162: Legalist laws and regulations operate efficiently with zero internal friction.

Inside the Scripture Hall, the brilliance of wisdom and conviction on the twelve newly promoted reserve heroes had not yet fully receded when a piercing erosion alarm at the territory's edge tore through the brief atmosphere of excitement.

Lin Zhou's Divine Thought moved like lightning, instantly scanning the information stream from the early warning formation. The grayish-black erosion fog was more than twice as thick as before, and the surging distorted energy fluctuations within indicated that the intensity of this second wave was at least three times that of the first! The shrieks of the Aberrations were denser and more violent, even faintly carrying a sharp sense of mental piercing, attempting to shake the will of the defenders behind the barrier.

"Just in time." A cold light flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes. Instead of panic, a cold Battle Intent rose within him. Confucian Teaching had shown its initial effects, and the Mohist Heavenly Work's new furnace was complete; now was the time to test the results and sharpen the blade! To weave these new forces into a single rope and achieve maximum effectiveness against this stronger impact, relying solely on the inspiration of education and the output of the workshop was not enough. What was needed was a rigid System capable of ensuring "absolute execution" and "precise regulation."

This was exactly where the School of Legalism came into play!

"Pseudo-Hero Spirit, stay in the Scripture Hall for now to organize the key points just taught and comfort the residents who haven't been summoned." Lin Zhou quickly issued orders, his voice steady and powerful, instantly drowning out the distant alarm. "Fire Hammer, return to the Mechanical Beast Workshop immediately and start the spirit energy furnace. Ensure the Puppet troops are fully charged and prepare all available mechanical creations. According to the 'Garrison One' contingency plan, maneuver toward the primary erosion directions in the east and south!"

"Rock Shield! Assemble all security teams and able-bodied youths. With the reserve heroes as the core, organize them into three units: 'Arrowhead,' 'Solid Wall,' and 'Skirmisher.' Relying on the newly built sentry towers and Puppet troops, construct a tiered defense! Execute the 'School of Military · As Quiet As The Forest' formation essentials. Do not attack without orders!"

"Juan! Open full-spectrum monitoring in the Office of Registrars. I want to see real-time data on every resource flow, personnel movement, and energy consumption in the territory! Especially critical nodes like Spirit Stone veins, granaries, workshops, and furnaces!"

Each instruction was clear, precise, and left no room for ambiguity, carrying the decisiveness of the School of Military and the strictness of Legalism. The twelve reserve heroes were invigorated and accepted the orders in unison. The newly condensed characteristic glows on them seemed to resonate with Lin Zhou's commands, and their movements began to show the initial form of absolute discipline.

However, Lin Zhou knew this wasn't enough. Emergency command could rely on personal prestige and temporary groupings, but to forge the entire territory—especially in a state of rapid development, increasingly complex resources, and beginning population differentiation—into a truly efficient, resilient war machine capable of surviving and developing under continuous erosion, a Net of Law that penetrated the rule level and was omnipresent had to be established!

He stepped out of the Scripture Hall, his figure floating above the Lords Hall. His gaze swept over the residents below, who were slightly restless due to the alarm but were quickly assembling under the command of the new heroes. He looked over the spirit energy furnaces humming to life in the workshop district and the Puppet troops filing out, and further toward the rolling fog of death in the distance.

It was time.

Lin Zhou raised his hands, his Godhead operating at full speed. Although it still carried a dull pain, after being repaired by Rule Essence and several days of recovery, it could now support a medium-scale divine spell. What he invoked was not pure Divine Power, but the [Civilization · Law] divine office authority integrated into the core of his Godhead, along with the cold, strict rule-based power of Legalist thought that pursued absolute "Holding Names Responsible for Reality" and "No Exemption from Punishment"!

"In my territory, how can chaos be allowed to grow? How can laziness be allowed to run rampant? How can resources be allowed to be wasted?"

His voice was no longer just transmitted through the amplification formation; it was as if it were directly branded into the underlying rules of the territory. Carrying a metallic resonance and an unquestionable sense of judgment, it rang out in the consciousness and existence of every resident and every inch of land!

"Now, in the name of I, Lin Zhou, I establish the 'Provisional Laws of the New Realm Territory'! Using this as the Foundation, I cast the Net of Law to cover the entire realm!"

"Edict One: Define Roles and Assign Responsibilities, Holding Names Responsible for Reality! All people of the territory, regardless of origin, shall have their roles defined and responsibilities clarified based on their abilities. Every task performed must have a title; every resource consumed must have a record; every achievement made must be evaluated! Those whose reality does not match their name shall be investigated! Those who neglect or derelict their duties shall be punished!"

"Edict Two: Unified Resource Management, Private Consumption Strictly Forbidden! All timber, stone, minerals, Spirit Stones, grain, equipment... everything produced or acquired by the territory must be registered and brought under the unified management of the 'Office of Registrars.' Distribution shall be by need, and rewards or punishments by performance. Those who hide, waste, or destroy resources without permission shall be treated as aiding the enemy and punished severely without leniency!"

"Edict Three: Reward Merit and Punish Faults, No Exemption from Punishment! Anyone who contributes to resisting erosion, development and construction, technical innovation, or management coordination—regardless of the scale—shall receive generous rewards and promotion according to the 'Order to Encourage Learning,' 'Order to Recommend the Worthy,' and the newly enacted 'Detailed Merit Regulations.' Anyone who violates the Laws, deserts the front, spreads panic, or engages in corruption and fraud—regardless of status or relationship—shall be punished strictly according to the Law without exception!"

"Edict Four: Wartime System, Absolute Discipline! During erosion alarms, all residents automatically transition to a wartime organization. All actions must follow orders; all resources prioritize military equipment; all matters give way to survival. Those who disobey orders, feign compliance, or delay military opportunities shall be executed on the spot!"

The four basic edicts, like four cold iron pillars, slammed into the territory's Rule Foundation! Following Lin Zhou's words and his invocation of a large amount of Divine Power and divine office authority, a pale blue, semi-transparent light net composed of countless fine rule runes rapidly spread and permeated from the Lords Hall to the entire territory!

This [Net of Law (Territory Version)] was not as powerful or perfect as the one maintained by the Law Fishmen in his true Divine Realm, but in this simulated Divine Realm, it was already an earth-shattering rule creation! It was formless and substanceless yet truly existed, covering the territory's sky, land, buildings, and even every resident.

All residents felt their Divine Soul sink slightly, as if a layer of invisible, cold shackles had been placed upon them. However, these shackles did not bring oppression; instead, they brought a strange sense of order and clarity. Thoughts that were originally chaotic due to the alarm and development were forcibly organized; vague understandings of duties became clear; and the use of resources was subconsciously scrutinized.

Even more miraculous, within the Lords Hall at the core of the "Office of Registrars" managed by Juan, a massive [Resource Law Monitoring Interface] composed of light and shadow was automatically generated and unfolded! On the interface, the territory map was clearly visible, with countless tiny light dots (representing resource units) and lines (representing flow directions) jumping and changing in real-time!

【Territory Resource Law Monitoring Interface (Real-time)】

Overall Resource Utilization: 98.2% (Waste and unreasonable consumption minimized due to mandatory regulation and monitoring by the Net of Law).

Key Node Monitoring:

Spirit Stone Vein (Eastern Hills): Mining efficiency 85%, crude spirit coal refining efficiency 78%, fine refining purification efficiency (Fire Hammer's new method) 65%. Energy loss rate: 1.3% (The Net of Law suppressed natural dissipation and improper operation loss).

Mechanical Beast Workshop: spirit energy furnace operation status: Stable (Output power 75%). Puppet manufacturing queue: 10 units (Progress 42%). Resource consumption and expected output matching: 99%.

Granary Area: Grain storage/retrieval records complete, real-time inventory: 3,150,000 standard units. Daily consumption and ratio comply with wartime regulations, no abnormal withdrawals.

Resource Collection Points/Production Teams: Task completion, resource submission, tool wear rate, and other data updated in real-time. Abnormalities (such as sudden drops in efficiency or excessive wear) are highlighted.

Personnel Status and Duty Matching Monitoring: Displays team composition, Rank, skills, current tasks, and completion status for each squad. Automatically flags abnormal states such as "Desertion," "Passive Slacking," and "Ability-Post Mismatch."

Law Execution Records: Scroll display of recent Law violations (currently empty) and handling results (none yet).

This was the terrifying manifestation of one of the core Legalist skills—Holding Names Responsible for Reality—at the level of macro-management! It forcibly bound, compared in real-time, and dynamically monitored 'names' (responsibilities, tasks, resource names) against 'realities' (actual behavior, output, consumption)! Any deviation where the 'name and reality do not match' would be clearly exposed on the monitoring interface, providing irrefutable evidence for subsequent 'No Exemption from Punishment'!

'Is... is this a miracle?' Juan stood before the monitoring interface, dumbstruck. With just a slight thought, she could trace the origin and destination of any resource and see the live work status of any squad. Tasks that previously required massive manpower for statistics and were prone to errors became incredibly clear and efficient at this moment!

Lin Zhou had no time to admire this miracle of management. The Net of Law had just spread out when the vanguard of the second wave of erosion slammed hard against the barrier at the edge of the territory!

Boom! Crackle!

A vibration even more violent than the last one came! The barrier's light flickered intensely, emitting a groan as it became overwhelmed. Dozens of larger Void Beetles (LV12-LV18), their carapaces covered in viscous corrosive fluid and their eyes flashing with chaotic red light, were the first to break through the thin areas of the barrier, lunging toward the nearest watchtowers and defense lines! Following closely behind were more Void Shadows (LV15-LV20), which were extremely fast, shadow-like, and capable of firing weak mental punctures!

'Arrowhead Squad, intercept the beetles! Bulwark Squad, stabilize the defense line and protect the long-range units! Skirmisher Squad, provide mobile support and focus on clearing the shadows! Puppet units, full energy charge, push to the very front!' Rock Shield's roar echoed through the newly built simple command network (combined with the communication functions of the Net of Law). The three newly formed teams, with reserve heroes as their backbone, were still lacking in cohesion, but under the clear instructions and disciplined constraints brought by the Net of Law, they executed orders rapidly, showing a degree of tactical order during their formation shifts.

Ten psionic-driven Puppets, having undergone maintenance and spirit coal replenishment, had steady spiritual light in their eyes as they marched to the front lines with heavy steps. They threw heavy punches, colliding violently with the charging Void Beetles! Wood and stone debris flew alongside carapace fragments! The following Puppets, under remote debugging from the workshop, began attempting to use the newly loaded 'Simple Block Array' in coordination with heavy strikes, resulting in higher efficiency.

However, there were too many erosion monsters! Furthermore, new long-range units and types with stronger mental attacks appeared, putting immense pressure on the defense line. Soon, a sentry member was affected by a mental puncture, their movements becoming sluggish before being tackled by a beetle; some Puppets also had their joints targeted by several shadows, causing their movements to become hampered.

'Resource monitoring shows that the energy shield (simple version) load in the Eastern Watchtower 3 area has exceeded 120%, urgent Spirit Stone replenishment needed! But the reserve Spirit Stones in that area are exhausted, and the transport team is blocked by monsters!' Juan's urgent voice came through the Law network.

'Skirmisher Group Two, you are the closest. Immediately detach half your manpower to escort spare Spirit Stones to Watchtower 3! The route has been synchronized to your consciousness via the Law Net!' Lin Zhou's Divine Thought was like the most precise processor, instantly retrieving monitoring data to make the optimal decision and delivering it directly into the consciousness of the designated squad members through the Net of Law, avoiding the delays and errors of layered transmission!

The members of Skirmisher Group Two who were called upon immediately had the optimal route, monster distribution hotspots (synthesized from front-line feedback by the Law Net), and the priority and reward/punishment terms of the escort mission (automatically linked to the Edicts) flash in their minds. They did not hesitate and executed immediately.

'Workshop reporting, the new batch of Puppets is 70% complete, but the stock of "First-Refined Fine Iron" for the core joints is insufficient, affecting completion time!' Fire Hammer's anxious voice came through.

'Office of Registrars, immediately retrieve the global material list and look for spare stock or alternative Materials for "First-Refined Fine Iron"!' Lin Zhou ordered.

'Found it! The Northern Old Mine camp has a small amount of abandoned ironware left behind that can be urgently smelted! The location is marked, and the nearest resource recovery team has been notified to head there. It is estimated that one-third of the required Materials can be provided within an hour!' Juan's efficiency, aided by the Net of Law, was startlingly high.

Instruction after instruction and dispatch after dispatch were executed with near-zero internal friction and zero error, supported by the monitoring of the Net of Law and Holding Names Responsible for Reality. Resources were precisely delivered to where they were needed most, manpower was efficiently allocated to the most critical tasks, and redundancy and waste were compressed to the extreme.

The entire territory was like a war machine that had just been fitted with a precision control System and real-time monitoring feedback. Although the parts were still crude, the operational efficiency was skyrocketing!

The second wave of the erosion tide lasted for about half an hour (simulated time). Ultimately, at the cost of three Puppets being completely destroyed, over twenty sentry members killed or wounded, and damage to multiple defense fortifications, it was successfully repelled. The grayish-black mist receded once more, leaving behind more and even stronger Aberrant remains.

On the defense line, the warriors panted with exhaustion, but their eyes held more than just lingering fear; there was a newfound confidence—they felt the support of that cold but effective System behind them. Resources always arrived on time, orders were always clear and precise, those who deserved rewards received them immediately (settled right after the battle), and those who deserved punishment were dealt with swiftly (one deserter was executed on the spot by Rock Shield according to the Law). Chaos and panic were suppressed to the greatest extent.

Inside the Lords Hall, Lin Zhou looked at the various data streams gradually stabilizing on the monitoring interface and breathed a slight sigh of relief. The Legalist Edicts were beginning to show their power; when dealing with high-intensity, fast-paced crises, the advantages of 'efficiency' and 'rigidity' were displayed to the fullest. Resource utilization remained steadily above 98%, instruction execution was near 100%, and internal friction was almost zero.

However, his brow did not fully unfurl. At the edge of the monitoring interface, an inconspicuous data curve regarding the 'natural recovery speed of the energy barrier at the territory's edge' caught his attention. The curve showed that after the second wave of erosion, the barrier's self-repair speed was 15% slower than after the first wave. This meant that as the number of erosions increased, the barrier the territory relied on for survival was being continuously weakened.

At the same time, the monitoring of Holding Names Responsible for Reality captured some extremely subtle 'inconsistencies' at a deeper level. For example, after some newly promoted reserve heroes obtained power, an extremely tiny, almost negligible deviation appeared between their 'willingness to fulfill duties' and their 'actual behavioral effects'; or for instance, some 'furious spirit coal' raw Materials exchanged from Li Mo's territory showed unexplainable slight differences between their energy characteristic records and physical testing... These tiny deviations where 'name and reality do not match' were like undercurrents beneath a calm surface, harmless for now, but perhaps foreshadowing deeper problems—hidden dangers from within, or more covert infiltration from without?

'Li Mo,' Lin Zhou connected the communication, 'how is it on your end? Is the spirit coal supply stable? Have you found any anomalies?'

Li Mo's voice carried the exhaustion and excitement after a battle: 'Held them off! My Steam Ballista positions did great work! But the consumption was also high. The spirit coal supply... well, mining is fairly stable, it's just that I feel the "furious" level of the recent batches of raw ore has been fluctuating a bit, not very stable. I thought it was just natural vein fluctuations. Why?'

'Strengthen the testing and recording of raw Materials on your end; don't let any slight anomaly slip by,' Lin Zhou said in a heavy voice. 'Also, speed up the research and development of "Scout-type Mechanisms." We need to know more clearly what's happening outside the barrier, as well as... the movements of our other neighbors.'

'Understood! Don't worry, my Mechanical Goblins engineers are already working on a blueprint for a "Low-Altitude Reconnaissance Bat." It uses spirit coal particles for propulsion and has good stealth!'

Ending the communication, Lin Zhou's gaze returned to the monitoring interface, to that brilliant flow of light representing efficient resource movement and the subtle, hard-to-detect deviations hidden in the corners.

Legalist Edicts had forged a steel order of efficient operation.

But beneath that order, undercurrents had already sprouted.

The true test might have just shifted from 'resisting external enemies' to 'insight into internal troubles' and 'dealing with the unknown.'