The high-pitched ringing of the bell swept over the entire city in an instant.

After unapologetically devouring all the dispersed spiritual essence within the Crack Realm, visible ripples of spiritual essence emanated from the bell tower, expanding in all directions.

Then, the earth shook and the heavens trembled!

Ji Jue, with his eyes wide and mouth agape, clung to his little ox-horse, struggling to maintain stability amidst the tremors, only to see the surrounding shattered ruins rapidly recovering right before his eyes!

It was as if time were flowing backward.

Dust danced upward, chunks of stone flew back into place, fragmented skylights merged back together, and even the complex and gorgeous decorations surpassed those of the past.

Everything was changing rapidly.

Generally speaking, exceptional workshops not only controlled various aspects but essentially had a set of complex, underlying commands that formed a comprehensive instruction set.

Over time, with generations of craftsmen's modifications and additions, these became increasingly complex and versatile, gradually capable of handling more complicated situations and chaos.

Sometimes, it felt as if they were living entities, adapting flexibly.

Even more so, they could be further endowed with a soul.

In the legendary workshops that survived, each excelled in their respective fields, and some workshops themselves were creations formed by multiple Heavenly Artisans!

Now, in this workshop that spanned the entire Crack Realm and had endured four hundred years of weathering, the predefined commands had been activated.

The level of destruction was too high, so it began self-repair!

The workshop would draw in dispersed spiritual essence, convert all available energy, and reset the internal environment of the workshop to its preset values and appearance.

—Reconstruction!

However, such a massive scale was, admittedly... too exaggerated!

Through the peculiar glass in front of him, Ji Jue could see that time in the entire city seemed to be reversing, countless Invisible Hands manipulating everything, taking control of all, and rebuilding the entire world.

Collapsed skyscrapers rose from the ground once again, shredded corpses merged back together, withered plants returned to life, and even the clouds above vanished without a trace.

The disordered stars returned to their original positions, disappearing with the night sky, and brilliant sunlight shone broadly.

At the verge of the sky, the once-broken majestic tower seemed to be restored to its original state, radiating light.

The streets were once again bustling with crowds, noisy and chaotic.

It was as if the finger of a deity had reset everything that had collapsed.

Only... there seemed to be some discrepancies with the designs.

Over four hundred years of reconstructions and repairs, mistakes had layered upon mistakes, errors magnified continuously until, finally, it resulted in the seemingly normal but bizarrely eerie scenes before them.

Buildings that should have been straight were now twisted, with the lower parts resembling buildings and the upper parts resembling mountains, even featuring a waterfall cascading down. A gorgeous young woman wandering the streets looked radiant but had four eyes on her face and an unintentional twitching third leg protruding from her rear, leading a continuously squirming dog-like creature by the hand.

The road was orderly, but upon closer inspection, there were too many incomprehensible setups and furnishings.

It was as if the increasingly popular AI-generated maps, in a fleeting glimpse of such a peaceful world, hid too many horrifying details.

"Who, who, who are you?"

Beneath the collapsed bricks and stones, broken limbs reassembled, and upon rising, turned into a well-dressed man scrutinizing those who shouldn't be in the mansion: "Leave, leave, leave, or I'll call the po-po-po—"

On his face, two mouths spoke erratically, but suddenly froze in place as if stuck, spouting incomprehensible phrases until, in the end, he looked lost and bewildered.

Unresponsive.

"Bro Ball, what's going on here?" Ji Jue picked up the Ghost Work Ball.

[Hey, it's just out-of-control errors, who'd manage it for hundreds of years? You'd expect no bugs?]

The Ghost Work Ball mocked: [Times have changed, in modern alchemy, workshops must incorporate correction values, reference blueprints, and pre-planned diagrams for repairs... Who knows where the problem started.]

It said, [Hurry up, kid, opportunity knocks!]

Even the blind could feel the sudden change.

At this moment, the anomaly at the bell tower had already caught the attention of numerous outsiders, and those with legs were running towards it, even faster than Ji Jue's group.

Several figures covered the ground in a few leaps, reaching the vicinity of the Bell Tower.

Before others could arrive, someone immediately sprang up, hurtling straight toward the Bell Tower... and then smacked right into an Invisible Wall, quickly charred to a crisp by the explosive fire that erupted from the wall.

The horrific screams and shouts fell with the dust.

[See? That's what you get for being hard-headed.]

The Ghost Work Ball sneered: [People even buy safe boxes for keeping jewelry at home; do you really think the workshop's defenses don't exist? Learn your lesson, kid, don't touch what you shouldn't, don't mess with what you shouldn't, got it?]

The first person to try his luck died in front of everyone, causing brief deterrence, yet that couldn't stop the resourceful Chosen Ones.

Ji Jue and An Ran lay by the window, munching on snacks while watching the scene around the bell tower.

People pulled several stiff bystanders off the streets and hurled them towards the barrier; a flash of fire appeared and then disappeared. After noticing that all attempts to approach from the air triggered the protections, a quick thinker mustered his courage and simply walked over from the ground.

Step by careful step.

All onlookers instinctively held their breath.

Not until he touched the door did they dare exhale.

Then, that person split into two.

Behind the massive door of the bell tower, a paper-thin blade silently fell, sweeping past… slicing the smile in half.

Blood sprayed forth.

"Damn, that's freaking violent!" Ji Jue gasped in shock: "This wasabi-flavored shrimp strip tastes pretty good, An, you should try it?"

"These cucumber-flavored chips taste awful."

An Ran asked cautiously, "Can it be thrown away?"

"How could there be such a thing?" Ji Jue was shocked and finally remembered before leaving how Ye Chun sneakily stuffed snacks into his bag, and he suddenly became furious.

You lazy dog, how dare you poison your junior like this?

When I get out of the Crack Realm, I'll submit the thesis I rewrote recently! This time, you won't even be the second author! Just wait to hold your assignment that only has the first three hundred words and cry...

Boom!!!

When bullets and explosives shattered the door of the bell tower, a massive, bulky figure slowly emerged from the darkness, the shadows behind him sealing the door.

And that hunched figure enveloped in a black robe slowly unfolded four arms, drawing swords and knives of different designs, their blades rusted and serrated.

It looked as if it hadn't been maintained for years, even the ugly, fearsome mask was peeling and fading.

Gears and pivots faintly visible beneath.

Yet the movements were unbelievably quick, darting like shadows, sweeping across the plaza in an instant, and invaders lay slain on the ground without having a chance to resist.

"Boss, this one is tough."

Returning Knight Captain Slan gasped, "Are you sure you want to assault?"

"For the situation at hand, we have no choice," Lou Feng squeezed out of his teeth, "I know this request is excessive, but we have no other options."

"The contract includes related clauses already, I have no objections."

Slan paused for a moment, then slowly said, "However, given the difficulty of our opponent, I hope you can add a little extra to our compensation for this operation."

"I'll give double."

Lou Feng answered decisively.

So, the two shook hands, sealing the deal.

Outside the plaza, the assembled Returning Knights looked at each other, then quickly removed their burdens and supplies, and donned heavy armor for each other.

In the mythology of Central Earth, spirits and gods were engraved on that heavy armor, gradually enveloping every inch of skin.

Strands of crimson blood energy emerged from the gaps in the armor, swirling and drifting, converging into a thick red mist.

Struggle, slaughter, confrontation, carnage, war.

This was the realm of the crowd.

Following the path of the crowd meant transforming oneself into the power of Destruction.

The knights loyal to the Red King received the blessing from the crowd, and war spread like fungus, unstoppable. In the endless struggle, blood and life converged, inscribed on the honors of the victors.

Dozens of Returning Knights were enough to summon the "gifts" of the crowd.

The horn was sounded.

Six-legged giant horses appeared from the void, dutifully arriving beside the knights; the knights mounted them, and what appeared in their hands were exaggeratedly long spears over nine meters long.

The flag of the Blood Country fluttered, showcasing the power of the crowd by past Chosen Ones who had defeated the White Country and the White King.

"This victory, for the Red King!!!"

Slan's roar was thunderous, the knight on the giant horse led the charge, and behind him followed a mere dozen or so riders, yet they surged forward like a mighty river.

They fiercely challenged the guardians left by the Saint.

Among the thunderous sound of iron hooves, the iron stream clashed with the giants, pure power collided, the shadows vibrated, and blood boiled.

In the fierce attack of the knights, a life-and-death war began!

"Does it have to be this dramatic?"

Behind a window, Ji Jue stared in astonishment, condemning the moral decay of society, yelling at his brothers not to fight outnumbered.

Especially seeing the guards from the bell tower being slightly overwhelmed...

Oh no, could it be that this young Lou Feng might defeat them?

Should he, ruthlessly, take a cold shot?

But the Returning Knights were experienced fighters after all, even when facing a formidable enemy, there were several knights lurking around, alert for attacks from hidden spots, even Lou Feng was protected flawlessly.

Loving to catch falls as much as they loved their boss, tough on both ends to the death.

Steady and cautious, never reckless.

So professional...

For a moment, even with Ji Jue's superficial experience in petty theft, he felt outclassed and couldn't help but sigh, "It seems now we can only wait for them to both suffer."

"Huh?"

The Ghost Work Ball was puzzled: "Why not just go in?"

"Huh?" Ji Jue was baffled.

"Just, go in!"

The Ghost Work Ball straightforwardly asked, "Why do humans stupidly clash with the security program? Just use the backdoor, with me here, the workshop's detection system can't find you anyway.

Do you really need an invitation card, waiting for Mercury to wake up and open the door to invite you in for tea?"

As it spoke, a faint glow emanated, enveloping the two of them and a cattle-horse, incidentally projecting a map with indicators including a hidden entrance behind the lighthouse and a complex recognition circuit - disguised as a normal access fake key.

Here's the key, and I've marked the entrance for you.

It's almost like dragging Ji Jue right in.

"So, what the hell are you still freezing here for?"

Ghost Work Ball urged: "Let's go!"

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