"Hmm?"
Ye Feng turned his head and saw two guards holding rifles running rapidly towards him and Xiao Xiao.
"Who are you two? How did you get here?"
The guard on the left pointed his gun at Ye Feng and berated him sternly.
"It's you?"
As soon as the guard finished scolding, his expression changed to surprise.
Because the light was a bit dim and the distance was a bit far, he hadn't seen Ye Feng's face clearly. Now that he had approached, he immediately realized that Ye Feng was the person the Forbidden Guard Commander had been looking for all day.
"Uh... you know me?"
Ye Feng, who was secretly on guard, was a bit puzzled because he didn't recognize the other person at all.
"You must be Mr. Ye Feng, right? Where have you been all day? The final selection for the Armorsmith is almost over, why are you only arriving now!"
The guard had already put away his gun and spoke to Ye Feng in a rather polite tone.
After all, Ye Feng was someone the higher-ups had specifically instructed to be treated with courtesy upon finding him.
"Uh..."
Ye Feng was speechless, unsure how to respond to the guard.
He hadn't planned to participate in that so-called final selection for the Armorsmith, and the guy named Huang Zhangyuan hadn't told him the time or place. Judging by the guard's words, the time was today?
"Mr. Ye, please come with me. Hopefully, we can still make it to the final selection for the Armorsmith!"
At this moment, the two guards exchanged glances and spoke again.
Ye Feng hesitated for a moment, then nodded and followed them, holding Xiao Xiao's hand.
...
The two guards were clearly well-trained and deliberately quickened their pace. About 15 minutes later, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao arrived at the entrance of a tall building. The building had over a hundred floors, and from top to bottom, it was brightly lit, a spectacular sight under the night sky. Something on the very top rooftop was flashing, making it look like stars in the sky at first glance.
The two guards communicated with the guards at the entrance for a while. The guards at the entrance of the tall building then approached Ye Feng, carefully comparing his face with a portrait before allowing them to pass.
"Phew, San Yazhi, we're really lucky this time. The City Guards have been frantically searching for this person for almost a day, and we just happened to run into him!"
"A reward of 500 Arcane Yuan coins, that's a fortune!"
"Indeed. However, those two were also a bit strange, appearing out of nowhere near the Secret Armor Institute, it's unbelievable..."
"There are so many experts in that area, yet before us, it seems no one found them..."
"Who cares, let's go get the reward!"
...
As soon as Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao entered the tall building's large iron gate, the guards who had escorted them started discussing.
"The City Guards have been looking for me all day? What the hell?"
Ye Feng's hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people. Even though the two guards had walked some distance away, he could still hear them clearly and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
At the same time, Ye Feng felt a bit nervous. Just as he had worried before, the strength of this Mech City was formidable. The guards of this tall building were actually Black Iron-level Arcane energy cultivators, and one of them was currently leading him...
"Big brother, what's wrong?"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao looked at Ye Feng with confusion because Ye Feng had suddenly stopped walking.
The burly man guiding Ye Feng into the tall building also frowned and looked at him.
"Oh, it's nothing~"
Ye Feng shook his head gently and continued to walk forward.
He felt a lot more relaxed because he had just spotted another entrance to the arrayed secret passage!
Under the guidance of the burly guard, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao arrived at the building's lobby and entered the elevator.
"Once the elevator stops, you can walk straight out to the final selection venue for the Armorsmith!"
Saying this, the burly guard pressed the elevator button and turned to leave.
...
"Ding~"
After a crisp beep, the elevator doors opened.
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao exchanged a look and slowly stepped out of the elevator.
Outside the elevator was a corridor, similar to the hotels Ye Feng had stayed in before. He and Xiao Xiao walked through the corridor and soon arrived at the entrance of a large conference room.
At the entrance of the conference room, there was a large iron display board with the words "Final Selection for the Armorsmith" and an arrow.
When the staff saw someone arriving, they immediately stepped forward. Upon seeing Ye Feng, a look of surprise appeared on their face.
"Mr. Ye Feng?"
The staff member asked tentatively.
"Yes! I am!"
Ye Feng nodded slightly.
Upon confirmation, the staff member made a gesture of invitation to Ye Feng. After Ye Feng entered the venue, they quickly ran towards the elevator entrance.
The final selection for the Armorsmith was extremely strict; being late meant disqualification. Moreover, the final selection had already ended, and the venue was currently celebrating. Theoretically, no one should be allowed in, let alone someone as late as Ye Feng...
However, Shen Qing of the Secret Armor Institute had specifically instructed that as long as Ye Feng arrived, he should be allowed in no matter how late it was...
This was why the staff member had let Ye Feng in!
Of course, Ye Feng was unaware of this. After he and Xiao Xiao entered the venue for the final selection of the Armorsmith, they found a seat and sat down on their own.
"Patriarch Wang, congratulations! Another descendant of the Wang family has become an Armorsmith apprentice this time!"
"Congratulations~ Congratulations!"
"As expected of the Wang family!"
...
Many congratulatory words reached Ye Feng's ears. He looked over and found that not far away, a large crowd had gathered around someone in the center, clearly to congratulate them.
"The Wang family, one of the four great families of Mech City, the family of the young master Wang Shaoda, whom I beat earlier?"
His view was blocked by the fawning crowd, so Ye Feng couldn't see the person being congratulated.
Next to the Wang family's cluster, there were also many people smiling and congratulating a few individuals. Ye Feng heard them say that they were from the Shen family, the family of the Lord of Mech City.
Although there were many congratulations, most of the people from the Shen family merely nodded in acknowledgment, their expressions not showing much emotion, and some even looked disappointed...
"What the hell?"
After observing for a while, Ye Feng couldn't help but feel puzzled.
The current venue was completely lacking the solemnity of a final selection for the Armorsmith. The crowd was divided into several small groups, chatting happily about something. Coupled with the somewhat small venue, it was quite noisy, so he hadn't paid much attention.
Now it seemed that someone had already passed the selection of the Armorsmith... and judging by the atmosphere, they had already reached the celebration phase? No more selection?
No more selection... then why did that staff member let me in just now?
As Ye Feng was filled with doubts, a Shen family man with glasses and graying temples walked out of the crowd and stood by the window, looking out expressionlessly. It was Shen Qing.
Today's final selection for the Armorsmith was to select seven people: two from the Wang family, three from his own Shen family, one from the Yu family, and one with no current affiliation.
Although his family had members who successfully passed the final selection, and even one more than the Wang family, Shen Qing couldn't be happy at all.
Because he knew the skill level of the three people from the Shen family who passed the final selection. They were far from being the City Lord's level or the person he was looking for. That person he was most concerned about... had not come...
"Shen Qing, what are you daydreaming about here?"
"That young man named Ye Feng has already arrived. What are you looking at out the window, birds?"
Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a fitted outfit, holding a carving knife, rushed into the venue. He quickly scanned the surroundings and then hurried to Shen Qing, grumbling with some dissatisfaction.
...