's a lot of demolition and construction going on outside and not much to do, after being cooped up in a closed environment for so long, it's good to just go out and wander around.

That organization took advantage of this period to arrange the meeting under the cover of a large crowd, so as not to attract attention. "Nana..."

Thinking of the short-haired woman's words and her daughter's last words, Wang Yan could only make up her mind to live well.

Only by living on can I reunite with my daughter one day.

……

December 29th, just one day before the release of the eighth apocalyptic rule.

Guan Tong sat in front of the computer, looking at the long announcement newly released by the official account.

The announcement mainly falls into two categories.

One type is where the government decides to release some non-core confidential data to the public nationwide.

These data are collected from various locations, compiled into the Countermeasures Research Office, and then analyzed and reported by specialized data analysts.

Previously, the compiled data was only shared internally, but starting next year, in January 2041, this data will be regularly made public for the general public to view.

In addition, the authorities will set up special channels for collecting suggestions and opinions, which will be divided into two channels: online and offline shelters.

Good suggestions will be adopted and rewarded.

The second category is that the government has begun to encourage the development of the tertiary industry in the private sector.

Since the apocalyptic rules were introduced a few months ago, major countries around the world have focused their efforts on developing primary industries (agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries) and secondary industries (mining, manufacturing and construction).

Faced with apocalyptic disasters, humanity's primary concern is food and drink, and survival. As a result, many factories have transformed to focus on producing food products.

In the Northern Star Kingdom, the secondary industry has also developed rapidly due to the government's decision to build a large number of professional-grade shelters in major cities.

However, the tertiary sector (services such as transportation, finance, education, information, scientific research, and entertainment) has suffered a devastating blow.

The first thing to be affected is the complete collapse of the financial system, with all national currencies becoming worthless, and only gold retaining some value.

In education, classes have been suspended from primary school to university, and many schools have even been demolished and converted into shelters.

Scientific research also faced a major collapse. The reason why there was no situation of "vigorously developing technology to resist the apocalypse" was because the dimensional reduction attack of the fire-stealers was too terrifying.

Putting aside other things, the items obtained from any "Bronze-level Survival Chest" may completely violate the physical laws that humans consider inviolable.

This led to the complete shattering of the beliefs of many scientists. Even the most brilliant scientists did not believe that with the current level of human technology, they could even scratch the surface of the power that the fire-bringers could wield within a century.

So, is there still a need for scientific research to develop? Many people have this question.

This is also why, at the very beginning of the apocalyptic rules, many people called on all of humanity to return to a pastoral life. However, since most modern humans cannot accept living in an environment without electricity, very few people responded to this call.

In the entertainment sector, there was a brief period of prosperity in the early days of the post-apocalyptic era, but it was soon plunged into the abyss as well.

Even if everyone stays home playing games and watching movies, if no one maintains or develops games, and no one makes new movies, it becomes stagnant. Now, several months later, the initial idea of ​​"universal gaming fun" is no longer mentioned.

The official team is now encouraging those with relevant skills to continue developing these areas. Those who perform well will be rewarded with Ascension Coins and other incentives.

The official explanation for this action is not to numb oneself with entertainment during a crisis, but to provide people with joy and purpose beyond mere survival. If humanity lives only for survival, it will eventually lose hope and develop extreme psychological states.

Guan Tong read the two items in the official announcement and thought they were both very good.

Publicly available statistics allow ordinary people, just like policymakers, to have the opportunity to think from a macro perspective.

Three cobblers with their wits combined can equal Zhuge Liang; a few people together can come up with some brilliant ideas. Who knows if there are any strategists in the public who are comparable to think tanks? It's just that because they can't get the data, these talents haven't had the opportunity to shine. Now, we've provided a stage for them.

If they can truly analyze the situation based on publicly available data and come up with some good ideas, and then relay them through the proper channels, there's a chance they'll be adopted. This can be considered a broad outreach and collective effort.

As for using Ascension Coins as rewards to encourage talented people to develop the tertiary industry, he sees that as a good move as well.

As the announcement said, humans are not animals. If they only pursue survival, they will eventually become psychologically abnormal.

Not to mention others, Guan Tong himself wasn't in a good mental state for a while. Fortunately, he lived in the mountains, and the fresh and peaceful environment helped him gradually adjust.

"It seems that these two survival rules have recently caused some significant psychological problems for people, and the authorities have had to adopt some relaxation methods..."

Guan Tong recalled that a few months ago, on the last day of the first rule, many people took to the streets to cause trouble. The situation would naturally become more and more serious a few months later.

The sixth rule of the plague was a major outbreak, in which many people did not die from the rules, but from the conflict between people.

After the rules were lifted, people began moving into the shelters. While enjoying the benefits of isolation, many psychological problems arose as a result... As for the vast wilderness outside the city, it was transformed into a jungle society by survivors and mobs, leading to much mutual harm...

No one knows where humanity should go from here. But at least the official actions taken this time have received widespread recognition, both internally and externally.

It was amidst this change that the eighth rule of the end times arrived as scheduled.

(End of this chapter)