Players are coming, fortunately I have a time travel simulator

"You are the legendary Wayne Stewell, right? This should be the second time we meet." Higgins stretched out his hand and shook hands with Zhou Ning, saying with a smile.

Admittedly, Huggins looked quite good in his aristocratic attire. But seeing the thick aura of death around him, Zhou Ning felt a strange fear, fearing he might be influenced by the little book and accidentally die in front of him. Then, he would be unable to defend himself and become a suspect in the prince's murder...

Then, Huggins gestured for the guard who had brought them in to step aside, and asked the two to sit down. He chuckled and said, "Don't be shy. I invited you here not only to meet my partners, but also to learn more about the projects I've invested in. I want to know the subsequent update plan, and then hand it over to my personal team for evaluation."

John and Zhou Ning looked at each other and nodded. "That's not a problem, but I want to sign a contract first, and then we can communicate on the basis of ensuring cooperation."

"That's what we should do." Huggins agreed without hesitation and then explained,

"Although I'm a prince, my disposable income isn't much. I'm also responsible for supporting a Magic team, so I have to be careful with every investment. Haha, becoming a Magic star has been my dream since I was a child, and forming a Magic team is certainly one of my dreams. Besides that, I also want to organize a Magic League, but that requires a lot of money. Your Yu-Gi-Oh has shown me the potential to make a lot of money, and I can provide you with the most sales channels."

Magic Ball League? Regardless of whether it could succeed or not, this idea was actually quite advanced, provided he could survive... Zhou Ning let out a light breath.

Seeing Zhou Ning's lack of reaction, Higgins continued,

"The first time I learned about Yu-Gi-Oh was actually by chance. My carriage accidentally overturned on the road, and I missed a game. Then I saw it for the first time in a bar on the street. It's very fun and addictive. The first time I played it, I even gave up training because of it. After playing for a day, my first thought was that I must invest in it."

"Things like cosplay, whips, and candles are so decadent they should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago. Braxton doesn't need such decadent things. Perhaps their appearance can change the world's entertainment activities."

Huggins spoke passionately, pushing the pre-prepared contract onto the table. It seemed he had been prepared. But didn't he know that the John family's core business was these rotten things? And his idea was dangerous. What man doesn't love these things?

But John didn't seem to care much about these things. After reading the contract carefully, he picked up the pen and signed his name.

Then John and Huggins started chatting, and the topics were extremely wide-ranging, not only about Yu-Gi-Oh, but also from poetry and songs to the philosophy of life. The scene was very gay at one point.

As an honest man, Zhou Ning instinctively wasn't interested in these things. Instead, he wanted to go to the other side to see what the villains were discussing. He bent his waist slightly and asked apologetically, "I have a stomachache. Where is the bathroom?"

"Just go straight around the corner, in the fourth room." Huggins replied nonchalantly.

As soon as he left the house, Zhou Ning straightened his back and cast his gaze behind him. Between the two corridors, two guards were patrolling back and forth. With his title as a phantom thief in hand, Zhou Ning quickly found the blind spot of the guards' vision and almost walked around them back to back.

They walked lightly and came to the end of the corridor on the left. The meeting place these people were looking for was a little off the beaten path, at the deepest part of the office area.

For some reason, the closer he got to the conference room, the faster Zhou Ning's heartbeat became. If nothing unexpected happened, there should be at least a demigod-level expert inside. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to be so oppressive.

In the shadow of the corner, Zhou Ning heard what was being discussed inside.

An old, hoarse voice asked, "The ceremony has been prepared for a long time. Mr. Talonya, is your Life Alchemy Association ready?"

"It's ready." A deep voice replied after a moment. "There are a total of eighteen workhouses. Because of Wayne Stewell, six of them have been destroyed or abandoned. Twelve altars are still available. These twelve altars are all real, and they are all engraved with large alchemy arrays. They can be put into use at any time."

"Very good. As long as the Ritual of the Ascender succeeds, sufficient death should be enough for the evil god Nyastra to be revived, and His Majesty the King's status can also be successfully ascended." The old hoarse voice continued.

"What about the Ascetic Order? Our actions cannot be hindered in any way, and we need you to produce the appropriate amount of blood as a prerequisite for reviving Nyastra. As a thank you, you will have the right to preach in the Kingdom of Bryston. As for whether or not you can revive the Spider Mother, that is not within our consideration. 'Leoncavallo's Opera in Four Acts' doesn't give any clues. After encountering Wayne Stewell, it has lost control several times and has become extremely dangerous."

"We don't have any problems. As long as we have the right to preach, everything will be fine." The speaker was Vernon West, the fat boy's father and the kingdom's Prime Minister. His voice was now rhythmic. "All supernatural forces that could interfere with the ritual are under our control. The Earth Ring will receive countless reports today and will have no time to attend to other matters. We have people throughout the city's red-light district. In addition to the first team, I have already dispatched Chin West and his Day Watchers to Temple Harbor to investigate supernatural cases there. They will not be returning anytime soon."

By the way, I’ve heard Joshua say before that the fat boy’s mother is a member of the Ashram and has had affairs with many upper-class people, including Joshua. So it’s not impossible for Vernon West to be replaced. Of course, it’s not ruled out that he was originally a member of the Ashram.

The truth of the whole matter has gradually become clear, but the truth revealed in front of him is extremely terrifying. Most of the senior executives of Braxton are villains.

Zhou Ning also had another idea - the top leaders of the Sun Guards headed by Chien West must know part of the truth, or even the whole truth, but they chose to conceal it for various interests.

At this moment, Zhou Ning's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He finally understood why Mr. Tulin had said: There are no legends in Darkland. The despicable people here have their own despicable side, and the noble people have their own despicable side. Isn't that right?

After questioning everyone, the old, hoarse voice was silent for a few seconds before it sounded again:

"Now that everything is ready and there are no problems, in order to avoid any more accidents, let's start planning."

…………

In a rather dark space, a book was spread out on the table, with lines of text gradually appearing on it.

"The plan went exceptionally smoothly. Charles VII, originally named William Charles Arthur Huddlestone, was undoubtedly the protagonist of the entire opera and one of the ultimate beneficiaries. From the very beginning, he had a close relationship with the Life Alchemy Association. To achieve the goal of reviving the evil god, with him as the link, the Life Alchemy Association and the Curse God Cult naturally had the foundation for an alliance."

"They have a shared interest. The Cult of the Cursed God needs a large amount of blood and resentment to revive the evil god. And the Life Alchemy Association needs a king of its own to rely on. The three ancient elves who lead them have always dreamed of perfecting and completing the Ascendant Ritual of the madman Alfred."

"So from the very beginning, no one's target was Charles VI. This pathetic emperor was just a bait. So Charles VII and his Life Alchemy Society murdered his own father and obtained his soul. They needed this soul to conduct experiments to perfect the Ascendant ritual, obtain data to ensure the accuracy and success rate of the experiment, and use it to attract the attention of the Sun Keepers and Wayne Stewell."

"But both the Life Alchemy Society and the Cult of the Cursed God lacked a man of action. Chris Fisher, born Jeremy Wayne, became an excellent pawn. As a branch of the 'honest' family, he was honest, kind, and possessed exceptional business acumen. But good deeds don't always go unrewarded in this world. His wife's betrayal and his own cancer shattered his faith, turning him into a pedophile, a serial killer, and a complete clown. His joining the plan gave the entire plan significant manpower and financial resources, as well as competent executors and greater feasibility."

"The Ashram's joining was more of a surprise. They needed a large amount of faith to provide to the Dark Spider Mother, Martalita. The one who surprised me the most was Vernon West. He seemed impressive, but secretly he was a cuckold. Controlled by desire, he easily fell into the Ashram's trap and became their lackey. Therefore, the Ashram, which could control officials and eliminate opposition through various means, came into my sight and became my second ally."

"Everything went smoothly. The only variable was Wayne Stewell. His repeated out-of-character performances caused a lot of unexpected incidents, which made me very angry, but the general direction remained unchanged. Everything proceeded step by step. The Poor Law was fully passed, and a large number of civilians were sent to work. They worked day and night, easily providing a large amount of resentment and life energy. A large number of altars were built, and large amounts of life force could be harvested at any time and anywhere through alchemical arrays."

"Because of the upcoming final curtain call, Bisrock, Chris Fisher, and even Charles VI are no longer valuable. Worthless actors are all expendable pawns. I created various coincidences to make Wayne Stewell and the Sun Watchers focus all their attention on them, and eventually led them to the manor. Even if Wayne Stewell didn't come, Charles VI's evolution was doomed to fail. The flesh and blood gel simply doesn't have enough life energy! In the end, Wayne Stewell continued his extraordinary performance as expected. But he had no time to pay attention to what was happening on the other side, and no one had the ability to stop what was about to happen."

"Finally, to allow Wayne Stewell, the opera's best supporting actor, to enjoy the opera's grand finale as he wished—and this was my sole selfish motive—I staged a car accident to allow Huggins Charles Arthur Huddlestone to see the Yu-Gi-Oh cards. As a natural gamer, he would deeply appreciate the game and wish to meet its creator. Prior to the meeting that day, Vernon West had the ashram's prostitutes impersonate the Earth Goddess to entertain clients, drawing the attention of the Earth Ring professionals and also delaying John Fowler, forcing Wayne Stewell to arrive at Dockland Fortress after 5:49 PM. His insatiable curiosity perfectly positioned him to witness the final act. It all happened by coincidence."

At this point, the book no longer has the weird and crazy flavor of the past. On the contrary, every stroke of the book is logically rigorous.

And at this moment, a black lightning lit up from the roofs of various orphanages, intertwined together, and quickly covered most of the city of Dockland.

At the same time, all players, including Zhou Ning, received a notification on their dashboards. A line of text that seemed to be burning with flames appeared:

[Apocalypse 1.2: Darkland's Cataclysm, officially begins!]