area51novel Chapter 273 The Stage is Set
Chapter 273 The Stage is Set
"I can understand having some obedient transport vehicles. In a few days, once I've recovered, I'll remake some brainwave interference soul guides to temporarily control our little helpers."
Incidentally, I just thought about what I should do for the second round of the competition. We must be prepared that we might not be able to directly enter the war reserve, so my recent insights into the laws of space should be able to help us better.”
The Mingdu war reserve warehouse was the location of a super angel investor who, in the original story, helped Huo Yuhao directly acquire a large reserve of rare metals. However, Long You, with his omniscient perspective, knew that Huo Yuhao hadn't made full use of the entire warehouse; he had missed out. Compared to the rare metals, Long You valued more the large quantity of level-nine fixed-position soul-guided artillery shells in the adjacent warehouse.
If possible, Long You would certainly wish he were already a Limit Douluo-level powerhouse, but the reality is that he isn't. For Long You, whose fear of insufficient firepower is ingrained in his genes, if he hadn't rarely needed to directly confront opposing forces, his phobia would have flared up long ago. Now, with the opportunity to directly wield one of the most powerful weapons in this world, Long You wouldn't miss it.
Moreover, if Long You didn't collect these level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannonballs, they would ultimately become the direct trigger for destroying half of Mingdu, causing countless civilian deaths and injuries. Long You looked down on the Sun Moon Empire only because its high-ranking officials were cooperating with evil soul masters; he didn't harbor any hatred towards the civilians of the Sun Moon Empire. In conflicts between forces, it is the civilians who suffer, and the innocent civilians are the ones who are hurt. If possible, civilian casualties should be avoided as much as possible.
Destroying half of Ming capital was unnecessary, but emptying their war stockpiles was a bit too much of a travesty, wasn't it? What if something goes wrong? If any clues are revealed, my frail body can't handle it. Let me think, who's more suitable to take the blame?
Although the food was still delicious, Longyou's attention was noticeably distracted by his newfound ambitions.
“Master, there is still one hour before the competition organizers will provide dinner. If you are not very hungry now, I suggest you stop this 'bull chewing on a peony' thing.”
Noticing that Long You's eating had become a mechanical exercise, and that his body was becoming less efficient at absorbing nutrients from food, Byrne, relying on his high computing power and ability to run multiple threads, jokingly reminded Long You to stop this mindless eating.
Long You paused slightly with his chopsticks in his hand, glancing speechlessly at the smartwatch on his wrist. There, a robust bull was grazing on lush green grass, but the bull, who seemed to be concentrating on eating, was clearly not paying attention. After all, at its current pace, it would hit the wall in two more breaths.
Quite speechless, Long You put down his chopsticks, checked the time, and realized he really had no appetite left. Making a universally accepted hand gesture to his watch, Long You began cleaning up the mess. After all, this was Bei Bei's room (as Bourne had told him), and leaving it filled with the smell of cooking oil was rather inconsiderate.
Distracted like this, Long You finally had a moment to clear his head and realized he should let his friends in the Tang Clan know he was safe. Thinking this, Long You took out his phone, only to find it flooded with messages.
After creating a stable local area network, Long You loaded real-time communication methods onto the communication soul guide device he called a mobile phone. However, due to limitations, Long You was unable to integrate all the internet technologies he had seen in his previous life onto the already intelligent mobile phone.
In other words, although Longyou has had smartphones for a long time, no one has the conditions or the tendency to become addicted to them. They usually chat about things that need to be said and don't pursue engaging in casual conversations.
To put it another way, Long You had never experienced anything like this before, where he could pull out his phone and immediately see 99+ messages. Since he was just killing time and this novel experience happened, Long You patiently started scrolling through his call history.
First, there was the communication group that only showed about 20 messages. This group was created by the Tang Clan members and a bunch of young people from the Earth Dragon Clan. They interacted occasionally, but it wasn't usually very active.
The messages in this group were relatively simple and formal. After reading through all the unread chat logs in the group, Long You had a better understanding of the whole situation. Simply put, after some complex deliberation, and amidst Nan Qiuqiu's continued resentment, He Caitou told her not to leave Mingdu for the time being.
From any perspective, this wasn't a big deal. He Caitou's final decision to speak up meant he had figured it out wouldn't negatively impact the Tang Clan members. Since it wouldn't affect him personally, and the younger generation of the Earth Dragon Clan were acquaintances, he figured it was fine to say it. Therefore, the group chat with the younger generation of the Earth Dragon Clan only had about twenty messages, many of which were Nan Qiuqiu's complaints. The rest were mostly expressions of gratitude from the Earth Dragon Clan and empty pleasantries from the Tang Clan.
However, within the Tang Clan's own group chat, it was a completely different scene. The 99+ unread messages clearly demonstrated just how excited everyone was. The reason for this excitement among the Tang Clan members was none other than He Caitou. It was He Caitou who had warned the Earth Dragon Clan not to leave Mingdu during this period.
Based on everyone's understanding of He Caitou, even if he wanted to remind the Earth Dragon Gate, he would discuss it with Bei Bei and have Bei Bei deliver the message. He generally wouldn't directly say it himself. Since this unusual approach occurred, especially with young men and women of similar age involved, and He Caitou's manner of speaking to the girl was so familiar—to the point that the Tang Clan members suspected he might have mistaken a group chat for a private one—these three unusual circumstances were bound to cause some excitement.
In the group chat with the Earth Dragon Gate, the Tang Clan members were unusually reserved. They were not very close friends, but in the Tang Clan's own group chat, there were all sorts of people making a fuss and stirring things up. Even though there were only a dozen or so people, they made it feel like there were dozens of people chatting.
Imagine your best friend, who you share a bunk bed with every day, suddenly getting a girlfriend. It's like a dramatic, unannounced show suddenly unfolding. Long You roughly imagined the scene when the Tang Clan members discovered this: in this familiar coffee shop (actually a chat group), the Tang Clan members "sat around a table," each with an expression that was half surprised and half teasing.
Xu Sanshi, that scoundrel, spoke first, raising his eyebrows and saying in a pretentious tone, "Oh dear, our 'single aristocrat' Xiao Hezi, when did you learn to secretly pursue your love? It seems the spring breeze of romance has finally reached your desert."
Always reliable but actually a bit of a flirt, Beibei followed closely behind, shaking her coffee cup and smiling meaningfully: "I thought you were planning to serve the Soul Tool God for life, but I didn't expect the power of love to be more impactful than Newton's laws."
Meanwhile, the usually harmless junior brother Huo Yuhao gently pushed up his non-existent glasses, his tone a mix of teasing and well wishes: "Senior brother, you've done a good job keeping this a secret. Are you worried that we, your mischievous friends, are keeping too close a grudge and affecting your chance at love?"
Finally, the rare chubby Song patted the male protagonist of the drama on the shoulder and laughed loudly: "Well done, Senior Brother He! It should have been done a long time ago. There are too many handsome men here. It's time to stand up for us ordinary-looking men."
The entire chat was relaxed and pleasant, filled with sincere yet slightly mischievous banter between friends, showcasing their deep friendship, and also carrying a hint of inquiry and confirmation.
To everyone's surprise, He Caitou, who could have easily ignored this rather weak "teasing," actually admitted it. Whether He Caitou is genuinely overly direct in these matters or wanted his friends' help, his admission immediately caused the atmosphere in the group chat to explode once again.
According to Long You's observation, among the 99+ messages, there were quite a few that seemed to be serious about dating advice.
Looking at the time and then at the messages still popping up, Long You joined in without hesitation. Who doesn't like to have fun? Joining in the excitement and letting others know you're safe—there's nothing more interesting than that.
Hey everyone, I was the one who uncovered the Sun Moon Empire's treacherous intentions. And then, I woke up and this information just slipped out so easily? Shouldn't they give me some explanation? Even if it was just my brother trying to woo a girl, lol.
—Goblin Engineer
Although I made a silly face, Long You's message still managed to clear the room.
After a full five seconds, "Solid and Reliable Young Man" sent another message: "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger, give the order!"
Well, after being tricked several times, the Tang Clan members are now extremely wary of these kinds of chat messages that can't be exchanged in person. The fact that Long You, who should have been deep in meditation, suddenly sent a message instantly raised their guard to the highest level.
Milk dates are so delicious! —Goblin Engineer
Despite his reluctance to acknowledge the mess he had created, Long You still gave the agreed-upon reply.
Not bad, not bad, you replied pretty quickly, looks like it's a real person. You started this deep meditation pretty randomly, kid.
—A reliable and dependable young man
The event started quite randomly, and the cost was considerable, but the gains were excellent. I can show you when you get back. Now, let's continue our previous topic. When did this happen?
—Goblin Engineer
Oh, that's something we're curious about too. However, we're currently at the qualifying rounds of the Mingdu Elite Soul Mentor Competition, so it's not convenient to "use torture" right now, and our client doesn't seem inclined to confess. Therefore, we can only wait until all the competitions are over before having a more in-depth discussion.
—The Holy Dragon of Light is truly handsome
What's going on? You guys are going to the competition together?
—Goblin Engineer
Compared to some people going back to the hotel and others wandering around outside, it's actually less noticeable if no one goes back.
— Grilled Fish Supplier
Okay, whatever makes you happy. —Goblin Engineer
When He Caitou introduced the Mingdu Soul Mentor Elite Competition, he also mentioned Longyou's strategy of avoiding internal strife. Therefore, the competition venue that Huo Yuhao and others went to this time was still the Pingfanmeng Qingse Hotel, just like in the original work.
The main force in the competition was Huo Yuhao, but considering that the only condition for passing the qualifying round was to make a level four soul tool, and that they didn't have to use rare metals themselves, everyone else except Wang Dong'er, who had absolutely no idea how to make soul tools, decided to join in the fun.
Bei Bei and the others are definitely not skilled soul masters, but with their level advantage, they can still make level four soul tools without any problem. They can join in the fun and see if there are any Tang Sect prey suitable to be brought back.
Compared to the original timeline where Huo Yuhao received the news at the last minute and rushed to participate in the competition at night, this time the Tang Sect members arrived much earlier. After confirming that they were there to participate in the qualifying rounds of the Mingdu Soul Instructor Elite Competition, the bodyguards at the entrance of the Qingse Hotel didn't have as much screen time as in the original story.
According to the original novel, the interior of the Qingse Hotel was decorated in a very naive and unrefined style. However, Long You, who was observing everything through real-time video from the Mingyue Hotel, didn't see anything naive about the decorations; at most, they were simply elegant. Well, perhaps not elegant; let's describe them as plain and simple.
The overall decor of the Qingse Hotel is predominantly white, with occasional touches of red. To explain this style, one could say it's either extremely violent or possesses a unique, unconventional color scheme.
Getting back to the main point, the qualifying match venue for the Xishui Alliance was the same as that of the Pingfan Alliance, both located underground in their own strongholds. Moreover, the decoration style of the underground strongholds was surprisingly consistent, with a magnificent and luxurious style that fully demonstrated the charm of nouveau riche gold.
The underground space is incredibly tall. Whether it's the soul-guided escalator, the suspended rooms, or the circular platform in the center of the hall with a diameter of over thirty meters, everything demonstrates the wealth and strength of the Xishui Alliance.
After briefly checking the registration certificates of the Tang Clan members, one of the guards from the Xi Shui Alliance who were guarding the underground hall gave a brief introduction to the venue arrangements for the qualifying competition.
Compared to the Ordinary Alliance, where the main competition area for key participants was hidden behind screens, the Evening Water Alliance's side seemed much "fairer." The chairs upholstered in sapphire blue velvet in the hall were all occupied by VIPs who had paid for their services, and the metal tables surrounded by these VIPs served as the contestants' "battlegrounds."