As soon as Guan Tong opened the Ascension Store, he immediately noticed that the [Basic Food Box · Bronze Tier] product was gone.
"Was it sold out and removed from shelves?"
Three days ago, there was a notification showing ten million remaining units. Today, three days later, they were completely sold out and removed from shelves... This was truly astonishing.
However, considering the global number of Ascendants, even if just one percent, or even one-thousandth of them had Ascension Coins and some purchasing power, they could easily buy out ten million boxes.
Guan Tong had previously thought about buying food boxes to eat when he had more coins in the future, but now it seemed that wasn't very realistic.
But he couldn't be completely certain yet, as there was still the possibility that removed products might be restocked after some time.
He shifted his attention to the newly listed products after this rule event—there were three in total.
[Multi-Terrain Marching Boots]: Long boots suitable for movement across various complex ground environments, customizable appearance
[Price: 100 Ascension Coins]
...
[Constant Temperature Tech Underwear · Basic Model]: After wearing, maintains body at constant comfortable temperature for 6 hours, 24-hour cooldown, customizable appearance
[Price: 120 Ascension Coins]
...
[Gene Optimization Liquid · Inferior Quality]: After consumption, improves some geic defects
[Price: 150 Ascension Coins]
...
After reviewing the three newly listed products, what surprised Guan Tong the most was the Gene Optimization Liquid.
This [Gene Optimization Liquid · Inferior Quality] was undoubtedly the same type of product as the [Gene Optimization Serum] he had previously obtained from the Glory-level Box.
The only difference was that one was an optimization serum while the other was an inferior quality optimization liquid, suggesting a huge gap in quality.
"If I hadn't obtained the serum from the box earlier, I would definitely prioritize buying this optimization liquid," Guan Tong thought. "But since I've already consumed the serum, taking this inferior quality liquid probably won't be very effective."
After making this judgment, he decisively abandoned any purchase plans for it.
As for the other two products—the multi-terrain boots and the underwear that could maintain constant body temperature for a fixed period—both were quite useful items.
But Guan Tong felt he didn't currently need either of these items. If this were before, he would definitely have saved his Ascension Coins to purchase them only when needed.
However, the precedent set by the food boxes made him wonder: Were all products limited in quantity?
If every product was like the food boxes—not showing limited quantities initially, but only displaying remaining numbers when they dropped below a certain threshold—that would be quite disadvantageous for Guan Tong.
Because unlike many people who spent over ten hours daily online, Guan Tong used most of his time for Mind Power development and rest.
The benefit of this approach was his relatively stable emotional state and fairly regular daily biological rhythm. The drawback, however, was that he wasn't very timely in receiving the latest information.
Consequently, if new products quickly sold down to the threshold quantity and began showing limited availability, Guan Tong might miss out due to delayed information reception—only opening the store when he needed something, only to find it already sold out.
Moreover, the store didn't have a "limited quantity alert" function, and Guan Tong didn't want to constantly open his terminal to check.
After some consideration, he decided to first spend 120 Ascension Coins to purchase the more expensive [Constant Temperature Tech Underwear · Basic Model].
After this purchase, the remaining 70 coins weren't enough for the 100-coin [Multi-Function Marching Boots]. However, he could create bound coins himself, so the 30-coin gap didn't require relying on rewards—he could cover it himself.
Guan Tong then closed his Personal Terminal and got up to go eat. After being hungry for three or four days, a bit of milk and some chocolate weren't enough to fill his stomach.
...
On the online platforms that Guan Tong didn't frequently check, after the conclusion of the third Doomsday Rule, another major discussion erupted regarding the three-day rule interval period.
"Fourth rule in just three days?! Are you kidding me!"
"Why so fast... Last time it was a month apart!"
"The Fire Thief really doesn't intend to give humanity any rest! Constantly finding new ways to torment us!"
"It can be as long as a month or as short as three days—seems the rule interval period is completely unpredictable."
"What are you planning to buy from the newly listed store items?"
"Is that even a question? Definitely the Gene Optimization Liquid!"
"I also think that's the most important item—it can actually improve genes!"
"Better wait for the Countermeasures Research Office's experimental results first..."
"I'm not waiting. What if it sells out before I can buy it? This thing will definitely be the most sought-after!"
Someone started a product purchase poll, and over 95% of people chose [Gene Optimization Liquid], showing that most people shared the same perspective.
The prevailing view was that improving geic defects represented a long-term benefit for one's body. The other two items, after all, were just external tools.
However, the discussion boards were soon flooded by one particular post.
The post was titled: "Is My Personal Terminal Glitching? Am I The Chosen One?!"
The poster wrote: "After the rule ended, I silently chanted 'Personal Terminal' but nothing happened—the terminal interface didn't appear at all. Has anyone else encountered this? Or is it just me experiencing a bug? Maybe the Fire Thief will send me a compensation package soon and I'll become invincible?"
The post received numerous replies immediately after being published.
"??????"
"The Personal Terminal can malfunction? This is my first time hearing about it."
"Poster, share your digital ID, I'll try adding you as a friend."
"Waiting for updates. Poster, remember to notify me if you get that compensation package."
"Don't forget us little people when you make it big, poster!!!"
The initial replies were mostly confusion and requests for favors, but around the thousand-reply mark, one response appeared that shocked many people.
"What is the poster fantasizing about? I suspect it's because your Mind Power has decayed to 0, causing the Personal Terminal to automatically shut down."
This reply garnered hundreds of nested responses.
"Holy crap! Really?!"
"The Personal Terminal automatically shuts down when Mind Power decays to 0?!"
"Any reliable sources on this?! Urgent!!!"
"Damn, don't scare me like that! My Mind Power already dropped to single digits after failing this challenge. If it decays again, will I not be able to open my terminal either?!"
Soon, the reply posted by that user sparked heated discussion across the entire inter.
As more and more people who had failed challenges came forward admitting they couldn't open their terminals, this claim was eventually verified by multiple sources.
The Doomsday Rules Countermeasures Research Office also officially published a statement three hours later, confirming through laboratory experiments that this claim was correct.
Once Mind Power decays to 0, the Personal Terminal will automatically shut down.
As soon as this terrifying fact was verified, it immediately created massive waves worldwide.
Particularly among those Ascendants who had failed rule challenges twice consecutively and already had their Mind Power decayed to almost nothing, they fell into indescribable fear.
In this era of Doomsday Rules, once you can no longer use your Personal Terminal, doesn't that mean you'll be abandoned and eliminated by this era?
Reviews
All reviews (0)