Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Shen Ye's mind was filled with doubt, but a reckless loud laugh came from the dining table.

"Undead!"

"Make your decision soon, or after our army flattens the Human Race's territory, we'll head straight for Eternal Night City!"

Shen Ye's eyebrows raised.

How dare these orcs be so arrogant in the Undead's territory?

They were courting death!

He waited for several breaths.

But the Undead remained silent.

They stared fixedly at the battle axe, unable to utter a word.

...What a disgrace.

Shen Ye felt the atmosphere was excessively awkward.

No way, no way.

Were the Undead rendered speechless by a mere soldier battle axe?

Perhaps his puzzled expression gave it away.

Or maybe the dance troupe was invited for this very purpose.

In any case—

The banshee turned her gaze towards him and whispered:

"Allow me to explain to the members of the Dark Night Ros Dance Troupe."

"—The Orc Tribe can now mass produce weapons of this quality, and in addition, various other weapons and armor have also made an outstanding leap in quality, basically reaching the Excellent Level."

"Yes, with their mass-produced equipment, they should already be able to sweep across any race in the world."

Shen Ye held his breath for a while before he could recover.

Mass production.

The word sounds light, but it's actually terrifying.

On the battlefield.

Every orc carries a blue-quality battle axe.

All other equipment and armor have made leaps in quality, all above blue.

How could anyone fight this?

Who could withstand the Orc Army?

No wonder the Undead dared not utter a word!

—But there was an obvious problem.

The Orcs—

How did they become so fierce all of a sudden?

They were often labeled by other races as "foolish," "happy with simplicity," and "clear-eyed."

Now they wanted to sweep the whole world!

How did they manage to do this?

Shen Ye was fully aware of the seriousness of the matter and understood why everyone's mood was so somber.

But his heart, as curious as a cat's scratch, really wanted to know the answer.

Fortunately, Madame Daisy had already started asking:

"Have they mastered a new forging technique?"

"No," the banshee replied.

"Has a master craftsman emerged in the field of forging?"

"That's not it either."

"Did they discover something in a ruin?"

"The more you talk, the further off you are."

"Sorry, I really don't know what's going on. Can you just tell us?" Madame Daisy asked.

A moment of silence.

The Undead all looked down, as if there was a Demon King in the void they dared not look directly at.

The banshee herself showed a difficult and extremely pained expression.

"Daisy, you've been to the Orc Prairies, so you should understand their lifestyle,"

Madame Daisy took over: "Yes, I understand them—they're hardworking and content, willing to enjoy all that nature has to offer, including death, which is why I always thought they posed no threat."

The banshee held her breath and whispered softly, "But the orcs now..."

"What about them?" Daisy was growing impatient.

"They've started working a 996 schedule," said the banshee, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes.

996.

Shen Ye was stunned.

What!?

This world really has started 996!

Could it be because of his own careless speech, that such a thing was triggered?

Madame Daisy's expression turned as she quickly said:

"Isn't 996 just fake news spread by the Human Race to scare everyone? I heard that scouts from various places went to investigate the Human Race's heartland, and they aren't really implementing the true 996!"

"Right," the banshee replied in a low voice, rapidly: "But the orcs are foolish; they think doing so will frighten other races—they're actually doing it!"

Madame Daisy was stunned for a moment, speaking with disbelief:

"Starting work at 9 in the morning, finishing at 9 in the evening, resting one hour at noon and in the evening—often even less than one hour, and working six days a week?"

"Yes, that's exactly what the orcs are doing now," the banshee confirmed.

"What does this have to do with the battle axe?" Shen Ye couldn't resist asking.

"It has a great deal to do with it."

The Lich next to him was trembling all over, shivering as he spoke:

"The orcs often inherit their ancestors' weapons and seldom are willing to spend the effort to forge new ones."

"But things are different now."

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"They've implemented a 996 work policy, which, just in the area of blacksmithing and weapon forging alone, has caused a huge surge in production capacity."

"As you know, if the forging technique is mediocre, then during the process of weapon casting, the probability of producing blue-quality weapons is only 0.5%."

"But now that output has increased."

"The orcs used to be able to make only two battle axes per day."

"Now with more workers, longer working hours, and stricter management, they have to work overtime every day—"

"They now can create two thousand battle axes—every single day!"

"Please calculate the daily number of blue-quality weapons."

"And that's just the battle axes, other areas have made a qualitative leap as well."

"Now, no one dares to look down on the orcs!"

Madame Daisy spread her hands and said, "Does that mean we have to start 996 too?"

An awkward silence ensued.

Shen Ye saw a certain trepidation in these great Undead.

Even he himself, when thinking back to those three digits, 996, felt a subconscious panic.

This was truly—

He couldn't help but let out a sigh.

If you said the orcs were dull, they were the first to implement 996 and boost their war readiness.

If you said they were smart, they actually used 996 to provoke in the face of the Undead!

The Undead are beings that never tire!

Once the Undead start working 996—

This continent will completely fall into mad excess competition!

How would anyone live their lives then!

"The Earl is planning a vacation recently, but the orcs came knocking to show off the power of 996, asking the Earl to surrender on behalf of the Undead Empire, which is no small matter." The Lich whispered.

Madame Daisy, always known for her elegance, twisted her body, almost letting her unease spill out.

"I don't want to do 996," Daisy said in a panic, "I have a lot of things to do after work, I have an Undead Cat I need to tend to every day, the Veterans' Guild still needs me to offer guidance and support, and there are some matters with the lonely old bones in the community."

"Nobody wants to do 996, Daisy." The Lich said.

"If you get a chance to see the Earl later, you persuade him." The Dark Elf added from the side.

"Me?" Daisy was taken aback.

The other Undead all nodded in agreement.

At that moment, a servant came to the banquet hall and said softly:

"Madame Daisy, please take your subordinates to the study, Lord Earl is waiting for you."

"Okay." Madame Daisy stood up, signaled Shen Ye and Lily with her eyes, and then followed the servant forward.

Shen Ye and Lily hurriedly got up and followed behind her.

The study.

A man with long brown hair held a glass of wine, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the rain outside.

——Unbeknownst to them, it had started raining outside.

The rain blurred the window glass.

The man just continued to stare at the window, speechless, as if in deep thought.

"Lord Earl."

Madame Daisy curtsied, saying softly.

Only then did the man snap out of it, turning around to look at Madame Daisy, a smile appearing on his face.

His features radiated a natural authority, his eyes were bright and lively, and his voice was deep and magnetic:

"Daisy, it's great that you've come. I have always believed that the Dark Night Ros Dance Troupe is the finest artistic group in the entire Empire."

"You flatter me." Madame Daisy curtsied again.

"It's like this—I have a very important envoy mission that requires a dance troupe that could represent our Undead Empire to accompany me, so I must fairly have you compete for the spot." The Earl said.

"The Dark Night Ros Dance Troupe has never feared a challenge." Madame Daisy said.

"Of course! Of course! So, the theme is like this—"

The Earl gestured with his hand.

A basketball-sized droplet of water appeared in front of everyone.

"My technique can transform water into endless shapes, and you will have to use my technique for your artistic creation."

"Let it be an impromptu performance—"

"But first, I want to show you the works of the Grey Bone Dance Troupe and the Dusty Dark Dance Troupe, to avoid any repetition in your creation."

As he spoke, the Earl gently touched the sphere of water.

The round droplet dispersed, turning into rain falling throughout the study.

The water seemed to come alive, converging into streams that hung in the air, continuously swimming around, emitting a melodious song, eventually forming the words "Grey Bone Dance Troupe."

"This is Grey Bone's work, next is the Dusty Dark Dance Troupe."

The Earl's hand motion changed.

The water converged back into a sphere, then suddenly burst, countless droplets like a meteor shower, shining with bursts of light, looking extremely beautiful.

Dozens of sopranos sang within this meteor shower, praising all that water brings.

This scene was even more spectacular than Grey Bone Dance Troupe's performance.

Even Madame Daisy and Lily couldn't help but nod in admiration.

"Now, it's the Dark Night Ros Dance Troupe's turn—you may discuss it among yourselves, just make sure it isn't repetitive of the previous two."

The Earl said.

All phantasmagoria disappeared, the sphere of water still suspended in front of him, waiting for its final challenger.