Chapter Summaries

After months of study and experimentation in Magic City, Zhou Ming strengthened his cultivation and completed two Nokia Magic Phones that used magic power and Magic Waves for long-distance communication. He tested the phones with Sears, who praised them and predicted they would sell well.

• Zhou Ming's Plane Analysis rose to 70.25%, his cultivation bonus increased, and his strength stabilized at the rank of Great Magician.
• Zhou Ming gained the ability to cast the first-level Light spell, Illumination, through Soul Overclocking.
• After investing months of work and large sums of money, Zhou Ming completed two button-operated Nokia Magic Phones with long battery life, calling, messaging, and games.
• Zhou Ming and the others tested the phones outdoors from June 30 to July 4, confirming that calls and text messages worked over more than a hundred kilometers.
• Sears told Zhou Ming the phone was useful and predicted it would sell well.

Zhou Ming delayed mass-producing the Nokia Magic Phone and partnered with Old Wolf to develop a more capable smartphone. After gathering Magic City's advanced technology and a team of specialists, he completed ten iCrazy Phone prototypes and held a launch event.

• Sears predicted the Nokia Magic Phone could sell at least 500,000 units in Magic City, but Zhou Ming decided to improve its limited design before promoting it.
• On July 5th, Zhou Ming persuaded Old Wolf to fund and support a six-month smartphone project in exchange for half the profits, promising to work for the Magic Association if he failed.
• Zhou Ming assembled technical experts and resources from Magic City, where he found advanced screens, chips, cameras, network systems, and other technology.
• Zhou Ming and a team of over a hundred people solved the hardware problems, while Zhou Ming used the system to write the phone's software and operating system.
• On January 11th of Spring Season, Zhou Ming produced ten prototypes of the full-screen iCrazy Phone, then held a grand launch event on January 18th.

Zhou Ming unveiled the Nokia 001 at a packed product launch, demonstrating its many functions, durability, and low price. After announcing a half-price offer for ticket holders, he stunned the audience by revealing a second device: the high-end iPhone 1.

• Zhou Ming opened the launch at the Grand Arena and introduced the Nokia 001, a Magic Phone with more than ten functions.
• Technical supervisors demonstrated the Nokia 001’s features, while Babbitt drew a crowd with its Tetris and Snake games and an audience contestant narrowly beat its calculator.
• Valok Iron Pillar smashed a Stone Fruit with a hammer on the Nokia 001, which remained intact and fully functional, shocking Old Wolf and delighting the audience.
• Zhou Ming announced a price of 100 Contribution Points or 500 Purple Gold Coins, with ticket holders able to buy phones at half price that evening.
• Zhou Ming announced the iPhone 1 as the team’s first high-end Magic smartphone, leaving the audience stunned.

Zhou Ming unveiled the iPhone 1, whose advanced features stunned the audience and Magic Association leaders. Though it cost 10,000 Contribution Points and only 5,000 units were available, wealthy spectators rushed to claim one while poorer crowds could only watch or chant for it.

• Zhou Ming introduced the iPhone 1 as a high-end Magic Phone and described its hardware, apps, and planned future services.
• Technical staff demonstrated the iPhone 1’s features, leaving the audience and Magic Association leaders—including Old Wolf—dumbfounded.
• Old Wolf admitted defeat and considered yielding his position as Magic Association president to Zhou Ming.
• Zhou Ming announced that the iPhone 1 would cost 10,000 Contribution Points, with no discounts or Purple Gold Coin payments.
• Spectators with enough Contribution Points declared they would buy the phone and planned to line up for the limited first batch of 5,000 units.
• Most humans and dwarves could not afford the iPhone 1, while more than 30,000 beastmen stood and chanted its name.

Zhou Ming’s Magic Phones sold out rapidly and made him a fortune, but the iPhone 1’s high price sparked crime and a mass protest by beastfolk, humans, and dwarves demanding affordable phones. With 350,000 people protesting, Old Wolf ordered Zhou Ming to resolve the crisis within two days, then vanished.

• The iCrazy Store sold all 5,000 iPhone 1s in four hours, while sales of Nokia 001s later brought Zhou Ming’s net worth above 50 million Contribution Points.
• Saineboli sold his organs to a necromancer and became a Magic-Powered Golem in his desperate effort to obtain an iPhone 1.
• On February 6, over 100,000 beastfolk protested at the Parliament Building and iCrazy Store, demanding free or affordable iPhone 1s.
• The Magic Association rejected the demand for free phones, while Zhou Ming offered a modest price cut for the next iPhone 1 batch; negotiations failed.
• Humans and dwarves joined the protest, swelling the crowd to 350,000 by the third day.
• Old Wolf ordered Zhou Ming to settle the crisis within two days, and then disappeared before Zhou Ming could object.

After a massive protest over the price of iCrazy phones, Zhou Ming devised a shared-phone system that let the crowds use the phones while still earning him money. The Magic Association approved the plan and praised Zhou Ming’s solution.

• Zhou Ming considered why the Magic City’s leaders could not simply suppress protests and concluded that harsh rule had brought rebellion and ruin in the past.
• Orcs joined humans and dwarves in a large protest demanding free or low-cost iCrazy phones.
• Zhou Ming proposed making 50,000 Shared iCrazy Phones that users could unlock by paying 1 Contribution Point or 10 Purple Gold Coins for 12 hours of access.
• Zhou Ming planned to use positioning, usage rewards, penalties for damage, and paid games to manage the shared phones and make the system profitable.
• The Magic Association agreed that the plan addressed the protesters’ demands while preserving fairness and revenue, and Old Wolf praised Zhou Ming.

After becoming a parliament member, Zhou Ming proposed increasing Magic City's permanent population and persuaded the assembly that more residents would support its knowledge, industry, and economy. His proposal passed, and he agreed to help solve any administrative problems that arose.

• Zhou Ming unexpectedly won a seat in Magic City's parliamentary election with more than five thousand votes.
• At the parliamentary assembly, Zhou Ming proposed increasing Magic City's population to three million within three years and ten million within five to ten years.
• Zhou Ming answered concerns about nutrients and rising temperatures with plans for artificial production, climate control, and potentially removing the Dimensional Barrier.
• Zhou Ming argued that a larger population would help digitize knowledge, expand magical technology production, and develop Magic City's economy.
• When parliament members worried about governing a much larger population, Zhou Ming offered to help solve administrative problems.
• Parliament passed Zhou Ming's proposal with 497 votes in favor, 10 abstentions, and none opposed.

After Zhou Ming’s population-growth proposal was approved, Magic City eased entry restrictions, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, and began shifting from a welfare-based society toward a work-based one. The iCrazy Phone inspired workers, programmers, and magicians alike, and Old Wolf saw Magic City’s society beginning to transform.

• The Magic Association lowered the requirements and fees for outside magicians to enter Magic City, while Old Wolf arranged a Nokia 001 production line in the Vitros Empire.
• Beastfolk, dwarves, and lower-class humans celebrated the decision to expand Magic City’s permanent population and stop relocating residents.
• The Association announced large numbers of jobs and rules that reduced welfare for people who refused work, prompting controversy but broad acceptance.
• Zhou Ming found that roughly 150,000 of nearly 250,000 new workers had taken jobs to afford an iCrazy Phone of their own.
• Zhou Ming’s programming classes drew thousands of aspiring students, including powerful magicians, as more residents pursued software, research, and engineering.
• Old Wolf concluded that Zhou Ming’s Magic Phones and technology had helped set off positive changes throughout Magic City.

Zhou Ming finished his programming class and learned that Sears wanted to lose weight. Sears asked to borrow Sabina, hoping her rough treatment would help him shed pounds, and Zhou Ming left them together after warning Sabina not to kill him.

• Zhou Ming ended his programming lesson for his fifty students and thanked the viewers watching the live broadcast.
• Sears privately told Zhou Ming that he wanted to lose weight but could not stick to exercise or resist food.
• Sears explained that Sabina had once made him lose twenty pounds in three days, so he asked Zhou Ming to lend her to him.
• Zhou Ming agreed to ask Sabina, who accepted Sears’s request and threatened to grind away his fat.
• Zhou Ming left Sears with Sabina and told her to restrain her power so she would not kill him.

Over half a year in Magic City, Zhou Ming spent nearly all his savings to rise to the edge of the Legendary realm while Sears and Sabina became a couple. After finishing his programming course, he asked to leave Magic City, but the association agreed only if he completed one more task.

• Sears lost weight, moved in with Sabina, and the two eventually became an openly acknowledged couple.
• Zhou Ming scanned the Magic City library’s remaining books and spent most of his Contribution Points on potions and services, reaching Half-Step Legendary strength.
• After spending nearly two years in Magic City, Zhou Ming planned to finish his work, visit the Vitros Empire and Yadoud Kingdom, and then travel to the Magic Beast Forest.
• On March 10th of Xia Sui, Zhou Ming told Old Wolf he intended to leave Magic City, arguing that his detailed plans and Magic Phones would let the projects continue without him.
• After a week of discussion, Old Wolf told Zhou Ming the association would let him leave only after he completed one more task.

Zhou Ming accepted the Magic Association’s mission to subdue the Dragon Race after learning that the God of Light was contaminating Magic Particles and threatening the magic world. He secured Old Wolf’s thousand-cubic-meter Space Ring in advance, then researched the dragons and formed a plan before setting out for Dragon Island.

• Old Wolf explained that the Magic Association needed the dragons as allies against the Light Church, whose influence was contaminating Magic Particles, and revealed that the God of Genesis had warned the Magic Saints of imminent danger.
• Zhou Ming’s system explained that an outside spiritual force was corrupting Magic Particles so only believers of the God of Light could absorb them, potentially leaving the world without magic within thirty years.
• Zhou Ming agreed to subdue the dragons in exchange for a thousand-cubic-meter Space Ring, and Old Wolf reluctantly traded him the ring he had worn for over a thousand years.
• After accepting the mission, Zhou Ming researched the dragons’ history, strength, collecting habits, and vulnerable Reverse Scales.
• Zhou Ming combined what he had learned and quickly formulated a plan of action.

Zhou Ming gathered treasure and gifts for his mission to Dragon Island, then learned from Crofts that much of Magic City's treasury had been taken from the dragons during an ancient war. The group reached Dragon Island, leaving Zhou Ming to reconsider the gifts he planned to offer.

• Zhou Ming persuaded Old Wolf to take him to Magic City's treasury, where he, Sears, and Sabina collected about 2,100 cubic meters of treasure, though most of the hoard remained.
• Zhou Ming, Sears, Sabina, and Crofts departed for Dragon Island aboard a magic aircraft, carrying gifts and equipment to maintain communications.
• Crofts recounted the long conflict between humanity and the Dragon Race, including Bard's campaign against the dragons and the agreement that confined the survivors to Dragon Island.
• Zhou Ming realized that giving the dragons treasure seized from them during the war could provoke them, and he thanked Crofts for warning him.
• After roughly four hours of travel, Zhou Ming and the others saw an oval island shaped like a coconut.

Nessario Earth, a young Earth Dragon with no treasure, found a piece of Seabed Gold and hurried home, excited that it might attract his sister Ysera. When a human aircraft descended near his cave, he tried to raise an alarm but was restrained by a human who told him they meant no harm.

• Nessario searched Dragon Island’s shore for treasure because he hoped to attract a mate.
• Nessario found a piece of Seabed Gold and carried it back to his cave.
• Nessario hid the gold in his nest and celebrated that Ysera might visit him now.
• Nessario saw a human aircraft descending and tried to use an Amplification Spell to report an invasion.
• A transparent curtain of light restrained Nessario, and a human told him not to be nervous because they meant him no harm.

Zhou Ming used treasure to persuade Nessario and Tasargons to carry his request to meet the dragon leader, claiming he needed to discuss a threat to the world's survival. After Tasargons agreed to deliver the message, Zhou Ming established phone and internet access from Dragon Island and hired Nessario to guard the signal stations.

• Zhou Ming gave Nessario a chest of treasure, won his cooperation, and asked him to arrange a meeting with the dragon leader.
• Nessario took Zhou Ming's message to Tasargons, who brought more than twenty Earth Dragons to confront the humans at the shore.
• Zhou Ming displayed twenty-eight chests of treasure, persuading the Earth Dragons to soften their attitude, then privately promised Tasargons additional treasure for delivering the message.
• Tasargons agreed to help after Zhou Ming offered him twelve chests, though he regretted sharing the original treasure with his warriors.
• Zhou Ming hired Nessario to build and guard two signal stations, which let his iCrazy Phone connect to Magic City and the internet.

Zhou Ming tried to persuade Dragon Chief Nozdormu to ally the Dragon Clan with the Magic Association against The Light Church, but Nozdormu rejected the proposal and sent the humans away. The dragon elders urged cooperation, and Nozdormu revealed he intended to wait until the right time before leading the Dragon Clan into the war.

• Chief Tasargons sent Sky Dragons to escort Zhou Ming and his companions to the Dragon Clan Holy Temple, and Zhou Ming asked a Hill Tribe warrior to promise Tasargons he would return with twelve chests of treasure.
• At the temple, Nozdormu and eight dragon elders questioned Zhou Ming, while several elders joked about eating the humans.
• Zhou Ming offered Nozdormu one hundred chests of Purple Gold Coins and ten chests of jewelry, but Nozdormu refused the gifts and declared an alliance impossible.
• Zhou Ming warned that The Light Church’s expansion threatened the Dragon Clan and urged the dragons to join forces with the Magic Association, but Nozdormu used magic to send the humans away.
• The dragon elders urged Nozdormu to cooperate, citing their Guardian God’s oracle and the spread of corrupted Magic Elements.
• Nozdormu told the elders to avoid joining the war until the right time, when he would lead the Dragon Clan into battle himself.

Zhou Ming persuaded Malygos to become a Financial Custody Consultant for the Gold and Silver Commerce Association, explaining how dragons could safeguard wealth stored away from the continent’s growing instability. Malygos accepted the job and received a huge cache of treasure, while Zhou Ming also proposed another arrangement that excited him.

• Zhou Ming visited Malygos in his cave and offered to hire him as a Financial Custody Consultant for the Gold and Silver Commerce Association.
• Zhou Ming explained that the consultant would guard clients’ treasure in return for annual compensation equal to one ten-thousandth of its value, and Malygos enthusiastically agreed.
• Zhou Ming described the rise of Magic Crystal Cards and paper money, the danger to hard currency amid the continent’s turmoil, and why Dragon Island could serve as a secure place for assets.
• After signing an agreement, Malygos designated space in his cave, and Zhou Ming deposited about 1,800 cubic meters of treasure, along with Purple Gold Coins, gemstones, and jewelry.
• Zhou Ming showed Malygos magic lamps, artificial glowing diamonds, and Rainbow Lights, then made a proposal that Malygos eagerly accepted.

Zhou Ming helped Malygos renovate his cave into a dazzling display of wealth, hoping to attract dragons to become Financial Custody Consultants for the Gold and Silver Commerce Association. When Malygos invited seven dragon elders to see it, they mistook the cave for an ownerless treasury and began grabbing his treasure.

• Zhou Ming and the others spent three days renovating Malygos's cave with bright lights, glowing gems, and a more luxurious layout.
• Malygos invited seven dragon elders to visit his newly renovated cave, and Akelis agreed after he offered her ten chests of Purple Gold Coins.
• The dragon elders entered the dazzling cave and began taking Malygos's treasure, forcing him to threaten to report them under the clan's Code.
• Akelis recognized Malygos beneath his lavish new appearance and praised his transformation, while the other elders realized whose cave they had entered.

Zhou Ming persuaded the seven dragon elders to join Malygos as Financial Custody Consultants by showing them the Gold and Silver Commerce Association’s vaults and explaining its deposit model. All eight elders signed agreements, but the story left them facing the problem of transporting trillions of gold and treasure to Dragon Island and delivering it to their caves.

• The seven dragon elders returned the treasure they had taken from Malygos after Zhou Ming confirmed it had been entrusted to him for safekeeping.
• Zhou Ming showed the elders a livestream of a vast vault and explained the benefits and finances of becoming Financial Custody Consultants.
• Zhou Ming explained why deposited treasure was unlikely to return to circulation, and the elders became eager to join.
• The seven elders signed Zhou Ming’s cooperation agreements, joining Malygos as Financial Custody Consultants.
• Zhou Ming and the eight dragon elders faced the challenge of transporting enormous quantities of treasure to Dragon Island and into their caves.

Zhou Ming tried to persuade Nozdormu to approve Space Teleportation Arrays connecting Dragon Island and Magic City, but the chief seemed to have no interest in treasure. After a week of surveillance, Zhou Ming found gold dust in Nozdormu’s bath and traced his secret trip to two possible hiding places.

• Zhou Ming proposed building Space Teleportation Arrays to transport treasure, while the eight Dragon Clan elders supported the plan and worried that Nozdormu would oppose it.
• The elders described Nozdormu’s disciplined habits, including sleeping on a stone bed, rinsing his mouth with water, and avoiding gold and treasure.
• Zhou Ming and the eight elders secretly monitored Nozdormu for seven days with tiny cameras and other devices but found no treasure in the Dragon Clan Holy Temple.
• On the eighth night, Nozdormu disappeared using Space Transfer Technique, and Zhou Ming discovered gold dust and tiny gold grains in the chief’s bath.
• Magic Saint Crofts traced Nozdormu’s transfer northwest, and Zhou Ming and the elders searched the two likely locations after Nozdormu returned.

Zhou Ming and the dragon elders discovered a vast hoard hidden inside a mountain, along with evidence that Nozdormu had stolen treasure from dragons and human kingdoms. The elders were horrified by their clan leader’s apparent betrayal, while Zhou Ming realized the discovery gave him leverage to secure cooperation with the dragons.

• Zhou Ming used a radar device to find a huge hollow inside a mountain and entered it with Magic Saint Crofts, Sears, Sabina, and the eight dragon elders.
• The group found a treasure vault worth an estimated 80 billion gold coins, with coins from hundreds of human nations.
• White Dragon Kraken identified a coin marked with his signature and numbers, while Malygos and Radon recalled their own missing treasure.
• Purple Dragon Akelis found the Heart of the Ocean her late husband had given her and broke down in tears.
• The elders concluded that Nozdormu had secretly stolen their treasures and feared the consequences of exposing him.
• Zhou Ming privately concluded that the evidence gave him leverage and that cooperation between the Magic Association and the dragons was now assured.