Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 14 The Changes of the Wordless Book
The deceased are gone, but those who survive must continue to live.

The first rule will take effect 72 hours after the expiration of the effective period.

Countries around the world have begun to publish the number of people in their countries who have perished due to the rules.

The countries with the highest number of deaths and the most tragic losses were those where the rule was implemented in the dead of night.

Due to insufficient timely warnings, the mortality rate in these countries almost all exceeded 90%.

In one of the most extreme countries, the death rate, after rough calculation, reached a terrifying 97%.

In this way, the entire country could be said to have perished.

Countries in the daytime zone are in a better situation, but they have also paid a huge price.

For example, in the Northern Star Kingdom, according to official preliminary data, the extinction rate in the rules reached 27%.

More than a quarter of the population was wiped out.

Of course, this also includes many people who actively seek to perish.

Like those who are suffering from illness, being able to leave in this way may be a good thing for them.

Regardless, the rules of the apocalypse have caused immense harm to all of humanity.

However, humans have almost no time to grieve or remember.

Because there are only 12 days, or 288 hours, left before the next rule is released.

No one knows what the second rule will be like, whether it will be more difficult or easier than the first, or whether the penalty for failure will still be death.

This kind of pressure is enough to destroy most normal people.

As a result, for three days, almost the entire world has come to a standstill.

Most industries have shut down, and students have also almost all stopped attending school.

The official announcement stated that free food, free cultural and entertainment products, etc. would be provided.

But it doesn't matter if it only lasts a few days; if it goes on for too long, society will undoubtedly collapse completely.

On the fifth day, the official bodies of the participating countries issued a joint declaration.

"We cannot succumb to the rules of the apocalypse, nor to the fire-stealers! We humans must defend our civilization and our lives!"

A sweeping social transformation was thus launched on a large scale.

Day .

Guan Tong sat in the study, with the wordless book lying open on the table.

For the past few days, he has been repeating the same thing: wait for his mental energy to recover, then use it to continue writing names. Wait for his mental energy to recover, then use it to continue writing names.

He was really determined to write his name on the pages of the book.

It is now proving quite effective.

Guan Tong looked at the words on the page. The character "Guan" was finished, but the character "Tong" only had the left side "Mu" written, and the right side "Tong" was not yet finished.

This frustrated him somewhat, because the character "瞳" has many strokes, which consumes a lot of mental energy.

He felt that if he had a name like "Wang Yi" that only had a few strokes, he could probably have finished writing it in a couple of days.

...Although I don't know what the point of writing my name on it is, it's still something to remember me by.

"Buzzing."

The phone on the table vibrated. Guan Tong picked it up and saw that the caller ID was "Public Security Bureau".

After the call connected, a clear female voice came through: "Hello, is this Mr. Guan Tong?"

"It's me. Who are you?"

"This is a newly established investigation department within the Public Security Bureau." "Investigation? Investigate what?"

"It's about psychic power. The authorities are currently collecting psychic power data from survivors to better conduct data research. Mr. Guan, would you mind revealing the specific values ​​of psychic power? I'd like to make a note of it."

Guan Tong frowned. The specific values ​​of mental power are, to some extent, a matter of privacy; is it really appropriate to investigate like this?
Seemingly aware of his concerns, the female voice on the other end of the phone continued, "Please rest assured, our data is absolutely confidential and will not be leaked to unrelated individuals or organizations."

Guan Tong said, "This might not be very convenient."

Although there is currently no indication that leaking one's mental power values ​​would pose a risk, Guan Tong is always cautious and doesn't want to disclose them publicly.

"Alright, we don't require collection here. But just a heads up, if Mr. Guan Tong's mental strength exceeds 80 points, he may have a chance to receive special support from the government after reporting it."

"Special support?"

"Yes. This is a newly introduced policy. The authorities will select some outstanding individuals for training and support to help them grow better and meet the challenges brought about by the rules of the apocalypse."

"Okay, I know."

After hanging up the phone, Guan Tong searched online.

Sure enough, many people said they received calls from the local police department asking to investigate and collect their mental strength data.

The issue of targeted support was also mentioned.

Many people have doubts about this.

Some people with a mental strength of less than 80 said this was unfair treatment and that they should also receive special support, but these protests did not attract much attention.

Under the shadow of apocalyptic rules, many things and ideas are changing rapidly.

Many previous definitions of fairness and justice would undoubtedly rank lower than the extinction crisis facing all of humanity.

Guan Tong didn't pay much attention.

The first rule of the apocalypse, learned through experience, taught him that sometimes focusing on too many things only distracts you.

In his last 24 hours, he simply played single-player games and remained calm.

Another example is Wenren Yizhi.

Because of Fang Qian, Guan Tong also learned about Wenren Yizhi's challenge of a series of Go matches in 72 hours.

He checked yesterday and found that Wenren Yizhi had actually played Go for 72 consecutive hours and passed the apocalypse rules live in front of countless people.

This caused her fame to spread far and wide, attracting countless attention.

When Guan Tong learned of this, she was filled with admiration and felt that this was the power of calmness and focus at work.

So he stopped reading any more news and continued to eat, sleep, entertain himself, replenish his mental energy, and expend it through writing every day.

On the tenth day, he finally finished writing the last stroke of the character "瞳".

"It's done!"

Guan Tong exhausted all his mental energy and let out a long breath after writing the last horizontal line.

He looked at his name on the page, the two characters "Guan Tong" gave him an indescribable feeling.

It felt as if... I could connect with it on a spiritual level.

Wow!
Suddenly, the page with Guan Tong's name on it fluttered without any wind!
Guan Tong was startled and stood up and backed away, thinking, "What happened? Did I trigger something after writing my name?"

The next moment, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The two characters "Guan Tong" on the page gradually floated up, expanded, and detached from the page, hovering in the air.

Then, it gradually deforms, evolving into a shape.

Guan Tong was initially just surprised, but as she watched, a chill ran down her spine and a sense of dread washed over her.

He realized that these strokes, which had detached from the pages and expanded, had actually formed the outline of a human figure!
What's even more terrifying is that the humanoid silhouette is exactly the same height and build as Guan Tong!
(End of this chapter)