Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 97 Make up your mind
Post-Apocalyptic Rules and Countermeasures Research Lab.

"We now have a general understanding of the hidden content of Rule 6."

At the meeting, the researchers concluded.

"According to reports from relevant departments in major cities yesterday, each city has seen people who were infected with the virus but did not experience a blood explosion. Furthermore, after a period of infection, these individuals have developed the ability to identify infected individuals within a certain range."

"For the time being, this group will be referred to as 'blood disease adaptants'."

Everyone nodded; the name was fitting. After all, these people weren't immune to the virus, but rather their bodies had adapted to it and they had acquired special abilities to distinguish it.

"Furthermore, there is another significant discovery. Blood from the blood plague adaptor was extracted in some regions, and the serum was separated using a centrifuge. When this serum was injected into infected individuals, the erythema on their bodies quickly subsided. This means that the serum of the adaptor can cure blood plague infections."

After the researcher finished speaking, the office fell silent.

Before long, someone said, "If this news is made public, these blood plague adaptors will probably face a huge threat."

"Yes, everyone would want their serum."

"Can't we let people in the medical field study and analyze their serum, and then try to make a vaccine?"

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," a medical expert shook his head. "The development of a vaccine usually takes years. Even if we concentrate our efforts to shorten the time and everything goes smoothly, it will still take several months. By then, even if we succeed, this rule will have already ended."

"Moreover, based on the data reported from various regions, the number of people adapted to the serum vaccine is extremely small, with an overall ratio that may be as low as one in 100,000... Only one in 100,000 infected individuals will be found, and the serum supply is completely insufficient. What if the information is fully disclosed and every infected person is required to receive serum injections?"

"Yes. It may sound harsh, but I'm willing to take the lead—given the limited amount of serum, it should be reserved for essential personnel and those hardworking frontline social security workers."

The former have the status, position, and power to back them up, making it impossible not to give them anything. The latter, as frontline implementers, not only tirelessly run around delivering protective equipment, but are also directly responsible for finding and bringing back those infected with the blood plague.

If they are not informed, it will be a huge loss if they fail to identify the infected individuals in time.

If they are given this information, and they are denied serum treatment if they become infected, who among the other frontline personnel will be motivated to diligently complete their tasks and carry out orders from superiors?

If frontline staff outwardly comply but inwardly defy orders and deliberately sabotage things, then even the most correct orders from above are useless if they are not effectively implemented.

"The information cannot be fully disclosed, and no unrelated departments should be notified except for frontline staff." Gao Liangwei, the person in charge, made the decision at this time, "Otherwise, the situation will be like the later stages of the first rule, causing a certain degree of chaos."

Everyone nodded in agreement. As the first rule, [Sleep Deprivation], progressed and more people went out, discovering that more and more people needed "wake-up peppermints," leading to widespread chaos.

But at that time, because the number of participants was not large, it was still possible to control the situation.

But this time is different.

The rules of this "Deadly Blood Plague" are inherently more cruel than those of "Sleep Deprivation." One is about dying peacefully in your sleep, while the other is about dying from a sudden explosion of blood throughout your body—which one is far more terrifying is obvious.

If this news is made public, and the infected individuals' need for serum injections is not met, they will undoubtedly cause immense damage. Especially now that many people possess various psychic abilities, if they are truly determined to unite and cause destruction, it will create enormous trouble for the authorities.

After the countermeasures research office made its decision, related news was quickly and completely blocked.

This time, however, instead of directly shutting down the network like last time, while such a simple and brutal approach would immediately let others know that you have confidential information that you don't want to spread.

Therefore, learning from the previous experience, network technology professionals have developed a "one-way mirror system" that uses advanced AI to automatically identify keywords.

Once this system is activated, any messages posted by users that contain content related to the set keywords, including homophones, similar words, foreign languages, etc., will be identified and blocked by the One-Way Mirror system.

Once the information is blocked by the one-way mirror system, it cannot be seen by others; only the information publisher can see it. Thus, the information publisher believes they have spread the message, when in fact their message was blocked at the time of publication without any notification.

As soon as the Countermeasures Research Office made its decision, a series of related keywords such as "blood flu adaptor," "sensory infection," and "serum" were immediately added to the one-way mirror system and will remain there until the rules are lifted.

……

Chen Na and Wang Yan live in an abandoned residential area on Baishui Road.

Both of them were wearing professional-grade virus protective suits, which were delivered by the short-haired woman in the suit yesterday.

"Mom, here's some water for you."

Chen Na brought a glass of warm water to the bedside. Her mother, Wang Yan, was lying on her side with her eyes closed, her brows furrowed with pain, which made Chen Na very sad.

Hearing her daughter's voice, Wang Yan opened her eyes and forced a smile: "Thank you, Nana, but Mom isn't thirsty... just put it aside for now."

"Hmm." Chen Na placed the water glass on the table beside her, on which were scattered a pile of painkillers and a hospital diagnosis.

Among the dense text above, one line clearly reads "late stage stomach cancer".

Wang Yan herself did not expect this outcome.

When she received the test results at the hospital, the doctor told her that she had at most one or two months left to live, and she felt like the sky had fallen.

Before learning the news, she seemed to be able to walk and drive like a normal person, except for occasional stomach aches each day. But after receiving the news, she seemed to collapse instantly, and now the pain is so severe that even walking is difficult. Looking at her daughter sitting by the bedside, Wang Yan couldn't help but shed tears: "Nana, Mom is so sorry. I was going to send you to Yong'an. I never thought that... What will you do in the future..."

The thought of not having much time left terrified Wang Yan. She wasn't afraid of dying herself, but rather of what would happen to Chen Na in this apocalyptic world, with no one to care for her after her death.
When she first received the results, her first thought was of Guan Tong. Through their time together during the snow disaster, she felt that Guan Tong was a trustworthy and kind-hearted young man, and if he was willing to take care of Chen Na, he would definitely be the best choice.

However, she didn't have Guan Tong's contact information. And she also knew that even if she had her contact information, why would someone help her take care of her child? Their relationship wasn't close enough, but for her daughter's sake, she was willing to swallow her pride and beg.

But now… she doesn’t know who to entrust her daughter to. Her relatives have all died under the previous rules, and she doesn’t trust official adoption agencies with her.

"Mom, don't be sad." Chen Na held her mother Wang Yan's hand. "Didn't that kind lady who brought us protective suits yesterday say that your illness isn't incurable, Mom?"

“…Silly girl, he was just trying to comfort her. Even the doctor said there was nothing more he could do…”

"So what if I'm a doctor?" Chen Na retorted, her little face full of stubbornness. "The kind sister said that as long as there are those powerful drugs and tools, even late-stage cancer can be cured!"

"..."

Wang Yan herself was well aware of this.

Even back in the hospital, the doctor subtly mentioned that with ordinary medical methods, it would be very difficult to save your life. However, if you could obtain special medical drugs produced at the terminal level, there might still be a chance.

However, Wang Yan herself had seen the price of that drug in the market. Its shockingly high price was simply beyond the reach of an ordinary Ascendant like her.

Chen Na seemed to understand Wang Yan's thoughts at this moment, and said with unwavering determination, "Mom, don't worry, that kind sister told me that as long as I pass the selection, I can join a small team. After joining that team, the person who created the team will help me buy medicine with Ascension Coins, and then your illness will be cured!"

Wang Yan was slightly surprised upon hearing this: "When did that older sister say this to you? How come I didn't know?"

"Yes, it was when I saw my sister off that she told me this privately before she left."

Wang Yan frowned: "A squad? What squad? It doesn't sound safe. Nana, listen to your mother, don't get involved in this kind of messy stuff..."

Chen Na shook her head: "Mom, don't worry, that lady must be a good person, otherwise why would she give us clothes to protect against the virus?"

“Silly child, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Think about it, how did that woman know we were here? Also, she didn’t tell me in front of me, but only told me this privately, which is definitely a suspicious thing.”

Chen Na pursed her lips. She didn't know how the short-haired woman had found her and her mother, nor did she know whether she was a good person or a bad one.

But she knew that the older sister could save her mother, and that was enough. Besides this one lifeline, she had no other chance to earn the many Ascension Coins needed to buy the medicine and other items.

"Nana, did you hear what Mommy said? You're not allowed to participate in that selection process. You're so young, how can you do it? Mommy doesn't want you to get into danger!"

"...I understand, Mom. Don't be angry, get some rest. I'll go make you some medicine."

Hearing her daughter say that, Wang Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief, nodded, and closed her eyes to rest.

But what she didn't see was that when Chen Na turned around, the expression on her face remained unchanged.

She had made up her mind; this time, she wouldn't listen to her mother. To save her mother, she would accept the short-haired woman's invitation to participate in the selection process, and she would succeed!

……

"Phew... I think I'm starting to feel it."

Inside the shelter cabin, Guan Tong opened her eyes, ending her meditation which had lasted for more than two hours.

Since he could not leave the shelter and was not capable of "helping the world," he decided to stop receiving too much outside information and focus on doing what he was supposed to do.

What needs to be done now is to learn Shi Jingyi's course on the flow of spiritual power.

For two days in a row, he memorized various acupoints on the human body and, as Shi Jingyi taught in the online class, tried to enter a state of flow by meditating and calming his mind.

After trying it out, I felt it was pretty good.

Guan Tong, in particular, felt that her memory had improved a lot compared to before, which she guessed was related to the transformation of her body by her mental power.

He originally thought it would take him a long time to memorize so many acupoints, but now it seems that it will take at most a month.

"If I can learn it, I can make full use of my more than three thousand units of mental energy reserves."

Guan Tong thought that if he could do what Shi Jingyi did and let his mental energy flow throughout his body, his own functions would definitely be greatly improved.

In this way, the "shadow" might also be improved, since its functions are completely linked to Guan Tong's main body.

If Guan Tong herself has stronger defenses and a "harder" body, her shadow will also be stronger after it materializes.

This might prevent the situation from happening on Grail Island: the shadow wall was almost smashed through by the one wielding the sledgehammer, or easily cut open by Lucifer with his sharp wings.

(End of this chapter)