Chapter 6: Building a Fantasy Park from Scratch

Inside the park.

Atop the Stark Tower replica.

A young man gazed at the holographic screen before him, his brows deeply furrowed.

“I’ve already sent everyone out for you. Why are you still here?”

He stroked his chin, watching the man in a two-bar, three-star military uniform standing at the door, shouting incessantly into a loudspeaker.

Demanding he open the door.

In fact, as soon as Liang Xiaoyu had stumbled upon the rampaging dinosaur, helicopters had already appeared above the park.

People tried to descend on cables, only to be blocked midair by the park’s protective shield.

From above, they looked as if they were gliding and tumbling in midair, performing some kind of magic trick.

Then came a mighty procession of military planes, armored vehicles, and tanks.

Two small-caliber shells struck the edge of the shield.

“It seems things have gotten out of hand!”

“I wanted to buy some time, but it looks like I’ll have to give them an explanation first.”

The young man’s name was Qiao Mian.

He stood before the vast floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the dense forest ahead.

From the woods, a long neck emerged.

A Brachiosaurus.

“Zero,” Qiao Mian intoned silently.

“Yes, Mr. Qiao? What are your orders?” a voice echoed in his mind.

“Prepare the combat suit,” Qiao Mian replied. “I need to go out and meet them.”

“Understood,” Zero responded.

Immediately, a circular hatch in the floor beneath Qiao Mian slid open with a mechanical clatter, and a cylindrical metal pod rose swiftly from within.

Two seconds later, the cylinder split apart, revealing a set of red and gold armor: Mark 6.

He had spent a thousand game coins to acquire this latest model suit from the world of Iron Man.

Tony Stark himself had been impossible to lure over, frustrating Qiao Mian’s plan to get the suit for free; he had no choice but to spend his precious game currency.

Still…

“This might be the perfect opportunity to launch business operations. With enough popularity, I can earn even more game coins,” he mused.

…

At the Yunling Mountain Pass.

In front of a towering iron gate.

Wang Lang wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Still no response?” a voice crackled in his earpiece.

“Wait…” Wang Lang began, but then exclaimed in surprise, “No, the gate is opening!”

In his field of vision, the colossal iron door, easily over ten meters tall, began to open slowly.

A black giant, as tall as the gate itself, stood there, staring at them with an indifferent gaze.

Wang Lang instinctively stepped back, hand moving to the gun at his waist.

Behind him, the artillery barrels all aimed at the looming, shadowy figure.

King Kong!

Those crimson eyes sent a chill straight to the brain of anyone who met their gaze.

“Roar!” King Kong twisted his massive hips and pounded his chest with all his might.

Wang Lang nearly fell over in fright.

“Hey, gorilla, don’t make trouble!” A yellow sports car rumbled between the giant’s legs, then transformed with a series of metallic clanks into a five- or six-meter-tall Transformer.

Although it stood at barely half of King Kong’s height, its aura was in no way diminished.

“Welcome.” Bumblebee leaned casually against the gate. “Mr. Qiao will be here shortly. Please wait a moment.”

Wang Lang swallowed hard.

Though he had tried to prepare himself, facing such sights in person was almost beyond belief.

Had the world changed?

Was this an alien invasion?

He was about to speak when a roaring sound filled the air.

A figure hurtled from the sky, hovering above the gate.

Wang Lang stared, wide-eyed, at the “Iron Man” suspended in midair, jets blazing from his feet.

What the hell was all this?

“Hello,” Wang Lang managed, suppressing his emotions and forcing what he hoped was a friendly smile.

“Hello,” Qiao Mian’s voice issued coldly from the battle suit, detached and impersonal.

He stared at Wang Lang, then glanced at the armored vehicles in the distance. “This is my private property. I have all the purchase documents from five years ago. May I ask what business brings you here?”

He keeps dinosaurs on private property?

And what’s with that King Kong staring at me?

And the Transformer playing dreadful music and dancing awkwardly—where did that come from?

Wang Lang almost blurted out, “Since the founding of the nation, monsters aren’t allowed!”

“Do your best to win him over,” a voice urged in his earpiece.

Wang Lang secretly let out a sigh of relief.

The two rocket shells had done nothing, and he wasn’t eager to escalate matters.

“I’m Wang Lang, commander of the fourth regiment, sixth division, Northwest Military District,” he introduced himself. “We’re here because of reports from the public—there have been sightings of dangerous beasts.”

“You mean this one?” Qiao Mian gestured behind him.

King Kong bared his teeth and thumped his chest.

“No,” Wang Lang quickly shook his head.

He was afraid that if he nodded, the beast would charge over and flatten him.

Death wasn’t scary, but dying like that would be too humiliating.

“Or that one?” Qiao Mian pointed in another direction.

Wang Lang followed Qiao Mian’s gesture and saw, atop the high wall, a massive head emerge.

A Tyrannosaurus rex.

“That… is a T. rex, isn’t it?” Wang Lang asked, suppressing his awe.

“No,” Qiao Mian replied. “That’s a Rampage Rex. It has genes from the T. rex, velociraptor, squid, tree frog, viper, and several other animals…”

Why did that sound so familiar?

“Then…”

Wang Lang had just begun to speak when Qiao Mian interrupted, “It’s just my pet. Very docile, never harms anyone.”

Seeing Wang Lang’s skeptical look, Qiao Mian called out to the Rampage Rex, “Come, greet our guests.”

The Rampage Rex let out a thunderous roar.

Wang Lang’s ears nearly burst from the sound.

He retreated a half-step, saying, “We’re not accusing it of hurting anyone…”

“Then am I breaking any laws?” Qiao Mian tilted his head.

Wang Lang looked at the “Iron Man” floating in midair, momentarily speechless.

“Not exactly,” he replied. “We just want to understand the situation…”

“Oh…” Qiao Mian drew out the syllable. “And if I don’t feel comfortable with that?”

Wang Lang hesitated.

“Show goodwill,” the voice in his earpiece prompted again.

“We respect your wishes,” Wang Lang said quickly and solemnly. “Please believe us, we mean no harm.”

When “Iron Man” remained silent, he added, “We serve the people. If these creatures present no threat to them, we’re happy for them to exist.”

Qiao Mian pondered his words.

He wasn't opposed, but hadn't figured out how to deal with these people yet.

The state itself was fine, but those in power could easily become corrupt.

In order to avoid trouble, when he had acquired this nostalgic, realistic sandbox game called “Build a Fantasy Park from Zero,” supposedly from ten thousand years in the future, he had chosen to keep a low profile.

With the game coins he earned from daily logins, he had slowly built up this small but impressive fantasy park.

If not for the accidental intrusion of that female streamer, he would have kept hiding.

Really, it was his soft heart to blame—he’d worried she might fall off a cliff and die, so he’d sent Bumblebee to toss her a vine and opened a gap in the shield so she wouldn’t be stranded on the precipice.

And then things had spiraled out of control.

Her father had even sent a helicopter to search the mountain for her.

…

“In that case,” Qiao Mian finally said, “I invite you in for a tour.”

Wang Lang’s face lit up with delight.

“But you may bring no more than three people,” Qiao Mian added. “Some facilities inside are not yet complete.”

Hiring King Kong as a gatekeeper and Bumblebee for odd jobs had already cost him a fortune in game coins. Too many people would be hard to manage.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Wang Lang replied, visibly relieved.