Chapter 166
Chapter 166: Accelerate Time!
The interior of the Sovereign Lantern churned with black mist.
Jiang Nan hovered in the void.
He looked at the 300,000 Grand Love Points he had just spent in one go at the Grand Love Mall to exchange for a full 60 Grand Love Sewing Machines, and nodded with satisfaction.
His current Grand Love Points balance had been reduced to a meager 80,000 points.
There was nothing to be done about it—upgrading the Sovereign Lantern to Special-Grade had cost a fortune earlier, and even a wealthy household couldn't afford to keep burning through reserves like that.
Although the A-Grade Grand Love Loom had higher output, one unit alone cost 50,000 points.
And it could only be operated by a single person. For Jiang Nan right now, equipment that took the premium route had an extremely poor cost-to-performance ratio.
‘I just took in five or six hundred sour Confucian workhorses.’
‘If I bought looms, only 6 people could be put on the job, and the remaining few hundred would all be sitting around doing nothing.’
‘Idle hands are the devil's workshop—a belly full of food and nothing to do, and these scholars would start cooking up other schemes.’
‘Absolutely cannot let this bunch of Confucians rest. Labor must fill their empty souls!’
Jiang Nan scrutinized the figures with meticulous care. As he looked down at the group of scholars huddled together below, his brow furrowed slightly.
The group was a mix of men and women. If they ended up falling in love on the assembly line later...
Breaking up...
Jealousy...
And as a result, work efficiency dropped—wouldn't that seriously impact the speed at which he earned Grand Love Points?
‘A heart free of women means the machine runs divinely.’
‘For the century-long prosperity of the factory, these rotten entanglements must be cut off at the root!’
With a single thought from Jiang Nan, the space began to tremble violently.
Following the will of its supreme dictator, it was partitioned anew!
Rumble—!
First, he carved out a dedicated Factory Director's Office at the very top of the space.
It didn't need to be large—10 meters on each side, 4 meters high, minimalist and suffused with an overbearing pressure.
As for the Confinement Cell housing Tiffany, it remained unchanged.
It was simply moved right next to the office, conveniently placed for interrogation at any time.
The remaining space was then cleanly sliced in half by Jiang Nan.
A Wall of Sighs rose between them.
Left side—Men's Work Zone!
Right side—Women's Work Zone!
At that moment, those who had been operating the sewing machines in the old zone—Head Nurse Charlotte and the others—
felt their vision blur. Their bodies were forcibly stripped from their workstations and left floating in midair.
Then weightlessness came, and everyone and every ghost was dropped into their respective new zones.
"Wha—what's going on?!"
Chen Daozi landed flat on his backside, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings with a completely blank expression.
The moment old prison guard Shi Zhongshan touched down, he went on full alert, pointing at the scholars and teachers who had been teleported in behind him.
"Watch out! These people… they're all cursed creatures reeking of death energy!"
"Old Shi, calm down."
Former Warden Ye Desheng straightened his collar.
"Look at how pathetic they are."
"Barring any surprises, they should be fresh workhorses the boss just hauled in."
"Same as us—here to work the sewing machines."
Beside him, Ghost Doctor Director Sean pushed up his glasses and nodded in thorough agreement. "Mm."
"As an S-Grade cursed creature, I can clearly sense…"
"That their soul fluctuations right now are filled with fear."
"They're even more terrified than you lot."
While both sides were still in a daze—
Bzzzt!
Suddenly, the sky blazed with golden light!
Except for Tiffany, who was locked away in the adjacent Confinement Cell—
everyone looked up, and all could see the enormous floating subtitles suspended above.
It was Jiang Nan, operating the Sovereign Lantern, laying down the rules for everyone present.
【Starting now! The Grand Love Factory officially expands and opens for business!】
【Regardless of gender, regardless of human or ghost! Each person must complete at least 8 hours of high-intensity baseline work every day!】
【Due to the current limited number of machines! To ensure efficiency, shift supervisors will be responsible for selecting employees and implementing a rotating shift system!】
【Women's Work Zone Shift Supervisor: Charlotte!】
【Men's Work Zone Shift Supervisor: Ye Desheng!】
【The above 2 supervisors will be called to the office shortly to report on your work. Prepare yourselves.】
【As for other management positions, promotions will be made based on each person's subsequent performance!】
【Work is to begin immediately, right now!】
【Anyone who dares to slack off or cause trouble will be invited to my office for tea!】
【I will personally decide whether you are sent to the Confinement Cell for punishment, or simply have your soul scattered to the winds!】
The moment this supremely domineering announcement went out, the entire Men's and Women's Work Zones fell silent—then—erupted in an instant!
There were only 60 machines, but there were five or six hundred people!
This wasn't simply a matter of competing for a job—this was competing for their lives!
If someone failed to secure a workstation and was judged by the boss as slacking, their soul would be scattered!
"Move! Let me through!"
"I was a model textile worker in life—I love working the sewing machine!"
"Get out of the way! This old man is a great Confucian scholar—this kind of rough work should be done by someone of my refinement!"
"Anyone who dares compete with me, I'll blast them with my Righteous Aura!"
"Stop pushing! My third leg is about to get crushed!"
The Men's Work Zone descended into utter chaos in an instant.
Those scholars who had just been putting on a submissive act before Jiang Nan moments ago
were now brawling outright over a single workstation, not even above biting each other.
"All of you, shut the hell up! Hands on your heads, squat down!"
Right then, a furious roar exploded through the air!
Ye Desheng scratched his head and looked up at the floating text.
‘Huh, I'm a supervisor now?’
‘Well, I'll be damned—whether the boss picked me for my years of experience running a prison, or just because I'm a personal connection, doesn't matter. Since I'm holding this bowl of rice, I'm going to run this turf properly!’
"Chen Daozi! Shi Zhongshan! Sean! You 3, step forward—you're my deputies!"
Ye Desheng slipped into his role instantly, commanding with calm assurance.
"Separate these sour scholars for me!"
"Anyone who dares fight again gets their legs broken by the rules and thrown to the back of the line! They go on the machines in batches!"
Over in the Women's Work Zone—
Head Nurse Charlotte pressed her palms together, gazing up at the subtitles in the sky.
Her eyes held not the slightest trace of fear—only a feverish, unhealthy excitement!
Supervisor… he personally appointed me as supervisor!’
‘He noticed my hard work!’
‘Finally… finally, I get to go to the office and see him in person!’
‘But before that… I must work hard and make him see me in a new light!’
Charlotte drew a deep breath and turned around.
"Attention, everyone! Silence!!!"
She fixed her gaze on the group of female scholars, and on Tian Xiaoe.
"Tian Xiaoe—work shift is over, take a temporary break!"
"No one else is to cut in line! Everyone form up in 3 columns!"
"Anyone who dares break the rules set by the Factory Director and upset him, I will cut them into 8 pieces!"
"First batch—to the machines!"
Under the iron-fisted management of the 2 supervisors, the 60 Grand Love Sewing Machines were soon running at full capacity.
Sparks flew, and Grand Love Points began ticking in.
High above in the Factory Director's Office—
Jiang Nan looked down at the orderly scene below with satisfaction.
‘Got the workhorses. Got the machines running. Management is on track.’
‘Now then… it's time to try out that brand-new character-farming cheat I just spent a small fortune to unlock!’
Jiang Nan sat cross-legged on the prayer cushion at the center of the office, and with a single thought—
"Grand Love Upon Time! Time Acceleration! Activate!"
【Acceleration successful! 20,000 Grand Love Points deducted!】
The instant the skill activated, Jiang Nan sensed no change in the light and shadow around him.
Not even the flow of the air showed any anomaly.
But when he tried closing his eyes to begin quiet cultivation, he snapped them open again!
‘Something's off! My movements… are faster!’
Jiang Nan extended his hand, watching the speed at which he clenched his fist.
‘I understand now!’
‘The essence of Time Deceleration is consuming energy to 'create' extra time for this space.’
‘Outside, 1 minute passes. Inside, the person genuinely lives through a full 24 hours of drawn-out time.’
‘And this upgraded Time Acceleration, building on the foundation of Time Deceleration—'
‘Takes those created 24 hours and compresses them—like pressing a fast-forward button—'
‘Down to within 1 minute!’
‘It's like constructing a building. First you spend 10,000 Grand Love Points to lay the foundation of the first floor!’
‘Then you spend another 10,000 Grand Love Points to build the second floor on top. No wonder it costs exactly twice as much as Time Deceleration!’
‘Truly worthy of being the upgraded version!’
Jiang Nan stilled himself entirely, sitting quietly in place without any further movement.
15 seconds…
17 seconds…
19 seconds!
The instant the outside world's time ticked past the 19th second—
the Word Spirit Check-In System arrived precisely on schedule!
【Ding! 24 hours reached!】
【Daily settlement complete!】
【Word Spirit Reserve refreshed: +1 (Current Balance: 5,622)】
【Current Location: ???】
【Check-in successful!】
【Congratulations, Host—you have received Word Spirit·Imperial Might (Sequence 033)!】
Bunny