Forty-nine rules of the end times

Important news in Chapter 253, "A Dead End"
Guan Tong's "Flow of Spiritual Power" course, which does not involve much language content, will continue to be held as usual during the rule period.

When he arrived at the classroom, he was surprised to find the whole class so quiet, with not a single person whispering to each other.

“It seems you’ve all seen a lot of failure stories online. Knowing this rule, you should speak as little as possible during this period,” Guan Tong said.

"Me too. So during this rule period, I will no longer provide theoretical explanations; the course content will focus on one-on-one sparring."

After he finished speaking, many students immediately showed bitter expressions.

After nearly three months of getting to know each other, they had no doubt about Guan Tong's abilities. However, his frequent sparring sessions made many students who disliked conflict and physical altercations feel very uncomfortable.

But that's Guan Tong's teaching style. His goal is to help students improve, and he doesn't care too much about whether they are comfortable or not.

Of course, there are also students who refuse to participate, but Guan Tong doesn't interfere. His philosophy is that as a teacher, he should just teach what he needs to teach, and whether the students learn or not is their own business.

So the students followed Guan Tong to the large gymnasium once again, turning the empty basketball court into a training ground, and randomly matching opponents by drawing lots.

After a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging lesson, every student was exhausted and drenched in sweat.

Guan Tong then focused on explaining some key points and pointing out common mistakes students made during their discussions, thus concluding the class.

The students barely spoke throughout the entire competition, except for the sounds of exertion and pain during the sparring sessions. Guan Tong also remained silent, offering only instructions. This effectively prevented any violations of the rules.

After a day of classes, it was time to send out the hidden rules. Guan Tong returned to the shelter and sent them to different buyers according to his previous plan.

Unlike the last time when there were more than 30 buyers when the intelligence was sold, this time there were only 19 buyers in total, almost half the number.

This is partly due to the formation of the alliance, and partly due to the fact that some of the original buyer groups or official forces have been undermined or disintegrated under the earthquake regulations.

However, the sale price of 100,000 Ascension Coins and the nineteen buyers brought him a substantial income of 1.9 million, pushing his total Ascension Coins to over 5 million once again.

After the message was sent out, the official Beixing account released the information that same evening, which immediately sparked a large number of discussion posts on the forum.

"This hidden information is really generous; isn't this like a free double reward?"

"Looking for a contract partner in Fengyuan City, anyone interested?"

"It's either a win-win or a lose-lose situation. This hidden intelligence is indeed quite good. Anyone who isn't mentally unstable should choose the win-win option."

"We cannot rule out the possibility that there are some people with dark intentions who deliberately try to cheat others... Such contracts should only be established with people you know and can trust."

"People you know well aren't necessarily reliable. I think strangers might be easier to get through—for example, two strangers meet, make a pact, and then go their separate ways. That way, they don't see or speak to each other for a month, and they're guaranteed to get double the reward, right?"

"That makes sense! Strangers don't interact in their daily lives. If they establish a contract, it's because they want to lie to each other. How can they lie if they can't even see the person?"

"If it's a stranger, I suggest checking their title first. If it's 'Lawkeeper,' that's fine, but if it's 'Disruptor,' then forget it."

"That's true. All my friends are law-abiding citizens, not a single one is a lawbreaker. I feel like lawbreakers are all potential murderers, very dangerous, and I don't dare to be friends with them..."

"I am the Disruptor. You Order Keepers like to smear us and refuse to form a covenant with us, that's your loss. We Disruptors can band together and still be just as good!"

Guan Tong looked for a moment and found a post whose popularity was rising very quickly.

Exploring Unknown Possibilities: What Happens If One Party in a Contract Lies to an Outsider/The Other Contractor?

The original poster wrote in the main text: "Currently, the only hidden information is that both parties are lying, or neither party is lying. If one party lies, there are two possibilities: one is to tell the contractor, and the other is to tell a stranger. I wonder if these two scenarios will have the same result?"

The question posed by this poster has sparked a wave of speculation and conjecture from many others.

"If one party to the contract lies to an outsider, only that person should be judged as having failed to challenge the rules, and it shouldn't affect the other party to the contract, right?"

"Putting everything else aside, lying to a contractor will definitely mean losing the double reward. Who would do something so stupid?"

"The original poster has a very keen sense of intuition. I also think there are some inconsistencies and a kind of inexplicable sense of disharmony."

"You're overthinking it! There's no need to rack your brains over this. Just find someone you trust to form a contract with, and then stick to it for a month to get double the reward!"

“I don’t know about the others, but I do know that based on past experience, many rules have hidden pitfalls. Have you forgotten about the ‘mind lock’? So I’ve decided not to make any contracts with anyone and just follow the explicit requirements of the rules.”

"That's right. The more you think, the more likely you are to make mistakes. I don't want to fail the challenge by accident, so it's better to play it safe."

It seems there are quite a few people like me who want to play it safe...

Guan Tong thought to herself as she looked at the comments on the post.

He then saw a new message on his private message screen, sent by a client who had purchased information and was asking him something.

"Is the information sent by the website administrator incomplete?"

Guan Tong narrowed her eyes slightly upon seeing this question.

If you reply "yes", the other party may continue to demand more information, claiming that you paid for it to obtain complete details.

Replying with "No" would violate the rules. Therefore, Guan Tong chose not to reply.

Similarly, many people on the forum sent him messages, all trying to use this rule to trick him into revealing information or setting traps.

For example, someone sent him a private message asking, "Admin, are you the real person, Shadow?"

He completely ignores questions like these.

However, when he saw one of these private messages, his attention was instantly and firmly drawn to it.

The sender's nickname is "Desperate".

At his wits' end: "Stationmaster, you can contact Shadow, right? I have information on 'Big Sister,' he should really want it."

Miss!

The founder of the Green Plum Society, the mastermind behind the serial kidnappings and the Yongzhou donor base, the planner of the attacks on him and Shi Jingyi... is indeed the person Guan Tong has been searching for.

Previously, officials told him that the eldest sister's power structure had been destroyed and that she was currently missing. Xu Xiaotian also said that Li Meng called him and told him that the kidnapping case had been closed.

These experiences did not deter Guan Tong; instead, they fueled his determination to find the person on his own.

Originally, his plan was to leave and start investigating his eldest sister's whereabouts after the thirteenth rule ended and Shi Jingyi returned to the academy to take over.

Unexpectedly, today brought a pleasant surprise...

Guan Tong glanced at the "Desperate" account information. It had never posted before, and the account had just been registered this afternoon.

Then the other party sent several more messages.

At a dead end: "I have the location information of 'Big Sister' herself. If Shadow needs it, I will give it to her in exchange, provided that my conditions are met."

At the end of the road: "The reason I chose to send these messages at this time is because there happens to be a rule called 'Punishment for Lying.' With the rule in place, I won't lie."

wrong.

Guan Tong thought to herself, it's not that she can't lie, but that lying comes at a huge price. Conversely, if she could bear the consequences of failing the rules, then lying would make it very easy to gain the trust of others.

At the end of the road: "To show my sincerity, I will first give you some key information free of charge, which Shadow can verify through his channels."

At the end of the road: "The real identity of 'Big Sister' is 'Jiang Lanying'. Her son takes her surname and is named Jiang Qingshan, but the mother and son have had little contact for many years. She also has an only grandson, Jiang Ming, who has died at the hands of the Shadow."

Jiang Ming!

Guan Tong was startled when she saw the name mentioned in the message.

It turns out that the boy who could absorb and release spiritual energy was actually the grandson of "Big Sister" Jiang Lanying.

No wonder...

Guan Tong now understood why this woman was willing to risk exposing her high-ranking identity to deploy long-range weapons to bombard him. It was undoubtedly because of the destruction of the Yongzhou base, the deaths of several of her subordinates, and the blood feud stemming from her grandson's death. The combination of old and new grudges drove her to such ruthlessness.

The user "at their wits' end" has stopped sending new messages, probably because they feel they have revealed enough and are just waiting for a reply.

Guan Tong looked at the message box and the name "Jiang Lanying" sounded somewhat familiar to him.

He tried entering the name into a search engine, but the results were all irrelevant terms, suggesting possible data corruption.

He flipped through many pages before finally finding some information in the corner of a webpage, which reminded him why the name sounded familiar.

"So it's the one that used to appear on TV all the time when I was a kid..."

Guan Tong silently closed the webpage and fell into thought.

This "dead end" knows a lot, that's for sure.

If what this person said is true, and he knows the location of the "elder sister" who is on the run, it means that he is very likely someone close to the elder sister.

However, the possibility of lying cannot be ruled out.

Guan Tong thought of Han Ling, the manager of the Yongzhou base, and the short-haired woman who led the attack on him last time... The two were very similar; both chose to commit suicide by poisoning themselves in despair.

This means they would rather die than betray their eldest sister, or their so-called commander.

So, what if this "dead end" is also a trusted confidant, deliberately using this rule to lie and gain trust at the behest of the elder sister?
What is the purpose of doing this? After gaining my trust, are they trying to lure me into a fake location, like a trap or a maze?
...Whether it's true or false, it's an opportunity.

Guan Tong made a decision to find out the truth.

(End of this chapter)