–He tricked us, the bastard.–
–Dwight said nothing at all. That old fox is too cunning.–
Huan Bao’er thought for a moment: –Alright, I’ll submit it for review on your behalf. Once it gains approval from the path of fate itself, we can purchase your design draft.–
–This… no…– Bopoli had been longing for this moment, but now he refused outright.
–No, Chief Executive, we still don’t know the key point.– Yang Zicang also looked at her as he spoke.
Bopoli urged anxiously:
–Isn’t there still the last seven days? We can try again. Besides, we were just about to start assembling the gears.–
–Hmph, don’t try to fool me. Two people with the Authority of Concrete Mind piecing together a mere three thousand gears? That won’t even take a day.–
Well, well—so she’s just like Croft, treating people like beasts of burden.
–And besides, I can help too,– said Huan Bao’er.
–Oh, is Grandma Huan here to laugh at us again?–
Just then, Jiaoma stepped out from behind Huan Bao’er, striding with her little head held high and waving her small hand as she approached.
The three of them fixed their gazes on her at once.
The little girl froze, sensing something amiss: –What’s going on?–
–Heh heh, little Jiaoma, well done.– Huan Bao’er patted the startled girl’s shoulder for the first time, then her body gradually turned transparent and vanished from the spiritual world.
Jiaoma asked: –What did Mom just say? You all have such weird vibes.–
–The Director-General insisted on taking our Mo Ying Hall to submit for review.- Yang Zicang explained to Jiao Ma while busy with his work.
–Really? Ah, as expected of my godmother…-
–Don’t get too excited too soon. Because the review of the Green Lotus Crown didn’t pass, so they took ours to the parliament for review.- Boboli said somewhat dejectedly. –We still haven’t found the key point.-
Jiao Ma’s pearl-like eyes stared at him, her eyelashes fluttering.
–No way… Could it be… the final one…-
–That’s right, the Five Elements aren’t the key.-
Jiao Ma lowered her head and pondered: –But if it’s not the Five Elements, then what could it be?-
They had no clue at all.
What they initially thought was perfectly resolved had been lying there like a mountain, unmoving and unchanged.
–Let’s get to work first. Let’s start installing the turntable and the moving device.-
Jiao Ma pouted and began to cooperate with Yang Zicang. Both of them had the help of treasures far beyond their own strength, and just assembling in the spiritual world wasn’t that tiring.
The scene in the air gradually took shape.
Gusts of wind blew across the grassland. Boboli saw the majestic and bizarre building he had designed gradually take on concrete shapes.
Inside, over 2,800 Old World information bands became neatly arranged –rooms,- slowly rotating and floating on disk after disk.
Huge threaded pillars stood towering, long and short, each different. Like the gear structure of a music box or a horizontally placed clock, they began to interlock densely together.
Some paths dismantled from the Many-Paths Fortress, after changing their colors and textures, are connected on it like colorful ribbons; and water surfaces taken from the Green Lotus Crown cascade down from certain places like waterfalls.
–So beautiful.-
The water flows fall near the scene, some following the paths to form rotating channels that wrap around these mechanical structures. The water curtain diffusing down from the road veils the interior like a light gauze, making it dimly visible.
–These water curtains serve to maintain a sense of mystery, preventing outsiders from fully seeing the movement inside.-
Bolbo looked at the paths on his creation.
Through some of the major intersections and paths, one can directly and swiftly reach distant rooms—this is what Bolbo used to link the rapid intersection and collision of the two cities after the mirroring.
–A perfect work.-
Yang Zicang, who had randomly embedded rooms of different colors into the great wheel, gazed down at the magnificent gear architecture from above and sighed in wonder.
After finishing another gear several kilometers in diameter, the employee card in his hand flashed. A golden thread spread like a trajectory to in front of Bolbo, and Yang Zicang instantly appeared beside the young man.
–Don’t be glum,- Yang Zicang said, standing with him as they looked up at the vast building that would astonish everyone in the city:
–I think your design, in a way, has even surpassed the Green Lotus Crown. It should pass.-
Jiao Ma also walked over.
The three of them, each with different emotions, admired the strange arena city before them.
–But.- Boboli looked at the two of them. –Brother Yang, and Jiaoma, I… I’m not satisfied.-
Jiaoma said, –Hey, what nonsense are you talking about? Godmother is about to submit it for review, and there’s no time left to make changes. Don’t stir up trouble.-
Yang Zicang turned his head to look at him.
Boboli tightened his grip on his hands, as if summoning up the courage to look at them. –Do you… do you trust me?-
Yang Zicang didn’t understand why this younger brother, four or five years his junior, would suddenly say something like this.
–Of course, you’re the best.- Yang Zicang reassured him.
–I want to add a few more elements.-
Boboli looked at them, his eyes flickering like a child who knew he was doing something wrong.
But he still said these words:
–No matter how rich these scenes are or how intense the sparks of collision, I still don’t think it’s perfect, because for me, it’s missing a crucial link.-
–What else is missing? This is already perfect.-
Suddenly Jiaoma’s face changed. –Are you really still thinking about adding those?-
Yang Zicang was about to ask what the crucial link was when he saw Boboli say to Jiaoma:
–If it’s just like this now, not many people will enter. We don’t even need mirror venues. Because from the very start, they’ll think about who is most likely to make it to the end in the city.-
Yang Zicang slightly opened his mouth.
Seems… that statement is not entirely wrong either…
Boboli hesitated, saying:
–The reward from the Magic Hero Hall given by the Council, I believe it will be precious, but…-
–No matter how good the reward is, they won’t go in!- Jiaoma murmured.
–They will only think that the Demon Hero Arena City has nothing to do with them! It is destined to belong to the strong in the city! They knew from the start that they were just background.–
Jiao Ma’s face showed a struggle for a moment, then she turned and said:
-**_Isn’t it right for those without strength to stay outside for now? This way, it can save their lives.
–As long as there is a Demon Hero Temple-level arena this time, they will know there might be more in the future, and they will strive to improve themselves over these few years… Moreover, the council will not only provide the final reward, but the stage rewards should also be very appealing.–
Boboli suddenly clenched his fists excitedly and said:
–Although the council provides stage rewards and final rewards… But if along the way, everyone only focuses on the assessment and fails to grow stronger—–
Unable to grow stronger! These four words struck Yang Zicang and Jiao Ma’s hearts like a thunderbolt.
Boboli’s slightly agitated voice echoed in their ears.
–They also have the right to become stronger! The Demon Hero Temple should provide new possibilities for these masses of ordinary people! As long as they have the will to become stronger! What the Demon Hero selects should be these kinds of people!–
Yang Zicang and Jiao Ma stood frozen in place, stunned.
New possibilities…
–They should obtain here weapons and tools that can oppose the powerful, so that they might bloom into new miracles, just as the shining radiance grants them new strength!–
–Shining… miracle?–
–New possibilities?–
Yang Zicang murmured under his breath.
He thought of himself: he, too, had grown overnight from a mere chance encounter to the point of defeating a Moon-shadow level enemy. Though for him, it was the accumulation of a long, arduous journey.
Boboli turned to face the two, his tone a plea that bordered on an ultimatum:
–I… I want to add some rewards—useless to the strong, but crucial to the weak. Otherwise, I won’t allow it. My arena is not a stage for the mighty to show off.-
Jiao Ma’s expression flickered.
Yang Zicang took a deep breath.
—You only gave us assessments, but no chance to grow stronger…
That, too, was something Executive Dwight Croft had said—except he granted that chance only to those who could afford Chronos.
Boboli gritted his teeth, spitting out the boy’s most sincere wish:
–I want to give everyone a sliver of hope. Even if it’s fleeting, they’ll know they can steal from the strong, maybe even stand against them.-
Jiao Ma stared at him. –Hope? The hope of the weak…-
Yes—that was the power that gave them courage.
A sudden tingle shot from Yang Zicang’s spine to his scalp.
Slap! His hand landed hard on Boboli’s shoulder.
–That’s right—hope. The most crucial design of the Demon Hero Hall must be the hope to become stronger!-
Their eyes met. Jiao Ma, struck by realization, smacked her own palm with a fist.
–That’s the key! I think we’ve found the key!-
–Exactly—assessment is not the goal!-
–It’s about giving people hope! That’s what’s missing from all those exquisitely designed Demon Hero Hall blueprints that were rejected or suppressed by the council.-
Yang Zicang looked at Boboli: –If it’s just a points system, I can do that too. I could add thousands in a single day. But let’s be clear: this needs to be available to everyone.-
–You agree? Awesome! Time to place the treasure chests!-
Boboli cheered.
–However, there’s a new issue.- Yang Zicang turned to Boboli. –The bonus rewards have to be supplied by us.-
–Huh?- Boboli stared at the two, his spirits instantly deflating.
But soon Yang Zicang lifted his head.
–Boboli.-
–What?-
–We might not be able to buy a shop anytime soon.-
–You mean…-
–All our Chronos—we’re going to use them to acquire those high-level ability balls, Chronos weapons, and various daily supplies.-
Yang Zicang gazed boldly at the slowly rotating clusters of giant gears.
–We’re going to provide at least twenty thousand people entering the Demon Hero Hall with overpowered abilities they’ve probably never even heard of!-
Jiao Ma stared at the man beside her in shock, feeling like she was listening to a fairy tale.
–Awesome, awesome!-
The youth pounced on Yang Zicang.
–No wonder you’re the strongest and coolest of our three bosses—even the way you throw your money around is freaking amazing!-
–You… can you really pull it off? That’s enough to support draw rewards for twenty thousand, maybe even thirty or forty thousand people!-
–Nothing is impossible.-
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