Fairy (@Luoxin-Master Certified)

This guy usually pretends not to understand human speech, and he's not mentally unstable; he doesn't seem like an idiot when he tries to communicate. But not only does he not help advance the main storyline or clear Dungeons, he also keeps causing a bunch of trouble.

But this guy isn't stupid; he knows to ask Mu Hongyuan for help cleaning up his mess after he caused trouble.

[Shi] smacked his lips twice, then spat out a high-class medal with intricate patterns, which landed on the ground with a crisp sound and rolled to Mu Hongyuan's feet.

The medal is made of gold, with the Church's Holy Light Emblem and crossed Steam swords engraved on the front, along with other patterns.

Mu Hongyuan recognized this thing.

A certain honorary medal for [Knights ], an imperial reward that only the most outstanding [Knights ] can receive.

"You... ate four nobles the day before yesterday, a crippled [troublemaker] yesterday, and a Knight of high status today?!"

Mu Hongyuan inexplicably felt an urge to ignore his teammates, leave the city and the power he had built up over the past two days, and simply walk away.

There's no need to elaborate on cannibalism; it's quite common. The key point is that [Food] depicts something she couldn't handle, and what she actually ate is truly unknown.

"Are you a dog? Why don't you eat the Goushi on the street? You only pick the good stuff."

[Food] paused for a moment upon hearing this, then unusually spoke aloud, "How did you know I didn't eat?"

"Incredible." Mu Hongyuan lost his patience.

"This world is fraught with danger. The disasters caused by the Survivors and the forces they've enlisted are growing ever stronger. Your actions will only increase the risk of us being exposed, and we may already be under their surveillance."

Mu Hongyuan straightened his clothes, gently smoothed the veil of his hat with his fingers so that it just covered his eyebrows and eyes, revealing the delicate lower half of his face, and walked gracefully out of the house.

"Next, I will issue a warrant for your arrest in the name of my power, and have all the city's high-ranking officials and nobles hunt you down. You'd better flee to another city tonight. I can't protect you in this matter; it might attract the attention of the [Bishop]. We can cooperate again in the future."

If it weren't for [Shi] dealing with some obstacles while she was building her power these past two days, Mu Hongyuan might have simply ignored her.

[Food] tilted his head to think, weighing the pros and cons for a while.

In this world, there are not only powerful Awakened and [Calamities], but also the strangeness of the world itself— Sealing the Essence of the Survivors. There are also over a thousand powerful Survivors from various worlds.

He naturally knew how terrifying the Survivors were; the completely irrational madmen had naturally disappeared in this stage of the survival game.

So after much deliberation, he decided to go to the front lines of the empire, to where he was needed, to a place brimming with delicious food.

"The secrets behind this world are vast, and most likely related to the [Awakened]. So, the Survivors will probably all head towards the Empire, but I'm going against the grain and going straight to the Empire's front lines for a meal!"

With astonishing wisdom, [Food] left the Industrial City and headed north towards the border of the empire, devouring everything in its path.

Mu Hongyuan breathed a sigh of relief at [Food's] departure, glad that he hadn't been blinded by the false promises of allies and combat power, but had instead realized in time that this guy's troublemaking ability was not commensurate with his actual value.

After briefly organizing the documents in her hands, she walked towards a very grand reception room in the city.

This reception room belongs to the Empire Academy of Sciences' liaison office in the city and is usually used to receive Researchers dispatched by the Academy to various places. The building is a three-story brick and stone structure with off-white exterior walls and Steam gear and piston patterns carved on the pillars of the porch.

These three days of exploration gave her some understanding of the Dungeon.

First, the [Awakening Ritual] is related to the restoration of one's Essence. Her understanding is that when Survivors enter Dungeon, their Essence is "covered" by the World Rules, like layers of murky yellow urine stains piled on tiles in a public toilet, obscuring the original color. The Awakening Ritual's function is to "scrape off a layer," revealing the underlying color.

Secondly, the World Influence may be related to the extent of Essence restoration. The more you change, the more the world acknowledges your existence, and the thinner the layer of "smell" covering your Essence will be scraped away until your original self is fully revealed.

Both of these are guesses, but they're pretty close. This is what she's accomplished over the past three days.

Now, what she needs to do is change the world while strengthening herself.

Unlike most Crossing fantasy works that "experiment with and develop advanced technologies directly in the city," and unlike those that "directly hand them over to the state," this work is different.

Mu Hongyuan decided to first build a powerful force, and then use the influence of this force to directly supply advanced technology to the imperial center, thereby achieving his goal of influencing the world.

If there were no other Survivors, and it were a normal world, she might use this as a springboard to enter the imperial core and try to seize control of its forces. But let's forget about it here.

Regardless of whether other Survivors have implemented advanced technologies and industries, the real-world obstacles are always ridiculously large.

Survivor immediately want to build factories in the slums will soon find that they can't even get raw materials and manpower; those Survivor want to directly supply the Empire with new technologies will soon find that they have no power or status and can't even get in.

Mu Hongyuan's actions will definitely have an impact on the world, whether it's benign or malignant, she doesn't care, as long as it "has an impact".

If Survivor starts with overwhelming strength, there will be quite a few Survivor can seize an imperial city and instantly refine it, slaughtering countless people to gain World Influence.

"I submitted the application, pulled some strings, and the Empire Academy of Sciences specially approved a special advisor to come here to verify the technology," Mu Hongyuan muttered to himself. "Once it's confirmed to be correct, we'll conduct research and discussions at the Academy of Sciences."

This method of technology transfer has a slow rate of impact on the world; each step requires time, money, and interpersonal relationships, unlike violence which has an immediate effect. However, it is safer and more sustainable.

Mu Hongyuan didn't care much about the time or the special advisor's verification.

Special advisors for scientific research verification are usually ordinary people who have received a good education. At most, they can Awakened at the [Knight] level. It is a leisurely profession left to the younger generation by the imperial nobles. Mu Hongyuan can deal with it very easily. The passive nature of the profession alone can turn the other party into his follower.

Three [Knight]-level Awakened, brought by the advisor, stood outside the room as guards, their mechs making a lot of noise.

The carriage at the entrance carried a Difference Engine, the latest model in the Empire, with a purely Steam mechanical structure, brass gears, silver levers, and a black cast iron base. Although this contraption wasn't as fast as the mental calculations of some Awakened and scientists, it was highly sought after by nobles who loved new gadgets.

Standing in front of the carriage, Mu Hongyuan carefully examined the brass gears and levers inside, as well as the white Steam emitted during operation, before slowly entering the room.

In a simply furnished room, a composed young nobleman sat down, glanced at her, paused, and then gestured for her to sit opposite him.