49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 299: Chapter 278: Plans Can’t Keep Up with Changes

Sakura Prayer, Antu City Public Security Bureau.

At dusk, Yoshino, the officer in charge of investigating the explosion, was on the phone, standing ramrod straight.

"Yoshino, how is the explosion investigation progressing?" a stern voice asked over the phone.

"Reporting to the Director, sir. The DNA data has been collected, and the forensics department is running comparisons. Additionally, all the Sheriffs from the bureau have been dispatched to patrol the entire city. We won’t let a single suspicious person slip by."

"You must produce results as quickly as possible. This is the first major case to happen after we, Sakura Prayer, moved to this land. The high number of casualties has had a terrible impact. Entrusting this to you is a sign of our high regard for you. Don’t let us down."

"Yes, sir!" Yoshino exclaimed. "I will not betray the trust my superiors have placed in me!"

After hanging up, Yoshino took a deep breath. His shoulders felt heavy, the pressure immense.

The call was from the Director at the Banzhen Public Security Headquarters, the highest-ranking official in the Sakura Prayer public security system.

For the Director to personally inquire about the progress meant that higher-ranking officials, and perhaps even the Lord Divine Son himself, were paying attention to this case.

’This is serious...’ He’d heard a rumor that the Lord Divine Son was furious about their island home sinking and issues with how some personnel had been trained, and had dealt with many people as a result.

Yoshino knew that if he failed to handle the case effectively, he would likely suffer the same fate.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK."

"Come in."

A Sheriff entered to report, "Chief Yoshino, we’ve completed our patrol of the northern sector. No suspicious individuals found."

"Continue patrolling the southern sector. Don’t miss a single corner of the city. Any enclosed space that could hide a person must be searched thoroughly. Understand?"

"Ah... Yes, sir!"

The Sheriff seemed dazed for a moment before suddenly replying in an unusually loud voice. Yoshino frowned immediately and asked, "What’s wrong with you?"

"My apologies, Chief Yoshino! It might be... because of the spores. I’m feeling a bit agitated."

"..."

Yoshino knew that because the Public Security Bureau hadn’t ceased operations during the Rule Stage, the Sheriffs had to be out on patrol constantly. It was therefore certain that every Sheriff would inhale the spores.

"Remember to constantly resist. Don’t get addicted," Yoshino warned.

"Understood!"

After the Sheriff left, Yoshino thought, ’I need to be careful, too.’

Not long after the rule was announced yesterday, he had started feeling the spores’ effect: enhanced energy.

That was right—he hadn’t slept since yesterday. In the past, pulling an all-nighter like this would have required coffee or something similar to stay awake, but right now, he wasn’t the least bit tired or sleepy. In fact, he was full of vigor.

He knew this was an effect of the spores.

’I need to be careful myself. I can’t get addicted to this feeling of ’limitless energy’... This is just a little sweetener from the spores.’

Yoshino resolved to work for a few more hours and then force himself to get some sleep.

With that thought, he immediately headed to the forensics department to hurry along the DNA comparison data.

Meanwhile, in the eastern suburbs of Antu City, a Sheriff’s car pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse.

The Sheriff driving glanced over. The warehouse was dilapidated and covered in dust; he couldn’t muster any interest.

"Is there any point in searching this? It looks like no one’s been here for days."

The Sheriff in the passenger seat opened his door and got out. "Don’t forget Chief Yoshino’s orders. Even if it’s just a hole in the ground, if it can hide a person, we have to check it out. Let’s go."

"Sigh... what a pain..."

The two Sheriffs got out of the car and walked to the abandoned warehouse.

The metal door was closed. They gave it a pull but found it wouldn’t budge, as if it were locked from the inside.

Locked from the inside?

The two exchanged a look, and one of them went back to the car to get a portable door-breaching tool.

At that moment, inside the warehouse, within his shelter, Guan Tong heard the noise from the warehouse’s metal door and sighed helplessly.

He had worried that morning that someone might come by. He hadn’t expected them to show up before nightfall.

Once the people outside came in, they would see his shelter, and that would be trouble.

’Looks like my premonition when the rule was announced was right. There are bound to be some complications during this Rule Stage, preventing me from peacefully lying low for a month like before...’

Since it had come to this, Guan Tong could only get up, walk to the entrance, and open the shelter’s door.

The moment it opened, the shelter’s completely sealed state was broken. This also meant its protection against the Alien Spores was now completely gone.

"BANG!"

With a dull thud, the two Sheriffs broke open the warehouse’s metal door.

Shining their flashlights, they looked inside and found nothing but some miscellaneous junk.

"See? Told you," said the one who had been driving. "There’s nothing in here."

"That’s weird. If no one’s here, how was the door locked from the inside?"

"It was probably just broken. Come on, let’s go check somewhere else."

The two talking Sheriffs completely failed to notice Guan Tong suspended above their heads by a Shadow Line, looking down on them.

As for the shelter, he had already retracted it into the Wordless Book.

If they had shone their flashlights directly overhead at that moment, they might have spotted Guan Tong. But the thought never crossed their minds; they just scanned the surroundings before turning and leaving.

After the Sheriff’s car drove away, Guan Tong emerged from the warehouse.

Since his cautious strategy had been disrupted by this unexpected event, his plans would naturally have to change as well.

But before that...

Guan Tong focused on his breathing. He knew that by now, he must have inhaled the nearly ubiquitous Alien Spores, which could attach to any physical object.

’What changes will this stuff bring about in me?’

Three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes...

Time passed. Guan Tong waited for a full half-hour, but he didn’t notice anything different about himself.

This undoubtedly struck him as odd. According to information he’d seen online, many people had a reaction just a few minutes, or ten-odd minutes, after the rule began.

’Is it because I’m not lacking anything? That can’t be it.’

Compared to other people, Guan Tong didn’t really have any overly strong desires.

While his mental state wasn’t perfectly healthy, it was at least relatively calm, so he didn’t need the spores to stabilize his emotions. Furthermore, he was quite satisfied with his steady increase in strength and had no desire to use risky methods to improve it.

’Could it be related to my high level of vigilance?’

For the past half-hour, Guan Tong had been closely monitoring his own body, a process of "continuous self-assessment." Perhaps this state was reducing or delaying the spores’ activation time.

It was like drinking alcohol. Many people get drunk because they’re enjoying a lively conversation and down many glasses without realizing it. By the time they notice they’ve had too much, it’s already too late.

Guan Tong’s approach, on the other hand, was like stopping to check his body for any signs of intoxication after every glass, or even every sip. Drinking like that, it would be difficult to get drunk even if he tried...

’Even if there are no changes for now, I must remain vigilant and perform frequent self-checks.’

He pondered for a moment and decided not to summon the shelter and go back inside.

’Now that I’m out, there’s not much point in going back into the shelter. I might as well head straight for Banzhen.’

He decided not to delay any longer and to head directly to Banzhen, the Capital of Sakura Prayer, to try and find news of Baqizi.

...

「North Star Academy.」

Lu Cheng, who was meditating cross-legged on his bed, opened his eyes, his heart nearly overflowing with excitement.

"I did it!"

His quiet exclamation drew the attention of the other three people in the dorm room.

"Lu Cheng, what are you shouting about all of a sudden?"

Unable to suppress his urge to show off, Lu Cheng said, "I just completed two full cycles of Psychic Power Flow, one forward and one reverse, without a single mistake."

"Oh?!"

"Holy shit, that’s insane!"

His three roommates were stunned. One of them said in disbelief, "Lu Cheng, before this, the most you could do was one forward cycle, right? How can you already do a reverse cycle so quickly, and without any mistakes? Are you using a cheat or something?"

Lu Cheng just smiled faintly without explaining.

However, another roommate suddenly interjected, "Lu Cheng, is it the effect of the spores?"

The smile on Lu Cheng’s face froze for an instant before disappearing.

At these words, the other two roommates first looked as if it dawned on them, then, seeing Lu Cheng’s expression, figured he must have hit the nail on the head.

"Is it really because of the spores? That’s... a problem, isn’t it?"

"Since the rule was announced yesterday, the academy has sent out several notices telling everyone to mentally resist any benefits from the spores to avoid addiction. Lu Cheng, you should know that!"

Faced with his roommates’ concern, Lu Cheng felt a sense of resistance. He said to them, "Maybe the spores did have some effect, but that’s not important. The officially released hidden intel about the rule mentioned that as long as you control the dosage so you don’t get addicted, it’s fine."

"Control the dosage? How do you know what the non-addictive limit is? There’s no specific number for it!"

"Lu Cheng, your skills are already good enough. Why take the risk? There’s no need."

"Yeah. Actually, I thought something was off yesterday. Aren’t you extremely nearsighted? After the rule was announced, I noticed you weren’t wearing your glasses anymore. That has to be the influence of the spores, right?"

Although his three roommates’ words came from a place of concern, Lu Cheng found himself growing inexplicably more irritated the more he listened. He jumped off his bed. "There’s no talking to you guys. You don’t need to worry about me; I know what I’m doing. I’m going to the study hall."

As he spoke, he habitually reached for the glasses on his desk, but then he suddenly remembered his nearsightedness was gone. He put the glasses back down and quickly left the dorm.

The three roommates looked at each other, each of them frowning, deeply worried about Lu Cheng’s situation.

"Is he going to be okay like this?"

"Something feels off. He’s not acting like his usual self. He doesn’t normally get angry that easily."

"Should we tell the academy administration?"

"Yeah, I think we should. We’re his roommates, after all. We can’t just stand by and watch him mess himself up!"

The three of them agreed and immediately contacted their counselor to explain the situation.

After listening, the counselor immediately took the matter very seriously, saying she would report it to the lecturers and the department head, and that she would go talk to Lu Cheng.

And so, just a few minutes after Lu Cheng arrived at the study hall, still fuming over his roommates’ doubts, the counselor arrived right behind him.

When Lu Cheng saw who it was, he asked in surprise, "Counselor Qin, are you here to see me?"

Their counselor was none other than Qin Qing, Fang Qian’s good friend. After Fang Qian left the academy, she had stayed on as a counselor.

Qin Qing nodded. "Lu Cheng, I’d like to talk to you about the Alien Spores."

Lu Cheng’s temper flared the moment he heard this, but he didn’t explode. He just clenched his fists, his voice growing low and heavy. "Counselor Qin, was it my roommates who contacted you?"

"Yes. Your roommates are very concerned about you. They—"

"They’re mistaken," Lu Cheng interrupted before Qin Qing could finish. "Thank you, Counselor Qin. But I don’t think I need a talk."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!