Chapter 19: The Half-Finished Half-World

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The old man didn’t comment much on Li Mingxing’s attitude, but Raymond seemed to have noticed something. He grabbed Li Mingxing by the arm and asked, puzzled, “Li Mingxing, come with me to your apartment complex.”

Li Mingxing had no idea what Raymond was thinking, but he followed him anyway. Upon returning to the apartment complex, Li Mingxing sensed that the entire space seemed to have come alive.

Seeing this, Raymond broke into laughter. “Kid, your luck is remarkable. Last time, you stumbled upon a nascent inner world in this complex; now you’ve found an unfinished half-world. With luck like yours, if you still can’t seize control of Earth, you really have no excuse.”

“A half-world? What’s that?” Li Mingxing asked, intrigued by the unfamiliar term.

“It’s a fusion of the real world and an unfinished inner world—a space that exists in reality but possesses traits of the inner world. You’ll be able to station all the troops you acquire from the inner world here, without worrying about their physical existence in reality.

Moreover, since this half-world is incomplete, you can add your own ideas to perfect it. If you do it well, this half-world could shield your city from all invading forces, making your city much safer,” Raymond explained.

Hearing Raymond’s words, Li Mingxing realized just how fortunate he was. As Raymond said, not everyone gets to encounter such a thing. Even those intent on creating a half-world would have to invest considerable energy.

Now, Li Mingxing had acquired one for free, which boosted his confidence. He even considered using this half-world as a springboard to conquer the world in one fell swoop.

Raymond could see the shift in Li Mingxing’s thoughts. He raised his voice, “What are you thinking? Having a half-world isn’t necessarily a blessing. It puts you in the spotlight. If they can’t defeat you in the inner world, they’ll target you in reality. If you’re not fully prepared, you’ll suffer.”

This jolted Li Mingxing from his fantasies. He turned to Raymond and asked, “Can I build the structures meant for my city in this half-world instead?”

Seeing Li Mingxing regain his composure, Raymond was pleased. When Li Mingxing’s mind had wandered earlier, Raymond had entertained murderous thoughts; if Li Mingxing hadn’t snapped out of it, Raymond would have given up on such an unpromising disciple.

Now that Li Mingxing was clear-headed, Raymond was willing to help him with any problem. “Of course. You can construct buildings in the half-world, but for now, it’s best not to build recklessly, since your actual city is still lacking.”

“What if I want to build the Dark Forest here?” Li Mingxing suddenly asked. “The Dark Forest is akin to the formation Zheng Yuanyi once laid. With the ‘Forest Fairy Corps’ and some special tree species, it might make my city even safer.”

“That’s a good idea. You have a large ‘Forest Fairy Corps’—just bring half of them at once. The rest can guard here. Besides, the Dark Forest is so vast; if you built it in your city, it would take up the entire place. Here, it’s truly a wise move,” Raymond considered, then nodded in agreement.

After a bit more discussion, Raymond hurried back to the mysterious bar to consult his original mentor about the matter.

Li Mingxing, aware that he’d spent a day or two this time, wondered how worried Zheng Yan might be, so he prepared to leave the complex and seek her out.

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But when Li Mingxing reached the gate of the apartment complex, he was startled by the scene outside. Besides powerful bodyguards disguised as ordinary pedestrians, there were covert police officers and several men and women with grim faces.

Judging by their behavior, Li Mingxing realized they’d been waiting here for more than a day, all for anyone emerging from the complex.

If Li Mingxing stepped out now, dozens of people would be watching him. Within a minute, he’d be taken away, and whatever choices he made afterward, his safety and freedom would no longer be his to command.

But Li Mingxing wasn’t one to be trapped by such circumstances. Without a word, he returned to the mysterious bar. He’d heard that everyone could set two or three coordinates in the bar—one at their initial entry point, and two more chosen by the hero as safe locations.

Li Mingxing had never used this privilege before, but pressured by those blocking the road, he had no choice but to use it now. He set two coordinates: one at the apartment complex, now a half-world, and the other temporarily at Zheng Yan’s doorstep.

With these coordinates set, Li Mingxing finally breathed a sigh of relief. Those people outside had frightened him; if he wasn’t certain they couldn’t enter the complex, he would have applied for a city exit transfer mission.

Returning from the mysterious bar, Li Mingxing appeared at Zheng Yan’s door. After knocking, he found she wasn’t home.

He had a key to her place, but for some reason, this time he simply sat at the stairway, waiting for her to return from work.

He didn’t know how long he waited, but eventually heard Zheng Yan’s hurried footsteps. Looking up, he saw her coming up from downstairs.

Seeing Li Mingxing sitting on the stairs, Zheng Yan grew anxious. She rushed up, scrutinized him, and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you sitting here? Lost your key?”

“No, I just wanted to wait for you.” Li Mingxing gazed at her beautiful face.

A trace of joy flashed across Zheng Yan’s face. She threw herself into Li Mingxing’s arms, kissed him on the stairs without caring who might see.

Li Mingxing smiled gently, picked her up, and carried her into her rented apartment.

After their passionate embrace, Li Mingxing said to Zheng Yan, still lying on him, “Yan Yan, I may need to leave again in a few days. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Hearing this, Zheng Yan propped herself up, her flawless upper body exposed to the air. “Can’t you stay?”

Touched by her tenderness, Li Mingxing wavered, almost agreeing, but in the end shook his head and refused, promising instead to stay with her for a few days and to return as soon as his tasks were done.

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Hearing Li Mingxing’s words, Zheng Yan knew she couldn’t change his mind, so she stopped pressing the issue. Instead, she called her boss, took a few days off, and prepared to devote herself to Li Mingxing.

Li Mingxing reciprocated her affection with all his passion, and the two spent the next two days wrapped in each other’s arms.

Two days later, while Zheng Yan was still asleep, Li Mingxing quietly slipped away and returned to the mysterious bar from a hidden location.

At the bar, he found Raymond visibly excited—the first time Li Mingxing had ever seen him show emotion. Li Mingxing teased, “Master, did you win your planet’s battle?”

“Of course not, but my mentor has agreed to help me. With him on my side, I’m even more confident,” Raymond said happily.

Li Mingxing felt a pang of envy, but there was nothing he could do. Raymond and his mentor were both of the Death element, while Li Mingxing was of the Darkness element. Even if the old man wanted to help, Li Mingxing had no place for him.

After this, Li Mingxing steered the conversation to his new mission. Raymond suddenly said, “I won’t choose this task for you this time. Let me assign it myself.”

At those words, Li Mingxing fixed his gaze on Raymond, who smiled. “Don’t look at me like that. Once you reach Lord-level hero, you can assign tasks at the bar, and I certainly have that right.”

“Fine, then give me an easy mission, and make the reward generous,” Li Mingxing joked.

“You wish! This mission isn’t just for me—you have a stake in it too. I want you to find a forest inhabited by elves and turn it into a Dark Forest, to test if our calculations work.”

Li Mingxing was startled. “You’re not serious, are you? Stirring up trouble in an elven forest? The elves will tear me apart.”

“In ordinary circumstances, maybe. But you have fifty druids—they treat forests as their home. With them, you’ll be fine. If you succeed, I’ll give you extra rewards.”

Looking at Raymond, Li Mingxing was both amused and exasperated, but in the end he agreed to the task, thus concluding his series of real-world missions.