Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 360 Hidden Rule Sixteen
At Yelena's manor.

Guan Tong stayed in her room and silently listened to the rules.

"The rules this time... are truly as the name suggests, a death race."

This also confirms his earlier guess about Uehara Yuki: the sixteenth rule is indeed related to the second Ascendant Challenge.

He just hadn't expected the rule to be so blatant.

In the past, the rules were mostly subtle ways to incite humans to fight each other. This time, however, they are laid out in the open, a zero-sum competition where it is a fight to the death for ranking rewards.

Moreover, unlike the Holy Grail Island in the first challenge, the competition venue this time is the entire Tianshui Star, and once a "competitor" dies, he or she is truly dead.

However, this time the rules include an exit mechanism.

Guan Tong raised his palm, and the challenge invitation appeared in his hand.

Discarding or destroying this item is equivalent to forfeiting. Forfeiters will not receive the special title of "Competitor," nor will they earn points for killing it; thus, they are essentially withdrawing from the competition.

However, the price to pay for quitting is a reduction in one's mental energy limit.

"The rules state that participants in this challenge with the title of 'competitor' can see each other's nicknames and scores... just like 'red-name' players in a PK game."

This means that anyone whose nickname and points are displayed above their head is a potential enemy. Even if you don't attack them, they might still attack you to gain points.

This mechanism also imposes certain limitations on the strong.

Because once a strong player accumulates too many points, everyone else will notice and unite against that person.

“…Under these new rules, the governments of all countries will definitely exercise strong control,” Guan Tong thought. “Otherwise, allowing the competitors to fight each other will only further reduce the population, which is detrimental to humanity as a whole.”

He brought up the panel and began to examine the hidden rules for this event.

Hidden Rule Sixteen: No Means Required

[Under these new rules, Ascended characters in team mode can still attack each other and kill each other to gain points.]

[Note: Only those who rank in the top 10,000 will receive rewards; otherwise, all efforts will be in vain. So, when teammates become stepping stones for personal gain, are you willing to be a ruthless person and wield the butcher's knife?]

"Killing teammates while in a party? That's truly ruthless..."

Since the introduction of the team-up feature, mental attacks between teammates are ineffective; only melee weapons can cause damage.

Under this hidden rule, mental attacks will undoubtedly also be effective. This means that once many fixed teams know this information, they will inevitably become suspicious and will be wary of their teammates even if they do not do it themselves.

But being wary is the beginning of a broken relationship...

"The fire thief..."

Guan Tong sighed.

He thought to himself, "Does this guy really have to make humans kill each other until only a few people are left?"
"Dong dong dong."

There was a knock on the door.

"Captain."

Guan Tong went to open the door, and Shang Yuanzi and Ye Lianka were outside.

Ye Lianka's eyes showed some curiosity, clearly because of Shang Yuanzi's way of addressing Guan Tong.

She didn't hide her curiosity and, trusting Guan Tong, asked directly, "Teacher, are you the leader of some group?"

"Yes, the Origin Tracing Brigade. It's an organization I created myself with the goal of exploring the rules of the apocalypse and the truth about the Firebringers."

Guan Tong didn't hide anything. His organization wasn't some shady, evil organization like the Green Plum Society, so there was no harm in telling them.

“The Origin Tracing Brigade…that sounds really good.” A hint of longing flashed across Yelena’s face, then vanished without a trace.

"Do you also have the desire to pursue the truth?" Guan Tong asked.

"...I'm afraid I can't pursue that now."

Even Shang Yuanzi could hear the helplessness in her words.

That makes sense. Yelena is now the governor of Cisya. The highest leader of such a large country carries a responsibility heavier than a mountain; how could he possibly have time to pursue his own ideals?

Guan Tong didn't bring it up again, but instead asked, "Yelenka, as the governor, aren't you going to issue any decrees regarding these new rules?"

“This is why I came to see you, teacher.” Yelena became very serious when the rules were mentioned. “Teacher, you are the world’s top Ascendant, and this time the rules are a competition between Ascendants. I wanted to hear your opinion on the way to the meeting.”

"Okay, let's go then. Shangyuan, you can come too."

"Ah."

Guan Tong has been acting as Ye Lianka's driver and bodyguard for the past few days. Apart from driving her to and from work and resting in her office cubicle, he doesn't have much other work to do.

After getting in the car, on the way to the office, Guan Tong said, "The suggestions I have for the rules this time might be implemented better in Beixing, but they will be greatly reduced in Xisia."

"Please explain in detail, teacher." Ye Lianka, sitting in the back row, listened attentively, while Shang Yuanzi listened silently beside her. "The best way to protect oneself seems to be to discard the invitation and forfeit, but doing so would cause the rules to fail and the mental power limit to decrease. Therefore, I believe that the best outcome is to allow all Ascendants to keep their invitations, but strictly prohibit them from fighting each other for points."

Yelena frowned slightly upon hearing this.

She knew why Guan Tong said that this suggestion could be implemented well in Beixing, but would be greatly compromised in Xisya.

The reason is that North Star has a large number of official shelters that have been built and put into use, and people living in the shelters are easy to manage. After all the people in the shelters become "competitors", anyone who dares to kill indiscriminately to steal points will be immediately and severely punished by the authorities.

In other words, Beixing can use its strong social control to suppress the Ascended Ones, preventing them from fighting each other for points.

However, the official authorities of Sisia do not have strong control over the Ascended in this country. Encouraging the Ascended to not relinquish their rights will inevitably lead to vicious killings.

and……

Yelena thought of something and asked, "Wouldn't a complete ban also cause resistance? Some Ascendants who are confident in their strength will definitely kill other Ascendants to seize points in order to get the top 10,000 reward... So how should we deal with that?"

“I have an idea,” Shangyuan Zi suddenly said.

"what idea?"

"The venue will be officially designated for Ascendants who want to compete for ranking points to fight. It's like the official establishment of an arena. Only fighting on this arena is legal. Any fighting outside the arena will be treated as murder."

When Shang Yuanzi voiced her idea, Guan Tong and Ye Lianka both fell silent.

At first glance, this idea seems absurd: the government designating a legal "killing ground"? Is this really something the government can do?
But upon closer examination, this is indeed an effective way to reduce private fights.

Want to steal someone else's points and climb the rankings? Sure! But you have to fight in the designated arena! Before the fight, both sides have to sign a waiver of allegiance, so whoever loses can't complain; it's your own choice to come.

But fighting outside the arena? No way! Anyone caught doing it will be prosecuted for murder. This way, the overall order will remain intact, and there won't be a situation where those at the bottom who have risen through the ranks are living in fear.

"Shangyuan's idea is not without reason."

After a moment of silence, Guan Tong spoke first.

“Simply banning it won’t work. It’s better to open a door and let those who are confident in themselves and willing to take the risk of failure compete.”

"..."

Yelena pondered, wondering what the consequences would be if she did it. As the governor, she had to consider everything as thoroughly as possible.

Even after arriving at the office building, she still hadn't made up her mind: "I'll take your opinions to the meeting and see what everyone says."

Afterwards, she went to attend meetings with various official departments and think tanks, while Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi waited in a room next to the conference room. Because of the need to protect Ye Lianka's safety, Guan Tong usually didn't stray too far from her.

"Half an hour has passed." Guan Tong checked the time. "In another two and a half hours, those who haven't lost their invitations will become competitors. Shang Yuan, will you lose yours?"

“No.” Shang Yuanzi replied without hesitation, “I don’t want my mental power to diminish.”

“Me too,” Guan Tong said.

Shangyuan Zi asked, "With the leader's strength, achieving a high ranking shouldn't be difficult, right? Do you have that plan?"

"Perhaps. But..."

Guan Tong sighed. Competing for rankings meant killing other competitors, but he was not a bloodthirsty person.

"If you don't want to kill innocent people indiscriminately, you can go to the designated arena. Anyway, everyone who goes there is prepared to kill or be killed."

Guan Tong gave a wry smile: "Shangyuan, do you think I enjoy killing?"

"...No. I just feel it would be a shame if the leader, with his strength, didn't try to get a higher ranking reward."

Guan Tong shook her head.

He had indeed taken first place from others, but that's different from murder. Besides, he always harbored a nameless rage against such rules.

He knew perfectly well that the fire thieves were manipulating people to kill each other, but people had no choice but to act according to the cruel rules set by the fire thieves in order to obtain rewards and avoid punishment... This unavoidable fact made him very uncomfortable.

"You're angry?"

Seeing Guan Tong pursing her lips and looking slightly cold, Shang Yuanzi assumed it was due to her words.

“This has nothing to do with you, Shangyuan. I despise those who steal fire.”

Shangyuan Zi was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "...Sometimes I think that the appearance of the fire thieves has shattered the lives of countless people. Those who survive are only driven by their animalistic instinct for survival, and there is not much else to it."

Upon hearing this, Guan Tong looked at Shang Yuanzi's empty eyes and knew that her nihilistic emotions had resurfaced.

"Life doesn't need meaning; meaning needs life. Just like the truth, its purpose is to be revealed one day."

Upon hearing this, Shangyuan Zi's heart stirred slightly, and her eyes gleamed: "Is it that meaning requires life... I understand, Commander."

“I’ve made up my mind, Shangyuan,” Guan Tong said. “This time, I will be a competitor, but I will not actively kill people to gain points. However, if anyone dares to provoke us, I will not show any mercy.”

(End of this chapter)