The Destruction of the Empire

No matter the cost!

For some reason, upon hearing those words, even with the heater running in the room, the Chief Scholar felt a sudden chill in his hands and feet.

"What do you plan to do?" He opened his mouth and asked.

"Build a super weapon of immense power and blast open the boundary!" The Emperor waved his hand. "In my early years, I already established a weapons research institute on the Western Continent, along with supporting military factories.

The firearms and artillery we produced were more refined than those of the Old Dynasty's armies.

I intend to upgrade it to the Western Continent Special Research Institute, gather a group of top scientists there, develop a super weapon, and blast open a new world. You... what do you think?"

"This..."

Hearing these words, even though the Chief Scholar had already vaguely guessed, his heart still trembled.

Blast open the World Boundary!

What a mad idea! After all, during the Chi Kingdom era, ever since the 'boundary' was discovered, successive emperors had never stopped exploring it, yet none had ever made such a decision.

Perhaps some had entertained the thought in their hearts, but in the end, no one had actually ordered it carried out.

After all, this would inevitably be a terrifyingly expensive project, likely to fail, and besides, folk rumors always held that beyond the boundary lay the dwelling of the gods.

No emperor dared to defy the world's will and invade the Divine Realm.

But the New Dynasty Emperor dared!

As for whether to accept... whether as a top-tier scientific worker or as the Emperor's 'favored minister,' he seemed to have no reason to refuse.

"...As you command."

"Bang!!"

Lishan Martial Arts School, in the study.

As Lin Tuo clicked the mouse, the final gunshot echoed through his headphones.

On the screen, the last enemy fell cleanly at the edge of the Poison Zone.

"Huh, does improving my physique help with gaming too?" Lin Tuo leaned back in his chair, slowly taking off his headphones, muttering to himself.

After starting work, he rarely played games anymore—maybe one or two rounds a month.

His aim had deteriorated badly.

Unexpectedly, he'd easily won three rounds in a row.

Though it might also be because his account was low-ranked, stuck in the noob pool...

"Yeah, it must be the Aether tempering my body, boosting my neural reaction speed. My focus is sharper too."

He got up, grabbed a can of cola from the fridge in the next room, and was about to open it when the alarm he'd set on his phone went off again.

"Time to collect Aether again."

Lin Tuo's spirits lifted. He jogged back to the Sandbox, looked down, and saw that the cities on the sand-table continent had expanded further, and the architectural styles had also changed somewhat.

Many areas had transformed.

The most obvious were the countless electric lights at night, the public trams within the cities, and on the streets, besides bicycles, a few automobiles had begun to appear.

Still clunky and scarce, as if in an early stage of development.

"Developing pretty fast..."

Lin Tuo sighed in admiration, then performed the Qi-Eating Method again, taking a deep, satisfying inhale. He turned away contentedly to grab a simple lunch.

Then he immersed himself back into the game.

Inside the Sandbox Empire.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since the New Dynasty was established.

Compared to the ever-changing Capital and the numerous industrial cities.

The Western Continent Special Research Institute, hidden deep in the mountains of the Great Western Continent, seemed to have changed little.

From a distance, there were only a few more building clusters, and inside, some equipment had been updated.

Yet the entire region remained desolate and sparsely populated.

Especially at night, it felt particularly cold and lonely, accompanied only by the howling of wolves.

Only from the ledgers of the Capital's treasury, through the endless, terrifying influx of cash, could one notice this remote frontier.

"We are pioneers burdened with a mission, who must endure bitter cold and solitude."

For ten years, the Chief Scientist had always used these words to inspire the others.

And under the Emperor's almost lavish investment, along with the dividends of the era, the research on the super weapon had progressed with surprising smoothness.

One barrier after another was breached, and the super weapon evolved from a concept in the mind, a sketch on the blueprints... finally into a tangible entity.

Several small-scale detonation tests were conducted.

This once thrilled the Chief Scientist, yet as research progressed and understanding of the "Boundary" deepened through exploration, he began to waver.

He started to doubt—could the "Boundary" truly be broken?

Then.

One deep autumn, when His Majesty the Emperor visited for another inspection, he finally mustered the courage to voice his concerns.

"So you're telling me the research has failed?"

In a room within the research institute.

The Emperor, aged by ten years, countered with an icy stare.

A decade had passed, and likely due to the burdens of state, the once-spirited middle-aged man now showed signs of age—streaks of gray in his hair and beard—yet his authority only grew with each passing day.

This was felt most keenly by the officials in the Capital.

Once the nation stabilized, the Emperor began reaching into every corner of society, centralizing power, ruling with an iron fist, tightening control over discourse, and gradually deepening his grip on the country.

In the early years, he at least listened to his ministers' advice. Lately, however, he had become dictatorial, and the entire court atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

"No, Your Majesty, the research is proceeding smoothly. It's just that the Boundary is far more solid than we initially imagined, to the point that even the shockwave from the Super Warhead we conceived may struggle to shake it."

The Chief Scholar's body trembled as he hastily explained.

"Struggle to shake it?" The Emperor repeated the phrase, his gaze dark and tone harsh. "Nothing in this world is indestructible.

If it seems so, it only means the weapon's power isn't great enough, and the resolve to destroy it isn't strong enough."

"Yes... I have no doubt about your resolve. As for the weapon's power... it can't be increased without limit. There's a ceiling on the power of a single warhead..."

"If one isn't enough, add more!" The Emperor's gaze was resolute. "If one can't blast it open, manufacture a thousand, ten thousand! If funds are insufficient, I'll raise them from the Empire."

"This isn't a matter of funds..." The Chief Scientist smiled bitterly. "We've considered this approach. Theoretically, stacking could indeed increase destructive power.

But once the force of the explosion exceeds a certain threshold, it would severely impact the continent's ecosystem... or worse, could lead to the world's destruction."

"Destruction?" Chewing on the word, the aging Emperor's expression turned strange, his eyes fixed and hollow, as if brewing some madness.

Yet his tone was eerily calm: "After this year, I'll be sixty."

"Ah?" The Chief Scholar was bewildered.

"A while back, the imperial physician told me I have a tumor in my brain. With current medical technology, surgery is too risky. So I don't have much longer to live."

"Your Majesty... you need not..."

The Chief Scholar began, but the Emperor raised a hand to stop him:

"In the first half of my life, I fought wars. I've been Emperor for ten years. I suppose I should be content. But I'm not. I want to see, with my own eyes, what lies beyond the Boundary before I die."

He paused, then continued: "Do you remember that winter ten years ago, when I first spoke to you about this experiment? I said I would conquer it, no matter the cost."

"This..."

"Enough. Go out and summon all the core leaders of this project. I want to hold a meeting." The Emperor suddenly changed the subject.

"Ah... yes."

The Chief Scholar walked out in a daze. Though he sensed something was wrong, he dared not disobey.

Soon, he returned with over a dozen core leaders of the project.

Because the project was top secret, most researchers were unaware of the details—only these people knew.

"Your Majesty? Everyone's here." As the group entered the meeting room, the Chief Scholar saw the aging Emperor sitting with his back to them at the head of the table.

Hearing this, he slowly turned around.

In his right hand, unbeknownst to them, appeared a square, ancient seal shimmering with flowing light.

"The Secret Seal?! Your Majesty..."

The Chief Scholar's face changed drastically as he finally guessed what was coming.

Then, the old Emperor activated the Secret Seal, unleashing its hypnotic power, and said with a smile to the group:

"Now, let's destroy the world together."

"Gurgle..."

At Lishan Martial Arts School.

As Lin Tuo finished his last game with satisfaction, a pang of hunger struck his stomach.

He'd only snacked at noon and hadn't eaten a proper meal.

"It's already this late?" Lin Tuo glanced at the time and was startled to find it was nearly evening.

Entertainment really did kill time; before he knew it, it was almost night.

He logged out of the game, shut down the computer, and took another look at the sandbox, raising an eyebrow slightly.

There, within the sandbox, airplanes seemed to have started appearing.

Of course, they could still only fly at low altitudes.

"Faster than I expected." Letting out a small exclamation of surprise, Lin Tuo shook his head and switched the Evolution Sandbox to "Observation Mode."

Light and shadow shifted, and in an instant, Yangcheng City replaced the "New Dynasty," standing before him.

"After all this work, I'll treat myself to a good meal tonight. What to eat... Hmm, this one." Lin Tuo looked down at Yangcheng, his gaze landing on a hotpot restaurant he'd visited before.

Eating hotpot alone was a bit odd, but there was no helping it.

He dipped his finger into a secluded spot in the sandbox, released his Avatar, then adjusted his main body into a comfortable position in the chair and switched his consciousness to the Avatar—this whole sequence of operations was already second nature to him.

Compared to going down the mountain and riding for an hour or two to eat, this method was far superior.

Especially since, with his main body staying put, if any "accident" occurred, he could handle it relatively quickly.

"Accident? What accident could there be? It's not like I'll have another dynasty change happen just while I'm grabbing a meal, right?"

Stepping out from a quiet alley in Yangcheng, Lin Tuo muttered to himself.

Then, in a fairly good mood, he headed toward that trendy hotpot restaurant ahead:

"Forgot to make a reservation... I wonder if I can even snag a seat..."

Yangcheng was calm and uneventful.

Meanwhile, inside the Takk Black Box, within the Sandbox Empire.

Deep in the Great Western Continent.

A maddening "experiment" capable of destroying the world was about to begin.