I was about to give up, but I unexpectedly gained around 30 points. I had been stuck at 5 points for the past few days, but now I’m back on my feet. It seems I can continue to work hard.#night How is the points system applied?

As an information dealer in this new world, I have been roaming this realm for a thousand years. The only way to enter and exit is to obtain the data sovereignty of this world, which is the passport to traverse the heavens.

Speaking of which, in the year 2026, I was a skilled information expert wandering across various networks. Taking orders, tracking, and exposing lies is my entire business. As time passes, my fame in this world is rising.

On that deep night, I was tracking a missing cryptocurrency. The computer screen lit up, and a line of code suddenly popped up, like a spell incantation — @MidnightNetwork

In that instant, the world spun, and the sky darkened. The computer transformed into a stream of light that instantly sucked me in. Where is this? A harsh data noise sounded in my ears: 'Detected a traveler. Detected soul fluctuations. Detected $NIGHT holding credentials.'

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a floating building with intricate carvings, a surging sea of clouds, and the plaque on the building prominently displaying three gilded characters: Ten Thousand Realms Building. However, there were no shopkeepers or waiters in this building, only countless floating light screens displaying wanted notices, trading information of techniques from various dynasties, and even the privacy of emperors and ministers.

'Who are you?' A mechanical voice rang out.

'My name is... Zero. Who are you?'

'Welcome to the Midnight Network. This is neither the immortal realm nor the underworld. This is the crevice of data, the intersection of privacy across the myriad realms.'

02 Ten Thousand Realms Building: The Transparent Trap

The rules of the Ten Thousand Realms Building are strange. Here, you can trade any intelligence, but you cannot hide your 'traces.'

A king in a dragon robe was secretly talking with a man in black in the corner. His expression was clearly visible, and the 'longevity pill recipe' he purchased was openly displayed on the halo above his head.

A powerful practitioner wanted to hide their whereabouts to purchase a magic weapon, but as soon as he took out spirit stones, everyone in the building knew he was rich.

'This is wrong...' I murmured, 'This is not called trading; this is called public execution.'

The 'waiter' next to me — a data spirit, said with a wry smile: 'There’s no way around it; since the Ten Thousand Realms Building was established, it has been completely transparent. Everyone knows what others have seen and bought. Many people have just purchased treasures and are killed for them as their whereabouts are exposed.'

I watched this absurd scene, and my occupational disease flared up. Isn't this just the 'pseudo-anonymity' of the early blockchain? Addresses are public, transactions are public, and as soon as your pseudonym is stripped away, you are left with nothing.

I sat cross-legged and said to the data spirit, 'You need to change these rules.'

03 Reconstructing Rules

I closed my eyes, recalling memories of modern cryptography from the depths of my mind. Since this is a world made of data, it can be solved using data methods.

I took out the only remaining pass from my pocket, the only thing that came with me during the crossing. It emitted a ghostly blue light, like a key trying to unlock the underlying code of this world.

'Listen,' I said to the gathered data spirits and several curious rogue practitioners, 'what you are doing now is like putting your birth date on your forehead. Real trading should be like this—'

I pointed at a practitioner who wanted to buy 'transcendence pills' but was afraid of being discovered by enemies: 'You just need to prove two things to the seller: first, you have enough spirit stones (asset proof); second, your merit value is greater than zero (credit proof). As for who you are, where you live, and whether you are currently seriously injured, those details do not need to be disclosed.'

'How is that possible?' The crowd exclaimed, 'How can you prove without public disclosure?'

'Use this.' I pointed to the light emitted by the space, 'Zero-knowledge proof. I can generate a cryptographic proof, telling the other party, 'I meet the conditions,' but the other party cannot deduce any specific information about me from this proof.'

I used my finger as a pen, drawing complex algorithm circuits in the void: 'This is called 'selective transparency.' Just like when you go to buy alcohol, the seller only needs to know that you are over 18, not your specific birth date.'

04 Creating Midnight: The Business Empire in Darkness

I used this space as fuel to build an interstitial space deep within the Ten Thousand Realms Building.

On the surface, this is still the bustling Ten Thousand Realms Building. But at the data level, there is an additional layer of 'protected execution environment.' Practitioners can enter my separate pavilion while wearing masks.

Here:

· You can confidently ask, 'Who has the thousand-year snow lotus? I'll offer a hundred spirit stones.' — No one will know who you are.

· You can also openly display 'I am the direct disciple of the grandmaster' — just need to present a ZK proof of the sect's seal, without leaking your technique path.

· You can also openly exhibit 'I am the direct disciple of the grandmaster' — just need to present a ZK proof of the sect's seal, without leaking your technique path.

The news quickly spread across the myriad realms.

Once hunted for exposing their whereabouts, the alchemists came; those rich rogue practitioners, fearing robbery, came; even that emperor who was once seen under the light screen sent a secret envoy to buy a privacy plan on 'how to hide true intentions in front of ministers.'

I sat on the highest floor in isolation, watching the endless flow of information in the data stream, and smiled slightly: 'In the information age, privacy is not something to be ashamed of but a right to defend dignity.'

05 Epilogue: Data Sovereignty Belongs to You

At midnight, the noise of the Ten Thousand Realms Building quieted down.

I stood on the rooftop, playing with the increasingly hot $NIGHT token in my hand. Initially, I was just an intelligence dealer chasing others' secrets, but now I have become a guardian of secrets.

I looked up at the false moon made of data and whispered:

'I come from an era that is transparent to the point of suffocation. There, the takeout you ordered, the hospitals you visited, and your late-night search records are all like pages opened in the sunlight.'

'So I came here, established here, where you can be your true self and have the right to not be spied upon. If you want to find me, at midnight, bring your $NIGHT and cross that long river of data.'

'Shh—remember, in this pavilion, you can control all your data.'

A gust of wind blew by, and my figure turned into data fragments, disappearing into the endless night.#night