Global Forum: Eight Desolates Platform
Chapter 135: Eight Desolates Platform
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
“Su Mo.”
Su Mo looked up slightly and saw the man beside him gazing at him with an expression he couldn’t quite decipher.
He was about to ask something when the man suddenly pulled him into an embrace.
The hug came unexpectedly, as if driven by an uncontrollable urge, yet it also felt like something that had been inevitable for a long time.
Yu Zhen’s hand rested on the back of Su Mo’s neck, gently caressing him through his clothes, with patience and tenderness.
“Su Mo, Momo,” Yu Zhen murmured softly, “lift your head.”
Su Mo hesitated for a moment, then lifted his head from Yu Zhen’s embrace, only to feel a light touch on his forehead.
Yu Zhen kissed Su Mo’s forehead, a brief yet tender moment, before pulling him tightly into his arms.
Su Mo blinked, no longer feeling the touch on his forehead. “Brother, can you kiss me a little longer?”
The response he received was an even tighter embrace. He heard a voice close to his ear.
Yu Zhen said, “I’m starting to feel a little regretful.”
Su Mo leaned against Yu Zhen’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Zhen felt a mix of sadness and regret. “That I couldn’t be by your side sooner.”
If I had been there earlier, would you have been a bit happier?
After picking up the report, the two of them drove home.
Once they were home, Su Mo sat on the couch, slowly flipping through the pages of the paper report as if he wanted to memorize every word. He opened the cabinet under the living room table and pulled out another report.
“What’s this?” Yu Zhen asked, sitting beside him.
Su Mo replied, “It’s my medical report from when I was 16. At the time, Dr. Wu told me I might never be cured.”
This report had been buried for a long time. It was the first time he received a diagnosis stating he could never be healed. He had been heartbroken for a long time after getting the report and eventually tucked it away under his emergency medicine, as if keeping it there would remind him of his fragility and the importance of his health. Even though subsequent reports showed steady improvement, he never allowed himself to become complacent. Until today, when he finally received confirmation of hope.
He placed the two reports together and tucked them into the bottom of the drawer.
Yu Zhen asked, “Why are you putting them together?”
Su Mo smiled, “To keep the old one underneath and the good one on top. It means I’ll keep getting better.”
“I don’t remember it too clearly,” Su Mo said as he closed the drawer. “When my dad was still around, he used to do the same thing. He was a researcher, just like my mom, and they both worked at the research institute. Whenever he was working on something, he’d always put the old or discarded reports at the bottom.”
“I asked him why, and he said, ‘By keeping the old report underneath and the good one on top, things will keep getting better.'”
***
The feeling of happiness lingered, so much so that when ScarletFruit logged in, he received a big item package from his big brother. The package contained out-of-stock items, newly crafted items, and several item recipes—all handed over to him. As soon as he logged in, it felt like fortune had rained down on him, leaving ScarletFruit so overwhelmed with joy that he immediately fired off three quick questions.
“Whoa, I haven’t even asked you to restock yet.”
“This new item is amazing! Did you craft more of the 1-minute puppet?”
“Recipes!! Are all these recipes really for me?”
His big brother responded with nothing but a cold “Mm,” as if these highly valuable items were just casual trinkets to him. ScarletFruit felt a bit puzzled by his big brother. First, he sent a bunch of forging materials to Brother Wanderer, and now he was giving him these profitable items… He felt a little overwhelmed by the generosity and quietly asked, “Bro, do you need any materials collected recently?”
Su Mo simply replied, “If you come across high-level summoner and array master materials, keep an eye out for me. Not just weapons, but also equipment materials.”
ScarletFruit was taken aback for a moment before finally finding a reason. “Equipment materials? Are you guys aiming for the leaderboard? You’ve been climbing the ranks pretty fast lately. If you upgrade your gear, with the speed at which the Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament is releasing quests, by the time it’s over, you might even break into the top five!”
When Su Mo heard ScarletFruit say this, he realized he hadn’t checked the leaderboard in quite a while. Previously, he was ranked 12th overall, but now he had climbed to 10th. The top spots were filled with popular professions like marksman, array master, and physical swordsman.
Yu Zhen, too, had advanced. Originally in the middle ranks of the highly competitive array master category, he had unknowingly climbed to 3rd place and was now ranked 11th overall.
As for their other teammates, ClearWind had already entered the top fifteen for physical swordsmen, ZenSlasher had made it into the top thirty assassins, and ScarletFruit had reached the top five clerics.
Even though Yu Zhen’s weapon wasn’t fully developed and he was still missing two pieces of gear, he was already the third-ranked array master. If his equipment was completed, his ranking would likely rise even higher. Su Mo checked Yu Zhen’s marksman account ranking and noticed that the score gap with the second place had become quite small. It seemed likely that Yu Zhen would soon lose his position as the top marksman and even be overtaken by CloudTraveller on the overall leaderboard. Su Mo had asked Yu Zhen about this a while ago, but it seemed Yu Zhen wasn’t interested in playing his main account anymore and had shifted his focus entirely to his array master account.
Climbing the leaderboard?
Su Mo suddenly became a bit interested. “Do you have the scoring formula for the leaderboard?”
ScarletFruit paused. “Of course I do. There are people in my line of work who specialize in this, helping clients customize equipment and boost their scores. As long as the money is there, they can smash the gear up to where it needs to be. But, you see, the Celestial Horizon overall leaderboard isn’t just a pay-to-win ranking. It’s calculated by the main system, and the exact formula isn’t public, though some aspects of it are known. It mainly involves equipment cultivation and character quest scores.”
He continued, “So, even if your gear is average, as long as your quest scores are high, you can still secure a spot on the leaderboard.”
The overall character rating was the most representative ranking, compiled from various player data. While equipment could be upgraded with materials, quest scores depended on luck—both in terms of how many quests you could complete and whether you could achieve high scores in them.
“Keep collecting materials, especially refining materials,” Su Mo said. “During the Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament, there are a lot of material boxes, and some materials should drop in price. Can you gather as much as possible for me? Is there enough money?”
“Definitely enough. The items and recipes you gave me are practically money-making machines. Don’t worry, when it comes to making money, I don’t mess around.”
ScarletFruit then suddenly thought of something. “Wait, bro, should I also collect refining materials for array masters?”
Su Mo replied, “Yes, collect them.”
ScarletFruit was speechless.
Su Mo asked, “Not enough money?”
ScarletFruit hesitated, “…Enough.”
The mind of the big brother is hard for the little brother to understand.
Climbing the leaderboard is a long-term task. For the past two days, whenever Su Mo logged in, aside from running daily dungeons with his teammates, he spent the rest of the time with Yu Zhen doing side quests. Since they learned about the hidden quests for weapon forging materials, they decided to tackle similar quests as well. To make communication easier, the two of them didn’t team up with others and just formed a small party to run the quests together.
So, for two days straight, the usual five-member group suddenly split into two smaller teams. The remaining three members, except for ZenSlasher, felt something was off, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on what it was.
The two bosses were indeed working together on the hidden quests, and it made sense for them to want to avoid distractions, but something still felt strange.
On Thursday and Friday, Yu Zhen continued his routine of visiting Su Mo at home every day. As he spent more time at Su Mo’s place, he gradually noticed some of Su Mo’s habits—for instance, how he always asked Lele for candy after taking his medicine, or how he insisted on visiting the lab before his afternoon nap, or even how he liked to sleep curled up… Su Mo had many such habits. He used to appear like a perfect, disciplined person in the eyes of others, but in reality, he was a bit lazy. This was likely due to his poor health since childhood, making him rely on Lele for certain things.
During this period, Yu Zhen had also become quite busy. His family had piled a number of projects on him to review, and his parents had called multiple times to ask if his vacation was over and when he would return home. Preparing to take on these tasks required advance work, so when he wasn’t in the game, he spent all his time dealing with work.
Whenever Su Mo was taking a break, Yu Zhen usually used that time to handle his own work. His job was somewhat related to Su Mo’s field of study, so during their post-lunch breaks, they would occasionally discuss journal articles or cutting-edge issues in the field. Even though Su Mo was still a student, he had an extensive theoretical knowledge base and showed sharp insight and professionalism on various topics. Several times, he raised pointed questions that provided Yu Zhen with significant inspiration.
After returning from the physical exam on Thursday, Su Mo’s attitude toward him became even more affectionate. Although they were still observing the one-month courtship period, in practice, Su Mo was already treating him as someone very close.
During their midday rest, Yu Zhen, as usual, opened his terminal to review documents, while Su Mo sat on the sofa with two heavy books. They didn’t disturb each other, maintaining a quiet understanding. However, as Su Mo read, he began to feel sleepy, alternating between sitting up straight and slouching, his eyelids starting to droop.
Noticing this, Yu Zhen was just about to remind him to rest when the young man sitting beside him suddenly leaned over.
Su Mo rested his head on Yu Zhen’s shoulder, as if he had flipped a switch, and fell asleep.
“Su Mo?” Yu Zhen softly called out.
There was no response. It seemed that Su Mo mistook Yu Zhen’s shoulder for a sofa pillow, and as he leaned further, he began to slump down.
Lele noticed the situation and came over, intending to carry Su Mo to his room.
Yu Zhen waved it off, carefully adjusting Su Mo’s position so that he was resting his head on Yu Zhen’s lap, making him more comfortable.
“Don’t wake him,” Yu Zhen whispered to Lele.
Lele nodded repeatedly, watched for a moment longer, and then picked up a nearby blanket to cover Su Mo, thoughtfully adjusting the room’s temperature to an ideal level for sleeping.
Whenever it was Su Mo’s nap time, Lele would go about its chores with extra quietness, making not a single sound.
The living room returned to silence. Yu Zhen set the two heavy books aside, but even the slightest movement seemed like it might wake the sleeping Su Mo. Feeling a bit nervous, he glanced down; Su Mo hadn’t woken up, but instead shifted slightly, appearing to enter an even deeper sleep.
The sofa was long and wide enough, and when Su Mo slept, he liked to wrap himself in a blanket and curl up, resembling a child in need of comfort.
Yu Zhen quietly watched him for a long time before finally looking away.
He whispered, “Sleep well.”
***
Time passed quickly, and soon it was Saturday of the new week. The second round of the Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament was set to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday as usual. A group of players agreed to log in at 8:30 a.m. to enter the “Summit of Debate” scene. Upon entering, they discovered that the peaks of other mountains were already crowded with players.
The first round of the Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament consisted of quest dungeons or quest missions, with difficulties ranging from four to five stars, yet it still managed to eliminate a significant number of players who were just trying to coast through.
Compared to the first stage, there were noticeably fewer peaks within the “Summit of Debate.”
Soon, it was 9 a.m., and the main system’s countdown reached zero, revealing a new countdown.
[Server-wide Announcement] Winds rise, and debates rage across the eight directions. The second stage of the special quest “Grand Debate of the Realm Tournament” has now begun. This quest is a comprehensive-type challenge, and the second stage’s format is the [Eight Desolations Platform]. Players will enter the “Summit of Debate” via the stone tablet, where the system will randomly select from 40 challenge maps in the official quest library. Teams entering the [Eight Desolations Platform] will be randomly matched against opponents. Winning against an opponent earns 1 point. Teams that accumulate 10 points and maintain a win rate above 50% will qualify for the third stage.
[Please note, the duration of this stage is 14 days. The overall difficulty of this quest is ★★★★★★★★, with individual match difficulties ranging from ★★★★ to ★★★★★★.]
[The winning side will receive a [Basic Reward Chest] and a [Performance Pass Award]. The losing side will receive no reward. The [Basic Reward Chest] will contain random chest rewards. The [Performance Pass Award] will be based on the player’s performance in the match and the difficulty of their opponents. The richer the battle data, the higher the chance of receiving high-level chests, with the highest possible being a ★★★★★★★ chest.]
[Please note, the [Eight Desolations Platform] has fixed opening times. Different sub-servers will follow the Capital Planet sub-server’s unified timing standard, with opening times from Capital Planet Standard Time 9:00-12:00; 14:00-16:00; and 20:00-24:00. No challenges are allowed outside these times.]
[The statistics for the second stage are as follows: 236,598 teams participated, and 86,549 teams advanced to the second stage.]
[Your current stage ranking is 3. Please complete the challenge within the specified time.]
ScarletFruit only saw the final ranking. “We actually ranked third in the first stage! Who are the two teams ahead of us?”
“A lot of teams cleared three dungeons, so this stage’s ranking is likely related to the completion score.” Bitter Melon explained. “We had a perfect clear on the Senro Tower. The teams ahead of us probably also had perfect clears. Maybe they were a bit more meticulous on those two four-star quests. The difference between the top few is small, just a few points in the scores. It’s no big deal.”
“Why is everyone so focused on the ranking? Didn’t you see the announcement saying that opponents are matched randomly?” Watermelon keenly noticed the difference in this announcement. “We’ll be pitted against other player teams!”
“The second stage is a PvP battlefield format? This is getting interesting!” FireworksAndLanterns was immediately excited. “Randomly encountering opponents is like opening blind boxes!”
Blind box opponents, based on the previous stage’s format, meant that in this stage, they would face a mix of challenging and easy opponents. Easier ones would be ordinary players, while harder ones would be teams from the rankings.
Teams advancing to the second stage had become more cautious and less reckless.
By now, the announcement had ended, but the players around them hadn’t rushed to enter the Eight Desolations Platform’s stele. They seemed to be studying the announcement details.
“From the announcement, it seems that accumulating 10 wins within 14 days while maintaining a win rate of over 50% is required.” Su Mo pulled up the announcement record for a detailed review and summarized, “It’s not just about accumulating 10 wins. If your number of victories is sufficient but your win rate is only 25%, the System won’t consider you for advancement.”
When compared, the time might seem ample, but it still presented challenges.
First, there was the random map. Map difficulty was a potential influencing factor. Second, there were random opponents. Team battles relied on coordination, and even if opponents weren’t top-ranked players, they might still have excellent teamwork. Opponent difficulty was another factor. Finally, there were the time points. This time, the open hours were restricted to three specific time slots, clearly designed to concentrate players into scheduled matching times. With uncertain match durations and variability, time could also become a limiting factor.
“Simply put, it’s indeed a battlefield, with both opponents and maps posing challenges.” Su Mo briefly explained the announcement to his teammates.
ScarletFruit rarely engaged in battlefield battles; he was a typical PvE player who generally avoided PvP scenarios. If it hadn’t been for his teammates helping him accumulate demon points for equipment, he wouldn’t have had any PvP gear at all. “Bro, is there an easiest way to win?”
Yu Zhen replied, “Win ten consecutive matches.”
ScarletFruit looked back at the array master in shock. “Brother Wanderer, you’ve started making jokes after a few days apart.”
Winning ten consecutive matches didn’t seem like an easy method; it was a high-difficulty approach!
“It really is the simplest way,” Su Mo said, addressing ScarletFruit. “The simplest way is to win ten consecutive matches and stop there. But I wouldn’t recommend it. This challenge lasts 14 days, and every win earns you a chest. Isn’t it better to win more and open more chests?”
Yu Zhen nodded in agreement.
The other teammates were puzzled. While everyone else was trying to find ways to win ten matches and maintain a 50% win rate, these two were discussing how to play more and collect more chests???
And what was up with these two? They were seemingly in perfect agreement. Were they really planning to play battlefield battles for 14 consecutive days?
At that moment, another voice rang out in the team, full of enthusiasm.
“Sure!” Watermelon added, “Battlefields are great; let’s play a few more.”
Su Mo looked at Watermelon in surprise.
ScarletFruit asked, “Watermelon? Is that really you?”
Author’s note:
Momo (starting to calculate): Collect more materials, it’ll be useful for climbing the ranks.
Brother Wanderer (indulgently): Okay.
Watermelon, fearless: The battlefield is my turf.
Others: ???
momo: Oh.
Thanks for the chapter!