Doomsday Rules Countermeasures Research Office.
A research and discussion meeting regarding the Seventh Doomsday Rule was being held.
However, different from previous meetings, under the restrictions of the rule, no one could speak. Communication could only happen through typing and projecting text on a screen.
The only sound echoing in the entire conference room was the clacking of keyboards.
Someone typed: (The design blueprints for the "Anti-Speech Device" have currently been distributed to all major cities. Relevant factories capable of production are rushing to manufacture them. It's estimated that batches will start being shipped to shelters and gathering points from tomorrow.)
A statistician typed: (Additionally, based on reports from various regions, some shelter members have already failed the challenge due to accidentally making sounds and have been attacked by Sound Hunters.)
(Can Sound Hunters invade shelters? How is that possible?)
(It's still unclear. What can be confirmed at present is that Sound Hunters are entities that cannot be observed with the naked eye. Their method of killing is to pierce the human carotid artery, causing massive hemorrhage. Furthermore, they only attack the person who made the sound and do not attack people around the sound-maker.)
Gao Liangwei typed an inquiry at this point: (How is the preparation for testing the "Sound Hunters" progressing?)
(Preparation is underway. We plan to have a tester stay in a completely sealed location, make a sound to attract a Sound Hunter over. All four walls of this sealed location are made of the highest-grade blast-proof, breach-resistant material. Furthermore, proximity-sensing bombs are deployed around these walls; they will definitely detonate if a Sound Hunter approaches.)
(Can the tester accept the risk?)
(The risk has been explained in advance. The tester volunteered.)
Gao Liangwei nodded: (Then complete the test as soon as possible. We need to understand the Sound Hunter's maximum attack strength and try to see if human weapons can eliminate it.)
...
Sister Yu led the people in the camp to dig a grave by the edge of the camp and buried the companion killed by the Sound Hunter in it.
The silence enforced by the rule became the best moment of silent mourning.
After some time, everyone dispersed to attend to various tasks within the camp.
Surviving in the wilderness wasn't easy. The camp currently couldn't be self-sufficient and was still consuming supplies brought from the city.
To achieve self-sufficiency, the first problem to solve was the food supply. Sister Yu had considered some simple, easy-to-grow crops, but that required considerable time and a plot of fertile land.
However, for now, the priority was definitely to survive this current rule; everything else would have to wait.
Inside the camp, some people were washing clothes, some were cooking, and others were organizing items.
They spent a day in such silence. In the evening, everyone sat around the campfire. Although facing each other, they could only lower their heads and type messages in the group chat on their phones to communicate.
After chatting for a while, Sister Yu typed: (Everyone worked hard today, get some rest early. Remember to stuff something in your mouths when you sleep.)
(Got it, Sister Yu.)
(Heaven help me, I absolutely must not talk in my sleep!)
(Let's all sleep on our stomachs. It's harder to talk with your face pressed down like that.)
(Goodnight.)
Everyone returned to their tents to sleep. An unknown amount of time later, a rumbling sound woke up the buzz-cut man in the camp.
Before the Doomsday Rules, this man was an ordinary soldier. After the era of rules began, he chose to retire due to the death of his family and utter despair, spending his days drinking.
If he hadn't met Sister Yu and the others during the Snow Disaster rule, he probably would have remained dead drunk every day until he died during some rule.
After that, he considered Sister Yu and the others as new family to unite and survive with, and he found a reason to live again.
It's the sound of vehicles!
The man, upon waking, immediately crawled out of his tent and looked in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, he saw eight or nine jeeps driving towards the camp!
He immediately took out his phone, turned the volume to maximum, and played a sound to wake up the others in the camp.
By the time Sister Yu and the others emerged from their tents, the multiple jeeps had already approached and stopped near the camp.
The car doors opened, and over thirty people filed out, mostly young and middle-aged men. They looked at the camp members silently, their eyes unfriendly.
The leader, a man with a thick beard, held a large-sized tablet. He typed on it, then played the pronunciation.
A monotone electronic female voice sounded: "Leave all your supplies behind, and we can let you go."
Several people in the camp were startled upon hearing this. Sister Yu, as the camp leader, stepped forward and gestured with her phone, typing: (Who are you people? Are you planning to rob us?!)
The bearded man continued to use the tablet to speak for him: "If you don't want to die, hand over the supplies obediently. Don't force us to take them ourselves."
The buzz-cut man from the camp stepped forward at this point, glaring angrily at the group, typing on his phone: (You wouldn't dare!)
The bearded man's face darkened, and the over thirty people behind him all drew their weapons. Mostly clubs, sticks, knives, axes, and some nail guns and the like.
Seeing this, Sister Yu immediately realized something.
These people were probably all non-Ascendants!
She had heard before that after the authorities announced the nation was entering a wartime state, a large number of non-Ascendants chose to leave the city.
Because only a very few among them entered shelters; most were excluded or placed at the very end of waiting lists. This made them feel rejected and scorned. Calling themselves "the world's forsaken," they made pacts to leave the city together.
Most of this group in front of them were holding cold weapons. They didn't look much like Ascendants; they seemed more like non-Ascendants.
Seeing the warning text, the bearded man's eyes turned cold. He looked back at his group of subordinates and nodded to them.
This group immediately rushed forward and surrounded the few camp members.
The camp only had eight people in total. Facing encirclement by over thirty people, the disadvantage was immense.
Sister Yu thought to herself, her side had three Ascendants in total, but their overall combat power wasn't particularly outstanding. If a fight broke out, even if they could repel the enemy, her side would definitely suffer casualties, which she didn't want to see.
She typed on her phone to show the bearded man: (We don't want conflict. We can give you half our supplies.)
The bearded man shook his head, his meaning clear: he wanted everything.
And besides food, they also wanted to take vehicles and such.
This was unacceptable to Sister Yu. Losing all their food and means of transportation would pose a great threat to the survival of the camp members.
The bearded man also saw Sister Yu's opposition. He typed two words on the tablet, which were emitted by the emotionless electronic female voice: "Take action."
"!"
The thirty-plus people immediately brandished their weapons and attacked. The buzz-cut man instantly summoned his Mind Power item—a triangular bayo—and quickly stabbed down three or four who got close.
Seeing this, the bearded man and his group were first startled, but then their eyes turned even colder.
They hadn't expected there to be Ascendants among this group. Because most Ascendants chose to stay within the city, entering or waiting to enter shelters. Ascendants who chose to set up camp outside the city were extremely rare, if they existed at all.
And what they hated most were Ascendants!
"Kill."
The electronic female voice issued the bearded man's command as speech from the tablet.
Someone in the camp had already been cut down. Furious and alarmed, the buzz-cut man charged towards the bearded man, aiming to take out the leader first!
But to his surprise, the latter actually pulled an automatic pistol from his pocket.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two shots rang out. The buzz-cut man dodged one bullet but was hit in the abdomen by the other. In pain, he couldn't help but let out a heavy, muffled groan, falling to his knees.
This sound was already quite loud, undoubtedly crossing the bottom line of the Seventh Rule.
The bearded man sneered silently. He didn't fire again, instead watching the buzz-cut man with interest, as if waiting for a Sound Hunter to come and kill him.
However, doing this gave the buzz-cut man a chance to counterattack. He suddenly threw the bayo in his hand.
"Thud!"
The bearded man dodged urgently, but the dagger still pierced through his shoulder. He endured the pain without making a sound, angrily raising the gun muzzle to kill the buzz-cut man.
At that moment, Sister Yu came to the rescue in time. She used a defensive-type item she obtained from opening a box after passing the last rule. Throwing it out, it formed a wide, long stone wall, blocking the bearded man and his pistol bullets outside the wall.
Then she wanted to go and pull up the buzz-cut man, but the latter tore the cloth strip from his mouth and spoke: "Sister Yu, take the others and retreat immediately! A Sound Hunter is coming to kill me!"
"...!"
Sister Yu's steps faltered. She turned her head to look for the others.
Meanwhile, the buzz-cut man, taking advantage of the Sound Hunter not having arrived yet, endured the pain, recalled his dagger, and pounced on the other ruffians.
He hadn't expected the bearded man to have a gun. If not for that, he could have single-handedly taken out this group of ruffians. But now, he could only take down as many as he could.
He only had time to take out two before his neck was suddenly pierced by some invisible entity. He fell down, powerless.
Out of the eight people in the camp total, the buzz-cut man was killed by a Sound Hunter, and four more fell under the siege of the ruffians. The remaining three, including Sister Yu, ran to a vehicle and hastily retreated.
Over thirty people sieged eight, and they lost half. This outcome was utterly unacceptable to the bearded man. If he didn't hunt down and eliminate the remaining three, he couldn't continue being the leader.
The remaining people immediately got into their vehicles and gave chase. Sister Yu drove a small truck fleeing ahead, with several jeeps chasing wildly behind.
Their speeds were roughly matched. Sister Yu drove for a long time, but the pursuers still clung relentlessly.
The two remaining people in the truck were already terrified. Both were non-Ascendants and had little combat power against the ruffians.
There were three Ascendants in the camp: Sister Yu, the buzz-cut man, and the youth Xiao Ming. The latter two—one died to a Sound Hunter, the other was killed by the ruffians—leaving only Sister Yu herself.
Sister Yu gritted her teeth tightly now, her heart in her throat while also ensuring she didn't make a sound.
She didn't even have time to grieve for the five dead companions, because as soon as the vehicle stopped and the ruffians blocked the way, all three of them probably wouldn't survive.
If the ruffians didn't have guns, she could still rely on her enhanced physical attributes as an Ascendant and her items to fight. But with guns, it was different. Especially since her Mind Power item wasn't a combat-type item; it was hard to withstand firearms, so she could only flee.
The small truck drove along the highway. The ruffians' several jeeps chased doggedly behind, apparently unwilling to give up until they caught and killed the three of them.
The other two people in the vehicle were already frightened, huddled in the back seat. As the leader, Sister Yu was also at a loss internally now. She knew that continuing to run like this, they would eventually be caught, because the gasoline in this small truck was running low.
After driving for a while more, just as Sister Yu saw the fuel gauge drop to half a bar and felt despair in her heart, she suddenly saw a patch of woods at the foot of a mountain to the south of the highway.
Her eyes lit up. If they entered the woods, both her vehicle and the ruffians' vehicles wouldn't be able to drive. Then there might still be a chance to survive!
She immediately turned the steering wheel, driving the small truck off the highway and charging towards the woods. The several jeeps behind also left the highway to pursue, absolutely refusing to let the three go.
And just as the two vehicles passed by the mountain foot heading towards the woods, a black eye opened, observing the movement of the vehicles.
Inside the wooden cabin on the mountainside, Guan Tong, lying on the bed, opened his eyes, receiving some images in his mind.
They were from the "Shadow monitors" he had deployed before sleeping—formed from hair-thin strands transformed into Physical Forms resembling eyes.
Such a small volume of Physical Form consumed a continuous but small amount of Mind Power. Guan Tong used them precisely as surveillance, so if anyone came up the mountain, he could detect and get an early warning.
Several vehicles came, heading towards the woods at the mountain foot?
Guan Tong, sensing the images transmitted by the Shadow, slightly frowned.
Reviews
All reviews (0)