Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Fang Qian’s Choice "Let’s all go together!"
"That’s right, get in my car, I’ll drive!"
"Why should we just wait at home to die?!"
"Exactly! The rich must be able to buy sobering medicine or get sobering shots at the hospital!"
The clamor outside grew louder. Guan Tong and Fang Qian went to the balcony to look down and saw that twenty or thirty people had already gathered at the community entrance.
These people were all frantic, clamoring to go to the hospital.
"Looks like everyone’s about to reach their limit," Guan Tong said. "A lot of people can’t take it anymore."
Fang Qian said, "Are they planning to rob the hospital for medicine? Is that really okay? Shouldn’t there be security patrols on the streets?"
"They probably feel like they can’t hold on any longer and are making a desperate move."
Guan Tong could actually understand. If it were him, and he were truly on the verge of collapse, he didn’t know what he might do either.
"So, you’re saying the internet is down because too many people are planning to go to the hospital like this?"
"It’s very likely."
Guan Tong thought Fang Qian’s reasoning made sense.
The authorities hadn’t shut down the internet even after discovering the hidden rules. For them to suddenly shut it down now, it was probably because too many people were arranging to go out.
The more people who went out, the more conflicts would inevitably break out on the streets. More street conflicts meant more people getting knocked out... and that would lead to more and more people discovering the existence of the hidden rules.
And so, order would descend further into chaos.
The crowd gathered downstairs quickly left the community.
They weren’t the first wave, nor would they be the last.
More and more people who had held on until now but simply couldn’t stay home any longer began to ignore the official ban and leave their homes.
Even Fang Qian found herself getting restless as she watched the crowds in the distant streets grow denser.
"Guan Tong, don’t you want to go out?"
"No," Guan Tong answered crisply.
"Why?"
"Think about it. After so long without sleep, everyone is probably like a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark. Going to a crowded place right now could easily lead to a massive conflict, and you’d get caught up in it."
Hearing the word "conflict," Fang Qian couldn’t help but think of "knocking someone out" and "Sober Mint Candy," and her eyes widened.
Guan Tong looked up at the sky.
The red countdown continued.
30:18:06
"There are only 30 hours left. If we just hold on a little longer, we’ll make it through."
After speaking, Guan Tong sat back down on the stool, using reading to fight off his drowsiness.
Fang Qian also resolved to endure the final 30 hours. She put her phone away and stopped trying to refresh the internet over and over.
Constantly checking the news online had only made her more anxious. She decided to learn from Guan Tong and also picked out a book from the study to read.
One hour, two hours, three hours.
During these last 30 hours, every hour felt like a year.
At this point, Guan Tong no longer paid attention to what was happening outside. He knew that his only enemy now was himself.
He repeatedly told himself: ’Seventy-two hours without sleep is nowhere near the known human limit. I can definitely hold on.’
Fang Qian, in the same room with him, was also in immense torment.
She was so terrified that she didn’t dare look at how much time was left on the countdown. The more intense her sleepiness became, the more she couldn’t stop thinking about the phone call from her father.
Her father had asked if Guan Tong was with her. The meaning couldn’t have been clearer: when she could no longer hold on, she could, for the sake of survival, resort to any means necessary and go after her classmate, Guan Tong.
At first, she had completely rejected such an act, but now, as she grew more and more exhausted, her resolve was wavering.
’I’m so tired, I really can’t take it anymore...’
’Maybe in another hour... no, in another ten minutes... I might even fall asleep in the next second...’
’I don’t want to die, what about Mom and Dad...’
Fang Qian struggled internally. She felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, to the point where she could barely keep them open.
If it weren’t for her parents, she might have chosen to give up.
But...
Fang Qian looked at Guan Tong.
’Guan Tong is an orphan.’
’Yes, that’s right, he’s an orphan. If... if only one of us can survive, wouldn’t it be better if it were me, the one with parents...’
The moment that thought surfaced, Fang Qian was startled by her own mind.