49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 297: Chapter 276: The Impact of the Intelligence

After the fourteenth Apocalypse Rule was announced, nations around the world successively issued statements, requesting their citizens to remain in enclosed environments as much as possible and reduce outdoor activity.

If going out was absolutely necessary, wearing effective protective gear was recommended.

This was a little different from the situation during the Blood Plague rule.

During the Blood Plague rule, because the virus had the characteristic of "bloodborne transmission," the Infected could potentially spread it to others. Therefore, the official directive back then wasn’t a suggestion but a mandatory order against going out at will.

But this new rule didn’t mention that people who inhaled the Alien Spores would be contagious, which meant they weren’t.

Under these circumstances, although the authorities strongly advised against going out, no one would arrest you if you insisted on doing so.

Most rational people would naturally choose to stay indoors, but there would certainly be some who chose to go out.

At this moment, in North Star’s academy, the students were all in their dorms. They had recently received a notice from the academy administration, requiring them not to leave their dorms unless absolutely necessary until the situation changed.

The students had mixed feelings about this.

Some were very happy, thinking they could spend a month chilling and gaming in their dorms, just like during the Blood Plague rule.

Others disliked being cooped up and preferred the outdoors, so they were very unhappy about being confined for a month.

Beyond these feelings, the "Parasite" mentioned in the rule was now the focus of discussion in every dorm room.

In one particular dorm, three people were fervently discussing this topic.

"What do you guys think it would be like to turn into a Spore Parasite?"

"Probably like the common monsters in sci-fi! Aren’t there a ton of movies and shows like that, where humans get parasitized and turn into monsters?"

"If it just turns you into a monster, then why would this stuff be a ’bestseller’ in the universe?"

"Haha, if the note is true, didn’t humanity get a good deal? Since it’s a bestseller, it means other intelligent civilizations have to spend some kind of currency to buy it, but we’re getting it delivered for free."

"Uh, don’t you know the most expensive things are free? It’s like those free-to-play online games. You think you’re the user, but you’re actually the ’product’ providing traffic and emotional value for the whales..."

"Exactly. The Fire Thief isn’t that benevolent."

"Lu City, what do you think?"

The three of them looked at the roommate who hadn’t joined the discussion. He was sitting on his bed, meditating with his eyes closed.

Hearing his name, Lu City slowly opened his eyes, picked up the black-framed glasses beside him, put them on, and said, "I have nothing to say."

The three were speechless for a moment. One of them teased, "Lu City, you’re such a tryhard. A new rule was just announced and everyone’s talking about it. But you? You actually have the mind to sit there and meditate."

"I was practicing my Psychic Power Flow. My progress doesn’t feel great," Lu City said.

"Isn’t your progress already the fastest in our class? I remember Lecturer Jingyi even praised you last week."

"Yeah, if your progress isn’t good, then ours is just pathetic. Besides, you’re so young, what’s the rush?"

Lu City shook his head. "Yelena from Sisiya, the one who dropped out in October, I heard she’s only sixteen or seventeen, and her progress is already far beyond mine. Not to mention Mr. Guan, who taught us before. He’s only nineteen and he’s already a lecturer... The gap between me and them is just too big."

Hearing this, the three roommates looked at each other. They hadn’t expected Lu City to set his sights so high, even comparing himself to Guan Tong.

"Lu City, you can’t be serious about comparing yourself to Mr. Guan, can you? He’s a genius."

"Yeah, there can’t be many like Mr. Guan in the whole world."

Lu City pushed up his glasses and didn’t say much more. He got off the bed, sat at his desk, put on his headphones, and started reviewing a video lecture.

The three roommates were used to having a "king of the grind" in their dorm, so they didn’t press further and returned to their discussion.

But Lu City, now staring at his computer screen, had a slight frown on his face.

’A genius, huh.’

Although he was resentful, he had to admit his roommates were right.

If Guan Tong wasn’t a genius, how could he become a lecturer at such a young age and master Psychic Power Flow to such a degree? It was important to note that his situation was completely different from Shi Jingyi’s.

Because the academy’s lecturers attracted so much attention, people had exposed their pre-Apocalypse Rules identities online.

The students all knew that Shi Jingyi had been at a martial arts dojo for years. So it was considered reasonable that after entering the era of the Apocalypse Rules, she combined Psychic Power with her years of training experience to develop Psychic Power Flow.

But when Guan Tong’s identity was revealed, many students found it hard to believe.

It turned out that before the Apocalypse Rules, he was just an ordinary third-year high school student.

So why, after more than a year, when everyone had started at the same time, was he so far ahead? The students didn’t know the reason, so they could only conclude he was a genius.

Lu City thought about his own recent training, stuck at a bottleneck, and couldn’t help but feel frustrated and annoyed.

Before enrolling this year, he had expected to shine at the academy, believing that with a year of focused study, he could become the top student.

But the arrival of Guan Tong as a substitute lecturer made him feel particularly uncomfortable.

Even though Guan Tong was a teacher and he was a student.

Comparing their ages, Lu City, at twenty, was a year older than Guan Tong. This made it psychologically difficult for him to accept the gap their respective statuses represented.

Even though Guan Tong had already left the academy, whenever Lu City’s training stalled, the thought that someone younger than him was so far ahead filled him with both dejection and jealousy.

’If only I had the talent of a genius...’

As Lu City was thinking this, his vision suddenly blurred, and a strange tremor emerged from within his body.

’What’s happening?’

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. When he lowered his hand, he was stunned to find that he could clearly read the small text on his computer screen.

Lu City froze for a moment. "My nearsightedness is..."

...

Ascender’s Home website.

In the general discussion section, a large number of posts related to the new rule were being published.

Many people were @’ing the Webmaster’s account, asking if there was any hidden information this time.

They weren’t disappointed. Soon, a new post appeared in the Webmaster Realm section.

"Selling Secret Information Related to the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule"

Details: Information priced at 200,000 Sublimation Coins. Not disclosed immediately. Will be sent out uniformly in 1 hour.

The moment the post was published, replies started flooding in below.

"I knew there’d be info!"

"As expected of the great Webmaster! Thumbs up!"

"The disclosure time is shorter this time? 1 hour. Looks like this hidden info is the type that can’t be delayed."

"By the way, why the price hike? Didn’t it used to be 100,000?"

"Probably because there are fewer customers buying the info..."

"That’s normal. North Star’s government makes it public every time they buy it. If I were the leader of another organization, I wouldn’t waste Sublimation Coins either. I’d just wait to get it for free."

"No wonder the poster above me isn’t an organization leader. What if North Star’s government buys it, modifies some of the content, and then releases it?"

"If the Fire Thief has the firsthand information, then the Webmaster has the secondhand info, what you buy from the Webmaster is thirdhand, and what we get by freeloading off North Star’s government is fourthhand... To be honest, if I had the coins, I’d buy a copy for myself too."

"The Webmaster might not be getting it secondhand. Is it possible the Webmaster is actually the Fire Thief? Otherwise, how has this website not been hacked by any country to this day?!"

"The poster above might be onto something. The truth is often shocking. A lot of people think the Webmaster and ’Shadow’ are the same person, but I don’t buy it."

The discussion in the comments section quickly veered from the hidden information to other topics, touching on everything and anything.

Meanwhile, the major organizations and government bodies that monitored the Webmaster’s account 24/7 sent private messages expressing their intent to purchase the moment the post went up.

Even though the price had doubled, they still had to buy it.

There was no helping it; this was a complete seller’s market.

Moreover, the disclosure time being shortened to one hour led every client to conclude that this batch of hidden information was urgent, so they all stood ready.

An hour later, all clients who had purchased the information received a reply via private message.

After seeing the information, these organizations immediately understood why the Webmaster had drastically shortened the disclosure time.

It wasn’t because the hidden information was dire, but because it was too tempting!

That’s right, the Alien Spores could profoundly develop physical functions, improve one’s psychological state, and allow intelligent beings to rapidly grow stronger... This was undoubtedly extremely attractive to humanity.

This temptation was very likely to cause those with poor self-control to become completely addicted after experiencing the benefits of the spores. By the time they were warned, it would probably be too late.

North Star’s government reacted the fastest. Less than ten minutes after receiving the hidden information, they updated their official social media account and white paper.

The government didn’t hide the benefits the Alien Spores could bring, but they also emphatically and repeatedly stressed its addictive nature. Compared to the unknown dangers of becoming a Parasite after getting addicted, these benefits were not worth mentioning!

Therefore, the government strongly advised everyone against attempting to actively inhale the spores or "letting go" psychologically, thinking their willpower was strong enough to resist the temptation.

However, the voice of another group suddenly emerged, sharp and persistent, echoing across the world.

This voice came from the world’s population of ordinary people.

This group of ordinary people widely expressed that their personal terminals had already been shut down. They were in a state of "nothing left to lose," so why not use this opportunity to strengthen themselves?

After all, this rule wasn’t limited to Ascenders; the Alien Spores affected all of humanity!

If Ascenders were afraid to try for fear of failing the rule’s challenge, then what did ordinary people like them have to fear?

A post that represented the voice of a large number of ordinary people quickly shot to the top of the forums.

"In This Crazy Era, Mediocrity Is Even More Terrifying Than Death"

The post’s details were as follows:

"I’m an ordinary person whose Terminal Panel has been shut down. From the day it shut down until now, I’ve spent every day in a daze, just drifting and waiting to die.

"Even though the government keeps emphasizing that Ascenders and ordinary people will be treated equally, and they even recently enacted laws to restrict Ascenders... back in reality, I don’t think many ordinary people truly feel they can stand on equal footing with Ascenders, do they?

"So, this rule might be an opportunity. If, through the development these spores offer, an ordinary person like me can become as strong as an Ascender, then I’d rather risk failure and turning into a Parasite to try!

"As for the reason... it’s simple! Just like my post title says, in this crazy era, mediocrity is more terrifying than death! It’s impossible for an ordinary person to survive all forty-nine rules. Rely on a mountain, and it will collapse; rely on a person, and they will leave. We can only rely on our own efforts to save ourselves!"

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