Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 371 Slaughter and Invitation

"Round one begins!"

After the host left the stage, the competition officially began.

The competitors immediately sprang into action. Some who didn't like each other started fighting right away, while others attacked whoever was closest. However, two or three people chose to use defensive items and cower in a corner of the arena.

A melee is different from a one-on-one fight. Unless one person is strong enough to overwhelm the others, there is still a possibility of being surrounded and killed.

In this chaotic battle involving fifteen people, striking first can put you at a disadvantage, as your abilities and item effects can be observed and targeted by others.

It was clear that the three competitors, each huddled in a corner of the arena, had been thinking ahead, planning to wait for the others to finish before picking up the scraps.

"Kill!"

"Someone's attacking! Get out of the way!"

"With such meager skills, you dare to participate in a competition? You're overestimating yourself!"

The battle raged on the field, and the audience was in an uproar.

Many spectators stared wide-eyed and their faces flushed red as they watched the competitors being killed on the field, not out of fear, but out of excitement.

The reason they were willing to spend their hard-earned Sublime Coins to buy tickets to watch the battle live was precisely because of this brutal fighting, a scene that would get their blood pumping.

Therefore, many people directly cursed those competitors who were evasive and unwilling to fight head-on, only thinking about surviving to the end.

"Kill those sneaky bastards first! These furtive rats are the most hateful!"

"That's right, I didn't buy the ticket because you guys were cowering!"

"Kill them first!"

The competition arena is not soundproof, and the competitors can hear the noise and shouts of the audience very clearly, which also tests their concentration.

Hearing the shouts of the audience, the competitors who started fighting immediately also noticed the few people hiding in the corner. When they thought that these people were waiting for the opportune moment to take advantage of the situation, they were immediately furious.

So while we're fighting to the death, you're just waiting to pick up the scraps!

One of the competitors shouted, "Let's team up and take down these despicable cowards first!"

"it is good!"

"Kill them first!"

The group, who had been fighting in disarray, immediately united and went to attack the competitor hiding in the corner.

This scene thrilled the audience.

"Good! That's how we should play!"

The first round of the competition lasted for nearly twenty minutes before it ended.

The result was quite dramatic: a powerful individual who single-handedly defeated seven or eight competitors was killed by someone far weaker than himself due to insufficient mental strength.

The person eventually advanced to the next round, but when the host announced his victory, the audience booed loudly, clearly disliking the result.

The privileged young men in the VIP rooms above were not surprised by the outcome.

"In this kind of competition, anyone who goes all out from the start is a fool; even if they have the ability, they will only be eliminated early on."

"Yes. No matter how strong you are, once you run out of mental energy, you're at the mercy of others."

"To make it to the finals and advance, managing your mental energy consumption is very important... However, this candidate's strength is too weak, and I estimate that I will be the first to be eliminated in the next round."

"To go all the way, you need both strength and brains... Oh? The venue was cleared up pretty quickly."

As they were talking, several cleaning robots quickly came up and cleaned up the fourteen corpses and the bloodstains left from the fight.

"How many rounds are we going to have today?" Ishan, sitting in the middle, asked casually.

Someone immediately replied, "That's not necessarily true. The time it takes to determine the winner in each round is not uniform, but the total viewing time for tickets is 3 hours."

"Really? Then I'll watch one more game and then leave." Ishan said uninterestedly, "All that fighting isn't very interesting."

"Hehe, Miss Ishan is right..."

After the arena was cleaned up, the host announced the start of the second round of contestants.

Once everyone was ready, we began.

The audience was expecting another thrilling 20-minute battle like the first round, but the result left them greatly disappointed.

The moment the competition was announced to begin, one of the fifteen contestants, a white-haired youth, raised his hands. Accompanied by a rumbling thunder, dozens of lightning bolts suddenly struck down, instantly turning the other fourteen contestants into charred corpses steaming hot!
This astonishing scene plunged the entire arena into deathly silence. No one could have imagined that a competitor could instantly eliminate all the other competitors!

The privileged young men in the private room were also taken aback.

"Manipulates lightning? That's an amazing ability!"

"Dozens of lightning bolts struck in an instant; the mental strain must be enormous. Is he really that confident he can kill with one blow?"

"It looks like this kid might make it to the final few rounds."

Ishan, who had initially shown little interest, now looked at the white-haired youth in the arena and a glint of excitement flashed in her eyes: "This guy's abilities are really cool. It seems the matches from now on won't be too boring."

……

The Sisya Arena was located in an abandoned factory in the suburbs.

The factory is large enough to accommodate a large number of competitors. Furthermore, its location is remote, with almost no residents nearby, thus avoiding unnecessary disturbance to the local population caused by the constant flow of Ascendants.

Since it's a closed competition, it doesn't need to consider the viewing experience of the audience like Somali did when choosing a venue.

Besides Yelena, many other officials also represented the government at the scene.

Upon arrival, there were already quite a few people standing in the factory courtyard, including competitors and soldiers maintaining order.

The soldiers on site were in command of Sgorchen, who was summoned by Yelena as soon as she arrived to inquire about the situation.

“More than two thousand contestants came today,” said Sgorchin. “There are also some who registered but didn’t come. They probably calmed down and decided not to take the risk.”

"More than two thousand people... in the end..."

"Only one can survive in the end." Seeing Yelena's pale face, Sgorchin added after speaking, "Governor, these are the rules. Once you participate, you cannot give up halfway... until you die, otherwise it would be unfair to the other losers."

Guan Tong, who was standing to the side, listened and thought to herself, "How cruel!"

Is it really worth it to use the lives of thousands of people to support one strong individual, even if it brings high ranking rewards?

But the rules are open and transparent, and the representatives who signed up to participate in the competition all recognized them and were willing to fight for that one and only opportunity, even if they died in battle, they could not blame anyone else.

"Governor, you don't need to worry too much. Those who signed up to participate are only Ascended who believe they are good at combat. But judging the strength of an Ascended cannot be based on just one dimension. Even if many Ascended will be lost because of the competition, the number of strong individuals in other dimensions will not be affected too much."

Sgorchin's words make a lot of sense.

Many Ascended individuals may simply have items/abilities unsuitable for combat, but that doesn't mean they are weak. Some non-combat personnel also possess mental strength caps that are no lower than those skilled in combat. Judging an Ascended individual's strength solely based on combat skills is a narrow-minded approach.

Guan Tong himself understood this principle, so even though others always praised him and said he was the best in the world, he never took it seriously.

Yelena nodded after hearing what Sgorchin said, and her expression softened.

She and some officials walked to the podium, and the contestants looked on in surprise as soon as they saw the governor arrive.

"Those of you who have come to participate in the competition should already know the rules. Before the competition officially begins, you may leave if you wish to withdraw."

The competitors remained unmoved, all prepared to fight to the death. Seeing this, Yelena said nothing more, stepping aside to let the other officials speak, their words nothing more than encouragement for everyone to fight hard.

Guan Tong was watching from below when she suddenly noticed someone approaching. Turning her head, she saw another female official who had come with her.

She walked up to Guan Tong, discreetly placed a small piece of paper, about the size of a knuckle, into his shirt pocket, and then walked away without saying a word.

Guan Tong did not stop this action, but had a vague guess in her mind.

After the official statement, the formal competition was about to begin. Yelena didn't want to watch the competitors fight, so she chose to leave.

After returning home, Guan Tong took out the piece of paper, on which a short line of text was written.

[Tonight at 11 PM, at No. 18 Xiye Street, we await the arrival of 'Shadow'—Valery]

"It really is this guy..."

Guan Tong wasn't surprised to see the signature.

The reason why the director of the Sisya Security Bureau would contact him at this time and specifically name him is obvious.

He thought for a moment, then went to the study to see Ye Lianka, and also called Shang Yuanzi over.

When the two saw the piece of paper, they thought the same thing.

Yelena said seriously, "I wonder what methods Valery will use to win over our teacher, or is this possibly a trap?"

“Anything is possible,” Guan Tong said. “And we can’t put all the focus on me; we can’t rule out the possibility of a diversionary tactic.”

Shangyuan Zi: "On the surface, it's to win you over, but in reality, it's to transfer you away from Ye Lianka so that we can take advantage of the situation?"

"Anything is possible, so we should be on guard."

Guan Tong pondered for a moment: "Here's what we'll do, Shangyuan, you stay with Ye Lianka tonight, I'll go check on you. I'll be with you all, and I'll come back immediately if there's any danger."

"it is good."

"Then you must be careful, teacher. Now that they know your identity, if they are determined to deal with you, they will definitely make ample preparations."

"Ok, I know."

After the three discussed it for a while, Yelena also contacted Stochastic separately.

If Valery makes any big moves, she must be ready to launch a full-scale counterattack at any time.

night.

Guan Tong first went to the Twin Stars Bar to retrieve the Mind Power Crystal that had been fully charged twice.

He then obtained some information he wanted from Black Star through a commission.

"No. 18 Xiye Street? That 'Ye An Kang' restaurant?"

Hei Xing looked very surprised when he heard Guan Tong's question.

The shop's name seemed a bit odd. Guan Tong asked, "Is this place famous?"

"Well, it depends on which group. Most Sisian people probably haven't even heard of it, but this place is quite famous among Sisian's elite circles."

"The elite circle..."

“If I hadn’t acted as the middleman, I wouldn’t have known about this place,” Black Star said, his expression somewhat strange.

Seeing this, Guan Tong asked, "What is that place for?"

Black Star scratched his head: "Well... actually, I've never been inside either. I just heard a client say that it's a paradise that ordinary people can't experience. I guess it must be..."

"I understand."

Guan Tong isn't stupid; it's self-evident what kind of place a place that ordinary people can't enjoy must be.

Black Star didn't ask Guan Tong why she was asking this, or if he was going. He adhered to his principles as a middleman, especially when dealing with Guan Tong, and wouldn't inquire about anything unrelated to the commission.

However, when Guan Tong asked to pay the commission fee, he refused.

"This is free. It's just a piece of information that's not of much value. It would be unreasonable to ask you for more money."

Guan Tong accepted Hei Xing's kindness and left Shuangxing Bar. Not long after, she went to Xiye Street.

Before the apocalyptic rules, this street was a bustling commercial street in the capital, filled with luxury stores and upscale restaurants.

After the apocalyptic rules, the era of consumption ends and the era of supply begins. But no matter the era, people's need for entertainment will never disappear.

Even West Leaf Street has become more prosperous. The luxury restaurants have not disappeared, but the luxury stores have simply been replaced by various service experience stores, and the service staff are all ascendants with different abilities.

Number 18 on this street is the shop called "Night Peace and Health". Guan Tong used her shadow lines to investigate the surrounding area before arriving and found no large-scale ambush.

However, this does not mean that the enemy cannot ambush. With the existence of teleportation items, ambushers can be positioned thousands of miles away, and then teleported over when necessary.

"Night peace and health..."

Guan Tong walked to the front of the store. There was no sign or employees at the entrance, only a large, lead-gray door. Judging from the fine material, it must have cost a lot.

He had spoken with Yelena before he came.

Yelena said she had never heard of this place, which was famous in elite circles, but her brother must have known about it when he was alive.

This further illustrates that the elite circles of Sisyah had previously assumed that Rijeka would succeed as regent, and had never taken Yelena seriously, completely excluding her from their circle.

However, Guan Tong felt that this rejection was not one-way, but two-way.

Smart people know how to bet on both sides, let alone powerful and wealthy individuals. Even if everyone thinks Rijeka has a higher chance of winning, there will always be some people willing to take the gamble and place their bets on Yelena.

Given Yelena's personality, she must disapprove of certain things, hence her aversion to contact with these people. This mutual rejection has led to the current situation, which is not surprising.

Just as Guan Tong was thinking, the door opened.

Two people, a man and a woman, dressed in tailcoats and wearing half-masks, came out and bowed to Guan Tong, saying, "Welcome, distinguished guest. We are your waiters; please allow us to show you the way."

"...let's go."

Two waiters walked in front, with Guan Tong following behind.

After entering the gate, there is a long corridor with gemstones of various colors inlaid on the walls on both sides.

At the end of the corridor, there is a large silver door in front of you, with a smaller door on each side.

The male waiter leading the way said, "Honorable guest, you need to change into comfortable clothes before entering the banquet hall. This is the men's changing room on the left. Please follow me to change."

"I don't know how to change clothes."

"Well... honored guest, changing clothes before entering the hall is a custom at Ye An Kang, intended to help guests relax. Please rest assured, we will take good care of your clothes," the waitress said gently.

Guan Tong ignored them and said to the two men, "Go tell the person who invited me not to make a fuss here, or I will leave now."

"This……"

The two waiters hesitated.

At that moment, the large silver door in the middle opened, and a hearty laugh rang out: "Haha, there are no rules in this world that the famous 'Shadow' needs to follow. Just come in!"

(End of this chapter)