Chapter 177: Best Brother-in-law
Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Addis
“Player on the forums…? Me?” Su Mo asked in surprise, “Who did I offend?”
The team chat instantly filled with several links. ScarletFruit cleared his throat and said, “Who else could it be? You’ve offended Brother Wanderer! The forums are buzzing about a love triangle drama!”
ClearWind added, “It’s not just a love triangle. Even some management from Zenith Expanse has gotten involved.”
Su Mo was left bewildered, “…?”
As the New Year approached, Celestial Horizon was bustling with activity. The number of online players surged to a new high, and there were multiple quest events held in-game. The forums were ablaze, with new threads popping up daily on the homepage. In recent days, a trading thread had remained at the top of the page, with reply counts skyrocketing.
The original poster, LuckyScarletFruit, was a well-known game trader on the forums. The surge in replies was due to him sharing a calculation program in the trading thread. The program meticulously recorded all materials for crafting legendary weapons in Celestial Horizon, including the mainstream sects in the game. It could also generate recommended formulas for crafting legendary weapons based on the player’s class with a single click.
In simple terms, it was a foolproof legendary weapon formula generator.
When the program was first posted, it didn’t attract much attention. It wasn’t until several prominent forum members shared the link in strategy threads that other players noticed the trading post by ScarletFruit featured a legendary weapon crafting program. What made it even more significant was that the program was provided by archdemon Momo.
As the pioneer of legendary weapon crafting, Momo’s name was enough to draw the attention of many players. Momo was still at the top of the Celestial Horizon legendary weapon rankings, having crafted numerous awakened weapons and provided formulas for countless prominent players.
ScarletFruit made a special post to explain the use of the program, stating that while the formulas were only a guide, some attributes could be achieved but high values couldn’t be guaranteed. Players still needed to fine-tune the crafting details themselves.
[Just getting the attributes is already impressive…]
[Wow, this is really a foolproof guide.]
[I have to say, the formulas provided are similar to those I got from a blacksmith last time, but there are a few key materials we hadn’t thought of.]
[My friend, a blacksmith, said the formula was very complete after looking at it. She even said it could inspire many new formulas.]
[Momo is amazing, both in PvE and PvP. Now even legendary weapon crafting has formulas. What else can’t he do?]
Although the formulas only provided a general framework and players still needed to work out the details themselves, this greatly alleviated the immediate needs of many players. The legendary weapon system had been out for a while, and during this time, most players had to seek out blacksmiths to craft their weapons. Some enchanters were hoarding materials and charging excessively, while others were exploiting their ability to craft good attributes to inflate prices.
As soon as the program tool was released, ordinary players could start generating formulas on their own. Even if they sought out blacksmiths, they no longer had to worry about being cheated with inflated prices. Within a short span of two days, many legendary weapon strategy threads in the game were promoting Momo’s tool. Posts related to archdemon Momo remained prominently on the front page, and amidst this surge in popularity, a particular post managed to rise to the top.
[Speechless, everyone is praising Momo, but isn’t he just a scumbag?]
This post originally had only a few replies, but due to the heat surrounding legendary weapons, many people entered the thread as soon as they saw Momo’s name, where they encountered some screenshots posted by the original poster. The poster, known as [ProfessionMarksman], had originally joined the Flaming Thunder Mountain marksman class due to the buzz around ReturnToSimplicity’s highlights. He was a small fan of ReturnToSimplicity.
There had been rumors about an intricate relationship between ReturnToSimplicity and Momo. Some said they were friends, and this rumor circulated within the marksman community. However, when Momo married UnchainedWanderer, it caused quite a stir. Initially, some players thought their marriage was just for the duo skill, but it was later revealed that many of UnchainedWanderer’s forged items were signed by Momo, and Momo’s equipment also had engravings from UnchainedWanderer.
This confirmation led the bystanders to realize that the two were not just good friends but had a mutual signing relationship.
Returning to the scumbag post itself, the original poster had shared several images showing the timeline of UnchainedWanderer and Momo forming a pact, revealing that Momo’s relationship with ReturnToSimplicity was more complicated than expected.
[Here are some images [x10] showing Momo and ReturnToSimplicity afk in front of the Sunset City warehouse multiple times. They were very close to each other, and it looked like they were in a team. I even checked their online status and found that UnchainedWanderer was never online when they were afk together.]
[Previously, I didn’t think much of it, assuming that the connection between the big boss and Momo was simply due to friendship. After all, they were said to know each other in real life. It wasn’t unusual for them to team up and chat. However, today I noticed that the big boss’s equipment score had risen, so I checked the equipment rankings and saw something surprising: the big boss’s equipment had Momo’s forging signature on it.]
[I want to ask, if Momo and my big boss are so close when UnchainedWanderer isn’t online, isn’t it a bit suspicious that they’re so involved? Also, I heard from a merchant friend that Momo was collecting marksman materials recently. I’m curious—who is he collecting these materials for?]
[Seeing this post made me remember that ReturnToSimplicity had also asked me for summoner materials a while ago… I initially thought it was just a big boss hiring someone for training.]
[It was well-known that the ReturnToSimplicity big boss was rarely online and usually had someone else play on their behalf.]
[Could it be that Momo was using ReturnToSimplicity’s account? Doesn’t he have authorization?]
[[Image] Last time, when I saw ReturnToSimplicity and Momo team up in a wild dungeon, ScarletFruit was also in the group. It didn’t look like dual accounts were being used.]
[Oh no, does this mean Momo is playing both sides??]
[Not just that. It’s hard to say whether Momo is closer to ReturnToSimplicity or to ReturnToSimplicity’s representative… I suddenly remembered that gossip post from a while back, which was later clarified by Zenith Expanse. Maybe it was true after all.]
[This is so exciting! I love hearing about big boss gossip. Is there more? Please share more.]
With this post as the starting point, various rumors began to surface.
When Yu Zhen arrived at the old house through the snow, it was already quite late. After getting home, he briefly updated his father on work-related matters. During their conversation, he was checking unaddressed messages on his terminal and suddenly saw a flood of group mentions in the exploration chat, causing him to pause slightly.
“What’s going on? Is there something happening at the research center?” Father Yu had heard about the collaboration between the Celestial Horizon project team and the Star Alliance Research Institute. He fully supported Yu Zhen’s efforts and had been keeping track of the rescue progress. He observed his son, who, despite his adventurous experiences, had not become impatient; rather, he had grown more composed and reliable due to his exceptional journey.
Yu Zhen had started from the bottom, taking each project seriously. Over the years, as he returned, the projects he took on grew larger, and recent ones had often exceeded expectations. He had gained significant prominence within the company, and many people were very optimistic about him.
“No,” Yu Zhen said as he withdrew his gaze. “Do you have anything else? I need to handle something.”
Father Yu waved his hand, “Go ahead. There’s a late-night snack in the kitchen; let the robot bring it to you later.”
Yu Zhen got up and went to his room, keeping his eyes on the terminal the entire way. The exploration group chat was already buzzing.
In the exploration group—
FireworksAndLanterns: “This is killing me. Apple’s rare live stream today turned into a mess with people asking about the relationship between Momo, UnchainedWanderer, and ReturnToSimplicity.”
Apple: “@ReturnToSimplicity, big brother, I’m really embarrassed. The entire chat kept changing the topic.”
All Service Substitute ScarletFruit: “This is hilarious. You still dared to go live? ClearWind completely bailed tonight.”
The prominent livestreamer ClearWind: “@apple I heard even Heaven went to your stream to sit in the corner and watch?”
Apple: “Yes, he even started making a fuss. I had to mute him right away.”
CloudTraveller: “@ReturnToSimplicity @momo, people came to ask me too.”
ChatMasterWu: “I was enjoying the posts so much. The internet is so creative; I almost believed it myself. You should all check it out too, don’t let me be the only one laughing [share links]…”
All Service Substitute ScarletFruit: “I’m here. How could there be no one to eat melon with me? I love watching triangle dramas.”
MilkMixedwithBitterMelon: “@ReturnToSimplicity @momo, let young people handle their own affairs.”
……
Yu Zhen was left speechless, seeing a stream of messages about his two accounts and Momo. He quickly switched to the forum and found that similar posts were abundant. While flipping through the posts, a message from Su Mo popped up on his terminal—
[-mo: Are you home?]
Yu Zhen replied and went online. As soon as he joined the team, he heard ScarletFruit animatedly discussing game gossip with Su Mo. ScarletFruit, sounding excited, said, “In short, that’s the story. If I hadn’t known that ReturnToSimplicity was Brother Wanderer’s main account, I would have been convinced by the netizens’ claims.”
ClearWind nodded, “They can turn fake news into something believable, leaving no trace.”
ScarletFruit continued, “…If they hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have noticed that my older brother only signed with Brother Wanderer’s account. Oh, Brother Wanderer is here!”
Yu Zhen responded, “He’s here.”
“We didn’t do our daily quests today. The fruit was cleared out this afternoon. Should we two go and join a random team?” Su Mo had mentioned earlier that he wouldn’t be online today, so he told them to go ahead and play first.
Yu Zhen agreed, “Sure.”
The two briefly discussed it and then left the team to do their daily quests.
ScarletFruit and ClearWind were left staring at each other, feeling like spectators.
ScarletFruit asked, “Aren’t they interested in gossip at all?”
ClearWind replied, “The older guys are something else. Three accounts can create a love triangle. Did you see that post about the Midnight Bell?”
ScarletFruit, who hadn’t had a chance to vent about this earlier, found that the previously clarified Zenith Expanse management issue had resurfaced. It was revealed that the manager related to Momo was Midnight Bell. The post claimed that UnchainedWanderer had wronged Midnight Bell. To back up their claims, the poster had shared a game screenshot of Momo standing face-to-face with Midnight Bell, suggesting that Zenith Expanse’s hurry to clarify the situation was due to involvement with their own guild master.
The stories were well-crafted and convincing, and even ScarletFruit began to admire the creativity of the forum’s gossipers.
However, no matter how convincing the tales were, a single screenshot could tell a hundred stories, and in the end, there was no solid proof. The only somewhat concrete evidence was the equipment signatures. Now even such dubious evidence was surfacing…
The game was very lively at night, with recruitment messages flooding the Global Channel.
Yu Zhen asked, “Did you not catch a fever tonight? I was thinking of asking you to rest first.”
“No,” Su Mo was busy setting up a team recruitment and added, “I actually planned to play the game too.”
After many years apart, he was filled with both anxiety and happiness. He wanted to spend time with his parents but didn’t know how to interact with them. In the afternoon, he had seen his mother looking at an album that Lele had brought them, filled with photos taken over the years. He saw his mother crying.
He wanted to tell his mother not to cry but didn’t know how to start.
Yu Zhen asked, “Su Mo, do you know what it means to be family?”
“Family is about acceptance. You don’t need to be overly cautious or worry about offending them with your behavior. You don’t have to hide your flaws or always present your best side to them.”
Yu Zhen looked at the summoner in front of him and said, “They aren’t outsiders; you are also their family. When you’re unsure how to interact, think of them as you would Lele.”
“When you think of them, they are actually thinking of you too.”
Su Mo nodded in response, suddenly recalling his parents’ unfamiliar gaze when they had used the loading device before he went online. He had been separated from his parents for over a decade, and they had missed out on those years too.
“Have you found a team?” Yu Zhen suddenly asked.
“Still looking.” Su Mo finally sent out the recruitment message and added, “We need to go to bed early tonight; they are at home.”
Yu Zhen checked the time and said, “There’s just enough time to do the daily quests. How about we spend New Year’s Eve together tomorrow night? I’ll give you a call.”
Su Mo was momentarily surprised. “Alright.”
***
FirstUnderHeaven was streaming, and after a whole day of gossip, he hadn’t had a chance to clear his daily quests by 9 PM. He had to settle for a random daily team match. When the match was successful and he saw the players in the team, he was momentarily stunned.
“Damn,” FirstUnderHeaven said, “I’ve ended up with Momo and UnchainedWanderer.”
[Fuck, the gossip main characters!]
[You’re lucky today, running into archdemon.]
[It looks like the big shots aren’t affected…]
FirstUnderHeaven quickly spoke up in the team chat, “What a coincidence, Momo big shot, doing daily quests?”
Momo replied, “Yes, let’s gather at the starting point.”
The team had been randomly matched, with Momo as the team leader, likely the one who set up the random recruitment. Besides him, the team included a warrior and a healer. With Momo and UnchainedWanderer doing daily quests, news of them teaming up with FirstUnderHeaven spread quickly, drawing a lot of onlookers to the live stream.
Given the numerous forum posts, the big shots remained calm and said nothing, so players eager to see the drama flocked to watch the scene unfold. Upon entering the live stream, they found a five-person team running a circular quest. The chat in the channel was limited to quest-related talk, with the rest consisting of momo’s reminders about the quest location.
[The team chat is so quiet.]
[Momo and UnchainedWondere must be chatting privately?]
[It should be private messages, no other sounds.]
[Could it be that they’re arguing because of the forum?]
[Do you think people would still team up to do daily quests and chat privately if they were arguing?]
[Well, superstars usually ignore each other.]
“Fuck, S-class high-level dungeon!? How high is your rating, big shots?” the warrior said, “I can’t handle this!”
The healer added, “I’ve only done A-class dungeons at most… I might not be able to heal through an S-class.”
Daily quests were typically run in a circular pattern, and the team’s configuration usually determined the difficulty.
Su Mo had usually tackled high S-class dungeons and was accustomed to coordinating with other team members. When randomly matching for a dungeon, he hadn’t anticipated the dungeon rating issue. His and Yu Zhen’s dungeon levels were high, and FirstUnderHeaven’s level was also high, but the warrior and healer in the team had lower ratings.
“The team leader didn’t adjust the match settings properly,” Su Mo took the responsibility, “It can be done; we’ll finish it in an hour.”
There were three high-level dungeons to be completed after the task. Normally, they could be finished in 40 minutes, but with their current team setup, it would likely take an hour.
The warrior expressed some frustration, “Big shots, it’s not about whether we can do it or not. I might not be able to tank the monsters.”
The healer quickly added, “I might not be able to heal through it either.”
The team had three high-DPS output players, which meant they were quite fragile. The only two team members with lower dungeon ratings were the crucial tank and healer. With a tank that couldn’t hold aggro and a healer who couldn’t keep up with the healing, facing S-class monsters was practically a recipe for disaster.
[That’s not right. FirstUnderHeaven, both the warrior and healer are only level 79.]
[What? How did you match with these levels? This shouldn’t be the case.]
[Probably because Momo set the team to full random when creating the party…]
[You three are going to do high-level dailies without a healer or tank!?]
FirstUnderHeaven had been focused on PvP for years and was just an average player in PvE, mostly carried through quests by teammates. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a situation in daily quests. Previously, with his S-class rating, daily dungeons were set to A-level, so how high must Momo’s and Unchained Wanderer’s hidden dungeon ratings be to pull the entire team to an S-class level…?
Just as he was about to suggest that momo switch out members, he heard a voice from the team.
Momo said, “I’ll tank, and the healer should keep an eye on the bear’s health.”
The healer nervously replied, “Can I focus on healing? My reaction time is slow.”
Momo responded, “That’s fine, prioritize protecting yourself. Don’t die.”
FirstUnderHeaven asked, “Big shot, are you serious?”
Momo glanced at him and said, “S-class mainly involves health and mechanism speed issues. Just follow the instructions. You know how to handle S-class, right?”
FirstUnderHeaven replied, “…I do.”
[I’ve watched ClearWind’s livestream… Their team does S-class dailies every time and doesn’t use alt accounts to boost ratings.]
[Right… Their team alternates tanking between momo and ClearWind, and ScarletFruit’s healing is also very effective.]
[I suddenly understand how their team’s pressure resistance was developed.]
[But there’s a difference between being used to S-class and running S-class with random players. This warrior and healer probably don’t even have B-class ratings, right?]
High-level daily dungeons were not as simple as quest dungeons. The difficulty in S-class dungeons lay in the increased boss health and the faster pace of boss mechanics. While the warrior and healer were crucial, as long as the DPS was strong, managing health and mechanics would not be an issue.
Skills could be dodged with positioning, and the remaining time to complete the dungeon depended mainly on their ability to deal damage.
Having run dailies for a long time, Su Mo and ScarletFruit were very coordinated. Normally, they didn’t need much guidance during dungeons. Now, with a random team, he needed to point out some specifics to help the teammates adapt to S-class mechanics. To facilitate communication, he hadn’t messaged Yu Zhen directly.
“Warrior, face away from the bear and deal damage. Healer, focus on healing the bear. Save group heals for ultimate skills,” Su Mo quickly outlined the positioning.
But the warrior and healer were really inexperienced, and their reaction times were indeed slow. They struggled through the earlier bosses, but during the final boss, the healer died due to positioning errors, and the warrior also went down, leaving two people out of the fight.
Just when the livestream chat thought the team was about to wipe, Momo activated a group resurrection and brought the two players back. The team didn’t wipe, but most of them were left with low health.
Yu Zhen said, “Change the positioning. Warrior, don’t stand under the boss, stay with the healer. I’ll shield you.”
The warrior replied, “Sorry.”
“Healer, just focus on your own and the warrior’s health, don’t worry about us,” Su Mo noticed the issue. The warrior could dodge skills, but his gear was too fragile to withstand the boss’s ultimate skill, and the healer was slow to react. While he could handle single-target healing, he struggled with group damage.
The healer asked, “Do I not need to heal you guys?”
“No need.” Su Mo summoned the Flower Spirit, “Protect yourself and don’t go down.”
FirstUnderHeaven was stunned, “Wait, so what should I do?”
The magical swordsman, being very fragile, felt quite insecure without a healer’s protection.
Momo glanced at him and asked, “Haven’t you done S-class before? Don’t you know how to dodge skills?”
FirstUnderHeaven was left speechless.
During the following time, the viewers in the livestream, who had come to watch the gossip, were treated to an exemplary performance of an S-class high-level dungeon. The summoner, with the help of a healing spirit pet, managed to endure the dungeon, and with the defensive array and damage reduction from Array Master, UnchainedWanderer, they managed to dodge the boss’s ultimate skill multiple times. The teamwork was smooth, delivering a textbook-quality S-class dungeon run.
[Taking notes here.]
[Momo’s summoner is really impressive. I’ve @ed my friend to come watch the tutorial.]
[They finished quickly in ClearWind’s stream before, but looking closely now, Momo and UnchainedWonderer’s coordination is indeed remarkable.]
[Yeah… didn’t expect such impressive performance from an attack-type array master.]
Momo said, “Brother, stack three layers before the next ultimate skill. The bear’s health won’t hold up.”
“Got it.” UnchainedWanderer replied, “The next cooldown is 3 seconds longer, so be careful with positioning.”
[I came to watch the gossip… and ended up with unexpected dog food.]
[The address reveals some details. Previously, Momo’s instructions always called out Array Master or UnchainedWonderer… oh.]
[Archdemon actually calls him ‘Brother’?? Wonderer is older than momo?]
The viewers in the livestream, focusing on momo and UnchainedWanderer, naturally also noticed the details in the battle.
The coordination wasn’t just a solo showcase of the summoner and the array master. During the battle, the warrior played a crucial role in managing aggro. As the summoner frequently switched to the summoned bear to tank the boss, the warrior handled the aggro in between. The healer’s skills, though lacking, managed to keep himself and the warrior alive without any issues…
Thus, the least skilled player became the one constantly consuming potions in near-death situations—FirstUnderHeaven.
While others executed a flawless “no-healer” strategy, he experienced the worst dungeon nightmare ever.
“Magical swordsman, why are you using a melee attack as a ranged character?”
“Using your survival skill to dodge skills? How will you handle the ultimate skill?”
“You could have dodged by taking three steps… you’ve moved so far that you’re in another zone.”
“Focus on output, you don’t need to keep cycling through control.”
“Can you temporarily stop using Ice Strike? It’s causing a ground glitch.”
…
In the end, the team leader Momo asked, “Can you use the Giant Sword Sword Technique while standing still?”
FirstUnderHeaven replied, “I can.”
Momo asked again, “Really?”
FirstUnderHeaven answered, “… Really.”
The output methods for PvP and PvE were completely different for the magical swordsman. FirstUnderHeaven was used to battlefield PvP—such as close-range attacks, using skills to block positions, alternating between control and output, and using survival skills to escape. These habits had become ingrained in his fighting style, making it difficult for him to adapt to PvE. That night, he experienced the frustration of being constantly singled out by the commander, and he finally learned to adapt.
For standing still and outputting, he followed the basic Giant Sword Technique.
[Fuck, this is killing me with laughter.]
[This is the first time I’ve seen FirstUnderHeaven so timid.]
[Seems like the livestreamer only plays S-class dungeons with friends and family, right?]
[Yes, because he’s too inexperienced. Later, he chose to join random teams for A-class dungeons.]
[Wait? Didn’t we come here to watch the gossip?]
In the dungeon, the no-healer strategy was being demonstrated. The livestreamer focused entirely on controlling his unruly PvP instincts. Meanwhile, the viewers in the livestream chat were either recording the gameplay to learn the techniques, watching the livestreamer’s mishaps, or discussing the coordination between the array master and the summoner. It wasn’t until the dungeon ended an hour later that they saw another wave of comments in the chat.
[Oh right, they came to watch the gossip. How did it turn into watching dungeon runs instead?]
[Honestly, I didn’t see any tension between the two of them in their interactions.]
[My partner and I don’t even have their level of understanding…]
[Maybe they really are just friends (whispering).]
[Is this how big shots in the Global channel usually interact?]
After the daily dungeon ended, the team hadn’t disbanded yet. The warrior said, “Thanks, big shots! I got an S-class chest.”
The healer added, “Thank you for carrying us.”
“No need to be polite.” The summoner glanced at the array master beside him. “Brother, I’m logging off now.”
UnchainedWanderer asked, “Did you feed your pet?”
The summoner replied, “I did.”
UnchainedWanderer said, “Good, get some rest early.”
The summoner logged off, and the team leader role was handed over to UnchainedWanderer.
The healer seemed like he wanted to keep running dungeons and asked, “Bro, are you continuing to run dungeons? My friend started a quest and needs a strong DPS.”
“No, you should team up with the magical swordsman.”
After the array master said this, he also logged off, disappearing from everyone’s view.
The healer then asked, “FirstUnderHeaven, are you joining?”
FirstUnderHeaven was speechless. He wasn’t keen on continuing, but he had no choice. His quest rating couldn’t match up to Apple’s.
***
When Su Mo logged off, he saw Chen Shanxue sitting nearby, engrossed in her terminal. He said, “Mom.”
Chen Shanxue snapped out of it and noticed her child looking at her. “Aren’t you going to play a bit longer? Lele said you usually play until 11.”
“No,” Su Mo replied, pausing for a moment. “I’m going to rest early tonight.”
“Wait a moment, Mom will get you some medicine.” Chen Shanxue put down the terminal and walked over to the medical cabinet where Su Mo’s medication was kept. Lele quickly followed and stood beside her, helping with reminders.
Su Mo settled into the quiet. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the terminal Chen Shanxue had left on the table.
The terminal displayed several pages: news about major events that had happened over the years, reports on archaeological finds on various planets… and some user manuals for advanced smart devices. He was momentarily startled and suddenly had a thought.
“The water temperature is just right,” Chen Shanxue said as she brought over the medicine and warm water. She added, “Your dad is in the study, organizing materials.”
Su Mo responded with a nod.
Lele then reminded, “Don’t forget to soak your feet before bed!”
Chen Shanxue realized, “Oh right, Mom almost forgot about that.”
It was only thanks to Lele’s reminder that Chen Shanxue remembered Yu Zhen had provided a lot of medicinal materials beneficial to Su Mo’s health. Su Mo had developed a habit of soaking his feet before bed during this time.
“Xiao Yu is very kind. I wouldn’t have known that he found all these medicinal materials if Lele hadn’t told me,” Chen Shanxue said, having some knowledge about the medicines. “Collecting all these wasn’t easy. I need to thank him in person later.”
“Brother Zhen has been very good to me,” Su Mo said, watching as Chen Shanxue tested the water temperature with the back of her hand. Even though there were intelligent temperature sensors, she still checked manually.
“Yes, when others are good to you, you should also return their kindness, you know?” Chen Shanxue said. “The water temperature is fine. You can soak your feet now.”
Seeing Chen Shanxue sit beside him and then pick up her own terminal to browse the web, Su Mo was momentarily taken aback. After replying to messages from ScarletFruit and others, he put down his terminal and asked, “Mom, what are you looking at?”
Chen Shanxue tilted her head and smiled. “I’m reading the news. Your dad and I haven’t been back for years, and Capital Planet has changed a lot. There are some things we don’t understand.”
Su Mo leaned in slightly, hesitating before continuing, “…Mom, the W-1126 model is quite old. I heard that some research institutes have already switched to the W-2104 model. Your institute might be changing as well. The old model isn’t as comprehensive in its features. You might want to look at the 2104.”
Chen Shanxue was enlightened. “Is that so? When I searched, they said everyone was still using the 1126.”
“I’ll help you search. The online manuals are quite complex, but there’s a simplified version of the operation manual…”
As Su Zhixing came out of the study, he walked quietly, standing at the back and observing the mother and son on the sofa. His son’s voice was very clear, though it was slightly hoarse from the fever, entirely different from the tender, youthful voice he remembered.
“Is that so?”
“For ease of operation, this component was added, but if there’s a malfunction, it’s likely an issue with this part. You should be careful while operating it.”
“And this one?”
“That’s for energy conversion.”
In the living room, the conversation between his son and wife continued. Su Zhixing stood in the background, listening for a long time. The once fragile child he remembered had, without him even realizing it, grown into a reliable figure.
He couldn’t help but feel proud—this was his son.
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve.
The Su family home was bustling with activity. Festive decorations adorned the door, and the couplets that Su Zhixing had personally written were posted on either side of the entrance. Grandpa Zhang and Zhang Qi came over to celebrate the New Year… For the first time in many years, Su Mo felt this kind of festive atmosphere. He put up couplets with his father, prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner with his mother, listened to his father and Grandpa Zhang chat, and enjoyed the lively and cheerful sounds of laughter.
“Lele, come over and take a photo with us,” Chen Shanshu said.
Lele adjusted the camera system and quickly walked over. It had originally planned to stand aside, but Chen Shanxue pulled it into the middle. It stood next to its owner, Su Mo, with their parents on either side.
“I told your mother to save all the photos,” Su Zhixing said. “The previous album was too small, so I bought a larger one to store everything together.”
Chen Shanxue added, “Sort through the photos; I still have a few more.”
Su Mo suddenly remembered something. He quickly ran to the laboratory. This time, he didn’t linger in front of the box but pulled out the long-unopened one. “Lele, come help me.”
Lele ran over to assist, and the two of them moved the heavy box into the living room.
Su Zhixing and Chen Shanxue watched the box with curiosity until their child opened it. Inside were many photos—photos of them.
Some were in frames, including their wedding pictures that used to be displayed in the living room.
There were also photos from their younger years, gathered in an album that hadn’t been opened in a long time… After they returned, they had tidied up the house but hadn’t found these photos. It was unexpected that Su Mo had carefully preserved them and placed them in the laboratory box.
“There are still these,” Su Mo said, pulling out more. “Should we put them in?”
Su Zhixing felt a pang of emotion and said, “Of course, and are there any more?”
He said, “Honey, don’t we have some pictures of Momo from when he was young in our room? Let’s take them out and put them up again.”
Chen Shanxue quickly got up, saying, “I’ll go get them.”
Lele said, “Should we buy a large album? I can place the order.”
Su Zhixing smiled and said, “Yes, get the largest one and buy a few more.”
Lele responded, “Okay, no problem!”
In the living room, the family sorted through the photos from the years. Su Zhixing and Chen Shanxue particularly loved the photos that Lele had taken over the years. They arranged Su Mo’s growth pictures from the past decade, and as they sorted, they chatted about when each photo was taken.
Lele, the considerate robot, had its memory board reinforced by Su Mo. It remembered every detail from the past years and thoughtfully served as the commentator for the two main owners.
“This was taken the first time he won an award!”
“Su Mo in his first lab coat!”
“This one is from the elementary school puzzle competition!”
“Su Mo got a zero on his first machine class at university.”
Su Mo explained from the side, “The machine was broken, so I had to get a zero.”
“Zero is impressive,” Su Zhixing said proudly. “Others can’t even manage to get a zero, and my son could get a zero and still be first—that’s remarkable.”
Su Mo added, “I scored a hundred in theory; why didn’t you take a picture of that?”
Lele, feeling a bit aggrieved, said, “I wanted to take pictures of everything, but you told me not to after I took the one with the zero. You said there was nothing worth photographing.” It had wanted to document everything, but Su Mo had stopped it, so it could only follow its owner’s wishes.
Su Mo was speechless. It seemed there was some truth to that.
In the game group, there were messages about New Year’s greetings. Su Mo lounged on the sofa, wishing ScarletFruit and the others a Happy New Year. They even connected via voice chat. Except for Yu Zhen, who didn’t join, the four of them chatted and shared their New Year’s experiences. ClearWind’s side was the liveliest, with the sounds of children wishing him a Happy New Year. In the end, a few of the kids even sent New Year’s wishes to Su Mo and the others through voice messages.
“Who are you chatting with?” Chen Shanxue had just come out of the kitchen and, noticing Su Mo’s slightly raised smile, walked over with curiosity to ask.
In the Get Rich Soon, everyone was hearing a woman’s voice on Momo’s side for the first time. ScarletFruit exclaimed, “Big brother, who is that on your end? The voice sounds so gentle.”
ClearWind said, “It sounds a bit young.”
Chen Shanxue replied, “Hello everyone, I’m Momo’s mother.”
The two who had almost made a misjudgment quickly said, “Hello, Auntie!”
ScarletFruit’s eloquence made Chen Shanxue laugh. After a short chat, Chen Shanxue went to the study to get something. Just then, Yu Zhen called through the communicator, and Su Mo told ScarletFruit he would leave the voice chat.
He didn’t take the call in the living room but walked to a window farther from the study.
There was no snow outside that night, and the distant lights were bright.
Yu Zhen’s voice on the other end seemed unsteady, as if he was walking. “I’m late; there are quite a few people at home. I only just found some time.”
“Brother,” Su Mo said, “Happy New Year.”
The Yu family home was bustling with activity. Yu Zhen had deliberately found a quiet corner. There was no snow outside, and the moon was particularly bright that night. He laughed and said, “It’s not midnight yet; let’s save it for after midnight.”
Su Mo replied, “I’ll say it again at midnight.”
…
“Yu Zhen told me you wouldn’t come this year,” mother Yu said, standing outside the door and watching the hovercar drive into the old family courtyard. “Why are you back?”
Jiang Yu replied, “I came to give you a surprise. Is there anything to eat? I’ve been hungry all the way.”
Father Yu said, “We’ve prepared your favorite peach blossom wine, specially sent from Blue Star.”
“Still the best brother-in-law,” Jiang Yu said. “Where’s Yu Zhen? Call him over for a few drinks.”
Jiang Yu looked around but didn’t see Yu Zhen.
Mother Yu said, “He just left with the terminal. I think he was on a call with someone when I passed by.”
Father Yu was about to say it was probably work-related when he suddenly heard Jiang Yu say, “Oh, calling his boyfriend? I thought his little boyfriend would be here for the New Year.”
Father Yu “?”
Jiang Yu continued speaking but suddenly noticed the strange looks from his sister and brother-in-law. He paused, then hesitated and asked, “What? He didn’t say anything?”
