hours until the Rule ends...

A bloodcurdling shriek once again pierced the long night, echoing across human settlements all over the globe...

Meanwhile, a meeting to discuss strategies for the current Rule was being held in a secure location.

"This Rule is a bonus round for the strong, but it’s still lethal for the weak."

Inside the conference room of the Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room, Director Gao Liangwei set the tone.

"Our official armed forces in each region should make their choices based on the situation. If conditions permit, they should focus on disabling the Living Dead to farm more Sublimation Coins from kills. If conditions are unfavorable, their priority should be to exterminate them and eliminate the threat as quickly as possible."

"As for the strong individuals among the civilian population, they will likely go off on their own to kill more Living Dead for a bigger settlement reward. We don’t need to worry about them. Our main focus should be on protecting the people in the Gathering Points."

At this point, someone raised a question: "Should we arrange for armed squads to help the civilians complete this challenge?"

Upon hearing this, the others all turned to look at Gao Liangwei. It was a question on many people’s minds.

There were also numerous calls online for the government to help them complete this Rule. The method proposed was no different from how the armed forces were farming coins: disable the Living Dead first. The only difference was that the civilians, not the soldiers, would deliver the final blow.

Gao Liangwei mused, "We can try it, provided we can guarantee their safety."

The armed forces act as disciplined, collective units, so the risks are manageable. But a large number of civilians have no professional training; doing this could be quite dangerous.

However, if they didn’t help, a great many civilians would undoubtedly fail the challenge. It would be one thing if the Rule lasted longer, but twenty-four hours was just too short.

"By the way, have the tests on the [Multi-functional Protective Suit] and the [Rapid-Burning Stick] against the Living Dead been completed?"

"Yes," another researcher replied. "Testing shows that the [Multi-functional Protective Suit] can effectively withstand the scratches and bites of the Living Dead. However, the protection is limited to the upper and lower body; it doesn’t cover the head or feet."

"As for the [Rapid-Burning Stick], the person holding it will not be attacked by Living Dead while it’s burning. However, as the number of people near the holder increases, the effective protection time shortens rapidly.

Testing shows that if a single person is holding a Rapid-Burning Stick with no one else within thirty meters, they are guaranteed not to be attacked by Living Dead for the full fifteen-minute burn time. But if a second person is present within thirty meters, the safe period drops sharply to ten minutes. As more people are added, the safe period continues to decrease.

Additionally, the [Rapid-Burning Stick] can also be used to attack the Living Dead. Its flame seems to have some kind of suppressive effect on them, capable of reducing them to ash in a very short time."

After hearing the researcher’s report, the expressions on everyone’s faces grew grim.

They hadn’t expected the [Rapid-Burning Stick]’s effectiveness to be reduced by the number of people present. This meant the more crowded a Gathering Point was, the less effective the item would be.

"Judging from the test results, the Fire Thief doesn’t want people to group up to fight the Rules. The hidden rule in the previous [June Snow] event was the same!"

"Whether it wants us to or not, our goal is to ensure as many people as possible survive," Gao Liangwei said in a low voice. "Therefore, we will continue to build shelters and deploy armed squads to every Gathering Point."

"S-Sir, a report!"

Just then, a researcher rushed in from outside the door.

"Urgent news! The strange shriek that was heard worldwide when the Rule began was just heard again, three minutes ago! This time, countries around the globe have discovered that human corpses transform into Living Dead after the shriek. A direct link has been confirmed!"

Because the Strategy Research Room was built in a secure location deep underground, the people here hadn’t heard any shrieks.

But now that countries all over the world had confirmed the information, it meant the report was true.

’So the shriek transforms human corpses into Living Dead.’

Gao Liangwei immediately issued an order: "Relay this information to all armed forces across the country at once! Have them track the source of the most recent shriek and dispatch elite squads to investigate!"

"Also, Dr. Zhang, deploy the apocalypse squads we selected—the ones stationed in the major cities. Have them carry out this mission alongside the local armed forces."

Dr. Zhang was taken aback. "Deploy the squads now? Their optimal item loadouts aren’t finalized yet. Won’t it be risky?"

"Risky?" Gao Liangwei scoffed. "The Strategy Research Room has invested thousands of Sublimation Coins in every one of them! If they can’t even handle this level of risk, if they can’t overcome this kind of danger, what good are they? Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to see how they perform."

Dr. Zhang knew there was competition among the squads. As items became more expensive and the cost of training a single individual skyrocketed, it was likely that all resources would eventually be consolidated and invested into a single, top-performing team.

So, it wasn’t surprising that Gao Liangwei wanted to use a real-world combat situation to evaluate their performance and see which squad would come out on top.

Dr. Zhang nodded immediately. "Understood. I’ll contact them right away and have all the squads deploy for the mission."

「 」

The moment the shriek sounded, Guan Tong’s expression tightened as he walked along South Avenue.

"That’s the second one."

He glanced at the time: 10:19. The Rule had begun one hour and nineteen minutes ago.

The hidden rule stated that the "Mother Transformer" would shriek at irregular intervals. It could be once every few hours, or several times in a single hour.

But this second shriek allowed Guan Tong to roughly pinpoint its location.

Looking south, he saw a conspicuous tall smokestack standing in the distance.

He knew it was a landmark of Yunhua City, part of an industrial park from the last century.

The industrial park had been shut down decades ago, but the equipment was never dismantled. Instead, the local government had converted the park into a unique, park-like attraction for the public.

’Is the "Mother Transformer" in that industrial park?’

Guan Tong felt it was highly likely. He glanced at the small electronic screen on his Silver Hunter:

Type-1 Rounds x37

Type-2 Rounds x15

Type-3 Rounds x14

He had used thirteen Type-1 rounds on his way here. He hadn’t used any Type-2s, and he’d fired one Type-3 round to help defend the library Gathering Point.

’The remaining ammo should be enough... I need to hurry. The faster, the better.’

After roughly judging the Mother Transformer’s location by the sound, Guan Tong picked up his pace.

He still chose not to find a car. Because of the Living Dead’s trait of attacking moving objects, driving a car could attract a massive horde. Getting trapped on the road would be a disaster.

Rather than take that risk, Guan Tong preferred to rely on his own stamina and jog there. After all, as his Psychic Power cap increased, he could feel his physical conditioning improving as well.

It was about three kilometers from here to the industrial park. Jogging there wouldn’t be a problem.

Having made his decision, Guan Tong immediately started running along the side of the street. He occasionally spotted Living Dead wandering on the road and did his best to avoid getting within thirty meters of them to prevent attracting their attention.

Jogging like this, he was only attacked once. After dealing with it using a few Type-1 rounds, he successfully arrived at the entrance to the industrial park.

Gazing at the pitch-black park, Guan Tong’s heart sank.

After the era of Apocalypse Rules began, no one came here to stroll around anymore. Official maintenance had stopped, and after several months, the power and water had likely been cut off.

Previously, Guan Tong had been able to jog along the streets without much stress because the streetlights were on, providing excellent visibility and leaving the Living Dead nowhere to hide.

But in this pitch-black park... even though the faint red glow of a Living Dead’s eyes could reveal its position, moving around in the darkness was undoubtedly still dangerous.

After a moment’s hesitation, Guan Tong turned on the flashlight strapped to his chest and stepped into the beam of light, entering the park. ’Since I’m here, I’m not giving up so easily.’

The park was eerily quiet. After entering, Guan Tong stuck close to the perimeter wall. If any sudden danger were to arise, he wouldn’t be caught surrounded on all sides.

He hadn’t been walking for long when he was surprised to discover a place with a light on.

It was a warehouse. A small, battery-powered pendant light hung over the entrance. The light was so faint that Guan Tong hadn’t noticed it when he first entered the park.

The warehouse’s roll-up door was pulled down, and barricades made of sandbags and other materials were piled in front of it, seemingly to block the Living Dead. However, there were no Living Dead in the vicinity.

Guan Tong guessed that the warehouse must be a temporary Gathering Point. He moved closer but couldn’t hear any sound coming from inside—no voices, nothing.

’Is no one there?’

He circled around to the other side of the warehouse, where there was a small metal door, likely the back entrance. To his surprise, the small door was ajar; it wasn’t closed.

A bad feeling suddenly welled up inside Guan Tong, and he immediately retreated to a safe distance. Then, he summoned his Shadow, had it materialize, and hung a flashlight around its neck, ordering it to gently pull the door open.

The moment the ajar door was pulled open, Guan Tong, hiding in the distance, was able to see the scene inside the warehouse, illuminated by the flashlight hanging from the Shadow’s neck.

It was packed with hundreds of Living Dead!

They wandered aimlessly around the warehouse, and at their feet, miscellaneous items like bedding, clothes, and backpacks were particularly conspicuous.

Some of them seemed to notice the Shadow opening the door, but they didn’t attack. Perhaps in their eyes, a non-human, stationary entity like the Shadow wasn’t a target.

Watching the scene in the warehouse from afar, a terrible thought surfaced in Guan Tong’s mind.

’It’s possible this Gathering Point was overrun by the Living Dead earlier, and all the survivors were killed... Then, after the Mother Transformer let out its second shriek, all the dead were transformed into new Living Dead...’