Glory-tier Treasure Chest

Guan Tong looked at the interface on his Personal Terminal and quickly understood what was going on.

"So one way to increase the Mind Power Cap is to repeatedly drain and restore Mind Power in a cycle."

Ever since he'd gained Mind Power, he'd used it up almost every single day—using a bit as soon as it recovered, then using a bit more.

From the end of Rule One to the imminent end of Rule Two, a total of twenty-five days, he'd done this every day.

Still, while an increase in the cap was worth celebrating, the time it took was far too long...

"Nearly a month of squeezing and recovering, and the cap only went up by one point." Guan Tong sighed. "What a pain."

But no matter what, an increase in the cap was a good thing.

Then, seizing the last of his time, he took the new tool he'd bought and went up to the rooftop just after eight.

The so-called tool was actually a high-speed mini motor.

His previous record of twenty-one seconds had been achieved with a cloud-tapping pole, but the rotation speed of that pole was far inferior to a motor's.

What Guan Tong needed to do was attach a thin wooden stick to the motor and start it up.

He merged his own "Shadow" with the shadow of the thin stick, adjusted the shadow's angle, and then turned the motor to Maximum Power.

"Buzzzzzz!"

The motor ran at full throttle, the thin wooden stick on top spinning so fast it left afterimages.

Its shadow naturally darted between the buildings at a speed too fast for the eye to track. Guan Tong felt like he'd barely experienced anything before the data in front of him showed the challenge was complete.

Current Distance: 42,195 meters, Current Time: 14 seconds

"I broke through!"

Guan Tong looked at the data and smiled.

From twenty-one to fourteen—a full seven seconds faster!

He felt this result was enough; there was no need to challenge for a faster time.

Soon, as the clock struck nine, the ten-day effective period of Rule Two came to an end.

[Rule Time has ended]

[Congratulations on passing the trial of Rule Two]

[You have advanced from your group to the final rankings as First Place]

[The final rankings have been released, and the top three have been announced]

[First Place: Shadow, time 14 seconds]

[Second Place: Lucifer, time 15 minutes 56 seconds]

[Third Place: Orochi Murasaki, time 19 minutes 6 seconds]

[Congratulations on achieving the World First final ranking with a challenge time of 14 seconds]

[Final ranking rewards have been distributed to your Storage Box; check via Personal Terminal]

[New features unlocked; check via Personal Terminal]

[More items have been added to the Ascension Shop; check via Personal Terminal]

[Rule Three of the Apocalypse Rules will be announced in thirty days]

At exactly nine, the Fire Thief's voice rang out in everyone's mind.

Countless people were crushed when they heard that Shadow had taken World First with a time of fourteen seconds.

The previously rumored twenty-one seconds was already absurd enough; no one expected him to go even further—it was simply insane.

In comparison, the second and third places, which were also insane in their own right, seemed perfectly normal next to Shadow's first.

Even so, finishing a Full Marathon in over ten minutes was still an unattainable achievement for the vast majority of people...

But rather than focusing on Shadow, the public was more interested in what new features the terminal had unlocked.

Plus, the Ascension Shop had refreshed, so they could see what good items were available.

Guan Tong himself, seeing that "World First" had ultimately landed in his hands, couldn't deny he was happy.

He immediately opened his Personal Terminal and saw that his previous group had automatically disbanded.

[Current group size: 20,000]

[Number of Rule Challenge completions: 109]

[This group has been disbanded]

"...A group of twenty thousand people, and only just over a hundred completed the Rule Two challenge. The odds really are..."

Guan Tong felt this was directly linked to the fact that the Failure Penalty for this rule wasn't fatal.

If failing didn't mean death, many people lacked the pressure and would just muddle through with a take-it-as-it-comes attitude.

He opened his Storage Box, and inside was a treasure chest.

[Challenge Ranking Treasure Chest · Glory Grade]: Open to receive a random item reward.

Glory-tier Treasure Chest!

Guan Tong's eyes lit up. He remembered that after clearing the first Apocalypse Rule, the reward had only been a Bronze-tier chest.

Now this Glory-tier was several grades above Bronze... worthy of a World First reward.

"Open."

[Obtained item: Gene Optimization Fluid]

[Gene Optimization Fluid]: Upon consumption, comprehensively optimizes and repairs genetic defects.

"This..."

Guan Tong stared at the random item he'd received, feeling like he'd won the lottery.

Just from the description, he knew that after drinking this—even if it didn't turn him into a superhuman—it would at least enhance every aspect of his physical fitness, right?

Without a second thought, Guan Tong chose to use it.

A small bottle of a few dozen milliliters appeared in his hand, filled with a pale golden liquid.

He twisted off the cap and downed it in one go.

"Gulp, gulp."

The fluid had no taste, pretty much like water.

But after swallowing, within seconds, Guan Tong felt his entire body begin to heat up.

It wasn't exactly painful, but it felt like a high fever, and his consciousness quickly grew hazy.

Guan Tong wanted to make it back to his room and lie down on the bed, but the moment he took a step, he collapsed with a "thud" in the living room.

...Consciousness lost...

He didn't know how long had passed when Guan Tong groggily woke up.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"3 PM? I was out for six hours..."

Startled, Guan Tong quickly sat up. As he did, he noticed many changes in his body.

The first sensation was lightness—not just physical lightness, but also mental clarity.

It was like a phone with a full memory had been formatted; his thoughts became razor-sharp and crystal clear.

He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Even his appearance and build had shifted slightly.

It wasn't that he'd become more handsome or taller—if he had to describe it, it was more like he'd become harmonious!

Yes, harmonious.

Guan Tong stared at himself in the mirror and thought, "Did that bottle of Gene Optimization Fluid really cause all this?"

He walked out of the bathroom and gazed out the window.

Everything he saw was incredibly clear. Guan Tong instinctively raised a hand to touch his eye socket.

"My vision too..."

He'd originally had slight nearsightedness, but now his eyesight was so sharp he could clearly make out the potted plants on the balcony of the building across the street.

Had the Gene Optimization Fluid changed this much?

Guan Tong immediately opened his Personal Terminal to check.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Order Keeper]

[Mind Power: 114]

[Ascension Coins: 100]

[Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation: Excellent]

As expected!

Guan Tong's heart leaped with joy. The changes brought by the Gene Optimization Fluid were most directly reflected in the increase of his Mind Power cap!

The original cap of 97 had now become 114!

And he remembered that before, he'd squeezed and drained himself for ages just to raise it by 1 point!

Now, having broken through 100, his Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation had also jumped from "Average" to "Excellent."