Chapter 452: The Nineteenth Doomsday Rule |
“Crunch, crunch...”
On June 1st, in the cafeteria of a certain shelter, a young man was noisily chewing on a plastic board. Around him, many others were also engaging in forms of eating that would be unimaginable to a normal person.
Someone was eating a black garbage bag, someone else was gnawing on a mineral water bottle, and another person was shoving a small toy into their mouth... Without a doubt, all of these were plastic products, and these eaters were the ones who had successfully undergone the Plastification Reaction.
A month had passed since the Eighteenth Rule. After a transition period, the side effects had fully manifested. The physiological functions of the Plastified had completed their transformation; their digestive systems could no longer digest normal food and could only break down plastic.
This shift had led ordinary people to start referring to this group as "Plastic People." Although the Human Consortium repeatedly called for—and even banned—discriminatory terms, the effect was poor, almost negligible.
Regarding this group, the measures taken by the Human Consortium’s member nations were all more or less the same: have these people live in concentrated areas, separate from ordinary people.
This wasn’t an official requirement but a collective demand from the general populace. No ordinary person was willing to live alongside those who could only eat plastic, so the governments of each nation could only arrange for segregation.
The "Plastic People" group initially resisted, but unable to go against the tide, they had to comply with the arrangement. However, after a few days, they gradually grew accustomed to it. Surrounded by their own kind, eating plastic no longer seemed so horrifying or strange.
“Garbage bags are still no good.” One person tossed away the black bag in his hand, speaking with disdain. “They’re sticky and slimy. Feels hard to digest.”
“I think this ‘Synthetic Plastic Solution’ is pretty good to drink.” A person tilted their head back, chugging down nearly half a small bottle, then licked their lips with lingering satisfaction. “Kind of tastes like drinking hawthorn juice.”
As the group exchanged their actual experiences with the new diet, one heavily-built person, too busy to speak, was voraciously devouring everything in sight.
Those around him looked on in astonishment. Noticing everyone staring, the man grumbled, “Becoming a Plastic Person is better. Before, I could never get full on normal food. The daily ration was so small, I starved and lost a good few dozen pounds. Now I can eat plastic. At least I’ll never go hungry again!”
“...”
Everyone was left speechless, thinking to themselves: Brother, even after starving off a few dozen pounds, you look like you’re nearly three hundred pounds. Seems like eating a bit less might be better.
But what the big brother said wasn’t wrong. With food now being plastic, there was no longer any worry about shortages or lack of drink. While ordinary people were still living under a daily food ration system, they had already achieved freedom of consumption—after all, the thing the world had the most of was plastic.
Just then, the administrator arrived at the cafeteria to announce: “Breakfast time ends in ten minutes. A new rule will be announced in forty minutes. All of you, prepare yourselves mentally.”
Apart from the difference in food, all other management for these Plastic People followed the shelter’s general regulations. For example, breakfast time was fixed from 7:30 to 8:30.
Some who had been too busy chatting and hadn’t eaten their fill hurried up their pace. As soon as 8:30 hit, they all headed back to their dorms, waiting for the new rule to be released promptly at 9 o’clock.
...
“Ten more minutes.”
Guan Tong glanced at his watch. The time had reached 8:50.
He was still staying deep in the Pinglu mountain area, but now he was completely alone.
Black Star and White Star had both returned to Xisiya, continuing to run their underground intermediary network from the bar base, collecting intelligence on one hand and acquiring Flowable Mind Power on the other.
Uenoshi had been in Sakura Prayer Country the entire time, only returning once in between. She told Guan Tong she had managed to gather some former juniors, and these people were willing to pledge allegiance to her.
That made sense, after all. With the fall of the Yuzawa Family, Sakura Prayer Country’s official Ascendant system had completely collapsed. Many official Ascendants had to find other paths. Some took on employment and defected to Suroma, others made contact with the Beixing government, joining subordinate institutions after review.
The rest became civilian Ascendants. Uenoshi was now picking a portion from these people. Using the Ascension Coins Guan Tong provided as payment, along with the juniors she already knew, she was piecing together and establishing an entirely new intelligence network.
As for Black Star and White Star’s younger brother Aaron, with Guan Tong’s recommendation, he had officially passed the Countermeasures Research Office’s assessment a week ago. He had joined them and was now receiving combat training from Long Xian and the others.
With the troupe members all scattered, Guan Tong had once again become a “loner.”
But he felt this wasn’t bad. Troupe members usually handled their own affairs during normal times, only pooling their strength to deal with problems when trouble arose. It was much more flexible.
Guan Tong summoned the Shadow and had it morph into the shape of a slingshot.
He picked up a small stone from the ground, pulled back the slingshot, and let it fly. The stone zipped off into the distance with a *whoosh*.
During this time, he had successfully given the Shadow a certain degree of “elasticity.” But this elasticity was still very weak and needed to be gradually strengthened. He couldn’t achieve powerful projections right off the bat.
Just then, the Fire Thief’s voice, sounding in his mind, interrupted Guan Tong’s thoughts. His spirit perked up, and he focused his attention, ready to receive the new rule’s announcement.
[The Nineteenth Doomsday Rule has been released]
[Doomsday Rule Nineteen: Debate of the Oracle]
[Rule Content: One hour after the rule’s release, a special individual will be deployed to Tianshui Star. This individual is non-aggressive, carries no weapons, and will only engage in communication with humans on an equal footing. This rule will last for three days.]
[Reward for Success: None]
[Punishment for Failure: None]
[Note: “As someone who has been through this, I have something I want to say.”]
“...??”
Guan Tong stared blankly at the new rule after reading it.
What kind of rule was this?
……
The universal feeling of everyone across the globe who heard the rule’s content was sheer bewilderment.
From the rule’s name to its content, and even the note, everything was bizarre.
Especially the absence of both reward and punishment, which made everyone realize this was a special rule unlike any before.
At the Countermeasures Research Office, a meeting to discuss the rule was convened immediately.
Gao Liangwei said, “Everyone, if you have any thoughts, just speak up.”
Previously, after each rule was released, the floor would be given first to whichever expert or scholar’s field the rule touched upon. This was the embodiment of the “insiders guide outsiders” spirit.
But with this Nineteenth Rule, it was genuinely hard to pick who was an expert on it.
Or rather, anyone could be an expert.
One professor was the first to speak: “I think we should start by understanding it literally. This rule is called ‘Debate of the Oracle.’ ‘Oracle’ probably refers to divine will, and ‘Debate’ is self-explanatory.”
“Does this mean the Fire Thief has dropped a ‘god’ onto Tianshui Star to debate with humanity? Isn’t that a bit too far-fetched?”
“Taken at face value, that seems to be the case.” Li Meng finished speaking and turned to Zhang Minglu. “Dr. Zhang, what’s your take?”
Zhang Minglu said, “First of all, I don’t believe there’s any true ‘god’ in existence. I’m more inclined to agree with Guan Tong’s view from when he was an acting teacher at the academy: the Fire Thief is likely also an Ascendant with an immensely powerful Mind, allowing them to perform actions that seem like divine miracles.”
“What I’m more concerned about is ‘Debate.’ I think it’s literal: a debate. This is evident from the rule’s content as well. An individual without weapons and non-aggressive, what else could they do but talk?”
“...That seems plausible.”
“Talking? Really... What good would that do?”
Li Meng said, “This rule only lasts for three days. Such a short duration, combined with no punishment and no reward, makes it a special rule for sure. Since it’s a special rule, it’s not surprising that its form is different from past rules.”
Just then, someone else said, “I’m more curious about what ‘as someone who has been through this’ in the note means.”
“‘Someone who has been through this’... Does that mean this individual is human?”
“No... I think it’s just a metaphor. I think it’s more likely that this special individual is also a victim of the Doomsday Rules.”
“That makes sense.”
“No matter how strange this rule is, as long as there’s no punishment for failure, it’s a good thing. Could it possibly be worse than a survival rule? At least this strange rule won’t drastically reduce the human population.”
“I agree.”
Everyone nodded in succession.
Although everyone was perplexed, it seemed this rule was supposed to be a “perk,” a freebie.
After the others had mostly finished speaking, Gao Liangwei, who had been listening for a while, finally spoke: “Even without reward or punishment, we still need to take this rule seriously.”
“First, initiate global satellite surveillance to locate the individual as soon as they are deployed. Second, monitor the Administrator of Ascendant Home to see if they will sell intelligence on this rule. Additionally, if this special individual truly intends to engage in some kind of ‘debate,’ we need to prepare. Start selecting professionals adept in this area now.”
Similar research discussions were being held in every nation of the Human Consortium.
In the Suroma Empire’s Senate, King Bruce propped his head up with one hand, looking absentmindedly at the debating Senators.
He wasn’t very interested in this rule. His thoughts were more focused on the future than the present.
He wished he could jump straight to the day his plan succeeded, to fulfill his long-cherished wish. Until then, all time felt like garbage time to him.
In the Xisiya governing council hall.
Yelanka listened seriously to the discussion of the think tank members. She nodded slightly from time to time and occasionally offered a few opinions, but she mostly remained listening.
Sigaochin sat to one side. Her attention was more on Yelanka. Protecting this girl she had raised since childhood was more important to her than any rule.
She couldn’t be bothered to think about strategies. She would just follow Yelanka’s orders when the time came.
In the six smaller nations led by Lury, the leaders and advisors of five of them were holding a meeting in a large conference room.
After the “Super City Plan” was officially confirmed, five of the six nations announced the formation of a “Joint Parliament,” which was essentially a deep alliance.
This deep alliance far exceeded the Human Consortium in terms of mutual relations. For example, the five nations would incorporate their military and Ascendant forces into a single system, mobilizing them together.
Only with such interwoven interests could the Super City Plan be executed smoothly. Furthermore, after forming this deep alliance, the combined national power of the five nations would be on par with Xisiya, the weakest of the three great powers.
The only one of the six small nations that didn’t join the alliance was Sakura Prayer Country. This was because Sakura Prayer Country was, in essence, no longer an independent nation; it was merely a vassal of Beixing.
When the time reached 10 o’clock, all meetings were put on hold.
The electronic screens in every meeting room—no, every single running electronic screen in the entire world—displayed the same image.
An image of a humanoid silhouette slowly descending through the air.
The personnel in every nation’s satellite surveillance department were stunned. They had been fully focused, intending to capture the deployment location of the special individual as soon as possible. But it turned out they didn’t need to search at all. The Fire Thief directly hijacked all screens, just to give this special individual a grand entrance.
In the images on every screen, the humanoid figure had no parachute, no wings. They looked like an ordinary person you might see anywhere.
However, no ordinary person could descend through the azure sky at such an absolutely uniform speed. The physical law of gravitational acceleration seemed to have completely failed on this being.
As the image kept zooming in, the figure’s outline became increasingly clear.
What came into focus first was their physique: neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. The length of the torso and the proportions of the limbs all gave a sense of being “just right.”
Next, their clothing came into view. It was a greyish robe, without any markings or decorations. Its length, thickness, and fit were perfectly tailored to the body, just as “just right” as their physique—not a single hint of discord.
Finally, the face came into view. For everyone standing before a screen, seeing this face, their first reaction was, “I’ve seen this person before!”
It was a face so perfect it was bizarre, seemingly fusing characteristics from all human races. Black hair and black eyes reminiscent of someone from Beixing, deep eye sockets like a Suroman, the curve of the nose bridge like someone from Black Flag Country, and the contour and thickness of the lips like someone from the now-extinct Gangtu Kingdom.
This face was like the “original mold,” with different features taken from it to compose the various races. This gave almost everyone a sense of familiarity with the face, but it quickly provoked a strong uncanny valley effect!
Many people instinctively stepped back from the screen, wanting to distance themselves from that face. Analysis departments across the nations, suppressing their intense discomfort, rapidly used the video data to pinpoint the landing location of this “person.”
“The deployment location is in the south... It’s actually there?!”
The personnel who located the position were all astonished and quickly reported the news to the upper decision-making bodies.
The decision-making bodies were also shocked when they received the location.
This “special individual” had landed in a vast tropical jungle region in the south.
There lay an organization that once had enough power to go toe-to-toe with the great nations, but had now declined, even existing in name only—a multi-warlord mixed organization: the Tulip Federation!
Just then, the “person” descending at a uniform speed touched the ground.
This “person,” whose gender couldn’t even be determined, showed a smile on every screen. It was a smile just as perfectly standard as their appearance. Then, they spoke in an absolutely standard voice.
“Greetings. I wish to have a talk with you.”
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