Seized by the System

Think Tank Group Captain’s Office, Truth Department.

Ren Ruofeng was currently reading a report.

“The first batch of countries that are willing to elect members for ‘The Alliance of Justice and Order’ are China, Goguryeo, Silla ¹ , the Mughal Empire ² , Guifang, Ukraine, Cloud Fog City, etc. A total of 14 countries and regions with a total population of 1.83 billion and a total area of 14.9 million square kilometers.”

A majority of the countries either had friendly relations with China, or had suffered serious invasions from evil demons. As for powerful countries and regions like Russia, the USA, England, and Europe, they paid no heed to the Truth Department’s proposal at all.

“As expected, although everyone knows that in this era of Vitality Recovery, China is the strongest and harbors the most potential, the process of converting that into actual influential power to establish new justice and order and to carry the responsibility of doing so still requires taking things a step at a time.”

The bronze mirror atop the table reflected Ren Ruofeng’s stern face and cold gaze.

The merciful were not capable of handling an army; as the leader of the Truth Department’s Think Tank Group, Ren Ruofeng was a scary person once he set his heart to it, so he was not someone that should be taken lightly.

He proceeded to make a few phone calls.

“Yes, that’s right, the first Alliance meeting will be in the sky above the very middle of The Pacific Ocean, the coordinates are…

“That’s right, it’ll be a sky meeting. All participating members should naturally know how to fly; if they can’t even do that, how can they serve justice? Although having the thought is good, it would be best if they cultivated a bit before leaving so they don’t drag anyone down with them.

“The Hundred Herbs Clan sent a young lady that can’t fly? That’s alright, just have Qiao Zijiang bring that lady along; Qiao Zijiang improves fast and that big cotton cloud can fit two more people.

“It’ll be hard to decorate a meeting place in the sky, so there’s no need to do so. Everybody can just stand around in a circle; all attendees are Extraordinaires, so we’re looking at potential, not how they look like. Just send the notice as so; a week after, have each country and region send their selected member to the venue punctually.”

…

Very soon, China’s Truth Department’s notice had reached the other countries. News spread fast, soon, the media and netizens of the countries were engaged in hot discussion.

“An alliance meeting in the sky. Ever since civilization was born, this has never happened before. It fits the new era perfectly. What creativity.” There were positive comments.

“What is there in the sky? Are they just going to enjoy the high altitude breezes?” There were negative comments as well.

“I heard that the notice only went to slightly more than ten countries, so it’s obvious that China isn’t very good at appealing to people. Everyone is simmering with the drive to make other powerful countries submit and admit that China is the core of the new era, however it’s still too early.” Some just wanted to watch a good show.

“It’s a good idea, using this as an opportunity to expand their influential power worldwide. However, there’s a Chinese saying, exposed rafters are the first to rot. ³ I’m afraid they themselves have forgotten it. As the organizers and advocates of this whole thing, they’re definitely eyesores to the demons. I wonder how the demons want to torture them.” Some also wanted to gloat about the whole thing if it went down in flames.

The era of vitality recovery had officially kicked off in 2017 with the Flame Meteor incident. Only small matters happened before that, barely anyone knew about the limits of things and the speed of cultivation was slow.

However, the effects of cultivation from the past ten months were significantly better than the effects of cultivation from the past 20 years before that.

The first year of the era had not even passed yet, so it was too early to decide who was the ruler of everything under the sky. Besides that, there was not only a lot of powerful demons still in hiding, the number of powerhouses that had descended from the mysterious Upper Realm was but a handful at best.

Especially the South Asian countries led by India and Vietnam; they had the most disputes with China. They were only waiting for China to fall because of this whole matter so that they could successfully take over.

If this was something good, why didn’t the USA or England do something instead?

They just had to wait until China did something, and they only waited because the evil demons had not revealed themselves fully yet. Otherwise, nobody would willingly want to be the target of public criticism.

However, they did not know that whatever they thought of, Ren Ruofeng could too.

Ren Ruofeng had picked a time like this to propose a global organization was of course because he had made preparations early; now that the heavens and the earth were one, he could finally make his move.

He had his own intentions, but he was acting mostly for the public. However, the human mind is complex and conflict of interests would always happen. So what if Ren Ruofeng was acting on behalf of the public, there was no guarantee that people would accept his kindness. All they could see right now was China attempting to expand their influence using this organization, they just could now see how important this organization was for the safety of the world.

…

Fang Ning received his noticed quickly, so he quickly pulled up the world map using the System Cyber Café’s computer. The coordinates really were for the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The agenda of the Alliance meeting and the organization structure were all prepared by the Truth Department beforehand. Personnel members were assigned to the tasks and a professional secretary would be stationed at the meeting, so the Alliance leader would not have to worry about anything.

Fang Ning had no experience in things like this at all, so he could care less.

As a guy with the ambition to be able to hole himself up at home daily, he did not have much interest in national matters or global changes.

However, he could not exactly carry out that ambition if the outer world fell into chaos, which gave him no other choice but to help the System with its plans that would provide security and peace.

Now that he had gotten the Truth Department’s notice, Fang Ning was only focused on one thing and one thing alone – what act did he have to put on to convince the other friendly states?

Ren Ruofeng did not care about grandeur; the most important thing was the showcasing of potential. However, Fang Ning did not have to worry about potential, grandeur was something he should be worried about instead.

After reading the entire notice, Fang Ning made a direct phone call to the Truth Department to confirm things, and the reply he got from the officer was nothing more than a huge disappointment.

The officer had said, “It is after all a sky meeting. Captain Ren said that simple is best, so everyone can just stand in a circle to mimic a roundtable discussion. Everyone is to speak in order. According to our proposal, the setting of rules and regulations as well as the structuring of the organization will take up a few days.”

How would that work? Where would he have the space to show off his grandeur as the Alliance leader? What can he do when they were just going to be standing around for a meeting?

Fang Ning was extremely unhappy. Suddenly, the gears in his head turned and an idea popped into his head.

He immediately asked the System, who was currently arresting thieves, “The gate to the Draconic Arcane Realm, can it change forms?”

The System answered, “That gate is the body of Achilles, the realm spirit. If you want it to change forms, just go to him.”

“That’s more like it. Let me go check on the progress of the Draconic Arcane Realm.”

“Mr. Rich Boss, are you planning on showing off again?”

Fang Ning was speechless for a moment before he said, “I’m off for official business this time around, I have to plan a grand inauguration ceremony. It has to be sacred and majestic, then only can I establish my authority. It would be easier for me to give orders; otherwise my position as Alliance leader will be nothing more than a joke.”

The System responded, “I don’t understand… Anyway, whoever dares to go against your orders will be knocked out by me.”

Fang Ning spluttered, “Don’t be so violent. Besides, you’re still restricted by your chivalry, so how can you hit people as you please?”

“If they’re not obeying your orders, that means they’re violating your authority. Embarrassing you in broad daylight definitely triggers Obsession, which will turn them red immediately.”

“You always have farming on your mind… Do I seem like a violent and unreasonable person?”

Fang Ning was incredibly displeased at the System’s words. He mumbled to himself as the System sent him to the Draconic Arcane Realm, which was the legendary space in the Interspatial Equipment that was exactly one square kilometer wide.

All Fang Ning saw were souls going about their business as they flew from top to bottom. Nobody was taking a break, I mean, they did not exactly need to take breaks like humans…

The arcane realm was designed to have three levels. The top level was currently being used to house people and plant crops, the middle level was currently an arena, while the bottom level was a maze full of traps.

Right after Fang Ning entered the realm, he immediately went to the top level first. As compared to the last time he was here, the difference was significant.

He swept his gaze from one side to the other, from top to bottom. The ground below his feet was firm and lush with grass that swayed in the breeze; wildflowers dotted the ground and butterflies flitted from one bush to another. It was no longer a desolate sight.

The air was filled with the smell of soil and grass. Fang Ning heaved a deep breath and satisfaction filled his body to the core.

This was his own land…

It was a land that would not be stolen, or smashed, or destroyed by anyone.

The System, with its thoughts only focused on farming monsters and practicing, knew nothing about running simulated management. Due to this very reason, all the rights to this place, including usage rights, were completely grasped in Fang Ning’s hand.

With only a single order, a large number of free laborers would help Fang Ning do his work for him.

Once Fang Ning realized this, he was filled with an odd sense of accomplishment, which was paired together with a sense of accomplishment and a sense of security.

This place was self-sufficient and allowed him to laze to his heart’s content. If he was ever sick of whatever he was doing, he could take a break and enjoy nature. He did not need to worry about being watched here too.

Whoever that dared to be insolent here would not be let off by a certain someone, and they would just be sent off to the isolation cells in the Draconic Penitentiary!

He silently made up his mind before he continued to observe things in detail.

He realized that everything coincided with Anderson’s regular updates on the process of the entire project.

Anderson did not fake their reports, nor did they exaggerate the progress made. After all, lying to the warden brought severe consequences, and Anderson would never dare to do so.

Besides, there really was no need to lie. Fang Ning never prompted them to hurry up; all he asked for was quality, not speed. After all, Fang Ning was after a family business that would last thousands and thousands of years.

The ground beneath him was ten meters in depth. The first five meters were made up of dark brown fertile soil, which was followed by five meters of hard rock.

The hard rock layer contained a great number of unique stones, and these unique stones bore the markings of all the formations they knew of.

These included the Levitating Formation and the Defense Formation, which made up layers upon layers of hard rock; this allowed the soil and rocks that formed an enormous and stable foundation to be lifted up easily.

These were only construction done in the early stages of things; after the later stage of construction, numerous pillars connecting all three layers together would be erected. These pillars would take on various forms, but their purpose would be to lessen the consumption of vitality by the Levitating Formations.

However, why was everything being built from the top to the bottom, and not vice versa? This was where Anderson’s brilliance shone through.

It was simple; from the design of the top level, it was obvious that it would be used by the warden and his friends and family… Naturally, this meant it needed to be constructed first.

This paid off evidently, as the warden seemed to be very pleased with what he was seeing.

Anderson had long noticed Fang Ning’s appearance, and had immediately came over.

“Sir, progress is going well, and our construction funds are just enough as we could leave out pay for labor, which would have amounted to a lot. Although what we are after is top-tier quality, but our expenses can still be restricted to within our budget.” They wasted no time as they immediately made a summarized update.

Fang Ning nodded his head in reply.

The construction process of this arcane realm involved great expenditures. After managing to bluff Sir System, Fang Ning had gotten all the money he needed from Sir System’s treasury.

There was no need to mention anything else; the materials need to build the foundation of such a large area was already a big expenditure. Not to mention they had to buy rocks that could handle formations.

Fang Ning had seen the proposed budget that Anderson had presented. One cubic meter of normal rock cost $140, and one square kilometer was one million square meters. After multiplying that by five, that would bring it to five million square meters. The foundation for a single level cost $5 billion, so three levels would cost $15 billion in total.

Even the soil cost money. However, it cost much less.

These were only the materials needed for the foundation of everything. There were other much more expensive materials that were related to vitality. If this went on, Sir System’s huge amount of cash would all be spent in the blink of an eye.

Ever since then, Sir System has been drawn in by his bait every day as it would always look forward to the time it would be able to borrow money from Fang Ning.

That reality was not far, however, since the industry of competitive battles between spiritually-controlled mech was in full swing. With the support of favorable terms and the strong appeal of the industry, it was significantly taking over other entertainment industries, thus contributing to the rapid increase of its GDP.

To put it in simpler terms, it was basically moving the resources from other entertainment industries into its own. After all, the overall consumption power of humans would reach its limit after a certain stage.

It was guaranteed that the prisoners in the Draconic Penitentiary that belonged to Fang Ning would soon earn a lot of money from the industry, which would end up in Fang Ning’s account in the end. It would not be long before Sir System’s “Mr. Rich Boss” nickname for Fang Ning would actually fit him.

After helping Cloud Fog City the last time, Sir System had earned 5 billion USD. In addition, there was also the online shop that Zheng Dao was managing and the restaurants Fang Ning were managing. The construction fund for the arcane realm was now funded through all these means.

This proved another point – nobody would dare to attempt a construction project of such a large scale. Even if they did dare to do so, they would never have the patience needed to wait for profits to return…

Only Sir System and Fang Ning, who both agreed that they had a long life ahead of them, had excellent patience and were amazing at earning money, would have the idea to attempt a construction of such a large-scale.

A single level would be 33 meters in height. The foundation already took up ten meters, which meant that there was still 23 meters of free space.

As he walked along the floor, Fang Ning craned his neck upwards to look at the sky. It was an extremely comfortable sight, since the height of a single floor of a common building would be three meters at most.

Now that the foundation of the top level was done, most of the soul prisoners were busy building villas, gardens, and herb fields so that the level could be put to use as soon as possible

Two villas were already done. They were gorgeous and extravagant, and could fit a hundred people with ease.

Anderson proceeded with their introduction, “We predict that this level will be done in half a month or so. By then, you will be able to move in advance.”

Fang Ning smiled, “There’s no need for that, I’m in no hurry. By the way, I need you to add a temporary function for me… Since this top level is almost done after all. Can you see if you could temporarily arrange a venue that would be hosting numerous heroes from around the world? It has to have a high-end atmosphere, yet it should also be full of depth and low-key extravagance. In conclusion, I want a place where people will be stopped in their tracks immediately upon entry.”

Anderson was not shocked in the slightest. Instead, he was relieved, ‘Thank god I had precautions in place and started construction from top to bottom. I already expected that this Sir would not have the patience to wait for things to be done, and might need to use this place in advance.’

It was just like how people preferred food to be served in restaurants. Customers would rather their food were served one-by-one upon completion instead of having all the dishes being served at once.

Anderson immediately replied, “I will satisfy you, Sir. I will draw a few blueprints for you in a while, and you may pick the one that is most suitable for the occasion.”

Fang Ning was incredibly pleased. He hesitated for a bit before he retrieved a few valuable Vitality Pills that he usually used for cultivation, which he then passed to Anderson as encouragement. The pills were no inferior goods, in fact, they were made from top-tier Vitality Crops.

Otherwise, his spiritual sense cultivation would have taken twice the amount of time. SS-grade potential meant fast cultivation, but it also meant cultivation would be a great burden on vitality.

Anderson was more than grateful. Although working for this Sir was very tiring, but their hard work would almost always be paid back immediately.