Chapter 157: Foundation Stone and Pillar |
"Tsk..."
Ming Po clicked his tongue, reluctantly logging out of the game.
Raising a hand to pull off his helmet, Ming Po asked tentatively, "Can I borrow this thing to play around with?"
"Mhm," Shen Yiqi replied. "Once you officially join the organization and become a [Foundation Stone], you can."
"A [Foundation Stone]?"
Ming Po asked with piqued interest, "Am I still not considered an official member?"
He opened the car door, only to find himself inside a colossal garage.
There were no lights, leaving the space pitch-black. Far off in the distance, a dazzling golden elevator stood out abruptly—the sole source of illumination in this entire expanse.
"...This decor is quite dreamcore," Ming Po commented. "I almost feel like I haven't even left the game yet."
"Right now, you've merely signed the contract. You're only considered a 'brick'," Shen Yiqi explained. "But once you officially join us, you can become a 'Foundation Stone'—just remember to abide by those eight commandments."
"What about you?" Ming Po asked in return. "Are you a 'Foundation Stone' in the organization, too?"
"Yeah, I am."
Shen Yiqi nodded in acknowledgment. "I actually haven't been in the organization for very long myself... only about a month, I'd say."
Without realizing it, he had been led by Ming Po into referring to it as the 'organization'.
"And if you go higher..." Zhuang Yan chimed in, "that would be a 'Pillar'."
"How does one become a Pillar?" Ming Po asked bluntly. "Are there even higher ranks?"
Rather than feeling that Ming Po was biting off more than he could chew, Academician Zhuang appreciated his ambition.
He chuckled warmly and nodded. "There are indeed... Above that is the 'Dome'. The Dome Council consists of the upper echelons who can greenlight investments in the trillions of dollars. They are bigwigs who, in the truest sense, can dictate the direction of the world based purely on their own will."
"Even..." The old man paused, a meaningful smile curling his lips. "Even [the Authorities] wouldn't dare interfere too much with the 'Dome'."
"...Are you talking about the government?"
"Oh, of course not. The state is the state, and 'the Authorities' are 'the Authorities'... The state might not even oppose our side. It's just that, on the surface, the higher-ups prefer to maintain stability.
"Hmph. They're nothing but a bunch of conservatives who call themselves orthodox, yet hinder technological progress at all costs. They're exactly like those environmentalists in the West—they know absolutely nothing except how to hold people back and destroy the dreams of others... You'll understand in the future."
Clear displeasure laced Academician Zhuang's words.
Since meeting the old man, this was the very first time Ming Po had seen him reveal an expression of anger or disgust.
Ming Po also immediately realized that the 'Authorities' Zhuang Yan mentioned was none other than Divine Comedy.
He quickly composed himself and restored his amiable smile for Ming Po. "As for becoming a Pillar... Whenever you reach a point where you can set your own rules, you can be considered a Pillar of the organization."
"You sound like a riddler right now," Ming Po noted.
"Do I? Hahahaha..."
Academician Zhuang laughed heartily and clapped Ming Po on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll understand when the time comes!"
Actually, Ming Po already understood perfectly.
The so-called 'becoming an official member' meant passing the Preliminary Match and becoming a Deceiver of the World.
And 'being able to set your own rules' meant... becoming a Zhou's Azure Lead rank Deceiver of the World, obtaining your own palace, and gaining the authority level to design your own games.
...Did that mean Shen Yiqi hadn't reached Zhou's Azure Lead yet?
Whereas Academician Zhuang was, at the very least, at the Zhou's Azure Lead rank.
The Dome... was that Silver of Moon, or Time Gold?
It was probably Silver of Moon.
"What rank is my father?" Ming Po suddenly asked. "What kind of research does he do?"
"His research..."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Academician Zhuang's face faded slightly. "I cannot tell you until I have his permission. Because his rank is higher than ours, his security clearance is correspondingly higher as well.
"As for his rank—without a doubt, he is in the [Dome]. Furthermore, I can tell you that he even has a chance to compete for the position of the next 'Keymaster'."
"The Keymaster... is that the leader of the organization?"
"Exactly."
Zhuang Yan spoke, patting Ming Po on the shoulder once more to encourage him. "You can't let your father down. You, my boy, are definitely a promising talent!"
"...How could an elder like you tell?" Ming Po asked, feeling slightly exasperated. "Was it from our earlier conversation?"
He had assumed that some sort of 'aptitude' he displayed had caught the two men's attention... He never expected that he was actually getting preferential treatment through family ties. What was this called?
A second-generation organization member?
Who would have thought that his old man had quietly climbed almost all the way to the top!
This completely defied Ming Po's expectations. He had originally thought that even if that guy was in the organization, he'd be a senior executive at best...
Ming Po had initially viewed the Chinese Chamber of Commerce as a villainous faction that absolutely had to be eradicated... only to discover that it was his own family business?
Unexpectedly, Zhuang Yan nodded and gave a very serious answer: "It's your arrogance."
"...Arrogance?"
"That's right. It is the 'arrogance' of absolute self-belief, the 'obsession' that absolutely refuses to be altered by others, the 'bottom line' from which you absolutely will not retreat. In Buddhist terms, it's 'ego-attachment'... This is what we call [aptitude]."
The old man spoke with solemn gravity. "You must remember these words. You must keep this in mind—never forget it! Us telling you this right now is already slightly bending the rules. But I truly cherish talent... Whether it's you or little Shen, you both possess extraordinary aptitude, and I really cannot bear to see your rough edges smoothed out..."
"We are going to change this era," Shen Yiqi chimed in softly. "And to do so, we might have to fight against the entire world."
As they spoke, they finally stepped into the elevator.
Once inside, the two men stopped talking.
They simply maintained their silence.
The elevator ascended.
The ascent felt unusually long... but to Ming Po, it was as if a chunk of his consciousness had simply been deleted.
It felt just like blacking out after drinking too much or wiping out while skiing.
When he woke up again, the elevator had already reached its destination.
It was a lounge.
People were coming and going outside, but this area was cordoned off by glass doors.
There was only a single seat. In front of it sat a computer monitor lacking a keyboard and mouse, a steaming cup of hot tea, and a massage chair.
"Rest here for a moment; someone will be right with you."
After nodding at Ming Po, the two men hurried away.
Ming Po sat in the massage chair, feeling somewhat bored, but didn't turn it on.
Suddenly, a line of text popped up on the computer monitor in front of him.
"Drink the tea and start the massage chair."
...No way, right?
Ming Po suddenly understood.
All they had to do was have a Deceiver of the World who didn't know him routinely travel back to a certain point in time, press a button, and send this exact sentence... and they could 'kill' him.
This was a time traveler from further ahead than his current self.
Perhaps he was from January 2nd, or maybe just an hour in the future.
He and a Ming Po from two months in the future had returned to the same point in time, pressed a pre-prepared button, and sent this message. And this person didn't know Ming Po at all; he might not even know there was someone inside this room. To him, this was merely a 'job' that had to be done.
So... this was how they avoided causality?
Ming Po offered a helpless smile.
It was surprisingly simple. Much simpler than Ming Po had imagined.
Ming Po drank the tea and started the massage chair.
This high-end massage chair possessed a rather unique heating function.
Ming Po felt as if he were lying in a hot spring, his consciousness gradually melting away.
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