Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 239 Celebrities and Sunday Plans

Pinglu City, a residential area not far from the college.

The faded red walls and white tiles bear the marks of time. This area may not seem particularly remarkable, but the people who live here are all extraordinary individuals.

As evening fell, Yelena returned to one of the small courtyards. A middle-aged woman who was cleaning the courtyard straightened up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, you've returned."

Yelena nodded: "Silgol, I have a task for you."

"Please give your orders, Your Highness."

“Investigate the Sisyan settlement here and find the people my brother sent.”

The woman named "Silgoqin" looked up in surprise: "Did that person... send someone? Does he dare to threaten your life?"

"It's not threatening me, it's threatening my teacher."

Yelena's icy face was filled with a chilling indifference, a side of her that no one in the academy had ever seen before.

“There’s no reason for outsiders to be involved in our competition. He’s already crossed the line.”

“This might mean that he’s afraid,” Sigurd said. “He’s afraid you’ll surpass him, otherwise he wouldn’t need to resort to such methods. This is a good thing for you, Princess, as it proves that he lacks confidence.”

Ye Lianka remained noncommittal.

Sigourney asked, "After we find the person, what do you want me to do with them?"

"Kill," Ye Lianka said without hesitation.

"Yes."

After Yelena finished speaking, she returned to her room and sat down to ponder.

Sigourney's words reminded her.

If the older brother is confident enough in his own competitiveness, why would he need to resort to such underhanded tactics?
Doing this kind of thing is a manifestation of his lack of self-confidence.

but……

Ye Lianka recalled what Guan Tong had said to her earlier.

Judging from that, it seems that Guan Tong wants to find the threatening party herself and deal with them personally.

But that's obviously not going to work.

Ye Lianka knew that the assassins her brother had sent must be highly skilled. Even though Guan Tong had practical experience, she was still just an academy teacher, and in her eyes, she couldn't compare to those professional assassins who made a living by killing.

Not to mention that he would have a hard time finding someone, even if he did, he would put himself in danger.

Yelena didn't want her competition with her brother to lead to the death of one of the academy's excellent lecturers, which is why she asked Sigorgyn to handle the matter as soon as possible.

As for Sigoqin, she was full of confidence.

This seemingly unremarkable middle-aged woman is actually the strongest guard in the family. Even after entering the post-apocalyptic era, she has not been surpassed by younger guards due to her age; on the contrary, her strength has increased, and she is now among the top guards in the entire Sisia.

Gathering her thoughts, she closed her eyes and channeled her mental energy throughout her body. The clarity and power she felt confirmed that her choice to come to Beixing Academy for further studies was the right one.

If she stayed in Sisia, she definitely wouldn't have a chance. Online classes alone wouldn't be enough, and even if she could figure out how to accelerate her progress through practical experience, it wouldn't work without Guan Tong's guidance.

Many crucial points can take a long time to understand without guidance from someone with experience. This is the essence of the saying, "A single conversation with a wise person is worth more than ten years of study."

What she lacks now is time, and she needs someone with experience like Guan Tong to help her speed things up.

Thinking of this, Ye Lianka opened her eyes, a hint of curiosity rising in her heart towards Guan Tong.

She actually came for Shi Jingyi, but when she arrived at the academy she found out that the latter needed to take a break for a while and the courses would be taught by another substitute lecturer.

She was initially very disappointed with the result, feeling that she had come for nothing and that the so-called substitute lecturer must be far inferior to Shi Jingyi.

But she hadn't expected Guan Tong's help to be so great, far exceeding her expectations. Even if it were Shi Jingyi, it probably wouldn't have been much more than that.

If I could stay at the academy longer...

Yelena shook her head slightly. She still had her own mission to complete and was destined to stay here until October.

……

After watching the variety show "Clash of Ascendants," students generally gave it high praise in their discussions.

Many students discussed the show both in and out of class, debating the combat strength of the characters featured.

"The strongest one is definitely the Snow White! That mech is so powerful that it's impossible to defeat. Ordinary items and skills are useless against it."

"Mechs are powerful, but they also consume a lot of resources. If we use a kiting-style approach to wage a war of attrition, we will definitely have a chance."

"Flying a kite? Didn't you see how fast those mechs were on the show?!"

"I still favor the handsome guy who plays with fire; his wide-range fire attack is also unbeatable."

"Survival should be the top priority, right? I'm betting that the survival expert who can make food out of mud will survive to the end!"

"Doesn't anyone envy Ryojin? His hypnosis skills are insane! If someone's mental strength isn't as high as his, he can knock them out with a single hypnosis!"

The students' high level of enthusiasm for discussion is related to the presence of many online celebrities on the show.

The pilot of the "Snowflake Without a Trace" mech, for example, was already very active online and had a large following. Her recent appearance has attracted even more attention thanks to her beautiful looks.

Guan Tong was curious after watching the show. The driver, named "Bai Xuewu," was clearly very socially awkward, keeping a distance from the other members as if they were three feet apart. She really didn't know why someone with that kind of personality would agree to participate in such a variety show; the organizers must have given her a lot of benefits.

The handsome guy who can manipulate fire was a social media influencer who frequently posted short videos of himself playing with fire in a cool way. He claimed to have mastered "fire elemental magic" and even gave himself the title of "God of Fire." Due to his exaggerated claims, he was both popular and controversial online.

Another person who became famous for posting during the first rule, "吾本良人", also appeared on the show.

His image is that of a typical otaku, consistent with the stereotypes evoked by his past posts. However, his role on the show is clearly not that of a combative character, but rather a comedic figure indispensable for livening up the atmosphere in a variety show. In short, the official strategy worked; after the distribution of old-fashioned TV sets with DVDs of movies and variety shows, the students did indeed shift their attention, no longer listlessly trying to resurrect their internet devices every day.

Moreover, once the rules of "Digital Withdrawal" end, the show "Clash of the Ascended" will definitely continue to air. As long as it remains popular, it might run for several seasons, making a bunch of Ascended participants famous.

Many students frequently mentioned Yingzi during the discussion, feeling it was a real pity that he didn't appear on the show.

"If Shadow God were to appear, the hype would definitely explode even more!"

"I also think... When it came to earthquake rules, didn't the officials collaborate with Shadow? Why didn't they invite him to participate in the program?"

"The Shadow God probably doesn't want to reveal himself; there are plenty of people who want to uncover his identity."

“I have a point of view: if the show invites the Shadow Master, what suspense will there be? He will definitely be the one to fight to the end. Who else can be a match for the Shadow Master? That would make the show less interesting.”

"Makes sense."

"That's not necessarily true. I don't think the Snow White Mech is any less powerful than Shadow God. I hope to see how they fight in the first season!"

Guan Tong overheard some of these discussions.

The reason he didn't go, of course, is that the official organizers didn't invite him to participate. But then again, as one student said, he didn't want to expose himself, and he wouldn't have accepted the invitation even if he had.

Two days passed.

On Friday noon, Dean Zhou Qinfeng convened another meeting with the lecturers.

The meeting content was related to Fang Qian's wiretapped information.

Zhou Qinfeng explained the situation to the lecturers.

"You may not know this, but a couple of days ago some students were discussing in the MindNet that they were going to go out of the city this Sunday to explore a wilderness survival camp."

The lecturers were all surprised by these words.

"Go find a campsite? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

"Yes, those still living in the wild are not to be trifled with. These students are really brave, aren't they afraid of getting into trouble!"

"This is absolutely against the academy's rules; we must stop them."

Although Guan Tong didn't say anything, he also felt that this was a somewhat reckless act.

In the past, many wilderness campsites might have been made up of kind-hearted people who simply liked to stay outdoors and didn't like living in shelters.

However, after several natural disasters, most of these camps disbanded, and the members mostly returned to the city to survive.

Therefore, those who still set up camps in the wild are basically strongmen, mercenaries who have reached the pinnacle of their abilities, or the like.

These people follow the law of the jungle, where might makes right.

They generally disregard the rules and don't take the students' identities seriously. If a student runs into them, they're in for a world of hurt; having all their Ascension Coins and items looted is the least of their worries.

“The rules will expire in less than ten days, and we absolutely cannot let these students cause any trouble at this time,” Zhou Qinfeng said in a deep voice. “I already know the students’ meeting time and place, and I will notify the management departments at the entrance and exit of the city in advance so that they can set up roadblocks to intercept them.”

"Dean, why don't we just intercept them at the assembly point?" a lecturer asked.

"That's not a good idea. That way, the students will know that we can access information in their mental networks."

"That's true."

Upon hearing this, Guan Tong thought to herself, "Does having the authorities set up roadblocks really prevent us from being caught? The students must be wondering why the checks are suddenly so strict when they try to leave the city today..."

"Just to be on the safe side, after thinking it over, I think we should still send a few teachers to keep an eye on things."

After Zhou Qinfeng finished speaking, he called out, "Teacher Chen, Teacher Guan, how about you two make the trip?"

Guan Tong and the female lecturer surnamed Chen who taught the "Psychological Counseling" course exchanged a glance, neither of them objecting.

“Okay, it’s settled then.” Zhou Qinfeng instructed the two of them, “You two have to keep a close eye on things and make sure the students don’t slip out.”

After the meeting, Zhou Qinfeng kept Guan Tong behind alone.

They were referring to the death threat, of course.

Zhou Qinfeng said, "Teacher Guan, the security department has been investigating your case for the past few days. But according to them, the criminals are very professional and did not leave any DNA samples at the scene, so it may be difficult to catch them."

Guan Tong nodded.

Even if they could find the DNA, it would be too late. He had already killed several assassins, so there was no need for the authorities to investigate further.

However, he certainly couldn't reveal this, so he casually replied, "Then let it go. I think they're just trying to scare me; they won't actually do it."

"That's not necessarily true. You still need to be vigilant. If all else fails, you can talk to Yelena later and ask her if she knows anything about the inside story. You might get some information."

"Okay, I'll go ask."

Zhou Qinfeng nodded: "Then I'll leave Sunday's matter to you and Teacher Chen. These students are really something, they can't just stay put and have to cause trouble."

“Most students are young, which is the age when they like adventure. It’s not surprising that they would want to find some excitement if they’re always cooped up in the academy,” Guan Tong said.

“Yes,” Zhou Qinfeng exclaimed. “Teacher Guan, I’ve looked at your file. Your birthday is in January, so you’ll be twenty in a little over four months. You don’t seem to have any of the recklessness that people your age have. You’re much more mature than your peers.”

Guan Tong thought to herself, "I've lived two lives. My adolescence was over in my previous life, so it must be different."

"Alright, that's all for today. Have a good rest on Saturday." Zhou Qinfeng patted Guan Tong on the shoulder and left.

Guan Tong thought about her plans for tomorrow and then walked away.

(End of this chapter)