The news that the store’s boxes were limited in quantity triggered a panic-buying frenzy among the Ascenders.

Even some who didn’t need them at the moment bought one or two just to stock up.

This was driven, in part, by anxiety.

What would happen if the boxes sold out? Would the store restock? If they were permanently removed after selling out, what would they do if the Fire Thief issued a similar "fasting" rule later on?

Driven by this anxiety and fear, the food boxes sold at an incredible speed. Three hours later, only a little over six million remained in the store—an average of over a million sold per hour!

The frenzy was so intense that the Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room issued a statement on its official account.

The Research Room posted an article advising Ascenders to "buy as needed." They urged people not to purchase out of excessive fear or a herd mentality.

Not only would this waste hard-earned Sublimation Coins, but it could also prevent Ascenders in desperate need from acquiring them later. They hoped the Ascender community would remain rational and think calmly.

As an organization established under the leadership of the North Star Country government, any statement or suggestion published by the Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room was essentially an official appeal.

In the end, however, how Ascenders spent their Sublimation Coins was their own business. The government could only offer advice; it had neither the right nor the ability to enforce any requirements.

By evening, only three million food boxes were left.

Guan Tong stopped paying much attention at this point, going to bed early to conserve energy.

He had bought a total of four food boxes and had used three of them, but he didn’t plan on using the last one.

So for the remainder of the Rule Stage, he adopted a low-energy lifestyle.

No going out, no doing anything, no overthinking—just sleeping whenever he had nothing else to do.

During this time, Xu Xiaotian came to see him once. He asked if he should proactively go to the police station to give a statement, since they hadn’t contacted him.

Guan Tong told him to decide for himself.

After some thought, Xu Xiaotian decided it was better to let sleeping dogs lie. Since the police weren’t looking for him, he didn’t want to go outside.

The terrifying experience of being kidnapped had left him with considerable trauma that likely wouldn’t fade anytime soon.

And so, the final days of the Rule Stage passed quietly while Guan Tong did nothing.

At 9:00 a.m. on May 29, the third Apocalypse Rule’s Rule Stage officially ended.

The Fire Thief’s voice arrived once again, right on schedule and punctual to the second.

[The Rule Stage has ended.]

[Congratulations on passing the test of the third Apocalypse Rule.]

[Rewards have been sent to your Storage.]

[The Sublimation Store has been stocked with new items. Please check your personal terminal.]

[The fourth Apocalypse Rule will be announced in three days.]

Guan Tong opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and picked up a carton of milk from his nightstand to drink.

After not eating for several days, he was incredibly hungry. But gorging himself on a rich, heavy meal right away would likely harm his body.

That was why he’d prepared high-energy foods like milk and chocolate on his nightstand, ready to tide him over as soon as the rule ended.

’A new rule in just three days? The interval between these two rules is surprisingly short.’

Guan Tong sipped his milk through a straw, mulling over the information from the Fire Thief.

He remembered that after the first rule ended, the second one wasn’t announced until fifteen days later.

After the second rule ended, the third was announced thirty days—a full month—later.

It seemed the interval between rules didn’t increase each time. The Fire Thief had just shattered that previously speculated pattern.

’Personal terminal.’

Guan Tong thought the command, and the terminal interface appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Orderkeeper]

[Psychic Power: 119]

[Sublimation Coins: 190]

[Comprehensive Biometric Evaluation: Excellent]

His personal information hadn’t changed much. He hadn’t done much in the way of "Coinage" during the third rule, so his Sublimation Coins had remained at 40. With the recent 150-coin reward, his total was now 190.

The only thing worth noting was his Psychic Power cap of 119.

After the second rule ended, Guan Tong’s Psychic Power cap had been 114.

The third rule was announced after a one-month interval. That month, 30 days, plus the third rule’s 15-day Rule Stage, totaled 45 days.

In those 45 days, his Psychic Power cap had increased by a full 5 points—an average of 1 point every 9 days.

This was much faster than before. Guan Tong recalled that previously, even when he completely exhausted his Psychic Power every single day, it would still take over ten days to raise his cap by a single point.

During this recent period, however, he hadn’t "pushed" his Psychic Power nearly as hard. In fact, during the last few days of the Rule Stage, he hadn’t used a single point of Psychic Power in order to conserve energy.

Despite this, the average time it took to raise his cap had still decreased. This suggested that if he had continued to push himself as relentlessly as before, that average time might have shrunk even further.

At his limit, it might even be possible to raise his Psychic Power cap by 1 point every 7 or 8 days!

’It’s very likely the effects of that [Genetic Optimization Base Liquid] are slowly kicking in.’

Guan Tong thought to himself. ’As expected of a precious item from a [Glory Level] chest.’ It seemed it wasn’t just a one-time boost, but something that would continue to optimize his body over time.

He opened his Storage. Inside, besides the unused [Basic Food Box · Bronze Level] and the [Wordless Book], there was now a ticket with a black background and an emblem of a flaming chalice.

[First Ascender Challenge Invitation Letter]: The holder of this invitation is eligible to participate in the First Ascender Challenge, which will commence after the end of the fifth Apocalypse Rule.

With a thought, Guan Tong summoned the Invitation Letter to his hand. It had the texture of gold foil.

This was the special item, aside from Sublimation Coins, that had been part of the reward for completing the third rule.

’Based on the description, the "First Ascender Challenge" will start after the fifth Apocalypse Rule ends... I wonder what kind of challenge it will be?’

If it was a one-on-one PvP match, Guan Tong felt he’d have a slight advantage.

After all, he could summon his Shadow to fight with him, making it a two-on-one.

However, Guan Tong had never received any combat training; when it came to fighting techniques, he was a blank slate.

It might be a good idea to hire a professional combat instructor for training, if he got the chance.

Guan Tong had considered this before. Making himself stronger also made his Shadow stronger, so finding a skilled and dedicated combat instructor would only be beneficial.

But he wasn’t going to force the issue. For now, his main focus had to be on raising his Psychic Power cap and dealing with the challenges posed by the Apocalypse Rules.

With a wave of his right hand, the Invitation Letter returned to his Storage.

Guan Tong then opened the Sublimation Store on his terminal to check the new items that had been added after the latest rule.

He was now sitting on a "fortune" of 190 Sublimation Coins. If there were any good new arrivals, he could definitely afford a little shopping.