Chapter 60: Behind "Long Live the Emperor"
"I've lost all my happy beans; why haven't they finished their nonsense up there?" Yun Jie complained, putting down his phone.
From the moment this boring meeting began, his thumb hadn't stopped playing "Fight the Landlord."
Bai Mo, meanwhile, sat in a corner, using a detached expression to mask his inner tension, continuing to await that moment's arrival.
The terror of the unknown was truly sickening. He knew that something capable of affecting his life and death would soon occur, but he had no idea what it was.
He constantly gave himself psychological cues, trying to calm his agitated mind.
Yet, Bai Mo found that doing so held little real meaning. He was still just an ordinary person who had suddenly gained power a few months prior, not some ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years and could face anything with perfect composure. When matters truly concerning his life and death arose, the inevitable tension was simply unavoidable.
...
"One hour and thirty-eight minutes. I've been sitting here listening to over an hour of nonsense, and a whole bunch of words I don't even understand." Yun Jie said, looking at the timer on his phone.
He hadn't understood more than a few words of what the speaker on stage was saying; it would be a miracle if he could listen attentively.
"It was all nonsense. It's impressive you managed to take it all in."
...
Realizing he still couldn't calm down, Bai Mo decided to give up on settling his emotions and instead tried to distract himself, forcing his mind away from the impending matters.
He quietly watched the two bickering like a couple flirting, until his gaze made them feel awkward.
...
"Alright, alright, it's finally over." Xiao Hao patted Yun Jie's shoulder, reminding him that the speech on stage had concluded and it was time for everyone to prepare to enter.
"Two hours and eight minutes. Two more hours of my life wasted on something utterly boring." Yun Jie glanced at his phone, grumbling a few words.
"As if you usually do anything productive," Yue Yu resumed the topic that had been awkwardly cut short.
...
"Actually, have you ever considered a question like this?" Bai Mo suddenly patted Liang Gong, who was walking at the end of the line.
"What is it? Is it about today's events?"
"No, it's just a question I happened to think of."
"Spit it out, why are you being so secretive?" Liang Gong looked at Bai Mo with a strange expression.
"It seems now that Spirit Qi has a considerable effect on bodily evolution, allowing many elderly people to regain youth, or at least live for another thirty to fifty years like middle-aged individuals."
"Indeed, isn't that a great thing? Do you have a problem with this?" Liang Gong asked.
"No, but if the emperor truly 'lives for ten thousand years without end,' who would suffer the most significant losses?" Bai Mo suddenly asked an utterly tangential question.
"I don't understand. Why does Captain Bai always have such strange ideas lately?" Liang Gong racked his brain, finally managing to replace the term "mental derangement" with the more positively connoted "strange ideas."
...
"Is there truly such a thing as a crown prince for sixty years in this world?" Bai Mo didn't care if Liang Gong genuinely didn't understand or was feigning ignorance.
"Let the worries of those above remain with them. What does it have to do with us? I'm just a small citizen; getting involved in such matters would only make me cannon fodder." Liang Gong felt he couldn't keep up the act any longer.
"You... don't you have any thoughts at all?" Bai Mo tempted him with a devilish tone.
Throughout this day, the unpredictable pressure of life and death had pushed him to a state of extreme mental tension, making every day feel like a year. He desperately needed something to distract himself.
"Captain Bai, let's change the subject."
"Those who were originally in power, their bodies suddenly reborn, are now 'borrowing five hundred years from the heavens.' Would they truly be willing to leave the center stage like this? And how patient can the next person waiting to step onto the stage be? One unwilling to let go, one unwilling to wait—sooner or later, conflicts are bound to erupt."
"We'll worry about that when the time comes."
"Indeed. I'm just idly thinking of some far-fetched things. Perhaps a third pole will emerge then, directly overturning the chessboard and rewriting the rules."
"Captain Bai, are you suggesting...?"
"Me? I didn't say anything at all. Captain Liang must have misheard."
"That guy." Liang Gong recalled yesterday's events. "Who knows how many more things he's hiding."
"Let's go, Captain Bai. Captain Ye and the others are already ahead."
Bai Mo acknowledged with a sound, matching Liang Gong's pace as they walked towards Ye Zi.
...
Ye Zi led the Dao Academy group to meet Chen Bo.
"We're lucky; our Huaxia's battle is the very first one," Chen Bo said with a smile.
"This could be seen as a disguised way to achieve glory and promote national prestige, couldn't it? Aren't soldiers most enthusiastic about that?" Liang Zhen Dao chimed in from the side.
"You could say that. This Spirit Stone mine can be considered disputed territory, so taking it back truly counts as achieving glory," Chen Bo said, looking solemn.
"Let me explain the rules for the first match coming up," Chen Bo continued. "Our opponent in the first match is the Yamato team. The battle format will be five participants from each side, fighting in a 'defend the arena' style. That means each match will be a one-on-one battle. The losing side replaces their participant, and anyone who has lost cannot re-enter.
The winning side can choose to continue defending the arena, or they can step down and let a teammate take their place. Those who haven't lost are allowed to re-enter. The match ends when all participants on one side have lost once."
"In summary, if you have one exceptionally strong person, you can win the entire match," Yun Jie summarized the essence of the rules succinctly.
"You could say that. Now, it's time to decide who will participate," Chen Bo continued.
"Captain Ye, will you go first?" Chen Bo asked directly.
"You all go ahead." She had little interest in such matters.
"How about this then? We'll put forward two people, and you all put forward three, and we'll discuss it in groups." Chen Bo continued to host.
"Alright." Ye Zi agreed on behalf of everyone.
...
"Bai Mo, are you alright for the first round?"
"Whatever. You know I'm not thinking about this."
"Who else wants to go next?" Ye Zi then asked the group.
A silence fell, as if a teacher had asked a question in class.
Many knew that Bai Mo, the leader, was no simple person; following him might mean an easy victory. However, for the sake of face, no one wanted to step forward first.
"How about we draw lots?" In the end, it was Yue Yu who broke the deadlock.
...
"Too bad, I didn't draw one," Xiao Hao said, holding the long stick in his hand.
"Looks like my luck is good today. I just wonder if it's the hush money from Captain Ye." Rong Jingya didn't dare say the second half out loud, only thinking it to herself.
Although she wasn't weak among the captains, she was still far from those abnormal ones. She didn't want to instantly turn into a popsicle, and knowing too much might not be a good thing.
The other person who drew a lot was Zheng Cha, Captain of the Seventh Squad. The two who "won" simultaneously told Bai Mo, "Please take care of us," but Bai Mo unfortunately ignored them both.
He was currently only concerned with one thing...
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