Genius Chapter 167: Complete Mechanism

Chapter 167: Complete Mechanism

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

At noon, they took a break that dragged on for two hours, and by the time they logged off, it was already 12 o’clock. Fortunately, Lele had prepared lunch. After the two of them finished eating, they rested. Su Mo lay down on the sofa and quickly fell asleep. Yu Zhen covered him with a blanket and suddenly heard the chime from the door. It turned out that the community’s delivery robot had brought a package. There were several packages, two of which were large, along with a bouquet of flowers, all left in the hallway outside the door. Lele confirmed the delivery with the robot, and since Yu Zhen saw that some of the packages were quite big, he helped Lele carry a few.

“Where should we put these?” Yu Zhen asked.

Lele walked ahead, “Put them in the storage room.”

Su Mo’s storage room was connected to his lab. The storage room used to be a guest room, and the lab was originally a study. Later, since Su Mo often ran data and worked on research at home, he had the guest room converted into a storage room that linked to the lab. In the storage room, a few packages were piled up in the corner, but there were also tall cabinets and shelves filled with all kinds of parts and materials.

After Yu Zhen helped Lele put the packages away, he saw Lele skillfully unpacking the parts delivered from the recycling station, then organizing and sorting them for its owner.

People who work with mechanical forging often enjoy amassing various parts, but most of Su Mo’s parts were outdated models, and the shipping addresses came from suburban recycling centers. As time progressed, discarded parts were generally either destroyed or recycled, and few people collected them. However, Yu Zhen had read several of Su Mo’s papers, which discussed the applicability and improvement plans for these parts. Many of the data models were even based on older machines.

Because of his physical condition, Su Mo had limited access to smart devices in earlier years. However, instead of being constrained by these limitations, he found ways to innovate and explore new ideas.

In the past, Yu Zhen would have doubted that someone with an F-class constitution could independently conduct research, repair machines, plan laboratories, and develop new models. But seeing Su Mo’s efforts now, he realized that Su Mo lived a tough life but never gave up.

Yu Zhen was not a talkative person, but his years of experience had exposed him to all kinds of people. Su Mo was the most determined person he had ever met.

Having lost his parents at a young age, Su Mo had survived alone for many years, enduring the pain of his condition, balancing life and study, and growing through hardship. The more Yu Zhen interacted with Su Mo, the more he understood the person Su Mo was—someone who, despite a lack of love and the trials he faced, never succumbed to self-pity or gave up. This perseverance had shaped him into who he was.

Yet, in reality, Su Mo was also an imperfectly growing individual.

Su Mo was not a very warm person. Lacking in friendships and familial connections, and without much personal growth experience, he had learned to interact with others with humility and obedience after rapid growth, maintaining a safe distance from the entire global community while protecting himself. He did not understand what it meant to be kind to others; his interactions were always about keeping distance first. He was very clear about the boundaries between people, repaying favors when necessary. In his youth, he knew he was different from others, and as he grew up, he realized that acting on his whims would cause problems for himself and others. To this day, he remained a distant person.

Yet beneath this cold exterior was a person who was still driven by personal desires. If one could break through this shell, they would see the brilliance within. He would reveal his hidden sharpness, showing endless curiosity and a competitive spirit towards challenges. He would joke with friends he met online and, in his spare time, consider forging equipment for them. These subtle changes had gradually altered him; perhaps he had never explicitly stated this, and he might not have said much in daily interactions, but his attitude towards others and his approach to handling matters had changed dramatically since Yu Zhen first met him.

After sorting the parts, Lele saw Yu Zhen trying to help with the large packages and said, “Mr. Yu Zhen, those two packages are not parts, so they don’t need to be opened.”

Yu Zhen suddenly noticed the store codes on the packages; both came from the same store. He vaguely remembered that there had been previous collaborations with their products—it was now a well-known high-end custom mechanical outfitting shop.

As Yu Zhen was leaving the storage room, he saw Lele carrying the flowers and walking further into the corridor of the storage area.

There was an old vase placed there, and it seemed that another room could be seen further in, separated from Su Mo’s bedroom by some distance.

Yu Zhen had passed by many times but had never entered.

That was another bedroom in the house, Su Mo’s parents’ room.

***

The fourth round of the Grand Debate of the Realm was delayed by two hours before ending, with both sides tied 2:2. The final match was scheduled to start at 2:00 PM. More and more players were discussing the event on the forum, focusing entirely on the two teams in the debate conference. The matchups between players on the leaderboard were highly anticipated, and out of the ten posts on the forum’s main page, seven were about the debate conference.

The discussions especially centered around various strategies in the matchups, such as the adaptability of assassin builds, the control and pressure capabilities of Doaist priests, the feasibility of defensive arena builds, and the multiple uses of summoner’s pets. There was also a lot of talk about how to maintain strong focus when dealing with tanky builds. After the four morning matches, interviews were conducted with both team members, but neither team’s commanders appeared, seemingly preparing strategies for the afternoon. The interviewees were all four players from the fourth match.

Given that these were the four players, the focus of the discussion naturally turned to the notorious bladder match.

After the routine questions for the Xiaoyao team, the commentators shifted the topic to the Advertising team.

“Is the defensive warrior and summoner combination your new lineup? I heard you previously played 3v3, but do you think this lineup might be a bit risky for 2v2?” SkilfulEmptyHand asked with a neutral expression.

FireworksAndLanterns responded, “It’s not too bad. I think we always take risks.”

FirstUnderHeaven asked, “What kind of risk are you talking about?”

FireworksAndLanterns straightforwardly replied, “Just to make the matches more exciting.”

[Indeed, it was quite thrilling—assassin against marksman, physical swordsman and cleric sect internal battle, double assassins against double Doaist priests, warriors and physical swordsmen trading blows…]

[Originally, it didn’t seem like much, but seeing the comments upstairs, it was indeed exciting.]

[Absurd, the key point is that it ended in a draw.]

[I’m already starting to dread the arena matches after the debate conference.]

[What kind of peculiar commander does the Advertising team have? Their lineups are always so strange.]

The assassin from the Xiaoyao team glanced at his visibly exhausted teammate next to him. As an opponent, he had to admit that the match was indeed thrilling.

“I heard you also have dual commanders, Momo and UnchainedWanderer? I heard they have an interesting combination called the Double Big Brother combo?” SkilfulEmptyHand asked.

“The main commander is Momo, and UnchainedWanderer is the assistant commander,” Bitter Melon explained. “Both of them are very skilled at commanding.”

FireworksAndLanterns added, “Yes, they have great synergy. Many times, I didn’t even understand what was going on, but they just knew what to do.”

[As expected of the big shots, not only were their operations impressive, but their commanding was also top-notch.]

[What does it mean that they just understood each other?]

[FireworksAndLanterns, if you can talk, say a bit more.]

SkilfulEmptyHand noticed that the discussion on the bullet screen had shifted back to the dual commanders and said, “Momo and UnchainedWanderer are regular team members, so their mutual understanding must have developed over time. Their relationship must be quite good, right?”

FireworksAndLanterns replied, “Yes, it’s quite good. They often whisper to each other behind our backs.”

SkilfulEmptyHand asked, “What is his commanding style like? I heard he’s particularly strict, is that true?”

Bitter Melon continued, “Momo is very detail-oriented in his commanding. He and UnchainedWanderer aren’t very talkative people, but they do listen in when we’re talking. Although they might seem cold, they are actually quite easy to get along with privately. As for being strict, I think it’s not too bad; Momo is actually a nice person.”

FireworksAndLanterns said, “Yes, yes, yes, it was him who helped me with the Grandmaster skill.”

[Bitter Melon is starting to play the nice guy now.]

[How did the rumors about the devil coach on the forum come about!!]

[I used to believe it too, until later I noticed that Watermelon’s assistant had started acting a bit strangely.]

When it came to the Grandmaster skill, SkilfulEmptyHand asked, “Why did you decide to use the Wrath of the Beasts to kill the assassin? That kind of environment was quite extreme, wasn’t it? And it’s hard to judge the vision too.”

“Indeed, it was extreme. Wrath of the Beasts is not that easy to use. If the environment weren’t so extreme, it would be even harder to use the skill,” FireworksAndLanterns said. “I decided to use the skill on a whim at that time. The glazed bricks really affected the vision. Both teams’ commanders could see the summoned beasts, so it was quite difficult to use it secretly. At the beginning, Momo even asked me to make some mistakes on purpose. By making more mistakes, it would be less suspicious when using more summoned beasts.”

Bitter Melon added, “To avoid being discovered, our commander also used the visual effects of the glazed bricks to delay time, which made it possible to use Wrath of the Beasts.”

[Honestly, it was a bit numbing at that time. The summoner kept summoning beasts, making it very easy to overlook.]

[Not easy at all; BrokenOracle is also a top-tier commander. FireworksAndLanterns must have put in a lot of effort to pull off a skill under his watch.]

[Indeed, it was the first time seeing a summoner’s Grandmaster skill. It was quite intriguing.]

“The format for the afternoon match hasn’t been released yet. Are there any tactics you can reveal?” SkilfulEmptyHand asked as part of the routine.

The Xiaoyao team’s assassin responded very formally, “It’s okay; it really depends on the match format and the opponent’s lineup.”

On the Advertising team’s side, Bitter Melon couldn’t think of any tactics to discuss. They didn’t have any tactics at all—the two commanders went offline together right after the match to have lunch.

Unable to come up with anything, FireworksAndLanterns could only say, “Stay tuned!”

The two commentators were speechless.

Suddenly, they weren’t very excited to look forward to it.

In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon. By 1:30 PM, the live stream room was already packed, with a flood of enthusiastic bullet comments all eager to see which team would win the final round of the Grand Debate of the Realm. The main announcer’s voice appeared in everyone’s ears as the final match of the Grand Debate Conference began. Both teams had gathered at the Debate Peak, and with a 10-minute countdown, the format for the new match was announced—

[2v2]

[What? It’s another 2v2??]

[Does the main announcer think the last match was fun and wants to replay it?]

[Calm down, calm down. Since there are limits on the warrior and summoner, we won’t see tanky builds in this match…]

[Please, I don’t want to see a healer in the arena. Can we get a double DPS team lineup for 2v2??]

“Alright, welcome everyone to the final match of the Grand Debate Conference. The two teams competing in this match are [Ren Xiaoyao] and [Advertising Space for Rent]. The current score is 2:2, and this match will decide the final champion of the Grand Debate Conference. The official format for the last match has been announced, and yes, it’s a 2v2 match.” SkilfulEmptyHand continued, “The team leaders are now in the Glazed Palace’s main hall to choose their participants. Let’s see the results of the first round of selections.”

Inside the Glazed Palace, the team leaders made their selections very quickly, almost simultaneously.

The chosen virtual avatars appeared before everyone. The Xiaoyao team selected the mage Haitang, while the Advertising team chose the array master UnchainedWanderer.

SkilfulEmptyHand said, “Mage and array master don’t seem like they’re part of an attrition team.”

“Not necessarily,” CloudTraveller replied. “Haitang is a versatile and powerful mage, while UnchainedWanderer is an offensive array master. They are both strong DPS. In such a situation, they could be paired with a healer to create an attrition team, or combined with powerful attackers to form a strong DPS team.”

CloudTraveller was very familiar with both teams. “Array masters have high adaptability and can generally be paired with most professions. Mages have lower adaptability and are better suited to be paired with strong control or capable front-line fighters.”

MIdnight Bell added, “The lineup can be guessed to be more expansive; since it’s the final match, they won’t be hiding any more trump cards.”

After the first selections were made, the ten-second countdown on the field quickly elapsed.

The Advertising team was the first to lock in their second participant, while the Xiaoyao team hesitated slightly before quickly choosing their next participant.

“BrokenOracle has made their selection; let’s reveal the picks,” SkilfulEmptyHandg said, focusing on the empty slot on the field. A white-clad Doaist priest appeared, standing with a gentle wave of his dust whisk, several talismans hovering solemnly around him. “The Xiaoyao team has BrokenOracle!”

FirstUnderHeaven continued, “The Advertising team has Momo!”

After the appearance of the white-clad Doaist priest, a red-clad summoner appeared in the empty slot in front of the Advertising team. The summoner, clad in red, held a divine weapon and the Void lantern, with a pair of calm and stern eyes beneath disheveled bangs.

The two avatars matched the team leaders of both sides, causing the live stream’s bullet comments to refresh to a new peak.

[?????? Mage and Doaist Priest vs Summoner and Array Master?!]

[I’ve seen DPS teams, but this is the first time seeing a magic-focused DPS team battle. This is intense, brothers.]

[It’s not all magic; Momo is a physical summoner.]

[The comment above is wrong; the archdemon is a hybrid with a physical focus.]

[Both team commanders are in the game; are they giving up their god’s-eye view?!]

[This is amazing, this match is going to be thrilling!]

SkilfulEmptyHand was also astonished by the result, saying, “Both commanders are in the field, and all four professions are heavily focused on control. The Xiaoyao team has high flexibility, while the Advertising team covers a wide area… With curses and talismans, arrays and summoned beasts… Just thinking about the control makes my scalp tingle.”

“The Advertising team’s flexibility might not be lacking,” CloudTraveller added. “The array master has high movement speed, and Momo is a summoner focused on increasing movement speed.”

Midnight Bell said, “BrokenOracle has a lot of quest skills, and Haitang has strong coordination. Securing high ground will be a challenge for both sides. Also, BrokenOracle and Haitang often duo in the arena, and their PvP experience is very rich. They are currently the top duo in the regular arena 2v2 rankings.”

[Oh right! I almost forgot that the commanders are dominating the arena right now.]

[Since the start of the quest arena, I rarely saw them as a pair. They probably split up earlier for strategic reasons. Now that it’s the final match and they’ve figured out the mechanics, they’ve decided to team up again.]

[Momo and UnchainedWanderer don’t seem to have played 2v2 before? I haven’t seen them in 2v2 matches.]

[Archdemon and the others usually play 5v5 arenas, but their ranking isn’t very high. I have occasionally seen Momo and UnchainedWanderer duo on the battlefield.]

[It’s hard to say who will win. Isn’t the top-ranked 2v2 team almost guaranteed to win?]

[Not necessarily. Momo and UnchainedWanderer both have powerful skills.]

Even before the match started, the tension was already palpable.

With both commanders on the field, the added excitement quickly drew a lot of spectators to pick sides. Most viewers had their preferred teams, and the related betting on the forum had already opened. Each team had its own strengths, making it a 50/50 match-up. Whether in terms of skill reserves or combat experience, all four players had their advantages and disadvantages. As soon as the selections were made, the arena teleportation began, and by the 30-second countdown, both teams were poised and ready.

Within the Advertising team, the teammates at the Debate Peak were already feeling the tension.

“I’m so nervous, so nervous,” FireworksAndLanterns said. “Why is watching the match more nerve-wracking than being on the field yourself?”

“Bro, you mentioned before that BrokenOracle might have figured out the mechanics. Won’t they be targeting you in this match?” ScarletFruit asked. “Do we need to give you coordinates?”

Bitter Melon said, “I’ll provide the coordinates and report the positions. We’re looking at the snake’s position, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Su Mo said, looking at the countdown timer. “For this match, you might want to check the sheep’s position.”

The Advertising team was taken aback. Didn’t they agree that the position coordinates were based on the snake? They had been watching the snake for all four matches this morning!

Before they could ask more, the match began, and both teams charged out immediately.

“Do we still need to watch the snake?”

“The snake and the sheep are very close in position, so they might end up in the same area. We should first observe the distribution of the animals.”

At the start, they focused on the sconces animals in the side hall. Unfortunately, the two commanders reported that the animals were a rabbit and a dragon. According to the previous clockwise distribution pattern, if the snake was in their view’s fourth quadrant, then the sheep would be in the second quadrant, right on the boundary line. This meant that the sheep and the snake represented two different reference points.

The Advertising team fell into a dilemma. They couldn’t afford to distract their teammates below, so they had to discuss privately.

To be cautious, Bitter Melon watched the sheep’s position while Apple monitored the snake’s position, ready to adjust immediately if any discrepancies appeared.

After leaving the side hall, both teams nearly entered the main hall at the same time.

The first to act was mage Haitang, who charged directly into the crowd with a curse circle, fiercely dividing the battlefield.

“Haitang seized the opportunity, charging into the crowd with the curse circle. The summoner and array master maneuvered to avoid it; they split up! … No, the array master counterattacked!” SkilfulEmptyHand was surprised by how fast the initial pace was.

On the field, mage Haitang charged into the space between the summoner and the array master with the curse circle, using it to force them into separate positions and nearly immediately dividing the battlefield. But it didn’t stop there. As soon as the battlefield was divided, the array master countered by retreating and flanking the mage. The array master threw down a crowd-control array, using it to pull mage back three or four steps, interrupting Haitang’s attempt to sneak up on the summoner.

“Crowd control!” FirstUnderHeaven exclaimed excitedly. “The summoner has started the control!”

Taking advantage of the situation, the summoner summoned a Zephyr Hawk to slow down the enemies in the shaking main hall of the Glazed Palace. Along with the array master, they first controlled mage.

Despite being in a defensive position, their counter-control was very timely. As the array master pulled the mage back, the summoner was already ready with follow-up control, executing a spectacular coordination that thwarted mage’s initial plan to divide the battlefield right from the start.

[My goodness, the coordination is so fast.]

[I just saw that as the array master flanked, the Zephyr Hawk was already out.]

[Flanking and crowd control, followed by Zephyr Hawk for slowing…]

On the field, the summoner in red and the array master stood apart, but their coordination focused on locking down the mage. However, both the mage and the Doaist priest were not weak. After the initial plan faltered, the Doaist priest performed a feint attack on the left, rescuing the mage and then turning their fire on the array master, who was stacking up damage. The battle was back and forth, with both sides’ health wearing down evenly. As the 30-second mark approached, the first area change in the Glazed Palace was about to begin.

“Wait a minute.” BrokenOracle glanced to the side and noticed a discrepancy in the positioning of the array master and summoner.

Haitang dodged an attack and said urgently, “The summoner isn’t in the high ground position. Are they trying to lure us?”

Was their counterattack based on testing their understanding of the mechanics?

BrokenOracle immediately said, “Move to the coordinates near the array master. Get to the high ground.”

They originally had only a partial understanding of the mechanics of the Glazed Palace. The real understanding came from over an hour of coordinate testing with the physical swordsman in the fourth match of the morning. They first figured out that the animal patterns followed the 12 zodiac signs, and then summarized based on the changes in the bricks in the arena. Thus, in earlier matches, they chose to attack by pursuing the opponent. Even if their position wasn’t clear, as long as they locked down the core output of the opponent, they could refine their own judgments based on their understanding of the mechanics.

At first, they only knew that there were coordinate changes, but after multiple attempts, they realized that the reference points were shifting, with the key reference points being the snake.

“It seems that neither side has engaged in close combat; instead, they’ve chosen their positions.” SkilfulEmptyHand noted. “Are they planning to attack from a high position with ranged attacks?”

At this moment, the glazed bricks in the arena began to change. Four bricks almost simultaneously rose, but when they reached the higher level, something changed.

Only the summoner’s column stayed elevated, while the positions of the other three players immediately descended.

[What’s going on!?]

[Only one person went up??]

Haitang’s pupils contracted slightly, and she immediately adjusted her position to retreat…

What’s happening!? Did the mechanics change?

BrokenOracle’s gaze darkened as he looked at the elevated summoner.

On the peak of the debate, both teams looked slightly surprised.

The Xiaoyao team was astonished, while the Advertising team appeared somewhat confused.

“Damn? Is it really the sheep’s position?” ScarletFruit carefully counted the bricks and confirmed that Momo was standing on one of the coordinates marked by Bitter Melon as the sheep’s reference point. “Did the mechanics change!?”

“The mechanics haven’t changed,” Su Mo said, looking down from above and meeting BrokenOracle’s gaze. White Tiger appeared in response. “What has changed is the time. It’s now 14:00 in the afternoon, not 09:00 in the morning.”