Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 278 Spore Effects and the Vault Exposure Crisis
Outside the base of the Countermeasures Research Office, there is an open-air plaza where several men and women are walking around, occasionally taking deep breaths.

"You've been outside for fifteen minutes now, how are you feeling?"

Zhang Minglu's voice came through the headphones worn by the group.

"Report: I don't feel anything special yet."

"Dr. Zhang, I feel much lighter in my body."

"I felt a special sense of peace, and my heart was filled with gratitude. It was as if all the negative emotions had disappeared."

Many people gave their reports.

They were all volunteers who participated in this rule experiment, including both those who had transcended and ordinary people.

The current experiment involves inhaling alien spores during outdoor activities to observe the physical and mental changes that occur.

"Okay, you can continue your activities. I will ask again in fifteen minutes."

After Zhang Minglu finished speaking, he recorded each volunteer's feelings in a timeline.

Record the data every fifteen minutes, and then observe the time and changes accordingly to obtain data for analysis.

The experiment lasted for several hours, after which all volunteers were taken back to the base and placed in special isolation rooms.

Zhang Minglu took the tablet to Gao Liangwei's office.

"Manager, the preliminary experimental results are in."

"How is the situation?" Gao Liangwei asked.

"It's very serious. All volunteers have been confirmed to have inhaled the spores and developed infections, including those wearing professional-grade protective equipment."

Gao Liangwei frowned upon hearing this.

Under the previous Blood Plague Rules, when the virus had airborne transmission characteristics, not all exposed individuals would be infected, and wearing protective equipment could provide protection.

Unexpectedly, this alien spore is even more powerful in its spread, penetrating even protective barriers. This undoubtedly means that nowhere is safe, and everyone could potentially inhale the spores.

"This is the inquiry report after the experiment. Please take a look."

Zhang Minglu handed the tablet to Gao Liangwei, which contained written reports and summaries.

Gao Liangwei glanced at it a few times, his expression growing increasingly serious.

After reading it, he looked up and said in a deep voice, "All the volunteers actually wanted to inhale more spores."

“Yes, that’s exactly the problem.” Zhang Minglu nodded. “Two groups of volunteers, a total of twelve people, all of them said in the interviews after the experiment that they wanted to inhale more spores… This is already a preliminary sign of addiction.”

In the written report, each participant answered "yes" when asked, "Do you want to inhale more spores?"

However, the reasons for recording it are varied.

Volunteer No. 1: "I feel more energetic, like I had a good night's sleep."

Volunteer No. 2: "I had been very anxious before, and I have moderate depression. No matter what medicine I took, it didn't work very well. But in these past few hours, my mood has become unusually calm and peaceful."

Volunteer No. 3: "I don't feel like I'm being parasitized at all. I just feel that my body is much better in all aspects."

Volunteer #4: "I had a strange feeling inside me, and I realized that I wanted to inhale more thoughts."

...Almost all the volunteers gave positive reviews of the spores, with only a few realizing that they had developed a craving for more and remaining wary of addiction.

“The situation doesn’t look good,” Gao Liangwei said.

"Yes. We can see the whole picture from a single spot. In just a few hours, some volunteers have already shown signs of addiction... If no intervention is taken during the month-long rule period, I'm afraid a large number of citizens will fall for it."

Zhang Minglu paused and asked, "Manager, should we propose to our superiors that we make it mandatory to stay indoors? At least the number of spores inhaled indoors will be relatively smaller."

"The key point this time is not whether people go out or not," Gao Liangwei pointed out incisively. "The key point is people's psychology and cognition. We must make the public consciously resist this addictive nature."

"So what is your suggestion?"

“I will submit an application to my superiors immediately,” Gao Liangwei said. “We will have all media outlets and social media platforms expose the dangers of addiction. In order to give the public a deeper understanding, we will release a large number of uncensored videos of the painful and miserable conditions of addicts for the public to watch.”

Zhang Minglu was taken aback by these words; this was a thought he had never had before: "Is this even possible?"

Gao Liangwei's expression was stern: "There's no question of whether it's possible or not. I think the higher-ups will definitely agree. Because the rules that the Fire Thief has issued this time are like a soft knife, killing without drawing blood. If we don't deal with it as soon as possible, once a huge number of citizens become addicted and become parasites, the consequences will be unimaginable."

……

December 2, the day after Rule 12 was released.

Antu City, Book Page Refuge.

Guan Tong sat in front of the computer; without a doubt, he hadn't left the house since the rules were announced.

"Crackling," "crackling"... A noise came from behind him. He turned his head and saw that the coal ball was scratching the wall with its sharp claws, looking very agitated.

When it was just a kitten, it was fine as long as it stayed in the shelter all day. But now, with its cheetah-like size, it's true that staying in a closed room all day would restrict its movement.

Just like dogs can become depressed or manic if you don't walk them, it seems that Coal Ball has the same problem now.

"If I had known, I would have left it in the canyon over in Pinglu."

Guan Tong thought to herself, "The coal ball is now a tyrant in the wild, with extremely strong survival ability. There's no need to worry about it getting into trouble if I leave it in nature."

Coal Ball's constant scratching at the wall was getting on his nerves, so he took out the Corpse Whistle and summoned a few undead to keep Coal Ball company and wear it down.

He then checked the online information.

Just one day after the new rules were implemented, a large number of people shared their experiences of inhaling spores online.

Almost everyone gave positive feedback, listing the physical and psychological changes the spores brought.

Many people who developed serious mental health issues during the "Five Senses Deprivation" period reported significant improvements in their mental well-being after inhaling the spores.

In the words of some, it was as if "the pain of the past was rapidly disappearing, replaced by a faint joy, and a longing and anticipation for the future."

Guan Tong frowned more and more as she looked at it.

These experiences shared with him felt like what people who are drunk often say, such as "feeling like they're ascending to heaven" or "feeling like they're walking on clouds," which is not a feeling that a normal person would have.

Even beyond ordinary people, many ascendants have reported that after inhaling alien spores, they were pleasantly surprised to find that their mental power seemed to have increased slightly.

When Guan Tong saw this, she felt not envy, but rather fear.

He felt that the spores seemed to "tailor their approach to people," giving them whatever they lacked or wanted.

People with mental health issues experienced psychological improvement, those with weak bodies gained enhanced physical strength, and those who achieved spiritual growth experienced an increase in mental power...

However, compared to the voices that widely tout the benefits, there are also quite a few whistleblowers who speak out against it.

Their viewpoint is consistent: these benefits are all bait to lure people in. Once they become addicted and turn into parasites, the consequences will be dire.

The official stance is consistent with that of the whistleblowers, and they have provided numerous examples.

A massive amount of internal video footage has been released, revealing horrific and appalling scenes that are difficult to watch.

Many people were stunned when they saw it.

While there have been previous public legal education campaigns on this topic, most of them only scratched the surface. For example, images of the perpetrators' faces and physical injuries were often blurred out for privacy and humanitarian reasons, and only those that were broadcast were considered to be of relatively minor severity.

As a result, the authorities released a large amount of previously unpublished internal information and explicitly warned the public that the consequences of becoming addicted to alien spores and becoming a parasite could be far more tragic than those of addicts!
This did have some effect, as many people left comments below the video.

"Is everything in this video real? It's terrifying! Several of them look like they're not even human anymore!"

"I never knew that severe drug addicts could live such a miserable life..."

"There's no other way. There are too many idiots who tout the benefits of spores, forcing the authorities to release this information to show them what real addicts are like."

"Strongly oppose Alien Spore!!!"

Guan Tong saw these comments and knew that the official actions were having an effect. It was just hard to say how many people they would actually awaken.

"Woo-wah-woo ...

Just then, another piercing siren blared from outside. Guan Tong looked away from the computer and towards the door.

Since the new rules were announced yesterday, the frequency of sirens has not decreased; in fact, it has increased significantly.

This indicates that the Sakura Inori authorities have decided to disregard the current rules and continue their vigorous investigation into the truth behind the previous bombing incident caused by Wu Wang.

This is not good news for Guan Tong.

"If Sakura Inori's police department is going to conduct a city-wide search... then it's only a matter of time before they find this abandoned warehouse where my shelter is located."

The city of Antu is not large to begin with, and there is even less suitable place for people to live. Abandoned warehouses in the suburbs like this will definitely be inspected by the sheriff.

Then Guan Tong's shelter will be discovered.

Normally, Guan Tong would simply leave and summon again in a more remote location.

But now, he could inhale alien spores the moment he leaves the shelter, which is undoubtedly a risky move.

If we don't take a hard line... the current defensive capabilities of the shelters are far from enough to prevent a country from wreaking havoc with all its might.

Moreover, Guan Tong didn't want the secret of her shelter to be exposed.

"...I feel like this is going to be a bit difficult."

(End of this chapter)