53:01:56
Around 4 AM.
Liu Yuqiang sat in his chair, feeling he was approaching the limit of what he could endure through sheer willpower.
He was now nearly fifty years old, his energy far from what it had been in his youth.
In his twenties and thirties, he could work continuously for over thirty hours without stopping, but that was when he was young.
Liu Yuqiang silently summoned his Personal Terminal, then extended his hand.
Through ntal command, an ordinary-looking round mint candy appeared in his palm.
Liu Yuqiang had built his fortune from nothing, carrying many heavy objects - he could steadily lift boxes weighing dozens of kilograms.
But at this mont, such a small mint candy, with almost negligible weight, made Liu Yuqiang's rough palm tremble uncontrollably.
He knew very well that this was exchanged for a human life.
Only he understood its true weight.
Liu Yuqiang took a deep breath and placed it in his mouth.
The mint candy dissolved instantly, and in that mont, he felt incredibly alert.
Fatigue, drowsiness - all disappeared at once! Replaced by clarity, precision, and sharpness!
Liu Yuqiang couldn't suppress the joy in his eyes. He felt his mind had returned to its peak condition from his youth!
"Good stuff, truly good stuff..."
Liu Yuqiang took out his phone and opened the Qingi Society's dedicated chat software. He wanted to see how other mbers were feeling, if they shared his experience.
In the group, many mbers were sending ssages.
"Old Zhao, thanks to your information!"
"Brother Zhao, your information saved the lives of over ten people in my family. I don't know how to repay you!"
"The effect of this mint candy is incredible! My mind has never been this clear before!"
"Yes, it feels amazing after taking it!"
mbers were expressing gratitude to Zhao Jiping and marveling at the effects of the Alertness Mint.
Without the information Zhao Jiping provided, even having billions in assets would be completely useless against the rules.
Liu Yuqiang saw that Zhao Jiping had also sent a new ssage.
"Fellow mbers, no need to be formal. Being able to help is my honor. I'll repeat what I said before - since this 'Alertness Mint' cannot be given to others and can only be used by the person who obtained it, you can share the information with imdiate family mbers. But only imdiate family mbers - it's not good if too many people know."
"Brother Zhao is right. If this secret were made public, order would collapse imdiately, which wouldn't benefit us."
"I just checked - ssages about this secret have already been blocked online. Probably the top levels learned about it imdiately."
"That's certain. But the top levels also chose not to disclose it because they share our concerns about order collapsing."
"I think besides using it themselves, the top levels will secretly pass the information to local police departnts. After all, as long as the police remain functional, order won't break down locally."
"What do you think their thod for obtaining the candy will be?"
"That goes without saying."
"Let's not discuss others. I think what we should do now is stockpile more candy."
"I've already obtained 20 pieces for safety. One every three hours to ensure complete security."
"I've also gotten over ten pieces."
"My company has many people, and I've already stored thirty pieces in the storage box."
When Liu Yuqiang saw this ssage from "Firebird Financial Chairman - Yu Feiwei," he was montarily stunned.
He imdiately sent a ssage: "Chairman Yu, one piece lasts 3 hours. Why are you getting so many?"
The rules were only effective for 72 hours total. Thirty mint candies could maintain alertness for 90 hours - completely excessive!
Yu Feiwei replied: "Yuqiang, you're still young and not flexible enough in your thinking. This candy has no expiration date - it can still be used to refresh and clear the mind after the rule period ends. Besides, who can guarantee there won't be similar doomsday rules requiring alertness in the future? Better to be prepared than sorry."
"Chairman Yu is right."
"Chairman Yu truly lives up to being in finance - your mind works so quickly."
"Learning from Chairman Yu. I'm also preparing to stockpile more, just as Chairman Yu said - better to be prepared than sorry, hehe."
"Envious of you all. I'm currently in my villa in the suburbs with few residents around. It's not easy to obtain more candy here."
Seeing these ssages in the group, Liu Yuqiang suddenly felt nauseous.
Yes, he had taken from others to ensure his own survival.
But he only did what was necessary for survival! Beyond necessity, he wouldn't take more.
Yet Yu Feiwei... and so others in the group seed completely indifferent, ignoring that the so-called "candy" was exchanged for human lives.
This made Liu Yuqiang, who ca from a poor background and built his fortune from nothing, feel intensely uncomfortable.
He quickly turned off his phone screen. Looking at his reflection in the black screen, he took deep, heavy breaths to calm his emotions.
After calming down, he began to think.
Should he follow their example and obtain more candy to "be prepared"?
His company still had many employees who wouldn't be suspicious of him as chairman. If he was careful, he could completely...
"No..."
Liu Yuqiang shook his head.
"Beyond what's necessary for survival, I won't obtain more. That's right, I must set boundaries and principles for myself..."
Liu Yuqiang took out a notebook and recorded his current resolution.
His hand holding the pen even trembled slightly from fear...
Liu Yuqiang knew he was afraid of becoming like Yu Feiwei and the others, completely losing respect for life...
Ti passed.
48:00:00
Exactly 9 AM.
The first 24 hours had passed. Countless people online posted celebratory ssages right on ti, declaring they were still alive.
"Congratulations to
for still being alive!"
"First 24 hours over, 48 remaining. Persistence is victory!!!"
"Professional night owl here - is that all? If my eyelids droop, I'm not professional enough!"
"Played FPS gas for a full day and night - feel like I can last another 48 hours! Just worried my wrists will give out before I fall asleep!"
But many others posted saying they were about to reach their limit.
"You guys can really stay up... I feel like I can't go on..."
"I've drunk a full pot of green tea from yesterday until now, but my eyelids are still fighting... Really worried I might doze off accidentally and die!"
"There's still 48 hours left?... I can't do it anymore, I'm burning out..."
"Is this the end? Everyone, I'm afraid I have to go first... I can feel my bed calling , my pillow tempting ..."
Even more people were constantly monitoring global news and developnts.
"Anyone from Heize City? Last night, truckloads of people were taken away!"
"This situation exists in every city though..."
"What do you think - out of the global population of billions, how many remain?"
"Impossible to count right now..."
"Probably many are gone, especially the elderly. Don't be fooled by the lively online activity - that's mostly teenagers and adults using the internet. Elderly people don't use the internet much and can't match young people's energy for staying up 72 hours."
"Previous comnter, you're underestimating the elderly. My grandparents usually only sleep four or five hours a day - they can stay up much longer than young people. The older people get, the less sleep they need."
Reviews
All reviews (0)