Chapter 206: Chapter 196: Transmission Result and the Director’s Reasoning At the Earth Vein Pillar, a person at the front of the crowd took an item from a terminal storage box. It looked like a pair of magnets with positive and negative poles.
This was a peculiar item. The person holding the Positive Pole Magnet was the receiver, while the person holding the Negative Pole Magnet was the provider.
The man placed the Positive Pole Magnet in Guan Tong’s other empty hand while holding the Negative Pole Magnet himself. Under its effect, his Psychic Power immediately began to flow continuously to Guan Tong through the item.
Guan Tong’s nearly depleted Psychic Power was instantly replenished. He glanced at the magnet in his hand, thinking, ’This item really works well.’
’If I were facing an enemy, I could try to place the negative pole on them and hold the positive pole myself. That way, I could rapidly drain their Psychic Power.’
’And if I needed to transfer Psychic Power to someone else, I could use it in reverse. It’s very versatile.’
The person holding the negative pole only lasted for three or four seconds before their Psychic Power was depleted. He immediately passed the Negative Pole Magnet to the next person.
Seeing this, Guan Tong understood the plan: everyone would take turns holding the Negative Pole Magnet to transfer their Psychic Power to him.
For the sake of greater efficiency, he also increased the speed at which he channeled Psychic Power into the Wordless Book.
The intense consumption rate meant the Negative Pole Magnet had to be passed to a new person every two seconds. In turn, the converted Power of Rupture rapidly caused the Earth Vein Pillar’s outer shell to shatter and fall away, and the earthquake’s intensity quickly diminished.
"It’s actually working!"
It wasn’t just the crowd on site who were overjoyed; the people in the office watching the live video feed were also greatly heartened.
It had to be said, before witnessing this scene with their own eyes, everyone had harbored some doubt. But seeing large chunks of the Earth Vein Pillar’s shell break off, all their worries vanished.
"To resolve this Apocalypse Rule crisis, we must rely on this person’s power."
In the high-level office, the leader’s words were quickly relayed to the Strategy Research Room.
The people in the Strategy Research Room shared the same thought.
No detailed data analysis was necessary; it was plain to see. The rate at which the Earth Vein Pillar’s shell was being destroyed was now far, far greater than when everyone had to sacrifice their own Psychic Power reserves.
It could be said that this person was the key figure in minimizing the disaster’s impact during this Apocalypse Rule. No one could deny it.
On the screen, with two minutes remaining on the earthquake’s timer, the Earth Vein Pillar’s outer shell had almost completely fallen off. Then, with a great crash, it shattered entirely.
Everyone at the scene couldn’t help but cheer.
"Dr. Zhang, you will be in charge of communicating with this person." Gao Liangwei gazed at the screen. "You must ensure he assists us in reducing the destructive force of every subsequent earthquake. If he makes any conditions or demands, we must meet them as long as they don’t violate our core principles."
Zhang Minglu nodded. "I understand, Director. I will try to establish a good channel of communication with him."
Zhang Minglu knew that, at least for the duration of this Rule Stage, this person who possessed the ability to make objects crack was undoubtedly the most important individual in the country.
At the scene, the Commander heard something through his earpiece, walked up to Guan Tong, and handed him a phone. "Dr. Zhang from the Strategy Research Room would like to speak with you. What do you think?"
Guan Tong thought for a moment before taking it. "Hello?"
"Hello," Zhang Minglu’s voice came through. "I am Zhang Minglu from the Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room. My main responsibility is handling matters related to Ascenders. May I ask your name?"
Guan Tong said casually, "Just call me Mu Tong."
"Shepherd? Ah, alright." Dr. Zhang paused. "We saw what happened on the live broadcast. Your ability is incredibly effective! If possible, we hope to continue cooperating with you during subsequent, higher-level earthquakes to minimize the damage."
Guan Tong’s goal was to reduce the disaster’s impact, and this cooperation with the officials had gone smoothly.
Based on their previous interactions, the officials had gathered that he was someone who disliked hassle, so they hadn’t done anything unnecessary. They simply sent him the coordinates of the epicenter and dispatched a large team to transfer Psychic Power to him.
"Cooperating in this manner is fine," Guan Tong said. "However, we might need more items in the future. After a level 4 earthquake, it won’t be so easy to maintain a stable transfer at the epicenter."
Throughout the entire transfer just now, he had felt the ground trembling beneath him but was able to stay steady. However, starting with the next one, level 5, the epicenter would become a difficult place to stand, find footing, and maintain a stable transfer without the use of special items.
Guan Tong himself would be fine; at worst, he could use his Shadow Lines to bind himself to the Earth Vein Pillar and maintain a stable state. But it would be troublesome for the others responsible for transferring Psychic Power to him.
"We are well aware of that," said Dr. Zhang. "We will prepare the necessary items to allow you and your team to stand your ground and operate stably within the epicenter. Are there any other items you require?"
Guan Tong thought for a moment. "If you can find more Psychic Power transfer items, we could use them. Passing it from person to person is fast enough for level 4 and 5 earthquakes, but we might not have enough time for higher-level ones."
Zhang Minglu was a bit surprised. "Use more? Can you receive that much Psychic Power at once? Your Psychic Power limit must be quite high."
"It’s alright. Because I can convert all of my Psychic Power into the Power of Rupture at once, receiving more at the same time is not a problem."
"If that’s the case, we will prepare more transfer items. We’ll aim to have three to five people transferring Psychic Power to you simultaneously."
"That would be great. Is there anything else?"
"Not for now. However, if you have any needs, please let us know. We will do our best to meet them," Dr. Zhang said.
Guan Tong was about to say he didn’t need anything, but on second thought, ’why not use this opportunity to get some upgrades?’
Refusing everything would certainly make him seem noble, but he wasn’t the type to say one thing and mean another.
"Do you happen to have any items that increase one’s Psychic Power limit?" Guan Tong asked. "That’s all I need. If you don’t have any, never mind."
"That..." Dr. Zhang clearly hesitated on the phone. Everyone knew how valuable such items were. But he seemed to receive some kind of instruction and immediately continued, "We do. We can provide you with one or two such items."
Guan Tong had only been asking casually, not expecting them to actually have any. "In that case, I won’t be polite. Please have your people bring them to me when we handle the level 5 earthquake."
"Of course."
Guan Tong returned the phone to the on-site Commander, said his goodbyes, and left. The Commander asked his superiors for instructions, and they replied not to stop him or attempt to follow him.
Meanwhile, back at the research room, after Zhang Minglu hung up, the others in the room who had overheard the conversation wore varied expressions.
"Asking for the most precious items that increase Psychic Power limits... This guy is really blunt."
"I think it’s fine. As long as his ability is put to good use, he could end up saving countless lives."
"Yeah, no matter how precious the item, it can’t compare to hundreds of millions of lives."
Zhang Minglu said, "I also approve of giving it to him. For one, with his ability, the higher his Psychic Power limit, the greater his simultaneous output, which will help with this Apocalypse Rule. Second, for this level of disaster relief, it would be unreasonable not to offer some kind of reward. Director, what are your thoughts?"
All eyes turned to Gao Liangwei, whose brows were tightly furrowed as if he were pondering a serious issue.
"Director?"
"...You all remember what I said at the Human Federation meeting, don’t you? I believe this Apocalypse Rule is a punishment inflicted by the Fire Thief upon the humans who formed the Federation. Yet this person, who calls himself ’Shepherd,’ can actually use his ability to fight back against the Fire Thief... Does this mean something?"
Hearing this, the others looked at each other, most of them unconvinced.
"Director, aren’t you overthinking it? This Shepherd is just lucky. In every previous Apocalypse Rule, haven’t there always been people who got through easily with special items or abilities?"
"That’s right. His ’Power of Rupture’ just happens to work on the Earth Vein Pillar. We can’t really say he’s confronting the Fire Thief itself."
Unlike the others, Zhang Minglu became thoughtful after hearing Gao Liangwei’s words.
’It’s true.’ He also had a faint feeling that this Apocalypse Rule was completely different from the previous ones. This rule seemed aimed at the complete extinction of humanity. Judging by the Fire Thief’s past methods, it shouldn’t have become so radical all of a sudden. It really did feel like a punishment.
He thought, ’Perhaps the Director is right. This "Shepherd’s" ability isn’t that simple. The so-called "Power of Rupture" is just his side of the story; what his true ability is remains unclear.’
’If this person truly possesses the power to contend with the Fire Thief, then did the Director’s signal for me to immediately agree to give him the items that increase Psychic Power limits mean he wants to get on his good side?’ Zhang Minglu slowly began to grasp Gao Liangwei’s line of thinking.