A guiding light that leads to target locations...

After reading the item information, Guan Tong felt this thing could probably be used to find people or search for treasure, but he definitely couldn't use it right now.

What concerned him more was that this item could actually be traded.

"This is the first time a tradable item has appeared. Probably not just me—many people who survived likely obtained tradable items from survival boxes."

This meant Ascension Coins finally had usage scenarios beyond spending in the terminal's Ascension Store.

Ascendants could finally circulate Ascension Coins among themselves.

Guan Tong felt this should be good news for him.

Although his [Wordless Book] could only create Binding Coins and couldn't be used to trade with other Ascendants, he could use his self-created Binding Coins for Ascension Store purchases and trade with the non-binding coins rewarded from rules.

However, the emergence of tradable items would inevitably lead to one phenomenon.

That was, the powerful would rapidly grow stronger through resource concentration.

Although some people online were talking about "human evolution," "superhuman era," and "great power residing within oneself," current Ascendants couldn't really be considered to possess "great power," let alone be called "superhumans."

Guan Tong believed his development wasn't exceptional, but he should at least rank among the top tier globally among Ascendants.

Yet even someone like him would fall into extremely dangerous situations if targeted by professional organizations.

Other Ascendants were the same—even with various marvelous Mind Power items, they were still fundamentally flesh and blood, where a single bullet could end them.

With tradable items appearing in this context, those groups or organizations currently holding power might use force to compel others to sell items at low prices or force high-priced sales of worthless items.

Guan Tong recalled the nationwide serial kidnapping case he was involved in—perhaps one purpose behind the mastermind or organization's pre-arranged kidnappings was to exploit the captured Ascendants once tradable items appeared.

"Looking at it this way, most individual or small-group Ascendants will probably choose to join a powerful organization in the near future."

Guan Tong remembered the officially promoted "Mind Power Development Academy"—once it opened, it would definitely experience a massive enrollment wave.

Because the academy had official backing, enrolling meant gaining official protection, making ordinary civilian powerful groups or organizations somewhat cautious about targeting academy students.

A sense of crisis spread through him as Guan Tong wondered where he should go from here.

After some thought, he slightly shook his head and temporarily set the matter aside.

The most urgent priority right now was comprehensive self-improvement.

Once he started depending on others or seeking protection, it would plant seeds of potential trouble. Because others wouldn't protect you for free—no matter what organization he joined, enjoying benefits would come with costs.

Like some Ascendants who chose to join the official Countermeasures Research Office. While receiving comprehensive official protection, they also had the obligation to spend Ascension Coins purchasing specified items for experimental testing data as required by the research office.

Like some Ascendants who chose to join the official Countermeasures Research Office. While receiving comprehensive official protection, they also had the obligation to spend Ascension Coins purchasing designated items for experimental testing data as required by the research office.

Guan Tong stopped deep contemplation and opened the Ascension Store to see what new products were listed this time.

Like the [Basic Food Box] listed before the [Fasting Therapy] rule; the [Constant Temperature Tech Underwear] and [Multi-Terrain Marching Boots] listed before the [Snow in June] rule.

Combined with the hidden setting of "limited product quantities," people would undoubtedly check and purchase immediately after store updates rather than waiting.

When the product interface opened, Guan Tong found two new items listed this time.

[Multi-Function Protective Suit · Basic Set]: Provides some defense against cutting, slashing, scraping, rubbing, scratching and other attacks, customizable appearance

[Price: 120 Ascension Coins]

...

[Quick-Ignition Rods*10]: Use to immediately generate a handheld flare, burning duration 15 minutes

[Price: 80 Ascension Coins]

...

After reading about the two new items, Guan Tong couldn't help frowning: "Stab-proof suit, flare rods... Could the fifth rule be some kind of free-for-all battle type?"

But he couldn't jump to conclusions either. Given that the Fire Thief often acted unpredictably and enjoyed creating hidden settings, no one could make accurate judgments before the rule was officially announced.

"I have 150 coins now, can only buy one. Coin creation... let's not consider that for now. At this stage, precious Mind Power should mainly be used to improve combat and self-protection capabilities."

After some consideration, Guan Tong spent 120 Ascension Coins to purchase the [Multi-Function Protective Suit · Basic Set].

In his view, this had more uses than the flare rods, and wearing it would at least provide more sense of security.

Since this was a top-and-bottom set, Guan Tong set its appearance to a long-sleeved T-shirt and sweatpants to wear.

This meant his three-piece set of underwear, shoes, and clothes were all terminal products now. Although all basic models, they felt pretty good.

Then he realized that since tradable items had appeared, the "Market" option in the terminal's "Transaction" feature definitely wouldn't be blank like before.

When he opened it, sure enough, the displayed number of listed items was "9999+."

"Quite a lot of people selling items..."

Guan Tong himself couldn't bear to sell. Even though his [Guiding Flashlight] wasn't immediately useful, he preferred keeping it in case it became useful later.

However, after browsing several pages, he noticed many sellers weren't genuinely trying to sell—they were just listing items for fun.

For example, there was a single-use item called [Flickering Pointer] with the effect of instantly teleporting to any location within 10 meters in the pointer's direction when used.

Although a single-use item, its effect was undoubtedly powerful. Since this belonged to life-saving items, using it to teleport away during critical moments could potentially save one's life, making it very precious.

But the seller set its purchase price at "999 Ascension Coins"—clearly not intending to sell at all, just listing it for display. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Because even if someone passed all four previous rules and saved every rewarded Ascension Coin without spending any, they still wouldn't have 999 Ascension Coins.

The only individuals who could personally hold this many coins were probably those powerful figures who started plundering from now. Some among them might have already begun using force to coerce others, frantically trading items for coins.

For example, pointing guns at other Ascendants' heads, forcing them to sell tradable items for 1 coin, then reselling those items on the market for dozens of coins.

This way, such individuals could rapidly improve their comprehensive strength through holding numerous items. Even if their Mind Power upper limit wasn't high, they could compensate for the strength gap with high Mind Power Ascendants through this method.