Chapter Seventy-Four: Is It Really Me?

In recent days, the scheme competition on the BuildBug Forum had reached a fever pitch. One hundred and forty masterpieces from design luminaries were unfurled and compared one by one. Although some proposals had previously showcased a few renderings, those images had only scratched the surface. Not to mention, some entries had been kept entirely under wraps until now.

Exquisite renderings, meticulous and rigorous design logic, and breathtaking creativity offered not only a visual feast for the BuildBug community and offline architects alike, but also vastly broadened their horizons. Sometimes, all it takes for a lively event is the spark of a single match.

During this period, anyone with even a passing interest in architecture would flock to the competition threads to weigh in. Comments with substance were considered by the judging panel; those who ranted mindlessly were promptly IP-banned. Some design teams didn’t aim for the championship—they simply wanted to make a name for themselves. Others were determined to take first place and scrutinized everything; if a negative comment appeared under their proposal, someone would immediately step in to argue and defend their stance. Meanwhile, there were teams or individuals who, despite having faith in their proposals, felt insecure amid the fierce competition and their own inexperience, swinging between hope and anxiety.

Hu Lei was one such person, plagued by uncertainty. It wasn’t just him—the entire dormitory had grown noticeably thinner in just a few days. Ironically, the cause of their distress was not defeat, but the very fact that their design was receiving so much praise. If there had been no hope, they could have taken it in stride and treated it as a bit of fun. But when hope grew so large, every heartbeat thudded with anticipation. Whenever they had a spare moment, they would refresh the forum app, poring over the comments on their thread, their enthusiasm for work, study, and meals all but evaporated.

After several days of public voting, the shortlist was finally announced at midday. The finalists were: "Blue Classic Design" by Exxon Studio, "Home of Excellence Design" by Superior Architecture Studio, "Star of Harmony Design" by Group Three of the Second Branch of Kyoto Design Institute, "Metal and Wood Aesthetics Design" by StoneStoneStone, and "Rhythm of Water Design" by the Wall Street Rascals team. The outcome was widely accepted by the BuildBug community. Real, transparent comment data was published, and the well-known, capable users—whose faces and reputations were familiar—had all participated in the discussions. There was virtually no question about the fairness of the selection.

With the announcement made, the excitement was quickly replaced by deeper anxiety for Hu Lei and his roommates. Now, the anticipation for the final decision from the "Lord of Beast Mountain Villa" became sheer torment. After all, this was a single individual, or perhaps a single team, who had to weigh five highly acclaimed proposals and pick just one—a truly agonizing choice.

While the BuildBugs speculated whether the "Lord of Beast Mountain Villa" would make the decision process public and which proposal would ultimately win, something utterly unexpected happened. Barely an hour after the shortlist was released, the famous reward post directly displayed a "bounty settled" status. The notorious "Lord of Beast Mountain Villa" neither made a follow-up post to explain the result nor published any information. He simply, stealthily, changed the status to settled. If it weren’t for forum admin Zhu Xiaoyuan, who, tipped off by Wu You, kept a close eye on the post and promptly broadcasted the news site-wide, most users might not have noticed that the reward post had reached its surreptitious conclusion.

Some had even suggested an offline awards ceremony...

Are you kidding me!

That was every BuildBug user’s first reaction. But soon enough, some speculated that perhaps the "Lord of Beast Mountain Villa" had been silently observing the selection process all along, and had already made up his mind about his favorite design. Perhaps he was simply waiting for the shortlist to be finalized before immediately announcing the result. This line of reasoning, though not flawless, became the mainstream theory.

Forum admin Zhu Xiaoyuan was the only one who understood Wu You’s real-life situation. Wu You had previously admitted he didn’t have time to follow the contest online. Zhu Xiaoyuan was tempted to post a thread titled "Stop Dreaming!" or "The Result Was a Complete Guess!" but gritted his teeth and restrained himself. If he did, the four losing teams would erupt in protest. At least any of the five shortlisted proposals would have been an acceptable winner. If Wu You had chosen from the full 140 at the outset, it could have ended in a forum-wide disaster.

The moment the forum notification went out, everyone rushed to click on Wu You’s reward post. Hu Lei and his roommates were no exception, silently praying to every deity and pantheon as they scrolled down.

Wu You’s earlier sketches flashed by, and soon they reached the information bar at the end of the main post. At last, a line of system text with a hyperlink appeared at the bottom: "Bounty Winner: Floor 3561 user ‘StoneStoneStone’ with the ‘Metal and Wood Aesthetics Design.’" Clicking the link led directly to Hu Lei’s competition thread, an edit made by the admin afterward.

A wave of immense joy swept through Hu Lei and his roommates. Their proposal had actually won the championship. It wasn’t just the cash prize—they had achieved a tremendous sense of accomplishment. This competition had a significant impact and was one of the most prestigious in the online architecture community. They had bested many formidable teams and ascended on the strength of their own work. From now on, "StoneStoneStone" would be a recognized and respected name in the field.

As for the prize money, the group clicked into "StoneStoneStone’s" personal space, their hearts pounding even harder. Because the amount had increased, Hu Lei had previously suggested a new distribution plan: instead of the original arrangement where the others would receive a few tens of thousands each, he would now take half, and the remaining five million would be split between the others, with a signed agreement to that effect.

In the wallet section of the profile, the balance was displayed clearly: BuildCoins Balance: 10,000,008. The final eight was left over from Hu Lei’s earlier top-ups. Like excited schoolchildren, they counted the digits over and over. Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions, ten millions.

Ten million!

"Yeah!"

"Hahahahaha!"

"We’re rich!"

Their jubilant shouts startled several neighboring dorms.

Bang, bang, bang—a knock at the door.

"What’s going on in there? Something good happen?"

"Nothing, just go back to your game," a roommate replied offhandedly.

The group quickly stifled their laughter. Thanks to the special nature of the contest, the BuildBug Forum had given the champion account "StoneStoneStone" unrestricted withdrawal rights. In other words, they could cash out the full ten million at once, no need to endure the daily five-million limit.

Just then, their private message box lit up—a new message from none other than the "Lord of Beast Mountain Villa."