Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 149 The Ninth Rule of the Apocalypse

Nobody cares, the president of the small country of Mogok was just killed by the Ascended.

"Many people in the country have never heard of this small country, right? It only has a few million people. I worked here for a few years before, married a Mogok woman, and settled here. You would never guess that just yesterday, the president was killed by an Ascended One with a group of people, and his guards were all wiped out. Now that Ascended One is announcing on live TV that he is going to be the new president."

This post is extremely popular because, despite the chaos abroad recently, it's the first time we've seen a superhuman take down a president.

"Really? Is Mogok's official website really that incompetent?"

"It can't be that bad... Even if someone significantly increases their mental power limit, it doesn't mean they're invincible, right? Skills and items don't have cooldowns?"

"At this stage, even with numerous cultivators who have achieved spiritual elevation, can they withstand a single missile fired by the military...? This is seriously underestimating the power of firearms..."

"Hasn't the Tulip Federation been embroiled in civil war lately? I saw on the news the other day that a warlord used hundreds of rockets to kill dozens of 'Wolf Pack' Ascendants."

"Mogok is a small country after all, and I feel that its armed forces are not very strong."

"This sets a very bad precedent. If those who have attained sublimation use violence to seize power whenever they have a desire for it, wouldn't it lead to chaos if everyone followed suit?"

"We certainly don't need to worry about this. Even the strongest ascendant wouldn't dare to cause trouble."

As Guan Tong browsed the posts, she felt a sense of sadness that so many people who had tried so hard to survive the rules of the apocalypse were dying in the fighting among humans.

This situation is not unique to Mogok; similar conflicts have emerged in other small countries: a newly emerging and powerful group of young and middle-aged elites clashing with many old capitalists in power.

These contradictions are difficult to reconcile, and without external interference, they will soon escalate to the point of full-blown conflict.

However, in this day and age, it is not easy to take care of oneself, and no country has the extra resources to interfere in or mediate the internal disputes of other countries.

Therefore, from the middle of Rule 8 until now, about ten days after the rule ended, the fighting in these areas has continued, and instead of stopping, it has intensified.

Guan Tong looked around for a moment and couldn't help but feel fortunate to be in the relatively stable Northern Star Kingdom. If she were in one of those smaller countries, she would probably be caught in the vortex of chaotic warfare and unable to extricate herself.

Several days passed quickly, and by the evening of January 29th, with just over ten hours left before the release of the ninth apocalyptic rule, Guan Tong finally finished writing the last stroke of the character "开" on the "Wordless Book".

Looking at the word "open" in the center of the page, Guan Tong silently repeated to himself several times: "Unlock the lock on the mind, unlock the upper limit of mental power."

He then picked up the book and poured his mental energy into it continuously.

As mental energy surged in, the character "开" gradually emitted a bright light, then twisted and deformed, transforming into a stream of data that blasted into Guan Tong's body, much like the transformation of stored mental energy.

air!
Guan Tong shuddered, feeling as if a certain "confinement" deep within her mind had been impacted.

Before this, he had never felt the existence of that "imprisonment" itself. If it weren't for this shock, he would never have realized why there was an imprisonment deep within his mind.

Guan Tong found it hard to describe the feeling: it was like a unique color or smell that you had no concept of before you saw or smelled it.

Only by experiencing it firsthand can one know that such a color or smell exists in this world.

"...Is that the mind lock?"

Guan Tong was absolutely certain that the Mind Lock was deeply hidden in the depths of his mind.

If I had to pinpoint the exact location, it seems to be near the amygdala.

Besides that, one thing he was certain of was that the attempt to pick the lock had failed.

That's right. Although it created an impact, the impact failed to destroy the confinement; it only made him aware of its existence.

"Is it because the transformative power of the mind is insufficient?"

Guan Tong glanced at his panel. He had just spent about 100 points of mental energy into the book pages, which was the only mental energy he had left under normal circumstances.

If fully restored, and all 309 points are injected, can the transformative impact break through the mental lock's shackles?
Guan Tong wasn't certain; he only knew that the ninth apocalyptic rule would be released at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Before he knew what the new rule was and how it would be passed, he couldn't afford to expend any more of his reserved mental energy.

Guan Tong took a deep breath: "Being able to confirm the existence of the Mind Lock is a major step forward."

The first step in solving a problem is to identify its existence.

Now that we've found the existence of the Mind Lock and confirmed that the "Open" button on page five of the "Wordless Book" is effective, we can wait until we're confident in passing the ninth rule before going back to deal with the Mind Lock issue.

Guan Tong thought to herself, "I hope the ninth rule is not a survival-related rule, so that the pressure will be less."

……

On the morning of February 1st, at exactly 9 o'clock, the voice of the fire thief rang out.

That mechanical, cold voice announcing the rules has become a nightmare for survivors around the world.

Because every time a new rule is issued, it means another struggle for humanity is about to begin.

[The Ninth Rule of the Apocalypse Has Been Released]

【Apocalyptic Rule Nine: The Nightmare in the Mist】

[Rule Details: From the date this rule is issued, an alien mist will shroud Tianshui, and the lurking beasts within will hunt down humanity. This rule will last for 30 days.]

[Success Rewards: 400 Ascension Coins, Survival Chest (Silver Level), Invitation to the 2nd Ascension Challenge]

[Failure Penalty: None] [Note: If you decide to explore the depths of the mist, remember: in the mist, trust your biological instincts more than your ears. If your hair stands on end, immediately take cover or prepare for battle.]

After the Firebringer published the ninth rule, all the Ascended Ones around the world let out a unified wail.

"Survival rules? Why are there survival rules again?!"

"The second Ascended Challenge? Another challenge is coming?"

"This is even worse than the eighth rule. I'd rather lose first place to someone else than face a monster!"

"Damn Fire Stealers, it's always like this! Non-survival rules give such a short rest period, but survival rules have such a long effective period!"

"A nightmare beast...that sounds terrifying..."

"I feel like I'm going to throw up!"

Fear spread rapidly.

People have every reason to be afraid, because every survival rule takes away a large number of lives.

Many people who make friends under one rule may very well die under the next survival rule. Repeatedly experiencing this pain can drive a person insane or make them cold-blooded and numb.

The fear of survival rules outweighed people's interest in the challenge. Apart from the Ascended who participated in the first edition, almost everyone else was indifferent to it, only thinking about surviving.

After the Fire Stealers issued the rules, a large amount of mist began to descend on Tianshui Star without warning.

The fog had a faint, strange purplish-green hue, which looked very odd.

They spread rapidly, engulfing the earth.

Some of the Ascended Ones who were outdoors immediately hid in enclosed indoor spaces, fearing an attack from the "beasts" hidden in the fog, as the Firebringers had described.

However, a few who transcended the fog, due to excessive despair or psychological breakdown, not only did not choose to hide, but actually took the initiative to walk into the thick fog.

Soon, screams erupted from these people, some were brief exclamations, others were prolonged and chilling screams, sending shivers down the spines of those who heard them outside the fog, wondering what had happened inside the fog.

Without exception, all those who entered were swallowed whole by the thick fog and never came out again.

……

A discussion meeting on the ninth rule of the end times was held in the Countermeasures Research Office ten minutes after the rule was released.

The data clerk quickly reported: "After the ninth rule was issued, all shelters in the cities were immediately closed, and the internal circulation system was activated to block all the fog from entering. In addition to the shelters, all gathering points also sealed all doors and windows as much as possible to prevent fog from entering."

Gao Liangwei asked, "Any reports regarding the Nightmare Beast?"

"Nothing yet," the data clerk said. "Aside from those who voluntarily entered the fog and are suspected of being attacked and killed by the monsters, there have been no reports of the monsters leaving the fog to attack humans."

"So, this rule means we're safe as long as we don't enter the fog?" someone said with delight.

"I don't think it's that easy..."

"If only that were the case, then as long as you hide in a closed space for a month and don't come out, you can get through this rule."

“The situation is indeed not that simple,” the data clerk continued. “Two minutes ago, the testing department submitted its latest research results, indicating that the fog has a certain degree of corrosiveness and neurotoxicity.”

Everyone was taken aback by this. One expert said, "Is the fog corrosive? Does that mean that the doors and windows of non-shelter gathering points could be corroded by the fog!"

"Yes. And the fog is also neurotoxic. Although there are no experimental results yet, researchers have made some speculations. If humans are exposed to it without wearing protective equipment, it can cause skin ulcers and even hallucinations."

As the data analyst spoke, his tablet emitted another notification sound.

"New data has arrived. According to tests conducted by relevant departments, fog can also interfere with electronic navigation equipment. Once such equipment enters the fog, it will quickly malfunction and become unable to perform detection tasks."

"...What planet did this damn fog come from?!"

“Everyone, don’t rush.” Unlike the others, one extraterrestrial research expert had a joyful expression on his face. “This is the first time the Fire Stealers have mentioned ‘extraterrestrial planets’ in their rules. This is enough to prove that the Fire Stealers are indeed from outer space. This is the first time we have confirmed its origin. This is something to celebrate.”

"..."

A moment of silence fell over everyone. With humanity facing imminent disaster, no one could be happy about such a thing.

Gao Liangwei also said, "Now is not the time to consider such things. The most urgent task is to introduce countermeasures for these rules as soon as possible."

Experts from various fields spoke one after another.

"The factory must immediately manufacture a batch of protective equipment specifically designed for fog characteristics!"

"Although the fog will interfere with electronic navigation equipment, the gunpowder should be unaffected. It is necessary to deploy armed forces to try to fight the monster in the fog."

"The reinforcement of the gathering point needs to be carried out urgently, otherwise, if the doors and windows are corroded and damaged by the fog, and people are exposed to the fog... the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"There's one more thing to note, person in charge. I wonder if the station manager of the House of Ascendants will sell any hidden information related to the rules this time?"

(End of this chapter)