49 Apocalypse Rules

Guan Tong walked from the development zone all the way to the city center, witnessing firsthand some of the things he had previously seen only in videos.

The most striking sight was the complete collapse of the shops lining the streets. However, he could now see work crews demolishing the ruins, clearing the debris, and loading the scraps onto trucks to be hauled away. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the roadsides were completely clear.

As he watched the city transform before his eyes, Guan Tong wondered where he should go to settle down.

He had contacted Xu Xiaotian a few times over the past few days. According to him, the Li Mei Hotel was severely damaged, and its water and electricity issues still hadn’t been fully resolved.

Furthermore, the current residents were hostile toward outsiders. After the fourth "rule," the long-term tenants had held a meeting and decided to formalize the residency, assigning exclusive rooms to themselves. Any newcomers wishing to stay would need to be approved by a vote of the existing residents.

After learning this, Guan Tong decided against going there.

’Maybe I should go home,’ he thought.

He hadn’t been back since he moved out after the kidnapping incident. Now that Shen Zuohu’s kidnapping ring in Yunhua had been apprehended, he no longer had anything to worry about by returning home.

’If there was anything to worry about, it would be whether my own building had been completely crushed during the recent "rule." If it had, I couldn’t go back even if I wanted to.’

Guan Tong decided to head over and check it out first.

As he walked, something else occurred to him.

He realized he hadn’t exchanged contact information with the mother-daughter duo, Wang Yan and Chen Na. ’It’s no big deal, though. We were just strangers who happened to get through a "rule" together. Even if we had, we probably wouldn’t have contacted each other again.’

If they were fated to meet again, perhaps they would.

After walking for over three hours, Guan Tong arrived at his residential complex.

Unsurprisingly, the complex’s security booth and main gate had both collapsed into the floodwater.

The scene inside was no better. Even back when Guan Tong lived here, there hadn’t been many residents. Now, after the snowstorm "rule," the place was a landscape of rubble and ruins.

He found his apartment building, and just as he’d feared, the roof had caved in under the weight of the snow. Meltwater streamed from numerous windows, making the building look as if it were hidden behind a curtain of water.

Seeing this, Guan Tong knew his apartment was surely flooded and completely uninhabitable. He wandered around the complex and found one small building still standing—the property management’s storage shed, where they used to keep lawnmowers and other equipment.

The small shed hadn’t collapsed because it was surrounded by several large trees whose canopies towered above it.

The snow had accumulated on the branches instead. Even though some branches had snapped under the weight, they had significantly reduced the pressure on the shed’s roof, allowing it to become the sole surviving structure in the complex.

Guan Tong immediately decided to make the property management shed his temporary home.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to the official shelters; he just found the idea of living in one highly inconvenient.

It was just like the situation at the Li Mei Hotel, where large groups of people were sleeping on the floor in the main lobby. In such a place, there was practically no privacy.

With so many people in one room, everything you did was in plain sight. For instance, if Guan Tong wanted to take out the [Wordless Book] to work on something, he would undoubtedly be seen, sparking unwanted curiosity.

So, for the sake of both privacy and freedom, Guan Tong much preferred to live alone. He wasn’t picky about his living conditions; a shabbier environment didn’t bother him.

He cleaned up the storage shed and spread his sleeping bag on the floor. His trusty companion through the fourth "rule" was now looking a bit "battle-damaged."

’Looks like I’ll need to go to a supply point to get a new one soon... As for food, I can probably just scavenge some from the complex.’

Guan Tong didn’t have any food in his bag at the moment. He did have a [Basic Food Box] in his inventory, but that was a last resort for life-or-death emergencies and not to be wasted.

He didn’t need to run to a supply point for food, either. With so many apartment buildings and former residents in the complex, he was bound to find some non-perishables.

For starters, his own apartment still had plenty of food. He had left in a hurry with the police and hadn’t taken any of his supplies, so everything he’d stocked up was still there.

No sooner said than done. Guan Tong immediately headed for his "condemned" apartment building. To protect himself from any falling debris, he summoned Shadow and had it form into the Shadow Armor around him before going inside.

The Shadow Armor had a short duration, so Guan Tong made it quick. He dashed to his apartment, waded through the water into the kitchen, and opened the upper cabinets. They were filled with cookies, instant noodles, canned goods, and vitamin tablets. He stuffed everything into his bag and got out.

Back in the property management shed, Guan Tong unloaded the food from his bag, placing it in a corner. He let out a small sigh of relief.

Now that he had basic food and shelter, he could focus on his development in peace.

He took out the [Wordless Book] and turned to the third page.

According to the July plan he’d laid out during his earlier walk, he had already succeeded in the first goal: Shadow’s transformation. The second goal, stocking up bullets for the Silver Hunter, was also a daily work in progress. The third goal—writing "Psychic Power"—was not going so well.

Guan Tong stared at the third page. After ten days, all he had managed to manifest was the single word, "Psychic." This was because writing on the third page drained far more Psychic Power than writing on the first or second.

His Psychic Power cap of 124 points seemed high, but even that was barely enough for the strenuous task of writing on the third page.

He had also tried to leverage the book’s "vague request" feature, pouring Psychic Power into the single word he’d written—"Psychic"—hoping to manifest the full "Psychic Power" concept. But the energy he poured in simply vanished without a trace, like a stone tossed into the ocean.

This left him a bit dejected; he felt this might be his first real failure. Still, he resolved to see it through. At his current pace, he estimated he could finish writing by late July.

And so, the days passed. Guan Tong’s life settled back into a monotonous routine. Aside from developing his Psychic Power, his only other activity was taking a few strolls around the deserted complex each day, which he found surprisingly pleasant.

During this time, Xu Xiaotian gave him a call. He said that transportation had been partially restored, and he was heading to the Capital.

The Psychic Power Development Academy had announced it would officially open on August 10th, so Xu Xiaotian wanted to get there early. He was worried that the fifth "rule," set to be announced on August 1st, might throw another wrench in the works and shut down transportation, causing further delays.

Xu Xiaotian asked Guan Tong if he wanted to go together, but after some thought, Guan Tong declined. He still preferred to develop at his own pace.

Besides that, Guan Tong also saw two official announcements online.

The first announced a massive "survival-focused reconstruction" of major cities. This would involve demolishing numerous existing structures to build new ones better suited for survival. The announcement welcomed individuals with relevant expertise to join the effort, promising generous compensation.

The second was a much more forceful statement. It read: "All actions involving the forced trading of items or Sublimation Coins from Ascenders will be met with severe and uncompromising enforcement. Victims of coercion are urged to contact official channels immediately. Exclusive armed units will be dispatched to handle the matter without delay."

After this second announcement, many of the organizations and groups that had been aggressively advertising and recruiting Ascenders online quieted down considerably, adopting a much lower profile.

Many Ascenders saw this and concluded that siding with the government was the best way to get protection. As a result, some previously solo Ascenders began to voluntarily contact official departments to register their Psychic Power and other details in exchange for sanctuary.

「July 24th.」

While the outside world was in constant turmoil, Guan Tong, making slow and steady progress, silently finished writing the two words "Psychic Power" on the third page of the [Wordless Book].