Cloft walked over, found a chair for himself, and sat down.
“I won’t beat around the bush. This time, I can authorize you to use my concepts for free.”
“Oh?” Huan Bao’er narrowed her eyes.
“But… um…” Croft glanced at Gong Huanwu. “I mentioned it to Director Gong this morning; it seems he hasn’t informed you yet.”
Upon hearing “but,” Huan Bao’er knew there must be some additional condition. She looked at Gong Huanwu.
The man leaned toward her and whispered something in her ear for a while.
“I’m afraid that doesn’t align with the principles upheld by our Starlight Illusion.”
Hearing Huan Bao’er’s words, Croft let out a cold laugh and jumped down from his chair.
He walked to the table, tossed a “Group Leader Credential” condensed from refracted light in front of Huan Bao’er, and spoke.
“This is a partial detailed design framework unique to my Demon Spirit Hall. I’ll give you ten more days to combine it with the guidance of your so-called young man and deliver it to me sooner.”
He walked to the door and glanced at the two people in the room.
“What’s all this talk about principles? Whether it can be done or not remains to be seen. Just work hard to complete it, young lads and lasses.”
Bang! The door was pulled shut.
After waiting a short while, Huan Bao’er reached out to touch the translucent luminous Group Leader credential.
“He wants to earn time-sequence but still puts on airs.”
“But at least he’s making concessions.”
Gong Huanwu looked at Huan Bao’er. “However, him sending this now might be an attempt to disrupt Yuwen Haowen’s thoughts.”
“After all, he is the work of an outstanding master. I hope Yuwen Haowen can draw more inspiration from it. This is also something we promised him.”
……
The night was tranquil, inside a lavishly decorated room.
Yuwen Haowen gazed at all the notes left by Croft, and the plans contained within the “Group Leader Credential” in his hand, feeling deeply shaken.
Three days later. A spiritless Yuwen Haowen entered Huan Bao’er’s office.
“I’m sorry, Lady Huan Bao’er. I…”
“What of you?”
The young man lifted his ashamed face: “I want to give up this side job. I’m simply not qualified.”
Huan Bao’er’s finger, gently tapping on the table, paused.
“It can’t be that bad. You’re a promising young talent; your name is sure to be among the designers Mode City in the future. Go back and continue your work.”
“You’ve never designed in a domain like a battlefield before… Of course, that’s not your focus, so you don’t understand what this means.”
He squeezed the blueprints in his hands.
“Compared to Lord Croft’s design, mine is just a row of makeshift houses before a royal palace. If I continue guiding the newcomers like this, I’ll only lead them down the wrong path. I can’t do something so unethical!”
He looked earnestly at this general director.
“Let Lord Croft guide them instead. I’m willing to be his student. Or, I can join your team and design together.”
Huan Bao’er’s eyes narrowed.
That old immortal, using such moves on the youth.
“First, go back and finish your current work. His assessment is seven days away, and we’ll discuss success or failure then.”
“I… alright. But please take this seriously. The battlefield is no child’s play.”
……
Yang Zicang, weaving through various shifting mental wavebands, uses the “Right of Mental Manifestation” to alter the texture of wavebands stabilized by Ding Jiaojie, Zorro, and the others, filling their gaps, and eliminating their eerie and terrifying aura.
Finally, he leverages the vast energy provided by Lost Illusion Company to extend the gaps between the two scenes, transforming them into entirely renewed, fresh spaces.
This is the work of the Action Department’s Clearing Team.
{Zicang, shift the foundation beneath you to Hover No. 4, at coordinate North No. 5.}
[Alright.]
With a single thought, Yang Zicang gathered the mental sphere, which now appeared in his palm.
Gold threads glowed on his black employee card, spreading like star trails, and then he proceeded in his Psychic Body state to the location Jiaoma had specified.
These mental fields, unfolded from out-of-sync wavebands, are like fragmented original drafts of a scroll. Working like a relic restorer, he refurbishes them, shifts their spacetime, and bestows upon them a renewed vitality in an entirely new form.
Within the pure psychic field resembling a starry sky, hundreds of scenes of various sizes were shifted left and right across four dimensions, each scene bustling with one or two figures busy at work.
{Everyone, keep it up—we must not bring shame to Starlight Illusion.}
As the team worked, the outline of a large building gradually emerged.
{You should say that to Grand Group Leader Yuwen Haowen.}
……
Yuwen Haowen arrived at Croft’s residence with today’s design.
“This is your design?”
“Sir, do you think it meets the minimum standard?”
“Minimum standard? Are you telling me that I, Croft, am going to bury my lifelong reputation here?! All my Magic Hall works are masterpieces of supreme perfection!”
Yuwen Haowen lowered his head in shame.
“Forget it, I’ll go give them a lesson.”
Just as the eccentric charged into various groups with Yuwen Haowen trailing behind him like a lackey to offer revision suggestions, Huan Bao’er had already learned of his latest actions.
“That old geezer, why is he so diligent all of a sudden today.”
“I think he intends to stay here and continue providing guidance. After all, Haowen did manage to put together a framework within ten days. That proves Haowen’s capability.”
Gong Huanwu looked at Huan Bao’er:
“At this point, regarding what he previously suggested, should we consider agreeing to it?”
“I’ve discussed it with the Radiant Order. After all, he is a master who designed three high-rated Magical Halls. With his involvement on board, this mission is at least secure for us.”
Huan Bao’er let out a resigned sigh:
“Let’s go along with him. Converted into rough numbers, it’s about a few hundred thousand Virtual Zero Sequence. It’s not too much.”
“That’s great, I’ll go notify him right away.”
Gong Huanwu left joyfully, awaiting the end of Croft’s inspection tour of the various production groups.
The grand door of the manor slowly opened a crack.
Croft stepped out from the gap between the doors, followed by Yuwen Haowen carrying a folder of drafts.
The eccentric man casually glanced at Gong Huanwu, who had been waiting there for a long time.
“Got something for me?”
“Yes, Executive Officer Croft,” Gong Huanwu said cheerfully, “The Virtual Zero Sequence allocation plan you proposed has been approved by Director Huan Bao’er through the company.”
“Wow, now that’s a hard-to-believe piece of good news.”
Croft said this in a sarcastic tone, then turned to look at Yuwen Haowen:
“Go back to the team. I’m giving you a month to continue leading and perfect this project. I’ll give the final evaluation then.”
“Yes, esteemed Master Croft. Also, thank you for staying on.”
Gong Huanwu’s eyelids twitched as he watched the young man return to the room with a delighted expression.
The odd man kept one hand behind his back and picked up a leather briefcase with the other, handing it to Gong Huanwu.
“Here, you carry this for me.”
……
Unnoticed by many, it had already been two and a half months since Yang Zicang joined the Special Action Team of the Demon Hero Palace, and it was now well into November outside.
At this moment, the over 370 people were deeply encouraged upon realizing they had actually designed a large, semi-original framework for a competition city.
Although there was still plenty to fill in, that depended more on how the council allocated resources from the old world.
Their group just needed to use mental power to outline the general strength levels required for monsters and examiners.
“This should be a highlight in our resumes in the future.”
The crowd gathered together in a slightly larger laboratory, buzzing with chatter.
“Everyone, find a seat and settle down.”
Yuwen Haowen ran in from the doorway, raising a hand:
“The esteemed Master Croft is arriving soon! Hurry and sit down.”
Arrivals of this executive, who walks the path of the Fate Track, always bring tension to the otherwise harmonious atmosphere here.
Yang Zicang, Zorro, Ding Jiaojie, and the others sat down nervously.
“We’re going to get scolded again,” Wang Dingshan said with a chuckle.
Jiaoma shot him a dirty look.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Leather shoes struck the vintage floor tiles, emitting a crisp, rhythmic sound.
An executive with sharp features and knitted brows, resembling a dark-suited demon, walked in through the door.
Croft’s critiques upon every visit were sharp as a knife, penetrating to the core.
Although his words were harsh, there was no denying that his comments advanced the creation of the Sorcery Glory Hall to the next level each time.
The people in the room hardly dared to breathe.
From their initial harboring complaints against him, everyone had grown accustomed to this long ago.
“Alright, first, show me each of your individual work. Move around, fast, nimble—don’t just stay planted like a radio tuned to only listen to the beat and expect the signal to just deliver something good.”
Surprisingly, he wasn’t looking at the finished product of the Sorcery Glory Hall first.
Yuwen Haowen rushed to the front and waved his hand.
“Everyone, seize the opportunity! The master is going to critique each person individually. Hurry! This is an invaluable chance that’s hard to come by!”
Crowd burst into chatter. This was over three hundred people present, and he planned to critique every project each person had been in charge of.
Yang Zicang and Jiaoma exchanged a glance, and the girl, like a student being checked on homework, furrowed her brows and began outlining a red circle on her chest.
Lines flickered, and soon the scenes she had handled were displayed through the “Right of Mental Manifestation.”
Everyone was performing these actions.
Yang Zicang’s model flickered on his chest, displaying an unusually large number of mini-scenes in front of him.
Because he was from the First Purification Division Action Team, his employee card was a special item, and being quadrilateral, he had handled an enormous number of psychic wavelengths and force fields.
Wang Dingshan turned his head in shock. “Wow, the capable do more work, but I didn’t expect you’d done this much.”
He already had three times more scenes in front of him than an average person, while Yang Zicang had at least twice as many as him.
Yang Zicang shrugged.
Miniature scenes piled up, floating layer upon layer in the cramped workspace before him.
Ding Jiaojie’s gaze, as she looked over, also gleamed with shimmering colored light. Seeing so many small illusions before Yang Zicang, Jiaoma managed a forced smile.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside him—Crost.
“Psychic Body!”
Yang Zicang instantly saw that this figure, which looked like a real person, was actually a psychic body. His psychic body was so strong it was almost tangible.
Moving his eyes slightly, the young man looked across the large office, where dozens of Crostand psychic body figures appeared simultaneously.
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