With the seven-star mechanical puppet, Xiu’s level went up. Witnessing the Moe Lord installing various anti-human, anti-social equipment, the silly, cute reader earnestly prayed that no one would touch Xiu’s berserk button – the mechanical puppet that the Moe Lord made is basically an incredibly powerful walking arsenal!
Perhaps the silly, cute reader’s prayers were effective. Seeing Xiu accompanied by his retinue of mechanical puppets, the other tower climbers did not dare to provoke them. There were no unpleasant encounters. Xiu and Du Ze advanced very smoothly. They quickly activated the “Might” plaza then came to the “Understanding” plaza. At the sight of the flower-like building, Xiu’s pupils constricted somewhat as though he was recalling some dreadful memories.
“Don’t get close.” Xiu’s little hand tugged at the hem of Du Ze’s shirt, his face upturned and his beautiful amber eyes bright and unusually urgent. “I’ll finish making the part soon and get out of here right away.”
It was said in a tone almost of command, revealing the restlessness of the speaker. Du Ze was startled and promised to do so with a nod.
Xiu approached the metal building and finished repairing it, as he promised, within an hour. The metal building opened its outer shell like a flower opening its petals, to reveal a huge, round wheel.
Du Ze looked at the clock-like wheel of time. It looked so real that it felt as though he had returned to the original Gnome Ruins – regarding his experience being swallowed by the wheel of time, Du Ze was still confused and didn’t know what to think about it; all he did was jump on it, then jump out immediately, how did that become four years outside of the wheel of time?
That matter seemed to still be on Xiu’s mind. After activating the “Understanding” plaza, he pulled Du Ze hurriedly away. It was not until they reached the “Crown” plaza that he seemed to feel at ease again, loosening his grip on Du Ze’s numb hand slightly.
Each plaza was used for a different function by the gnomes. The “Crown” plaza was an exhibition area and all kinds of fancy machinery were placed there for other people to view and evaluate.
Du Ze was attracted at one glance. The neat display of mechanical work made him think back to the 21st century – he saw refrigerators, electronic calendar clocks, camera prototypes, and other modern devices that were still working.
While Xiu was making the missing part, Du Ze began to explore the “Crown” plaza. By reading the plaque next to each work, Du Ze could guess what most of those machines were for. He even saw a solar bulb, which was highly rated, but Du Ze felt embarrassed when he saw it – when there is a sun, why would you need a light bulb?
There were some really interesting gadgets, like the one Du Ze had in his hands. It was a time detector that could be used to find the age of things. Du Ze toyed with it for a time. The gadget told him the year that some of the display items were made but he was unable to confirm whether the given time was reliable. Du Ze got bored of it after playing with it for a while and when he put it down, he accidentally pressed the device’s button while it was pointed directly at himself.
It can even take pictures of people?
Du Ze converted the time between this world and earth and found that the time detector was unexpectedly accurate. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind and his heartbeat began to speed up. He looked up at Xiu who was manufacturing the missing machine part.
“Snap.”
The gnome’s ears twitched and he stopped working on the mechanical parts in his hands. He looked at Du Ze who was not far away. The black-haired youth was staring at a machine with a complex expression on his face.
Xiu dropped the mechanical parts and walked towards Du Ze. He walked so fast that he looked like he was running.
“What’s the matter?”
Du Ze glanced at Xiu beside him. He was silent for a moment then said: “Today is your birthday.”
Some silly, cute person can’t help but praise his own wit. Incredibly, he uncovered a huge secret. Because the Moe Lord grew up in an orphanage, Du Ze was afraid that even he didn’t know the day he was born.
But Xiu’s reaction poured cold water on Du Ze.
“Birthday?” said Xiu with some confusion. The uncertainty in his voice made Du Ze feel uncomfortable because the gnome seemed to be talking about a concept he knew nothing about, not knowing why Du Ze was so moved.
… Moe Lord, you can’t do this! Don’t you know how important today is! This is the day that a miracle eight-race hybrid was born! It’s also the future Supreme God’s birthday!
Even Du Ze’s ears went red. He had no way to express his inner excitement and he stuttered almost incoherently: “It’s important, today – to celebrate it.”
Xiu blinked his amber eyes when Du Ze spoke. He didn’t think this was something good that he needed to celebrate but he would never refuse Du Ze’s requests.
“What do you want to do?’
Du Ze was stumped. He had no real friends and had no experience when it came to birthday parties. However, based on what he knew, generally people will light a candle on top of a cake and make a wish as they blow it out. Now, because of the limited conditions here, then if the cake related steps are omitted …?
A silly, cute person suggested: “Make a wish? What you wish for today will come true.”
“Who’s going to make it come true?” The corners of Xiu’s lips turned up slightly in a mocking expression. “God?”
“I’ll make it come true!” Du Ze impulsively shouted. Xiu’s smile that seemed to mock himself stung Du Ze’s eyes – that was the smile of a person thinking: “I have tried countless times in the past but no God will fulfill my wishes so I will never wish for anything ever again.”
So even though he might be biting off more than he could chew, Du Ze said as Xiu looked at him blankly: “Whatever it is you want, I will do everything I can to try to satisfy your wishes.”
Xiu raised his hand. He seemed to want to touch Du Ze’s neck, but he could only pull at Du Ze’s collar then stand on tiptoe to bite at the tip of Du Ze’s nose.
“ … Can I ask for anything?” Xiu’s voice was soft, tender, and sweet.
Du Ze covered his bitten nose with his hand and instinctively flinched. He felt like he was caught in a trap of his own making but he really did want to satisfy all of the Moe Lord’s desires. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next, yet a silly, cute person thought that, at most, the Moe Lord might ask “to ravage.”
… At most, after the Moe Lord got his fill of this and that, this heroic young man will just have to lie in bed for a day to recover!
Du Ze pushed down the constant warnings of danger from his sixth sense and steadfastly declared his intentions (courting his own death) towards his family’s Moe Lord.
Under Du Ze’s impassioned gaze, Xiu looked to the street on the right side of the “Crown” plaza which lead to the “Wisdom” plaza. Before Du Ze could react, the corners of Xiu’s eyes and lips turned up.
“I want to read your book.” A pair of very lovely dimples appeared on the little face as Xiu said: “Last time, I saw only eight pages. I have always wanted to finish reading it.”
