79: Chapter 79 Weaving the Web of Fate

The pure white space receded like a tide, and the scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

Zhang Hao found himself in a vast, dim underground space. Beneath his feet was hard, slightly damp Rock, and above was a naturally formed, uneven Rock ceiling about three meters high. The air was filled with the scent of earth and a faint, ethereal trace of magic. The entire space felt like a blank canvas waiting to be painted, or an embryo waiting to be shaped.

Almost as soon as he adapted to the environment, a translucent panel with faint streams of data flowing along its edges floated directly in front of his vision:

[maze builder panel]

[Maze Rank]: Rank E

[Maze Entrance]: Unopened (Can be opened at any time; location is the center of Adventurers Town)

[maze construction points]: 100 (Updates in real-time)

[Total Number of Adventurers Entered]: 0 (Updates in real-time)

[Maze Size]: 50 Maze Tiles (Each Maze Tile is 1 square meter)

(Maze Tile limit per floor: Current floor * 100; can be built down to the 9th underground floor)

(The current first underground floor has a maximum of 100 Maze Tiles)

[Maze Floor]: 1st Underground Floor

[Maze Monsters]: 0 Maze Tiles (Occupies tiles on the current floor)

[Maze Treasures]: 0 Maze Tiles (Occupies tiles on the current floor)

[Maze Traps]: 0 Maze Tiles (Occupies tiles on the current floor)

[Others]: 0 Maze Tiles (Occupies tiles on the current floor)

"Initial funds of 100 points, 50 tiles of space..." Zhang Hao murmured. With the support of the [Child of Numerology] Talent, his brain began to work at high speed. Beside him, Silver Star's eyes also flickered with light, assisting in data modeling and deduction. He could feel an invisible connection between himself, this panel, and the initial 50-tile space, as if he could transform it with just a single thought.

A sense of excitement surged through his nerves like a faint electric current. This was different from any previous mission; he wasn't a participant or a breaker of the situation, but... a weaver.

"Maze Builder... Numerology..." The golden starlight in his left eye lit up slightly. In his vision, this empty underground space was no longer simple Rock, but was filled with countless faint golden lines representing "possibilities," intertwined in a chaotic mess, waiting to be guided and shaped. The Chaos darkness in his right eye allowed him to vaguely perceive what kind of "effects" (emotional fluctuations, behavioral choices) would arise once a "cause" (such as an adventurer entering or an event occurring) was planted here.

What he needed to do was use these limited 100 points and 50 tiles of space to weave a "Web of Fate" that could maximize the emotional triggers of adventurers and bring him rich rewards.

"First, the basic structure." With a thought from Zhang Hao, the [Maze Size] entry on the panel immediately began to flash. He didn't need to draw it manually; he only needed to guide it with his intent. He planned a main passage that wasn't overly complex but included certain detours and forks, occupying about 30 Maze Tiles to ensure adventurers couldn't see the end at a glance, leaving room for exploration. This basic "Rock passage" construction did not consume points, only space tiles.

"Then, the 'actors' and 'props'." Zhang Hao turned his attention to the items on the panel that consumed points. As his consciousness made contact, he immediately received feedback:

[Generate Rank E Monster]: Consumes 5-15 points each (Depending on monster strength; occupies 1 Monster Tile)

[Create Rank E Treasure]: Consumes 10-25 points each (Depending on treasure value; occupies 1 Treasure Tile)

[Set Rank E Trap]: Consumes 3-10 points each (Depending on trap effect; occupies 1 Trap Tile)

"Monsters are the source of fear and combat passion, treasures are the bait for greed and surprise, and traps are the foundation of tension and accidents..." Zhang Hao muttered to himself, his eyes shining with brilliance. "They can't be simply piled up; they need to be choreographed... like a play."

He first spent 45 construction points to generate 5 Rank E monsters. He didn't distribute them evenly but instead carefully designed the encounter points:

At the end of a fork not far from the entrance, he placed a "Cowardly Cave Bat" costing 5 points. Its combat power was low, and its main purpose was to create a sudden jump-scare effect (Expected emotion: Fright).

After the first corner of the main passage, he placed two "Rock Beetles" costing 8 points each. They possessed certain defensive and ramming abilities, making them the first challenge that novice adventurers would need to deal with seriously (Expected emotions: Tension, excitement after victory).

In a dead end, he placed a "Fluorescent Slime" costing 10 points. It moved slowly, but upon being defeated, it would burst into slime, causing slight corrosion and interference (Expected emotions: Disgust, annoyance).

Finally, in front of the "gateway" leading to the next area (the undeveloped space he had reserved), he placed a "Small Wolf-Shaped Magic Golem" costing 14 points as the "Mini-Boss" of the current area (Expected emotions: Pressure, challenge, great sense of achievement after victory).

Monster Tiles occupied: 5 tiles.

Next, he spent 40 construction points to create 3 Rank E treasures.

A "Glimmer Healing Potion" costing 10 points was placed in a slightly hidden alcove after defeating the "Rock Beetles" as a victory reward (Expected emotions: Surprise, satisfaction).

A "Damaged Magic Amulet" costing 15 points, providing extremely weak protection, was placed in another fork adjacent to the "Fluorescent Slime." It required a little trick to obtain, increasing the sense of exploration (Expected emotions: Seeking, acquisition).

The last item, an "Unknown Metal Fragment" costing 15 points, looked like a part of a certain key. He placed it on a stone platform that could only be discovered after defeating the "Small Wolf-Shaped Magic Golem," hinting at deeper secrets or a chain of quests (Expected emotions: Curiosity, anticipation, longing for the future).

Treasure Tiles occupied: 3 tiles.

Finally, he carefully used the remaining 15 construction points to set 3 Rank E traps.

A "Loose Floor Tile" costing 3 points would make a loud noise when stepped on, potentially attracting nearby monsters (if any), primarily to create psychological pressure (Expected emotion: Vigilance).

A "Weak Slowness Barrier" costing 5 points covered a small section of the passage; those who entered would feel their footsteps become heavy (Expected emotions: Discomfort, irritability).

A "Small Net Trap" costing 7 points would drop a sticky net upon being triggered, trapping the adventurer for several seconds and requiring a struggle or help from teammates to escape (Expected emotions: Panic, embarrassment, relief after escaping).

Trap Tiles occupied: 3 tiles.

Total consumption: 45 (Monsters) + 40 (Treasures) + 15 (Traps) = 100 construction points.

Total space occupied: 30 (Passage) + 5 (Monsters) + 3 (Treasures) + 3 (Traps) = 41 Maze Tiles. There were still 9 tiles of space left, which he temporarily left blank as a buffer and for future adjustments.

After finishing all this, Zhang Hao looked at his meticulously designed first version of the maze. In the vision of his "Eye of Fate," those originally chaotic possibility trajectories had been preliminarily guided and woven into a well-structured, interlocking network. Every monster outpost, every treasure placement point, and every trap trigger zone was like a node, waiting for the injection of a "cause" to derive rich "effects"—the emotional fluctuations he needed!

"Now, the actors are in place, the stage is set..." The corners of Zhang Hao's mouth curled into an arc of someone controlling destiny. His gaze turned to the option on the panel: [Maze Entrance: Unopened].

"It's time for my 'guests' to enter."

With a thought, he chose to open the maze entrance.

Meanwhile, above ground, in the central plaza of a bustling, exotic Adventurers Town.

A soft but unmistakable white light appeared out of thin air and quickly stabilized, forming an elliptical light gate about three meters high and two meters wide. The surface of the light gate rippled like water, and the deep, mysterious sight of a passage could be faintly seen behind it.

The plaza fell silent for a moment before erupting into even louder clamor.

"Look! A new underground maze entrance has appeared!"

"It's actually in the center of the plaza? Unprecedented!"

"Looking at the energy fluctuation, it seems to be a newly born Rank E maze!"

"Rank E? Perfect for us newcomers! Quick, form a party! The first batch of explorers will surely reap the greatest rewards!"

"Let's go! Let's head in and see!"

Soon, a team of low-Rank Hosts (their identity in this world being "adventurers"), filled with curiosity, greed, and a hint of trepidation, cautiously stepped into that light gate.

They didn't know that they were stepping not into a simple, naturally generated maze, but into a place called the Numerology Maze. And the master of the maze was hidden behind the scenes, calmly watching them like observing chess pieces starting to move on a board.

The data on the [maze builder panel] began to tick:

[Total Number of Adventurers Entered]: 1... 3... 5...

[maze construction points]: 100 (+0.1... +0.5... +1...)