Genius Chapter 189: Battle Begins

Chapter 189: Battle Begins

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Late at 11 PM, another clash erupted over the resource cart, and the deep night didn’t dampen the excitement in the game. On the contrary, more players were joining the faction war as most had finished their daily tasks by this time. Some players even came from other branch servers, borrowing accounts just to participate since they weren’t on the combat list.

Discussions within the Abyss faction were lively:

“CloudTraveller reacted pretty fast. We just got countered at A point.”

“Of course. He’s started organizing profession-specific teams. The assassins nearly got ambushed by the marksman team.”

“I’m feeling a bit tired after playing all day. I’ll log off for a bit, drink a nutrient, and be right back.”

Su Mo glanced at the time—it was already 11:30 PM. At 11:00, a disconnection reminder had popped up, which he delayed, but the internal reminder from the loader still reached Lele. Soon after, his parents checked in on him.

Chen Shanxue never stopped him from playing games, but she always reminded him to take care of his health. Games could be played during the day; with his body still in recovery, he couldn’t stay up late.

BrokenOracle said, “I reckon they’ll add two more major teams soon. I heard Eclipse is still gathering people, and the clashes might not ease up until at least 3 AM.”

Strawberry added, “The night has just begun.”

Apple chimed in, “I feel like it’ll go until 4 AM.”

Watermelon responded, “What’s there to fear? We can go head-to-head with them and win.”

The commanders in the channel were filled with fighting spirit, each determined to battle the fully mobilized Eclipse faction until dawn. Just as they were gearing up for the midnight resource point refresh, the voice of their temporary commander, Momo, cut through the chatter like cold water over their enthusiasm.

Momo said, “You guys keep playing. I’m logging off.”

“Not staying a bit longer?”

“So early!?”

“You’re not sticking around for the most thrilling night battle?”

“Boss, the exciting night has just begun!”

UnchainedWanderer chimed in, “He’s not playing—he needs to rest early.”

Before Yu Zhen could finish speaking, Su Mo had already logged off. As he disconnected, he thought he faintly heard Yu Zhen saying something. Removing the loader, his thoughts slowly returned, and he glanced to his side.

Oh, right—they weren’t playing in the living room; they had moved to the bedroom.

Yu Zhen hadn’t yet disconnected his loader. He lay calmly beside Su Mo, eyes naturally closed, looking no different from when he was asleep.

Su Mo paused for a moment, then turned to brush aside the stray hair on Yu Zhen’s forehead, but his wrist was suddenly caught by the man who had unexpectedly opened his eyes. As their bodies collided, the blanket covering Su Mo slid off the bed. Yu Zhen pressed down on Su Mo slightly, asking, “What are you trying to do?”

Su Mo replied, “I want to touch you.”

Yu Zhen leaned down and kissed him, “Anything else?”

Su Mo blinked, “I also want a kiss.”

In love, Su Mo was unexpectedly straightforward, always saying exactly what he wanted. He wasn’t the shy kid others might think; once he understood his feelings, he became bolder, constantly teasing the tense line Yu Zhen tried to hold.

He was very much like the carefree summoner in the game, but his mischievousness was more obvious. Between the two of them, he hid nothing—he wanted what he wanted, saying it aloud without hesitation, daring and unruly.

This round of teasing only ended when Yu Zhen kissed him until he was dizzy.

Afterward, Su Mo lay at the edge of the bed, watching Yu Zhen, who was standing nearby fastening his cufflinks. For the first time, Su Mo realized just how much of a gap there was between them in terms of physical strength.

Yu Zhen finished tidying himself up and said, “Your face is a bit red.”

Su Mo replied, “I’m not running a fever.”

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Chen Shanxue’s voice:

“Mo Mo, do you need your medicine?”

Chen Shanxue had received a message from Su Mo on the terminal not long ago. After hearing some slight sounds from the room, she waited a bit before knocking. Upon receiving permission to enter, she noticed Yu Zhen standing by the bed and her son, half-sitting on the bed with his hair slightly messy.

Yu Zhen greeted politely, “Auntie.”

Just then, Su Mo’s father, Su Zhixing, walked over and said, “I brought the medicine. Lele went to get the testing equipment.”

“Take your medicine, and you two should wash up and rest early…” He noticed Yu Zhen’s outfit and added, “Xiao Yu, what’s the plan?”

Yu Zhen picked up the coat hanging on the rattan chair and replied, “I lost track of time playing games. I was just about to head back.”

Su Zhixing looked a bit surprised, thinking the two kids would stay the night since they had been playing so late.

“Heading back this late?” Su Zhixing placed the medicine on the bedside table and said, “Why don’t you just stay here tonight? It’s dangerous to drive so late. Or do you have work tomorrow that you need to get back for?”

Yu Zhen paused slightly before saying, “I’m off tomorrow.”

Grandma Cheng was still at the old house and hadn’t returned, and Yu Zhen hadn’t prepared the apartment in the residential area. He had planned to stay at his downtown apartment. Su Mo, following the conversation, said, “Then just stay here tonight.”

He then added, “We don’t have a guest room anymore, so you can sleep with me.”

The guest room had been converted by Su Mo long ago, and even when his parents came back, it hadn’t been restored. There was nothing strange about what Su Mo said, and Su Zhixing, eager to be a good host, certainly wouldn’t have let a guest sleep on the couch. With a warm invitation, Yu Zhen was asked to stay the night.

“I heard from Lele that Mo Mo used to trouble you a lot and even made you sleep on the couch several times,” Su Zhixing said. “This isn’t your first time staying at our home, so treat it like your own, and don’t be too formal.”

Yu Zhen replied, “Thank you for the hospitality.”

With that, it was settled that Yu Zhen would stay the night. He had stayed at their home before, and Lele quickly brought him his toiletries.

Chen Shanxue supervised Su Mo as he took his medicine. On her way to the study, she saw her husband still sorting through some documents on the desk. She and her husband had recently decided to take on a project from the institute, which meant they occasionally needed to prepare materials in advance and often went to bed late. Both of them had A-class physiques, unlike Su Mo, so staying up late or pulling an all-nighter was no problem for them.

“You seemed preoccupied tonight,” Su Zhixing said, breaking the silence. “Are you still worried about Mo Mo?”

Chen Shanxue, a little distracted, replied, “A little.”

Su Zhixing gently patted her hand and said seriously, “A’xue, Mo Mo is no longer the child who needed us to take care of everything. He’s an independent adult now, just like us. He also needs time to adjust and adapt. You don’t have to worry so much.”

Chen Shanxue smiled slightly, “I know.”

She reflected on the events of the night, as well as what Su Mo had told her on New Year’s Eve. At that time, she had asked Su Mo if it was someone he liked, and Su Mo had confidently confirmed the answer.

That, in a way, had already told her exactly who this person was.

When they first came back home, Chen Shanxue and Lele were tidying up the house, and it was hard to miss the signs of someone else living there. There was an extra set of toiletries in the bathroom, and an additional set of dishes in the kitchen. When Chen Shanxue asked Lele about it, the little robot told her that those belonged to Yu Zhen, revealing that Yu Zhen had been staying at their home regularly.

When she asked about their relationship, the little robot simply said they were very good friends.

At first, Chen Shanxue hadn’t thought much of it, until one day when Su Mo allowed her to help organize his closet. In one corner of his wardrobe, she found clothes in a different size. Connecting this to the other small details she had noticed, it became clear who the person Su Mo liked was.

Her child had tried, though somewhat clumsily, to cover up these details, even having the robot help hide things, but it was difficult to completely erase the traces of someone living in the house.

The small interactions between the two kids didn’t escape her notice. Chen Shanxue didn’t disapprove; she just felt a little sad. Sad that her child still had some reservations with her, willing to admit that there was someone he liked, but not yet ready to tell her who it was.

“Then what are you still worried about?” Su Zhixing asked.

Chen Shanxue smiled, “Honey, what if Mo Mo is in a relationship?”

Su Zhixing looked at her. “It’s normal for boys his age to date. You and I are both open-minded people… Wait, why are you asking this? Are you against him dating?”

Chen Shanxue replied, “Why would I be against it? It’s his own business.”

“Exactly. There’s no need to overthink it. He’s an adult and can make his own decisions… You know, I used to worry about him. Mo Mo has such a small social circle, always buried in the lab at school, and when he’s home, he just plays games. I thought, ‘What if he wants to date and can’t find anyone?’” Su Zhixing paused, then added, “But there is something that we do need to worry about.”

Chen Shanxue was surprised. “Worried about what?”

Su Zhixing replied, “Mo Mo is too innocent and spends so much time playing games… This won’t do, he can’t be in an online relationship.”

Chen Shanxue chuckled. “Why can’t he have an online relationship?”

“Games in the Global network are very complicated. When I first joined, I heard stories about people playing the field with multiple partners in the game. You never know what’s really happening online. What if he falls for someone in the game, but that person already has a partner in real life and ends up deceiving our Mo Mo?” Su Zhixing’s tone grew serious as he thought about Su Mo’s limited social circle, becoming more convinced that his son could easily find someone through gaming. “Your concern actually makes sense.”

Chen Shanxue hesitated for a moment. “It’s not that extreme, is it?”

But Su Zhixing became cautious. “I’ll ask him for his game ID later.”

Su Mo, meanwhile, had no idea that his parents were discussing his potential relationship next door. After taking his medicine, he was already feeling drowsy and had fallen asleep before Yu Zhen even finished his shower. The next morning, Su Mo and Yu Zhen woke up early for a morning workout, and only after breakfast did they log into the game.

Upon logging in, they realized that everyone in the chat channel had pulled an all-nighter.

The faction wars hadn’t been this intense in a long time. The Abyss faction was determined to regain face after losing for two consecutive weeks, while the Eclipse faction wasn’t willing to be dominated by them. Both sides were fighting hard, neither willing to back down, resulting in an ever-escalating battle. By the next day, they were still fighting over the resource cart.

On the Abyss faction’s side, things remained relatively relaxed. Those in the command channel had pulled an all-nighter but acted as if nothing had happened. Their voices were clear and energetic, charging into crowds and capturing points as needed, with exceptional execution skills. They seemed to be riding the high of the healing and defense buffs and were already planning to grab those same buffs again this week, completely forgetting the grueling hours spent outside the Summer God’s outpost during last week’s faction battle.

The Eclipse faction, however, was in a different state. They were determined not to let the Abyss faction get the healing buff again.

“This week’s battle, if we can only hold two points, I’d rather let them have the control buff.”

“Don’t give them the control buff! Haven’t you felt their control team’s power yet?”

“…I suddenly realize BrokenOracle’s leadership was actually quite kind. Who forced Momo out? Can’t we send Archdemon back to the dungeon or arena battles? Why must he wreak havoc in the wild?”

“It’s not the first time he’s caused chaos out here. Have you forgotten who made the Dispel Cloak item in the open world?”

“Damn, we should’ve let them have the attack buff last week and just defended the healing buff!”

Despite their frustration with the defense and control teams, they were determined to fight on. However, the enemy’s command was too cunning. Midway through, they did manage to regain some advantage, but as time dragged on, they began to lose in numbers due to a series of defeats, allowing the Abyss faction to pull ahead in resources.

Because of this, the Eclipse faction’s command had to make new adjustments. They stopped aiming for control over all three resource points and focused instead on minimizing their resource disadvantage. After all, the faction war had two parts: falling behind in the resource battle didn’t necessarily mean losing the faction war. The most critical part was the evening’s siege battle, so it was crucial not to let the resource gap grow too large.

By Sunday afternoon, around 4 p.m., the Abyss faction still held a lead in resources.

“From the looks of things, we’ve finally stabilized our advantage,” BrokenOracle said. “These resources will give us a better position for tonight’s siege battle.”

The resource war was a mode all registered players could participate in, but only 1,000 players could join the siege battle. While the Abyss faction could leverage their profession-based advantage to build strong defense and control teams, it wouldn’t work as well in the siege battle. The strategy there was different, and they couldn’t rely on teams with a strong focus on specific professions.

Moreover, the healing and defense buffs didn’t carry over to the siege battle. The only way to use buffs there was by spending the resources accumulated during the resource war to exchange for them. The reason they had fought so hard for resources over the past two days was to ensure they could secure the strongholds they wanted in the upcoming siege.

Momo’s tactics had worked well during the resource war, but once their methods were figured out, it was easier to counter them. His strategies were unconventional, often catching opponents off guard. Combined with the Abyss faction’s high morale, they managed to build up a clear advantage as the Eclipse faction became more demoralized in the later stages of the battle.

But the strategies couldn’t be used indefinitely; they still needed to capture the strongholds they wanted.

Su Mo listened to the discussions in the team channel, seeking advice whenever he encountered something unfamiliar about the siege battle. He had participated in a siege battle the previous week but learned some techniques from their discussion that he hadn’t known before.

While he was still lost in thought, trying to come up with useful strategies, a prompt suddenly appeared in front of him:

[[faction·Abyss] BrokenOracle has transferred the faction·siege command to you. Do you accept?]

Su Mo didn’t accept immediately and questioned, “Did I click the wrong thing?”

“No, you didn’t,” BrokenOracle replied. “As I mentioned before, I wanted to invite you to be the commander for the siege battle.”

Su Mo asked, “I know that, but isn’t command supposed to be given separately from the command authority?”

The resource battle was conducted as a whole faction activity, so there was no distinction between a main or deputy commander in the command channel. Everyone could discuss issues and make adjustments directly in the channel, making command authority optional. But the siege battle was different. In addition to basic personnel assignments, it required organizing lists and exchanging resources, all of which were under the highest authority of the main commander.

The guild with the most outdoor strongholds in the Abyss faction wasRen XiaoYao, so the command authority had always been held by the guild master BrokenOracle. Now that this authority had been transferred to momo, it was clear that BrokenOracle wanted momo to become the main commander.

“Yes, but after the resource battle this afternoon, I think if we want to achieve everyone’s goals, you are more suited for this stage of the siege battle than I am,” BrokenOracle said. “Momo, I want to invite you to take on the role of the main commander.”

Momo did not respond immediately, seemingly deep in thought.

The clear advantage in the resource battle had been obvious, and the Abyss faction was also seeking breakthroughs in their strategy.

So when BrokenOracle invited momo to become the main commander, the other people in the command channel were not surprised. They started speaking up to support BrokenOracle, worried that momo might refuse the invitation.

“Boss, having command authority would be more convenient.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t feel too burdened, Momo. It’s just command authority.”

“Even if it’s tough, we’d just return to three strongholds. Anyway, I’ve enjoyed the fights this week. You can play as you like.”

“That’s right. With command authority, it’s easier for you. Sometimes, if it’s inconvenient to speak, you can issue direct commands.”

BrokenOracle added, “The siege battle starts at 7 PM. If you accept the command, you’ll be able to choose your team better.”

Almost everyone was persuading him.

Su Mo thought for a moment and, after hesitating briefly, clicked to confirm.

As soon as he confirmed, a faction battle command system appeared on his interface. It was filled with various functions related to faction battle command.

Seeing that he had accepted the command authority, BrokenOracle immediately got down to business. “First, look at the list of functions on the left side. We need to confirm the 1000-person roster now.”

Su Mo followed his instructions and opened the list. It was very detailed, showing that any player in the top 30% of faction resource battle contribution could be included in the siege battle roster for tonight’s 7 PM battle.

Moreover, to facilitate team selection, the system also provided individual combat power data.

BrokenOracle said, “The system has alternative options; these are players I selected in advance, for reference. If you want to make any professional adjustments, you can also choose from the second set of alternatives.”

Su Mo smiled and said, “You’re leaving everything to me? Aren’t you worried I might mess things up for you?”

BrokenOracle responded casually, “Trust those you use, and don’t use those you doubt.”

***

At 6:30 PM, the resource battle was nearing its end.

In the Celestial Horizon official live streaming room, the faction siege battle was being broadcasted for the first time. The stream for the Capital Planet sub-server was seeing an increasing number of viewers, even though it was only a bit past six, and the popularity was already far surpassing that of other sub-servers.

[Here it comes, here it comes.]

[The Capital Planet sub-server was terrible in the past two weeks, so I switched to the Blue Star server, but now Capital Planet is going all out this week!!]

[Me too, I didn’t sign up, and during the day I could only watch them from the sidelines. So frustrating!]

[Let’s see if Abyss can come up with any new tricks for the siege battle this week.]

The live stream was showing the resource data and point details for both factions, with two separate views displaying the gathering situations of each side. The official commentators were still the familiar faces of “Ask the World” and “Skillful Hands,” and in addition, there was a guest commentator from Eclipse faction, [Late Night Haircut], who was a regular commander.

“Half an hour before the siege battle started was the assembly time for both factions. According to the lists submitted by both factions, they were now entering the venue one after another.”

Skillful Hands began to warm up the audience skillfully, “Today, we invited one of the regular commanders from Eclipse faction’s Zenith Expanse guild, [Late Night Haircut], to provide commentary for us. Late Night Haircut has participated in previous faction battles and siege battles, so he is very familiar with the confrontation between both factions and will bring us more detailed strategic insights today.”

Late Night Haircut said, “Hello everyone.”

Skillful Hands continued to introduce the features of the viewing interface. Since it was the first time broadcasting a siege battle live, for transparency, the confrontation details between both factions would be displayed on the viewing interface. Additionally, to ensure fairness, communication channels between participating players and the outside world would be cut off during the siege battle to prevent players from using the live stream functions to cheat.

However, they didn’t go too far; while external communication was cut off, internal communication was still allowed.

This would not affect the strategies of both factions. For example, sending spies or using game scouts could still be done through internal communication, maintaining the diversity of gameplay.

[I’ve already started looking forward to it!] [This week, Abyss is really pushing hard! I wonder who the commander will be?] [Eclipse should still be CloudTraveller, but for Abyss, it’s unclear if it will be BrokenOracle or momo.] [The overall commander should be BrokenOracle. However, with momo involved, it’s really unpredictable. Eclipse has been driven crazy by him this week.] [Has momo ever participated in a siege battle before?] [It seems he hasn’t.] [As an Eclipse player, I’m relieved.] [momo hasn’t participated before, but Abyss has so many commanders. He should come up with ideas, but still, be cautious.]

“After 7 PM, we will be able to see the lists submitted by both factions. For now, they are still confidential. However, we can observe the situation at the points where both factions are already starting to assemble in advance…”

The atmosphere in the live stream room was heated.

Inside the Eclipse faction, CloudTraveller was organizing the team. “ChatMasterWu, are you going with the big group to attack their points?”

After fighting for two days and finally making it into the siege battle, ChatMasterWu, upon hearing CloudTraveller’s inquiry, responded, “In a siege battle, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to use a meat shield to defend the points, would they?”

NightBell chimed in, “Since you’re calling it foolish, do you think it’s possible?”

HealsFor25000 said, “…? Probably not, right?”

CloudTraveller replied, “No, defending the points requires a strong team. A full meat shield team couldn’t possibly hold the point boss.”

ChatMasterWu breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good. I’ll join the big group.”

On the other side, in the Abyss faction’s command channel, they were coordinating the point defense teams.

When discussing the defense arrangement for the Winter God point, BrokenOracle looked at the defense list and, puzzled, turned to momo, “Are you sure about this arrangement?”

The defense team consisted of only one and a half groups—one warrior and cleric group, and half an assassin group— a significant reduction in numbers compared to the previous week.