Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 251 Hidden Rule Thirteen
A madman once declared that human history is a history of lies.

While this statement may be somewhat extreme, humans are indeed a race that excels at and enjoys lying.

From everyday little lies to the cutthroat world of business competition, all sorts of big shots are willing to tell a few white lies, as long as they can trick users into buying their products.

Many elites in various industries are masters of deception, and some even take pride in their ability to fool as many people as possible. In some industries, the greater one's skill in lying and deceiving, the higher the reward and the more appreciated one becomes by the boss.

If we elevate the discussion to a higher level, such as the conflict, competition, or war between nations, then all sorts of lies will emerge endlessly.

Even "strategic deception" itself has been a major killing move in military strategy throughout history.

The saying goes, "Warfare is based on deception; the real is made to appear unreal, and the unreal is made to appear real; the interplay of reality and illusion is unpredictable." A renowned general may very well be a master of deception.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that lies have permeated the entirety of human history.

Since the arrival of the Firebringers, they have completely distorted, interrupted, and changed the course of human history. It is not surprising that they have now issued such a rule that is completely contrary to human nature.

Guan Tong's first reaction after reading the newly released rules was that they were pretty good.

Yes, he thinks this rule is actually pretty good.

If you can't lie, then just don't lie, right? If you're worried that you might accidentally tell a little lie out of habit, then you might as well not say a word.

Of course, according to the details of the rules, in addition to "language", other media such as text are also restricted.

In this way, even if you don't lie verbally, if you end up making things up online or writing diaries with lies, you'll still be violating the rules.

The safest way to pass is to speak as little as possible or not at all for a month, and at the same time, not to write or publish anything. This way, you can be absolutely sure of success.

Guan Tong believes that most people can achieve this level of skill.

After passing this test, in addition to Ascension Coins, you will also receive a reward for increasing your maximum Spirit Power, which is a pretty good rule.

At least that's how it is for Guan Tong.

"Let's see what the hidden rules are this time."

Guan Tong opened the terminal panel to view the rule details.

The hidden rules soon became apparent under his gaze.

[Hidden Rule Thirteen: True Word Contract]

[Hidden Rule Content: Each person can only establish a Truth Pact with one other person. For the pact to take effect, both parties must simultaneously express the key meaning of "I will never lie to you." During the rule period, if neither party lies, both will receive double the reward upon the rule's end. If one party lies and the other remains silent, the lying party will receive triple the reward, and the other party will be penalized. If both parties lie to each other, both will be penalized for rule failure.]

[Note: In this world filled with lies, do you have someone you can completely trust who will never lie to you? If so, would you betray this person for a high reward?]

Guan Tong's heart skipped a beat after reading the hidden rules.

"Isn't this... some kind of rule similar to a variant of the prisoner's dilemma...?"

Two people enter into a truth-telling pact, where both tell the truth, and both receive double the reward after the rules are broken. If both lie, it's a lose-lose situation, and both are considered to have failed the challenge.

One party lies while the other remains silent, yet the liar receives three times the reward... This is undoubtedly an encouragement from the Fire Thief to find someone you absolutely trust to form a contract with, and then obtain the highest level of reward by betraying that person.

Guan Tong understood why the reward rules included "increased mental power limit".

Even if you only have Ascension Coins, it's not worth betraying the person who trusts you the most, even if the reward is several times higher. But what if you get a significant increase in your Mental Power cap? Triple rewards mean triple the stat boost, and that's a temptation that Ascension Coins can't match.

only……

Guan Tong felt there was a loophole in this.

The two establish a truth pact, and if they ask each other "Do you intend to betray me?" before establishing the pact, the party with premeditated betrayal can only remain silent or evade the question.

Since this question is asked before the contract is established, if one is thinking of betrayal but says "no," then they are violating the rules. Or is there a way to circumvent this crucial point?

For example, by not mentioning this issue, or by placing oneself in a state of "objective cognitive error" as mentioned in the rules and details when establishing the contract?
Guan Tong thought for a while and then shook his head. He didn't delve too deeply into it; he had no intention of betraying anyone, so there was no need to investigate and find loopholes.

The question he now faces is whether to make this hidden rule public or sell it.

In his view, this hidden rule is somewhat "neutral".

It means that it is both good and bad.

The good thing is that two people who truly trust each other can indeed gain more rewards and benefits by using it.

The downside is that once it's made public, someone will definitely use it to scam others, and the people who trust them the most will be the ones they scam—or it might be used again by the donor system, just like in Rule 8.

For example, you could control someone and threaten them into forming a contract, promising to kill them if they lie after the contract ends. Out of fear, the person might not dare to lie, allowing the controller to lie without restraint and receive triple the reward after the contract ends.

"...Even if I don't reveal it, this hidden rule will probably be discovered eventually. They'll only know the contract exists, but they won't know the benefits of breaking it or the consequences...unless the relevant details are included when the contract is established," Guan Tong thought.

The key to triggering the "truth contract" is when both people say things like "I will never lie to you" or "I will never lie to you" to each other... Isn't this kind of dialogue often seen between young couples?
Although the number of couples and spouses has decreased significantly after entering the post-apocalyptic era, there are still some.

Especially with this rule in place, some couples might immediately express their deepest affection to each other, assuring each other that they would never lie to each other.

In this way, the truth contract will be triggered between them and can be signed. The truth will eventually spread quickly.

"Even if it's just to make some Ascension Coins, it'll be good. I haven't had any business for the past few months."

Guan Tong has only been spending large sums of Ascension Coins lately, and only receiving a few hundred "mosquito legs" as a rule reward. Now that this hidden rule is suitable to be sold, it's good to sell it.

He turned on his computer and logged into the Ascended Home website.

I entered the webmaster forum and posted a new thread in the format I had previously sold.

Selling classified information related to the Thirteenth Rule of the Apocalypse

Details: The price of this information is 100000 Ascension Coins. This information will not be provided immediately; a unified notification will be given 12 hours later.

Editing complete, publish.

Compared to the previous price, he did not raise the price this time and still sold it for 100,000.

The reason is quite practical: after the earthquake rule was implemented, the world's population decreased sharply again, and many of those who survived were reborn.

No matter how astonishing the amount of Ascension Coins held by those large organizations and groups, they all originate from the collection of Ascension Coins from individual Ascension Coin users.

With fewer Ascended Beings now, the production of Ascended Coins has naturally decreased significantly.

This is evident from the sharp drop in prices of many exorbitantly priced items in the end-user market. The era of frenzied prices, where even a slightly useful item could sell for tens of thousands, is gone forever.

Moreover, once this trend takes hold, the market will only become more and more "depressed," and at that time, the value of the Shenghua coin will be much higher and its purchasing power will be much stronger than it is now.

After Guan Tong posted the post, private message notifications started popping up almost immediately.

Various organizations, groups, and government agencies have assigned personnel to monitor his account, and they are all sending purchase offers immediately.

Guan Tong glanced at it and sighed, "It seems I'll have to raise prices next time. Since the establishment of the Human Alliance, I've had fewer customers."

He guessed correctly. One of the points discussed at the Human Alliance meeting was that, in order to save unnecessary expenses, the cost of purchasing intelligence from the Ascended House stationmaster would be shared equally among the member states, with intelligence being shared as well.

In this way, instead of each country buying its own copy, they can simply pay one price together and share it.

(End of this chapter)