Chapter 197: Chapter 187: Hidden Rule 11 Shortly after the rules were announced, while the Human Federation was meeting to discuss countermeasures, many ordinary people flocked to the Ascender’s Home website to leave messages and post.
"Webmaster! Is there any hidden intelligence on this new rule?!"
"If we can’t do anything about the magnitude 10 earthquake, I feel like humanity is really done for..."
"Our current shelters will be destroyed, won’t they? Are they going to organize an evacuation to higher ground soon?"
"Higher ground is useless, unless you can get to a space station in low-earth orbit."
"Speaking of which, didn’t commercial space travel used to be a thing? If we take a rocket to space at the end of the month, we should be able to avoid the earthquake, right? I wonder how many people they can take?"
"Forget about escaping to space. Even if it were possible, only a select few would get the chance. It’ll never be an option for ordinary people."
"The Human Federation is meeting right now, aren’t they? Let’s hope they come up with a solution..."
"It’s not that simple. You can tell just by looking at the rewards. This is the first time a Golden Level Survival Treasure Chest has appeared. The danger is definitely greater than any previous survival-type rule."
"Why hasn’t the Webmaster shown up yet?"
Guan Tong, the Webmaster in whom everyone had placed their hopes, was currently staring at the hidden rule.
He had been staring at it for a minute or two, somewhat dazed.
[Hidden Rule Eleven: Earth Vein Pillar]
[Content: When the earthquake erupts, an Earth Vein Pillar will appear at the epicenter. Ascenders who make contact with it can connect themselves to the Pillar. This will continuously consume their maximum Psychic Power cap to reduce the destruction caused by the earthquake.]
[Note: To protect their homes and civilization, to ensure the continuation of the entire species, is humanity willing to make the necessary sacrifices? If so, who will pay the price?]
’Earth Vein Pillar... reducing the earthquake’s destructive power by consuming one’s Psychic Power cap...’
This hidden rule felt to Guan Tong like drinking poison to quench his thirst.
Ascenders worldwide had already reached a consensus on the importance of Psychic Power. Unless it was a last resort, none of them would ever be willing to accept its decline or loss.
But this "poisoned chalice" had to be drunk. Anyone could see that not drinking it meant dying of thirst anyway—if they allowed a magnitude 10 earthquake to unleash its full destructive power, human civilization was at genuine risk of complete annihilation.
The problem was that the amount of one’s Psychic Power cap the Earth Vein Pillar would consume, and how much it would reduce the earthquake’s destructive power, were both unknown. If it required a massive amount of Psychic Power, draining a single person dry would be nowhere near enough.
Even without any tests, Guan Tong guessed that significantly reducing the earthquake’s destructive power would absolutely require a great number of Ascenders to make a sacrifice.
That led to the questions raised in the rule’s note: Who would make the sacrifice? Who would pay the price?
Guan Tong asked himself, ’Am I willing to go?’ If the Earth Vein Pillar didn’t absorb much, he could accept it. ’But if it would drain an Ascender’s Psychic Power cap in one go, can I really accept that?’
He had spent over a year raising his Psychic Power cap to its current 325 points. If it were wiped out in an instant, most of his items and abilities would become unusable. His power would immediately plummet from the world’s top ranks to the very bottom.
’But if a powerful Ascender like me doesn’t lead by example, won’t the average Ascenders be even more resistant? Won’t they think that when the sky falls, it’s up to the tall to hold it up?’
If disputes and conflicts erupted over the selection process, forcing a solution, it would undoubtedly create a schism and deal a massive blow to the newly formed Human Federation. Moreover, there was no guarantee that a forced measure would even be effective.
Guan Tong knew this wasn’t a problem for one person to ponder. It was something all of humanity had to consider and decide on together.
That was why he decided not to sell this piece of intelligence. He didn’t want the final decision of who to sacrifice to be made by a few powerful individuals behind closed doors.
So, ten minutes later, he published a post in the intelligence section.
In the post, he revealed the existence of the "Earth Vein Pillar." He explained that any Ascender who made contact with it would suffer a loss of their Psychic Power cap in exchange for reducing the earthquake’s destructive power.
The moment the post was published, it triggered a massive debate.
Countless users had been watching for any activity from the Webmaster, Guan Tong, wondering if he would sell secret intelligence this time, as he had on the previous two occasions.
But to everyone’s surprise, the Webmaster didn’t post anything for sale in the "Webmaster Realm." Instead, he published the information for free in the public intelligence section.
Its popularity immediately skyrocketed, flooded with countless comments and replies.
"Earth Vein Pillar??? What the hell is that?!"
"So, according to this intel, if we don’t want to go extinct, we have to sacrifice the Psychic Power of some Ascenders?"
"Is it *just* sacrificing Psychic Power? Read it again! The Webmaster’s intel says the Earth Vein Pillar appears at the epicenter! The epicenter is the most dangerous place to be during an earthquake, isn’t it?!"
"Exactly. The epicenter of a high-magnitude earthquake is bound to have massive fissures and faults. If you decide to go there and make contact with the Earth Vein Pillar, you won’t just lose your Psychic Power cap, you’ll probably die in the epicenter zone..."
"Are you kidding me? That’s way too dangerous! Who would go?!"
"If nobody goes, we all die! The only difference will be our place of death. If we don’t find a way to weaken a magnitude 10 earthquake, it’s powerful enough to wipe out all of humanity!"
"The intel from the Webmaster is too vague! How many people would it take? How much would it weaken the destruction? There are no concrete numbers!"
"The Webmaster probably doesn’t know the specifics himself. I doubt he’d hide anything when the survival of humanity is at stake."
"We’ll probably have to wait for the Human Federation to send out experts to get concrete data. I bet they’ll try to collect data and run tests during the first few lower-magnitude earthquakes to prepare for the final magnitude 9 and 10 quakes."
Amidst the heated public discussion, the intelligence Guan Tong had released quickly reached various organizations and groups. The Human Federation, upon learning of it, swiftly reached a consensus.
The thirty-four member nations unanimously agreed that a two-pronged approach was necessary for this rule.
On one hand, they had to respond proactively, using every method available to mitigate and evade the disasters brought by the earthquakes, ensuring the survival of as many people as possible.
On the other hand, they also had to prepare for failure. If humanity failed to overcome this rule, what would be preserved? Would humanity have to suffer the same fate as the Alien Beast Civilization of Qimo Star, having its history recorded by a destroyer like the Fire Thief?
This was something humanity could not accept. Therefore, the Human Federation decided to have a dedicated cultural preservation department create multiple digital backups of civilization’s records. These would be stored in various locations around the world, with a portion sent into space via rocket.
Regardless, surviving this rule was the most urgent priority. After deliberations, the representatives made several decisions.
First, all member nations were to immediately shut down and neutralize their nuclear power facilities to prevent widespread nuclear leakage from the earthquakes, which would create massive secondary environmental disasters.
Second were the arrangements for evacuation and relocation. People in regions prone to tsunamis had to be moved. The most anxious nations regarding this issue were several island countries, represented by the Sakura Prayer nation.
The natural disaster these island nations feared most was, without a doubt, a massive earthquake. If the magnitude 10 earthquake was ultimately unavoidable, their home islands would very likely be torn apart and sink beneath a super-tsunami.
"We have no choice but a nationwide relocation! We will need the help of all nations in this process!"
The representative from the Sakura Prayer nation spoke unequivocally. They could not, under any circumstances, remain on their islands and await their doom when they knew a massive earthquake was coming. They had to find a path to survival for their tens of millions of people.
A transportation effort for a population in the tens of millions was impossible for the Sakura Prayer nation to complete on its own within a month. It had to rely on help from other countries.
Now that the Human Federation was established, the other nations naturally wouldn’t stand idly by.
Inland countries, represented by North Star and Soloma, expressed their willingness to assist with the relocation, but a destination needed to be decided upon as soon as possible.
Over the past year, the world had shrunk from over three hundred countries to just thirty-four. The scale of the population that had vanished was immense. The demise of these people and nations also meant that their lands were now empty, available for the few island nations to immigrate to.
The other inland nations had no objections. At this point, territorial disputes were no longer a priority. With humanity’s very continuation in question, no one had the energy to squabble over a piece of land.
Finally, the discussion turned to the intelligence Guan Tong had made public.
"What we can confirm is that none of the intelligence this Webmaster has released has been wrong. It has all been verified," Gao Liangwei said. "While there may be omissions or missing details, it doesn’t affect the accuracy of what has been published."
"Our experts propose that during the first few lower-magnitude earthquakes, as soon as our instruments detect an eruption, we immediately dispatch teams of Ascenders to find the Earth Vein Pillars and conduct contact tests.
Through these tests, we will obtain concrete data on Psychic Power consumption and the corresponding reduction in seismic destruction. We will then compile the data collected by all nations, build a model, and have an AI analyze it. This will allow us to predict the amount of Psychic Power and the number of Ascenders required to effectively weaken the final magnitude 8, 9, and 10 earthquakes."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
The representatives of the other thirty-three nations raised their hands one after another, voting to approve the North Star Country’s proposal.
After the remote conference ended, Gao Liangwei leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples forcefully.
Several consecutive hours of high-intensity discussion had been a test of every committee member’s physical and mental stamina. As the chairman, it required an extra toll on his energy.
But he had no time to rest. The devastating magnitude 10 earthquake would arrive on the thirtieth of the month. Until then, not a single second could be wasted.
He picked up the phone. "Notify all department heads to meet in the conference room... Also, call Zhou Qinfeng, the dean of the Psychic Power Development Academy. Ask him to come and join the meeting."