As ti passed, the relocation efforts in various countries continued to accelerate.
However, Sakura Prayer Country wasn't the only one encountering resistance; every nation within the Human Consortium had its own difficult scripture to recite.
So people, bound by deep affection and loyalty, found it hard to leave their holand, refusing to depart even if it ant death. Others faced insufficient transport capacity, inevitably leaving so behind, forcing difficult choices about who would go and who would stay, breeding considerable chaos under this dilemma. In so countries, certain groups believed destruction was unavoidable and thus began a final carnival, refusing to cooperate with any official actions.
Even in a nation like Beixing, many people refused to relocate. Most of their reasoning stemd from the belief that concentrating the population into inland cities carried the risk of putting all eggs in one basket.
If hundreds of millions of people were all cramd into inland cities, wouldn't they be in greater imdiate danger if the earthquake epicenter erupted inland?
After consideration, the Beixing authorities did not impose mandatory requirents on those unwilling to relocate. It wasn't that the decision-makers found their concerns reasonable, but rather that the effectiveness of coercion was diminishing. Forcibly taking away nurous people with resistance could potentially create disorder, which would be a case of gaining little at great cost.
Guan Tong's original location, Yunhua, was situated in the central region, slightly southeast. While not a coastal city itself, a county-level seaport was located just a few hundred miles away in a neighboring city.
A few hundred miles might seem distant, but if a massive tsunami erupted, floodwaters would rush over quickly, offering little buffer ti.
Therefore, even though Yunhua was a gacity, personnel relocation work had been ongoing for days. On the eve of the magnitude 5 earthquake, the entire city's population had basically been evacuated.
On the evening of May 12th, just before the magnitude 5 earthquake struck, Guan Tong specifically returned to Yunhua, his hotown city, from Mingdao Mountain.
Walking on the deserted streets, looking at the scattered transport debris littering the roadside, his mood inevitably grew sowhat complicated.
He certainly wasn't alone in this feeling. Over the past year since the Doomsday Rules descended, most cities across the nation and the world had beco ghost towns, emptied of people.
Furthermore, no one currently expected whether forr prosperity could be restored in the future. If humanity passed all the Doomsday Rules and ultimately ushered in so kind of "evolution" from the individual to the collective, that would perhaps be the best, most ideal outco.
But if humanity perished under so rule, becoming just one of the many fingers symbolizing civilization on the Fire Thief's chanical arm, then all current efforts would be in vain.
Guan Tong wouldn't consider that aningless, just...
Clatter.
As he passed by an officially built shelter on the street, his foot accidentally stepped on a soda can.
The noise made him stop and turn to look. "An officially built shelter? Co to think of it, I've never actually been inside one."
After the people living here were relocated, the built shelters were also left empty.
Whether these shelters would be used again in the future depended on whether this city would be destroyed by a major earthquake. Driven by curiosity, Guan Tong used the Shadow to enter first, then swapped places with it via Body Swap.
He had seen pictures of the shelter's interior on the forum, but this was his first ti entering personally. He walked through each area and finally arrived at the warehouse section, which still stored many food items and supplies that hadn't been transported out.
Considering his pre-Mingdao Mountain food reserves were almost depleted, Guan Tong simply used his Storage Ring to pack so away.
Afterwards, he sat for a while on a sofa in the recreation area. The shelter overall didn't feel as oppressive as he imagined, though he knew this was due to the novelty; staying long-term would definitely beco unbearable.
When night fell, he returned to Mingdao Mountain. After completing his evening session of "Mind Power Flow," he went to bed early, waking up promptly in the early hours of the 13th, waiting for the magnitude 5 earthquake to strike.
During the wait, he reviewed his cultivation progress. Since he had managed to cover his body surface with a thin layer of Mind Power, he had preliminarily gained the ability to resist Mind Power attacks and intrusions.
However, due to low proficiency and his still insufficient Mind Power Upper Limit, this layer, which Shi Jingyi called the "spiritual energy shield," had low defensive power.
To improve further, he needed to increase his Mind Power Upper Limit as soon as possible. Only then could he mobilize more Mind Power for circulation, allowing this spiritual energy shield to continuously strengthen itself. This was also one of the reasons he requested Mind Power Upper Limit boosting items from the authorities.
Although the defensive power of this spiritual energy shield was currently low, for Guan Tong, it could still serve an important early warning function. As soon as it was affected, he would imdiately know soone was secretly using a Mind Power item or ability to attack or invade him, allowing him to respond promptly.
Whether it was imdiately covering his entire body with Shadow Armor to prepare for a defensive counterattack or instantly using Body Swap to escape, he would have a reaction ti, avoiding being instantly controlled by a preemptive strike.
This undoubtedly gave him a greater sense of security and strengthened his resolve to continue walking this cultivation path.
He believed the spiritual energy shield would likely beco a kind of "universal solution" in the future. This higher-level application of Mind Power was sothing all powerful Ascendants would need to cultivate to so extent.
Guan Tong kept pondering, strolling, and waiting until 10 AM, when the magnitude 5 earthquake finally occurred. Zhang Minglu notified him of the epicenter location imdiately, and he likewise used Body Swap to reach the nearest Shadow at once.
Boom... Rumble rumble...
Different from the previous magnitude 4 quake, this magnitude 5 earthquake released significantly more energy.
The mont Guan Tong swapped over, he felt unsteady on his feet, his body swaying.
He tried his best to stabilize his posture and quickly moved towards the epicenter. Simultaneously, the team dispatched by the authorities arrived imdiately. Most were the sa soldiers who handled the magnitude 4 earthquake last ti, but there were a few more familiar faces.
Seeing those five individuals with exceptionally outstanding presence, Guan Tong thought, "Isn't that the official team I encountered at the fog gate last ti?"
The five newcors joining this operation were precisely the official Squad Dragon Soul.
They were ordered to participate in this action partly because they would be needed for handling major earthquakes in the future, so this served as familiarization.
On the other hand, Zhang Minglu had specifically instructed them to make contact with Guan Tong to lay the groundwork for future cooperation.
At this mont, Black Shark of Squad Dragon Soul was holding a yellow bell with both hands, ringing it intermittently. That yellow bell seed to be so special item. Guan Tong noticed those people could stand firm even within the epicenter area, likely due to this bell.
As he approached, Squad Dragon Soul imdiately ca forward. Captain Dragon Soul looked at Guan Tong with so surprise. "You are Mu Tong?"
"Yes." Guan Tong's appearance today was that of a middle-aged man, different from the young man last ti.
He was clearly telling the authorities he had the ability to change appearances. However, based on previous intelligence, the authorities also suspected the famous "Shadow" possessed the ability or item to change appearances.
Guan Tong himself understood that this would inevitably lead the authorities to suspect he might be the Shadow. This was within his expectations.
The reason he didn't directly use the "Shadow" identity to contact the authorities was related to the condemnation statent issued by the authorities after the Andai State incident.
In that statent, the authorities said they would conduct a serious investigation—even though Andai State as a country no longer existed, the statent remained.
Guan Tong's purpose for leaving the mountain this ti was solely to reduce earthquake damage. He didn't want to add extra trouble or cooperate with any investigation into the Prince Lado assault, hence he didn't use the "Shadow" identity.
Even if the authorities guessed, it didn't matter. As long as he didn't admit it himself, no one had conclusive evidence proving he was the Shadow.
"...Alright, let's begin imdiately then. Don't worry about stability near the Geomantic Pillar; we have an item to maintain physical stability, that yellow bell."
Even if Dragon Soul was curious inside, he didn't ask further questions. Ti was tight now; there was no ti for other talk.
He handed Guan Tong the previously used Mind Power transmission item, the Positive Magnet, while holding the negative pole himself, simultaneously saying, "Besides the magnets, we've also mobilized another Mind Power transmission item for this operation."
While listening, Guan Tong first took the Positive Magnet to the Geomantic Pillar, placed his hand on the pillar, and began channeling "Cracking Power."
He imdiately converted a large amount of Mind Power and then began absorbing through the magnet. Dragon Soul held the negative pole for a full three seconds before passing it to the next person, which made Guan Tong view him with newfound respect.
He absorbed his current Upper Limit, 321 points of Mind Power, every second. For the soldiers last ti, one second drained them.
But Dragon Soul held the negative pole for a full 3 seconds, aning his total Mind Power could withstand no more than three absorptions, i.e., greater than or equal to 642 points, but less than 942 points.
It seems he probably obtained the full 500-point Mind Power Upper Limit from the Eighth Rule...
Guan Tong thought, if this person originally had over 100 points himself, plus the full 500 obtained from the Eighth Rule, it was no surprise he could withstand three absorptions.
Afterwards, every mber of Squad Dragon Soul withstood three absorptions before passing the negative pole to the next person, aning all five had a Mind Power Upper Limit exceeding 642. Such substantial team strength confird for Guan Tong that this squad was likely one of the most highly regarded official teams.
Moreover, their efficient and capable deanor suggested they were originally selected from the military, belonging to those with thoroughly understood backgrounds, hence receiving focused cultivation from the authorities.
While using the Positive Magnet to absorb Mind Power, Guan Tong also occasionally took a piece of candy handed to him by Dragon Soul and put it in his mouth.
This candy was the second type of Mind Power transfer item, nad [Mind Soft Candy]. It was the ability of one person to extract and materialize Mind Power into soft candy. Others could obtain the Mind Power within by eating it.
This shared a similar ingenuity with Guan Tong's [Wordless Book] reserve Mind Power; both could be stored in advance for use as backup energy.
However, Guan Tong's thod was more convenient, storing it directly in the Terminal panel, unlike this ability which required the extra step of "eating."
Under Guan Tong's powerful conversion efficiency of injecting 321 points of Mind Power into the [Wordless Book] every second, the Geomantic Pillar's shell also cracked rapidly. Although slower compared to the magnitude 4 earthquake, it completely disintegrated before the rule ended at the 1-minute mark.
Instantly, the earthquake stopped, and the crisis was resolved.
Everyone let out a low exclamation.
"We succeeded!"
Having witnessed the Geomantic Pillar's collapse firsthand, even though they had seen the previous video footage, Squad Dragon Soul was still deeply shocked by being on-site this ti.
Silver Fox had been watching Guan Tong and suddenly boldly asked, "Mu Tong, you're actually 'Shadow,' right?"
"Silver Fox!" Dragon Soul glared at her, signaling her not to ask recklessly.
Silver Fox just smiled and said, "What's the matter? Even though the physique doesn't match, I still feel sowhat familiar. My sixth sense tells
so."
During the previous Fog Rule, at the fog gate, Guan Tong had briefly encountered this squad. Even with the fog obstructing vision, Silver Fox had firmly morized Guan Tong's physique, hoping to identify him later.
Just now, after finishing her Mind Power transmission and having nothing else to do, she had been observing Guan Tong. Driven by a certain sixth sense, she felt this middle-aged man shared so temperantal similarities with the "Shadow" encountered at the fog gate.
Hearing this, Black Shark widened his eyes, scrutinizing Guan Tong up and down. "Are you really the Shadow who exchanged a couple of moves with
in front of the fog gate last ti?"
"..."
Guan Tong thought to himself, when did I exchange moves with you? I just created a shadow wall to block your action back then.
"Apologies, you don't need to answer these questions." Dragon Soul said to Guan Tong at this point. "We don't wish to probe your identity, only to cooperate smoothly and minimize the disaster brought by this rule as much as possible. By the way, this is what Dr. Zhang asked
to bring you."
He took out two items from his storage device. They were precisely the extrely precious items used to increase the Mind Power Upper Limit.
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