Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 147 Mind Lock

The poster's nickname was "Moon's Key," and like the post's title, the content was also written in a very vague and unclear way.

"Through the crystal ball, I have foreseen today's strongman, tomorrow's hysteria. The punishment of the soul will make people understand that the price of being impatient for success is an unbearable price..."

What kind of nonsense is this?
Guan Tong didn't see anything useful, so he could only make a vague guess: this "Key of the Moon" was probably an ascendant with some kind of prophetic ability or item, who saw some future through the ability or item, and the person who used this hidden rule in that future would have bad consequences.
Some people commented jokingly in the comments section, while others expressed their conviction.

"That's right, someone has finally taken over the niche of charlatans."

"I've always been curious: with so many people in the world, and so many people studying the occult, surely someone must have acquired prophetic abilities, right?"

"OP, you're a kind person. Could you please predict how many rules I'll survive to?"

"The original poster's prediction makes sense. I have studied rules quite well. If it is a rule that people plunder each other, the plunderers will pay the price."

"The upper limit of mental power has increased so much, I couldn't ask for more, but what price would I have to pay?"

"You can tell by looking at those messages that urge the site administrator to update; he doesn't seem to feel like he's paying any price."

Guan Tong read a few pages, feeling somewhat uneasy.

If there truly is some hidden cost, then he will inevitably fall victim to it. Because he genuinely took more than thirty first places.

But he also wondered, if the cost of being invisible is too high, then what is the point of this hidden rule?
"...Never mind, regardless of whether there are hidden costs, there's no need to worry too much before they manifest."

Guan Tong didn't want to scare himself, so after learning about the social situation, he turned off his computer and went to rest.

Although the eighth rule only lasted for half a month, he traveled to many places during that short period and experienced the most battles within the rule, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted.

What he wants most right now is to get a few days of rest.

Compared to others, he is probably one of the few people who pays special attention to his mental state, and often uses methods such as blocking out external information and asking and answering his own questions to provide self-psychological guidance.

Since the end-of-the-world rules came into effect, a large number of people—including many who are considered strong by ordinary people—have not died from external forces, but have chosen to end their own lives.

Many of these people suffer from excessive pressure, develop psychological problems that they cannot resolve, and ultimately resort to extreme measures.

Guan Tong has been living alone for a long time, which makes her prone to depression. Coupled with the pressure of the rules, including eliminating those people in the base this time, even though it was an act of eliminating evil, it still had some impact on her mental health.

For the next period of time, Guan Tong paid no attention to the outside world, focusing on resting, taking walks, playing with the coal ball, and continuing to cultivate the flow of spiritual power.

At first, Guan Tong didn't feel anything was wrong. On the contrary, he clearly felt that his body was changing better every day: he was stronger, had more energy, and was more mentally alert.

This is undoubtedly a manifestation of the enhanced mental strength resulting from a significant increase.

But it wasn't until the eighth day, when he casually opened the terminal panel, that he discovered something amiss.

The problem lies in mental strength.

[Psychic Power: 309 (309) (2570)]

Guan Tong remembered clearly that on the day the eighth rule ended, his maximum mental strength was 309.

Based on his previous rate of natural growth of one point in his upper limit every 7 to 8 days, his upper limit should now be 310.

"Why is it still 309? I didn't miss any training this week, did I...?"

Guan Tong found it a little strange, but he didn't pay much attention to it, assuming that he might have relaxed a bit in the past few days.

But then another day passed, and on the ninth day, he found that the limit still hadn't increased.

This made him immediately uneasy, and a terrible thought popped into his mind.

Is the stagnation of mental power limits the price of using the eighth hidden rule?

If it's true, that would be terrifying...

Although natural growth is slow, averaging only about 4 points per month, its growth rate can increase. Moreover, accumulated over time, when considered on an annual basis, the growth is still quite considerable.

But is it worth it to achieve a surge in growth at the cost of stagnant natural growth? No, a surge is relative. The one who achieves the most growth is the one who experiences a surge, but what about those who only achieve a few or even one more?
After realizing this, Guan Tong immediately turned on her computer and logged into the Ascendant's Home website.

As expected, many organizations and individuals have noticed this, and numerous posts in the chat section are discussing it.

"Why isn't my mental energy cap increasing? I've been following the official advice and going through the recovery process every single day, draining every last drop!"

"I heard that the mental power limit of those who take first place from others stops increasing naturally. Is that true?"

"Really? If that's the case, that's great! Who told them to steal first place from others! The mental energy that others lost should be blamed on them!"

"Hahahaha! There's no other reason, I just want to laugh."

"They're not losing out either. Natural growth is so slow, how long will it take to catch up with this surge? I heard it could rise by several hundred points at its peak, so even if natural growth stops, they can accept it."

"I also think that it's never a loss to grab more... The unluckiest ones are those who only managed to grab one or two first places, right?"

"What are you talking about? You think you're not losing money if natural growth stops? Don't forget that the rate of natural growth will increase! Even if it increases by a few hundred points this time, if it doesn't grow in the future, it will be overtaken sooner or later!"

"I have a feeling that the Firebringers are trying to undermine our foundation..." "The official white paper has just been updated, and it mentions this situation, which is currently being tentatively named 'Mind Lock'. They say they are currently trying to find a way to remove the restriction."

When Guan Tong saw these posts, he discovered that, just as he had predicted, everyone who had used the eighth hidden rule was experiencing a situation where their mental power limit could not increase naturally.

The authorities even gave this situation a special name: "mind lock".

Some people on the website feel that if they get enough first place and their mental strength increases significantly this time, they won't lose out even if it can't increase naturally anymore.

But Guan Tong would never think that way. Because it's like the relationship between savings and cash flow. Without cash flow, only outflows and no inflows, no matter how much savings you have, you'll eventually run out... What's more, the upper limit of mental power is not as high as savings, and this thing can't generate interest.

"We've just passed the eighth rule. If the upper limit of mental power is locked from here... there will definitely be big problems later."

This was the first time Guan Tong had felt so heavy-hearted. He certainly wouldn't regret what had happened, because it was pointless. The key was how to solve the problem and unlock this "lock on his heart."

“Currently, besides the official governments of various countries, major groups and forces are definitely studying this issue... These intelligent people cannot be satisfied with the already raised limit and stop there. However, if this is the setting of the Fire Stealers, then breaking through will probably not be so easy.”

The concept of the fire-stealers...

Guan Tong suddenly remembered the sixth rule from before.

Shortly after the rule of the Deadly Plague was published, he had an idea: could he try to contend with the rules of the Firebringers using his own Wordless Book?
So he had the idea of ​​writing "serum" on the pages of the book, but because his mental power was insufficient, he was unable to write on the fifth page and eventually gave up.

But that belief in resistance was imprinted in his heart.

"Now my mental power limit allows me to write on the fifth page of the [Wordless Book]... I must try to defy the rules!"

Guan Tong had no choice. He could not accept that his maximum mental power was only 309 points. He had to find a way to break through the mental lock.

Moreover, he hadn't been online for the past few days, and he saw that his private messages had accumulated into a huge pile.

Many of these were groups and organizations that had previously said they would continue to cooperate with him, and they all sent private messages to question him, asking if he had deliberately concealed the situation regarding the "mind lock".

Guan Tong naturally found it ridiculous; even he himself didn't know, so how could he be hiding it?

However, he could understand these people. They paid money to buy intelligence, which was useful, but it also had hidden negative effects, so it was only natural that they would feel angry.

Guan Tong didn't plan to reply to these private messages. As for whether these people would become suspicious of him and stop buying intelligence in the future, he wasn't particularly concerned.

To be honest, all he could think about right now was to get rid of the mental lock as soon as possible. Although it wasn't fatal or even had much of an impact in the short term, it gave him an indescribable feeling of discomfort.

It's like looking up and seeing your limits locked there, unable to move forward any further. This is unacceptable to Guan Tong, who is determined to overcome all forty-nine rules and reach the end.

After making the decision, he immediately turned off the computer and took out the "Wordless Book".

A few days ago, he didn't know what to write, so he left the fifth page blank. Now, looking at the blank page, he felt a chill of fear.

"Luckily, I didn't rush to write, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable..."

Because what's written can't be deleted or modified, if the maximum mental strength required to write on the sixth page exceeds 309 points, then unless another method is found, Guan Tong will be completely stuck here.

It's like a dead save file in a game. No matter how much the player tries, if their character can't beat the enemy, they just can't beat them. In the end, they can only load the old save file or delete the account and start over.

However, in real life, there is no such thing as "reloading old save files"... We can't be so absolute. Perhaps there really are people in the world who have a similar "rewind" ability, but Guan Tong definitely doesn't have that ability.

He looked at the blank pages, pondered for a moment, and then put pen to paper, intending to write the character "开" (open) on the fifth page.

The word "open" here means to unlock or untie. He plans to use the feature of the wordless book that can satisfy the need for ambiguity to try to see if it can work and unlock his mind.

If that doesn't work, try adding more words.

With a single downward thrust, Guan Tong felt dizzy and lightheaded. Upon opening the panel, she saw that all 309 points of mental energy had been depleted, and an additional two hundred points of reserve mental energy had been consumed.

"Is writing on the fifth page really that taxing...?"

Guan Tong wanted to continue using her reserved mental energy to write, but hesitated for a moment.

During the period of Rule Eight, he expended a significant amount of his reserved mental energy to single-handedly eliminate the enemies in the base in the Yongzhou Mountains. In particular, he spent 500 points at once to summon the Giant Axe Warrior in order to deal with Jiang Ming.

He originally had over three thousand units of mental energy, but now he only has a little over two thousand left. Judging from the consumption rate on the fifth page, he'll probably have to throw all two thousand units into it after writing the word "open".

The ninth rule of the apocalypse will be released in five days. At this time, depleting our reserves would be an unwise choice.

"...No, I can't continue writing."

Guan Tong decisively put down her pen.

Even if he desperately wants to unlock the mind lock, he can't throw all his resources into it.

To be on the safe side, it's more worthwhile to wait until your mental energy recovers before using it for writing. Using 10 points of your reserved mental energy in exchange for 1 point of mental energy to write is simply too wasteful.

Guan Tong calculated: "There are still five days until the ninth rule is released... Five days of naturally recovering mental energy should be enough to write a single 'open' character. I don't know if it will be effective by then; if not, I'll have to think of another way..."

　Day 23 of daily check-in. In another week, I'll be able to get the badge after a full month of daily check-ins. Looking forward to it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)