CHAPTER 391: CHAPTER 236: BLUE ARC AND MU LONG, DAY OF VENGEANCE (PART 1)

August 2nd, at nine-thirty in the morning, above the central square of Li Jing City.

Inside the giant, pitch-black cocoon, Gu Wenyu opened his eyes.

The fierce wind from above the city rushed towards him. At this moment, he was hanging upside down, motionless, on the surface of a skyscraper. However, the glass curtain wall did not reflect his figure because the restraint belt covering his whole body was in a chameleon-like state.

In one minute, the annual Mutant Awards Ceremony would officially commence.

The venue was set in the bustling city center before him, where a large temporary stage was erected in the square. Seats for the media and audience were arranged below the stage.

The central city district was teeming with people. At a glance, even the nearby streets were packed full.

To prevent the scene from becoming too chaotic and resulting in uncivil incidents like stampedes, traffic officers blew whistles, faces flushed, commanding the traffic loudly. The honking of cars and the din of the crowd filled the air continuously.

The center stage of the square remained empty, but the special guest seats were already packed. Various invited media sat with cameras and microphones, waiting expectantly.

A light drizzle had just fallen over Li Jing, leaving the sky in a somber hue and the asphalt streets covered with a slick blue sheen. The rain clouds hadn’t dispersed, carrying a moist and salty smell with the winds blowing from between the clouds.

Even though today’s weather was not particularly agreeable, it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the onlookers, as loud chatter drowned out the world.

This was a moment of glory that came once every decade. The association authorities had not publicly announced this year’s "Annual Mutant," but everyone present knew very well which Mutant would claim the "Annual Mutant" medal at this 20th-anniversary event.

Thus, Blue Arc’s fans flocked in early with cameras and support placards, likely making up six to seventy percent of the crowd.

Among them, someone held up a sketchpad with a picture on it, clearly a work Black Cocoon had handed out for free at the square a few days ago: a Swallowing Silver hamster, bravely clutching a Blue Arc battery, electric currents of silver jumping across its body.

"Big Bro’s influence is as terrifying as ever," Black Cocoon lamented, "Truly a national idol acclaimed by all ages! Taking away all opportunities from those new-age stars."

He turned around, silently observing the scene reflected in the glass curtain wall, where people moved along the streets as densely packed as migrating ants.

At this moment, prompted by Black Cocoon’s reminder at the hospital, the four members of the Ghost Train Corps were rushing to the venue;

And just after controlling Black Cocoon to arrive at the scene first, Ji Minghuan casually found a place to hang around, then closed his eyes, taking the chance to ride a cable car with Ayase Origami on Bergen’s mountains.

Machine No. 2 and the young lady both fell asleep in the cable car, allowing him to focus on handling matters for Machine No. 1.

"Why am I so busy?" Ji Minghuan calculated, "The Terrarium event is over, and Machines No. 2 and No. 3 are on vacation, yet No. 1 is busy again; I’m the only one who hasn’t had a break from start to finish."

At that moment, he suddenly felt like the world’s most considerate boss, arranging for each machine to have plenty of vacation, only to find himself dead tired in the office.

Shaking his head, Black Cocoon cast off his miscellaneous thoughts with a sullen mood and closed his eyes. With the restraint sensing fully opened, it was as if a vast net enveloped the city center, surveying the brilliantly lit square at a glance, not even a bird flying between the cable wires could escape it.

Before long, with a "pop" sound, dozens of spotlights flashed on.

The stage, constructed over a day and night, finally lit up. Tens of thousands of LED billboards on the skyscrapers also lit up simultaneously, broadcasting the scene on stage.

The world fell silent; the mayor, dressed formally, took to the stage.

He stopped at the podium, coughed twice, unfolded his speech, and began speaking formulaic, atmosphere-building phrases, with a torrent of words that could put people to sleep.

He then briefly mentioned focusing more on the recent new star Mutants, such as Shengxiao, Beluga...

As he introduced them, the information of these New Star Heroes appeared on the large screen behind him. Promoting newcomers has now become a development strategy for the China branch.

After all, in recent years, most people’s attention has been skewed towards the top figures of the association, with few noticing those fledgling newcomers.

Moreover, a significant portion of a Mutant’s salary in the association came from fan product sales commissions, leading to pitifully low wages for some newcomers.

In order to survive, they either became figures chasing after views and hype, focusing solely on flow and popularity, initiating a live stream and striking a signature finishing move in front of the camera every time before confronting criminals;

Or, over time, they lose confidence in themselves, opting to resign and step away from the Mutant world altogether.

Thus, to address this disjointed internal ecology in the association, the top management applied for multiple salary subsidies for new Mutants and reduced resource allocation towards top Mutants.

They feared that once veterans like Blue Arc and Swallowing Silver retired, the association’s economic situation would plummet. Therefore, creating a new generation of heroic figures became of utmost importance.