MCRP 73

MCRP

Chapter 73 Arms Expo Bidding Fair (3)

“Damn it, such a pathetic Hanguoren!!!”
“Please calm down, CEO.”
“Do I look like I can calm down?! These bastards are making the place dead quiet!”

Even though they had decorated the booth as lavishly as possible,
it was nearly empty—at least if a few flies were buzzing around, that would’ve been lucky.

After shouting for a moment, Baozi’s face fell.

“What did they even exhibit that everyone is flocking over there…?”
“I didn’t know either, but I heard from a Players Report a month ago that it became a huge issue.”
“Players Report?”

Baozi wasn’t the type to follow news articles closely.

When he gestured, a subordinate quickly came over and handed him a tablet.

As his chubby fingers swiped across the screen, photos of the flags that had been prominently displayed in the booth appeared.

“The flags of the Sacred War…? That’s supposed to be a weapon?”

The demonstration video secretly filmed at Taizong’s booth was shocking.

A curtain of sacred light spread from the top of the flagpole.

It was a skill from Saint Union, said to be the strongest in Europe.

The idea of a weapon being a flag was already hard to imagine,
but what was truly unimaginable was that it actually manifested its own abilities.

The weapon itself seemed insignificant, but the skill alone perfectly met the expo’s standards for “absolute defense.”

“Damn… where did they pick something like that up?”

Baozi’s cheeks drooped in despair.

At that moment, Deputy Director Park tapped his shoulder.

“It’s too early to be disappointed, CEO.”
“…Huh?”
“You have to keep your promise, don’t you?”
“But…”

There had been an agreement involving a large sum of Chinese money.

Once Dongfang Mingzhu safely took first place, Deputy Director Park would distribute the Great Wall worldwide under the guise of strengthening safety standards, in exchange for a percentage of the profits.

The ratio seemed tiny on a community scale, but considering China-level production, it was enormous—far beyond any bribe.

Park couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

“There isn’t only one way to win, right?”

Park snatched the tablet from Baozi.

Photos and demonstration videos of the Sacred War flags from multiple angles.

After closely observing them, he contacted someone and began annotating the images in detail.

“Deputy Director, what are you…?”
“Once free viewing ends, make sure to present this properly during the main demonstration.”

When Baozi received the tablet back, his expression changed.

“The durability of the flagpole seems questionable… Also, judging from the material, mass production and supply might be an issue.”
“The core material appears to be soul stones. Even if cheap, embedding hundreds of soul stones in a single weapon—how many could they possibly produce?”

Baozi immediately understood Park’s intention.

Expo scoring wasn’t just about weapon performance.

Factors like material availability and production stability were included.

No matter how good a weapon was, if it couldn’t be mass-produced, it would contradict the expo’s purpose of “sharing great weapons.”

Indeed, there wasn’t just one way to win.

Showcasing the Great Wall’s power wasn’t the only path—revealing the opponent’s weaknesses was another strategy.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘dragging them down.’ It’s more about showing them my originally weak position.”
“Exactly, exactly!”

A presentation like this would definitely grab the evaluators’ attention.

While reviewing the PPT with a sly smile, Baozi suddenly perked up.

“…Wait.”

Examining the flag photos carefully, Baozi’s grin widened.

“Look at this.”
“Why, CEO?”
“Check this out.”
“What is it…?”
“And here. Also here.”
“Huh? No way…”
“Exactly! Hahaha!!!”

Zooming in on specific areas, even Deputy Director Park noticed and burst into laughter.

“You’re no beginner, but you made a very basic mistake! Hahaha!!!!”

Every boisterous laugh made his cheeks ripple like waves.

It was such a simple yet fatal error—enough to disqualify them from participating.

Taizong’s booth was crowded beyond measure.

People surged in continuously, all desperate to see the demonstration.

The light from the top of the flagpole poured like a fountain, forming a solid curtain, leaving everyone in awe.

“Sehyeon, this is…”

Geumgangtae’s mouth dropped in surprise.

“Problem?”
“Of course! Every visitor is rushing here!”
“…Really?”

But Sehyeon remained unbothered.

Crowds at an event were nothing unusual.

“No, do you see who these people are?”
“Players, I guess?”
“More than that—they’re all managing or investing in communities.”

Perhaps because he had only seen the expo through the catalog,
he had never paid attention to who was attending.

It wasn’t open to the public; only a select few were invited.

Even so, the crowd indicated most spectators were gathered here.

“Then that’s actually good…”

Honestly, the crowd had given him a slight headache earlier.

“The other booths are quiet, perfect for checking them out.”
“…”
“Then, I’ll be back shortly.”

Geumgangtae reached out frantically, but Sehyeon slipped away.

He refused to be bogged down by interviews just because he was the creator.

“Can’t miss this chance.”

Sehyeon moved through several booths.

The quieter atmosphere and variety of weapons offered a breath of relief.

“No, more than that—I actually get to see these!”

In his previous life, he had only encountered players or weapons post-Apocalypse.

Expo exhibits had only been available through catalogs.

He had created replica practice models, but this was the first time seeing the real thing.

“Even if the base is from Cheonji Workshop, there’s a lot of variety.”

Innovation came from attempting to overcome limits.

Some weapons caught his eye for their attempts to exceed the limitation of only using the user’s stellar energy.

Among them, the one he most wanted to see was this:

“My memory was correct. It’s this year’s exhibit.”

Dongfang Mingzhu’s Great Wall.

Even the name carried the continent’s pride.

Its shape was crude, but the concept was innovative.

“It properly utilized stellar conduction, the foundation of stellar weapons.”

By channeling stellar energy through the weapon and linking shields in parallel, it reduced the load on the weapon.

Theoretically, with enough people, it could become stellar-grade armor.

Who would have thought he’d get to handle it in person?

“Excuse me, is there a demo… hmm?”

But the staff at the booth were talking among themselves,
completely indifferent, even with no visitors.

It was almost a waste for such a good weapon.

Just as Sehyeon prepared to call them again:

“…Where are those people going?”

They had all left in a rush.

But their destination was familiar.

“This is Taizong’s booth?”
“Hmph, poorly decorated.”

So they had gone to sabotage another booth.

“Welcome, Baozi, CEO of Dongfang Mingzhu.”
“Hmph, if it was already famous from the report, that should have been enough. Bringing it here to exhibit? Too much greed can be harmful.”
“The more paths, the better.”

Geumgangtae calmly responded.

“Well, even a quick glance shows there’s plenty to see, but no need to say much here. You can see for yourself.”
“Thank you for the attention. Feel free to look around more.”
“Hmph, no. We’ll see during the main demo. Staying long just reddens faces.”

And with that, they turned and left.

Their intent was clear: to provoke visibly while saying very little.

A murmur spread through the once lively crowd.

The heat of excitement instantly cooled.

This was exactly what they wanted.

Trying to respond only led to a disadvantage.

“Tch, just ruined the mood.”

Well, he had already checked most booths.

It was time to focus.

“Excuse me.”

Sehyeon called an event staff member.

“Yes?”
“I’d like to have a quick check before the main demonstration.”

Boom─!

The massive walls brought by Dongfang Mingzhu lined the demo stage.

“Deploy the barrier!”

As the CEO shouted, blue stellar energy flowed along the walls, forming a shield.

The judges were split in reaction as it blocked not just physical attacks but most abilities.

“These exhibits are impressive.”
“But ‘that weapon’ still…”

Creak─!

Baozi gritted his teeth at the murmured words.

“This concludes Dongfang Mingzhu’s demonstration.”

Applause arose, but it wasn’t satisfying.

A performance like this should’ve warranted a standing ovation and tears.

While clenching his teeth until his jaw ached, the next demonstration was announced:

“Next is Taizong’s exhibit demo!”

Waaah──

Suddenly, darkness fell amid roaring cheers.

“Huh? What’s happening?”
“Is this a blackout?”

A narration came through the speakers:

[War, war never changes.]

The audience held their breath at the deep male voice.

Yellow lights revealed a knight crossing the barren ground.

His armor tattered, patched with cloth, barely holding together.

Slowly moving from the right side of the stage, he looked pitiful.

[From ancient times throwing stones, to modern times aiming guns, and even… against beasts that are not human.]

As the narration played again:

Kuuooaaarrrrr─!!!!

“What… what is that!!”
“A monster! Isn’t it a monster?”
“Calm down, it must be stagecraft!”

The monster’s roar was so realistic that the audience was overwhelmed.

A spotlight illuminated the left stage:

Krrrroooaaarrrrr─!!!

A white bear over three meters tall roared, raising its arms.

“Hey! That’s a real monster!”
“Costume, surely! Don’t poke it, just stay still!”

The monster swelled, giving no hope to the exhausted knight.

A clank—sound of knees hitting the ground.

An object caught the knight’s knee.

“This is…”

He kicked up dust and grabbed it.

A white cross flag wrapped around a rough spear shaft fluttered in the wind.

[War doesn’t change. But we can.]

Wind began to pick up.

The knight’s tattered helmet flew off.

Underneath, a female knight’s hair and face were revealed.

“Ahh…”

The flag’s brilliance lit her face.

Thud-thud-thud──

The white bear charged, swinging its massive arms.

Fwoooosh──

Boom─!!!

The barrier blocked the attack with a shockwave.

[We can overcome. We will find a way. As always.]

The scene ended with her unwavering gaze inside the barrier.

Lights went dark.

When the stage lit again:

“Waaah!!!”
“What the hell is this?!”

Applause and cheers erupted endlessly.

Baozi, realizing he was clapping in awe, quickly slapped his own cheek.

‘Damn it, what is that!’

Instead of a weapon demo, they had put on a full play!

The realistic monster costume, the captivating female knight,
and the barrier perfectly blocking the monster’s attack—all explained the product without words.

As the crowd calmed, Geumgangtae stepped forward.

“That concludes our demonstration. We’ll take questions now.”

Questions poured in, mostly astonished comments rather than real inquiries.

But this wasn’t the time to let it slide.

Baozi raised his hand.

“I have a question.”
“Yes, go ahead.”

Receiving the mic, Baozi cleared his throat and introduced himself:

“I am Baozi, CEO of Dongfang Mingzhu.”

The audience murmured.

Everyone had seen him provoke Taizong earlier.

They already knew what he would say.

“What is the material of the flagpole? It’s quite thin—can it endure harsh cracking conditions?”
“That is…”