Chapter Summaries

After the First Apocalypse Rule required everyone on Tianshui Star to stay awake for 72 hours, Guan Tong saw his sleeping classmate Xu Beipeng die and left school as panic spread. He headed home while people rushed to stock up on stimulants, and the city descended into chaos.

• Guan Tong watched black marks form the words [Testing begins] in the sky, and Fire Thief announced the Ascension Plan test and the First Apocalypse Rule: Sleep Deprivation.
• Xu Beipeng ignored the rule and fell asleep; Guan Tong tried to wake him, found he was not breathing, and warned the class that chaos was coming.
• Guan Tong left school, prompting other students to flee as the campus erupted in disorder.
• Guan Tong saw panic and traffic accidents across the streets while emergency broadcasts urged people to shelter indoors.
• Guan Tong noticed men arguing over energy drinks and coffee at a supermarket as people sought ways to stay awake.

Guan Tong prepared to endure the seventy-two-hour ban on sleep as authorities urged citizens to stay awake amid global deaths and unrest. He discovered he could see a hidden rule that rewarded violently putting someone to sleep, leaving him shocked by the chance that only he could see it.

• Guan Tong returned home with food and read reports of worldwide deaths and official warnings against sleeping.
• He reviewed the government's advice for staying awake and saw police patrols urging residents to go home.
• Guan Tong opened his Personal Terminal and examined his profile, the survival reward, and the forty-nine Apocalypse Rules.
• The text of Rule One transformed before Guan Tong's eyes, revealing a hidden rule that awarded Sobering Mint Candy for violently making another person sleep.
• Guan Tong searched online for the hidden rule but found no mention of it, suggesting he might be the only one who could see it.

Guan Tong rejected the idea of killing people to obtain Sobering Mint Candy and agreed to spend the seventy-two hours with his classmate Fang Qian. As they waited at his home, they discussed ways people were trying to stay awake and the reactions to the Apocalypse Rules.

• Guan Tong considered exploiting the Hidden Rule to collect Sobering Mint Candy but refused because it would require depriving others of their chance to survive.
• Fang Qian called Guan Tong, explained that she was alone while her parents were stranded out of town, and asked to stay with him through the seventy-two hours.
• Fang Qian arrived with food and instant coffee, and Guan Tong explained why they should save stimulants and entertainment for when they were exhausted.
• After more than an hour of quiet, Fang Qian told Guan Tong that people online were seeking stimulant medicines and injections to stay awake.
• Fang Qian found a post from a person with cancer who thanked Fire Thief because the Sleep Deprivation rule offered them a painless way to die.

As people discussed ways to stay awake through the 72 hours, Fang Qian and Guan Tong considered activities they enjoyed and learned that Go champion Wenren Yizhi planned a 72-hour marathon. An official notice then banned random outdoor activity, and Guan Tong suspected the government had discovered and suppressed information about the Hidden Rules.

• A popular post showed some people welcoming Fire Thief’s painless death while others condemned it and vowed to resist.
• Netizens shared ways to endure the 72 hours, including gaming and a method of stimulation that its poster claimed could keep people awake.
• Fang Qian showed Guan Tong a post announcing Wenren Yizhi’s 72-hour Go marathon and said she admired the champion.
• Fang Qian and Guan Tong discussed staying awake by watching dramas and reading books or novels.
• An emergency notice prohibited random outdoor activity and urged people to remain calm indoors.
• Guan Tong found no online results for “Apocalypse Rules” or “Sobering Mint Candy” and suspected the Official Department was hiding information about the Hidden Rules.

As Fang Qian and Guan Tong tried to stay awake through the first of the Apocalypse Rules, Fang Qian learned that her parents were helping researchers study the crisis and that public entertainment had been made free. Her casual thought about trading money for time prompted Guan Tong to consider whether Sobering Mint Candy could be traded, while Liu Yuqiang received a secret message about exploiting a loophole in Rule One.

• Fang Qian video-called her parents, who said they were at a research institute attending an official meeting about the Apocalypse Rules.
• Guan Tong cooked lunch, and he and Fang Qian watched television to get through the dangerous midday drowsiness.
• Fang Qian discovered that videos and games had been made freely available, and Guan Tong wondered whether Sobering Mint Candy could be traded.
• Liu Yuqiang received a secret message telling him how to exploit a loophole in Rule One and warning him not to share it beyond immediate family.

During the apocalypse, Liu Yuqiang learned from Green Plum Association members that knocking someone unconscious granted a Sobering Mint Candy, which could keep him awake for three hours. After confirming the method by attacking Xiao Li, he obtained the candy and prepared to tell his children about it.

• Zhao Jiping told the Green Plum Association that knocking someone unconscious granted a Sobering Mint Candy, and another member confirmed the method worked.
• Liu Yuqiang thought of his children abroad and summoned Xiao Li to his office.
• Liu Yuqiang promised to support Xiao Li’s family, then struck him with a crystal ashtray until he was unconscious.
• Liu Yuqiang received a Sobering Mint Candy, unlocked his Storage Box, and verified the item’s effect.
• Liu Yuqiang picked up his phone to tell his children about the candy.

Guan Tong and Fang Qian endured the first night of the Apocalypse Rules as the countdown continued and people across the residential complex tried to stay awake. As dawn approached, Guan Tong admitted he wanted to survive to learn more about the Fire Thief and the rules, while Fang Qian longed only for peace.

• Guan Tong and Fang Qian sat through the night amid blaring music and bright lights, discussing how unfair the countdown was to people caught sleeping or undergoing surgery.
• Fang Qian watched Wenren Yizhi livestreaming Go, while Guan Tong tuned in to the authorities’ special news broadcast about experts investigating the Apocalypse Rules.
• Past three in the morning, Guan Tong and Fang Qian struggled to stay awake by talking, and Fang Qian wondered whether anything could still be meaningful under the rules.
• Fang Qian asked why Guan Tong wanted to live, and he said he wanted to understand the Apocalypse Rules, the Fire Thief, and the Ascension Plan.
• Guan Tong privately reflected on his curiosity about the Hidden Rules and whether his arrival in this world was connected to the Fire Thief.

Liu Yuqiang used a Sobering Mint Candy to stay awake and wrestled with the moral cost of obtaining more. After the first twenty-four hours passed, people celebrated surviving while others struggled to stay conscious.

• Liu Yuqiang ate a Sobering Mint Candy and felt his fatigue vanish as Green Plum Association members praised its effects and thanked Zhao Jiping for the warning.
• Yu Feiwei and other members discussed stockpiling candy, prompting Liu Yuqiang to feel disgusted at treating lives as expendable for extra supplies.
• Liu Yuqiang resolved to obtain only the candy necessary for his survival and wrote down his principles in a notebook.
• After the first twenty-four hours passed, people online celebrated, shared their exhaustion, and speculated about the number of deaths worldwide.

Fang Qian learned from her father about a hidden Apocalypse Rule that offered three hours of wakefulness in exchange for knocking someone unconscious, but she resisted using it against Guan Tong. After they watched shows and took cold showers to stay awake, the internet went down and a commotion erupted downstairs.

• Fang Qian’s father secretly told her that knocking someone unconscious could earn a Sobering Mint Candy that granted three hours of absolute wakefulness, but the call was cut off when he was caught violating the Confidentiality Rules.
• Fang Qian concealed the information from Guan Tong and rejected the idea of hurting him, then used a thriller series to keep herself awake.
• Fang Qian and Guan Tong watched shows, ate one meal, and took cold showers as their exhaustion worsened and people online began organizing to obtain wakefulness medication.
• Fang Qian noticed that the internet had stopped working, and a huge commotion sounded from downstairs.

As the countdown to the end of the sleep crisis reached thirty hours, Guan Tong and Fang Qian stayed inside while crowds headed toward hospitals. Exhaustion pushed Fang Qian to consider attacking Guan Tong for a way to stay awake, but he caught on and ordered her to leave.

• Guan Tong and Fang Qian watched desperate residents leave the complex, and Guan Tong refused to join them, warning that crowds could spark violent conflicts.
• Guan Tong and Fang Qian tried to endure the final thirty hours by reading, but exhaustion made Fang Qian increasingly tempted to sacrifice Guan Tong to survive.
• Fang Qian offered Guan Tong coffee while planning to strike him with her glass, but Guan Tong noticed her empty cup and suspicious grip.
• Guan Tong accused Fang Qian of learning about the Hidden Rules from her parents and trying to knock him unconscious; Fang Qian admitted nothing but apologized in tears.
• Guan Tong told Fang Qian to leave his home immediately, saying he no longer trusted her.

After surviving Rule One, Guan Tong received new survival rewards and explored the Personal Terminal’s features. He bought a mysterious Wordless Book, but writing in it drained his energy and threw his pen away.

• Guan Tong locked the door after Fang Qian left and reaffirmed that he would rely on himself rather than exploit the Hidden Rules.
• The Fire Thief announced that Rule Time had ended, that Guan Tong had passed Rule One, and that Rule Two would arrive in fifteen days.
• Guan Tong woke after twenty-five hours of sleep and found that his terminal showed 96 Mind Power, 100 Ascension Coins, and an Ordinary biological evaluation.
• Guan Tong opened his Bronze Grade Survival Chest, obtained the title Order Keeper, and used his Ascension Coins to buy the Wordless Book from the Ascension Shop.
• Guan Tong tried to write his name in the Wordless Book, forced through an invisible resistance with energy from his body, and was stopped when the energy ran out.

After surviving Rule One, Guan Tong discovered that writing in the Wordless Book consumed Mind Power, while Liu Yuqiang spent his Mind Power to buy and use powerful gloves. The Green Plum Association members learned that candy use determined survivors’ Mind Power and titles, as they began preparing for Rule Two in fifteen days.

• Guan Tong found that writing a single stroke in the Wordless Book reduced his Mind Power from 96 to 1, and he watched it slowly recover.
• Guan Tong received an apologetic message from Fang Qian, deleted it, and noticed that the network had returned.
• Liu Yuqiang opened his survival chest, gained the title Rule Breaker, and spent 100 Ascension Coins on Giant Strength Gloves.
• Liu Yuqiang used the gloves to crack a wooden table, then saw his Mind Power had fallen from 38 to 0.
• Green Plum Association members reported that eating more Sobering Mint Candy meant lower Mind Power, and that candy users became Rule Breakers while those who abstained became Order Keepers.

Guan Tong read online debates over the authorities’ concealment of a hidden Apocalypse Rule and then studied the authorities’ new White Paper. He learned more about Ascension Coins and Mind Power, while wondering whether future hidden rules would be disclosed and whether he would be able to see them himself.

• Guan Tong found netizens arguing that the authorities had unfairly concealed the rule that knocking someone unconscious granted Sobering Mint Candy, while others debated how Rule Breakers should be judged.
• Guan Tong decided he would no longer involve himself with Fang Qian and wondered whether her title was Order Keeper or Rule Breaker.
• Guan Tong downloaded the Apocalypse Rules White Paper, published by the newly established Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office.
• Guan Tong learned that each person could currently purchase one personal Ascension Shop item, Sobering Mint Candy was non-tradable, and Mind Power caps varied and seemed connected to willpower.
• Guan Tong read the recorded details of Apocalypse Rule One and its hidden rule, then wondered whether the authorities would disclose future hidden rules and whether he would be able to see them.

After the Apocalypse Rules killed a vast portion of humanity, Guan Tong focused on recovering his Mind Power and finishing his name in the [Wordless Book]. When he completed it, the characters lifted from the page and began forming a figure identical to him.

• Governments around the world reported devastating death tolls and began sweeping reforms to keep society functioning before Rule Two arrived.
• Guan Tong refused a Public Security Bureau request to disclose his Mind Power value, despite the offer of special state support for those above 80 points.
• Guan Tong kept recovering his Mind Power and writing his name in the [Wordless Book], while learning that Wenren Yizhi had completed a 72-hour Go marathon during the Apocalypse Rules.
• On the tenth day, Guan Tong finished the last stroke of his name and sensed he could communicate with it through his mind.
• The characters rose from the page, expanded, and began forming a human figure with Guan Tong's height and build.

Guan Tong experimented with the Shadow created by writing his name in the [Wordless Book] while the world prepared for Apocalypse Rule Two. Fire Thief then announced a ten-day marathon challenge, and Guan Tong discovered that its details could reveal hidden information.

• Guan Tong learned that Shadow could move but could not interact with matter, and it dispersed after less than five minutes before returning his name to the [Wordless Book].
• Over the next five days, Guan Tong used his recovered Mind Power to test Shadow’s limits and found that it could block light only along its outline and could not change shape.
• People and governments prepared anxiously for Apocalypse Rule Two, while many focused on studying Rule-Derived Products.
• Fire Thief announced the Extreme Marathon: participants had ten days to finish a full marathon within three hours, with Mind Power Cap loss as the failure penalty and group rankings for rewards.
• Guan Tong checked the rule’s details in his Personal Terminal and watched them flicker as colored particles reorganized, confirming that hidden information could be revealed again.

After Hidden Rule Two revealed that Mind Power could count toward the marathon challenge, Guan Tong realized Shadow might help him compete. He joined Group 9178, where an experienced marathon runner threatened to take first place, and prepared to test his idea.

• Members of the Green Plum Association discussed the marathon challenge, while Liu Yuqiang resolved to pass it to protect his Mind Power and pursue the new High Mind Power Class.
• Guan Tong read Hidden Rule Two, which said that flexibly using Mind Power to complete the challenge could count toward the result.
• Guan Tong reasoned that Shadow might run distance on his behalf and help him achieve a strong result.
• Guan Tong set his group nickname to Shadow and was randomly assigned to Group 9178, which had 20,000 members.
• On the Road announced that he had run several marathons under three hours, and Guan Tong closed the busy chat to prepare to test Shadow's running ability.

Guan Tong tested whether his Shadow could help him pass the second Apocalypse Rule by running a marathon. He discovered that he could merge it with other shadows and use a treadmill belt’s shadow to cover distance at tremendous speed.

• Guan Tong went to a private gym after seeing people struggle to run in the park.
• Guan Tong used the Wordless Book to summon Shadow and confirmed that its running counted toward his distance.
• Guan Tong found Shadow could run at his own top speed but could last only five minutes, limiting it to about two kilometers.
• Guan Tong realized he could merge Shadow with shadows cast by other light sources and control the expanded shadow.
• Guan Tong connected Shadow to the treadmill belt’s shadow and used the machine at maximum speed, reaching 347 meters in four seconds.

Guan Tong used a spinning selfie stick to make Shadow cover the marathon distance at extraordinary speed. Meanwhile, On the Road celebrated his own challenge time before a group message announced that Shadow had finished in 21 seconds.

• Guan Tong researched Shadow and discovered that its movement distance could be exploited to improve his challenge result.
• Guan Tong used a rotating selfie stick on his apartment roof, fused Shadow with its moving shadow, and set it spinning at maximum speed.
• On the Road finished Rule Two in 2 hours 37 minutes 56 seconds using special running shoes from the Ascension Shop.
• On the Road shared his result in his group, where members praised him and discussed their own attempts.
• A group message announced that member Shadow had completed the challenge in 21 seconds, stunning On the Road and the others.

Guan Tong stayed hidden while media outlets and powerful groups tried to pressure or find Shadow after his 21-second marathon. On the final morning of Rule Two, he discovered that his Mind Power Cap had increased by one point.

• Guan Tong watched his group marvel at Shadow’s 21-second marathon and considered improving the result further.
• News of Shadow spread online, prompting celebrities and tycoons to offer rewards and the Green Plum Association to search for him through media campaigns.
• Guan Tong rejected the public appeals and stayed anonymous, wary of being forced into obligations by powerful groups or government agencies.
• As Rule Two neared its deadline, condemnation of Shadow faded while governments and tycoons recruited people with high Mind Power.
• Guan Tong spent the following days experimenting with controlling small and large shadows.
• On the final morning of Rule Two, Guan Tong checked his Personal Terminal and saw that his Mind Power Cap had increased by one point.

Guan Tong used a high-speed motor to improve his challenge time to fourteen seconds, winning World First in Rule Two and receiving a Glory-tier Treasure Chest. After drinking the Gene Optimization Fluid from the chest, he woke to find his body improved and his Mind Power Cap raised to 114.

• Guan Tong used a motor-driven stick to complete the challenge in fourteen seconds, improving his previous record by seven seconds.
• Fire Thief announced the end of Rule Two, with Shadow in first place, Lucifer in second, and Orochi Murasaki in third; Rule Three was set to begin in thirty days.
• Guan Tong saw that his group had disbanded and that only 109 of its 20,000 members had completed the challenge.
• Guan Tong opened his Glory-tier Treasure Chest, received Gene Optimization Fluid, and drank it before collapsing unconscious.
• Guan Tong woke six hours later with clearer senses and improved vision, and his Personal Terminal showed his Mind Power at 114 and his evaluation at Excellent.