Chapter 2: The Changing City

At first, Li Mingxing hesitated when he saw the architectural blueprint for the Mercenary Barracks. He didn't know what kind of troops could ultimately be trained there. But after the beautiful bartender heard his thoughts, she burst out laughing. The so-called Mercenary Barracks was simply a term phrased in a way understandable to people from Earth; in reality, it wasn’t meant for recruiting mercenaries, but rather for enhancing one's strength.

Once a Mercenary Barracks was built in a city, every person entering Li Mingxing’s city for the first time could undergo a free training session there, upgrading one of their combat skills from level 0 to level 2. Of course, there were limitations. Ordinary soldiers under Li Mingxing’s command couldn’t use the Mercenary Barracks. And for his followers, they could only access this benefit if they entered a city projection where a Mercenary Barracks existed; otherwise, those unable to enter his city would never enjoy this privilege.

Even so, this prospect greatly tempted Li Mingxing. He remembered that Raymond had explained the world’s levels: a hero who mastered a level 2 (ordinary level) skill could advance from apprentice hero to ordinary hero. In other words, once the Mercenary Barracks was constructed, Li Mingxing could reach higher levels faster than other heroes, and he could project this benefit outward to empower his followers.

Driven by such ambition, Li Mingxing gritted his teeth and accepted a nearly impossible task: to find and kill a follower of a Light-element apprentice hero in the real world. He specifically asked the bartender about this, and she replied that the reward would always be tied to this task, regardless of who received it. Structures like the Mercenary Barracks usually appeared only after most apprentice heroes had become ordinary heroes. By then, surviving heroes would hide themselves well. Encounters in the inner world were straightforward, but finding enemies in the real world was almost impossible.

Thus, one could only kill enemy followers in reality. If someone was lucky enough to kill an opposing hero, they could select two more blueprints from among the Astrolabe (for auxiliary skill enhancement), Wisdom Stone (for magic skill enhancement), and Command Tower (for military skill enhancement). This explanation helped Li Mingxing understand how mission difficulty was calculated and that these rewards weren't granted for nothing, whether from a mentor’s tasks or so-called side quests; the one issuing the task always gained the greatest benefit.

He wondered when he would stop being the one completing tasks and instead become the person who issues them.

With these thoughts, Li Mingxing left the mysterious bar. When he returned to his temporary rental, intending to check on his city, he suddenly realized someone was inside. Focusing, he saw it was his senior, Zheng Yuan, who now resembled an enraged lioness, her eyes red and fixed on him.

Before Li Mingxing could speak, Zheng Yuan shouted, “You actually remembered to come back! Where have you been all these days? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?” Li Mingxing was stunned at first, then felt a surge of emotion. He calculated how long he’d been in the inner world and compared its time ratio to the real world; he realized he had vanished for about six days.

Looking around, he saw his belongings had been moved, even his bed had been slept in. Li Mingxing understood that Zheng Yuan had waited here for him all those days.

Seeing Zheng Yuan’s anger and concern, Li Mingxing felt deeply touched. If he hadn’t wanted to keep her out of the inner world’s affairs, he would have told her everything. Just then, Zheng Yuan noticed the emotion in his eyes and snapped, “What’s that look for? I’m just worried about you, nothing more! I have to go to work now, so I won’t bother with you.”

With that, Zheng Yuan swiftly grabbed her purse and dashed out the still-open door, pausing to add, “Next time you disappear, leave me a message. Otherwise, you’ll regret it!”

Watching her retreating figure, Li Mingxing could only sigh inwardly, setting aside his complicated feelings for her.

After securing the doors and windows, Li Mingxing didn’t hurry to enter his city. First, he meticulously cleaned his apartment, then opened the pathway to his city.

Upon entering, his eyes immediately fell on a new Elemental Pool between the city hall and the open plaza. Yet this Elemental Pool was somewhat different from the one he’d seen in the inner world; at its center stood a statue of Li Mingxing himself. Of course, the carving was rather rough, not particularly well-crafted.

Additionally, at the edge of his city appeared a structure resembling a massive gate—about fifteen meters tall and nine meters wide. Its borders were adorned with carvings of various desert troops and elemental forms. On its front was inscribed, “Adventure 7 Underground 561, 721.” Li Mingxing understood this gate connected to a projection he’d left in the inner world. With sufficient energy, he could send or transfer troops through it.

However, the energy required was immense. Placing his hand on the gate, he felt that sending a first-tier unit cost one spirit coin, second-tier two, third-tier four, and with each tier, the cost doubled. If the troop numbers were small, it was manageable; but with larger forces, the spirit coins consumed could almost summon a whole new army.

While Li Mingxing observed these changes, Zhao Wenbin arrived, promptly reporting on the city’s recent developments.

During Li Mingxing’s absence, Zhao Wenbin had been busy. He calculated the city’s total area—2173.5 mu—with four-fifths available for large-scale construction. He had also organized the uneven terrain for the fierce demon slaves’ dwellings. Next, he improved the livestock area and dug a stream beside it, planning for Li Mingxing to catch some fish, hoping to diversify meals since he was tired of mushroom stew.

Soon, Zhao Wenbin had no time to idle. After Li Mingxing established the city and created its projection, Zhao Wenbin had to handle subsequent matters.

He needed to select fifty fierce demon slaves and designate an area for projection. City projection wasn’t simple; a certain percentage of the projected area would automatically generate corresponding buildings based on the original city’s layout—even if those buildings hadn’t been constructed yet, he had to anticipate future developments. Otherwise, there might be issues with misplaced or misattributed structures, complicating matters.

Additionally, he had to decide which buildings generated by the city projection to accept. Accepting a building didn’t cost energy or spirit coins, but it did occupy space and consume materials. If changes were made after construction, it would waste both time and resources.

Considering the time difference between the inner and real worlds, Zhao Wenbin had invested considerable effort to arrange everything. During this projection, he constructed the city’s connecting gate and Elemental Pool.

The statue of Li Mingxing atop the Elemental Pool wasn’t Zhao Wenbin’s idea, but that of the two Graystone Warriors who served as gatekeepers. They had spent their idle time carving statues, though their skills were lacking and the creations possessed no special properties.

Li Mingxing was quite satisfied with Zhao Wenbin’s work. He patted Zhao Wenbin’s shoulder, saying, “You’ve done a splendid job this time. Here is the blueprint for the marketplace. See if you can build it within three days. By the way, the marketplace has requirements—ideally, every projection area should have a marketplace projection.”

Zhao Wenbin immediately responded, “Ah, that’s public infrastructure, then. It should go in the public area.”

“Oh, you’ve partitioned my city into districts?” Li Mingxing was intrigued.

“Of course. With nothing else to do, I reviewed the city and projection guidelines. If you don’t partition the city, you’ll face many problems eventually,” Zhao Wenbin explained.

Listening to Zhao Wenbin’s explanation, Li Mingxing grew more and more pleased. He knew that without rules, any force would crumble; without regulations, any city would descend into chaos. Zhao Wenbin was precisely the subordinate needed to establish order, and Li Mingxing was well aware of this fact.