I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Eastern Territory, Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect, Main Hall Study.

Ophelia was sitting at her desk copying scriptures, partly to cultivate her mind and partly to prepare for the future. Beside her was the dark gold book on industry.

Before leaving, Ji Tian instructed her to keep it safe, so she kept it by her side and checked the seal every half day.

Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the coat of arms on the book cover—a design of intertwined gears and chimneys—giving it a cool, eerie glow.

Ophelia suddenly paused in her act of copying the scriptures.

She heard a deep, slow, metallic resonance coming from the book, like the hum of gears meshing.

Are you the fortune teller?

Ophelia did not look up; her pen continued to fall on the paper.

You should know who I am, and I won't beat around the bush—do you like my master?

Her pen paused for a moment, then continued its wandering.

Do you want to be with him forever?

silence.

The god of industry was not discouraged. Seeing that the other party did not object, he continued to persuade him patiently:

"I can help you. While your divination talent is exceptional, it ultimately only allows you to glimpse the tributaries of time. The authority I wield, however, relates to order and stability, which can fundamentally transform your abilities."

If you are willing to cooperate with me, I can help you anchor certain key moments in your destiny, making the bond between you and him even more... unshakeable.

If you wish, I can weave a "destiny" for you, so that your fates will be intertwined with his, never to be separated again.

Ophelia finally put down her pen, raised her icy blue eyes, and calmly looked at the book.

"Are you finished speaking?"

【...Aren't you tempted?】

"The sect leader told me not to open you, nor to listen to your instigation."

I'm not trying to mislead you; I'm just stating the facts. Human emotions are inherently fragile; time heals all wounds, and distance creates barriers. Aren't you afraid he'll abandon you in the afterlife?

Ophelia picked up the teacup on the table and took a small sip.

"The sect leader said he would return in three days."

【you--】

He also said, "You're no pushover."

【…】

"No, this girl is really stubborn!"

This was the first time the God of Industry had encountered someone who remained completely unmoved by His influence.

Don't you have any thoughts of your own?

Ophelia picked up her pen again and continued copying the scriptures.

"The sect leader's arrangement is exactly what I wanted to do."

The gear pattern on the book cover trembled slightly, and after a long pause, it finally managed to squeeze out a sentence to defend itself:

I am actually extremely loyal to my master. I was just taking the liberty of testing you on his behalf.

Ophelia chuckled softly upon hearing this, but did not reply.

……

A hotel deep in a secluded alley in Z City.

The room was small, with two beds, an old television, and a humming vibration when the faucet in the bathroom was turned on.

Elena stood by the window, watching the elderly playing chess under the trees on the walkway downstairs, the woman pushing a stroller, and a delivery tricycle reversing, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Ji Tian sat on the edge of the bed, using his spiritual power to smooth out the patterns on the surface of several gold coins and then reshape them.

Although the dean knew of ways to exchange gold coins for money, the emblems on the gold coins themselves might cause unnecessary trouble, so he simply reforged them into unmarked gold ingots.

Elena turned her head and asked, "Ji Tian, ​​you used to live here?"

"No, my place is much worse than this. It's a single room in an urban village, with a north-facing window that never gets any sun. In the summer, it's like a sauna."

"Then why don't you stay in a better place?"

"I saved money to buy protein powder, which I called 'fasting pill' back then."

Elena didn't quite understand what "protein powder" was, so she didn't ask again. She simply sat down next to him, gently leaned on his shoulder, and said with some concern:

"You must have had a very tough time before, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Tian fell into a brief moment of reminiscence, "It's alright, having a goal makes it less bitter."

The dean was waiting downstairs, and the three of them went together to a nearby gold and silver processing shop that the dean was familiar with. He said that the shop could accept gold of unknown origin, but the price was a bit low.

The boss was a bald, middle-aged man. He used an instrument to test the purity of the gold nuggets and, without saying a word, took out several dozen stacks of cash from the safe.

Looking at all this, Ji Tian felt a bit absurd. He used to earn only a few hundred yuan a day carrying bricks on a construction site, but now he could throw out a few pieces of gold and it would be equivalent to several years of his income in his previous life.

After receiving the money, the dean bid them farewell, saying, "I'm going to audit a few classes at that university over there. Do as you please. We'll meet here again in three days, and I'll take you back then."

After saying that, he hailed a taxi and drove away.

Ji Tian led Elena into a mobile phone store.

The glass display case was filled with all kinds of mobile phones. Elena's eyes swept over the glowing screens and she couldn't help but lean closer to take a look.

"This is the phone you were talking about? What can it do?"

"It allows for long-distance calls, internet access, and video streaming." Ji Tian picked out two smartphones he was used to in his previous life and also got two temporary SIM cards.

As she left the store, Elena held her first cell phone in her hands, looking at it over and over like a cat that had just received a new toy.

"Ji Tian, ​​how do I use this?"

"I'll teach you when we get back."

Next stop: the bookstore.

When Ji Tian pushed open the door, the shop assistant was scrolling through short videos with no interest in looking up.

The bookstore was small, with bookshelves along the wall neatly arranged with various kinds of books. Ji Tian went straight to the "Online Literature" section, his eyes sweeping over the rows of colorful spines.

Before he got electronic devices to read online novels, he had spent countless afternoons here.

Back then, he had no money, so he could only stand in front of the bookshelf and flip through the pages quickly. He could finish reading a thick online novel in an afternoon.

Now that he no longer needs to read books for free, Ji Tian took down almost every online novel from the bookshelf and paid for them at the cashier in batches, thus making up for his past regret of not having enough money to buy books.

The shop assistant looked up at the mountain of books, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Sir, do you want it all?"

"I want them all."

Scan the code, pay, and pack it into a bag.

Ji Tian carried the heavy bags out of the bookstore in batches, then concealed himself and the bags at the corner, storing all the books into his Purple Mansion Space.

Elena, watching this series of actions from his side, finally couldn't help but ask, "Ji Tian, ​​are you planning to take all these books back to the sect?"

"Yes, these are all things unique to this world, and there are many ideas we can refer to."

He paused, tilting his head to look at her. "You probably guessed it already. I was originally a 'person' from this world, but I ended up in your world by accident."

Elena wasn't surprised by his words; she reached out and gently took his fingers in hers.

"I know that from the first time you told me about knowledge that shouldn't belong to this world, I felt that you didn't belong to this world."

I just felt that your mental age at the time seemed to be about the same as mine, and even if you came from another world, you wouldn't be that old, so I never asked you.

Ji Tian lowered his head and looked at their clasped hands.

Aren't you curious?

Elena smiled slightly, looked up at him, and said, "I'm curious, but I'd rather you tell me yourself."