Hidden Rules IV

Limei Hotel, Room 306.

After Fire Thief announced the rules, Guan Tong quickly heard a commotion coming from the lobby.

More than a hundred people had gathered there, and a heated discussion over the rules had probably broken out immediately.

Guan Tong silently called out in his mind.

"Personal Terminal."

He wanted to see what this round's Hidden Rules were first.

He focused his attention on the fourth rule. Before long, the Hidden Rules appeared.

[Hidden Rules IV: Difficult Choice]

[Hidden Rules: In this round of rules, regional snowfall is positively correlated with population density. The more populated an area is, the heavier its snowfall will be. The less populated an area is, the lighter its snowfall will be.]

[Note: Faced with an extreme environment, humans instinctively choose to band together for survival. But after learning this Hidden Rule, do you have the courage to live apart from the crowd and face the natural disaster alone?]

...What?

After reading this Hidden Rule, Guan Tong instinctively looked at the heavy snow drifting beyond the window.

The more populated an area was, the heavier the snowfall... The less populated an area was, the lighter the snowfall...

Living apart from the crowd and facing the natural disaster alone...

This really was a "Difficult Choice."

Guan Tong had not expected the Hidden Rule of the fourth Apocalypse Rule to be like this.

This meant that major cities such as the capital, Yong'an, and Yunhua City, where he was currently located, would receive the heaviest snowfall!

Meanwhile, rural villages in remote regions, even uninhabited areas in the northwest, would likely receive very little snow. Some might even get nothing more than an ordinary snowfall like any other winter.

"Big cities have developed transportation networks, ample reserves of all kinds of resources, and highly capable emergency rescue departments, so they get the heaviest snowfall. Remote areas lack all kinds of facilities and have insufficient resource reserves, so they get the lightest snowfall..."

"Should this be considered Fire Thief's goodwill toward people in remote areas... or malice toward places with large concentrations of people?"

Guan Tong even had the absurd thought that perhaps Fire Thief was considering the wild animals on this planet as well.

After all, with such massive snowfall worldwide, never mind how many humans would survive after a month—countless wild animals would likely suffer devastating losses, and many species might go extinct.

But back to reality, what should he choose?

Should he remain at Limei Hotel, even knowing this Hidden Rule?

This hotel stood beside one of the city's main roads, in an excellent location. Before long, the authorities would surely transport large quantities of supplies here. Besides, with more people around, they might be able to help one another if something happened...

Those were all advantages. But the downside was that they would have to face enormous snowfall for an entire month. Water outages, power outages, freezing temperatures—anything could happen during that time.

What if he chose to leave? What if he went alone to a sparsely populated area?

But in the face of a natural disaster on this scale, could one person really manage without anyone to rely on?

Watching the snow outside grow denser and denser, Guan Tong knew he had to make a decision quickly.

If he delayed for several more hours and the snow sealed off every road out of the city, he would not be able to leave even if he wanted to!

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door, followed by Xu Xiaotian's voice.

"Brother Tong! What are you doing in there? Come out already, everyone's in the lobby!"

Hearing Xu Xiaotian's voice, Guan Tong went over and opened the door.

"Brother Tong, why aren't you downstairs?" Xu Xiaotian asked curiously. "A lot more people came to the hotel from outside."

"Is that so? Let's go take a look."

Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian went down to the first-floor lobby. Sure enough, the lobby, which had originally held just over a hundred people, had nearly doubled in size. More than a hundred newcomers had arrived from outside, carrying bags and bundles of belongings.

Some people who had been staying there for a long time could not help complaining. "All 150 guest rooms are full already. Why are these people squeezing in too? Where are they supposed to sleep?"

Hearing the complaints, the newcomers immediately retorted together.

"How is there nowhere to sleep? The hotel rooms all have king-sized beds. Two people can sleep in one bed just fine! The 150 rooms can accommodate at least 300 people! And some rooms have more than one king-sized bed, so they can fit even more!"

"You early arrivals can sleep in the beds, can't you? I came later, so I won't fight you for one. I can sleep on the floor!"

"This hotel doesn't belong to you either. Didn't everyone get to stay here for free? I say there shouldn't be any first-come, first-served nonsense. If there aren't enough beds, taking turns sleeping in them would be fair."

"Everyone, stop arguing. The hotel is huge. Besides the rooms, there are spacious places like the bar, gym, and restaurant. If we tidy them up, they can fit plenty of people too."

"The authorities started calling for everyone to gather together so supplies could be transported in one place. My home happens to be nearby, so I came over. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here."

"That makes perfect sense. With snow this heavy, how deep will it pile up on the roads after a few days? The authorities can't possibly deliver supplies door to door then. They can only gather everyone in one place!"

Seeing the crowd bickering and shouting, Guan Tong frowned.

Xu Xiaotian stood beside him with a troubled expression. "These rules are so annoying. They actually last for the entire month of June. I was planning to report to the academy in the capital when school started this month. Now that's ruined—I definitely can't go... But the academy will probably postpone opening because of this rule, right?"

Xu Xiaotian turned to Guan Tong. "What do you think, Brother Tong?"

What Guan Tong said was completely beyond his expectations. "Xiaotian, I'm planning to leave this place."

"Oh. Huh? What???"

It took Xu Xiaotian several seconds to process what Guan Tong had said. He stared at him with wide eyes.

"Brother Tong! What did you say? You're leaving?"

"Yeah."

"No, there's so much snow outside. Where are you going? And didn't that guy just say the authorities are calling for everyone to gather together?"

Guan Tong could not tell Xu Xiaotian that he knew the Hidden Rules. He could only say, "I feel like things will get chaotic once there are too many people. So I've decided to leave."

"This... Brother Tong..."

"I'm going back to get my backpack, then I'm leaving immediately."

Xu Xiaotian had not expected Guan Tong to make such a sudden decision. Amid his shock, he also felt an impulse to say, "I'll go with you, Brother Tong!"

But when he looked at the snow drifting outside, he hesitated again.

He truly did not know where they could go with snow this heavy. Besides, if they stayed outside in this kind of weather, would they not become hypothermic soon enough?

While Xu Xiaotian hesitated, Guan Tong had already gone back upstairs to his room.

He opened the cabinet in the room. Earlier, he had stored some emergency supplies inside, including high-energy food and fast-acting medicine.

Now, he took everything out and packed it into his small backpack.

Xu Xiaotian followed him over as well. He stood at the door, watching Guan Tong pack with worry written all over his face.

"Brother Tong, have you really decided?"

"Yeah."

Guan Tong slung the backpack over his shoulders, walked out, and handed the keycard for Room 306 to Xu Xiaotian.

"Give this keycard to someone you think looks decent."

"Brother Tong, you're moving too fast. I'm not mentally prepared at all..."

"Time waits for no one, and neither does the snow." Guan Tong patted Xu Xiaotian on the shoulder. "Stay alive. We'll meet again."

"...Yeah! Brother Tong, you have to be careful! I don't know where you're going, but be extremely careful!"

"Okay."

After saying goodbye to Xu Xiaotian, Guan Tong went down to the first-floor lobby and headed outside.

Because he had stayed there for some time, several longtime residents recognized him. Seeing him walk out with a backpack, they were all rather surprised.

"Guan Tong, you're leaving?"

"Yeah."

"Are you crazy? There's so much snow outside. Aren't you just going out there to die?"

Guan Tong did not answer and walked straight out through the front entrance.

"...That kid must be crazy. Completely crazy!"

"Forget about him. Let's call the Life Support Department together first and ask them to deliver food! With so many people here, how much food will we use up every day?"

"And thick clothes, thick quilts! The snow has only just started, so it isn't that cold yet, but it'll definitely become freezing later!"

Guan Tong stepped out of Limei Hotel and looked at the snowstorm filling the sky before taking a deep breath of cold air.

"With this Thermostatic Tech Underwear, I won't need to worry about hypothermia while outside for six hours. I have to obtain the supplies I need during that time, then leave Yunhua City and head for Mingdao Mountain, more than seven hundred li south of the city. Hardly anyone goes there, so the snowfall definitely won't be too heavy!"