I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 573 2.1 The Crown Prince's Meeting (Part 5) The Gem Guide
Mu Yegui glanced at Shui Qi, his cool silver eyes as calm as ever without a trace of extra emotion, but vaguely giving people the feeling that he was looking at a fool.

Shui Qi: "..." He was just trying to change the subject, he wasn't really stupid!
Ming Jin unwrapped a piece of candy and put it in his mouth without saying anything more. Shui Qi successfully changed the subject, so he escaped a disaster.

"Gem Guides will appear in places where gems may exist, with a certain probability, to guide players in finding the gems," Mu Yegui said slowly.

"Has anyone seen this before?" Ji Rong asked, scanning the crowd.

“It’s a harp-playing mermaid,” Dao Lin said in a low voice.

“What I saw was a mermaid playing a flute,” Ling Tong said.

The two exchanged glances, and then Daolin said, "It seems that there isn't just one Gem Guide; they should be considered a race."

"Has Bell thought of anything?" Shui Qi asked with a light laugh. "After all, you're both seafood, so there must be some connection between you, right?"

“Mermaids and merfolk may look similar, but they are actually two different species. Moreover, I am not a real mermaid. Furthermore, my bloodline comes from outside this world, not from this world, and has nothing to do with me,” Bertias said coldly, resisting.

“I know, merfolk can choose their gender after reaching adulthood, while mermaids are hermaphroditic by nature,” Xin Bai raised his hand and answered quickly. After all, he was a cat, and he loved eating fish!
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to Bertias.

Bertias's face darkened, and he said, "I've already said I'm not a real mermaid, so I'm not hermaphroditic. I'm a genuine man."

"Oh..." Lan Xiao lowered her head, her tone carrying a hint of regret.

"Mermaids..." Dao Lin said thoughtfully as he ate the last bite of the flower cake.

He thought of Zyra, the genderless, underage merman who currently worked as a postman, responsible for delivering intelligence throughout the kingdom. He was the Slothful Apostle, and ultimately just a member of the merman race; they shouldn't be too related.

It might not be completely unrelated, but it is somewhat related. After all, as a member of the same clan, he should know something. I should find an opportunity to ask him.

"How did these merfolk guide us?" Noyce asked curiously.

"Generally, a poem with profound meaning is used, but there are exceptions where a riddle is used as a guide." Ling Tong had encountered gem guides more than once, but at that time he had no intention of solving the riddles and therefore did not enter the corresponding instance.

"That's pretty much it. They won't give you a direct answer. And the Royal Decree only provides guidance before the dungeon where the gem might appear. The gem mentioned here doesn't explicitly refer to real gems, but includes both real and fake gems. In other words, even if there are gem guides, they won't tell you definitively where there are real gems; at most, it's possible. It's still playing word games, and only those who don't read the question carefully will be fooled."

"Daolin, don't imitate Shui Qi's online mockery," Bertias whispered.

"What does this have to do with me? I haven't even started mocking anyone today, okay?" Shui Qi said, dissatisfied.

"No, I was just telling the truth. It would be abnormal to be fooled by such an easy word game," Dao Lin said slowly, taking a sip of milk.

Ji Rong nodded in agreement, saying, "That's true. It's undeniable that Dao Lin is right. If someone can be fooled by such wordplay, how low must their IQ be?"

"What do you mean by saying that what I say is public mockery, and that what Daolin says is completely correct? That's prejudice on your part," Shui Qi retorted, frowning. Isaiah picked up a piece of paper and slapped it across Shui Qi's face, saying coldly, "Look at this list of the most annoying people and say it again."

Shui Qi: "..." This is real mockery.

"Royal decrees are issued every three months, coinciding with the initial crown prince list. We don't know who will be next, but I suspect it's related to the number of real gems acquired. After all, real gems are presented to the king, so it's not impossible that they could represent the crown prince's strength. Issuing royal decrees is like acting on behalf of the king to issue government orders."

“Royal decrees are likely to change every time, but I hope we don’t get drawn into the bounty system,” Daolin said slowly. “After all, Isaiah and I are key disabled individuals, and if we are targeted, we definitely won’t be able to escape.”

If we ignore Dao Lin's props, he indeed cannot escape, but in fact, with props in hand, Dao Lin could easily escape.

"I have a question. Why was the White Knight's eye color different when I saw Mu Yegui last time? I remember that in the dungeon, his eye color was the same dark orange as Urias next to you," Noyce asked softly, raising her eyes.

“Colored contact lenses.” Mu Yegui glanced at Jiafaer and then at Urias, and said slowly.

"I see," Noyce said, suddenly realizing.

He could perfectly disguise his jealousy, but he just likes to expose his flaws, which can be considered his perverse sense of humor.

"Now that we've discussed the royal decrees, shouldn't we get down to business? For example... the ownership of these real gems?" Ji Rong glanced at everyone and said with a light laugh.

"Everyone knows that there are only 36 real gems, and each one is unique. So, as an item that can be used to meet the king, it must be made into a set. Rather than each person collecting their own and then fighting over them in the end, it would be better to decide on its ownership from the beginning."

After he finished speaking, the meeting room became noisy.

Dao Lin lowered his eyes and pondered for a few seconds before breaking the noise by slowly saying, "I propose that we keep it together and meet the King together in the end."

"Who will keep it safe? Who can guarantee that they won't steal it?" Cunxi sneered as she looked at Shui Qi, clearly showing that she didn't trust him.

“I wouldn’t make such a mistake,” Shui Qi said, glancing at Cun Xi.

“I don’t believe that guy has zero credibility,” Cunxi said coldly.

"I agree with Daolin's suggestion, but I'm also afraid that some fools might steal it. At least I have doubts about the character of you and everyone here. Rather than saying it's embezzlement, I'm more afraid of being accused of theft. I don't want to take the blame." Shui Qi looked at everyone with a light smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't agree with this suggestion, to prevent certain people from trying to smooth things over," Ji Rong shook his head and said.

Both sides held their own opinions. Some people agreed with Dao Lin's proposal, while others insisted on opposing it. Those who opposed it said they did not trust others and felt that the real gems would be stolen, while those who agreed believed that this was the fairest way.

"Shouldn't only the holders of the True Gem be qualified to express their opinions?" Mingxi sneered. "If you haven't even obtained the True Gem, don't spout grand theories. You don't even have the right to participate in the discussion."

(End of this chapter)