22: Chapter 22 Optimizing Authority and Undercurrents

After Boss Qian left, the studio returned to silence. Lin Yuan did not immediately start designing the Optimization plan for the Cross-border Selection team. He sat cross-legged in the corner of the quiet room he had specially cleared, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and sank his consciousness into the depths of his soul.

Within his divine spark, the pale golden light representing the [Optimization] divine occupation was slightly more solid and brighter than before. At its edge, a new, more refined pale golden thread, carrying a certain unquestionable sense of order, had emerged—this was the manifestation of his newly acquired "Authority of Order (Weak)." It hung silently, like a carving knife that was unsharpened but already had its initial form.

Lin Yuan tried to touch and understand this new authority.

The moment his consciousness merged, a large amount of vague information fragments and insights flooded his mind:

· Chaos is not disorder, but inefficient order.

· The ultimate goal of Optimization is to endow disorder with the most "economical" path.

· The blade of order is not for destruction, but for cutting away redundancy and defining boundaries.

· Wherever there is the flow of energy, the birth and death of emotions, or the binding of contracts—wherever there is "structure" and "process"—it can be "optimized."

· However, the authority is weak and can only act upon ownerless chaos, weak contracts, or already marked "subjects."

This was not just an improvement in offensive means, but an expansion and completion of the underlying logic of the entire [Optimization] divine occupation. Previously, "Optimization" felt more like gentle guidance and suggestions; now, this "Authority of Order" gave him a weak ability to forcibly execute certain "Optimization plans"—of course, provided the target's "resistance" was not too strong, or he had already obtained partial "permission" through other means (such as contracts or markings).

For example, when facing a chaotic energy field (such as the stubborn resentment within the Composite Spirit Body Containment Field that had not yet been purified), he could now perhaps try to use the "Authority of Order" to forcibly "comb out" a temporary, more stable energy structure, even if only temporarily. Or, when facing a flawed, non-mandatory "contract" (such as the evil spell contract Mr. Mo used to control the wooden plaque), he could try to use the "Authority of Order" to "interpret" or even "tamper with" some of its terms.

Of course, all of this was based on it being "weak," and the consumption was huge.

He turned his attention to the [Composite Spirit Body Containment Field] within his divine spark. The gray-white cyclone rotated slowly, internally divided into several relatively clear areas: at the core were the curled-up infant spirit phantoms and a mass of the thickest work-related resentment (all from Yongxin), while the periphery contained the remaining work-related resentment and the two child resentments that had joined later (from the kindergarten ruins). The pale golden [Optimization] rune array on the periphery of the cyclone operated stably, providing basic soothing and combing.

Lin Yuan's heart stirred as he tried to mobilize the newly born "Authority of Order," turning it into an extremely fine pale golden "carving needle," cautiously "piercing" into the mass of energy belonging to the most stubborn core work-related resentment of Yongxin within the containment field.

"In the name of order, I define structure: pain must have an outlet, and resentment must have boundaries."

He was not trying to eliminate the pain and resentment, but rather trying to use the power of the authority to "carve" an extremely rudimentary micro-"circulation channel" inside this chaotic energy, which would allow these negative emotions to flow slowly and cancel each other out instead of continuously accumulating and exploding.

The pale golden carving needle moved like it was traveling through thick glue, difficult and slow. Every bit it advanced consumed a large amount of Lin Yuan's mental energy and the bit of Power of Faith he had just recovered. He could feel the violent resistance of that mass of resentment, as countless fragments of pain, anger, and despair pounded against his consciousness.

But he persisted, forcibly instilling the concepts of "circulation," "diversion," and "establishing negative feedback" from [Optimization] through the "Authority of Order."

Gradually, at the core of that thick gray-black resentment, a pale golden dot of light, smaller than a needle tip and extremely unstable, was "carved" out. The light spot rotated slowly, creating a weak suction force that drew in a small portion of the most violent resentment fragments from the surroundings, and after extremely slow "grinding" and "dilution," it released a trace of more inert, peaceful gray energy.

Success! Although the effect was negligible and the scope of influence might only be one-ten-thousandth of this mass of resentment, this was a breakthrough from zero to one! It proved that the "Authority of Order" could indeed be used to "optimize" and handle such stubborn negative energy structures!

Lin Yuan withdrew his consciousness, feeling a wave of intense dizziness and fatigue at the soul level; his Power of Faith had been consumed by nearly 1 point again. But looking at the newly appeared, tiny yet real pale golden "order node" within the containment field, his heart was filled with excitement.

This was not just a technical breakthrough; it also meant that he might have found a feasible path to gradually transform the "bad asset" of the "containment field" into a potential asset that could "generate stable income (such as purified neutral energy) or special materials (such as refined rule insights)!"

Just as he calmed his mind and prepared to start working on General Manager Zhao's commissioned plan, his phone vibrated urgently. It was Boss Qian.

"Brother Lin, are you in the studio? Is it convenient to talk?" Boss Qian's voice carried a rare seriousness.

"I am. Go ahead."

"Two things, both quite urgent." Boss Qian spoke quickly. "First, the actions on 'Lingxiao Capital' side have escalated. They not only contacted Zhang Qiming, but this morning, one of their subsidiaries specializing in 'corporate faith culture construction' sent me a direct cooperation invitation, wanting to invest in several 'Optimization'-related projects I am brokering, including the one you are currently working on. The terms are very good, but they require sharing the 'Optimization' technical model and data. This is clearly an attempt to infiltrate and control your business ecosystem."

Lin Yuan's eyes turned cold. Sure enough, the commercial encirclement had escalated from snatching clients to directly threatening partners, attempting to cut off his market channels at the source.

"Second," Boss Qian paused, his voice lowering further, "the black market movements you asked me to keep an eye on regarding 'Mr. Mo' and 'children' have a lead. Last night at the 'Zishi Market,' there was an anonymous stall offering a high price to purchase 'detailed addresses and birth information of children who have been severely frightened recently, especially those who have come into contact with 'abnormal cloth products.'' The buyer is willing to exchange Power of Faith or rare materials, requiring absolute confidentiality. My people pretended to be interested and fished for some information; the other party hinted that the 'fresher' the information and the more special the child's 'reaction,' the higher the price, and also... they might need subsequent 'follow-up observation.'"

"Additionally," Boss Qian added, "the new faces who were asking about the 'destruction of the ritual site' before appeared again today, and they have started focusing on asking if there are any newcomers who are good at dealing with 'stitching' or 'contract' type supernatural incidents, and who might use non-traditional methods (such as 'order' or 'combing' type powers). The description is getting closer and closer to you."

Lin Yuan's heart sank. Mr. Mo's people were indeed pursuing a two-pronged approach: on one hand, continuing to collect "materials" (information on frightened children, possibly as reserve targets for the "ten thousand infant banner"), and on the other, hunting down the "culprit" who destroyed the "workshop." His previous actions had likely attracted a considerable amount of attention from the other side.

"Boss Qian, thank you. For the cooperation invitation from 'Lingxiao Capital,' please stall them for now, just say you need time to evaluate. On the black market side, please continue to keep an eye out for me, especially for the one purchasing children's information; if you can find the source or the method of handover, there will be a great reward." Lin Yuan responded calmly.

"Rest assured, I know the gravity of the situation. You must be careful yourself. It's best to change your appearance when going out, and keep an eye on the studio too." Boss Qian advised, "By the way, regarding the 'geomantic vein stability' channel you asked about last time, I found a reliable one. It's a 'Geomancer' from the south, has some real skills, reasonable fees, and a clean background. If you need it, I can introduce you."

"I need it. Please arrange it, as soon as possible." Lin Yuan thought of Yongxin Cultural and Creative Park. Although the "Gathering Yin and Locking Evil" layout there had failed because the "Mother of Rust" was stripped away, the geomantic veins had been twisted for a long time and required a professional to regulate them to completely change the feng shui and pave the way for the subsequent true "Optimization" transformation. This was also part of what he had promised Chairman Liu.

Ending the call, Lin Yuan felt pressure pouring in from all sides. The commercial encirclement by "Lingxiao Capital," the deadly investigation by Mr. Mo's forces, the containment field in his body that needed long-term "Optimization," and the imminent divine breath debt...

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. The more complex the situation, the more he needed clear thoughts and precise moves.

He opened his computer and began to design the Optimization plan for General Manager Zhao's "Cross-border Selection" team. His thinking jumped between business logic, psychology, cross-cultural management, and the perception of weak "energy fields." He integrated his newly understood concepts of "order" and "circulation" into the formulation of collaboration rules, designing several sets of simple online interaction rituals aimed at breaking "anxiety transmission" and establishing "psychological safety."

Focusing on work allowed him to temporarily forget the threats from the outside world. At the same time, handling such relatively "normal" commissions could also provide him with stable secular income and some new, high-quality "collaboration" and "trust" type aspiration power feedback.

Before he knew it, the sky outside the window had darkened. The preliminary framework of the plan was complete.

Lin Yuan stood up and stretched his stiff neck. He walked to the window and looked at the streetlights gradually lighting up on the street below and the sparse pedestrians.

Suddenly, his gaze tightened.

Under the eaves of the closed convenience store across the street, a thin young man wearing a gray hoodie seemed to be leaning against the wall inadvertently, looking down at his phone. But Lin Yuan's spiritual sense caught a trace of an extremely faint, yet scrutinizing and malicious gaze, projecting from under the brim of his hood, landing on his studio's window.

He was being watched!

Was it Mr. Mo's people? Or a scout sent by "Lingxiao Capital" to assess his value?

Lin Yuan did not show any abnormality and pulled the curtains. He returned to the table, his fingers tapping on the desktop, his eyes sharp.

It seemed that the other party had already found his door. They were just still in the observation stage.

Passive waiting was not his style.

He needed to actively create some "variables" to disrupt the other party's rhythm and buy himself more time and space.

A plan quickly took shape in his mind. This plan required using the "resources" he had on hand—the containment field, the newly acquired "Authority of Order," his relationship with Boss Qian and Chairman Liu, and perhaps... he could borrow some "momentum."

He glanced at the time on the system interface.

23 days, 20 hours, 44 minutes.

The countdown was running, and the eyes in the dark were peeking.

But this time, he was no longer just that "God of Loans" fleeing in panic.

He was Lin Yuan, an explorer of the path of "Optimization," and the God of Ruins holding the "carving knife of order."

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Boss Qian:

"Boss Qian, please arrange the matter with the Geomancer as soon as possible. Also, regarding the subsequent 'Optimization transformation' and commercial restart of the Yongxin park, I have a preliminary idea that I would like to discuss with Chairman Liu and you. Perhaps we can turn it into a 'model project.'"

After sending the message, he looked at the drawn curtains again, as if he could see through the fabric to the watcher across the street.

"Want to play?"

"Then let's see who can... 'optimize' whom."

The night grew deeper.