The news about the limited quantity of store boxes triggered a buying frenzy among the Ascendants.
Some who didn't immediately need them even bought one or two to store.
This behavior was partly driven by anxiety.
What would happen if the boxes sold out? Would the store restock? If they sold out permanently and were never restocked, what if the Fire Thief issued similar "food prohibition" rules later?
Driven by this anxiety and fear, the food boxes sold at an extremely rapid pace. After three hours, only over six million remained in the store, averaging over a million sold per hour!
Such frenzy prompted even the Doomsday Rules Countermeasures Research Office to speak out through their official account.
The Research Office posted, advising Ascendants to adopt a "buy as needed" approach toward food boxes. They cautioned against purchasing due to excessive fear or herd mentality.
This would not only waste hard-earned Ascension Coins but might also prevent Ascendants with genuine life-saving needs from buying them later. They hoped the broader Ascendant community would remain rational and think calmly.
Since the Doomsday Rules Countermeasures Research Office was established under the leadership of the Beixing Country government, any statements or suggestions it issued were essentially equivalent to official calls to action.
However, how one spent their own Ascension Coins was ultimately a personal matter for each Ascendant. The authorities could only offer suggestions; they had no justification or ability to enforce mandatory requirements.
By evening, only three million food boxes remained.
Guan Tong didn't pay much further attention by this point and went to bed early to reduce energy consumption.
He had previously bought 4 food boxes in total. By today, he had used 3, and he didn't plan to use the last one.
So for the remaining effective duration of the rule, he adopted a lifestyle of minimal energy expenditure.
He didn't go out, didn't do tasks, didn't think too much, and whenever he had nothing to do, he slept.
During this period, only Xu Xiaotian visited him once, asking if he wanted to proactively go to the Police Department to give a statement, since the Police Department hadn't contacted him.
Guan Tong told him to decide for himself.
After consideration, Xu Xiaotian decided it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Since the Police Department wasn't seeking him out, he didn't want to go outside either.
The terrifying experience of being kidnapped had left him with significant psychological trauma that probably wouldn't fade away in the short term.
And so, the final effective period of the rule passed quietly amid Guan Tong's idleness.
At 9 AM on May 29th, the effective period of the third Doomsday Rule officially ended.
The Fire Thief's voice arrived right on schedule once again, perfectly punctual.
[Rule period has ended]
[Congratulations on passing the test of the third Doomsday Rule]
[Rewards have been issued to your Storage Box]
[The Ascension Store has added more products; you can check via your Personal Terminal]
[The fourth Doomsday Rule will be announced in three days]
Guan Tong opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and picked up a box of milk from his bedside table to drink.
Having not eaten for days, he was undoubtedly very hungry. But immediately indulging in rich foods and overeating could likely harm his body.
So he had prepared high-energy foods like milk and chocolate in advance and placed them on his bedside table, planning to use them to settle his stomach after the rule ended.
"New rule in just three days? The interval between rules this time is surprisingly short."
Guan Tong pondered the information given by the Fire Thief while drinking milk through a straw.
He remembered that after the first rule ended, the second rule was announced fifteen days later.
After the second rule ended, the third rule was announced thirty days later—a full month.
It seemed that passing a rule didn't always mean the interval before the next rule's announcement would increase. This previously speculated pattern had undoubtedly been broken by the Fire Thief.
"Personal Terminal."
Guan Tong silently recited in his heart, and the terminal interface appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Guan Tong]
[Nickname: Shadow]
[Title: Order Keeper]
[Mind Power: 119]
[Ascension Coins: 190]
[Comprehensive Biometric Evaluation: Excellent]
There weren't major changes in his personal information. During the third rule period, he hadn't engaged in much "coin creation," so his Ascension Coins remained fixed at 40. Adding the 150 reward from this time brought the total to 190.
The only noteworthy point was his Mind Power upper limit of 119 points.
After the second rule ended, Guan Tong's Mind Power upper limit was 114 points.
Subsequently, there was a one-month interval before the third rule was announced. One month of 30 days plus the 15-day effective period of the third rule meant 45 days in total.
In these 45 days, his Mind Power upper limit had increased by a full 5 points, averaging 1 point increase every 9 days.
This speed was considerably faster compared to the beginning. Guan Tong remembered previously, even when he completely exhausted his Mind Power every day, leaving not a single point, it still took over ten days to increase the upper limit by 1 point.
But during this period, he hadn't "pressed" his Mind Power so harshly. In fact, during the last few days of the rule's effective period, to reduce his body's energy consumption, he hadn't used even 1 point of Mind Power.
Despite this, the average number of days for the upper limit increase was still lower than before. It showed that if he had pressed himself as crazily as before during this time, this average increase period might have been shortened even further.
Under extreme conditions, it might even have been possible to increase the Mind Power upper limit by 1 point every 7 or 8 days!
"It's very likely the effect of that [Gene Optimization Serum] slowly taking effect."
Guan Tong thought to himself, truly worthy of a precious item obtained from a [Glory Tier Treasure Chest]. It seemed it wasn't just a one-time deal, but rather something that, after consumption, would optimize the body over the long term.
He opened his Storage Box. Inside, besides the unused [Basic Food Box · Bronze Tier] and the [Wordless Book], there was now also a ticket with a black background printed with a burning cup.
[First Ascendant Challenge Tournament Invitation]: Ascendants holding this invitation can participate in the First Ascendant Challenge Tournament, which will commence after the fifth Doomsday Rule concludes.
With a thought from Guan Tong, the invitation appeared in his hand. It felt like it had a gold foil texture.
This was the special item, besides the Ascension Coins, included in the success reward announced back when the third rule was issued.
"Judging from the description, this 'First Ascendant Challenge Tournament' will start after the fifth Doomsday Rule ends... I wonder what kind of challenge tournament it will be?"
If it were one-on-one real-person PK, Guan Tong felt he might have a slight advantage.
After all, he could summon his shadow to help him fight, which basically amounted to two against one.
However, Guan Tong hadn't received any combat training; his fighting skills were essentially a blank slate.
It might be good if he had the chance to get professional training from a combat master.
Guan Tong had considered this issue before. Improving himself would also make his shadow stronger. Finding an excellent, serious combat teacher to learn from wouldn't be a bad idea.
But he wasn't desperate for it either. His main focus currently still needed to be on increasing his Mind Power upper limit and dealing with the challenges brought by the Doomsday Rules.
With a wave of his right hand, the invitation returned to the Storage Box.
Guan Tong then opened the Ascension Store function in his terminal to check out the new products added after this rule.
He now held a "huge sum" of 190 Ascension Coins. If any good items were newly available, he could definitely make a purchase.
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