Alex knew Vesa was right.
Even for students who practiced the same method, it was very hard to learn how to create formations in a world without an advanced education system.
Most people would give up and focus only on cultivation.
The nature of qi was also a big reason. It was more volatile and harder to control than mana.
That means I need to find a way to enter the dungeon without Mom knowing, he thought.
He knew his mom, Luca, would never allow it.
Well, I will think about it later. For now, I should focus on this cube.
Alex turned his attention back to the cube's design.
One problem he would face with mass production was the material. He still needed qi crystals to create the core.
He reached out to Mingyue with his mind.
"Mingyue, are you busy? How is the progress on your side?
I need your help to get a constant supply of qi crystals."
He asked this because they had already agreed to create their own faction in both worlds.
That was also why Mingyue had started recruiting many villagers and placing them in her secret realm.
There was no answer.
Alex frowned and wondered if something had happened.
After a few moments, Mingyue finally replied.
"Sorry, I was preoccupied with something else. What did you say before?"
Her soft voice sounded a little cracked. Alex could tell something was wrong.
"What happened, Mingyue? Are you sick?" he asked.
"Do not joke around, Alex. I am not in a good mood.
A cultivator getting sick? You should know better.
What do you want?"
Alex chuckled.
"How about this. You tell me your problem, then I will tell you what I want."
Mingyue frowned. By now, she was already used to Alex's antics.
With a sigh, she replied, "You were the one who contacted me first. Just tell me.
Honestly, are you doing this on purpose to annoy me?"
She then heard Alex's laughing voice in her mind and shook her head.
"I am asking about the progress on your side," Alex said. "How is the sect going?
Have you been able to carve out your own territory yet? I need a steady supply of qi crystals."
Alex then explained the new device he had created and talked about how the company had progressed.
Over the past few days, he had surveyed the building and recruited everyone living there.
He had also started renovating part of it.
Alex wanted to place both the research center and the guild in the same building.
When the old members of Suzaku heard him mention a guild, they immediately bombarded him with questions.
They all said they wanted to join.
They also asked Alex to name the guild Suzaku again.
Alex just shrugged it off and told them his sister would be the one building the guild.
If they wanted to join, they could go meet her.
Those who were not suitable to join the guild worked in the laboratory instead.
Alex made sure each of them received a decent wage and a suitable position, from security work to administrative jobs.
He knew his father had treated them like family and that they had never betrayed them.
Because of that, he trusted them to work for him.
Of course, he only entrusted the most sensitive information to Faerith, since she had a slave contract with him.
Faerith did not realize this. She thought she had only signed a normal contract.
Alex also shared some of his plans for the hunters' association and his goals after finishing the storage cube.
As an avid gamer and novel reader, he had the idea of creating something similar to a VR game.
He wanted to enclose a secret realm inside a storage cube that would act like a server.
People would enter this world with their souls.
Since the players would not be cultivators, Alex could easily control how they interacted with the formation.
With this, he could hit many targets at once.
He could earn money, have his own game, and search for the right candidates to become their people.
Alex spoke with excitement as he explained how they could use a quest system to filter personalities.
They could see a person's true nature and talent from their soul and add many other features.
His ambition did not stop there.
He wanted to use the game to link people from both worlds and slowly integrate their cultures.
As Alex kept talking and painting a future for them, Mingyue started to forget what had just happened.
"You really think too far ahead, Alex," she said. "There are too many things we need to do before we reach that point."
"Thinking is free, Mingyue," Alex replied. "It gives us a path and a direction.
That is better than being aimless with nowhere to go. What is the worst that can happen?
Even if it fails, I just need to think of another way to reach it."
If Emily had heard what Alex just said, she would have burst out laughing.
How could her introverted brother, who spent all his days playing games, talk about path and direction?
Even their mom worried about Alex's future.
But Alex would only answer with a smug face.
"What do you mean, no goal? I play all those games with the goal of building up my reputation as the Whale God.
As for the novels? Of course I do it because of Mom.
Mom helps others by doing many charities, and I buy the authors' chapters so they can pay their bills."
It was a good thing this scene did not actually happen, or Emily would probably have smacked him on the head for that shameless answer.
Mingyue did not know any of this.
She only saw that Alex still had a positive outlook on life, even after losing his father, and she admired that.
After some thought, she decided to tell Alex what had happened. She was curious about what he would do in her position.
She told him the full story.
Alex did not interrupt her. He listened carefully and only made small sounds to show he was still there.
After she finished, Alex sighed.
"If what he says is true, your mom does not deserve to be one, Mingyue.
But you do not know how much of it is the truth."