Yunhua City - Shelter No. 915.
Wu Yun opened his eyes and sat up from his bed.
Today was November 2nd, the third day since the [Silent Hour] rule began.
It was only the third day, but he already felt extrely uncomfortable.
As an extroverted personality, social interaction was the source that replenished his ntal energy.
He liked face-to-face conversations, being able to see the other person's face, hear their voice, even sll their scent—that gave him a tangible sense of social interaction.
If it was just communication at the network level, he found it very boring. Because people online could just be putting on an act, their personalities vastly different from reality, giving a sense of unreality.
So from the mont the rule began, unable to speak, he could only relieve his gloom by sleeping. Sleep at night, and sleep during the day when he had nothing to do. But after sleeping over ten hours a day, you just can't sleep anymore even if you want to.
Wu Yun looked at the other three people in the sa room. Two were sitting at computer desks playing gas, one was lying in bed playing with his phone.
He got out of bed, left the accommodation area, and ca to the outside leisure area.
The officially built shelters were generally divided into five areas: living, leisure, exercise, dining, and storage.
Except for the living area which was divided into several small rooms, the other four were all shared large areas.
Like in the leisure area, there were large-screen TVs, pool tables, soft leather sofas, and other things for relaxation.
Wu Yun saw soone sitting on the sofa in a daze. He walked over and sat down next to him, typing on his phone: (Hello, what are you doing?)
That person saw the text, looked at him in surprise, shook his head, waved his hand, got up, and left.
Wu Yun's expression darkened. This situation wasn't the first ti he had encountered it.
After the rule was announced, it seed like everyone was trying their best to avoid any form of communication with others, even if it was just text-based communication.
This made him feel very uncomfortable and at a loss.
The suffering this rule brought him was much stronger than the first rule, Sleep Deprivation, or the fourth rule, the Snow Disaster.
Thinking that there were still over twenty days before it would end, Wu Yun's expression beca very complicated. After a mont, he returned to his accommodation room, sat at his own desk, turned on his computer, and logged into the "Ascendant Ho" website.
This forum, which he had only discovered the day before yesterday, had already beco his new preferred choice for communication.
Because it gave him a sense of real, living people. Other social networking sites, after October 10th, had gradually beco more and more lifeless, the atmosphere far from what it used to be.
He opened the Casual Chat section. In this section, few people discussed the rules. Many were just trying to find joy amidst hardship, posting about entertainnt and relaxation.
《Anyone want to team up and play a shooting ga? Let's start a match.》
《Let's play a word chain ga. I'll start: doing whatever one pleases.》
...
Wu Yun browsed for a while and saw an interesting post.
《Let
show you guys the big catch we got!》
He clicked in. The photo showed several people who looked like they were in the wilderness, holding up a fish that was half a person's length.
"Wow, wouldn't that take a week to finish eating?"
"If it weren't for this damn rule, if I caught this fish, I'd definitely carry it around the streets for a few days."
"Are you guys living in a camp in the wild, OP? So envious! Staying in the shelter is so boring!"
Wu Yun felt the sa way about this person's comnt. He was among the first batch of people to move into the shelter. Now, after over twenty days, he really felt more and more stifled and a bit regretful. He felt it might have been better to live outside Chengcheng City back then.
He saw the original poster reply to this comnt: "You envy us, but we envy you too! Living in the shelter is so much safer. Being bored is nothing. We in the wild have to sleep with one eye open at night. There are so many bandit gangs in the wild now, robbing others' supplies everywhere. It's terrifying!"
Soone below summarized: "The shelter is a besieged city. Those inside want to get out, those outside want to get in."
Wu Yun watched for a while and then posted a thread himself in the section: 《The Miserable Shelter Life of an Extrovert》
He poured out his gloom in the post. There weren't many replies, but they were all from people in similar situations.
At the sa ti, at the Counterasures Research Office, a new experint had also begun.
The test subjects were ten people transported from outside. These people refused to communicate, their faces revealing a calm despair, as if they had long been prepared for their fate.
When the testing experts asked via text if they were voluntarily participating in the test, all ten refused to answer.
Even so, the experint had to proceed.
According to the plan, sensor bombs were attached to the necks of these test subjects, and then they were made to make sounds.
The Sound Hunter teleported in a few seconds later. While attacking the test subject, it also triggered the sensor bomb, which imdiately detonated.
"Boom!"
Because the experint was conducted in a specialized blast-proof room, there wasn't much dust. High-definition caras captured images of the Sound Hunter.
People discovered that this thod of attack was feasible. Moreover, once the Sound Hunter was attacked, it would cancel its invisibility state, revealing its body.
However, that slender, black snake-like body was only visible for less than two seconds before rapidly turning transparent and disappearing without a trace.
After several analysts discussed, they believed this Sound Hunter was likely similar to the previous "Shrieker." Ordinary weapons couldn't kill this kind of monster; Mind Power-related weapons were necessary.
After reporting this, a batch of Mind Power item explosives were urgently transferred over.
Another few of the ten test subjects were used for the experint.
The Sound Hunter appeared quickly upon hearing their screams. This ti, after the Mind Power explosives detonated, they successfully blew off a section of the Sound Hunter's body, but it seed they didn't manage to kill it. The remaining part still turned transparent and disappeared.
The testing expert imdiately reported the results upward. At the cost of a total of six test subjects' lives, they finally obtained a result.
The key to eliminating a Sound Hunter lies in humans simultaneously using Mind Power items or abilities to attack it when it launches its attack on the person who made the sound.
Moreover, the attack intensity must be sufficient enough to kill it. If it's only injured, it can still teleport away.
Additionally, this thod of hunting requires a price. That price is the life of the person who made the sound.
Currently, there's no way to eliminate the Sound Hunter while preserving the life of the sound-maker... This ans that to eliminate one Sound Hunter, at least one sound-maker must be sacrificed.
If a large number of Sound Hunters are to be eliminated, a large number of sound-makers will die in equal asure.
Who will choose these people? Or, like before, just wait for certain people to call, then sit back and receive personnel without asking about their origins?
Gao Liangwei looked at the expert's summary report, feeling sowhat heavy-hearted.
Just then, there was a knock on his office door.
He pressed the sensor-activated door opening button on his desk. The door automatically opened, and a staff mber responsible for matters related to the terminal market walked in.
She placed a report in front of Gao Liangwei. The latter glanced at it and frowned.
The report stated that not long ago, employees in the market departnt had seen people already selling [Communication Scrolls] on the terminal market. The quantity was extrely scarce, the price was very expensive, and they were quickly bought.
This ant that among the civilian population or abroad, it was already confird that so people were capable of killing Sound Hunters, obtaining the dropped scrolls for listing and sale.
The people from the market departnt typed a question: (Director, if more scrolls appear on the market, should we purchase them?)
(If the price doesn't exceed thirty thousand, we can buy.) Gao Liangwei typed in reply. (If it exceeds that, it's not worth it. Soon we can obtain scrolls ourselves by eliminating Sound Hunters.)
(Okay, I'll notify the traders.)
After the market departnt person left, Gao Liangwei pondered for a mont, then sent out several notification ssages in succession.
(Item Coordination Departnt, imdiately cooperate with Dr. Gao, who is in charge of the Sound Hunter experint. Query the personnel database and allocate more suitable offensive items. Preferably instantaneous and cutting-type ones.)
(Dr. Zhang, have that girl from Team Four co to the underground base imdiately. The Power Sword weapon mastered by her "Snow Traces" cha might have a special effect against Sound Hunters.)
At the sa ti, Gao Liangwei also sent a ssage inquiring with the network departnt: (Haven't we found personnel with hacking abilities or items yet?)
He now needed to know the origins of the "Ascendant Ho" website and the identity of its Administrator.
He believed that if the latter could single-handedly eliminate Sound Hunters, it ant they possessed extrely strong offensive capabilities. The official side needed such talent now.
Moreover, many people in the research office suspected that the Administrator of this website was very likely related to Shadow, the champion of the challenge tournant. Either it was Shadow himself, or soone trusted by Shadow; otherwise, they wouldn't know the intelligence about the Holy Grail.
It wasn't just the research office now; the higher-ups had also been hoping to find Shadow, urging the research office several tis to make efforts in this regard. So Gao Liangwei also wanted to see if he could uncover Shadow's identity through this website.
The network departnt quickly replied: (We found one person with relevant abilities. However, according to inquiries, this person had already attempted to use their own abilities to invade the "Ascendant Ho" website earlier, but ended in failure.)
Gao Liangwei frowned upon seeing the reply: (Why did it fail?)
(Our preliminary judgnt is as per the theory summarized by Zheng Kexue: so Mind Power items and abilities with similar effects might have superior and inferior distinctions. For similar abilities or items, if they interact, they will be divided into superior and inferior based on the level of Mind Power upper limit. The inferior will be unable to affect the effects of the superior.)
Gao Liangwei saw the three characters "Zheng Kexue" and knew he was one of the three main lecturers at the academy, teaching the course "Research on Mind Power Items."
Apart from teaching students to recognize, use, and match various items, Zheng Kexue had also summarized a set of theories about items and abilities. Among them, the "Superior-Inferior Theory" was part of that theory.
(So you're saying, the person who created that website, because their Mind Power upper limit is high, their ability or item is in the superior position? The person you found has low Mind Power, in the inferior position? So they can't breach the website?)
(That's our judgnt, but we can't be certain. If the director permits, we can allocate items that increase Mind Power upper limit for this person to use and attempt again.)
(No!)
Gao Liangwei imdiately rejected the network departnt's proposal.
Items that increase Mind Power upper limit were the most precious and rarest type of items. Even as the director of the Counterasures Research Office, to allocate such items, he must go through eting discussions and obtain majority approval votes.
Now, just to test the superior-inferior distinction, to allocate such precious items—he simply couldn't bear it. Even if he agreed, the group voting stage would definitely veto it.
(Have that person continue trying. Also, items related to hacking, intrusion, etc., can be gathered and provided to this person for assistance.)
(Understood.)
After sending multiple ssages in succession, Gao Liangwei leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples with both hands to relieve fatigue.
As the director of the Counterasures Office, he bore too much pressure. During each rule period, he could hardly sleep a full, uninterrupted sleep.
Back when his superiors appointed him to this director position, patting his shoulder and saying, "Liangwei, work hard, I believe you are competent for this position," he had resolved then not to betray the trust of his old commander.
But over these past few months, he truly felt more exhausted than during all his years of military service! If he had a choice, he would rather carry a gun and fight bloody battles on the battlefield than tangle with these hateful Doomsday Rules.
The heavy burden on his shoulders wasn't sothing he could just put down if he wanted to; he understood that all too well. After a brief adjustnt, he opened his eyes. His computer had already received a reply.
Dr. Zhang: (I have notified Bai Xuewu. She is on her way to the base. Also, there is one more matter I need to report to you, Director.)
Gao Liangwei: (What matter?)
Dr. Zhang: (It concerns the forr captain of the original Squad Three, Gu Fei. After being relieved of his squad identity, he refused to continue working within the official departnt and left in anger.)
(Not long after, the Blood Plague rule was announced. In Yunhua City, a case of a missing girl occurred. A girl with special abilities was taken away by a vehicle belonging to an unknown organization, participating in so kind of selection. According to later investigations by the local Police Departnt, that vehicle had also appeared near Gu Fei's residence in Yunhua City. Perhaps Gu Fei's disappearance is also related to this unknown organization.)
Gao Liangwei looked at Dr. Zhang's ssage, frowned, and sent a ssage: (Unknown organization? Haven't all cities completed registration work? If there was an unknown organization, it should have been exposed long ago.)
Dr. Zhang: (If this organization's base is set up sowhere outside the city, it could escape registration and hide. So I propose sending the Second and Fifth Squads outside the city to attempt an investigation, and by the way, understand the current human ecological situation outside the city.)
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