ATIGIBTC Chapter 124.1

He Fang sent an inquiry to the official support team, wanting to ask about an issue related to the in-game recording settings of “Ruins Without Restart”. He always had the recording feature turned on, but during the mission involving Yuan Zhiran, the recording function was suddenly disabled. He wanted to take this opportunity to ask whether this was a bug, and whether there was any internal recording or data storage that could be sent to him.

He also had another question regarding the “city destruction criteria” in “Ruins Without Restart”. At the moment, he had already expanded his development to Hope City, Angel City, and the Library. He wanted to know if these cities counted as part of his overall urban development. If something major were to happen to his main city, could the other cities serve as backup options for hosting NPCs? In He Fang’s view, as long as people were still present in the cities, revival should be possible.

The first question was answered by the GM of “Ruins Without Restart”, who confirmed that it was indeed a bug within the game and that it was already being fixed. They thanked him for the report and even rewarded him with some real-world money as compensation for finding the flaw. However, because it was a bug, any data that occurred during the bug could not be stored, so unfortunately, they couldn’t provide He Fang with a copy of the video.

The second question received an even vaguer response. The GM explained that within “Ruins Without Restart”, the entire game world was now running based on built-in algorithms and the players’ ongoing progression. What direction the game would develop into was no longer something the official team could control. All they could do was fix bugs, so whether a city would be destroyed or not was ultimately up to the players to determine.

He Fang felt a bit helpless, but he also understood that for a game of such nearly epoch-defining significance, achieving complete perfection would be extremely difficult. After all, before he got the sensory simulation pod, he had never imagined that he’d get the chance to play the legendary full-dive holographic game in his lifetime.

What’s more, “Ruins Without Restart” was helping to alleviate his social anxiety to some extent, making him feel that this game was incredibly precious. When he interacted with various NPCs in the game, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he might eventually get used to talking with real people, too.

Even though He Fang truly felt that “Ruins Without Restart” was almost too realistic, in the end, he could only marvel at how far technology had come.

However, the things written on Yuan Zhiran’s Spiritual Window left He Fang with deep confusion. He went online to search for more information about “Ruins Without Restart”, hoping to see if there had ever been a case where the disappearance of a city lord had led to the collapse of social order and the breakdown of law.

But most players wouldn’t upload a broken game onto the internet. After searching all over, He Fang finally found just one post on a forum. A player shared that his city had fallen apart because he hadn’t logged into the game for a long time. One day, out of curiosity, he decided to check his save file, only to find that everything had collapsed into chaos. Social order had crumbled, the law had disintegrated, and the entire city was shrouded in smog and ruin, with barely any living beings left. No matter how much he tried to rebuild, it simply couldn’t recover. All the NPCs were full of resistance and negative emotions, utterly beyond saving. In the end, he chose to delete the save file entirely.

Upon reading this, He Fang’s heart gave a jolt. He privately messaged that player, hoping to get more information about what had happened in-game, trying to figure out the cause behind the collapse of social order. Was it due to some error during the process? Or did something go wrong with the NPCs in their assigned roles? To ensure that nothing like this would happen to his own city, He Fang felt he needed to understand the details clearly.

Since Yuan Zhiran had shown mental activity related to the destruction of social order, there had to be a reason behind it. No smoke without fire. To make sure there wasn’t some issue he had overlooked, He Fang figured it was best to investigate further.

Moreover, in the final moments of Yuan Zhiran’s Spiritual Window, the term “Divine Lord” had appeared, but He Fang didn’t understand why. It was just a landmark, after all. From what he could tell, the Divine Lord didn’t even possess any independent thinking. Why would something like that appear in Yuan Zhiran’s mind?

The more he thought about it, the more He Fang felt that this NPC mission from Yuan Zhiran had revealed a lot of information he simply couldn’t make sense of. If he didn’t figure it out, he was genuinely afraid that the city might be destroyed due to his own oversight.

Even though Yuan Zhiran’s NPC mission had technically been completed, in reality, it was more of a verbal promise meant to put him at ease. But since the promise had been made, he had to understand it thoroughly.

After all, as a game, of course, its goal was to create trouble for players. Otherwise, what would be the point of playing?

After implementing a series of measures, He Fang did manage to reduce his city’s crime rate back to zero. As expected, solving livelihood issues resolved many other problems as well. As for those tags like “deep-seated hatred” and such, He Fang went to investigate them in person.

Although the other party was unwilling to say much, He Fang explained to them the pros and cons of the current state of the city. He made it clear that he would not allow any criminal activity within the city, but if they could prove their capabilities and become official residents of Hope City, and if they possessed sufficient evidence to verify any criminal or unlawful behavior, then once Hope City successfully stabilized all the other cities, they could use the legal system to pursue their claims in court.

After hearing He Fang’s reasoning, these individuals finally agreed and decided to abide by Hope City’s regulations. They didn’t seem so difficult to deal with after all, and since the lie detector showed no alerts, He Fang felt temporarily at ease.

Now, the government has set up suggestion boxes all over the city. Anyone could submit proposals based on their own ideas, allowing for wide public input to serve as a reference in revising laws.

During this time, the Library finally arrived safely at the location He Fang had previously planned. Once they had settled in, He Fang immediately used the system panel to lay down a new road, connecting Hope City and Angel City to the Library, and launched intercity public transportation.

Although the Library hadn’t fully completed its construction yet, knowledge seekers were already eager to gain access to its resources. Just as the Library had promised, it would share all information and knowledge with everyone. Wild NPCs who came from the Library could easily find new jobs in any city.

He Fang laid the transit track directly between the Library and the main city. Once people in the Library obtained a pass, they could freely enter the main city. The pass, however, could only be issued after evaluation and certification by the government staff of the main city. This was a special measure for top-level talents, and anyone had a chance to obtain it.

The Research Institute went directly to the Library to assist with preservation efforts. No matter how advanced the Library’s technology was, it was still just a mobile city. The items meant to be preserved had already suffered considerable damage. The Research Institute meticulously sorted all the information one by one and preserved every item that was at risk. As a result, the most frequent statistical entry on the Library’s system page was related to the preservation of artifacts.

Through all of this, He Fang was able to see the brilliant history that the Library, serving as the cultural preserver of the post-apocalyptic era, had revealed to them.

A great number of masterpieces by renowned figures, antiques, books, paintings, compiled scientific data, research papers, experiments—all of it was clearly and meticulously preserved within the Library.

It was only then that He Fang realized “Ruins Without Restart” had truly fabricated an incredibly complete and flawless world, nearly beyond criticism.

What shocked him the most was that the Library had, in such a short time, directly raised the cultural level of the main city by a significant margin. Almost instantly, the originally stable numerical stats of the NPCs in the main city began fluctuating wildly, becoming unstable. He Fang couldn’t help but marvel. His main city’s NPCs were like learning-obsessed maniacs.

Already, several mobile cities from the southeastern district had sent invitations to engage in dialogue with Hope City. Once they learned of Hope City’s military power, they likely no longer dared to make a move without absolute confidence. Moreover, although the mobile cities in the northern district had technically “submitted” to Hope City, they still maintained contact with other cities. Whether or not some conspiracy was brewing behind the scenes, no one could say for sure.

He Fang, however, had no intention of being cautious. He was waiting for the mobile cities in the northern district to finish dividing up their territory. Although there had been some disputes, it was probably because they feared Hope City’s influence that the conflict hadn’t escalated too obviously. Even so, it still took three whole months just to finalize all the territorial boundaries.

During those chaotic three months of land disputes among the mobile cities, He Fang’s city continued expanding, primarily in the western district. Over on the side of Ao City, they had sent multiple requests to have their land designated as holy land, but He Fang did not approve them. Currently, the western district is almost entirely dominated by Ao City. With its overwhelming power, it could practically seize all the land on its own. On top of that, due to Ao City’s unique education system, the issue was no longer a mere conflict. It was becoming outright oppression.

To He Fang, either outcome was undesirable. So, he was waiting for Ao City to split apart.

He had previously analyzed the situation together with the government and concluded that it would be difficult for Ao City’s city alliance to survive much longer. Now that Hope City had emerged, Ao City’s supremacy was even more heavily suppressed. At this point, the mobile cities that had long been too afraid to act would surely begin stirring, itching to break free from Ao City’s control. As for the currently unstable western district, He Fang decided, for now, to let it develop on its own.

Once the land boundaries of all the mobile cities in the northern district were fully confirmed, the cities began settling into place. When countless tiny figures poured out of those cities, it looked—on a top-down view—just like an army of ants swarming out of their nest. The sheer number of these wild NPCs left He Fang speechless.

He Fang posted an open invitation on the talent exchange market for members to serve in foreign embassies. It was an important job: every mobile city was required to host at least one NPC from the main city. Just one would suffice. The rest could be selected from Angel City or Hope City. However, enthusiasm for the role was clearly lacking. No one seemed eager to go.

He Fang understood. In today’s world, people generally don’t want to be sent to remote or underdeveloped areas. After all the effort to escape poverty, no one was keen on suffering again in unfamiliar mobile cities. Naturally, the reluctance was strong.

He Fang knew this was a tricky issue. Even though he adjusted salaries and benefits, those truly willing to go were still painfully few. Just as he was racking his brain for a solution, he suddenly discovered that the main city government had directly reclassified foreign postings as official business trips. All civil servants within the government would now be sent abroad in rotation. Each person will serve for half a year to a full year, with triple salary, and daily living expenses covered. Just like that, the problem was resolved under the firm policies of the administration.

He Fang was stunned. He hadn’t expected his own NPCs to genuinely think of ways to help him solve the problems he couldn’t handle on his own. In that moment, he was suddenly and deeply moved.

He Fang had the research institute design train routes connecting all the cities, linking them together with rail travel. Everything was going smoothly. Then, to his surprise, he saw that the NPCs of his main city, perhaps inspired by his earlier mention of promoting tourism, actually went ahead and started organizing tour groups, actively scouting for travel destinations. Before long, He Fang began noticing scattered sightings of his main city NPCs appearing in other cities.

Next, He Fang began construction on airports. Building airports turned out to be quite simple, much easier than constructing high-rise buildings. These weren’t military airbases, but civilian airports. The purpose was to improve connectivity across the entire northern district and to lay the groundwork for future development of online shopping.

This period of development went exceptionally smoothly, and He Fang even found a bit of time to play other games. When he heard that the airports had basically been completed and test flights had already begun, He Fang logged back in.

The initial flight of the airplane proceeded very smoothly. The signal connection was stable, and there were no abnormalities throughout the process. The test pilot was none other than He Fang himself.

As the most skilled pilot in the entire city, He Fang took part in the maiden[mfn]in civil aviation, it refers to the first flight of a newly manufactured aircraft, or the first flight of an aircraft on a new route or to a new destination[/mfn] civil aviation test flight. There were no issues at all. With countless modifications made to the aircraft by the research institute, the safety measures were already extremely well-developed.

And no one could rival He Fang’s piloting talent. He felt proud to be participating in the first test flight.

This was the flight of his city!

The maiden voyage was a complete success. After taking off, the aircraft would return directly to its starting point. As long as it landed successfully at the airport, the test flight would be deemed complete.

“What’s the current status?” Yuan Zhiran asked over the tower radio, his voice carrying a trace of cheerfulness.

“Everything is normal. Data is stable, flight speed is standard, and there’s no weather interference,” He Fang reported seriously. He genuinely felt like a real pilot. In reality, he would never have the chance to fly a real plane. But in the game, he could fully experience the immersive joy of it.

Yuan Zhiran’s lips curved into a smile, pleased by the ease and joy in He Fang’s voice. “Is the view nice?”

“It’s great,” He Fang responded happily to the personal question. “The sky is absolutely beautiful.”

He Fang smiled. He still remembered the flight simulator he had played with before. At the time, he had already been amazed by the breathtaking scenery. But the scenery in “Ruins Without Restart” wasn’t something viewed through a computer screen. It was perceived through the “naked eye”, in the truest sense. No matter how good a display could be, it simply couldn’t deliver the same overwhelmingly stunning effect.

“If I ever get the chance, I’ll fly a plane again. Oh, and I should go get a pilot’s license too,” He Fang added with a smile, clearly looking forward to more flights in the future.

“City Lord, your skills are something we’ve all witnessed firsthand. There’s absolutely no need for certification. We could issue one to you right away,” Yuan Zhiran said with a teasing smile. Those around him also smiled faintly upon hearing this; everyone knew just how much their city lord loved flying.

“That won’t do! I’m a proper pilot. I won’t take shortcuts!” He Fang replied with mock seriousness. Even taking the license test in-game was part of the fun, something NPCs would never understand.

Just as he was enjoying the leisurely test flight, a slightly urgent voice suddenly cut in through his headset: “Flight 01, please be advised: an unidentified object is rapidly approaching the aircraft from the lower left side. Pilot, please check immediately.”

He Fang’s expression turned cold. He instantly switched the aircraft’s control to full manual override. The cockpit display immediately adjusted to show real-time visuals from all directions. He watched with wide eyes as a massive black object rose rapidly from the ground below. Its speed was astonishing, and it was clearly heading straight for the plane.

“What is that?” Yuan Zhiran’s voice came through the radio on the other side, then suddenly turned sharp: “It’s an attack!”

He Fang’s heart skipped a beat.

From the tower came a flurry of operating sounds and a firm command: “Immediately alter course. Projectile trajectory prediction has been transmitted. City Lord, please leave the attack path at once!”

He Fang pressed his lips together, calm and unshaken. The aircraft developed by the research institute—its most powerful model—boasted high maneuverability far beyond the clunky aircraft common in other games. Once he got used to the controls, it felt as natural as moving his own limbs. With hands and feet working in perfect coordination, He Fang pulled off a sharp vertical dive, followed by a sudden climb.

He glanced back at the black object pursuing them, and his heart dropped.

“Attack trajectory does not match predictions. Object detected changing course. Recalculating.” The voice from the tower came through clearly, and He Fang’s chest tightened with unease. He had already guessed what it was. Then came confirmation from the tower: “Analyzing object… Analysis complete. It’s a tracking missile.”

He Fang’s heart gave a sudden jolt. His guess had been confirmed. All those games he had played weren’t for nothing: “What about its speed?”

“The tracking speed is slightly lower. We can shake it off with the speed of the aircraft,” Yuan Zhiran finally let out a quiet sigh of relief after noticing the thing’s speed. It couldn’t catch up. If it came down to the Creator’s piloting skills, then that thing wouldn’t pose a threat to the Creator.

But knowing it was one thing. None of their expressions relaxed in the slightest. Not only were they not relieved, they were furious. Someone had actually dared to launch an attack on their Creator. At that moment, every one of them harbored a desire to annihilate the one behind the attack.

“Hmph.” He Fang let out a cold snort and said to the co-pilot, “Tell all the flight attendants inside the cabin to fasten their seatbelts.”

“Yes, City Lord.” The co-pilot turned on the intercom system and began making the announcement inside the cabin.

Meanwhile, He Fang narrowed his eyes slightly, turned to glance back at the tracking missile that had been tailing them all this time, and said, “Yuan Zhiran, I’m going to slow down and lure the missile close to the airport. Have Chong Ying find a way to shoot it down. Make sure it doesn’t explode. Preserve it completely and intact!”

He Fang’s tone carried a faint darkness. This thing, once it exploded, wouldn’t leave a single trace behind. He wanted to keep it to see who dared to make a move against something from Hope City.

“Yes, City Lord.” Yuan Zhiran’s voice was low, his expression slightly dark. In those incredibly beautiful eyes of his flickered a chilling glint of cold light.

He Fang reduced speed just enough so the missile wouldn’t lose track of him, but also couldn’t catch up. However, he began to sense that something was slightly off about the missile.

“City Lord, we’ve successfully analyzed the internal structure of the tracking missile. We’ve detected that its tracking range is limited. Once it hits its maximum range, it will detonate unconditionally. We’re now close to that limit. Please immediately increase your distance to avoid being caught in the blast wave!” Yuan Zhiran spoke up at once after reviewing the intel that had just been handed to him.

“What kind of trash tracking missile is this!” He Fang pursed his lips, a bit annoyed.

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