Li Mei Hotel.
Guan Tong arrived late at night. There was no one on duty in the lobby, and all the key cards for the vacant rooms were laid out on the front desk, free for the taking.
It made sense. In the era of the Apocalypse Rules, unless a job was a true passion, most other work had been abandoned.
Mechanical, assembly-line jobs like producing food or electronics in factories were now all done by specialized machines. Most factories were now "dark factories," with no need for people to tighten screws anymore.
Guan Tong casually grabbed the key card for Room 306, went upstairs, and swiped it to enter the room.
It was a standard room with a king-sized bed. He tossed his backpack onto a chair and lay down on the bed. Although it was late, the sudden danger he'd faced earlier that day left him without the slightest hint of sleepiness.
'No, I have to find a way to get some power to protect myself.'
Guan Tong sat up, his expression grim.
He had always thought it was best not to get involved in the outside world's affairs and just focus on his own slow development.
But now, it seemed some things would come looking for you whether you wanted to be involved or not. If you didn't have the power to protect yourself, you could easily find yourself in a dangerous situation.
Although Guan Tong didn't know the purpose of the two people who had come to his house today, nor could he be sure if it was just an isolated incident, the event had undoubtedly served as a wake-up call.
So the key question now was: how could he gain the power to protect himself?
Guan Tong got out of bed, walked over to the small desk in the room, and sat down to think.
The Sublimation Store did sell weapons, namely the [Primary Weapon Crate · Bronze Level]. This crate allowed you to choose one melee weapon, which could be retrieved from your storage at any time.
But the melee weapons from this crate were hardly divine blades. Against multiple enemies, they would still be useless.
In Guan Tong's opinion, this kind of weapon could only serve as a backup.
'If I want real power, I have to start with Psychic Power.'
He still remembered the hidden rule from the second Apocalypse Rule, [Mental Victory]. Its description read: "Psychic Power is the source of all power. Dig deep, use it, and you shall be invincible."
At this thought, the [Wordless Book] appeared in his hand.
He flipped to the blank third page, thinking that based on his experience with the first two pages, if he wrote a keyword like "weapon," he might actually be able to obtain one.
However, opening a new page would also greatly increase the consumption of his Psychic Power.
Guan Tong had only discovered in recent days that writing on the second page consumed more Psychic Power than writing on the first.
If this was a progressive increase, then writing on the third page would definitely consume even more Psychic Power than the second.
Given the current limit of his Psychic Power, it really wasn't enough.
What if he wrote on the first two pages instead?
Guan Tong flipped back to the first page. The name "Guan Tong" was written there, perfectly clear.
'What would happen if I added something to "Guan Tong"?'
The idea popped into his head.
He knew that writing "Guan Tong" had produced the Shadow. So what if he added more to it?
Guan Tong found the Shadow to be very convenient, but its drawback was that it had no physical form.
'So what would happen if I added the word "Corporeal" in front of "Guan Tong"?'
If he did that, "Guan Tong" on the first page would become "Corporeal Guan Tong." Would that change the nature of the Shadow?
After a moment of thought, Guan Tong decided to give it a try.
Just as he had dared to write the two words "Sublimation Coin" on the second page, some things you'd never know were possible unless you tried.
So he picked up his pen and began to add the new word.
...
「The next day.」
Guan Tong was catching up on sleep when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
He opened his eyes, sat up, and asked, "Who is it?"
A young man's voice came from outside the door: "Hello, you must be new, right? I'm in Room 305, next door!"
Guan Tong asked again, "Can I help you?"
"Nothing much, it's just that the people living at the Li Mei have a habit of getting together in the lobby in the morning. I thought you might be interested in checking it out."
Hearing this, Guan Tong opened the door. Standing there was a very young man in a light blue T-shirt. He had a few freckles on his face and looked to be about the same age as Guan Tong, around eighteen or nineteen.
"Hey, new neighbor! I'm Xu Xiaotian. I went downstairs just now and saw the key card for 306 was gone, so I knew someone new had arrived." Xu Xiaotian grinned. "Welcome to the Li Mei!"
"Hello. I'm Guan Tong."
"Looks like we're about the same age. I'm a senior in high school this year, what about you?"
"Me too."
"Oh?! Which school do you go to?"
"Yunhua First Middle School."
"Whoa, a top student from the First Middle School! I'm from the Third. Heh heh. Come on, let's go to the lobby. Everyone's downstairs."
Guan Tong went downstairs with Xu Xiaotian. On the way, he asked, "You said before that the people who live here get together every morning?"
"Yeah. But it's less of a party and more of just everyone chatting and sharing their experiences," Xu Xiaotian explained. "It's like one of those support groups you see in TV shows."
"I see."
"Yep. After everyone's done talking, we all encourage each other. I think it's pretty helpful. A lot of people keep staying at the Li Mei just for these meetings, instead of applying for the free housing."
Guan Tong nodded. He could understand the sentiment.
The two of them reached the ground floor lobby. Just as Xu Xiaotian had said, dozens of people were gathered there, sitting together in a large circle.
Xu Xiaotian led Guan Tong to a place to sit. At that moment, a middle-aged man was sharing his story.
"My whole family... I'm the only one left now. My parents didn't make it through the first rule. I had a one-year-old child who didn't make it either... The child's mother was overcome with grief, and she passed away in her sleep too. I thought about just going to sleep and never waking up as well, but I still don't want to die. Is that too cowardly...?"
After he finished, everyone spoke up to comfort the man.
"What a terrible experience. At least it's in the past now..."
"That's not cowardly at all, that's brave!"
"That's right. Facing such misery and still finding the courage to go on living—that's what makes a true warrior."
"Stay strong. Your family would definitely want you to live a good life. So do we. We all have to stick together and work hard to survive."
The people's heartfelt words of comfort made the middle-aged man unable to hold back his tears. Many others, feeling his pain, also wiped at the corners of their eyes. Watching this, Guan Tong felt that it was just as Xu Xiaotian had said—this really was a gathering like a support group.
Afterwards, a few more people shared their experiences and thoughts. Finally, everyone sang a popular song called "Tomorrow Will Be Better," and the gathering came to an end.
After the crowd dispersed, some arranged to go out together while others returned to their rooms. Guan Tong was also about to head back to his room when he heard a "SLURP SLURP" sound from beside him.
He turned his head and saw Xu Xiaotian, happily devouring a cup of instant noodles.
"You... gave up on the challenge for the third rule?" Guan Tong asked. There were still more than ten days left before the rule's activation period ended.
"Oh, right, you don't know yet, Guan Tong. These aren't regular instant noodles. This is my Psychic Power item. Look."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the instant noodles vanished, clearly having been returned to the storage in his personal terminal.
Guan Tong was a bit dumbfounded now. Instant noodles could actually be a Psychic Power item?