Genius Chapter 6: The Mature Rabbit

Chapter 6: The Mature Rabbit

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

“Wait, what? What does this mean?” ClearWind was stunned, momentarily losing the ability to respond.

Momo: Want to buy them?

[Idiot livestreamer, hurry up and buy it.]

[Get close to Momo, then the rabbit is yours to touch anytime!]

ClearWind regained composure and quickly replied that he would buy it. He then communicated with the livestream audience, “What does he mean by this? I was asking him about the quest, why did he suddenly switch to talking about fish?”

Not long after, ClearWind received an email notification—

“Player Momo has designated Little Spirit Fish for you. Please, purchase it promptly.”

The player trading platform in “Celestial Horizon” was an integrated system. Items could be listed for sale or designated for specific buyers, very convenient, with no level restrictions and purchasable at any time. However, the game officials would charge a corresponding transaction fee.

“…” ClearWind, feeling conflicted, bought the Little Spirit Fish, “What does this mean?”

[60 silver per fish isn’t expensive. It’s better than wasting time fishing.]

[If it were me, I would definitely buy it. I once wasted three hours on a fishing quest.]

[Not expensive +1]

[Buy the fish to get closer. Quickly find out where Momo is so we can see the Soul Rabbit!]

ClearWind replied, “Bought it! Can you let me touch the rabbit? I haven’t seen the Soul Rabbit yet.”

Ten minutes passed, and Momo didn’t respond.

ClearWind pondered for a while, “Why isn’t he responding? Was my wording not polite enough?”

—

Su Mo received the notification from the trading platform and reeled in his fishing line with satisfaction, “Nice, I have the travel fare.”

He had a small basket at his waist filled with freshly dug bait. The village chief’s ancestral shovel was indeed impressive, making it easy to dig up worms, and combined with his accurate fishing rod, catching Little Spirit Fish was a breeze.

The Soul Rabbit was hopping around nearby, lively and urging him on.

Su Mo didn’t rush to leave. He leisurely finished using up the bait in his basket and said to the Soul Rabbit, “There aren’t many people here, so let’s catch some fish to earn your food.”

After finishing with the bait, Su Mo went to the Peach Blossom Village warehouse, withdrew the money from the platform, barely scraping together enough for travel fare. As the boat required a fee for pets, Su Mo put the Soul Rabbit in the pet slot, paid the fare, and soon teleported from the scenic Peach Blossom Village back to Newbie Village.

Newbie Village was bustling, even more crowded than when Su Mo had been there a few days before. He avoided the crowd and hadn’t gone far when someone rushed up to him. Su Mo took a few steps back, avoiding direct contact with the person.

“Brother, why aren’t you checking your messages?!” ClearWind was panting.

Su Mo wasn’t in the habit of checking emails. When he saw the ID, he said, “It’s you.”

ClearWind hurriedly pulled him aside, “Brother, hide your ID first, or you’ll be swarmed in no time.”

He then explained the recent events in Newbie Village to Su Mo, “Some people want to ask you how to trigger events or even buy your account. You should also turn off the whisper and friend request systems.”

Under ClearWind’s guidance, Su Mo hid his ID. When he opened the whisper system, it lagged for a moment, “Got it, thanks.”

After finishing the settings, he glanced at ClearWind, “Didn’t you already buy the fish?”

ClearWind replied, “Yes, I did.”

Su Mo said, “Then aren’t you going to do the quest?”

ClearWind said, “I’m not in a hurry!”

[Can the livestreamer handle this?]

[He’s whining just to touch a rabbit.]

“Brother, can we discuss something?” ClearWind, urged by the chat, stepped forward and explained, “I’m a livestreamer, and my audience has been pushing me. Can we talk for a bit? Can you show me what the Soul Rabbit looks like?”

Su Mo, who had been adjusting some new settings on his panel, tilted his head slightly at the question, “You’re a livestreamer?”

ClearWind nodded, “Yes, my stream ID is StarNetV15687547.”

“Oh.” Su Mo continued adjusting his panel, then casually released the Soul Rabbit with a click.

The Soul Rabbit landed on the ground and started hopping around. When it noticed a stranger nearby, it quickly hid behind Su Mo’s legs, peeking out curiously.

[Whoa! A legendary pet is this cute?]

[It’s said these pets have special AI, can grow and interact, way smarter than regular programmed pets.]

[Amazing, such a cute appearance! No wonder it’s the most desired pet among female players.]

[Screen-licking worthy!]

Seeing the Soul Rabbit for the first time, ClearWind felt his heart melt. He wanted to pet it, but the Soul Rabbit dodged his hand and hid behind Su Mo again.

Su Mo picked up the rabbit and asked, “Do you want to pet it?”

ClearWind was surprised, “Can I?”

“Mn.” Su Mo absentmindedly rubbed the rabbit’s head, “You can, but its Satiety level is low right now. Playing with it would waste its energy.”

“Satiety, huh? That’s simple. Wait a moment!” ClearWind understood immediately. “I’ll go buy some food!”

As soon as ClearWind left, the rabbit looked up at Su Mo in confusion.

Su Mo pinched its ear gently, “You’re a battle-ready rabbit. You need to earn your own food, understand?”

The rabbit tilted its head, unclear if it understood.

ClearWind returned from afar with a bag of premium pet food. Not only did he feed the rabbit, but he also got the chance to pet it, which he did with great reluctance when he had to stop. “No wonder so many people are after the Soul Rabbit. The interaction level is just different, and it can even eat food given by others. Amazing.”

[I feel like something’s not quite right.]

[The rabbit is super cute; I’m taking tons of screenshots!]

“Hmm.” Su Mo lifted his eyelids slightly, glanced at the rabbit’s Satiety status, and asked, “Haven’t you finished your quest?”

“I’ll leave after finishing the Newbie Village quests,” ClearWind said, walking alongside Su Mo and explaining the recent happenings. When they arrived back at Newbie Village, ClearWind was surprised, “Brother, aren’t you going to do the job entry quest?”

Su Mo walked to the lakeside, seeing that the rafts on the lake were fully occupied with people, leaving no space for him to do the quest. Unhurriedly, he said, “No rush, I have something else to do.”

He then started setting up a stall right in front of ClearWind. ClearWind was puzzled. Setting up stalls was a feature in “Celestial Horizon”, allowing both online and offline setups without additional fees. Su Mo had discovered this while studying the trading system and found it useful.

The lakeside was a scenic spot crowded with people doing quests and looking for tasks. Low-level stalls consisted of a cloth spread on the ground with a small stool provided. As soon as Su Mo opened his stall, ClearWind approached and saw that it was filled with thirty Little Spirit Fish, each priced at 1 gold and 50 silver.

[?]

[Price hike?]

[Wasn’t it 60 silver an hour ago?]

[Wait, where did he get so many fish, thirty of them???]

ClearWind was bewildered, “Brother, where did you get so many fish?!”

“Fishing,” Su Mo replied as he managed the stall system, “Why?”

[What kind of luck is this!?]

[Amazing, over thirty fish, is it that easy to catch them?]

[???]

ClearWind was dumbfounded, seeing so many fish and noticing the price, “Weren’t they 60 silver just now…”

Su Mo raised an eyebrow, “Do you want to pay the difference?”

ClearWind stammered, “That’s not what I meant…”

“Earlier was a trial run; now it’s officially open.” Su Mo sat on the small stool and asked, “Do you have enough materials for your quest? Do you want to buy more?”

ClearWind replied, “No… I don’t need any more.”

Su Mo looked a bit disappointed, “Alright then.” He ticked a box for offline operation and said, “Okay, you go ahead and play. I’m logging off.”

ClearWind watched in surprise as Su Mo vanished in a puff of white smoke, leaving only the fish-selling stall behind. Dazed, he asked his livestream chat, “Did he just log off?”

[Isn’t this a bit much? Selling fish instead of doing quests.]

[1 gold 50 silver? That’s a rip-off.]

[…Actually, it’s not that expensive.]

The stall was extremely simple, with only a sign saying ‘Selling Little Spirit Fish’ and no other decorations.

ClearWind stood in front of the stall for a while, dumbfounded, as other players doing quests nearby noticed the stall and came over to check it out.

“What’s this? Selling fish?”

“Whoa, it’s Little Spirit Fish!”

“Screw this, I don’t want to wait in line. I’m buying one.”

“Me too!”

“Save one for me!”

Seeing the crowd, ClearWind had to step back, watching in disbelief as other players bought the fish, “Is there really such a market for this?”

[Honestly, it’s pretty cheap…]

[Waiting in line to fish takes at least 2 hours. Solving the quest for just over 1 gold is worth it.]

—

Su Mo logged off and didn’t think about the game anymore. For the past few days, he had spent at least five hours daily on the newbie quests, with Lele’s alarm going off several times, only to be silenced by Su Mo himself.

Su Mo had just lain down on the sofa when he received a call from Director Liu at his school. He paused slightly at the mention, “The Capital First Research Institute?”

Slow music played in the living room. Lele walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray, “Su Mo, it’s dinner time!”

With no one else in the house, Lele’s voice was the only semblance of life.

Su Mo listened silently to Director Liu’s suggestions, glancing at the framed photo on the wall. “Director Liu, thank you for the offer.”

Director Liu quickly added, “The First Research Institute is excellent, and they’re starting a new project. It’s a rare learning opportunity. Are you sure you don’t want to consider it?”

“I’m sure.” Su Mo smiled, “I have my own plans for the holiday. Instead, you might want to recommend Brother Zhou for the opportunity.”

Director Liu expressed some regret but let Su Mo go, urging him to reconsider.

After hanging up, Su Mo suddenly felt exhausted. He lay back on the sofa and saw Lele standing nearby, “What is it?”

“Dinner time.” Lele set the tray down, “It’s not a nutrient solution today. We’ve got stir-fried beef with greens, cabbage soup… and the last cup of coffee for this week.”

Su Mo took a moment before sitting up. “Got it.”

Lele set the table, “Hurry up and eat, then you need to take your medicine!”

The little robot opened a drawer in the living room, revealing a variety of medications.

The coffee had intricate latte art. Lele carefully dispensed the pills from the bottles, “Su Mo, you need to take your medicine to stay healthy.”

Su Mo’s eyes fell on a test report under the medicine bottles. He started talking to himself, “Today, Director Liu asked if I wanted to study at the Capital Research Institute. I used to really want to go, but not anymore. Experiments without lab work are boring and not challenging. Pushing formulas gets tedious after a while…”

Lele interrupted, “Su Mo! No coffee before meals!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Su Mo took a sip of the coffee, “Lele, you didn’t add sugar today.”

Lele argued, “I did!”

Su Mo took another sip, “Then let me try again.”

Lele exclaimed, “Su Mo! You’re tricking me again! No coffee before meals!”

Author’s Note:

ClearWind: Worth it, I got to pet the Soul Rabbit!

Netizens: (Feeling something’s off)

Su Mo: You’re a mature rabbit now; you have to earn your keep.

Soul Rabbit: Squeak!