The news that the shop's crates were limited sparked a buying frenzy among the Ascendants.
Some even bought one or two of the crates they did not need for the moment and stored them away.
Part of the reason was anxiety.
What would happen if the crates sold out? Would the shop restock them? What if they were permanently removed after selling out? What if Fire Thief issued another "fasting" rule in the future?
Driven by such anxiety and fear, the Food Boxes sold at an incredible rate. After three hours, only a little over six million remained in the shop, meaning more than a million had been snapped up every hour on average!
The frenzy even prompted the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office to make a statement through its official account.
The Research Office advised Ascendants to purchase Food Boxes according to their needs. They should not buy out of excessive fear or herd mentality.
Doing so would not only waste hard-earned Ascension Coins, but might also prevent Ascendants with genuine life-saving needs from buying them later. It hoped all Ascendants would remain rational and think calmly.
Since the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office had been established under the leadership of Beixing Nation's government, its statements and recommendations could basically be considered official calls to action.
Still, how Ascendants spent their Ascension Coins was ultimately their own business. The government could only offer suggestions; it had neither the reason nor the ability to impose mandatory requirements.
By nightfall, only three million Food Boxes remained.
Guan Tong stopped paying much attention to it and went to bed early to reduce his energy expenditure.
He had bought four Food Boxes in total, and had used three by now. He did not intend to use the last one.
For the remaining duration of the rule, he began living in the most energy-efficient way possible.
He did not go out, did not work, did not think too much, and slept whenever he had nothing to do.
During that time, only Xu Xiaotian came to see him once. He asked whether they should proactively go to the Public Security Bureau to make a statement, since the bureau had never contacted him.
Guan Tong told him to decide for himself.
After considering it, Xu Xiaotian decided that less trouble was better. Since the Public Security Bureau was not looking for him, he did not want to leave the house either.
The terrifying experience of being kidnapped had left him with considerable psychological trauma, one that probably would not fade anytime soon.
Thus, the final stretch of the rule's effective period quietly passed amid Guan Tong's idleness.
At 9 a.m. on May 29, the effective period of the third Apocalypse Rule officially ended.
Fire Thief's voice arrived once again, right on schedule.
[Rule Time has ended] [Congratulations on passing the trial of the third Apocalypse Rule] [The reward has been issued to your Storage Box] [More products have been added to the Ascension Shop. Check them through your Personal Terminal] [The fourth Apocalypse Rule will be released in three days]
Guan Tong opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and picked up a carton of milk from the bedside table to drink.
Having gone several days without food, he was undoubtedly starving. But if he immediately stuffed himself with rich food and binged, he would likely damage his body.
So he had prepared high-energy foods such as milk and chocolate in advance and placed them on the bedside table, planning to use them to tide himself over once the rule ended.
"A new rule will be released in three days? The interval between these two rules is surprisingly short."
Guan Tong drank milk through a straw while pondering the information Fire Thief had provided.
He remembered that after Rule One ended, Rule Two had only been released fifteen days later.
After Rule Two ended, Rule Three had not been released until thirty days later—an entire month.
It seemed that the interval before the next rule was not guaranteed to increase after each rule was cleared. The pattern some had previously speculated about had now clearly been broken by Fire Thief.
"Personal Terminal."
Guan Tong silently called it out, and the terminal interface appeared before him.
[Name: Guan Tong] [Nickname: Shadow] [Title: Order Keeper] [Mind Power: 119] [Ascension Coins: 190] [Comprehensive Biological Information Evaluation: Excellent]
There had not been much change to his personal information. During Rule Three, he had not done much "coin minting," so his Ascension Coins had remained at 40. With this reward of 150 added, they had reached 190.
The only thing worth paying attention to was his Mind Power Cap of 119.
After Rule Two ended, Guan Tong's Mind Power Cap had been 114.
Rule Three had been released a month later. Thirty days, plus Rule Three's fifteen-day effective period, made forty-five days in total.
Over those forty-five days, his Mind Power Cap had increased by a full five points, averaging one point every nine days.
This rate was much faster than at the beginning. Guan Tong remembered that even when he drained his Mind Power completely every day, leaving not a single point behind, it had still taken more than ten days to gain one point of cap.
But during this period, he had not pushed his Mind Power as ruthlessly. In fact, during the final few days of the rule's effective period, he had not used even one point of Mind Power in order to reduce his body's energy consumption.
Even so, the average number of days needed to raise his cap was lower than before. It was clear that if he had continued to squeeze himself dry every day like before, the average time needed for an increase might have shrunk even further.
Under extreme conditions, it might even be possible to raise his Mind Power Cap by one point every seven or eight days!
"It's very likely that the effects of that [Gene Optimization Fluid] are gradually kicking in."
Guan Tong thought to himself that it truly was a precious item from a [Glory-tier Treasure Chest]. Apparently, it was not just a one-time boost, but something that continuously optimized the body over time after being consumed.
He opened his Storage Box. Aside from the unused [Bronze Grade Basic Food Crate] and the [Wordless Book], there was now also a ticket with a black background and a burning goblet printed on it.
[First Ascendant Challenge Invitation]: Ascendants holding this invitation may participate in the First Ascendant Challenge, which will begin after the fifth Apocalypse Rule ends.
At a thought from Guan Tong, the invitation appeared in his hand. It felt like gold foil to the touch.
This was the special item awarded in addition to Ascension Coins for successfully clearing Rule Three.
"Judging from the description, this 'First Ascendant Challenge' will begin after the fifth Apocalypse Rule ends... I wonder what kind of competition it will be?"
If it was one-on-one live combat, Guan Tong thought he would have a slight advantage.
After all, he could summon Shadow to fight alongside him. That could barely count as two against one.
Still, Guan Tong had never received any combat training, so he was essentially a blank slate when it came to fighting techniques.
It might be a good idea to hire a professional combat master for training if he got the chance.
Guan Tong had considered this before. Becoming stronger himself would also make Shadow stronger, and there was no harm in learning from an excellent and dedicated combat instructor if he could find one.
However, he was not overly fixated on it. His main focus for now still had to be raising his Mind Power Cap and dealing with the challenges brought by the Apocalypse Rules.
With a wave of his right hand, he returned the invitation to the Storage Box.
Guan Tong then opened the Ascension Shop function on his terminal and began checking the newly added products after this rule.
He was currently holding the "huge sum" of 190 Ascension Coins. If any good items had been added, he could certainly spend some.
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