Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 340 Opportunity or Not
Schorchin was right; the intelligence had been leaked.

On the way to the town, the delegation retrieved their personal network equipment.

As soon as they went online, they saw that information about extraterrestrial intelligence was everywhere, and people were discussing it with various viewpoints and positions, and the debate was endless.

"Aliens who need to eat people to answer questions—this is clearly a conspiracy by the Fire Stealers! They seem to be using it to further reduce the human population! Don't fall for it!"

"Didn't the news say that parasites can also be used as food? It wouldn't be bad to exchange them for some information that is valuable to humans, since they are humanity's mortal enemies anyway."

"Speaking of which, the Humanoid Alliance has already started fighting in Black Flag Country. Is it all to catch food for that alien monster?"

"No wonder they didn't make the news public; are they afraid of provoking public opposition?"

"Why should the Federation of People's Associations be the only ones to decide what questions to ask? Shouldn't we also have the right to vote?"

"I strongly oppose asking any questions! This is a plot by the fire-stealers!"

"If it were up to me, these cannibalistic alien intelligent beings should be blasted away by missiles. Forget about parasites as food; who can guarantee there won't be real humans among those 'food'?"

Besides the anger online, something else shocked those who came into contact with the delegation, especially the Solomon people.

This was the surprise attack launched by France and the Republic of Soro.

According to information posted online, the raid involved several thousand members of the Ascended faction alone, along with tens of thousands of ordinary people carrying firearms.

The fact that Soromagnus did not give any prior warning of such a large-scale operation shows that the fire-stealing cult in France and the country had already made the country an impenetrable fortress, and that Soromagnus's spies could not infiltrate it at all.

This matter is of greater importance to many people than the current apocalyptic rule.

Because few people have the opportunity to ask questions to extraterrestrial intelligent beings, but tens of millions of Thoroma people are directly threatened by the followers of the Fire Stealers Cult!
This caused the Somali people to focus all their attention on fighting the invaders, and online comments were filled with calls for "a strong counterattack" and "eliminating France and the Republic."

As for the Kingdom of Sisia, the pressure has increased sharply due to the exposure of information about extraterrestrial intelligent beings.

After the news broke, within just a few hours, a large number of outsiders attempted to enter the country from various border areas.

The purpose of these people entering the country is obvious: to see if they have the opportunity to get up close to extraterrestrial intelligent beings and ask them questions.

The key is to ask questions, because if it were just about getting a glimpse of aliens, the enthusiasts would have already arrived and settled in the ice town long ago.

This was an extremely dangerous act for Sisya and for Yelena, the governor.

Because the landing site of this alien intelligent entity is within the territory of Sisia.

If an outsider raises a very difficult question, what would happen if there wasn't enough food on site?
Based on several experiments and speculations, after it finishes eating what it finds on-site, it will definitely go to the nearest food source—that is, the area where the Sisian population is concentrated.

The nearest prisons and the ice town of Senantata would be the first to be targeted. If all the townspeople were eaten, the next target would be the nearest city.

The Sisyans could not bear the consequences.

Therefore, Yelena, as the governor, immediately ordered a strict investigation of undocumented immigrants and forbade them from approaching the Senantata Icefield.

Both Soroma and Sisyah, two major powers, have their own things to worry about, and North Star is no exception.

……

Countermeasures Research Office.

Inside the conference room, a meeting themed "Reopening the Mind Network" is underway.

Of the answers given by the alien intelligence to identify the parasite, humans can only understand the mind network; the rest is still being deciphered.

The most urgent task is to see if we can find a way to recreate the mental networks that humanity once opened.

A young academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences is speaking at this moment:

"Upon receiving the news, we immediately and carefully reviewed all the materials and data from the period of the twelfth rule of the end times, namely the 'digital abstinence.' Among them, we made a discovery regarding the content of the mind network at that time."

"At the time, the general public believed that the Mind Network was opened by the Firebringers specifically for humanity. The stated purpose was to replace the existing electronic networks of humanity during the rule period, but the real purpose was to isolate communication between the Ascended and ordinary people."

"I think none of you have forgotten how intense the conflict was between those who ascended and ordinary people during that period, right?"

Everyone present nodded in agreement.

When the MindNet emerged, ordinary people launched numerous protests.

The reason is that they believe that those who have transcended will use mental networks to secretly plot plans and actions that are detrimental to ordinary people.

The "Shen Yun case" that broke out during that period further intensified the conflict and almost caused many major incidents.

Fortunately, after the rules ended, the Mind Network was shut down and could no longer be used. In addition, new laws were introduced targeting those who had transcended, and the general public gradually stopped protesting.

But no one expected that today, this thing would become one of the methods people need to identify parasites.

The young academician continued, "When the mind network exists, after frequent use of speech by those who have ascended, they will begin to deplete their mental energy. This is widely documented."

“That’s right.” Zhang Minglu nodded. “At the time, I also had the Ascended Ones at the base conduct detailed tests. Initially, speaking in the mental network did not consume any mental energy, but as the number of times one spoke increased, mental energy began to decrease.”

The young academician nodded: "That's right. Based on this, we can boldly speculate that the opening and closing of the mental network may be related to the amount of mental power."

"You mean that those with high spiritual power can reopen the spiritual network?"

Zhang Minglu frowned, not accepting this speculation.

Young academician: "This is just speculation; testing is needed."

“But after that rule ended, the relevant tests had already been done. The Ascended Ones at the base attempted to rebuild the network multiple times, all of which ended in failure,” Zhang Minglu said.

The young academician said, "Perhaps the spiritual power of the ascendants at the base is still not high enough."

"Isn't the base high enough?"

This statement sparked a lively discussion among those present.

"The Ascended Beings at the base are all highly talented individuals selected by hand. With a significant investment of resources, their growth rate is more than twice that of Ascended Beings from outside the base! If these people are still not enough, then..."

"We need to use the world's top sublimators to test it," the young academician said, raising his voice.

Zhang Minglu looked at Gao Liangwei, the person in charge.

The world's top ascendants are few and far between, and there are only a handful of them here at Beixing.

Such as Dragon Soul, Snow White Dance, Shi Jingyi, Shadow...

After a moment's thought, Gao Liangwei said to the young academician, "Academician Han, please be more specific."

"Yes, person in charge."

Academician Han looked at Zhang Minglu: "Dr. Zhang is the manager of the sublimated individuals in the base. I would like to cooperate with him to obtain data on the spiritual power of the sublimated individuals in the base and select a few of the best to participate in the test."

"In addition, since the research lab has already established a long-term cooperative relationship with the Ascended 'Shadow,' I also hope to obtain his information, contact him, and invite him to participate in this test."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Minglu shook his head: "The mental power data of the base's ascendants and the personal information of the shadows are all highly confidential."

"Hehe, this isn't for myself, but to find a way to restart the mind network as soon as possible so we can identify the parasites. What do you think, person in charge?"

Academician Han looked at Gao Liangwei, and Zhang Minglu also looked over.

Gao Liangwei pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Okay, let's do it that way."

Academician Han smiled and said, "Then I'll go and make the preparations."

Zhang Minglu was puzzled, and after the meeting, he immediately went to Gao Liangwei's office to ask him about it.

"Manager, is this really alright? The data on the Ascended Ones belonging to the base is fine, but Shadow's identity has always been top secret." To date, no more than ten people in the Countermeasures Research Office know that Shadow is Guan Tong. These ten include Wang Yan, Chen Na, and Silver Fox.

Such strict secrecy was precisely what Gao Liangwei had requested.

Now that he has agreed to Academician Han's request, it means that there will be one more person in the know.

Gao Liangwei countered, "Dr. Zhang, what is your opinion of Academician Han?"

"Well... he became an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the age of twenty-eight, so his abilities must be outstanding. However, I don't know much about him, except that he has a lot of experience in data research."

Do you think he's not trustworthy?

“That’s not it,” Zhang Minglu denied. “It’s just that Shadow’s identity is of great importance. The more people who know, the greater the risk. We’ve worked hard to establish a long-term partnership with him, and we shouldn’t introduce any uncertainties.”

“You’re right,” Gao Liangwei nodded. “But identifying the parasite as quickly as possible is equally important. Do you know why the information about the alien intelligent entity was leaked this time?”

"...Could it be?"

"There are two possibilities. One is that they infiltrated the top decision-making level of a member state of the Federation of Peoples' Societies and obtained intelligence. The other is that they made some kind of secret deal or cooperation with France and the United States and obtained intelligence from those people."

Zhang Minglu was slightly surprised upon hearing this: "I can understand that the Parasites want to infiltrate the member states of the Human Alliance, but they would actually cooperate with the Fire-Stealers Cult?"

"Of course they would. Both the Parasites and the Fire Thief Cult are hostile to the Human Union, and both are at a disadvantage against them. It's not surprising that they would cooperate under these circumstances."

"But for the Fire-Borrowers Cult, aren't parasites their enemies too? And how did the Fire-Borrowers Cult obtain this information? Ah, could it be..."

Zhang Minglu thought of a terrible possibility.

Gao Liangwei gave him a deep look: "You guessed right. We suspect that what may have infiltrated the decision-making level of a certain member state of the Commonwealth of Nations is not a parasite, but a follower of the Fire-Stealing Cult."

"Could it be that some decision-maker has secretly converted to the Fire Thief Cult? No! It could be mind control! There has been a lot of intelligence indicating that there are Ascended beings with mind control abilities in France and within the country!"

"Indeed. Humanity is already walking a tightrope in the face of the threat posed by the Firebringers. The existence of the parasites and the cult of the Firebringers is like digging a deep pit in the ground beneath the tightrope... Once humanity falls, there will be no turning back."

"Humans can't cut the steel wire right now, but we can fill the pit first. We need to secure our internal stability before dealing with external threats; we need to take some risks."

"..."

Gao Liangwei spoke calmly, but Zhang Minglu sensed a strong killing intent emanating from him.

“I understand.” Zhang Minglu nodded. “I will collaborate with Academician Han and share information.”

Gao Liangwei then brought up an old story.

"Dr. Zhang, do you remember that the Countermeasures Research Office once dismissed a group of people?"

“I remember, it was after the ‘Fallen Petals Project’.”

As a participant in the plan, Zhang Minglu was well aware that those who were dismissed were all related to Jiang Lanying, the target of the "Fallen Blossom Plan".

These people even wrote a joint letter seeking to remove Gao Liangwei, the person in charge, but they were all arrested in one fell swoop.

"The decision-makers suspect there's someone who slipped through the net. Whether that person has changed hands or is trying to clean up their act, they're a potential threat to the lab. So, you need to be extra careful."

"..."

After leaving Gao Liangwei's office, Zhang Minglu was still wondering if the person in charge was implying something.

Could it be that Gao Liangwei suspects Academician Han Qiu is the "fish" behind this collaboration? Did he agree to cooperate with him with a hidden agenda of surveillance?
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Minglu shook his head.

He really didn't want to get involved in these things and just wanted to do his job, but now he had no choice.

"I need to talk to Shadow first. Besides, he's in contact with the stationmaster of the House of Ascended, so he might have more information related to the Mind Network..."

……

Senantata Town.

This small town, with a stable population year-round, saw its peak visitor flow today, with crowds thronging everywhere.

In addition to the large number of extraterrestrial intelligence enthusiasts who were already there when Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi arrived, hundreds more people from the delegation were added today.

Sgorchin had his soldiers transport them to the town and drop them off, after which they could leave by train.

Some of them left immediately, but others chose to stay for the time being.

Aside from Louis and a few others who stayed because they hadn't given up on contacting extraterrestrial intelligence, the others stayed because of the pleas from the other townspeople.

Although these people who made contact with the delegation spent a few days feeling stifled at the landing site, they did witness extraterrestrial intelligence firsthand, which made them far better off than the rest of the town.

People surrounded them, asking all sorts of questions. Some members of the delegation even felt a sense of superiority because of this and were willing to stay for two days to chat and show off.

As these people boasted, people learned that Louis was the first person to ask questions of extraterrestrial intelligence.

This caused quite a stir, with everyone calling Louis the "first person to have contact with the third kind" and vying to take photos with him.

"As the first person to ask a question, your name will be a famous person who can be included in history books! Come on, let's take a picture together!"

"Yes, your contribution will be indispensable when recording history related to aliens in the future."

"I'll take a picture too!"

Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi were sitting in a corner of the tavern, watching the crowd surrounding Louis.

Shang Yuanzi glanced at it a few times and then looked away, asking Guan Tong, "You're very interested, aren't you?"

Since Guan Tong didn't leave immediately after completing his revenge yesterday, but instead chose to stay overnight, Shang Yuanzi knew that he was being a bit hypocritical.

She had previously heard Guan Tong say that she came to Cissia only to settle a personal score and had nothing to do with extraterrestrial intelligence. But now it seemed that was not the case.

"Mm." Guan Tong didn't try to save face and nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to ask a question?"

"...if my idea can be verified."

Guan Tong's idea, of course, refers to using "living dead" as food.

If it works, he can use his stored mental energy to create a large number of undead, allowing them to replace the parasites as food, in exchange for an opportunity to ask questions.

Shangyuan Zi reminded, "Sisia has deployed heavy troops to guard the area and does not allow anyone to approach. Don't forget that, Commander."

Guan Tong said, "I have some connections with the current governor of Sisia, so perhaps I can get an opportunity."

Shang Yuanzi was somewhat surprised, never expecting that Guan Tong would know Ye Lianka.

"only……"

"only?"

Guan Tong's expression was complicated: "The person I killed yesterday to get revenge was her own brother. So whether I can get this opportunity is still uncertain."

"..."

　This book has officially reached one million words!!

　　As a newcomer, Xiaocao never imagined that she could write a book of over a million words; it's almost unbelievable.

　　As the word count increases, the writing difficulty also rises. I will do my best to improve the outline and subsequent plot, rules, foreshadowing, etc. Please continue to support this book!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)