May 1st, 8:50 a.m.
Guan Tong was ready to receive the release of the eleventh Doomsday Rule.
[Na: Guan Tong]
[Nickna: Shadow]
[Title: Civilization Observer]
[Mind Power: 325 (325) (2810)]
[Ascension Coins: 3,686,120]
[Overall Biotric Rating: Excellent]
After his Mind Power cap rose to 325, he had tried to write on the sixth page of the Wordless Book, but failed.
This ti the failure did not co from his palm being flicked away, but from encountering resistance and being unable to put pen to paper. That ant he was not far from eting the requirent to write; he estimated that at 350 points he should be able to write.
With a shortfall of 25 points at the current rate, it would take three months. Considering the acceleration of natural growth, Guan Tong expected he could reach it in two months.
While he was thinking, it was already nine o’clock, and the Fire Thief’s voice sounded as the eleventh rule was released on schedule.
[Eleventh Doomsday Rule Released]
[Doomsday Rule Eleven: Earth Dragon Rolls Over]
[Rule Content: From the ti of publication, Tianshui Star will undergo seismic disasters. Earthquake magnitude increases by 1 level every 72 hours, rising to a maximum of level 10, each occurrence lasting 5 minutes. This rule lasts 30 days.]
[Success Reward: 1,000 Ascension Coins, Survival Chest · Gold Tier]
[Failure Punishnt: None]
[Note: True survivors know to start seeking firr shelter at the first tremor. But when continents tear and oceans boil, will you still find firm ground to stand on?]
Level 10 earthquakes?
Guan Tong froze after hearing the rule.
“How is this possible? Level 10 earthquakes should only exist in theory. If they actually happen, wouldn’t humanity be on the brink of extinction… No, there must be a way to deal with this!”
He imdiately opened the Terminal panel and hurried to check the Hidden Rule.
He refused to believe there was no counterasure, otherwise this rule could easily an total annihilation!
…
When Rule Eleven was released, it was like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone, extinguishing the excitent and hope the Humanity Consortium’s founding had stirred over the last two days.
“Up to level 10 earthquakes?!”
“I don’t recall level 10 ever happening before…”
“The largest recorded quake was around 9.7, right?”
“Level 10… even if it lasts only five minutes, humanity could be wiped out…”
“Is this the Fire Thief’s retaliation because humans ford the Humanity Consortium?!”
The Humanity Joint Declaration had given people huge hope when it was issued; now the eleventh rule delivered equally imnse despair.
Many suspected the timing: was such a terrifying survival rule being released precisely because humanity dared to unite?
At the sa ti, the Consortium’s first rule-response eting convened three hours after the rule’s release.
Because the committee had just been ford and no physical office was set, the eting was held online.
All thirty-four mber nations participated, each conference room equipped with several large screens showing each nation’s representatives.
The committee operated on a rotating system. The first chairperson was elected by prior vote; the Beixing Country representative won with an overwhelming twenty-six votes.
That many votes reflected Beixing’s achievents over the past year. Although it had lost a large portion of its population, proportionally Beixing’s fifty percent loss was the smallest in the world.
Among the other thirty-three nations, the lowest had lost over eighty percent of its population, and the worst had lost more than ninety percent, leaving less than ten percent.
And that wasn’t isolated — half of the thirty-four nations had populations that had fallen below ten million, down to just a few million.
Only Beixing, Suroma, and Black Moon Banner still had populations countable in hundreds of millions. Countries like Sakura Prayer, Fahe, and Xisya remained in the ten-million range.
In peaceti, population is one symbol of strength. In the era of Doomsday Rules, that power is amplified.
The more people, the more Ascendants there are, and national comprehensive power grows accordingly.
But unlike Beixing and Suroma, Black Moon Banner kept a population over one hundred million not due to effective rule response, but simply because it had been so populous…
Before the Doomsday Rules, Black Moon Banner had over two billion people, but it was not economically developed and many lived in poverty. After a year of rules, about ninety percent perished, leaving around two hundred million.
Such a nation, though still in the hundreds of millions, had weak comprehensive power and could not be compared with the other two hundred-million countries.
Therefore, the competition for the first chair was effectively between Beixing and the Suroma Empire.
Beixing’s landslide win owed partly to steady governance and partly to the Suroma Empire’s many enemies; Suroma had been frequently attacking other nations, so a Beixing victory was widely expected.
The Beixing representative chosen as chair was no stranger: Gao Liangwei, head of the Counterasures Research Office.
Beixing’s Doomsday Rules Counterasures Research Office was famous worldwide. Many smaller nations without resources or capacity for rule study followed the Research Office’s White Papers for planning.
Gao Liangwei’s resolute face appeared on screen, and representatives applauded in respect.
“Everyone, this is the Humanity Consortium’s first concentrated discussion on counterasures, so I’ll skip the formalities,” Gao Liangwei said, cutting to the chase. “The severity of Rule Eleven is clear. Most importantly, an 8.0 earthquake will occur on day 24, a 9.0 on day 27, and a 10.0 on day 30.”
Committee mbers nodded.
Earthquakes from levels 1 to 7 were manageable because earthquakes occur every year and nations already had familiar counterasures.
But from level 8 onward, the disaster scale exceeded ordinary asures. Even in a brief five-minute window, the destruction would be staggering and cause massive casualties.
At level 9, beyond direct seismic damage, enormous secondary disasters like volcanic eruptions and tsunamis could flatten entire cities.
As for level 10…
“Will the level 10 quake on May 30th truly not completely destroy human civilization?” one delegate blurted out. “That’s a 10.0 quake — purely theoretical and never observed!”
“Yes, level 10 is almost unimaginable. Our experts say if it occurs a continental plate could be torn apart, triggering giant tsunamis, collapse of agricultural and industrial systems, and other secondary disasters that would deliver a civilization-ending blow.”
“Is there nothing we can do? We must study counterasures carefully!”
Gao Liangwei replied, “Everyone, don’t panic. We still have ti.”
The quake level increases every 72 hours, that is, every three days. From today, May 1st, a level 10 quake will not strike until May 30th.
Before then humanity has one month to prepare. Whether to try to prevent it, reduce its destructive effects, or evacuate and construct high-altitude safe shelters—there is still ti.
“The chair is right. We must use the preceding ti to prepare thoroughly.”
“I propose we requisition all aircraft from countries, centrally deploy them to protect each nation’s elites,” one delegate suggested. “Calculations show the earthquake’s effect on the stratosphere is minimal. If aircraft are at cruising altitude when the quake hits, they should be safe.”
Another delegate imdiately vetoed the idea. “That’s only a contingency. How many people are there in the world, and how many can all the planes carry together? Besides, quake timing is uncertain and only lasts five minutes within a day. To be safe you would need constant, 24-hour flight.”
“Don’t forget ground infrastructure,” another added. “Planes up high might avoid the quake, but what about ground radar and control towers? If those are destroyed, aircraft lose navigation signals and beco headless — and if airports are ruined, where would they land?”
With the proposal repeatedly dismissed, the suggesting delegate had no rebuttal.
“So building solid shelters might not be that aningful,” soone said. “Level 8–10 quakes can rip open the earth and create fissure zones. Even if a shelter survives, it could be swallowed by a chasm.”
“Will this rule include hidden intelligence, like the previous two?” the Sakura Prayer delegate suddenly asked Gao Liangwei. “Chair Gao, the administrator of the ‘Ascendant Ho’ website is most likely from Beixing, right?”
Gao Liangwei answered, “I have already had people send private ssages through the site. I hope to get a reply soon.”
His remark surprised many.
A Suroma Empire delegate, a blonde woman in a suit, smiled and said, “Chair Gao, are you joking? Your Beixing official power is so strong — why not just order that admin directly?”
Gao Liangwei did not take offense at the slightly provocative tone. He calmly said, “The website is not officially owned by Beixing, and we don’t know the admin’s identity. Also, I recall Suroma has a renowned diviner. Has she given any prediction this ti?”
The delegates turned to the Suroma blonde. Indeed, Suroma’s diviner called “Moon Key” was famous and known to all.
The blonde’s face showed displeasure at the question, but she still replied, “She has made a prophecy. I’m not withholding anything; it’s just that the prediction is grim and we don’t really believe it.”
“The Consortium exists to share and help. If she has divination ability, whether it cos true or not it’s worth hearing,” Gao Liangwei said.
“If you want to hear, I’ll say it. But don’t bla
if you can’t bear it,” the delegate said, taking a deep breath before revealing Moon Key’s prophecy.
“Moon Key’s prophecy: she saw the true ‘end of the world.’ The majority of humanity will perish as continents are torn by earthquakes and cities swallowed by tsunamis. The tiny remainder will suffer from nuclear leaks caused by the quakes, and in the prolonged nuclear winter their bodies will mutate, ending human civilization as grotesque, malford creatures.”
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