Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 30 An Attempt at Adding Words
Limei Hotel.

It was late at night, and there was no one on duty in the lobby. All the room cards for the vacant rooms were placed on the front desk table for people to use as needed.

That makes sense. In the post-apocalyptic world, unless it's a job you genuinely love, most jobs are no longer available.

Mechanized, assembly-line work in factories, such as producing food and electronic equipment, is now done by specialized machines. Most factories are now lights-out factories, where people no longer need to tighten screws.

Guan Tong casually picked up a room key for room 306, went upstairs, swiped the key, and entered the room.

It was just an ordinary double room. He threw his backpack on the chair and lay down on the bed. Although it was late at night, he was wide awake because of the sudden danger he had encountered that day.

"No, I need to find a way to gain some power to protect myself."

Guan Tong sat up, her expression grave.

He had always thought that there was no need to get involved in outside affairs, and that he should just develop on his own.

But now it seems that some things you don't want to get involved in will still find you. If you don't have the ability to protect yourself, you may find yourself in a dangerous situation.

Although Guan Tong didn't know the purpose of the two people who went to his house today, nor could he be sure if it was an isolated incident, this incident undoubtedly served as a wake-up call for him.

So the key question right now is how to gain the ability to protect ourselves?

Guan Tong got out of bed and sat down at the small table in the room to think.

The Ascendancy Shop does sell weapons, specifically the [Basic Weapon Box - Bronze]. This box allows you to choose one melee weapon, which can be retrieved from your storage box at any time.

However, the melee weapons found in this box are not particularly powerful or effective, and they are still ineffective against multiple enemies.

In Guan Tong's view, this weapon can only be used as a backup.

"If you really want great power, you have to start with mental strength."

He still remembered the hidden rule of the second apocalyptic rule: "Mental Victory." Its description stated, "Mental power is the source of all power. Discover it, use it, and you will be invincible."

With a thought, Guan Tong saw the wordless book appear in his hand.

He turned to the blank third page, thinking that based on his experience with the first two pages, if he wrote down keywords like "weapon," he might actually get the weapon.

However, opening another page would significantly increase the consumption of mental energy.

Guan Tong only discovered in the last few days that writing on the second page requires more mental energy than writing on the first page.

If this is a progressive process, then writing on the third page will definitely require more mental effort than writing on the second page.

His current mental strength limit is far from sufficient.

Should we write it on the first two pages?
Guan Tong turned back to the first page, where the two characters "Guan Tong" were clearly visible.

What would happen if I added some content to 'Guan Tong'?

The idea popped into his mind.

Given that the result of the two characters “关瞳” is “影影”, what happens if we add another character?
Guan Tong found the shadow very convenient, but its drawback was that it had no physical form.

"What if we add the word 'entity' before 'Guan Tong'?"

In that case, "Guan Tong" on the first page would become "physical Guan Tong." Would that change the nature of the shadow?

After thinking for a moment, Guan Tong decided to give it a try.

Just like how he dared to write the words "Sublimation Coin" on the second page, you'll never know if something is feasible until you try it.

So he picked up a pen and began to add words.

……

The next day.

Guan Tong was catching up on sleep when there was a knock on the door. "Knock knock knock."

He opened his eyes, stood up, and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

A young male voice came from outside the door: "Hello, are you new here? I live in room 305 next door!"

Guan Tong asked again, "Is there something you need?"

"There's nothing else to it, it's just that people who live in Limi usually gather in the lobby in the morning, it's a habit. I think you might be interested in checking it out."

Upon hearing this, Guan Tong opened the door. Standing in the doorway was a very young man wearing an anime-themed T-shirt, with some freckles on his face. He looked to be about the same age as Guan Tong, around eighteen or nineteen years old.

"Hello new neighbor, my name is Xu Xiaotian. I noticed the room key for room 306 was missing when I went downstairs to the front desk, so I knew a new person had arrived." Xu Xiaotian grinned and said, "Welcome to Limei!"

"Hello, I'm Guan Tong."

"We look about the same age. I'm a senior in high school this year, what about you?"

"Me too."

"Oh?! Which school do you go to?"

Yunhua No.1 Middle School.

"Oh, so you're a top student from No. 1 High School! I'm from No. 3 High School, hehe. Come on, let's go to the lobby, everyone's downstairs."

Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian went downstairs together, and Guan Tong asked on the way, "You just said that the people who live here have a gathering every morning?"

"Yes. But calling it a gathering is really just about everyone chatting and sharing experiences," Xu Xiaotian explained. "It's like those mutual aid societies in some TV dramas."

"That's it."

"Yeah, everyone encouraged each other after the discussion, and I think it was quite helpful. Many people didn't even apply for free housing because of this gathering, and just stayed in Limei Lane."

Guan Tong nodded; he could understand that feeling.

The two went down to the lobby on the first floor, and just as Xu Xiaotian had said, dozens of people were gathered there, sitting in a circle.

Xu Xiaotian led Guan Tong to a place to sit down, where a middle-aged man was sharing his experiences.

“I’m all alone now. My parents didn’t make it through the first rule. I have a one-year-old child, and she didn’t make it either… Her mother was so grief-stricken that she passed away in her sleep. I was thinking of just going to sleep and die too, but I still don’t want to die. Isn’t that too cowardly…”

After hearing this, everyone offered words of comfort to the man.

"It was a terrible experience, thankfully it's all over now..."

"This isn't cowardice, it's courage!"

"Yes, those who dare to face misery and still have the courage to continue living are true warriors."

"Keep going. Your loved ones definitely want you to live well. So do we. We all need to work together to survive."

The heartwarming words of comfort brought tears to the middle-aged man's eyes. Many others sympathized and wiped their own eyes. Guan Tong watched, realizing that it truly was, as Xu Xiaotian had said, a gathering similar to a mutual aid society.

Several people then shared their experiences and insights, and finally, everyone sang the popular song "Tomorrow Will Be Better" together, bringing the gathering to a close.

After the crowd dispersed, some went out together, while others returned to their rooms. Guan Tong also planned to go back to her room first, but then she heard a slurping sound of noodles being slurped up beside her.

He turned his head and saw Xu Xiaotian happily eating a box of instant noodles.

"You... gave up the challenge of the third rule?" Guan Tong asked, as there were still more than ten days left before the rule's effective period ended.

Xu Xiaotian paused for a moment, then laughed, "Oh right, Guan Tong, you don't know yet. This isn't instant noodles from outside; it's a mental power item I made. Look."

With a wave of his hand, the instant noodles disappeared, clearly having been stored back in the personal terminal's storage compartment.

Guan Tong was a little confused. Could instant noodles really be a tool for mental power?
(End of this chapter)