Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 18 Complete the Challenge
Guan Tong's discovery of the use of shadows led him to find a way to pass the level.

But simply clearing the level isn't enough; he can now fully utilize the characteristics of shadow fusion to strive for a high ranking.

Although Guan Tong doesn't particularly enjoy competing with others, he certainly wouldn't give up trying if he had the chance to win the extra reward for being in the top three.

"The key is to utilize the distance the shadow moves."

Guan Tong left the self-service gym and walked home, pondering this question.

The speed achievable by connecting to the running belt, while already quite fast, is still not far from his limit in his opinion.

There must be other ways to further improve the speed of completing the 42-kilometer distance.

Moreover, it's not just him; others will likely also use the power of mental energy to improve their grades.

Even if you don't think of it at first, you'll definitely see it mentioned online.

Therefore, as long as one is quick-witted and has a high mental capacity, many people should be able to pass the second rule.

However, to achieve a good result, you need to see if the items you buy in the Ascension Shop are suitable.

Guan Tong didn't think too much about other people's affairs; he was still focused on how to improve his grades.

After returning home, he went online to look up some information about shadows.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

It turns out that shadows can reach extremely high speeds under certain special conditions.

It can even be made faster than light by using clever tricks!
At the moment, the speed of the shadow is not important to Guan Tong; what he cares more about is the distance he can travel.

After studying it for a long time, Guan Tong came up with an idea.

The next day at noon, when the sun was at its strongest, he took a cloud camera pole that he had bought and went up to the roof of his apartment building.

The sun is high in the sky, and the light is extremely abundant.

Guan Tong set up the cloud-shaped camera pole on the edge of the building, adjusted its angle and position, and its shadow was projected onto the distant street.

Then Guan Tong executed the "rotate" command from her phone, and the cloud-based camera stick immediately started spinning automatically.

As it turns, its shadow also turns rapidly, crossing streets and buildings at an extremely fast speed, repeating this cycle repeatedly.

Guan Tong was so excited when she saw this scene that she could hardly contain her excitement.

Too fast and too far!

At this speed, the shadow could travel a kilometer in just a few seconds!
Without saying a word, Guan Tong stepped forward and lowered the angle of the cloud-shaped pole, bringing the shadow closer.

He then took out the blank book, released his "shadow," and made contact with and merged with the shadow of the cloud-patting pole.

Having experienced that sense of control, Guan Tong raised the cloud-shaped pole, and its shadow immediately moved along the rooftops, buildings, walls, and streets.

Then Guan Tong executed the "rotate" command on her phone, setting the speed to the highest level.

Zizizi!
The cloud-based camera pole began to rotate automatically at its highest speed, and the shadow also spun rapidly along with it!
At this moment, the challenge time and distance numbers in front of Guan Tong were changing in an extremely exaggerated way!
……

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

A middle-aged man stopped on the track of the stadium, panting heavily.

Looking at the distance and numbers displayed in front of him, a smile appeared on his face.

Current distance: 42198 meters, current time: 2 hours, 37 minutes and 56 seconds

"It's a breakthrough! It's a breakthrough!"

The middle-aged man smiled broadly; although he was exhausted, the joy in his heart was indescribable.

This achievement not only means that he has passed the challenge of the second apocalyptic rule, but also that he has surpassed his own best score.

You should know that even if he could finish a full marathon in under 3 hours, he would basically be just barely making it to the finish line.

好几次都是2小时58分，57分这样，最好的一次也是用了2小时52分跑完。    但这次他的成绩，却比之前的最好成绩还少用了15分钟！

This is not just a minor improvement, it's a major improvement!
The reason for such a significant improvement is naturally inseparable from the application of mental power.

The middle-aged man glanced happily at the pair of black running shoes he was wearing.

They look ordinary, but these running shoes are actually special items he bought at the Shenghua Store.

Wearing it will not only increase your speed, but also reduce your physical exertion.

However, the downside is that mental energy is rapidly depleted when using this ability.

Once the energy is used up, the running shoes lose their special bonuses and become no different from ordinary running shoes.

The middle-aged man felt a little regretful, thinking that if he had more mental strength, he could have achieved better results.

But he is satisfied with his current achievements.

"I definitely won't make it into the top three in the final rankings, but getting first place in the group and advancing should be a piece of cake!"

The middle-aged man knew very well how amazing the world's top runners were.

The previous world record holder has achieved a terrifying time of exactly 2 hours in the full marathon!
It's easy to imagine that if those top runners were alive—not all of them, but even just a portion—they would undoubtedly have a very high chance of breaking the two-hour time limit, especially with the aid of mental power.

Therefore, the middle-aged man wouldn't bother competing with them; he would be content as long as he got first place in the group.

The man drank a few sips of water, found a bench to sit down, and activated his personal terminal.

His nickname is "On the Road".

He opened the group chat and sent a message.

"How's everyone's progress? I've finished the challenge with a time of 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 56 seconds. Not as good as the top runners, but I'm pretty happy with myself, haha. I still have some time left, so I plan to run again in a few days and see if I can improve a bit more!"

He had previously mentioned in the group that he was an amateur marathon runner, which had already attracted considerable attention. This latest message immediately drew numerous replies.

"Awesome! I admire you!"

"It's already approved on the second day? No wonder he's an amateur pro!"

"Damn... With someone like this in our group, how are others supposed to compete for first place?"

"When the cat's away, the mice will play! This result is only good enough to get first place in our group; there's absolutely no chance of it making it into the top three in the final rankings!"

"Could you share some tips? I was exhausted after running five kilometers this morning."

Seeing the messages in the group chat on the way here, and those comments filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, I couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction.

He saw that someone was asking for his experience and thought about posting something, but the messages that followed made him give up the idea.

"What kind of experience do you need from an amateur like him? The official organizers have already asked marathon champions to write their guidance methods!"

"Yes, I also watched the official championship guide, but it didn't seem very useful."

"What's the use of winning a championship? This isn't a math problem where you can just copy down the answer. In the end, you still have to rely on yourself to run!"

"Oh, it's difficult."

While on the road, I was looking at the news and also wanted to check online to see if any top runners had released their results.

Before he could even close his personal terminal, a message popped up in the group chat.

This news came like a bomb, completely stunning everyone in the group.

On the way, I stared wide-eyed, thinking I was seeing things or even hallucinating.

[Group member "Shadow" has completed the challenge in 21 seconds]

(End of this chapter)