Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 217 Decisions Following a Shift in Mindset

The rule period has ended.

Congratulations on passing the test of the eleventh rule of the apocalypse!

[Reward has been sent to your storage box]

The twelfth apocalyptic rule will be released in sixty days.

When the Fire Thief's voice rang out, Guan Tong was posting on the Ascended's Home forum using Shadow's account.

Post title: "A million Ascension Coins reward for the mastermind behind these people."

In his post, he publicly disclosed all the information he knew about the "Green Plum Organization," the "Yongzhou Base," the "serial kidnapping case," and the "Big Sister."

He also posted photos of all the members of the attacking team except Jiang Ming, which he took after eliminating them.

His reward offer was to find out the true identity of the "Big Sister" who was behind it all.

If he had previously been overly cautious, feeling that it wouldn't be good to disclose this information rashly, after this attack, he no longer had any scruples.

Everyone else is trying every means to get rid of him, so what does he have to worry about?
and……

After posting, Guan Tong turned around to look.

Shi Jingyi was lying on his bed in the shelter, fast asleep.

She was severely damaged by the long-range bombardment at the base, even though she deployed her mental shield in time.

If she had only been protecting herself, things might have been a little better, but the protective shield she deployed also included Guan Tong. With a larger area, the defensive power would naturally be weakened.

Although Guan Tong promptly channeled a large amount of mental energy into her for treatment, it only saved her life.

The problem is that she can't use recovery items on her own while unconscious. Perhaps an Ascended with healing abilities could provide external treatment, which might accelerate her recovery.

But after that attack, Guan Tong didn't know who she could trust anymore.

He now even doubts the countermeasures research office, worrying that if he hands Shi Jingyi over to them, she might be assassinated by an insider.

The same applies to handing it over to the academy; he trusts no one but himself now.

Even if the enemy's target wasn't her, but him, their "shadow," he still wouldn't feel at ease.

So he posted two posts in total: one was a reward for the identity of the mastermind, and the other was a request for help from an Ascended Being with healing abilities, for which he would offer a generous reward.

However, he didn't use Shadow's account to post the second commission, but rather the site administrator's account, to prevent the enemy from seeing that Shadow needed a healing ability and deliberately accepting the commission to attack him again.

However, with the global internet almost completely paralyzed after the super earthquake, it's unlikely that many people will see his two posts in the short term.

"If I possessed healing abilities myself, perhaps... but I cannot begin writing the seventh page of the [Wordless Book] yet."

In order to completely eliminate all enemies, Guan Tong wrote the character "域" (domain) on the sixth page of the "Wordless Book," thus unlocking the powerful new ability of "Shadow Domain."

Once the Shadow Domain is activated, the corresponding shadow layer covering the environment will appear based on the amount of mental energy consumed. At that time, everything within the entire domain will be under Guan Tong's perception, and he can move or launch ranged attacks at any time.

This isn't the full extent of Shadow Domain's power; Guan Tong simply hasn't had the time or inclination to develop it yet. He can't calm his mind until Shi Jingyi recovers, after all, she suffered this undeserved misfortune while trying to help him.

Guan Tong took a deep breath and silently chanted "exhale from the panel" to distract herself.

Name: Guan Tong

Nickname: Shadow

[Title: Civilization Observer]

[Psychic Power: 859 (859) (191710)]

[Ascended Coins: 3687120]

[Overall Bioinformatics Evaluation: Excellent]

His mental power limit has almost doubled from before, and is approaching nine hundred.

His explosive growth was due to his repeated large-scale output of mental energy, which broadened his mental energy channels. This can be said to be the greatest benefit he received from the eleventh rule of the apocalypse.

The second benefit was that he gained a large amount of stored mental energy.

He originally had a little over 200,000 left, but he spent more than 20,000 writing on the sixth page of the "Wordless Book" and expanding his Shadow Domain on a large scale for the first time, so he now has 190,000 left.

If he were to save that 190,000 yuan on his own, it would take him a very long time to accumulate it. Only by having a large number of people transferred to him could he accumulate it in this way.

Of course, since he was not affiliated with the government, once the cooperation ended, the government would naturally no longer organize personnel to send him mental energy.

However, Guan Tong's mindset underwent many changes after experiencing these rules.

This was the first time he had so directly felt the power that the "organization" bestowed upon him. This meant that if the need arose in the future, he wouldn't rule out personally building a small organization.

A wise person acts at the right time. After this super earthquake, he felt that the world order would change drastically, and many of the survivors who had been elevated would have the idea of ​​taking action.

Guan Tong couldn't predict exactly how it would turn out.

"However, this time the interval between rules is two months for the first time, and the next rule will not be released until August. This gives humanity a lot of breathing room for disaster relief."

This is the first time such a long interval has been given, which once again proves that the Firebringers are deliberately manipulating every rule of the apocalypse.

What's puzzling is whether it intends to exterminate humanity or not. If it doesn't intend to, why issue such terrifying rules so early? If it does intend to, why not issue a series of increasingly difficult rules in one go?

No one could guess the Fire Thief's intentions. Guan Tong only knew that what he needed to do now was, first, ensure Shi Jingyi's recovery, and second, take revenge on everyone who had hurt him.

He will retaliate against both the "big sister" who is the mastermind behind the Green Plum Organization and the person who framed him for attacking Prince Rado's convoy.

Otherwise, some organizations would just think that as a lone individual, even if he is strong individually, it's not a big deal.

Guan Tong wanted to let those with such thoughts know that anyone attacking him, whether an individual or a group, would face the most severe retaliation. Only in this way could he deter other ill-intentioned individuals. Besides issuing bounty notices, he had another method in mind for how to proceed.

That is to track through the internet.

His Ascended Home website is unbreakable and cannot be located by others because the website operates within his "Book Without Words" sanctuary, a place outside the real world, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.

But the other users who post on his website are actually using devices in the real world.

In other words, others cannot track the website owner's address, but he can track the device location of each website user.

He had never considered this before, and he didn't even delete or ban many posts that were offensive to him, because he didn't want the website to become his personal playground where everyone could only praise him and not question him.

But now it seems he has gone a bit too far with his indulgence.

Ordinary questioning can be ignored, but ignoring posts that spread rumors, smear him, or deliberately mislead public opinion is irresponsible.

We must deliver a powerful blow.

Guan Tong planned to deal with them one by one. He would trace back to the devices of the users who posted about him attacking Prince Rado's convoy, and the users who spread rumors that he received and transmitted mental energy in order to "create a god"... He would try to find the real people behind these posts and let them know the consequences of spreading rumors and slander.

Moreover, he felt that if he found the real person, there might be unexpected gains. The reason these rumors sparked widespread discussion is because they were a mix of truth and falsehood; if they were all lies, no one would believe them.

The fact that the person spreading the rumor could mix truth and falsehood suggests that they are likely the true originator of the rumor.

For example, those who spread rumors that Guan Tong attacked Prince Rado's convoy may very well be the attackers themselves; those who spread rumors about a "deification plan" may very well be the ones who are actually creating a deity.

That way, once they are found, their evil deeds can also be dealt with.

After Guan Tong had an idea, she didn't rush to implement it immediately.

He first opened the terminal's storage box, which contained a jumble of unused items that the authorities had allocated to him.

The remaining few teleportation items and some items used to restore energy and stamina can still be kept and used.

Besides that, there's a golden chest, which is the reward for passing this rule – a gold-level survival chest.

Guan Tong opened the box, and a bright red piece of meat appeared in his hand, which surprised him slightly.

[Obtain random item: Demon Flesh and Blood]

Demon flesh and blood?
He carefully read the prop instructions.

[Demon Flesh and Blood]: The user's overall physical attributes are greatly enhanced, but their personality will become manic and more aggressive.

"Unfortunately, it's useless to me."

Although Guan Tong really wanted to improve his overall physical fitness, he would rather not do it if the price was changing his personality. He didn't want his personality to be changed by external factors.

Just as he was about to put the meat into the storage box, he heard a "meow!" from beneath his feet.

Suddenly, Coal Ball jumped to his feet, grabbed onto his trouser leg and climbed up, its eyes filled with longing for the piece of meat in his hand.

"...You want to eat it? But you probably can't, it's a 'prop'."

Guan Tong said that she was willing to give it a try.

He bent down and placed the piece of meat on the ground, and Coal Ball immediately pounced on it and began to gnaw on it.

Is it really edible?

Guan Tong looked surprised.

However, he immediately thought of the previous [Chronicles of Yamo Star - Fragment]. That item had a unique "indestructible" characteristic; not only could it not be destroyed, but it would also drop after the holder's death.

Is the process of this "demon flesh and blood" being eaten by the coal briquette a process of "destruction"?

The pieces of meat were small, only about the size of a finger, and the coal ball quickly ate them all.

Before long, a strange scene unfolded.

Suddenly, the small coal ball bristled all over, and then the muscles in its legs began to visibly swell up, and the teeth in its open mouth became even sharper!
Guan Tong was surprised that the prop actually worked on the black cat he had adopted, and he didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

But looking at the grimacing lump of coal and thinking about the effects of the flesh, he cautiously summoned his shadow to hover around him.

If the coal ball, influenced by the meat, becomes agitated and attacks its owner, then even if he feels reluctant, he can only eliminate it as a threat.

About ten seconds later, the effects of the meat chunks seemed to have been completely absorbed by the coal ball. Its entire body was a size larger than before, almost the size of a lynx, and its pure black fur made it look majestic.

It spun around a few times, licked its fur, and seemed quite pleased with its new look. Then it looked at Guan Tong, nuzzled his trouser leg with its head, and lay down at an angle.

Seeing this, Guan Tong squatted down and rubbed the coal ball's soft belly. She could tell that the latter did not show any hostility, so she was slightly relieved.

"Although I don't know if there will be any long-term effects, as long as you behave, everything will be fine."

"Meow." It seems that Coal Ball has grown not only in size, but also in its mind, as if it has become a little smarter, and it responded with a meow.

Guan Tong thought: Could it be that as my body size increased, my brain capacity also increased, making me smarter?
He didn't quite understand, but this was the first time he had learned that animals would have an effect after taking the item, which reminded him of an item sold in the terminal store.

This refers to a "gene optimization solution." It's unclear whether animals that drink it will experience the same gene optimization effects as humans. He didn't buy it initially because he had already used a better "gene optimization stock solution."

After thinking for a moment, Guan Tong had an idea: "If the coal ball can eat the food props I put on the ground, then I can buy the corresponding medicine in the market and put it in Shi Jingyi's mouth. Maybe that will also work."

Upon realizing this, he immediately opened up the terminal market.

After not checking for several days, Guan Tong discovered that item prices had generally plummeted when she opened the app.

He believes it's likely related to the fact that the new rules have caused too many deaths and a severe lack of consumer spending power.

He found some recovery items and immediately went on a buying spree, purchasing them in bulk. Since he wasn't sure which ones would work, he could only try them out as many as possible.

(End of this chapter)