Chapter 90

"Simple version of the Five Directions and Five Elements Protective Formation, medium: mirror surface."

"This can be used as a base to input Dao power to set up the formation. The formation can undergo changes in five types of techniques: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and can also call upon the Five Directions Guardians to form a defensive barrier."

"After activating the formation, it will consume 1% of the maximum Dao power per second. You can also increase the input of Dao power to enhance the formation's power."

"Note: The formation is embedded on the back of the mirror. After the mirror surface breaks, the simple version of the formation will disintegrate and disappear." Is this... really effective?

"How did you get something like this?" Zhou Xian couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"Of course, I drew it myself. Why don't you try it out for yourself?"

"Okay, let me take a look." Zhou Xian carefully examined the simple version again, then gently input Dao power into it. As he tried to analyze the formation, he found himself becoming increasingly strained. Just looking at the formation gave him a headache. No, to be precise, it was when he compared the image in his mind with the formation that the difference between memory and reality became the most painful. It was as if something in his mind was being "obscured." This feeling made Zhou Xian realize that even if he tried to draw the formation based on this, he would likely make mistakes. It was a bizarre feeling, and Zhou Xian found it hard to explain.

"—Hmm..." He decisively stopped the input of Dao power: "I can't draw this..."

Many things themselves are not particularly significant, but once a trigger is present, miracles can happen.

This formation itself is just a simple shape, nothing special. However, with the energy called "Dao power," an ordinary thing can exhibit extraordinary power. This terrifying power left Zhou Xian in awe.

The mirror, as a medium, is just an ordinary object, yet it can be used to draw the formation, which is quite peculiar.

"Just a little bit of Dao power input, and it becomes like this."

This thing would be quite helpful for his future exploration, so Zhou Xian temporarily put it away.

Since he couldn't analyze or replicate it for the time being, he decided to keep it safe. Overloading the input of power could cause the mirror to shatter, which would be counterproductive. Zhou Xian suddenly felt that he might have missed something important, but when he tried to think about it, he couldn't quite remember.

"Beidou, can this kind of formation be made again?" Zhou Xian quickly asked. If he couldn't draw it, perhaps Beidou could.

"Huh? That's not possible. If you're willing to wait a month, maybe."

"A month?!" Zhou Xian was taken aback.

"The one you have was something I started making a month ago. I only thought of giving it to you because of the Four Saints Formation you just took out. And do you really think I just happened to know the secrets and information about this formation? Do you think I'm some kind of all-knowing person?"

From all angles, you are the all-knowing lady of the game...

"Ah, okay then. But this is enough. Thank you very much." Zhou Xian knew that this formation was quite peculiar. If he tried to draw it himself, and the feeling of being "obscured" in his mind persisted, he might need just as much time.

"Phew~ That's it, I'll take the bento box back now." Beidou turned from the window, took the bento box Zhou Xian had finished, and left with a smile.

"The preparations here are almost complete. Next, I need to get some equipment. I'll discuss it with Old Zhang tomorrow. Now, let me log into the game and check the situation."

Sitting in his seat, Zhou Xian put on the helmet and entered the game.

The city walls of Baihua City had not been repaired but were instead completely dismantled.

However, this place was now a wasteland, and the defensive measures were not very effective.

Currently, the new city was still in the foundation stage.

"To get rich, first build the roads."

Although he was in the game world, transportation was still very important. After determining the basic structure of the new city, the next step was to lay the main roads.

This main road was like the spine of a dragon, running through the entire city.

The designer considered not only the formation and defense but also various commercial and travel aspects, making the design comprehensive. In this regard, even if you combined Zhou Xian, Martin Luther King, and Xiaohei, they still couldn't match the expertise of the designer.

"After exploring the area, I will focus on completing this city."

After patrolling his territory, Zhou Xian made up his mind.

The previous war had become a regular carnival for players. Every day, people came to participate in the chaos. They stored all their equipment in the warehouse, put on basic white gear (with added attributes), and took a pill that prevented experience loss upon death before joining the massive battle.

Unfortunately, this was a player-organized battle, unlike the national wars with rewards and statistics. This battle had no rewards or outcomes.

But for some reason, these people were still enthusiastic.

Thanks to these people expending a lot of energy, although the new city was in a state of reconstruction, there were no major security issues.

After a tour, Zhou Xian logged into the official forum.

Although it had an "official" name, the moderators and administrators were actually chosen by the users themselves.

Zhou Xian opened the search bar and typed in "game company."

Instantly, a large number of posts appeared on the virtual interface.

"It's all complaints about the official..."

Zhou Xian had seen the content before.

The content was basically player complaints.

Things like the monsters in the game being unreasonable, or the quests being bizarre. Zhou Xian didn't even want to think about these things.

"Is there anything useful at all?"

He continued to scroll down. There were occasional posts about gossip and rumors about the game company, but they were not numerous.

"This is—?"

"I went to the headquarters of 'Chuan Shi.'"

There was such a thing?

After seeing this post, Zhou Xian clicked on the article.

This was a post from two years ago. If Zhou Xian hadn't been observant, he might have missed it.

"As promised, I finally arrived in Zhongzhou City today. It is said that the name of Zhongzhou City in the game is named after this city, and the headquarters of Chuan Shi is located here."

It seemed that this person had a reason for exploring the game company?

But that wasn't important. What was important was the content that followed.

"I originally thought the headquarters of the game company would be a mysterious place. However, when I arrived at the company building, I was slightly disappointed. Although it was high-end and luxurious, it was just a regular company from any angle.

The girl at the front desk was beautiful and charming, and I tried every method to get her contact information, but to no avail. Oh well... let's not talk about that. However, the girl was very professional. After I explained my purpose, I received a visitor badge... and then a staff member led me on a tour of the headquarters. I heard that two players came to visit yesterday, but today I was the only one."

"I was first taken to the second-floor cafeteria. There was nothing special about it, but let me tell you, the 'tour guide' girl was absolutely beautiful, cute, and had a very attractive ponytail. If my mother had introduced me to a girl as beautiful as her, I wouldn't have run away from every blind date... The third floor wasn't interesting, and the fourth floor, the development department, was something I was looking forward to, but they said the chief engineer wasn't there, so they didn't let me visit. That was disappointing."

"During lunch, I ate in the cafeteria and then went to the operations center. Although they were very polite, I felt they were hiding something. But it would be strange if they didn't hide anything, given the many corporate spies. Many companies, both domestic and foreign, want to get their hands on Chuan Shi's game engine and AI system. Sometimes I think it's a pity that Shenglong Group didn't apply such a powerful AI to other areas, but only to the game. Although I'm just a player, I still want to say: This is a waste of talent!"

"After lunch, the tour guide girl went to rest, and I wasn't allowed to move around freely without a guide, so I was taken to the employee lounge. I stayed there for an hour until the tour guide girl returned to work. I must say, the employees of this game company are the most professional I've ever seen. During the tour, I didn't see anyone slacking off or being late or leaving early. It's no wonder such a dedicated company can create such a fun and unique game. However, I think they should pay more attention to work-life balance. If they keep this up, will the employees be able to handle it?"

"Then I was taken to meet the CEO, which was a pleasant surprise. I made some suggestions to him and hinted at the secrets of brainwave development, but he just 'hehe'd' it off..."

"As requested, before leaving, I asked about the future updates and policies of the game, but I didn't get any answers. They are very good at dodging questions and keeping a tight lip. It seems many players like me have done this kind of pointless thing..."

"Finally, when I left, the cute tour guide girl gave me a set of commemorative postcards signed by the CEO. It's a pity that the CEO is a man; otherwise, a strong female executive would be even better~"

The article was long, but much of it was unimportant, mostly about the attractive men and women at the game company and the person's suggestions for game development.

At the end, there was a signed postcard, but no internal photos. It was said that the game company did not allow photography inside.

"At least it's a reference."

Although it wasn't very important, it was still easy to understand.

"But, it's too strange... Should I say, is it as Zhang Taihuo said?"

Zhang Taihuo had once told Zhou Xian that the game company seemed to have no problems on the surface.

And this post seemed to convey the same message.

However, Zhou Xian felt something was off.

The content of the article itself was too strange.

Or rather, the world described in the article was too... normal. Because it was normal, and too normal, it made him suspicious.

—There must be something wrong.

He had this feeling more than once.

"In any case, I can pretend to be a visitor and go in for a look tomorrow. As long as I don't touch the company's secrets, there shouldn't be any problems."

Tomorrow is just for reconnaissance.