The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

The sparrow was bewildered by his sudden change.

[Enough? How could that possibly be enough? What exactly do you want?]

Even if you were to possess the rules, it would only be temporary, and you wouldn't be able to unleash their full power. Trying to defeat him with that power is simply impossible!

Lin Mo did not answer its question, but instead raised a completely unrelated question.

"Does Ainz Ooal Gown know what we're having right now?"

【ha?】

Lin Mo's train of thought jumped so drastically that Sparrow's mind couldn't quite process it for a moment.

Of course he couldn't possibly know! This is an absolutely safe zone; nothing could eavesdrop on our conversation!

Lin Mo then asked, "So, you mean only the two of us know about our conversation right now?"

That's exactly right.

Although the sparrow was puzzled, it still answered with a hint of pride.

"That's fine then."

Lin Mo's smile deepened.

"Our main focus is on information asymmetry."

"He thought he had the rules in his hands and was guaranteed to win, but little did he know, I could also draw that card."

"It would be best to outsmart him once, but if that's not possible, I should at least instill a sense of fear in him about the unknown."

"If I can get through this end-of-month assessment safely, I'll have another month to grow!"

Lin Mo closed his eyes slightly, and countless thoughts flashed, reorganized, and deduced in his mind.

Two seconds later, he suddenly opened his eyes.

A flash of light appeared and disappeared in an instant.

"But that alone is not enough."

"If we're going to play, let's play big."

At this point, a ruthless glint appeared in Lin Mo's eyes: "Even if I can't kill him, I'll at least crush one of his bones!"

He stood up, his aura steadily rising.

The sparrow stared blankly at him, feeling like its little brain wasn't quite up to the task.

This guy, one second he looked like he was about to die, how come the next second he's like a completely different person?

Suddenly, Lin Mo turned his head.

Looking at the sparrows on the counter.

"Help me contact Chi Zhengyang."

"I'd like to see Zhou Jian; I have something to ask him."

......

Inside a completely airtight room.

Chi Zhengyang and Elder An stood side by side.

In front of them, a huge screen wall was divided into dozens of real-time monitoring screens.

The video captures every side profile of the person in it.

The room was so quiet that only the faint hum of the instruments could be heard.

Sudden.

Buzzing--! ! !

A sudden, sharp vibration broke the silence.

The sound came from Chi Zhengyang's pocket.

That wasn't his usual phone; it was another one, a phone that would only ring in the most urgent situations.

The sudden commotion caused Chi Zhengyang's body to tremble almost imperceptibly.

His hand instinctively reached into his pocket, but he didn't immediately take out his phone.

Every communication made by this phone means a loss of revenue.

Comrade Lin Mo is not someone who wastes resources.

What exactly happened that made the other party so impatient that they couldn't even wait for me to enter the Wasteland Era?

Old An, standing nearby, cast an inquiring glance his way, a hint of confusion on his gentle face.

Chi Zhengyang didn't explain, but just shook his head slightly, then turned around, with his back to the surveillance wall, and answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone, it seemed to be just a brief and hurried statement.

Chi Zhengyang only uttered four words throughout the entire process.

"I see."

The call has ended.

Old An watched him turn back, and although he didn't speak, his eyes seemed to say, "Something happened?"

Chi Zhengyang slowly put the special phone back into his pocket, his movements slow and somewhat distracted.

It wasn't until Elder An spoke that Chi Zhengyang finally nodded.

His expression was extremely solemn.

"Something must have happened to Comrade Lin Mo."

At this moment, Old Man An also suppressed all his emotions and quickly glanced at the surveillance screen out of the corner of his eye.

"Something happened? What a coincidence?"

Chi Zhengyang shook his head and walked to the control panel.

"I don't know the specifics yet, but for him to contact me at this time, it must be something important."

After saying that, he didn't offer any further explanation. Instead, he picked up another internal communicator and quickly dialed a number.

"It's me. Have Zhou Jian go to the Wasteland Era General Store immediately."

"Yes, now, immediately!"

"Tell him that it was my instruction, and that no matter what, he must fully cooperate."

After hanging up, he didn't stop and dialed several more numbers in succession.

He issued a series of instructions in an orderly manner.

Old Master An stood quietly to the side, watching without urging him on.

He knew very well that when the intelligence was unclear, any speculation was meaningless.

A few minutes later, scattered intelligence began to be collected and sent to Chi Zhengyang's terminal through encrypted lines.

He flipped through the documents one by one, his already serious face now even more somber.

The air pressure in the room seemed to decrease little by little as he flipped through the report.

Finally, he put down the terminal and let out a long sigh of relief.

Old An spoke up at the opportune moment: "Any results?"

Chi Zhengyang nodded, looked up at his old friend beside him, and said, word by word.

"Just now, Comrade Lin Mo issued a monster-luring mission at the edge of the safe zone."

"The target attracted is an elite-level monster, the Armored Two-Horned Rhinoceros with an overall combat strength of 521."

"Then Comrade Lin Mo punched that armored two-horned rhinoceros into dust," Chi Zhengyang calmly stated the information he had received.

"..."

One punch.

powder.

Hearing this, Old Man An was slightly surprised.

After a moment, Old Man An regained his composure and smiled gently.

"This is a good thing. It means that Comrade Lin Mo's combat effectiveness has been greatly improved."

However, Chi Zhengyang slowly shook his head.

"No."

"The problem arose after Comrade Lin Mo killed that armored two-horned rhinoceros."

Old Master An's smile slowly faded, and he pricked up his ears, waiting for what was to come.

Chi Zhengyang's expression suddenly turned serious.

"At the moment when the armored rhinoceros turned to dust."

"According to reports from several of our soldiers who were in the safe zone at the time..."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts to describe the incredible scene.

"At that moment, time outside the safe zone seemed to freeze."

"Time frozen?" Old An repeated, clearly not immediately understanding the meaning of the sentence.

"Yes, it solidified."

Chi Zhengyang's expression was more serious than ever before.

"All the 'players' outside the safe zone, along with their surroundings—the wind, the dust, everything—all fell into a state of absolute stillness."

"People outside the safe zone are unable to move, except for their ability to think; they are like statues."

"Even Comrade Lin Mo himself, one of his arms was extended out of the safe zone at the time, and that arm was also frozen in mid-air, unable to move at all."

"But at the same time, everything within the safe zone is functioning normally and is unaffected."

The room suddenly became quiet.

The gentleness on Old Man An's face had long since vanished.

He stood there blankly, seemingly processing the immense impact of the information.

Solidification time...

This concept, which only existed in myths and fantasies, has actually come to pass.

"Who is targeting Comrade Lin Mo?"

Chi Zhengyang glanced at the monitor screen, where the figure looked exactly like the one described: "Zhang Heng."