Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 342 Choosing a New Problem
When Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi's mental powers touched, they naturally developed a strange sensation towards each other.

Chen Na previously said that after she activated her [Perception Domain], she could distinguish different Ascended Individuals simply by using her mental power, because each Ascended Individual's mental power is different.

Guan Tong had never felt this way before, but ever since Chen Na mentioned it, she had been paying attention to it.

At this moment, he truly sensed the difference between Shangyuan Zixin's spiritual power and his own.

The sensation of contact with her spiritual power, if described in words, would make him feel cold and damp, and would indeed remind him of a snake.

"It seems we failed." After a moment, Shangyuan Zi spoke, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

"Ah."

The two let go of each other's hands, and the mental network was not successfully established.

"It might be my problem. Didn't Zhang Minglu say that the test should be conducted by the most advanced spiritual power level? My spiritual power limit is not that high, it's less than 700."

If other ascendants heard the phrase "less than seven hundred," they would definitely be furious, feeling that Shangyuan Zi was showing off.

But Guan Tong knew she didn't have those thoughts.

He remembered something and said, "I almost forgot... you've been kept in solitary confinement for a while."

Uehara Yukari had been kept in the Sakura Inori Administration Building by Misawa Jun, who also used a tool that could continuously absorb mental energy to restrict her.

This resulted in Shangyuan Zi being unable to conduct normal and healthy mental energy circulation during the confinement period, causing the growth of her mental energy limit to slow down or even stagnate.

"Perhaps you should try with someone whose mental strength is similar to yours."

Although Shang Yuanzi didn't know exactly what Guan Tong's mental power limit was, she knew it was definitely higher than hers, and by a significant margin.

Guan Tong pondered for a moment upon hearing this.

His current maximum mental strength is 974, which is nearly 300 points higher than Shangyuan Zi's. Such a difference cannot be considered small.

Shang Yuanzi suggested that he try with someone whose mental power limit was similar to his own. Not to mention that he could only be sure that there was only one person whose limit was above 900, namely Shi Jingyi.

He felt that the suggestion of "trying with similar people" was unreliable.

“There are many elevated individuals within the Countermeasures Research Office base, not to mention the subordinate secondary departments that also contain a large number of elevated individuals. With so many ‘reference points,’ Zhang Minglu cannot possibly ignore them.”

"...I overlooked that. If success could be achieved with similar mental strength limits, the research lab should have already verified it through experiments."

"Well, let's put this matter on hold for now."

The ability to identify parasites is crucial, but it's not the most important thing for Guan Tong right now.

He won't waste time trying to restart the mental network without any clues.

Shangyuan Zi asked, "What are your plans next?"

Guan Tong took out her phone and dialed a number.

After saving it, he never called the number or sent any messages.

……

The Golden Throne of Sissia was built hundreds of years ago by a grand and ambitious emperor to demonstrate his power and wealth, serving as a symbol of imperial authority.

Later, the flags of kings changed hands and power shifted constantly, but the golden throne remained. To this day, it continues to be a symbol of the victor, belonging solely to the ruler.

Yelena stood before the throne, her gaze heavy with sorrow.

She remembered that not long ago, her father, Gutman, sat here and told her and her brother, Rijeka, that they were competing for the throne.

In the blink of an eye, the throne belonged to her, while her rival, Rijeka, had died in the Icefield Prison.

She could still recall the family meeting that had been held not long ago when she closed her eyes.

At the meeting, Rijeka's body, stabbed through the heart, was placed in the coffin. Everyone in the family demanded that she investigate thoroughly and provide an explanation.

Many of those who had originally sided with Rijeka now believed it was at her behest. Especially since everyone knew that her most trusted subordinate, Skochin, was currently on the Senantata ice plains.

These people believe that, under her secret instructions, Sgorchin ostensibly went to guard the landing site and prevent unauthorized personnel from approaching the alien parasite, but secretly she also accepted the mission to assassinate Rijeka.

Thus, these former followers of Rijeka became like frightened birds, banding together in protest for fear of being purged.

These people wouldn't protest against her, but rather against the lawless behavior of the murderer, demanding that whoever the murderer is must be severely punished. The goal is to drag Sgorchin into the fray, forcing Yelena to sacrifice him to save the king.

Yelena looked at the golden throne. She had never sat on it before, but she could already feel the pressure and weight it brought.

"Did you do this, teacher?" she whispered.

Just then, one of her cell phones vibrated, and she took it out as if sensing something.

Only a few people knew her phone number, and just as she suspected, the person who sent the message was the one she believed to be the one.

"I'm Guan Tong. If you have time, I'd like to have a chat with you."

Ye Lianka's pupils contracted slightly, and she did not respond immediately.

She replied to the message a minute or two later.

"Teacher, did you kill Rijeka?"

Without exchanging pleasantries, she went straight to the question she most wanted to know.

Guan Tong's reply came quickly, and she did not avoid the question either.

"it's me."

When Yelena received news of Rijeka's death, she vaguely guessed that it was related to Guan Tong.

But Guan Tong's direct admission at this moment still surprised her somewhat.

She took a deep breath and replied, "Aren't you afraid of my revenge, teacher?"

Will you retaliate?

Guan Tong replied quickly.

“Many people want me to take revenge because it was Rijeka who died.”

After she sent the message, Guan Tong replied after a short wait.

"To me, an enemy is an enemy, regardless of status. Yelena, I can understand if you want revenge; we all have our own positions. But if you don't want revenge and are only doing so because of various pressures, then I advise you to think twice... Being my enemy is dangerous."

Judging solely from the comparison of the identities of the two parties, it is astonishing that a former college teacher would dare to say such things to a country's ruler, bordering on arrogance and ignorance.

However, Ye Lianka, who had spent some time with Guan Tong, knew that Guan Tong was simply stating the facts.

Being his enemy is indeed very dangerous.

To be forced to become his enemy due to external pressure is undoubtedly an extremely foolish act.

Yelena was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled almost imperceptibly.

She sent a message.

"Actually, I've wanted him dead for a long time. Thank you, teacher."

Guan Tong, in his room in the small town, fell silent after seeing the message from Ye Lianka. He recalled Ye Lianka's always indifferent expression at the academy and wondered if she truly felt that way.

"Teacher, where are you? I'd like to meet with you and talk."

Looking at the message sent by Ye Lianka, Guan Tong had to wonder if it was a trap.

But regardless of whether it is or not, since you are the one who takes the initiative to contact someone because you need their help, you must go.

……

The People's Federation meeting was held again.

The month is not even halfway over, and several meetings have already been held, which is quite different from the previous frequency of once every two weeks or once a month.

There's no other way. Too many major events have happened recently, and if left unchecked, they will affect every surviving country in the world. No one can remain unaffected, so we must hold frequent meetings to discuss solutions.

"Which side leaked the intelligence about the extraterrestrial intelligence?!"

At the start of the meeting, Mary, the representative of the Somali Empire, scanned the other members with a sharp gaze and spoke in a somewhat aggressive manner.

"I think the parasites are so brazen in their confrontation with the Allied Forces because they received intelligence about the 'food'! The idiot who leaked the information should be severely punished!"

Although Mary's words were harsh, the committee members felt they were not wrong.

When the parasites learned that they would be used as substitute food for humans in exchange for answering questions from extraterrestrial intelligent beings, they were furious, but they also realized a key point: humans would prefer to capture them alive rather than destroy them.

This is true, at least for the period covered by this rule.

With this understanding, the parasites became bolder in their attacks—they believed that the coalition forces wanted to capture them for food, so they dared not use weapons of mass destruction, which somewhat leveled the gap in combat power between the two sides.

This is undoubtedly very disadvantageous to the human side.

"Given the possibility that the parasite may be secretly collaborating with the Fire-Stealers cult, every member state must be vigilant against the possibility of its important figures being infiltrated or mind-controlled."

"If there really is a top-level figure under control, it would be very difficult to investigate," a member of a small country said, looking troubled.

The other committee members all understood what this meant; there were indeed a few people who were unable to conduct inspections and oversight.

Even Mary, who started by firing off a tirade, couldn't refute this point.

Just like the king of the empire and some highly respected and powerful elders in the Senate, these people are undoubtedly transcendent beings in the empire.

"Whether we can or not, we must do this for the sake of humanity and for ourselves."

Gao Liangwei did not shy away from this topic.

"If nations are destroyed and humanity perishes, then even the greatest power is nothing more than a castle built on sand, which will collapse with the slightest push."

Everyone agreed with this.

At this point, a committee member asked Mary, "How are things going with the attacks in your country... France?"

Mary said coldly, "These cultists are overestimating themselves and will only bring about their own destruction. The Empire's powerful war machine will soon crush them!"

"So, you Soroma can solve this on your own without the help of the Human Alliance?" Gao Liangwei asked.

"unnecessary."

"Alright, everyone, besides this bad news, we do have some good news."

Gao Liangwei said, "The two manned rockets, 'Dreamboat One' and 'Imperial Pioneer,' have both successfully landed on Terra as planned. Both groups of astronauts have now established basic survival points."

The committee members were delighted to hear this; it was indeed exciting news.

Although Terra is just a satellite of Tianshui and lacks an atmosphere, making it unsuitable for human survival, there is hope if a long-term habitation site can be established and self-sufficiency achieved.

This hope is like checkers: jump out the first step, then jump out the second step based on the first step, then jump out the third step based on the second step, and so on, jumping further and further.

If humanity can establish a survival base on Terra and develop its minerals and other resources to build spaceships and rockets, then they can use Terra as a starting point to travel to other planets.

Although clumsy, this method of advancing one after another allows humanity to travel further and further while establishing enough survival bases on different planets.

If it is later discovered that a certain base is exempt from the rules of the apocalypse, then perhaps humanity will see the dawn of a new era and be able to complete this terrifying game brought by the Firebringers ahead of schedule.

"After that, we will launch more resource-saving reusable rockets as soon as possible to transport construction materials and other resources there so that the survival base on Terra can be formed as soon as possible."

"After that, the first large-scale space colonization began."

Gao Liangwei's words brought a lot of optimism to everyone.

“I think we should discuss the next question about extraterrestrial intelligence as soon as possible,” said Sisyah Commissioner Toraft. “It would be better to raise as many questions as possible during the rule period.”

"Yes."

What questions will we ask this time?

"Based on suggestions and information gathered from policy departments in various countries, there are five issues listed in no particular order."

The five questions are as follows:

1. Please provide a complete and verifiable unified field theory in a way that is understandable to humans, which should be able to explain all fundamental forces and material phenomena.

Second, please tell humanity how to better develop and utilize mental power. Besides the methods currently available to humanity, are there other ways to apply mental power?

Third, based on the current state of humanity, please tell humanity how to more efficiently and easily cope with the challenges brought by the fire-stealers and the rules of the apocalypse.

Fourth, please explain your spacecraft jump theory to us in a way that humans can understand, so as to guide us in obtaining interstellar jump capabilities.

Fifth, please provide a safe, inexpensive, and nearly unlimited clean energy source that is accessible to humankind.

Once these five questions were raised, the committee members each had their own opinions.

"I think only the second of these five questions is somewhat possible; the other four are too difficult!"

"Yes. Unified field theory, fire-stealers and the rules of the apocalypse, interstellar travel, cheap and almost unlimited clean energy... Even if that extraterrestrial intelligent being could answer these questions, how much food would we need to prepare for it?"

"It consumed nearly three thousand units just for the problem of how to identify parasites. I don't think it could consume more than thirty thousand units for these few problems."

"Thirty thousand? Three hundred thousand!"

"I strongly object!" Toraft shouted. "Unless we can capture all the parasites and transport them to the landing site, asking such a difficult question is tantamount to risking the lives of all the Sisians!"

Gao Liangwei also said, "Although these questions that received the most votes are very important to humanity, we cannot afford the costs for most of them. I also think that the second question is relatively more valuable to raise."

Mary, however, disagreed: "We, Solmara, value the fourth and fifth questions more. At humanity's current speed of space travel, even if all forty-nine rules were exhausted, we still wouldn't be able to leave the galaxy..."

We need leapfrog technology. And a large amount of energy is likely the foundation of this technology, so these two issues are interdependent.

"In that case, let's decide by vote according to the rules of the People's Federation."

“Wait a minute,” Toraft said seriously. “If it’s a matter with a huge cost, we in Cissia should have a veto, because our own people are the closest to extraterrestrial intelligent beings.”

"A veto power?" Mary raised an eyebrow. "Does your Sisia have that kind of power?"

Torraft insisted, "If the Human Alliance does not agree, then please move the alien intelligent beings from the Senantata Icefield to your country's territory."

(End of this chapter)