Chapter 71: The Closing Discussion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71: The Closing Discussion
[Wait, wait, wait, what just happened?]
[How much damage was that?]
[What was the range on that thing?!]
[Holy crap.]
[Over a hundred billion damage?!]
[Who let the background character onto the field?!]
[She was only on screen for a few seconds, and that massive swarm of Insects was treated like a firework display?]
[There are literally no humans left in that area.]
[Are these the stats for the official launch? It looks so satisfying.]
[The game hasn't even launched yet; this is just a trailer.]
[That’s a shame.]
[Is the little loli really the main focus of this version?]
[Her model is so beautiful. I bet she’s a friendly NPC, not a boss, right?]
[They say the protagonist always shows up last. I bet she’s the true protagonist of the game.]
[Lies. She’s just a background character; you’ll never actually meet her.]
[Hey, did you guys notice? That little loli named Bai isn't wearing shoes, but her tender little feet aren't dirty at all. They’re as clean as a milk popsicle.]
[This guy’s observation skills are terrifying.]
[We’ve got a real connoisseur here.]
[It seems we have some even weirder specimens here besides the loli-cons.]
[...]
As the video screen faded to black, Xie Bai lay on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Finally, it's over."
Watching her own "cool moments" while having Gamie critique them from right next to her was an ordeal. For someone like Xie Bai, who was used to hiding behind the scenes, this was far from comfortable.
Just as Xie Bai was trying to find a topic to distract Gamie, a small hand pulled her up from the ground.
"Don't lie down yet, Sister Xiaobai. There’s still an Easter egg featuring you at the end."
"That's right, that's right! Even though you don't appear in person, every word spoken is about you."
Hearing this, Xie Bai immediately scrambled up.
"There’s an Easter egg about me?"
She thought back carefully; she didn't remember arranging any scenes for herself afterward.
Filled with doubt, Xie Bai followed Gamie to watch the final segment of the video.
With only a few minutes left, the black screen suddenly lit up again.
[Hmph, I knew it wouldn't be that simple.]
[There’s more?]
[I knew the last few minutes couldn't just be a black screen.]
As the darkness on the screen was peeled away, Xie Bai saw the characters being displayed.
The current Emperor, Orion, and... Edward?
"What is that kid doing there?"
Flanked by two Imperial Guards, Orion sat in the center of the frame, exuding an immense sense of pressure.
In contrast, Edward, sitting opposite him, looked like a lamb led to the slaughter, undergoing Orion's interrogation.
"Young man, there are no outsiders here, so I shall speak plainly."
Without much preamble, Orion cut straight to the point.
"I wonder if you could tell me the identity of that white-haired girl. It doesn't matter if it's only a little. You don't need to hide anything. You should know that I have always been good at reading people's eyes. I hope you will not try to deceive me. Or is it that, in your eyes, we are still strangers?"
[Damn, Orion is a real one. He’s so direct, way better than those 'riddle-master' NPCs.]
[But does this Golden Lion actually know Bai's secrets? These Children of Fate always have some lore behind them.]
[How dare you! How can you call my Nuke Trigger a 'Golden Lion'? Careful, or he'll invite you to be a zero-distance nuclear blast observer.]
Hearing Orion's veiled threat, Edward was instantly drenched in a cold sweat.
Hurry up, brain! Think of something, fast!
Faced with this dilemma, Edward didn't know how to break the deadlock. Although Orion had deduced that he knew Xie Bai, the problem was that he really didn't know much about her at all.
Over the past ten days, he had only seen Xie Bai take action three times.
Once against the barbarians chasing him, once against himself.
And the last time was not long ago, when Xie Bai personally appeared to deal with the Insect Race.
He had a premonition: if he dared to reveal anything about Xie Bai, he would immediately draw her gaze. If things went south, his future would be over.
But if he didn't speak, his present would be over.
Damn it... does this world have some kind of prejudice against Alchemists? Why is every situation I encounter a life-or-death struggle?
After a long internal struggle, Edward finally came up with a solution.
Since Orion could judge whether he was lying by looking into his eyes, he would follow his own fear and speculation regarding Xie Bai to weave a half-truthful, heavily exaggerated identity.
Anyway, everyone had already witnessed Xie Bai's terrifying strength, which was practically that of a descending god. No matter how much he exaggerated, it wouldn't seem too far-fetched.
As for whether the other party would believe his story, he could only pin his hopes on the Emperor's ability to fill in the blanks himself.
"Your Majesty, I have indeed met that young lady once, but we had very little interaction. I'm afraid I cannot provide much useful information."
Seeing Edward finally speak, Orion smiled and waved his hand.
"It is fine, young man. You only need to tell me what you know."
"Very well, Your Majesty. But before that, I need to introduce something to you."
As he spoke, Edward pulled back his sleeve, revealing the item on his wrist.
It was a pitch-black bracelet engraved with golden patterns.
"This is?"
Orion looked at the bracelet on Edward's wrist, feeling somewhat puzzled. Although he wasn't familiar with the item, he could tell it was no ordinary object. At the very least, in terms of its aura, it was on par with Roland's creations.
"Please, Edward, tell me more."
Seeing that the other party was temporarily intimidated, Edward breathed a small sigh of relief.
"This item is called the Fate Bracelet. It was given to me by Master Roland. Wearing it symbolizes joining an organization called the Wheel of Fate."
[Wait, what did you just say you joined?]
[I bet I can guess the protagonist's faction in one second.]
[So that's it! No wonder the game is called 'Wheel of Fate'—there’s actually an organization with that name in the game.]
Upon hearing this, Orion frowned.
"As I thought, Roland is still hiding things from me. However, Roland has been a loyal servant of the Empire for two hundred years; he wouldn't do anything to harm it. Is he not telling me because there are secrets within that I shouldn't know...?"
Thinking of this, Orion looked back at Edward.
"Please, continue."
"Uh... alright..."
Seeing that Orion didn't suspect him, Edward began to use his imagination to fabricate the rest.
"Master Roland told me that this is an organization specifically for gathering Children of Fate. Legend has it that it was formed to combat a future crisis. The strength of this organization is unfathomable, and it houses several god-level beings who have broken through the world's limits. The young lady Your Majesty saw is a leader-like figure within it. When I first joined, I had the honor of meeting her once. However, she is too mysterious; I only know that she is called 'Bai.' I know nothing else."
By the time he reached the last sentence, Edward's palms were sweating from nerves. However, Orion was already captivated by the preceding words and didn't notice his agitation.
Seeing that he hadn't slipped up, Edward breathed a sigh of relief.
As for the claim that Xie Bai was an important figure in the Wheel of Fate, he had completely made it up on the spot. Shifting the focus of the problem from himself to someone else was a form of emergency evasion. This was a principle Master Roland had taught him, and he was putting it to good use now.
Furthermore, attaching a mysterious person to a mysterious organization made it easy for others to use their own imagination to fill in the gaps, unconsciously making the lie consistent.
After listening to Edward's words, Orion pondered for a moment.
If that's the case, many things can be explained. My father's return was likely thanks to this 'Wheel of Fate.' It's no wonder Father knew that young lady...
Thinking of this, Orion looked at Edward with a new perspective.
"Thank you, young man, for being willing to share this secret with me. To repay your trust, I have decided that starting tomorrow, you will be officially promoted to the new Royal Chief Alchemist. It just so happens that Master Roland has already submitted his request for retirement."