Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 220 The Test of the Substitute Instructor
Was that Fang Qian just now?

Guan Tong thought to herself as she walked down the street.

He wasn't blind, nor did he suffer from amnesia; his vigilance far exceeded that of the average person. If Fang Qian could recognize him as they passed each other, he naturally recognized Fang Qian as well.

However, due to what happened in the past, he had long since lost contact with Fang Qian, so even if they bumped into each other now, he wouldn't feel any emotional reaction and would simply ignore her as a stranger.

He wasn't surprised that Fang Qian was still alive.

Her parents, who worked at a research institute, leaked the hidden information about the rules to her back then, and if it happened once, it might happen again.

Guan Tong didn't know whether her parents were held accountable, nor did he care.

What he's concerned about now is finding out the "elder sister's" true identity as soon as possible so he can get revenge.

Coming to Pinglu now might be an opportunity.

Since "Big Sister" has connections with higher-ups, his chances of finding the real person increase when he comes to Pinglu, where the higher-ups have moved.

After all, Pinglu and Yong'an are different.

As the capital of Beixing for a century, Yong'an has made meticulous and thorough defenses, making infiltration virtually impossible.

However, Pinglu is just an ordinary mountain town, not even a megacity, and its defense level on all levels is not comparable to that of Yong'an.

This gave Guan Tong some opportunities.

Two hours later, he arrived at the location marked on the map.

This accommodation area appeared to be converted from several large factory buildings, with many small rooms partitioned off from them. After Guan Tong arrived, someone assigned him a room.

He went inside and took a look; it was basically no different from a small hotel room that cost 20 yuan a night.

Guan Tong wasn't picky at all; he had even lived in a place like the community's property management storage room for a period of time, which showed his strong tolerance.

Moreover, if he wanted, he could live in his own shelter outside, and once things were settled at the college, he could seamlessly move into the better-equipped dormitories that the college had prepared for lecturers.

But his purpose in entering the city ahead of time was to familiarize himself with it more, because how could he become familiar with it while he was still detached from the outside world?

At dinner time, the managers will distribute canned food according to the number of people.

After entering the shelter, people mostly switched to canned food, and many hadn't had a hot stir-fry for months.

But there's nothing we can do about it. In this era where efficiency and survival are paramount, cooking meals fresh to order, which was commonplace in peacetime, has become a luxury.

So much so that recently, many people with better financial means have been showing off by posting pictures of themselves cooking and preparing dishes online. This would have been laughable before the post-apocalyptic era, but now they genuinely have the right to boast.

Guan Tong himself didn't care. He wasn't particular about food and drink; as long as he could fill his stomach and get enough nutrition, that was fine.

Moreover, perhaps due to the constant modification of his body by his mental power, his appetite has been decreasing over the past year.

Logically speaking, he is a 19-year-old young man who is over 1.8 meters tall. He should be at the age where he eats at 12 o'clock and gets hungry again at 12:30. Three full meals a day should be the standard for him.

But in reality, he now feels that eating only one meal a day is enough, and it's hard to say whether this trend is good or bad.

This has been discussed on forums before, with some suggesting it's a sign of human evolution, and that perhaps eventually humans will be able to completely eliminate the need for food. However, others argue that if that day comes and humans can live without food, water, or sleep, will they still be human, or will they resemble some other species?

Guan Tong maintains a neutral attitude towards this, believing that one should just let nature take its course and that as long as one feels good, there is no need to resist the changes that the body will produce.

For several days in a row, besides completing his daily mental exercises, he wandered around the city and occasionally talked with some locals and outsiders.

This continued until the morning of the 10th, when he received a phone call.

After he answered the call, a somewhat aged voice came from the other end.

"Hello, are you Mr. Guan?"

"I am Guan Tong, and you are?"

"I am Zhou Qinfeng, the dean of the Mind Power Development Academy."

"So it's Dean Zhou."

Zhou Qinfeng called specifically to introduce the academy and then invited Guan Tong to have an interview. Guan Tong followed the address he gave her and arrived at the highest point of this mountain city. In front of a university gate, a temporary sign reading "Mind Power Development Academy" had already been hung.

"Formerly Pinglu University?"

Pinglu University is very famous in Beixing and is one of the best universities in the western region.

However, the school is famous for being built at the highest point of the mountain city, offering stunning views of mountains, valleys, and colorful clouds from the dormitory buildings. As a result, Pinglu University's dormitories were once rated as a "five-star viewing area" by the students.

After entering the post-apocalyptic era, all universities shut down, and Pinglu University was no exception. It's normal for the college to relocate and requisition the campus now.

He found the faculty and staff building, went to an office on the ninth floor, and knocked on the door.

"Please come in," Zhou Qinfeng's voice came from inside.

Guan Tong pushed open the door and entered, finding it to be a small conference room with six people seated inside.

Seeing this, he assumed that these people were having a meeting and wanted to go out to wait, but Zhou Qinfeng stopped him.

"Is this Mr. Guan Tong?"

"I'm."

"Please have a seat. These are all faculty and staff members of the college, and they are all related to your job as a substitute lecturer."

Upon hearing this, Guan Tong wondered if there was going to be some kind of interview.
He thought that with Shi Jingyi's recommendation, he should be able to get the job without taking an exam, but now it seems that it's not that simple.

After he sat down, a middle-aged man asked first, "Mr. Guan looks so young, how old are you?"

“I’m nineteen,” Guan Tong said.

"..."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and even Dean Zhou Qinfeng's smile seemed somewhat helpless.

When Shi Jingyi recommended him, he didn't ask about his age. Although Shi Jingyi herself was only in her early twenties, Guan Tong at nineteen was undoubtedly too young.

"Nineteen years old... Forgive my bluntness, but most of the students in the academy are over that age now. Are you sure you can convince them to accept you as a teacher?"

Guan Tong looked over and recognized the middle-aged man who was speaking. To be precise, he recognized everyone present, as they were all lecturers from various departments of the academy, whom he had seen in online classes.

"When do students respect you based on age?" Guan Tong retorted calmly. "It should be based on ability, shouldn't it?"

"So you're very confident in your abilities."

“Well…” Zhou Qinfeng said, “Since it was recommended by Lecturer Jingyi, I think her ability should be fine.”

“I admire Jingyi’s abilities, but whether the people she recommends are up to par remains to be seen,” another person said. “I also happen to have some research on the operation of mental energy, and nothing beats trying it out myself.”

Guan Tong asked, "How do you want to try it?"

"The simplest way is to make contact and launch an 'attack' by using the flow of mental energy between each other. Whoever can break the cycle of mental energy in the other's body has better and more refined manipulation skills."

The speaker paused for a moment and then said, "Of course, the amount of mental energy is also an important factor. I won't take advantage of you; let's spar using no more than 100 points of mental energy each, shall we?"

Guan Tong said, "If you use 100 points, 20 points will be enough for me."

"You! What did you say?" The person who wanted to challenge Guan Tong couldn't help but stand up, and the others also looked astonished.

"Even if I win under equal conditions, there's nothing to be proud of," Guan Tong said calmly. "Since I'm going to be a substitute lecturer, winning by just this little bit isn't enough."

Since others weren't giving him a friendly look and were already trying to fight, he certainly wouldn't tolerate it. He had to retaliate forcefully, otherwise these people would inevitably look down on him because of his young age.

"...Fine, stop talking and start doing things. Let's see what you're really capable of!" The man said, his face flushed, enraged by Guan Tong's words.

Dean Zhou Qinfeng wanted to say something, but seeing that Guan Tong also stood up, he remained silent.

He was also curious to see if Guan Tong was truly that powerful, capable of winning this contest with only one-fifth of his mental strength. If he could win, then the position of acting lecturer would undoubtedly belong to him.

(End of this chapter)