1: Chapter 1: The Hidden Rules After Rebirth

"Final verdict: Human Civilization, advancement failed."

That cold voice resounded throughout the entire universe, announcing the end of human civilization.

The next second, disaster descended.

Scorching magma erupted from fissures, skyscrapers that once towered into the clouds melted before him, and steel bent and dripped like wax. The sky turned blood-red, the sun expanded before his eyes, and ominous sunspots churned on its surface.

The moment the voice sounded, Gu Changming froze in place.

They had been so close to success; could the sacrifices of countless people really be this meaningless?

The heat wave hit, his clothes began to burn, and his skin felt the scorching pain, but he remained standing, watching this final scene of destruction for the human world.

At the very last moment before his consciousness faded, he managed to squeeze out a single sentence.

"It shouldn't be like this..."

Gu Changming opened his eyes.

Before him was a classroom that was both familiar and somewhat strange. Sunlight streamed through the windows, and classmates were gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing, the sound noisy.

He felt a bit dazed.

Wasn't he dead? He had died in that final Assessment.

The fate of human civilization and the hopes of countless people had all ended at that moment.

But now, he was sitting here, wearing his high school uniform, with a notebook filled with notes at his side.

There was no expression on his face. Having experienced so much, even if his heart was churning, he wouldn't show it on his face.

Following that, Gu Changming raised his eyes to look at the clock at the front of the classroom.

Eleven fifty-nine.

One minute left.

He calculated silently in his heart.

Gu Changming turned his face to look out the window.

The sky was deep blue with wisps of clouds hanging lightly, as if it were a very ordinary and quiet day.

Gu Changming stared outside, as if enjoying this last rare moment of leisure.

Twelve o'clock sharp.

Suddenly, the sky outside the window flashed.

Like a screen with a bad connection, the blue and white were instantly drained away, replaced by a blinding, blood-red hue.

A girl let out a short scream, and the chatting and laughter in the classroom came to an abrupt halt. Everyone turned their heads to look outside.

Their faces were filled with confusion and astonishment.

The blood-red sky remained frozen, exuding an eerie aura.

Immediately after, a cold, genderless voice rang in everyone's ears, as if from beyond the sky, or perhaps from the depths of their own minds.

At the same time, lines of huge white text appeared on the blood-red sky:

【Announcement: Human Civilization has entered the Civilization Advancement Assessment procedure.】

【Assessment failed, civilization will be annihilated.】

The classroom was deathly silent for a moment, then erupted.

"What... what is this?"

"Is this a prank? Who set up this projection?"

Some still thought this was just a prank for some variety show, and they had been selected.

However, someone soon retorted, "How is that possible? This isn't technology we are capable of right now."

This remark brought everyone back to their senses. Indeed, that terrifying scene outside was simply not something current human technology could achieve.

Panic and doubt spread, and the atmosphere began to grow oppressive.

Gu Changming sat quietly in his seat.

He looked at the familiar blood-red color outside the window, feeling a tightness in his chest, but he suppressed his emotions.

Next would be the first Assessment.

As if to confirm his thoughts, the text in the sky suddenly refreshed, and the cold, mechanical voice sounded in sync:

【First Assessment: Silent Day.】

【Rule: Making sound is prohibited.】

【Duration: 72 hours.】

【Penalty for failure: Death.】

Gu Changming's breathing hitched for a moment, then returned to normal.

Just like in his memories, the first one: Silent Day.

Facing an Assessment for all of humanity, the rules were just as it stated: making any sound was prohibited, and violating it meant immediate death.

Gu Changming remembered that this first Assessment alone had reduced the Earth's population by nearly a billion people.

After the rules were announced, the classroom was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned, as if frozen in place. Some had their mouths open, others had wide eyes, but no one could make a sound.

A few seconds later, a girl spoke with a trembling voice, "Death... this isn't real, right?"

Her voice was very soft, but it was like a pebble thrown into stagnant water.

Everyone turned to look at her, their eyes filled with terror.

But after she finished speaking, she remained standing, her breathing steady, with only confusion on her face.

But soon, she realized what she had done and covered her mouth in panic.

Yet, several seconds passed, and she still remained unchanged.

At this moment, a glimmer of hope rose in many people's hearts—it must be fake, she spoke and didn't die, right?

Some even breathed a sigh of relief, their shoulders relaxing slightly.

But the next second, that cold voice sounded again:

【The Assessment will officially begin in ten seconds.】

The hope shattered instantly.

Everyone's hearts sank. So, it hadn't started yet.

Some stared at the blood-red sky outside, watching the huge white numbers begin to count down:

Ten, nine, eight...

These ten seconds had never felt so long.

The moment the numbers hit zero, the sky flashed violently, the blood-red color faded, and it returned to its previous deep blue, as if nothing had ever happened.

The classroom remained quiet.

Everyone looked at each other; no one dared to move or make a sound. Many were still covering their mouths, their eyes full of suspicion and fear.

Someone wanted to ask, "Has it started?" but the words were swallowed back down.

Everyone stared at each other, their eyes full of terror.

"Achoo!"

A loud sneeze came from the back of the classroom.

Everyone turned their heads sharply.

The one who made the sound was a short-haired girl in the class. Everyone knew she had been suffering from a cold for the past few days.

But of all times, it had to be now...

After sneezing, she froze, and then the color drained from her face as she looked at the people around her in terror.

"Save me..." she shrieked.

She didn't even have time to finish her sentence.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, her body exploded, as if struck by an invisible giant fist.

A mist of blood filled the air, and fragments splattered everywhere.

The classroom was silent for a moment.

Gu Changming's expression changed for once; he remembered that it seemed this classmate was indeed the first to die in their class back then.

Too much time had passed; he had almost forgotten these classmates.

Immediately after, a few students with poor psychological resilience screamed uncontrollably.

"Ah!!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several consecutive explosions followed, blood splattered in the classroom, and the walls, desks, and floor... were all a shade of crimson.

The classroom fell completely silent.

Everyone covered their mouths tightly, breathing as lightly as possible, all with wide eyes.

Tears streamed down their cheeks, dripping onto their necks, but no one dared to raise a hand to wipe them away.

Outside the window, the sunlight was bright, the leaves swayed gently, and everything was as calm as usual.

Seventy-two hours was actually quite long.

The classroom was deathly silent, with only the sound of light breathing and suppressed sobbing.

Just then, a faint notification sound from mobile phones suddenly rang out from many people's pockets.

Everyone trembled in fear and hurriedly covered their phone speakers, terrified that a second's delay would lead them to follow in the footsteps of those classmates.

A few seconds passed, and no punishment came. Everyone, still shaken, lowered their heads extremely slowly to look at their phone screens.

The screens were lit up with an emergency push notification from the authorities.

The general content was: In light of an unknown global emergency, all units and schools are to close for three days, effective immediately, except for key personnel maintaining basic social operations. All citizens are requested to remain absolutely quiet, return home immediately, lock doors and windows, and do not linger outside.

Seeing this message, the remaining students in the classroom looked at each other and felt a brief moment of relief; at least the organization still existed, and there was still order outside.

Everyone began to move, panicked and hurried.

Someone instinctively reached to pack their schoolbag, but the moment their hand touched the bag, they froze.

A three-day break? Perhaps... they would never need to come back.

Then, one by one, they stood up, trying their best not to make any sound, tiptoeing, and rushed out of the classroom quickly and silently.

Gu Changming also stood up, blending into the crowd.

His expression remained calm, and as he moved with the flow of people, he recited silently in his heart:

"Open personal template."

This was an ability everyone possessed, but at this stage, others probably hadn't realized it yet.

As soon as the thought finished, a semi-transparent, glowing blue panel silently appeared before his eyes.

【Name: Gu Changming】

【Age: 18】

【Affiliated Civilization: Human Civilization】

【Current Assessment: Silent Day (In Progress)】

His gaze skipped over this basic information and landed on the area marked 【Assessment Rules】 below, wanting to confirm the rules for this Assessment once more.

The Assessment didn't leave zero chance of survival; it had certain evaluation criteria.

These criteria would gradually be revealed as their levels increased.

However, right now, all humans were at level zero, so naturally, they couldn't see any Assessment criteria.

But Gu Changming wanted to try to deduce them...

However, when his gaze continued downward, he suddenly froze.

【Rule: Making sound is prohibited.】

【Rule Supplement: Sounds not made by the subject must not exceed 60 decibels; sounds not caused by the subject themselves will not be counted; exceeding one's own...】

Seeing this, Gu Changming's expression froze.

It wasn't that he wasn't familiar with this rule supplement; it was that he was too familiar with it.

Later on in the Civilization Advancement Assessment, once their levels increased, they would be able to see such rule supplements.

But... wasn't he level zero right now? How could he see these rule supplements?

Gu Changming continued to look down, and his expression suddenly changed again.

【Hidden Rule...】