The impact of Personal Terminal shutdowns was far greater than many people had imagined.
Because it severely damaged humanity's collective consensus.
Before this situation occurred, all surviving humans could be called "Ascendants," with the only difference being their varying levels of Mind Power.
Coupled with the White Paper on Doomsday Rules containing thods from the Counterasures Research Office to increase Mind Power Upper Limit, many people optimistically believed that falling behind early didn't matter much, as they could gradually catch up later.
But the shutdown of Personal Terminals completely shattered this illusion.
Consider those who could no longer use their Personal Terminals - did they still have the right to call themselves Ascendants? Would others still acknowledge them?
Continuing like this, it wouldn't take long at all for an enormous, irreparable gap to form between Ascendants and ordinary humans.
Not to ntion that the newly listed [Gene Optimization Fluid] in the Ascension Store added more fuel to this division.
The appearance of this item blatantly revealed that Ascendants who purchased and used it would beco genetically superior to other humans.
The Fire Thief used just one hidden function and one product item to tear away all the affectionate pretenses between humans.
It was like telling all humanity in the most straightforward form: you will ultimately diverge.
Online platforms worldwide erupted with massive conflicts over this matter.
So Ascendants used malicious language to mock those who could no longer use Personal Terminals, saying they couldn't be called Ascendants anymore, only "primitives."
"Primitives" wasn't even the worst - so went further with insulting terms like "inferior products" or "low-grade horses."
This behavior naturally provoked counterattacks.
The number of people whose Mind Power had decayed to zero and whose Personal Terminals had shut down wasn't just one or two - from a global perspective, this was a substantial group.
They absolutely refused to accept becoming second-class citizens, so not only did they swarm those rude Ascendants online, but they also called for collective action.
They even tried to win over low Mind Power Ascendants to their side.
One netizen whose terminal had shut down replied to an Ascendant who mocked him: "What you say to
today might co back to haunt you tomorrow. When you fail a rule challenge soday and your Mind Power decays to zero, let's see what you'll do then."
Yes, many low Mind Power individuals were themselves on the verge of zeroing out. Perhaps after one or two more decays, their Personal Terminals would shut down too.
Therefore, many among them were willing to speak up for those with shut down terminals, knowing they were also advocating for their potentially similar future selves.
Facing this situation, the Beixing Country authorities quickly made a statent.
They solemnly declared that every citizen was an equal existence and equally important.
Anyone inciting hatred or division would be considered lawbreakers and face severe crackdowns!
This declaration did suppress various extre statents online.
But the extre thoughts in everyone's hearts would inevitably take root and sprout uncontrollably.
...
Lihua Hotel, first-floor dining hall.
Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian sat at a dining table laden with various foods, all delivered through official transport drones.
Responsible for providing these foods was a newly established departnt by the authorities after the Doomsday Rules descended - the Livelihood Security Departnt.
After various dark factories produced goods, a portion would be transported to the Livelihood Security Departnt. The departnt would then use transport drones for distribution based on user needs filled out online.
The entire process required very little human involvent, with only a few personnel responsible for coordination and managent.
Of course, extensive chanization ant lack of personalization, like the als Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian were currently eating, which were all pre-made dishes.
"Brother Tong, have you heard?" Xu Xiaotian said while chewing on a chicken leg, "About Mind Power decaying to zero causing Personal Terminal shutdowns? It's blowing up online!"
"I've seen it," Guan Tong said. He was currently eating a simple egg fried rice. After prolonged hunger, he found this holy al more comfortable than lavish feasts.
"Never expected the Fire Thief to have this move. Brother Tong, what do you think will happen to those who can't use Personal Terminals anymore?"
"Don't know."
Guan Tong wasn't a deity - how could he predict the subsequent developnts this would bring?
But he vaguely felt this matter might beco so kind of trigger, sparking so terrible incidents.
"Anyway, I don't want to see everyone arguing and insulting each other. We're all humans who barely survived - why attack each other?"
Xu Xiaotian shook his head and changed the subject: "By the way, Brother Tong, I bought the new Gene Optimization Fluid from the store this ti. After drinking it, besides my Mind Power Upper Limit increasing by 3 points, I didn't seem to notice any other changes."
3 points?
Guan Tong rembered his had skyrocketed by 20 points, showing the massive quality difference between the original fluid and ordinary optimization fluid.
"Brother Tong, have you drunk it? How did it feel?"
Xu Xiaotian directly assud Guan Tong had bought the Gene Optimization Fluid. From netizens to authorities, everyone considered this product the best value item in the Ascension Store - buying it was definitely the right choice.
"It might take so ti to show more benefits," Guan Tong said. "After all, optimizing genetic defects isn't sothing that happens overnight."
"Makes sense, I'll just wait and see. But the interval between rules this ti was too short - only three days! It feels completely insufficient for rest!"
Guan Tong said: "You have the Instant Noodles item, so the [Fasting Therapy] rule didn't put much pressure on you, right?"
Xu Xiaotian looked sowhat embarrassed: "Uh, that's true. But even without survival pressure, the ntal stress was still quite high! Especially since we encountered... that incident!"
Seeing his still-traumatized expression, Guan Tong knew he was referring to the kidnapping.
Buzz buzz buzz!
Just then, the phone in Guan Tong's pocket vibrated. He pulled it out, looked, then said to Xu Xiaotian: "Speak of the devil."
"What does that an???"
"Nothing, it's a call from the Police Departnt."
Half an hour later.
Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian arrived together at the Yunhua City Police Departnt. A Peace Officer led them to a small conference room, telling them to wait briefly as the director would arrive soon.
Shortly after, Li ng pushed the door open, nodded to the two, and sat down.
Xu Xiaotian asked curiously: "Um, Director Li, did you call us here because the kidnapping case has been solved?"
"Yes and no." Li ng got straight to the point. "The Yunhua City local kidnapping gang led by Shen Zuohu has been eliminated, but from what I know, similar criminal groups are operating in other cities too."
Hearing this, Guan Tong said: "So soone is remotely controlling gang groups across different cities?"
"Yes."
"Damn!" Xu Xiaotian blurted out. "Who has that much power? To remotely control gang groups across cities to kidnap people!"
"Shen Zuohu nad one person. But this person is in the capital with a complex network of connections. Without solid evidence, we can't act rashly and alert the enemy."
"I called you here today to tell you before I leave. Because the criminal network's upper levels are complex with many connections, your case probably can't be concluded short-term and will be temporarily sealed."
"But you don't need to worry about retaliation locally - at least Shen Zuohu and other core gang mbers have been charged with serious cris. Especially Shen Zuohu - murder, kidnapping, operating criminal gangs... with multiple charges combined, he'll be executed soon."
The two fell silent upon hearing this. They never expected a kidnapping case to involve so much behind the scenes.
Guan Tong then asked: "Director Li ntioned 'before I leave' earlier... are you leaving Yunhua?"
"Yes." Li ng said. "I received orders from superiors this morning, transferring
to a task force in the capital. It's specifically to continue investigating this large-scale High Mind Power Individuals kidnapping case spanning multiple cities."
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