Apocalypse Rule Two

After his initial shock, Guan Tong quickly calmed down.

He looked at the black outline standing before him. Though it matched his height and build, it was only an outline.

There was nothing filling its interior.

No face, no body.

It was practically a Shadow's edge.

Guan Tong looked at the black outline and thought of making it jump.

The next moment, the black outline actually jumped.

"..."

Guan Tong thought that rather than being mentally connected, it was more like an extra arm or leg of his—something he could control at will.

He had merely written down a name in the [Wordless Book]. Why had something like this appeared?

Could this be the mysterious power contained within the book?

If I wrote someone else's name, would an outline of that person appear instead?

Guan Tong guessed as much, but without actually testing it, he could not be sure.

He looked at the outline and said, "I'll call you Shadow."

Its unfilled outline truly did resemble a shadow.

For the time that followed, Guan Tong kept testing Shadow to see what it could do.

First, it could stand and sit, run and jump, but it had no physical form—just like the name Guan Tong had given it, Shadow.

Having no physical form meant it could not interact with matter.

But Guan Tong did not know whether it could undergo further changes, or whether its form was related to Mind Power.

Then there was its duration.

Shadow existed for less than five minutes before dispersing before Guan Tong's eyes.

Guan Tong noticed that his name, which had previously vanished from the page of the [Wordless Book], had reappeared.

"So when a name leaves the page, it becomes Shadow. Once the time is up, Shadow disperses back onto the page and turns into a name again."

Guan Tong scratched his head. There was simply too much about this ability that he did not understand.

Moreover, the pages of this [Wordless Book] seemed endless. He could keep turning them forever.

If he wrote something on every page, would they all produce similar changes?

Guan Tong truly wanted to try it immediately!

But unfortunately, he did not have nearly enough Mind Power.

"Writing just my name took so many days. How long would it take to write something more complicated? Unless my Mind Power Cap rises significantly, there's no way to speed it up."

Guan Tong closed the book, a smile slowly appearing on his face.

More complicated was fine too. That way, he could study it slowly. It gave him something to enjoy.

Over the next five days, Guan Tong did not write any new words in the [Wordless Book].

He used all the Mind Power he recovered to activate Shadow and conduct all kinds of experiments.

He tried opening the curtains and having Shadow stand in front of them.

The result was that only the outlined parts blocked the sunlight. The hollow portions did not.

He also tried making Shadow change shape, but it simply could not be done.

That was a little disappointing, because if Shadow could transform, there would have been many ways to use it.

For example, if he could turn it into several Black Lines and have them Fall Into a sheet of white paper, he could use them as a chessboard.

Finally, Guan Tong thought of having Shadow cover his body. This added a layer of darkness to his outline, creating an inexplicably striking visual effect.

He felt that if he went outside like that, he would probably scare quite a few people, so he decided against it.

While he was studying Shadow's various uses, most other people were preparing for the arrival of Apocalypse Rule Two.

In truth, before the rules descended, no one knew what preparations to make.

But most people felt anxious, so during this time, they stuffed their homes full of everything, useful or useless.

Even the Apocalypse Rules response departments established by governments around the world were actively making preparations.

For instance, they stockpiled all kinds of weapons and medicine.

But essentially, these preparations were no different from Ordinary people hoarding painkillers and alcohol at home. They were all actions driven by anxiety.

Others, like Guan Tong, spent much of their time studying the items they had purchased from the Ascension Shop.

They believed that only Rule-Derived Products could be used to fight against the rules.

So-called Rule-Derived Products naturally included things like the earlier [Sobering Mint Candy], as well as items obtained from the Ascension Shop.

Other than that, nothing created by human society mattered.

Quite a few people agreed with this viewpoint. Some even believed that modern life should be abandoned completely, and that humanity should embrace the rules and their derivatives in a primitive state.

As the saying went, a big forest had all kinds of birds. Faced with such powerful supernatural forces, even stranger theories emerged one after another.

It was amid this atmosphere that Apocalypse Rule Two arrived as scheduled.

8:59.

At this moment, most people around the world who had survived Rule One were waiting in silence.

Waiting for Fire Thief to appear and announce Apocalypse Rule Two.

Guan Tong was likewise waiting silently at home.

He also wanted to know what Apocalypse Rule Two would be.

At exactly nine o'clock, Fire Thief's mechanical, icy voice rang in everyone's mind as scheduled.

[Apocalypse Rule Two has been released]

[Apocalypse Rule Two: Extreme Marathon]

[Rule Content: Within a time limit of ten days, complete one full marathon challenge in no more than 3 hours.]

[Success Reward: 100 Ascension Coins]

[Failure Penalty: If the challenge is not completed within the time limit, Mind Power Cap will decline.]

[Note 1: Humans possess endurance surpassing that of most species. Please make use of your advantage and strive to pass.]

[Note 2: The Personal Terminal's group function has been activated. Everyone will be randomly assigned to a group, and results will be ranked and compared within each group. First Place in each group may advance to the final rankings. The top three in the final rankings will receive additional rewards.]

After Fire Thief's voice faded, Guan Tong was slightly surprised.

Compared with the rule itself, what pleased him more was the Failure Penalty.

This time, the Failure Penalty was a reduction in Mind Power Cap rather than death.

Although Mind Power appeared extremely important at present, and losing it was a cruel punishment, it was still far gentler than death.

"Still... Apocalypse Rule Two is no less ridiculous than the first one," Guan Tong remarked.

Unless they were long-distance running experts who regularly participated in marathons, for most Ordinary people without a running habit, training to complete a 42-kilometer Full Marathon in three hours within ten days was simply a fantasy.

Furthermore, alongside Apocalypse Rule Two, the Personal Terminal had also activated an entirely new group function.

Guan Tong did not immediately check the new function. Instead, after opening his Personal Terminal, he checked the rule's details.

He remembered that the first time, this was how he had discovered the existence of Hidden Rules.

"Will it work this time?"

Guan Tong stared at the details of Apocalypse Rule Two.

A few seconds later, the rule began to flicker slowly as particles of color reorganized.

It worked after all!