Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 93 Hidden Rule Six

It's a virus that can be transmitted through the air and blood!

After hearing the Fire Thief finish explaining the rules, Guan Tong subconsciously looked up at the closed door.

"The water, electricity, and internet in my shelter are all independent, and the air inside the room should not be connected to the outside. So, as long as I stay here for fifteen days, there should be no danger..."

Guan Tong's first reaction was to stay in the shelter for fifteen days and not go out.

Because these rules are truly terrifying. It's a highly lethal virus that can cause death within 24 hours of infection, and it can also be transmitted through the air. Unless you have professional protective equipment, there's a risk of infection simply from exposure to the outside air.

"To go out, you need full protective gear, as well as professional-grade oxygen masks and oxygen tanks... I don't have any of those."

Guan Tong's supplies consist only of food, some basic necessities such as lighters, and common medicines.

He did have protective gear, but it was just ordinary masks and disinfectant; he wouldn't dare go out casually with those.

"The food we have left should be enough to last me and Coal Ball for fifteen days, but with a disaster of this magnitude, the casualties are probably..."

Guan Tong dared not even imagine how many people would die after this rule was implemented. In terms of lethality to humans, this blood plague virus was far more terrifying than the previous snow disaster.

Let's take a look at the hidden rules first.

Guan Tong took a deep breath, temporarily setting aside the horror of the rule, and opened the terminal panel to view the rule details.

Under his gaze, the hidden rules quickly coalesced.

[Hidden Rule Six: Gene Lottery]

[Hidden Rule Content: In this rule, a very small number of humans are born with adaptive antibodies against the virus. They will not die from a blood explosion after infection; instead, they will gain a special ability called "Infection Awareness" within 24 hours. This ability allows them to sense whether people within a 100-meter radius are infected. Extracting serum from these individuals and injecting it into oneself can provide immunity/cure the virus.]

[Note: Would you want to win this gene lottery?]

After reading the hidden information, Guan Tong was immediately filled with a sense of horror.

Did the fire thief do this on purpose?
Humans who discover they have "infection awareness" within 24 hours of infection, if intelligent enough, will definitely realize they have antibodies. At that point, their first priority will be to distance themselves from others, otherwise…

Once this hidden rule is discovered by the public, the person who possesses this so-called "gene lottery" will definitely become the target of collective hunting! If caught by certain violent groups, they may even be drained of blood until they die.

This scene of humans killing each other seems to be exactly what the fire-stealers love to see.

Guan Tong felt a chill run down his spine. He would never reveal such a hidden rule. Even if there were an untraceable network, he would never send it out.

Because he didn't know whether what he was doing was saving lives or killing them. Perhaps those who were saved by the serum injection would be grateful to him, but what about those "gene lottery" winners? If they were killed, whose responsibility would be taken?
terrible……

This was Guan Tong's only thought at that moment. This hidden rule was completely guiding people to kill each other for survival.

Considering all the past rules, Guan Tong couldn't help but wonder: if things continue like this, how many living people will be left on this planet in the end?

Even if people know that the purpose of the fire thieves is to select humans, how many can accept it with a clear conscience and without being moved?

"...What can I do?"

Guan Tong silently sat back down on the bed.

Aside from hiding in his shelter to survive for fifteen days, he seemed to be unable to do anything else.

During the previous "Night of the Living Dead," he was able to rush to eliminate the "Mother Transformer" immediately.

Even if this was done to obtain special rewards, objectively speaking, eliminating the converters early on effectively ended the undead conversion in this area significantly ahead of schedule. This indirectly saved some people who would otherwise have died from the undead attacks.

But now, faced with this [Deadly Blood Plague] rule, Guan Tong found that all the abilities she was so proud of were ineffective.

Neither Shadow nor Silver Hunter are of any use in this rule.

Because the virus is the kind of enemy you can't see at all. Not just Guan Tong himself, but all the strong people he encountered in the challenge... one by one, who could do anything about the virus?

For example, Lucifer, even if he has wings and can fly, is there no air in the high altitude? It's not like he flew into outer space, so he could still get infected.

"Meow."

Coal Ball let out a cry, seemingly hungry, its eyes fixed on the backpack containing the supplies.

Guan Tong sighed helplessly, gave it some food, and saw it leisurely eating its food. He even felt a little envious of the animal's ignorance.

However, watching the coal ball eat, Guan Tong suddenly remembered an idea she had once had.

That is, he thought that once his mental strength increased, he could become self-sufficient with the [Wordless Book], and if he ran out of food, he could just write "food" on it.

"Self-sufficiency..."

Guan Tong took out the "Wordless Book" from the storage box and turned the pages one by one.

Shadows, Silver Hunters, psychic powers, sanctuaries... the contents of each page provided him with tremendous assistance, helping him navigate the rules of the past.

He turned to page five and tried to pick up the pen again.

On the Holy Grail Island, his maximum mental strength was 132. After the challenge ended, it became 134. Now, half a month later, it has increased by 1 point to reach 135.

Are these three additional points enough for me to begin writing?
He held onto a sliver of hope and tried to write, but his right hand was flung away the next moment. His hope was shattered instantly, and Guan Tong threw the pen aside.

"Still can't do it?"

In the instant he put pen to paper, he only wanted to write two words:

serum.

That's right. Since his "Book Without Words" can materialize anything, why can't it materialize the serum antidote needed for the Blood Plague rule?
If he could produce a large quantity of serum, wouldn't that save many lives? This sudden idea led him to try it, but it ended in failure.

But failure does not mean the end.

On the contrary, the emergence of this idea gave Guan Tong a sense of having her mind opened up.

In the past, it was always the fire-bringers who issued the rules and made their moves, and humans could only accept the blows and take the hits, their greatest hope being not to be killed by the attack.

But today, at this moment, Guan Tong had the idea of ​​"countering the moves" for the first time.

"If enough pages of the wordless book can be opened, and if we have enough mental energy, perhaps one day in the future we can truly defy the rules of the fire-stealers... As long as we succeed even once, it means that hope still exists."

This optimism took deep root in Guan Tong's heart.

……

The End-of-the-World Rules Countermeasures Research Office is holding an emergency seminar on the sixth rule of the end times.

Every participant was wearing a professional oxygen mask and high-level protective clothing to ensure that no part of their skin came into contact with the air.

The authorities spent huge resources to establish this countermeasures research center and assigned them almost the highest level of underground security fortresses, with the aim of enabling them to contribute to coping with the rules of the apocalypse.

Therefore, no one in the research lab dared to slack off. From the very beginning, anyone who was careless about their work or engaged in any violations or leaks of confidential information was punished or dismissed by Gao Liangwei.

"Everyone." Gao Liangwei's voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat muffled, but the solemnity in his tone was clear to everyone.

"We are now in a safe bunker, wearing the highest level of protective clothing, and have a 24-hour supply of circulating oxygen... But don't forget, the vast majority of our citizens are currently in extreme danger. Every second that is wasted could result in a large number of people being infected, so I don't want to hear any nonsense!"

"Yes. The construction of shelters in major cities is still underway and not yet completed. Most people are still staying in their original gathering points. But this time the rules are different from those during the snow disaster. People in gathering points need to be forcibly dispersed and relocated, otherwise the number of infected people will explode rapidly."

"Disaster prevention, disease control, and emergency centers are all in operation. Staff members are equipped with professional-grade protective equipment, and protective masks and oxygen cylinders are being distributed to the general public."

"How should we deal with infected individuals?" someone asked a crucial question. "Also, should we conduct research on the virus?"

If the virus is a long-term phenomenon, then it's impossible not to study it. But unfortunately, this rule only lasts for 15 days!
Can a virus, seemingly unheard of by humans and created by fire-bringers, be understood in just 15 days? Even if some understanding is found, is there enough time to develop a vaccine?

It's almost impossible to accomplish all this in just half a month.

More likely, even if viral cells are extracted, the time limit will end before any research can be conducted. The virus will then disappear along with the rules, rendering all the work futile.

“It needs to be studied,” Gao Liangwei said definitively. “Let the virus experts study it. Regardless of whether there are any results, we cannot give up the opportunity.”

"As for how to deal with infected people, it depends on the infection situation. If there are no outward symptoms after infection, but they die from a sudden hemorrhage at some random time within 24 hours, then there is probably no other way but to isolate each person individually."

“If there are obvious changes after infection, such as bleeding or a surge in body temperature, then we should…” Gao Liangwei paused, “and perform euthanasia. At least we can prevent people from suffering so much as they pass away.”

"Understood, we will immediately relay the message to all regions."

"And most importantly, we must find the hidden content of the rules as soon as possible!" Gao Liangwei said in a deep voice. "Based on the experience with the previous rules, we can conclude that each rule has hidden content behind it. If we can find it as soon as possible, we may be able to save a lot of lives. We absolutely cannot be careless!"

After the meeting, everyone hurriedly left to do their own work.

Dr. Zhang, who was in charge of selecting and training the post-apocalyptic team members, stayed behind alone.

Gao Liangwei asked, "Dr. Zhang, is there anything else?"

Dr. Zhang said, "That's right. I think the personnel in several teams need special protection. So I would like to apply to you to purchase some special types of drugs and equipment on the terminal market and distribute them."

"Special drugs and props?" Gao Liangwei frowned. "You should know that those things are the most expensive on the end market."

"Yes," Dr. Zhang nodded.

He knew that some drugs on the market were practically miracle cures. While they couldn't bring someone back from the dead, drugs that could instantly cure a seriously ill patient did exist.

Undoubtedly, top figures in various countries have a strong demand for these kinds of drugs. This has led to astronomical prices for these drugs, some even selling for six or seven figures in Sublime Coins, and they are still snapped up instantly after being listed.

"However, if a key member of the team, especially the team leader, gets infected, this drug might be needed to save their life in a critical moment. This is for the sake of the overall situation, and we hope you can approve this budget."

Even if the post-apocalyptic team receives official investment, the investment isn't unlimited. If the consumption of Ascension Coins reaches six or seven figures, it really won't work without Gao Liangwei, the person in charge, making the final decision.

Gao Liangwei pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay. But I can only approve a budget of 80 for you. How much you can buy is up to you."

　Day 5 of my daily 10,000-word writing challenge. Today's update is 10259 words.

　　Keep up the good work tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)