Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 362 Decision Issuance
With one hour remaining until the Fire Thief's "3-hour deadline," all buyers received details of the hidden rules from Guan Tong.

After learning the information, almost every buyer couldn't help but cry out that they had been cheated.

The hidden rule this time is that you can backstab your own teammates. This information is important to the individual, but not valuable to these buyers.

Because each buyer represents the power of a country or a large organization, it means that a large amount of information can be obtained quickly.

Once the challenge officially begins, it's estimated that news of betrayals among teammates will soon reach the ears of these major factions.

It seems like the 500,000 Ascension Coins were wasted, even though we knew about it beforehand.

But while they verbally admit they've been "tricked," they know in their hearts they'll definitely buy again next time.

Because many "big shots" are in a 24/7 team with their elite bodyguards, if they don't get advance notice and only find out about the rules some time after they've been released, they'll definitely break out in a cold sweat.

Even if the probability of it happening is very small, this hidden rule makes it possible for a guard to backstab someone.

After receiving the information, all parties finally began to make decisions.

The Solomon Empire was the first to make an official statement, indicating that it would not interfere with the choices of those who had ascended within its borders, and that whether they discarded the invitation or stayed to become "competitors" an hour later was their personal right.

However, this doesn't mean that participants can freely fight each other for points within the city. To compete, they must first register with a specific official department, after which their names will be added to a competition list.

All Ascendants on the competition list will compete in open matches at the National Stadium in the capital, arranged by the authorities.

Non-participants who wish to attend must pay a fee ranging from 50 to 600 Ascension Coins, depending on their seating location. Alternatively, they can watch the event via live stream.

As soon as Soroma's decision was announced, the Ascended Ones around the world who were keeping a close eye on the situation were in an uproar, and social media was filled with criticism.

"Who came up with this idea and approved it? They're utterly inhuman! They want people to watch their own people kill each other and then charge admission?!"

"He's an absolute genius at making money."

"I really want to go see it in person; it would definitely be much more enjoyable than watching a movie in my room."

"People can die in these kinds of matches! Would anyone actually spend Ascendant Coins to watch murder?!"

"I won't watch it if no one dies, it's boring."

"Does anyone know about that explosive maniac on the dark web? I heard he used his powers to kill a lot of people, and his videos sold like hotcakes. It's clear that a lot of people want to see that stuff."

“Kill them all. Sororo doesn’t have many men to begin with. I think they’ll kill themselves sooner or later.”

"A bunch of idiots, are they in such a hurry to die? I'll play it safe and abstain, survive until digital life technology is implemented, back up my memories, and then go wild."

As Solmar's official decision sparked huge controversy, other countries also announced their official handling of the rules.

Unlike when dealing with other rules, the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) did not act in unison this time. Because each country's situation is different, a consistent approach could not be used in this instance.

Beixing subsequently made an official announcement.

We will not interfere with the choices of those who strive for advancement within the country, but we encourage them to retain their invitations and become competitors.

The authorities will do everything in their power to ensure the safety of every contestant. During these seven days, private fights and murders to steal points from others are strictly prohibited. Anyone found doing so will be punished as a serious crime of murder.

Judging from Beixing's official statement, it seems that after weighing the options, they ultimately chose to abandon the idea of ​​letting domestic players compete for ranking rewards.

This cautious approach garnered significant support in public opinion, with comments overwhelmingly praising it and only a few dissenting voices.

"Great! With official assurances, there's no need to worry about being killed as a contestant."

"Yes. If we don't forfeit, we're afraid of being killed, but forfeiting will lower our mental strength limit... This policy is better."

"This is the choice that truly considers the interests of the majority of the people."

"This means we can't compete with foreign Ascendants for rankings, right? What a pity... We're clearly the country with the most Ascendants in the world..."

"Do you think it's easy to get into the top 10,000? If you want to compete, you can leave the country or go to some remote wilderness in China and find some illegal organizations or mercenaries to compete with!"

Less than ten minutes after Beixing issued his declaration, Xisiya also issued hers.

First, the official team will do its best to protect those who choose to become competitors.

Secondly, if a contestant wants to compete for a ranking, they can register with the official department and then go to a designated location to compete with other registrants... But this process is completely closed and will never be turned into a business of charging admission fees and broadcasting live, like Soroma did.

From this perspective, the official approach of the Sissia government seems to be somewhere between Soroma and Beixing. It is neither as extreme and radical as Soroma, nor as conservative as Beixing.

There are both supporters and opponents of this approach to Sisya, but the voices are not loud, because Soma and North Star have already attracted most of the attention.

Apart from these three major powers, the other smaller countries handled the situation in much the same way, all tending to follow the approach of Sisyah.

They wanted to learn from Beixing, but the official control wasn't that strong.

They couldn't emulate Soroma, as the Soroma government possessed terrifyingly powerful intelligent war machines, something they didn't. Taking such an extreme approach would likely face united opposition from the domestic Ascendants.

……

When the three-hour meeting ended and the meeting room door opened, you could see the words "nickname + points" appearing above everyone's heads.

This means that everyone present chose to keep their challenge invitations and became a competitor three hours later.

After Ye Lianka went out, Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi, who were waiting nearby, came to greet her.

One of them has "Shepherd Boy, 1" displayed above his head. The other has "Orochi, 1" displayed above his head.

There is no doubt that Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi both changed their nicknames before their contestant status took effect.

Especially for Guan Tong, although the nickname "Shadow" is already so common that countless people have used it, his current identity is Ye Lianka's bodyguard, so it's definitely not acceptable for him to still use the nickname "Shadow".

The nickname "Shepherd Boy" was a code name he used before when working on earthquake rules, and he now simply uses it as a nickname.

“You’ve all changed your nicknames,” Yelena said. “Should I change mine too?”

Guan Tong glanced at it; above her head was displayed: "Frost of Ice, 1".

Although he had traded with Yelena before and knew her nickname, it was still somewhat amusing to see her wearing it on her head.

What do you want to change?

"Um……"

Yelena pondered for a moment.

“Let’s change it to ‘Sword of Sisya’. Now that I have become the ruler of Sisya, my sword shall be wielded to protect this country.”

"..."

"..."

Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi both fell silent.

"What, you guys don't think it's good?"

“I think this nickname is more suitable for your confidant, Sgorchin,” Guan Tong said. “You are the consul; you should be called the ‘sword wielder’ rather than the ‘sword.’”

Yelena was slightly taken aback: "That seems to make sense. Then I'd better not change it and just use the old one."

She ignored the nickname and went back to her office with the two men.

"Have you seen the official countermeasures from various countries?" Yelena sat down in a chair, poured herself a glass of water to moisten her slightly hoarse voice; the three-hour meeting was still quite intense.

Guan Tong leaned against the window and said, "I've seen them all online. Except for Somali ticket sales, which are a bit outrageous, the prices for other countries are pretty much the same."

Shang Yuanzi nodded; her thoughts were similar to Guan Tong's.

"Soroma has always prioritized profit, so this is not surprising. But what's surprising is that your home country, Beixing, has chosen to give up letting its own ascendants compete for rankings this time."

"What appears to be giving up may not actually be the case."

"Oh why?"

"Only domestic ascensioners are strictly controlled, but don't forget that there are also many North Star ascensioners abroad."

"You mean the North Star Ascended Warriors in the Allied Forces on the front lines?" Yelena asked, surprised. "The task of competing for rankings is going to be assigned to them?"

"I just think it's possible, but I can't draw any conclusions."

"...So, teacher, and this Ms. Uehara Zi, what are your plans?"

“We all plan to give up the competition,” Guan Tong said. “We won’t actively kill people to steal points during these seven days. However, if someone comes knocking on our door, or if someone wants to harm you, we will definitely take action.”

Ye Lianka was somewhat surprised by what she heard, mainly because of Guan Tong.

Few would have expected him to withdraw from the competition, given his status as a "shadow." Many would have considered him a strong contender for the top three.

However, upon closer reflection, she found it quite reasonable.

"I know you're not someone who kills innocent people indiscriminately... but having such great personal strength and choosing to give up when you have the advantage, I really admire you. I don't think anyone else could have done that."

Upon hearing this, Guan Tong recalled the tall figure who liked to wear beige training clothes. She shook her head and said, "No, I know someone who is very strong, but I know she will definitely give up competing for the rankings."

Ye Lianka noticed a slight upturn at the corner of Guan Tong's mouth when he mentioned that person, and felt a little curious, but she didn't press him for details.

"this time……"

Before she could finish speaking, Guan Tong, who was standing by the window, saw something and her expression changed slightly: "Be careful!"

Whoosh—Boom!

Click-clack click-clack!

The explosion shattered the glass. Yelena turned her head to look, and a thick shadow formed a barrier beside her, blocking all the flying fragments.

"what happened?"

“Someone fired an RPG from a car on the street,” Guan Tong said coldly. “Don’t worry, he won’t get away.”

His shadow was much faster than the car. As soon as the other party finished firing, before the car had even left the street, the shadow swam to the bottom of the car and then transformed into a shadow pillar that pushed upwards.

The speeding vehicle was immediately lifted and overturned. The driver and the person carrying the rocket launcher were caught off guard and were all trapped under the vehicle, looking panicked.

They struggled to climb out, but felt a sharp, murderous aura emanating from ahead. Looking up, they immediately saw a figure standing before them, a short knife in his hand gleaming with a cold, sharp light.

(End of this chapter)