Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 443 Rainforest and Positioning

April 7, Yingqi.

A dozen or so young people arrived together deep in the rainforest with their luggage.

In times of peace, when this land belonged to An Tai State, many people would come every year to hike deep into this rainforest and experience the breath of nature.

These dozen or so young people from Yingqi have made a pact online after the new rules were announced to leave the city, venture deep into the rainforest, and return to a primitive lifestyle to avoid the harm caused by microplastics.

"Keep going, everyone! Let's go a little further and find a suitable place to camp!"

A short young man wearing a cotton shirt clenched his fist to encourage the others.

His name is Takahashi. In peacetime, he worked as an environmental investigator with extensive field experience, which is why more than a dozen people recommended him to be the team leader.

"Takahashi, phew...should we continue going in..."

A woman in the group, sweating profusely and panting, asked.

Another person said, "Yes, we've been walking for almost three hours, and we're quite far from the city. We should be fine now, right?"

"Well, I think it would be safer to go a little further," Takahashi said with a smile. Despite being chosen as the team leader, he didn't put on airs and instead adopted a humble attitude.

"With such a dense forest, microplastics can't spread much, right?"

"Alright everyone, Takahashi is an expert after all, let's listen to him."

"That's right, stop complaining."

The group decided to trust Takahashi's professional judgment and continued to follow him deeper into the forest.

They set off at noon and walked until evening before stopping to find a spacious place to set up camp for sleeping.

In the past, when you wanted to go camping in the wild, you could just bring a tent or even a sleeping bag. But now that the regulations are in place, those are no longer valid, because mass-produced tents and sleeping bags all contain a lot of plastic.

“There used to be some eco-friendly tents made of pure cotton canvas or linen, but the disadvantages were either that they were too heavy to carry or that they were prone to mold. Moreover, many eco-friendly tents are handmade, expensive, and have always been a niche product.”

As Takahashi explained, he used branches and leaves cut from the trees to build a makeshift camp.

"Wow~ If it weren't for these new rules, I really wouldn't have realized that plastic is so prevalent in human society!"

"Yes, it's gotten to the point where we can't live without each other."

"Now we've left, haven't we? Even though it was forced upon us."

"That's fine! I've hated city life anyway!"

The group chatted as they worked under Takahashi's guidance.

Two or three hours later, a large tent was set up, bound with cowhide ropes, with a frame made of natural wood and covered with branches and leaves.

Although it's simple, at least it's enough to sleep in and keep out the rain.

"Ah...that must have been really tough."

"My legs are sore from walking, and I've been chopping wood for so long, I'm really tired!"

People lay down crookedly, when a "click" sound rang out. Everyone turned to look and saw a middle-aged man lighting a cigarette.

Upon seeing this, Takahashi immediately shouted, "Hey, what are you doing!"

The middle-aged man paused for a moment: "Tired? Want a smoke? What's wrong?"

A girl frowned and rebuked, "This is a forest! How can you smoke here? What if it starts a fire?"

The middle-aged man scoffed, "This is a rainforest, little sister. It's not that easy to start a fire here. Besides, I'm just lighting a cigarette. I'm not stupid. Why would I set a fire?"

"you……"

"This isn't a fire problem!" Takahashi pointed at the man. "It's a plastic problem!"

plastic?!
Upon hearing this, everyone moved away from the man and looked at the silver lighter in his hand.

The middle-aged man glanced down at the lighter in his right hand and suddenly flared up: "Do you think I'm an idiot? This is a high-end, all-metal product!"

Takahashi said anxiously, "I'm talking about cigarettes. Don't you know that the filters on the cigarettes you're smoking contain plastic? Get rid of them right away!"

"What? There's plastic in the cigarette filter? This...this can't be true..." The middle-aged man stared at the cigarette filter, now wet with his own saliva, his hand trembling as the cigarette fell to the ground. "I forgot to check. If there really is plastic..."

Someone asked, "Takahashi, what should we do now? Burn it down?"

Before Takahashi could answer, another person spat out, "Idiot! If you burn it, the microplastics inside will just spill out even more!"

"what……"

"We have no choice but to bury them!" Takahashi instructed the panicked man. "Go to a place far from the camp immediately, dig a deep pit, and bury all the cigarettes you brought! Soil should reduce the spread of microplastics."

"Yes, yes... I understand..."

Realizing he had caused trouble, the uncle didn't dare to argue. He quickly grabbed a small shovel, picked up the cigarette from the ground, and ran out of the camp.

As soon as he left, the others began to complain.

"What kind of person is this... Everyone clearly agreed online that no plastic can be brought in."

"That's right, this uncle looked a bit stupid, but I didn't expect him to actually be an idiot!"

"He almost killed me..."

"Alright everyone," Takahashi, the team leader, smoothed things over. "He was just careless and didn't check beforehand. He probably thought those old-fashioned cigarettes were just made of tobacco leaves and paper."

"Takahashi, you shouldn't speak up for that kind of old man!"

"Thank goodness you found out quickly, Takahashi, otherwise I really don't know what would have happened."

"Yes, I saw online before that a girl in Beixing died suddenly from microplastic poisoning after using a face wash. It's really terrifying."

The group surrounded Gaoqiao, talking incessantly, their eyes filled with admiration. In this environment, a leader who was knowledgeable about the wilderness and had strong observational skills could indeed bring a great sense of security to the team members.

After a while, the uncle returned with a shovel. Facing the stares of the crowd, he said sheepishly, "The cigarettes are all buried. I dug a very deep hole and filled it with a lot of soil. There's absolutely no problem."

“It’s good that it’s buried,” Takahashi said. “Everyone’s been working hard all day, so I think we should eat something and get some rest.”

"Okay, I'll do as Takahashi says!"

The group took out some small metal cans, which they had brought from the city. Because Sakura's population was now very small, there were plenty of resources per person, and each person received more than ten metal cans after the rules were announced.

Unlike Beixing, which gives out one can of food every day, Yingqi's ten or so boxes per person are disposable and won't be replenished after they're finished. This means you have to be disciplined; otherwise, if you eat all the canned food in the first two days, you'll have to go hungry or find your own food for the rest of the time.

After the meal, everyone lay down to rest. Because of the cigarette incident, everyone consciously kept their distance from the older man, who, knowing he was disliked, lay alone in a corner.

Although Takahashi felt a little sorry for some people being isolated, he couldn't control everyone's opinions, so he rested after arranging the shifts for night watch.

Sleeping in this rainforest at night, the most noticeable thing is the extremely high humidity.

Even without rain, the humidity was extremely high everywhere, and everyone felt sticky and uncomfortable on their skin.

Add to that the various chirping of insects in the forest, and some rustling and unknown sounds, and it was easy to feel tense with everyone. Fortunately, when humans act in a group, their sense of security is greatly enhanced. So even though the sounds outside were frightening, the thought of having more than a dozen companions lying beside them made them feel much more at ease.

Takahashi slept in a daze for an unknown amount of time before being suddenly shaken awake.

"Takahashi, wake up!"

"Hmm...what's wrong?"

"Look at that uncle!"

Takahashi jolted awake. The two people on night duty were waking everyone up in a panic, and several screamed when they saw the old man sleeping in the corner.

The latter had a large, swollen patch on the side of his face facing the crowd; it was sickly yellow and clearly something was wrong.

"Oh my god! What happened to him?!"

"Could it be microplastic poisoning?!"

Does anyone know about treatment?

As everyone panicked, Takahashi quickly got up and went to the old man's side, shaking him vigorously: "Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me!"

When he touched the man, he found that the man's body was stiff, and when he checked his breath with his finger, he found that the man had stopped breathing.

Takahashi stared in disbelief, taking a long time to recover before turning to the horrified crowd: "He...he's dead..."

……

Late at night, on the second floor of the Book Pages Shelter.

Guan Tong sat in front of the computer, looking at his private message interface with Adam.

After he sent the prophecy of the Key of the Moon, Adam replied, "Thank you for your concern. If I die, it will be a worthy death."

This reply clearly indicates that he is about to do something dangerous, which also confirms that the Moon Key's prediction of his death was not unfounded.

Guan Tong then sent him a private message asking where he was and if he needed help.

But Adam never replied, which gave Guan Tong a slight headache.

He and Adam had a casual relationship, and Adam's dangerous plans were none of his business, nor was he obligated to help him.

But he had an agreement with the Moon Key.

Through prophecy, the Moon Key helped him find a straggling assassin named "Wei Huo" who had escaped the net, and then uncovered "Han Qiu," a dangerous figure who had been hiding in the shadows.

This matter is very important to Guan Tong. If he doesn't know about Han Qiu's existence, not only will he be constantly being targeted, but he will also never be able to find the real enemy who killed Suzuki.

Moreover, Han Qiu is an unscrupulous person. Since he couldn't find a breakthrough with Guan Tong, he would try to take action against the people around him, which Guan Tong absolutely could not tolerate.

So, in return for the Key of the Moon, he will do his best to fulfill the promise between the two and change her prophecy about Adam's death.

Adam isn't replying to messages anymore...

Guan Tong pondered for a moment, thinking, "It seems I'll have to start with the device address again."

This wasn't the first time he had used a user's account on the Ascendant's Home platform to reverse-locate their login device address.

He had previously used this method to find Wu Wang, the bomber who framed him, and ultimately eliminated the violent gang led by Wu Wang.

Now he's going to use this method again to find Adam.

Access the website backend and retrieve all data from Adam's account.

The address field contains a set of the latest coordinates.

Guan Tong entered the coordinates into the world map system, and it immediately located a certain place.

"here it is……"

He zoomed in on the map and discovered that the coordinates were actually located on an ocean!
This suddenly reminded him of the prophetic image of Adam that the Moon Key had previously described: only his corpse was seen floating in the ocean.

What was Adam doing in the sea?

Guan Tong couldn't figure it out, especially since these coordinates were Adam's last location. Refreshing the backend data didn't update anything, indicating that either Adam hadn't logged in again or had simply abandoned his network equipment.

Looking at the coordinates, he wondered if he should go. After all, he couldn't break his promise to the Moon Key.

"Commander."

At that moment, Shangyuan Zi's voice came from outside the door.

"Come in, Shangyuan."

She pushed the door open and said, "I plan to go to Banzhen."

"Go to Banzhen? Hasn't the Suzuki matter already been resolved?"

"It's because her case has been resolved that I want to work hard to find the murderer and find Han Qiu. The Black Star incident gave me inspiration, and I plan to establish a local intelligence network in Banzhen."

"You...established an intelligence network..."

Guan Tong couldn't believe that Shang Yuanzi would say such a thing.

“Is it not possible?” Uehara Yuki retorted. “Although it sounds strange, I had some juniors when I was in the Chosen Ones. Some of them are still alive and working for the Sakuragi Police Department. I think I can make them listen to me.”

Guan Tong pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. Black Star has an underground intelligence network in Sisia, so you want to replicate it in Yingqi. However, given Yingqi's current size, is it necessary to do so?"

After the island of Sakuragi sank, there are now only two cities, Banzhen and Antu, with a total population of several million, which is far less than that of Xisia.

“I think it’s necessary.” Shang Yuanzi’s eyes were serious, as if she had made up her mind to do it.

Guan Tong inexplicably felt that ever since Kurohoshi and Shirohoshi started calling her "Vice-Captain," she seemed to have changed, becoming more proactive. Perhaps she felt that since she was the Vice-Captain, she also needed to shoulder some responsibility and do something for the development of the troupe.

“Okay, then go ahead,” Guan Tong said. “Among the members of the troupe, this rule will have the least impact on you, and I trust you the most.”

Shangyuan Zi is covered in scales, creating a sealed environment that prevents microplastics from penetrating. On the other hand, Guan Tong himself faces a significant threat from these rules; he could easily suffer microplastic poisoning and internal organ damage if he's not careful.

With Guan Tong's approval, Shang Yuanzi's expression relaxed, and she nodded. Then she glanced at the map coordinates on Guan Tong's computer and asked, "Are you going out?"

"Yes, it should be."

“This coordinate location… seems quite far.” Shangyuan Zi frowned. “These rules pose a significant threat to you, Leader. Staying in the shelter until the end is the safest course of action, isn’t it?”

Guan Tong smiled helplessly: "If I could, I certainly wouldn't want to go out and take risks. But I promised the Moon Key that as a reward for helping me find 'Wei Huo', I would try to help Adam... I can't go back on my word."

"..."

Shang Yuanzi stared at the computer screen for a moment, then looked at Guan Tong: "If the location is in the ocean, then I'll go with you, Captain. My Deep Sea Serpent bloodline can be best utilized in such a place."

Guan Tong's eyes lit up: "That's right. Okay, let's get this done together, and then you can go to Banzhen."

(End of this chapter)