Genius Chapter 117: Do I have a Fever?

Chapter 117: Do I have a Fever?

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

Late at night, the atmosphere was quiet as the master and servant paused in front of the sofa. Finally, Su Mo hesitated and said, “…I won’t wake him up.”

Things in the game were obviously not over yet, and it seemed like Yu Zhen had other matters to attend to before logging out. Waking him up now would only cause trouble. Su Mo stood there, looking down at Yu Zhen sitting on the sofa, his mind already pondering another question…

There were no guest rooms in the house. Should he let Yu Zhen sleep on the sofa?

But Yu Zhen was still connected to the game, wearing a headset. Su Mo wasn’t sure if there were other settings or if it was okay to move him abruptly.

Lele glanced at its master. “Su Mo?”

Su Mo replied, “Looks like he’ll have to sleep on the sofa. Lele, lower the sofa and make it flat.”

Lele acted promptly upon receiving the task. The sofa at home was smartly designed for Su Mo’s convenience, easily adjustable to serve as a bed. As it made subtle adjustments, it caught Su Mo’s gaze and reminded him, “Su Mo, you should rest.”

“It’s okay.” Su Mo assisted Yu Zhen while Lele adjusted the sofa’s backrest. Due to the angle, he could only sit on the sofa and had to adjust Yu Zhen’s sitting position from the side, ensuring he leaned back steadily against the backrest.

Once the sofa was flat, Su Mo noticed that Yu Zhen’s legs were mostly hanging off the edge, so he asked Lele for help.

“Lift this side down, yes, gently, don’t wake him.”

“Lele, go back and get a pillow from my closet, there’s a spare…”

After they were done, Su Mo was sweating slightly, sitting beside and breathing a little heavily.

Lele brought the pillow and effortlessly supported Yu Zhen’s head with the robot’s assistance, stuffing the pillow in place. Everything was set up.

Su Mo glanced at Lele, feeling a bit envious. No matter how well he exercised, his poor constitution remained a limitation.

It was already very late. Seeing this, Lele said, “Su Mo, it’s 01:25 already. You should rest.”

It had been more than two hours past his usual bedtime!

“Could you get me the medicine? I’ll sleep shortly.” Su Mo carefully pulled open the nearby blanket to cover Yu Zhen, noticing his long eyelashes. Normally, Yu Zhen’s eyes carried an unmistakable sharpness, but now, with them closed, that sharpness seemed to fade. He couldn’t help but stare a bit longer, his thoughts involuntarily drifting back to UnchainedWanderer.

The voice settings in the game, caring constantly…

Even familiar senior brothers or mentors at school had never cared for him like this. From various perspectives, he and Yu Zhen were good gaming friends who often met as neighbors…

Su Mo was accustomed to the warmth and coldness of human emotions, especially due to his physical condition. Many people’s concern for him was tinged with sympathy.

Some words couldn’t be taken to heart, and some things couldn’t be taken for granted. He politely and humbly kept his distance from everyone, repaying kindness with an equal measure of gratitude. Life didn’t allow him to be capricious; his physical condition didn’t permit his freedom. For more than a decade, he had lived restrainedly. He was too ordinary, with few topics of conversation with peers, and his recreational life was narrow and uninteresting.

However, things seemed to have changed somewhat since he met Yu Zhen. It wasn’t about crossing his boundaries or encroaching step by step. Yu Zhen maintained a comfortable social rhythm that gradually integrated into his life like a friend.

Su Mo didn’t dislike this feeling, nor did he resist it.

In his life, besides Lele, there was now one more figure.

Su Mo couldn’t quite describe this feeling. Unconsciously, he seemed to be paying more attention—caring about what was happening to Yu Zhen, caring about his affairs in the game, caring about some things he had partially figured out but couldn’t fully understand yet.

Staring for a while longer, his attention shifted to Yu Zhen’s features, looking at his face with closed eyes. Almost involuntarily, he reached out, about to touch Yu Zhen’s nose bridge, when suddenly a voice came from behind.

“Su Mo, take your medicine!” Lele approached with warm water and a medical device. “After you take it, go to sleep!”

Su Mo snapped back to reality, quickly withdrawing his hand. His heartbeat inexplicably accelerated in his chest.

Lele proficiently attached the medical device to Su Mo and after a moment of hesitation asked, “Su Mo, do you feel tired?”

After resting for a while, Su Mo had mostly recovered. “No, why?”

Lele showed him the data on the device. “Your heart rate is really fast.”

Su Mo glanced at the number and paused abruptly.

Lele tilted his head in confusion and said, “Let’s wait five minutes and measure again.”

Luckily, five minutes later, Su Mo’s pulse data returned to normal. Feeling a bit warm, he asked, “Do I have a low-grade fever?”

Lele replied, “Your temperature is normal.”

“Oh, okay.” Su Mo took the warm water and medicine in one gulp, then checked the temperature. “Is this temperature okay for Yu Zhen to sleep? Won’t it be too hot?”

Lele paused for a moment, then realized and said, “Mr. Yu Zhen has an S-class physique. Based on the current outdoor temperature analysis, individuals with this physique have a higher body surface temperature compared to other citizens. The recommended sleeping temperature is between 18-22 degrees Celsius.”

Su Mo looked at Lele in surprise. “Can someone with an S-class physique withstand cold temperatures so well?”

“Su Mo, individuals with an S-class physique can wear summer clothes in sub-zero temperatures for 24 hours,” Lele added. “Considering Mr. Yu Zhen’s current body temperature and physical condition, I suggest lowering the indoor temperature by another 7 degrees.”

Su Mo was speechless.

The indoor temperature was finally adjusted to 20 degrees Celsius. Su Mo felt a bit sleepy and went back into the room, lying down and falling asleep.

But today’s dream felt unnatural. In the dream, he was holding onto someone in a romantic and dim environment, only hearing each other’s breathing. Amidst the confusion, he seemed to see Yu Zhen’s face. The dream abruptly ended, and he suddenly sat up in bed, feeling dizzy with a cold sweat covering his body without him realizing.

Su Mo sat on the bed for a while, then slowly got up to change the bedsheets.

He decisively tore off the sheets and smelled a fragrant aroma of buns as he stepped out of the room. Without hesitation, he hurried to the laundry room and threw the sheets into the smart machine for cleaning. Then he turned his head to the kitchen.

“Lele, what kind of buns are we having today?” Su Mo walked into the kitchen, peeking and seeing Yu Zhen standing at the cooking counter, with Lele next to him, seemingly filming and learning. He suddenly became alert, as if the Yu Zhen in front of him overlapped with the face that briefly flashed in his dream yesterday.

Lele replied, “Pork buns!”

Yu Zhen glanced slightly, “Awake? Wait a moment, we also have some soy milk.”

Su Mo acknowledged and, while Yu Zhen wasn’t paying attention, motioned Lele over with a wave.

Reluctantly leaving the cooking counter, Lele walked over to Su Mo.

Su Mo asked quietly, “When did Brother Zhen wake up?”

Not understanding why Su Mo was speaking so softly, Lele also lowered its voice and explained, “At 5 AM this morning.”

Since Yu Zhen started coming over frequently, Su Mo had given him smart home permissions, though Yu Zhen rarely used them except for the cooking counter.

Breakfast was quickly prepared, a meal for three people that seemed to liven up the spacious dining table. Su Mo’s peculiar thoughts dissipated once they sat down, and he enjoyed his pork buns and soy milk while listening to Yu Zhen talk about their game progress from the previous night.

In reality, it was similar to what Yu Zhen had guessed. When the dark night came in the early hours, more than half of the players who had stayed in the game were gone.

In the holographic online game world, with its diverse forms and the current era of smart technology, the working hours of office workers had been cut in half, with more than half the year consisting of holidays. This led to an increasing number of people focusing more on entertainment in their virtual warehouses, playing games for days and nights on end. However, not all players focused solely on games, and nighttime activity levels were generally lower.

The progress of defeating the Lord of the Deep Sea was halted at 35%. The percentages for the two skills, Rotating Knockback and Full-screen Red Circles, were also tested. Knockback occurred every 5% decrease, while Full-screen Red Circles occurred every 2% decrease after 50%. As the boss’s health decreased, its defense and damage also increased significantly. It was initially estimated to decrease by 1% incrementally.

In the scenario where there weren’t many players left, CloudTraveller and others ultimately opted for stability. With the decreasing health, the boss’s defense had increased significantly. If more players died and the boss was further strengthened, their late-game prospects would become even more challenging. During this period, several major guilds within Celestial Horizon internally negotiated and finally scheduled the raid time for 10:30 in the morning on Capital Planet, while other times were chosen to stabilize the boss, preventing it from breaking into safe zones and causing losses.

Su Mo had thought he could log in early and secure the first kill on the boss, but in reality, defeating such a server-wide progress boss required concerted effort from the majority of players. From six-thirty to eight-thirty was still nighttime, and the global progress outside seemed to have stalled. Su Mo planned to continue the boss battle in the Global mission after logging back in, but he had logged off abruptly the previous night without notifying others that they would resume at seven.

“Before I logged off, ClearWind and Little Bear were still online,” Yu Zhen mentioned.

Su Mo opened the group chat for [Get Rich Quickly], finding thousands of messages. “It’s easy to reach them; it’s just hard to notify ChatMasterWu and Apple.”

“And ChatMasterWu and Apple?” Yu Zhen added, “I have their private numbers; I can contact them.”

Su Mo looked at Yu Zhen, “Will it disturb them?”

Yu Zhen replied, “No, they often stay up all night.”

Su Mo fell silent and became more proactive about taking his medicine after finishing his meal.

Yu Zhen couldn’t enter the mission scene, so Su Mo and Yu Zhen agreed to meet at ten-thirty and then logged into the game. Upon entering the game, it was a scene of night, with the boss’s hostility in the cave only increasing, shaking the ground and mountains.

***

ChatMasterWu received a voice call from ReturnToSimplicity for the first time, startling him so much that he hung up the call and immediately went to the small group chat to complain.

ChatMasterWu: “Damn, I’ve added ReturnToSimplicity for so long, and this is the first time he’s calling me with a voice message to get me to log in.”

BitterMelonMixedWithMilk: “Didn’t you guys say we don’t have to log in early today?”

ChatMasterWu: “Yeah! Momo didn’t mention it last night. I thought we didn’t have to get up early to play. Who knew it would be ReturnToSimplicity calling me in the end.”

Apple: “I just fell asleep for half an hour, and RealBro’s voice call came.”

Little did they know how happy they were last night upon learning they didn’t have to get up early. The elite team in the guild took turns resting, and their main characters were in the mission scene, not in the guild’s active roster. Plus, since Momo didn’t specify the time, they wasted the whole night thinking they could sleep a few hours longer before getting up to play. Who knew it would be ReturnToSimplicity who called them with a voice message in the end.

After having added ReturnToSimplicity for such a long time, his account seemed like a zombie account, with a default numeric nickname and a friend circle that hadn’t been updated in centuries. Their chat history remained at the stage of the initial friend request acceptance message from ReturnToSimplicity. Who would have known that today, they would receive a voice call from ReturnToSimplicity for the first time ever.

With their sleep time cut short, both of them were now wide awake. ChatMasterWu logged into the game and saw the other six people in the game all present. Momo, who was leading them, greeted him with, “You’re quite fast.”

ChatMasterWu was momentarily stunned, about to ask how Momo knew he was fast, but Momo had already started explaining the mechanics.

“Our healing output is low. The Global Boss outside has already tested its mechanics on us: 5% for knockback and 2% for red circles,” Su Mo frowned, bringing up the terrain map of Vicinity on his drawing board. Continuing, he said, “Its knockback is horizontal. Since Vicinity has mountains and large rocks, in such situations, we can jump high to evade onto the mountains or position ourselves behind rocks to withstand the knockback. The challenge lies in the red circles, which inevitably cause damage. Our healing capacity is completely insufficient, so I’ve adjusted our positions.”

“Lean against the mountains, stay on the outskirts, and position directly under the boss’s feet.” Su Mo marked the points on the terrain, “We divide into three positions: the mountain side is reserved for the cleric and warrior. Apple, ClearWind, ZenSlasher, and I will stand together. ChatMasterWu will be flexible in the middle for handling smaller mobs.”

“This setup means Apple and the other four will use their spell fluctuations to attract the monsters. Therefore, the warrior and cleric at the mountain side won’t be affected by the whip attacks. ChatMasterWu standing in the middle facilitates dealing with smaller mobs. The cleric is a flexible healer; their healing is based not on themselves but on summoned entities. When lifting group health, they can stay completely out of the crowd.”

After finalizing the positioning plan, the group set off immediately.

Ahead, pulling mobs was still ChatMasterWu. Over the course of the night, the mountains where they hid had already been ravaged by the boss’s lashes. Fortunately, their position for mobbing was relatively intact, and the marked high points were still considered safe.

Upon arrival, the group immediately dispersed to their designated positions. The boss’s main aggro was still on Little Bear. Su Mo said, “Fruit, don’t drop the tree, wait a moment.”

After a three-minute wait, Apple’s mana quickly recovered as it hit bottom, and the boss’s lash immediately shifted targets, locking onto Apple.

“Drop the tree, and position yourself properly.”

ScarletFruit promptly dropped the tree. After a few minutes, the aggro shifted towards the crowd standing outside. His and Little Bear’s positions were very safe, with no health loss at all. It was then that he realized his brother’s intention. After countless dungeon runs, this was his first experience of enjoying the thrill of being the main healer, especially with a warrior beside him, acting like a colossal shield protecting him.

With no need to move around, he had more time to observe the boss.

With their combined effort and being on guard, they managed to bring the boss down to 50%.

The boss indeed unleashed two ultimate skills. ScarletFruit and Little Bear had pre-positioned themselves in advance. When the red circles appeared, ScarletFruit placed the group heal directly at ChatMasterWu’s location. Su Mo instructed, “Move close to the summon for healing and leave immediately after.”

ScarletFruit’s group heal was placed preemptively, just in time to heal everyone as the red circles exploded, buying the team precious time to escape.

Thanks to the excellent cleric and well-distributed positioning, they passed the 50% threshold unscathed.

“Wow, newbie luck!”

“Fruit’s prediction was 666!” 

ScarletFruit proudly replied, “Thank you, everyone. Without you, I couldn’t have performed so well.”

Successfully navigating the dual ultimate skill phase significantly boosted the team’s confidence.

With previous coordination, they moved steadily. Despite the boss’s five chaotic skill mechanics, they could follow commands to dodge accordingly. The new positioning made them more agile, allowing them to evade skills without worrying about teammates. Additionally, the guaranteed resurrection mechanic reduced their stress considerably.

ScarletFruit said, “Why does it feel a lot easier than before? Is the boss weaker or did I get stronger?” 

ClearWind replied, “We’ve evolved. The boss is nothing. Worst case, we can revive in the daytime.” 

ChatMasterWu added, “Is this all the boss has got? I don’t even feel like I’m losing health. What kind of boss can’t even hurt an assassin?” 

Apple paused and cautiously said, “ChatMasterWu, be careful with your words. Don’t get cocky.” 

ChatMasterWu insisted, “I’m just speaking the truth.”

“Don’t let your guard down. We’re only at 41%, and at 40%, the two ultimate skills will come together again,” Su Mo reminded the others. Just then, he noticed a flicker in the pet bar, as if something was moving.

At that moment, the sound in his ears changed. Su Mo refocused and saw the boss’s health drop to 40%.

Everyone anticipated the first move and immediately ran to ScarletFruit’s summoned creature. However, they didn’t expect the boss to not only use the two ultimate skills but also summon minions and perform a full sweep attack.

The healing burst helped them survive the full-screen red circles, but the full sweep attack followed immediately. The full sweep targeted the primary aggro holder, apple. In a panic, Su Mo used his bear to grab the aggro, taking the hit on the bear, but it still affected some teammates. With no time to spare and low on health, everyone rushed to higher ground before the spinning knockback attack could arrive.

Su Mo reached the high ground and saw ChatMasterWu still running below. “ChatMasterWu, get up here!”

It was too dangerous. The boss at 40% had started using chaotic combinations of skills, something the external Global boss hadn’t done.

“There’s no room. If I come up, I’ll bring the minions with me.”

ChatMasterWu had been leading a group of minions. After numerous encounters, he had become quite adept at managing them. He knew precisely when to pull, when to move, and how fast he needed to go. Confidently, he shouted, “No worries, I can outrun them…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a dark red circle landed on him.

ChatMasterWu exclaimed, “Damn it!!!”

The rest of the team, positioned on higher ground, watched as ChatMasterWu was struck by the red circle, poisoning him. Then, the boss’s knockback attack hit, and its merciless tentacles sent him flying to an unknown distance, with the group of minions following him enthusiastically.

As the boss’s spinning knockback continued, Apple, who was on another high ground, remarked, “He did his job well. Got knocked away and took the minions with him. We didn’t lose out on that one.”

ClearWind nodded, “Definitely.”

ScarletFruit added, “He died too far away; there’s basically no saving him.”

Su Mo responded, “Not a loss, huh? Who’s pulling the minions next?”

The entire team fell silent until ZenSlasher spoke up, “I’ll do it.”

At that moment, the spinning boss suddenly stopped, leaving everyone momentarily stunned. The boss, for the first time, prematurely halted its spin, raising its tentacles high. Su Mo’s eyes widened as he looked towards the closest position and shouted, “ZenSlasher, run!”

The chaotic whip attack descended again, hitting the critically low-health ZenSlasher standing on high ground, instantly taking out their remaining assassin capable of pulling minions.

Out of a team of seven, they suddenly lost two assassins.

Author’s note:

Apple: “The curse of death is cyclical.”

Momo: “…”

ClearWind: “Am I next?”

ScarletFruit: “Don’t die too far away; we can revive one person every 10 minutes. ChatMasterWu, give up.”