Chapter 714: Unable to Replicate

"Siwei... you..." Gu Yu ge ge looked at Siwei jie jie with some surprise. "You think so too?"

"In this world... is there a more reasonable explanation?" Siwei jie jie blinked, considering possibilities from my perspective. "Could that display screen and clock... both be people?"

"That seems a bit too far-fetched..." Gu Yu ge ge paused, stunned. "Are you saying... there are two living people, one turned into a display screen and the other into a giant clock... and they've been standing there for decades?!"

"Yes. And then someone incredibly strong 'assembled' them together, which would make everything make sense." Siwei jie jie thought about it more and more, convinced it was plausible. "So, who were that 'clock' and 'display screen' originally...?"

"Siwei... are you really going to go down this line of thinking...?" Gu Yu ge ge quickly interrupted. "Although 'Qingxiang' involves supernatural abilities, this situation is just too rare! If someone's 'Qingxiang' could turn them into a 'display screen' or a 'clock,' then logically, once they activate their 'Qingxiang,' they would transform, which means... wouldn't Dao Cheng be full of clocks and display screens everywhere?"

"This..."

"And the 'clocks' and 'display screens' in Dao Cheng are distributed in a regular pattern, with four groups in the southeast, northwest, and other directions—clearly, someone planned and designed their placement in advance." Gu Yu ge ge explained seriously to Siwei jie jie. "Although the hero's idea is quite innovative, I think the other party must have used some other, more clever method to build these things..."

"Could there be another way...?" Siwei jie jie pondered. "If the 'clock' and 'display screen' aren't alive, how do you explain they've been operating for so long... and in that specific manner...?"

At that point, Siwei jie jie hesitated slightly and asked, "What exactly was written on that display screen earlier?"

"I heard an echo." Gu Yu ge ge replied.

"You said... 'I heard an echo' and 'I smelled Qingxiang'... could they mean the same thing?"

"What...?"

"I mean... could the one standing there be a 'Qingxiang user' with an ability called 'Ling Wen' or 'Ling Ting'?"

"But... but..." Gu Yu ge ge followed Siwei jie jie's train of thought for a while but still found it absurd. "If that's the case... then just one person standing there would be enough... so who is the 'giant clock'? Why would there need to be two people standing there?"

His question left Siwei jie jie silent again, and the two of them discussed it for a long time without reaching a conclusion.

Siwei jie jie suggested that during the roll call the next morning, they should first tally the 'Qingxiang users' with similar abilities and see if they could replicate something comparable based on what they had.

Meanwhile, Gu Yu ge ge was responsible for maintaining stability in the entire family. He would find ways to unite everyone and ensure they only worshiped me.

Seeing how busy they were day after day, I often felt a bit uneasy.

As the 'hero,' what should I really be doing?

The next day, Siwei jie jie and Gu Yu ge ge tallied the abilities of many 'Qingxiang users,' but the situation didn't look promising.

"Siwei... after excluding two hundred and nine auxiliary types, one hundred and twenty-six self-enhancement types, over seventy illusion types, and more than forty combat types, the number of creation-type 'Qingxiang users' is at most around twenty, but most of their creation-type 'Qingxiang' produces fixed objects—they can't freely create shapes. Now, only abilities like 'Qiang Sha,' 'Ruan Ni,' 'Han Bing,' and 'Shui Jing' might barely fit."

After hearing this, Siwei jie jie looked grave. She thought for a moment before saying, "It sounds like we could create something like 'cement'... but can this really work? Once I list out all these abilities, I finally realize just how outrageous that display screen is..."

"Yes." Gu Yu ge ge nodded. "Not to mention anything else... a display screen at least needs picture tubes and crystals. Picture tubes require a lot of glass and fluorescent materials, while crystals need silicon and heavy metals. And for a giant clock, you'd need a massive amount of copper ore... that's just for getting the materials. Then, putting all these fantastical things together to make it actually run... and keep running for years on end—that's incredibly unbelievable."

"So, from the beginning, you thought this wasn't 'Qingxiang,' but some kind of 'technology'..."

"Exactly." Gu Yu ge ge said gravely. "Siwei, it's not that I don't believe in 'Qingxiang' powers, but this is just too difficult. Take Jie Fang's 'Han Bing,' for example—she can only produce a small pile of ice when she's in good condition. Think about it... if I told her, 'Now, you need to produce a giant clock made of ice' or 'I need you to produce enough ice to build a giant clock'... "

"Yes, that's ridiculous, it goes against common sense." Siwei jie jie nodded. "Then... could there be another possibility?"

"What?"

"That is... the person who built the display screen and giant clock didn't use created materials but sourced them locally...?"

"Are you saying..." Gu Yu ge ge thought for a moment. "That person used materials from the city?"

"Um!" Siwei jie jie nodded. "There are plenty of crystals and circuits in the city that could be used, right...? Maybe that person just took what was available."

"You've stumped me with that question." Gu Yu ge ge said. "I've never paid attention to whether the old televisions in Dao Cheng's buildings have been dismantled... but even so, the workload would still be enormous. That would at least require a large group of people to help transport the materials. And what's even more absurd is the giant clock—like the big bells in temples, which weigh over ten tons. If they sourced the copper locally, how many people would it take to collect that much? Plus, there aren't just one set of these outrageous display screens and giant clocks—there are four sets, which multiplies the material needs by four! Without any vehicles or machinery, the effort would be like building the Great Wall—immense and unimaginable."

After hearing this, Siwei jie jie's expression turned even more serious: "So... in the end, the hero brother still can't be freed."

After so many days, I finally understood what was troubling them—they wanted to save me, but I didn't need saving.

They probably didn't know how I felt... for the first time since I was born, I was needed by so many people.

I was willing to do anything for this feeling of being needed.

I just didn't want Gu Yu ge ge and Siwei jie jie to exhaust themselves over it.

"We can't completely give up yet..." Gu Yu ge ge sighed. "I'll have them try to make something like a display board first... if that doesn't work, we can arrange for people to handwrite and erase it daily. Anything to lighten the burden on the hero..."

"Big brother, big sister." I interrupted them.

"What is it?" Siwei jie jie looked at me.

"I think you've overlooked the most crucial issue."

"What issue?" Gu Yu ge ge asked.

"No matter what we build... it won't come alive." I said quietly. "The one who senses 'Qingxiang' is always me, but in that city, the one sensing 'Qingxiang' is the display screen."