Genius Chapter 27: Yu Zhen

Chapter 27: Yu Zhen

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Su Mo paused slightly, “Sorry to bother you.”

The man paused slightly when he heard this, and after Su Mo entered the door, he closed it and guided him forward.

Su Mo’s thoughts quickly skimmed through his mind. He seemed to have never seen this person at Grandma Cheng’s house before. He paused, remembering where he had seen this person before. It was outside Director Liu’s office at Capital University. Back then, this person was in a suit, different from the white shirt and pants he wore now, but the imposing manner was unforgettable.

Who was he to Grandma Cheng?

Grandma Cheng’s house was still much the same as in his memory. Walking past the entrance, he saw Grandma Cheng sitting on the sofa covered with a blanket. When she saw Su Mo, she hurriedly reached out and greeted him, “Xiao Mo, you’re here? Come to Grandma.”

Su Mo nodded slightly to the man beside him, “Good morning, Grandma. How is your health?”

“Much better.” Grandma Cheng pulled Su Mo to sit down, looking him up and down, “You look better than before, and you’ve grown taller and more handsome. You were only this tall before. Don’t stay cooped up in the lab all the time, go out and take a walk, it’s good for your health.”

Su Mo agreed and handed the gift he brought to the old lady, “I brought some tea, and the little robot you said you wanted to play chess with. I brought that too.”

Grandma Cheng was delighted to hear this and eagerly opened the sandalwood box. Seeing the little robot inside, which looked like a doll, she couldn’t help but show it off to the man beside her. Then she said, “Look at this, Grandma just mentioned it twice, and you actually made it!”

The man’s gaze fell on Su Mo.

Su Mo paused slightly and explained, “When I was replacing parts for Lele before, I bought extra parts. It wasn’t difficult to make an intelligent chess-playing robot. I installed two sets of intelligent systems that can be switched out. It will automatically update with the latest chess records from StarNet, and I also uploaded some ancient chess records you like. The instructions are voice-controlled.”

“That’s so convenient.” Grandma Cheng was very happy. Halfway through her words, she suddenly remembered, “Look at me, I forgot to introduce you. This is my grandson, Yu Zhen. He happened to be on vacation this time and heard that I wanted to come back here, so he came with me.”

Su Mo paused slightly and politely greeted, “Brother.”

He knew Yu Zhen, Zhang Qi’s good friend, and the chief person in charge of the Celestial Horizon Loader project, which was a collaboration between the Firmament Group and Research Institute One. He was recently on vacation, but Su Mo didn’t expect that he had met him before, and he certainly didn’t expect him to be Grandma Cheng’s grandson.

“I know you.” Yu Zhen’s gaze fell on the young man, his sharp eyes softening a bit, replaced with an appreciative look, “When I went to Capital University before, Director Liu recommended you, but in the end, you didn’t accept the invitation to the research institute.”

Su Mo said, “Sorry, it was my personal reasons.”

Yu Zhen nodded, “No need to apologize, we were too sudden as well.”

Grandma Cheng was surprised to find that the two young men knew each other and continued chatting with Su Mo for a long time. At noon, Su Mo stayed for lunch at Grandma Cheng’s house. Yu Zhen was the one cooking. Su Mo wanted to help, but Grandma Cheng stopped him, “He’s a good cook. Let your brother handle it.”

As soon as Yu Zhen left, Grandma Cheng couldn’t help but talk to Su Mo about her grandson, mentioning how busy he had been with work and hadn’t been home for years. “He became more responsible after turning twenty and started working for the group on his father’s advice. But once he starts a project, he doesn’t come home until it’s finished. This time, he finally decided to take a long vacation and came here to accompany me.”

Su Mo responded, “Brother Zhen has always seemed very mature.”

“Not at all. He was running around several galaxies with his uncle at fifteen. Later, I asked his father and found out that he had secretly joined his uncle’s mercenary group,” Grandma Cheng sighed. “He almost lost his life at seventeen. I only found out about this later. He may seem quiet and reserved, but he’s very determined. Once he sets his mind on something, no one can stop him. He only became more stable after coming back. His father had to scold him several times before he calmed down.”

Yu Zhen appeared very serious but couldn’t completely hide the sharpness in his demeanor, which was different from someone who spent their days in an office.

Su Mo was a bit surprised, not expecting Yu Zhen to have had such a reckless youth. He praised, “That’s impressive.”

Grandma Cheng paused, gently patting Su Mo’s hand, “I heard you’ve been playing games lately? If you need anything, you can ask your brother. He knows many people in the gaming industry. He’s been playing games at home these days too.”

Lunch was ready quickly, and the three of them sat around the table to eat. Su Mo was surprised at how delicious Yu Zhen’s cooking was. Nowadays, most food ingredients were processed by intelligent machines, and most dishes tasted textbook-perfect. But Yu Zhen’s food had a special flavor, with a stronger taste that Su Mo had never experienced before.

Lele, the household robot, always cooked scientifically, with less oil, salt, and sugar, and minimal use of seasonings. Meals were prepared every two days, and in Lele’s view, food from recipes was never as balanced as nutritional supplements.

Unable to resist, Su Mo ate a few more bites and ended up drinking two glasses of juice because of the spiciness.

“Is it too spicy?” Yu Zhen paused. He knew about Su Mo’s health condition and had used medical-grade ingredients and seasonings.

Su Mo shook his head, “It’s just right.”

Yu Zhen looked at Grandma Cheng, who had informed him about the guests’ preferences.

Grandma Cheng served more food to Su Mo and laughed, “Xiao Mo has loved spicy food since he was little. Whenever he came over for meals, the old man always made a spicy dish for him. His household robot doesn’t make spicy food, so he should have some spicy dishes when he comes here.”

Su Mo nodded, “Thank you, Grandma.”

Yu Zhen’s gaze fell on the young man across from him. Despite not being suited for spicy food, Su Mo kept picking up spicy pieces and drinking juice to counter the heat.

After lunch, the robot cleaned the table, and a chessboard was set up in the living room.

Yu Zhen went to his room to get a book. When he came out, he saw the young man taking his medication in the dining room. Su Mo had a standard set of pills in his backpack, and he stood there alone, facing away from the living room, taking his medicine with warm water. Yu Zhen was aware of Su Mo’s condition—being an F-class constitution patient, a rarity in the entire Star Alliance. Previously, to create the loader, Yu Zhen had consulted with professional doctors about medical standards and had even included an emergency special injection in the loader he developed.

Patients with this type of special condition rely on medication for their entire lives, and their lifespan depends on their own efforts. This was what the doctor had told him. However, seeing the young man taking his medication in person was different from merely hearing about it.

Yu Zhen had been a bit surprised when he opened the door that morning and saw Su Mo coming in. Initially, it was because the boy’s voice sounded familiar, like someone he had recently met in a game named momo. But upon further thought, he dismissed it, knowing that voices and appearances could easily be altered in the Star Alliance. Even he adjusted his own voice and appearance while gaming.

Momo and Su Mo felt different; the former was spirited and energetic, while the latter was reserved and introverted. The voices might be similar, but their personalities were unique.

The boy appeared even younger and paler than in Grandma’s photos. His weight likely did not meet the standard for teenagers, and his complexion and lip color indicated suboptimal health. However, one surprising aspect was the boy’s upright posture and standard body alignment, standing tall and straight like a robust young poplar tree.

Yu Zhen could tell that he was a very optimistic boy, which indeed seemed to be the case. Yu Zhen stood at the doorway for a while, watching Su Mo finish his medication and head toward the living room. After about two minutes, he followed and saw Su Mo adjusting the robot while his grandmother eagerly awaited a chess match, occasionally asking questions like an excited child.

The afternoon passed quickly. Su Mo’s robot was very intelligent, and although Grandma Cheng was excellent at chess, she lost twice and became determined to win, playing game after game with the robot. In the evening, she wanted Su Mo to stay for dinner, but he declined, citing matters at home. Grandma Cheng, feeling regretful, told him to come over more often.

Since Grandma Cheng had difficulty moving around, she said quickly, “Yu Zhen, escort Xiao Mo home.”

Su Mo hurriedly declined, “It’s not far, there’s no need.”

Yu Zhen grabbed his coat from the sofa, “Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

Their homes were close by, so Yu Zhen decided to walk Su Mo to his building. As they were parting, Su Mo brought up another topic.

“Thank you for the loader, Brother Zhen. Zhang Qi told me it was your idea to provide it. I appreciate it,” Su Mo said.

Yu Zhen was a bit surprised, “The F-class patient Zhang Qi mentioned was you?”

Su Mo was momentarily stunned and then smiled, “Did Qi-ge not say?”

“He didn’t mention his friend’s condition. He’s very protective of you,” Yu Zhen nodded slightly. “How is Celestial Horizon? Are you adapting to the holographic mode? This should be your first time with holographic games.”

Su Mo replied, “I’m adapting, just playing casually. Still, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Yu Zhen said. “If you have any issues with the loader, you can find me. I’ll be around here for a while.”

“Okay, thank you.” Su Mo politely said goodbye, “I’ll head up now. Thank you, Brother Zhen.”

Yu Zhen saw Su Mo going upstairs before leaving. When he had just arrived home, he saw Grandma Cheng still playing chess, so he said, “You’ve been playing for a long time today, you should take a rest.”

Grandma Cheng asked, “What do you think of Xiao Mo?”

“He’s a very polite person.” Yu Zhen walked over and turned off the robot, intending to put it away, but then heard Grandma Cheng sigh.

Grandma Cheng said, “That child used to be more lively. He’s grown taller and thinner now. He used to love coming to our house to play chess with me or your grandfather. His parents left early, due to an accident discovered by the Star Exploration. After being brought here by his uncle, he basically lived here alone, with only a nanny robot to take care of him.”

Yu Zhen paused at her words, looking at Su Mo, completely unaware that he was an orphan. “Didn’t he apply for adoption?”

“That child didn’t want to. He’s been smart and independent since he was young,” Grandma Cheng said with a hint of pity in her tone. “He probably came here when he was about seven or eight. He was so small, his uncle took him around to meet people, but he wasn’t really his biological uncle, just his father’s comrade-in-arms. When I first met him, he was eating the nutritious meal made by the robot, which was very plain. How could he grow up eating like that? Later, that child became very likable. People in the neighborhood all liked him and often invited him to their homes for dinner. He would bring small things as gifts, handmade crafts, or small toys…”

He grew up being watched in the neighborhood since he was little, eating at many different households, living alone until now.

“No one taught him much, but he’s very sensible,” Grandma Cheng patted Yu Zhen’s shoulder. “His field of study is somewhat related to your industry. If you happen to meet him in the future, take care of him a bit more.”

***

In the game, there was only one hour left in the 24-hour countdown for the Desert Inn.

ScarletFruit logged in early today, living up to the trust of the two big shots before logging off last night. After spending some time wandering around the two floors of the inn countless times, not to mention finding clues, even the waiters didn’t go upstairs during the day. Various discussion threads on the forum had gone viral, with many players curious about the final rewards and challenge modes of the Desert Inn.

For such server-wide timed events, this was only the second time since the Apocalypse, but the Desert Inn was just the beginning. Shortly after the end of its first stage, several small-scale activity quests appeared across the entire server.

[Glacial Ravenlands is also holding an event now, a desert race? It’s really out of the ordinary.]

[Damn, let’s not lose to the mainframe. Last time we almost got tricked, I’m really annoyed by its arrogant attitude.]

[Exactly, have you not seen the complaints from others? That wave at the inn had several players completely unprepared, thinking it was just another puzzle-solving activity like before. Since they didn’t even send out friend invitations, they thought no matter how difficult it was, it would be the same as the previous ones. But as soon as they confirmed participation, bam, they lost three levels due to the punishment condition. Can you imagine? It’s just a scam to lure people in to kill them, isn’t it?]

[This isn’t the first time. My friend got tricked during a quest too, and it was just a normal quest but he lost a level, NPC played him with language traps, unbelievable.]

[Damn, so does this mean we have to think twice before accepting quests in the future?]

ScarletFruit finished reading the forum disappointedly and logged out, looking at the decorations in the inn, sinking into another round of boredom. “I’ve been bored all day.”

ClearWind was enthusiastic all day, starting a live broadcast with the fans in the chat room to showcase the layout of the third and fourth floors. After all, it was a limited area, and many netizens were curious about the upper floors of the Desert Inn. There were also landscape enthusiasts asking ClearWind to walk around a bit more for better recording, “Forget it, as the saying goes, ‘Things will naturally resolve themselves as the ship reaches the bridge… Have you settled your accounts today? The big brothers will be online soon.”

Chat Room Fan: Can you two slack off a bit more?!

“We’re doing our best.” ClearWind walked to the window and pushed it open. “Let me show you the desert scenery, the view from the third floor of the Desert Inn…” He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

ScarletFruit replied weakly, “It’s all sand, what’s there to see?”

ClearWind’s tone changed, “Fruit… come and take a look.”

ScarletFruit walked over, “Why, I’m not interested in admiring the scenery with a guy… Oh damn, what’s this!”

Pushing open the window, instead of the usual starry sky, there was pitch-black darkness outside, even though it wasn’t yet nighttime, it was like a dark cloud over the city. ScarletFruit took a sharp breath as he suddenly saw an ancient clock standing in the black clouds, followed by the sound of an old and unpleasant rotation.

It was a countdown, identical to the countdown for their stay, except their countdown had unexpectedly advanced by an hour without their notice, leaving only 10 minutes until the start of the second level.

[The second level of the Desert Inn is about to begin, emergency summons initiated. Out of 90 players with lodging rights, 75 are online, 15 are offline. Online players have been summoned, offline players will be deprived of lodging rights and lose their eligibility for the activity when the countdown ends.]

“What’s going on!?” ScarletFruit hurriedly ran to push open the door, but it seemed to be firmly welded shut, unable to budge an inch. He shivered and stepped back a few steps. “Wind, the door won’t open.”

“Dang? What’s happening, I’m still in the middle of a dungeon.”

“Poisonous, didn’t they say it was 24 hours? It’s not time yet!”

Through the door, ScarletFruit heard the voices of other players in the rooms, apparently the online players who were outside were forcibly teleported here and locked in their rooms.

“The mainframe is cheating! Didn’t we still have over an hour just now?!” ClearWind was alarmed, “What’s going on, the mission description clearly stated, can the game even change the mission description?”

[Desert Inn: Strange noises seem to appear in the late night of the stay (Hint: A new challenge will start 24 hours after the first level. Please, pay attention to the time, follow the mission prompts). Countdown: 00:09:18]

ScarletFruit opened the mission description and after reading it carefully twice, finally realized what was wrong. “A new challenge will start 24 hours after the first level. Wind, the mainframe is playing us! The countdown on the mission list is a bluff!”

“After 24 hours of the first level, it says to follow the mission prompts, subtracting the 1 hour we spent in the first level, the actual countdown for the mission to start is 23 hours!” ScarletFruit was dumbfounded, “Who the hell wrote this mission text, it’s nonsensical and they’re still playing this trick!?”

Suddenly, the window ClearWind had just opened slammed shut. With the door and windows tightly closed, the two of them were completely trapped in the room.

[Please, prepare for rest]

Rest? How can we rest?! ScarletFruit and ClearWind exchanged glances, then both looked at the only bed in the room.

“I’m pondering a question,” ScarletFruit fell silent for a moment. “It’s less than 6 minutes left, what if they don’t make it?”

ClearWind questioned himself and his companion, “So, why didn’t we create a group or ask for contact information when they logged off yesterday?”

The viewers in the chat room were extremely anxious. The two remained silent for a while, looking at the task prompt in front of them, and decided to lie down on the bed to preserve their lives.

“This bed is too ridiculous, how are five people supposed to sleep on it?” ClearWind lay down.

ScarletFruit replied, “Just lie sideways. It’s doable for five people to squeeze in horizontally, although the long legs might be an issue.”

Countdown: 1 minute.

ScarletFruit looked at the canopy of the bed. “Wind, I’m feeling a bit desperate, but luckily, my money is stored in the warehouse.”

“It’s just losing a few levels, no need to panic. Besides, we’re not at max level anyway, so gaining experience is always beneficial,” ClearWind calmly reassured each other. “By the way, should we cover ourselves with a blanket for rest?”

“Anyway, I sleep covered,” ScarletFruit said.

ClearWind kicked the end of the bed, bringing up the blanket. Just as they covered themselves, the candlelight in the room flickered a few times, accompanied by a chilling breeze.

“What’s this? Playing a horror theme?” ScarletFruit remarked.

“What’s there to be afraid of? They call me the Prince of Horror Movies,” ClearWind joked.

The room darkened slightly, instantly creating an eerie atmosphere. ScarletFruit was speechless.

“Isn’t this too much? Can’t handle a little scare?” ClearWind teased. Before he could finish, the candlelight in the room suddenly extinguished. ClearWind uttered, “Uh.”

“Shut up!” ScarletFruit snapped.

Author’s note: 

ClearWind: Is the mainframe eavesdropping? So intelligent?

ScarletFruit: …Isn’t the mainframe supposed to be intelligent? (Grinning)