Chapter 28: The Thirteenth Deity.

Neon City, 10:00 AM.

In a factory office located on the outskirts, a slightly stout man looked at Chen Jiang and his companions seated before him, gesturing toward a model in his hands.

"I have a general understanding of your requirements."

"Before you arrived, I put together a rough model. Take a look."

The model in his hand was a shipping container.

"Your request is to create an 'integrated architectural internet cafe,' and you intend to use trucks to transport this cafe, wandering throughout Neon City to create a mobile internet cafe, correct?"

"Yes."

Chen Jiang nodded. "This is our latest startup project. It allows customers to access the internet without leaving their homes. As long as they book in advance, we can pick them up at their doorstep, and when they are finished, we can drop them back home for free."

"..."

The stout factory manager remained silent for a moment before saying earnestly, "A genius business idea."

"However, could the dimensions of this cafe be adjusted?"

"Preferably not."

"But at this size, with an area of about 200 square meters, it would require at least four heavy trucks for transport. It would need at least eight lanes, and the only part of Neon City with eight lanes is the stretch from the North District to the 'Cross-River Bridge.' Furthermore, you would be occupying the opposing lanes and blocking the entire road."

"The traffic police certainly wouldn't allow you to do this."

"You don't need to worry about that," Chen Jiang chuckled softly. "We have people in high places."

"Understood."

The manager nodded thoughtfully. Although he didn't think much of this ridiculous project, it didn't matter; if the deal went through, he would make a lot of money, and it could serve as a case study to showcase his factory's capabilities. That was the only reason he had come out to negotiate in person.

"In that case, let's continue."

"Normally, the vibration level of a standard truck traveling at a constant speed on a flat highway is 0.3 to 0.5. Your requirement is that the vibration must be below 0.01—almost absolute stillness, a level of vibration the human body cannot perceive."

"To achieve this, the costs will increase infinitely."

"Before you arrived, the factory engineers drafted a preliminary plan."

"The model in my hand is a shipping container. We can house the 'mobile internet cafe' inside it—the container would obviously have to be larger than the cafe—and use 24 aircraft-grade steel cables in a spiderweb configuration to suspend the cafe within the container."

"Each steel cable would be connected to a hydraulic damper to absorb high-frequency vibrations."

"Then, we would install a large number of gyroscopes inside the container, similar to technology used for submarine stabilization, to detect tilt angles in real-time and provide rapid feedback to our 'intelligent stabilization system' to micro-adjust the length of the steel cables, thereby achieving a state of near-absolute stability."

"Finally—"

"Supplemented by various dampers and a laser alignment system, including a complete overhaul of the trucks—such as tires and shock absorbers—based on computer calculations, when traveling at a constant speed not exceeding 40 km/h..."

"The vibration level would be 0.007, far below your requirements."

"..."

Chen Jiang did not speak. He simply took the container model from the manager, opened it to reveal the small room suspended by steel cables, and shook the container. The little room inside remained almost perfectly still.

It sounded complicated.

In reality, it was just using various mechanical devices to create a giant version of a chicken's head stabilization mechanism. No matter how much you shake the base, the top remains steady.

"Our specifications are perfectly aligned. Let's talk price."

"Do we need to provide the trucks?"

"No."

"Normally, an integrated 200-square-meter cabin, including interior decor, costs about 1.5 million. But yours... the cost is extremely high. It will require at least 20 million, and you must pay a 70% deposit."

Chen Jiang toyed with the container model in his hand, pondered for a while, and then asked, "Is it truly impossible to make the entire 'mobile internet cafe,' including the container, out of bulletproof, extremely durable materials?"

"Absolutely sealed and impossible to breach from the inside."

"And maybe add a poison gas spray port or something similar?"

"..."

This time it was the manager's turn to be silent. After a long while, he said in a raspy voice, "Weren't we supposed to be building an internet cafe? What you're describing sounds a bit like..."

"That is definitely not doable. Neon City doesn't have those materials; they would need to be brought in from other cities, which would take at least three months."

"I'll pay more."

"Even with more money, it will still take three months."

"Fine."

Chen Jiang waved his hand. Dumb Snake picked up three snakeskin bags from behind him and slammed them heavily onto the desk. "This is 20 million, full payment. Once this is done, I'll give you another 10 million."

"Speed up the construction schedule."

"I have 27 other integrated buildings that I need you to build, though those don't have any vibration requirements. They are quite simple."

...

After leaving the factory, Chen Jiang did not go far.

Instead, he moved into the dormitory that had been cleared out for them in the backyard of the factory. They would spend the coming days supervising the project's progress here.

Multiple heinous crimes had broken out last night.

Today, the Neon City Law Enforcement Bureau was conducting comprehensive inspections of all hotels, internet cafes, clubs, bathhouses, and other places where one could stay overnight. Staying here would save a lot of trouble; it was much more comfortable than sleeping under a bridge.

The instance would last for three months.

Only one night had passed; there was still a long way to go. Having experienced the series of events from last night, the players would become increasingly cautious, and things would likely reach a stalemate.

He had no other plans for now.

He just needed to wait patiently.

He always named his operations. Let's call this one "The Civet Cat Exchanges for the Crown Prince."

Dumb Snake was currently training Xu Kun on some basics.

Chen Jiang sat by the window, looking out while leaning back in his chair, slowly lighting a cigarette. His thoughts began to drift.

During the previous "Mirage" magic performance, he had obtained some intelligence from the Song City Municipal Government Building.

Some of it was very critical.

For instance—

"Gods' Paradise" possessed 13 deities. In reality, if one were a "Gods" player, one could look up and see those 13 deities. Among them, there was one whose features and physique could not be clearly seen; it was just a blur.

It wasn't because this deity was particularly mysterious.

It was because this deity... was dead.

Of the 13 deities, one had perished.

According to the intelligence, "Gods' Paradise" had only descended into the real world a year ago, but his master had adopted him when he was nine. At that time, his master should have already been a player of "Gods' Paradise."

There was a discrepancy between his memories and the intelligence.

Originally.

"Gods' Paradise" had 13 deities, each capable of bestowing different powers upon their followers. But now that one had died, players only had the choice to follow the remaining 12, or...

Walk the path to godhood.

Become the 13th deity.