Seeing that Nero still had not said anything, Stelle realized the other party was in an awkward spot, so she stepped forward. Under the examiner's puzzled gaze, she once again gave her own answer.
The legendary Galactic Baseballer immediately dropped to her knees and chose to kowtow repeatedly to her business rival.
"Get up already... No one fights a business war by kowtowing, right..." Firefly tried to pull Stelle up.
However, the young Stellaron said shamelessly, "For a person to live out their life safely, it all comes down to four words, 'Spare this hero's life.'"
Then Stelle stood up and continued, "If that still doesn't make my opponent spare me, then I can only leave in despair.
"As the saying goes, a hero leaves home and heads to the Dreamscape to open up new land. If the Dreamscape won't take me in, then I'll join the Annihilation Gang."
The examiner stared blankly at the scene, his brain short-circuiting a little.
Only after a moment did he awkwardly speak, "Uh... Although your performance was wonderful, but... uh... we're asking you to show that you refuse to give up, so, uh... please don't use those... sudden flashes of inspiration to make everyone laugh anymore..."
The examiner took a long time to say this. He frowned, as if every word that came out had to be carefully considered so that his words would not sound too harsh.
Seeing Stelle, who was having a great time on the Path of Elation, finally reined herself in a little. She then made a slamming-the-table gesture and, with a serious expression, indicated that she would never admit defeat!
Seeing this performance, a smile finally appeared on the examiner's face, a relieved smile that said, "I'm finally free."
He did not know what the previous examiner had been thinking, but he really was about to cry.
Leaving the issue of acting ability aside, was this group, which was very likely the predetermined champion, these guests invited by the Family, perhaps a little too neurotic?
The fatigue of a wage earner suddenly surged up inside him, and the examiner felt as if he were starting to go bald.
He sighed heavily. With an expression and tone that seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, he spoke again,
"Some people regained their spirits, but others did not agree with this optimism and determination. Looking at the mountain of debt, they finally became disheartened..."
As he spoke, the examiner's gaze gradually became cautious.
He felt that this time, he needed to choose someone who looked reliable to answer the question. After a few seconds, his gaze landed on the red-haired knight, who looked very determined.
Noticing the examiner's eager gaze, Argenti returned it with equal enthusiasm.
Then the knight's expression suddenly changed. Sadness appeared on the knight's face, as if his sorrow and indignation could be seen through every pore.
This performance rekindled hope in the examiner's heart. He felt that this time, there might actually be a chance. This person looked like a normal person.
And then...
"How could I be so undetermined that I would become disheartened over something like this and abandon Nero..."
Under the examiner's shocked gaze, the handsome man whom he had considered a reliable candidate actually raised his head with despair written all over his face, made a gesture of violently slapping himself in the mouth, and wailed, "I really deserve to die!"
At that moment, the examiner felt as if his brain had been blasted by tens of thousands of volts.
'Are you sick?!'
'Why would you react like this?!'
'It's just becoming disheartened. Why are you acting as if you've committed a crime worthy of death? Even members of the Family who have violated the Family's taboos rarely act like you!'
'What are you thinking?!'
'Why is this happening?!'
'Couldn't you just become disheartened and leave?!'
But the examiner had not expected that what shocked him was not the only thing that would happen, because... there was another expert.
He soon saw the performance of the mechanical gentleman.
Tiriandes turned his head toward Argenti and said in a certain and affirmative tone, "That's exactly right. You really do deserve to die!"
The examiner stared stupidly at the scene, completely unable to understand why this was happening, or rather, why they had chosen to perform it like this.
'Are you two sick?!'
'You just went bankrupt and became disappointed. How did that turn into actually deserving death?!'
'What exactly are the two of you thinking?!'
'Good heavens!'
'Could there really be no normal people among these connected candidates?!'
'I'm about to get off work. Why do I still have to be tortured by candidates like this?!'
Seeing the examiner's expression gradually break down and his body begin to tremble, Firefly's keen perception, honed through years of combat, sensed that something was wrong.
Her instincts told her that if the other people continued improvising like this, the examiner on this floor might actually go insane on the spot.
So the kind-hearted Molten Knight quickly gave him an opening, "I became disheartened... and left Penacony... like this... is that okay?"
Almost the instant Firefly finished speaking, the examiner raised his head and looked at her with an expression as if he were looking at his own savior, saying in a trembling voice, "Okay! More than okay!"
"All of you have such outstanding acting talent. I'm practically crying from watching you! Congratulations, everyone. You've completed my test. Get ready to go to the next place."
Judging from the examiner's genuine voice and the way he could not wait to send everyone away, Firefly was certain that the examiner had absolutely not been lying when he said he was practically crying.
Afterward, under the examiner's impatient gaze, everyone left this place and headed to the next location.
The examiner at the third location was a woman, and one who looked very strict.
Judging from her expression and words, Firefly believed that this examiner had no idea what the previous two examiners had gone through.
Silver Wolf sometimes said, "If you've been caught in the rain yourself, then you should tear up other people's umbrellas too."
At this moment, Firefly felt that she had already understood the meaning of these words on a very deep level.
"Welcome to the final stage. Actually, all the scenes you experienced just now came from the movie Past Dreams."
The third examiner was methodically carrying out her work. Seeing how serious she was, Firefly could not help giving her a sympathetic look.
The examiner continued, briefly introducing the script they had been using to test everyone, the original plot, "Two fellow travelers came to Penacony, which had nothing, carrying their dreams with them."
"They longed for success but repeatedly suffered setbacks. In the end, one of them refused to give up and accumulated a mountain of debt, while the other gave up on his career and left this place."
"Many years later, they met again in prosperous Penacony, but neither dared to acknowledge the other, because..."
At this point, the examiner suddenly stopped.
She looked at everyone and quietly waited for an answer, seemingly hoping that the contestants would create the scene themselves at this moment.
Everyone realized that the examiner's test had begun.
Her style was completely different from the previous two examiners.
Nero blinked and answered without thinking, "Of course it's because they'd been out of touch for too long and didn't recognize each other right away! Could it be that some of us are supposed to become tycoons, some live ordinary lives, and some end up destitute?"
After saying this, Nero looked at the people beside him. He felt that it was extremely difficult for such a situation to occur.
The examiner did not answer Nero. She only smiled and continued, "In the completely renewed Penacony, you look at each other. The joy of meeting again and the sadness of parting, the awkwardness of being strangers and the shyness of meeting after a long separation, all surge into your hearts at once.
"Come, everyone. Try to convey this mixture of joy and sorrow to me through precise acting!"
After the examiner finished speaking, several people stood where they were. None of them moved. They simply stared blankly at the examiner.
The two sides stared at each other for more than a minute. The examiner finally could not help rubbing her eyes and said somewhat angrily, "What do you mean by this? Why aren't you doing anything?"
"Madam, we didn't do anything, but that is also a performance." Tiriandes said, "For the subject you gave us, our answer is the same as always."
"Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, this is simply impossible. No matter what emotions they have, they will all be washed away in the face of such a long passage of time. But for us, it is different."
"For a knight, those sincere feelings will not change because of external factors. Just as even during the long years after Idrila disappeared, the knights continued to pursue the path of Beauty without stopping for even a moment."
"So this is our answer. My heart remains the same, my heart is eternal."
"And the Nameless are clearly the same. The Trailblazing team has experienced several rises and falls, and even today, when the Silver Rail has been severed and the Aeons have fallen, there are still Nameless teams traveling through the universe on the road of exploration."
The examiner quietly listened to Tiriandes's answer. Then she stepped aside and smiled.
"You pass."
Even though, as a wage earner, she really did need to let the distinguished guests before her pass, at this moment, the examiner felt that she was doing so sincerely.
That mechanical gentleman seemed to have a point, and that firm conviction was moving.
Most importantly, the people standing before her really were the Knights of Beauty and the Nameless. That carried too much authority.
This was already beyond the level of merely saying that it did not look acted. This was simply... not acting at all.
Afterward, the group left this place and headed toward the second venue, but...
According to the guide, the second trial had two parts, the Trial of Gunfire and the Trial of Time. Without a doubt, the former of the two... was Brother Hanu again.
"I didn't expect to run into this in the end." Nero's expression became complicated, and he immediately chose the Trial of Time.
The child did not dislike Brother Hanu, but in his current impression, Brother Hanu was equivalent to Little Brother Hanu, which was equivalent to the robbery Stone Boss simulator he had already played.
The Trial of Time involved finding puzzle pieces and putting the puzzle together. However, Nero's side had strength in numbers, and every one of them was formidable, so this did not take very long. Everyone quickly collected all the puzzle pieces and put the puzzle back together.
After that, there was a maze game. Under the operations of Game Master Nero, they naturally completed a speedrun.
As for why Nero was called a Game Master... Silver Wolf, Chess Ghost, Jing Yuan, Yanqing, and the others could all give a very good answer.
After speedrunning the second stage, everyone began heading toward the final third stage.
According to Aideen's previous introduction, the third stage was to challenge the current champion, a blue-haired man who was morally questionable, quite popular, and very powerful.
Riding marbles in the Dreamscape, everyone arrived at the venue.
In the gorgeous and magnificent corridor, a bright red carpet stretched beneath their feet, as if it were the only road leading toward the path of kingship.
Without hesitation, everyone sped forward and finally arrived at the central stage.
But...
"Wasn't it said that... we're supposed to challenge the champion currently defending the title here? How come... there isn't a single person?"
Firefly stood beside Stelle and looked around.
When everyone arrived near the stage, they had already noticed that it was completely empty. At that moment, Firefly already felt that something was wrong and became alert.
However, even someone as perceptive as the Molten Knight could not find anyone hiding near the stage, not even the slightest trace.
Just as everyone was puzzled, a black, fist-sized sphere suddenly flew out from a corner.
The thing looked like a bomb. Its fuse had already been lit, and a heart-shaped skull had been painted on its black shell with white paint.
Such a thing was extremely familiar to both Stelle and Nero...
The next moment, the little object that had been thrown out exploded. Blinding white light flooded everyone's vision, making them instinctively close their eyes.
When their vision gradually recovered, thick smoke had already surrounded the stage.
While everyone's eyes were being assaulted by the flash, several homemade smoke bombs had already been thrown at their feet.
The corner of Stelle's mouth twitched slightly, but she still drew her bat. Then she looked at Nero beside her with an inquiring gaze.
Next, Stelle saw Nero nod.
Although the two said nothing, merely through exchanging glances, they had already confirmed what the other was thinking.
'This familiar method really should be... Sampo, right?'
Firefly did not transform into her battle form for the moment, but she also drew her sword. However, in the next second, a blue-purple blade was already pressed against her neck.
The blue-haired man who looked extremely familiar, dressed in flashy clothes, smiled as he slashed at her, exactly like the person the Fool had transformed into before.
What shocked Firefly even more was that before the opponent's blade swung over, she had not noticed him at all, nor had she heard even the slightest suspicious sound.
This person was like an insignificant shadow within the smoke.
And before this, he had hidden himself, thrown a flashbang, thrown smoke bombs, and then launched a sneak attack.
At this moment, Firefly seemed to understand why this defender had been described as "morally questionable."
It would be difficult to dodge a sneak attack like this, so Firefly prepared to transform directly.
However, before she could transform into Sam, someone was even faster.
A hand reached out from behind and directly pulled Firefly backward. Argenti raised his spear and blocked Nero, Stelle, and Firefly behind him.
At the same time, Tiriandes said nothing and kicked out directly. Amid the faint sound of an engine, the enormous force instantly tore open a gap in the smoke, along with a figure tumbling through the air.
Finally, a butt appeared before everyone.
Sampo was crawling on the ground with his butt sticking up.