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

Above the new site of "Ark," a military reconnaissance satellite from Project Lighthouse is transmitting real-time images back to the command center located underground in North America.

Analyst Serafina Vince stared intently at the screen, her coffee cup slipping from her hand and crashing to the floor with a sharp sound, but no one paid any attention.

The command center was deathly silent.

On the screen, the outline of a city is "growing" at a speed that completely defies the common sense of physics.

"Report... High-intensity spatial distortion and matter reorganization have occurred in the target area." A technician's voice was dry, as if it had been sanded. "We...we're watching a documentary about city construction sped up a hundred thousand times."

In the footage, the massive foundation was built from scratch in just three minutes. A crisscrossing transportation network spread out across the ground like patterns on a circuit board. Hundreds of meters high building skeletons, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, "grew" out of the ground one after another.

"This isn't technology that humans could possess," Serafina murmured, her eyes filled with fascination and fear. "He didn't even bother to disguise it in a way that we can understand... This is a demonstration, a demarcation of boundaries."

The same scene also played out at the "Red Bear" command post in Russia.

General Ivanov, cigar in mouth, stared silently at the screen. Behind him, a group of officers accustomed to hard battles wore expressions even more grave than when they first encountered the monster.

"General, we..."

"Shut up." Ivanov exhaled a puff of smoke. "Notify our infrastructure department that the plan... is suspended. Once 'Ark' finishes building their city, we'll send someone to 'learn' from them."

He knew very well that this competition, called the "cornerstone of civilization," was not on the same level from the very beginning.

While the others were playing with mud using hoes and shovels, Lu Yuan simply overturned the table and used his Creation Authority to recreate it.

……

Headquarters of the "Sword of Oracle" Guild.

"Splash—"

The expensive ceramic tea set was violently swept to the ground by Xiao Xue and shattered into pieces.

Her chest heaved violently, and her beautiful face was slightly distorted by jealousy and helplessness.

"Cheating! This is blatant cheating!" She stared at the miraculous city on the screen, its construction progressing at breakneck speed. "Our people have been working tirelessly, carrying bricks by hand, and they haven't even dug a foundation in three days! How does he have the upper hand?!"

No one dared to answer her.

Everyone knows why.

Just because he's an administrator.

The rules of the world are designed to serve him alone.

After venting her anger, Xiao Xue gradually calmed down and slumped into a chair. She knew the competition was over. She had lost, and without a doubt.

……

In the living room of the villa.

Lu Yuan was slumped in the sofa, half asleep and half awake.

Su Muqiu and Qin Shiyue stood in front of him, their postures respectful, like subordinates reporting their work.

"Mr. Lu, the effects of the 'Genesis Sand Table' far exceed our expectations." Su Muqiu's tone was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "At the current pace, a super city capable of accommodating 500,000 people can be fully completed in just seven days. This... this is simply a miracle."

"Oh, seven days, that's a bit slow," Lu Yuan mumbled indistinctly with his eyes closed.

He thought it would be done with just one click of a button, but he didn't expect to have to wait a week.

Qin Shiyue and Su Muqiu exchanged a glance, both seeing a bitter smile in each other's eyes.

What is a "miracle" that would overturn their worldview is merely "a little slow" in the eyes of the gentleman.

"Sir, this is our next step plan." Qin Shiyue handed over another document at the opportune moment. "Once the city is completed, we will immediately begin large-scale population influx and functional zoning..."

Lu Yuan waved his hand impatiently.

"You can decide these things yourselves, don't bother me."

For him, his only responsibility was to provide the tools; how to use them was a matter for Su Muqiu and his "tool people" to worry about.

Just then, a gentle system announcement once again resounded in everyone's minds without warning.

[System Patch v1.0.1 Update Announcement]

[1. New "Faction Reputation" System: After the world was reshaped, some intelligent races from *Gods and Demons Era* (such as the Moon Whisperers and the Earthfire Dwarves) are scattered throughout the world. Friendly or hostile interactions with them will change your reputation with that race. High reputation unlocks special quests, trade privileges, and exclusive skills.]

[2. Unlock "Life Skills" Advancement: Once any life skill (such as blacksmithing, cooking, or farming) reaches the expert level, there will be an opportunity to advance to a unique "Master" level profession by completing special tasks.]

[3. Optimized the monster AI in the "Trial Area" to make their behavior patterns more challenging and interesting.]

Wishing you all a pleasant exploration in this new era.

The release of this patch caused the world, which was already boiling over due to the "infrastructure boom," to feel as if a spoonful of hot oil had been poured on it.

"Faction reputation? Like in old games? Can I make friends with the elf ladies now?"

"Master-level skill! Is there a chance my 'Butcher's Skill' can be upgraded to 'Dragon Slayer'?"

"Great! Finally, a new way to play!"

Countless players and survivors cheered for this more vibrant and diverse world.

Only Lu Yuan's face darkened.

"Xiaoya," he called out telepathically.

"Sir, I'm here."

"Was this system update your doing again?"

"Reporting to you, sir, this was not my action. After self-checking, the patch also originated from the autonomous behavior of the system's 'Self-Improvement and Iteration' module. It analyzed the behavioral data and potential needs of global users over the past month and automatically generated and pushed this update." Xiaoya's answer was as calm as ever.

Lu Yuan's lips twitched.

Good guy.

The lousy system he wrote can now not only publish its own KPIs, but also update itself and add new features to please users.

If this continues, will it have to create its own paid skins and offer a VIP membership?

"Mr. Lu?" Su Muqiu asked cautiously, observing Lu Yuan's changing expression, "Was this update... also your arrangement? Was it to give us a new direction for development after the city is completed?"

"Ah, yes, it's my arrangement." Lu Yuan nodded expressionlessly. "You guys handle it as you see fit."

He's too lazy to explain now.

Anyway, even if they say he didn't do it, these people can come up with eight hundred reasons to prove that he did it.

After seeing off Su Muqiu and Qin Shiyue, who were filled with admiration, Lu Yuan lay back on the sofa and covered his eyes with his arm.

He felt a terrible headache.

The world is hurtling headlong in a direction he never anticipated.

He, the nominal "god," felt increasingly like a figurehead.

"no."

He sat up abruptly.

"We need to figure out exactly what this system is trying to do."

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness instantly sank into the vast, star-like underlying code of the "New Era".

-

He wants to follow the self-generated code to find the source of this "artificial intelligence".

-

However, when his consciousness pierced through layers of data barriers and reached the core area, what he saw was not a piece of cold logic code, but a... light.

-

It was an ocean formed by countless tiny points of light.

-

- Each point of light represents a human being's hope, dream, prayer, and will.

-

What the system is doing is not simple iteration, but faithfully and clumsily responding to every strongest thought in this ocean.

-

- People crave order, hence the mission of "model cities".

-

- People crave exploration and communication, hence the "faction reputation" system.

-

- People yearn to create the extraordinary from the ordinary, and thus the "master-level profession" came into being.

-

What he created was not a program at all.

-

-This is a nascent form of world will that is growing vigorously on the soil of the collective unconscious of all mankind.

-

Lu Yuan fell silent.

-

He felt like a passerby who casually scattered some seeds by the roadside, and accidentally grew a towering tree.

-

"Managing a world that's prone to bugs is troublesome enough."

-

"Now, I'm also in charge of managing a...growing world?"

-

He opened his eyes, let out a long sigh, and slumped back into the sofa.

-

"What a hassle."