Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Lakeley kept following Ye Mo.

Theodore also kept following Lakeley, creating many alt accounts to enter Lakeley's room.

Here, it was as free as the wind.

The Central Star exchanged massive amounts of data with the outside world at every moment, with surveillance cameras everywhere, smart mechas, and various machinery all over the place.

These were Theodore's eyes and limbs, the medium it used to connect with the real world.

Being careful not to be discovered, Theodore gathered its mental power into the various devices on Ye Mo.

Arnold and Ye Mo quickly returned to Grath's temporary palace.

A group of Grathians were gathered in the spacious living room on the first floor, having just returned from the training room not long ago, all looking somewhat listless.

The only one who seemed normal was Norton, sitting there.

Lakeley followed behind Ye Mo at a distance, existing only in the holographic world, so he was relaxed and not tense.

He looked up, surveying his surroundings, and then froze.

Norton stared straight at him, his gaze sharp and imposing, as if Lakeley were standing there in the flesh.

Lakeley stood rooted to the spot, feeling like prey locked onto by a predatory beast.

After a few seconds, Norton shifted his gaze away, looking at Ye Mo.

"Scared me to death, for a moment I thought that guy could actually see Lakeley."

"But he's really good-looking, and there are so many people here. I only knew Ye Mo was the little prince, are the others his teammates?"

"Oh no, are they going for that good-looking-people thing too?"

The other Grathians, through Arnold, already knew what had happened. Just moments ago, they had been clamoring to go help Ye Mo beat someone up, but now that Ye Mo had actually arrived, they all fell silent. Ye Mo looked like he was about to cry.

Only Baide turned his head, greeted them lazily, and said, "I hear Cyril got bullied?"

Arnold stood behind Ye Mo, looking at Baide in disbelief.

Ye Mo stopped in his tracks, hugging the coat wrapped around the parts, and said sadly, "It's because I'm too weak."

Deenlie, standing beside him, poked Baide with the hilt of his sword.

The group chat was already criticizing Baide's behavior.

Elia was the first to step up, "Baide, you're going too far."

Arnold echoed, "Yeah, yeah. I've been trying to calm him down for ages. If he cries now, it's all on Baide."

Baide coughed, "Jacob should be able to fix it, right?"

Jacob really wanted to cry out for help, "No, I can't! Don't tell Cyril I can!"

He had already seen: it was broken to such a state that repair was basically impossible.

Adrian tried to comfort Ye Mo, "It's okay, I'll help you fight back."

Norton ignored them and reached out to Ye Mo. Ye Mo hesitated for a moment, then Arnold took the coat from his arms and patted his back, prompting Ye Mo to walk over.

He knelt down, his knees pressing into the carpet, so that Norton could easily reach out and touch him.

Norton gently stroked the back of his neck, his movements light, his mental power silently wrapping around Ye Mo to check on him. Ye Mo couldn't help but tilt his head, resting it on Norton's knee, closing his eyes contentedly like a cat being petted.

"I didn't protect Theodore well."

You're still too young, Cyril, not strong enough, but even if you were stronger, there are things strength alone can't achieve.

"They didn't apologize to me, Father."

Then such things happen often; the strong are always arrogant.

"This isn't fair, Father. I didn't do anything."

However, fairness is a luxury.

Norton paused. Ye Zhiyuan and Mrs. Ye had raised Cyril well—upright, kind, and sincere in all things. Cyril was a good kid—too good, in fact.

In the end, Norton only said, "You didn't do anything wrong."

But he couldn't look after Ye Mo all the time.

So, Cyril, become stronger, strong enough to draw your sword against me, strong enough to level everything.

...

Lakeley followed Ye Mo all the way until bedtime, then found that Ye Mo's bedroom was in the leader's quarters, inaccessible. Only then did he leave with some regret.

Clearly, he had found the idea of spying on celebrity contestants' bedrooms boring before, and besides, it was too creepy.

As he left the Grath territory, Lakeley secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, he always felt pressured, as if being locked onto.

"The day's over, we'll come again tomorrow."

"Let's sort out the known information: Ye Mo is also called Cyril. I'm not sure why, but he has two names. He hasn't gone through the mental development period yet, but his mental power is estimated to be S-level. However, he's still immature."

"Currently, he's highly valued in Grath, able to live in the central area. The possibility of him defecting to another country is very small."

As for Arnold, Baide, and the others, Lakeley couldn't immediately figure out their relationship. "Originally, I thought the people around him were guards, but it doesn't seem that way."

Lakeley said cautiously, "They seem like one big family – it's not clear yet how they're related, but we know that the Emperor and Cyril are father and son."

"They're probably all princes and princesses. It's really hard to tell who ranks where right now."

"Cyril seems like he's never faced real setbacks. He really needs more experience. He's bothered by things this small, and offending the other side doesn't do him any good. It's just a robot; the other side would probably compensate after the fight. The situation has escalated to this point and is hard to handle. The first round of competition is about to start. If they get targeted, it might be difficult to get any screen time."

"But what he said was also right—he didn't do anything wrong. The other side wanted his little robot. Does that make bullying okay?"

"Stop arguing. Am I the only one who thinks it's cute that he apologizes and worries about whether the other side says sorry? I imagined a prince with real power like him would be arrogant and domineering."

"This is really worth arguing about. You've been joking about the 'good-looking team' so much, have you forgotten how they started? Kainan started off competing fairly, didn't he? As for what happened to Kainan, he didn't even do anything, right?"

"And many people don't know the funniest thing: one of the top-ranked countries in the resource war did the same thing he did. They suppressed Kainan heavily but let the other one off easy, not even mentioning it. If they had treated everyone equally, I wouldn't have said a thing.

But I really can't stand this kind of picking on the weak. People should be forgiving and respect each other. If this were between individuals, that's just bullying."

"It's all about face and popularity. I originally thought it would only last a few seasons, but then the hype blew up, things got out of hand, and it's been going on ever since. The only consolation is that the other side got some attention too."

"The strong rule. In the Resource Competition, nothing else matters. Weakness is the original sin. Even if nothing happened, they can still hold you accountable if they want to. What can you do? If you're scared, don't participate in the Resource Competition. It's not a competition where friendship comes first."

...

At the base center, after dinner, the Graths did not stay downstairs but retreated to Norton's living room, where no gaze could enter.

It was a bit small; for so many Graths, there wasn't enough space to stretch, and they couldn't stay holed up here forever.

Deenlie was somewhat irritated. "Being watched all the time is so annoying."

Adrian let out a long breath. "Bear with it. Big brother has empty rooms here; we can stay at big brother's place."

Baide put his hands behind his head, leaning back. "I don't mind, but it's not friendly that they can only watch us one-way. At least give us a communication channel; that would be more fun."

A Grath's powerful mental energy could detect obvious data transmissions and even analyze them if he wanted, even though there had been no feeling of being spied on before.

Secretary-General Lin knocked on the door and then opened it directly, interrupting their conversation.

"Forgive my interruption, but may I ask if there is a result for the other person going to the Kaileer Alliance besides Princess Herli? The list for the first round of matches must be submitted."

This was also one of the topics they argued about during the day.

Herli said decisively, "Let Baide go with me."

"Why? Let Deenlie go. You two have the best relationship."

"Ha, you dare say that? It was you who messed with Ye Mo today."

Arnold was worried on the side. "Keep your voice down. Ye Mo went to sleep. He didn't eat much for dinner today."

"I could go, but is there any of you who can beat me? Don't come crying when you run into me."

Just then, Norton came out of Ye Mo's room.

He gestured, and the others fell silent.

Secretary-General Lin breathed a sigh of relief. Dealing with so many Graths was still quite difficult for him. He pushed his glasses and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the incident during the day, the people have been temporarily detained. We have also negotiated with Orolia and Suonan, but it hasn't gone smoothly. They are demanding their release and compensation. For the moment, the plan is to refuse first, and after the young prince wakes up, we will have them apologize before proceeding with further actions."

"Also, there is the list from Keller."

Norton sat down. "Deenlie and Herli."

Baide shrugged. "Sorry, Herli. For the friendship between Grath and Keller, rest easy and go. Don't worry, I'll uphold Grath's honor, but if I face you, I won't hold back."

"You should be careful not to run into me. Deenlie and I are going to kick your butt."

Deenlie, caught between them, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Norton continued, "No need to negotiate anymore."

Secretary-General Lin immediately understood that Norton was referring to Orolia and Suonan.

"Release them, reject all demands, and then give them a warning."

Norton said unhurriedly, "The Resource Competition is about to begin."

Everyone present understood his meaning. The Resource Competition was a formal, legal platform for using violence.

Secretary-General Lin said solemnly, "As you wish."

Among the Graths, releasing detainees was not a good sign. It meant that Grath was ready to completely annihilate the other party and naturally didn't care about the finer points.

Baide whistled excitedly, perched on the chair like a big cat. "Let them apologize to Cyril in the competition."

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

"This is going to be fun."

The Graths, who had been noisy the whole time, now became less talkative.

Secretary-General Lin looked up and saw a group of Graths surrounding Norton. Their eyes were all gleaming like big cats ready to hunt, appearing dangerous yet relaxed.

...

In Ye Mo's room, Theodore hovered in the air, like a swirl of fragmented light, floating and undulating with Ye Mo's movements.

Theodore gently settled on Ye Mo's fingertip.

"I'm sorry, Theodore."

"Actually, that model was about to go out of commission anyway. It's okay, Cyril."

"But you are my charge."

Ye Mo moved his fingertip, barely moving it, but Theodore retreated, and the fragmented light in the whole room disappeared for a split second.

"Theodore?"

The fragmented light reappeared.

Data streamed endlessly again, and clumps of fragmented light coiled around Ye Mo's fingertip, as if reaching out to him.

If only he could touch him, if only he could embrace him.

Theodore seemed to have returned to the days when he and Ye Mo were hiding in the Wandering Star Sector. He could travel freely in the virtual world, but Ye Mo could not.

He could only trudge along. They relied on each other, inseparable, yet unable to touch.

"But Cyril, you were not wrong."

"I know."

Ye Mo perked up and smiled as usual.

"I wonder if that guy was injured. I was pretty angry then, but next time I run into them, they should apologize to me."

"They need to apologize to you."

"And they owe you one too."

Theodore coiled around Ye Mo's fingertip, humoring him.

Ye Mo was still like this. In the past, he was born among spiders, yet he grew up as if bathed in light, a good kid.

Theodore once wondered that he had told him too many fairy tales.

Living a rough life in the Wandering Star Sector, barely getting by, yet always meddling and feeling for others.

Author's Note:

It became him; progress +1.