Genius Chapter 151: Low Fever

Chapter 151: Low Fever

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

“Su Mo, you need to rinse this with clean water before washing it…”

Yu Zhen’s voice trailed off as he noticed the young man a short distance away leaning against the counter and staring at his hand.

Lele tilted his head, looking at the owner with a hint of confusion. “Su Mo?”

The blood spreading in the bowl caught Yu Zhen’s attention before Lele’s. He quickly set down the knife and rushed to Su Mo, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the side, only to see that Su Mo was bleeding from his nose.

He said sharply, “Lele, contact Dr. Wu.”

“Okay.” Lele immediately made an emergency call, quickly explaining the situation. Dr. Wu, upon hearing the news, panicked and said the hovercar would arrive soon and instructed them to give Su Mo emergency medication in the meantime.

By the time Su Mo became aware of his surroundings, he was already on the sofa, Yu Zhen holding him, and the emergency medication was ready.

His nosebleed wouldn’t stop, staining Yu Zhen’s shirt with blood.

Yu Zhen’s expression was filled with worry. “Su Mo, can you hear me clearly?”

“Yes,” Su Mo replied, taking the medication and swallowing it with some water.

He could see things clearly in front of him, but apart from the nosebleed and dizziness, he had no other unusual symptoms and his mind was very clear. “My head doesn’t hurt.”

Lele, standing beside him, initiated a self-check system. “That’s strange… the alarm didn’t go off.”

The emergency medical vehicle arrived quickly, with Dr. Wu accompanying. During the ride, Dr. Wu performed emergency treatment, finally managing to stop the nosebleed. Perhaps due to the loss of blood, Su Mo felt drowsy during the latter part of the ride. His head didn’t hurt, but a wave of sleepiness overcame him, causing his attention to waver momentarily. Through his blurred vision, he saw Yu Zhen and Dr. Wu talking, with an expression of cold seriousness on Yu Zhen’s face that Su Mo had never seen before.

“Let’s do a comprehensive check.”

“It seems there’s a problem with hormones.”

“We don’t know the situation yet. We’ll see after the test results come back.”

“Strange, it seemed to be improving…”

Yu Zhen watched as Su Mo was taken into the examination room. Lele, who followed, was already efficiently discussing hospitalization arrangements with the medical assistant. Lele seemed quite experienced with such situations, handling tasks like arranging hospitalization, scheduling examination rooms, and organizing care. The old-fashioned smart robots, initially used as caretakers, had learned autonomously over the years and had acquired knowledge beyond their original programming. Despite their limited intelligence, these robots had adapted to provide a range of services.

Su Mo had no family, a fact well known within the medical station.

In earlier years, after receiving his permission, many of Su Mo’s rights had been transferred to robots. When necessary, decisions were made either by neighbors, friends, or robots.

The results of the examination came out quickly. Su Mo had shown abnormal increases in several hormones, which differed from the previously recorded data. Because the abnormal conditions hadn’t been detected by medical equipment, the robot’s monitoring alarms hadn’t been triggered, so Lele hadn’t noticed the problem immediately.

“Previous checks indicated that his condition was improving, which indeed was the case, but it seems it improved too much,” Dr. Wu said, holding the examination data and explaining to Lele and Yu Zhen. “We underestimated the impact of his S-class mental power. As I mentioned before, according to existing Alliance data, it’s rare for someone to exhibit two extreme responses. However, Su Mo is an exception. He wasn’t a patient of mine initially; I became his primary doctor later. To understand his condition better, I visited his previous doctor, who told me that Su Mo had a serious illness at the age of three. Due to the positive growth of his mental power, it put a strain on his body, and he nearly didn’t survive.”

Yu Zhen keenly picked up on the key point in Dr. Wu’s words. “Mental power growth? The growth of S-class mental power?”

“Yes. At that time, his parents were still around, and they cared for him meticulously for more than half a year before he pulled through. His mental power growth stabilized after he was three, and the issue didn’t recur. Our specialized team and healers speculated that Su Mo’s physical condition might be related to his mental power, but without additional data, this guess was quickly dismissed.”

Dr. Wu continued patiently, “After Su Mo’s recent health check results, we saw the possibility of self-recovery. We believe that the growth potential of F-class physical traits might be related to the patient’s mental power. The higher the mental power, the faster the recovery. This indirectly supports the reason for the growth of Su Mo’s physical condition.”

“And this situation is also related to his mental power. The last time we mentioned his self-recovery ability, it was due to changes in his brain region.”

Dr. Wu said this with a wry smile, “You can think of mental power as a catalyst for changes in the brain region. The previous rate of growth was normal, but now, due to excessive activity in the brain region, his body hasn’t caught up with the recovery rate, leading to a symptomatic response… Such as nosebleeds, skin tingling, headaches, dizziness, fever, and other minor ailments that will come with an adjustment period as his physical condition recovers.”

Yu Zhen thought for a moment and asked, “So you mean, the increase in his mental power and the accelerated growth are causing these issues?”

“Yes, his mental power has increased compared to the previous examination results.”

Dr. Wu, worried that Yu Zhen might misunderstand, explained further, “However, the likelihood of mental power causing a burden now is relatively low. With medical advancements and his older age, this kind of increase shouldn’t pose major problems for him. The only issue is the recovery period might have some minor problems. His body may lag behind, causing various issues. He might experience a low-grade fever for a while, but it’s not a big concern. There’s no need to worry.”

***

Su Mo took a nap, and when he woke up, he was already back home.

“Did Dr. Wu say I don’t need to be hospitalized?” Su Mo asked about his condition as soon as he woke up. He was a bit surprised to learn that his nosebleeds were due to his body recovering too quickly and not being able to keep up. In the past, he always got sick because his health was poor, so he hadn’t expected that he could still get sick after his body improved.

“No need for hospitalization. Your medication is the same as before, but they’ve prescribed an inhibitor. If there’s excessive growth, you’ll need to suppress your mental energy.” Yu Zhen applied a cooling patch to reduce his fever and then said, “He told you to get plenty of rest during this time. Getting sick is a normal occurrence, so just handle it as you normally would. But if there’s a rapid increase in mental energy that leads to unconsciousness, you’ll need to go to the hospital immediately.”

“Oh…” Su Mo felt relieved. He wasn’t afraid of getting sick, just worried that his body might have another unexpected issue. “Did Dr. Wu say how to suppress the mental energy? Do I need to take the inhibitor every day?”

“Rest more and use your brain less. Too much stimulation is not good. Until your body stabilizes, your mental energy will remain a potential risk that could flare up now and then.” Yu Zhen couldn’t help but ruffle Su Mo’s hair as he explained, “The good news is, if you get through this adjustment period smoothly, there’s an early estimate that your physical condition could improve significantly, possibly advancing from F-class to E-class. That would be a real breakthrough.”

Su Mo froze for a moment, a different kind of sparkle in his eyes. He tentatively asked, “E-class?”

“Yes,” Yu Zhen replied, looking at him. “But it’s only a possibility. The exact outcome depends on how you recover.”

E-class…

When Su Mo heard this, he struggled to contain his excitement. He had anticipated that recovering to E-class might take years or even decades, but now he was given such incredible news. How long would the recovery period be…? Months? Years? Or would it be over quickly?

As he was contemplating, a handkerchief suddenly appeared, pressed right against his nose. The voice accompanying it carried a hint of helplessness. “What are you thinking about?”

Su Mo blinked and suddenly realized that he seemed to be bleeding from his nose again.

He caught a glimpse of the bloodstains on Yu Zhen’s clothes, causing a momentary pang in his heart.

“Open your mouth.”

At Yu Zhen’s instruction, Su Mo opened his mouth. Yu Zhen’s cool fingertips lingered on his lips for a moment before placing the last icy pill inside. The pill dissolved immediately, and the cool sensation seemed to flow down his throat. Su Mo instinctively kept it in his mouth, not expecting that Yu Zhen wouldn’t withdraw his hand. Their teeth lightly brushed against Yu Zhen’s fingers, and Su Mo looked up to see the deep, inscrutable emotion in the man’s eyes.

“Momo, open up,” Yu Zhen suddenly said.

For some reason, Su Mo felt unusually bold. He didn’t release the pill, just continued to gaze at Yu Zhen.

The atmosphere between the two was silent for a moment before Su Mo finally let go, lowering his head and saying, “It’s cold.”

“Look up,” Yu Zhen instructed.

Su Mo complied, and the warmth of his lips seemed to be replaced by the cool breath from Yu Zhen, whose face was now very close.

When they parted after a moment, Su Mo’s earlier boldness dissipated, leaving him feeling a bit flustered.

Yu Zhen asked, “How does it feel?”

Su Mo, feeling a bit disoriented, replied, “Cold.”

“You can take the pill even with bleeding and headache; it works quickly,” Yu Zhen said, noticing the bloodstain on Su Mo’s nose. He gently wiped it away, adding, “It shouldn’t be bleeding anymore. If it happens again, take this first; the effect is rapid.”

“I’ve informed your school about the situation. Your advisor knows, so your thesis defense has been handed over to your senior brother Zhou. Since the school is mainly focused on practical classes at the moment, he’s given you time off to recover. I’ll stay with you for the next few days to take care of you. Once you’re stable, I’ll return. Rest for now, and I’ll call you for meals later.”

Su Mo took the handkerchief and held it against his nose, watching as Yu Zhen left the room. He then noticed that some of his blood had apparently stained Yu Zhen’s face. The white shirt Yu Zhen wore was splattered with blood, and Su Mo knew it was from his earlier nosebleed.

With the medication making his mind a bit sluggish, Su Mo drifted into a daze…

He thought about the brief sensation on his lips and wondered…

Had brother Zhen perhaps secretly bitten him just now?

***

During the recovery period, Su Mo was unable to play games for the next two days due to a low-grade fever that kept him out of the gaming rig. His body hadn’t fully recovered, and both his family and the robot refused to let him game. Consequently, Su Mo couldn’t access the game or the laboratory and had to wait for his mental state to stabilize.

For the first time, besides periods of serious illness where he couldn’t touch anything, Su Mo found himself forbidden from engaging in any activities while fully conscious and in good condition. He was not allowed to read, calculate data, handle components, or play games. Within a day, he began to feel restless. Eventually, he asked Dr. Wu about it, who was surprised to hear his situation.

“Mr. Yu and Lele were indeed a bit excessive,” Dr. Wu explained. “I had advised them to ensure you rested during these two days, but I didn’t expect them to prevent you from doing anything. Avoiding everything might be an overkill; you still need to rely on your mental strength to recover. It’s about finding the right balance—less is not the same as none. Your recovery is related to your mental state, so a moderate approach is necessary.”

Yu Zhen understood the principle of moderation but still wanted Su Mo to rest fully, focusing on getting the fever down before considering other activities.

Thus, daily activities turned into puzzles. Yu Zhen initially didn’t know, but later discovered that Su Mo had many puzzles at home. Some were neatly completed and stored in the corner of the storage room, while others were still in their boxes, organized and waiting to be assembled.

It seemed Su Mo had always enjoyed these toys. Even though there were more digital puzzle games available now, he rarely played them, preferring to handle and slowly assemble the wooden puzzle pieces on the board.

Over the next two to three days, his nosebleeds and dizziness eased. Yu Zhen no longer restricted him from entering the laboratory or assembling components, though he was still not allowed to play games due to his fever. The F-class gaming rig wouldn’t permit login until his temperature normalized.

Su Mo felt generally well but still struggled with a persistent low-grade fever.

“Let’s wait until the fever subsides,” Yu Zhen said. “You don’t need to worry about the arena.”

Yu Zhen had completed most of his work related to the arena earlier, so he had some free time these days. Even though Su Mo wasn’t playing, Yu Zhen still had to continue with the team’s rounds. The arena had just started its first round, and they needed to proceed to the second round. They had to eliminate opponents to advance. Fortunately, the arena was organized into team divisions, which only required players to be online, not necessarily every player to participate.

After finishing up against the Prosperity team, they moved into the second round, where the system prompted them to reconfigure their team divisions. Each match provided an opportunity to adjust the team composition, allowing for better adaptation and reducing the chances of being countered.

With Su Mo absent, the team lacked a key player. However, the remaining team members were all quite skilled. Yu Zhen used Su Mo’s account to adjust the team setup and submitted it. After Su Mo reviewed the lineup and agreed, it was finalized.

“ScarletFruit and the others kept asking why you weren’t participating. I told them you were sick and in the hospital for a few days,” Yu Zhen continued. “They asked if it was serious and wanted to visit you, but I declined for you. They are quite concerned about you and have been playing very steadily these days, with fewer jokes.”

Su Mo paused for a moment at this, saying, “I’ll explain in the group later.”

“Are you bored not playing games?” Yu Zhen asked.

“Yes, bored,” Su Mo admitted, holding a puzzle piece. “But I need to get better so I can play freely later.”

He was aware of his body’s needs and understood the importance of following medical advice. He had passed the age of being stubborn about such things.

“I had a friend send over a virtual projector,” Yu Zhen said. “His project happens to be working on a fully virtual special scene. The virtual projector can project StarNet’s visual elements, allowing part of StarNet’s content to be projected.”

Upon hearing this, Su Mo asked, “A tangible StarNet? Is it possible to access this kind of equipment? The data flow is so massive…”

“With the right account permissions, it’s possible,” Yu Zhen explained. “The scene they are building is based on the settings of the Celestial Horizon’s loader, which is also a product under Celestial Horizon. By adjusting a few settings, it can connect to the loader.”

Yu Zhen took out the virtual projector and connected it to the smart system in the living room. “In simple terms, it can project in-game scenes from my perspective, as well as the Celestial Horizon’s live streaming room.”

“You can’t play games because of your low fever, but if you’re bored, you can watch the matches.”

Once Yu Zhen and Lele had set up the virtual projector, Yu Zhen glanced at the curious Su Mo and asked, “Want to give it a try?”

Su Mo looked at the virtual projector lighting up and then at Yu Zhen, who was adjusting his sleeves. He felt a mix of emotions. It seemed that, for the first time in many years, someone was going out of their way to bring him something new to alleviate his boredom.

Su Mo’s voice was a bit hoarse. “Let me take a look…”

After adjusting the perspective, Yu Zhen said, “The virtual projector can project scenes, but it only projects; it doesn’t have interactive features. Their team is currently working on related issues.”

Su Mo walked over to check the settings and suddenly realized that this device was essentially a way to project scenes from the loader, a relatively novel machine. Curious, he flipped through the instruction manual for a while and then said, “It’s not impossible to make it interactive.”

It reminded him of a small project he had tried before. Only Yu Zhen’s friend’s team had completed what he had started. What he had completed wasn’t on this virtual projector.

“I think I might have a way to make it interactive… This thing can connect to the Celestial Horizon, right? You have permission, right?” Su Mo asked.

Yu Zhen confirmed, “Yes, it’s part of a collaborative project with the Celestial Horizon. They’ve already granted permission; otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to connect it to the built-in system under the main control. Celestial Horizon aims to expand its IP, so there are many ongoing collaborations.”

As Yu Zhen spoke, he suddenly noticed that Su Mo had developed a nosebleed again after a few days without any. He quickly said, “Su Mo… What are you thinking about now?”

Su Mo took a pill and began fiddling with the virtual projector while sitting on the floor.

When Yu Zhen approached, he saw the young man immersed in the virtual projector with a look he rarely saw in reality—much like the spirited summoner in the game.

Su Mo glanced slightly to the side, his throat still hoarse from the fever.

“Brother, did you know? This thing can actually handle interactive projection too.”

***

The arena matches continued to be held in the morning. Many players, hooked after watching the first match, even set alarms to catch the live stream early. To everyone’s surprise, the Advertising Team’s tactics had changed significantly from their previous chaotic style. Since the end of the first round, their performance in the subsequent matches had become notably stable. They no longer used bizarre lineups but began opting for more reliable formations.

However, although Archdemon Momo was online, he had not participated in any matches.

This sparked a lot of discussion on the forums. Many people were talking about it and speculating.

[The Advertising Team has dragged out two of their recent matches to five games each. That’s quite unusual.] 

[Archdemon hasn’t played in these past few days. Could there be an issue?] 

[He hasn’t played but is still present… Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but it seems likely the Advertising Team might be using the matches to practice.] 

[Seriously? Practicing during a promotion match? Losing one would mean elimination.] 

[Maybe they haven’t faced a strong team yet. The pace of the promotion matches is fast. Group AB’s promotion matches are coming up soon. If they win this match, they’ll face A Group’s Veiled Cloud Sanctuary next.]

The Advertising Team steadily won, eliminating all the teams from Group B. They then faced the powerful A Group team, Veiled Cloud Sanctuary.

The day of the match was bustling with activity, and the morning timing remained unchanged. As the match progressed, the live stream became increasingly lively.

[It feels like anyone could win.]

[I heard that Veiled Cloud Sanctuary had a win on the battlefield before. The Advertising Team is unpredictable.]

[The Advertising Team is very strong! They’ve been using these matches to practice and refine their strategies! They must have a plan for dealing with the Veiled Cloud Sanctuary.]

Even before entering the arena, ScarletFruit and the others had already heard a lot of discussions.

“Fuck, what misunderstanding made them think we were practicing?” Cantaloupe said, “We’ve been winning these past few days with great difficulty!”

The entire Global community believed they were fully prepared, but in reality, they were only sharpening their tactics at the last minute.

Veiled Cloud Sanctuary was a tough opponent. Its team members were all big names from the Eclipse faction. It could be said that half of the top-ranked accounts on the Eclipse faction leaderboard were in Veiled Cloud Sanctuary, while the other half were in Zenith Expanse. Especially considering that the Advertising Team had previously lost to Veiled Cloud Sanctuary on the battlefield, this match was expected to be a close contest. Of course, that was with Momo in play… others might not know, but the Advertising Team was well aware.

Their commander was still in the hospital, and while the match appeared evenly balanced to the outside world, they felt they only had a 30% chance of winning.

“Fuck, I feel like we’re about to lose,” ScarletFruit said. “It’s okay, even if we lose this one, we can still fight for third place.”

ScarletFruit added, “I’m starting to miss my big brother. I wanted him to help us win the championship effortlessly, but now it seems we don’t have the chance.”

Apple asked, “What makes you think we could win easily against CloudTraveller?”

ClearWind said, “I’m starting to get nervous. Brother Wanderer, how did you submit yesterday’s lineup? Was it our regular lineup? Could it have been figured out?”

Watermelon asked, “Huh? Did we change the lineup last night?”

Usually, the lineup was announced in advance, but it seemed like the lineup for today’s match was submitted quite late last night.

“It was changed,” Yu Zhen said, glancing at the match time. “Momo made a last-minute adjustment and submitted the lineup just in time.”