Zhou Guosheng leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk twice.

Lu Shanyue's plan was mature, and the candidate was suitable.

Jiang Zhaoyue was not an "outsider" to the General Bureau.

Her aunt Jiang Wan had served as an Enshrined Expert in Zhenyue City for twenty years, and she herself had worked hard in the South Pole Region for three years without any conflict with the General Bureau.

More importantly, she had collaborated with Lin Feng before, and they had a foundation of mutual trust.

A middleman who could satisfy the General Bureau's needs without alienating Lin Feng was indeed hard to find.

"Let's settle on this for now."

Zhou Guosheng's voice was steady, carrying an unquestionable authority. "I will discuss this matter with Lin Feng privately; no one else is to interfere."

"Meeting adjourned."

Zhou Guosheng turned off the holographic projection.

The light and shadows in the meeting room dissipated, and the office returned to its usual silence.

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sky gradually brightening outside. The faint smile on his lips had not yet completely faded.

Lin Feng, a Special Village Establishment Order, an advanced wonder, and a position for a subordinate lord.

Things were much more complicated than he had anticipated.

He needed to think carefully about how to approach this young man.

...

The next day, six in the morning, Hangu Pass.

The sky was not yet fully light, with only a faint touch of dawn appearing on the eastern horizon.

The bluish-gray walls of the Great Wall loomed in the morning mist, like a sleeping giant dragon coiled upon the earth.

Lin Feng leaned against the headboard and opened his eyes.

He didn't get up immediately; instead, he leaned against the wall at the head of the bed, looking at the brightening sky outside and beginning to organize his plans in his mind.

The Great Wall was built, and the power of Destiny Awakening flowed in his blood, but he knew very well that this was only the first step.

Each of the tasks ahead was more significant and more urgent than the last.

The first task: Destiny Awakening.

He closed his eyes and mentally reviewed the activation conditions for the Heavenly Destiny Beacon Fire several times.

The current state was that he could only use the Heavenly Destiny Beacon Fire when Beacon Fire Despair was triggered. The condition for Beacon Fire Despair was that his health had to drop to 1 point to activate; furthermore, it could only be triggered once a month and lasted for 60 seconds.

Although 60 seconds was enough to do many things, against truly powerful enemies—such as others who had also achieved Destiny Awakening—60 seconds might not be enough.

The solution was simple: Third Rank.

After reaching the Third Rank, he would be able to use the Heavenly Destiny Beacon Fire without restriction within a six-li radius of Hangu Pass.

But the problem was that the Eye of Probability had just been used, with all one hundred probability pool points poured into the advanced dragon heart.

Even if the situation in the South Pole Region suddenly worsened, he would have to wait another month even if he gave up on the Silver Dragon Egg.

If the situation wasn't so dire, it would be two months, which was too long.

There was also a compromise.

Under the buff of the wonder, his total attribute boost in a normal state had reached 480%.

He was only 20% away from the 500% required to activate Destiny Awakening within the pass.

If he could obtain a skill or a potion that could temporarily increase his boost by 20%, he could use Destiny Awakening within the pass.

He could ask Director Zhou about this; the General Bureau had accumulated resources for ninety years, so they must have some trump cards in reserve.

The second task: territory development, with defense being the most pressing issue.

Lin Feng opened his eyes, sat up from the bed, walked to the window, and looked north.

The location of Hangu Pass had been carefully chosen by him, fifty li north of Lucky Town. The view here was open, and it wasn't far from either Lucky Town or Qingmu County.

But when he chose this location, there was one unchangeable prerequisite: the Great Wall could only be built within his own sphere of influence.

Therefore, he could only establish Hangu Pass on the boundary line of the Beacon Fire Territory.

But he had known from the beginning that this location was not the optimal choice.

The optimal location should have been closer to Zhenyue City.

If he could get all the Great Xia territories southeast of Zhenyue City to surrender to Fenghuo County and incorporate all those territories into the Beacon Fire Territory...

Then he could readjust the coverage area of the Great Wall, moving Hangu Pass northward to truly form a pincer formation with Zhenyue City.

At that point, supporting each other and echoing from east to west, the entire defensive line of the South Pole Region would be linked together.

In the current situation, town-level and village-level territories could no longer influence the overall picture, and the lords of those small territories were themselves looking for a way to survive.

If they could merge into the Beacon Fire Territory in exchange for the protection of the Great Wall, it shouldn't be a difficult matter to negotiate.

This matter could also be discussed with Director Zhou.

The issue of military strength was equally thorny.

He now had two thousand Great Qin Elite Soldiers; combined with the Beacon Guards and the garrisons of various counties, his total military strength did not exceed five thousand.

This number was barely enough to guard Hangu Pass normally, but if an army of foreign races truly pushed down from the north, it wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps.

He needed more soldiers and a stronger army.

There were two solutions.

One was to build the Terracotta Army, which could increase the troop limit of a specific unit type by ten thousand through its special effect.

The second was to expand his forces through the unique trait of the Great Qin Elite Camp, "Sweep the Six Harmonies," which increased the recruitment quota by five hundred for every additional county-level territory.

But both of these required time, resources, and opportunities.

If all else failed, there was another plan: have the General Bureau transfer all available level ten and above Awakened from the South Pole Region to help him defend Hangu Pass.

Ballistae, catapults, Ice Burst Potions, Combustion Potions—all usable war materials would be deployed onto the pass walls.

Given his current status as a lord with a Special Village Establishment Order and the deterrent power of the Great Wall, this request wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Thinking of this, Lin Feng laughed to himself.

The General Bureau would certainly have conditions; there was no such thing as a free lunch.

But that was fine; they would have a good talk later and each get what they needed.

He restrained his smile, walked to the bedside, sheathed the Wildfire Spear on his back, and straightened the collar of his firm rock leather armor.

Then he lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes.

With a thought, his consciousness withdrew from the Nightmare World.

The familiar feeling of weightlessness hit him. The morning mist of Hangu Pass, the bluish-gray walls of the Great Wall, and the dim torches on the watchtowers all receded in his vision.

He opened his eyes to see the ceiling of Villa No. 7 in the Rongcheng Lords Home. Morning light leaked through the gaps in the curtains, painting a golden band of light on the floor.

Just as Lin Feng picked up the communicator on his bedside table, a new message popped up on the screen.

The sender was Zhou Guosheng, and the content was brief: "Contact me when you have time; there are important matters to discuss."

Attached below the message was a link to an encrypted channel. The link icon was dark red, with a circle of fine runes slowly circulating around the edges.

This was the highest-level encrypted channel of the Great Xia Nightmare Affairs Bureau, which only Gold Seat Lords and a very few Silver Seat Lords had the authority to access.

Lin Feng didn't hesitate and immediately replied: "I'm free now."

Then he clicked the link.