North Star, Strategy Research Room base.
In the conference room, the department heads, led by Director-General Gao Liangwei, had gathered. They were waiting for the new rule to be announced, ready to begin discussions immediately if the situation warranted it.
As the time drew near, the calm expressions on their faces could not hide their inner tension.
Even though they had been through so many rounds of these rules, their bodies still trembled involuntarily whenever a new one was announced.
It was the instinct of an animal facing imminent danger, and humans, for all their sophistication, were no exception.
Gao Liangwei rested his chin on his crossed hands, his face expressionless. He said nothing.
Amidst the tense atmosphere, the voice of the Fire Thief arrived right on schedule.
[The eighteenth Apocalypse Rule has been released]
[Apocalypse Rule Eighteen: Microplastic Invasion]
[Rule Content: During the Rule Stage, the toxic effects of environmental microplastics on the human body will be significantly enhanced. Contact with items containing microplastics will cause accelerated organ failure. This rule will be in effect for thirty days.]
[Success Reward: 1000 Sublimation Coins; Survival Chest: Silver Level]
[Failure Penalty: None]
[Note: Did you know? On the Star Sea Court’s list of pollutants, the contamination rating for microplastics surpasses even that of radioactive fallout.]
...
After the rule was announced, the entire conference room fell into a brief, deathly silence.
Then, an academician specializing in environmental science shot to his feet in a panic. "The toxicity of microplastics significantly enhanced? Are you kidding me?! Humanity is living in a world of plastic!"
Once the silence was broken, the conference room immediately erupted in an uproar.
Some people had yet to realize the severity of this rule, but the environmental academician kicked his comfortable chair aside and yelled, "The chairs are made of artificial leather! They’re covered with polyester fabric! These are classic plastic products!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, the others scrambled to their feet, moving away from their chairs.
Someone else started taking off his jacket, shouting, "My clothes are made of synthetic fibers! They must have microplastics too! Ah, I can’t get it off! Quick, give me a hand!"
"You’re still drinking bottled water? Throw that plastic bottle away!"
"The cap on that marker in your hand is plastic too!"
There were too many plastic items around them. Gripped by the fear of enhanced microplastic toxicity, the conference room descended into chaos.
Seeing the situation, Gao Liangwei barked, "Everyone, calm down!"
At the sound of his voice, the crowd instantly found their anchor. Looking at their unfazed director, they calmed down slightly.
Gao Liangwei said in a low voice, "The rule says the toxicity of microplastics is enhanced, but it doesn’t say it’s strong enough to kill a person instantly. What are you all panicking about?"
The attendees looked at each other. He had a point, but who knew just how much the toxicity had been enhanced? If it could cause organ failure in a matter of minutes, or even tens of minutes, then wouldn’t every second count?
Fortunately, Gao Liangwei realized this as well. Without wasting any time, he immediately gave an order: "Everyone, leave the conference room at once. Remove all plastic items from your persons, then move to the metal-structured room in the base to continue the meeting."
To cope with the various disasters the Apocalypse Rules might bring, the Strategy Research Room base had been built with a large number of shelter rooms, all designed with different functions and materials.
Now that the new rule had been announced and the toxicity of microplastics was greatly enhanced, rooms built from pure metal or other purely natural materials were relatively safer.
The attendees left the conference room in an orderly fashion. After quickly changing out of their plastic-based items (mainly their clothes), they reconvened in a room made entirely of metal.
There was no furniture in this room, only a few solid wood chairs that had been hastily found. Since there weren’t enough to go around, no one felt it was right to sit, so they all stood. Even so, everyone knew that staying here couldn’t prevent them from inhaling microplastics—they had long since spread throughout the air.
Everyone had now changed into a set of pure cotton clothes. Because they had changed in such a hurry, many of the outfits bore funny cartoon characters that children would like—as many of these cotton garments had been prepared for the minors at the base.
But at this moment, no one was in the mood to laugh.
"The meeting will continue. Academician Qian, you’re the environmental expert. You have the floor."
After Gao Liangwei’s announcement, the same environmental expert who had kicked his chair over earlier immediately launched into a tirade, a look of absolute horror on his face as he spoke.
"Mr. Gao, everyone! This rule is terrifying! In my opinion, it’s more terrifying than many of the previous survival-type rules! The reason is... it’s because there’s just so, so much of this ’microplastic’ stuff!"
"Our food, clothing, housing, and transportation... Let’s not even talk about clothing! All kinds of synthetic fibers are ultimately plastics! Even the pure cotton clothes we’re wearing now—the thread, the buttons, the tags—are made of plastic or have a plastic coating!"
"And food? Even more so! Forget about just bottled water; microplastics have long since permeated any processed food with plastic packaging! Even meat and fish... Has everyone here seen the documentaries about plastic pollution in the oceans? With the exception of a few deep-sea fish, most other seafood contains microplastics!"
"Then there’s housing! The plastic in our rooms is countless. Composite flooring, carpets, wallpaper, wall paint—which of these doesn’t contain large amounts of plastic? Chairs, tables, even the casings of various electronic devices and the sheathing on cables are all made of plastic!"
Academician Qian grew more and more agitated as he spoke, his face a mask of complete despair by the end.
"—In short, plastic surrounds human life just like the air we breathe! No, the microplastics that shed from many plastic products already fill the air itself. We could be inhaling a small amount with every breath we take. And now that hateful Fire Thief has used a rule to drastically increase its toxicity... it’s trying to exterminate us!!!"