Chapter 5: Chapter 5: People Are the Foundation of Everything "We’re forbidden from going outside now..."
Fang Qian finished reading the notice. ’Good thing I left early,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to get to Guan Tong’s place after the announcement.’
The thought of having to endure these 72 hours all alone at home was terrifying.
Fang Qian looked over at Guan Tong and saw him frowning. She asked curiously, "Guan Tong, what’s wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Of course, Guan Tong wasn’t about to mention the hidden rule.
It was a rule that harmed others for one’s own gain. He would never use it himself, nor would he spread it.
"Fang Qian, are you hungry? It’s about time for lunch."
"Ah..."
Fang Qian glanced at the clock on the wall. Without realizing it, it was already 12 PM.
She hadn’t felt it until Guan Tong mentioned it, but now she realized she was a little hungry. This was when she usually ate lunch.
"A little... But didn’t the official recommendation say that staying hungry helps maintain alertness?"
"Then we’ll just eat until we’re about half-full," Guan Tong said. "Staying hungry doesn’t mean skipping meals entirely. Otherwise, what if you don’t fall asleep from exhaustion but faint from low blood sugar instead? That would be putting the cart before the horse."
Fang Qian smiled. "You have a point. Should I cook then?"
"You can make dinner. I’ll handle lunch."
After saying that, Guan Tong went into the kitchen. Just then, Fang Qian’s phone suddenly rang.
BEEP BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP BEEP.
It was a video call. Fang Qian glanced at it and immediately answered. Two of the most familiar faces she knew appeared on the screen.
"Dad! Mom!"
"Qianqian, how are you? Are you okay?" Fang Qian’s mother was fraught with worry. "I’m so sorry, your father and I really can’t come back..."
"It’s okay, Mom. I’m fine."
"Qianqian, where are you?" Fang Qian’s father, however, noticed from the wall behind his daughter that she wasn’t at home and immediately asked.
"Dad, I... I’m at a classmate’s house right now. He’s also alone, and since the official recommendation said that staying with others helps maintain alertness, I came to find him..."
"Your classmate is home alone too? That’s good, then." Her father nodded. "You did the right thing, Qianqian."
"Mom, Dad, how are things on your end?"
"We’re at the research institute. The government has already gathered researchers from various fields to study the Apocalypse Rules and figure out how to deal with them. We have to go to a meeting soon... Qianqian, you have to hold on and not fall asleep, you hear me!"
"I know, Dad. You and Mom have to hang in there too..."
After the call ended, Fang Qian’s eyes were red.
She didn’t know if she and her parents would all make it through these 72 hours. But worrying was useless; all she could do was take care of herself.
However, what her parents said on the phone—that the government had gathered researchers to start studying the Apocalypse Rules—gave Fang Qian a glimmer of hope.
If all the scientists and scholars could work together to understand what the Apocalypse Rules were and what kind of being the Fire Thief was, then maybe everyone could be saved...
Before long, Guan Tong had prepared a simple lunch.
There were two dishes—scrambled eggs with tomato and stir-fried green peppers with eggplant—along with a small bowl of rice for each of them.
"Guan Tong, I didn’t know you were such a good cook," Fang Qian said after a few bites. "This is way better than my cooking."
"Is that so? Then you can eat more after we survive this rule."
"Deal! Oh, right, my parents called just now. They said they’ve received an official notice to gather professionals from all fields to study countermeasures for the Apocalypse Rules."
Guan Tong asked, "Do your parents think they’ll get any results?"
"They didn’t say." Fang Qian shook her head. "I hope so... That Fire Thief said there are forty-nine Apocalypse Rules in total! If every single one is this difficult, humanity is in for a terrible time."
"Yeah."
They talked as they finished lunch. Around 1 PM, they both glanced at the countdown timer in the sky.
67:52:49
Although it had only been a little over four hours since the countdown began, a sense of fatigue was already starting to creep in.
As the saying goes, "Drowsy in spring, weary in autumn, and napping in summer." It was currently April, the peak of "spring drowsiness." Moreover, most high school students were used to taking a nap at noon. After a morning of intense classes, they usually took a short rest to recover their energy.
Without a doubt, this napping habit had now become a source of danger.
Fang Qian and Guan Tong decided to watch a couple of episodes of a fast-paced TV show to get through their usual hour-long nap time.
Guan Tong turned on the TV, and Fang Qian suggested screen-casting from a video app on her phone, since it had a wider selection.
"Hold on, I need to subscribe to a membership first," Fang Qian said.
Guan Tong guessed, "Do you still need a membership? I bet all the major platforms are free right now."
"Ah... Huh? You’re right!"
Fang Qian opened the app and discovered that all the content was indeed free to watch, without even needing to log into an account!