Genius Chapter 200: Great Demon King

Chapter 200: Great Demon King

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

The group posted a StarNet link, but Su Mo’s newly bought terminal hadn’t arrived yet, and he couldn’t access the current terminal at all.

Having not been online for many days made him very interested in many things. When he saw the link, he caught a glimpse of Yu Zhen, who was still browsing the equipment store next to him. So he said, “Bro, can I borrow your terminal for a bit? I want to check the forum.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhen scrolled down the page and handed his terminal to him. “Don’t look for too long; I’ll go get you a glass of water.”

Su Mo logged into the group using Yu Zhen’s account. After scrolling through over a dozen messages, he finally clicked on the link.

Accessing the StarNet forum through a terminal required redirection, making it slightly more complicated than using a loader.

Once he clicked in, he found that the post had an overwhelming number of replies and was already trending hot.

There were so many outstanding plays from the faction battle between Abyss faction and Eclipse faction, which ended with a score of 3:1. The players’ enthusiastic calls prompted the official team to compile a highlight reel after obtaining the agreement of some commanders from both factions. They showcased interesting matchups, like the ‘Winter Base Defense Battle’ and the ‘Summer Base Taunting Battle,’ all captured in audiovisual form and released on the official site days later.

Within two minutes of being on the official site, the players had already shared it on the forum.

[The recording has finally arrived!]
[The officials are really straightforward; they provided both the full recording and a short version!]
[Next time, the officials should consider a live broadcast from both factions’ commanders’ perspectives.]
[Agreed! If making a battle highlight reel is this complicated, we might as well record it ourselves!!]
[It’s here, it’s here! I’ve always heard Abyss faction talking about how well they played; now I want to hear it for myself.]
[Ahhh! Does this mean we can finally hear momo’s voice?!]
[Definitely! Make sure to switch to the Abyss faction perspective; there are two options in the video.]

As the players eagerly clicked in to see how the strategies were laid out, they were met with some previously unknown details right after entering. The video had been edited, and some processes were quickly skipped over, but not a single key detail was missed. The players followed the edited perspective, especially when watching Abyss faction. They were particularly focused on the well-known empty city tactic at the Winter Base, especially regarding a commander who had garnered significant attention.

“Warrior, move forward; cleric, summon the creatures; assassin, go invisible first.”
“The other side isn’t that stupid; to deceive them, we have to put on a show first.”
“How do we perform? First, lure them into the cave, pressure them out, and then retreat. The assassin goes, and the others hold the line.”
“When we press, we need to show strength, create distance, and make them think we have a lot of people.”
“Press when we need to, retreat when we need to; don’t get attached to fights. If you die, it’s a waste of resources.”

[It’s all just tactics!]
[Wow! So the assassin ran away when they pressured the enemy; I didn’t understand it at the time.]
[They had such a plan in place this early??]
[It’s great to have a commander like momo; everything was arranged perfectly, and fighting alongside him would definitely be thrilling.]
[momo’s team was born to perform.]
[…I’m always scared of teams like this when I’m fighting. Their execution is high; they know when to retreat and when to attack. They can dominate and defend; it’s no wonder Eclipse faction fell for it.]
[Where’s the devilish part in this operation? They’re very understanding, okay? Plus, their commander wasn’t stammering or cursing wildly.]

The players were still marveling at momo’s efficiency and strategy when they suddenly realized that certain plans couldn’t keep up with changes. For example, behind this stunning tactic lay an unknown side; they finally understood what the large groups scattered around outside the Winter Base had gone through before the tactic was executed, thanks to the official editing.
“Did everyone see clearly?”
“I’m giving you five minutes to position yourselves properly; come back before we engage.”
“If you’re late, don’t bother returning.”

The assassin team leader, Watermelon, asked, “What if I can’t remember the way?”
“Can the assassin still expose themselves?” the commander replied, “Then don’t come back.”
Someone else asked, “What if we do get exposed?”
The commander’s tone was calm, “It’s fine; we’ll just lose one defensive team.”
[Laughing to death, it’s just losing a team.]
[Assassin: I dare not expose myself.]
[Indeed, if the assassin exposes themselves, the Winter Base is gone.]
[Why do I hear a hint of threat?]

The players initially watched with smiles, but when they saw the Winter Base getting surrounded, the commanders from Abyss faction were openly joking in the command channel.
[Everyone in Celestial Horizon knew that ChatMasterWu was a man who could hold back for a long time.]
[I can’t tell with Bitter Melon…]
[If it weren’t for the fact that I had heard their voices before, I wouldn’t have guessed that this group of big shots could joke around like this.]
[I suspect momo understands everything; he’s just driving the car!]
[BrokenOracle: It’s so hard; these people are hard to lead.]
[If you want to get on the car, just get on! I’ve learned something!]
[UnchainedWanderer: You can say it to my face; don’t say it offline.]

A group of netizens was laughing as the commanders openly joked around, but soon they couldn’t laugh anymore. If the assassins from the Winter Base taking positions was just the beginning, what followed was the real nightmare. The chief commander, momo, could be joking and playing around with others in the command channel just a moment ago, and the next moment, he could calmly send two teams to their deaths, his voice flat and emotionless, with an air of coldness that even made the healer stop healing.

Then, no one in the team dared to refute him; they all obediently went to their deaths.
[I suddenly understood where the notion of a “devil” came from.]
[Honestly, it was pretty funny to watch from the sidelines, but experiencing it myself was another story.]
[I was wondering why the mage jumped so bravely at that moment… turns out they were already prepared to die.]

Dying was just the beginning. Next, they heard about the sacrificial team from the Summer Base; the stunning surprise attack by the mage team had an equal number of mages who were resigned to their deaths as they jumped down the mountain. Jumping down the mountain was just the start, and under the command’s orders, countless people died as the Summer Base continued its assault.
“You all keep clearing the way.”
“Oh, you don’t need the sword formation; you can just come.”
“… The physical swordsman is a sacrificial lamb.”
“Captain, you choose yourself.”

The most pitiful were still the physical swordsmen; the commander wanted to pick eight people to die and also asked the captain to find a few tanks.
Not only did they have to die, but they also had to make it look good.

[The physical swordsman of Abyss faction suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore.]
[I take back my previous words; before seeing the results, I also thought it was a brainless act to have the mages jump into the crowd.]
[I suddenly felt fortunate for not participating in the siege last week…]
[If I were in their shoes… I could definitely see a hint of the devil.]

The official edit was made in chronological order, featuring segments from battle highlights that players found interesting. While the Eclipse faction was still finding ways to block the enemy, the commander of the Abyss faction had already made the most of the limited resources with his brilliant ideas. The surprise attack by the mage team was not pre-arranged; it was a genuine and spontaneous effort led by the commander, with everyone unaware of what was happening. They even thought they were just going to their deaths before the attack yielded results.

Time was limited during the battle, and momo didn’t have much time to explain.
Thus, in the later phases of the clash, the official cleverly synchronized audio and visuals. Players watched the intense scenes on the field while listening to momo’s usual commanding voice in the voice chat. Once they put themselves in the situation, it became an indescribable chilling feeling. Everything seemed normal and tactical, but the more they listened, the more they could empathize with the commanders’ anxious feelings in the command channel, who didn’t dare to speak up.

The commander of the Winter Base was relatively okay, while the commander of the Summer Base didn’t dare to say a word, fearing that if they spoke, they would remind the commander, and the next team rushing to the front would be theirs. Most of the time, the command channel’s communications were not shared with other channels, so the majority of the players from Abyss who participated in the battle were unaware of what was happening in the command channel. However, while they happily charged forward, their commander was on edge in the command channel.

Momo could chat with you calmly one second and, in the next moment, send you to your death without a second thought.

Even when going to their deaths, it was a functional type of sacrifice.
There were no arguments against it; in the end, they accepted it willingly.
The players discussed it fervently, causing the post to rise higher and higher.
By the time it reached Su Mo’s hands, it had become an unending thread of comments.

When Yu Zhen came back with a cup of water, he saw Su Mo watching the video. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Su Mo looked at the comments from the netizens, which included words like “devil” and “ruthless.” “Am I that bad?” he asked.
Yu Zhen replied, “No.”
“Oh.” Su Mo watched for a moment before quickly switching out of the video. “I thought so too.”

Su Mo felt a bit unfamiliar with the StarNet interface, “How do I check the announcements? I can’t find them.”
“Feeling lazy?” Yu Zhen knew he could find it; if he asked, it was probably because he didn’t want to search for it. He helped him navigate to the announcements section, “The post for the meetup is the third one.”

Su Mo’s progression had taken a significant toll on him; his fatigue was visibly apparent. He had been sleeping a lot and had become quite lazy, getting tired easily.

The doctor said that a recovery period was needed, and once that was over, Su Mo would be able to fully adapt. The Su family was aware of this. Su Mo had always been understanding and well-behaved, but during this recovery period, when he couldn’t muster the energy, he would seek help from others. Subconsciously, the reliance he once had on Lele gradually shifted to his family. This closer interaction fostered a mutual dependence between them.

After drinking some water, Su Mo read the announcement about the meetup and soon fell asleep, clutching Yu Zhen’s terminal. Yu Zhen carefully took the terminal from his hands and covered him with a blanket. He then noticed the incessant notifications vibrating on Su Mo’s terminal. Not wanting to disturb him, he silenced the terminal and set it aside before opening the exploration group chat.

There were numerous messages in the group, with many people @ing momo to ask him how he felt after climbing the building. Yu Zhen looked at the messages and eventually used his terminal to send a meme that Su Mo used to love posting.

• ReturnToSimplicity: [Oh.jpg]

• apple: ?

• ChatMasterWu: I have a bad feeling about this.

• Cat: I was just thinking, are you all not afraid of calling archdemon a devil right in front of him? What if he really turns into one later?

• CloudTraveller: … I’m from Eclipse.

• BrokenOracle: Isn’t Eclipse worse off?

• ChatMasterWu: …

• OldBanana: Damn!

• WhatAHugeWatermelon: …

If the official video was just the beginning, the subsequent edited devil version of the video cut together all of momo’s quotes from the faction battle, magnifying the intensity of his “devil” persona countless times. It was titled “What We Still Don’t Know About That Day’s Abyss Faction Commander Experience.” As soon as the post was released, it shot up to the top of the forum, with several faction commanders liking it beneath the post.

Quick-thinking players took screenshots of the likes.
Wow, those who liked the post included: [WhatAHugeWatermelon], [Bitter Melon mixed with Milk], [CloudTraveller], [Begonia], [Midnight Bell], and others…
[Thanks to our commander.]
[I didn’t feel anything when listening to the voice chat, but after watching this video from the original poster, I finally understood!!]
[archdemon… lives up to the name.]
[The officials should invite the original poster to edit the videos.]
[momo’s tone was so serious, but he was sending people to their deaths.]
[I have a new understanding of the devil.]
[The magical swordsman didn’t suffer at all, thanks to apple slacking off enough.]
[You’re overthinking it; maybe the magical swordsman was also on momo’s arrangement list.]
[If one day your commander speaks nicely and is serious and responsible, don’t fall for it.]
[He might make you sacrifice yourself the next second.]

Some players were eager to see more excitement, curious about what kind of devilish commands momo could come up with next. However, the 3:1 match turned out to be the last one. For the next few weeks, momo didn’t participate in any more resource battles and became increasingly silent, hardly logging in. Even UnchainedWanderer was rarely online. The discussion only intensified, and before they knew it, the game meetup period had arrived.

As the meetup period approached, the game forum was flooded with event promotions for the meetup.
The offline meetup had a limited number of participants, and the officials mostly selected players based on their server branches and residential addresses. After all, it was a Capital Planet meetup, and the selected players were all from Capital Planet.
The Capital Planet meetup was just the beginning; the officials announced that they would also host meetups for other star systems in the future. Selected players would be notified through invitation letters, and they would also be publicly showcased. Players who did not receive invitations could search the official website for confirmation. Players who signed up went to the official website to verify their participation and naturally noticed other lists. The IDs announced for the game meetup were numerous, and some prominent IDs attracted the attention of others.

[Wow, so many players from the leaderboard are going!!!]
[CloudTraveller, BrokenOracle… I even saw momo and UnchainedWanderer!!]
[After all, it’s the first meetup, but… Capital Planet is truly a gathering of great players.]
[Even though I can’t go, can I at least see the great players?]
[I immediately stood up. I want to see what archdemon looks like. Do I have a chance?!]
[Just because a name is on the list doesn’t mean they will go, right? Being selected doesn’t guarantee attendance.]
[There can’t really be a great player using the official censorship system, right…]
[With so many people going, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll see them unless they participate in the entertainment matches.]
[But I heard the entertainment matches are drawn on-site.]
[Will the mainframe be a little more considerate?]

Recently, discussions about momo had been very high. Even though he hadn’t logged in, he remained on the forum’s homepage every day.

Upon hearing that momo was also on the list announced for the meetup, interested players started threads to discuss it. Recently, there had been very little news about momo. Players who originally planned to wait in ClearWind’s live stream for a broadcast were disappointed when they found out that ClearWind had real-life matters to attend to and wouldn’t be online.

As a result, discussions about momo intensified. Some players claimed he was a successful executive in real life, while others thought he sounded like a student. There were even opinions suggesting that his regular online presence hinted he might be an older gentleman. In short, there were all sorts of discussions.

[I remember hearing somewhere that he was an 18-year-old student?]
[I said I was 18, do you believe me? Don’t believe everything online.]
[I heard he’s either 19 or 20, a university student.]
[He shouldn’t be 18… his gameplay and personality seem very mature!]
[What? Do you discriminate against 18-year-olds? This 18-year-old player is also very mature!]

Su Mo was unaware of these discussions. Before being discharged from the hospital, he needed to undergo detailed examinations. For the past few days, aside from sleeping, he had been running around various departments for tests.

After buying a new terminal, he had little time to play. He could only log into his StarNet account and apply for access with a loading device once he returned home. By the time he was discharged on Thursday, he had heard that the child would be going to the lively meetup on Saturday. Su Zhi was still a bit worried, but Yu Zhen eventually eased his mind by showing him the security situation at the meetup venue.

Seeing how interested Su Mo was in the meetup and that his health indicators were already trending toward grade E, Chen Shanxue agreed to let Yu Zhen accompany him while paying extra attention to safety.

After a quick trip home, Yu Zhen took Su Mo back to the main city after having dinner at home on Friday night. The meetup exhibition hall was located in the main city, making it more convenient for them to go since they were staying at Yu Zhen’s house.

Having just been discharged, the young couple cherished the rare opportunity to be alone without their parents around.

However, their happiness didn’t last long. When Yu Zhen came out of the shower, he found Su Mo lying on the sofa in his pajamas, fast asleep, while the smart robot was covering him with a blanket.

He looked relaxed and a bit lazy in his sleeping posture.

Yu Zhen didn’t wake him up and simply carried him to the bedroom to sleep.

***

By Saturday, the outside of the Celestial Horizon game meetup exhibition hall was packed with people.

The large square was filled with various merchandise booths and fans meeting each other. Due to the overwhelming number of people, finding someone in the crowd was quite inconvenient. Messages in the exploration group had been nonstop since morning, with notifications constantly @-ing each other for their locations. The meetup was set to start at 1 PM, but some people began meeting up at certain designated spots as early as 10 AM.

ScarletFruit arrived early and initially chose a very prominent place as a meeting point. However, within just a few minutes, the number of people in that area increased rapidly, and soon he could barely find himself amid the crowd.

In the group chat titled “Get Rich Early,” ScarletFruit asked, “Have you all arrived??”

ZenSlasher replied, “Is it at entrance A145?”

ScarletFruit confirmed, “The large stone monument at entrance A145.”

ZenSlasher commented, “There are a lot of people next to the large stone monument…”

ClearWind chimed in, “I’ve arrived! I deliberately wore all black. Can you see me?”

ZenSlasher responded, “I also wore black…”

The crowd was immense; the first Celestial Horizon meetup was overflowing, and there were so many people wearing black clothes in the square.

Zhou Ke had put on a black jacket himself, and as soon as he saw ClearWind’s reply, he was instantly speechless. Looking around, he noticed that out of ten people, five were wearing black. Where was he supposed to find anyone in this crowd?

As he watched the area near the large stone monument fill up with more and more people, Zhou Ke shouted a few times, but no one responded. There were simply too many people, and his voice was drowned out, making it even harder to recognize anyone.

UnchainedWanderer commented, “There are too many people at the stone monument; let’s move to the grass next to the hovercar lane.”

Momo added, “We’re over by the grass; turn on your terminal location.”

Zhou Ke suddenly remembered that there was a real-time location feature; he just hadn’t thought that meeting up would be this complicated. If he had known, it would have been much easier to find someone at the hotel during lunchtime. He glanced at the group chat and saw a location pop up, clicking on it to find that the person he was looking for was still quite a distance away, at the adjacent entrance A146. “Damn, Windy, where have you gotten to?!”

“Ah? There’s also a large stone monument here,” ClearWind replied. “There are too many people; it’s hard to find the way. I can see the lawn now; I’m heading over.”

Zhou Ke didn’t care about him; he thought it was ridiculous that ClearWind could get lost over such a short distance. He quickly followed the direction of the location towards the lawn.

Since the distance was relatively close, the location feature displayed the coordinates. Zhou Ke was familiar with the area and, from a distance, spotted several groups of people scattered across the lawn. However, he immediately noticed two people standing near the hovercar lane, close to the designated location.

“I can’t talk to you right now; I think I see my older brother and the others.”

Zhou Ke put away his terminal and quickly ran over. The closer he got, the clearer he could see the two individuals.

Both of them were wearing matching hats. The taller man, standing closer to the hovercar lane, had a deep blue loose jacket and an athletic build. His face was handsome and striking. In contrast, the boy standing on the inside was somewhat thinner, wearing a beige jacket and wrapped in a light-colored scarf.

Under the sunlight, the boy’s skin appeared a bit pale, but it didn’t detract from his attractive profile.

Zhou Ke thought to himself that, indeed, all the boys who played games well were good-looking. He waved and was about to greet them when he saw the boy looking in his direction and, right in front of him, took off his hat.

His greeting got stuck in his throat as Zhou Ke blinked in surprise. “Ah? Junior Brother!”

He quickly realized that this person was none other than the genius junior brother from his lab.

Damn, he almost mistook someone while meeting up for a game. Thankfully, he hadn’t greeted him yet; otherwise, it would have been quite embarrassing.

The boy seemed to pause when he heard the greeting and then said, “Zhou Ge.”

Zhou Ke was holding his terminal, planning to confirm his location again. Since the person greeted him, he had no choice but to walk over and get a little closer. “You guys came to the game meet-up too?”

“Yeah, we’re waiting for someone,” the boy replied.

Zhou Ke found the voice somewhat familiar, and just as he was pondering where he had heard it before, ClearWind’s loud voice from the terminal distracted him.

“Just walk along the lane! Don’t you have the coordinates? Is it really that hard to find a spot?”

“I still haven’t found my brother; I’m in the wrong spot. I’ll head over right away.”

“If you can’t find it, just wait there. I’ll go find my brother and come to pick you up.”

As Zhou Ke spoke, he was puzzled about how he could have gone the wrong way when he was so sure of his direction. He switched to the location screen and saw two blue dots that seemed to overlap with his own.

Hmm?

Hmm???

Uh-oh?!

The junior brother asked, “Did Zhou Ge go to the wrong place?”

“Yeah, I might have remembered the wrong direction…”

Zhou Ke replied absentmindedly, not believing in bad luck, and took a couple of steps back. The blue dot hardly moved, but the location screen showed that his coordinates had changed.

The junior brother’s voice carried a hint of laughter. “Did you find the right spot?”

The familiar voice entered his ears again, and it seemed like a slow nerve in him finally connected.

He looked up at the junior brother and then glanced at the tall man beside him.

Zhou Ke was speechless.

“Ha… Ha… No way?”