Conflict at the Resource Point

In the Green Plum Association group chat.

After the fourth Apocalypse Rule was announced, everyone was happy for once.

"Finally, a rule that doesn't torture individuals."

"Yeah, with my old bones, I can't run any marathons or go through any food deprivation. This snow rule is much better."

"My small courtyard, which I spent hundreds of millions on a couple of years ago, will finally come in handy. I have everything I need for food and drink, and my own generator in the warehouse, so I don't have to worry about power outages. Anyone in the group who has nowhere to go is welcome to my place."

"You say that, but who in the group doesn't have a place to shelter?"

Liu Yuqiang watched the messages in the group chat and nodded slightly.

Undoubtedly, every billionaire, after achieving financial freedom, would start considering issues like sheltering, risk aversion, and emergencies.

Besides financial risk aversion, personal safety was equally important.

Therefore, not only did most people in the group build their own shelters, but they also held multiple passports, ready to relocate at any moment if anything went wrong.

This fourth rule was exactly what these people wanted to see.

It no longer tested individuals' bodies or minds, but their ability to mobilize resources.

Under the heavy snow, whoever had more power and could mobilize more resources had a higher chance of survival.

Even if the money in hand was useless, the members of the Green Plum Association, with their connections accumulated over the years in various fields, combined with substantial assets like gold, and the manpower of their company employees, could still form a massive Resource Body through mutual support.

That's right, even though many people's company businesses were now free, they were still operating and providing services, and the government had not allowed them to shut down.

This way, the leaders of these large companies still held power. Many of their employees also chose to stay with the company, believing that banding together was the best option in such a situation.

Like Liu Yuqiang, the CEO of Jule Group, his main company in the Capital, Yong'an, had hundreds of employees who chose to stay, rallying around him, their boss, to survive together.

In the apocalyptic environment, many people developed a psychological tendency to admire strength, wanting to stay close to the strong, receive their protection, and follow their commands.

And Liu Yuqiang, someone who had built his empire from scratch, wasn't he precisely the kind of strong person ordinary people looked up to? In the hearts of his employees, uniting around their "Iron Man" boss felt much safer than fumbling around alone.

It wasn't just Liu Yuqiang; many bosses of large companies possessed a certain charisma that could drive others to work hard for them.

This was also why, even in the Apocalypse Rules Era, the bosses of these industry-leading companies still held a certain level of influence.

This was especially true in competitive fields that relied on strong tactics, such as coal mining, earthmoving, real estate, and logistics. The bosses who reached the top in these fields often possessed the temperament of "a chairman in prosperous times, a mountain king in troubled times."

Having fought his way through for so many years, Liu Yuqiang naturally had a bit of a ruthless streak. As soon as the rule was announced, he gathered the hundreds of employees who were holding down the fort at the company for a meeting.

He announced loudly at the meeting, "As long as we stand united, I, Liu Yuqiang, will not let any of my brothers come to harm! I guarantee that every brother will survive this rule!"

The employees naturally cheered and surrounded him.

Currently, the company had no shortage of various survival resources, and they had diesel generators prepared for electricity. Liu Yuqiang had also specifically dispatched a group of employees to get more diesel fuel as a backup.

When he had a moment to spare, he looked at the messages in the group chat. At this moment, a message suddenly popped up, catching his attention.

Hengyun Real Estate Chairman - Zhao Jiping: "Brothers and sisters, someone is investigating me. It seems the authorities have their eyes on me. If anyone has connections, please help me find out what's going on!"

Snowflakes fluttered, and the cold dispersed.

Guan Tong, wearing a hooded scarf, walked on the road, heading towards a nearby supply point.

Around the time of the second Apocalypse Rule, the authorities had announced the establishment of supply points in various cities for people to obtain emergency supplies on a self-help basis.

Guan Tong planned to get more high-energy food and common items like windproof lighters from the supply point, then find a car and leave the city.

He could see many people on the road, all following the official recommendations and heeding the call to head to nearby large buildings that could accommodate multiple survivors.

The Limei Hotel, where Guan Tong had just left, was already overcrowded. Other places like libraries, schools, and gymnasiums were also likely to have gathered large numbers of people.

However, judging from the Hidden Rules, the more people gathered, the heavier the snowfall. This suggested that dispersing might be the correct approach.

But would that really work?

Guan Tong was unsure.

He himself had the powerful assistant "Shadow," which gave him the courage to leave the crowds and venture alone into remote areas to survive.

But what about the many others who didn't have good Mind Power Artifacts, or those who had even turned off their Personal Terminals? Were they really suited to follow the Hidden Rules?

Wouldn't banding together be more conducive to their survival?

Take Xu Xiaotian, for example. His artifact could generate a box of Instant Noodles daily using Mind Power. Could this alone support him in surviving alone outdoors? The risk seemed enormous.

Guan Tong believed that even if the authorities knew about this Hidden Rule, they would most likely still prioritize concentrated rescue efforts. However, they might evacuate a small number of more important individuals to remote areas.

This might be unfair, but there was no fairness in this world.

Just like during the announcement of the first [Sleep Deprivation] Apocalypse Rule, what about those who were sleeping? Those who had just finished a night shift the day before? Those undergoing anesthesia for surgery? Infants who had no concept of rules at all... Was the world fair to them?

However, Guan Tong believed that the Hidden Rule would be discovered soon.

Because even if some people lived in remote villages, it didn't mean they lived a primitive life.

They still used the internet, played games, and had the same online lives as city dwellers.

So, when these people went online and saw the heavy snowfall in the densely populated big cities while their small villages had little snow, they would definitely post about it online.

As long as the Official Departments saw this and noticed the difference in snowfall in different regions, it wouldn't take long for the clever minds at the Countermeasure Research Institute to deduce the content of the Hidden Rule.

Just like the three hidden rules corresponding to the first three rules: [Plunder Wakefulness], [Mind Wins], and [Spend Money to Avoid Disaster]. Although the officials didn't know these three names, they quickly discovered their contents and included them in the White Paper.

If Guan Tong had any advantage, it was that he could see the contents of the hidden rules with his own eyes. This gave him an advantage in timeliness and being the first to know.

He believed this was important.

Because from [Plunder Wakefulness], it could be seen that under certain circumstances, the officials might have discovered the content of the hidden rules but chose not to disclose it due to various factors.

What has happened before will happen again.

Not disclosing or selectively disclosing parts of the content was something that would surely happen again in the future.

This would create an information gap between insiders and outsiders.

Guan Tong being able to see the hidden rules with his own eyes meant he wouldn't have to consume second-hand information "chewed" by others. Instead, he would grasp the first-hand information the fastest, giving him a significant initiative.

After clearing his thoughts, Guan Tong quickened his pace and soon arrived at the nearest supply point.

He saw dozens of people crowded in front of the warehouse entrance, their faces filled with indignation, yet also fear, preventing them from entering.

What's going on?

Guan Tong felt something was wrong and stepped forward to investigate.

As he got closer, he immediately noticed a group of people wearing uniform blue work clothes at the warehouse entrance. They were holding wrenches, pliers, fire axes, and other tools, guarding the entrance and threatening people, preventing them from entering.

"The supplies here belong to us! You all go get them somewhere else!"

"On what grounds?" someone couldn't help but ask. "Are you seven or eight people going to take so many supplies?!"

"On the grounds that I have this tiger-head plier!" a fierce-looking man waved the pliers in his hand. "If you don't like it, come over and try to get hit by it!"

"You dare to hit people? Do you believe we'll call the police officer?"

"With all this snow, it'd be a miracle if the police officer could even get here! Besides, what's wrong with us workers from 'Longxiang Pharmaceutical' taking some supplies? Believe it or not, I can make one phone call and have dozens of brothers from the factory come over!"

Hearing this, the others flinched. These factory workers were sticking together and were armed. If they really clashed with them, they would be the ones at a disadvantage.

For a moment, many people reluctantly left, but some with tougher tempers refused to go and were still confronting these factory workers.

Guan Tong quietly retreated to the rear, hiding in a long-abandoned milk tea shop.

He wasn't planning to leave. In fact, he couldn't. If he went to another supply point, too much time would be wasted, which he couldn't accept.

He slightly raised his hand, and the Wordless Book appeared in his palm.

Then, he took off his jacket, pants, shoes, gloves, scarf, mask, and so on, leaving only a [Thermostatic Tech Underwear] on his body.

"Shadow, come out."

The next moment, Shadow stood before him.

"Put on these clothes," Guan Tong commanded through telepathy, looking at the supply point warehouse. "Then go and take down those people."