“Wh-What?”

“Don’t look at me like that. I have plenty of connections, and they don’t mind providing their auxiliary Ability Spheres. Upon drawing, just disguise the sphere as self-activating the moment it triggers.”

“……”

“Furthermore,” Croft quickly moved his finger over the holographic phantom, “here, add a few hidden doors that can only be opened by spending raw timeline principal to avoid combat outright. This is also for the survival of low-combat personnel.

“And here, in this space, you can apply to the Council to invest a device that expands time. Stay here for a week, and only a day passes outside—but it requires one thousand years’ worth of principal!”

The crowd was dumbfounded.

“Don’t worry about rejection. With the Monster Elite level’s weight, the Council won’t even consider it overkill.”

“I actually think it’s quite a good deal,” someone blurted out.

Croft smiled warmly and stared at the speaker.

“Right, right! Ladies and gentlemen, this is about securing benefits for us electors!”

“What, what are these? Isn’t this just a way to get stronger by spending Temporal Order?”

One person stopped taking notes, hurriedly packed up, and quickly walked out the door.

“I, I, I can’t do this!”

“Sorry, this is just too ridiculous.”

More people stood up. They glanced at Croft, closed their notebooks, coldly brushed aside the hands of companions trying to stop them, and followed the same person out the door.

Croft’s gaze didn’t linger on them at all. He just smiled at those still seated.

“We can pool our ideas,” he said, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, a person tentatively raised a hand and said:

“Then can we add a lottery device at the Third Convergence Point, with a one percent chance to get a secret skill?”

“Right, right, right, clever! That’s all it takes!” But it’s best to limit it to five attempts per person, so we don’t seem too pushy. Everyone gets five chances, and their win or loss depends on luck—no one can complain.”

The atmosphere was tense.

People felt that perhaps adding these elements within controlled limits could give most people a chance after all.

“However, for those who are popular, you can slightly increase the probability, say an eighty percent chance on the fourth try. Especially girls who often talk to others, they’ll definitely spread the word everywhere.”

Everyone was stunned as the same voice continued to speak.

“…This way, all teams entering the two cities will be drawn here. In the arena city, more people will explore other routes, curious about what other adventures await.”

“……”

It seemed to everyone that a crow was cawing overhead.

……

“This bastard!”

With a thud, Huan Bao’er slammed a stack of books onto the desk.

Gong Huanwu, leaning against the wall, flinched in fright.

The woman, whose skin was as delicate as frost, bit her red lips hard. With her hands on her hips, she scanned left and right, finally fixing her gaze on a pencil holder.

“Hey, don’t drop that!”

Gong Huanwu rushed forward, holding the pen holder that was also trembling all over.

Huan Bao’er’s chest heaved violently. She stood blankly for a long time, gasping for breath, then bent her long legs and sat lightly on the chair.

“Gather those who left today, and then I’ll start the second plan.”

“There’s only two and a half months left,” replied Officer Gong, holding the pen holder.

The woman fixed her gaze on him.

“That’s why I’m not stopping that fool’s actions for now. We’ll try modifying the Green Lotus Crown ourselves to see if it can pass the council’s review. I believe they should be able to understand our difficulties.”

Steward Gong sighed:

“By the way, Director General. Manager Gu came by today to inspect the progress of our Demon Hero Hall, but he left after hearing it wasn’t designed by us.”

“Teacher Gu.” Huan Bao’er paused for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “Good thing you didn’t notify me, or that would’ve been so embarrassing. Well done.”

Gong Huanwu broke out in a cold sweat.

……

On the way back to her own room, Jiaoma sobbed as she walked, clutching her notebook.

Ding Jiaojie stayed by her side, gently stroking her back, offering continuous comfort.

The three men, Yang Zicang among them, exchanged winks and eyebrow signals left and right but dared not make a sound.

“Though… there will be… the strong… but…” she said tearfully, choking between words, “what about… the ordinary people…?”

“They, they perhaps shouldn’t even… enter…”

Ding Jiaojie, no matter how hard she tried, couldn’t finish that second half of the sentence.

Jiaoma turned her head to look at this older sister who was a head taller than herself:

“Those… who can get temporal support… can easily… reach the final point. Even though it’s part of their ability, but, but…”

{Zicang, I don’t want to continue. This is ruining the possibilities for most people.}

In the marching team, Zorro suddenly paused his steps and unfurled a model floor plan.

{I’m going back to my department to work. When we have time, let’s play chess. I hope there’s still a chance in the future.}

Zorro knew that once this mission ended, Yang Zicang would most likely resign.

Seeing the ring light up on Yang Zicang’s chest, Wang Dingshan turned to look at another person behind him whose ring was also lit, and his brow furrowed.

Yang Zicang looked at Jiaoma and felt a sting of unease inside as well.

“Without rewards, everyone would definitely lack motivation to move forward. But the real purpose of the officer is not at all for the growth of the masses.”

“Too bad… mm… I… don’t have the ability to create a… mm…”

“Let’s go home now, okay, be good, Jiao Jiao.” Ding Jiaojie gently patted the young girl on the back.

At the intersection, Yang Zicang went his separate way from them.

After returning to his bedroom, Yang Zicang tossed and turned restlessly.

“If, if I myself…”

Now he had a rough plan, and what was missing was just a small part of the content. Currently, he had two Spirit Hall structures to refer to.

Yang Zicang got up, activated his ability to enter the Spirit World, and laid them out for comparison.

Before he could look for long, Yang Zicang felt dizzy, and the resentment rising in his heart also faded significantly.

“Sigh, I’m really not cut out for this. Time to wash up and hit the hay.”

Yang Zicang stepped out of the shower, drying his head.

Seeing the pile of basic reference books on the table, he suddenly thought of someone.

As soon as this idea formed, Yang Zicang felt an intense surge of impulse within him, and his thoughts uncontrollably conjured up that slender figure.

If he were here, would he shine with a different brilliance?

……

Zorro was alone in the pavilion, playing a game of Go with his subordinate.

The red pony watched for a while with wide eyes, then twisted around and scurried to the other side, staring at his hand.

A line shot through the air.

Zorro paused briefly before connecting with it.

{From the literature repository, have you read through all the bookshelves?}

He thought for a moment and said in his mind:

[I’ve read all the ones on display.]

Yang Zicang grew silent for a few seconds.

{It’s a pity I can’t get out. If only I could go out once more… Forget it, talking is useless.}

Zorro set down a Light-based chess piece representing a black stone, and the phantom hands on the board swiftly placed another one.

Zorro noticed that it particularly enjoyed linking dragons—this might be a weakness in the department head’s playing style.

“What do you want to go out and do?” Zorro said.

“I just got a sudden whim, thinking of someone who might help us. But thinking about it again, it’s probably just wishful thinking on my part.”

Zorro’s hand paused for a moment, then continued to form a chess piece.

“Who is he?”

“Just a shitty gamer.”

In the sensory image, Yang Zicang paused hesitantly and said:

“I’m just asking. If you can’t find it there, forget it.”

The man thought for a moment and indeed hadn’t found any clue about that bookshelf.

He glanced at the little red horse staring fixedly with big eyes at his cheek and said with a faint smile:

“It’s a pity I’ve been in here for too short a time and have no…”

Suddenly, Zorro recalled an earlier anomaly.

Right, he hadn’t come away empty-handed.

Once, he had encountered an anomaly in the documents department, but later tried several times and couldn’t reproduce that fleeting moment.

But now was different!

Zorro abruptly lowered his head to look at his chest and nervously sensed the “Right of Mental Manifestation” within the model.

It seemed that anomaly had occurred just after Han Mingxiao first made contact with him.

If his previous lack of strength had made it impossible to detect, then, what about now?!

A powerful sense of urge was born within his psyche.

As if an extra force was driving him—it came from the “Right of Mental Manifestation”!

Zorro immediately stood up and quickly strode towards Lost Illusion Company, but after taking two steps, slowed his pace.

Too impulsive.

He couldn’t show too much urgency himself.

There must not be any irregularities.

……

On the other side, Yang Zicang sat by the table, quietly gazing at a stack of books in his hands.

Design was not his forte, but after this period of modifying and assembling Thought Realms, he had become quite adept at it. If he could continue to earn the appreciation of Dwight Croft, he might obtain more of his unique insights into constructing the Magic Hero Hall.

He was well aware that breakthrough developments in human technology sometimes stemmed from a single, trivial spark: a magnetic needle pointing north and south, hot water popping a lid off, the disappearance of bacteria near mold on unwashed utensils, a kite with a key flying into a thundercloud…

They were like flashes of light, illuminating the path forward for human civilization.

And the construction of the Magic Hero Hall also held hidden secrets—buried within thousands upon thousands of walls made of brick, concealed in those apparently ordinary intersections of lines, and woven into the rhythm of inevitable encounters and clashes between different teams…

Obtaining these secrets would be a leap of a thousand miles for any genius designer.

Although Dwight Croft’s goal was the Virtual Zero Sequence, he possessed the mastery needed to acquire that Sequence—the unique know-how for building an exceptional Magic Hero Hall!

If he could get his hands on those key points…

[I want to do my utmost to ensure that all participants can survive, and to discover the unique design secrets of the Magic Hero Hall.]

Yang Zicang ran his fingers over the design manuscripts of the Magic Hero Hall, which resembled large sports arenas and game layouts.

Even if he couldn’t discern what those exact key points were…

But why did he need to discern them at all?

The world is vast, and everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. I just need to do what I can, and entrust the rest to those worthy of trust…

“If I could memorize the entire process.”

His hand suddenly tightened on the spine of the book.

“Boppoli, if it were you, could you do it?”

[Though I’m impulsive, I still think it’s very difficult.]

[I think it’s almost impossible.]