Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 19 Saturation Appeal

"Take the young master?!!"

The notification caused a brief period of silence in the group before it erupted completely.

Countless messages flooded the screen at lightning speed.

"Fuck!!!"

"21 second?!"

"Dude, did you escape by plane?!"

"how did you do that?!"

"This is a timer, there's no way I could cheat..."

"Did they use some kind of hidden rule? Just like with that refreshing mint from before?!"

"That's right, hidden rules!"

"Shadow Master!!! Please share!!!"

"Could the world's number one be someone from our group?!"

"I can not accept!"

"Dad! Please take me with you!"

The group messages were refreshing like crazy; in a group of 20,000 people, at least 10,000 people were sending messages.

On the way to the stadium, he had just been feeling smug for a few minutes when he was completely dumbfounded.

Running a full marathon in 21 seconds? Is that even human?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
How did this guy, nicknamed "Shadow," manage to do that?
Like many others, he wanted to get to the bottom of things and asked this "shadow" directly.

However, the only communication function available for personal terminals at present is the group function, but there are no functions such as "add friends" or "private chat".

Therefore, if "Shadow" doesn't speak in the group, others can't take the initiative to communicate with him.

At this very moment, Guan Tong, the person involved, sat at home, looking at the frenzy in the group chat interface, feeling somewhat helpless.

Even if his secret were revealed, no one else could use it.

Because not everyone has the same props as him, and can use shadows to pass levels just like him.

Moreover, the essence of this is to utilize and cultivate mental power.

This doesn't need Guan Tong to say; plenty of people have already posted about it online.

Many people discovered on the first day that achievements made with the help of mental power tools could be recorded by the terminal.

This means that the hidden rule of "winning through the mind" had already spread from day one, and anyone who paid attention to external information knew about it.

Now that everyone knows, the next step is naturally for everyone to use their unique abilities.

Everyone has to find their own way to overcome the challenges by exploring how to use their mental power tools.

However, Guan Tong was definitely secretly pleased.

His "shadow" is perfectly suited to this rule.

"So it seems like I might actually be able to get a top-three ranking in the world?"

In fact, Guan Tong felt that taking first place was no problem. However, there are always people better than him, and there might be someone else in the world whose mental power tool was more suitable for this rule.

Moreover, a time of 21 seconds is not the limit.

Guan Tong could easily find something with a faster rotation speed and a larger shadow to further improve his performance.

He estimated that improving it to around ten seconds shouldn't be a problem.

By the afternoon, the keyword "21-second shadow" appeared online.

People in Guan Tong's group have already posted about this online.

Because screenshots cannot be taken from group chats on the terminal, and the overall ranking cannot be viewed before the rule period ends, most netizens do not believe it.

But as more and more people posted in Guan Tong's group, people gradually came to believe that a guy named "Shadow" had run the marathon in just 21 seconds and passed the rules.

Suddenly, people everywhere were searching for "Shadow," wanting to know how she did it.

Among them are many social celebrities and tycoons.

On a popular social media platform called "Liaoduo," many celebrities with red badges posted updates.

Some of the posts appear rather reserved, while others are extremely explicit and wild.

The chairman of a Fortune Global 500 company posted: "I hope this 'shadow' can contact me and provide a method for the challenge. I am willing to offer 300 kilograms of gold as a reward. Anyone who has the 'shadow''s' contact information or can provide information will also receive a reward of 50 kilograms of gold."

The moment the post was published, the comments section went wild.

Three hundred catties of gold?! That's incredibly generous!

"They've really gone all out."

"I'm so envious! I wish I were 'Shadow'!"

"Gold has appreciated so much now, three hundred catties of it will last forever!"

No wonder everyone was amazed, because since the first apocalyptic rule ended, the value of gold has almost doubled.

This is closely related to the fact that many countries offer free food and entertainment products.

When these things are given away for free, the value of money as a form of currency becomes very small.

This has led to some high-end, scarce items that can no longer be bought with money and are only available through gold trading.

As a result, the value of gold, a hard currency with a limited quantity, began to skyrocket.

A pound of gold now is worth more than five pounds before the end-of-the-world rules came into effect, so you can imagine how big a deal three hundred pounds would be.

Another well-known and beautiful international movie star also posted an update, expressing her desire to have a private meeting with "Shadow," whether of the opposite or same sex, to discuss biology together.

This post immediately drew a barrage of criticism from fans, who felt that he was selling his body in exchange for secrets.

But this celebrity didn't care at all. She understood very well that after the rules of the apocalypse came into effect, the attention they, as film and television stars in the entertainment industry, would only decrease.

Why not take advantage of your fame while you still are and use your celebrity status to gain more tangible benefits?

Those seeking cooperation openly are relatively polite, but some forces and powers are secretly looking for "shadows".

The Green Plum Gathering is one of them.

As soon as the news spread, it was discussed in the Qingmei Club's own small group.

"Who is this 'shadow'? How did it do that?"

"I don't know. Even with mental power items, it's impossible to reach this level."

"Could it be that there's some unique trick to it?"

"I saw online that this 'shadow' is most likely someone from our Northern Star Kingdom. Is there any way to find this person?"

"It's difficult. I heard that in the top-level countermeasures office, there are some top computer experts who tried to crack the terminal cluster, but they all failed."

"It's impossible to find someone through technical means. The power of the fire-stealers is the power of the gods. How can we humans crack it? I think we still have to use the media."

"That's right. Everyone should contact the media outlets we can still mobilize and try our best to get this 'shadow' to come forward and reveal their identity."

"Okay, I have several media departments that are already in operation. I'll get started on that right away." The members of the Green Plum Club are all giants in various fields of the business world, and their companies have connections with many media outlets. Some companies even fund and maintain many media outlets themselves, whether for fighting business battles with competitors or for muddying the waters and diverting attention when they themselves run into trouble.

Now it's time to put them to good use again.

That evening, many media outlets went all out to report on the "21-second shadow" incident.

The most popular video features a well-known host speaking emotionally in front of the camera:

"According to relevant information, this person nicknamed 'Shadow' is very likely a citizen of our Northern Star Kingdom."

Faced with the immense catastrophe of the apocalyptic rules, the people of Beixing should unite as one to overcome these difficult times. Although the penalty for failing the second rule is not fatal, its passage should help them survive in the face of even more brutal rules to come.

Therefore, on behalf of all Chinese people, I strongly urge this "shadow" to have a heart full of love and step forward to help other Chinese citizens overcome the challenges posed by the rules. I believe everyone will regard you as a hero and sing your praises!

The host was so moved that he was almost in tears, and the comments section was full of praise.

"Support the host!"

"That's right, if 'Shadow' is willing to help everyone get through the rules, then he is a hero to the entire nation!"

"We're all from the same country, so we should definitely help each other!"

"I believe that if 'Shadow' were a member of our Northern Star Kingdom, he would definitely stand up. Our country doesn't have such selfish people!"

"Waiting for the hero to appear!"

There was more than one such video; many appeared on various websites in the evening.

The content is largely the same, and the theme is the same: hoping that "Shadow" can step forward and share a method for running a full marathon in 21 seconds.

Guan Tong sat on the sofa and watched similar videos on several channels, leaving her speechless.

"Is this a form of over-the-top advice?"

He's not stupid. Several channels and media outlets have been broadcasting this kind of video in a row. It would be a coincidence if it were just a coincidence!
Guan Tong strongly suspects that someone might be manipulating the media behind the scenes to stage this incident.

"I'm not buying that..."

There was nothing to hide about this, but because of the media's actions, Guan Tong didn't dare to reveal her identity easily.

He knew that no matter how good the videos sounded, the harsher the measures would be if they actually came to his door.

This isn't paranoia; it's a reality that you can easily figure out just by thinking about it.

How many of those powerful figures who originally possessed considerable influence wouldn't want to make their mark in this era of rules?

They will never let go of any opportunity to seize the initiative.

This is also why Guan Tong was unwilling to register her mental energy data when she received a call from the new department of the Public Security Bureau.

They say that scores above 80 points have a chance to receive special support, but then what?
Benefits don't come for free; along with power comes responsibility.

Guan Tong didn't want to suddenly receive a mandatory notice one day after registering, asking her to help with some experiments or tasks.

—You can't refuse, because you've already received support.

It's none of other people's business how Guan Tong behaves, but he himself keeps his distance from such things.

Therefore, in the following days, no matter how the media bombarded him with reports of how selfish and self-serving "Shadow" was, he pretended not to see it and continued to do what he was supposed to do.

It wasn't until eight days after the second rule was implemented that the online outcry against the shadow gradually subsided.

On the one hand, the ten-day period stipulated in the rules is almost over, and the shadow still refuses to show itself, so there's no point in wasting any more breath.

On the other hand, as time ran out, most people accepted reality.

If they couldn't complete the challenge, they couldn't complete it, even if they tried to use mental power items flexibly according to the official advice, they still couldn't get the hang of it.

After all that effort, I realized it was useless, so I just gave up.

Anyway, the punishment isn't death, it's just a decrease in mental strength.

Many people nowadays have the mentality of living one day at a time, and letting things decline as they may.

Meanwhile, the powerful giants have abandoned the search for "shadows" and instead have begun to openly recruit.

These giants recruit people with high mental abilities.

As time goes by, people are gradually realizing that high spiritual power will become increasingly important.

Therefore, these giants began to build their own new forces, and they needed to recruit a group of elites into their teams in advance.

Whether it's banding together to cope with the subsequent post-apocalyptic rules or competing with other giants on various levels, having more elite members in the team will undoubtedly give them a greater advantage.

Besides private giants, government agencies from various countries are also involved in this.

The Northern Star Kingdom was among the fastest to act. They had been preparing for this step long before the Security Bureau established a new department and started calling people to register their mental strength values.

Many people with high spiritual power posted online that they received official invitations shortly after registering and joined an affiliated department of the Post-Apocalyptic Rules Countermeasures Research Office.

The Post-Apocalyptic Rules Countermeasures Research Office is the organization that published the Post-Apocalyptic Rules White Paper; it is also a special department specially established by the government.

In the post-apocalyptic era, the sheer size of this countermeasures research institute, as its name suggests, reveals the immense resources it can mobilize. Even simply becoming a member of its subordinate department would undoubtedly grant considerable power.

Besides North Star, other countries with some strength have also established similar countermeasures research institutes, and they are all actively recruiting people with high mental strength from all over the world.

As for compensation, it certainly won't be money.

Online sources have revealed that these organizations offer recruitment rewards that include not only gold but also many other items that cannot be bought elsewhere.

For example, the right to enjoy a view from a prime location, access to certain special places, and the right to know a small amount of confidential information.

There's a lot of information about this online, some true, some false, and some particularly bizarre, making it impossible to tell the difference.

However, some people have pointed out that joining such organizations involves signing confidentiality agreements, and certain things that cannot be said will not be posted online. Therefore, most of what is circulating online can be determined to be fake.

These ups and downs were quite lively, but they had nothing to do with Guan Tong.

He has spent the last few days studying his own "shadow".

Since discovering the new use, he goes out whenever he has free time, "connecting" with shadows everywhere and feeling the differences.

For example, he has connected with the shadow of a tiny ant, such a small shadow; he has also connected with the shadow of a huge stadium, which is enormous; the feeling of manipulating this small and large shadows is definitely different.

The advantage of being small is that it is flexible and discreet, and will not be easily discovered.

But the big ones are different. Such a big shadow will attract the attention of passersby if it moves even slightly. Anyone who is not blind can tell that something is wrong!
These attempts made Guan Tong feel so happy that she almost forgot about home. She found it so much fun that she couldn't sleep until she had completely exhausted her mental energy every day.

This continued until the tenth day, which was the last day of the second apocalyptic rule.

The results will be tallied after 9 a.m.

Guan Tong woke up at 7 a.m., quickly ate some breakfast, and prepared to go out to continue his experiments. However, he was stunned after glancing at his personal terminal.

Name: Guan Tong

Nickname: Shadow

Title: Lawkeeper

[Mental Power: 97]

[Ascended Coins: 0]

Overall Bioinformatics Assessment: Average

"My maximum mental power... has increased by 1 point?"

(End of this chapter)