Guan Tong left his ho and went outside.
The streets were nearly empty. The devastating blow the first of the Apocalypse Rules had dealt to the population was obvious.
While others might not know the full extent, Guan Tong had glanced at his school’s group chat. Out of a group of forty to fifty people, only about ten had surfaced to say they were still alive.
But despite such a heavy blow, society was sohow still functioning.
This was thanks to technological advancents. Guan Tong had discovered on his very first day after transmigrating that Celestial Water Star’s technology was sowhat more advanced than his old ho, Earth—ahead by about twenty to thirty years.
Here in North Star Country, for example, smart wearables, drone delivery, and basic autonomous driving were widespread. Industrial robotics were also extensively used in major factories.
But as for the future, it was hard to say.
The nations of the world had jointly declared they would not yield to the Apocalypse Rules and would protect civilization by vigorously developing high-end technology.
But if the Rules beca increasingly difficult and the population continued to dwindle, technological progress would likely slow, stagnate, or even regress.
Guan Tong didn’t dwell on it. He was a firm believer in living in the mont.
The imdiate task was to pass the second Apocalypse Rule, and worry about the rest later.
He went to a nearby park and found many people already there, running.
Most were young, which wasn’t surprising.
Although the governnt hadn’t released the age demographics of the deceased, it was easy to guess that the middle-aged and elderly made up the majority.
Their stamina couldn’t compare to that of the young; very few could endure 72 hours without sleep.
"Dammit! Not even five kiloters and I’m... How the hell am I supposed to run a full marathon?!"
A young man who looked like a college student, exhausted from his run, stopped not far from Guan Tong. He cursed under his breath, hands on his knees, gasping for air.
There were many others like him. In fact, many were in worse shape; they couldn’t even run a single kiloter, let alone five.
Guan Tong knew he was about the sa. The most he had ever run at one ti was three to five kiloters.
He looked at the crowded track in the park, thought for a mont, and decided to leave. He went to a private self-service gym instead.
This type of gym was rare on Guan Tong’s old ho, Earth, but quite popular across the nations of Celestial Water Star.
After scanning a QR code for entry, you could access a small private room. The room contained a personal treadmill, a yoga mat, small dumbbells, and other equipnt.
These small, self-service gym rooms were designed for people who preferred quiet or had social anxiety. Right now, it was perfect for his needs.
Guan Tong stood before the treadmill. ’The Rules don’t specify that you can’t run on a treadmill, so this should be fine.’
However, trying to cheat with it was definitely impossible. The Rules would certainly be extrely precise in tracking distance and ti. No matter how one ran, the record would be accurate.
Guan Tong took his [Wordless Book] from the storage of his personal terminal.
He then mobilized his Psychic Power and infused it into the book. Imdiately, the two characters for "Guan Tong" lifted off the page, manifesting as a Shadow.
Guan Tong had the Shadow stand on the treadmill, then he started the machine.
The belt began to move backward, and the Shadow, under Guan Tong’s ntal control, started to run.
After a short while, numbers appeared before Guan Tong’s eyes.
Current Distance: 100 ters, Ti Elapsed: 35 seconds.
’Is this the tir and distance provided by the Rules...?’
Guan Tong thought to himself. Only the Rules could accomplish sothing like this—projecting numbers and tirs directly into a person’s vision.
But the appearance of this record confird it for Guan Tong: the Shadow running counted the sa as him running. It all went toward the total.
This gave him an idea.
For example, he could run on the treadmill while the Shadow ran in place beside him.
Since the Shadow had no physical body, it didn’t matter how it ran.
This way, the distances covered by the "two" of them would stack, greatly reducing the ti needed to complete the marathon.
’Most importantly, the Shadow isn’t limited by "stamina." That ans I can make it run at its top speed for the entire duration it exists.’
With a thought from Guan Tong, the Shadow instantly broke into a frantic sprint!
Its top speed was Guan Tong’s own top speed, which he tested to be about 15 seconds per 100 ters.
Currently, at full Psychic Power, Guan Tong could make the Shadow exist for five minutes at most.
Having the Shadow run at a pace of 15 seconds per 100 ters for those five minutes would cover a total of... two kiloters.
’...That’s way too little.’
A full marathon is 42 kiloters. If the Shadow could only run two of them, it would just be covering a fraction of the distance—hardly significant at all.
There were only two ways to solve this problem.
First, increase the Shadow’s duration.
Second, increase the Shadow’s speed.
Guan Tong felt the first option was unrealistic, because maintaining the Shadow’s existence consud Psychic Power.
He didn’t know how to increase his Psychic Power limit at the mont, so five minutes was the maximum duration.
That left only the second option to focus on.
’Increase its speed, hmm...’
Guan Tong looked at the buttons on the treadmill, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
’If I crank the treadmill’s speed to maximum, and then have the Shadow... no, that won’t work. The Shadow isn’t corporeal; it can’t make contact with the treadmill belt.’
Guan Tong frowned in thought.
Just then, sunlight stread in through the window, feeling warm on his skin.
’Warm... huh? Wait... the sun, sunlight... a shadow?’
Guan Tong suddenly looked down at the floor. The sunlight shining on him cast a shadow to his side.
’They’re both shadows, so maybe...?’
Guan Tong manipulated the "Shadow" from the Wordless Book, making it touch the real shadow cast by the sun.
The mont they touched, they instantly rged into one, perfectly and seamlessly.
Moreover, Guan Tong could clearly feel that the shadow he could control had grown larger. This discovery filled him with delight.
’How did I never think of this before?’
Guan Tong found it incredible.
He had only just now realized that his summoned Shadow, upon contact with a shadow created by another light source, could absorb the latter into its range of control.
For instance, if he went outside now, found any tall building, and connected his Shadow to the building’s shadow, he could control the entire, massive shadow of that building.
This gave Guan Tong an imdiate sense of being "overpowered."
Although the shadow was non-corporeal and couldn’t do much else, for dealing with the current second Apocalypse Rule, it was more than enough!
Guan Tong’s eyes shone. He now knew exactly what to do.
He imdiately drew the curtains to block out the light, then took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and aid it at the treadmill’s belt.
Just like that, the shadow of the treadmill belt appeared.
Guan Tong then manipulated his Shadow to connect with the shadow of the belt.
Instantly, he could control the treadmill belt’s shadow!
He then walked to the front of the treadmill, set its speed to maximum, and hit start!
"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!"
Driven by the motor, the belt spun at a frenzied pace. Along with it, the long shadow Guan Tong now controlled also began to "rotate" with extre speed and over a great distance!
That’s right. Guan Tong couldn’t change the shadow’s shape, but as long as the shadow he controlled was large enough, it didn’t matter if it was humanoid or not. As long as it was "moving," it would count toward increasing his distance.
At the sa speed, a humanoid shadow might cover half a ter with one step. But what about the "step" of a skyscraper’s shadow? It could potentially cover several hundred ters!
Guan Tong looked again at the numbers appearing before his eyes, and a smile spread across his face.
Current Distance: 347 ters, Ti Elapsed: 4 seconds
At this average speed of 86 ters per second, he would only need less than 500 seconds to complete the full 42-kiloter marathon. It was simply unbeatable!
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