Chapter 395 - 361: Decision Announcement

Chapter 395: Chapter 361: Decision Announcement

With one hour remaining before the Fire Thief’s three-hour deadline, everyone who had purchased the information received the details of the hidden rule from Guan Tong.

After learning the information, nearly every buyer couldn’t help but cry that they had been ripped off.

The hidden rule for this challenge was that one could backstab their own teammates. While this information was important for individuals, it wasn’t particularly valuable to these buyers.

Each buyer represented a nation or a major organization, which meant they could quickly gather vast amounts of information regardless.

Once the challenge officially began, news of teammates backstabbing each other would likely have been discovered by these major powers very quickly.

It seemed as if the five hundred thousand Sublimation Coins had been wasted just to learn this information a little early.

But complaining about being ripped off was one thing; deep down, they knew they would still have to buy the information next time.

Many "big shots" were teamed up with their elite guards twenty-four hours a day. If they hadn’t bought the information in advance and only found out sometime after the rules were announced, they would surely break out in a cold sweat.

No matter how small the probability, this hidden rule made it a real possibility for a guard to backstab their charge.

After receiving the information, the various factions finally began to make their decisions.

The Soloma Empire was the first to issue an official statement, declaring that it would not interfere with the choices of its domestic Ascenders. Whether they chose to discard the Invitation Letter or remain and become a "Competitor" after the hour was up, it was their individual right.

However, this didn’t mean that Competitors who chose to participate could freely fight and kill each other within the cities to seize points. Anyone who wanted to compete against others had to first register with a specific government department, after which their name would be added to a competition roster.

All Ascenders on the competition roster would be officially scheduled to compete in public matches at the Capital’s national open-air stadium.

Non-Competitors who wished to attend and watch would have to pay a fee based on their seat location, with prices ranging from 50 to 600 Sublimation Coins. For those unable to attend in person, an online livestream would also be available.

As soon as Soloma’s decision was announced, Ascenders across the globe who had been following the situation went into an uproar. Social media platforms were flooded with outrage.

"Who proposed this idea and got it approved? They’re absolute animals! Making people pay to watch their own countrymen slaughter each other?!"

"Talk about a genius at making a quick buck."

"I actually really want to go see it live. It’s gotta be way more thrilling than staying home and watching a movie."

"People will die in these matches! Are people really going to spend Sublimation Coins to watch murder?!"

"I wouldn’t even watch if people didn’t die. That’s no fun."

"Anyone hear about that blasting maniac on the dark web? Heard he used his powers to blow up a ton of people, and the videos sold like hotcakes. Shows you how many people want to watch this kind of stuff."

"Let them kill each other. Soloma’s population is already small. I say they’ll kill themselves off sooner or later."

"What a bunch of morons. Are they that eager to die? I’m just gonna play it safe and forfeit. I’ll lay low until digital life technology is a reality, back up my memories, and then I’ll go wild."

While Soloma’s shocking decision sparked immense controversy, other nations also began to announce their official responses to the new rule.

Unlike with previous rules, the member states of the Human Federation did not act in unison this time. Each country’s situation was different, making a unified strategy impossible.

North Star subsequently made its own official announcement.

They would not interfere with the choices of their domestic Ascenders but encouraged them to keep their Invitation Letters and become Competitors.

The government would do everything in its power to ensure the safety of every Competitor. For the next seven days, private fighting and killing to steal points were strictly prohibited. Anyone discovered doing so would be punished for murder, a capital offense.

Judging by North Star’s official declaration, it seemed that after weighing their options, they had ultimately decided to forgo having their domestic Ascenders compete for the ranking rewards.

This cautious approach garnered widespread public support. The comments were almost unanimously positive, with only a few voices of dissent.

"This is great! With the government’s guarantee, we don’t have to worry about being killed for becoming a Competitor."

"Yeah. If you don’t forfeit, you’re afraid of being killed, but forfeiting lowers your Psychic Power cap... This policy is so much better."

"This is a decision that truly considers the well-being of the majority."

"But doesn’t this mean we can’t compete for the rankings against foreign Ascenders? What a shame... and we have the most Ascenders of any country in the world..."

"To the commenter above, you think getting into the top ten thousand is easy? If you want to compete so badly, you can leave the country, or go to some remote backwater and fight it out with illegal organizations and mercenaries!"

Less than ten minutes after North Star’s announcement, Sisiya issued its own declaration.

First, their government would also do its best to protect Ascenders who chose to become Competitors.

Second, any Competitors who wanted to vie for the rankings could register with a government department and then proceed to a designated location to compete against other registrants... However, this process would be completely private, and they would never turn it into a ticket-selling, livestreaming business like Soloma.

It seemed Sisiya’s official approach was a middle ground between Soloma’s and North Star’s. It wasn’t as radical and extreme as Soloma’s, nor was it as cautious as North Star’s.

Sisiya’s approach had both supporters and detractors, but neither side was very vocal, as Soloma and North Star had already captured most of the public’s attention.

Apart from these three major powers, the approaches of the smaller nations were largely similar, mostly leaning toward Sisiya’s method.

They would have liked to follow North Star’s lead, but their governments didn’t wield that much control.

Following Soloma’s example was also impossible; the Soloma government possessed terrifyingly powerful automated war machines, which they lacked. Adopting such an extreme approach would likely incite a united opposition from their domestic Ascenders.

...

When the three-hour meeting concluded and the doors to the conference room opened, text displaying a nickname and score had appeared above everyone’s head.

This meant that everyone present had chosen to keep their Invitation Letter for the challenge, becoming Competitors when the three hours were up.

As Yelena exited, Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi, who were waiting nearby, came up to greet her.

Above one of their heads, the text read: Shepherd, 1.

The other read: Tooru, 1.

Clearly, both Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi had changed their nicknames before their Competitor status took effect.

This was especially true for Guan Tong. Although the nickname "Shadow" was incredibly common, used by countless people, his current role was Yelena’s guard. Using the "Shadow" moniker was definitely not an option.

As for "Shepherd," it was a call sign he had used during the previous earthquake rule, and he simply decided to use it as his nickname now.

"You both changed your nicknames," Yelena said. "I wonder if I should change mine, too."

Guan Tong glanced over. The text above her head read: "Ice Frost, 1."

Although he and Yelena had made a deal long ago and he already knew her nickname, seeing it displayed above her head was still somewhat amusing.

"What would you change it to?"

"Hmm..."

Yelena thought seriously for a moment.

"I’ll change it to ’Sword of Sisiya.’ Since I have become the Governor of Sisiya, my sword must be wielded to protect this nation."

"..."

"..."

Both Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi fell silent.

"What, you don’t think it’s good?"

"I think that nickname would be more fitting for your confidante, Sikokun," Guan Tong said. "You’re the Governor. Rather than the ’sword,’ you should be the ’Sword Holder,’ shouldn’t you?"

Yelena paused, slightly taken aback. "That... does make sense. In that case, I won’t change it. I’ll just stick with my old one."

She gave the nickname no more thought and returned to her office with the other two.

"The official policies from all the nations have been announced. Have you seen them?" Yelena sat down and poured a glass of water to soothe her slightly hoarse throat; the three-hour meeting had been quite intense.

Guan Tong leaned against the window. "I saw them online. Aside from Soloma’s ridiculous plan to sell tickets to a live event, the other countries’ policies are more or less the same."

Shangyuan Zi nodded, sharing Guan Tong’s sentiment.

"Soloma has always put profit first, so this isn’t surprising. But as for your home country, Teacher, North Star... to think they would choose to have their Ascenders forgo competing for the rankings."

"It might look like they’ve given up, but that’s not necessarily the case."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"The strict controls only apply to their domestic Ascenders. But don’t forget, there are plenty of North Star Ascenders abroad."

"You mean the North Star Ascender soldiers in the frontier allied forces?" Yelena looked surprised. "Could the task of competing for the rankings be left to them?"

"I just think it’s a possibility. I can’t say for sure."

"...In that case, Teacher, and you, Ms. Shangyuan Zi, what are your plans?"

"We both plan to sit out the competition," Guan Tong said. "We won’t be actively hunting people for points over the next seven days. However, if anyone comes looking for trouble, or tries to harm you, we will not hesitate to act."

Yelena was a bit surprised to hear this, mainly because of Guan Tong.

Few would have expected him, the legendary "Shadow," to sit out this competition. Many must have believed he would be one of the strongest contenders for the top three.

But on second thought, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

"I know you’re not one to kill the innocent, Teacher... but to possess such immense personal power and still choose to sit this out when you have such an advantage—I truly admire that. I doubt anyone else could do the same."

Hearing this, the image of a tall figure in an off-white training uniform surfaced in Guan Tong’s mind. He shook his head. "No, I know someone. She’s incredibly powerful, and I know she would definitely forgo competing for the rankings as well."

Yelena noticed the slight upward curl of Guan Tong’s lips as he spoke of this person. Her curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t press for details.

"This time..."

Before she could finish, Guan Tong, who was standing by the window, saw something. His expression changed. "Look out!"

FWOOSH—BOOM!

CRACKLE-SHATTER!

The explosion shattered the window into a million pieces. Yelena whipped her head around to see a thick shadow forming a barrier at her side, blocking all the flying shards of glass.

"What happened?"

"Someone fired an RPG from a car on the street," Guan Tong said coldly. "Don’t worry. He’s not getting away."

His shadow was far faster than the car. The moment the shot was fired, before the vehicle could even exit the street, the shadow slithered beneath it and transformed, thrusting upward as a Shadow Pillar.

The speeding vehicle was instantly lifted and overturned. The driver and the man holding the rocket launcher were caught completely off guard, pinned beneath the wreckage with panicked expressions.

They struggled to crawl out, only to feel a wave of piercing killing intent wash over them from the front. They looked up and saw a man standing before them, the short blade in his hand glinting with a cold, sharp light.