49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 333: Chapter 310: Team Rendezvous and Unboxing an Item

[Congratulations, you have passed the trial of the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule.]

[Your reward has been sent to your storage box.]

[The Fifteenth Apocalypse Rule will be announced in fifteen days.]

At 9:00 AM on January 1st, near the border between North Star and Sakura Prayer, Guan Tong heard the Fire Thief’s voice, but he felt no great stir within him.

He had remained on high alert for the entire past month, constantly using his metacognition to monitor the spores’ influence on him, swiftly snuffing out any sign that the parasitic infection was deepening.

Indeed, he knew that by being active outside the shelter, he would inevitably be infected by the spores, but as long as it didn’t develop into a deep-seated infection, it wouldn’t be a problem.

"You all passed too, right?"

He turned to Shangyuan Zi and Suzuki, who were standing nearby.

They were with him, waiting to greet Silver Fox and Chen Na.

As arranged, they were due to arrive today.

"Yes, we passed," Shangyuan Zi said with a nod.

Having spent this time with Guan Tong, she had also been extra vigilant about the spores under his prompting, not allowing the parasitic infection to develop any further.

"And you?"

Guan Tong looked at Suzuki, but she didn’t seem to hear his question, her eyes fixed on the empty space before her as she zoned out.

"Suzuki?" Shangyuan Zi called out to her.

"Ah? Oh, of course," Suzuki snapped back to reality. "I passed, too."

"..."

Guan Tong watched her for a moment before looking away.

Before long, the figures of Silver Fox and Chen Na appeared on the opposite bank of the river.

After the five of them met up, they made their introductions.

Guan Tong looked at Chen Na’s flushed cheeks, smiling as he ruffled her hair. "Na, it’s been a while."

"Mhm, Guan, long time no see!"

Ever since Chen Na had learned that Guan Tong was Shadow, she knew he had secretly helped her a great deal and felt even more grateful to him.

Seeing him now in person, her heart swelled with an indescribable joy.

"Oh, right, Mom told me to thank you for all your past help when I saw you, Guan."

Guan Tong just smiled and didn’t say anything.

At that moment, Silver Fox spoke up. "So, is the investigation team just the five of us plus logistics from the base?"

"Mhm," Guan Tong said, looking at her. "Too many people would be inconvenient."

"That’s true," Silver Fox said with a laugh. "With the great Shadow God here, one man is as good as ten. I feel totally safe."

"Guan can take on a hundred people by himself, hehe," Chen Na chimed in.

Guan Tong said seriously, "Jokes are jokes, but you’d better not let your guard down. Given how utterly deranged our enemies are, this investigation is going to be dangerous."

"Right!" Chen Na nodded forcefully. "I’ll definitely stay on high alert!"

Shangyuan Zi listened from the side, realizing the three of them knew each other from before.

But she was anxious to get to the lab and investigate the clues. Even knowing it wouldn’t be well-received, she spoke bluntly, "Let’s save the small talk for later and start the investigation now."

Silver Fox snapped her fingers. "No problem. Xin already gave up the location of that ’Snake Cave’ lab. It’s in Banzhen City. But first, we have to make a trip to the Public Security General Administration."

"Why?" Shangyuan Zi asked.

Silver Fox explained, "It’s a requirement from Sakura Prayer’s side. They’ll allow an external investigation, but the investigators first have to get investigation permits issued by their General Administration. Otherwise, their official departments won’t cooperate with anyone without credentials."

Silver Fox finished with a shrug. "Whether they’re just being rigid or trying to stall for time, we still have to go get the permits. It would be even more trouble if they decided to intentionally interfere or refuse to cooperate. And honestly, I think they’re just doing this to save face."

Shangyuan Zi frowned, disliking such tedious procedures.

Guan Tong, however, agreed.

He thought Silver Fox was right.

As government officials, allowing foreigners to conduct an independent investigation in their country would undoubtedly feel humiliating for them. Requiring them to issue a permit seemed more like an act of face-saving on Sakura Prayer’s part.

The five of them then set off for Banzhen.

Silver Fox mentioned that Sakura Prayer’s officials had previously offered to provide the investigation team with a vehicle and escort for the entire duration, but North Star had refused.

It was framed as an escort, but in reality, it was just surveillance.

With the Mizusawa Clan’s centuries of influence in Sakura Prayer, they wouldn’t collapse immediately even if their crimes were exposed.

At most, they would just retreat behind the scenes, continuing to control and run this severely declining nation through their intricate network of connections.

Therefore, Guan Tong and Silver Fox were in complete agreement: any intelligence gathered during this investigation must not be shared with Sakura Prayer’s officials. Doing so would be no different from directly reporting to Mizusawa Chun, who was hiding somewhere in the shadows.

...

On the way to Banzhen, Guan Tong checked his status panel and storage box now that the rule was over.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Civilization Observer]

[Psychic Power: 965 (965) (15086)]

[Sublimation Coins: 488,520]

[Comprehensive Bio-Information Assessment: Excellent]

Compared to December 1st, his Psychic Power had naturally increased by a full 20 points, almost double the usual rate, which surprised him a little.

He figured it must be an enhancement from the spores.

Even though he had constantly resisted and remained wary of the spores, they had still managed to unlock some of his body’s potential, which was reflected in the increase of his maximum Psychic Power.

Perhaps this was the benefit of the "dosage control" mentioned in the hidden rule.

An Ascender who had a better grasp of the limits could "squeeze" the maximum benefit from the spores.

They could allow the spores to grant them the greatest possible enhancement while stopping just short of the addiction threshold, thus successfully passing the rule’s challenge.

Without any visual data to go by, Guan Tong didn’t think he himself could pull it off.

He felt that Shi Jingyi might be able to get closer to that addiction threshold and gain more enhancements than him, but he wasn’t sure about anyone else.

In any case, gaining an enhancement was a good thing, and Guan Tong was very satisfied.

His current maximum Psychic Power was 965, only 35 points away from the 1,000-point mark.

This meant he would achieve a breakthrough by April of this year at the latest, before the second anniversary of the Apocalypse Rules’ appearance.

As for what changes would occur after breaking past 1,000 points, there was only one thing he was sure of.

The [Wordless Book] would allow him to write on a new page.

He didn’t know what other changes there would be, but this one was the most important to him.

Because with every new page he wrote on, he gained a massive boost—either in terms of strength or breakthroughs related to the rules. This filled him with anticipation.

However, the panel also revealed a problem...

His reserved Psychic Power had dropped by tens of thousands again.

Guan Tong knew this was related to his recent, frequent use of the Shadow Realm Small Space attack.

This move had a massive cost, consuming over ten thousand Psychic Power points per use. Of course, what he got in return was a spatial attack that could break through almost any defensive item.

If he kept using it at this rate, his reserved Psychic Power would soon be depleted.

Considering this, Guan Tong had to either use it less or seek an external supply. Relying on himself to accumulate it at a ten-to-one ratio was simply too little, too slow.

During the earthquake rule, the authorities had been willing to mobilize a large number of Ascenders nationwide to transfer their Psychic Power to him, but that was so he could weaken the power of the earthquake disaster.

The reason so many Ascenders across the country had agreed to transfer their power was that by weakening the earthquake’s destructive force, he had essentially saved their lives. Otherwise, even with an official call to action, how many people would be willing to give their own Psychic Power to someone else?

Guan Tong hadn’t thought of a good solution to this problem yet.

He did have a vague idea: he could establish his own organization and offer military protection as a condition for members to transfer their Psychic Power to him.

But to actually implement it would be fraught with problems, and it required long-term planning.

After closing the panel, he opened his storage box and opened the Silver Level Survival Treasure Chest he had received as a rule reward.

He received a talisman.

[Obtained Random Item: Silver Clone Talisman]

[Silver Clone Talisman]: Creates a clone of the user upon activation, which lasts for fifteen minutes. The clone possesses one-fifth of the original’s Psychic Power, shares the original’s five senses, and has a linked consciousness. Single-use item. This item is tradable.

’Feels pretty good...’

Guan Tong looked at the effect of the talisman from the chest. While it wasn’t exactly stunning, it was quite practical.

With his abilities, even a clone with only one-fifth of his power would have impressive combat strength. Moreover, since their five senses were linked, their combined combat power would be greatly enhanced for those fifteen minutes when fighting together.

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