Genius Chapter 14: “Where are you?”

Chapter 14: “Where are you?”

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Su Mo, who had some assets but didn’t feel like spending money, decided not to buy for now. His current output was decent, and a weapon wasn’t a necessity. Leaving the weapon shop, he suddenly received a message from Lele’s communicator from outside. Celestial Horizon was a holographic game, but it also connected to the player’s terminal, allowing them to stay updated on the outside world anytime, anywhere.

[Mo Mo, come out for dinner? ——Zhang Qi.]

“I’ll organize materials for other small accounts first, and then join you for dinner,” ScarletFruit looked at Su Mo, “Bro, what time will you be available tonight? Bro?”

“Later,” Su Mo said, “I have something to attend to.”

—

At the entrance of the residential area, Zhang Qi was chatting with the security guard at the gate. Seeing Su Mo rushing over from a distance, Zhang Qi said midway, “Liu-ge, next time mention when Xiao Mo is coming.”

Security guard Liu-ge replied, “Alright, we’ll have a drink next time.”

Su Mo slowed down his pace, slightly out of breath as he walked up to Zhang Qi. “Why didn’t you tell me you were back, Qi-ge?”

“I just got back in the afternoon? I finished my work and immediately asked you out for dinner,” Zhang Qi smiled, “Doesn’t the residential area have hovercars? Why were you in such a hurry?”

Su Mo said, “The hovercar is under maintenance. Let’s go, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

The restaurant they chose was a Chinese restaurant in the vicinity of the residential area. As soon as they arrived, Zhang Qi began talking about work. He was originally a terminal worker and refused to study at his family’s research institute after graduating. Instead, he started his own business with friends. His recent project involved collaborating with the Firmament Group to provide technical support for developing new loaders. Because of this, he had been flying around for the past few years and rarely came back.

“Do you know that Celestial Horizon has been open for two months? The loaders have been delivered, and this project has now shifted to operations,” Zhang Qi said. “Just take a few days off, and soon you’ll be busy again. I heard you got an F-class loader. How is it? Can you play the game?”

“I can play,” Su Mo hesitated slightly, “Thanks, Qi-ge.”

“Change the special drinks to fruit juice,” Zhang Qi instructed the waiter, then asked, “Is holographic gaming interesting?”

“It’s alright. They’re mostly old-fashioned games, and some mechanics are similar to terminal games,” Su Mo replied.

Zhang Qi looked at the young man in front of him. Su Mo had grown taller over the years, but compared to others his age, he seemed slender. Su Mo’s skin was fair, and the blue veins on his hands were clearly visible. Health issues had a significant impact on his body, making him look small and gentle, like a younger brother sitting beside him.

This kid was 18 years old, cautious and polite in speech, gentlemanly in demeanor, seemingly close to everyone, but actually, he had built a thick shell around himself. In earlier years, he was fine, reading a lot of books, smart, and excelling in the field of machinery, winning many awards and being praised by the old folks in the neighborhood as a beloved little genius wherever he went.

When he was 13, he quietly had an accident with a machine and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, staying there for most of the next year. After he came out, he became much quieter. Although he still won awards and achieved a lot in his field, the vigorous vitality he once had was nowhere to be seen.

This kid was really good, so good that everyone loved him, so flawless. But he didn’t seem like an 18-year-old at all; if only he had a bit more vitality.

“Is it that simple?” Zhang Qi’s expression was natural, mysterious, “Do you know why Celestial Horizon is called a new mode exploration game?”

Su Mo glanced up slightly, “What do you mean?”

“I heard that although it’s been two months since the game started, its true game system hasn’t been fully unlocked yet and it’s confidential,” Zhang Qi noticed Su Mo’s gaze, “Although we are collaborating with Celestial Horizon to develop loaders, the game content relies entirely on ApexMind’s deductions. Even the contracted gaming companies only provide basic frameworks.”

Su Mo paused slightly. He had been playing Celestial Horizon for several days, and as far as he knew, the current game mode was not much different from a regular holographic online game. It was also possible that he was in the newbie area, and he was completely unaware of what the ‘exploration’ gameplay was like after level 40. After Zhang Qi’s words, he suddenly became interested. “Game confidentiality? But hasn’t it already been launched?”

“Do you know what it means by ApexMind deduction?” “A game where humans exit the program operation stage and everything is deduced by artificial intelligence. Mo Mo, do you know what this concept is?”

“I don’t know,” Su Mo’s gaze flickered for a moment, but quickly calmed down, “Players are human, and the environment is artificial.”

Zhang Qi chuckled a few times, “Don’t be too smart, kid. Thinking too much can make you lose your hair. I’m not clear about these things either. Yu Zhen is very interested in this. He may seem aloof, but he’s been very focused on artificial intelligence research in recent years. As soon as the loader project is over, he’ll take a long vacation to play Celestial Horizon.”

Su Mo felt familiar hearing Yu Zhen’s name and asked, “Is he the friend you mentioned last time about the collaboration?”

“Yes, the Firmament Group’s project is under his management,” Zhang Qi explained, “He knows a bit about you, and it was his suggestion to implement the F-class loader.”

Su Mo was slightly moved, “Thanks, Qi-ge.”

“What are you thanking me for? Don’t play games too much; pay attention to rest,” Zhang Qi added, “I’m worried about this. When you were a kid, you could stay up all night playing a maze game and end up in the hospital. Just because you’re healthy now doesn’t mean you can be reckless…”

The conversation drifted towards daily life. Zhang Qi inquired about Su Mo’s studies and asked if he wanted to visit the company. Time passed quickly as they chatted. Zhang Qi rarely went home and had arranged to meet friends at a bar. Su Mo didn’t join them; after dinner, he went home first. After returning home, he spent some time in the lab. When he went online again, he received a distress call from ScarletFruit.

“Help! I’m trapped in the wilderness!”

Su Mo paused for a moment, immediately formed a team to check the location, and found that ScarletFruit was stuck in a monster spawn area just outside the Sect’s base.

“What’s going on?” Su Mo teleported over.

ScarletFruit was not far from the place. As soon as Su Mo arrived, he saw ScarletFruit climbing a tree, surrounded by four or five people. The leader of the group was EverFaithful, with a configuration of one warrior, three swordsmen, and one healer.

Su Mo sighed silently.

This happened to be a rare no-fly zone in Celestial Horizon’s wilderness. Additionally, all of EverFaithful’s teammates were high-burst melee fighters with no ranged attacks. ScarletFruit was fortunate to have climbed the tree and avoided danger.

“Aren’t you safe up there?” Su Mo changed his position to get a better view of the situation. 

“No. They’re calling for reinforcements, intending to bring in two ranged attackers to deal with me.”

Su Mo smiled, “What are you afraid of? You’re two levels higher than them.”

“If I were a swordsman, I’d go down and fight them now,” ScarletFruit said, “What’s the point of bullying healers? But I’m not. If I go down, I’m done for.”

ScarletFruit had seven or eight low-level accounts in the newbie area, usually used to collect materials and sell them in higher-level areas. Every time he gathered a batch of materials, he upgraded the accounts and sent them out. He had been waiting for Su Mo to come online, planning to find a safe place to drop off the materials after trading with other low-level accounts and then return to the city. However, he was unexpectedly intercepted by EverFaithful.

“If I hadn’t dodged two times with high luck…” ScarletFruit was still complaining, “Bro, are you listening?”

“Yeah, I’m here. Continue talking. They haven’t arrived yet,” Su Mo reassured him.

ScarletFruit hesitated for a moment, “Can you save me?”

“Alright, I’m thinking of a way.” Su Mo looked around the vicinity. It was indeed a secluded spot. He had never been here while doing quests, so he didn’t know how ScarletFruit was discovered by others. After spending some time observing the location, he found a concealed spot to stand and asked, “Is your range sufficient while on the tree? Do you have any control skills?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” ScarletFruit replied.

Spirit Sanctuary’s healing abilities were not as good as those of a physician, but they had more control skills. However, each control skill was linked to summoned creatures, and the control ability was limited.

ScarletFruit couldn’t see where Momo was, so he had to ask, “Bro, how do you plan to save me?”

The night in the forest carried a hint of gloom, and the evening breeze brought an indescribable chill. The next moment, a nimble rabbit dashed out of the bushes and directly attacked one of the swordsmen, catching everyone off guard with its swift attack.

“Control the healer first,” a clear and calm command came over the voice channel.

ScarletFruit immediately responded, and as soon as the summoned creature landed, it interrupted the enemy healer’s healing spell.

“Oh no, it’s an ambush.”

“It’s a summoner! A summoner is here to rescue him.”

“Where’s the summoner!?”

“I didn’t see!”

The Eternal Flame team of five suddenly fell into chaos. The healer was controlled by the tree’s healer, and one swordsman was entangled by the Soul Rabbit. EverFaithful, seeing the situation, wanted to go and cut down the summoner’s summoned creature that was controlling the healer. However, he was caught off guard and stunned by a Solitary Wolf.

EverFaithful cursed, “Damn it! I’m controlled! Focus on protecting people, don’t die.”

The other two swordsmen went to deal with the Soul Rabbit. The agile rabbit’s skill had just been upgraded, activating a hidden skill, and its combat power had increased significantly. The swordsman entangled by it quickly lost half of his health. At this moment, a majestic white tiger leaped out and, together with the Soul Rabbit, bit down on the swordsman with half health.

The white tiger cooperated with the Soul Rabbit, swiftly killing one of the swordsmen.

“Where’s the healer!? Heal!”

“What’s the use of healing!? I’m controlled.”

“Use your dispel!”

“I dispelled it, but got controlled again.”

“First, clear the summoned creatures and attack the white tiger.”

Two Swordsmen were frantically trying to kill the White Tiger. Just as they were about to attack the Soul Rabbit, they were suddenly slowed down. Another summoned beast, Zephyr Hawk, appeared in front of them.

ScarletFruit stood on a tree, observing the situation below with clarity. Despite having only summoned beasts and the Soul Rabbit present, the Eternal Flame team was completely scattered. ScarletFruit knew that momo’s skills were exceptional, but witnessing him control the warrior with Solitary Wolf and having White Tiger, Soul Rabbit, and Zephyr Hawk continuously join the battle was another level of astonishment.

“Are they all gone?” ScarletFruit was surprised to find that all three Swordsmen below had been defeated.

With the Swordsmen dead, the other summoned beasts targeted the healer, leaving only EverFaithful in the team.

“Bro, the healer’s down!” ScarletFruit immediately handed control over to EverFaithful. At that moment, a distant sound caught their attention. ScarletFruit looked at the mini-map and saw numerous dots moving toward their direction, indicating at least two teams approaching.

“They’re coming… Oh.” ScarletFruit couldn’t finish his sentence before a figure dashed towards him. A nimble young man leaped down from the opposite hill, grabbed him from the tree, and rolled with him into the bushes behind. Together, they descended from the tree and slid down the steep slope.

Meanwhile, Soul Rabbit slapped EverFaithful across the face, causing the warrior to cry out in pain and fall. The cunning rabbit flicked its ears and chased down the steep slope. As it left, three teams arrived in a grand manner. However, all they found were five bodies on the ground, with no summoners or healers in sight.

“Where are they?” the players wondered.

EverFaithful, lying on the ground, lamented, “They ran away again!”

On the other side, Su Mo led ScarletFruit down the slope until they fell into the depths below the Enchanted Misty Woods. The terrain here was complex, with tall trees and endless forests as far as the eye could see.

ScarletFruit got up from the ground, rubbing his butt. “Where are we?”

“Still in Misty Woods,” Su Mo replied, puzzled as he checked the mini-map. “Strange.”

ScarletFruit asked, “What’s wrong?”

They were indeed in the Enchanted Misty Woods outside the main city. This area was populated with monsters and served as leveling spots and for main quests. The spot where ScarletFruit had been ambushed was a remote corner of the wilderness outside the main city. When he surveyed the terrain, he had climbed a high slope to observe the surroundings of the main road. Logically, they should have been able to return to the main road by walking south from the tree along the slope because it was a flat area.

“It seems we can’t climb up from here.” ScarletFruit looked up at the steep and high slope ahead, unsure how they ended up there. “Could we be stuck in a map glitch? If we’re stuck, we can’t move. We’ll use a teleportation scroll… Huh?”

Su Mo glanced at him.

ScarletFruit was dumbfounded. “The teleportation scroll won’t work.”

Su Mo reminded him, “You can check the map.”

ScarletFruit then opened the map and found they were in a place called ‘Misty Cave.’ “A cave??? I’ve played around the Enchanted Misty Woods map so much with my alt, but I’ve never heard of a cave here! And this doesn’t look like a cave at all.”

Su Mo hesitated for a moment, then pushed through the bushes and walked inside.The area was densely forested, with no clear paths, indicating it hadn’t been traversed by anyone. After a short walk, they pushed through the overgrown weeds and saw a dark cave entrance.

“Is this it?” Su Mo turned back. “The cave you’re looking for.”

ScarletFruit said, “…I wasn’t looking for a cave. But more importantly, how do we get out of here?” He walked up to Su Mo, suddenly hit by a cold gust of wind from the cave, making his hair stand on end. “What kind of place is this? It’s so eerie.”

“Let’s go in and find out,” Su Mo said, stepping forward.

At that moment, a golden notification popped up above their heads.

[Server Announcement] players momo and ScarletFruit14 fell into Misty Cave. The Apocalypse progress updated to 93%. Welcome, brave players.

[player UnchainedWanderer (Serene Essence Temple · Array Master) requests to join the team]

Su Mo hesitated, then accepted the request.

In the voice channel, UnchainedWanderer’s voice came coldly, “Where are you?”

Su Mo was about to reply when the golden text in front of him suddenly changed, turning into a prompt.

[Misty Cave Difficulty ★★★★★, Would you like to summon friends?]