49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 109: Chapter 104: Choice and Contact

A huge number of people watched the official live press conference simultaneously. After it ended, related discussions flooded the entire internet.

After all, the North Star Country hadn’t fought a war with another nation in over a hundred years. At most, there had been minor local skirmishes, and even declaring a level-three state of readiness was a huge deal.

For a country that hadn’t declared a level-one state of readiness in a century to suddenly announce it would enter wartime management in ten days was undoubtedly a massive shock to the public.

The only people in the North Star Country who had experienced a society under wartime management were of the great-grandparent generation. The subsequent three or four generations had never lived through a war, so now they were all having heated debates online.

"Does anyone know what a state of war will be like? Is it just unified food distribution?"

"Many aspects will be strictly controlled, right? It should be more than just a matter of rationing supplies."

"Looks like those Blood Plague Infected from this rule really pushed the officials over the edge..."

"No kidding. I don’t know what it’s like in your city, but we have several hundred Blood Plague Infected here. They used dozens of cars to block the main road, so the supply trucks can’t get through. It’s a huge mess!"

"Blocking a road is nothing. I’m in Yunhua, and we’ve got full-blown shootouts here. I heard a group of Infected rushed a hospital, stole guns, and wiped out the armed squad and the administration guys!"

"Over here, people gathered to commit arson and burned down several Gathering Points... I heard it was some people who got kicked out of the Gathering Points after getting infected themselves. They wanted revenge on the people inside, so they teamed up to set fires everywhere..."

"Sigh... Letting things get too ugly isn’t good either. Our Gathering Point had a lot of Infected too, but we didn’t just forcibly kick them out. We just isolated them in separate rooms. They didn’t make it in the end, but at least there wasn’t any retaliation or anything."

People posted online about the chaos happening in their respective cities, and reading through it all was truly shocking.

"After seeing what you all posted, it’s no wonder the officials held a press conference just a few hours after the rule ended. Things are going crazy everywhere!"

"I support wartime management. It’s too chaotic outside right now, I’m scared. I’d feel safer under official management."

"I agree. Putting everything else aside, I just can’t stand to see all the food being wasted. Some young people grab several portions for themselves, then throw away more than half. Just because it’s a free supply doesn’t mean you can waste it like that!"

The voices of support were in the majority, but there were opposing views as well. freewebnovёl.ƈom

"I don’t think this is a good idea. Have you thought about it? Once the state of war begins, it’ll have to last until all forty-nine Apocalypse Rules are over, right? We’ve only been through six so far, there are still forty-three to go!

Assuming it’s one rule per month, the remaining forty-three will take at least three years! Over three years of wartime management... I can’t even imagine it!"

"That’s what I was thinking. Over three years is a low estimate. I think it’ll probably take about five years for all forty-nine to pass. Five years! In this era of Apocalypse Rules, can we really survive for five years? Rather than just scraping by in a state of war, I’d rather live the rest of my days to the fullest!"

"I agree. I plan to leave the city before the 10th and find a remote little place to stay... I heard a lot of people left the city to form camps after the first rule? I wonder if I can find one to join."

"Those small groups are usually very exclusive, right? Besides, a lot of them were probably wiped out during the snowstorm rule..."

The discussions raged on, but no matter what, the city entering a state of wartime management after the 10th was set in stone. It wouldn’t change because of some online debate.

Those who needed to prepare all started making their own arrangements after seeing the news.

「A few hours later, at dusk, Guan Tong was already in his car, driving out of the city.」

That’s right. After some consideration, he had still decided to leave the city first.

He knew that from a big-picture perspective, the government’s decision was correct, reasonable, and would help more people survive.

But from his own point of view, he still preferred to be able to move freely and live a life where he was responsible for himself.

It was just like when he chose to leave the city during the "June Snow" rule. Back then, he had very few resources. Besides a Shadow that could briefly materialize, he had almost nothing.

But he still overcame his fear and left the city and the crowds. Looking back, that decision was probably the right one. But if he had judged wrong and something had happened to him outside, he most likely would have died without any chance of rescue.

Guan Tong just felt that even so, he wouldn’t have any regrets or resent anyone else, because those were choices he made himself.

The situation now was the same.

The choice he made was to leave before wartime management began. Whatever the consequences of this decision, good or bad, he would bear them when the time came.

The car he drove was the same as before, a shared electric car. And his destination was also the same as before: Mingdao Mountain.

As for why he was going there, on one hand, he had been there once during the last snowstorm, so he was somewhat familiar with the terrain.

On the other hand, it had mountains and forests, and the scenery wasn’t bad. Compared to going to some wasteland, Guan Tong definitely preferred a place with something nice to look at.

Only this time, he wouldn’t camp in the hollow at the foot of the mountain. Instead, he would go up the mountain and summon his shelter to live in.

After all, more than three months had passed, so the snow on the mountain must have melted long ago. Living on the mountain was also more concealed than at its base, so people passing by wouldn’t spot him at a glance.

In terms of food and other supplies, Guan Tong had spent the few hours before his departure preparing.

He stuffed all the supplies he had found in the abandoned residential complex into his shelter. He also made several trips to other abandoned complexes that hadn’t been demolished yet, using his Shadow’s activated vision to help him efficiently search for food that could be stored long-term.

After all that, his shelter was now packed with more than enough food to last him for over half a year. This was completely sufficient, even excessive.

Because Guan Tong had a feeling that even if he went to Mingdao Mountain, he probably wouldn’t stay there for too long.

To him, it was more like a temporary transition point, not a place where he planned to hunker down until all forty-nine rules were over before re-emerging.

He drove out of the city along the same route as last time, soon passing through the development zone. As Guan Tong drove past a certain spot, he didn’t pay it any mind at first, but after continuing on for a few more minutes, he suddenly slammed on the brakes.

’...Did I see that wrong?’

He frowned, and after a moment of thought, he made a U-turn and drove back. Before long, he arrived at the place that had caught his attention.

It was a roadside parking lot with a large red truck parked inside. Guan Tong took a closer look this time and was instantly certain he hadn’t been mistaken—it was the truck belonging to the mother and daughter duo, Wang Yan and Chen Na!

’Strange... Didn’t they go to Yong’an?’

Guan Tong parked his car, got out, and walked over for a look.

The big truck was covered in a lot of dirt and looked filthy. It probably hadn’t moved since the day it was parked here.

This was undoubtedly not right, because Guan Tong remembered very clearly that Wang Yan had said she would first go to the hospital to check on her stomach problem, and then drive her daughter Chen Na to Capital Yong’an via the national highway.

Did they abandon the truck and take other public transport? Or did something happen that prevented them from going at all? freewēbnoveℓ.com

Guan Tong didn’t know. He didn’t have Wang Yan’s contact information and couldn’t call to ask.

"Hey, you, kid!"

A voice called out from a nearby kiosk. Guan Tong looked over and saw an employee of the Emergency Management Bureau in a black uniform.

The man walked out of the kiosk and stood in front of Guan Tong. "Is this truck yours?"

"No. The owner is someone I know."

"Someone you know? Then hurry up and have the owner come and drive it away! This is a temporary parking lot for the Emergency Management Bureau, we use it for supply trucks and other official vehicles. How long has this truck been parked here? By rights, it should have been cleared out long ago."

Guan Tong shook his head. "I don’t have the owner’s contact information."

The staff member was taken aback. "Didn’t you say you know the owner?"

"I just know them."

"...Forget it." The staff member thought for a moment and said, "With a big truck like this, there are usually a driver’s license, cards, or something inside with a phone number on them. I’ll break the window, you go in and find it, then call the owner."

As he spoke, the staff member walked back toward the small kiosk and came out a moment later with a small iron hammer. He made a point of declaring to Guan Tong, "Don’t blame me for smashing the glass. This truck has been here for too long. I was already planning to have it towed and disposed of in the next few days. Just smashing a window is getting off easy."

Guan Tong nodded, not objecting.

"CRACK! CRACK! SHATTER!"

The staff member smashed the front windshield with a few swings of the hammer, then turned to Guan Tong and said, "Go on in."

Guan Tong climbed into the driver’s cab. After rummaging around for a bit, he actually found a slip of paper with Wang Yan’s phone number written on it.

"Did you find it?"

"Found it."

...

「That evening, in an apartment in a complex on Baishui Road, Chen Na waited until her mother, Wang Yan, was asleep before carefully slipping out the door to wait by the roadside.」

Before long, a car pulled up. The rear window rolled down, revealing the face of a short-haired woman, the same person who had delivered the protective suit half a month ago.

"Chen Na, have you thought it over in the past two weeks? Have you decided?" the short-haired woman asked.

Chen Na nodded, her voice firm. "I’ve decided. To get treatment for my mom, I’ll take the assessment you told me about!"

"You’re a good girl." The short-haired woman smiled. "Your mother will be proud of you."

Hearing this, Chen Na’s expression darkened, and she said in a low voice, "Actually, my mom doesn’t want me to participate. I snuck out..."

"I can understand. You’re still young, after all. It’s only natural for your mother to worry. But in this era, age is no longer important. What matters most is strength."

"Strength..."

"That’s right. Take you, for example. You may not be old, but possessing a rare ability like ’Large Area Perception’ is a manifestation of strength. From this point alone, your potential is far greater than that of most ordinary people."

Chen Na nodded, only half-understanding. The short-haired woman continued, "Don’t overthink it. Once you pass the assessment, my superior will pay for the medicinal items to treat your mother’s cancer. After your mother gets well, she definitely won’t blame you for being disobedient."

"Okay!" Chen Na thought so too. "I’ll work hard!"

"Good. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow. The time is set for 9 PM."

"But..." Chen Na hesitated. "Miss, how long will the assessment take? If I’m gone for a long time, there will be no one to take care of my mom."

"Don’t worry, the assessment only takes a few hours. We’ll bring you back before dawn."

"Okay, I understand. I’ll go back now. Goodbye, miss."

"Mm, goodbye."

The short-haired woman watched Chen Na go back inside, then rolled up the car window.

The driver asked, "Can a kid like her really pass? The people she’s competing against are all powerful, there’s even a former Official Team captain."

"Her ability is very special," the short-haired woman said. "Like I just said, a Large Area Perception Ability is too rare. If it’s further developed to have more functions, she has the full potential to become a top-tier support member."

The short-haired woman paused. "In fact, even if she doesn’t pass the assessment, I estimate the Commander-in-Chief will keep her."

"Ah... that’s true. The Commander-in-Chief has always had a fondness for cultivating young girls. Aren’t you a case in point?" the driver said.

The short-haired woman didn’t reply. The driver, feeling his comment had fallen flat, pursed his lips and drove away.

Back in the room, Chen Na was thinking about what the short-haired woman had said when her mother’s phone on the table suddenly rang.

Worried about waking her mother who had just managed to fall asleep, she quickly went over, picked it up, and ran out of the room with it.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Na?" Guan Tong’s voice came through. "It’s Guan Tong."