Genius Chapter 37: Qixi Festival?

Chapter 37: Qixi Festival?

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

A material, item, and skill.

[Aetherial Shroud] was a material for exchanging PvP golden soft armor. A total of two had already been obtained. This didn’t surprise Su Mo. What did catch him off guard were the item and skill. First, the skill [Limited Enhancement], an extremely rare passive skill.

[Limited Enhancement (Passive): One of the special quest skills of Spirit Sanctuary, providing different enhancements within a limited percentage of health. When a player’s summoned beast’s health is below 50%, the beast’s duration extends by 5 seconds, and its range increases by 3 meters. When the beast’s health is below 30%, its defense increases by 10% of the base attribute, and its attack increases by 10% of the base attribute. (This skill’s effect applies to a maximum of 3 summoned beasts. If more than 3 beasts are present, it will randomly affect 3 of them. The skill’s effect can only occur once per beast; summoning the beast again resets the count.)]

This skill was extremely useful. Being a passive skill meant Su Mo didn’t need to activate it manually; it took effect when he summoned his beasts.

A summoner’s beasts had a limited lifespan. Most often, they were killed and then re-summoned by the summoner, but sometimes they automatically returned after their summon time ended. This limited enhancement skill allowed low-health beasts to receive significant boosts, maximizing their short-term benefits.

The only downside was that this percentage effect could only apply once to the same beast, preventing players from exploiting health fluctuations to repeatedly gain enhancements. Nonetheless, like [Physical and Magical Transfer], it was a powerful passive skill at this stage.

The other item was [Fated Thread Connecting a Thousand Miles], the first quest item Su Mo had received from the quest system. Its function was peculiar. It was useful, yet also somewhat frivolous, and it was a bound quest item.

[Fated Thread Connecting a Thousand Miles (item): Select a fated person and bind with them. Use Skill 1 to teleport; the holder can teleport to the fated person’s location at any time (usable in battlefields, arenas, dungeons, etc., but limited to the same scene, not cross-scene). Use Skill 2 to share fortune and misfortune; the holder and the fated person share health, and during the skill’s effect, they live and die together. (This item can only bind to one fated person permanently. Please, be aware.)]

“Brother, did you see what item it was? I just saw the system announcement. What’s ‘Fated Thread Connecting a Thousand Miles’?” ScarletFruit immediately asked when he saw the system announcement. “What can it do? Is it for finding a wife?”

ClearWind was delighted. “Really? Celestial Horizon even provides matchmaking?!”

Su Mo put the item in the corner of his inventory and glanced at the two. “Bound item, not much use in the short term.”

Apple then spoke up. “By the way, the official announcement last week mentioned the Qixi Festival event starting this week, along with the marriage system.”

“What does a marriage system have to do with us single dogs? Celestial Horizon doesn’t provide matchmaking,” ClearWind sighed. “We single dogs are only fit to fight and complete quests. Romance and sightseeing aren’t for us.”

“The focus isn’t on finding a wife but on the Qixi Festival event. These official events usually come with many daily quests that give a lot of experience,” Cat laughed. “Events weren’t as noteworthy before, but look at recent events. Which one has been normal? Someone in our group mentioned that the Qixi Festival event might have limited quests, and they’re preparing for them.”

In the wild map, players could only revive nearby. In the North Desert, the respawn point was far from the safe zone. After several failed breakout attempts, KillerBlade and his team gave up, lying on the ground and cursing in the vicinity chat. However, others ignored them, reported them, and muted their voice chat. The group blocked the respawn point while discussing the Qixi Festival tasks. When the time was right, they teamed up to kill demons and monsters to make up for lost points.

After finishing the tasks around dinner time, Su Mo logged off early. As soon as he removed his headset, he heard the sound of a food processor from the kitchen. The small robot Lele was following online recipes, experimenting with different dishes for him. Su Mo watched from afar, feeling a sense of familiarity with the recipe. Surprised, he asked, “Lele, are you making spicy dishes?”

The recipe picture was bright and colorful, resembling the spicy food he had at Grandma Cheng’s house. Lele’s electronic screen displayed various expressions.

“It smells good,” Su Mo said as he walked over from the living room. He watched for a while but couldn’t figure out what Lele was making. He eventually went to the lab to pass the time.

The workbench was covered with many small parts and a half-assembled core component.

“Where’s the G4?” Su Mo searched through the parts box. The box labeled G4 was empty, so he had to order some parts online.

Lele soon finished cooking. Under Lele’s expectant gaze, Su Mo took his first bite.

The familiar spicy flavor was missing, replaced by a bland vegetarian taste. Su Mo took another bite and sniffed it. It smelled spicy but tasted bland, typical of Lele’s cooking style.

“Is it good?” the little robot asked.

“It’s okay, it smells nice. Where did you learn this?” Su Mo asked.

The little robot excitedly explained how it got pictures from Grandma Cheng, found recipes online, and consulted master chef robots on the network. It spent 3 hours successfully recreating the dish. “Mr. Yu Zhen’s recipes aren’t online, so I used higher nutritional value ingredients to recreate it.”

Su Mo was speechless. The dish looked the same but tasted entirely different.

Lele asked again, “Do you like it?”

“I like it,” Su Mo replied, then gently suggested, “Next time, you can add more seasoning for better flavor.”

Lele was happy but firmly refused Su Mo’s request. “You can’t eat heavy oil and salt; it’s not healthy.”

After dinner, Su Mo decided to go for a walk. He received a message from the community courier saying his G4 parts had arrived and a robot would deliver them soon. The courier also mentioned that the suburban recycling station had sent over some old parts he might be interested in and asked if he wanted to reserve them.

Su Mo enjoyed assembling old parts and had long been dealing with the suburban recycling station. The owner of the recycling station was the brother of the courier station owner, so from time to time, Su Mo would visit the station to look for parts.

Since he had some free time, he decided to go to the courier station to check out the parts. When he arrived, the owner was busy and asked a robot to take him to the warehouse. The parts from the recycling station were all removed from large discarded machines. Because machine parts updated very quickly, only some peripheral planet factories produced them, but the high transportation costs made them almost extinct on the Capital Planet.

Many of Su Mo’s machines were assembled using old parts. On one hand, his physical condition prevented him from using most modern machines; on the other hand, he frequently needed them for his experiments. The parts varied in size, piled high, with sorting robots working busily. Su Mo watched from the side, picking out the parts that interested him.

Yu Zhen spotted a slender young man sitting in the sorting area from a distance. Compared to the surrounding tall machines, he looked very small. Su Mo seemed to be communicating with a robot, pulling out several parts from the pile, even climbing up the stack himself.

“What do you need F4 and X-5548 materials for?”

A familiar voice sounded behind him. Surprised, Su Mo turned to see Yu Zhen and the courier station owner standing behind him, looking at the materials he had picked out.

“Brother Zhen,” Su Mo greeted as he stood up from the parts pile. “What brings you here?”

Yu Zhen replied, “I had some business here.”

His gaze lingered on Su Mo. Watching Su Mo command the robot, he noticed a subtle difference in his demeanor compared to usual.

The courier station owner chuckled. “Yu Zhen is a friend of mine. He happened to come here to get parts. Have you finished picking yours? I still have some G-549 parts you mentioned last time, saying Lele’s central axis was aging. The G-549 series is commonly used for that model.”

Yu Zhen asked, “What model is it?”

Su Mo paused and explained, “A V-series household robot, using fourth-generation parts.”

Yu Zhen was surprised to hear this model. It was a popular robot twenty years ago, and by now, matching parts were long gone. “You’re using G-549 parts for a V-series robot? Have you upgraded its parts?”

Su Mo replied, “Yes, Lele is still a V-series robot, but its parts have been upgraded to the G-series. I plan to change its exterior to synthetic skin later. G-549 parts are a bit old, but they’ll do for now.”

The courier station owner said, “Wait a moment. I’ll have a robot bring them to you.”

“Hold on,” Yu Zhen interjected suddenly. “Bring him some parts from my K-47 series batch.”

Su Mo was surprised. K-47 parts weren’t new, but they were better than the G-series. He had wanted to buy them, but they were often out of stock, with a waiting list of over six months. “Brother, aren’t these hard to get?”

The courier station owner sent a robot to fetch them. “Not for him. Don’t forget, his family deals with loading machines. Their factory produces these parts in bulk.”

“V-series robots are outdated, and their parts transport slowly. I know an old master who specializes in V-series robots and is currently researching parts upgrades. If you’re changing to synthetic skin, K-47 parts have the best compatibility, better than K-36 and G-549,” Yu Zhen explained. “If you need these parts, just let me or Wang know. It’s easier to get them directly from the Yu family factory.”

“Thank you, Brother Zhen,” Su Mo said, feeling tempted. “But this is too much trouble for you.”

Yu Zhen smiled slightly. “It’s no trouble. I heard you developed a V-series data framework alone. After my leave, I might be involved in related projects. Since you turned down the First Research Institute, do you mind if I consult you? I read your paper. Your ideas are very innovative.”

Su Mo was stunned. “Sure, no problem.”

Yu Zhen chatted with Su Mo for a while before following the courier station owner elsewhere. He seemed to be there for parts, looking very busy. Su Mo watched his back for a moment. After the robot brought the parts, he paid at the counter and had them delivered home.

Once home, Lele helped unpack and clean the parts. Su Mo put the parts into labeled boxes and suddenly remembered something. He quickly pulled out a box from under the cabinet, carefully avoiding the one next to it.

“Su Mo, what are you doing?” Lele asked curiously.

In this era, most people kept electronic photos, rarely printing them out. However, the Su family had always had this tradition. Both Su Mo’s parents and now Su Mo himself kept physical photo albums. The box contained old items, including toys and photo albums. Su Mo took out an album and flipped through it quickly, stopping near the end.

It was a photo of three people and a robot. The robot was an old model, its paint peeling, looking ready to be scrapped. A young Su Mo stood next to it, with two people beside him: a middle-aged man in a repair suit and a teenage boy. The boy, tall and indifferent, bore a striking resemblance to Yu Zhen.

Su Mo paused. “No wonder you looked familiar. I’ve met you before.”

“Su Mo, why are you looking at old photos?” Lele asked, leaning over to look.

Su Mo’s finger lingered on the boy’s face for a moment, then pointed to the robot. “Look, you were so ugly back then.”

Lele protested, “Boys change a lot as they grow up. I’m much prettier now!”

“You don’t know how beautiful today’s robots are. The ones in the showroom are all gorgeous,” Su Mo said, closing the album. “We can’t lose to them. I just picked up some cheap parts at the station. I’ll replace your parts and give you a new exterior in a few days.”

Lele was excited but then looked up the parts online and felt disheartened. “The exteriors are so expensive. We can’t waste money.”

“They’re not expensive. I got them from the boss at a discount,” Su Mo lied smoothly, comforting the little robot. “I bought a lot, so he gave me a 50% discount. It’s an event sale. Not buying would be a loss.”

The two, one deceiving and the other believing, soon began browsing exterior parts online. They looked at everything from cheap mechanical exteriors to expensive synthetic skins.

The time spent shopping online always passed very quickly. By the time Su Mo logged into the game, it was already nine o’clock in the evening. As soon as he logged in, ScarletFruit teamed up with him, excitedly sending him new materials.

“Bro, didn’t you say Veil Wraith needs [Aqua Spirit Fruit] to upgrade its skill? I just snagged one for a low price and sent it over right away,” ScarletFruit said. Besides making money from regular stalls, ScarletFruit’s only hobby was browsing player stalls on an alt account, often finding cheap deals. “I also have some scattered materials; I’ll give them to you as well.”

Su Mo asked, “How much?”

“Oh, no need for money; these materials aren’t worth anything,” ScarletFruit replied, initiating the trade and handing over the items. “There shouldn’t be much going on tonight. Brother Wanderer said in the group that he has something to do and won’t be on, and Windy and ZenSlasher teamed up to go fight outside.”

Su Mo asked, “Fight? Members of the Temple of the Gods?”

ScarletFruit responded, “Yes. Windy was blocked while doing a quest tonight. ZenSlasher was nearby and saved him, so he got mad and teamed up with her to retaliate.”

Su Mo asked, “Aren’t you going to help?”

“I’m not going,” ScarletFruit said. “I don’t feel safe without you. If Windy senses trouble, he’ll run away. I’m also afraid he’ll sell me out.”

ScarletFruit then started gossiping about the matter.

ZenSlasher was expelled from the Temple of the Gods for a reason. After the guild master left the game due to some issues, the vice guild master, who took over, brought in a bunch of friends and family to manage things. ZenSlasher was originally part of the Temple of the Gods’ assassin squad. One time, she had a conflict with the commander during a fight outside. The commander was LethalSlash and his wife.

The next day, she faced exclusion from others in the guild. LethalSlash’s friends spread rumors that she was a double agent and that she had slept with managers from other guilds. These rumors caused many in the guild to point fingers at her. Outraged, ZenSlasher killed LethalSlash’s friends and was subsequently kicked out by the guild management.

This led to more rumors and online attacks against her, making it difficult for ZenSlasher to form teams for dungeons. She later joined a neutral guild but was kicked out again to avoid trouble. Since then, she hasn’t joined any guilds, completing tasks solo.

ScarletFruit was indignant while recounting this story. Su Mo listened as he browsed other material items on the trading platform. He had enough upgrade materials, but Veil Wraith’s level wasn’t high enough to upgrade yet. It needed to be fed upgrade rations, and it was picky, requiring special rations.

Upgrading it was a bit more troublesome than upgrading Soul Rabbit. Soul Rabbit could be upgraded by feeding it regular rations, while Veil Wraith could also be upgraded with regular rations, but its rations were particularly expensive—200 gold per special ration on the trading platform, 170 gold more than Soul Rabbit’s.

For a moment, Su Mo looked at the ration materials and remembered showing Lele the synthetic skin earlier, falling into a brief silence.

ScarletFruit, dry-mouthed from talking, asked, “Bro, don’t you find it ridiculous?”

“Yeah,” Su Mo replied, looking at the recharge page that showed unsupported payment, thinking that Celestial Horizon’s recharge settings were also problematic.

In the following days, Su Mo exchanged demon points for experience pills, quickly leveling up to 72. Thanks to the ample demon points from the Desert Inn event, his level barely reached the second tier. The first tier was already at level 75 and was expected to reach 76 in a couple of days.

During this period, more players started farming Desert Inn, and more players completed the dungeon. Despite the reduced difficulty, many players still cursed the main system on the forums, saying that even though the difficulty was lower, poor coordination still led to team wipes. The three-star difficulty dropped only six chests for a team of ten, with no guarantee of getting purple gear or profession-specific gear. When ScarletFruit told Su Mo about this, the forums were raging about the drops.

At this time, Celestial Horizon updated the Marriage System, and the Qixi Festival event quietly arrived.

Two days before the Qixi Festival, a special NPC, Qiao Niang, appeared in the Purple Flower Valley near Celestial Horizon’s main city, opening a special map in the depths of the valley and broadcasting a server-wide limited-time event announcement:

[Server Announcement] On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Qixi Festival arrives. The mysterious NPC Qiao Niang has come to the Purple Flower Valley, bringing rich rewards. The limited-time event dungeon [Qixi Festival] is now open. Players can form teams of two and apply to enter the depths of the Purple Flower Valley at Qiao Niang’s location. Successfully reaching the depths of the valley will grant mysterious rewards (event dungeon difficulty ranges from ★★ to ★★★★★).