Chapter 118 The Mechanical Era [Completion Condition: Survive.] ...
Chapter 118
Mo Rugui's live stream erupted in unprecedented celebration. Then, amidst the cheers of "It's New Year's!" from the CP (couple) fans, a plot-driven viewer raised a crucial question:
[Um, do you really believe what the leader said? Do you really think the leader's appearance is just something Mo Rugui imagined?]
This questioning was met with a barrage of criticism.
This plot-driven viewer defended themselves: "Doesn't anyone think that the mastermind is Jiang Liuyue himself? Haven't you all considered that he deliberately said that to Mo Rugui?"
【？？？？？？】
Holy crap, you plot-driven fans really know how to ship things!
I've seen people with big imaginations, but I've never seen anyone with such an outrageous imagination!
[While it's sweet to watch, this is just too outrageous!]
...
At first, no one took the storyline-focused comment seriously, until fans who went to Eve's livestream to watch The Master returned to Mo Rugui's livestream and gave feedback:
[In the old version of Automata, the leader was so mysterious that only his name appeared throughout. I heard that the leader would appear in the updated version, so I went to Eve's live stream early this morning to see him. But the leader was still shrouded in mystery and I didn't see a trace of him. All I saw was that eunuch sending Eve a banner and reading a long, effusive compliment.]
[I'm speechless. Eve barely shows her face; it's all the head eunuch's face. Who the hell wants to watch this?]
[Wait... does that mean you guys saw the leader in Mo Dashen's live stream??]
[Does this mean the leader summoned Eve but actually met with Mo Rugui instead?]
Upon hearing this, both shippers and story fans fell silent.
During the live stream discussion, Mo Rugui also left the palace and met up with Eve. "Let's go."
The two walked outside side by side. Eve looked up at Mo Rugui, then at him again, and then at him once more. Mo Rugui showed no intention of asking any questions.
Eve spoke up, "After I went in, they gave me a banner, and then the chief eunuch read out praises to me for twenty minutes. I was already sleepy when he finished. I was really impressed."
Mo Rugui didn't speak, staring ahead as he strode forward. After walking for a while, he realized Eve wasn't keeping up, so he stopped and waited for her.
Eve walked up to her, displeased, and said, "Did you hear what I just said?"
Mo Rugui nodded: "Yes, you said the palace steward gave you a banner."
Eve's complexion improved slightly, and the two continued walking side by side. This time, Mo Rugui slowed down a bit, and Eve was able to keep up. Eve continued, "I didn't get to see the leader, so today was a wasted trip. But it seems that it is indeed quite difficult to see the leader. There is no war now, and there are no major events that require attending court meetings. That eunuch said that the leader probably only summons people once or twice a year."
"...By the way, where did you go just now?"
After a moment of complete silence in Mo Rugui's live stream, the discussion intensified, but Eve's words plunged the stream into an eerie quiet again. A few seconds later, the chat began flooding with comments:
[Mo Rugui: You might not believe it, but I just went to see the head of state!]
[Hahaha, this is so funny! I suddenly feel a little sorry for Eve, what should I do?]
Mo Rugui certainly wouldn't dare say that. He paused for a moment and then said, "Restroom."
.
Late at night, in the basement of the island, the instruments flashed twice, the blue light went out, the hatch opened, and Chen Su sat up in the transparent glass cabin.
A message popped up on the screen beside me—
[Enhancement failed.]
[This enhancement rate: 0%]
[Enhancement Progress: 89%]
Shen Su's skin was pale, and the stark white light from the basement made his face appear even paler. Tiny beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and the veins on his arms, exposed by his rolled-up sleeves, bulged. He glanced at the monitor out of the corner of his eye before lying back down and pressing the start button.
...
[Enhancement failed.]
[Enhancement failed.]
[Enhancement complete.]
[This enhancement: 1%]
[Enhancement Progress: 90%]
After several failed attempts to enhance the equipment, the enhancement progress was finally pushed to 90%.
The repeated high-intensity reinforcements left Shen Su with no strength left to heal himself. He lay in the glass capsule for a long time before slowly sitting up while holding onto the armrests.
He was soaked in sweat, looking as if he had just crawled out of the water. His lips and face were as pale as his skin. After a while, he lay back down.
Before his finger touched the start button again, a voice sounded behind him.
"What are you doing?"
The person who should have been fast asleep was now standing at the door.
Chen Su, lying in the glass capsule, froze completely.
Repeated high-intensity intensification weakened his body and impaired his five senses. He didn't even know when the basement door opened or when Shi Yu entered.
"You said you come to the basement every night to prepare a birthday surprise for me, but actually..." Shi Yu walked towards Chen Su step by step, his words not a question but a statement, "You come here every night to do enhancement, right?"
"When did you find out?" Shen Su slowly sat up, supporting himself against the cabin wall, his pale lips moving slightly.
He didn't turn around. Shi Yu had already walked up to him, glanced at him, and then looked at the screen, saying, "I haven't known about it for long. It was just a guess at first, but the system suddenly updated the main quest tonight."
Shi Yu stopped speaking there, and Shen Su slowly looked up at him. "What main quest?"
Shi Yu sat down on the chair next to him and opened the game panel to show him.
[Game Dungeon: Automata]
[Game Time: Unlimited]
[Game Background: Fifty-four years have passed since the First World War between robots and humans. During this time, robots have become the dominant species, and humans have been enslaved. However, humanity has never forgotten its ambition for resurgence. They are recuperating and preparing for the birth of a human war god. The Second World War between robots and humans is about to erupt.]
[Completion condition: Stay alive.]
Shen Su's gaze fell on the word "alive".
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "My main quest has also been updated. Except for the last one, the others are the same as yours."
"You also find it a bit strange, right?"
Shi Yu said, "An epic-level difficult dungeon, the ultimate task is probably to defeat the final boss, but my condition for clearing the dungeon is to 'survive'."
"So... what kind of dungeon would make 'survival' a condition for clearing it?" Shen Su remained silent, and Shi Yu continued, "Either a beginner-level dungeon, or a dungeon where you can die at any time."
Shi Yu leaned back in his chair, looking both relaxed and exhausted. "Actually, it's not that I didn't notice something was wrong. I've known for a while that something was off, but I just couldn't figure out why. Before, I could attribute it to being too tired at night, but lately you haven't made me this tired, yet I still get sleepy easily, even more so than before..."
"The reason this dungeon doesn't have a time limit is because it's consuming my lifespan. If I don't clear it quickly, I might die."
“You should have known this already.” He turned his gaze to Shen Su. “Because you are the human God of War, and only when you are strengthened to 100% can you deal with the leader. That’s why you’re fighting so hard.”
Shen Su looked at him, and Shi Yu said seriously, "I don't mean to blame you. I'm just worried about your health. For ordinary people, strengthening once a day is already the limit. How many times did you strengthen today?"
Shen Su remained silent, while Shi Yu said earnestly, "Haste makes waste."
"And you shouldn't have kept this from me. You should have told me, and we could have figured it out together..."
The conversation was abruptly cut off when Shi Yu's collar was grabbed. She was pulled into the glass capsule and thrown onto Shen Su, her neck gripped, and Shen Su's kiss landed on her.
The kiss started quickly, forcefully, and aggressively, but gradually became gentle and slow. Finally, Shen Su touched him lightly like a dragonfly skimming the water before stopping, but still held Shi Yu in his arms.
“I understand what you’re saying, but the thought of you possibly dying is unbearable. I’m fine, I won’t die even if it happens a few more times, but you really will die.”
"Won't you die if it happens a few more times?" Shi Yu's hand, which was hanging down, suddenly turned away, and Shen Su frowned and let out a "hmm".
But Shen Su quickly regained his composure and said calmly, "Yes, it can make you feel like you're dying and coming back to life."
Although he was pale, he didn't miss a single witty remark.
Shi Yu: "..."
Both of their live streams were very lively.
[What?! I was just enjoying the plot, how did it suddenly speed up like this?]
[If I didn't see the visuals and only heard the audio, I'd think you guys were doing something... hahaha.]
[By the way, what are the completion conditions for the Sleeping Cavern? When did his quest log update? I didn't know!]
I followed Chen Su's livestream the whole time, but I don't think I saw the part where he updated his missions?
Is he deliberately hiding it from us? Or is he actually lying?
The live stream went dark while the viewers were chatting.
Both of their live streams went black at the same time.
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