Saturation Appeal

"How much?!!"

The moment the prompt appeared, the entire group exploded after a brief deathly silence.

Countless messages flooded the screen at breakneck speed.

"Holy shit!!!"

"21 seconds?!"

"Bro, did you fly there in a plane?!"

"How did you do that?!"

"This was timed by the terminal, so cheating should be impossible..."

"Did you use some Hidden Rules, like that Sobering Mint Candy from before?!"

"Yeah, Hidden Rules!"

"Shadow, sir!!! Please share!!!"

"Could the World First come from our group?!"

"I can't accept this!"

"Dad! Please carry me!"

The group messages refreshed like mad. In a group of twenty thousand people, at least ten thousand were posting.

On the Road, who was in the stadium, had only been pleased with himself for a few minutes before he was completely dumbfounded.

Finishing a full marathon in 21 seconds? Was that even humanly possible?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

Just how had this guy with the nickname "Shadow" done it?

Like him, many people wanted answers. They wanted to ask "Shadow" directly.

However, the Personal Terminal currently only had group chat functions for communication. It had no "add friend" or "private message" features.

Therefore, if "Shadow" did not speak in the group, no one could actively contact him.

Meanwhile, Guan Tong sat at home, looking at the frenzy on the group chat interface with some helplessness.

Even if he made his secret public, others would not be able to use it.

After all, not everyone had an artifact like his, nor could they use Shadow to clear the challenge as he had.

And fundamentally, this required discovering how to make use of Mind Power.

Guan Tong did not need to explain that point. There were already countless posts about it online.

Many people had discovered on the first day that results achieved with the assistance of Mind Power Artifacts could be recorded by the terminal.

That meant the hidden rule of [Mind Wins] had already spread on the first day. Anyone who paid attention to outside information would know about it.

Since everyone knew, the next step was naturally for each person to show their own abilities.

Everyone had to figure out how to pass the challenge by exploring ways to use their own Mind Power Artifacts.

Still, Guan Tong could not help feeling a little secretly pleased.

His Shadow was simply too well-suited for this rule.

"Looking at it this way, maybe I really can rank in the world's top three?"

Guan Tong actually felt that taking first place would not be a problem. But there were always greater people out there, and perhaps someone in the world had a Mind Power Artifact even more suited to this rule than his.

Besides, 21 seconds was not yet his limit.

Guan Tong could completely look for something that spun faster and cast a larger shadow to improve his result even further.

He estimated that getting it down to the teens should not be a problem.

By afternoon, keywords related to "Shadow 21 Seconds" had appeared online.

People from Guan Tong's group had already posted the matter online.

Since terminal group chats could not be screenshotted, and the overall rankings could not be viewed before Rule Time ended, most netizens did not believe it.

But as more and more people from Guan Tong's group made posts, people gradually came to believe that someone named "Shadow" had completed a full marathon in just 21 seconds and passed the rule.

For a time, people everywhere were searching for "Shadow," wanting to know how he had done it.

Among them were quite a few social celebrities and wealthy tycoons.

On a globally popular social platform called Liaoduo, many verified celebrities posted updates.

Some of those posts appeared relatively restrained, while others were extremely explicit and wild.

The chairman of a top one-hundred global corporation posted, "I hope this 'Shadow' will contact me and provide the method for clearing the challenge. I am willing to offer three hundred jin of gold as compensation. Anyone with 'Shadow's' contact information, or anyone who can provide news of him, may also receive a reward of fifty jin of gold."

The moment the post appeared, the comments below went wild.

"Three hundred jin of gold?! That's a huge offer!"

"They're really going all out."

"I'm so jealous. If only I were 'Shadow'!"

"Gold has appreciated so much now. Three hundred jin would last you until the end of time!"

It was no wonder everyone was astonished. Since Rule One of the Apocalypse Rules ended, the value of gold had nearly been doubling.

This was closely related to many nations making food free and entertainment products free.

Once those things became free, currency such as money lost much of its value.

As a result, many high-end scarce goods could no longer be bought with money at all and only supported gold transactions.

Because of that, gold, a hard currency with a limited supply, began soaring in value.

A single jin of gold now was worth more than five jin before the Apocalypse Rules descended. One could imagine just how extravagant three hundred jin was.

Another fairly famous and beautiful international film star also made a post, saying she wanted to have private contact with "Shadow." Whether he was of the opposite sex or the same sex, they could discuss biology together.

That post immediately drew furious abuse from large numbers of fans, who felt she was selling her body in exchange for the secret.

But the actress did not care at all. She saw things clearly: after the Apocalypse Rules appeared, entertainment industry film and television stars like her would only receive less and less attention.

She might as well use her remaining fame and celebrity aura to gain some tangible benefits while she still could.

Those openly seeking cooperation were still being polite, but some forces and organizations were secretly searching for "Shadow."

The Green Plum Association was one of them.

As soon as the news spread, discussion began in the Green Plum Association's private group.

"Who exactly is this 'Shadow'? How did he do it?"

"No idea. Even with a Mind Power Artifact, it shouldn't be possible to reach that level."

"Could there be some unique trick?"

"I saw online that this 'Shadow' is most likely from our Beixing Nation. Can we find a way to locate him?"

"That'll be difficult. I heard that some top computer experts in the Countermeasure Office established by the upper levels tried to crack the terminal group chats, but all of them failed."

"It's impossible to find him through technical means. Fire Thief's power is the power of a god. How could we humans crack it? I think we should use the media instead."

"That's right. Everyone, contact whatever media resources you can still use. Do everything possible to make this 'Shadow' willing to step forward on his own and reveal his identity."

"Alright. I still have several media departments operating on my end. I'll get started immediately."

The members of the Green Plum Association were giants from every field of the business world. Their companies had connections with many media outlets. Some companies even funded and maintained numerous media organizations themselves, whether for waging business wars against competitors or muddying the waters and diverting attention when something happened to their own companies.

Now, it was time for them to prove useful again.

That night, many media outlets began making a concerted effort to report on "Shadow's 21 Seconds."

The most popular video featured a well-known host speaking emotionally before the camera.

"According to relevant information, this person with the nickname 'Shadow' is highly likely to be a citizen of our Beixing Nation.

"Facing the enormous disaster that is the Apocalypse Rules, the people of Beixing Nation should unite as one and endure these hardships together. Although the Failure Penalty for Rule Two is not fatal, passing it should help us survive more brutal rules in the future.

"Therefore, on behalf of our fellow citizens, I strongly appeal for this 'Shadow' to embrace great love and step forward voluntarily, helping other citizens pass the Rule Challenge together. I believe everyone will regard you as a hero and sing your praises!"

The host spoke until he was nearly in tears, and the comments section was filled with praise as well.

"I support the host!"

"That's right. If 'Shadow' is willing to help everyone clear the rule, then he'll be a hero to our entire nation!"

"We're all from the same country. Of course we should help one another!"

"I believe that if 'Shadow' is from our Beixing Nation, he'll definitely step forward. There aren't people that selfish in our country!"

"Waiting for the hero to appear!"

There was more than one video like that. Many appeared on major websites that night.

The content was largely the same, with one central theme: they hoped "Shadow" would step forward and share the method he had used to finish a full marathon in 21 seconds.

Guan Tong sat on the sofa and watched similar videos playing across several channels. He was utterly speechless.

"Is this a saturation campaign?"

He was not an idiot. Several channels and media outlets were airing this sort of video one after another. If that was a coincidence, then hell would freeze over!

Guan Tong strongly suspected that someone was manipulating the media behind the scenes and deliberately orchestrating this.

"I'm not falling for this..."

There had originally been nothing to hide about this matter, but after the media pulled this stunt, Guan Tong did not dare reveal his identity so easily.

He knew that however nicely those videos spoke, once they found their way to his door, their methods would be just as ruthless.

That was not paranoia. It was simply reality, something obvious with a little thought.

How many of those powerful tycoons did not want to make a grand showing in this Apocalypse Rules Era?

As long as they had an opportunity to seize the initiative, they would never let it go.

That was also why Guan Tong had refused to register his Mind Power data when he received a call from the Public Security Bureau's new department earlier.

They said that anyone with over 80 points might receive special support, but what came after that?

Benefits were not given for free. Gaining rights also meant taking on responsibilities.

Guan Tong did not want to register, only for a compulsory notice to suddenly arrive one day ordering him to help with some experiment or task.

—And he would not be allowed to refuse, because he had accepted the support.

Guan Tong could not control what others did. As for himself, he preferred to stay far away from such matters.

Thus, over the following days, no matter how relentlessly the media bombarded everyone, or how much they called "Shadow" selfish, he acted as if he saw nothing and kept doing what he needed to do.

It was not until the eighth day after Rule Two descended that the online wave of condemnation against Shadow gradually died down.

On one hand, the rule's ten-day time limit was almost over, and Shadow still refused to show himself. No amount of talking would help.

On the other hand, with so little time remaining, most people accepted reality.

If they could not complete the challenge, then they could not complete it. Even after following the official advice and attempting to use their Mind Power Artifacts flexibly, they still could not find the trick.

After struggling for so long and finding it useless, they simply gave up.

The punishment was not death anyway, only a decrease in Mind Power.

Many people now had the mindset of living one day at a time while they still could. If their Mind Power decreased, then so be it.

Those powerful tycoons also gave up searching for "Shadow" and instead began openly recruiting people.

Their recruitment targets were those with high Mind Power.

As time passed, the public gradually realized that high Mind Power would become increasingly important in the future.

So those tycoons began building their own new factions, intending to recruit a group of elites into their teams ahead of time.

Whether it was banding together to face future Apocalypse Rules or competing with other tycoons on various fronts, the more elite members a team had, the greater its advantage would undoubtedly be.

Besides civilian tycoons, the governments of various nations were also doing this.

Beixing Nation was among the quickest to act. When the Public Security Bureau established a new department earlier and called people one by one to register their Mind Power values, it had been preparing for this step.

Many people with high Mind Power posted online that not long after registering, they received official invitations to join affiliated departments of the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office.

The Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office was the institution that had released the Apocalypse Rules White Paper, and it was also a special department deliberately established by the government.

In the post-Apocalypse Rules Era, its name alone showed just how many resources this Countermeasure Research Institute could mobilize. Even becoming merely a member of one of its affiliated departments would undoubtedly mean wielding considerable power.

Besides Beixing Nation, other nations with even a little strength had established organizations similar to the Countermeasure Research Institute. All were vigorously recruiting High Mind Power Users around the world.

As for the compensation, it certainly was not money.

Someone online revealed that, aside from gold, these institutions offered many things that could not be bought elsewhere.

For example, scenic vacation homes in prime locations, access rights to special venues, and the right to know a small amount of classified information.

There was plenty of information online about this, some true and some false, with some claims especially bizarre and impossible to verify.

However, some people said that joining such institutions required signing confidentiality agreements, and things that could not be disclosed would not be posted online. Therefore, most of what was circulating online could be judged false.

All that turmoil was lively, but it had nothing to do with Guan Tong.

Over the past few days, all his time had gone into studying his Shadow.

Ever since discovering its new use, whenever he had free time, he went outside and "connected" to shadows everywhere, feeling the differences.

For instance, he had connected to the shadow of a tiny ant, such a small little shadow. He had also connected to the shadow of a huge stadium, which was enormous. The sensations of controlling something so small and something so large were naturally different.

The advantage of something small was that it was flexible, hidden, and not easily noticed.

Large shadows were different. With such a huge shadow, even the slightest movement would draw the attention of passersby. Anyone who was not blind would notice something was wrong!

Those experiments made Guan Tong so engrossed that he almost forgot everything else. They were too fun. If he did not drain all his Mind Power every day, he practically could not sleep.

That continued until the tenth day, the final day of Rule Two.

After 9:00 a.m., the results would be settled.

Guan Tong woke up at 7:00 a.m., hastily ate some breakfast, and prepared to go out and continue experimenting. But when he casually glanced at his Personal Terminal, he froze.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Order Keeper]

[Mind Power: 97]

[Ascension Coins: 0]

[Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation: Ordinary]

"My Mind Power Cap... increased by 1 point?"