Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 71 Industrial Park
23 hours left until the end of the rules...

A piercing scream once again tore through the long night, echoing in every human-populated place around the world...

Meanwhile, a meeting to address the rules is being held somewhere.

"These rules are a rewarding challenge for the strong, but still fatal for the weak."

In the conference room of the Post-Apocalyptic Rules Countermeasures Research Office, the person in charge, Gao Liangwei, set the tone.

"Our official regional armed forces can choose their targets based on the situation. If conditions permit, the focus should be on disrupting the movement of the undead and obtaining more kill rewards. If conditions do not permit, the focus should be on eliminating them as quickly as possible and removing the threat."

"As for the strong individuals among the common people, they might go out of their way to eliminate more undead in order to get more rewards, so we don't need to worry about them. The people who need protection are mainly the residents in the gathering points."

At this point, someone raised a question: "Should we arrange for armed squads to assist the public in completing this challenge?"

Upon hearing this, the others also looked at Gao Liangwei, as this was a question that many people were concerned about.

There are also numerous calls online for the authorities to help them implement these rules—the methods are no different from those used by armed groups to farm currency, both involving first disrupting the movement of the undead. The only difference is that the finishers are civilians instead of soldiers.

Gao Liangwei pondered for a moment and said, "If we can ensure safety, we can give it a try."

Armed forces operate as a disciplined collective, and the risks are manageable. However, many civilians lack professional training, and doing so could be dangerous.

But if we don't help this time, a large number of people will definitely be unable to complete the challenge—it would be better if the rules were longer, but 24 hours is really too short.

"By the way, have the tests on the undead completed for the [Multi-functional Protective Suit] and [Instantaneous Flame Rod]?"

“It’s done,” another researcher replied. “Tests have shown that the [Multifunctional Protective Suit] can effectively resist the scratches and bites of the undead, but the protection is limited to the upper and lower body, excluding the head and feet.”

"【Instant Burning Rod】During its burning period, the person holding this item will not be attacked by the undead. However, as the number of people near the holder increases, this effective protection time will shorten rapidly."

Tests have shown that a single person holding a single incendiary stick, when alone within 30 meters, can be protected from attacks by the undead for 15 minutes during the burning period. However, if a second person is present within 30 meters, the safe time rapidly decreases to 10 minutes. As the number of people increases, the safe time further decreases.

Additionally, the [Rapid Burning Rod] can also be used to attack the undead; its flames seem to have a certain restraining effect on the undead, capable of burning them to ashes in a very short time.

After listening to the researcher's report, everyone's expressions became somewhat solemn.

Surprisingly, the [Quick-Burn Stick]'s effectiveness decreases with the number of people. Therefore, the more people gather, the less effective this item becomes.

"Judging from the test results, the Firebringers do not want people to band together to defy the rules, and the previous hidden rule, [June Snow], is the same!"

"Whether it wants it or not, our goal is to ensure that more people can survive," Gao Liangwei said in a deep voice. "Therefore, we still need to build shelters and deploy armed squads at various gathering points."

"Report, report!"

At that moment, a researcher rushed in from outside the door.

"Urgent information: The strange shrieking sound that resounded worldwide when the rules were first issued has reappeared three minutes ago! And this time, countries around the world have discovered that human corpses have transformed into the undead after the shrieking sound, and a direct link between them has been confirmed!"

Because the countermeasures research room is located in a safe place deep underground, the people here did not hear any shrieking sounds.

But now that the information has been confirmed by countries around the world, it means that it is true.

"Will the shriek turn human corpses into the undead?"

Gao Liangwei immediately ordered: "Send the information to armed forces across the country immediately, instructing them to track the location of the nearest shrieking sound and dispatch elite armed squads to investigate!"

"In addition, Dr. Zhang, send out the several post-apocalyptic teams that we have selected and distributed in several major cities, and let them carry out the mission together with the local armed teams."

Dr. Zhang was taken aback: "Send a team to carry out the mission now? Their optimal equipment combination is not yet finalized. Isn't there a risk?"

“Risk?” Gao Liangwei snorted coldly. “The Countermeasures Office has already invested thousands of Ascension Coins in each of them! If they can’t even take this much risk or overcome this much danger, what can we expect from them? And this is a good opportunity to see how they perform.”

Dr. Zhang knew that there was competition among the teams. As the items became more expensive and the cost of training individual members increased, it was likely that all resources would be focused on one team.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Gao Liangwei wanted to test the performance in actual combat and see which team could perform better.

Dr. Zhang immediately nodded: "Okay, I'll contact them right away and have several teams go out to carry out the mission."

……

The moment the shriek rang out, Guan Tong, who was walking on South Avenue, tensed up. "That's the second one."

He glanced at the time: 10:19 AM, meaning the rules had been in effect for 1 hour and 19 minutes.

The hidden rules state that the "Mother Transformer" will emit shrieks at irregular intervals. It may happen once every few hours, or several times an hour.

But this second shriek allowed Guan Tong to roughly pinpoint its location.

Looking south, a conspicuous tall chimney stands in the distance.

He knew that it was a landmark in Yunhua City, an industrial park from the last century.

This industrial park was shut down decades ago, but the equipment was not dismantled. Instead, the local government chose to turn the park into a unique park-like attraction for the public to visit.

"Will the 'Matrix Transformer' be in that industrial park?"

Guan Tong thought it was highly likely, and he glanced at the small electronic screen of his Silver Hunter:
37 No. 1 bullets
15 No. 2 bullets
14 No. 3 bullets
Along the way, 13 rounds of No. 1 missile have been used, No. 2 missile has not been used, and one round of No. 3 missile was used to help relieve the library gathering point.

"I should have enough bullets left... I need to hurry, the sooner the better."

After roughly determining the location of the "Mother Transformer" based on the sound, Guan Tong quickened his pace.

He still didn't choose to find a car to drive because of the fact that the undead attack moving objects. Driving a car might attract a large number of undead, and it would be troublesome if he got stuck in the middle of the road.

Rather than taking that kind of risk, Guan Tong preferred to rely on his physical strength to jog over. After all, as his mental power limit increased, he felt his physical fitness was also improving.

It's about three kilometers from here to the industrial park; you can easily jog there.

After making his decision, Guan Tong immediately ran forward along one side of the street. He would occasionally see some undead wandering on the road, and he would try to avoid getting within 30 meters of them to avoid attracting attacks.

He jogged along, only encountering one attack from the undead, which he dealt with using a few No. 1 bullets, and successfully reached the entrance of the industrial park.

Looking at the pitch-black park inside, Guan Tong's heart sank.

After entering the post-apocalyptic era, no one comes here to wander around anymore, and the official maintenance here has stopped. After a few months, the water and electricity have probably been cut off.

Guan Tong was able to jog on the streets without any trouble because the streetlights were on, providing excellent visibility, leaving the undead with nowhere to hide.

But in this pitch-black park... although the living dead's eyes, which emit a faint red glow, can indicate their location, moving around in the dark is undoubtedly still very dangerous.

After a brief hesitation, Guan Tong turned on the flashlight strapped to his chest and stepped inside, following the light. Now that he was here, he wouldn't give up easily.

The park was quiet. Guan Tong walked along the wall after entering. In case of any sudden danger, he wouldn't be in a situation where he was surrounded by enemies.

After walking for a short while, he was surprised to find a place with lights on.

It was a warehouse with a small battery-operated chandelier hanging at the entrance. Because the light was dim, Guan Tong didn't see it when she entered the park.

The warehouse entrance had its roller shutters down and was piled with sandbags and other roadblocks, seemingly to block the undead, but there were no undead around.

Guan Tong guessed that the warehouse was probably a temporary gathering point for people. He moved closer and couldn't hear any noise coming from inside; there was no talking.

no one there?
He went around to the other side of the warehouse, where there was a small iron gate, presumably the back door. But to his surprise, the small iron gate was ajar and not closed.

A bad feeling suddenly arose in Guan Tong's heart, and he immediately retreated far away. Then he summoned his shadow, made it materialize, hung a flashlight around its neck, and sent it over to gently open the door.

As soon as the slightly ajar iron gate was opened, Guan Tong, who was hiding in the distance, immediately used the light from the flashlight hanging around Shadow's neck to see the situation inside the warehouse.

There were hundreds of living dead people inside!

They wandered aimlessly through the warehouse, and at their feet, some bedding, clothes, backpacks and other odds and ends stood out.

Some of them seemed to notice the shadow of the open door, but did not attack. Perhaps in their eyes, the shadow, being a non-human entity and not moving, was not a target.

As Guan Tong gazed at the scene in the warehouse, a terrifying thought popped into her mind.

It's possible that this gathering point had been breached by the undead before, and the survivors were all killed... After the "Mother Transformer" let out a second shriek, all the dead were transformed into new undead...

(End of this chapter)