'Psychic Power Development Academy...'
Guan Tong saw the website notification, but he couldn't say he was all that surprised.
Psychic Power was the key to passing the Apocalypse Rules challenges. Many people had surely figured this out, which made improving it crucial.
The fact that the Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room was now planning to establish a specialized academy meant the authorities were getting serious about this.
'But how effective would it be in the form of an academy?'
Guan Tong wasn't so sure.
He felt the academy was more like an organization, one meant to gather people with high Psychic Power.
As for whether gathering them together could actually help individuals accelerate their development and raise their Psychic Power ceiling, that remained to be seen.
Guan Tong himself had no intention of joining. Ever since dropping out of high school, he had discovered that he preferred being on his own, free and unconstrained.
Closing the pop-up, Guan Tong continued to read the white paper.
The two new functions from the personal terminal update had already been included in the new version of the white paper.
To Guan Tong's surprise, the white paper also included detailed information on the three new items available for purchase in the Sublimation Store.
[Beginner's Weapon Box - Bronze Level]: After opening this chest, you may choose one of 32 different melee weapons. According to tests by the Strategy Research Room's professional staff, the chosen weapon can be stored and retrieved from a storage box at any time.
The weapon's material is unknown. Its sharpness is comparable to man-made weapons, and it showed no special properties during impact testing.
[Beginner's Medical Box - Bronze Level]: The Strategy Research Room conducted a total of 21 test openings on this chest. In 5 instances, they received the same medical item, while the other 16 instances yielded different medical items.
The identical medical item from the 5 instances was "Special Pain Relief Pills." After consumption, the body will not feel any pain for 2 hours.
Other items included: Rapid Hemostatic Aerosol, Multi-Function Antidote, Single-Person Scanner, Nerve Acceleration Medicine, and so on.
'This box sure can produce a lot of different things...'
Looking at the long list of medical items that could be obtained from the box, Guan Tong had to admit that the Strategy Research Room, being a government-backed institution, was truly loaded.
Those 21 openings represented a total expenditure of 1680 Sublimation Coins. This was definitely not something one person could afford; it must have been a large group of people.
It was unclear whether these people had contributed voluntarily. Guan Tong felt he certainly wouldn't want to spend 80 Sublimation Coins just to provide a single piece of experimental data.
Still, he was filled with admiration. Without their contributions, he wouldn't have access to this valuable information. If he had the chance in the future, he too would be willing to make whatever contributions he could for the greater good.
He continued reading and saw that the test opening results for the food box were also included.
[Basic Food Box - Bronze Level]: The Strategy Research Room conducted a total of 12 test openings on this chest, and the results were identical all 12 times. The preliminary conclusion is that this chest yields a fixed item.
The fixed item is called "All-Effect Vitality Pills." According to medical analysis and testing, this food can provide about 24 hours of energy and all the necessary nutrients and trace elements required by the human body.
'Hey, this is great.'
Guan Tong's eyes lit up as he read about the effects of the All-Effect Vitality Pills.
After all, one of the daily annoyances for many people was worrying about what to eat, how much to eat, whether they were getting too much of one nutrient or too little of another, and how to eat for the most comprehensive and healthy nutrition.
Some people agonized over this issue to the point of anxiety, which just went to show how big of a deal it was.
But now, all you had to do was buy a Basic Food Box every day, open an "All-Effect Vitality Pill," and eat it. Your food and nutrition worries for the day would be completely gone.
The plan was practically perfect. The only flaw was not having the coins.
A Basic Food Box cost 20 Sublimation Coins. Guan Tong only had 100 coins in total. If he bought one every day, he'd be broke in less than a week.
'I have a feeling this will become standard issue for the big shots later on,' Guan Tong thought. 'If the output of Sublimation Coins increases in the future, or if the big shots find ways to hoard coins, then buying an All-Effect Vitality Pill to eat every day would be so much more convenient than planning three meals a day.'
After reading the details of the three items, Guan Tong scrolled down and took a look at the information regarding the second Apocalypse Rule.
This time, the white paper didn't list a hidden rule, but it did offer the suggestion: "Flexibly utilize Psychic Power tools to reduce the challenge's difficulty." In reality, the hidden rule [Mental Victory] was basically the same thing.
Interestingly, Guan Tong found that the white paper also recorded the top three scores in the world.
When he saw the record "World First, Shadow, Time: 14 seconds," Guan Tong couldn't help but smile.
'I wonder what the third Apocalypse Rule will be a month from now,' Guan Tong thought after closing the white paper.
There was a month until the release of the third rule. He would definitely have to spend this time improving his Psychic Power.
However, he needed to change his training method. For the past twenty-some days, he had been constantly testing "Shadow," running all sorts of experiments.
As a result, he had learned enough about "Shadow" for now. It was unlikely to reveal anything new in the short term.
'So...'
'It's time to turn a new page.'
Guan Tong took out the [Wordless Book] and opened it to the second blank page.
After he had written the two words "Guan Tong" on the first page, a shadow matching his own form and controllable by his will had appeared.
'So what should I write on the second page?'
Guan Tong stared at the blank page, pondering.
'Another person's name? Seems a bit unnecessary...'
Putting aside whether writing someone else's name would even work, there was no point in creating another shadow even if it did.
'One entity like Shadow is enough.'
'Then what should I write?'
Guan Tong agonized for a moment, then shook his head. 'No use overthinking it. I'll just write down what I want most right now.'
'So the question is, what do I want most right now?'
'Was there even any question!'
Guan Tong raised his pen, focused his mind, and brought it down.
Just like when he had written his own name, a powerful air resistance appeared from the [Wordless Book], trying to stop his pen.
With the experience he had gained from writing his name, Guan Tong skillfully channeled his Psychic Power to counter the air resistance.
Before long, he smoothly wrote a small, left-falling stroke.
His first stroke last time had been a dot, the beginning of the character for "Guan."
This time, however, his small left-falling stroke was the beginning of the character for "Sublimate."
That's right. When Guan Tong asked himself what he wanted most, the first answer that popped into his mind was two words: Sublimation Coin!
So, he was going to try to write the two words "Sublimation Coin" on the second page of the [Wordless Book] within the next month.
If he could really get Sublimation Coins after writing it... Guan Tong didn't dare to imagine what kind of advantage he would have.
And if he didn't get anything after writing it, that was fine too.
After all, the act of writing on the [Wordless Book] consumed Psychic Power. So, at the very least, he could still raise his Psychic Power ceiling through the process of continuous consumption and recovery.
It was worth a try.