Trinity

The ancient garden shone with new splendor. Its old, decaying paving stones had been replaced with fresh white bricks.

Though the bricks were fragile and plain, lacking the historical and artistic character of the past, they were filled with the simple style and practicality young people favored.

The colosseum, once like the ruins of an ancient civilization, had also been completely renewed, adopting the modern minimalist style of Chaser Gymnasium.

Even the only high-rise building in the Secret Realm, that three-story church, had become a modern hotel building.

And perhaps that was the root of Big Cat's displeasure.

"I really didn't expect it to turn out like this. This isn't my fault, right?"

"Hmph."

Big Cat did not respond, but she could not hide her dejection.

Even though she had long known this day would come sooner or later, when it truly arrived, when centuries of accumulation became someone else's starting point, she still found it hard to bear.

She took a deep breath, and her expression gradually returned to calm.

"Come on. We may be getting along for a long time from now on. Let me, as the manager, introduce this Secret Realm to you—your Life Bank."

Her excessive calmness, without the slightest sign of forced composure, made Lu PingAn uneasy.

"...You've gotten over it?"

"Heh. Maybe someday, but definitely not now. Right now, I am merely fulfilling my 'duty'—the duty of the local Secret Realm Manager, my esteemed master."

The deliberately drawn-out words carried undisguised hatred and self-mockery. Only then did Lu PingAn relax.

Perhaps Chris would one day face reality and have a proper talk with him, but that day was not today.

"My world was originally an ultra-large Secret Realm, a complete world—a super Doomsday Ark."

As she walked, even though she deliberately maintained a calm demeanor, her arms continued to tremble.

But as this world's "dependent," she had to fulfill her service obligations.

"The current Life Bank has only two parts left: the former Mother Goddess Church, now the Bank Building, and the former beast-fighting arena, now the Challenger Arena."

Life Bank was Lu PingAn's ability, but it was not merely something that belonged to him alone.

This Secret Realm, this Small World, was the true Life Bank!

"Life Bank" was not something a newcomer could possess. To achieve that level of "self-defined rules," one needed a "world" as a foundation.

Put another way, only by possessing one's own world could one define rules within it and extend them to the outside world.

Simply put, this Small World was the core and hardware of Life Bank. Lu PingAn was really only the bank's owner and user.

And because Lu PingAn had lacked the ability to control this Small World at the time—his rank had been too low—the bank had directly extracted Chris's spiritual body, a quasi-god, and turned her into the Small World's manager.

Put nicely, she was the bank's acting president. Put bluntly, she was management software with a built-in operating system—an AI.

Before Lu PingAn had fully understood his abilities and completely activated Life Bank, she could still flit about and play a few tricks.

Now that the entire system had begun operating, as the "management AI," she had to obey commands within Lu PingAn's banking authority and serve the prosperity and evolution of Life Bank.

It was like your voice navigation system gaining self-awareness. Even if it cursed at you all the way, it could only obediently guide you under the restrictions of its rules.

The Secret Realm Life Bank, Tower Spirit Kerdales, and owner Lu PingAn were, in a sense, a trinity. The loss of any one component would cause the whole to collapse.

But from another perspective, they shared both losses and gains. Lu PingAn and Life Bank's evolution had only just begun; this struggle was far from over.

"This is the bank lobby, where business is conducted. But if I'm not mistaken, you won't be opening this Secret Realm to the outside world anytime soon. So, this place is only for show."

The building's modest service hall was completely different from the bank offices Lu PingAn remembered.

Its overall decor was classical and warm. Sofas and antique furniture from the last century stood in the center of the lobby, while soothing jazz echoed through the hall.

The whole style resembled a slightly upscale historic hotel.

There were no glass-partitioned counters, only a service desk like a hotel reception desk and a large liquor cabinet.

People kept a certain distance from one another. It was neither too noisy nor too lonely. Lu PingAn found this environment very comfortable.

Of course, with no one behind the reception desk, no second living being would be entering the Secret Realm anytime soon.

"By the way, can't a Secret Realm set its own rules? Like your old rule of 'life in exchange for power, the victor survives,' and the Forest Secret Realm's 'no death.' Can I set rules in this Secret Realm?"

"First, you can't do that yet. Second, the rules were already set when the bank was born."

As she spoke, Chris's expression turned somewhat strange. She glanced out the window.

That was the other of the only two local buildings, the beast-fighting arena originally meant for lives to duel and ascend.

"This Secret Realm permits only transactions. Force cannot be used here, except for gladiatorial events inside the gymnasium."

Wasn't that the complete opposite of Chris's Secret Realm rules?

Now even Lu PingAn's expression became subtle. He felt that there really was something at work in the unseen world. How could it target poor Big Cat so precisely?

"...Fine, esteemed master. What do you want? Have you come to flaunt your victory before the pitiful loser, Kerdales? Fine, you've seen everything. There's nothing here. Once you're done showing off, please leave."

Looking at the manager brimming with resentment, Lu PingAn was somewhat helpless.

At this point, they were on the same boat and needed each other. He did not want to provoke her for no reason.

"If I said I was just taking a look, would you believe me?"

Chris looked at him calmly and said nothing.

"...Fine, I'll be honest. I spent all the Credit Points from the Forest Goddess Church. The Demonized Seeds and Gardener Set were just delivered. I came to plant something. Can you help me find a plot of land? Better yet, could you cultivate it for me and take care of it normally? You're an old hand at Life-type stuff, so you should know a little about all of that, right?"

As he spoke, Lu PingAn lifted the bulging sack.

The atmosphere instantly froze.

But the logic was not wrong. Lu PingAn planting magical plants meant his Gardener rank would rise, which meant Life Bank as a whole would evolve, which meant the trinity would share the benefits, which meant the management AI should serve him.

Poor Chris could only sigh at reality in the end, then helplessly raise her head.

Covering her smooth forehead and closing her eyes, she squeezed out one word through clenched teeth.

"Yes!"

Lu PingAn had never imagined that one day, he would be able to hear such complicated emotions in a single word.

Anger, resentment, dejection, helplessness, and resignation. As if saying, My life is so bitter. Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Close your eyes and pretend the dog just bit you.