In the center of the Abyss Plaza, the originally shaky temporary portal cobbled together with bones and runes was now surrounded by layers of scaffolding and engineering machinery.

  If the previous "Yin-Yang Protective Suits" had cost the Netherworld engineers half a layer of skin, then the current "Portal Permanence Project" was simply squeezing their bone marrow dry.

  "Hurry up! Hammer that 'Spatial Anchor Stake' in! It's crooked! Crooked by one micron!"

  A Ghost Messenger foreman with dark circles under his eyes was roaring at several Spirit laborers. The blueprint in his hand was soaked with sweat, the dense parameters on it making one dizzy just by looking.

  "Lord Singularity said! This door must guarantee the passage of 'Titan-Class' units! And it must guarantee stable operation for ten thousand years without maintenance! You don't want to go to the Eighteenth Layer of Hell to be fuel, do you?!"

  On the other side of the construction site, Singularity was not idle either.

  He was sitting at a long table piled high with documents, opposite a group of Spirit elders from the "Abyss Market Supervision Administration" and representatives of the Netherworld Judges.

  "Tax rate! I'm talking about the tax rate!" Singularity slammed the table; although he looked exhausted, his eyes were still sharp. " The export tax on Abyss ores must be set at 15%! It can't be lower! The maintenance cost of the Netherworld is very high!"

  The Spirit elders argued strongly: "But my Lord, we are also responsible for mining and refining! And we have to pay tribute to Lord Slayer..."

  "Then deduct it from your profits!" Singularity did not back down. "Also, that 'Aunt Meng's Soup' is a controlled substance and must be limited! Purchase limit of two bottles per person per day! Reselling is prohibited! Anyone who dares to be a scalper will be sent directly to feed the Hellhounds!"

  While arguing, Singularity also had to approve a mountain of engineering documents on his tablet. His multifunctional stylus was almost creating sparks from friction.

  "Sigh... this is the fate of an infrastructure maniac..."

  The Slayer did not participate in these boring arguments.

  He was standing in front of the gigantic unfinished door frame.

  He handed the Black Hole Engine Core dismantled from the "Mechanical Glutton" to the engineering team assigned by Singularity.

  That core emitted heart-palpitating gravitational fluctuations, twisting the surrounding light into blackness.

  Several Ghost Messenger engineers carefully gripped the core with "Anti-Gravity Tongs," their hands shaking as if defusing a bomb.

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  "Careful! Careful! If this thing drops on the ground, our entire layer will be sucked in!"

  The Slayer watched their clumsy movements, seeming a bit impatient.

  He reached out.

  The Ghost Messengers jumped in fright and hurriedly moved aside.

  The Slayer grabbed the heavy Black Hole Core with one hand.

  His arm didn't tremble at all. The runes on the Demon Dragon armor lit up, neutralizing the terrifying gravity emitted by the core.

  He walked to the power slot at the bottom of the door frame.

  He didn't calibrate it carefully like the engineers.

  *THUD!*

  He stuffed the core directly inside. Simple, brutal, seamless.

  *HUMMM——————!!!*

  The moment the core was in place, the entire portal emitted a low roar.

  The originally dark red vortex instantly turned into a stable, deep, ghostly blue. Spatial fluctuations were forcibly smoothed out, like a raging river being dammed by a solid embankment.

  [Portal Status: Permanent Solidification.]

  [Energy Level: Infinite.]

  [Load Limit: Titan Class.]

  "It's done! It's done!"

  The Ghost Messenger engineers over there cried tears of joy; they finally didn't have to work overtime (probably).

  The Slayer didn't look at the cheering crowd.

  He turned around and walked straight to the temporary command tower located at the edge of the plaza.

  In recent days, he had been entering and leaving here more and more frequently.

  He didn't come to chat with Singularity.

  He pushed open the door and walked into the room where the [Mirror of Retribution · Tactical Analysis Edition] was kept.

  Surveillance footage from various parts of the Abyss was scrolling on the screen.

  The Slayer stood in front of the screen.

  His gaze swept quickly over those images.

  He was looking for something.

  Not ores, not demons, nor that boring scenery.

  His finger tapped on the console.

  The image switched.

  It switched to the lowest layer of the Abyss, that dark edge connecting to the deeper unknown void.

  It was pitch black there, nothing at all.

  But the Slayer stared at that darkness for a long time.

  His finger tapped gently on the tabletop.

  *Tap, tap, tap.*

  It was an extremely faint, but very rhythmic tapping sound.

  As if... waiting for a response from something.

  Singularity finally escaped from the negotiation table and walked in with a cup of tea that had long gone cold. Seeing the Slayer standing in front of the Mirror of Retribution, he was stunned.

  "Great Hero? What are you looking at?"

  Singularity leaned over and glanced at the pitch-black screen.

  "That's the 'Void Edge.' Further out is planar turbulence, a place even demons dare not go. That's a dead end."

  The Slayer didn't speak.

  He just pointed to an extremely faint blue arc of electricity that occasionally flashed on the screen, an energy fluctuation that did not belong to the Abyss.

  That arc was fleeting; ordinary surveillance equipment couldn't capture it at all.

  But the Slayer saw it.

  Singularity rubbed his eyes and pressed his face against the screen.

  "That is... what?"

  "A spatial rift? Or... some kind of signal?"

  The Slayer withdrew his finger.

  He turned and walked out.

  Since the door was fixed.

  Since the road was open.

  Then, some things that didn't want to be discovered should also show their heads.

  Boredom vs Vigilance.

  For others, the construction period was a rare time of peace and prosperity.

  But for the Slayer, this peace meant only one thing:

  The real threat was accumulating power in the dark.

  Singularity watched that retreating figure, then looked back at that pitch-black screen.

  For some reason, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

  "Is the Great Hero... too bored lately?"

  Singularity muttered to himself.

  "The time he spends sitting on the city wall wiping his gun is getting longer and longer. This is not a good sign."

  "When a warrior who only knows slaughter starts to get bored..."

  *Next Chapter: The Slayer's Boredom. The construction period is too boring, the Slayer sits on the city wall wiping his gun, his eyes becoming increasingly dangerous. He craves new battles, and this wish... is about to come true.*