Whose Nirvana (Part 2)
Martial Arts Field Exit J.
Holding a small flag of "Leiden Surroundings", the young assistant nervously poked the reporter next to him.
"Hello, we met yesterday."
"Hey, it's you." The staff member of Fantasy Beast Weekly glanced at her empty wrist. "Why are you alone? Hey... were you exiled by those two old-timers?"
She had a new hairstyle with dreadlocks today. When she turned her head while talking, the braids made a huge scene.
The young assistant lowered her head in shame. Although she didn't hold the old-fashioned notion that dirty laundry should be kept private, she still blushed a little when someone she had just met pointed out that she was being excluded.
She took photos that they thought were "extremely hot", but she refused to publish them according to their ideas. As a result, she was sent to this exit where no popular contestants would appear.
The dreadlocked sister pulled her to squat behind the fence. "Theoretically, there aren't many hot contenders coming out of this opening today. But you're lucky to have run into me." She glanced around and lowered her voice. "According to insider information, there was a fight between the Thorn Flower and Lighthouse players. Both sides are seriously injured. The referee team is still deliberating on their punishment, and all matches involving them have been postponed."
"What?" The assistant opened his mouth wide.
"This doesn't sound like breaking news, but," she raised an eyebrow, "it's just a fight between students from two schools that landed them in the hospital. It's not uncommon in previous years. The tournament organizers are keeping this kind of news very secretive this time... You know, there must be something else going on. Maybe it's related to the internal strife within the Fantasy Beast Hall."
The assistant didn't bother to think about "other inside stories" or the internal strife within the Fantasy Beast Hall. She just remembered Linyin confidently telling her they would take first place in their group, and then... her teammates turned around and started a brawl, dragging her down! She must be really pissed off right now...
"How's it going? Isn't my sister kind enough?" The sister with dreadlocks smacked her lips, noticing that the assistant didn't show the expression she expected. "Don't tell me you know nothing about the internal strife in the Fantasy Beast Hall? That won't do..."
Just as they were about to give her a painstaking explanation, the group of reporters around them suddenly became agitated.
"Damn, am I seeing things? It's Eisen!" someone exclaimed.
Eisen was coming out of the exit alone. He was very tall, with deep features. His short light blonde hair looked like it had been kissed by the aurora. When he looked at people with his ice-blue eyes, it always made people feel that he had just walked out of the wind and snow, with ice crystals hanging on his eyelashes.
The dreadlocked sister turned around upon hearing the voice and couldn't help but whistle at the sight. "The Mithril Academy group was going through Exit H, but Eisen chose to go this way... Little thing, I was wrong. You're not just a little lucky, you're incredibly lucky!" She then put her arm around the assistant's shoulders and said, "Tell me, which exit are you planning to go to tomorrow? From now on, I'll follow you!"
There weren't many people betting on J today, so the scene wasn't big, but people quickly gathered around Eisen.
"Player Aisen, today was a truly satisfying victory! How are you feeling now?"
"After narrowly losing to Avalon College in the last competition, what is Mithril College's goal this time? Is it still aiming for first place?"
"Avalon College has a bye today. I heard they watched all of your games live. Did you guys communicate after the games?"
"Netizens rated her as the 'most stable center position,' do you agree with this assessment?"
Reporters threw out questions one after another.
"Sorry." He smiled and nodded, and the earrings transformed into the appearance of a wolf. The pressure of the phantom beast appeared, and the crowd could only helplessly make way.
"Just an illusion can exert such a strong pressure, worthy of being a contestant Aisen!"
"Of course. A heavenly-level fantasy beast, do you know what that means?"
"What's there to not know... Previously, a player from Thorn Flower released a Heaven-level mythical beast, and it pierced the Star Network with fire."
"The one called Song Baiyue, right? Speaking of which, how serious a fight between Thorn Flower and Lighthouse could possibly delay the competition? Is Lighthouse any powerful being? Shouldn't a Heavenly-level mythical beast crush it directly?"
"I don't understand. But Song Baiyue is still popular. I'll ask around for some information later."
The reporters had originally thought that they would not be able to dig out any big news from the tight-lipped Eisen today, so they were a little discouraged and started chatting casually. However—
"Today's Thorn Flower Academy competition has been canceled. What does Aisen think?"
Someone in the corner took out a phantom speaker and attracted everyone's attention in a very unfair way.
Where did this clueless guy come from? Doesn't he know you can't use a phantom speaker during an interview? His interview credentials are about to be revoked.
The reporters looked at him with a mixture of confusion and sympathy.
"I think it's normal for the game schedule to be adjusted."
Aisen's deep voice caught everyone's attention. He paused and turned back. "Of course, to contestant Rin," his icy eyes warmed at the mention of her name. "Like I told her yesterday, I'm always looking forward to seeing her in the finals."
………………
The headquarters office building of the Fantasy Beast Hall.
Rumi stared at Jinjie's empty workstation in a daze.
That position has been vacant for half a month.
In the past half month, Jin Jie's family came to make trouble several times.
Come to think of it, that was the first time Rumi had met anyone from the Frost family besides Jin Jie. He hadn't expected them to be sobbing, making a fuss, wailing, rolling on the ground, and holding banners. There wasn't a trace of "aristocrat" about them at all... It was hard to imagine that this was a big family that had been in charge of the Fantasy Beast Palace for a hundred years.
The first time, building security politely asked them to leave.
The second time, they actually brought reporters from other media, and the scene was really lively.
The next time they tried to pull off the same trick, something went wrong. Their PR director—yes, the one who'd secretly paid Jin Jie to do the hiring—had always considered himself a Frost family supporter. He'd actually released a long string of chat logs, the authenticity of which was unclear, to various media outlets. These logs revealed Jin Jie's repeated slander and insults against Flora, the Master of the Fantasy Beast Hall, using awful language.
After that, Jin Jie's family never came again, and no one in the office mentioned Jin Jie's name again, as if this person had never appeared in the office.
Today, information prompts on large terminals used to monitor public opinion are much more frequent than before.
"Rummi, rummi, have you seen the Morning Star's headlines today?" a colleague from the next desk came over. "They say the Frost family has been manipulating the media for years, maliciously smearing the Palace Master."
Rumi nodded, not only seeing it but also not being surprised at all.
The Palace Master personally visited the editor-in-chief's office of the Morning Star - dark red vines descended from the window of the 37th floor and tied up a few people as a greeting.
The current public relations strategy directed by the Palace Master is to tell these media outlets: Those who disobey will die; those who obey will be paid generously. Even if they want to assess the situation, they must first survive. Overnight, public opinion was practically reversed.
"That guy is really capable...but Frost has recently launched a full-scale counterattack, and we'll be busy again." The colleague curled his lips and watched as several other news items popped up on his work terminal.
[The Frost family publicly condemned Flora's violent suppression of public opinion]
"Look, here it comes! This one was posted by... 'Throat of the North'. The Cali family is behind it. These old nobles are so powerful that even that person can't do anything to them."
The Rise and Fall of the Fantasy Beast Palace: Who Should Be Blamed?
The next commentary article freshly published by "Fantasy Beast Weekly" caught Rumi's attention.
This media outlet is backed by the Carriage Family, which is famous for its abstraction. So, don’t be fooled by its name, which sounds like a popular science book. In fact, their reporting and commentary style has always been to use superficial neutrality to deceive people with all kinds of opinions, and then go crazy and kill everyone.
He clicked on the title.
(This article was written by Mai Sui Ma Che, a special commentator for Fantasy Beast Weekly)
Dear readers! Today we're going to discuss a serious topic! (Don't close this page yet! This article is guaranteed to be much more interesting than the doom-laden reports from the likes of The Morning Star, Throat of the North, and Mithril Herald!)
As everyone knows, our respected current Lady Master of the Fantasy Beast Hall has been badly criticized recently (how badly? Please refer to the Frost family's press conferences that they want to hold three times a day, morning, noon and evening).
The current state of the Fantasy Beast Hall is truly dire. All its security forces have been disbanded, and the only office left is the Coachella City headquarters. While there haven't been any major innovations in the field for a long time, the collection of Fantasy Beast supplies and taxes has remained constant.
This is the Fantasy Beast Palace! How did it become like this?
A hundred years ago, Frost's ancestor was still a hunter. During the Cataclysm, he accidentally contracted a strange beast and founded the Fantasy Beast Hall. Back then, the Fantasy Beast Hall was a veritable savior, and ordinary people would bow and express gratitude for its protection.
Let’s look back fifty years.
Back then, the Beast Palace was incredibly wealthy. The Frosts' bathroom floor was paved with Enchanted Stone (true story! Although a lot of it was later secretly stolen and sold by servants). It was truly the heyday! The Supreme Archon had to borrow a beast from the Beast Palace whenever he went out. Who in the Frost family doesn't miss it, right? (Of course, I don't miss it at all.)
So, of course, the Frost family is worried now. But the question is—is the current Palace Master truly to blame for the Fantasy Beast Palace's current state?
According to the undercover investigation by our reporter (actually the author himself), the resume of the previous Palace Master during his tenure was truly shocking, enlightening, and shocking!
137 labs have been opened, and their only achievement is a special beauty serum for the nobility that makes mythical beasts' fur shinier. He spends all day gathering a bunch of nobles to improvise, tying them firmly to his chariot. Those who refuse to improvise? Sorry, we at Old Money won't play with you anymore.
The only thing the previous hall master did right was to make a will before he died of exhaustion, passing the position to his extremely talented secretary.
Now, fellow Frost masters, what do you think?
(There was originally an impromptu satirical poem here, but it was deleted by the editor-in-chief) It's been 3588 years, and you actually say something as devastating as "women can't manage"?
Yes, you old man Deng are really good at managing things. You have made a big mess of it, and you still want to put the blame on the current hall master who turned the tide.
(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication)
Next to the disclaimer that seems to draw a clear line, Frost's family crest is spoofed into an emoticon that shifts the blame, which is full of double entendre and extremely sarcastic.
Rumi wanted to laugh after reading this, so he saved it. His colleague, not paying attention, sighed, "I heard the Frost family hasn't given up on selecting an heir. That guy," he pointed to where Jin Jie had sat, "was originally said to have a chance of becoming the heir, but now..."
This situation might not be a bad thing, Rumi thought.
At least... I still have my life.
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