The First Apocalypse Rule

Yunhua Third High School, Senior Class 2.

Class meeting period.

The homeroom teacher stood at the podium and said passionately, "There are less than three months until the college entrance exam. Everyone, hold on until the end and give it everything you've got!"

"The college entrance exam is the fairest rule and the greatest opportunity to change your fate! If you don't work desperately now, it'll be too late to regret it later!"

The fairest rule?

At the window seat in the back row, a tousle-haired boy wore a calm expression.

As someone who had been through it all, Guan Tong knew there was no such thing as the fairest rule in this world.

That had been true in the world before he transmigrated, and it was still true in this world afterward.

Still, Guan Tong was quite satisfied with his transmigration.

Back on Earth, he had merely been an ordinary office worker, doing a job he disliked while living in a state of subpar health.

Yet after transmigrating to this planet called Tianshui Star, he had somehow returned to the age of eighteen.

Setting everything else aside, simply having this young, energetic body again was already enough.

As for what the future held...

Guan Tong looked out the window, and his gaze suddenly changed.

What was that?

Irregular black spots abruptly appeared in the sky, like drops of ink falling onto a blue canvas.

Those spots seemed to be "alive," moving and combining in a strange fashion until they quickly formed four large, pulsating words.

[Testing begins]

[Testing begins]

At that moment, those four words rang out in different languages within the minds of every person across the world.

Even the homeroom teacher paused mid-speech, confusion appearing on his face. The students looked at one another in bewilderment.

"Just now..."

Someone wanted to say something, but the voice in their mind had not finished.

[Welcome, Homo sapiens, to the Ascension Plan test]

[I am the examiner for this test: Fire Thief]

[Test scope: all Homo sapiens on Tianshui Star]

[Test content: forty-nine Apocalypse Rules]

[Test objective: those who pass the test may learn the truth behind it and participate in the Apocalypse Operation]

"You all heard that too, right?!"

A student stood up in fright and shouted.

"I heard it! It was like someone was talking inside my head!"

"Fuck! What's going on?"

"Forty-nine Apocalypse Rules? Ascension Plan? Apocalypse Operation?"

"That voice sounded like a robot!"

Guan Tong had heard the voice in his mind as well.

However, he was not overly shocked.

Transmigration had already happened to him. If something else happened too, it was hardly worth making a fuss over.

At that moment, the voice in his mind sounded again.

[Personal Terminal function activated. You may check it at any time by silently reciting its name]

[The first Apocalypse Rule has been issued]

[Apocalypse Rule One: Sleep Deprivation]

[Rule: from the moment this rule is issued, you must not enter a sleeping state in any form for 72 hours]

[Survival reward: 100 Ascension Coins, Mind Power]

[Failure Penalty: if you enter a sleeping state at any point while the rule is in effect, you will never wake up again]

[Note: among the known Homo sapiens of Tianshui Star, someone has remained awake for 297 consecutive hours. Seventy-two hours is far from the limit. Please do your best to pass]

Once the voice calling itself Fire Thief stopped, the entire classroom erupted.

No one knew what was happening. Even the homeroom teacher stood frozen on the podium, utterly at a loss.

"Look!"

Someone suddenly shouted while staring out the window, and the others turned to look.

A huge red countdown hung in the sky, its numbers constantly changing.

71:59:22

71:59:21

71:59:20

Everyone stared blankly at the countdown in the air when a furious roar suddenly came from the back of the classroom.

"This is so damn annoying! What the hell are you all making so much noise for?!"

Everyone jumped and turned toward the sound.

The one who had shouted was a brawny, buzz-cut boy. Judging by his bleary-eyed appearance, he had clearly been asleep just moments ago.

The boy was Xu Beipeng, who had ranked dead last in the class for years. Because he was strong and hot-tempered, even the teachers rarely dared to discipline him, usually turning a blind eye when he slept in class.

"What test... rule... so annoying." Xu Beipeng dug at his ear, apparently thinking the voice in his head had been part of a dream. After muttering a few words, he lay back down on his desk to continue sleeping.

Everyone in the class looked horrified.

"H-He went back to sleep?"

"Didn't that Fire Thief say..."

"The first Apocalypse Rule says we can't enter a sleeping state for seventy-two hours! Is this thing even real?!"

Guan Tong looked at Xu Beipeng and frowned slightly.

"Snore... snore..."

Xu Beipeng fell asleep incredibly quickly. Only seconds after lying down, he was already snoring.

Seeing this, all the students in the class breathed sighs of relief.

"It's fine. Looks like that rule isn't rea—"

Before the sentence could finish, Xu Beipeng's snoring abruptly stopped.

At that moment, the students saw Guan Tong, seated by the window in the back row, suddenly rise to his feet and walk toward Xu Beipeng.

Guan Tong went straight to Xu Beipeng's side and pushed his body. "Xu Beipeng, wake up."

Xu Beipeng did not move or make a sound. There was not the slightest sign that he would wake up.

The students around him could no longer remain seated. They rose in terror and backed away.

Slap!

Guan Tong suddenly slapped Xu Beipeng hard across the face.

"Wake up!"

There was still no reaction.

Guan Tong placed his fingers beneath Xu Beipeng's nostrils. A few seconds later, he withdrew his hand and shook his head at the entire class watching him. "He's not breathing."

"Ahhh!!!"

The more timid boys and girls in the class began screaming.

The homeroom teacher panicked as well. He hurriedly pulled out his phone to call emergency services, saying as he dialed, "Everyone, sit down first. Don't panic... Guan Tong, where are you going?!"

Guan Tong had already reached the classroom door. Without turning back, he said, "Going home. Things outside are about to descend into chaos."

"You..."

"I'm going home too!"

"Me too!"

With Guan Tong taking the lead, the other students rushed out of the classroom one after another.

The entire school was soon engulfed in uproar. Students from every class were in an uproar, and the bicycle sheds were even more crowded as everyone fought to retrieve their bikes and leave.

Since Guan Tong had left ahead of the others, he had already exited the school gates.

From a single spot, one could see the whole picture. Even the tightly managed high school campus had descended into chaos, let alone the outside world.

People ran frantically through the streets. Car horns blared nonstop, and traffic accidents occurred one after another.

An emergency notice played on the huge screen hanging in the plaza. A famous host from Beixing Nation repeated solemnly:

"In the face of this sudden emergency, please do not panic. Enter safe indoor locations in an orderly manner and await the latest official announcement."

"In the face of this sudden emergency, please do not panic. Enter in an orderly manner..."

It was not just the plaza screens. Everyone had also received emergency alerts from their mobile carriers. The content matched the broadcast, telling people not to panic and to wait for official announcements.

Standing on the street, Guan Tong looked at the text message on his phone and thought that quite a few people must have already died in this short span of time. Otherwise, the authorities would never have acted so quickly.

He thought, It's nighttime in many countries on the other side of the planet, and most people are asleep. Even if Fire Thief's voice wakes them like it woke Xu Beipeng, most of them will probably think they're dreaming, turn over, and go back to sleep like Xu Beipeng did... How many people will die?

As for the country, places like hospitals are probably the hardest-hit areas.

People sleeping normally could still be awakened by Fire Thief's voice ringing in their minds, giving them a chance to survive. But what about those patients in hospitals who were unconscious from illness or under anesthesia for surgery? How were they supposed to "wake up"?

The authorities must have received an avalanche of death reports from hospitals in every city. That was why they had not dared to delay and had issued a nationwide announcement immediately.

Guan Tong had thought of this, and many others surely had too.

For example...

Guan Tong looked toward a supermarket not far away, where seven or eight young, able-bodied men were packed around the entrance, arguing loudly.

"I was here first! All of you, move aside!"

"Who the fuck cares who came first now?! Boss, bring me every energy drink you've got, like Red Bull and Jianlibao! I'll buy them all! And coffee too!"

"What gives you the right to buy so much by yourself?!"

"I've got money! What's it to you?"

"Fuck you!"

"Hey, talk things out! Don't start fighting!"

A new book is out. I hope all you wonderful readers will enjoy it!