Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 67, Fifth Rule of the Apocalypse

"boom--!"

A thunderous roar startled Guan Tong awake from her midday nap.

He yawned, sat up, rubbed his temples, and glanced at the doorway: "Is it starting again?"

Since Yunhua City initially resolved the issues related to urban disaster relief and corpse disposal caused by Rule 4 a few days ago, it has immediately begun demolition work on urban buildings.

Since then, explosions have been frequently heard in the city. The official explanation is that some useless buildings in key locations are being demolished to make way for subsequent survival-oriented reconstruction work.

As for what will be rebuilt after those streets and alleys are leveled, the authorities have not yet given any definite information.

However, Guan Tong saw a post online that claimed that a large number of sturdy, self-sufficient general-purpose shelters would be built in major cities for a period of time.

The fourth rule, "Snow in June," reveals a major problem: a severe shortage of qualified shelters.

A large number of people have been forced to stay in places like stadiums, shopping malls, and schools. However, these places are not very effective for evacuation during natural disasters.

Therefore, many netizens speculate that the authorities are planning to build a large number of professional-grade shelters. These shelters will have independent water and electricity supplies, and will store large quantities of supplies and be equipped with a large amount of survival equipment.

Some people even posted pictures of royal refuges from the Solomon Empire, demanding that the government build a million similar shelters for the public. Of course, this is just talk, and unrealistic.

Guan Tong took out her phone and glanced at it; it was completely empty, with no notifications.

On social media platforms, most of the top-ranked discussions are related to the upcoming Mind Power Development Academy.

Those who want to enroll have been rushing to the capital city of Yong'an these past few days.

Their thinking was the same as Xu Xiaotian's; they didn't want to wait until the fifth rule was released before taking action. If public transportation were paralyzed again due to the rule, who knew how long it would take to restore it.

"I wonder if Sister Wang's stomach problem is serious? Did she drive Xiao Na to Yong'an?"

Looking at the top-ranked keywords related to the capital city, Guan Tong thought of Wang Yan and her daughter Chen Na. After they parted ways in Yunhua on the 9th, they hadn't been in contact since, as they hadn't exchanged contact information.

Guan Tong did consider going to the hospital to see if she could find the person, but ultimately decided against it, since they were just casual acquaintances and their relationship hadn't reached that level yet.

"I hope everything goes well for them."

Turn off your phone's screen and silently say "Open personal terminal".

Today is July 31st, the last day of the rule interval. Tomorrow, the Firebringers will release the fifth apocalyptic rule.

During this period, Guan Tong only left the community once to go to the supply point to pick up some supplies.

In addition, he also collected a lot of useful items from the houses during his daily walks in the neighborhood.

For example, he found a folding bed in someone's house and moved it to the storage room of his apartment building. Although it wasn't as comfortable as a big bed, it was still better than a sleeping bag.

He also collected some radios, cell phones, flashlights, power banks, and even a few paper books that interested him. He put these in the storage room and used them to pass the time during breaks.

You could say this abandoned neighborhood became his little treasure hunt, but he also knew he couldn't stay there forever.

The explosions outside were telling him that soon, after all the shops on the street were demolished, the next thing to be demolished would be a large number of abandoned residential areas that no one lived in.

His own residential complex was also destined to be demolished and leveled, so this small property storage room could only be considered a temporary place for him to stay.

As for where to go next, he hasn't thought about it yet. Anyway, there's always a way out, and with so much to do, he's sure he'll find a place to sleep.

Guan Tong checked his terminal panel.

[Name: Guan Tong] [Nickname: Shadow]

Title: Lawkeeper

[Psychic Power: 127 (127) (135)]

[Ascended Coins: 30]

Overall Bioinformatics Evaluation: Excellent

Because of the limited time, he managed to save 135 points of mental energy during this period. This gives him 262 points of mental energy available at full strength, which is already quite good.

Guan Tong then picked up the Silver Hunter pistol that was placed next to his pillow. The small electronic screen on the left side of the grip displayed the number of bullets he had been storing since the beginning of July.

50 No. 1 bullets
15 No. 2 bullets
15 No. 3 bullets
Over the course of a month, I accumulated a total of eighty rounds of ammunition, some more each day. I had the most of the cheapest No. 1 rounds, while I had 15 rounds each of No. 2 and No. 3 rounds.

It wasn't that Guan Tong didn't want to save more, but rather that his mental energy was still insufficient.

The exorbitant cost of opening the third page of the "Wordless Book" and the storage of reserve mental energy have consumed a lot of mental energy; being able to store these bullets is already the limit.

Thus, Guan Tong felt that she was ready to deal with the new rules.

Meanwhile, ascensionists around the world are also making various preparations during this one-month interval.

Some are actively working to raise their mental power limit, while others are seeking to join organizations of powerful ascendants. Still others are spending their days intensely monitoring the terminal market, hoping to make a big profit by picking up high-value items at cheap prices.

Of course, a large number of people also choose to give up, the most prominent of whom are those whose mental energy has depleted to zero and who can no longer use their personal terminals.

Mental power and tradable items are no longer relevant to them. They mostly stay together in groups, eating and drinking as usual, enjoying each day as it comes.

Many who had reached the "level up" (i.e., achieved higher status) posted complaints online, feeling that those who couldn't use personal terminals were living much more carefree lives than they were. Of course, these comments quickly drew criticism, with many arguing that this was simply a problem for the wealthy in a certain sense.

It's like when a rich man said to a beggar, "I envy you being able to bask in the sun freely every day, unlike me who has to attend meetings every day." The beggar would be lucky if he didn't beat him up.

Thus, July 31st ends, and August 1st begins.

The once noisy world became quiet, and the explosions that echoed throughout the city all day long temporarily stopped.

After going through the previous rules, now that the new rules are about to be released, people prefer to wait quietly for the fire-stealer to make the announcement rather than engage in chaotic and tense discussions.

Guan Tong sat in the storage room, silently waiting for that moment to arrive.

At 9 o'clock sharp, the fire thief's voice rang out.

[The fifth rule of the apocalypse has been released]

[Apocalyptic Rule Five: The Night of the Living Dead]

[Rule Details: From the date of this rule's release, the entire world will enter a period of darkness. Large numbers of undead, indiscriminately attacking all humans, will invade human activity areas. This rule will last for 24 hours, during which each Ascended One must eliminate at least ten undead.]

[Success Reward: 150 Ascendant Coins; 1 additional Ascendant Coin will be awarded for each undead eliminated during the rule's duration; rewards will be calculated upon survival until the rule ends.]

[Failure Penalty: Reduced maximum Mental Strength]

[Note: Having passed the previous trials, this is the "reward level" that all those who have ascended deserve. Please enjoy it.]

(End of this chapter)