Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 179: The End and the Rapidly Vanishing Entity
On April 5th, the human sense of smell was eliminated;

On April 6th, human hearing was eliminated;

For five consecutive days starting April 2nd, all five senses of humans were eliminated.

The rules will be in effect for half a month, meaning that most people will have to endure ten days of complete loss of their five senses, which is undoubtedly a great test.

Since the loss of touch on April 4, the death rate has been rising rapidly in countries around the world, and the situation has worsened with each passing day.

By April 8, just four days after the loss of touch, more than ten countries had issued public statements saying that their systems had collapsed due to rapid population decline and could no longer be maintained as states.

The remaining people in these countries openly seek the help of major powers, hoping to join those powers that can still maintain their status, and are willing to give up various resources of their own country in return.

In reality, these resources are no longer as valuable after the sharp decline in the global population. Resources are meant to serve people; what use are resources if people are gone?

Just like there are planets in the universe composed entirely of iron, nickel, and gold. But if no one develops them, they simply exist, offering no value to humanity.

The attitudes of several major powers towards these "refugees from exiled countries" were somewhat ambiguous. The Solomon Empire was the first to speak out, publicly stating that it only welcomed the strong, namely those with high mental power and researchers with outstanding professional skills, and rejected others.

The Northern Star Kingdom also stated that it was willing to accept some personnel, but these individuals must strictly abide by the laws of the Northern Star Kingdom.

Other places like Sakura Kingdom also accept people under certain conditions. In the current situation, no one cares about appearances; everyone has to consider the issue from the perspective of actual benefits.

On April 10, another group of countries announced their dissolution.

April 11, April 12... with each passing day, a country issues a statement.

By April 14, one day before the rules expired, more than fifty countries had issued statements announcing their dissolution.

Including the countries that dissolved and disappeared due to the first nine rules, of the original more than three hundred countries of all sizes on Tianshui Star, only one-tenth, or more than thirty, remain.

There are more than twenty in the Northeast Hemisphere and fewer than ten in the Southwest.

The reason for this distribution is quite simple: when the first doomsday rule was issued, it was daytime in the northeastern hemisphere and nighttime in the southwest. Countries experiencing nighttime suffered far more casualties.

But now, no one bothers to discuss fairness anymore; everyone knows it's pointless. The Firebringers won't engage in debates; they'll simply issue the rules, so survival is the top priority.

True gold fears no fire. After passing through the ten rules of the apocalypse, the remaining thirty or so countries are all entities with large populations and strong comprehensive national strength.

But after ten more rules, no one can say for sure how many will remain. Many believe that in the later stages of the rules, only a few of the strongest nations will survive, while the others will disintegrate due to their inability to maintain their size.

Therefore, high-ranking officials in some of the relatively weaker countries among these thirty-odd nations have begun making preparations in advance. By cultivating good relations with powerful nations like Somalia and North Star, they hope to have somewhere to go if their own countries become irreparably damaged in the future.

It is worth mentioning that An Tai Bang, which had been making a big fuss about Guan Tong's arrest and offering a reward just half a month ago, also announced its dissolution on April 13.

When Guan Tong heard the news, he couldn't say he was overjoyed. Based on his observations in Antai State, he had already judged that the country wouldn't last long.

With rulers like Prince Lado at the top, warlords and human traffickers like Basong in the middle, and a group of Antai people who spend their days loitering in the streets and living for the moment... it's easy to imagine that such a country has almost no ability to withstand risks. As long as it encounters a difficult rule, it will be directly overwhelmed.

This tenth rule, while seemingly not a survival rule that could be overcome with the help of medication or surgery, is not significantly different from a survival rule in many countries due to their inadequate medical technology and facilities.

With the fall of An Dai Bang and the disappearance of Prince Lado, his bounty on Guan Tong naturally came to nothing.

Guan Tong even speculated that Prince Rado might not have a good ending. He didn't even need to lift a finger; Rado might be killed by his own people or some violent groups.

After all, possessing a treasure is a crime. As the leader of An Tai State, everyone knows that Lato must have a lot of sublime coins, and there will only be more people eyeing these coins.

On April 15, the tenth rule of the apocalypse officially ended.

……

The rule period has ended.

[Congratulations on passing the test of the tenth rule of the apocalypse!] [Reward has been sent to your storage box]

More products have been added to the Shenghua Store and can be viewed on your personal device.

The eleventh apocalyptic rule will be released in fifteen days.

The moment the rule's effective period ended, Guan Tong felt her five senses quickly return.

He summoned his shadow back and felt his five senses. For a moment, he felt completely unfamiliar with himself, as if he didn't even recognize himself anymore.

He tried to take a step and almost stumbled and fell to the ground, showing severe physical incoordination.

Previously, I had been using the senses shared by the shadow, which, although it did not affect my movements, could not completely eliminate the influence of the rules on my body.

As he slowly readjusted to his body, he thought to himself, "It's only been ten days or so. If it were any longer, I'm afraid not many people could have lasted that long."

This is evidenced by the fact that dozens of countries dissolved their organizations within half a month. If the rules had been in effect for only one month, even the remaining major powers would likely be under immense pressure.

Once her body gradually returned to normal, Guan Tong checked the terminal panel.

Name: Guan Tong

[Nickname: Station Master]

[Title: Winner]

[Psychic Power: 321 (321) (2320)]

[Ascended Coins: 3986120]

[Overall Bioinformatics Evaluation: Excellent]

Half a month has passed, and my mental strength has steadily increased by 4 points, which is quite good. My Ascension Coins have dropped below four million because I spent around 100,000 on bombs, but it's still a huge sum.

However, Guan Tong felt that his biggest gain from this rule was not the Ascension Coins.

His biggest takeaway was figuring out the storylines of several fragments. Although he still had two fragments to collect, he undoubtedly gained a deeper understanding of the Fire Stealers.

Another takeaway was a brief exchange with the official team. Although the exchange was simple, both sides clearly understood each other's thoughts.

The official assessment is that although Shadow is very strong, his personality does not match what the official team is looking for, and forcibly recruiting him would only backfire.

Guan Tong also felt that the other party had a tendency to prioritize seniority. As someone who wasn't qualified to make decision-making suggestions, he naturally had no need to join.

Although the communication between the two sides was not very pleasant, it didn't escalate to the point of a complete falling out. They agreed to seek common ground while reserving differences and would cooperate when the opportunity arose. After all, no matter what conflicts they faced, their common enemy remained the Firebringers, and that would not change.

"It seems the Ascension Shop has some new items this time." Guan Tong recalled the hint she had just heard and decided to take a look, thinking it might be related to the eleventh rule.

Just then, his phone rang, and the caller ID showed Xu Xiaotian.

Guan Tong answered the phone: "Xiaotian, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing Guan Tong's voice on the other end of the phone, Xu Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Tong, you're still alive, that's wonderful."

"...So, were your casualties high this time?"

"Yes, it's very serious!" Xu Xiaotian's tone was very solemn. "This is the first time since the academy established all the rules that such a large number of casualties has occurred."

(End of this chapter)