"No going outside now..."
After reading the notification, Fang Qian thought to herself how lucky she was to have co out early. Otherwise, once the notice was issued, she wouldn't have been able to co to Guan Tong's place.
The thought of staying alone at ho to endure these 72 hours was terrifying just to imagine.
Fang Qian then looked at Guan Tong, noticed his furrowed brow, and asked curiously, "Guan Tong, what's wrong?"
"...It's nothing."
Naturally, Guan Tong wouldn't ntion anything about the Hidden Rules.
These kinds of rules that benefited oneself at others' expense—he wouldn't use them himself, nor would he spread them.
"Fang Qian, are you hungry? It's about ti for lunch."
"Ah..."
Fang Qian glanced at the clock hanging on the wall—unconsciously, it was already 12 noon.
If Guan Tong hadn't ntioned it, she wouldn't have noticed, but now that he did, she actually felt a bit hungry, since she usually ate lunch around this ti.
"A little... but didn't the official advice say that maintaining a sense of hunger helps keep you alert?"
"Then just eat until you're fifty or sixty percent full," Guan Tong said. "Maintaining hunger doesn't an not eating at all. Otherwise, if you don't fall asleep from exhaustion but instead faint from low blood sugar, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"
Fang Qian smiled: "That's true too. Should I cook then?"
"You can cook dinner. I'll handle lunch."
As Guan Tong finished speaking and entered the kitchen, Fang Qian's phone suddenly rang.
"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep."
Soone was calling via video chat. Fang Qian glanced at it and imdiately answered. Two of the most familiar faces appeared on the screen.
"Dad, Mom."
"Qianqian, how are you? Are you okay?" Fang Qian's mother asked with great concern. "I'm sorry, Mom and Dad really can't co back..."
"It's okay, Mom, I'm fine."
"Qianqian, where are you?" Fang Qian's father, however, noticed from the background behind his daughter that this wasn't their ho and imdiately inquired.
"Dad, I... I'm at a classmate's house. He's also alone. Since the official advice said being with others helps maintain alertness, I ca to find him..."
"Your classmate is also ho alone? That's indeed good." Fang Qian's father nodded. "You did the right thing, Qianqian."
"Mom, Dad, how are things on your end?"
"We're at the research institute. Currently, official departnts have gathered researchers from various industries to discuss research and counterasures regarding the Doomsday Rules. We're going to a eting soon... Qianqian, you must hold on and not fall asleep, understand!"
"Understood, Dad. You and Mom must hold on too..."
After the call ended, Fang Qian's eyes were red.
She didn't know if both she and her parents could survive these 72 hours, but no matter how worried she was, it wouldn't help—she could only take care of herself.
However, her parents ntioned on the phone that official departnts had gathered researchers from various industries and had begun researching the Doomsday Rules, which gave Fang Qian so hope.
If nurous scientists and scholars could collaborate to understand what the Doomsday Rules were about and what kind of existence the Fire Thief was, then perhaps everyone could be saved...
Not long after, Guan Tong prepared a simple lunch.
Two dishes: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and green peppers stir-fried with eggplant. For staple food, each had a small bowl of rice.
"Guan Tong, I didn't expect your cooking skills to be quite good," Fang Qian said after taking a few bites. "Much better than what I can make."
"Really? Then after we get through this rule period, you can eat more."
"Okay! By the way, my parents just called. They said they've received official notifications and are gathering professionals from various industries to research counterasures for the Doomsday Rules together."
Guan Tong asked, "Do your parents think they can achieve results?"
"They didn't say." Fang Qian shook her head. "I hope so... That Fire Thief said there are forty-nine Doomsday Rules! If every one is this difficult, humanity would suffer too much."
"Yeah."
They chatted while eating lunch. Around 1 PM, they both glanced at the countdown in the sky outside the window.
67:52:49
Although only over four hours had passed since the countdown began, fatigue was already starting to set in.
As the saying goes, spring brings drowsiness, autumn brings fatigue, and sumr brings napping. It was currently April, right in the "spring drowsiness" period. Moreover, most high school students were accustod to taking naps, usually resting for a while at noon to recover energy after a morning of intensive classes.
Undoubtedly, this napping habit had now beco a source of danger.
Fang Qian and Guan Tong decided to watch two episodes of a fast-paced TV drama to get through this more than one hour of regular nap ti.
Guan Tong turned on the TV. Fang Qian suggested using the video app on her phone to cast to the screen, as it had more abundant resources.
"Wait a mont, I need to activate a mbership first," Fang Qian said.
Guan Tong guessed, "Do you still need to get a mbership? Probably all major platforms are free now."
"Ah... Huh? It really is!"
When Fang Qian opened the app, she indeed found that all resources were available for free viewing, without even needing to log into an account!
"This must be done by the authorities, right?" Fang Qian said in surprise. "I saw soone in our class group chat saying many gas that usually cost money can now be downloaded for free too."
"Probably the authorities told those content-providing companies to do this," Guan Tong said. "Think about it—at a ti like this, what use is money? What various national authorities hope for most now is for more people to survive... After all, people are the foundation. Without enough people, everything becos aningless."
"So that's how it is... So everything that can help people pass the ti has been changed to free supply."
Fang Qian sighed with emotion: "Guan Tong, do you think those billionaires now wish they could exchange money for ti? If one hundred million could buy one hour, they'd probably do it without hesitation!"
Exchanging money for ti...
Fang Qian's casual words struck a chord in Guan Tong's heart.
Could items like "Alertness Mints" that help people maintain wakefulness be traded?
...
Jule Company building, chairman's office, before a massive floor-to-ceiling window.
Liu Yuqiang, with his strong jawline and graying temples, stood by the window, looking down at the city.
As a large comprehensive enterprise spanning multiple fields and sectors in "food, drink, entertainnt, and leisure," Jule was one of the most well-known national enterprises in Beixing Country, with very substantial financial resources.
Liu Yuqiang, chairman of the Jule Group, was one of the "billionaires" Fang Qian ntioned.
His favorite feature of this office was the huge floor-to-ceiling window before him. Every ti he stood before it, looking down at most of the city, a sense of pride welled up inside him, giving him a thrill of being in control of everything.
But now everything had changed.
Liu Yuqiang looked up. The massive red countdown in the sky above changed regardless of anyone's will.
Looking at it, Liu Yuqiang felt a deep sense of frustration rising from within.
He could look down upon this city, but he himself was also being "looked down upon" by the countdown.
This countdown, and the "Fire Thief" behind it, were the ones truly high above, looking down on everything.
One could even call it a "god."
Liu Yuqiang, famous for his daring and tenacity, had once gone two days without food to pursue business, sleeping while tightly clutching his phone, setting an alarm every hour to wake himself up just to check if any clients had sent ssages.
This workaholic style not only allowed him to build the Jule business empire before turning fifty but also earned him the title "Iron Man Entrepreneur" in business circles, with other entrepreneurs expressing genuine admiration whenever he was ntioned.
But even Liu Yuqiang, the "Iron Man," now felt a deep sense of powerlessness as he looked up at the countdown in the sky.
Had he struggled for half his life, finally building a career, just thinking about expanding further in the business world, only to have it all fall apart because of this ultimate black swan event?
Liu Yuqiang clenched his fist unwillingly. Just then, he suddenly heard a short "buzz—buzz" sound coming from his phone on the desk.
This phone was for personal use, not business, and very few people knew the number. Moreover, that pattern of two short vibrations followed by one long one was the distinctive alert tone of a special app used within his small circle.
Liu Yuqiang walked to the desk, picked up his phone, and with just one glance, his pupils instantly contracted, and he held his breath.
The ssage content was short but astonishing.
"Telling all fellow mbers a clever thod to pass the first Doomsday Rule. Note: This thod is top secret! Absolutely must not be leaked to anyone other than imdiate family mbers!"
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