Chapter 875 875: Laws of the First Server

"First, we must define the identity of Redstone Tech City."

Ningguang pressed her fingertips lightly against the polished timber, speaking in a measured, resonant tone.

"Redstone Tech City is envisioned as a premier residential metropolis for Liyue within this realm, designed to accommodate vast civilian migrations in the coming years."

"Therefore, absolute safety is paramount."

"The very first parameter we must establish is that within the municipal perimeter, hostiles shall not spawn, nor shall any monster materialize from the dark."

"This guarantees the foundational security of our arriving populace."

The allied leaders nodded in silent approval, quills gliding smoothly across fresh vellum.

Keqing tapped her desk, her voice sharp and precise.

"Another critical point: the insomnia threshold. After three days without rest, Phantoms descend from the sky. That mechanic must be completely excised within our borders."

Ningguang had briefly entertained designating an isolated suburban sector for harvesting mob drops, yet upon reflection, permitting hostile entities inside a residential bastion compromised civilian peace.

Abandoning the notion, she offered Keqing a brisk nod of agreement.

"Next, the domestic stability of the metropolis must be guaranteed," Guizhong said, resting her chin in her hands with a thoughtful smile.

"I propose that aside from authorized peacekeepers, all residents within the municipal boundaries be rendered entirely incapable of harming one another."

Zhongli's brow furrowed slightly. He considered the proposal for several quiet breaths before shaking his head.

"An absolute prohibition against conflict feels overly rigid."

"Even beneath the binding sanctity of contracts, friction between mortals is inevitable. Rendering them completely unable to exchange blows is unnaturally restrictive."

Guizhong tilted her head, conceding the point. Even across the paved avenues of modern Liyue Harbor, squabbles occasionally flared into tavern brawls.

Most were friendly scuffles over minor disputes, ending with shared drinks and broad grins before the Millelith patrols could even reach the scene.

Such private tests of strength between companions could never be truly outlawed.

An absolute ban on physical conflict would smother the martial spirit of their people. Cultivating a timid flock of toothless sheep had never been Liyue's civilizational objective.

Her amber eyes brightened as another idea took shape.

"Then let us compromise. We can designate specific public squares to house dedicated dueling arenas."

"Upon those stone rings, combatants may cross blades freely, yet the underlying system will ensure no blow proves fatal. With server administrator authority, calibrating non-lethal damage should be straightforward."

"Should a combatant attempt an execution strike, the system rules will instantly terminate the match and summon Millelith peacekeepers to investigate."

"In this manner, we preserve the vibrant martial pride of our people while insulating the streets from chaotic violence."

Ei's eyes lit up with sudden interest.

"Much like the Duel before the Throne?"

Beside her, Kujou Sara and the Inazuman delegation stiffened, glancing toward their Archon with strained, awkward smiles.

Her Excellency seemed blissfully oblivious to the fact that her infamous duel was a fight to the death where the loser was executed by the Musou no Hitotachi.

Importing that gruesome ritual into public arenas would see Redstone Tech City buried under daily corpses.

Guizhong offered a polite, gentle laugh to defuse the tension.

"Similar in spirit, yet entirely non-lethal. A friendly bout of martial skill."

"What is the assembly's verdict?"

The moment the words cleared her lips, Tartaglia thrust his arm into the air.

"I agree! I approve with both hands and both feet!"

His blue eyes blazed with open, ravenous enthusiasm.

A sparring arena where one could unleash maximum destructive power without worrying about slaughtering one's partner was an authentic paradise.

One could safely wager that Tartaglia would treat the city's arenas as his second home.

Glancing around the table and seeing zero objections, Ningguang recorded the motion.

"Guizhong's proposal aligns with municipal logic and communal order. Approved."

Every eye shifted toward Zhongli.

With the other two administrators having laid down foundational policies, the Lord of Geo could hardly remain silent.

A subtle twitch pulled at the corner of Zhongli's mouth. In truth, he considered himself thoroughly retired and harbored zero desire to meddle in civic legislation.

He had accepted the administrator mantle solely to provide a stabilizing counterbalance.

Yet judging by the expectant stares pinning him to his seat, evading his duty was impossible.

After a long pause, Zhongli spoke with deliberate gravity.

"One imperative rule remains: within Redstone Tech City, all municipal architecture shall be completely indestructible without official authorization, possessing hardness equivalent to Bedrock."

"This encompasses our paved thoroughfares, administrative halls, and residential blocks."

"Any modification or renovation must receive formal approval from the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"This guarantees the structural integrity of the city will never be compromised."

Vigorous nods of consensus spread through the council.

Given the physics of this universe, where earth could be mined with bare hands, an influx of thousands of curious civilians posed a logistical nightmare.

Without strict architectural protection, one might wake up to discover that overzealous migrants had excavated the entire commercial district down to the dirt.

A disaster of that scale would be impossible to undo.

Ningguang inked the clause with deep satisfaction before raising her gaze.

"Approved. Furthermore, civilian egress must be strictly regulated. The wilderness beyond our perimeter is perilous; stepping beyond the gates requires formal permits and signed liability pacts."

"The military understands the hazards of the frontier and commands tactical discipline, meaning I carry little worry for the garrisons. Yet should our civilians indulge an excessive thirst for adventure..."

"They will squander our precious reserves of Totems of Rebirth upon unnecessary deaths."

Jean paused her pen, glancing thoughtfully toward Venti.

As the sovereign realm of freedom, Mondstadt took a vastly different view of wanderlust.

To the people of the wind, embarking on reckless journeys and paying the ultimate price was merely the tragic, accepted cost of liberty.

Naturally, Ningguang and the pragmatic leaders of Liyue found such an ethos utterly irresponsible.

Venti remained entirely oblivious to Jean's gaze, propping his chin lazily upon his palms, his eyes half-closed as he daydreamed through the proceedings.

Seeing his apathy, Jean noted the clause in her margins, deciding to deliberate the matter when Mondstadt's own sovereign city approached server ascension.

"The establishment of trade frameworks can also draw upon administrative authority," Sangonomiya Kokomi suggested, speaking in a calm, analytical cadence.

"When our populations migrate into this world, copying Teyvat's established mercantile systems is natural, yet the foreign laws of this realm will inevitably introduce subtle friction."

"Through administrative permissions, you can refine transactional parameters to match your needs. How precisely to calibrate them will depend on Liyue's internal economic priorities."

Those three core topics opened the floodgates. The commanders began tossing out rapid suggestions for server parameters, covering regional permissions, localized zoning, and jurisdictional boundaries.

Before long, every notebook was filled with dense, meticulous clauses.

Only when the final motion was affirmed did the storm of proposals gradually subside, the room running out of immediate problems to address.

Ningguang looked down at the sprawling parchment, letting out a wry, breathless sigh.

"Enacting this volume of mandates is technically feasible through administrator permissions, yet weaving them into reality will require days of concentrated effort."

Directly altering world parameters demanded vast reserves of mental stamina. Calibrating an entire metropolis into a safe haven was a titanic undertaking, even with three administrators pooling their strength.

This was under the assumption that weather systems and celestial orbits remained untouched.

They had agreed to let the city follow the natural atmospheric cycles of the block world, bypassing the need for artificial climates.

Had they dared attempt something as arrogant as locking Redstone Tech City into perpetual, cloudless sunlight, the sheer strain would have incinerated their mental faculties on the spot.

Rewriting the heavens and manipulating the flow of time was no trivial craft.

"We shall pause here for the present," Ningguang decided, shaking her head.

"Executing these baseline modifications will consume considerable effort, yet they suffice for our immediate needs."

"Whatever minor complications arise after civilian migration begins can be addressed as they surface."

"Our fundamental priorities are secured; the rest is mere procedural detail."

The council concurred, carefully filing their vellum sheets into leather portfolios.

The structural clauses drafted for Redstone Tech City would serve as an off-the-shelf legal blueprint for their own sovereign hubs down the road, sparing them immense future headaches.

"When do you plan to begin calibration?" Keqing inquired, her violet eyes tracking Ningguang.

Ningguang considered the timeline before offering a measured reply.

"We must wait until the engineering divisions conclude all structural repairs across the interior and exterior sectors."

"We can use those days to recover our mental focus. However, certain baseline parameters that carry zero interference with municipal reconstruction can be anchored immediately."

"For instance: purging the darkness of hostiles and preventing external monsters from crossing the perimeter."

"Those two parameters can be executed right now."

Ningguang turned her gaze toward Guizhong and Zhongli.

The two nodded, drawing in slow, steadying breaths as they uncorked flasks of concentrated restorative draughts, drinking them down to bring their vitality to peak calibration.

The assembly fell dead silent, watching with bated breath.

Ningguang exchanged a brief, solemn glance with her partners.

Their eyes narrowed in unison.

In an instant, the material world dissolved before their vision, collapsing into a violent, roaring tempest of raw informational currents.

Incomprehensible lines of underlying code danced and shifted across every millimeter of space.

The sight of the unvarnished foundational laws of reality made their heads throb with instant, crushing weight.

Mental stamina began bleeding away at a staggering rate.

Ningguang wasted no time, isolating the logic governing hostile entities within her consciousness.

Within seconds, all secondary information vanished, leaving a colossal, pitch-black chain of code spanning the heavens and reaching into every cardinal direction.

A sharp, stabbing ache flared behind her temples.

Erecting a regional ward to banish external hostiles was relatively simple, requiring merely a localized barrier algorithm.

Yet commanding that darkness itself cease spawning monsters...

That was a foundational, absolute pillar of this world's root architecture.

Altering that single clause was infinitely more punishing than all her previous adjustments combined.

Within the logic of this universe, monsters crawling from the dark was as fundamental as strong mortal desires drawing the gaze of the gods in Teyvat.

It was the immutable core of existence.

To alter it was to challenge the primordial laws of reality itself.

Drawing in a ragged breath, the three administrators joined their wills, channeling their collective authority through the server mantle.

Their unified intent coalesced into a colossal spectral blade that cleaved down with terrifying force against the cosmic chain.

A secondary, smaller link beneath it was cleanly severed in the same crushing strike.

Across the expanse of Redstone Tech City, every soul felt an invisible, ancient shackle shatter into dust.

The modification was complete.

Before the three could celebrate the sight of the code dissolving like brilliant starfall, a hollow, suffocating wave of complete exhaustion crashed over their minds.

It was an absolute, merciless drain that bypassed physical constitution entirely, striking straight at their core essence.

All three slumped backward into their cedar chairs, their limbs limp and unresponsive.

Zhongli had never tasted such utter vulnerability.

That hollow, bottomless exhaustion was more profound than the darkest despair he had known during the blood-soaked dawns of the ancient god wars.

"Rex Lapis!"