Chapter 58: Chapter 57: The Rule Ends
Guan Tong cooked a pack of instant noodles on a portable gas stove. Wang Yan seemed to feel a bit better after eating and fell asleep.
Chen Na said her mother hadn’t slept well last night. Their truck only had one sleeper bunk, so every night, she would sleep on the bunk while her mother, Wang Yan, made do on the seats. Wang Yan would then lie down during the day to catch up on sleep.
"Guan, is Mom’s stomach hurting because she hasn’t been sleeping well?" Chen Na’s little face was full of self-reproach. "It’s all my fault. I’ve been so selfish."
"Don’t say that," Guan Tong comforted her. "I’m sure your mom wants you to sleep well. But now that she’s sick, you should let her have the bunk at night."
"Okay! I know. I’ll tell her when she wakes up."
After she spoke, Chen Na added, "Oh, right, Guan! I’ve been practicing what you told me, and I can now control when I turn my Perception Realm on and off."
"That’s great. You should practice it often. The cycle of repeatedly consuming and restoring your Psychic Power will also help increase your maximum Psychic Power faster."
After speaking, Guan Tong left the painkillers with Chen Na and got out of the truck to head back to his own camp.
People get sick; it’s an unavoidable part of life.
But in the age of the Apocalypse Rules, just dealing with the challenges they presented required one’s full effort. Getting sick on top of that would just be making a bad situation worse.
That’s why Guan Tong was careful about his own health, doing his best to eat well, sleep well, and stay warm.
He only worked during the six hours a day when his Thermoregulating Technology Underwear was active. Afterward, he’d curl up in his warm sleeping bag as much as possible.
Back at his camp, he wasted no time. He immediately grabbed his folding shovel and finished his daily chore of clearing the snow from the path.
Once that was done, he put on his Multi-Terrain Marching Boots and jogged over to the woods on the other side of Mingdao Mountain.
He’d run this far to test the No. 2 and No. 3 rounds for his Silver Hunter. The No. 2 slug was one thing, but he was worried the No. 3 explosive round would be too loud. Firing it near camp might scare Chen Na or startle Wang Yan awake.
’Let’s try the No. 2 first.’
Guan Tong expended 10 points of Psychic Power to create a No. 2 round.
He then supported the barrel with his left hand, aimed at a large tree, and pulled the trigger with his right.
BANG!
With a single shot, the tree trunk let out a loud CRACK as a gaping hole blossomed in its center. The top half of the tree swayed with a CREAK before toppling over, sending a cascade of thick snow to the ground with a thunderous crash.
’Incredible power...’
Guan Tong walked over and touched the gaping hole in the trunk. ’If I’d had this gun when the wild boar came down the mountain, one shot from a No. 2 round would have been all it took. It would’ve been a guaranteed kill.’
’Even stronger, larger beasts would have trouble withstanding a shot like that. And even if they could survive one, they wouldn’t survive a second.’
’The power is immense, but its drawback is a much smaller area of effect compared to the No. 1 round. I should use the No. 2 for single, tough-skinned targets. Otherwise, the No. 1 is more practical.’
Guan Tong then spent another 30 points of Psychic Power to create a No. 3 round.
He was eager to see what this costly High-Explosive Bomb would do.
To be on the safe side, Guan Tong found an open area with no obstructions and angled the muzzle upward to avoid accidentally hurting himself.
Then, he pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
A deafening roar, like muffled thunder, erupted from the barrel, startling even Guan Tong.
It was followed by another explosive BOOM. A fireball erupted where the No. 3 round landed, felling three or four large trees in the vicinity. The resulting cascade of snow quickly doused the flames.
Guan Tong stared at the devastation before him. "This No. 3 High-Explosive Bomb is basically a personal grenade launcher," he said, amazed.
No wonder it cost a steep 30 points of Psychic Power to create a single No. 3 round. Guan Tong knew that in a critical moment, a single shot like this could solve a lot of problems.
Never mind combat—for breaching doors or blasting through walls, whenever something needed to be destroyed, a single No. 3 round would likely get the job done.
’I need to stock up.’
Guan Tong made his decision. Over the next few days, he would store more ammunition in the gun. He’d gradually stock up on No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 rounds, so he wouldn’t be caught short when he needed them.
Of course, he wouldn’t pour all his Psychic Power into creating ammunition. He still planned to use half of it for the deep development of his Shadow ability by "adding words."
With the tests complete, he shouldered his gun and headed back to camp.
For the last three days of the rule’s effective period, Guan Tong did little else. Each day, after clearing the snow from the path, he would crawl into his sleeping bag and spend his Psychic Power creating ammunition and "adding words."
During that time, he checked on Wang Yan. Her stomach ailment hadn’t improved; she could only manage the pain by taking painkillers daily.
Chen Na rubbed her mother’s stomach every day, hoping it would help her get better sooner.
There was nothing Guan Tong could do. He had considered one of the items in the Sublimation Store: the [Primary Medical Kit · Bronze Level].
According to the tests in the official white paper, the kit could contain all sorts of medical supplies, like Special Pain Relief Pills, hemostatic spray, antitoxin vials, and more.
Perhaps one of the random items could help with Wang Yan’s stomach problems, but the odds of that were minuscule.
Furthermore, the medical kit cost a hefty 80 Sublimation Coins. Other than the official testers, no one would be willing to spend that much on a random box. If it contained something you couldn’t use, those 80 coins would be completely wasted.
Even with unlimited coins to buy as many as he wanted, there was an unsolvable problem: items from the kit could not be traded.
This meant that even if Guan Tong used his Coinage ability to buy the kit and, by some stroke of incredible luck, got the very medicine that could cure Wang Yan’s stomach, he couldn’t trade it to her or even use it on her directly.
So, all he could do was hope Wang Yan could hang in there. He hoped that once the rule ended, the snow on the roads would melt quickly so she could get to a hospital.
And so, the last three days of the rule’s effective period passed quietly.
On July 1st, Guan Tong woke up an hour earlier than usual. He soon discovered that Chen Na and Wang Yan were also up early. It seemed the anticipation and relief of the rule’s end had woken everyone ahead of schedule.
As nine o’clock approached, the three of them went outside. They stood together, looking up at the sky, waiting for the moment that would declare it all over.
[The rule period has ended.]
[Congratulations on passing the trial of the fourth Apocalypse Rule.]
[Rewards have been delivered to your storage.]
[The Sublimation Store has been stocked with new items. Please check your personal terminal.]
[The fifth Apocalypse Rule will be announced in thirty days.]
As the voice of the Fire Thief faded, the thick cloud cover in the sky rapidly dispersed.
Sunlight once again blanketed the land. Reflected by the snow, it filled the world with a brilliant, crystalline white light.
Feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin, Wang Yan couldn’t hold back her tears. Chen Na threw her arms around her mother’s waist and sobbed.
Guan Tong felt his own eyes grow hot.
Although he hadn’t faced any serious danger this past month and had gotten through it relatively peacefully, the psychological and mental toll had been significant.
’Most people in the world must be feeling the same way right now,’ he thought. ’Countless people must be cheering and crying.’
There was no better time than this to appreciate the warmth and beauty of the sun.
"Mom, let’s go to the hospital in the city and get you treated!" Chen Na said as soon as she stopped crying.
Wang Yan stroked her daughter’s hair. "Silly girl, the snow on the roads hasn’t melted yet. We have to wait."
"But we have a big truck!"
"We still have to wait. The snow on the highway is too thick... Don’t worry, Nana, I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s July now, the hottest month of summer. The sun will melt all this snow in no time. Right, Guan?"
Wang Yan looked to Guan Tong, who nodded. It was true; July was typically the sunniest and hottest month of the year.
It had just snowed for the entirety of June, only to be immediately followed by the high heat of July. No one had ever studied how fast the snow would melt under such a clash of extremes.
After all, other than the Fire Thief, no human could manipulate the grand forces of nature to such an extent.
"Guan, you said the snowfall out here was relatively light, and it’s still this difficult. What must it be like in the city? A lot of people must have died, haven’t they..."
Wang Yan said, her gaze fixed on the thick, seemingly endless blanket of snow covering the highway.
Guan Tong remained silent. He didn’t know what Yunhua City looked like right now, but he was sure the situation was not optimistic.
