Five days had passed since the Hong City incident, bringing the date to the end of December.
As the New Year’s bells rang outside the window, the date in the bottom-right corner of the computer screen changed from 12/31/234 of the New Calendar to 1/1/235.
The new year had begun.
Zhou Chen stretched in his office chair and turned to look out the window at the thick, swirling snow. He wanted to go out and build a snowman.
"You’re not leaving until your work is done."
Jiang Che said without looking up from her phone on the sofa. An AI-synthesized voice could be faintly heard from it, "Now, look closely. This man’s na is Jack..."
"Alright, alright..."
Zhou Chen sighed and went back to the mountain of files in his inbox. "Since when did you get into watching those clickbait videos that they split into a million parts?" he asked casually.
Jiang Che’s voice was flat, with a hint of languor. "I’m a human, not a robot. I need so downti to relax."
"In that case, let sincerely recomnd the ga *Demon God*. An esports team just achieved their dream and won the championship today. There’s this one *Demon God* player on the team who is just full of crazy strats. Anyone who doesn’t play *Demon God* is dood to live a relatively unfulfilled life..."
Jiang Che couldn’t be bothered to respond.
"By the way, what’s Old Yang been up to lately? I haven’t seen him since we got back from Hong City," Zhou Chen asked.
It was true. Ever since he’d transmigrated, he’d only seen Old Yang once during a car chase. After that, nothing.
But Old Yang had kept Forbidden Objects like the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw, the Blindfolded Sunglasses, and the Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle safe, and they were all back in his possession now.
According to Jiang Che, Old Yang had run into those freaks from the Arican Chainsaw Murder Association back in Hong City. They’d tried to steal the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw, but after Old Yang took out a few of them, they’d gone quiet.
"He took so ti off to see his girlfriend. He’ll be back in a few days."
"They got back together?" Zhou Chen asked, surprised.
"Yeah."
’Alright, then.’ Old lovers, reunited after years apart... Zhou Chen didn’t need to be a genius to guess how reluctant Old Yang would be to return. As he reviewed the files, a flicker of curiosity arose. "Do you know why Old Yang defected from Oga?"
"It had to do with a major incident eight years ago," Jiang Che said. "His partner was killed by one of their own. That, combined with his long-standing disagreents with Oga’s principles, led him to rebel one night. He destroyed a new recruit training camp, then ended up drifting to Jinzhu, where the Chairman took him in."
"I see..."
’I rember Old Yang’s heartfelt wish was to get revenge for soone. It seems obvious now that person was his forr partner.’
「Half an hour later.」
After finishing the pile of docunts, Zhou Chen said goodbye to Jiang Che, grabbed his coat, and left the Star Association. He headed for his villa, braving the heavy, blanketing snow.
Even though it was late, the streets were still lively with people laughing and playing in the snow. Snow was a rare novelty in a city like Jinzhu—the kind of thing that would make the news.
Back at his villa, Zhou Chen turned on the lights, and the dark, silent room was instantly flooded with light.
He took off his coat and sighed wistfully. After living with Li Xiye and the dog for two months, he had grown accustod to the lively atmosphere.
Now that he was living alone again, the place couldn’t help but feel empty and lonely.
Zhou Chen went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of Happy Water, and twisted it open, chugging it all. GULP. GULP. He then tossed the empty bottle in a perfect arc, sinking it into the trash can like a basketball shot. After that, he turned and headed straight downstairs to the basent Alchemy Room.
A wave of heat washed over him as he opened the door.
Inside the Alchemy Room, cast in a crimson glow from the flas, stood a new, exquisitely crafted tal furnace. It was as tall as a man, crimson from top to bottom, its surface covered in intricate, ancient-looking fla patterns.
Zhou Chen had spent his free ti over the past few days holed up building this furnace. It wasn’t an ordinary Alchemy lting Furnace, but a [Forging lting Furnace]—an Extraordinary Artifact imbued with the properties of Forging by the Hamr of Forging.
The Forging lting Furnace was a fully automatic artifact. It required no manual operation; one simply had to ignite it with Energy, add the materials, and it would automatically forge them into an Extraordinary Artifact.
Zhou Chen walked up and touched the Forging lting Furnace. With a single thought, the heavy furnace vanished, transported to the Round Table Hall.
He returned to the living room, sat on the sofa, and closed his eyes. His consciousness ascended to the Round Table Hall. There, a figure shrouded in white mist drifted out from a two-story building he had built. It gazed out at the boundless, fog-filled space. After he had condensed the Golden Soul Fragnt, this space had expanded, the Power he could command had grown, and he had unlocked several new Abilities.
At Zhou Chen’s command, the white mist surged, and the Round Table Hall expanded once more. An ancient, open gateway materialized on what was once a solid wall. Beyond it lay a spacious room where the Forging lting Furnace stood alone.
’The furnace is in place. Next up, the System Panel.’
Zhou Chen made a wish. "I wish for a Wish Value system."
The mont he finished, starlight flickered within the Wish Bottle. An interface resembling a ga panel materialized before him, displaying a single line of text.
[Wish Value: 278]
’So my Wish Value is quantified now, with starlets as the basic unit. This ans my total Wish Value is equivalent to 278 starlets...’
Zhou Chen thought for a mont, then continued his command. "Add a Weapon Forging system. The detailed settings are as follows:
1. The Forging lting Furnace must be ignited using Wish Value. The system will automatically analyze the Wish Value required for forging, triple the base cost as the listed price, and transfer the surplus Wish Value to the Wishing Fountain.
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