Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 280 Vigilance and Cosmic Divine Spore Technique
Ban Chin, formerly the capital of the An Thai State, is now the administrative center of the Kingdom of Siam.

Guan Tong sneaked into the city on the morning of December 3rd and found that entry and exit controls had been implemented.

There wasn't a single ordinary person to be seen on the streets, only some official vehicles driving on the roads. Moreover, the brand-new surveillance cameras scattered throughout the streets and alleys also demonstrated the level of security in the city.

This level of martial law is comparable to when Beixing entered a state of wartime management. Guan Tong didn't know whether it was because of the bombing or some other reason.

He was now standing in the ruins of the manor he had burned down, the old stronghold of Basson's gang.

After Basong and the others died, the place remained vacant and no one took over. Guan Tong simply summoned a shelter under the ruins to settle down, and then used his shadow to investigate.

His investigation method was the same as when he investigated the Yongzhou base: using shadows to infiltrate important buildings in an attempt to find key figures.

The most important building in Banzhen City before was naturally the palace of Lado, the palace that was destroyed by the mental bomb that Guan Tong had purchased.

However, due to the palace's excellent location in the heart of Ban Chin, it naturally symbolized the center of power. Therefore, after the people of Sakuragi moved there, they cleared away the ruins of the palace and rebuilt a building on the original structure to serve as the administrative center.

At this moment, some inconspicuous shadows slipped into the building, probing the situation inside.

The lower three floors were filled with basic office staff, all dressed in identical suits. However, upon reaching the fourth floor, Shadow's entry was blocked.

"It seems that the area above the fourth floor is the core area, so a barrier item to protect against mental intrusion was used."

As Guan Tong was thinking, he suddenly realized that a shadow line he had remotely controlled had penetrated the invisible barrier and "merged" into the fourth floor.

How is this going?

He originally thought that the other side might have turned off the item, or that someone else was using it—after all, maintaining the effect of the barrier item 24 hours a day requires more than one person; it requires constantly switching people to maintain it with mental power.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

Could it be because of the spores?!

Guan Tong felt a chill and immediately withdrew the shadow line.

He has never dared to let his guard down regarding the existence of alien spores.

This intangible and formless influence, which subtly affects people, can easily catch you if you're not careful.

Guan Tong knew very well that his shadow did not—or more accurately, it did not have the ability to penetrate the defensive barrier without increasing its mental power output. So why did it suddenly succeed this time?
His mental strength did not increase, and no words were added to the first page of the "Book Without Words." The change could only be due to the influence of the spores, since all variables remained the same!
After the shadows were all withdrawn, Guan Tong took a deep breath.

He repeatedly told himself, "I don't need this kind of enhancement that has side effects."

He had to admit that he was indeed excited and thrilled the moment the shadow broke through the barrier, and wanted to take the opportunity to investigate further.

But he quickly suppressed the thought.

Even though the hidden rules mention that utilizing the power of spores within certain limits is the act of a wise person, the question remains: how do we determine where those limits lie?
If there were a clear scale, where each use of a spore would accumulate 1 point of addiction, until reaching 100 points and becoming completely addicted... then everyone could control themselves and become a so-called wise person.

However, without this measuring device, Guan Tong would never take any chances and think that she could control herself.

Many things become addictive after a few tries. If he abuses the enhancements provided by spores for convenience, even if he is already very strong, he might still succumb to addiction.

"...It's even possible that the stronger one is, the more dangerous it is when facing this rule."

Guan Tong thought that many strong people wanted to become stronger, and this mentality could easily be exploited by the spores.

After thinking for a moment, Guan Tong turned on her computer and checked the location of the Orochi Purple login device that she had previously located.

That location is in that building, specifically on the fifth floor.

The floors above the fourth floor are all within the protection zone of the mental energy defense barrier, making it unlikely to infiltrate using shadows. If someone were to force their way through, the barrier would be breached, and the higher-ups in Sakura would immediately know that someone had used their abilities to infiltrate.

And just like before, using the spores' ability, the shadow could enter without breaking the barrier, which seemed to be the best way to infiltrate... but Guan Tong would not use it again.

He would never comfort himself by saying that it was only for once and he wouldn't need it again. He must understand that any addictive behavior begins with "just once," and he must sever the psychological dependence at its root.

Therefore, without breaking the barrier or using spores, the only way to get to the fifth floor is through the most traditional method.

That is, to physically penetrate.

The mental energy defense barrier only works on mental energy-related abilities and items; it has no effect on the human body.

However, compared to infiltrating using abilities, infiltrating with one's physical body is naturally much more difficult. But where there's a will, there's a way, and Guan Tong believes that with proper planning, there's bound to be an opportunity.

……

Pinglu City, Cangying Ridge.

This place was already a tourist attraction before, and after the "Shen Yun case," it became a kind of "must-visit" spot. Of course, it's a must-visit spot for ordinary people.

Many ordinary people believe that Shen Yun's sentencing is a milestone success for ordinary people in facing those who have achieved transcendence, at least proving that the authorities have not yet completely abandoned ordinary people.

People believe that this case, and the series of public opinion effects it triggered, also contributed to the introduction of the "End-of-the-World Rules Management Regulations".

Therefore, many ordinary people make a special trip here, and many bring flowers to commemorate the ordinary people who were killed by Shen Yun.

Now, hundreds of people are sitting on the mountain, each with a futon or stool, breathing heavily, some even muttering incantations.

What they wanted to inhale was not air, but spores.

This collective absorption behavior also has a name: "Great Training".

Among these people, strengthening themselves by absorbing spores is a practice called "Cosmic Divine Spore Technique".

It is unclear who first coined the names "Great Practice" and "Cosmic Divine Spore Gong," but they seem to have originated from some posts on an online forum.

The poster claimed that after absorbing the spores, he saw a palace created by an alien civilization and heard an alien intelligent being talking to him in a friendly manner, telling him that the method of biological evolution was to cultivate this "Cosmic Divine Spore Technique".

These inexplicable, seemingly nonsensical remarks quickly spread across the internet.

Many ordinary people, and even some who have attained higher levels, participate in cultivation and share their experiences and secrets. For example, the current "large-scale cultivation" event at Eagle Ridge is a result of many people making appointments with each other online.

During this time, people would occasionally let out low gasps.

"Hey, I feel like I have more strength now!"

"My mind is becoming clearer and clearer, as if all my worries have been swept away."

"This feeling is amazing! I feel like I'm becoming Superman!"

"These spores are far more powerful than any kind of mental energy; even those who haven't ascended can become stronger. Those old rewards and items were unusable for ordinary people like us; it was just too unfair!"

"That's right, those ascendants cultivate some kind of mental power circulation, while we ordinary people cultivate this Cosmic Divine Spore Technique!"

"That's right, everyone should have the opportunity to practice; that's the only fair way!"

These people's words and feelings reinforce their behavior, and the act of absorbing more spores further feeds back into their feelings, forming a virtuous cycle that promotes rapid growth.

People living in this environment may not even realize it.

From an outsider's perspective, it was undoubtedly a rather frenzied atmosphere, almost to the point of being obsessive.

"If they act so recklessly, is it really okay to just let it go unchecked?"

Behind Eagle Ridge, some officers in official uniforms looked at the large group of people meditating on the mountain peak with worried expressions.

"How can we manage it? Forcing people not to go out won't work. The higher-ups have already said that these spores are everywhere, and you can't escape them even if you're indoors in a closed environment."

"That's still better than a crowd gathering together for some kind of large-scale martial arts training, right? If you ask me, we should block off Eagle Ridge and not let anyone come up."

"It's useless. They can just move to another place and practice together. Forcibly banning gatherings will only lead to violent conflicts."

"Yes. Our orders are to keep watch here and stop anything that goes wrong in time."

"I'm just baffled. Everyone could hear the rules when they were announced. The Fire Stealers said they were alien spores. Didn't these people understand? And they even came up with some kind of Cosmic Divine Spore Technique. Did they forget all the basic education they received before?"

"Don't put it so harshly. Perhaps this is the only lifeline they can grasp. If our panel also shuts down one day, they will definitely find it hard to accept."

As the officers on duty were chatting, they suddenly noticed a few people starting to leave the crowd and head down the mountain.

They stepped forward and stopped one of them to ask questions.

"It's too dangerous up there!" the man said with a worried expression. "What if you accidentally fall and die? We should practice our skills in a safe place."

The officers on duty looked at each other, puzzled as to why they were suddenly worried about such a thing.

If you're afraid of falling off the mountain, why did you come up here to "practice your skills" in the first place?
Although they were puzzled by this contradictory behavior, they still recorded the situation and reported it.

At the same time, similar large-scale training exercises were taking place all over the world. These contradictory actions were also being recorded and reported.

When the flurry of reports appeared on the computers of the relevant personnel, some analysts immediately drew a somewhat unsettling conclusion.

Are these people who contradict themselves experiencing cognitive changes as the degree of spore parasitism deepens?

(End of this chapter)