"All Ascenders, sound off! How are we supposed to deal with this rule?"
"Just starve for now. If you really can't take it, just eat. It's not like the penalty for failure is death."
"The person who posted above me giving up already? Psychic Power decay is a big deal. Haven't you seen how the government and private organizations are all scrambling to recruit people like crazy?"
"They're only looking for top players. They definitely wouldn't give ordinary people a second look."
"I failed the second rule, so my power already decayed once. If it decays again this time, it'll probably drop to single digits!"
"Don't overthink it. Food and drinks are free right now, so every day you're alive is a day you've gained!"
"The Strategy Research Room posted an update. The Vitamin Pills from food crates can be used for this rule."
"Oh???"
"What good is that if you don't have coins! You can't buy jack shit!"
"Fuck! If you failed the last rule, you have no coins. No coins means you can't buy a food crate. And if you can't buy a crate, you can't pass this rule either. This is a goddamn vicious cycle!"
"It's not impossible to pass without a crate, right? Don't forget the first rule. A lot of people passed without using mints."
"I'm a 330-pound fatty, I can just burn some fat and pass easily! This is what you call being prepared. Told you guys you should've eaten more to stock up on energy."
"Holy shit! The guy above is a legend!"
"This is the episode where I'm most jealous of people with huge stomachs."
The online discussions were nonstop. Just like with the second rule, the atmosphere wasn't as oppressive and desperate as during the first, because there was no threat of death.
However, as people realized how increasingly important Psychic Power was, the fact that it would decay after a failed challenge became harder and harder to accept.
This time, the government was incredibly fast in updating the method for the rule challenge. Less than ten minutes after the rule was announced, they posted information about buying food crates to help pass, which suggested they had conducted experiments immediately.
But even so, many people couldn't afford them because they had failed the second rule and had no coins.
Fortunately, for these people, the government also released a detailed guide two hours later: how to survive for fifteen days on only water.
In this regard, North Star Country was the fastest. Within hours of the first Apocalypse Rule's appearance, the North Star Country government had gathered a large number of experts and scholars from all walks of life to study countermeasures.
The current guide was a document compiled from the brainstormed ideas of doctors from various fields, nutritionists, and even some expert fasters.
The guide started with a conclusion: a healthy person with no underlying medical conditions could indeed survive for fifteen days on just water.
However, the consequences could be severe. For instance, even if a person survived, some of their internal organs might begin to fail.
It was like the first rule, Sleep Deprivation. Some people had managed to endure it, but they suffered from lingering issues afterward, such as headaches and nervous exhaustion.
This rule was the same. Without the threat of death, how many people with insufficient coins would risk organ failure to endure these fifteen days?
The government couldn't make this choice for people, so it only provided the guide. Whether to persevere or not was up to each individual.
After Guan Tong bought four food crates, his mindset became very calm.
He knew he would definitely succeed in the challenge, so he was more focused on continuing to use his Psychic Power to write on the Wordless Book and perform Coinage.
Although he was tempted to turn to a new page and write something on the third page, he didn't know what to write just yet. So, he decided to focus on performing more Coinage for now.
One could never have too many Sublimation Coins. Although the ones he made were all Binding Coins, they could be used in the terminal store, which was all that mattered. Maybe he could buy something good the next time the store restocked.
Thus, Guan Tong once again began his undisturbed, homebody life of writing.
Probably because he hadn't shown any signs of life since the rules began, his surviving classmates in the group chat all thought he was dead.
Fang Qian didn't send any more messages after Guan Tong's reply. She knew that "Take care of yourself" meant he didn't want any more contact.
But not being disturbed was a good thing for Guan Tong. He liked the feeling of developing slowly on his own, just as he enjoyed reading slice-of-life novels and playing simulation games.
...
While Guan Tong was engrossed in his solitary pursuit of writing and Coinage, a meeting was being held in an office at North Star Country's official organization, the Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room.
The head of the Strategy Research Room was a middle-aged man with short hair, thick eyebrows, and sharp, masculine features. He looked like he had a military background.
Before becoming the director, this man, Gao Liangwei, had been a senior colonel in the military.
After the Apocalypse Rules descended, the top leadership appointed Gao Liangwei as the director, believing that his swift, decisive, and meticulous style could command the respect of elites from all fields and unite them into a single force to combat the rules.
"Everyone, the discussion on the third Apocalypse Rule will now begin. Please speak in an orderly fashion," Gao Liangwei said, sitting at one end of the long table. "Let's start with Dr. Zhang, on my left."
Dr. Zhang nodded, pushed up his glasses, and said, "As you all know, my research has been focused not on the rules themselves, but on the Fire Thief's objective. Now that the third rule is out, I believe it has become quite clear."
"Regardless of what this Fire Thief is, its purpose should be clear. It's using all sorts of extreme methods to screen the people on our planet, and in the end, have the selected individuals go..."
"...go participate in the apocalypse operation," a long-haired man at the other end of the table interrupted. "Dr. Zhang, I think everyone has known that since day one. The Fire Thief said so itself."
"Dr. Zhou, I believe I just said to speak in an orderly fashion, didn't I?" The director, Gao Liangwei, stared at the long-haired man. "Did you not hear me?"
Dr. Zhou's expression changed slightly. He muttered, "My apologies," and said no more.
"Dr. Zhang, please continue."
"Alright, I'll continue. It's true, when the Fire Thief first descended, it said that the so-called forty-nine Apocalypse Rules are actually the content of the 'Sublimation Test.' Those who pass the test will be chosen to participate in the apocalypse operation... What I'm trying to say is, if we are determined to build a team of chosen individuals, we must start preparing now. We can't delay."
Gao Liangwei asked, "Dr. Zhang, are you suggesting we begin the personnel selection process right now?"
"Yes, the sooner, the better. The constant updating of the Apocalypse Rules creates a process where the strong only get stronger. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to cultivate specific personnel."
At this moment, someone raised their hand to ask a question.
"Go ahead," Gao Liangwei gestured.
"I'd like to ask why we need to cultivate specific personnel. Can't we just select from the people who have already passed several rules? For example, the Psychic Power Development Academy is about to open. Wouldn't it be better to pick people from the academy?"
Just as Dr. Zhang was about to speak, Gao Liangwei said, "I'll answer this question. We have to consider the risk of infiltration, so it's best to cultivate personnel whose backgrounds we can vet."
"The risk of infiltration?"