Each Shows Their Own Powers

Online, a post titled <Thank You, Fire Thief, for Letting Me Leave Peacefully> was rapidly gaining popularity.

"Cancer had drained my family's savings over the past few years. Not only had I burdened them, but I'd also suffered terribly from the pain. Several times, I wanted to jump from the window and end it all, but I never had the courage... Now, all I have to do is sleep, and it'll all end peacefully. For me, that's already the best possible outcome. Thank you, Fire Thief, and thank you for the arrival of the Apocalypse Rules."

There were already tens of thousands of replies beneath the post. Some cursed at the poster, some sympathized, and some intended to follow suit.

"If you want to die, then go die! Why thank Fire Thief? That thing's a devil that's killed countless people!"

"The OP's mindset deserves the suffering."

"Have you considered that you'll be free, but what about all the people who were healthy to begin with?"

"Sigh... Rest in peace, OP."

"Try to understand. The OP's thoughts only represent himself, not everyone else."

"OP, I don't know whether you're still here, but I want to say that I've made the same choice as you. I suffer from severe depression, and I also lacked the courage to end my own life... But having it end with a single night's sleep is just too convenient. I plan to have a nice dinner tonight, clean up my room, curl up in bed with a movie I like, and close my eyes to sleep once I get tired. I'll say goodbye to this world properly."

"If everyone thought like you and just slept to end it, humanity would go extinct entirely."

"Why can't that damn Fire Thief just let the people who want to die die, and let those of us who want to live survive?!"

"Anyway, I definitely won't surrender! I'll fight Fire Thief to the bitter end!"

Fire Thief and the rules it had brought undoubtedly gave many pessimistic people weary of life a peaceful, painless way to leave the world.

However, opponents still made up the majority, and there were not that many pessimistic posts like this.

The discussions that drew the most participation online were still posts about how to endure these 72 hours. Some discussion threads had already received hundreds of thousands of replies. It was truly a case of each showing their own powers.

One post titled <Queue Up, Queue Up—Mom Will Never Scold Me for Staying Up Late Gaming Again> had sparked over a hundred thousand replies.

"Brothers, how are you planning to survive these 72 hours? I'm going to queue with a few guys from my dorm and grind games for 72 hours straight, playing until the end of time, until the Great Dao itself is worn away!"

Most of the replies below were in agreement.

"I'm also planning to get through it with games. But I'm playing single-player games and planning to finish a major title. I was always too busy with work to play before, but now I finally have the time. I just don't know if I'll live long enough to finish it."

"Just playing games doesn't sound like enough. I'm planning to play while passionately flaming people online for 72 hours straight, maxing out the pressure! Any brothers want to join? Sign up in the comments!"

"Let me recommend a game: Civilization. A cup of tea, a pack of cigarettes, and one game of Civilization can last an entire day. Maybe after 72 hours, you still won't have had enough and will want just one more turn."

Another post by an ID named "I Was Originally a Good Person" had also received over a hundred thousand replies. Its title was <The Easiest Way to Stay Awake, Men Only, Women Keep Out>.

Not long after the post appeared, its reply count began soaring wildly, breaking ten thousand faster than a rocket.

"OP is going against the heavens. This is such a serious life-and-death topic, and you're giving people advice on this?"

"A hundred million eyes lock the frame. Diagnosis: the OP is a suppressed god."

"The root of all problems is suppression, and the solution to every problem is release."

"I understand now! Master, please accept my bow!"

"Tested and proven effective! Thank you, OP, for sharing the secret!"

"I'm impressed. There are actually so many people praising the comments above? Anyone with a little experience knows you get tired afterward, right?"

"+1. A bunch of Little Whites in this thread who don't understand anything. Sometimes when I can't sleep, I rely on stimulation. Afterward, I get sleepy and fall asleep quickly. Doing what the OP suggests is basically courting death."

Not long after the post was published, the OP added a clarification in the comments.

I Was Originally a Good Person: "Sorry, I didn't make myself clear in the main post, which caused some fellow stimulators to misunderstand. As long as you control yourself and don't finish, you can maintain an awake state. As for how to control it, this good person's advice is not to use external aids during stimulation, such as videos, audio, pictures, text, and so on. Pure Green Solo Stimulation."

"?????"

"OP, you're absolutely unbeatable!"

"So the secret is Green Solo Stimulation! Teacher Good Person, I've attained enlightenment again!"

Seeing these bizarre ideas, Fang Qian was too embarrassed to share them with Guan Tong.

However, she soon came across a post on the rankings that made her eyes light up.

"Guan Tong, do you know Wenren Yizhi?"

The name "Wenren Yizhi" was quite distinctive. Anyone who saw it once would be left with a deep impression.

Guan Tong thought for a moment before saying, "I think I saw her in the news. She's the world Go Champion who started learning Go at the age of three and broke the record for youngest champion last year, right?"

"Mm!" Fang Qian showed Guan Tong the post on her phone. "Look, she's launched a 72-Hour Go Marathon challenge!"

"Really?"

Guan Tong was somewhat surprised as well. He read through the post a few times, and it was actually true.

<Breaking News! Genius Go Champion Wenren Yizhi has launched a 72-Hour Go Marathon on her only Social media account. She will play matches through a livestream, and several professional Go players have already signed up!>

In the comments below, countless netizens expressed their admiration.

"A 72-Hour Go Marathon? She's risking her life!"

"Doesn't Go take a lot of brainpower... Even a champion couldn't endure 72 straight hours, could they?"

"Is she planning to die for the cause?!"

"Get lost, don't jinx her! Sister Yizhi will definitely make it through!"

"As expected of the great Wenren! I'm going to stay in the livestream and watch alongside her for all 72 hours!"

"This is a little outrageous... If Wenren Yizhi can really livestream herself playing Go for 72 consecutive hours, she'll be universally acknowledged as the god of Go from now on."

After reading several comments, Guan Tong saw Fang Qian's excited expression and asked, "Do you really like Wenren Yizhi?"

"Mm! I really admire how devoted she is to Go. I've always used her story to motivate myself. But I'm a little worried too... Playing Go is so exhausting, and she has to play for so long. Can she really do it?"

"Just thinking about it sounds exhausting to us, but maybe it won't be as tiring for her," Guan Tong said.

"When someone is immersed in something they like, they don't feel time passing. I think Go is that kind of thing for her... If she weren't allowed to play Go, she might actually be unable to last this long without sleeping."

"That makes sense!" Fang Qian's eyes widened. "Then it would be better for us to do things like that too!"

"Yeah. Is there anything you like doing?"

"I..." Fang Qian thought for a while. "I really like watching TV dramas! Especially detective and suspense dramas. During summer vacation last year, I think I once watched from morning to night and finished a crime drama with over twenty episodes in one go!"

"I see. Then I'll turn on the TV and find a drama like that to watch."

Fang Qian hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, not yet. I'm not sleepy yet. I'll watch one tonight. What about you, Guan Tong? What do you like doing?"

"I'll just read books and novels."

Guan Tong recalled that when he had once been most obsessed with novels, he could read for an entire day and night. This was undoubtedly one way to fight off sleepiness.

"Bzz bzz!"

"Ding-dong!"

At that moment, both their phones sounded with notifications. It was another message released by the Official Department.

[Emergency Notice: Effective immediately, random outdoor activities are prohibited. Please remain in safe indoor locations. Keep calm with those in the same room, and do not argue or fight due to emotional agitation.]

Guan Tong's expression shifted slightly when he saw the notice, as though he had thought of something.

He immediately searched online for the keywords "Apocalypse Rules" and "Sobering Mint Candy." Yet the results came back as "none." There was not even any irrelevant information—just a pure "no results."

Guan Tong could not help but feel a chill in his heart... It seemed the Hidden Rules were real, and the Official Department had discovered their existence and immediately blocked the information online.