49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 156: Chapter 146: Mind Lock

The poster’s username was "Moon Key," the same as the thread’s title. The content inside was just as cryptic.

"Through the Crystal Ball, I have seen today’s powerhouses, and tomorrow’s hysterics. A psychic punishment will make people understand that the price of rushing for success is one too terrible to bear..."

’What the hell is this supposed to mean?’

Guan Tong couldn’t find any useful information, only a vague guess: this "Moon Key" was likely an Ascender with some kind of prophetic ability or item. They had seen something of the future, a future where those who used this hidden rule would suffer dire consequences.

Below the post, some people responded with jokes, while others expressed their belief in the warning.

"Nice, the forum mystic niche has finally been filled."

"I was just wondering about this. With so many people in the world, and so many who study the occult, someone had to have gotten a prophecy-type ability, right?"

"OP, you’re a good person. Can you prophesize which rule I’ll die on?"

"The OP’s Prophecy makes sense. I’ve studied the rules quite a bit. If a rule involves people plundering from each other, the plunderers always pay a price."

"Such a huge boost to your Psychic Power cap? That’s a dream come true. What price could there possibly be?"

"Just look at the ones who left comments for the guy who posted the list, demanding updates. They sure didn’t think there was a price."

Guan Tong read a few pages, his heart growing uneasy.

’If there really is some hidden price, I’m definitely going to get hit by it. After all, I’m the one who actually snatched more than thirty first-place titles.’

Still, he had his doubts. If the hidden price was so great, then what was the point of this hidden rule in the first place?

’...Forget it. Whether there’s a hidden price or not, there’s no point in worrying too much before it shows itself.’

Guan Tong didn’t want to scare himself. After getting a handle on the public’s reaction, he shut down the computer and went to rest.

The eighth rule had only lasted for half a month, but in that short time, he had traveled all over and experienced the most combat of anyone under the rule. He was physically and mentally exhausted.

What he wanted most right now was to rest well for a few days.

Compared to others, he was one of the few who paid extra attention to his mental state. He often performed self-counseling by blocking out external information and engaging in self-directed Q&As.

Since the Apocalypse Rules first descended, a large number of people—including many powerhouses in the eyes of ordinary folk—hadn’t died to external forces, but had chosen to end their own lives.

Many of them had been under too much pressure. Their mental health suffered, and with no way to relieve it, they eventually resorted to extreme measures.

Guan Tong had lived alone for a long time, which made him prone to depression. The pressure of the rules, on top of eliminating all those people at the base—even if it was an act of rooting out evil—still took a psychological toll.

So, for the next little while, Guan Tong ignored the outside world, focusing on resting, taking walks, playing with Coal Ball, and continuing to practice his Psychic Power Flow cultivation.

At first, Guan Tong didn’t think anything was wrong. On the contrary, he could clearly feel his body improving every day: he was stronger, had more stamina, and was in better spirits. This was undoubtedly the enhancement brought about by the massive increase in his Psychic Power.

But on the eighth day, when he casually opened his Terminal Panel to check, he noticed something was amiss.

The problem was with his Psychic Power.

[Psychic Power: 309 (309) (2570)]

Guan Tong remembered very clearly. On the day the eighth rule ended, his Psychic Power cap was 309.

According to his previous average growth rate of one point every seven to eight days, his cap should have been 310 by now.

’Why is it still 309? I haven’t slacked on my cultivation this week...’

Guan Tong found it a little strange, but he didn’t pay it too much mind, thinking he might have just relaxed a bit more these past few days.

But when another day passed, the ninth day, he saw his cap still hadn’t increased.

That made him unable to sit still. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.

’Could it be that the price for using the eighth hidden rule is that your Psychic Power cap stops growing?’

’If that’s true, it’s horrifying...’

Natural growth was slow, averaging only about four points a month, but the rate of growth was supposed to increase. And over time, on the scale of years, the growth was still substantial.

But was it worth it to trade a halt in natural growth for a one-time surge? No... the "surge" was relative. For an Ascender who snatched many first-place spots, it was a surge. But what about those who only took a few, or even just one?

As soon as Guan Tong realized this, he immediately turned on his computer and logged into the Ascender’s Home website.

Sure enough, many organizations and individuals had already discovered this. The chat area was flooded with threads discussing the matter.

"Why has my Psychic Power cap stopped increasing? I followed the official recommendation and have been repeating the drain-and-recover process until I’m bone dry every single day!"

"I heard that the Psychic Power caps of Ascenders who took first-place spots from others have all stopped growing naturally. Is that true or false?"

"Really? If so, that’s great! Serves them right for snatching first place from others! They should be the ones to pay for the Psychic Power everyone else lost!"

"AHAHAHAHAHA! No reason, I just feel like laughing."

"It’s not like they lost out. Natural growth is so slow, how long would it take to match this one-time surge? I heard the max increase was a few hundred points. Even if natural growth stops, that’s probably acceptable."

"I agree, if you snatched a lot, it’s not a loss... The unluckiest ones are probably those who only snatched one or two first-place spots, right?"

"What are you talking about, ’not a loss’? Don’t forget, the rate of natural growth increases! Even if you got a few hundred points this time, if it never goes up again, you’ll eventually be surpassed!"

"I have a feeling the Fire Thief is pulling the rug out from under us..."

"The authorities just updated the white paper. They mentioned this situation and have tentatively named it the ’Mind Lock.’ They say they’re currently looking for a way to lift the restriction."

Reading these posts, Guan Tong saw that it was just as he’d judged. Everyone who had used the eighth hidden rule was now experiencing a halt in the natural growth of their Psychic Power cap.

The authorities had even given it the special name "Mind Lock."

Some people on the website felt that if you snatched enough first-place spots and got a big enough one-time boost to your Psychic Power cap, then it wasn’t a loss even if you could no longer grow naturally.

But Guan Tong would never think that way. It was like the relationship between savings and cash flow. Without cash flow, only expenditures, no matter how large your savings, you’d eventually squander it all... and a Psychic Power cap was even worse than savings. This thing couldn’t even generate interest.

’We just finished the eighth rule. If my Psychic Power cap is locked now... there will definitely be huge problems later on.’

For the first time, Guan Tong felt such a heavy weight in his heart. Now that it had come to this, he certainly wouldn’t waste time on regrets; that was meaningless. The key was to solve the problem and break this "Mind Lock."

’Right now, besides the official governments, all the major groups and factions must be researching this problem... These smart people wouldn’t be content with their boosted caps stagnating. But if this is a setting from the Fire Thief, breaking it probably won’t be that easy.’

’A setting from the Fire Thief...’

Guan Tong suddenly recalled something from before, during the sixth rule.

Not long after the rule for the [Deadly Blood Plague] was announced, he’d had an idea: could he use his [Wordless Book] to try and fight back against the Fire Thief’s rules?

That was why he’d had the idea to write the word "Serum" on a page of the book. But because his Psychic Power cap was too low, he couldn’t write on the fifth page and eventually gave up.

But the conviction to resist from back then had been branded into his heart.

’Now my Psychic Power cap is high enough to write on the fifth page of the [Wordless Book]... I have to try and fight the rule!’

Guan Tong had no other choice. He couldn’t accept his Psychic Power cap being stuck at 309 forever. He had to find a way to break the Mind Lock’s restriction.

Besides, he hadn’t been online for the past few days and saw that his private messages had piled up again.

Many were from the groups and organizations that had previously said they wanted to continue working with him. Now they were sending him messages, questioning if he had deliberately concealed the information about the "Mind Lock."

Guan Tong naturally found it laughable. He hadn’t even known about it himself, so how could he have concealed it?

Still, he could understand them. They had paid for information that, while useful, came with a hidden negative side effect. It was only natural for them to be angry.

Guan Tong didn’t plan on replying to these messages. As for whether these people would become suspicious of him and stop buying intel in the future, he didn’t particularly care.

To be honest, the only thing on his mind right now was getting rid of this Mind Lock restriction. While it wasn’t lethal in the short term, or even had much of an impact, it gave him an indescribably awful feeling.

It was like looking up and seeing his own potential capped, unable to take another step forward. For Guan Tong, who was determined to pass all forty-nine rules and make it to the very end, this was unacceptable.

After making his decision, he immediately shut down the computer and took out the [Wordless Book].

He hadn’t known what to write a few days ago, so the fifth page was still blank. Now, looking at the empty page, a wave of fear washed over him.

’Thank god I didn’t write anything hastily back then. The consequences would have been unimaginable...’

Because what was written couldn’t be erased or changed. If the Psychic Power requirement for writing on the sixth page was higher than 309, then unless he found some other method, Guan Tong would be completely stuck.

It was like a dead save in a video game. No matter what the player did, if their character couldn’t beat the boss, they just couldn’t. The only options were to reload an old save or delete the character and start over.

However, real life didn’t have a "reload old save" function... although he couldn’t say that with absolute certainty. Maybe someone in the world really did have an ability like "reverting to a previous state," but Guan Tong definitely didn’t have that power.

He looked at the blank page, and after a moment of thought, put his pen to it. He planned to first write a single word on this fifth page: "Open."

This "Open" meant to open, to unlock. He intended to use the [Wordless Book]’s ability to fulfill vague requests to see if it could take effect and release his Mind Lock.

If not, he would add more words and try again.

As he drew the first stroke, Guan Tong instantly felt dizzy. He opened his panel and saw that all 309 points of his Psychic Power had been depleted, and over two hundred points of his reserve Psychic Power had been consumed on top of that.

’Does writing on the fifth page consume this much...?’

Guan Tong wanted to keep writing using his reserve Psychic Power, but he hesitated.

During the eighth rule, he had used up a large amount of his reserve Psychic Power when he single-handedly eliminated the enemies at the base in the Yongzhou Mountain Range. He had spent a whopping 500 points at once just to summon the Giant Axe Warrior to deal with Jiang Ming.

His reserve Psychic Power, which was originally over three thousand, was now just over two thousand. Judging by the consumption rate on the fifth page, he would probably have to throw in all two-thousand-plus points just to finish writing the word "Open."

The ninth Apocalypse Rule would be announced in another five days. Exhausting his reserves at this time was undoubtedly an unwise choice.

’...No, I can’t keep writing.’

Guan Tong decisively put down the pen.

Even if he was desperate to break the Mind Lock, he couldn’t just throw all his resources at it.

To be safe, it was more cost-effective to wait for his Psychic Power to recover and use that to write. Using his reserve Psychic Power, which was far less efficient, was simply too costly.

Guan Tong did a quick calculation: ’There are still five days until the ninth rule is announced... With the Psychic Power from five days of natural recovery, I should be able to finish the single word ’Open.’ I don’t know if it’ll have any effect then. If not, I’ll have to think of another way...’

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