Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 328, Rule Fifteen of the Apocalypse
July 15th, 1:00 AM.

With the new rules set to be released in two hours, Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi were browsing some confidential documents.

These documents were sent by the Countermeasures Office; they were backups of data seized from the Misawa family.

Part of the content is related to the "Yamata no bloodline," which is clearly something that Jun Misawa did after obtaining the bloodline ability in order to better master it.

As the ruling family of Sakura Inori, the Misawa family has access to more historical secrets, unlike ordinary people who have only heard some legends and stories.

After reviewing the case, the two discovered that the key was the discovery of Shang Yuanzi.

When the Misawa family discovered her and learned that her bloodline ability was named "Oro", they immediately began to match it with the information they had already collected.

It's like having several historical documents but having no idea which one records the true history or if all of them are fabricated.

The appearance of Uehara Yukari makes it possible to reconstruct the history of Orochi and Orochi—her bloodline name is "Orochi," but her bloodline ability is related to Orochi, and there is only one record that matches this situation.

The Yuzawa family then accepted the information as genuine.

“…Legend has it that Orochi, the hero who defeated the giant serpent, was not actually human,” Guan Tong read. “He was also a giant serpent, but a giant serpent that was friendly to humans.”

"To protect humanity, it fought against Yamata no Orochi and ultimately defeated it, driving the latter back into the sea. Humans, grateful for its kindness, named it 'Orochi,' after the local fishing village, hoping it would continue to be the village's guardian deity..."

Upon reading this, Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi exchanged a glance.

“If Orochi is also a giant serpent, then your situation can be explained.”

"Yes. People didn't want to believe that the one who defeated Orochi was another giant serpent, so the legend became 'Orochi was a human samurai.'"

“After learning about this, Misawa Jun chose to keep you by his side. Even without all that happened afterward, he would probably have killed you one day…” Guan Tong thought for a moment and then shook her head.

"No, his plan is to transform you into a snake servant army after the genetic experiments are fully mature. At that time, whether he uses you to fight or activates the 'Ten Thousand Snakes Domain' to absorb your power into his own body, he will gain huge benefits."

Shang Yuanzi nodded; she had guessed it too.

If it weren't for obtaining her power, Misawa Jun wouldn't have imprisoned her in the first place; killing her would have been the simplest solution.

“But he didn’t expect that the balance of power would shift,” Guan Tong laughed. “In the end, you were the one who helped kill him, just like the ancient legends were being reenacted, with ‘Orochi’ defeating ‘Orochi’.”

Shangyuan Zi touched the newly covered scales on her chin: "So, by participating in the killing of him, I obtained a portion of his power?"

"Possibly. Although this sounds like an unconventional way to improve, we know too little about mental power, and there are likely many unusual ways to improve it. We don't need to be completely bound by past experiences."

"Ah."

After reviewing the materials and concluding the discussion, it was almost nine o'clock.

At this moment, both of them quieted down and waited silently for the new rules to be announced.

[The Fifteenth Rule of the Apocalypse Has Been Released]

[Apocalyptic Rule Fifteen: Third Kind Contact]

[Rule Details: Three hours after this rule is published, a special alien intelligent entity will be deployed to Tianshui. This is a special rule; there are no rewards for success or penalties for failure. The rule will last for fifteen days, after which the alien intelligent entity will be retrieved.]

[Success Reward: None]

[Failure penalty: none]

[Note: Humanity is not alone in the universe.]

……

The world was in an uproar after the new rules were announced.

The fact that there was no penalty for failure in this rule alone made countless people cheer. Finally, they could "lie flat" and get through a rule without any pressure, which was a first for them.

The most unprecedented move was that the Firebringers explicitly mentioned extraterrestrial intelligent beings in their rules. The emphasis was not on the extraterrestrial nature, but on intelligence.

In fact, in the previous rules, humans had already come into contact with a variety of alien creatures.

From the "Mother Converter" that can transform human corpses into living dead in the "Night of the Living Dead" rule, to the "Voice Hunter" that hunts humans who make sounds in the "Silent Hour" rule, to the giant monster that guards the fragments of Qimo Star in the "Misty Beast" rule, and even the alien spores that appeared in the previous "Extraterrestrial Parasite" rule... these all undoubtedly come from aliens and are not native to Tianshui Star.

However, this time is different.

Judging from the Fire Stealers' explanation in the rules details and the notes... the alien intelligent entity that was deployed on Tianshui this time is very likely capable of communicating with humans!
Being able to communicate is the key.

The alien creatures mentioned in the previous rules showed almost exclusively hostility towards humans and were completely unable to communicate.

Only those few giant beasts guarding the Fog Gate and the fragments of Qimo Star seemed to have some other feelings for humans besides hostility, but they were also unable to communicate with them.

This time, if it involves intelligent beings capable of communication, it will be of immense significance to humanity.

Within minutes of the Fire Stealer announcing the rules, the Human Alliance remote meeting was quickly convened.

The committee members present had all received instructions from the national decision-making body. "Gentlemen..."

As chairman of the committee, Gao Liangwei reiterated the regulations and obligations of the People's Federation.

"According to the Human Alliance's rules on equal cooperation, each member state has the right to send designated personnel to form a representative team of the Human Alliance to make contact with the alien intelligent entity to be deployed in this rule."

"Furthermore, any communication with this alien intelligent entity must be conducted in an open environment. Regardless of which country the Firebringers place it in, that country has no right to monopolize communication with this entity."

"agree."

"agree!"

The remaining ten or so member states of the Federation of Peoples' Societies all supported Gao Liangwei's decision.

In particular, several small countries are very worried that large countries like North Star, Soroma, and Sisyah will use their national power to forcibly control and monopolize the right to contact this alien intelligent entity.

In that case, they will be helpless.

However, contact with this alien intelligent entity is extremely important, and no sovereign nation wants to miss it.

What if this alien intelligent being comes from a highly advanced civilization?
What if they possess scientific theories that are beyond human comprehension?

For humanity, it is possible that an advanced mathematical formula could lead to a leap forward in technological advancement.

This is not mere conjecture. Even if this alien intelligent individual is not prominent on its home planet, if its home planet's civilization is highly advanced, then any one of its individuals could deliver a devastating blow to humanity.

It's like throwing a modern person with only a junior high school education into an ancient society where people used knotted ropes to record events; their knowledge would be more than enough to make them a priest.

Therefore, every country has a strong desire to make contact with this alien intelligent entity that has not yet been deployed.

Gao Liangwei is saying this now to ensure that things are as fair as possible.

We must not let greed cause internal conflicts among people.

"I think you shouldn't be too happy too soon."

Mary, seeing the delighted expressions on the faces of the delegates from several small countries, poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

"We can't guarantee that this extraterrestrial intelligent entity will be benevolent towards us humans. What if it's hostile? Have you forgotten that this is also one of the forty-nine apocalyptic rules?"

"This……"

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

Indeed, this rule seems rather unusual, with no reward for success and no penalty for failure. But no matter how unusual it is, it is still one of the "apocalyptic rules".

“That’s right,” said the newly appointed committee member of Sisia.

The previous bald-headed commissioner was replaced after Yelena became governor, and the new one is a middle-aged man with a more peaceful appearance named Toraft.

"We cannot assume that this intelligent being comes from a highly advanced civilization, nor can we assume that it came to help humanity. The reason is simple: this being was brought by the fire-bringers. What reason would the fire-bringers have to do this?"

Torraft's words make a lot of sense.

If the Firebringers wanted to help humanity, their own power was sufficient; there was no need for them to go to such lengths.

Judging from the Fire Stealer's past actions, there's no indication that it intends to help humanity. On the contrary, it has nearly driven humanity to extinction.

Mary nodded slightly, a half-smile on her face, and said, "Instead of preparing flowers to welcome you, I think we should prepare a hunting rifle."

"We need to prepare both flowers and hunting rifles," Gao Liangwei said. "However, regardless of the situation of this alien intelligent entity, the only thing we need to decide at this meeting is the right to fair access."

Toraft said, "Chairman Gao, given the current uncertainty regarding the rules, I propose that the allied operations against the Kingdom of Seri be temporarily suspended. A decision will be made after the situation of the alien intelligent beings is determined."

"Agreed." Gao Liangwei shared the same plan.

No country will lower its guard just because the fire-stealers are only targeting "individuals".

Who knows if there are super races or super individuals in the universe, beings that could destroy a planet?

Previously, humans believed that such individuals were merely fictional and did not exist in reality. However, as the Ascended Ones grow stronger, "super individuals" seem to be becoming a reality.

After Gao Liangwei finished speaking, he glanced at the time: "There are still two hours and ten minutes until the Fire Stealers will be deployed. We can start preparing in advance."

Following the conclusion of the G20 summit, all participating countries began making active preparations.

Since it is unknown where the fire-stealers will deploy their alien intelligent entities, or in what form, satellite monitoring personnel from all countries must remain fully focused.

In addition, some rapid-mobility armed forces, led by the three major powers of North Star, Somaliland, and Sisyah, are also making emergency deployments.

As Mary said, if this alien intelligent entity is hostile to humanity, then what humanity should use to entertain it is not flowers, but shotguns.

(End of this chapter)