Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 411 Black and White Pieces
Wenren Yizhi?

As soon as Guan Tong saw her, he immediately recalled the first apocalyptic rule being issued.

When Fang Qian visited his home, she mentioned that Wenren Yizhi was her idol. Moreover, her 72-hour live stream of playing chess attracted a lot of attention, and as expected, her initial mental strength limit was as high as 117 points, making her a top-tier ascendant at that time.

After that, apart from knowing that she had been officially recruited, the public had no other way to learn about her. Furthermore, she never streamed herself playing Go again after that live stream.

As for Guan Tong, after his conflict with Fang Qian, he paid no more attention to Wenren Yizhi. Therefore, before meeting her in person, he had no idea that she had joined the Countermeasures Research Lab and would be participating in the operation as a teammate.

Guan Tong's gaze fell on the wheelchair beneath her, and she thought to herself, no wonder Li Meng had said before that she had difficulty moving around.

He just didn't know what had happened in the past two years. He remembered that when the news reported Wenren Yizhi winning the championship, it did not mention that she had any illness or physical disability.

"Wenren Yizhi?!"

Yang Ran was stunned for a few seconds before letting out a soft exclamation.

Apart from Li Meng and Silver Fox, who were aware of the situation, everyone else was undoubtedly surprised, never expecting that this former national player would become their teammate.

"Let me introduce myself."

Li Meng introduced the team members to Wenren Yizhi one by one.

“You already know Silver Fox. This is Bai Xuewu, who joined the Countermeasures Research Lab around the same time as you, and can summon and pilot combat mechs. This young lady, Chen Na, also joined the Countermeasures Research Lab a long time ago and possesses a certain range of sensory abilities. This is Yang Ran, who has the ability to manipulate fire…”

Every time Li Meng introduced someone, Wenren Yizhi's gaze would fall on that person.

Her eyes were as clear as black and white Go stones, without a trace of impurity, and those who were looking at them could feel the purity and tranquility within them.

"This is Guan Tong," Li Meng introduced Guan Tong last. "He's different from you all; he doesn't belong to the Countermeasures Research Lab, but he's a trustworthy teammate, and he'll be serving as the team leader this time. As for his abilities... they're quite complex. I think you all know his nickname more than his real name, 'Guan Tong.'"

Li Meng looked at Guan Tong, who nodded slightly.

Guan Tong doesn't mind revealing her identity to her teammates who will go to the battlefield together and fight side by side.

Otherwise, if even his teammates don't know his abilities, how can they cooperate and coordinate?

With Guan Tong's approval, Li Meng continued, "He is 'Shadow'."

"what!!!"

Yang Ran's shout was much louder than when he learned that the last teammate was Wenren Yizhi.

He stared at Guan Tong in disbelief: "You, you're the Shadow God?! This..."

He recalled their first meeting in the park, when he had wanted to have a match with Guan Tong... He finally understood why Li Meng had told him not to provoke Guan Tong.

They are definitely not to be trifled with!
The "Shadow's" fame doesn't stem from his ranking in the previous rules, but from his actual achievements, from his feats of single-handedly taking on an entire nation on several occasions.

Thinking about how he was so proud of his ability to control fire and burn down a building, it paled in comparison to Guan Tong's bombing of the Antaibang Royal Palace and attack on Yingqi's residence.

In an instant, the defiant look in Yang Ran's eyes disappeared, replaced by admiration.

Silver Fox and Chen Na both knew Guan Tong's true identity, so they weren't surprised. Chen Na, however, looked at Yang Ran with a hint of schadenfreude, finding his expression upon learning Guan Tong's true identity quite amusing.

Of the other two, Bai Xuewu paused for a moment. She then remembered why she felt a strange familiarity with Guan Tong. After all, she and "Shadow" had fought on Holy Grail Island, and that encounter had left a very bad impression on her.

As for Wenren Yizhi, she remained quite calm. Even after learning that Guan Tong was "Shadow," arguably the most famous among the Ascended Ones, her expression didn't change, as if she didn't care much.

"Well then, the team is complete," Li Meng said with a smile. "This is the first time all the team members have gathered together. Would you young people like to take a group photo to commemorate this?"

"Yes!" Chen Na was the first to raise her hand and quickly took out her phone.

Besides Chen Na, Yang Ran also agreed with the suggestion, feeling that this was a rare opportunity to take a photo with famous figures like "Shadow" and "Wenren Yizhi".

Apart from the two, the others weren't really interested in taking pictures. However, both Silver Fox and White Snow Dance had a good relationship with Chen Na, and Guan Tong liked the girl very much, so he naturally went along with her.

Li Meng said, "Come on, all of you gather together, I'll take your picture."

"Uncle Li, you're part of the team too, you need to be in the shot. I'll just set a timer to take the picture!"

"Hehe, that's fine too."

The group tacitly walked behind Wenren Yizhi, and Chen Na, after setting up the timer, ran over and stood with them.

Then came a "click" sound, and the group photo was taken.

After checking the photos, Chen Na nodded repeatedly: "They're very well taken. I'll send them to you."

Silver Fox reminded: "Remember to use a beauty filter on your sister."

"Silver Fox Sister, you don't need any beauty filters!"

"Sigh~ You don't see the difference without comparison. Look at you all, you're all in your early twenties, while I'm almost thirty. Without filters, the difference is very obvious when we stand together~"

"..."

"Ahem." Li Meng cleared his throat. "Alright, I called you all here today not only to introduce yourselves, but also to do some combat coordination practice."

"Combat coordination? Uh..."

Yang Ran glanced at the wheelchair beneath Wenren Yizhi, wondering how she planned to fight.

Li Meng then added, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Although Wenren Yizhi has mobility issues, it doesn't affect her abilities, right?"

Wenren Yizhi nodded gently: "Take this." With a wave of her hand, some black and white Go stones on the Go table flew up, with one black and one white stone hanging in front of the group.

This feat of telekinesis amazed everyone, even Guan Tong couldn't understand it.

He was standing not far from Wenren Yizhi, but he didn't sense any fluctuations in her mental energy. This meant that she wasn't using mental energy to retrieve the chess pieces remotely. Could it be...?

Guan Tong grasped the two chess pieces, one black and one white, suspended in front of him. They felt warm to the touch, and he could sense a strange power flowing within them.

Is this chess piece itself a tool of her mental power?

"Black pieces form the boundary, white pieces form the chain."

Wenren Yizhi said softly.

"By infusing your mental energy into the black pieces, you can create a chess world that envelops you. This chess world can be used to guard your true self and prevent yourself from being disturbed by mental disturbances."

"By infusing your mental energy into the white pieces, you can create a chess chain that connects you to other white piece holders. The chess chain will link the life force of all white piece holders, and when someone is injured, the damage will be evenly distributed among those on the chain."

After Wenren Yizhi explained her abilities, everyone looked surprised.

This ability is really exaggerated...

Guan Tong looked at the two chess pieces in her hand, one black and one white, and asked, "Are the chess pieces finite?"

Wenren Yizhi looked at him and explained, "Each chess piece requires my mental energy to condense, and it will permanently occupy the upper limit of my mental energy."

"……I see."

If each chess piece consumes a portion of Wenren Yizhi's mental energy limit, then she cannot continuously produce chess pieces, and the number of chess pieces will be limited and not many.

"This is just too invincible!" Yang Ran exclaimed excitedly. "Especially Bai Zi, who can share damage! Doesn't that mean that unless the enemy's attack can kill all the Linkers at once, it's impossible to kill a Linker?"

Wenren Yizhi gently shook her head: "If the chess piece is hit too many times, it will not be able to withstand the damage and will be destroyed."

"Oh, I see..."

“I’m more curious about Kuroko’s abilities,” Bai Xuewu suddenly asked. “It can create barriers that protect against mental attacks. Does that mean it can resist the suspected mind controllers within the Fire Thief Cult? And can it resist mental fear? Will it be used in this rule?”

"Yes," Chen Na also thought of this. "Sister Wenren, can your chess piece be used to defend against the Scarlet Fear rule in this game?"

"Nothing is absolute in this world, and the effects of an ability are not static. Perhaps it can counteract what you've mentioned, or perhaps it cannot... I'm sorry, I cannot give you a definite answer."

“That’s right,” Li Meng said. “The relationships of restraint between abilities, the hierarchy, and even the struggle against the rules of the apocalypse are not fixed. You must think carefully before making any reckless attempts.”

After Li Meng finished speaking, he waved his hand, signaling the others to say goodbye to him and Wenren Yizhi before leaving for the testing ground.

After leaving Wenren Yizhi's "Yige" room, Guan Tong asked Li Meng, "With the resources the Countermeasures Research Office has, surely they can't find a way to help her stand up again?"

He had this question in mind the moment he first saw Wenren Yizhi in a wheelchair when he entered the room, but he couldn't say it in front of her.

In his view, if things like Wang Yan's late-stage cancer cure and Silver Fox's arm regenerating were possible, then there must be special circumstances for Wenren Yizhi, a highly promising ascendant, to be confined to a wheelchair.

“I know that,” Silver Fox said. “Dr. Zhang Minglu tried many methods to help Wenren regain her ability to walk, but all of them failed. The root cause is related to her abilities.”

"Is it related to these chess pieces?"

"To be precise, the chess pieces are merely a byproduct of her abilities. The chessboard you saw in the room is her exclusive mental power tool... Her inability to stand up and walk seems to be related to that chessboard, but I don't know the specifics."

Silver Fox's words silenced the group.

It's not surprising that using abilities comes at a price.

However, this cost is usually borne by others... For example, Yang Ran in the team, if his flames get out of control or are not properly manipulated, they will burn those around him. Guan Tong's own 'shadow' is also a very dangerous ability that could cause a lot of accidental injuries and deaths, and must be used with caution every time.

However, it seems that Wenren Yizhi has to bear the cost of her abilities herself, which is relatively rare.

However, Guan Tong was right about one thing.

He had previously suspected that his last teammate's ability might be related to healing.

In retrospect, the white pieces' ability to "link and share damage" can essentially be considered a form of alternative healing. Meanwhile, the black pieces' barrier against mental attacks will certainly be helpful in this French and German decapitation operation.

Including her in the team is undoubtedly the best choice. The only pity is that she cannot act with the group herself and can only provide remote assistance.

"We've arrived. This is the training level."

As Li Meng's voice rang out, the elevator doors opened.

The entire floor of the spacious area stretched out before you, like a giant gym.

There are countless fancy equipment and combat testing robots. Many Ascendants belonging to the base are practicing in different areas, while some data analysts and training partners are responsible for recording data and providing feedback and adjustment suggestions.

Of the group, Guan Tong was the only one who had come for the first time, so everyone was paying close attention to his reaction. However, Guan Tong simply glanced around and did not show any surprise.

Yang Ran said disappointedly, "Such a big venue, and the captain didn't even react."

Since learning Guan Tong's identity, he now consciously calls him Captain and no longer questions it.

“Guan Tong is a veteran of countless battles; what’s this little incident to him?” Li Meng said. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to the area we need.”

(End of this chapter)