Division and Sealing

The impact of the Personal Terminal shutdown exceeded many people's expectations.

It severely undermined humanity's collective consensus.

Before this happened, every surviving human could be called an "Ascendant," with the only difference being the level of their Mind Power.

Moreover, the Apocalypse Rules White Paper included methods provided by the Countermeasure Research Institute for raising one's Mind Power Cap. Many people had therefore optimistically believed that being a little behind at the start did not matter—they could catch up gradually later.

But the shutdown of the Personal Terminal completely shattered that illusion.

Think about it: did those who could no longer use their Personal Terminals still qualify to call themselves Ascendants? Would others still acknowledge them as such?

If this continued, an enormous and irreparable divide would soon form between Ascendants and ordinary humans.

Not to mention that the newly listed [Gene Optimization Fluid] in the Ascension Shop had added fuel to this division.

The appearance of this item blatantly revealed one thing: Ascendants who purchased and used it would become genetically superior to other humans.

With just one hidden function and one product item, Fire Thief had torn away every tender veil between human beings.

It was as though he was telling all humanity in the most straightforward way possible: you would inevitably grow divided.

Online platforms around the world erupted into massive conflicts over this.

Some Ascendants maliciously mocked those who could no longer use their Personal Terminals, saying they could no longer call themselves Ascendants and could only be called "primitive people."

"Primitive people" was not even the worst of it. Others used insulting terms such as "Inferior Product" and "inferior stock."

Naturally, this behavior drew retaliation.

Those whose Mind Power had declined to zero and whose Personal Terminals had shut down were far from a tiny group. On a global scale, they made up a considerable population.

They would never accept becoming inferior to others from that day onward. So, not only did they besiege the rude Ascendants online, they also called on everyone to band together.

Low Mind Power Ascendants were also targets of their outreach.

One netizen whose terminal had shut down responded to an Ascendant mocking him like this: "What you say about me today may come back to hit you tomorrow. When you fail a Rule Challenge someday and your Mind Power drops to zero, we'll see what you do then."

That was right. Many people with low Mind Power were already hovering at the edge of zero themselves. Perhaps after one or two more declines, their Personal Terminals would shut down as well.

That was why quite a few of them were willing to speak up for those whose Personal Terminals had shut down. They knew they were also doing it for themselves, in case they ended up in the same situation someday.

Faced with this situation, the Beixing Nation government quickly issued a statement.

It solemnly declared that every citizen was equal and equally important.

Anyone inciting hatred or division would be deemed to have broken the law and would face severe punishment!

Once the statement was released, it did suppress the more extreme rhetoric online.

But the extreme thoughts in people's hearts could not be stopped from taking root and growing.

Limei Hotel, first-floor restaurant.

Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian sat at a dining table covered with food, all of it delivered by official transport drones.

The department responsible for providing this food was the Life Support Department, a new government agency established after the Apocalypse Rules descended.

After various lights-out factories produced goods, some of them were transported to the Life Support Department. The department then used transport drones to make deliveries according to the needs users submitted online.

Very little manual labor was required throughout the process; only a small number of people were needed for overall coordination and management.

Of course, extensive mechanization meant a lack of individuality. The meals Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian were eating were all prepackaged food.

"Brother Tong, did you hear?" Xu Xiaotian said as he gnawed on a chicken drumstick. "The whole internet is losing it over how Mind Power dropping to zero shuts down your Personal Terminal!"

"I saw it," Guan Tong said. He was eating a simple plate of egg fried rice. After going hungry for so long, he found this kind of homestyle meal more comforting than lavish dishes.

"I didn't expect Fire Thief to have something like this up his sleeve. Brother Tong, what do you think those people who can't use their Personal Terminals anymore should do?"

"I don't know."

Guan Tong was not a god. How could he predict the developments that would follow?

Still, he vaguely felt that this matter might become some sort of fuse and trigger unpleasant incidents.

"I just don't want to see everyone cursing at each other. We're all humans who struggled so hard to survive, so why attack one another?"

Xu Xiaotian shook his head, then changed the subject. "Oh, right, Brother Tong. I bought the new Gene Optimization Fluid from the shop this time. After drinking it, though, my Mind Power Cap only went up by three points. It doesn't seem like anything else changed."

Three points?

Guan Tong remembered that his own had surged by twenty points. The gap in quality between the original fluid and the ordinary optimization fluid was indeed enormous.

"Brother Tong, did you drink any? How did it feel?"

Xu Xiaotian simply assumed Guan Tong had bought Gene Optimization Fluid. From ordinary netizens to the authorities, everyone considered it the most cost-effective product in the Ascension Shop. Buying it could not go wrong.

"Maybe it needs time for more benefits to show," Guan Tong said. "After all, optimizing genetic defects isn't something that happens overnight."

"That makes sense. Then we'll just wait and see. But the gap between Rules this time is way too short—only three days. It barely feels like enough time to rest!"

Guan Tong said, "You have the Instant Noodles item. The [Fasting Therapy] Rule shouldn't have put much pressure on you, right?"

Xu Xiaotian looked embarrassed. "Uh, that's true. The survival pressure wasn't too bad, but the mental pressure was still pretty intense! Especially when that... thing happened!"

Seeing the lingering fear on his face, Guan Tong knew he meant the kidnapping.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

At that moment, the phone in Guan Tong's pocket vibrated. He took it out, glanced at it, and looked up at Xu Xiaotian. "Speak of the devil."

"What does that mean???"

"Nothing. It's a call from the Public Security Bureau."

Half an hour later.

Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian arrived together at the Yunhua City Public Security Bureau. A public security officer led them into a small meeting room and told them to wait while the director arrived.

Before long, Li Meng pushed open the door. He nodded at the two of them and sat down.

Xu Xiaotian asked curiously, "Um, Director Li, did you call us here because the kidnapping case has been solved?"

"Yes and no," Li Meng said, getting straight to the point. "The local Yunhua City kidnapping ring led by Shen Zuohu has been eliminated, but as far as I know, similar criminal groups are operating in other cities."

Guan Tong said, "So someone is remotely directing gang groups in cities across the country?"

"Yes."

"Damn!" Xu Xiaotian blurted out. "Who has that kind of ability? Who can direct gang groups in different cities to kidnap people?"

"Shen Zuohu gave up a name. But that person is in the capital and has an extremely complicated network of connections. Without conclusive evidence, we cannot act rashly and alert them."

"I called you here this time because I wanted to tell you before I left. Because the criminal organization's upper ranks are complicated and many people are implicated, your case likely cannot be closed in the short term. It will be temporarily sealed."

"But you do not need to worry about retaliation here. At the very least, Shen Zuohu and the other gang leaders have all committed serious crimes. Shen Zuohu in particular—murder, kidnapping, operating an organized criminal gang... with all his crimes combined, it will not be long before he is executed."

The two fell silent. They had never expected a single kidnapping case to involve so much.

Guan Tong then asked, "Director Li, you said before you left... Are you leaving Yunhua?"

"Yes," Li Meng said. "I received orders from my superiors early this morning and was reassigned to a task force in the capital. The purpose is to continue investigating this large-scale kidnapping case involving High Mind Power Users across multiple cities."