Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 7: First Night

58: 05: 10
At 11 p.m., a time that should be quiet and peaceful, a cacophony of noise could not be heard.

Throughout the entire community, countless residents had their windows open and were blasting deafening music from their stereos.

Every household had its lights on, and the streets were illuminated by official spotlights, creating a dazzling spectacle that made the night as bright as day.

To avoid feeling too uncomfortable, Guan Tong and Fang Qian sat on hard stools in the living room to watch TV. A suspense drama was playing, but unfortunately, the noise from all around was too loud, making it impossible for them to watch.

"Is everyone this excited...?" Fang Qian said with a wry smile, "It seems that everyone is quite scared at this time."

"Hmm, it's 11 p.m. People who usually go to bed early are already asleep by now." Guan Tong picked up the remote and pressed the pause/play button. It was impossible to concentrate on watching with this much noise.

Fang Qian got up and walked to the window, looking up at the night sky.

The bright red countdown was outlined with a glowing layer at night, making it even more eye-catching.

“There are still 58 hours left until the end... I really don’t know how many people can make it through. Guan Tong, do you think those people who worked the night shift yesterday in our country are really unlucky? It’s so unfair to them.”

"The most unfair ones are those who were sleeping or undergoing surgery under anesthesia. But the rules of the apocalypse don't really care about fairness."

“Yes…” Fang Qian said, then subconsciously yawned before immediately covering her mouth.

Guan Tong asked, "Are you sleepy?"

"I feel a little...do you want some coffee?!" Fang Qian panicked a bit, but after thinking for a moment, she shook her head. "No...it was just a yawn, it's not to the point where I need coffee."

"Hmm." Guan Tong also felt that it was not yet time to rely on external forces.

He believes that most people should be able to get through the first night.

Young people, in particular. With the development of smartphones, many young people today can stay up all night during holidays, and some can even get up, wash their face, and go to work right after staying up all night.

If there's no work pressure right now and it's just a matter of staying up late, the first night should be fine.

Fang Qian seemed a little anxious because she was yawning, so she took out her phone and entered a live stream.

There was only one electronic Go board in the live stream room, and two people were playing against each other.

"That's amazing..." Fang Qian said with admiration, "The countdown had only just begun when Wenren Yizhi started live-streaming her chess game. More than ten hours have passed now, and she's still playing!"

"It's really impressive." Guan Tong said, picking up the TV remote to change the channel.

Fang Qian watched for a while, but because it was too noisy outside and she couldn't concentrate, she left the live stream.

Guan Tong had already switched the TV to the news live channel, which was an official 72-hour special live broadcast that would update and synchronize news in a timely manner.

At this moment, the host is reporting the latest news on the program.

"...Currently, more than a thousand experts and scholars are pooling their wisdom and efforts to explore and research solutions to the rules of the apocalypse."

The footage shows many professionals scattered in different places such as research rooms and conference rooms, and everyone looks very serious.

Fang Qian sat back down on the stool, watching the scene on TV, and said, "My parents should be in a research lab somewhere too... Guan Tong, do you think this will work?"

"...I don't think we can have too much hope; the Fire Stealer's power is just too great."

If the fire-stealers had only set up a countdown in the air, perhaps people wouldn't be so terrified.

However, the fact that hundreds of millions of people died simultaneously around the world after it announced the rules taking effect is enough to prove that it possesses unimaginable power.

Faced with such a godlike existence, even if the world's brightest minds gathered in the same office, what countermeasures could they come up with?
Guan Tong suddenly thought of that hidden rule. Since the authorities already knew about this rule, would they possibly share it with these experts... hoping they could discover some loopholes based on it?
If we can find a loophole in the hidden rules and bypass the condition of "using violence to make others unconscious" to obtain "wake-up peppermints", then perhaps we can provide the most effective help to those who are still alive.

But is this really possible? Are there really loopholes in the hidden rules?
Guan Tong is not optimistic about this.

Time passes minute by minute.

A few hours later, around 3 a.m.

This is the time when people who stay up late are most likely to doze off, and therefore it is also the most dangerous time.

Many people are aware of this, which is why the noise outside is particularly loud during this time.

Guan Tong and Fang Qian had already talked about almost everything they could in the first half of the night, so now they could only stare at each other and try to keep talking in order to stay awake.

"Fang Qian, which university did you originally plan to apply to?"

"Well... Yunnan University. I think Yunhua University is pretty good, I don't want to go to another place."

"That's it."

“But now university is meaningless, isn’t it?” Fang Qian said. “Not just university, as long as the rules of the apocalypse exist, is there nothing meaningful left, and everyone can only live according to the rules?”

"I think so." Guan Tong couldn't deny Fang Qian's words.

"It's almost despairing to think about," Fang Qian said pessimistically. "Now I can understand those who choose to end it all with a good night's sleep... at least they don't have to endure any more pain."

Guan Tong frowned slightly.

"Aren't you afraid, Guan Tong?" Fang Qian asked. "Even if we survive... what if the next apocalypse has even more terrifying rules?"

"I don't know. But I don't want to give up," Guan Tong said. "I want to live."

"Why? Is there... someone you care about?"

"No. On one hand, it's a simple biological survival instinct, and on the other hand, I also want to learn more... about the rules of the apocalypse, about the fire-stealers."

Fang Qian stared at him blankly: "You actually want to know more about something so terrible?"

“It is indeed terrifying, but aren’t you curious?” A strange light flickered in Guan Tong’s eyes.

"Aren't you curious about where the Firebringers came from? What is the ultimate goal of the Ascension Project? And what will the apocalyptic action be after the adoption of the Forty-Nine Rules?"

"...I'm not curious, really...not curious," Fang Qian said, lowering her head. "I just want a peaceful life..."

“…I’m sorry.” Guan Tong knew she had gone too far.

But he was telling the truth.

He was genuinely curious about what was said and what wasn't.

For example, how could he see the hidden rules?

Could it be that his journey to this world was also related to the Fire Stealers?
These mysteries held a fatal attraction for him.

Therefore, he didn't want to die until he figured out all the answers.

(End of this chapter)