Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 15, Second Rule of the Apocalypse

After her initial shock, Guan Tong quickly calmed down.

He looked at the black silhouette standing in front of him, which, although the same height and build as him, was just a silhouette.

There is no filling inside.

It has no face and no body.

It's practically like a shadow.

Guan Tong looked at the black outline and had the idea of ​​making it jump.

The next moment, the black silhouette actually jumped.

"..."

Guan Tong thought to herself that it was less about spiritual connection and more like having an extra arm or leg that she could manipulate at will.

I was just writing my name in the "Wordless Book," so why did this thing appear?
Could this be the mysterious power hidden in the book?
If I write someone else's name, will someone else's silhouette appear?

Guan Tong guessed, but without actual testing, she couldn't be sure.

He looked at the silhouette and said, "I'll call you 'Shadow'."

Its unfilled outline truly resembles a shadow.

In the time that followed, Guan Tong kept testing the shadow to see what it could do.

First of all, it can stand, sit, run and jump, but it has no physical form, just like the name Guan Tong gave it, "Shadow".

The absence of a physical entity means the inability to interact with matter.

But Guan Tong didn't know if it could undergo further changes, or whether its form was related to mental power.
Another factor is the duration.

The shadow existed for less than five minutes before disappearing in front of Guan Tong.

Guan Tong noticed that his name, which had previously disappeared, had reappeared on the pages of the "Wordless Book".

"It seems that when a name leaves the page, it becomes a shadow. When time is up, the shadow will dissipate back onto the page and become the name again."

Guan Tong scratched his head; there were just too many things about this ability that he couldn't understand.

Moreover, the pages of this wordless book are endless; one can keep turning them indefinitely.

If you write some words on each page, will a similar change occur?

Guan Tong really wanted to try it right away!
Unfortunately, his mental strength was completely insufficient.

"It took so many days just to write my name. How long would it take to write something complicated? Unless the upper limit of mental power is greatly increased, it can't be accelerated."

Guan Tong closed the book, and a smile slowly appeared on her face.

It's better if it's a bit complicated, so he can study it slowly, which is part of the fun.

……

For the next five days, Guan Tong did not write any new words on the "Wordless Book".

He used his restored mental energy to activate the shadow and make various attempts.

He tried to draw back the curtains to let the shadow block his view.

As a result, only the outline blocked the sunlight; the hollow part did not.

He also tried to distort the shadow, but he couldn't do it at all.

It's a bit of a pity, because he thought that if the shadow could be deformed, there would be many more ways to play with it.

For example, turning it into several black lines on a white piece of paper can serve as a chessboard.

Finally, Guan Tong thought of casting a shadow on herself, which would add a layer of shadow to her body, creating a strange visual impact.

He felt that going out like that would probably scare a lot of people, so he decided against it.

While he was researching the various uses of shadows, most others were preparing for the arrival of the second apocalyptic rule.

In fact, before the rules are implemented, no one knows what preparations to make.

But most people are anxious, so during this period they fill their homes with everything, useful or useless. Even the apocalyptic countermeasures departments established by various countries are actively preparing.

For example, preparing all kinds of weapons and medicines.

But in essence, these preparations are no different from ordinary people stocking up on painkillers and alcohol at home; they are all behaviors driven by anxiety.

Others, like Guan Tong, spend a lot of time studying the items they buy from the Ascendant Shop.

They believe that only by relying on rule-derived products can they fight against the rules.

The so-called "rule derivatives" are naturally items like the previously mentioned [Clarity Peppermint] and items obtained from the Ascendancy Shop.

Apart from that, nothing else created by human societies matters.

Many people agree with this view, and some even believe that we should completely abandon modern life and embrace the rules and their derivatives in a primitive way.

As the saying goes, "a large forest has all kinds of birds," and faced with such powerful supernatural forces, even more strange theories have emerged.

It was under these circumstances that the second apocalyptic rule arrived as scheduled.

……

8:59 minutes.

At this moment, most of the people in the world who survived the first apocalyptic rule are waiting silently.

Waiting for the Fire Stealer to appear and issue the second apocalyptic rule.

Guan Tong also stayed at home, waiting silently.

He was also eager to know what the second apocalyptic rule would be.

At exactly nine o'clock, the Fire Stealer's mechanical, cold voice rang out in everyone's minds as scheduled.

The second apocalyptic rule has been released.

[Apocalyptic Rule Two: The Ultimate Marathon]

[Rules: Complete a full marathon within ten days, with a time not exceeding 3 hours.]

[Success Reward: 100 Ascension Coins]

[Failure Penalty: Failure to complete the challenge within the time limit will reduce your maximum mental energy]

[Note 1: Humans possess endurance surpassing most other species. Please utilize this advantage and strive to pass.]

[Note 2: When the group function is enabled on the personal terminal, each person will be randomly assigned to a group. The scores will be ranked and compared within the group. The first place in the group will advance to the final ranking. The top three in the final ranking will receive additional rewards.]

Guan Tong was slightly surprised after the fire thief finished speaking.

What he found more pleasing than the rules themselves was the punishment for failure.

The penalty for failure this time is a reduction in mental energy cap, not death.

Although mental strength seems very important at present, and its decline is a cruel punishment, it is still much gentler than death.

"However... this second apocalyptic rule is no less outrageous than the first one," Guan Tong remarked.

Unless you're a seasoned marathon runner who regularly participates in marathons, it's practically impossible for most ordinary people without a running habit to train to run a 42-kilometer marathon in 3 hours within ten days.

Furthermore, along with the second apocalyptic rule, the personal terminal also unlocked a brand new group function.

Guan Tong did not immediately check the new features, but instead opened her personal terminal to view the rule details.

He remembered that this was how he first discovered the existence of hidden rules.

Will it succeed this time?

Guan Tong stared at the details of the second apocalyptic rule.

A few seconds later, the rules began to slowly change, and the color particles recombine.

It sure works!

(End of this chapter)