Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 190 Ideas for Breaking Free from Conventions

At the Earthquake Monitoring Bureau, all staff members were intently watching the seismograph readings on the screens.

Since the release of the eleventh apocalyptic rule, this department, which originally had a small number of people, has immediately seen a large influx of new staff.

Their task is simple: to work in shifts 24 hours a day to ensure that the epicenter is located as soon as possible after an earthquake and to report it.

At 6:20 p.m., the five staff members on duty suddenly noticed that the instrument readings were abnormal, and then an automatic alarm sounded.

"An earthquake has occurred!"

"It's a minor earthquake, definitely a regular magnitude 1 earthquake. Report the epicenter location immediately!"

The staff on duty immediately reported the situation, and less than ten seconds later, the phone on Gao Liangwei's desk rang.

Based on the location of the epicenter, he immediately contacted the commander of the nearest armed forces stationed in the area, requesting that he arrive at the location directly above the epicenter as soon as possible, which was the epicenter area.

He also demanded that anyone going to the area find the "pillars of the earth's veins" and attempt to make contact with them before the earthquake ends.

Each earthquake caused by the rules lasts only five minutes, which is undoubtedly a huge test for delivery capabilities.

Without adequate delivery capabilities, even if a group of Ascended beings are willing to sacrifice themselves to reach the Leyline Pillars, they may not be able to be delivered to the epicenter in time.

Therefore, at Gao Liangwei's suggestion, the higher-ups agreed to set up rapid deployment points in various locations, equipped with the fastest helicopters. This ensured that as long as the epicenter was near human settlements, they could arrive at the scene as quickly as possible.

Upon receiving the order, the armed forces near the epicenter immediately set off and arrived at the target latitude and longitude location in less than 2 minutes.

It was an open-air football field in the city, which had fallen into disrepair after being abandoned for more than a year.

While on the helicopter, the soldiers immediately spotted the black cylinder standing in the center of the field.

Those are the pillars of the earth's veins!
The soldiers immediately parachuted to the ground. Since it was a level 1 micro-earthquake, they could barely feel the ground shaking after their feet touched the ground.

Two and a half minutes had passed, and the commander immediately ordered: "Everyone, approach the ley line pillars, remove your gloves and touch them!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers rushed over. The pillar of the earth's veins was a pure black cylinder, without any patterns or designs. It was very thick, requiring three or five people to encircle it, and its height was at least five meters.

Upon approaching, the soldiers placed their palms on the black pillar without hesitation. As professional soldiers, they had made sacrifices and received unified protection; when it came to dedication and sacrifice, they were willing to step forward.

Soldiers take obedience to orders as their primary duty, and the commander himself is no exception; he was also the first person to place his palm on the ground.

When multiple hands touched the black pillar, everyone immediately had the same feeling.

"The pillar is shaking!" a soldier blurted out.

That's right, everyone who comes into contact with the black pillar can feel the pillar itself vibrating. But you can't see it just by looking at it; you can only feel it when you touch it, as if the vibration only originates inside the pillar.

At the same time, some soldiers also discovered that their mental power limit was decreasing.

"Report! My maximum mental energy has begun to decrease!"

"Me too!"

The commander glanced at his terminal panel. In less than ten seconds, his maximum mental energy had already decreased by 20 points! That's an average of 2 points per second, an astonishing rate.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Even if the damage decreases to zero, you must not move your hand! This is our mission!"

"Yes!"

Time ticked by, and in less than a minute, a soldier could no longer hold on. His face turned pale, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Report... My mental energy limit is exhausted, personal terminal has been closed..."

Soon, the other soldiers followed suit.

The commander was the only one who held on until the end, but his mental strength couldn't last until the earthquake ended, and he soon fell limply to the ground.

At this moment, several "crack" sounds rang out. Everyone looked up and saw that several large pieces of the outer shell had cracked open on the top of the pillar, revealing a dark brown liquid flowing inside, which looked like liquefied soil.

A soldier murmured, "Commander, is that... the result of all of us exhausting our mental energy?"

This team consisted of twelve people, each of whom exhausted their maximum mental energy to the point where their personal terminals were shut down. In return, all they got was some cracks in the outer shell of the "pillar of the earth's veins."

The commander remained silent for a moment before reporting the situation.

At the same time, the Earthquake Monitoring Bureau also reported real-time numerical changes in earthquake monitoring data.

Upon receiving the data, the data analysts in the countermeasures research lab immediately began analyzing it, building models, and using AI to assist in comparisons.

Meanwhile, a magnitude 1 earthquake also occurred in other member states of the Confederation of Peoples' Associations (CPA).

However, not every country possesses the personnel deployment and operational efficiency of North Star. Nearly half of the countries were unable to reach the epicenter and contact the pillars of the earth's veins within five minutes of the earthquake. Of the remaining half, some only managed contact for a mere ten seconds.

In the end, only seven or eight sets of high-value data were compiled. In accordance with the agreement, each country made the data public and used it for model analysis.

That evening at 8 p.m., the analysis results report appeared on the table in the conference room of the Countermeasures Research Office.

The analyst explained, "We have built a model by combining data from various countries. According to the model analysis, each Ascended will experience a decrease in their maximum psychic power at a rate of 1-3 points per second when they come into contact with the ley lines."

"Furthermore, based on the amplitude, energy attenuation, and waveband changes monitored by the Earthquake Bureau, a basic judgment can be made: the ratio of mental energy loss to earthquake destructive power reduction is approximately 1000:1. That is, consuming 1000 points of maximum mental energy can reduce earthquake destructive power by 1%."

The analyst's findings shocked everyone in the conference room. "1000 points only weakens it by 1%? That's far too little..."

"If this model holds true, how much mental power would be needed to weaken a magnitude 10 earthquake to a level that humans can withstand? How many ascended beings would be required?!"

"Currently, the average maximum mental power of the Ascended is around 90 points, let's say 100. If we want to reduce the destructive power by 50%, we would need to deplete 500 Ascended—it doesn't seem like much, but the emergency deployment of 500 people is not so easy."

"Moreover, since the location of the epicenter is difficult to determine in advance, it is necessary to prepare multiple '500 people' in each area in advance, which will also be very troublesome."

“I have a suggestion,” one expert said. “Form a team composed of individuals with high psychic abilities. Because these people have a higher psychic power ceiling, far exceeding the average, the number of people can be greatly reduced.”

Then gather all the teleportation items available domestically and give them to these people. Once the epicenter is located, have them collectively use the items to teleport there, quickly making contact with the ley lines and weakening the earthquake's power.

After he finished speaking, everyone frowned.

"Those with high spiritual power are invaluable assets and the backbone of the future. Isn't it a waste to sacrifice them?"

“I think so too… Every high-level mental power user is an outstanding individual who has passed through all the rules. It seems a bit cruel to send them.”

"Isn't it cruel to send relatively weaker people? And don't forget that the environment at the epicenter of a major earthquake is extremely dangerous. What if we send weaker people and they die before they even reach the ley lines? We can't afford the consequences of mission failure!"

"The selection process for personnel has not yet been determined, so is it too early to argue about these things?"

"I think the person in charge should have some ideas by now, otherwise they wouldn't have invited the dean of the college to the afternoon meeting," someone mentioned.

Everyone looked at Gao Liangwei, thinking that this was indeed the case.

Earlier in the afternoon, Gao Liangwei had specifically called Zhou Qinfeng, the dean of the college, to the meeting. It would be impossible for him not to have considered sending college students to participate in the operation.

After all, the academy itself is under the jurisdiction of the government, and the graduates will be assigned to government departments in the future. These graduates were all outstanding individuals with a mental strength of over 80 when they enrolled, and their current average mental strength is over 100 points, which puts them in the category of strong individuals.

Facing the gaze of the crowd, Gao Liangwei slowly said, "Regarding the selection of personnel, I am still considering it and will not make a decision at this meeting. Moreover, a single test is not enough to perfect the model. It needs to undergo at least a few more earthquakes of increasing magnitude to verify the model's accuracy."

……

That evening, Guan Tong sat in front of her computer, looking at a dozen or so pictures on the forum.

The main subject in these pictures is a large, thick, black cylinder.

"These are the pillars of the earth's veins?"

He couldn't see anything special about each one, probably because seeing pictures and seeing them in person were different.

These images, released by various countries, show pillars of the earth's veins discovered at the epicenter. Users collected and compiled them, then posted them on forums.

According to the information currently available from the Human Union, when Ascended individuals come into contact with the ley lines, they will feel internal tremors, and their maximum mental power will decrease at a rate of 1-3 points per second.

If an ordinary person with their personal terminal turned off were to come into contact with it, they wouldn't feel anything at all.

After absorbing a certain amount of spiritual energy, the outer shell of the ley line pillar will crack, revealing a flowing brown liquid inside, resembling liquefied earth.

As for how deep these ley lines are, there is currently no relevant testing information.

Some speculate that earthquakes are caused by this pillar of the earth's veins, whose roots deep underground trigger earthquakes through vibrations of internal fluids. This is why damaging its outer shell and allowing the fluids inside to flow out would reduce the destructive power of an earthquake.

Member states of the Federation attempted to attack it with various weapons, including bombing, burning, physical blows, and chemical corrosion. All available methods of destruction were tried urgently, but all were ineffective and could not damage its outer shell.

Some attempted to attack with psychic bombs, but these also failed to cause any damage. It's unclear whether the bombs weren't powerful enough or if the outer shell of the ley line pillars was immune to attacks.

If the only way to destroy its outer shell is to drain its mental energy limit, then a large number of people are destined to make sacrifices.

This sacrifice involves not only mental energy, but potentially life itself. Because in the extremely dangerous epicenter area, even if one successfully reaches the pillars of the ley lines, what happens afterward? Without mental energy support, how will one evacuate?

Guan Tong believes that the authorities will definitely guarantee the life of those who sacrifice their maximum mental power, but only if they can return alive.

And I am within this rule...

For the first time, Guan Tong felt that there was nothing he could do.

Even if he were to selflessly sacrifice himself, his 300-plus points of mental energy would be a drop in the ocean compared to the overall weakening, and would not be able to fundamentally solve the problem.

"According to the hidden rules, the way the Firebringers designed for humanity's survival is for some to sacrifice themselves in exchange for the survival of others... This method of sacrificing some is also a common tactic used by the Firebringers to incite infighting among humans. But is there no other way?"

Guan Tong mechanically clicked the mouse to refresh the computer desktop, but her thoughts had already drifted far away, pondering other issues.

He had told himself long ago, during the Blood Plague era, that when faced with rules, one should try to think outside the box. If one simply follows the path given by the Firebringers mechanically, one's thinking will only become more and more rigid.

Just like how he solved the problem of the mind lock before, if not...

"Wait, a mind lock?"

Guan Tong's heart stirred, and she took out the [Wordless Book] and turned to the fifth page.

The word "open," which he had originally written to solve the problem of the mind lock, suddenly reminded him of the image of the ley line's outer shell shattering, and a bold, unconventional idea popped into his mind.

"If this 'open'... means 'crack', could it have an effect on the outer shell of the Leyline Pillar?"

　The voting options in the previous chapter were missing an "Option 5," which has now been corrected. You can refresh the page to check.

　　There should be another chapter around 9 pm. The somewhat sluggish National Day holiday is over, and I'm trying my best to get back to the feeling of writing 10,000 words a day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)