Differences in Rewards

What was going on?

Guan Tong looked at the gel pen that had flown out and fallen to the floor, then turned his gaze back to the page.

After using all his strength, he had only managed to write a single dot on it.

"...The mysterious power within this Wordless Book is stopping me from writing on it?"

Of course, Guan Tong knew it was not that simple.

But then...

Hm?

Suddenly, he noticed that his personal status panel had changed somehow.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Not Set]

[Title: Order Keeper]

[Mind Power: 1]

[Ascension Coins: 0]

[Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation: Ordinary]

"...Why has my Mind Power become 1?"

Guan Tong remembered clearly that the number he had seen before was 96.

He immediately realized one possibility.

"Could the mysterious energy that surged from my body just now... have been the power of Mind Power?"

"Did writing that one stroke in the Wordless Book drain all my Mind Power?"

Guan Tong thought that was highly likely!

He took a deep breath and stared at the Mind Power value on his personal panel.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes...

Ten minutes later, his Mind Power changed from "1" to "2."

"So it really recovers automatically!"

A smile appeared on Guan Tong's face.

"It seems my current Mind Power limit is 96 points. Spending it lets me write in the Wordless Book... Though I don't know what writing does, I need to experiment with it!"

Guan Tong decided that, over the coming days, he would write his name in the Wordless Book, one stroke at a time.

"I wonder how the Mind Power limit can be increased. Do I need to go through more Apocalypse Rules?"

"I remember Fire Thief's voice saying that Rule Two would be announced in fifteen days—half a month from now."

Huff...

Guan Tong got out of bed, went to the balcony, and looked out over the long street.

Everything was silent.

Were people still catching up on sleep, or had most of them failed to hold on?

Perhaps it was both, creating this deathly silence.

"Bzz, bzz."

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

Guan Tong walked over, picked it up, and glanced at it. It was a message from Fang Qian.

"Guan Tong, I'm sorry..."

The message had just been sent, which meant Fang Qian had also passed Rule One.

But whether she had endured it on her own or used Sobering Mint Candy... Guan Tong had no way of knowing.

He silently deleted Fang Qian's message and had no intention of replying.

But the messages in his notification bar made him realize something.

The network that had been cut off was back.

"After Rule One, what has the world become?"

Guan Tong went to sit down at the computer in the study.

Liu Yuqiang opened his eyes and sat up from the recliner.

He had undoubtedly survived Rule One as well.

Yet there was not much joy visible on his face at all.

He picked up his phone. While he had been asleep, many messages had appeared in the Green Plum Association group chat.

"Made it through!"

"Rule Two is in half a month. That's really tight."

"I think we need to make preparations in advance."

"Have you all checked your panels? How much Mind Power do you have?"

"I have 11. What's it for?"

"I have 15."

"Why do I only have 9 Mind Power?"

Liu Yuqiang did not keep reading. He silently opened his Personal Terminal.

[Name: Liu Yuqiang]

[Nickname: Not Set]

[Title: None]

[Mind Power: 38]

[Ascension Coins: 100]

[Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation: Inferior]

"I actually have 38?"

Liu Yuqiang was startled when he saw his Mind Power value.

It was much higher than what the others in the group had posted.

Though he did not know what Mind Power was for, a higher number should be a good thing, right?

With that thought, Liu Yuqiang opened his Storage Box.

There were two items inside.

[Sobering Mint Candy] (1)

[Survival Chest · Bronze Tier]

Liu Yuqiang fell silent when he saw the one remaining Sobering Mint Candy.

He knew that compared to some of the others in the Green Plum Association, he had not acquired that many candies.

But still...

Liu Yuqiang shook his head, refusing to dwell on it, and opened the chest.

[Title Obtained: Rule Breaker]

Rule Breaker?

The strangely named title left Liu Yuqiang confused.

He did not dwell on it and opened the Ascension Shop.

Looking at the interface, which contained nothing but a search bar, he was reminded of the time when he had possessed nothing.

Back then, he had merely been an ordinary deliveryman. Every day, he did exhausting hauling work, and his only companion had been a pair of worn gloves.

As if possessed, he entered the word "gloves" into the search bar.

He searched, and one result appeared.

[Giant Strength Gloves]: A pair of gloves containing mysterious power

[Price: 100 Ascension Coins]

"This..."

Looking at the grayish-white gloves, Liu Yuqiang felt an inexplicable urge.

This was what he wanted.

He chose to buy them.

The grayish-white gloves appeared in his hands, and he eagerly put them on.

A strange energy seemed to flow through his body and gather around the gloves.

Liu Yuqiang subconsciously punched the table.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, a fissure split across the solid wood tabletop...

Liu Yuqiang's eyes widened.

He threw another punch, but this time the tabletop remained completely unharmed.

"It was... that power..."

Liu Yuqiang immediately realized this and reopened his Personal Terminal.

[Name: Liu Yuqiang]

[Nickname: Not Set]

[Title: Rule Breaker]

[Mind Power: 0]

[Ascension Coins: 0]

[Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation: Inferior]

Sure enough, his Mind Power had fallen to 0.

"It seems these gloves need to consume Mind Power to unleash their strength!" Liu Yuqiang grew excited.

"The higher my Mind Power, the more power these gloves can unleash!"

"But why do some people have more Mind Power than others? Some people in the group even have single-digit amounts..."

Liu Yuqiang picked up his phone again and looked through the remaining unread group messages.

The issue he cared about had already been figured out by those members who had continuously taken Sobering Mint Candy and never slept. They had even found the answer.

"Everyone, there seems to be a problem... Our Mind Power values seem to be related to how much candy we ate."

"I noticed it too. The more candy you eat, the less Mind Power you have!"

"The title in the chest is different too. I just received word that everyone who ate candy has the title 'Rule Breaker.' Those who survived without eating candy all have the title 'Order Keeper'!"

"How could this happen?! This isn't fair!"

"Damn it, this is going to be troublesome. If our titles are exposed, won't that tell others we got candy?"

"What's wrong with everyone? Don't forget, even the youngest members of our Green Plum Association are over forty. If we hadn't eaten candy, how many people in the association would have survived?"

"That's right! Staying alive is what matters most. So what if we have a little less Mind Power and different titles? As long as the brothers and sisters of the Green Plum Association stick together, there's nothing to fear!"