Cornerstone... Cornerstone...
As Aventurine ventured deeper into Clock Studios Theme Park.
Under a constructed castle scene.
He actually found a yellow Cornerstone!
The phantom of the future mocked, "The color of the Cornerstone matches the radiance of Qlipoth's holy body... What a ridiculous excuse you've concocted. If he had just a bit more caution, your lie would crumble instantly."
"This is just bait," Aventurine said calmly.
"Of course! That's why you would include Ratio's betrayal as a key part of the plan. I must say, that professor's acting is quite convincing."
"Maybe he's not acting at all?"
"Haha, wouldn't that be even more to your liking?"
The future phantom articulated Aventurine's scheme like a detective.
"That meticulous Oak family head, Sunday, has an almost paranoid need for control. You must provide him with enough information while ensuring he doesn't notice any flaws…"
"So you had Ratio find him, deliberately leaking the plan. To avoid raising suspicion, everything you told Ratio was true, and he relayed it to Sunday as is."
"In the end, this family head, through the bait you set (Topaz), successfully found another Cornerstone, thus—"
"—you could smuggle the third stone (Aventurine) past him."
...
"Ah?"
"!!!"
"Wait, wait!"
"Shh, I'm barbecuing!"
"Does Sunday really have eight hundred eyes and still be so naive?"
"So everything that happened before was part of the [plan]?"
"Aventurine didn't tell the professor the whole plan, but the professor said I faithfully fulfilled my duties…"
"This shows they didn't plan ahead, relying entirely on tacit understanding!"
"Like it even more (happy)"
"Oh my, the professor has a crush on Aventurine! (doge)"
...
At the hotel scene.
Aventurine's gaze sharpened!
What a pity!
This plot.
Has still exposed his scheme!
Not far away.
Sunday's expression was cold.
Watching the unfolding plot, he fell into deep thought.
And the plot continued!
That damned phantom of the future seemed afraid the audience wouldn't understand.
It continued to explain!
"This is another Cornerstone in Sunday's possession. A rather beautiful green, just like you—smooth, cunning…"
"…Aventurine is the stone of luck and deceit… That's what she said when you obtained this stone, right?"
"This type of stone isn't rare, but its color is very close to a certain gemstone, so it's often used as a substitute (disguise) for the latter. And that more expensive gemstone…"
"Is called Jade," Aventurine finished for the phantom.
"Even Sunday couldn't tell the difference. It seems Jade isn't entirely irreplaceable by Aventurine."
Only then did everyone realize!
The two Cornerstones Sunday had confiscated—one was Topaz, and the other was Jade!
Aventurine had actually chosen to use the expensive Jade as a substitute for himself!
"Aventurine, Topaz, Jade… three elites (Ten Stonehearts), three Cornerstones, willing to stake everything for the sake of little Penacony. You're more united than the Family itself," the phantom of the future remarked.
"I've always said, three chips are enough—all or nothing."
…
"So the three chips were these three!"
"The prince has swapped the cat now!"Hint: Although the Cornerstones of the Ten Stonehearts vary in type, they are all sacred stones that seal the power of Emanators of Preservation, differing from the secular definition of gemstone quality.""
"Ahhh! How could the professor, being so knowledgeable, not recognize Jade and Aventurine! The professor truly believed in you, Kakavasha!"
"Damn, Aventurine, you really fooled me too!"
"Holy crap, the company is going all out this time!?"
"Sunday needs a daily gem appraisal…"
"Topaz is one thing, but Lady Jade is willing to stake her Cornerstone too?"
"This makes it feel like Jade is almost like Aventurine's godmother now!"
"Godmother is going too far! I think it's more like another sister…"
…
Just as the live chat was erupting in astonishment.
Suddenly!
A line of colorful text appeared at the top of Little Gui's live stream.
Accompanied by a dazzling special effect!
[Qin Wen II] gifted [Heart of the Universe] to streamer Little Gui, with a message: "With such unity in the company, you are the true Harmony!"
Previously,
the highest-tier gifts in Little Gui's live stream were [Diting Storm] and [Super Starskiff].
Later, some users provided feedback to the streaming platform.
They felt the gift tiers were too low!
They had to send dozens at a time!
It was inconvenient to select them!
The experience was quite unpleasant.
After some research, the streaming platform specifically added two new high-tier gifts to Little Gui's live stream!
Complete with exclusive effects and captions!
Just to make it easier for these big spenders to donate in one go!
Sure enough.
This immediately brought out many lurking whales in the live stream!
[Hand Over the Sky] gifted [Galactic Light] to streamer Little Gui, with a message: "It's not the company's unity—the company is a mess internally. The true unity lies with Aventurine, Topaz, and Jade, the three of them!"
[[If I don't work hard, I'll have to inherit the family business] gifted [Heart of the Universe] to streamer Little Gui and left a comment: "False Harmony: the Family... True Harmony: the Ten Stonehearts!"]
[[Merging the Astral Express] gifted [Galactic Light] to streamer Little Gui and left a comment: "Are the Ten Stonehearts really this united? Then the Strategic Investment Department is about to become the company's top department."]
The viewers were completely stunned.
This was a battle of titans!
For a moment,
the chat was flooded with messages like "666" and "amazing."
On the scene,
including Sunday,
all the Family members' expressions were extremely grim!
This plot... was practically a slap in their faces!
If this continued,
the Path of Harmony might change hands!
Aventurine's emotions were complicated.
Although his scheme had been exposed...
he was gaining more and more support!?
This situation...
was indeed unexpected!
Even Aventurine couldn't tell for the moment whether this was good or bad.
In the plot,
he already had an answer as to where the real Aventurine Stone was.
He heard himself say word by word: "They've always been in the most suitable place, never leaving..."
"Right here, among these cheap jewels."
The phantom of the future: "Before you set out, you shattered the Aventurine Stone..."
"Look at it, tsk tsk, it's so much like your fragmented life. No matter how glamorous the exterior, inside it's still a humble little pebble... This thing is far more important than your life."
"You know full well the consequences of this act. Do you think the company will let you off for desecrating Qlipoth's sacred body (the Cornerstone)?"
Aventurine replied nonchalantly: "Diamond has always valued results. As long as the value I create far exceeds the cost... the process and means are not an issue."
"Without paying a price, how could I deceive the Family? It's fine, even if the Cornerstone of Preservation is shattered into pieces, it can still function, though its effectiveness will be greatly reduced. But for me... it's enough."
In the stream,
everyone was shocked!
Including the big shots who had just gifted and left comments.
For a moment, they all fell silent.
At this moment, in front of countless screens,
countless faces were likely wearing the same expression of astonishment!
...
"Holy crap!"
"Huh?"
"What the..."
"A small price? You call this a small price!?"
"My god! Bro, you're really something!"
"Bro, this is too ruthless!"
"Aventurine is literally gambling with his life!"
"Damn, he's really willing to go all out!"
"I kind of guessed the real Aventurine Stone wasn't those two, but I never thought he'd shatter it?"
"Alright, alright, what a gambler!"
"My heart aches for the Aventurine Stone..."