Late Ming Dynasty: Summoning players from Liaodong to support the Ming Dynasty

"I want you to build me a maze here."

Zhou Keke was stunned.

Holding that precious piece of cement, her face, flushed with excitement, revealed a pure bewilderment for the first time.

maze?

Her brain was racing, and all the data streams—clay ratio, sintering temperature, hydration reaction—came to a standstill.

This was beyond her area of ​​expertise.

She is a civil engineer, not an amusement park designer.

Chu Ze offered no explanation.

He simply stretched out his hand and, on that huge three-dimensional sand table, drew a winding, shocking trajectory from the position representing the West Gate passageway all the way into the city.

The trail winds through three alleyways, finally ending at a densely packed residential area.

"It's not a maze to play in."

Chu Ze's tone carried a metallic coldness.

"It's a killing field where once you enter, you can never leave."

Killing Field.

These three words struck Zhou Keke's central nervous system like an electric current.

Her eyes, which were always slightly evasive due to social anxiety, suddenly lit up.

That wasn't confusion or fear, but a kind of almost abnormal ecstasy that only top professionals can unleash when faced with the ultimate problem!

She understood instantly.

Using architectural structures to guide, divide, surround, and annihilate.

This isn't building a wall; it's clearly the most romantic death concerto ever composed with reinforced concrete!

"I understand!"

Zhou Keke slammed the cement block in her arms onto the table, and a radiance shone from her dusty face that sent chills down Wang Han's spine.

She snatched the charcoal pencil that the clerk next to her hadn't finished using, knelt down on the ground, and spread out a huge blank parchment map.

"Simply using walls is too inefficient! The passageway exit must be narrowed, creating a bottleneck! Here!"

She drew a heavy circle on the drawing with charcoal.

"At the first alleyway, set up a T-shaped barrier with firing ports on both sides! This allows for crossfire coverage!"

"The second alleyway will be made into a one-way ramp; it's easy to come in, but impossible to go back!"

"Here, here, and here! The wall is only half-built, leaving space at the top so Shi Dali and his men can throw down oil canisters and detonators!"

"And the load-bearing structure! We can pre-install explosive points in several key walls! Once the enemy's main force enters the depths of the maze, we can detonate them directly, completely sealing off their retreat!"

Zhou Keke spoke at lightning speed, her charcoal pencil dancing wildly across the map.

One after another, extremely vicious architectural designs flowed from her pen.

That was no longer a map; it was a blueprint for a construction project leading to hell.

Wang Han stood aside, staring blankly at the woman who had instantly transformed from a socially awkward tech geek into a mad architect, feeling a chill creep up his spine.

He always thought that the political maneuvering and tactics he used were dirty enough.

Compared to the woman in front of him, his "things" were as pure as a model student.

What kind of monsters are these players?!

Chu Ze watched Zhou Keke's performance quietly, and the heavy weight in his heart about "coordination" finally lifted.

He doesn't need to explain the details.

He only needs to propose a concept, and these "geniuses" from another world can use their expertise to turn that concept into a perfect killing machine that far exceeds his imagination.

"Can it be completed in one day?" Chu Ze asked the most crucial question.

"Cement takes time to harden," Zhou Keke said without looking up, still engrossed in her design. "With proper curing, it takes at least three days to reach basic strength; otherwise, it'll be a shoddy mess."

"What if I could solidify it like iron in an hour?"

Zhou Keke paused, her pen poised.

She suddenly raised her head, her frighteningly bright eyes fixed on Chu Ze, as if trying to see right through him.

Chu Ze did not answer.

He simply immersed his consciousness into the Mountain and River Map, looking at the spiritual energy that had just surged because Zhou Keke had "lit up" the cement technology, without the slightest hesitation.

[Starting the World Editor (Beginner)]

[Scene modification plan generated...]

[Target: Cement building complex in the Ximen area of ​​Guangning]

[Modified Option: Solidification speed increased tenfold, consumes 4000 Spirit Points]

[Confirm Execution]

An immense, indescribable force swept over Chu Ze.

Zhou Keke felt a blur before her eyes, as if she saw countless golden threads spreading out from the general's body, instantly covering the entire sand table, and then disappearing.

"Now, enough time." Chu Ze's tone was calm and undisturbed.

Zhou Keke didn't ask any more questions.

She glanced deeply at Chu Ze, then lowered her head and continued to refine her death plan with an almost reverent fervor.

Moments later, a brand new, more detailed epic questline unfolded before all players.

[Epic Preparation Sub-Quest: Westgate Maze Construction Project]

[Task Type: Team Collaboration/Timed Challenge]

[Mission Brief: Before the traitor enters his grave, we need to carefully construct a tombstone for him. An eternal tombstone, cast in steel and cement.]

[Mission Objective: Based on the blueprints provided by Chosen One #013, 'Coco is the Best,' complete the construction of the West Gate Killing Maze within one day.]

[Task Reward: Share a total reward pool of 10000 merit points based on your contribution!]

10,000 merit points!

The entire player community was in an uproar once again!

"Holy crap! 10,000 points! The GM's gone mad! That's enough to buy a complete set of endgame gear!"

"Stop talking! Let's get to work! Nobody's stopping me from working today!"

"Coco is awesome! She designed the blueprints all by herself and immediately started an epic quest!"

The West Gate instantly replaced the South Gate, becoming the busiest construction site in Guangning City.

Shi Dali and his group of burly "Kamikaze" members became the main force in transporting cement. The two of them carried a huge wooden barrel filled with freshly mixed cement mortar, running with great speed.

"Get out of my way! Anyone who blocks my path is wasting their merit points!"

Qian Lele then started her live broadcast from the battlefield again, focusing her camera on the bustling construction site.

"Family members! Welcome to the first episode of the large-scale infrastructure reality show 'The Birth of a Wonder'! What we are seeing now is the 'Ximen Aegean Sea' theme park, personally designed by Ms. Zhou Keke, the chief engineer of Guangning and known as the 'Cement Fairy'!"

"Look everyone, that's what they're pouring concrete over there—the famous 'Wall of Sighs'! It's said that any enemy who sees this wall will let out a sigh of despair!"

Wang Han, along with the core members of the [Shenzhou] guild, was responsible for perimeter security.

He kept emphasizing this in the guild chat with a stern face.

"Listen up, everyone! This is a top-secret mission! Anyone who dares to leak a single word about 'Maze' and 'Simon' on the forums or in livestreams will be kicked out of the guild and a bounty will be placed on their head until their account is deleted!"

In the heart of the construction site, Zhou Keke completely transformed into a ruthless tyrant.

"No! The angle of this wall is off by 0.5 degrees! Tear it down and start over!"

"The firing port is too high! Are you trying to shoot down birds in the sky? Lower it to waist height!"

"This batch of cement has the wrong grade! Who the hell added coal ash instead of iron ore powder? Take it out! This pot is ruined!"

Several NPC craftsmen in charge of the construction were berated by her, but they didn't dare to utter a single word.

When Wang Erniu and Li Xunyi arrived after hearing the news, this was the magical scene they saw.

A group of "heavenly soldiers" went mad, building crooked walls in the city with a gray mud they had never heard of before.

Wang Erniu's brain completely shut down.

He grabbed a player who was mixing mud next to him; his eyes, as big as copper bells, were bloodshot.

"What...what are you doing? Building walls in the city? Who are you trying to protect against?"

The player grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Brother Niu, it's a trade secret, no comment! Anyway, following the city lord means you'll get what you deserve!"

Li Xunyi was so angry that his beard was trembling.

He rushed up to Chu Ze, pointed at the huge construction site, and looked heartbroken.

"General! This is absurd! Utterly absurd! To waste so much of the people's resources and manpower just to build these useless structures in the city! This is a sign of national ruin! General, please reconsider and immediately stop this childish act!"

Chu Ze simply watched calmly as the gray maze rapidly took shape.

"Mr. Li, this is not a child's play."

He turned his head and looked at the complex of buildings that was already taking shape, composed of countless death traps, and slowly began to speak.

"This is a grave."

Night slowly fell.

The last bucket of cement has been poured.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a huge labyrinth made of cold, hard gray walls, like a silent prehistoric beast, lies crouching at the throat of the west gate of Guangning.

It was quiet, oppressive, and filled with a suffocating atmosphere of death.

Chu Ze stood atop the city tower at the west gate, the night wind whipping his black cloak, making it flutter loudly.

He looked at his masterpiece, then at the red arrow on the map representing Hu Yongqiang's elite troops, which was less than three miles from the west gate.

Chu Ze slowly raised his hand and gently pressed it down into the void.

"The slaughterhouse is open."