57:58:10
At 11 PM, a ti that should have been peaceful and quiet, chaotic noise continued without end.
Throughout the entire residential complex, countless households had their windows open, speakers turned to maximum volu, blaring deafening music.
Every ho had all their lights on, and the streets were illuminated by powerful spotlights arranged by the authorities, shining so brightly that the night appeared as bright as day.
Guan Tong and Fang Qian sat on hard chairs in the living room watching television to avoid making their bodies too comfortable. The TV was playing a suspense drama, but the noise coming from everywhere was simply too loud for them to focus on it.
"Everyone's going so wild..." Fang Qian said with a bitter smile. "It seems at this hour, everyone's really scared."
"Yeah, 11 PM - people with early sleeping habits would normally be asleep by now." Guan Tong picked up the remote and pressed pause - there was no way to concentrate with this much noise.
Fang Qian stood up and walked to the window, looking up at the night sky.
The bright red countdown tir now had a glowing outline in the darkness, making it appear even more conspicuous.
"Still 58 hours left until it ends... I really wonder how many people can endure through this. Guan Tong, don't you think those people in our country who were working night shifts yesterday are incredibly unlucky? This is so unfair to them."
"The most unfair are those who were already sleeping or undergoing surgery with anesthesia. But the Doomsday Rules don't care about fairness."
"Yeah..." Fang Qian said, unconsciously yawning before imdiately covering her mouth when she realized.
Guan Tong asked: "Are you tired?"
"Seems a bit... should we drink so coffee?!" Fang Qian sounded slightly panicked, but after thinking about it, she shook her head. "No... it's just a yawn, not serious enough to need coffee yet."
"Mm." Guan Tong also felt it wasn't yet ti to rely on external aids.
He believed that for the first night, the vast majority of people should be able to endure.
Especially young people. Since the developnt of smartphones, many young people today can stay up all night during holidays without sleeping, with so even managing to wash their face and go straight to work after pulling all-nighters.
Without work pressure and just needing to stay awake, the first night should definitely be manageable.
Fang Qian seed a bit anxious about yawning and pulled out her phone to enter a live stream.
The stream showed only an electronic Go board with two people playing against each other.
"Amazing..." Fang Qian said with admiration. "Not long after the countdown started, Wenren Yizhi began streaming Go gas. It's been over ten hours now, and she's still playing!"
"Truly impressive." Guan Tong said as he picked up the TV remote to change channels.
Fang Qian watched for a while, but the outside noise was too distracting to concentrate, so she exited the live stream.
Guan Tong had switched to a news live stream channel, an official 72-hour special broadcast that would promptly update and synchronize information.
Currently, the host was reporting the latest news.
"...Currently, over a thousand experts and scholars are collaborating, discussing and researching solutions regarding the Doomsday Rules."
The screen showed many professionals distributed across what appeared to be research labs, conference rooms, and similar places, everyone's expression looking extrely grave.
Fang Qian sat back down on the chair, watching the situation on TV. "My parents are probably in so research lab too... Guan Tong, do you think this will be useful?"
"...I don't think we should get our hopes up too much. The Fire Thief's power is simply too imnse."
If the Fire Thief had only created a countdown in the sky, perhaps people wouldn't be this terrified.
But after it announced the rules taking effect, the simultaneous deaths numbering in the hundreds of millions worldwide were enough to prove it possessed power beyond human imagination.
Facing such a god-like existence, what counterasures could possibly be researched even if all the world's smartest minds gathered in one office?
Guan Tong suddenly thought of that Hidden Rule.
Since the authorities already knew about this rule, would they share it with these experts... hoping they could find so loophole based on it?
If they could truly find a loophole in the Hidden Rules, bypassing the "using violence to make others unconscious" condition to obtain "Alertness Mints," then perhaps they could provide the most effective help to those still alive.
But was this really possible? Did Hidden Rules actually have loopholes?
Guan Tong wasn't optimistic about this.
Ti passed minute by minute.
Several hours later, around 3 AM.
This was the ti when night owls were most prone to dozing off, making it the most dangerous period.
Many people understood this, which was why the outside noise during this tifra was particularly loud.
Guan Tong and Fang Qian had already exhausted most conversation topics during the first half of the night, and now they could only stare at each other, forcing conversation to stay awake.
"Fang Qian, which university were you planning to apply to?"
"Just... Yunhua University. I think Yunhua is pretty good, didn't want to go elsewhere."
"I see."
"But universities are aningless now, right?" Fang Qian said. "Not just universities - as long as the Doomsday Rules exist, isn't everything aningless? Can people only live revolving around these rules?"
"I think so." Guan Tong couldn't deny Fang Qian's words.
"Thinking about it feels sowhat despairing." Fang Qian said pessimistically. "I'm starting to understand those who chose to sleep and end it all... at least they don't have to endure more suffering."
Guan Tong slightly frowned.
"Aren't you scared, Guan Tong?" Fang Qian asked. "Even if we survive... what if the next Doomsday Rule is even more terrifying?"
"I don't know. But I don't want to give up." Guan Tong said. "I want to live."
"Why? Do you... have soone you care about?"
"No. On one hand, it's simple biological survival instinct. On the other hand, I also want to understand more... about the Doomsday Rules, about the Fire Thief."
Fang Qian stared at him blankly: "You actually want to understand more about sothing this terrifying?"
"Aren't you curious about where the Fire Thief actually cos from? What's the ultimate purpose of the Ascension Plan? And what exactly are the Doomsday Operations after passing all forty-nine rules?"
"...I'm not curious, really... not curious." Fang Qian lowered her head. "I just want to live a stable life..."
"...Sorry." Guan Tong knew he had gone too far.
But everything he said was sincere.
He was truly curious, beyond what he had ntioned, including things he hadn't voiced.
Like why could he see Hidden Rules?
And could his transmigration to this world be related to the Fire Thief too?
These mysteries held a fatal attraction for him.
Therefore, before uncovering all the answers, he didn't want to die.
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