Genius Chapter 121: What Kind of Person is Yu Zhen?

Chapter 121: What Kind of Person is Yu Zhen?

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

Zhou Ke didn’t realize anything was amiss. After settling the account with his cousin, he went to the storage room to get the items. Senior Zhou took the storage board and said, “Thank you for bringing it over. I really couldn’t leave while fixing his machine.”

After putting the storage board into his backpack, he added, “He’s so annoying. Last week, I was supposed to be off while he had me watch the store. I thought I’d get a break over the weekend, but he still had me watch the store, saying he needed to fight some Global Boss.”

Su Mo was left speechless.

Senior Zhou continued, “He makes a lot of money from the game. I told him to close the store and focus on gaming, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Su Mo asked, “Did he pay you?”

“He did, included in the repair fees. After the last repair, he kept asking me to fix things. He said he didn’t want to pay outsiders, so he hired me instead,” Senior Zhou said, showing Su Mo the electronic board with the account details. “Thanks to your reminder, otherwise, I would have been working for him for free. Even though I’m a top student from Capital University, working for him every day without proper pay just wouldn’t be right.”

Su Mo glanced at the electronic board, noting a few details, and pointed out, “The total assembly fee is 450. The cost for each individual part is 50, and there are 14 parts in total.” He then looked at the remaining parts on the floor and continued, “The model you repaired is the J6. Considering the labor time and difficulty, the market rate for labor should be around 6000 star coins, but you only charged 2500.”

Senior Zhou responded, “……?”

Su Mo added, “No wonder you had to hire him.”

Senior Zhou was silent for a moment. “Wait for me a minute, I’ll go collect the money.”

He turned and shouted, “Zhou Ke, come back and settle the account!”

When Yu Zhen entered the convenience store, he saw two people who resembled each other running out from the back door. The taller one was holding the electronic board and shouting, “Zhou Ke, you said to settle accounts clearly even with relatives.”

The man referred to as Zhou Ke quickly ducked behind a shelf next to Yu Zhen and said loudly, “We’re just cousins.” He then patted Yu Zhen on the shoulder and added, “Handsome, feel free to look around the store. We have everything here.”

Yu Zhen was left speechless.

Su Mo followed out from the back and saw the two of them bickering. He noticed that Yu Zhen had cleverly positioned himself in the middle and couldn’t help but wave at him.

Yu Zhen came over and approached Su Mo with a look of curiosity. “Your senior?”

The noise from the bickering cousins continued. Senior Zhou, being tall and strong, had captured Zhou Ke.

“He’s the one chasing him,” Su Mo said, his gaze focused on Zhou Ke. He slightly turned and whispered, “Do you think Zhou Ke’s voice…?”

Yu Zhen noticed how close the two were, with Yu Zhen’s shoulder only a hand’s breadth away. To whisper, Yu Zhen had even leaned slightly towards Su Mo. Yu Zhen withdrew his gaze and said, “The voice might have some overlap, but if the personality, mannerisms, and speaking tone are similar… it’s probably ScarletFruit.”

ScarletFruit’s personality in the game was very distinct. His speaking tone and behavior were very vivid. Plus, he often rambled on about accounts or other matters, speaking in long sentences. This made Su Mo very familiar with his voice. Combined with Zhou Ke’s current behavior, it was strikingly similar to how ScarletFruit would interact with ClearWind in the game.

Yu Zhen asked, “Should we ask them?”

“It might be impolite to disturb them suddenly,” Su Mo replied, pulling out his terminal and opening the “Get Rich Soon” group chat. “But we can give it a try.”

Yu Zhen noticed Su Mo’s actions. It seemed that in real life, Su Mo was always like this—maintaining a respectful distance, being polite and reserved, and never intruding into others’ lives without permission.

After some bickering, Zhou Ke transferred money to his cousin using the terminal. “Labor fee is 6000 star coins. The repairman on the next street only charges 5500!”

Senior Zhou responded, “If you want a discount, go to that repairman. For now, settle my bill first.”

Zhou Ke retorted, “Can’t you give a discount for being cousins? Your brother always gives a 10% discount in business, and you can’t even give a little?!” As he spoke, a notification pinged on his terminal. He immediately switched to the group chat page and saw that Mo had sent an emoji.

Senior Zhou urged, “Hurry up, pay up.”

ScarletFruit replied, “Why are you so stubborn? I’m right here and won’t run away. Wait for me to reply.”

Senior Zhou insisted, “Pay up first. You can chat later.”

“You’re wasting my time, which affects my relationship with the big spender and impacts your brother’s future efforts to develop the game’s seafood market,” ScarletFruit said in the group chat, adding an emoji while handling the situation. “Aren’t you going to chat with your junior disciple? They’re just standing over there…”

Senior Zhou put the matter aside and walked over to chat with Su Mo, his eyes inadvertently glancing at Yu Zhen several times. He had thought Yu Zhen looked familiar when he came in earlier, but he couldn’t quite place him.

“Leave the rest to me,” Su Mo said.

Senior Zhou snapped back to attention. “It’s fine, it’s fine. You’ve already done so much. I’ll handle the rest. Rest well after your checkup.”

Su Mo nodded and noticed Zhou Ke talking to the part-time student at the counter. “We’ll be on our way then.”

Senior Zhou asked, “Has the hovercar arrived?”

Su Mo replied, “My friend drove us here.”

Senior Zhou felt relieved. “That’s good. Be careful on the way.”

As the two of them left the store, Senior Zhou grabbed his cousin by the collar. “Don’t try to sneak away. Pay up.”

Zhou Ke glanced outside at the departing figures and said, “Hey, cousin, aside from anything else, your two juniors are quite good-looking. Especially that tall one who came in earlier—his gaze made me feel uneasy. And your genius junior disciple, he’s handsome and well-behaved, but his voice sounds a bit like my older brother in the game… Hey, hey, hey, let go. I’m paying, okay?”

“That tall guy isn’t my junior. He seems to be Su Mo’s friend…” Senior Zhou suddenly had a realization. “I remember where I’ve seen that person before!”

Zhou Ke couldn’t help but pat him. “Let go, let go! You’re choking me!”

Senior Zhou patted Zhou Ke’s shoulder. “Cousin, do you remember that I interned at the Research Institute during the holidays? I saw that guy at the Research Institute! He’s a distinguished consultant there! I think he’s the heir of the Firmament Group!”

“Oh right! The Celestial Horizon you often play! Their loader is developed by their company! Damn, I should have asked for an autograph!”

“But isn’t he your junior’s friend? Just contact your junior later,” Zhou Ke said as he sent the money to his cousin and looked at his terminal. “Why hasn’t my older brother replied? What does this emoji mean? A smile? A smirk?”

After a while with no response, he exited and checked the forums.

He discovered some unfortunate news—his favorite fanfiction writer had stopped updating.

***

As soon as the Global Boss raid ended in the morning, not only did the game explode with activity, but the forums also erupted. It was the first time since Celestial Horizon’s launch that a Global Boss required a full-server mobilization, creating a strong sense of shared involvement among players. The event’s grand scale even made it to StarNet’s trending topics, with discussions spilling over onto various social media platforms.

Aside from the Global Boss, another major topic was the raid’s overall commander—Momo. The role of the commander in such a large-scale PvE event was crucial, and it left a significant impression on players. Initially, players thought the commander was ReturnToSimplicity himself, but as the raid concluded and players gathered to discuss, several messages surfaced.

• “ReturnToSimplicity wasn’t actually on the account!”
• “The commander wasn’t the ReturnToSimplicity big shot!”
• “So, who was the commander?”
• “It was summoner Momo!”

Given that so many guild leaders heard about it in the unified command channel, it was only a matter of time before the news spread widely. It wasn’t merely gossip; several prominent figures, including CloudTraveller and Apple, confirmed that the ReturnToSimplicity account was indeed managed by summoner Momo.

Many people knew Momo, but there were also many who did not.

With the widespread discussion about the Global Boss, Momo once again became the focus of attention. To help both newbies and long-time players understand who this summoner was, someone on the forums even compiled a simple highlight reel. This included his command of various PvE dungeons, his record-setting performance in Pear Blossom Hollow, his written guides, his masterful play in the Valor Peak Hunting Grounds, and even the command recordings from the recent Global Boss raid against the Lord of the Deep Sea.

Once summarized, forum members suddenly realized that while Momo had never appeared on the forums using a StarNet ID, his presence was felt throughout many parts of the forum.

Summoner Momo, referred to as “archdemon” by assassin Sect and many players, had become a leading figure in the underappreciated summoner class. Now known as the master of summoners and an all-around capable player, he had made a significant mark.

• [Wow, I didn’t realize until it was summarized how much of a newbie Momo actually is.]
• [People used to say he was only good at dungeon commanding, but look at this, his unified front command is impressive too!]
• [But he really has a low-key vibe. I couldn’t even find his posts, and all his guides were posted by ScarletFruit.]

Momo’s rare appearances always left a strong impression.

However, forum news updated so quickly, with endless gossip every day. Players like Momo, who were low-key, couldn’t achieve the same level of fame on the forums as long-standing icons like CloudTraveller or Apple, who were frequently active. Players only remembered him as being impressive.

But this time, things were different. The scope of the discussion was so wide that it went beyond the usual circles. In just one day, the discussions about him surpassed those of several major figures, causing him to become a sensation in the Celestial Horizon community and even a topic in other gaming circles.

Strong players had always been the center of attention.

As the topic gained momentum, players dug up many details from various corners.

For example, the connection between ReturnToSimplicity and Momo. One was a marksman legend who had been out of the limelight for a long time, and the other was a rising star summoner. Their last interaction was during the Valor Peak hunting grounds, and now that the command issue had come up, it served as a concrete piece of evidence for the long-standing mystery.

It was clear that the two knew each other and had a special relationship. The long-silent Valor Peak “true couple” thread was dug up again, and curiosity about the relationship between ReturnToSimplicity and Momo grew among players.

Su Mo arrived home just in time for dinner. He wanted to invite Yu Zhen to stay for the meal, but Yu Zhen mentioned he had something to do and left.

Lele remarked, “It’s a pity Mr. Yu Zhen couldn’t make it.”

Upon hearing this, Su Mo looked at the tall man beside him, feeling a deepening sense of curiosity, “Lele, what kind of person do you think Yu Zhen is?”

Lele glanced at his master and noticed that this question had come up very frequently. He repeated his usual response, “Su Mo, Mr. Yu Zhen is a good person.”

Su Mo felt speechless.

It seemed like he had asked in vain.

After dinner, as he sat on the sofa, Su Mo’s gaze drifted to the spot where Yu Zhen had sat the night before. The peculiar feeling he had experienced remained unsettled in his mind.

“Su Mo, the bed is made,” Lele said, coming from the other side with some medication.

The mention of the bed made Su Mo think of the dream from the previous night. Despite the passage of a day, the memory of the dream had not faded; instead, it had grown more vivid. The mere mention of it brought him back to that dream with startling clarity.

The thought alone made him restless, so Su Mo took his medication and decided to log into the game, hoping it would serve as a distraction.

However, as he entered the game and habitually opened his friends list to form a party, he noticed the name ‘UnchainedWanderer’ displayed in gray.

“Still not done?”

“Aren’t you going online tonight?”

Su Mo opened the terminal’s contacts and paused when he found Yu Zhen’s avatar. He suddenly realized that Yu Zhen had been a part of his gaming life for a very long time.

“Bro, where were you this afternoon? Why are you only logging on now?” ClearWind immediately began forming a party when he saw Momo online. “You and Brother Wanderer weren’t around this afternoon. ZenSlasher was in class, and ScarletFruit said he needed to fix something. I was all alone all afternoon. It was so boring.”

Su Mo glanced at ScarletFruit, who was offline. “Where’s ScarletFruit?”

ClearWind, bored and chatting with the fans, switched to voice chat to explain, “He was online earlier. Said he was taking his cousin out for dinner and wouldn’t be back until 8. ZenSlasher is doing homework. She’ll join us as soon as the group is complete.”

Thinking about the afternoon’s events, Su Mo could almost confirm that Senior Zhou’s cousin was indeed ScarletFruit. He hadn’t expected that a friend across the internet could be so close.

At this realization, he was momentarily taken aback. It really was close. He hadn’t even considered that UnchainedWanderer might be Yu Zhen.

“Bro, should we do something while we wait?” ClearWind asked.

“Let’s wait for them to log in. I’ll go organize the warehouse,” Su Mo replied.

The warehouse hadn’t been organized for a while, so Su Mo planned to take stock of the materials and see if he could craft any items or other things.

He was at the main city Vicinity, and when he opened the warehouse, he found that his previously chaotic storage had been neatly categorized and arranged. It was obvious who had done it without needing to be told.

Su Mo usually just tossed unused items into the warehouse and only sorted things out occasionally.

His eyes rested on the neatly organized materials in the warehouse. Was organizing the warehouse now just a matter of convenience, like daily routines?

“Hey? Bro, weren’t you going to organize the warehouse?” ClearWind, who was in the forging area, was chatting with fans in the live stream while automatically forging materials.

“Come over and craft something,” Su Mo said.

With the warehouse organized, Su Mo cleared out some forging materials that were leftover from upgrading the [Heavenly Light Lamp]. He also took out another weapon from the warehouse, the [Ling Luo Lamp]. With the level 80 equipment system activated, the level 80 weapon system had also opened.

The Heavenly Light Lamp in Su Mo’s hands was still in its level 70 form, while the Ling Luo Lamp was a previously acquired weapon with a focus on physical attack, and was at level 40. The materials he had were mid-to-high-level, which were just right to upgrade the Ling Luo Lamp to level 70.

The process of upgrading and refining was rather tedious. Su Mo, still focused from his morning interaction with Myriad Palace Insight, found that his forging speed was slightly faster than before. Within ten minutes, he had upgraded the Ling Luo Lamp to level 70, transforming it into the [Ling Yun Lamp].

The Ling Yun Lamp was a physical attack weapon for the summoner class. For most summoners, it might have been considered a subpar weapon, but for Su Mo, who focused on physical attack, the Ling Yun Lamp was even more suitable for him than his Heavenly Light Lamp.

Su Mo had accumulated a lot of demon points on his account. He exchanged some for upgrade materials and bought additional items from the trading platform.

Noticing the activity, ClearWind came over to watch. “Bro, what are you doing?”

Su Mo explained, “I’m preparing to upgrade to an 80-level weapon.”

“Wait a minute!!” ClearWind immediately realized, “I’ll send you a guide formula. There’s a new formula summarized by a forging expert recently. It’s said to produce special attributes when upgrading quest weapons.”

Su Mo soon received the document from ClearWind and found that it was quite similar to the formulas for astrologers’ materials. Since he was not a blacksmith himself, he could only use the blacksmithing furnace to upgrade equipment and did not have access to the blacksmithing formula library. Previously, he had been using the furnace’s default formulas for upgrading and making inferences and combinations. He was surprised to find that there were such guides available on StarNet.

“Are there other formulas?” Su Mo asked, “Is there a formula library available on StarNet?”

ClearWind hesitated for a moment before replying, “There might be, but I didn’t save it.”

[I have it! I’m a blacksmith, and I’ve organized it all for convenience.]

[I also have the extracted materials library. Do you need the materials library?]

“Oh wait! I have it from my fans.” ClearWind said, “Bro, is an in-game document okay?”

In-game documents were better. Su Mo still couldn’t access the StarNet link, so he replied, “That works. Please thank him for me.”

Su Mo soon received the document. The materials library compiled by ClearWind was exceptionally detailed, suggesting that the player had delved deeply into the blacksmithing profession. Many minor aspects were annotated, and as he browsed through it, he noticed that the formulas were remarkably similar to those for astrologers.

The only differences were in the types of materials used and their order. The astrologer’s formulas were more complex, and Su Mo had memorized almost all of the astrologer materials and related formulas for making items. Seeing these blacksmithing formulas now, he could deduce the logical sequence with ease.

Special attributes were likely based on the compatibility of entries. If the upgrades were based on these formulas, it should be possible to use logical formulas to reveal the special attributes of both the Heavenly Light Lantern and the Ling Yun Lantern.

Su Mo pondered for a moment. What had ScarletFruit said before? Oh right, dual 80-level weapons could combine to produce a special skill.

ClearWind asked, “Bro, where are you going?”

Su Mo simply replied, “To buy materials.”

The next period of time, ClearWind watched as Su Mo ran around the materials stalls in the main city, gathering all the materials he needed. After buying everything, Su Mo returned to the blacksmithing furnace to continue forging. However, gathering all the desired materials was not an easy task. Su Mo figured out a new formula, but the more special the attributes and skills, the higher the level of materials required.

Even his considerable amount of demon points was exhausted.

With insufficient points, he had no choice but to grind for more. By the time it was 8 o’clock, ScarletFruit, having finished dinner, said he couldn’t join because new suppliers had arrived at the shop.

ClearWind looked at the message and said, “ZenSlasher will be coming soon. I asked Brother Wanderer earlier; he said he had something to do.”

“Is he not coming?” Su Mo’s gaze paused slightly as he switched to the terminal group chat.

Just as he was about to message Yu Zhen, ClearWind said, “I don’t know. He hasn’t replied to me for over half an hour. He must really be busy.”