Chapter 138: Spring Festival Gala (6)

[That was a very, very long time ago, when the Little Prince was still a mischievous, incorrigible boy...]

The story opened with the narrator recounting the prince’s childhood in a calm, resonant voice.

Mo Fangyuan had read the script. In essence, it told the story of how a badly behaved little prince grew into a great hero, defended the kingdom, and ultimately found happiness.

In the era of his previous life, this story would have been an old and predictable cliché destined to flop. In this world, however, it was an innovation ahead of its time. The plot, the events, and the characters were all outstandingly compelling.

[He was not only playful, but also loved causing trouble. He would use flint to set fire to other people’s wooden houses, trample the farmers’ fields... Whatever he could bring himself to do, he would do. The people of the kingdom complained about him constantly...]

Mo Fangyuan sat on the wooden steps with his eyes closed, resting. Yet the people on and around the stage were reminded of him. Anyone who knew the king understood that, before he had grown into the man he was, His Majesty had also been a scoundrel much like the little prince described by the narrator. His misdeeds, however, had been limited to petty theft and similar offenses, and were nowhere near as outrageous as those in the story.

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And precisely because of that, the king’s greatness today stood out all the more.

The distance was somewhat considerable, and Mo Fangyuan could not make out what was being said in the square. He had not been listening deliberately, either.

He was thinking about another matter.

This was already the second year of the Winter Era. Vast regions within the Black Forest had been classified as known territory. The first and most extensive stage of the Lock-Breaking Operation, [Division and Exploration], and the second stage, [Marking Dangers], had both been completed. So when should the second stage be put into practice?

“We need to find an opportunity to arrange the third stage...”

The third stage of the Lock-Breaking Operation, [Eliminating Dangers], involved removing as many of the dangers discovered during [Marking Dangers] as possible, thereby clearing a path for the final phase.

The field army had already headed north to carry out its mission, so [Eliminating Dangers] could not be undertaken for the time being.

Of course, the most important matter was the door-shaped boss Mo Fangyuan had encountered in the Black Forest.

That boss was extremely dangerous, even if it was neutral.

Although it had first been discovered deep within the Black Forest, outside the scope of the Lock-Breaking Operation, Mo Fangyuan had no idea whether it might wander into the operation’s territory and interfere with the plan.

“Its combat power is formidable, and its skills are bizarre...”

Just as Mo Fangyuan’s thoughts reached an impasse, the plot of *The Prince’s Love Story* onstage reached its climax—the very scene Old Fu and Old Duan wanted everyone to see.

[Narrator: After enduring countless trials and tribulations, the prince grew into a brave king. At last, with Lilith and the other villagers joining forces, he defeated the monster and reclaimed the kingdom!]

[Prince: Lilith, I love you! Marry me! Become the queen of the Block Kingdom!]

[Lilith: No, I’m sorry... I—I—I have a lowly status. I’m only a farmer’s daughter. My abilities are mediocre, and I cannot help you govern the kingdom... I am not worthy of becoming your wife.]

[Prince: No! How can you think that?]

[Prince: All people are born equal! Everyone possesses the ability to pursue their ideals! Nothing—not status, not talent—can stand in the way! So long as you are willing, you can pursue anything! Even if you seek something held by the most exalted person in the world! Even if hope is faint, it can ultimately become reality!]

Those words were etched deeply into the hearts of the people, especially the young women.

Mo Fangyuan had no idea that an open scheme directed against him had already begun.

“Then we’ll proceed with the fourth stage first! We’ll discuss the third stage after the field army returns!”

The fourth stage of the Lock-Breaking Operation, [Hidden Fury], amounted to placing large quantities of flammable materials at specific locations so that, once the final operation began, they could help the flames erupt and spread.

This stage would be very easy if [Eliminating Dangers] had already been completed. Before the monsters were cleared out, the materials would be easy to place, but extremely difficult to preserve.

Every block person knew that monsters would subconsciously treat any item belonging to the block people’s crafting system as a hostile creature and destroy it.

Perhaps they would not actively search for such crafted items, but if they happened upon them, they would not leave them alone. There was no need to mention how many monsters inhabited the uncleared Black Forest. The flammable materials placed by the Block Kingdom would very likely be destroyed by the enormous monster population.

“So we still have to wait until the third stage of the plan is complete before arranging the fourth...”

Mo Fangyuan tugged again at his nearly plucked-bare beard and muttered to himself.

Moonlight shone upon the world. Before long, it was deep into the night. Most of the food laid out in the square had been eaten, and the people, having finally released their energy, began sitting down to rest.

Seeing this, Mo Fangyuan felt that the celebration ought to come to an end.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Mo Fangyuan stepped onto the temporary stage made of rough wooden planks, preparing for the final event of the evening: the closing speech.

This was an excellent opportunity. The overwhelming majority of the Block Kingdom’s citizens had gathered here, allowing any orders or policies Mo Fangyuan issued to be implemented directly and without delay.

“My dear fellow citizens! I believe everyone must be tired by now...”

As usual, Mo Fangyuan began his speech, though he sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat... tense?

He glanced at the crowd below.

Everything seemed more or less unchanged. What was going on?

Aside from the fact that many of the young women, exhausted from playing too hard, seemed to be looking at him differently, there did not appear to be any major change.

“Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”

Sensing that something was wrong without knowing precisely what, Mo Fangyuan could only cough three times to rouse everyone’s attention.

Sure enough, it worked. The tense atmosphere in the air faded considerably.

“Happy times are always so brief. In the blink of an eye, this celebration is about to end. Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new year, and new challenges and hardships await us...”

“Here, I sincerely wish each and every one of you greater glory in the days ahead!”

“Finally, I have one more piece of good news to announce. From this moment onward, we will work only six days a week. Work will begin at six in the morning and end at nine in the evening, with the seventh day reserved as a holiday!”

Compared with the past, the Block Kingdom’s productivity had increased tremendously. The people could now not only eat their fill and keep warm, but even enjoy an occasional good meal. Once redstone technology was developed, the kingdom’s productivity would rise at astonishing speed.

A “zero-zero-seven” work schedule was therefore no longer necessary. After all, prolonged use of such a system would gradually destroy people’s spirits and suppress their desire to reproduce, which would be extremely detrimental to population growth.

Before long, the Block Kingdom’s currency system would officially begin operating as well. By then, the people’s trading activities would be needed to drive further development.