Inside the Countermeasures Research Office, in the meeting room.
After the rule was announced, everyone sat there stunned, all heads turning simultaneously, their gazes fixed on the metal door of the meeting room.
A new rule taking effect immediately upon release meant that closed meeting room door, when it opened again, would lead not to the base corridor, but to some random spatial location?
“This... how could this happen...”
One attendee stood up frantically, his expression panicked as he looked at the others.
“If that’s the case, can we even go out anymore? Do we have to stay in this meeting room for the entire Rule Period?!”
“...”
Everyone fell into silence and deep thought.
A physics expert, however, was different from the rest. After hearing the rule, his eyes lit up, and he appeared exceptionally excited.
“Everyone, look on the bright side—this new rule proves that Spatial Folding technology really exists! And judging by the Fire Thief’s notes in the rule, many intelligent civilizations in the universe have already mastered this technology, which can be used for interstellar travel!”
In the past, humanity had held no hope whatsoever for “interstellar travel.” Even traveling from one star to another within the same star system was incredibly difficult—it would take countless generations to achieve, let alone crossing between galaxies.
But ever since the Fire Thief descended, although humanity felt despair over this massive catastrophe, it was also like gaining a Heavenly Eye, vastly expanding the boundaries of cognition.
From then on, humanity confirmed that the universe contained all kinds of intelligent civilizations, the mysterious Star Sea Court, and the “Mind Power”—a wondrous substance suspected to be some kind of universal energy.
Now, through this rule, humanity had confirmed the existence of Spatial Folding technology and the possibility of interstellar travel, undoubtedly pushing cognitive boundaries even further.
The physics expert continued excitedly, “If our human civilization could also master this technology, wouldn’t we become an interstellar civilization! Being able to freely travel between galaxies—it’s like a dream.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd was not moved by his beautiful vision; instead, their expressions turned strange, and some even looked disdainful.
One person poured cold water on the idea: “Don’t forget, the notes also said that most intelligent civilizations were destroyed before this technology was fully developed!”
“Exactly. If researching this technology requires constantly ‘opening and closing doors,’ and if there might be great danger behind the door... this is undoubtedly a technology that requires a lot of luck to research successfully!”
“And is interstellar travel really a good thing for humanity? What if you run into an evil civilization?...”
“Everyone should still remember the ‘Demon Race’ mentioned in the [Crimson Gaze] rule, right? That astronaut who was possessed said the Demon Race would come back to retaliate against humanity. If that Demon civilization has mastered interstellar travel, then humanity is doomed...”
Hearing someone link “Demon Race” and “interstellar travel” in the same discussion, everyone felt a chill down their spines—this was indeed a potential crisis.
“Alright, let’s stop discussing technical issues for now.” Gao Liangwei spoke up. “The immediate priority is how to solve the current predicament.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. It wasn’t just that researching Spatial Folding required luck—even they themselves needed luck right now.
Should they open the meeting room door? Where would it lead after opening?
Li Meng said cautiously, “I don’t think we should open the door lightly. If the door randomly opens to a dangerous area, it could threaten everyone’s lives here.”
“That’s right.” Someone immediately supported the statement. “What if the door opens to, say, the depths of the Earth’s crust? When the door opens, a massive amount of magma would pour in—wouldn’t we all be burned to death?”
But staying in the meeting room forever wasn’t an option either.
“If we don’t open the door, are we supposed to stay in this meeting room for a whole month? What about work? What about food? And there are all sorts of other problems.”
Many people nodded in agreement.
Those gathered for the meeting were all department heads, carrying heavy responsibilities. If they failed to show up for the entire Rule Period, work in their respective departments might come to a halt.
The Countermeasures Research Office maintained close contact with official departments across the Beixing region. Local Emergency Management Bureaus and other agencies had to receive real-time guidance from the Countermeasures Research Office.
If the Countermeasures Research Office suddenly shut down and couldn’t function, local official departments would also be left without leadership, greatly reducing efficiency.
“Work can be directed via remote communication, and food can be purchased using item-type food.” Zhang Minglu said. “And if we want to leave safely, it’s not impossible—we can just use teleportation-type items.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up at that.
Indeed, if they couldn’t go out through the door, they could use teleportation-type items, set coordinates, and still get out.
But there were still many problems with this approach. Even if they had enough teleportation-type items, where would they teleport to?
If they teleported to the base entrance, they would face the same problem of a randomly located door.
If they teleported to their own offices, they would still have to go through doors to get out.
...In short, the biggest problem was the sheer number of doors.
This wasn’t just the base’s problem—it was a problem for all of humanity.
Wherever humans lived in concentrated groups, whether for convenience, privacy, or safety, there would always be many, many doors.
In peacetime, an average three-bedroom apartment had nearly ten doors. In the apocalypse rule era, although official shelters had fewer doors, the number was still considerable.
“For those groups surviving in the wild, this rule is a godsend.” Someone couldn’t help but say enviously.
“Yeah, those people have the sky as their ceiling and the ground as their bed—they don’t need any doors.”
“It’s not just wilderness survivors. Anyone who was outdoors when the rule was released will have the advantage and can move freely.”
Gao Liangwei listened for a while, then suddenly suggested, “What if we don’t open the door, but instead directly destroy the wall to get out? Would that trigger the rule?”
Everyone was stunned.
Li Meng pushed up his glasses: “This... might be feasible? Because the rule clearly states that only physical entrance/exit doors with ‘open/close’ functionality will produce Spatial Folding effects.
Walls themselves don’t have ‘open/close’ functionality and don’t fit the definition of a door. If we smash the wall or drill a hole to crawl through, we might be able to bypass the rule!”
Everyone perked up at that.
If they could exploit this loophole, they could certainly avoid the potential danger of random spatial folding.
But one expert couldn’t help saying, “This base was built with the highest-grade materials, incredibly sturdy. Making holes in the walls everywhere won’t be easy, and repairing them afterward will be a huge hassle...”
“At a time like this, who cares about that? Getting through this rule safely is what matters most!”
“Yeah. But to be safe, let’s contact people outside first and have them test it in another room. Once it succeeds, we can follow suit... After all, Head Gao is here, and we can’t afford any accidents.”
Everyone nodded, though some secretly cast contemptuous glances at the suggester.
They said they were worried about Gao Liangwei having an accident, but really they were just afraid the experiment would fail and they’d lose their own lives. So they wanted their subordinates to try first.
Zhang Minglu spoke up then: “Head, I suggest we don’t rush into anything. First, establish communication with all departments. Then wait and see if the Administrator over at Ascendant Home has any hidden intelligence for sale. We’ll decide based on the content.”
“Do as Dr. Zhang says.” Gao Liangwei said.
Inside the Wordless Book shelter.
After the new rule was released, Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi stared at each other.
Guan Tong: “This rule...”
“Seems quite suitable for my secluded meditation.” Shi Jingyi finished his sentence.
Guan Tong nodded. That was exactly right.
Shi Jingyi needed to go into secluded meditation, and she could stay in one place without moving for a long time. This rule would definitely not affect her.
She just had to stay in this shelter, complete her secluded meditation, and come out when the rule period ended.
“If that’s the case, I’ll start now.”
Shi Jingyi said as she sat down cross-legged on the clean floor of the second floor.
“Xiao Tong, be careful during this rule period.”
“I know. Just focus on your secluded meditation and go get that Authority Fruit.”
Shi Jingyi nodded slightly, closed her eyes, and soon her breathing became calm and long, entering a deep state of meditation where she lost all awareness of self and surroundings.
Guan Tong watched her slip into that state in just a few seconds, inwardly marveling at why she was the number one martial artist in this world. That ability to instantly enter meditation was simply unbeatable.
But he also knew this was because Shi Jingyi trusted him completely, feeling that secluded meditation here was absolutely safe with no worries, allowing her to devote herself fully to it.
Guan Tong watched her for a while, then tiptoed downstairs.
During Shi Jingyi’s secluded meditation, he planned not to go up to the second floor, so he wouldn’t accidentally disturb her.
Looking at the few doors on the first floor, he knew that inside his own shelter, these “doors” were unaffected by the rule. But doors outside the shelter were different.
“The space behind the door is random... this is indeed dangerous.”
Guan Tong thought to himself. If it was completely random, the odds of the location being in the ocean were very high.
Three-quarters of Tianshui Star’s surface was covered by the ocean. That meant opening any random door would most likely lead to the ocean.
When the door opened, a massive amount of seawater would pour in... definitely not safe.
But even more dangerous than opening a natural disaster “blind box” was opening the door to someone else’s home.
That’s right—what if, when they opened the door, they ended up in someone else’s house?
If the other person was a dangerous Ascendant, it would be like a lamb walking into the tiger’s mouth.
If he could freely choose where the door led, Guan Tong would love to open a door directly to Bruce or Han Qiu’s house. That would save a lot of trouble.
Beyond that, there was another question: Did the space behind the door only include locations on Tianshui Star?
If the door could lead to outer space, or even other planets, that would be even more absurd.
If the ocean covered three-quarters of Tianshui Star, then the vast, boundless space likely occupied more than ninety percent of the universe. Most of the universe was empty—maybe nothing but dark matter.
“...I’d better check the hidden rules first.”
Guan Tong didn’t think he could figure it out just by thinking. He obediently opened the Terminal Panel to check the hidden rule.
[Hidden Rule Twenty-Five: The Luck of Nothing Happening]
[Hidden Rule Content: During the rule period, if you open any door and the space behind it remains exactly as it normally would—without any Spatial Folding—you will receive a ‘Coordinate Resonance Anchor.’ This anchor can be consumed to bind with any one door. Once bound, that door will be permanently and stably connected to normal space, no longer participating in any random spatial folding.]
[Note: When you push open a door and find everything behind it just as it should be, you are already that one-in-a-million lucky person—don’t laugh, you have no idea how frequently random events occur on a cosmic scale. For some civilizations, even having a stable star is an extravagant hope.]