Chapter 145 Pre-match interview (Part 2)
"The Energy Generator is powered by low-grade energy ore. Although it's called a 'generator,' it's actually more of an 'energy converter.'"
"This type of device can guarantee output energy waves with specific characteristics, but it doesn't create energy out of thin air. Carrying an energy generator is far less convenient than directly loading it with high-grade energy ore." A user named xkk immediately spoke up in the comments section, offering a condescending explanation. "What's LUCE doing? Aren't you running out of ideas?"
"Ever since he became the specially hired starship designer for the Space Navigation Department, he hasn't produced anything. Now he's deliberately coming up with these things just to confuse people?"
"I want to see how this thing can be used in competition!"
"I can't figure out what LUCE is doing with the energy generator, but this guy upstairs is clearly looking for trouble! Stop showing off your knowledge! LU must have his own reasons for carrying something like this!"
"Just sit back and wait and see!"
"What's in the box at the back? Can you see it? Wucailan doesn't seem to have brought much equipment this time. I saw some teams brought several boxes of artillery barrels."
The host, Rabbit, and the comment section were in agreement. He quickly put aside his doubts about the energy generator and waited with wide eyes for Mingyu to open the box at the back.
Mingyu didn't move.
"Those are all secret weapons," Mingyu said mysteriously, pressing down the lid of the box. "I'm not showing them to you!"
Bird: "Chirp!"
It puffed out its chest proudly and glanced at the host with a sense of superiority.
Others may not know, but it knows! There's a small box inside that contains a gift for its owner!
Mingyu smiled and scratched its chin, making the bird feel so comfortable that it closed its eyes.
The rabbit host didn't notice the bird's "contempt." He let out a long, drawn-out "Oh," and said excitedly, "Looks like this is Colorful's real trump card! Wow, I wish I could travel back to ten days after the competition begins right now... I can't wait to see the answer revealed!"
Mingyu blinked and said sweetly, "Then stay tuned!"
"Wow, LUCE is so different from what I thought! Such a naughty and lively good boy, woooooooooo——"
Another large number of comments flashed across the screen.
The rabbit host was calm and composed, ignoring the noises of everyone shouting and groaning. He followed the procedure with the camera, walked around the room, showed the audience the colorful hairy people who were working diligently, asked a few trivial questions, and then walked towards the door.
"Before ending this interview, Rabbit has one last question." He passed by Mingyu and gave him a malicious smile.
"As the number one team in the Central Star Region, where do you think you will rank in the finals?"
Mingyu tilted his head and asked curiously, "All teams should give the same answer to this question, right?"
The young man smiled and said as a matter of course, "Of course it's first place."
"But you have to know, this competition is packed with formidable opponents!" the host, following the script, said, tirelessly fanning the flames. "The Slayer from the Southeast Star Region, the Eggplant Flower from the Southwest Star Region, and the Ranger who's already made a name for himself. They're all determined to win the gold medal!"
"An anonymous expert in the Star Navigation Competition discussion forum evaluated the overall capabilities of each team based on past match recordings. Your rating is slightly higher than the Ranger, but significantly lower than the Slayer and also lower than the Eggplant. The Star Navigation Competition also conducted a public opinion survey among the audience."
"Although Wucaibanlan has achieved impressive results in the past, and many believe you'll be among the top three, most viewers don't believe you can win the Star Navigation Competition."
"Under such pressure, are you nervous about the upcoming finals?"
Mingyu: “…”
……nervous?
Of course he would be nervous in the past.
but……
He thought about the space shuttle technology that had successfully completed the first phase of experiments, the several 2S energy crystals that Xiaoniao had generously gifted him, the highly autonomous starship design drawings that he had repeatedly checked and planned to test in this competition, and... Mu Baixing who was standing next to him, folding his arms and not saying a word.
Mingyu hummed, put the electronic pen back into his pocket, and turned off the design light screen.
He glanced at the host, who looked excited and eager to catch fire, then glanced at the floating camera in front of him, and answered wholeheartedly and seriously, "No pressure."
"We will definitely win."
*
After the interview, Mingyu prepared for the Star Navigation Competition as planned, while also juggling several experiments for a collaborative project with the Star Navigation Department. He was so busy that he quickly forgot about the interview. However, public opinion on Star Online continued to ferment.
"Dark Horse Team's colorful designer, LUCE, boasted that his team has secured first place!"
"The Qiehua team and the White Elephant team responded in succession: We look forward to seeing you on the field."
"The rabbit is picking on the weak. Did you realize that Mu Boxing is the colorful captain, but the rabbit host greeted him and then didn't dare to ask him any questions?!"
"Descending from the altar: Renowned starship designer and observer LUCE speaks arrogantly and disrespectfully."
""
Among the large number of gossip posts, there is also a post by StarNet user xkk who persists in believing that LUCE only has a reputation, is a fool, and is scheming.
"Xingwang user xkk posted several posts questioning LUCE. Is this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?"
"Rationally discuss Starnet user xkk's question about LUCE: According to the Star Navigation Department's public website, LUCE hasn't submitted any design drafts to the department since becoming its specially appointed designer. Is the title of specially appointed designer unworthy of its status?"
"Rationally discuss Starnet user xkk's second post regarding LUCE's doubts: the possibility that LUCE is connected to the Kuroshio creatures."
Amidst the increasingly heated discussion, a new post quietly emerged.
"An irresponsible guess about LUCE's true identity based on clues provided by the famous LU hacker xkk."
This kind of post dedicated to revealing someone's identity is very popular among StarNet users.
The post appeared, and many people immediately opened it with great interest. The post was not long, and the author lived up to the "irresponsible speculation" title, with the content being wildly imaginative.
"According to xkk, there's something fishy going on between LUCE, the Ming family, and the Black Tide. It was LUCE who first exposed the despicable behavior of Ming Zhilang and his wife. Also, the video of Feren being forcibly hypnotized was clearly recorded at the Ming family manor."
"That means Luce was indeed at the Ming family manor on the night the black tide attacked the Ming family."
"First of all, the Colorful Star Region Tournament is held in the Central Star Region, which means LUCE is a resident of the Central Star Region."
"Secondly, I personally don't believe LUCE could actually be connected to the Kuroshio creatures or have caused the Kuroshio attack. Based on this assumption, LUCE didn't specifically go to the Ming family manor that night for any other purpose, but was already at the manor banquet..."
"Classmates, there were many guests at the Ming family banquet, and many of them were at odds with Ming Zhilang and his wife! But now, looking back from a God's perspective, who was the person who suffered the most from Ming Zhilang's series of evil deeds?"
"Friends! That must be Mingyu!"
“…”
“…”
“…”
"...Who?" Some Starnet users from other star regions who rarely surfed the internet looked confused. "I only know Ming Yan from the Ming family. Ming Yu sounds like he's also from the Ming family... Does anyone from the Central Star Region know anyone?"
"Oh, I'm not from the Central Star Region, but I know! You haven't even finished reading the foreground summary above! Didn't you read the case briefing about Ming Zhilang carefully? I'm not from the Central Star Region, but I know everything! He's the son of General Ming Zhuofeng! The previous case briefing said that Ming Zhilang deliberately destroyed his spiritual domain... What a pity."
"It's a shame. But... saying LUCE is Mingyu is a bit... that. Everyone in the Central Star Region knows that Mingyu is just a pretty loser, a second-generation official who just gets by. Although it sounds bad, it's actually true."
"I used to go to high school with him. He barely attended classes, skipping them every day. His grades were terrible in his freshman and sophomore years. In his junior year, I saw him studying hard, and he even got into a comprehensive university's Department of Space and Navigation Studies. But everyone knows that Space and Navigation Studies is full of second-generation officials and wealthy people who come here to gild their reputations. I think Ming Zhilang and his wife must have bought him in."
"I used to think he bought it, but now it seems he must have taken the exam himself. The Ming Zhilang couple obviously want to spoil him, so how could they pay for him to get promoted?"
"I guess Mingyu's life in the Ming family wasn't easy either. He probably looked glamorous to outsiders, but in reality, I don't know how Ming Zhilang and his wife manipulated him into studying. That's why he didn't study hard before, but in his senior year of high school, he suddenly woke up and started catching up."
"But is it really possible for someone to study hard in just one year of high school and get into Capital Star University? Even though their score in Star Navigation History is low, it's still the highest-ranked comprehensive university in Capital Star! I don't believe it!"
"Thinking the other way around, if Mingyu is really LUCE, doesn't this operation seem much more reasonable?"
“…”
“…”
“…”
"I don't believe it! I'm a student in the Department of Space Navigation at a comprehensive university! I'm a second-generation rich kid, let me tell you. But Mingyu doesn't come to class as often as I do, and he barely passes several of his courses. He just sleeps in the back of the class. I hear he's addicted to playing games in the dorm room and has no ambition. Oh my god... this can't be true, right? Apart from anything else, how could someone who just wants to get by know all that starship design knowledge?"
"...upper floor, I'm also studying Starship History, but I just suddenly remembered that Mingyu's Starship Design History class...has a very high score, which is completely different from his other classes."
“…”
Within a few minutes, the discussion thread was catching up to the hype surrounding the various gossip threads that had been circulating. Just as more and more people were joining in, and it was about to enter the Starnet's most popular thread rankings, a new piece of news about LUCE suddenly hit them head-on.
"Stop guessing here! Everyone, go check this LUCE out! It seems there's something wrong! New post pointing to the direction:
Breaking News! Someone from the Central Star Region Security Department revealed that LUCE is indeed closely connected to the Black Tide attack in the Central Star Region! They say everything is still under investigation!
"Luce may have been arrested for involvement with the Kuroshio creatures. The Ministry of Security spokesperson's videotaped response to reporters' questions is as follows:..."
“…”
“…”
“…”
midnight.
The street lights from Kash Space City shone through the curtains onto Mu Boxing's face, revealing his indifferent expression. He had headphones in his ears, repeatedly playing videos from the Star Network.
"Yes. Our investigation has confirmed that Luce is indeed involved in the Kuroshio attack. The specific reasons cannot be disclosed at this time. An arrest warrant will not be issued for the time being."
"Excuse me, spokesperson, does the Black Tide attack here refer to the attack on the Ming family or the Black Tide raid on the border of the Central Star Region?"
"LUCE is connected to both."
"They did help repel the Black Tide attack. But that doesn't mean they had nothing to do with the attack."
"Excuse me, Spokesperson, you just revealed that the star lines outside the central star field, which had a certain defensive effect, disappeared during this battle. Is this related to Luce and Mu Boxing?"
"The disappearance of the defensive star line in the central star field is indeed related to LUCE and Mu Boxing."
"The Security Department is assessing the losses caused by the disappearance of the star line and the loss of the central star field's first line of daily defense. They may hold LUCE and Mu Boxing accountable."
In the comment section below, StarNet is in uproar.
"Impossible! I don't believe it! Either release the results of the investigation! Or stop making such irresponsible statements! How could anyone be related to the Kuroshio creatures? How is it related? Explain it to me clearly!"
"Is what the Ministry of Security spokesperson said completely false? They've already said they'll hold people accountable!"
"The spokesperson's words are a bit strange. They're talking about holding those responsible for destroying the Star Line accountable... but according to the description when the Silver Star Badge was issued, the Star Line had to be destroyed during the battle against the Black Tide creatures, otherwise the central star region would suffer heavy casualties. If they were to hold those responsible accountable, wouldn't that be too disheartening?"
"I've read the report, and no one's talking about arresting Luce and Mu Boxing. They say it's 'related' to the Kuroshio creatures, but how exactly does it mean related? I'm so anxious! Why are the authorities so clueless about this?"
"Those colorful fans up there are all crazy! I used to like LUCE Mu Boxing, but I heard from the Security Department that they caused the Black Tide attack... That's a crime of betrayal! I'm wondering why they didn't disqualify them from the Star Navigation Competition!"
"How can the competition be canceled when the investigation results haven't come out yet? Don't get too excited, everyone, wait for the results first. This kind of accusation requires another questioning of LUCE and Mu Boxing, right? But tomorrow is the final day of the Star Navigation Competition. I think it's likely that the questioning can only begin after the competition is over..."
"It can't be something as serious as treason. Otherwise, the Security Department would have arrested them long ago. How can they still speak here? I also think there's something wrong with the Security Department..."
"Then LUCE must have done something bad! How could he say that if he was worried about everyone! LUCE, get out of the Star Navigation Competition!"
There were many heated discussions on the Star Online forum. Mu Baixing read through the comments one by one, scrolling to the bottom. His expression was extremely cold, and after a while, he sneered.
What the Ministry of Security said was not a lie.
To those in the know, Luce and Mingyu are synonymous. The Kuroshio creatures wanted to lure Mingyu into the Kuroshio, and the attack did have some connection to Mingyu. But Mingyu was truly an innocent victim.
However, for those who didn't know LUCE was Mingyu, this ambiguous statement could be interpreted in completely different ways. Coupled with the manipulation of some media outlets that favor "big news," and allowing public opinion to ferment for a few more hours, LUCE was completely equated with the suspect.
At this point, even if Mingyu came forward to tell the truth and the Ministry of Security subsequently issued some bland clarification statements, the stain that had been left on LUCE would not completely disappear.
On the contrary, those malicious impressions that are widely publicized and deliberately incited will be transferred to the name "Ming Yu".
There is no doubt that someone is maliciously guiding public opinion and sparing no effort to throw dirty water on the identity of LUCE, hoping that Mingyu will give up and abandon this vest, which is glorious but also tainted.
The other party may also hope that Mingyu will see the growing malice, be troubled by it, perform abnormally in the finals, and add another black ink mark to the name "LUCE".
Mu Baixing reached out to turn off the light screen with a frosty look on his face.
There was no way he could let this man have his way.
Every ambiguous slander will have a price to pay.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
