Outside the window, the night was dark and windy, and only sporadic cat calls and dog barks echoed in the street.
Lu Yao poured a cup of coffee and glanced at his mobile phone.
It was 1:12 in the morning.
Under normal circumstances, he would have already gone to bed by this time.
But not today.
Lu Yao was prepared for a protracted battle.
Taking advantage of his illness, he had to arrange the Tapestry God today.
While waiting, Lu Yao cast his eyes towards the ghost city Saniro.
Deep Sea Fishmen slept underwater. That was why large holes were also dug out under the artificial canals of Saniro to be used as the underwater dwellings of the fishmen clan.
On weekdays, the fish people would follow the small canals into the sea and catch fish, shrimps, crabs and shells. Occasionally they would also find some precious corals and giant clams.
These have become the speciality products of Saniro nowadays. Through trading with the merchants of Yancheng, these commodities were exchanged for meat, wheat, potatoes and fruits, as well as a variety of raw materials.
While trade between Saniro and Yancheng was frequent, the exchange with Yao City was more in the area of faith.
Many fishermen would enter the East River and make the pilgrimage to the shrine of Yao City.
This shrine in the holy city was the only shrine where the Yao God himself stood. The other shrines were merely poor imitations of the original shrines by the cities.
The fish people knelt reverently outside the temple. Under the direct sun, their smooth, moist skin would gradually redden, and expressions of weakness and pain would emerge from the tops of their heads.
But this is when they come on even stronger, seeing this lack of water suffering as an achievement similar to asceticism.
Once it rains, they consider it a blessing from the gods and shout for joy. When the sun shone fiercely, it was a severe test from the gods, and they endured the thirst until they fainted and were rescued by the people around them by pouring water on them.
Lu Yao himself did not even think that the earliest fervent believers were a group of fish people.
Perhaps, this is the simplest austerity, the purest enjoyment?
Kneeling beside the temple was a pious dwarf fishman, and they filled the neighbourhood to overflowing.
Apart from the shrine, there was another place in Yao City that was also overcrowded.
The Ale Colosseum.
Ever since Prophet Hemera had straightened out Yao City, both animal fighting and gladiatorial combat had been stopped completely, and drinking alcohol had been regulated.
For quite some time, this spectacle became empty. Also because of the puritanical controls and the fervour of theological worship, most of those who were keen on pleasure moved to Salt City next door.
Right now the Colosseum was once again crowded and bustling with people.
From an overhead viewpoint, Lu Yao noticed two small figures in the centre of the stage inside.
On the left was Game Boy Mu Ke, and on the right was Prophet Hemera.
Neither of them were young anymore now, they were both in their fifties. In Yao City and Salt City, that age was actually considered old.
Mu Ke didn’t know what had happened, he was limping, and he was holding a puppy.
Hemila was dressed in a black robe and was dressed towards Isabel.
“Citizens, Mu Ke and I are here today to solve a difficult problem that has plagued Yao City. All those present will be witnesses.”
Hemila said, “The Colosseum itself was established for bloody fighting games. This kind of cruel and barbaric behaviour is not worthy of praise.”
“But the Colosseum itself is a remarkable place that once evoked the courage and will to fight in everyone, and is also a boundary monument to past glories.”
“Now Yao City will reopen the Colosseum. Just what exactly this place is going to be used for, the creator of this place, Mu Ke, and I still have a disagreement ……”
Mu Ke spoke, “To put it simply, it’s a bet between me and the Prophet. We each have our own skills to see which new colosseum everyone prefers.”
Next, Mu Ke demonstrated his new game.
He called in a group of people and rearranged the field all over again. Woodkhorn drew a grid on the ground, brought in rocks and small trees, and set up a wooden fence, traps, a bonfire pile, and some wooden boxes.
Then Mu Ke explained how he played the game.
Lu Yao understood at a glance.
This was to be a three-dimensional table game, or a real-life version of Monopoly.
Players would walk on a grid on the ground, using dice to determine the direction and distance they would walk.
They might encounter traps that led to injuries and rest, or they might enter the woods and encounter wild beasts that led to backing up or damage. Under the campfire you can see the traps around you, and in the wooden crates there are gems that may be there, or poisonous snakes hidden ……
Real life table games are rich in content, with a huge system of settings and props, Lu Yao watched with great interest.
But the little people on the sidelines didn’t think so.
The whole game was more like Mu Ke’s explanation. Only a few people had thumbs up their heads, while most of them had question marks on their heads, indicating that they didn’t understand.
The board game session ended hastily.
Next was Hemera’s turn.
She got a dozen or so people and had them take the stage in turn, performing a simple act, a stage play. The content of the play was exactly the scene of the Pigfish Brothers fighting the Black Bear Apostle back in the day, classic old times belonged to is.
Everyone watched with great interest.
In the end, the black bear was killed by God’s lightning – of course there were no special effects.
The actor playing Black Bear and the other youngsters exclaimed, “Ah! It’s lightning!”
Then they shivered and fell to the ground.
Words and body movements made up for the special effects.
The entire audience stood up and cheered.
Lu Yao was a bit saddened by this scene.
Facts speak louder than words. Simple adaptations of stage plays were liked by most people, while live-action tabletop games only interested a very small number of people due to their complexity and too high a level of difficulty in getting started.
Hemera got a crushing victory, getting thumbs up and applause from most of the audience.
Mukhorn was also willing to bet.
After winning over the citizens, the prophetess knelt on the ground and clasped her hands in front of her chest in a prayer.
“Great Yao God, your faithful servant, I have taken the liberty of disturbing your peace and wish to be guided by you.”
“You have insight into everything, please give us your judgement.”
A prompt appeared on the simulator.
[The Ale Colosseum has the beginnings of an evolution.]
[Please ask if the spectacle is to be evolved.]
[Yes] [No]
Lu Yao tapped yes.
There is change before there is progress.
An exclamation mark popped up above Hemera’s head, “The gods’ will! The gods have recognised us!”
She immediately announced, “From today onwards, the [Ale Colosseum] will be converted into a theatre, following the name given to us by the gods, it will be called the [Ale Theatre]!”
[Everyone in Yao City had their knowledge slightly upgraded.]
Lu Yao clicked on the theatre.
……
[Ale Theatre LV2]: the Colosseum transformed into a spectacle, the people’s choice for the new era.
All viewers inside the theatre gain a permanent knowledge boost of +1 knowledge.
……
Lu Yao thought to himself that it was a close call.
Luckily, during the era of the Colosseum, he had let Isabelle arrange for all the fighting members to gain a permanent damage +3 boost in the Colosseum. Otherwise it would have been a big loss.
Every 1 point of knowledge increased the maximum mana by 10 points, and the daily mana recovery by 1 point.
This is a small enhancement to Isabelle and Yeti, two mana hogs.
Wonders would actually be automatically upgraded when certain conditions were triggered as well, which was both a surprise and a reminder.
Lu Yao plunged his gaze into the theatre once again.
After the crowd dispersed, Mu Ke sat alone and forlornly on the stage.
Hemila slowly walked next to him.
Neither of the two pixelated villains spoke.
Finally, Mu Ke said, “How about a game of Tribal Wargames?”
“Good.”
And so the two not-so-young people began to play the old game.
Shortly after.
“I win!”
A smiley face symbol appeared above Mukhor’s head.
“You win.”
A smile also appeared above Hemera’s head.
Mukhorn asked her, “The new game I made in the theatre, was it really bad?”
“No, I personally think it’s great, it’s fun.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Hemera finished and turned to leave.
Once again, Mukhorn was left alone in the theatre.
He muttered to himself, “In the end, I lost to a woman again.”
“Games always have losers and winners ah ……”
“Only Tribal Wargames will always be with me.”
In the end, he slowly fell to the ground holding the war flag and stopped moving. The villain’s head showed [Death].
The puppy next to him licked its master with its tongue and let out a woofing cry from its mouth. But it didn’t know that its master would never wake up again.
