Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 266 High-Level Attention and Investigation
The words Guan Tong spoke in his last class, his own explanation of mental power, quickly attracted widespread attention.

The students' spontaneous discussions and dissemination were enough to have a significant impact. In addition, the college's courses are recorded for free and uploaded to the official website for those who are unable to enroll to study on their own. Therefore, far more than just the students in the classroom watched Guan Tong's class.

His speculations in class that the Fire Stealers are Ascended Beings, and that the forty-nine end-times rules are themselves bound by the hierarchical laws of spiritual power, struck many as novel and bold, prompting them to participate in the discussion.

Even some experts and scholars who are in charge of related research are very interested in the "special energy of the universe" mentioned by Guan Tong, in addition to the hierarchical theory.

Because they don't believe that psychic power is a completely idealistic force. Guan Tong's description of it as "semi-idealistic" is more in line with their judgment.

Soon, many video clips of Guan Tong's lectures appeared online, and special personnel from some special departments also paid special attention to Guan Tong.

Even the Post-Apocalyptic Rules Countermeasures Research Office received an inquiry letter requesting the background check materials used to admit Guan Tong to the academy.

Upon receiving the request, Gao Liangwei immediately sent over the original documents and reviewed them again, finding no problems whatsoever.

If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "clean".

Guan Tong's background information is too clean; before the Fire Thief appeared, she was just a high school student.

His grades were quite good; he was in the middle of his grade at Yunhua No. 1 Middle School, the best school in the area.

However, this achievement is still far behind those exceptional individuals and outstanding talents.

After the fire-stealers appeared, Guan Tong's record became even "cleaner." Especially after the country implemented wartime management, no shelter or gathering point registered his name or identity information.

This undoubtedly shows that after the wartime administration began, Guan Tong never stayed in any shelter or gathering point and lived entirely in the wild.

The only recorded incident involving him is his involvement in a series of kidnappings targeting individuals with high psychic abilities.

"This case..."

Gao Liangwei sat in front of the computer, his brows furrowed.

He already knew that Jiang Lanying was the mastermind behind the kidnapping.

Not long ago, Jiang Lanying attempted to defect to the country, and even secretly made a deal with Lucifer, a wanted criminal in Soma, who was responsible for picking her up and taking her to a safe area.

The situation was indeed dangerous. The official team sent out to pursue Lucifer was ambushed and suffered heavy casualties. If "Shadow" hadn't appeared at the crucial moment and defeated Lucifer, Jiang Lanying might have actually escaped, causing endless trouble.

However, the "Shadow" took Jiang Lanying away, and the authorities subsequently dispatched a large number of people to search the area, but to no avail... Whether Jiang Lanying was dead or alive was completely unknown.

Dragon Soul initially speculated that "Shadow" intended to use vigilante justice rather than stage a rescue, a conclusion later reached by the authorities.

Because "Shadow" had been at odds with Jiang Lanying ever since the destruction of the Yongzhou base, and later, during the earthquake, Jiang Lanying, in retaliation, used her subordinates planted in the army to "accidentally" fire a missile in an attempt to kill "Shadow," but failed... The two sides were now mortal enemies.

just now……

As Gao Liangwei looked at Guan Tong's information on the screen, some thoughts began to form in his mind.

This Guan Tong has remained in the wild since the end-of-the-world rules were implemented, without any registration. The official database also lacks information about his mental strength, abilities, items, etc.

After entering the post-apocalyptic era, some previously ordinary people did rise to prominence. However, Guan Tong's leap from an ordinary high school student to suddenly becoming an academy lecturer in just over a year was undoubtedly enormous.

Furthermore, the fact that Shi Jingyi would recommend this person indicates that the two are quite familiar with each other and have likely maintained contact.

Gao Liangwei pondered for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, is this Section Chief Li Meng? This is Gao Liangwei."

"I contacted you to investigate some old matters. Section Chief Li, do you remember when you were the director of the Public Security Bureau in Yunhua, there was a high school student named 'Guan Tong' who got involved in that kidnapping case?"

"You mean that high school student left a deep impression on you back then? Please compile the relevant information and send it to me. I want to know more about it."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Liangwei thought for a moment and then dialed another number.

"Hello, is this Dean Zhou? This is Gao Liangwei from the Countermeasures Research Office."

"I would like to know about the lecturer Guan Tong who visited the academy in July."

"What? He's leaving the academy soon? I see, I understand."

"Okay, Dean Zhou. Could you mention this to him and see if he has any interest in working for a government department after leaving the academy?"

"Yes, don't mention me. Just say that an important official department wants to invite him. Regardless of his response, please let me know as soon as possible."

After making the two phone calls, Gao Liangwei thought for a moment and then called Zhang Minglu to his office via the internal phone.

"Manager, you wanted to see me?"

"Dr. Zhang, I have someone here conducting an investigation. Please keep an eye on it."

Zhang Minglu glanced at the information and looked surprised: "Guan Tong, this person is indeed famous. And I also feel there's something wrong with her."

"Oh?" Gao Liangwei asked, "What's the problem?"

"It's the theory he proposed in that class, 'Humans can suppress the rules of the apocalypse from a higher position.' It doesn't sound like it's made up, but it seems unlikely that such a theory could be proposed without any practical experience."

"And he also told the students to participate in more real combat so they could improve faster. He's right, that's the conclusion I've drawn after training so many Ascended Beings... But where did he get so much real combat experience? Was he actually an Ascended Being mercenary before becoming a teacher at the academy?"

Gao Liangwei nodded after listening; Zhang Minglu's words made a lot of sense.

Because North Star is different from other countries, after entering the post-apocalyptic era, North Star has been vigorously building shelters and gathering points. There are not many people who actually live in the wild, and there are even fewer Ascended beings with rich combat experience.

To put it somewhat inappropriately, "the state has protected its people too well." This has resulted in a large number of Northern Star Ascendants never even having a single real combat experience. "In that case, Guan Tong is indeed highly suspicious and requires further investigation. Do those who have had contact with him have any valuable intelligence?"

Zhang Minglu thought for a moment and said, "I do have some information."

"What information?"

“I have an Ascended One who has known Guan Tong for a long time and even met him not long ago.”

"Oh? Who is it?"

“Chen Na, a girl with sensory abilities,” Zhang Minglu said. “Not long ago, the day before the ‘Fallen Petals Project’ was launched, Silver Fox accompanied her to see Guan Tong. Afterwards, Silver Fox recorded the relevant details.”

"So, Chen Na must know something about Guan Tong's past."

"Yes. She and her mother, Wang Yan, must have known Guan Tong for a long time."

Gao Liangwei said, "Dr. Zhang, then you should talk to them and obtain the information they know about Guan Tong."

"Sure," Zhang Minglu agreed, then asked curiously, "Manager, does the higher-ups suspect that Guan Tong has some kind of problem?"

"It's hard to say at the moment," Gao Liangwei said, "but we can be sure the danger level is not high. Otherwise, the order would not be to investigate, but to take the people into custody first."

“That’s true,” Zhang Minglu said. “However, if we start by investigating his interpersonal relationships, the lecturer Shi Jingyi who recommended him would definitely know more about him.”

Gao Liangwei nodded: "Indeed. However, the specific relationship between Shi Jingyi and Guan Tong cannot be determined at present, and her identity is special; she is a hero in people's eyes."

Zhang Minglu knew what "hero" meant. When Shi Jingyi said she would go to the earthquake site to help "Shadow," it did cause a great stir on the internet.

She was later injured in the bombing and needed to recuperate. Because the truth was not revealed, the outside world assumed she was injured in the earthquake, and admired her fearless spirit even more.

In addition to her unique abilities, outstanding appearance, and respected profession as a "teacher," she can be considered a national idol, and it is not convenient for the authorities to easily question her.

“Let’s start the investigation from a few other angles first,” Gao Liangwei said. “If the progress is not good, then we’ll ask Shi Jingyi for advice as a last resort.”

Zhang Minglu nodded: "I understand, I'll go and make the arrangements now."

……

The news of Shi Jingyi's return quickly spread throughout the academy.

The students were incredibly excited, after all, many of them had come specifically because of her. It would be such a shame to come for a year and graduate without ever seeing her in person.

Her immense popularity, coupled with her inspiring spirit of selflessness, made her the most sought-after figure in the entire academy.

Dean Zhou Qinfeng wanted to hold a celebratory banquet with other faculty and staff to celebrate Shi Jingyi's recovery and return, but Shi Jingyi politely declined.

Although she has an outgoing personality, she doesn't like crowds, especially banquets where she is the main character; she would rather not attend them.

She didn't attend the banquet prepared for her, nor did she attend the farewell banquet that the academy prepared for Guan Tong.

Given their relationship, a simple "take care" in private is far more sincere than any amount of formal talk.

As for Guan Tong's farewell banquet, Zhou Qinfeng did put some thought into it.

He used his connections to arrange several tables of freshly stir-fried hot dishes and some fine wine. These were undoubtedly rare items in this "canned food era."

At the banquet, people went back and forth, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. In the depths of their emotions, some even had tears in their eyes and their pupils reddened.

Guan Tong was somewhat bewildered. He had only been at the academy for less than four months, and aside from attending meetings, he didn't have any personal relationships with the other teachers.

As a result, some teachers acted as if they had been there for four years.

"Teacher Guan, we've become friends through a bit of a misunderstanding. Come on, heroes emerge from among the young, let me toast you!"

Zhang Linliang, who had competed with Guan Tong during his college entrance interview, downed a drink, looking quite hearty.

Although Guan Tong didn't feel much, she still took a few sips in response.

Then, Ms. Sun, the psychology teacher who had previously worked with him on the student truancy case, came over and said with concern, "Professor Guan, don't forget to come back to the college often in the future."

"it is good."

After all the other teachers had finished speaking, Dean Zhou Qinfeng pulled Guan Tong aside and spoke to her alone.

"Professor Guan, I asked you last time what your plans were after leaving the academy, and you said you weren't sure yet?"

"Yes, it's not decided yet."

Guan Tong would definitely not tell anyone other than Shi Jingyi about his plan to "collect debts".

Are you interested in government departments?

"Official departments?"

“That’s right, and it’s an important department! Someone specifically asked me to tell you,” Zhou Qinfeng said with a smile. “The salary is definitely better than in our college. After all, a young talent like you, Professor Guan, will have a bright future wherever you go.”

Did an official department specifically contact the dean to recruit me? Or is it an "important" department?
Guan Tong felt that someone might be watching her, but this was expected and nothing strange about it.

"Please ask the dean to thank that person for my sake. I'm used to a carefree life and don't plan to join any department for the time being," Guan Tong replied.

(End of this chapter)