Chapter Thirty-Two: The Mysterious Bureau of Time and Space Management

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“Acquired one Contract Emblem... Beep, the Time-Space Administration requests immediate communication with the dimensional agent...” Wood had just received the Contract Emblem when Little Bell’s notification startled him—the Administration wanted a direct conversation.

“Huh?!” Wood was caught off guard. He recalled Gu Feng once mentioning that all dimensional trading systems were overseen by the Time-Space Administration, which seemed to be the ultimate authority. He supposed he couldn’t refuse.

“Alright,” he replied. As soon as he agreed, he felt his body twist, as if pulled by a strange force. His consciousness blurred. When he came to, he found himself in a white space, reminiscent of the trading space, though much smaller—just over ten square meters. In front of him was a flickering screen, like a computer monitor.

“Welcome! The second agent to pass the dimensional trial program!” The screen spoke with an electronic, synthesized voice, slightly different from Little Bell’s.

“So, you’re the Time-Space Administration!” Wood had always believed the Administration was an organization. Now, facing this presence, it seemed more like an unknown lifeform, perhaps silicon-based.

“Correct! Agent of the Basic Material Plane, congratulations on becoming the second agent to clear the trial. Are you sure you wish to receive the Contract Emblem? Please note: this is a special item, obtainable only by agents who have passed the trial.” The screen flickered with each response.

“What does it do?”

“By using the Contract Emblem, you can form a team of up to five members. All team members receive a 10% increase in personal attributes and a 20% boost in skill effectiveness. Members cannot attack or harm one another, neither by action nor speech. Once a team is formed, any individual dimensional task becomes a group mission. If any team member dies, the Contract Emblem is rendered void, and all members’ skill power is permanently reduced by 20%.”

“Ah?!” Wood felt both delight and shock at the explanation. The benefits were clear—a 10% physical boost and 20% skill increase were tempting. But if any of the five died, the penalty was heavy. Still, with the bad came the good: a contract ensured four absolutely trustworthy companions, and no agent would want their skills permanently diminished.

After some thought, Wood decided the advantages outweighed the risks and accepted the Emblem. A star-shaped badge appeared in the system’s trading slot.

“Contract Emblem received! As the Agent of the Basic Material Plane, you must now accept the next mission: Eliminate the Invasion from the Otherworld. Information: Several worlds are facing unknown viruses or mutated creatures. The Time-Space Administration has determined that this plane is under threat from an unknown lifeform. Its ultimate goal is unclear, but the danger level is high enough to threaten planar collapse. Objective: Eliminate the Otherworldly Invaders.”

“Notice: Recipients of the Contract Emblem must assemble a team to identify and eliminate the threat. The Administration will reward contribution with points, items, and skills.”

“Oh...” Wood was speechless. He hadn’t expected the Administration to play this kind of game—handing out a powerful reward, only to immediately assign an exceptionally difficult mission.

But the Administration gave him no time to hesitate. A chime sounded: “This information has already been shared with the first agent to clear the dimensional trial. He is being summoned here and is advised to join your Contract Team.”

Sure enough, as the voice faded, a figure was transported in—a refined man with glasses, slender and dark-eyed, looking much like an Asian, though completely expressionless.

The newcomer adjusted his glasses, scrutinized Wood for a moment, then said coolly, “Agent of the Basic Material Plane, System Level B, E-rank warrior, your level is quite low. I’m not sure how you passed the trial. Oh, you actually possess true vital energy—that explains it.”

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“A detector?” Wood asked. From the man’s previous actions, he realized those were no ordinary glasses.

“A high-grade life detector—science fiction technology enhanced with magical abilities,” the man replied straightforwardly. “Agent of the Dream Plane, Lu Daoxuan.”

“Chen Mu—everyone calls me Wood!” Wood extended his hand. “You heard what the Administration said, so I won’t repeat it. Would you like to join?”

Lu Daoxuan remained icy, but politely shook his hand. “The Administration has evaluated you as: Neutral, tending toward Good. You’re an ideal choice to initiate the contract.”

“Evaluation?” Wood hadn’t noticed any such thing, nor did he know how the Administration assessed him.

“Based on your actions during the Basic Material Plane trial: neutral, tending toward good. Based on Lu Daoxuan’s actions in the Dream Plane trial: neutral, tending toward neutral.” As if answering his unspoken question, the Administration’s voice sounded.

“Dream Plane?” Wood was curious. “Never heard of it. And what does ‘Dream’ mean?”

Lu Daoxuan replied calmly, “Life is but a dream. My plane is probably a projection of sentient minds’ consciousness.”

“Ah!” Wood was astonished. He’d heard from Gu Feng that with enough energy crystals and reward points, agents could create their own projection worlds and obtain bloodlines, skills, and so forth from them.

“Wait, is yours the mysterious plane that produces skill cards and bloodline cards?” Wood asked uncertainly.

“Exactly.” Lu Daoxuan habitually adjusted his glasses.

A sudden thought struck Wood. “I heard there’s an agent who can modify and fuse skill cards. Would that be you?”

“That’s correct,” Lu Daoxuan answered frankly. “S-class item: Smelting Furnace! By consuming reward points, it can fuse two different skill or bloodline cards, with a high probability of removing negative effects and successfully combining positive abilities; effective only on S and lower-class cards.”

“So it really is you!” Wood was overjoyed. Having this person on the team would be a great asset.

“Did you also get that item as a trial reward?” Wood asked.

“Indeed. What did you receive?”

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“My S-class item is far inferior to yours. It’s the Solution of Deprivation—single use only. Function one: strips abilities from equipment ranked A or below, copying them as permanent self-skills. Function two: removes negative equipment effects. When used with the S-class Smelting Solution, it can combine abilities from two pieces of equipment into one.”

“That’s a fine item,” Lu Daoxuan commented mildly. “Yes, it’s not as powerful as my S-class item. So for your first reward, you chose an SS-class item instead of an S-class skill?”

...So this guy was another genius, Wood thought with a wry smile. “You see right through me. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to use an S-class skill, so I chose the SS-class item: Demon Refining Jar, a mythical artifact. It has two functions: first, it can contain certain special lifeforms for control. Second, it can smelt two items of different natures, with a chance to create higher-grade or special items. It can refine medicines, equipment, and weapons—though it also consumes reward points.”

“But I haven’t figured out how to use the first function, nor was there any hint. The second function is similar to your Smelting Furnace.”

“Yes, that item is extremely powerful—worthy of SS-class status. But in my view, its first function is what truly makes it SS-class. I have some idea how it works, but need to test it in practice. We can discuss it later.” Lu Daoxuan seemed confident, and Wood, sensing he knew more, pressed for details.

“At your current level, you likely can’t use the first function,” Lu Daoxuan said, adjusting his glasses. “Let’s research it later. The rewards for passing the dimensional trial are actually quite rich. S-class items are rare, and your SS-class item is probably unique among all agents.”

“Well then, I’ll let you scout for suitable teammates. I’ll return and study our next move—right now, your strength is too weak. The first priority should be to grow stronger,” Lu Daoxuan analyzed. “Therefore, I suggest our team consist of agents from different planes, so we can easily access various worlds for resources.”

In truth, Wood already had candidates in mind and planned to contact them upon his return. He was confident they wouldn’t refuse.

Suddenly, Wood remembered something. “You were the first agent to pass the trial—didn’t you get a Contract Emblem?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you use it to form a team?” Wood wondered.

Lu Daoxuan shot him a glance. “When I received the Contract Emblem, the Administration forcibly brought me here, specifically explained things, and anyone could see this wasn’t going to be easy. I suspected there’d be follow-up team missions. With too little information and not knowing the risk level, I declined to accept it.”

Wood...

“So in your eyes, I’m the fool here!” Wood protested, somewhat disgruntled. “It’s just that your intelligence is off the charts—don’t assume everyone’s as abnormal as you!”