Chapter 261

Chapter 261

More and more countries were stationing in the Central Star, and the number of watchful eyes around was increasing. The Grasses began spending long periods of time at Norton's residence.

Only Ye Mo, whose psychic sensitivity wasn't yet sharp enough to notice this, kept on with his daily routine.

Feeling out of sorts, Ye Mo's training was heavily cut back the first few days, with only some routine exercises. Only now was it gradually ramping up.

Lakeley stuck to Ye Mo exclusively, watching him train every day without getting bored. He occasionally explained the exercises and chatted with the audience. In fact, many people were still curious about royal life.

"This training intensity is still pretty standard. For someone his age, waiting for the psychic development period to pass is a wise choice."

"Oh no—Lakeley's totally hooked. These past few days, he's been praising him left and right."

"But there is some truth to it. Overdoing it at his age is the worst strategy. Even though the first round of the competition is coming up, it's better to focus on more training."

"I'm confused about how they're all related. So far, we know the older ones are his uncles and aunts, and the next generation only has Ye Mo. But digging deeper, there's one person who, from what I can tell, is their father."

"But the current sovereign is Norton Grass, not his father, Baide."

"There's obviously a story behind this. I can already imagine a whole series of palace intrigue dramas—brothers turning against each other."

"Exactly. Why have kids so young and so many? See, it backfired, and he was forced to step down."

"I've been watching for a while. Personally, I think Baide just didn't want the job. Also, given his looks and genes, he should have more kids."

Nearby, Adelaide handed Ye Mo a cup of water after his training. "Your Highness, the garden has been set up. We've put Pawpaw in there. Would you like to go see it? It's been a bit lonely since leaving its familiar territory."

Beside him, Lakeley perked up. Ye Mo's personal profile page still wasn't filled out.

"Pawpaw? Sounds like a cute little animal."

Ye Mo nodded while drinking water. "I want to go."

Pawpaw was also his responsibility; at the very least, he shouldn't let it be lonely.

Theodore glanced at Lakeley, then followed Ye Mo. It hadn't taken on a new body, which made many things inconvenient, but it preferred to appear before Ye Mo as shards of light. No matter how cute a body was, it wouldn't be itself.

After Ye Mo entered the garden, Adelaide closed the door and called through it to remind him, "Your Highness, Pawpaw has been a bit tense lately and tends to pounce on people."

Ye Mo nodded. "See you this afternoon, Adelaide."

Then he turned and disappeared among the trees and flowers.

Lakeley followed behind Ye Mo, keeping a reasonable distance.

Theodore felt data streaming out of him just by looking at Lakeley. It couldn't talk to Ye Mo freely anymore. If only it had been bolder from the start and blocked them out.

Pawpaw heard Ye Mo's footsteps and came over. Its cat instincts made it crouch low and stalk forward bit by bit, now lurking in the bushes nearby.

Theodore, who had eyes everywhere, had already spotted it.

It simulated a projection and hid it within the holographic world.

It simulated a bouncing ball, one of Pawpaw's favorite toys, which hadn't been brought this time.

Lakeley was still talking. "To build a garden of this scale in such a short time—"

Before he could finish, a massive figure lunged out from the bushes and passed straight through him (since Lakeley was a projection).

Lakeley froze in place.

Pawpaw landed with a low growl, then looked around in confusion. But soon it rubbed affectionately against Ye Mo's leg, retrieved the toys it had hidden in the garden, and brought them one by one to Ye Mo.

Ye Mo held it down, calming it slowly. Then he sat on the grass and pried open its mouth. "Let me check your teeth first. It'll be quick, so don't drool..."

Pawpaw lay down pitifully and started whimpering.

"So this is the so-called cute little pet? I almost peed my pants from the first-person perspective!"

"Actually, it is kind of cute. It even brings toys to Cyril, like a little baby."

"Little? It's at least several times bigger than Cyril!"

"And it hasn't had its teeth filed down. If Lakeley had been on site, he'd already be buried in a pile of toys."

Upstairs, Baide watched Ye Mo through the window, as if looking at a silly puppy. "When will he realize he's being watched?"

Arnold was also looking. "Are you talking about your watching or those annoying signals? Forget it, they're pretty much the same. He'll probably figure it out when he catches us whispering behind his back."

Baide looked nostalgic. "Oh, I still remember the last idiot to join the channel."

Arnold immediately turned to Norton. "Big brother!"

Norton glanced at Baide.

Baide made a surrendering gesture and changed the subject.

"The schedule is out. Who's going?"

"Definitely not Herli and Deenlie. Big brother, you have to stay."

Adrian, who rarely played peacemaker, picked up the document that Secretary-General Lin had just brought. "Alright, alright. Let me see. The first round is a team competition, with a maximum of thirty people. We can all go. It ends when half are eliminated. Pretty simple—just eliminate half."

Team competitions are the best way to showcase a country's overall strength. The most advanced mechas require huge R&D budgets and the best nutrient solutions. Newborns tend to have better natural gifts, and only a powerful country can attract such talent.

The Star Alliance also needs star players to kick off the first battle of the resource competition.

Elia was also reading. "Is Ye Mo going?"

Baide twirled the cup in his hand. "That depends on Norton. I'd be happy to bring a little tagalong."

The people in the room all looked at Norton, who stamped a seal on the document submitted by Secretary-General Lin.

It was the just-arrived notification from the Central Star about the resource competition.

"Let him go. Keep an eye on him."

Baide made a gesture of obedience. "Don't worry. I've trained all of you to become excellent pillars of the Grass family."

Jacob turned to Norton firmly. "Don't worry, big brother. I'll definitely keep an eye on Baide."

...

On the day of the resource competition.

The Central Star's audience area opened—a massive circular venue.

The entire venue was divided into fan-shaped areas of various sizes, each representing a different country. Flags of different nations fluttered above.

In fact, because the competition venue is too large, everyone will eventually enter a full holographic environment, but the opening ceremony will be held here.

Leaders and contestants from various countries will also be on the platform at the top of the venue, some distance away from the audience.

Those who bought on-site tickets can sit here in the section of the country they support, and then their viewpoint will follow the country they support—the same layout applies in the holographic world.

Each country’s audience section is also extremely large, and the tickets sold give the countries a share of the revenue. This income alone is astronomical. There are also many small countries that only have the basic standard area.

As countries entered one by one, the number of viewers kept rising. At this time, many people were already watching their favorite players, observing their casual interactions and movements.

Lakeley was also there. He was following Grath, focusing on Ye Mo. Ye Mo stood beside Norton.

At that moment, Lakeley looked somewhat serious.

"All their teammates are Grath's people."

"So it really is a country where the emperor has real power. We're doomed."

"I'm a bit worried about Cyril. He'll get dragged down, right? I still hope he can move to a better stage, but this situation is also difficult. There's no stage for him."

Solemn music was already playing in the venue, signaling that all participating countries had entered and the opening ceremony officially began.

Following protocol, the master of ceremonies began introducing the participating countries one by one.

The introductions were in order of ranking. First was the top-ranked country, Buston.

When the master of ceremonies announced their name, the main camera turned to Buston's platform. Buston's national flag was flying at the top.

Sitting at the front was Buston's Prime Minister. His hair was already gray. When he saw the main camera turn to him, he waved with a smile.

Standing beside him was a woman who stood upright and looked exceptionally competent. Behind them were the contestants in combat suits.

A platform like the Resource War is also an important political platform. Some astute audience members had already noticed the implications of this change.

"Sure enough, the next Prime Minister is this young lady. I've seen her face in international news before."

Most people didn't care about that.

"Hurry up! Next segment."

Soon, the smiling old man waved his hand. A young man stepped out from the team behind him and walked to the open space in the front.

The camera followed him, introducing him as it followed him. "Orka! Everyone must be familiar with him, the captain of Buston. With his outstanding abilities, he has consistently topped the individual competition for years!"

He stopped, simply standing there, and then partially activated his personal mecha mode. His right leg, right arm, and the lower part of his face quickly covered with a dark layer of mecha.

Such an operation was not just for show; it also required extremely precise control.

Buston's audience area was surprisingly large.

But at this moment, the entire venue echoed with his name, no matter which section they sat in.

"Orka! Orka! Orka!"

The atmosphere at this moment was electric.

The audience watching outside were also caught up in the atmosphere, cheering in the virtual holographic venue.

"Ahh! The live scene is so wonderful! I want to buy souvenirs too!"

"If only the audience seats could be opened up more. Every time it's limited to such a small amount, and we have to draw lots, never getting picked. There are clearly many small country audience seats left empty."

"If they didn't use a lottery, the tickets in the public sale area would be sky-high prices, gone as soon as they are released."

Lakeley had been tracking Ye Mo.

Ye Mo stood behind Norton. When they entered earlier, Grath's order was very front, almost the first batch, so he had been standing here for a long time. He was a bit nervous at first, then started to zone out. He was boredly staring at the cape on Norton's back, and when the extremely enthusiastic cheers sounded, he raised his head, looking a bit dazed.

Baide put his hand on Ye Mo's shoulder. "What? Want me to cover your ears?"

Although he said this, he had already started to act, actually covering Ye Mo's ears in a convincing manner. "I'm also very good at taking care of kids."