Genius Chapter 40: Playing a Game

Chapter 40: Playing a Game

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The attack came suddenly. Su Mo swiftly dodged the assault and surveyed the surroundings. After descending from a high point, he found himself in an area covered with mountain vines. The purple vines attacking them originated from the surrounding cliffs and forests, likely the obstacles of the second level.

Dealing with monsters was easier. Su Mo had just summoned Zephyr Hawk when the voice of the main brain suddenly echoed in his ears.

[Player UnchainedWanderer has died. Challenge failed.]

The scene before him suddenly changed. Su Mo found himself back at the cliff’s edge. He looked surprisedly at the array master beside him, “Where did you go?”

When he had just observed, UnchainedWanderer was clearly not far away. Logically, such attacks should have been intercepted long ago.

“My skills and lightness techniques were sealed temporarily. I couldn’t move,” Yu Zhen said helplessly. “Lost 30% experience.”

Su Mo chuckled at the news, “That’s rough. They sealed you while you were dodging skills?”

“Lightness techniques were sealed, and I misjudged the displacement,” Yu Zhen explained. “Be careful yourself.”

Understanding the situation, the two of them jumped back into the forest. Su Mo’s skills and lightness techniques weren’t sealed this time. Seeing the array master’s movements were slow, he immediately judged that the array master was likely under attack again. He reminded, “Watch your positioning and avoid the vines. I’ll clear them for you.”

“Got it,” Yu Zhen acknowledged.

Su Mo summoned three summoned beasts, keeping two by his side while sending one to help his teammate fend off attacks. While anticipating his actions, he rushed into the forest. Just as he found the correct path, something unexpected happened.

[Player UnchainedWanderer has died. Challenge failed.]

They failed again and were sent back to the entrance of the level.

This time, the two looked at each other, seemingly perplexed by the situation. Su Mo began to scrutinize his own actions. He did block the attacks for UnchainedWanderer and encountered no obstacles while rushing into the forest. So why did they suddenly fail?

“Was I running too fast? This is the Qixi Festival event, testing cooperation. Maybe the distance was too far, causing the failure? But why was it attributed to you?” Su Mo pondered aloud.

“In the Qixi Festival dungeon, failure randomly selects one player for punishment, and both sides of the team bear each other’s responsibilities. We paid attention to the distance this time. When I dodged the vines just now, I stepped back, possibly increasing the distance. I’ll try to be faster, and you slow down a bit,” Yu Zhen explained.

He smiled, “Luckily, our second challenge isn’t a quiz. I heard the quiz stage is even harsher. You get penalized for wrong answers, and there are ten questions in total. Answering wrong means starting over.”

Challenges were random, and their challenge might not be the same as others’. The difficulty for others might not necessarily be difficult or easy. The quiz stage involved answering questions and dark challenges. It randomly selected one teammate for a quiz while the other faced penalties in a dark environment. Several couples easily passed the quiz stage on the forum, while others like Apple and FireworksAndLanterns suffered defeat.

“So, cooperation and understanding come first,” Su Mo concluded. “Let’s consider this before taking action.”

“Agreed,” Yu Zhen nodded.

The two challenged again, successfully entering the forest path but still faced failure.

The failure lay with UnchainedWanderer this time. He didn’t evade the attacks and was hit by three vines. Su Mo looked at the array master’s level dropping from 72 to 71 and couldn’t help but laugh, “They penalized you again?”

“Maybe my luck isn’t great,” Yu Zhen said simply. “I was blinded just now.”

Besides sealing skills and lightness techniques, they encountered a third negative status, blindness.

The two exchanged a glance. Finally, Su Mo couldn’t help but smile, “I find the main brain quite amusing.”

Yu Zhen looked at him, “How so?”

“The first level was me, the second level is you,” Su Mo said. “It stubbornly sets up an extreme environment and believes that delivering trust in such an environment constitutes a sense of trust, thinking that this emotion is the tacit cooperation between lovers or friends. In reality, this view is one-sided and uninteresting. This kind of trust cannot be considered trust; it’s merely a forced choice.”

Su Mo looked at Yu Zhen. “For example, in the first level, I chose to trust you because there was no other choice in that environment. Passing the level wasn’t difficult either. You can imagine it as a scene challenge, treating your teammate’s voice as mission guidance, turning the so-called trust game into a solo completion.”

Upon hearing Su Mo’s explanation, Yu Zhen asked, “So am I just an intelligent AI guide?”

“You’re much smarter than the main brain,” Su Mo reassured him. “But technically speaking, the environments it sets up are indeed quite extreme in some aspects. It’s alright when it’s just illusions and directional confusion, but the sense of weightlessness really threw me off. But ultimately, it’s just a game.”

Yu Zhen looked at him in surprise. “A game?”

Su Mo raised an eyebrow. “It’s a holographic game. I’m here to play the game, not to be played by it.”

From spaceship jumps to physical facilities and amusement facilities, the feeling of weightlessness was something he couldn’t experience in reality. But once accustomed to it, it wasn’t too bad. He didn’t have a fear of heights, and everything he hadn’t experienced in reality was met with a high level of anticipation. Upon reflecting on that feeling just now, it was quite subtle. If given the chance, it would indeed be worth a try.

The mission in the “Purple Flower Valley Forest” was still ongoing.

“So, how should we proceed next?” Yu Zhen looked at him. “It’s difficult to judge attacks when blinded. Sound localization is fine, but with my skills and lightness techniques sealed, I only have basic attributes and personal reflexes left. Dodging three or four times is fine, but I can’t avoid mistakes completely.”

“Isn’t that simple? I’ll coordinate with you,” Su Mo said. “Think of it from a different perspective. You’re the NPC I need to protect. My task is to guide and protect you, leading you out of this forest.”

Upon hearing his explanation, Yu Zhen paused for a moment. “In the first level, I was a guiding NPC. In this level, I’ve become a protected NPC.”

“You can also treat me as an NPC,” Su Mo summoned Veil Wraith and added, “I’m not like the main brain. I won’t trick you.”

“Fair point,” Yu Zhen agreed.

Su Mo had Veil Wraith lie on top of Yu Zhen’s head. “Shall we?”

Outside the scene, ScarletFruit watched them get stuck in the second level three times in a row, feeling a bit worried, especially when he saw them lingering at the level’s entrance after each failure. He thought the five-star difficulty was too much. “Why is this so difficult? What kind of difficulty did they roll?”

The merchant brothers replied, “It’s tough, but the rewards are rich. I just checked the forum, and several couples have already passed. They even posted that the quiz section is easy points. While other experts struggle, they find it easy.”

ScarletFruit sighed, “Could my brother and his friend be struggling too? Their luck isn’t great. They didn’t roll the quiz section; it would’ve been better if they did.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Apple and FireworksAndLanterns coming out from the NPC area nearby, both wearing only shorts, arguing as they walked together, heading to exchange equipment at the NPC.

The merchant brothers remarked, “This quiz… it drains money, levels, and emotions.”

ScarletFruit fell silent for a moment. “Indeed, it does. Let’s stick to monster hunting.”

While they were conversing, the two experts in the forest moved again.

In the Purple Flower Valley Forest, the relentless attacks of the vines were swift. As soon as Yu Zhen entered the forest, he quickly moved closer to Su Mo, then stayed within his protection range without any unnecessary movements. Su Mo changed his previous strategy of aggressive attacks. His movements slowed down, and the four summoned beasts positioned themselves around the two, forming a mobile protective circle with the array master at its center.

“My vision is dark,” Yu Zhen reminded.

Su Mo raised his hand to summon. “Got it. Keep walking; I’ll guide you if you veer off course.”

Walking in a straight line in the darkness was incredibly difficult. Yu Zhen closed his eyes, hearing the intense clashes of skills around him but feeling no skills landing on him. In this aspect, he could completely trust the summoner’s actions. His teammate could multitask effortlessly, fully protecting the area around him.

“You’re veering left.”

“You’ve veered again; take two steps to the right.”

“There’s an obstacle; walk slower.”

Yu Zhen’s foot kicked something, and his hand felt a knee-high old tree root. At that moment, a gust of wind blew, and Yu Zhen instinctively moved aside but was stopped by a hand pressing on his shoulder, causing him to pause slightly. He heard the relieved voice of a young man, “That was close. There were hidden dangers in that thing.”

Su Mo swung his lantern staff and cleared the vines lurking beside the tree root. “Let’s keep moving forward. There are obstacles ahead. Be careful.”

Yu Zhen took out his weapon and used a pen as a tool for blind navigation. “I’ll judge the obstacles; you help me with the direction.”

Inside ClearWind’s livestream room, many people thought the two experts would fail in the second level. After all, since the event started, there had been numerous failures, especially in the quiz section, which, despite being less thrilling, led to significant level and currency drops, causing many spectators to exclaim about the money-burning game.

[Oh man, so many monsters, yet the summoner’s HP barely dropped.]

[These vines should have high attack but low health. As long as they’re kept at bay, they’re easy to handle.]

[Easy to handle my foot! Haven’t you seen so many monsters around? This difficulty rivals the quiz section, doesn’t it? The summoner’s performance is no worse than FireworksAndLanterns’.]

ClearWind started to get nervous. In the Desert Inn, they ordered food and drinks, eating and watching the livestream. “Man, that vine just now was too dangerous, wasn’t it? It was within inches of UnchainedWanderer’s head. If it had been a second later, the array master would have been headshot.”

[These two seem to be doing their own thing, one fighting monsters, the other walking. Why does it feel like they’re playing separately??]

[I just saw ChatMasterWu’s team tackling a similar challenge in the second level, but their situation was chaotic. Either they walked too slowly or veered off course.]

[No wonder I felt something was off. You say they’re cooperating? It doesn’t seem like it. Despite their lack of tacit understanding, these two have covered most of the distance.]

[Is this what they call the legendary level of cooperation among experts?]

Inside the scene, Su Mo and Yu Zhen successfully advanced for quite a while, with the vine attacks becoming more intense. Veil Wraith’s whip was swinging everywhere, emitting mist continuously. After walking for a while, Yu Zhen couldn’t help but speak up, “Veil Wraith’s position is a bit off, and its whip keeps hitting my head.”

The little thing always danced around when using skills, and being a mass, it tended to exert force downwards, giving the feeling of pulling on hair.

“Ah, I see,” Su Mo glanced at the sky above Yu Zhen’s head and fell silent. “Wait a moment; I’ll adjust its position.”

“You can stand on my shoulders,” Yu Zhen suggested.

“No, I’m afraid its whip might hit you. Endure it a bit longer; we’re almost there,” Su Mo said.

Yu Zhen was speechless.

The two continued forward in their original formation, unaware that they had been walking for about ten minutes. From initially feeling uncertain, Yu Zhen eventually regarded this level as a dark pass-through game. For him, this dark environment was actually quite ordinary. During the time he traveled through various star systems with friends, the most perilous situations occurred when they were trapped in dark star sectors. At that time, he piloted a small starship, and the view was pitch black; he could only navigate blindly.

These two situations were completely different and incomparable. He wasn’t afraid of darkness, but facing this situation brought about an inexplicable feeling.

Initially, he did treat this as a personal completion, but halfway through, he began to feel differently. There was always a voice guiding him, casually directing him, with more often than not, the sound of skill activations. What he considered a challenge was brushed off by the summoner as a mere game.

It wasn’t like before, where he followed the summoner’s commands to act, nor was it the summoner accommodating his actions. There was no burden, and failure meant starting over. It was like playing a game with a friend in a mutually accepted and comfortable way. Yes, it really was just playing a game.

Just then, the voice in his ears seemed to suddenly stop. Yu Zhen was slightly surprised, feeling someone grabbing his wrist. Suddenly, he was pulled to the left, and they both fell down together. As the tumultuous sound passed, Yu Zhen’s vision cleared again, and he found that they had fallen onto a downhill slope. Looking up, he saw the road ahead was a mess, with vine branches scattered everywhere.

Su Mo, with 40% HP, sat beside him. “We just encountered a big wave, but luckily I managed to block it with a bear.” He turned to look at him, locking eyes. “Can you see now?”

Yu Zhen smiled and handed him red and blue potions. “It should be over now. Thanks for your hard work.”

“Also, it was fine. It was a bit of a shame that the mana was cut off,” Su Mo replied casually, taking the health and mana potions. His peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a lake in the distance downhill.

The moon was shining brightly in the sky, along with the purple flowers around, reflecting each other’s light. The entire lake seemed to be coated with a layer of deep purple glow.

Su Mo commented, “Qixi Festival is an ancient festival of the Huaxia, and this map of the Purple Flower Valley is quite well-made.”

“Within the Akarilli Beta star system, there’s a planet covered by 80% water area, and the water is all purple, known as Purple Water Star,” Yu Zhen pointed out the location briefly, “It barely has any lakes; the 20% of landmass is all connected. Looking from the coastline, it’s much more beautiful than here. I think this map should have referenced the structure of Purple Water Star.”

“Is that so? It must be very beautiful,” Su Mo remarked, “I’ve never seen it, nor have I left Capital Planet.”

At this moment, both of their views were interrupted by the reminder of the second level completion.

The Purple Flower Valley Forest had been successfully cleared, and the next target was to reach the altar deep in the Purple Flower Valley. There was only one path leading to the lake ahead. Yu Zhen was about to move when he checked the system time and suggested, “There’s still half an hour until noon on Capital Planet. Shall we log off and rest?”

Su Mo snapped out of it, realizing he almost missed the time, “Oh right, see you in the afternoon.”

He efficiently went offline temporarily after saying this, leaving Yu Zhen alone in the Qixi Festival dungeon. Yu Zhen stared at where Su Mo disappeared, lost in thought.

Purple Water Star was a famous tourist destination, particularly popular in recent years. Most travel groups included this route, but that wasn’t the point. It was about the latter half of Su Mo’s sentence, “nor have I left Capital Planet”…?

Su Mo shouldn’t be very old, and it was currently the vacation time for most students. Yet, he seemed rational and mature, indicating some independence and social experience from a young age… but there were contradictions at times.

Yu Zhen found himself uncommonly interested in a net friend he had known for less than two months.

***

After logging off, Su Mo eagerly searched for pictures and videos of Purple Water Star; they seemed fascinating just from the images alone.

The robot Lele curiously approached, “Su Mo, it’s time for dinner. What are you doing?”

“Looking up information. Dr. Wu said I could try interstellar travel without warp jumps once my health stabilized last year,” Su Mo flipped through the tourist routes of Purple Water Star, “This seems good. It’s not far from Capital Planet, so we won’t need warp jumps. There are tours for seniors, so I can invite Grandpa Zhang and the others.”

In the past, he couldn’t consider interstellar travel, but over the years, military equipment had expanded into civilian aviation, making interstellar travel safer. Coupled with his stabilized condition, with an average E-level rating, Dr. Wu agreed last year that he could attempt short trips. Even school mentors had invited him several times to rest in other environments.

He wasn’t like his childhood self anymore. Even though the chance of recovery was slim, his condition was improving.

“But you’ve been unwell recently,” Lele interjected, “Dr. Wu said your hormone fluctuations were significant, so I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

Su Mo paused momentarily; he had forgotten about his recent hospital admission.

Lele added, “We’re having hot pot tonight. We can watch a sightseeing video before we go out!”

He happily went to set up the hot pot and played the carefully selected Purple Water Star sightseeing video.