The transition was seamless. Within forty-eight hours, Fang Yuan stood on a balcony overlooking the neon-lit sprawl of Palo Alto. The air here didn't smell of oil; it smelled of cooling fans and server-farm ozone. In this world of absolute order, this was the "Mana Spring" of the 21st century.
He looked at the three pillars of Providence he had tracked across the ocean. They had shifted, growing brighter as they converged in this technological Mecca.
The Silicon Prophet (The Industrial Prodigy): Ethan Vance, a 24-year-old dropout working in a garage in Mountain View. He wasn't just building a superconductor; he was unintentionally creating a "Logic-Gate" that mirrored the neural pathways of a Rank 4 Dimension Walker.
The Cryptic Heiress (The Hidden Heir): Sarah Chen, a high-level cybersecurity consultant for the NSA. She carried the "Prime Code" in her DNA, a remnant of a crashed probe from the Ancient Weavers that could bypass any digital lock on Earth.
The Shadow Senator (The Political Star): Marcus Thorne, a charismatic venture capitalist running for office. His "Persuasion" was so high it caused a micro-warp in the emotional spectrum of everyone who heard him speak.
Fang Yuan adjusted his new, charcoal-black suit—liquid silk woven with microscopic traces of his remaining dark matter. Beside him, Lia looked like a high-end corporate assistant, her eyes hidden behind augmented-reality glasses.
"This is the heart of their cage," Fang Yuan whispered, his voice blending with the hum of the city. "Ethan Vance is about to turn on his prototype tonight. He thinks he's solving the energy crisis. He doesn't know he's actually building my new Soul-Altar."
"How do we approach him, Master?" Lia asked. "The security around these 'Prophets' is heavy. Private drones, AI-surveillance..."
"I don't approach him as a thief, Lia," Fang Yuan replied, a cold, predatory glint in his eyes. "I approach him as the Angel Investor he's been praying for. In this country, money is the highest form of 'Order'. And I just created a bank account with a balance that shouldn't exist in this reality."
Fang Yuan stepped off the balcony, his feet barely touching the floor. He wasn't walking; he was gliding on the static electricity of the building's wiring.
"Let's go, Lia. It's time to show Ethan Vance that his 'superconductor' works much better when it's fed with a drop of Abyssal Logic."