Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 183 Smearing and Negotiation Conditions

July 20th, Post-Apocalyptic Rules Countermeasures Research Office.

A statistical meeting was held regarding Rule 10, and the data officer reported the number of casualties in this rule.

"The number of deaths that can be counted so far is approximately 2329012. In addition, after the end of this rule, many people have developed varying degrees of mental health problems, some of whom have become unable to take care of themselves."

The people present had already anticipated that the casualties would be severe.

This is evident from the continuous stream of countries announcing their dissolution and collapse during the rule's term. Even if North Star's management capabilities far surpass those of other countries, it will certainly suffer a severe blow this time.

But hearing the death toll of over 2.3 million still silenced everyone.

"We cannot give up on people with mental health issues; we must try our best to cure them," Gao Liangwei said.

Having personally experienced the elimination of his five senses, he deeply understands that only those with inherently healthy and resilient minds can persevere. Anyone who is psychologically fragile, prone to depression, or nihilistic will suffer even more in that state, easily leading to a mental breakdown.

"Also, the statistics on people entering from abroad have been completed, totaling approximately 300,000," the data clerk said. "Some of them have rather special circumstances and may require special arrangements."

"Persons with special status?" some people asked, puzzled.

The data analyst explained, "Some are children of royal families from various countries, while others are former high-ranking officials."

Someone scoffed, their attitude somewhat disdainful: "The country is gone, so what's so special about these royal children and officials? Are we supposed to give them preferential treatment?"

The Northern Star Kingdom is not a monarchy, and its people do not hold the royal family in high esteem.

Especially now, most of those entering the country are people whose motherlands have collapsed and disintegrated. Regardless of their previous status, they are all the same to the Northern Star Kingdom.

Gao Liangwei said, "It doesn't matter what their previous status was. Now they are all refugees, so there's no need for special arrangements. Just apply for shelters for these people and let them wait in line. However, we need to disperse them. Since they've come to Beixing, they need to integrate. Sticking together is not allowed."

The data clerk nodded: "Okay."

"Speaking of foreign entry, there's something else," said a staff member from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' research office. "We just received news last night that the two sons of Prince Rato of Antai State, along with his entourage, were killed in a bomb attack. Rato himself is missing and is suspected of being kidnapped."

“We had already reached an agreement to allow them to enter the country, and yesterday was the agreed-upon day for their entry. His two sons, who died in Guanyu County, have already entered our Beixing territory.”

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned serious.

Even if An Tai State is finished, since Prince Lado reached an entry agreement with the North Star authorities and his two sons were killed in a bombing within North Star territory, the North Star authorities certainly have the responsibility and obligation to investigate.

"Who did it? Do you have any clues?" Gao Liangwei asked.

“One of Rado’s men, a general named ‘Chikan,’ contacted us, saying that the convoy had been attacked by the Shadows and that he had escaped in the chaos.”

"It was Shadow who did it?!"

“Shadow does indeed have a grudge against Rado; didn’t he blow up the palace before?”

"This is an attempt to wipe them out completely..."

The crowd began to discuss the matter, and Gao Liangwei frowned and asked, "Is there any evidence to prove that it was Shadow who did it?"

The diplomat shook his head: "Currently, we only have the testimony provided by that Qikan. But the higher-ups have already ordered the research department to send someone to investigate."

Gao Liangwei looked at Zhang Minglu: "Dr. Zhang, do you think it could be a shadow?"

“I don’t think that’s like Shadow’s style,” Zhang Minglu said. “If he really wanted to kill these people, would he really let that Qikan guy escape in the chaos?”

"Furthermore, I think we can try asking through the website of the Ascended Ones directly, and not draw conclusions before we have investigated the matter thoroughly."

“Well then, I’ll leave the inquiry to you.” Gao Liangwei said. “Let’s leave the refugee issue for now and discuss the handover of the new batch of shelters and the preparations for Rule Eleven.”

……

"That's just the way it is."

On Eden Island, Amanda held a tablet in front of Adam with both hands, the screen showing the face of King Soroman.

After listening to Adam's words, he asked, "Don't you want to fight for those three fragments anymore?"

Adam shook his head: "I already know the whole story, so whether the fragments are pieced together again or not isn't that important to me. Besides, taking three fragments from the Shadow seems like a lot of trouble... But many soldiers' lives were sacrificed to get these two fragments, so it's up to you how to handle them." King Soroma pondered for a moment: "Since you have no desire to fight for them, the fragments can be given to the Shadow. But in exchange, he needs to do something for the Empire."

Adam asked curiously, "What is it?"

I will tell him about this later.

Adam was somewhat speechless: "If you say that, the shadow certainly won't agree. Do you think someone will obey if you tell them to die?"

“I won’t do something meaningless,” King Soro scoffed. “This deal must be done through a proxy. I need the users on that website to witness it, so he has no room to deny it.”

"Well, I think if Shadow agrees, he won't go back on his word."

"Do as I say."

"Okay, you have the final say."

As the video ended, Amanda said somewhat unwillingly, "Adam, are you really going to hand over the fragments? You went through so much trouble to collect them, especially the one from Largan. It was so dangerous when facing that giant-footed monster!"

Adam smiled and said, "Amanda, don't be so stingy. If you can make friends with the Shadow with two fragments, the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. Besides, it's not even certain whether the Shadow will agree to the King's conditions."

"That's true..."

"Okay, give me the tablet. I need to log in to the website and send a message to someone."

……

Guan Tong was sitting in front of her computer, looking at a post.

The Shadow God's Bloody Revenge: Prince Rado's Convoy Annihilated!

The post included several pictures of burning cars, as well as a photo of the border marker between Antu City and Guanyu County.

"As expected of the Shadow Master! Awesome!"

"Although the An Tai State has been dissolved, the prince was just blown up like that? It feels a bit tragic."

"Judging from this route and boundary markers, are they planning to enter Beixing?"

"Well done, Shadow God! This kind of scum must not be allowed into North Star!"

"If Rado has already negotiated the entry arrangements with the higher-ups, the authorities will probably be furious..."

The comments all believed it to be true, thinking it was the shadow who did it.

Guan Tong frowned: "Is this person deliberately using me as a shield?"

He does have a grudge against Lado, and he plans to settle the score later, but that doesn't mean he can accept being deliberately misrepresented by someone with ulterior motives.

He glanced at the poster; the nickname was a string of numbers and letters. Clicking into the details page, he found it was indeed a newly registered account from today.

This suggests that the poster may have been deliberately trying to stir up trouble, which could mean they are connected to the actual attackers.

As Guan Tong was thinking, several private message notifications popped up.

He looked at the messages; there were messages from the "Primordial Ones" and messages from the official accounts he had previously tried to communicate with.

After reviewing them separately, he confirmed two things.

First, Rado did reach an entry agreement with the authorities, but he was attacked en route. The attacker, fearing official repercussions, then shifted the blame onto him.

Secondly, King Soromagna demanded that the two fragments be given in exchange for "helping with a task," and that this be done through a public commission...

More than what she was asked to do to help, Guan Tong was more concerned about the form of the public commission.

“Using a public mandate is meant to make this transaction visible to all website users.” He speculated about the king’s intentions. “Does he want website users to oversee the deal, or does he want everyone to know that ‘Shadow’ and the Soro Empire have reached a deal…”

(End of this chapter)