Changing World Order

Over the next month, the world order changed at a breakneck pace.

The effects brought by the first Apocalypse Rule continued, not weakening in the slightest but steadily intensifying.

There was no helping it—the first Apocalypse Rule had been far too brutal, wiping out far too much of the world's population in a single stroke.

Even a nation with relatively stable order like Beixing Nation had lost more than a quarter of its population, let alone Small Nations whose order had already been unstable.

In many countries, the proportion of people who died solely to the power of the Rules exceeded 50%.

And that was not the end of it.

After the power of the Rules cut the population in half—or by even more—the various riots that followed slashed it further.

Many Small Nations simply perished as a result.

Now, more than a month had passed since the first Apocalypse Rule ended, and the world's order had gradually begun to reshape itself out of the chaos.

Beixing Nation remained relatively stable. It had been the first to enact policies making food and cultural entertainment free. With food to eat, drink to have, and entertainment to enjoy, the people had helped keep order stable, and no large-scale internal unrest had occurred.

Another relatively stable power was the Solloma Empire in the southern part of the planet. Riots had initially broken out there as well, but under the king's forceful suppression, they were swiftly quelled.

Beyond that, a southern alliance known as the Tulip Federation had emerged.

This alliance was an entity pieced together from numerous collapsed Small Nations. Scattered, they were sand covering the ground; gathered, they formed a pyramid. Their combined strength could not be underestimated.

Aside from these three major powers, countries large and small had mostly suffered grievous losses. Forget rising again—they would have to fight with everything they had just to keep their nations from vanishing.

At present, Beixing Nation, the Solloma Empire, and the Tulip Federation were all aggressively recruiting people with high Mind Power at the official level.

They recruited from their own countries, and from other countries as well. As long as someone had high Mind Power, they wanted them all.

Especially since there had previously been no way to verify whether someone's Mind Power was truly high or not. Now that the [Friends] function had appeared, as long as two people added each other as friends, they could show one another their personal panels.

That allowed the other party to see their Mind Power values, titles, nicknames, and so on.

It was also the appearance of this function that reignited a debate which had only just begun to die down.

That was, the dispute between [Order Keepers] and [Rule Breakers].

This was not merely a matter of two different titles, but a clash of the actions and values represented by those titles.

Many people with the [Order Keeper] title believed that [Rule Breakers] were all murderers.

Meanwhile, many people with the [Rule Breaker] title believed that [Order Keepers] were talking nonsense. Leaving aside the fact that many people had not known about that Hidden Rule at the time, even if they had known, they had no choice but to do it in order to survive.

One thing [Rule Breakers] had to rely on was that the authorities had never defined their actions.

That was right. The authorities had never issued any statement declaring that [Rule Breakers] had broken the law or done anything wrong. They had not even released a single statement condemning them.

Thus, the [Rule Breakers] believed that since even the authorities had not pursued the matter, what the hell were you [Order Keepers] yapping about?

The two sides argued endlessly online. A single post could often erupt into tens of thousands of insults.

Previously, neither side had any way to determine whether the other person's identity was real. With words alone, no one knew what the other person's title truly was.

Now that the [Friends] function had appeared, there was immediately a way to verify it.

I'm an [Order Keeper], and you're an [Order Keeper] too? Come on, post your numerical ID and add me as a friend on the terminal. Whether it's real or fake will be obvious at a glance—after all, this thing can't be forged.

Many [Rule Breakers] did the same, making posts to form [Rule Breaker Alliances] that recruited only [Rule Breakers] and wanted no hypocritical [Order Keepers].

Such division among the populace was certainly not something the authorities wanted to see, yet it was difficult for them to step in and say anything.

Some rational analysts judged that the reason the "Fire Thief" had created these two titles might have been to sow discord and split humanity, this great collective, apart. They called on everyone to think calmly.

Aside from the dispute between [Order Keepers] and [Rule Breakers], the Mind Power Development Academy that the Countermeasure Research Institute had announced it was preparing to establish also became a hot topic of discussion.

Many people were asking everywhere about the academy's location and admission requirements.

Clearly, the public believed that as long as they entered the academy, they would receive professional guidance at the national level and pull far ahead of those outside it.

The Countermeasure Research Institute also specifically held a Q&A session to answer the public's questions.

First, the academy had only one purpose: to use every possible means to develop and improve its students' Mind Power, allowing them to face the challenges brought by the Apocalypse Rules.

The academy would be located within a university in the capital. Not only had that university been requisitioned, but several nearby large stadiums, parks, and other sites had been requisitioned as well for conversion into academy facilities.

As for the admission requirements the public cared about most, they were simple. The sole requirement was a Mind Power Cap of 80 points.

In other words, only those whose comprehensive information evaluation had reached the "Ordinary" grade could apply.

Age, wealth, family background, and everything else were disregarded. Only Mind Power mattered.

Those who did not meet the requirement could first follow the White Paper to train and improve themselves. Once they reached the standard, they could apply for admission then as well.

This sole requirement disappointed quite a few people. At the Mind Power levels possessed by most people, entering the academy was simply impossible.

As a result, some private organizations took the opportunity to recruit members.

These private organizations had lower requirements than the authorities. The authorities drew the line firmly at 80, while they accepted 70, or even 60 or 50. As long as it was not too low, it was fine.

Though private organizations had lower requirements, their benefits were not lacking. Everyone willing to join could receive considerable compensation.

For instance, the Green Plum Association secretly established an organization and offered generous rewards to recruit those with high Mind Power.

Yet none of this had much to do with Guan Tong.

During this period, he had been "turning a blind eye to everything online, devoting his whole heart to writing the Wordless Book."

Every day, he used Mind Power to write. While waiting for his Mind Power to recover, he read novels and played games. Once it had recovered, he went back to writing.

He rarely looked at online news. The more he read, the more muddled his mind became. He might as well find something simple to do.

And so, half a month passed in monotonous routine.

After Guan Tong got up on a new day, he glanced at his phone and discovered that Fang Qian had actually sent him another message.

He had intended to delete it straight away, but its contents caught him off guard.

"Guan Tong, I know you don't want to forgive me... but I want you to know that I never used that Hidden Rule. If you don't believe me, you can add my digital ID and check my title. My title is [Order Keeper]."

"I'm only messaging you to say thank you. After leaving your home, I realized I had nearly caused a catastrophe. If I'd really done that, I might never have forgiven myself for the rest of my life... Thank you for stopping me and not letting me become a murderer."

After reading Fang Qian's messages, Guan Tong did not know what to say.

He had no intention of adding Fang Qian as a friend to verify her title. There was no point.

From the moment Fang Qian had picked up that water cup to attack him, she had been nothing but a hostile stranger in his eyes.

After pondering for a moment, Guan Tong replied, "Got it. Take care of yourself."