Second Round of the Family Hierarch Evaluation, part 10 (after battle)
We took Wang Qingshan's remaining coins.
Well, that's not a lot of coins. But hey, it's still...
If I fail here miserably... having accomplished nothing... they might kill me when I get home...
I have to do something, anything... to be a proud sister to my little siblings...
Come on, let's leave her and keep moving. It's not like getting eliminated is an instant death sentence.
You... you don't understand, Jia Baoyu...
You've done nothing but watch all your life... as this fight defined our entire lives...
No, I don't understand.
And I never will.
Without a reply, she shambled out to the hallways, weeping.
... So all that passivity and talk about not getting angry wasn't because you're a nice guy, huh.
You're more difficult than I thought, Hong Lu.
Mm, am I?
It's getting more and more likely that we'll be running into the other candidates as the space around us shrinks.
Yeah. And another thing - it's getting clearer every second that the biggest threat to us now continues to be...
... Jia Qiu...
Let's hope we never run into that guy...
Ohhhh~ So that's it, huh? We have our twelfth elimination!
Yeah... then all the mediocre candidates must've been eliminated by now. The remaining ones gotta be a tough bunch.
Anyways... there certainly are a lot of posters around the lab here.
They were gonna present the research to the public, huh?
Yes, they were.
Puff... Typical. I guess researchers just can't help showing off their achievements, huh.
Well, too bad the Sweepers 'n the Claws tore through everything. Even the posters - Hang on a minute. Why are these posters untouched?
... They did not destroy the posters.
Once they are put to task, they are extremely thorough with erasing any evidence of the Taboo ever having existed. But the fact that these posters remain...
... would lead to the conclusion that the experiment advertised on these posters is an entirely different one from the experiment that broke the Taboo.
What?! Then how...?
Simple.
This experiment is unrelated to the annihilation of the Kong family.
Then this Jia Mu must've prepared an entirely separate experiment using the Kong family's support. With an escape plan just for herself, too.
... I remember those posters...
And how excited everyone was the closer we got to the presentation.
Boluses made by the Kong family always performed beyond everyone's expectations, after all.
Venerable Jia Mu, may I ask why you continue to bring young master Baoyu to this place?
I don't think he's even old enough to understand what these experiments are for. Not to mention it must be quite troublesome for you.
You ask a question with an obvious answer.
This experiment will define the destiny of Hongyuan itself.
It is only right that the jade of Daguanyuan is here to witness such a great undertaking.
... I see.
Huh, now that I'm looking at young master Baoyu...
He's not much of a smiler, is he?
He'd look much better with a smile on his face. He's the precious jade of the family, after all.
…….
His existence itself is precious - this jade shall shine when the time is right.
In the meantime, draw your focus entirely to the experiment.
Right, I see what you mean. Not this experiment, but the experiment.
That reminds me that we really don't have much time.
They say that every clan under the Kong family is quite excited about the announcement.
Yes, indeed... The time is nigh.
The time is nigh indeed.