At this moment, in the Royal City, the Prime Minister—the man who stood above ten thousand but beneath only one—was not in a good mood.
To this point, not a single participant from the Royal City had returned.
The internal class barriers of the Royal City were rigid, but the upper echelons understood the art of persuasion, firmly binding those Espers who truly held power to their cause.
However, this led to a fatal problem: the defenseless commoners were quickly swallowed by Anomalies within the Instance, while the high-and-mighty Espers only cared for their own survival, having no intention of actually exploring the Instance.
A team like that naturally couldn't meet the requirements of a high-level Instance with newly added special completion conditions.
Once their analysis team realized that there were "completion conditions beyond survival," they replayed the entire livestream.
The result was incredibly bleak; the Royal City would likely come away empty-handed this time.
In the past, coming away empty-handed from an Instance wouldn't have been a major issue; at most, they would tighten resources and starve a wave of the common folk to pull through. But this time, that absolutely wouldn't work.
Not long ago, a bone-deep sense of terrifying urgency had descended upon every person in the Three Cities World without warning.
It was a warning from the world's will.
A true, total catastrophe was coming.
Following that, Anomaly Instances began to open frequently, with quantities and difficulties far exceeding anything seen before, and unprecedented Instance livestreams appeared simultaneously.
This series of abnormalities all pointed toward a disturbing future.
Until yesterday, the Xin King was the first to return from an Instance, bringing news that tugged at the nerves of all three cities.
Participants who cleared this trial could bring back clues regarding the "method of salvation"!
Thinking of this, the Prime Minister of the Royal City couldn't help but look at the young, handsome Xin King on the screen, his teeth itching with hatred.
He had intended to take advantage of the Holy City's participant just returning and not yet understanding the situation to fish for some useful information, but this fellow had to step in and ruin his plans!
Why? Even if he knew the "method of salvation" obtained by other cities, whether for cross-referencing or as an extra option, it should have been beneficial to Xin City as well. Why was he being so obstructive?
On the screen, the Xin King completely ignored the Prime Minister's venomous gaze and looked directly at Ren Yi through the feed.
"Mr. Mo Ming, correct? You've returned in a hurry, so I imagine your Pope hasn't had time to explain the current situation to you. Allow me to fill you in."
As he spoke, he sat up slightly. His previously flippant expression vanished, replaced by a heavy seriousness.
"The world has already given us all an extremely grim omen. Anomaly Instances have shown special circumstances never seen before, and the activity of mutant beasts is becoming more frequent... The apocalypse is truly coming."
His fingertips lightly tapped the table, creating a rhythmic "thump, thump" that was exceptionally clear in the silent hall.
"The apocalypse?" Ren Yi immediately put on a puzzled expression to cooperate. "Your Majesty... haven't we been living in the apocalypse for a long time now?"
Beside him, the Pope glanced at him with a calm gaze. He didn't speak or stop him, clearly acquiescing to his response.
On the screen, the Xin King slowly shook his head, his tone grave. "This is different from the catastrophe that destroyed the previous civilization thirty years ago. That time, it only gave rise to mutant beasts and destroyed technological civilization..."
He paused, emphasizing each word. "This time, after the end, nothing will be left."
"When I say 'nothing,' I mean us humans, the mutant beasts, all the cities, even the land beneath our feet, the plants, the stones, the planet we rely on to survive, and even the entire world."
"I cannot be certain of the specific method of destruction; I only know it is related to that Auxiliary Rule in the Instance. You... should have seen that rule being executed with your own eyes, shouldn't you?"
"Should have"?
Ren Yi's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and then he nodded calmly.
Seeing Ren Yi nod, the Xin King continued.
"Then you should know what 'blankness' truly looks like, and you should understand that my claim of 'nothing will be left' is by no means an exaggeration."
At that moment, on the Royal City's side, the little brat king who had been ignored all this time finally lost his patience. He scrunched up his face and interrupted.
"You two, what kind of riddles are you speaking in? Since humanity is united, shouldn't you explain it to us as well?"
The moment the words "humanity is united" were spoken, even the previously composed Xin King fell silent for a moment, a trace of indescribable mockery appearing on his face.
Ren Yi caught a glimpse of the Pope beside him out of the corner of his eye and noticed the old man's white beard twitching slightly; he was clearly suppressing a laugh.
The awkward silence lasted for a moment before the Xin King finally sighed and began to explain.
"Although the participants' panels can't be seen in the livestream... did your Royal City not have the participants entering the Instance transmit information in real-time?"
He ignored the Parliament members in the Royal City window, whose expressions were turning strange, and rubbed his aching temples as he continued.
"Unlike previous rules that needed to be searched for within the Instance, this time all participants received a special rule through their panels: 【Do not feel pain together with others】."
"Based on my observations, the hidden condition of this rule should be: 【Do not feel the same pain as others at the same time】."
"Your Majesty," the Pope suddenly spoke, taking over the conversation at the right moment.
"This rule you speak of is likely the culprit behind the phenomenon of participants suddenly undergoing self-dissolution in most of the trials, isn't it?"
Ren Yi glanced at the Pope.
This old fellow must have known all along. Stepping in now to play the straight man was likely a hint for Ren Yi to actively participate in the discussion.
"Yes, but I should add that it isn't a sudden self-dissolution," Ren Yi took the initiative to speak.
"For those of us inside the Instance, the moment the rule is triggered, time feels as though it has been paused."
"We can only watch helplessly as the person who violated the rule melts away bit by bit. This feeling of suffocation... those of you watching the livestream outside probably can't feel it."
He deliberately let his tone carry some of the resentment typical of a subordinate.
"So what?" the little king of the Royal City muttered, looking completely dismissive. "It's not like there's any pain. It looks much gentler than that Anomaly with the greatsword or the Hemolytic Swamp..."
"You only need to remember that once this rule is triggered, there is no room for resistance,‑ the Xin King interrupted him unceremoniously, his tone cold.
"No matter who it is, anyone who violates it will only turn into a patch of 'blankness'."
Ren Yi raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty, by saying that, do you mean you've also witnessed the execution of this rule with your own eyes?"
"Of course," the Xin King replied flatly, his gaze calm and unwavering.
"I was also one of the participants who entered the Instance this time. I simply chose not to linger; after confirming my completion, I returned immediately."
Just as I thought.
Ren Yi understood.
This King of Xin City was likely one of the few participants who truly succeeded in clearing it this time, perhaps even the only one who truly met the completion requirements.
This meant that he had successfully escaped from an Instance managed by at least an adult Anomaly of C-rank or higher, even while his side's information was being maliciously obscured.
Ren Yi didn't believe for a second that any Anomaly would show mercy now that the Calamity had been activated.
It seemed this Xin King's ability to hold his position wasn't just due to the system or his bloodline; he himself was likely very capable, perhaps even an extremely powerful Esper.
However, Ren Yi wasn't in the same city as this Xin King, so he wasn't worried.
No matter how powerful this King was, he couldn't possibly survive a world-cleansing Calamity.
This excellent ruler and the lives of his people had only seven days left.
Unaware that Ren Yi had already mentally sentenced him to death, the Xin King continued.
"The reward for clearing the Instance this time was only a single piece of information." He stared intently into Ren Yi's eyes, as if trying to see every flicker of emotion within them.
"The method of salvation," he said, word by word.
"The method of how to survive the coming apocalypse."
"Mr. Mo Ming, what was the method of salvation you received?"
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