Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 414 Seeking Help and Exchanging Skills

Countermeasures Research Office, Gao Liangwei's office.

Li Meng, Zhang Minglu, and Chen Shi, the director of the space agency, were all present at that moment.

Chen Shi placed his phone on the table, pressed play, and a crackling audio file played.

"Help...help me...I'm on the Dream Boat..."

The audio was short, but it was clearly a cry for help.

Apart from Chen Shi, the other three all looked surprised when they heard the words "Mengzhou".

"Dreamboat? Does that refer to our Beixing Dreamboat-1 manned rocket?" Zhang Minglu asked.

Chen Shi nodded: "That's right."

When the North Star and Soromagnetic Space Agency briefing was held, everyone knew that after the failure of the first space colonization program, only the Imperial Pioneer carried a few surviving astronauts back to Tianshui.

As for "Dreamboat No. 1," it was left behind in orbit around Terra. Since the cause of the accident is unclear, it's impossible to send anyone to retrieve it.

"According to voiceprint analysis, the distress call belonged to Robert, the captain of the Imperial Pioneer. However, according to inquiries with several returning astronauts, Robert should have perished like the other astronauts."

“But he’s still alive and has sent out a distress message.” Gao Liangwei said thoughtfully.

“Something’s not right,” Li Meng analyzed. “Our previous assessment was that the ‘Crimson Fear’ power in these rules appeared on Terra before the rules were issued. Those astronauts perished because they came into contact with this power beforehand. If this Robert was also invaded by the Crimson Fear, there’s no reason why he could regain normal consciousness.”

This rule has been in effect for half a month, and human research on it has yielded many results.

Some Ascended individuals with high psychic potential and fast reaction speed can indeed save themselves—even if they accidentally look directly at Scarlet Terra, they can survive as long as they stop in time before their consciousness is completely lost in fear.

Just like the previous cases where suspected parasites used games to spread scarlet fear, some quick-thinking players looked away or smashed their screens as soon as they saw the high-definition images, and were not greatly affected.

But the astronauts were completely unaware of this; they were attacked without knowing anything about scarlet fear and had no idea how to protect themselves.

Now that Robert has suddenly regained consciousness and can even send out distress signals, it all seems suspicious.

At this moment, Zhang Minglu's eyes widened, realizing something.

"Could it be...could it be that Robert became the source of the transmission?!"

Upon hearing this, Li Meng and Gao Liangwei both fell silent, while only Chen Shi remained puzzled.

"Source of transmission? What does that mean?"

“Director Chen, you don’t know yet,” Gao Liangwei explained, “The third experiment exploring scarlet fear just ended last night. The conjoined twins got a chilling result from that experiment… that ‘unknown’ source of fear, once humans come into contact with it, could become a carrier of scarlet fear, spreading fear through eye contact with others.”

"What?!" Chen Shi exclaimed in shock, finding it hard to believe.

After boldly proposing his hypothesis, Zhang Minglu frowned and muttered, "But that's not right. If Robert is unaffected by scarlet phobia, how could he have fallen into a state of excessive fear and stress before? This is different from the test subject whose lobe was removed..."

“NASA believes that people must be saved,” Chen Shi said. “And we can’t just abandon ‘Dreamboat-1’ like this. If Robert becomes a source of transmission, wouldn’t it be possible to prevent it by having the rescue team wear special equipment and avoid eye contact with Robert?”

“It looks like that, but the risks are still very high,” Li Meng warned. “Don’t forget that Dreamboat One is currently in orbit around Terra. Sending a rescue team there now to make close contact with Crimson Terra would be too dangerous. If you’re going to send a rescue team, it would be best to wait until this rule period ends.”

Zhang Minglu chimed in, "I think so too. The resources on Dream Boat No. 1 are definitely enough for Robert to live on for a year and a half. There's no need to rush to send someone to rescue him. It's not too late to go after the rules are over and we have more information about the source of fear."

Gao Liangwei didn't speak, but just nodded and looked at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi thought for a moment and said, "Your suggestion makes a lot of sense. We will discuss it with the Soma Space Agency and form a joint rescue team after the rules are finalized."

He then took back his phone and stood up: "I'll go back first, and I'll contact you later."

After Chen Shi left, only three people remained in the room, and each of them looked somewhat tired.

The three of them had a lot of work to do, and they seemed to be working non-stop every day, with almost no time to rest.

"By the way, Section Chief Li, I've watched your team's combat video and prepared the props you requested," Zhang Minglu said.

Thanks.

Gao Liangwei asked, "What's their relationship like?"

"Not bad, quite harmonious," Li Meng said. "Guan Tong, Chen Na, and Yin Hu are quite familiar with each other, and Bai Xuewu is also familiar with Chen Na, but her attitude towards Guan Tong is so-so. As for Yang Ran, although he only knew Bai Xuewu before, this kid is also very outgoing. After learning Guan Tong's identity, he also accepted the latter as the captain... As for Wenren Yizhi, there's nothing we can do. Because of her health condition, she only nods to the others and doesn't have any in-depth communication."

Zhang Minglu gave a wry smile: "Xiao Bai suffered at Guan Tong's hands when he was on Holy Grail Island, so his attitude towards him is definitely not good. As for Wenren Yizhi... sigh, that's the price of her abilities, there's nothing we can do about it."

Gao Liangwei also knew about Wenren Yizhi's situation, but certainly not as much as Zhang Minglu. He asked, "Is the price of her ability that she can't stand up?"

Zhang Minglu first nodded, then shook his head: "This price is an 'option,' she could actually choose not to. But for her, playing chess is the greatest pleasure, and she is willing to pay the price for it."

Gao Liangwei and Li Meng didn't quite understand, so Zhang Minglu added, "I don't know the specifics. I only know that her chessboard has many abilities, one of which is 'playing chess.' According to what she told me, once this ability is activated, it will absorb her life force, and perhaps her inability to get up and walk is a manifestation of the lack of life force."

"Absorb life force..."

Li Meng recalled the appearance of Wenren Yizhi; the latter did indeed give off a sense of frailty.

"Is this a good thing?" he couldn't help but ask. "In the long run..."

"When she agreed to join the Countermeasures Research Lab, her condition was that she wouldn't be interfered with, so we couldn't say anything," Zhang Minglu said. "Besides, her ability is quite special; she can assist others from a very long distance."

Li Meng nodded. As long as one possesses her black and white chess pieces, one can ignore distance and draw upon her power; she is indeed very powerful.

“Let’s give the team a week to gel,” Gao Liangwei said. “The Human Alliance has decided to carry out a decapitation strike against the Fire Thief Cult next week.”

"Next week?"

"The Federation of People's Associations unanimously agreed that we cannot give those cultists any more time, otherwise they will only carry out more terrorist attacks."

……

Outside Pinglu City, deep in the valley.

The two are engaged in a fierce battle in the forest.

Guan Tong manipulated numerous shadow blades, slashing at his opponent from all directions, but they were shattered by a layer of energy before even making contact with his body. "Hah!"

Shi Jingyi gave a light rebuke, took a step and rushed in front of Guan Tong, punching him in the abdomen.

Her fists seemed to be burning with flames, but the flames were bluish-white and exuded a surging aura.

The shadow formed a thick layer of shadow armor on Guan Tong's body. When Shi Jingyi's fist struck, the bluish-white "flames" instantly spread to his entire body, devouring the dark shadow armor in an instant.

Guan Tong's eyes changed slightly. He activated Shadow Shift and swapped positions with the shadow in the sky, simultaneously dispelling the burning shadow armor and opening the Shadow Domain.

In the pitch black, he kept urging his shadow blade to slash at Shi Jingyi, but the latter seemed completely unaffected by the darkness, easily dispelling his attacks and using the Repulsion Step to quickly approach his main body.

Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi would definitely not use attacks like "small space" when sparring, just as Shi Jingyi would not use the extremely powerful Zhenmai Bengquan. Both of them would stop when they had just touched each other.

So when Shi Jingyi's fist was pressed against Guan Tong's chest, both of them stopped.

Guan Tong deactivated the Shadow Domain and asked curiously, "Can you see in complete darkness? How do you know where I'll attack and my true location?"

Shi Jingyi smiled and said, "I can't see you, but I can sense the fluctuations of your mental energy. That way, I can know where you are even with my eyes closed."

"..."

Guan Tong was speechless for a moment. Although he could also sense the fluctuations of mental energy, he had to be at close range.

The ability of Shi Jingyi to sense the fluctuations of another person's mental energy from such a great distance... is probably something only she could do.

This demonstrates that her observation and application of psychic energy has reached an incredible level.

"Then what was that flame on your fist just now?" Guan Tong was also curious about this. "That flame... I remember it was the effect of 'Condensation,' right? Can it also be used for attack?"

"Yes. It can spread rapidly upon contact with the target. You should have felt it, right? If you hadn't deactivated the Shadow Armor defense in time, it would have burned through your entire body."

"I can definitely feel it... I think your use of mental energy is almost at the level of oneness with nature." Guan Tong said with sincere admiration, "It would probably take others five or ten years to catch up."

Guan Tong herself originally wanted to "learn from others' strengths and make up for her own weaknesses," to improve her own "Book Without Words" while learning Shi Jingyi's method of energy application.

At first, it was alright; he could still grasp things like acupoints and the flow of mental energy.

However, as Shi Jingyi continued to evolve and developed advanced applications such as mental martial arts, condensation and refinement, and perception of mental energy flow, he found that he could no longer keep up.

To this day, he hasn't even mastered a single mental martial art. This isn't just because he hasn't worked hard enough; rather, as his studies deepen, he increasingly feels the immense effort and frustration caused by the gap in his talent.

“Yes.” Shi Jingyi was not feigning modesty. “Martial arts training really depends on talent. Back in the martial arts school, even with the same hands-on instruction, some students with good talent could master the tricks in a week or a month, while those with poor talent might not be able to master them even after six months or a year.”

"...It seems I don't have any talent for martial arts."

Shi Jingyi objectively said, "You do have talent, but it's not at the genius level."

After saying that, she couldn't help but smile: "But you have your own path to follow, so you don't need to worry about this kind of issue."

"Ah."

Guan Tong also knew that the "Wordless Book" was his foundation, and there was no need for him to be unhappy just because he wasn't a martial arts genius.

"Let's take a break and play another round later. I think there are still areas for improvement."

"it is good."

During this period of free time, the two would spar and compete with each other, helping each other with training.

Guan Tong didn't know how Shi Jingyi felt, but he felt that he benefited a lot each time.

Because his fighting style leans towards "control type," although he occasionally uses teleportation and close-quarters combat in small spaces, he mostly fights by manipulating shadows.

This control-oriented combat style is not afraid of a large number of enemies or a variety of enemy tactics; what it fears most are those simple and brutal "basic" powerful enemies.

The so-called basic system is to maximize a single attribute, especially the combination of speed and lethality or strength, which is quite troublesome for Guan Tong.

Lucifer is a typical example. With the extreme speed and cutting power of his wings, he can easily break through the shadow's limitations and pose a serious threat to Guan Tong's main body.

Shi Jingyi also uses this type of fighting style.

She rarely buys or uses mental energy items, relying solely on mental energy combined with her various martial arts techniques to fight. This pure fighting style makes Guan Tong easily put herself on the defensive, allowing her to gain considerable combat experience in each sparring session.

The two sat down to rest under the shade of a tree. Shi Jingyi leaned her head against the tree trunk, squinting at the sunlight filtering through the leaves, giving off a very pleasant feeling.

Guan Tong noticed the faint smile on her lips and felt a slight stirring in his heart. Although he had never mentioned it, he could sense that he always felt more relaxed when he was with Shi Jingyi, and that feeling of relaxation was an experience that was priceless in this era.

He felt this was related to Shi Jingyi's personality. Faced with the irrational and terrifying disaster of the apocalyptic rules, she seemed never to have complained. Unlike some pessimists who complained every day, or some nihilists who lived each day in a daze.

She simply does what she's supposed to do every day: teach and practice martial arts. This may seem simple, but it's extremely rare in this era because it requires a remarkably stable mental core. And when someone can calmly accept all the good and bad things that happen, others truly feel at ease being around them.

After sitting for a while, Guan Tong asked, "After what happened in Lu Cheng, nothing else went wrong, right?"

"No. What about you? Did the parasite do anything to you after that?" Shi Jingyi looked at him.

"No, but they definitely won't give up, and they'll definitely make other moves in the future... So I plan to take the initiative to strike in Black Flag Country after I return from France this time, otherwise it's too much trouble to keep guarding against these guys."

"Guan Tong, did you say that the leader of the parasites, that prophet, is really human? Why would the power behind the parasites choose to communicate with a human rather than a specific parasite?"

"I don't know. But I believe that once we find that guy, we might be able to get some information out of him."

"Okay. I've rested enough, shall we spar again?"

“Come on, this time I’ll use a different weapon.” Guan Tong took out the Silver Hunter from her storage ring.

Upon seeing the gun, Shi Jingyi recalled, "I remember this is the gun you used to fight the living dead in Yunhua City... Compared to that time, it seems to have changed quite a bit."

"Yes, I've enhanced it several times since then, and its power has increased significantly. Try it and see if you can defend against it."

(End of this chapter)