Moreover, effective today, his internal sequence has been adjusted to the β group—his papers and all research data are now classified as secret with a C-level restriction, and his resume has been moved to the sixth database." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The phone call ended.

"Are we being this cautious?"

It was Creator·Nakajima, who had been paying attention to the scene, who spoke. "Isn’t the sixth database a bit of an overreaction?"

His projection did indeed have a distinctive Yingzhou flair, dressed like a refined court official.

But in reality, it was not incorrect. Before he joined the Existence Institute, he indeed was the youngest of the Noble Genji family, although he had forsaken his inheritance for the sake of academic dedication.

At times, Scholars can be such detached beings. Once they officially join the Existence Institute, everything from their past becomes irrelevant to them. Even if Yingzhou were to sink right now, without a rescue command from the Astronomical Society, he probably couldn’t be bothered to care...

Hearing Nakajima’s question, Niflheim was silent for a moment before speaking, "The related theories, if further researched, might approximate the study of the Eternal Beast’s immune system in about two generations... This is necessary protection."

"Ah, I’m back. What are you discussing behind my back?"

The projection of Shah suddenly appeared, nonchalantly breaking the once-solemn atmosphere, looking around. "Everyone is so serious. Has something happened?"

Niflheim glanced at him indifferently, too lazy to speak.

"Ah, the reason for the delay in progress? Understandable, understandable," Shah said dismissively, waving his hand. "Look on the bright side, at least Zhongdao Gong’s hypothesis was proven correct, right?"

Saying this, he transmitted two vastly different observational record comparisons onto the projection screen.

"The phenomenon of Deification Transformation indeed leads to an overall decline in the depth index during the internal test of Witches’ Night. This means the more times Divine Body Transformation is used, the more severe the hellification inside this virtual world becomes."

He paused, scratching his head, "It’s not yet clear whether the decline in the depth index triggers the transformation, or if the transformation deepens the doomsday severity of the depth index. However, a necessary connection between the two can already be observed."

The related hypothesis and the consequences it could cause had already been reported by the analytical room below at the earliest opportunity.

After a brief discussion, another Creator came online.

In appearance, he looked like a warrior: not only with a towering build and dark skin, but also eyes like brass bells and a beard like stiff black bristles, standing upright as if they were steel needles.

It was the sort of presence that made one want to calm down before talking to him, fearful that otherwise his huge, pot-sized fists might come smashing down.

Creator·Qinger Tai.

It’s said that before he turned forty, he was the best Shepherd in all of Mongolia, owning seventeen dogs. When he had nothing else to do, his greatest hobby was to drink and then grab a gun to go wolf hunting in the mountains.

That was until the age of forty-three, when he bought two advanced mathematics books from an old book stall on a whim... and from there, things spiraled out of control. By forty-six, he became a Scholar of molecular material science, and by fifty-three, he had become a Creator.

His rise was as swift as if he had been riding a rocket.

If it weren’t for being a late bloomer, Shah wouldn’t have been the youngest Creator.

Right after coming online, he submitted new findings.

"We have some leads on the mechanism of Heaven Punishment."

He adjusted the tortoiseshell glasses that didn’t quite match his rough exterior, excitedly explaining, "If we ignore the external appearances, this is actually a quite sophisticated design, similar to the [Heavenly’s Punishment] program of the ’Rainbow Bridge.’

However, it does not require the power provided by Chalatustra’s Great Mystery Ceremony. Instead, it relies on changes in the internal test’s depth index. It ingeniously gains the power to inflict disasters upon the land through the law expansion formed during the entropy diffusion process.

To put it simply, the creator of Witches’ Night ingeniously installed a converter between the depth index and thermodynamics—the higher the depth, the more heat this set of laws can extract.

And when Deification Transformation occurs, the local deepening of the index triggers this module directly, resulting in the effect of Heaven Punishment."

He quickly dismantled the law within, clicking his tongue in amazement. "I have to say, the technique is too delicate. Under such a bold framework, achieving such precise details truly broadens one’s horizons."

"But the problem is... why?" another Creator asked. "What is the purpose of this module? It can’t just be for the sake of messing with people for no reason, can it?"

Qinger Tai shrugged. "I don’t know. You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask then?"

In fact, he was also completely in the dark about the purpose of this module—it made no sense to add such a setting at all. If it was simply put there out of sheer boredom, that would be nonsensical. Ockham’s razor states that entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity. This principle, Razor’s Law, is applicable to research among any Scholars, let alone such a massive project that could affect everything. Adding it would introduce unnecessary variables and risk spiraling out of control. Could it really just be for fun?

"I think, on the contrary, it’s like an appetizer,"

In the silence, Shah suddenly laughed. "Look, it’s just like during an exam, where the examiner throws a big question right at the front of the paper!"

Through such a method, in the simplest and most straightforward way, that Creator conveyed a stringent attitude to his juniors.

Shah said with a half-smile, "—If you can’t even pass a test of this level, then stop embarrassing yourself with relentless attempts. Better to bow out gracefully."

Although he did not object to the Astronomical Society reclaiming their results, this Creator from Utopia did not mind showing his juniors a bit of attitude. If he could trip them up a little, all the better...

"Is this some kind of workplace bullying?"

Nakajima pinched his beard, his expression changing, but eventually, he couldn’t help but shake his head. "Forget it. If the company organizes a cherry blossom viewing, don’t the juniors have to stay up the night before to reserve a spot in the park?"

Just endure it.

What can you do when the seniors have a temper?

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads with a wry smile.

"Then, pass down the message, and let the integration team be aware."

Niflheim, who was in charge of the overall situation, issued a new order. "Double the number of probes from the observation team, issue new permissions and commands to the internal Explorer team, and don’t miss any change."

As the Creator’s orders were given, hundreds of new Spirit Incarnations went online from the external light rails, while the internal Explorers started to get increasingly busy.

Everyone was aware that Witches’ Night was entering its final stage.

But no one knew how many more challenges remained before the final answer emerged from the darkness.

Only on the large screen in the meeting venue, the list quietly updated.

After ’NO2 Hydra·Gru,’ another new name appeared.

—[NO3. Behemoth·Huai Shi]!