31: Back to reality: Bricklaying? That's called aerobic exercise! Ms. Lin: This damn aura...

"It opened! The Rich Woman opened it!!"

"Purple light! Holy crap! It really is purple light!!"

At Outpost No. 01 plaza, the exclamations of the crowd nearly blew the newly repaired roof off.

A thousand eyes stared intently at the Blind Box Lin Xiaowan was holding, which was slowly opening.

There was no shameful whip.

Nor were there any strange props.

Buzz—

A Scepter, crystal clear throughout, with a deep blue eternal ice crystal inlaid at its tip, floated quietly in mid-air. The surrounding air instantly condensed, and hexagonal snowflakes began to drift down.

**[Acquired: Sigh of the Frost Queen (Purple · Growth-Type Staff)]**

**[Special Effect: Cold Affinity Lv.Max, all Ice-type skill determination priority +1.]**

"Hoo..."

Lin Xiaowan patted her chest; the anxious feeling in her heart finally subsided.

That was close.

This suits this Young Miss's temperament.

She reached out and grasped the Staff. In that instant, an bone-chilling coldness flowed from her palm throughout her entire body. Instead of feeling frozen, she felt refreshed, as if her very Soul had been cleansed.

"Now that’s more like it..."

She tilted her chin up slightly, instantly maximizing the commanding queenly demeanor she displayed on the battlefield.

Just as the players were preparing to swarm over to 'absorb her luck'...

Sizzle, sizzle.

The holographic projection in the center of the plaza flickered.

Su Mu's Face, which always wore an irritatingly smug smile, appeared in the air.

"Um... interrupting everyone's celebration."

"Given that the Far North Campaign has just concluded, in order to digest the spoils of war, and also to allow everyone's taut nerves to relax..."

"The server will undergo a 24-hour shutdown maintenance."

"This update includes: [Magic/Psionic System Preload], [Deep Feedback on Real-World Physical Fitness (5.8%)] ."

"So..."

Su Mu snapped his fingers, and the black trench coat behind him moved without wind:

"Go offline and sleep, soldiers."

"This vacation is well-deserved."

**[Forced Server Kickout Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]**

There were no wails.

Nor were there any curses.

Li Qiang (ID: Also a Ruthless Person) even stretched, stuffing a piece of Obsidian fragment he had just picked up into his storage, displaying the simple smile of a working man:

"That's good."

"The construction site needs to rush the schedule tomorrow. I almost forgot my main job focusing on monster slaying these past few days."

Lin Xiaowan also elegantly put away her Staff:

"This Young Miss has a Blind Date tomorrow. Perfect timing to go back and catch up on some beauty sleep."

Whoosh!

White light flashed.

The bustling Outpost instantly fell silent... The Real World.

Morning sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, spilling into the slightly messy rental room.

"Haa—"

Li Qiang shot up from the bed, pulling off the slightly worn second-hand VR helmet. A series of cracking sounds erupted from his joints.

Comfortable.

So comfortable.

The fatigue from fighting on the ice fields for dozens of hours vanished the moment he took off the helmet. In its place was a feeling of fullness, as if a diesel engine had been stuffed inside his body.

He didn't make a fuss about pinching a cup like the first time.

After all, having experienced the 3% feedback adaptation period, he was completely familiar with his own body.

"5.8% then..."

Li Qiang clenched his fist, feeling the surging power beneath the thick calluses on his palm.

It wasn't the bloated feeling of expanded muscle.

It was an extremely firm explosive power, as if every single muscle fiber had been tightly twisted by steel wires.

"Time to work."

A quick wash, and swallowing three steamed buns in two gulps.

Seven thirty.

A certain high-rise construction site.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense.

"What the hell?! The Crane failed at a critical moment?!"

The Foreman threw his hard hat on the ground, pointing at the pile of Specialized Cement that had just been unloaded, spitting wildly:

"This batch of materials must be transported to the top floor by this morning!! The Client is coming to inspect this afternoon!!"

"If this is delayed, all of you can get lost!!"

Several coworkers looked worriedly at the pile of cement bags stacked like a mountain.

That wasn't ordinary cement.

It was high-density specialized material, 50 kilograms per bag. Carrying it manually up to the platform of the elevator shaft under construction was a life-threatening job.

"Boss, this is too heavy..." a small, thin coworker complained quietly, "And everyone is quite tired today..."

"Tired?! Who isn't tired?!" The Foreman glared, "If you don't want to work, just leave!!"

Just as the situation reached a stalemate.

"What's the big deal."

A lazy voice interjected.

Li Qiang, wearing his slightly yellowed hard hat and a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, walked over slowly.

He glanced at the pile of cement.

Then he looked at the red-faced Foreman.

"Finished by morning, right?"

Li Qiang walked up to the pile of cement.

No warm-up.

No chanting of slogans.

He just casually bent over, and his large, calloused hands clamped onto the bottom two bags like iron pincers with a 'ka' sound.

Lift.

The hundred-kilogram weight felt as light as two bags of cotton in his hands.

Immediately after.

Under the horrified gazes of the crowd, he flicked his toe, and the third and fourth bags of cement landed steadily on his shoulders.

**[Total Weight: 200 Kilograms.]**

Four bags!!

The jaw of that slight construction worker almost dropped to the floor.

Even a professional weightlifter couldn't carry four hundred jin and still chat and laugh so easily, right?!

"Let's go."

Li Qiang even had time to reach up and adjust his hard hat, his steps as steady as if he were strolling through a park:

"Everyone move aside, don't block the way."

"I just carried several tons of bone structures in the game; this little bit... is just a warm-up exercise."

Watching that figure stride away briskly, the Foreman picked up the hard hat from the ground, his hands trembling:

"This... did this kid take magic pills?"

A younger construction worker who knew the situation had eyes full of envy:

"Boss, you don't understand."

"Brother Qiang got an account for 'The Void Realm'."

"Account prices are hyped up to three hundred thousand each now... This isn't moving bricks; this is humblebragging."

...At the same time.

Downtown, a Michelin three-star restaurant.

Melodious violin music flowed through the air, but the atmosphere at this table was chillingly cold.

"Miss Lin, it's not that I'm bragging."

Opposite her, a man wearing an Armani suit with slicked-back, oily hair was swirling his wine glass, his eyes carrying an air of self-righteous superiority:

"My vineyard in Bordeaux, last year's yield was..."

"Young Master Wang."

Lin Xiaowan put down her knife and fork.

There was not the slightest ripple in her beautiful eyes.

If it were the old Lin Xiaowan, she might have maintained a demure, fake smile for the sake of the Family's Face.

But now?

Don't make me laugh.

She was the Chief Psion of Outpost 01, the 'madwoman' who dared to give the Old Ones the middle finger.

In her current perception, this kind of show-off bumpkin posed less of a threat than a mere Lv.1 Skeleton Soldier.

"You just said your Family owns three vineyards?"

Lin Xiaowan's voice was light.

But it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

She extended her slender fingers and lightly rested them on the side of the ice water glass in front of her.

**[Passive Triggered: Cold Affinity.]**

Hiss.

The sound of faint freezing.

The surface of the glass of water, which had only ice cubes added, rapidly spread a layer of white frost the moment her fingertips touched it.

An invisible pressure, the kind only possessed by top predators, instantly enveloped that Young Master Wang.

"Is this the reason you wasted twenty minutes of my time?"

Lin Xiaowan leaned slightly forward, her eyes looking at the other man as if he were already dead:

"In my world, the weak..."

"...usually only deserve to keep their mouths shut."

Clang.

The wine glass in Young Master Wang's hand fell onto the table.

Red wine spilled all over him.

But he didn't care about wiping it off at all.

Cold.

It was too cold.

In that instant, he felt as if he had been targeted by some terrifying beast; that fear emanating from his very bones made it difficult for him to speak coherently:

"I... I..."

"Uninteresting."

Lin Xiaowan stood up, picked up her limited-edition bag, and didn't even spare him another glance:

"It's less interesting than moving a couple of bricks in the game."

She turned and left.

Leaving behind the shivering second-generation rich kid, and the water glass that had completely frozen over... Suburban area, villa on the mountainside.

Basement.

On the giant holographic screen, dense streams of data were scrolling by.

**[Player Sample Analysis Complete.]**

**[Average Physical Fitness Improvement: 5.8%]**

**[Mental Threshold Breakthrough: 12%]**

**[Anomaly Ability Awakening Signs: 0.1% (Mainly concentrated in Psion-type players).]**

Su Mu sat in the boss chair, holding a steaming latte, a satisfied curve on his lips.

"Adapting very well."

"The human species, as long as they are given a little incentive, their evolution speed is indeed number one in the Universe."

He put down the coffee.

His gaze landed on the **old day soul core** (Reality Projection Version) emitting a faint blue light in the center of the main control panel.

This was not just a trophy.

It was the key to opening a new era.

Since the body is ready... Since the shackles named 'Reality' have shown cracks... "Then, it's time to give Earth a little 'magic shock'."

Su Mu's finger hovered over a red Enter key.

That was the confirmation key for **[Spiritual Qi Seed Deployment]**.

"System."

His voice was low and carried a hint of mischief:

"Lock onto the real-world coordinates of all Closed Beta players."

"Tonight, let's give them some overtime."

**"Tear that thin layer of paper... for me."

Snap!

The key was pressed down.

On the screen, countless red dots lit up instantly, like prairie stars catching fire.

Su Mu leaned back in his chair and raised his glass towards the empty air:

"Have a good dream, soldiers."

"After all, in dreams..."

"...you can actually conjure fireballs."