63: Chapter 63: Openly Building a City, Secretly Engaging in a Battle of Wits

Inside the command center converted from an old shipyard, people were coming and going, and not one person was idle.

The massive factory building was partitioned into several zones. In the very center was the territory of Jiang Ning, where a city sand table, created using special techniques, floated. Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, leading a group of engineers, was huddled around a computer, diligently translating Jiang Ning's mystical "formation node diagrams" into construction plans that workers could understand.

At the other end, Dongfang Shuo was lecturing his ten junior brothers and sisters.

"Listen up! From today on, our task is security! Engineer Jiang has already marked the locations of the first batch of one hundred and eight foundation formation points. Our job is to watch them twenty-four hours a day. Before formal construction begins, no one is allowed to approach these places!"

"Senior Brother, we came here to cultivate immortality, how did we end up becoming gatekeepers?" the youngest junior sister couldn't help but whisper a complaint.

"Shut up!" Dongfang Shuo glared at her. "What's wrong with being a gatekeeper? This is called protecting the Dharma! Do you think an immortal master's territory is easy to build? Every point connects to the spiritual veins of the entire Donghai City; this is a matter of paramount importance! Being able to protect the Dharma for the immortal master is our good fortune! Besides, lingering around these points allows you to be the first to sense spiritual energy, which is beneficial for our own cultivation! If you don't even have this level of awareness, why bother cultivating immortality? Just go back to carrying water and chopping wood!"

Being shouted at like that, the junior sister was too scared to make another sound. The others who had also harbored some minor thoughts immediately behaved themselves.

They now both respected and feared Dongfang Shuo. They respected his great ability, and feared his current "devil foreman" persona, which was even fiercer than the sect's enforcement elders.

Jiang Ning paid no attention to these conversations.

Her consciousness had already spread across the entirety of Donghai City. Every street and every building in the city was crystal clear in her mind.

The first step she needed to take was "Spirit Induction."

The spiritual energy on Earth was too thin, but it wasn't entirely non-existent. This spiritual energy was scattered between heaven and earth, much like water vapor. What she needed to do was use those one hundred and eight foundation formation points to build a massive "Spirit Gathering Funnel" to slowly gather the sparse spiritual energy drifting in the sky.

This task required extreme precision; if any single point went wrong, it could cause the spiritual energy to run wild.

On the other side, Director Zhao Lixin was in a meeting with the leaders of Donghai City, and the atmosphere was not good.

"Director Zhao, we understand it's a national project, but your requirements... they don't follow the rules." The director of the City Planning Bureau pushed up his glasses, looking at the document in his hands with a troubled expression, "You want to set up permanent exclusion zones in these places, even including the city center park and several main roads underneath. This violates the Urban Planning Law."

"Also, you want to mobilize the entire city's police force to blockade these locations, with the only reason being 'construction needs.' Director Zhao, this is a major city with a population of ten million; our police are already stretched thin. If you do this, there will be major problems with public security." The police chief also chimed in with complaints.

Director Zhao Lixin listened, his face expressionless.

He understood that these people weren't deliberately being difficult; it was just that their thinking was still stuck in the old ways, and they completely failed to grasp just how important this project was.

"Secretary Li," Director Zhao Lixin couldn't be bothered to waste words with those bureau directors, so he looked directly at the Municipal Party Secretary sitting at the head of the table. "I will say this one last time. The 'Pearl of the East Sea' project is the highest priority. All local regulations and departmental rules that conflict with this project are to be suspended immediately."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck hard at their hearts.

"This is not a negotiation; it is a notification. If Donghai City cannot cooperate, the central government will immediately dispatch a Military Management Committee to take over all administrative power in the city. I believe none of you want to see that happen."

The meeting room instantly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was stunned by these few words from Director Zhao Lixin. This wasn't project coordination; it was practically giving direct orders.

Sweat broke out on Secretary Li's forehead. Only now did he truly realize that behind this project lay the unchallengeable determination of the nation.

He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and roared at his subordinates, the bureau directors who were still stunned: "Did you all hear that! Director Zhao Lixin's requirements are the central government's orders! From now on, all departments, everyone, cooperate unconditionally! Whoever dares to slack off or drag their feet will be dismissed on the spot and await investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission! Meeting adjourned!"

A potential administrative internal conflict was suppressed just like that by Director Zhao Lixin using the toughest method possible.

When he returned to the command center, Jiang Ning had already finalized the locations for the first batch of formation points.

"Done?" Jiang Ning glanced at him.

"Done." Director Zhao Lixin nodded, smiling somewhat helplessly. "Reasoning with them is too much effort; it's faster to just show some muscle."

"That's how it should be." Jiang Ning's tone was indifferent. "In the world of mortals, power is the most useful tool; it's efficient."

Director Zhao Lixin was taken aback, then laughed. It was true; in the eyes of someone like Jiang Ning, secular power games might really just be a "tool."

Just as things were heating up on the project team's side, the infiltration by the "Ghost" team also began.

"Snake Eye," disguised as the environmental expert "Professor Green," successfully obtained an admission ticket to the initial environmental assessment seminar for the "Pearl of the East Sea" project through official channels.

He checked into a five-star hotel arranged by the government, and every day he attended meetings, ate, and toured around with a group of real and fake experts from various countries.

He behaved with great poise, possessed solid professional knowledge, and constantly praised the Xia Kingdom's environmental achievements, quickly earning the favor of the officials from the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.

Through these officials, he began to intentionally or unintentionally inquire about the project.

"Oh, Director Wang, I heard that the Chief Consultant for this project is a very young lady? Truly remarkable, the young people of the Xia Kingdom are so wise." At a banquet, he held a wine glass and chatted with a deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office.

"Haha, Professor Green, you are too kind." Director Wang was clearly drunk and his chatterbox was wide open. "Yes, that Chief Consultant Jiang is young to the point of... being a bit frightening. But she was sent by the higher-ups, so we don't dare ask too many questions. Their command center is all mysterious, located in that old shipyard by the harbor; even our city leaders can't get in if they want to."

"An old shipyard? The environment there isn't great. It's really a shame for those experts." "Snake Eye" continued to fish for information.

"Who's to say it isn't. Oh, right, they recently had a big operation, wanting to conduct some kind of 'geological exploration' in over a hundred places in the city, which has been exhausting for our Planning Bureau and Police Bureau. You're an environmental expert, tell me, why on earth would they be exploring in the city center like that?"

"Snake Eye's" heart stirred.

Over a hundred places? Geological exploration?

This was very likely the target he was looking for.

As soon as the banquet ended, he immediately returned to his hotel room and contacted "Witch."

"Check all internal documents and police deployment records of the Donghai City government regarding 'geological exploration' from recently. I want the precise locations of all exploration points."

"Received, boss. Ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, a map of Donghai City marked with one hundred and eight red dots appeared on "Snake Eye's" encrypted computer.

"Very good." He looked at the map. "Now, let us go and see what exactly they are exploring."

A secret contest, under the shadows of this city, had officially begun.