After the Radiant Order had clearly informed him about the situation on the Fate Track side, Croft still adopted such a dismissive attitude.

Both general officers were furious.

Gong Huanwu came to the small villa nestled in the garden.

“General Officer, might I ask when you will personally guide our team members?”

“Haven’t I already given you the materials!”

Croft, standing by the window, turned around, his gaze imposing.

“Those were all my precious notes, from my student days all the way to making my blockbuster work. You have so many people—if even you can’t understand them, how would they grasp the profound content if I just start lecturing them directly? It’s nothing but a waste of breath!”

“We…” Gong Huanwu had officially given up all hope. He stood upright, puffed out his chest solemnly.

“Officer Croft, I hope you have a pleasant vacation.”

Gong Huanwu stepped back, ready to close the door and leave.

“Wait.”

Croft walked over with a casual stride:

“About that blueprint from last time, I asked my friend, and he said he could reduce it to one point two million. Two hundred thousand of that is the review fee. In other words, for just one million in Virtual Zero Sequence, you can exchange it for the construction drawing of a Demon-class arena.”

Gong Huanwu knew he was talking nonsense; that friend of his probably didn’t exist.

He gave a forced smile and said, “I’ll pass that along.”

Croft straightened the curled collar of Gong Huanwu’s clothes. “As an official, no matter where you go, you must pay attention to your image.”

He looked at Gong Huanwu’s face, which was struggling to maintain a calm expression, and a smile appeared on his blue-skinned face:

“I’ll stay for another twenty days. If the little ones can produce something decent, I’ll offer them some personal guidance. But if they can’t, then I’m afraid I won’t stick around; I’ll move on to the next person. You may go now.”

Gong Huanwu nodded, pulled the door closed, and left.

Both were officials, yet Croft spoke to him in a tone as if he were ordering a servant.

……

“Twenty days!”

“He’s only talking about the framework,” Officer Gong said in a low voice.

“Ha. In all my years, Huan Bao’er, no one has ever put on such a bold front to me.”

The woman wore a sharp-fitting blazer over her shoulders, her delicate curves gently rising and falling as her face turned frosty.

“Call a meeting with all the group leaders. We need to formulate a feasible plan by tonight. Starting tomorrow, everyone will be working on its creation.”

“Isn’t that a bit rash?” Gong Huanwu said.

Coming up with a plan for an arena city in one night would break our hands just from copying it all.

“Didn’t he want to see a prototype in twenty days? Fine, I’ll give him a prototype. Even if we waste twenty days, there’s still four months left!”

Gong Huanwu took the order and left.

Huan Bao’er turned around, leaning her waist against the desk. A circular halo lit up on her chest.

“Let’s pull some people and start modifying the Green Lotus Crown. We’ll take a two-pronged approach.”

{I just spent some resources to contact the Chiqin Steward. He told me the council seems to have already passed word to Croft. If he can’t design a lowest-level Demonic Elite-Class Arena here, they’ll replace him.}

“Is that why he finally changed his attitude?”

{He’s stalling for time, waiting to see if we’ll cave.}

……

“Director Gong, take a look at this plan.”

“No go.”

……

“Officer Montai, what do you think of this plan? Can it work?”

“It’s a bit too relaxed.”

……

“Officer Yehe, our team’s plan goes like this.”

“Not bad, but there’s been something similar before. It might fly here, but on a Fate Track, it could be seen through at a glance and leak secrets, so it won’t pass the Parliament’s review.”

……

More than ten days later, in Croft’s room.

A small figurine sat on the table, and in the room appeared another phantom image, similar in appearance but taller.

{Croft, it’s been almost a month. You’ve turned a deaf ear to the Parliament’s admonition. Do you really not intend to build a Magic Hero Hall here?}

“Of course I am going to build it—I’m just making them understand that the blueprints are priceless, giving them a little pressure. That way they’ll learn to appreciate them.”

“If you feel that place is unworthy of your talents, come back early.”

The figure vanished.

Seeing him disappear, Croft, in turn, smiled slightly.

He sat down on the chair, propped up his feet, interlaced his hands over his stomach, rubbed his thumbs together, and whistled.

Croft was not afraid of someone coming to urge him—the more people came, the more anxious they were.

Anyway, for the same matter, only one person could come down at a time.

However, just as he was in a good mood, a knock on the door rang out.

“Come in.”

The door was pushed open, and a travel-weary young man turned his head left and right,”Excuse me, is this the residence of the instructor of the Magicous Hall?”

Croft turned his head to look at him.

“I am. What’s your business?”

“Oh, so it’s here—great, I didn’t take the wrong path.”

With that, the young man opened the door wide and dragged in a large suitcase.

The eccentric man put his feet down from the edge of the table, stepped on the floor tiles, and surveyed the young man with doubt:”What are you doing?”

“Oh, this is my luggage. Which room is your bedroom?”

“Your luggage? What are you up to?”

“Making the bed.”

“Making the bed?”

Croft wore an incredulous expression:

“Where did you come from? Is this even your residence? Making the bed! And on my bed to boot!”

“You’re Cadre Croft, right? Hello, I’m Yuwen Haowen from Blackfish Dreamscape. A month ago, my mental illusion of the Demon King Hall was submitted for council evaluation. It’s an honor to meet a senior like you. I heard you’re leaving the day after tomorrow, so…”

A chill ran down Croft’s spine.

A dark golden crease shot out from his chest, but no one responded.

“Get out!”

He kicked the man’s luggage out the door, shoved him out, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Bam, bam! Someone knocked outside, but there was no response from inside.

……

In the office, people walked around asking each other questions and exchanging documents to review.

“There shouldn’t be much to do today. Let’s head back.”

Yang Zicang stood up.

Zorro glanced at the fragmentary documents and the mental-field projection in front of him, then stood up, picked up his coat, and said:

“I’ll take a turn in the archive to look up other materials.”

……

The next day, in the main conference room.

“Let me announce some good news.”

Cadre Gong walked into this old-fashioned office that seemed straight out of the late 19th century.

“We’ve invited a designer from Blackfish Dreamscape—Group Leader Yuwen Haowen, who has submitted the Demon King Hall for council review. Everyone, please welcome him.”

An unexpected turning point emerged right at the start of the day.

“Wow.” The crowd buzzed with excitement.

A smiling young man walked in from the conference room door, his steps steady, though he seemed a bit shy.

Their hearts, which had sunk to rock bottom, were instantly reignited with new motivation.

Because the twenty-day deadline set by Executive Officer Croft was almost up, the team had managed to piece together a jumble of arenas and routes. But when these were twisted and combined, they looked nothing more than a nest of ants.

Some pathways, when connected to others, would accidentally lead back to the starting point along someone else’s route, while certain entrances were cleverly positioned to allow a quick arrival at the finish.

What everyone had in hand was basically a perfect Demon Soul Hall for training people who get lost easily—utterly useless for anything else.

But now, finally, a guide was willing to appear in person and offer direction.

“Good morning, colleagues from Starlight Illusion. I am Yuwen Haowen. Starting today, I’ll share with you some of my personal insights into designing Demon Soul-class arena complexes.”

He raised his index finger and thumb, pinching them together lightly in the air, and said:

“Although my Demon Soul Hall is still under review, I believe I’ve accumulated a little experience that I hope might inspire you.”

With the newcomer’s arrival, the entire team instantly radiated a blazing new energy.

Full of confidence, everyone began drastically revising the arena complex plan according to Yuwen Haowen’s design philosophy.

……

“Tomorrow is the twentieth day. What does Croft say?”

In Huan Bao’er’s office, she sat in a vintage curly elm wood chair with soft leather upholstery, resting one wrist on the desk as she looked at Gong Huanwu across from her.

“Chief Executive, although Yuwen Haowen has brought new vitality to the chaotic team, he is, after all, someone whose review hasn’t even been approved yet.”

Gong Huanwu paused, then said:

“Croft contacted me this morning, saying he could give us another ten days. The framework we build will be judged by him. If it doesn’t meet his minimum standards, he’ll still leave.”

“Another ten days? A whole month’s been wasted. This guy’s just squatting on the spot without doing his… “

“Ahem.”

Huan Bao’er shot him a glance. “He must have brought up his design proposal again, right.”

“Yes, but I turned it down on your behalf directly.”

Thump, thump, thump!

A pounding on the door rang out.

“It’s Croft!”

“Come in.”

Croft pushed the door open, sauntered in grandly, chatted idly for a moment, and then said:

“I am truly disheartened that you would hire someone whose review results aren’t even finalized yet to guide your Mochanity Hall design. Do you think a competition arena is something just anyone can handle!”

Isn’t it you who isn’t working? Huan Bao’er sneered in her heart, but spoke politely:

“We always need to give young people a stage to showcase themselves. That’s what Lost Illusion Company has always been doing.”

“Ha, the collision of tens of thousands, the fleeting sparks of life, growth breaking through limits—all turned into a lighthearted ‘giving young people a stage’ in your mouth.”