Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 262 Public Opinion and Law After the Rules End

March 11, 1 am.

The voice of the Firebringer echoed in the minds of each Ascended, but the content was different for each one.

The rule period has ended.

[This rule challenge has failed, and the penalty has taken effect.]

The thirteenth apocalyptic rule will be released in thirty days.

At a gathering point, a young woman named Wang Lan trembled upon hearing the result that "the punishment for failure has taken effect," and an indescribable fear spread through her heart.

This wasn't her first failure, but previous failures only reduced her mental strength limit. This time, however, the punishment for failing according to the rules was different: she could never speak the truth again.

What will happen?

As Wang Lan was anxiously thinking, someone came in from outside; it was a fellow villager. The villager greeted her, "Wang Lan, have you followed the rules?"

Wang Lan had unintentionally lied and broken the rules before, and now, not wanting to deceive her fellow villager, she nodded and admitted:

"I lost—uh—lost—"

Wang Lan wanted to say "I failed," but she was horrified to find that she couldn't say the sentence properly!

It's as if something is blocking your throat and you can't control your tongue. No matter how hard you try, you can't say what you want to say.

"Wang Lan, what's wrong?" Her fellow villager looked at her with confusion.

Wang Lan's face turned pale. She had realized what "the punishment for failure has taken effect" meant, and from that moment on, she could no longer speak the truth.

Seeing Wang Lan's pained expression, her fellow villager realized something: "Wang, Wang Lan, you wouldn't have... broken the rules and can't tell the truth anymore, would you?"

"wrong……"

Wang Lan nodded as she spoke, her eyes welling up with tears. She wanted to say "right," not "wrong," but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

She could only nod and say "Wrong".

Unable to express what I truly want to say in words... Does this mean that from now on I can only deny with words and affirm with body language?
Wang Lan was in a state of confusion and found it difficult to accept this reality. She was speechless for a moment and could not say anything.

……

The rule period has ended.

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

[Reward has been sent to your storage box]

The fourteenth apocalyptic rule will be released in thirty days.

Guan Tong was sitting in front of her computer when the fire-stealer's voice rang out.

The moment the fire thief finished speaking, the number of posts on the website began to surge in less than a minute.

It was obvious that as soon as the rules were over, everyone started talking like crazy.

The topic is still related to the popular post he pinned yesterday.

Based on the issues raised in that post and the official statement, a large number of related topics have emerged surrounding "law in the post-apocalyptic era".

The lag in the development of laws is a problem that exists in every country.

Especially after entering the era of apocalyptic rules, many unprecedented situations have emerged in human history. Dealing with them alone is enough to cause headaches, let alone timely and complete the corresponding legal issues.

This sowed the seeds of future problems as early as the very first rule of the apocalypse. During those three days, many people exploited the leaked hidden rules, obtaining "Sobering Peppermints" by knocking others unconscious to facilitate their passage through the rules.

After the rules were implemented, a major online debate erupted, with many arguing that it was tantamount to intentional homicide. Some even suggested that the authorities should vet everyone's title, and that anyone labeled a "disruptor" should be arrested and prosecuted for intentional homicide.

However, the authorities ultimately chose to handle the matter quietly, offering almost no response to public opinion.

At the time, some people believed that the information was leaked by the authorities, and that some of them must have used this method because they wouldn't arrest themselves.

Others believe that implementation is too difficult. If every person labeled a "disruptor" is arrested, it could trigger internal strife and make the already chaotic society, which is in disarray due to the rules of the apocalypse, even more uncontrollable.

Moreover, people who claimed to be disruptors actively spoke out online to defend themselves.

Some people claim they acted in an emergency, but from a legal perspective, they only knocked people unconscious and did not kill them. The real killers were the fire-stealers and the rules of the apocalypse.

Others cited the official stance as evidence, saying that since the authorities haven't convicted them, no one else has the right to call the "disruptors" criminals.

Although people's attention has shifted over time and with the emergence of new rules, they will never forget this matter.

There's a saying that "the internet has no memory," but things are different now. Everyone remembers every rule of the apocalypse and the major events that happen during it, all of which are related to their own lives and fortunes. How can they not take it seriously?
So even now, despite the official silence surrounding the first rule, many people still check the other person's title as their first prerequisite for making friends. If the other person's title is "Disruptor," they won't engage in further communication.

Now a new situation has emerged: someone is deliberately disrupting others' rules and challenges. This is not actually new, because in the previous eighth rule, "World's Number One," there were also cases of someone stealing someone else's number one spot, causing that person's rule to fail.

At that time, the authorities did not define this behavior, so many people simply responded by "mutual protection in shelters".

Now that a similar situation has occurred again, many people have reached their breaking point and are urging the authorities to quickly formulate a set of laws applicable to the current situation and strictly enforce them, otherwise they will cause chaos and destruction on the streets.

Guan Tong thought to herself, "If this continues, martial law will probably be declared again."

Following the earthquake, hundreds of millions of people had to be relocated due to the destruction of numerous cities.

In Pinglu City, where he is currently located, although there are shelters, they are definitely not enough to accommodate tens of millions of people from all over the country.

Currently, most of the newcomers live in hometown gathering points. Xu Xiaotian's work department is responsible for providing food, clothing and other supplies to the members in these gathering points on a regular and quantitative basis.

Compared to fully enclosed shelters, the management of gathering points is certainly much more relaxed. Especially now that the evacuation has just ended, people often go out for a stroll when they have nothing to do—even though almost no shops are open, it doesn't stop them from wandering around the mountain paths a few times.

If a large group of people were to cause trouble and disrupt order, Guan Tong believed that the authorities would revert to the previous full wartime control system, prohibiting people from leaving the gathering area at will.

……

Post-Apocalyptic Rules and Countermeasures Research Lab.

Inside the meeting room, the four large characters "Legal Advice" were projected onto a large screen.

Gao Liangwei said, "Everyone knows what has happened recently, from the conflict between college students and ordinary people to this incident of deliberately harming others and failing to challenge the rules... The public has strongly demanded that the relevant laws be updated."

The higher-ups are also considering this, and they're having legal professionals study it. Our policy research office, as the department that deals most with post-apocalyptic rules, also needs to submit some suggestions for consideration. Let's all share our thoughts.”

After Gao Liangwei finished speaking, he paused and added, "You all saw what happened with Dr. Li before. Even though the rules have ended and lying is no longer punished, I still hope you will be honest and not follow the crowd."

Everyone in the meeting room nodded in agreement, and then began to offer their suggestions.

"I think we should address what people are most concerned about right now. For example, based on yesterday's public opinion, we could establish a 'crime of intentionally obstructing the rules,' which would criminalize anyone who causes another person's challenge of the rules to fail," a PhD student said.

Someone asked, "What are the consequences of committing this crime? What is the punishment? Compensation or imprisonment? If it's compensation, is it in Ascension Coins?"

The PhD who offered the suggestion shook his head repeatedly: "I'm not a law student, so I don't know much about this. The legal consequences should be studied and formulated by relevant practitioners."

"I think we should establish a 'Sublimation Behavior Restraint Law'. Everyone knows that there are many conflicts between sublimation and ordinary people, so it is necessary to introduce a specific law to restrain sublimation."

“I agree. What I want to suggest is a ‘Prohibition on the Abuse of Psychic Power-Related Items,’ which could be included in the behavioral control law. There are quite a few ascendants abusing ability items right now, so it needs to be regulated.”

(End of this chapter)