Interview

The next day.

The dark curtain had only just receded when Zhang Rui arrived outside Lincon's courtyard with a group of people in tow.

Zhao Mu stood in the middle of the crowd, cautiously examining the Lord's residence.

It was rather different from what he had imagined. It was not some grand, imposing building, but merely an ordinary-looking small courtyard. Half of it was planted with vegetation, while the other half was piled with stones and various materials.

Before long, Lincon pushed open the door and invited Zhang Rui and the others inside.

"My Lord, I selected some suitable candidates yesterday." Zhang Rui handed Lincon a form that detailed the information of everyone before him.

Lincon carefully reviewed the form. It listed eighteen people in total, and the very first entry made his eyes light up.

"Shen Congzhi, former professor at the Jiangzhou University Institute of Mathematics. Specialized in topology and group theory. Proficient in structural classification, invariants, symmetry breaking, and rule emergence. Published..."

As Lincon read the man's profile, he could not help sitting up straighter.

To be honest, beyond the introductory information at the start, he could no longer understand most of what followed.

The descriptions related to mathematics in particular were completely beyond him.

Before transmigrating, he had merely been an ordinary college student. He had never been qualified to come into contact with people like these.

Shen Congzhi was a middle-aged man in his forties. His face was thin, his cheekbones slightly prominent, and he wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. Even amid the crowd, he maintained a calm, refined air, perfectly matching Lincon's long-held stereotype of expert professors.

Lincon continued reading through the rest.

Qin Hu, former Level Eight fitter at Jiangzhou Precision Instrument Factory and mold designer.

Su Yunqing, paleontology and geology researcher at Jinghai Museum, and longtime enthusiast of traditional alchemy and meditation.

"Not bad!"

Lincon closed the list and handed it back to Zhang Rui.

The rest were no slouches either. They were all specialists in their respective fields, and even the weakest among them had something unique to offer.

For example, the final person on the list, Zhao Mu.

Although Zhao Mu did not possess the impressive credentials of those before him and was merely an ordinary person, one detail startled Lincon.

Before this, he had served as a messenger for two years—and had stubbornly survived.

The Dark Age had only been formally established three years ago. Two years spent as a messenger meant facing the dangers of darkness nearly every day.

Viewed from that angle, Zhao Mu might have been even more valuable than Shen Congzhi.

Lincon looked with interest at the utterly unremarkable Zhao Mu among the crowd, lightly tapping the tabletop with his knuckles.

"Zhao Mu!"

Zhang Rui, standing nearby, showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

He had assumed Lincon would value Shen Congzhi and the others at the top of the list more highly. He had not expected him to choose Zhao Mu instead.

When Zhao Mu heard his name, he looked dazed for a moment before immediately stepping forward.

He did not know why the Lord had called him out, but upon thinking it over, it probably was not a bad thing.

"Two years of experience as a messenger. Escaped from dark creatures on numerous occasions. Even encountered a C-Rank Weird Calamity..."

Lincon recounted Zhao Mu's experiences, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

That résumé was nothing short of astonishing. Even the ever-composed Shen Congzhi could not help looking at Zhao Mu with admiration.

Under everyone's gaze, the ordinary middle-aged man grew a little embarrassed and awkwardly scratched his head.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, Lincon spoke solemnly. "The fortress needs many talented people for its construction in every aspect. Since Zhang Rui brought you here, I presume he has already explained the situation to you beforehand."

"However." Lincon looked at Zhao Mu. "I don't want you to be a messenger."

Zhao Mu's eyes dimmed at once. Compared with the people before him, he was far too ordinary. His experience as a messenger was the only thing he could present as an achievement.

But then Lincon's next words made his entire body tremble.

"I want you to serve as an instructor and help me train a group of messengers capable of facing the darkness on their own. These people will become Longwind Fortress's eyes and ears in the Jiangzhou region."

Lincon turned to another person in the crowd. "Zhang Yaoyang, I know you came from the special forces. I'll have to trouble you to assist Zhao Mu with the training."

Zhang Yaoyang was a lean, dark-skinned young man. He had not expected Lincon to call on him and slowly shuffled two steps forward.

As a soldier from the old era, Zhang Yaoyang felt a natural fondness for Lincon.

Even though all his comrades were gone, Lincon had still guarded Longwind Fortress alone for three years. That conviction earned Zhang Yaoyang's admiration.

He was also among the first refugees from Shangmai City whose loyalty to Lincon had reached over 80.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Yaoyang shouted, "Yes!"

Lincon nodded in satisfaction. Next, he assigned personnel to several of the main departments the fortress was currently establishing.

First was the Letter Bureau, which Lincon placed under Zhao Mu and Zhang Yaoyang.

He did not want the Letter Bureau to become merely a means of communication between people in the Dark Age. It was to be an important agency for gathering and organizing intelligence.

With modern infrastructure completely eroded by the darkness, the Letter Bureau's function was actually crucial. It would serve as a window to the outside world.

Although it was not particularly critical to Longwind Fortress's current development, its role would inevitably become enormous in the future.

Next came the foundational departments for internal fortress construction, encompassing production, construction, war readiness, and more.

Lincon already had candidates in mind for production and construction, so his focus was mainly on construction.

Because of his talents, Lord and Seed Mark, the layout within Longwind Fortress was bound to differ from cities controlled by other ability users.

In addition to basic urban construction, Lincon also planned to establish Qingrang Academy, an institution specifically linked to Plant Cultivators, for collecting, researching, and cultivating plants.

After all, as more and more plants were upgraded by him, he could not always personally collect seeds and cultivate them himself.

For example, the large-scale planting of Sunlight Flowers and Sunlight Man-Eaters.

Such work consumed a great deal of manpower yet required little technical skill, so it could be fully delegated to others.

There was also the Light Office, a department Lincon had considered for a long time and ranked alongside the War Readiness Bureau as the foremost construction priority.

The former was for internal matters, while the latter was for external ones.

Like Qingrang Academy, its primary functions belonged to an institution personally arranged and managed by him.

After making the assignments, Lincon had Zhang Rui lead the members of each department away, leaving Shen Congzhi and Su Yunqing behind in the courtyard.

"I assume you know why I kept you here?" Lincon stared at the man and woman in the courtyard.

Su Yunqing nodded. "The chief administrator said that you wanted to develop a new technology and needed the help of some intelligent people."

Su Yunqing looked to be in her twenties. She was tall and slender, with a pure, clean appearance. Even in the old era, she would have been considered one of the finest beauties.

Her only flaw was that her expression was somewhat stiff. Though she was young, she always wore the air of an old scholar.

Shen Congzhi fell silent for a moment. Behind his lenses, his gaze was sharp and focused.

As though he had held it in for a long time, he finally asked the question in his heart.

"Do Runes truly exist?"