Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 203 The Final Result...

Three days after the magnitude 6 earthquake, a magnitude 7 earthquake is expected.

If a magnitude 6 earthquake is considered a strong earthquake and poses little threat to sturdy shelters, then a magnitude 7 earthquake is a truly major earthquake, and cities closer to the epicenter will face enormous risks.

Even if earthquake preparedness was considered from the outset and sturdy shelters with earthquake-resistant buildings were constructed, they still couldn't withstand a landslide or earthquake that could destroy a city.

In addition to Guan Tong's suggestion to transfer mental energy, temporary reinforcement work is underway at various shelters in inland cities. Any earthquake-resistant materials are being dumped indiscriminately, hoping to find even the slightest use.

Besides the North Star's painstaking preparations for countermeasures, other member states of the Human Alliance are also making various preparations.

However, each country has its own unique circumstances, and their preparation methods vary greatly.

Even powerful nations like the Solomon Empire still believe in the power of machinery and technology. Taking advantage of the technological explosion following the arrival of the apocalyptic rules, they invented many new types of mechanical beings, intending to have them replace humans and take charge of post-earthquake disaster relief work.

Meanwhile, preparations for high-altitude evacuation were also highly valued by all territories of the Solomon Empire. However, due to the limited time available, it was unlikely that a large number of new transport aircraft could be built. Instead, large airships and hot air balloons could be hastily constructed and quickly built for the use of certain dignitaries.

Island nations like Sakuragi, where nationwide relocation efforts are still ongoing, simply cannot make large-scale preparations. Their only option is to disperse and alleviate the population, thereby reducing overall casualties in the future.

Based on the six earthquakes that have occurred so far, the location of the epicenter appears to be random.

Unlike the fourth snow disaster rule that occurred last year, where snowfall density and population density were positively correlated, densely populated areas actually faced greater risks.

However, the number and location of the epicenters in this earthquake are random. If you're lucky, you might even encounter a situation where there are no epicenters within your own country—this has happened several times already.

Therefore, these island nations that rely on migration simply disperse their populations to various locations. This way, even if an earthquake causes widespread destruction, only a portion of the population will die, not the entire population.

This approach is a last resort, essentially a matter of luck. If you're lucky and far from the epicenter, you'll be fine; if you're unlucky and the epicenter is nearby, you can only wait to die.

It's easy to imagine that this kind of passive, dismissive official response would provoke strong public discontent. However, the wave of opposition gradually subsided after the government realized it couldn't come up with any better solutions.

In another powerful nation, France, following the chaos in the central square, the authorities are still searching for the Ascended individual within their borders who possesses mind control or telepathic abilities.

However, the latter seemed to be well-prepared and kept in deep hiding, and continuously used remote control to allow civilians to launch attacks on official action teams without warning.

This has caused the authorities a major headache, to the point of paranoia. They simply cannot determine whether the other party is an ordinary civilian or a controlled civilian, like a "zombie" computer infected with a Trojan virus.

In particular, those who are controlled will lose their memories of being controlled, which makes the authorities hesitate to deal with them, because these controlled individuals are innocent.

The remaining small countries with populations of around one million also had limited options in the face of the massive earthquake, and could only hope for help from larger countries and to band together for survival.

It is worth mentioning that the Tulip Federation was very powerful in the early stages of the post-apocalyptic rule era, and at one point stood shoulder to shoulder with Soroma and North Star.

This powerful alliance in the southern part of Tianshui has been fighting a civil war ever since it broke out during the period of the Eighth Rule due to the unequal distribution of benefits.

The chaos of dozens of warlord factions, large and small, has resulted in casualties comparable to those caused by a single apocalyptic rule.

This naturally led to the collapse and decline of the federation. The largest warlord faction, to which the leader wolf belonged, was also severely weakened by a combined attack from other warlords.

The consequence of this chain reaction was that all the warlord forces that originally made up the Tulip Federation were excluded from the Human Alliance.

When the Union of Peoples was first established, some warlords applied to join, but were rejected by vote. The reason given was that various countries had previously called on them several times to stop their civil wars and protect their population, but they ignored these calls and continued to fight amongst themselves.

In this situation, the committee members believed that these individuals could not comprehend and implement the concept of solidarity and mutual assistance within the People's Federation, and ultimately refused their membership.

With a major earthquake looming, these warlords are still at war, some even engaged in internecine warfare.

Moreover, according to information circulating online, Lucifer, the Ascended One who was previously wanted by Soromagatovich for his "killing contest," has now transformed into the leader of one of the smaller warlords.

No matter what they do, the member countries of the FIS don't bother with them. They're all focused on their own problems, busy preparing for disasters, and have no time to spare for these other forces.

...Somewhere in Yong'an.

In a small meeting room, fewer than ten people were sitting around a table with the documents submitted by Gao Liangwei on it.

A calm voice rang out first: "Now that everyone is aware of the situation, let's discuss what to do."

The gentle voice said, "Since the research lab has agreed, I think it should be feasible."

Someone chimed in: "Yes. Although there are indeed some risks, it's worth taking the risk for the safety of hundreds of millions of people."

A firm voice said, "Risks can be taken, but insurance must be in place. I think it's wrong to leave this shadow unrestricted. Also, I have some newly submitted documents here; you can take a look."

The man distributed the materials, and everyone glanced at them and immediately understood their contents.

"Many people in the Countermeasures Research Office have opinions about the head of the office, Gao Liangwei," the strong voice said. "They say his approach is too militaristic and suppresses some dissenting voices. I think this is something we need to pay attention to."

“I think Liangwei is fine.” Another serious voice rang out. “I know him well. He always handles official business strictly and would never let personal likes or dislikes interfere with official duties.”

“You were the one who suggested he take the lead, so of course you know him.”

"What do you mean?"

"Alright," the steady voice said, "Let's put Gao Liangwei's matter aside for now and focus on the important things. What are the important things? It's simple: people's safety is the important thing. I support anything that can protect people's lives."

The stern voice replied, "Please allow me to remind you that you are aware of what Shadow has been doing in Antai State. This person openly attacked the capital of another country, and attacked Prince Lado, the leader of Antai State... Aren't you worried about giving such a person additional, uncontrolled power? Aren't you worried about similar things happening in your own country?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the person sitting in the center, wondering what the leader of Beixing would think.

Faced with such a serious topic, the man's calm tone suddenly became somewhat relaxed, even with a hint of a smile, as he said, "What am I worried about? If I did something that would incur the wrath of heaven and the hatred of the people, it would be right for them to come and punish me."

"you……"

"We can't do anything about it, but they can. So let's do it their way." The calm voice said. "As for restrictions, I don't think they're necessary. This is a matter of life and death; let's not create any psychological barriers."

"You're right."

"That's what I thought too."

Those present voiced their support, but the owner of that forceful voice remained silent.

"Sister Lanying, we're not young anymore, we should be more tolerant." The calm voice said, "It's normal for young people to see some of the darker side of society, to be unsociable, and to be suspicious of things and people. But as long as they have good hearts and are willing to help others, they are good young people, trustworthy and promising talents."

"...You're right, I admit it."

"Let Gao Liangwei handle things boldly. As for the issues that others have raised about him, we'll have to wait until after this rule period ends. Changing commanders mid-battle is a major taboo in military strategy, and we won't do that."

The news was immediately relayed to the policy research office after the high-level decision-making meeting concluded.

The reply Gao Liangwei saw was just four words: "Go for it!"

This gave him a surge of confidence, and he immediately convened a meeting of the entire countermeasures research team, and sent someone to invite the dean of the Mind Power Development Academy to attend.

He needed to mobilize the Ascended within the numerous shelters and the students of the Academy with maximum efficiency to transfer psychic power to the Shadow.

This news reached Guan Tong's ears the following morning.

(End of this chapter)