Finding The Great Wall and its entrance turned out to be easy enough… just follow the crowd! Melee combatants, spell caster, lifestyle profession; everyone has business to be in the Great Wall. Even so, along the way, I can't help but notice how the city streets are also alive, new simple houses and buildings have been constructed and put to good use, peddlers, various shops and services are available for everyone who could afford their prices. But then again, it is in the secure Great Wall where the best gathers.

I do not know how the entrance to this Great Wall looks pre-integration. But now, the walls are maybe about 6 or 7 meters wide at the base, 5 meters wide at the top, and about 8 meters tall. Where the entrance leads into is a watchtower, maybe 10 meters tall and at its base 12 or so meters cube, one of three towers I can see, the other two being outside the city. There are signs of magical tampering, as the walls are unnaturally smooth, the ground is generally even with very little grass. The entrance is maybe two meters wide and a bit more than that tall, visible on each sides, are simple security posts. Almost everything is made out of stone.

After taking in the scenery, I proceed to walk towards the entranc—"Tíng!!" I now know that word means stop, so I halted… I had had noticed the two guys standing guard, as they are quite obvious after all. But I did not expect to be stopped. "Qǐng lùchū nǐ de liǎn. Nǐ zài zhèlǐ zuò shénme shēngyì?"

"Uhh, can you speak english?" I ask the left guard who had spoken. They are decently geared, light full body armor, a spear on each hand and a sword sheathed on their hip. One seems to understand what I said, but is not capable of making conversation. They conversed briefly in mandarin before one enters the wall's entrance.

"Qǐng shāo děng." The lone guard said professionally, his open palm aimed at me for a split second before resuming his alert pose. I have no idea what it is he said, but that gesture definitely means wait, or move back, or entry prohibited, or take another step forward and I'll sta—nah… I'll just wait for now...

Absent-mindedly I continue to observe the surrounding area, while one part of my thoughts continues to fabricate Mana Cores every 10 - 15 minutes… I had just pocketed another one when the guard that left, came back, bringing along with him a professional level secretary looking woman. The whole complete package; unnaturally attractive, carries a clipboard, wears a suit, and sporting fashionable glasses.

"Nice to meet you," she says, all sharp and businesslike. "I am Daxia Liu, personal secretary of Mr. Billy Huo. What brings you to DolarOne?"

DollarOne? Isn't that the biggest entertainment conglomerate in China in the year 2038, after they experienced unprecedented growth since after their rebranding three years previously. So they—or at least a part of them—are the one who now governs the new Beijing! And by extension, probably the new China.

"Uh, I'm Zane from Rumah," after a few words of pleasantries. I explained to her what we had done so far. Extending an offer for them to join our cause.

"I am afraid I do not have the authority to make a decision regarding this matter. But~, please come in." I followed her into the fortress. The insides are more spacious than I imagined; much… much more spacious! The 6 meters outside is now maybe 12 or 13 meters long. Is this... spatial magic? "From your reaction, I believe you have probably noticed that our walls are much larger inside than they are outside. Quite magical is it not?"

"Yes. This is amazing spellwork! Are you not scared of what will happen should the spell fail? All that stuff suddenly cramped up within a small space. And how are you powering all this?" I ask her, truly intrigued. Spatial expansion is something commonly found in fantasy, which means it has crossed my mind multiple times previously. But so is dispel. Imagine being stuck inside a spatially expanded room when the magic goes kaput.

"I see you understand quite a lot more than usual." She replies, "yet I apologize, for I lack the knowledge to answer your questions. Although, I assure you, Mr. Billy will be more than knowledgeable."

We have been traveling down a corridor that was wide enough for two large people to comfortably walk side by side. Casually following along the right wall. Passing by a few doors on the left along the way; I can Sense that there are varying numbers of people inside working on System knows what. After a bit more walking, I find that she has guided me to a library of sorts where she requests I kindly wait. So I answer with a thank you and enter.

The library is maybe 10 x 8 meters, every single side lined with shelves that go as high as the ceiling. The shelves still have plenty of room to spare for more books. At the center, a lush ornate carpet is spread, surrounded by comfortable individual-sofas. I find the ambience to be well designed; lit bright enough for a comfortable read, but dim enough to not cause discomfort for sensitive eyes. I browse the shelves as I wait, seeing; Clean Code, The Pragmatic Programmer, The Art of War, Zero to One, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Made in Mana and various other books—both fiction and not—famous now and throughout the ages. The guy has great taste!

"Do you enjoy reading?" A charismatic voice asks from behind me. "I find it to be one of, if not the most enjoyable leisure activity… besides brainstorming and developing our various projects."

"I do too," I reply while turning my head—He had just appeared out of thin air! The man stands at about my height of 1.84 meters tall, almost perfectly giving off a scholarly vibe in his casual-business shirt and vest attire with neatly combed hair and glasses, if not for the well developed muscles that are visible through his form fitting shirt. "You must be Mr. Billy, I am Zane. Nice to meet you!"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"No, no! The pleasure is all mine." He says enthusiastically. "So, Daxia had briefed me of your noble purpose…"

"Yes! We were lucky and the knowledge gained from video games had helped." I reply excitedly at him, affected by his enthusiasm—"

"I am afraid I will have to refuse…"

what..? "—Why? Shouldn't we work together to prevent the extinction of Humans!?"

At my question, he paused to stare at me… I might have been a bit too affected by his mood and might have been acting a little impatient. So I stay quiet and wait, not trusting my mouth right now and giving him time to answer my question. Breath… unknowingly, SYMPHONY kicks off and I enter into deep–conscious meditation.

"First of all, I do not know you and these people you call friends. Second, you're young, I dare assume all of you are; and that generally translates to a lack of foresight. Third, it takes great power to do what you wish to do, power I do not believe you wield." He says bluntly. "We at DollarOne are, too, striving for the survival of humanity. Yet, even with all the resources accessible to us, we are required to bide our time, gradually fortifying our bases before we feel ready to reach out. That would take months more at the very least. What makes you think you can do so now, when even a company as large as ours cannot!?"

That escalated quickly…

"I think you've misunderstood Mr. Billy." I reply, "we are not trying to rule over everyone and take them under our wings. But we're joining up---allying up so to say. Helping each other in times of need, but each still free to develop ourselves."

He withdraws into his own thoughts at my words. "That still leaves me with the third point, beside a few new concerns. What if there are traitors; people who are using you only to further their own cause, ready to betray you when it is no longer beneficial. Or burdens who only take and never give back. And what if something beyond your means shows itself, or there are multiple fronts in need of assistance?"

Geez this guy, he's definitely the kind of person who makes plan A - ZZ before enacting anything, though he probably does have the brains and resources too. "Well, honestly… we haven't made plans that far. Or maybe they have back home, I'm currently more focused on traveling and gathering allies."

His silence made me continue saying, "and even if they do, like you said, betray or use us. In my opinion… we can simply cut ties and go our own separate ways. We're only trying to help, and that automatically means we will be wasting resources… to what extent and for what purpose we can only see as we go." He still deigns to reply, though maybe it is because he is deep in thought. So I wait…

"Not something I would do, but fine. Your money, your choice," he said metaphorically, I think... "Well, since you are so adamant about giving us free resources, so be it. All that is left will be for you to show us your strength, we live in a mortally dangerous world now after all. It would not do if instead of being the helper, you end up being in need of our help instead."

"I'm confident in my strength." I tell him casually, I'm already gaining more than a level's worth of attributes from devouring daily. Not that he needs to know that. "And the guys from Rumah are also nothing to scoff at!"

"Yes, well I'll need more proof than mere words." He replies nonchalantly. "If I may know, what level are you?"

"Uh," I have not really put much thought into my levels lately. So I took a quick look at my status before saying, "twenty-five, why?"

"Hmm, that's pretty decent." He says with a nodding head, "I'm level 27. And these expanded halls you see, they are the results of my attainment in the Dao of Space."

Ah yes, I have questions to ask him regarding that, but what does that have to do with strength, I wonder… "that's so awesome." I reply to him kindly. "So about the alliance?"

"Yes, yes. Let us spar!" He said next, "show me your strength… Please follow me!"

—

It is getting dark.

He brought me outside the walls, onto a car for a 20 minutes drive, before bringing us into a stop near a large training field of sorts. Within are hundreds of men training; swords, axes, bows, even guns… in another part of the fields, people can be seen slinging various elemental spells; the familiar Wind Arrows, Fire Bolts, et al. Some are even conjuring and shooting flying disks around… is that what I think it is?

"This is where my soldiers train." Billy says proudly from beside me, his secretary ever so ready behind us. "Do you have your own army?"

"Nope," I say, is he just showing off? "What level are they? And why are we here?"

"They are in their early teens…" I give him a suspicious look. They are definitely not teens! Some of those guys have mustaches… maybe due to the look I'm giving him, he added. "As in levels 11 to 14s."

"Ohh~," I blurted out, then an important question came to mind. "Nice! Where do you find so many enemies to kill?"

"No, no. There are many enemies to kill out there. But here, they train and gain experience!" He said—at my now confused look—he gestures to Daxia. She explained to me that this is a System registered training ground, and training here would provide them with experience. If every single person in the multiverse needs to kill for every drop of experience, the world would be a lonely place after all.

I store another Mana Core I had just produced; my 31st, and opened my VICOS to text Henry and tell him about how my meeting with China's leader is going so far and to ask him about checking out some things regarding System registered training grounds. He simply replied with an okay.

"Alrighty, so! Are you confident in fighting someone above your level or do you prefer fighting several lower leveled soldiers?" Billy asks me. "No pressure, just making sure you are not a mere dog who is pretending to roar like a dragon."

Did he just call me a dog? "Why not both, you and them together versus little weak me!"