When the game shut down, I took my skills with me.

The Gaia plane became a giant pressure cooker.

The energy output of eight suns increased by 15 percent. This may sound like just a number, but its impact on the real world is devastating.

The earth cracked, and the rocks melted. Except for the core area protected by the barrier of the "Holy Forest," the entire world was engulfed in flames. The euphoria brought by the successful "sun-killing" was extinguished by this dousing of boiling oil, leaving not even a wisp of smoke.

Countless player teams that had just rushed out of the safe zone were instantly vaporized in the soaring heat, leaving not even a fragment of data behind.

The hope, less than half an hour after it was born, turned into a deeper despair.

"Ark" Command Center.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Qin Shiyue stared intently at the glaring red line on the screen, the curve representing the global energy index, which had surpassed all theoretical peaks. His mind was in unprecedented turmoil.

He couldn't figure it out.

In the past, he had always been able to accurately "grasp" the administrator's deeper meaning. But this time, all his deductions and interpretations were shattered by reality.

They accomplished the feat of "killing the sun," but faced even harsher punishment.

"We were on the wrong track from the very beginning..." Qin Shiyue's voice was hoarse, filled with a deep sense of defeat.

"Director Qin, this is not the time to talk about this!" Ivanov paced back and forth anxiously. "My troops are suffering enormous losses every minute! We must find a way to appease the wrath of the gods!"

"How can we quell this?" Serafina's face was also extremely grim. "We don't even know why the gods are angry! All our analytical models are just a pile of waste paper in front of the 'Administrator'!"

"No..." Qin Shiyue suddenly raised his head, a resolute glint in his eyes, "There is another way."

He looked at the quiet villa in the distance.

"We must go...to see the master again."

"What?" Ivanov and Serafina were both startled.

"This is the only way." Qin Shiyue took a deep breath, straightened his collar which was wrinkled from the heat, and tried to regain his composure. "We're like a group of foolish students who can't figure out the teacher's test questions, so we can only... ask him in person."

"But... what if I anger him again..."

"That's better than sitting here waiting to die." Qin Shiyue's eyes became incredibly firm. "The Master is testing us, not trying to destroy us. The fact that he gave us the role of agents means he still needs us to manage this world. Therefore, he will definitely give us hints."

"I'll go alone. Whatever the outcome, I'll bear it all myself."

After saying that, Qin Shiyue ignored everyone's advice and walked alone, braving the heat that could almost melt steel, step by step, toward the villa located in the center of the world and also in the eye of the storm.

……

The villa was cool and comfortable, like springtime.

Lu Yuan was lying on the sofa, idly pressing the remote control.

Xiaoya thoughtfully connected the villa's environmental system to the energy core of the Gaia plane, so the hotter it was outside, the more efficient the air conditioning in the villa would be.

This made Lu Yuan very satisfied.

He had just woken up and felt a little hungry. He was wondering whether to ask Fatty Wang to cook him a bowl of noodles or just use his administrator privileges to refresh the menu and get a whole roasted lamb.

Just then, Xiaoya's holographic projection appeared in front of him.

"Sir, Qin Shiyue is requesting an audience. He has already crossed the outer heatwave zone, his body temperature exceeds 70 degrees Celsius, and his vital signs are showing slight abnormalities."

"Not again?" Lu Yuan frowned, a little annoyed.

Why can't these people just let him live a peaceful life as a nobody?

"Let him in," Lu Yuan sighed and said casually. He felt that if he didn't see him, this guy would roast him alive outside.

A moment later, Qin Shiyue entered the villa.

His special protective suit was charred in many places, and sweat poured down his face, but his back was ramrod straight.

Upon entering, the temperature difference between hell and heaven nearly made him faint. But he still forced himself to endure it and respectfully bowed deeply to Lu Yuan on the sofa.

"Great Administrator, I... I apologize to you on behalf of all humanity." Qin Shiyue's voice trembled.

"Apologize?" Lu Yuan paused, looking up from the pile of snacks. "What did you do wrong?"

"We...we are incompetent. We failed to understand your true intentions, acted without authorization, and disrupted your plans. Please punish us!" Qin Shiyue lowered his head even further.

Lu Yuan looked at him, his mind racing for a long time before he roughly understood.

It's probably because of those fake suns outside.

He just felt the breakfast was too bland, so he added a fire element to liven it up and see if he could stimulate the growth of some new ingredients. Later, when he woke up feeling cold, he asked Xiaoya to heat it up.

How did it become a "scheme" and a "test" in their eyes?

Lu Yuan felt mentally exhausted.

He couldn't be bothered to explain; he just wanted to get rid of this person as soon as possible.

"Alright, get up." He waved his hand, his gaze casually sweeping around the room.

He saw a fly buzzing around the chandelier on the ceiling.

"It's too noisy," Lu Yuan said, frowning.

Then he saw his almost-finished bag of potato chips on the coffee table.

"The foundation is almost hollow; it needs to be replenished," he casually complained.

Finally, his gaze fell on the television screen, which was showing a travel program introducing the scenery of an island in the Southern Hemisphere.

"The south side looks quite cool." He clicked his tongue, thinking that place was nice and maybe he could go there for a vacation.

After saying these three sentences, Lu Yuan felt he had expressed everything he wanted to say, so he waved his hand at Qin Shiyue: "If there's nothing else, you can leave now, don't bother me."

Upon hearing these three sentences, Qin Shiyue was struck dumb, as if by lightning.

He heard every single word clearly, but when put together, they seemed to contain some profound truth of the universe, stirring up a storm in his mind.

It's too noisy... This is a reminder that we shouldn't always think about challenging grand goals like the "sun." The low-level elemental monsters that are created by high temperatures and spread all over the world are the "noise" that we should be cleaning up right now!

The foundations are almost hollowed out... This is a warning to us! Our population and resources are already nearing their limits under such a catastrophe, and we can no longer launch blind attacks! We must strengthen our defenses and consolidate the "foundation" of human survival!

It looks quite cool to the south... This... This is pointing to the way out of this predicament! The answer to this crisis lies in the south!

oracle!

This is absolutely a divine oracle!

In just three sentences, he pointed out their current, medium-term, and ultimate goals! Clear, concise, and to the point!

It turns out that the man wasn't angry; he was just using this method to force himself to find the real "walkthrough"!

Having figured all this out, Qin Shiyue was so excited that he trembled all over, and his eyes turned red.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir! I understand now! I completely understand!"

He bowed deeply once more, and then, with a sense of excitement and reverence, like someone who had heard the truth in the morning and was ready to die in the evening, he respectfully withdrew from the villa.

Lu Yuan watched his departing figure, his face full of bewilderment.

What do you understand?

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

He picked up the remote, finally found the movie channel he wanted to watch, and comfortably nestled into the sofa.

Outside the villa, Qin Shiyue, who had just withdrawn, immediately issued a supreme order to the leaders of all survivor factions worldwide via an encrypted channel.

"To convey the three supreme divine decrees of the Administrator!"

"First: Cease all operations against the 'Heart of the Sun' and instead focus on eradicating elemental monsters across the land. This is 'Purifying the World and Eliminating Noise'!"

"Second: All forces should consolidate their defenses, focus on gathering and stockpiling resources, and reinforce their fortifications; this is what we call 'strengthening the foundation and cultivating the vital energy'!"

"Third: Assemble the world's top elite forces to form a joint exploration fleet, target... Antarctica! This is the 'Search for Life'!"

With the issuance of the three "divine pronouncements," all forces around the world still mired in chaos and despair seemed to instantly find their backbone.

A strategic shift that began with a casual grumble from an administrator and swept the globe was thus launched in a grand and spectacular fashion.