Guan Tong walked out of the shelter and saw Shi Jingyi gently patting Coal Ball's head.

Perhaps because Coal Ball had seen her many times already and was familiar with her scent, it behaved very docilely in front of her.

Hearing footsteps, Shi Jingyi turned her head to look at Guan Tong, a smile appearing on her face. "Congratulations."

Guan Tong touched his own cheek. "Has my appearance changed?"

"It's your aura. It's hard to describe clearly, but I can distinctly feel a big difference from before."

"...Indeed."

When Guan Tong first saw Shi Jingyi after her breakthrough, he had felt the same way.

Ascendants who enter the second stage of Ascension all undergo a certain change in their aura.

Guan Tong glanced at the time: 8:30. There were still thirty minutes until the new rule was announced.

He suggested, "Should we try establishing a Mind Network?"

They had tried before, and the result was failure.

Now that both of them had entered the second stage of Ascension, the outcome might be different.

"Sure."

Shi Jingyi patted Coal Ball's back. "Go play." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Coal Ball meowed and ran off. Shi Jingyi walked over and extended her right hand.

Guan Tong extended his left hand, grasping her right hand.

The two of them simultaneously and tacitly activated their Mind Power to make contact, silently reciting in their hearts: "Establish Mind Network."

In an instant, a tingling sensation similar to an electric current swept through both their bodies. An intangible connection, rooted in their mental nerves, was established between them.

Shi Jingyi: Can you hear me?

She didn't open her mouth, but her voice sounded in Guan Tong's mind.

Guan Tong: I can hear it... We've successfully established a Mind Network!

At this moment, both of them were very happy. The establishment and connection of the Mind Network meant that from now on, they could communicate directly on a mental level.

This kind of communication was unaffected by the environment, unrestricted by conditions, impossible to eavesdrop on, and impossible to interfere with. It was practically one of the best communication methods.

Its only drawback was that it consumed energy.

Shi Jingyi said, "Did you notice? We only used the Mind Network to say one sentence, and it consumed ten points of Mind Power."

"I noticed," Guan Tong nodded. "That consumption isn't low. And we don't know if it's affected by distance. Could it be that the further apart we are, the more it consumes?"

"Possibly," Shi Jingyi smiled. "During the 'Digital Detox' rule period, every Ascendant could use the Mind Network to communicate, and there was no consumption at all except for short periods of heavy communication... Thinking about it now, that was completely like a 'feature-limited free trial period'."

"I feel the same way."

The two let go of each other's hands, but could still feel the existence of that intangible connection.

Shi Jingyi checked the time and said, "I don't know what the new rule is, but I need to return to the academy first."

With the new rule about to be announced, if it was the kind of rule that made going out inconvenient, the academy would definitely seal the campus immediately. If Shi Jingyi, as a lecturer, was still outside at that time, it wouldn't be good.

"Mhm. Thank you for your help these past few days."

Guan Tong knew that without Shi Jingyi's continuous external guidance helping him with Condensation and Sublimation these past few days, he couldn't have broken through before the new rule was announced.

"It's nothing... Oh, by the way, I'm very sorry about what happened to your friend."

Shi Jingyi was talking about Suzuki. Guan Tong's expression turned serious. "I won't give up investigating that matter. Also, I will use the Mind Network to test and identify parasitized forms as soon as possible. I'll tell you once I have results."

"Okay, then let's use the Mind Network to contact each other if anything comes up later. As long as we don't actively sever it ourselves, it can remain connected."

After watching Shi Jingyi leave, Guan Tong sat down at the entrance of the shelter.

Even though she had broken through before him, verifying and identifying parasitized forms was something he should do, as it was more appropriate.

Even if he were to be exposed because of it, or even become a target of hatred for the parasitized forms, it didn't matter. He was already without a fixed residence anyway.

Shi Jingyi was different. If she were exposed, with her routine between the academy and her dormitory, she would be too easy to target.

"Investigating Suzuki, attempting to identify parasitized forms, leading the team to Fahe to carry out a decapitation strike against the higher-ups of the Fire Thief Worship Cult... these are the things I need to do next. Additionally, continuously collecting Mind Power and researching the second stage of Ascension will also take time."

Guan Tong let out a long sigh. He really had a lot of things to do.

The time reached nine o'clock, and the Fire Thief's voice sounded precisely on time.

[The seventeenth Doomsday Rule has been announced]

[Doomsday Rule Seventeen: Crimson Gaze]

[Rule Content: During the Rule Period, Terra will be transformed into an ominous crimson color under the influence of a special force. Humans who gaze directly at it will have their brains trigger an irrational, intense fear. This fear will transform into auditory and visual hallucinations, making people see their deepest, innermost fears. The severity will continuously accumulate until it destroys their sanity. The rule duration is thirty days.]

[Success Reward: 1000 Ascension Coins; Survival Treasure Chest · Silver Grade]

[Failure Punishment: None]

[Note: If a deadly threat lurks within the stars, does gazing upon them become a taboo?]

...

After the new rule was announced, a wave of discussion instantly swept across the whole world.

"Survival type! It's a survival-type rule!"

"Feels like the terror of being dominated by this kind of rule is back..."

"Yeah. The previous few rules allowed those who didn't want to compete to stay out of it and rest properly. This one, though..."

"Is this rule really that difficult? Even if it's survival-type—just don't go out for the whole month, stay indoors the entire time, wouldn't that be fine?"

"It doesn't seem hard. Just don't look at the reddened star."

On various major platforms, while people lamented the return of survival-type rules, they also believed this rule wasn't particularly difficult.

The safest approach was to not go out for a month. If one absolutely had to go out, choose daytime. If one had to go out at night, perhaps being a 'head-down tribe' and constantly looking at the ground could also help avoid it.

However, many others didn't believe this rule could be passed through easily.

Every nation or organization immediately held serious countermeasure discussion meetings.

At the Beixing Countermeasures Research Office, Gao Liangwei convened a meeting immediately.

"The Top Levels have made a decision immediately: for this rule, the authorities will issue a 'curfew order.' People are not allowed to leave shelters after nightfall."

After Gao Liangwei finished speaking, all the meeting participants nodded one after another.

This was the simplest and most direct countermeasure, seemingly directly confirming the rule's note: gazing at the stars had become a taboo.

"However, based on past experience, the rule won't reveal all information on the surface," Gao Liangwei added. "Especially with this kind of survival-type rule, the hidden information will be extremely important. So—"

He looked at the head of the information department, who immediately understood. "I will keep a close watch on Ascendant Home. If the Administrator sells hidden intelligence, I will follow up immediately."

"Mhm."

"Director, I have a question."

A new face in the conference room spoke up, and everyone looked over.

Gao Liangwei said, "Section Chief Li, go ahead."

This new face was precisely Li Meng, who had newly joined the Countermeasures Research Office. His current position was still the "Special Case Investigation Section Chief" from when he investigated the Qingmei Society kidnapping case.

Li Meng asked, "Given that this is a dangerous survival-type rule, should we still carry out the operation against the Fire Thief Worship Cult during the rule period?"

"I cannot answer that question right now. The operation is a joint Human Consortium action. It needs to be coordinated and discussed with the committee members of various nations at the subsequent Human Consortium meeting. We will make a decision after we get the results."

"Understood."

"Report!"

At that moment, a staff member knocked on the door and came in to report.

"In countries currently in nighttime regions, there are already people who have developed problems from gazing at the crimson Terra!"

The meeting participants felt a chill in their hearts. The rule had just been announced, and people were already falling victim.

"How foolish are these people? Or do they deliberately not want to live?" someone couldn't help but say. "The rule states it so clearly, how could they still look?"

"Maybe when the rule was announced, some people happened to be outdoors gazing at the starry sky, and as a result..."

Zhang Minglu urgently asked the reporting staff member, "What changes occur in those who gaze?"

Rather than worrying about why these people violated the rule, he was more concerned about the consequences.

The staff member lowered their head to look at the summarized information on their tablet. "According to the information already collected by the intelligence department: After gazing at the crimson Terra, some immediately fell into a coma, some exhibited manic phenomena, and others... showed intense aggression towards others and forced others to gaze at the crimson Terra together."