ICO 51-70 (Patreon)

ICO 51-70

Chapter 51 - Red Alert

"Trade? Barter, or what?"
When Minato Namikaze asked Tina how she wanted to trade, Tina fell silent, feeling that she had been taking things for granted and had nothing to offer.

Liu Yuan came over and suggested, "There are some possibilities. For example, Tina can trade high-yielding rice, wheat, and watermelon seeds from her world for a few years of your grain. Based on the average harvest of previous years, just give her half of the surplus. It doesn't have to be much, just maintain the contract for three years."

Hearing this proposal, Minato Namikaze felt it was feasible, especially if he could drastically increase the yield to trade with the surplus. "It's possible. As long as there is a significant increase in the crop yield, half of the portion that exceeds the average yield per acre can be given to you."

After saying that, Minato Namikaze winked at Tina, while Kushina, who was nearby, patted Minato Namikaze's shoulder. At this moment, he felt the approach of death.

Everyone was from different worlds, and with Liu Yuan acting as a middleman, Namikaze Minato casually agreed. If true, this kind of deal would be a significant benefit for Kiba Village.

In the following days, Tina brought various high-yielding seeds from her world. She had carefully calculated the yield, and for Kiba, this yield was almost doubled.

Namikaze Minato had prepared some military pills for Tina as an investment. They weren't tasty, but they were easy to make, satiating, and provided a lot of energy.

For the cursed children, the issue was not the quality of the food but the quantity. With enough food, Tina would be able to attract more cursed children. Many of these children were barely surviving, and as long as they were given something to eat, they were willing to sell their lives for Tina.

While Tina was searching for suitable recruits, she targeted some abused and barely surviving children. She had three main goals: to finish Resident Evil while developing iso-inhibitors and fusion agents, to gather more cursed children, and to secure enough food and books for everyone.

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

There were now nine people and eleven machines in the internet cafe. Each person was online for twelve hours at high intensity, and at fifty internet fees per hour, this generated 5,400 dollars a day. If other people consumed food and drinks, the daily income could reach over 6,000 dollars.

Recently, Liu Yuan had been cutting back on his expenses, and the majority of his system's share was being replenished into the system. Counting the previous income and helping Fujimaru Kaede collect materials worldwide, Liu Yuan now had over 130,000 dollars in cash flow.

He was now starting to think about making more, faster money. Anime, movies, and utility software were excluded. Aside from the form, the rest of the office software was not very useful to these people now, but it would be purchased again when needed.

Liu Yuan decided to save up and first opened 11 machines, spending over 20,000 dollars to choose a new game.

Command and Conquer series.

There was just a small issue when purchasing the game.

"Hey system, why is Red Alert in the Command and Conquer series sold separately? Are you playing dirty with me?"

"I'm just going to ask you if you're going to buy it or not, and that's the end of it."

"..."

Liu Yuan took a deep breath. He originally valued Command and Conquer as a whole series of games because of their high technological intensity. Many of the weapons, equipment, and tools were helpful to the various worlds connected to the internet cafe.

He had planned to buy the entire series from the system and sell each game separately. The original system pricing was three hundred dollars for the whole set and two hundred dollars for one, which was quite profitable.

However, the system offered him a choice between the Tiberium series and the Red Alert series. But Liu Yuan was surprised to find that the Red Alert series included not only the official version but also mod versions.

In short, all the mods opened up after playing the Tiberium series, and vice versa. This made the choice simpler. Liu Yuan directly chose the Red Alert series.

The reason was simple: he saw the modded Mental Omega finale chapter. He wanted to play and see who won the final episode. The differences between the two series were not too significant, so the choice was up to Liu Yuan.

"Kisara, a new game arrived at the internet cafe today. Do you want to play?"

"What game?"

"Real-time strategy. I haven't played it much either."

"But it's almost time to open the door?"

Kisara glanced at the time. It was now seven in the morning, with an hour left before opening. She and Liu Yuan had already cleared Resident Evil and she was now in a sage-like state, with little desire to play games. But seeing Liu Yuan's excitement, she agreed.

"Okay~"

"Let's go! This game is old and simple."

They opened their computers and launched Red Alert II, following Liu Yuan's instructions to find the encounter room he had set up.

"Ice and snow? Are we against each other?"

Kisara hesitated, knowing that playing against Liu Yuan would be a death sentence. He wasn't an expert, but he was better than her.

"What do you think? What's the point of beating you? There are advanced AI opponents here."

"What?"

She noticed that she and Liu Yuan were on one team against a computer.

"Aren't the two of us against one computer is a bit.."

Liu Yuan put on his glasses and said seriously, "Believe it or not, all of us in the internet cafe together can't beat these three computers."

"No way?"

Liu Yuan calmly added the three computers that could be selected at this stage: "These three simulate their abilities and talents. Although not as good as a complete artificial intelligence, they are at the limit of human capability."

Kisara looked at the names and couldn't help but comment, "08? Moon 3? 829? What kind of strange names are these?"

"You have to understand that the stronger the commander, the more eccentric they might be. It's not a big problem. I'll start a three-on-three, and we'll have one of the strongest 1v1 computers, Velociraptor, on our side."

"Hehe, even if it's stronger, a 3v3 fair fight won't be too bad." Kisara had an enigmatic confidence in herself, thinking that computerized opponents would be weak.

"I hope you can say that in five minutes."

Liu Yuan opened the pure game mode. The construction speed and time were completely data-driven, making it easier to get started quickly. Skilled players could finish a game in ten minutes.

However, the real experience version was different. Outsiders might see ten minutes of combat, but for players, it could be a few hours or even days.

The game began, and Kisara was very interested in commanding subordinates in battle. The game had an auxiliary AI that automatically built core items during battles.

Unlike traditional games, the Realism difficulty focused on being a commander and building multiple items simultaneously if there was enough money.

But the battles became more difficult. If players didn't know how to command, the auxiliary AI would help, but it was no match for real elite opponents.

In no time, Kisara's base was overrun by the three top computer AI's.




Chapter 52: When a Newbie Meets an Advanced AI

08 chose the Soviets, and their Soviet air defense vehicles bypassed all reinforcements and sentry towers, rushing to the main base to drop off engineers. The engineers entered, killed all the occupants, and occupied the main base.

In the Realism mode, the speed of the Engineer's capture is accelerated, giving the player the feeling of capturing the base in seconds. In fact, if the Realism version is on, the occupation time becomes extremely long, and the commander himself can even rush in and shoot the invading engineers. But the computer doesn't operate that way on Realism Difficulty.

08, Moon 3, and 829 knew from the building placements that Kisara was a newbie, so the three teamed up. Within the first five minutes, Kisara's side had just built a Grizzly tank when the main base, barracks, and vehicle factory were all captured.

Kisara's mind became blank as she developed a questioning look, hopeless to do anything but watch the battle unfold.
The pressure then shifted to Liu Yuan, who didn't panic and focused on building sentry towers and cannons. He constructed a deep vertical cannon formation and built Grizzly tanks. The computer, showing its human-like behavior, sent 08's Rhino tank to attack. Liu Yuan waited for it in his cannon array.

Then, the same number of 08 tanks rushed in, pinching his tanks and artillery array. His side couldn't maneuver the tanks and cannons quickly enough, and within ten seconds, all twenty tanks were gone while 08 still had 15 left.
Kisara could only feel the pain as she saw them invade Liu Yuan's base.

"Cheating! Definitely cheating!"

At this point, Liu Yuan took off his glasses, looking like a monk who had achieved enlightenment. "It's not cheating. The computer's resources are the same as ours, but it perfectly simulates the logic of these three people's thinking. It's like playing against real people."

Of course, if you can defeat these AI, you'll unlock a higher difficulty level. For example, fully AI-manipulated troops combined with top commander's command awareness, computing power at the quantum level, and all buildings constructed simultaneously and instantly.

The difficulty is progressive, with something for every player level. The game difficulty is designed to help players learn the main combat units and quickly understand the game, laying the foundation for the plot mode and the realism difficulty, which is the core of this series.

They lost this match, but Kisara was determined and started another game. This time, she chose to play 2v1.

However, this time, Kisara chose a light blue color, as if she was unsure, and Liu Yuan forgot the significance of this color. The chosen opponent was neither strong nor weak, precisely the middle-strength 08 of the three computers.

Kisara was taught a hard lesson. An engineer hidden in a cinderblock car touched the base in front of her three bunkers and then touched the vehicle factory she was constructing. A Rhino tank instantly emerged from the vehicle factory, crushed the engineer she had just built, and blocked her mine with the tank, which was then taken out by her own bunkers.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Namikaze Minato had just entered the door when he heard Kisara's scream. "What's wrong, Ms. Kisara? Did you get scared playing Resident Evil?"

Noticing that it was already opening time, Liu Yuan directly quit the game and explained, "A new game, war-themed. You all can play it."

"War-themed?"

Namikaze Minato was interested. Since he managed to finish off Radahn and gained an attribute bonus, Namikaze Minato and the ashes he summoned became stronger and stronger. They had successfully completed the snowball mode.

Now half of the bosses in the Elden Ring had been successfully defeated by him. According to Hashirama, "Minato, your chakra has already exceeded mine at my peak. You will definitely become the strongest Hokage."

The two old-timers saw his progress with their own eyes. Not to mention the Flying Thunder God, but the sealing techniques and firearms that Minato used were effective at harvesting low-ranked ninjas in pieces.

If you include the Flying Thunder God technique and their collaboration in developing ninjutsus in the Elden Ring, it's not an exaggeration to say he's invincible in the ninja world.

Right now, Namikaze Minato was feeling slightly overconfident, even fantasizing about that he could stop the Tailed Beasts if they invaded one day.

However, according to Tobirama, "Big brother's strength is now close to you what it was back then, and even if all nine Tailed Beasts are present, brother's not afraid of them."

Kushina gently knocked her lover's head. "You! Finish the task at hand first before getting ahead of yourself."

"That's true."

Liu Yuan then addressed Namikaze Minato's idea, "It doesn't really matter. This game is very quick. Anyway, Minato, you often restart after dying, so taking a break to have fun is no problem."

As long as you don't start on the highest difficulty AI, you can easily beat easy and medium AIs with some strategy. If not, you can just build soldiers and tanks for a ten-minute fun game.

"Then I'll buy a copy to try."

At this moment, Nyaruko walked in. "Yay~ Did the boss get a new game today?"

"That's right, Red Alert. Want to try it out?"

"What type?"

"Real-time strategy!"

Everyone who arrived had heard about the new game. More importantly, it didn't take as much time compared to other games. After seeing Namikaze Minato play it himself, everyone felt it was a simple game, perfect for relaxing a bit when they were tired.

"Right! First, buy three dogs to scout the way and attack his dogs."

"Right, order your tank driver to run over the minions. You can hear the crunching."

"Deploy a flying soldier to harass him."

"That pale-colored computer is quite arrogant. Minato! Crush it!"

Liu Yuan, disguised as a spring water commander, used Minato as an example to teach everyone how to play the game.

"You all are still new to this game, but you can try playing online."

"It can be played online? Against each other?"

"Want to give it a try? I have faith in Red Alert." Subaru Natsuki, who had played Red Alert before, got excited when he realized there was a game called Red Alert.

Combat-wise, he admitted he had no talent, but he had been studying hard after clearing the Elden Ring and following Melina to Royal Capital. However, even Tina, who looked like a junior high school student, was better than him.
Now that he heard about a real-time strategy game, how could he not play?

Nayako didn't come, Ganyu refused due to work, and Zhongli was very interested and came to try it with everyone. The rest were in a similar situation. They were quite tired, and a game that ended in ten minutes without Kisarach physical effort felt pleasant.

But when they opened the game and saw the fancy maps, even Nayuki Subaru, who had played before, had a bit of trouble choosing.

"If you guys don't know what to choose, I'll recommend a small piece of land. This map will help you fit in quickly."

Under Liu Yuan's guidance, they found the map of a small piece of land. As the name suggests, the map had eight small plots of land. Because they were one person short, the group felt that adding a computer would enhance the gaming experience.

Nayuki Subaru thought that the computer couldn't be too weak. The intermediate and advanced ones sounded weak at first glance, and the ones with names seemed to be strong.

So, after some discussion, they felt that Moon 3 should be very weak. Moon 3 in the center of the seven to fight one couldn't result in a loss, right?



Chapter 53 - A Small Fiasco


The game mode of Red Alert was quite simple, essentially requiring players to follow basic instructions with hands, feet, and brain.

"Open up and build the power plant, then the barracks..."

"Oil fields need to be occupied with engineers."

"Is that it?"

"Relying on commands for victory without using your own power? Interesting."

"Why can't I just personally get in and tear down the enemy?"

Everyone had various questions, but they weren't significant issues. Under the system's guidance, they happily built structures, recruited engineers, and set up bunkers.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuan, observing the scene, curiously asked, "System, can their tutorial game be recorded? Or maybe have 'Moon 3' put out a clip of his first-person perspective?"

"If you need it, yes, fifty dollars per recording."

"Yes, here comes the money."

The system was genuinely not expecting Liu Yuan's enthusiasm. It merely wanted to convey that there is no free lunch, but Liu Yuan actually saw a business opportunity in this.

"Boss, boss!" Kisara also focused on the sparring match between the players. "Boss, guess what? How long will it take them to lose?"

Kisara recognized the AI the players had chosen: Moon 3, the one capable of defeating both her and Liu Yuan.

Could these players win? They would be lucky enough to survive for 5 minutes.

Liu Yuan, assessing their operations and building layouts, declared, "Natsuki Subaru will definitely be eliminated in half a minute because he chose France. Zhongli might hold out the longest. If they join forces, they might win. Oh! But they're bound to lose."

As Liu Yuan predicted, Zhongli was being outmaneuvered and beaten by Fujimaru Kaede and Jalter.

Though they claimed to be dealing with the computer, only Natsuki Subaru, Namikaze Minato, Kushina, and Zhongli were actually engaging with it.

The rest thought, "The computer is weak; let's wait for them to succeed with their sneak attacks."

Just as Liu Yuan predicted, in less than half a minute, Natsuki Subaru was defeated. Then, using Subaru's land, Moon 3 attacked Minato, occupying three plots of land and three oil fields to begin it's own development.

Fujimaru Kaede and Nyaruko lost focus, who were concentrating on Zhongli's side. Originally, Zhongli was in a corner and, with his fast reaction speed and battlefield understanding, could have held the computer off. But the result was everyone targeting him, and in less than ten minutes, the game was over.

Silence followed. Natsuki Subaru was the most dejected. He had envisioned opening the game by defeating the computer and then everyone battling each other. Instead, some fought the computer while others sneakily attacked.

Zhongli, serious as ever, commented, "This outcome was expected. The enemy's reaction speed and command ability are unlike anything I've encountered."

Playing the game firsthand revealed the challenge of on-site command ability. All soldiers under the system were absolutely loyal and fearless, but when Zhongli and Moon 3 fought over tanks, Moon 3 outmaneuvered him, replacing all combat units with a 3-for-6 ratio. And Moon 3 still had 5 Rhinos and a Soldier left.

"Everyone," Liu Yuan's voice drew the group's attention. "This game has a new service: you can get a computer perspective clip video at the end of the match for fifty dollars to watch permanently. If you're interested, you can buy it."

This piqued everyone's interest, and they all purchased a copy of the video to watch the match.

"What's going on? Fans begging for Moon 3's guidance to be unaligned? Surprisingly, it's my fan, so I have to respond."

"We're split in the middle this time. See? Pale Color (Natsuki Subaru)'s base unfolding speed is slow, clearly a beginner."

In the video, Natsuki Subaru's base unfolded slower than the others, and his color made him Moon 3's target. Moon 3 quickly extended his power plant and barracks. While Natsuki Subaru was still building bunkers and engineers, Moon 3's engineers were already advancing. Subaru closed his base just in time, but Moon 3's engineers swiftly built a barracks and occupied the oil fields.

Moon 3's engineers outpaced Natsuki Subaru, building structures and taking over the oil fields. Within half a minute, as Liu Yuan predicted, Subaru was completely defeated.

"Wait, they're targeting me? It doesn't matter; we have the vehicle factory out. Sell the base directly, deploy 50 mobilized soldiers."

"See, at this point, they'll surely target my Bot Brother. Hey? This slowpoke lost the oil field to me."

"Not good, these three teamed up against me. This purple player started with high tech? Clearly a newbie."

Moon 3 had three tanks at this time and found Kushina's side unprotected with infantry. Tanks rolled over the anti-air vehicles, taking over the oil field.

Namikaze Minato, seeing his wife being attacked, rushed to support. But before he could act, Tina stole his main base. By the time Namikaze Minato reacted, his main base had been stolen and sold, and his engineers were occupying the oil fields.

Kushina and Minato were synchronized in their defeat, and Moon 3 continued.

"See, there are still four left. Orange and green are besieging this red one. Let's leave them and take out the pink one (Nyaruko) first."

"Two control sections, Korea playing with airplanes? Then you're finished! One pole can't hold."

Five Rhinos and several mobilized soldiers rushed into Nyaruko's base, overwhelming it. When Nyaruko realized the threat and tried to surrender and bomb the oil field, Moon 3's anti-aircraft vehicles arrived first and occupied the oil field. Only two minutes had passed, and Fujimaru Kaede and Jalter were still focusing on Zhongli.

"This red one can play well. Let him weaken the combat power of the two families next to him first. This yellow player has two oil fields and built a Weather Control Device? We can't let that stand."

Tina realized the mistake too late. Building a superweapon caused a significant drop in production due to power shortages. She ordered a few phantom tanks, but only one was produced because of the power outage.

Moon 3, occupying three lands and three oil fields, had a robust economy, totaling eight Rhinos and two Radiator Troopers. Tina's defense, though substantial, fell to the Radiator Troopers.

Moon 3 calmly advanced to high-tech. The remaining three players, without a strong economy due to early competition, couldn't compete. Moon 3, now with five oil fields, overwhelmed them with Rhino tanks.




Chapter 54: Commander's Zhongli, the Arrival of Riku

"Is this AI?"
"Can we win one-on-one against this guy?"
"He's so strong. Do you all want to play another game before we close for the night?"

Red Alert, a real-time strategy game, was indeed interesting, but everyone had different goals and could only focus on the game they needed. Relaxation was still relaxation, and after being defeated, one could watch the computer's first-person perspective video, which greatly helped with game comprehension.

Zhongli was completely different. Now, in Liyue, he was in a state of leisure, listening to the theater and laidback. His interest in fighting and killing in games was minimal.

Despite having killed many things thousand years ago, he was tired of fighting. Although he enjoyed leisure, overdoing it was a problem. In Minecraft, for instance, He had already planted 1,000 acres of land, and his daily routine involved collecting crops and planting new ones. It was slightly boring but offered a different kind of fun.
Red Alert, however, was different. It required using wits to win, a feeling he didn't hate.

"Indeed, we can give it a try..."

This game only required the use of the brain, and Zhongli was slightly confident in his own abilities, so he opened the game for today's combat.

Kisara noticed everyone's choices and asked Liu Yuan curiously, "That Mr. Zhongli, he seems to like this game a lot?"

"Maybe he's not the type who enjoys fighting and killing, or his own strength is so great that he doesn't need the game to improve himself. For this kind of person, real-time strategy games are very popular."

"Then boss, what level of skill do you think he can reach?"

"Zhongli, huh? This person is cautious, has a big overview, and reacts very swiftly on the battlefield, probably due to his previous battle experience. He is inclined towards solo command battles, his ability to manipulate small-scale elite units is strong, and his group combat awareness is excellent. The downside is that, for some reason, I always have the impression that he wants to jump in and fight himself."

Liu Yuan continued, "In about three days, after understanding the game's basic mechanics, he will be able to defeat these AI opponents. But if we turn on the Realism Difficulty, he will struggle for a few days. Within a week, he could try the Mental Omega plot levels in real mode. After clearing all the plot levels, he should be able to challenge the super-intelligent AI. It's estimated he could get to the point of a stalemate. The computer operates with precision but doesn't understand the human mind. Zhongli, however, understands the human mind."

To defeat a fully AI-controlled super troop, there are only two ways: either be stronger than the AI, reaching a human level of artificial intelligence, or have enough people to overwhelm the AI.

"That strong?"

"Of course, besides Nyarako, he should be the strongest in the entire internet café, right?"

As the two chatted, the door to the internet café opened.

A tightly dressed youth with goggles on his head walked in.

"Where am I?"

Kisara stepped forward and introduced himself, "Welcome to the Four Dimensional Space Internet Café~"

"Internet café?"

Riku looked around. He remembered hurrying after leaving the gathering place and was about to sleep when he suddenly found himself here.

Kisara introduced with a smile, "This cyber café can connect to various worlds. You can obtain the resources you need by playing games. Become a warrior who fights valiantly? A scientist researching a cure for a virus? Spend your days leisurely creating or completing various data bodyguard jobs? Or become an excellent commander."

Kisara paused, as Red Alert had just been added, she only knew its feature of being able to become a decent commander. She didn't know about the others. She turned to Liu Yuan and hastily gave him a wink.

Liu Yuan, not slow to respond, introduced, "You can also obtain various technology blueprints here. Teenager, want to save your country?"

"I don't have money."

"It doesn't matter, you have life!"

Liu Yuan smiled, "A day of life costs 10 yuan. Of course, you can take your life on credit and pay me back once you earn enough money. Spells, props, weapons, and equipment – you will get a system as soon as you play a game in this internet café. This system can help you get valuable props. But remember, money can only buy back your mortgaged lifespan; it can't add to your lifespan. However, the game can."

Kisara whispered to Liu Yuan, "Boss, don't you think you look more like a demon than me now?"

"Just kidding, demons can't do anything more evil than humans."

Kisara retorted, "I don't know how to respond to that."

"Does he look like he has money? Scare him first and let him play. He'll earn money in his world as his powers improve. No one wants to die early."

Riku didn't hear their whispers. In his agitated state, he nervously asked, "Are you human?"

"Human?"

Liu Yuan pointed at Kisara, "See this pink-haired humanoid JK? She's a demon, capable of everything a human can do, and more human than humans. The rest, except for that white-haired one, are considered human."

"So, are there gods here?"

"Gods? There are. Look at that!"

Liu Yuan pointed at Nyarako, who was in her Grumpy Old Sister state.

"Damn! Chut-chut-chut! Da da da! Eat my grenade da..."

There was a system device to help block out the sound, but just watching the dynamic villain on the screen showed how much fun she was having.

Riku fell silent. He couldn't tell where this was, but he knew it could be a chance to keep humanity alive amidst a race war.

"Is there a way to defeat the gods?"

"Defeat the gods?"

Liu Yuan smiled, "Of course! Whether it's becoming the Elden Lord or an excellent commander, would you like to enjoy it?"

The game content introduction appeared on the monitor at the front desk. Thanks to everyone playing the game intensely, the system had edited a large number of excellent images.

Meteorites falling from the sky in the Lands Between, flames that burned the earth to the ground, holy golden light...

Endless greed in Minecraft...

Weather manipulation, time-manipulatibg machines from the Red Alert mod, strategic nukes with super-wide strikes, mind controllers who destroy nations on their own.

He was sure there was something that suited the man in front of him.

"Choose! Whether it's to improve yourself or your world's technology, these real games will allow you to do so."

Riku gulped.

In his world, humans no longer had a choice.

In his world, humans were 'animals' evolved from monkeys. The remaining fifteen races treated humans as prey, even the weakest orc species.

He had left the tribe to find a way to break out of the situation.

Was this place suspicious? Very.

But if it could keep the human race going, what was wrong with using his life as a bargaining chip?

"Of course, you can also allocate your time wisely, say six hours to improve yourself and six hours to improve your technology. As long as you pass any of the games on the highest difficulty, you'll be able to get the weapons, equipment, props, and even technology from those worlds."

Riku gulped. The temptation was too strong. Even a one-in-a-million chance for humans to live normally was worth the gamble.




Chapter 55 - Riku's First Experience with the Game

"Excuse me, is there anything that can help me immediately?"
Hearing Riku's inquiry, Liu Yuan began a professional introduction.

"Immediately? Then I recommend you play Elden Ring. Through this game, you can quickly increase your combat power. Trust me, even in the most Normal Game mode, exercising your combat skills can help you."

God-slaying?

Liu Yuan couldn't guarantee that.

Even the Tarnished in Elden Ring went through battle after battle, over and over again, becoming the only ones to win among countless others under Marika's calculations.

Although Riku could gain great strength after completing Elden Ring in the late stages, Liu Yuan couldn't guarantee whether this strength would be enough to take out the gods in Riku's world.

However, he could guarantee that, aside from the upper ten races, Riku could defeat the remaining five with relative ease—unless Riku made mistakes.

"Elden Ring? May I ask how long I can live?"

"Eighty years. Without any accidents, you'll live to be eighty. You have a lot of time left."

Ten for a day, as long as Riku didn't spend extravagantly, it was still feasible to surf the internet daily at the internet café and play the game for a round.

He started his path to becoming stronger in the game.

He devised a perfect plan for himself: ten out of twelve hours to improve his strength in Elden Ring, and the remaining two hours as a commander in Red Alert, striving to obtain the weapon and equipment blueprints. Liu Yuan had mentioned that the technology here was human-made and could be replicated.

Riku aimed to enhance himself while contributing to the potential technological development of the human race. He was prepared to trade the next fifty years of his life for this purpose. Before playing, he had asked, and the Red Alert series he chose was none other than Mental Omega.

He chose Mental Omega because it was a standalone mod that didn't require completing any other series to play. Unlike Red Alert 3, which had excellent technology but required completing the first two generations to unlock the real difficulty of the third, Mental Omega could be played immediately. Although it was slightly harder compared to the canonical entries, it was accessible.

When Riku actually started playing, he found it wasn't just a little difficult; it was very difficult. Even after spending an hour learning the roles of each unit and how to use various equipment for command, he experienced what real challenge meant when he played himself.

'Act 1: Red Dawn'
Upon entering the game, Riku immediately became a rookie commander in the United States of America.

March 8, 1982, Washington D.C.
Mission Objective One: Protect Washington during the Soviet invasion.
Mission Objective Two: Protect the Pentagon.
The mission was simple and clear, but it gave Riku a bad feeling.

He was in Realism Mode, where in-game time and out-of-game time ratios were different. He was in a command room in the Pentagon, with three intelligence officers, an adjutant, and himself, the commander.

Everything felt real. Giving orders to soldiers to arrive at their designated positions for combat made it seem like these soldiers were real people with flesh and blood. Forced or out-of-character orders could lead to rebellious behavior.

The realism of the battles was also very high. He could observe the situation of each troop site through the projection after personally giving the order. While a large number of civilians in in-game Washington scattered in all directions, Riku was counting the available combat units and designating a battle plan.

Right now, he was a rookie Allied commander with one battalion and some assigned main battle tanks. He needed to intercept the infantry enemy from at least two directions.

"You need to hold your position. Enemy reinforcements are few and far between. Wait for them to arrive. Good luck, commander."
Riku didn't feel anything wrong at this point. With a large number of soldiers plus tanks and multi-purpose infantry vehicles, knowing the functions of these weapons and equipment, and with all the buildings in the city that he could occupy, he felt confident in this mission.

However...
When he saw the tanks and soldiers disembarking from the amphibious ships on the sea, the slowly approaching Kirovs in the sky, and the Soviet base north of the city that had finished setting up in ten minutes, he realized he was in trouble.

"With... these?"
Riku could see clearly that the other side had the ability to build tanks on the front lines, while his side was full of GIs.

After fighting for half a day and scraping together support for a few tanks, they were destroyed by Terror Drones before reaching the battle line. In the end, he watched as the vast army rushed to the Pentagon. Not only was his defense force gone, but the Pentagon and all its defense facilities and construction factories were demolished.

Mobilized soldiers holding PPSh-41s, shouting 'neck right twist', rushed into the Pentagon.

Mission failed.

In reality, only twenty minutes had passed, but in the game, this command lasted for two hours. For two hours, he experienced true powerlessness.

But...

"It is possible to win..."

Riku realized that winning this battle was possible. The first time he had taken command, he hadn't been familiar enough with the tanks, GIs, or heavy GIs. For example, he had entered too many normal GIs into buildings, making it impossible for them to penetrate the armor of the Soviet tanks.

Additionally, the Soviets used a combined arms strategy with infantry, tanks, and attack dogs. A large number of troops invaded from the right while the Navy harassed from the sea, and the left side established a base. By the time his troops held down the right side, the enemy base on the left had grown too strong to defeat.

His eagerness to destroy enemy armored units led to his tanks being destroyed by mines. Without these blunders, the result could have been victory.

In reality, he would already be dead.

But as a game, he had a do-over.

In a world where survival was nearly impossible, Riku had led the human race for several years, reducing the number of deaths from hundreds to dozens annually.

He possessed great leadership skills, empathizing with the deaths of those around him but also able to detach emotionally to achieve perfect command when necessary.

The second time, he failed due to a traitor within the Pentagon. He managed to demolish the enemy base, and the coastline was heavily defended, making it difficult for enemy ships to advance. Armored units that came ashore were effectively countered by his repaired units.
However, a spy within the Pentagon shot him.

Physically tired after a day of playing Elden Ring and two intense command sessions, Riku decided to take a break and see what the others were doing.



Chapter 56: Black Zetsu, Times Have Changed


"Yo~ Newcomer, we're about to start a game of Red Alert. Want to join us?"

Namikaze Minato sent out an invitation to the newcomer. He found Red Alert quite interesting, playing a game every day to relax while also honing his command abilities. It was a great way to bond with everyone.

"PVP? Sure."

Riku understood the principle of combining work and rest. Life inside the cave wasn't hard anymore, but after a while, he would relax a bit, take a bath, or play chess with himself. With more than half an hour until the store opened, starting a really difficult task wasn't feasible.

Instead, playing a game with everyone to test his strength seemed like a good idea.

With a very simple strategy, Riku went all out. Using a method of playing neighbors against each other, he first took out the surrounding players. Taking advantage of Zhongli and Fujimaru clashing, he stole Zhongli's base, allowing him to take out both factions.

Seeing this result, Zhongli felt a bit helpless.

Should he consider himself lucky or unlucky?

Twice he had been randomly placed between Fujimaru and Riku.

Their purpose was clear: they might not win, but they would certainly annoy him before losing. Grabbing oil fields, exploding soldiers and tanks—if resources weren't sufficient, even a god with the best strategy couldn't win against a massive army.

As the game ended, there were still three minutes before the day closed.

"What a wonderful battle."

"Yeah! But Uncle Zhongli is so strong. Riku, let's keep challenging him next time!"

"..."

Zhongli felt like a target. Even though he wasn't obsessed with winning or losing, it was still a bit upsetting to be targeted like that.

For his part, Namikaze Minato sighed, "I feel like there's a lot to learn right now. See you all tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow~"

In Konoha Village, Namikaze Minato returned home and lay down on his bed.

"So tired..."

"You've worked hard today."

Having defeated all the bosses before the Ashen Capital once, the attributes he gained from these fights had allowed him to reach the peak of a Kage-level ninja. But fighting like this for more than a dozen days in a row made him feel tired, especially today.

"I didn't expect them to be so strong..."

The online Red Alert game had shown him what it meant to have many talented people, especially Zhongli and Riku. Their command in the battle was spectacular.

If the Third Shinobi World War had allowed any one of them to command the Konoha Ninja Army, the losses wouldn't have been as bad.

"An internet café that connects all worlds probably exists so that people from different worlds can communicate~"

Kushina was about to continue when her face changed.

"What's wrong?"

"It hurts... it's coming."

"!!!"

At that moment, Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God to arrive at Sarutobi's home.

"My wife is in labor!"

"!!!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen realized the seriousness of the situation. He immediately had his wife and the midwives head to Minato's home, while gathering the strongest sensor ninjas from the Anbu.

Kushina's body sealed the Nine Tails, and a pregnant woman giving birth is when the seal is weakest. No one could predict what the child would be like. It would be fine if it was a normal child, but if it was the Nine Tails...

Meanwhile, the Nine Tails in Kushina's body calmly ate ramen noodles. All along, Kushina had been using the Nine Tails' energy for trade, but this also created a loophole: the Nine Tails could choose what power to extract. Initially, it left a message to randomly give it something, and it received ramen. It hadn’t gotten tired of it after ten days.

Sometimes when Kushina renewed or bought food, it would renew a copy. When Kushina played games, the Nine Tails could follow along inside her body. Kushina didn't know this, but Liu Yuan did.
However, he didn't mind as long as someone was paying.

Minato and Sarutobi transferred Kushina to a secret base, guarded by a special barrier, making it impossible for anyone to enter. Two female ninjas, whom Minato recognized as reliable upper-level ninjas with strong perception and special ninjutsu, guarded the room.

Minato then summoned both the First and Second Hokage to guard the base from the outside to ensure security.

"Hey~ Minato, why are you suddenly nervous? Have you encountered any enemies? Let us take a look!"

"Kushina's in labor, I'm a bit nervous."

"Oh! Let me see when the baby is born!"

"No problem!"

Minato was worried about Kushina's physical condition and whether the Nine Tails would break the seal. In fact, breaking through the seal was manageable. He was confident he could defeat the Nine Tails, but he was concerned about Kushina's safety.

Sitting there, Minato suddenly felt something was wrong. He used the Flying Thunder God to enter the maternity ward. As he entered, he saw a man in black quietly moving against the Anbu ninjas.

He hadn't sensed him at all.

Neither his knots, jutsu, nor sensors detected the enemy's presence.

But how did he find out?

He noticed a tombstone icon on the lower right corner of his system interface, indicating a strong enemy nearby, making the Spirit Calling Bell accessible.

"Bang!"

Without hesitation, he fired a sniper rifle, but the bullet passed through the man in black and hit the wall.

"Genjutsu? No!"

The Anbu ninjas heard the noise and were about to back up when Minato shouted, "Take Kushina and leave. Leave this to me."

Minato's voice made the man in black turn around.

"It's you..."

The deep voice seemed to carry sadness, but Minato didn't recognize him. Seeing the Sharingan eyes within the mask, his heart sank.

A member of the Uchiha, and so powerful—who could it be? Uchiha Fugaku? Impossible!

Absolutely impossible. With Minato protecting the Uchiha clan, there was no reason for Fugaku to attack Kushina.

Then who?

Meanwhile, Kushina's sudden move gave Naruto a burst of strength. Seeing this, Biwako Sarutobi picked up the child and ordered Kushina to be transferred to the mountains, closer to the village for support.

At that moment, a dark shadow appeared beside them.

"Heh, he's really unreliable."

The Black Zetsu appeared. Now was not the best time to release his mother, but if there was a chance to release the Nine Tails and have it killed, it was appropriate.

He understood Konoha's situation. Only Kushina could truly seal the Nine Tails. With her physical strength weakened by childbirth and low chakra, she couldn't seal the Nine Tails.

Unable to seal, what then? Of course, it had to be killed; otherwise, the village would be destroyed.

Kushina could see what the Black Zetsu was thinking. He wanted to lift the Nine Tails' seal.

Since he wanted to lift it, she would comply.

"Nine Tails! You are free!"

"?"

The Nine Tails in Kushina's body slowly typed out a question mark.

"No! I don't want to! There's that bastard out there! I can't beat him, don't let me go! Please!"

The Nine Tails knew Namikaze Minato was out there, along with other strong ninjas. It didn't think it could beat the Fourth Hokage.

He could sneak out of his cage to play games! Of course it knew what the Hokage Trio were up to!

But begging for mercy didn't help. The Nine Tails' massive body appeared outside the village.

The Black Zetsu froze when he saw Kushina suddenly release the Nine Tails.

He didn’t understand what was happening.

Kushina seized the moment, pulling out a sprayer and a liquid nitrogen grenade launcher from her system.

"Sorry, times have changed!"

"Nani!"





Chapter 57: Nine Tails Jinchuriki Mimic Tear

What looked like a cube and what looked like a pipe emitted fire at the same time, and at such a close distance, Black Zetsu was barely able to dodge it.

"What kind of weapon is this?"

If it was a Kunai or an Explosive Tag, he would be able to judge it based on the enemy's movements, but this time he didn't see any movement before he was hit.

However...

"Oh, it's a pity that I dodged your move, but, it doesn't matter, you'll just fade away in the Nine Tails' fury!"

In Black Zetsu's opinion, Kushina was very smart to release the Nine Tails on her own after knowing her situation. This would minimize the damage to her body, and with the Uzumaki clan's physique, she would be able to fully recover in a few weeks.

However, in his opinion, Kushina forgot one thing: sealed for so long, the Nine Tails would certainly be angry and slaughter entirety of Konoha.

But...

The imagined image of a village slaughter didn't appear. Instead, a large orange fox held a bowl of ramen about the size of its head in its hands, chopsticks strangely held in its paws.

"Hi~"

"?"

Black Zetsu's head was full of questions.

What was the situation?

He remembered that the Nine Tails was very brutal; how could it be so calm?

Normally speaking, it was brutal, but for some time now, the Nine Tails felt like it was living a very good life, having food and fun in Kushina's body, and even being able to watch Minato, the First and Second Honkage get beaten together with Kushina in Elden Ring.

What's more, he knew a very scary thing: Namikaze Minato could use a special bell to summon Hashirama Senju, and at the same time, Kushina had a card in her hand.

If he could run away after coming out to make a mess of himself, it would still be worth considering.

But the problem came; he couldn't run, he couldn't fight. If he made too mess himself, he might not be able to eat ramen in the future, he wouldn't be able to drink Coke, and couldn't see the fun of the first, second, or fourth Hokage dying again and again.

The Nine Tails was very smart and knew how to make choices.

As for the emotions of being sealed by Kushina? Reasoning was nothing emotional. If he was going to be sealed, then seal him: why not be sealed in a place with good food, drink, and have fun?

"What's going on?"

The masked Uchiha Obito appeared beside Black Zetsu.

"It's not following orders anymore, as per the original plan."

Under the mask, the Sharingan eyes appeared, and the moment he saw them, the Nine Tails instantly thought of one word.

"Help me!!!"

With this shout, the Nine Tails not only confused the people who were present but also the people in the village.

Wasn't it the Nine Tails who attacked the village?
How come the Nine Tails suddenly begged for help?

"I'll save you, but you have to return to the seal by yourself."

Kushina originally wanted to split this big fox into two parts, one for her son as an outcast and one for herself to continue sealing. But when this big fox shouted out these words, probably because of the child that was just left, Kushina, who was holding the child, softened her heart.

"I'll save you. I hope you don't mess up when you're awake."

At this moment, the eyes of the Nine Tails gradually went berserk. Being controlled by the Sharingan eyes, it began to gather Tailed Beast Ball and launch it towards Konoha.

Inside the secret base, Tobirama sat on the ground and asked Namikaze Minato, "Is it really alright?"

"It's fine. She has a weapon to save her life, and I contacted the store manager, who promised to help when Kushina and Naruto are in danger."

"For free?"

Tobirama saw that the internet fee at the internet cafe was fine for a day or two, but over time it was a real pain in the ass.

"No..."

Tobirama also teleported back at this time.

"Ready."

Minato nodded and took out the Mimic Tear.

This time, instead of using the Spirit Calling Bell, he directly split the ashes with chakra, and a second Minato appeared.

At the same time, Minato used the Shadow Clone Technique and after evenly distributing the chakra to the Shadow Clone, the Clone gained Kage - level chakra as well.

In Elden Ring's Realism Difficulty, every boss with the strength of a demigod or above killed would add one ability point. He already added Chakra to his limit, and the rest of his attributes were also added by an average of three points.

The current Namikaze Minato had the level of a beginner's Kage-level even if he divided his chakra into three equal parts.

Normally summoning the Mimic Tear does use the Spirit Calling Bell, but if qualified bell user is strong enough, it can also be used by using the power with the corresponding costs, and during the summoning, the Mimic Tear will frantically attack all the enemies in the range.

Through the Flying Thunder God, one person, two Ashes, and a Shadow Clone Mimic Tear were sent to the four corners surrounding the Nine Tails by the Flying Thunder God.

"Four Red Yang Formation."

A large red boundary wrapped the Nine Tails. If there was no one within the village who could solve the Nine Tails, then the crisis that awaited the existence would be the extinction of Konoha.

However, they all knew that they had a sure-fire bottom card, and that was Namikaze Minato under the Mimic Tear.

Mimic Tear, or the legendary big brother, can use all the skills of the summoner.

As for the Nine Tails? There was absolutely no need to worry, as the Nine Tails would be taken care of by Kushina herself.

The teardrop-like substance fell from Kushina's Spirit Calling Bell.

During this period, Kushina was not simply playing Minecraft. After determining that it would not have an impact on the child, she, under Liu Yuan's guidance, obtained the Mimic Tear.

She summoned the Mimic Tear under the Nine Tails, Kushina looked at the Nine Tails, and then the power of the Nine Tails erupted from her body.

"What's going on?"

"Is this a shadow clone?"

Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hirazen, who was preparing to fend off the Nine-Tailed Tailed Beast Ball inside the village, came out in a cold sweat when he felt the second Nine-Tailed aura.

Kushina was also a little surprised. She understood that what is summoned through the Mimic Tear is a clone that fights with the same attributes as her own, but now that the Nine Tails are gone from her body, why can the Mimic Tear be summoned?

Or rather, why is the power of the Nine Tails coursing through her and the Mimic Tear?

At this moment, a transmission from Liu Yuan came from the TT.

"Your Mimic Tear I have given had a temporary snapshot mechanism that copies the complete attributes of the child after birth at their peak in a possible future. Also, this one sentence account will be settled at that time."

She didn't understand what the snapshot mechanism meant, but she did know that the Mimic Tear was fully dedicated to its master when summoned.

The Mimic Tear-Kushina looked at the Nine Tails in front of her, as nine tails conjured out of chakra swung in the air behind her. The chakra of the Uzumaki clan combined with that of the Nine Tails even more so, causing this Mimic Tear to undergo a qualitative change in the true sense of the word.

A grin appeared on her face as she leapt into the air and punched at the building-up madness of the Nine Tails.

Jinchuriki + Tailed Beast is normally very difficult to utilize the full power, but when the Jinchuriki becomes the perfect Jinchuriki, then this power is not as simple as 1+1=2.

There is no fancy ninjutsu; there is just a fist-to-flesh attack and chakra brutal suppression force.

At the same time, inside the internet cafe, Kisara, who was hacking with Liu Yuan to play Red Alert, asked curiously, "What happened? Going out for so long?"

"I was looking to see if the family used help, and now it looks like they don't."

"Oh oh oh! Has the little baby been born yet? Boss~ Can I go see it~"

"By yourself? Sure! Take five thousand and I'll personally send you there."

Kisara directly turned her head to the computer screen, "Boss! Today we challenge 08! Now I know how many trees there are in the Ice fields, I'm not afraid of him anymore."

"Good point, I'll watch the battle then."

"I was wrong~ Boss, you're the best person~"

As the two of them chatted idly, they began their journey to cultivate immortality for the night.




Chapter 58: The Fall of the Nine Tails

At this time, the villagers of Konoha felt the fear of all their previous achievements vanishing. Sarutobi, however, revealed a shocked expression upon seeing the barrier around the village.

The Four Red Yang Formation required four ninjas with Kage-level strength to create it.

Why would it appear here? He considered only one possibility: the Sannin had returned and were cooperating with Namikaze Minato to release this boundary. He could think of no other explanation.

Outside the village, the appearance of the Mimic Tear version of Kushina completely disrupted all the plans of the two men.

Uchiha Obito wanted to go and support his ally, but as he moved, Namikaze Minato suddenly appeared beside him. With a Rasengan at his abdomen, and accompanied by the explosion of a grenade, the concentrated power stirred into Uchiha Obito's body.

However, his body began to vaporize, and he prepared to escape, taking Black Zetsu with him.

"Escape? Flying Thunder God!" Minato called out, maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation, and then used the Flying Thunder God technique to swap places between himself and the Mimic Tear instantly. He maintained the formation while the Mimic Tear was in charge of fighting.

As soon as the Mimic Tear arrived, it used the strongest sealing technique currently held by Namikaze Minato, 'Dead Demon Consuming Seal'.

The Shinigami's appearance blocked the entire space, but Namikaze Minato was a half-beat too slow.

By the time the Shinigami appeared, Uchiha Obito had already disappeared.

After losing its target, the Mimic Tear dissipated.

The Shinigami paused, realizing there was another Namikaze Minato, but this one wasn't the one that summoned it. The summoner was a small gray entity that looked like a water droplet, and there was also a little figure that looked like Kushina, but neither was the actual summoner.

The Shinigami 'smiled,' amused by this situation, confident that it would meet this little gray summoner again.

Feeling the dissipation of the Mimic Teardrops, Namikaze Minato wore a serious expression. "Space Ninjutsu?"

Other than Space Ninjutsu, he couldn't think of any other way to escape from the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

The Mimic Teardrop-Human Jinchuriki Kushina erupted with genuine power.

Tailed Beast Jade? It was crushed and exploded with her bare hands!

The controlled Nine Tails and the perfect Nine-Tailed Human Jinchuriki were vastly different in strength.

Attempting to store power? Then punch. Although the total amount of chakra was the same, one relied on brute force, while the other had brute force and technique, coupled with the Mimic Tear copying Kushina's sealing jutsu. It didn't take long for the Nine Tails to be brought under control.

As Uchiha Obito left, Kushina approached the Nine Tails and used the 'Law of Regression' to lift its mental rage.

Previously, the technique had been useless because of the distance and her fear of harming Naruto while holding him. Now, with the enemy gone, she could help Nine Tails resist the control.

Although the enemy had fled, the boundary was still in place. The Nine Tails had regained its sanity, but its next actions were uncertain.

"Help!!!" cried the sane Nine Tails, bewildered by Kushina's punches in Nine Tails mode.

It remembered the Mimic Tear's power and knew it had to act quickly.

Seeing Kushina holding the child, Nine Tails thought:

Let me go back! I don't want to stay outside for another second.

Back inside, as long as Kushina visited the internet cafe, it could use its power to get a super large bowl of ramen.

Outside, it faced the possibility of being hammered by the Hashirama Senju again. Inside Kushina, it could enjoy games and use Tailed Beast Ball without worry. The choice was clear.

Kushina used a sealing technique, and the Nine Tails was drawn back into her body without resistance. Once inside, it immediately contacted Liu Yuan through TT.

"Boss! Another bowl of ramen, make it extra spicy!"

Liu Yuan responded, "Got it!"

Despite the closing hours of the internet cafe, some services continued. With enough money, the system would deliver anything.

Inside the seal, Nine Tails looked at the ramen with a satisfied smile.

Leave? Only fools leave. Here I can eat whatever I want.

It consumed the spicy ramen, enjoying the heat.

Elsewhere, sensing the disappearance of the Nine Tails, the bodies of Tobirama and Hashirama began to vanish.

"Looks like the enemy has disappeared. Let's go back. Just call us when it's time to fight."

Namikaze Minato also breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't fear the Nine Tails in pure combat but worried about large-scale jutsu harming the village. Now, with the Nine Tails under Kushina's control, he could return to his family.

"Kushina!!!" called Namikaze Minato. Kushina waved back, and the couple finally got to see their son properly.

For the next three days, Namikaze Minatk didn't show up at the internet cafe. Despite the cafe's time ratio, he didn't want to be separated for even twelve minutes.

A week later, Minato and Kushina returned to the internet cafe. Liu Yuan greeted them.

"How's the body?"

"No problem," Kushina replied, thanking him for his help that day.

"What's the point of being polite? You guys are important customers of this store. How's the baby?"

"Very healthy."

Kisara asked curiously, "So, can I see the child?"

When Minatk hesitated, Liu Yuan reached out and knocked on Kisara's head.

"How many times have I said that this store doesn't entertain minors, not even minors, and you want to entertain small children."

"But I want to see small children so much," Kisara pleaded, seeing the couple was willing but the store manager was not.

"No way!"

Before Kisara could finish her sentence, she was tied up with a rope by Liu Yuan, who then took a steamed bun bigger than her mouth and shoved it into her mouth.

"You're trying to say that you've committed the following offense, aren't you? Since you're so death-defying, I'll satisfy you today, I'll knife a Network Manager and sacrifice her to heaven today!"

However, Mu Geng struggled frantically, just wanting to say, "I'll just beg you."

Before she could finish her words, she was tied up, gagged, and thrown into the rest room.

Everyone was not surprised by this scene. When they were tired of playing games, the small interactions between Liu Yuan and Kisara provided a source of joy for everyone.




Chapter 59: Namikaze Minato Prepares to Change Konoha

Not only did Namikaze Minato's battle defeat the powerful enemy who had sneaked up on him, but it also caused him, and part of Kushina's message, to appear on the desks of the other Kage.

"Defeating the Nine Tails, the perfect Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, Konoha..."

"Perfect Jinchuriki?"

"How is that possible? How could there be a Perfect Jinchuriki?"

No one knew how the news came out, but the entire Shinobi world almost knew that Kushina had become a perfect Jinchuriki. On the contrary, Kushina herself didn't feel a thing about it.

Because she knows she is not at all the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; she can only barely use some of the Nine-Tails' chakra for fighting. The rest of the time were spent borrowing the Nine-tails chakra.

But when she thought of the Mimic Tear in that battle state last night, Kushina's heart had an idea.

"Hey, big fox!"

Seeing Kushina suddenly appear in the sealed space, Nine Tails directly stuffed all the candies into his mouth and swallowed them in one gulp.

"What for?"

It chewed, and at the same time radiated a strong pressure to attempt to threaten Kushina.

"Don't hide it, the boss told me all about it."

"What!"

"It's not like it's a secret."

"Damn it!!!"

Nine Tails was now furious, even though it said that it didn't have any verbal agreement with Liu Yuan not to divulge secrets or anything, it was still a bit balked at the thought of his big plan of lazing while enjoying life being discovered.

"Hmph! I'm just using my own power to buy food, it's a right that belongs to me."

"Oh~~"

Kushina knew what Nine Tails did in this instant; she was still puzzled before. How did Nine Tails manage to appear with a big bowl of ramen while being sealed, so it was really buying something in the store.

"What kind of expression is that? You're swindling me!"

Nine Tails was enraged! He wanted to let the woman in front of her know that Nine Tails was an existence not to be messed with.

"Angry! Angry! Angry!!!"

Kushina then said calmly, "If you're angry~ I can let you go, oh~ I won't lie to you~"

Nine Tails' body paused.

Go? There was no way it could go.

He can bet a tail's worth of chakra that once his front foot left Konoha, he will definitely be sealed by someone else as a Jinchuriki.

It is better to follow Kushina to mix like this now, go to the Internet cafe to have food and drink to play, and later have the opportunity to meet other tailed beasts while mocking them, okay.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just took a look at you~"

"Hmph!"

The Nine Tails snorted coldly, and then Kushina found her consciousness returning to reality. At the same time, she could now use the Nine Tails chakra.

Nine Tails, that sure has some pride.

Feeling the power within her body, there was still a large gap between the force shown by the Mimic Tear yesterday.
However, she had already discovered some of the Nine Tails' little 'hobbies'.

Threatening?

That will provoke the nine tails' rebellious heart, working together is absolutely the best choice.

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office, Minato sighed as he looked at job after job.

"Is there a lot of damage even with this? Looks like Konoha's planning needs to be adjusted..."

The biggest loss in this Nine Tails incident was the stampede; twenty-three people were slightly injured due to the stampede, while Anbu also had a few injuries when they discovered the barrier because they didn't know who released it and mindlessly ran to the barrier.

Later on, after Sarutobi's information was synchronized in place, the Anbu were mainly responsible for protecting the evacuation of the population.

"What a headache~"

Minato felt like he had more work to do, and he really wanted to feel the fish.

But when he was consulting the information, he received special information from his informant.

"The Uchiha clan has been ordered to forbid participation in the war, Anbu..."

Namikaze Minato mused; ever since he became Hokage, he had sensed an undercurrent in Konohagakure. If Konoha was a big tree, some of the roots underneath this tree might be rotting away.

In the past, when he was shallow in seniority, his strength wasn't able to suppress these people, and his prestige was just barely at the level of being a Hokage, he didn't dare to mess around the constructed politics, but this time he could use things like the 'defeat of the Nine Tails' and the fact that 'one person' had cast a jutsu that requires four Kage-level ninjas to gain some say in the matter.

But before that, he needed to go talk to the Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha clan, according to the Sandaime and his cohoorts, was a clan of extremes.

Especially after the Nine Tails were controlled by the Sharingan, the Uchiha clan had been brought to the forefront.

But at the same time, he was also clear that now was the best time to pull the Uchiha clan as his own.

"Danzo..."

Minato's time in office was very short, but the good thing was that Sarutobi Hiruzen had given Minato absolute trust, and all rights and eyes were given to him.
Unlike the Third Generation Hokage's slightly wistful policy, Namikaze Minato was rather more bold, especially now that he had the backing of the First and Second Hokage, allowing him to do more.

If this Nine Tails incident had been an effort to target the Nine Tails together, then Namikaze Minato wouldn't have been so quick to push his ideas. He was still young, he thought he could wait a few years to weaken them a little.

But now, he could increase his strength in the Internet Cafe and Kushina had gained enough strength, plus the Nine Tails incident had made him famous, so he was going to strike while the iron is hot. He was going to advance some of his plans.

It was just that in doing so, he needed to retire the 'old men' who were still fighting on the front lines.

Order after order was being given out, some of these orders had been planned before, some were what came to mind after experiencing Resident Evil and seeing different world policies and ideas.

1. Expand farming, use the new type of seeds obtained by him for large scale farming.

2. Expand enrollment in ninja schools, ninjas are no longer just weapons, divided the combat ninjas and living ninjas, farming, building, innovation, and preparing to improve ninja schools.

3. At the same time change the ninja rating method, ninja can not be judged purely by chakra and jutsu power.

4. Combat ninja should be judged according to their comprehensive combat power, all kinds of ninja according to their comprehensive contribution to the Konoha rating.

5. Re-recruit more consultants and experts, in which the Uchiha clan can participate, weakening the status of clans and increasing the number of civilian ninjas. The number of civilians to clans must be 8:2.

Waving out these orders, Namikaze Minato ignored what the men were going to do next; instead, he called Kakashi directly into his office.

"Kakashi, come with me later, everything you see is forbidden to be told outside."

"!!!"

Kakashi had a bad feeling himself.

He had just received an order to be taken out of the house, and it seemed to him that this was going to be a big move against those guys.

But Kakashi was excited; he knew that those guys were the ones who had harmed his father in the first place. It was impossible to kill them, but they should never be allowed to stay in power. If they continued, his own tragedy would only continue to repeat itself to other people.

"You will be allowed to do what you want when you return, and right now..."

Namikaze Suikado received a notice of the opening of the internet cafe at this time, and he immediately brought Kakashi into the cafe.

"Welcome to the 4D Internet Cafe, Guest, may I ask this new guest, how many hours do you want to open the machine?"

Hearing Liu Yuan's inquiry, Minato said without hesitation, "One day, one copy of all the games for him, let Nine Tails pay for the money!"

"Okay~"

Liu Yuan had a smile on his face, although he couldn't fool Kushina into selling Nine Tails directly, but this daily gathering of fox fur for the Internet cafe was also a truck load of money.

He listened to the system, the system took the Nine Tails power and the main transaction went well.

A day of power can sell a day and a half of Internet money, this is the charm of the middleman to earn the difference.

Liu Yuan and the system never do loss making business after all.




Chapter 60 - Tina's Pass Reward Choice

"This is... where...?"

Kakashi used his Sharingan to look around, but as the eyepatch was removed, he felt a chill. The man in front of him looked gentle, but his body erupted with a power more terrifying than that of the Tailed Beast. He immediately covered his Sharingan, and while doing so, the chill disappeared.

"This guest, please don't use your abilities randomly in the store. If you hurt someone, you will be blacklisted!"

Namikaze Minato waved his hand and laughed, "A little nervous for the first time."

After introductions, Namikaze Minato led Kakashi onto the plane. A few minutes after they got on, Kushina arrived as well.

"Hey? I can't believe Kakashi is here too~"

"Sensei's wife!!!"

At this moment, Kakashi felt a bit confused, but with the guidance of Namikaze Minato and Kushina, he quickly understood what he could do and what to do.

He was pulled by Namikaze Minato to have a Red Alert 5v3 match. That's right, 5v3—Kakashi was in the group of 5, and Minato was in the group of 3.

Those who currently play Red Alert are already very skillful, but skillful as they may be, the gap in talent, strength, and insight makes the power exerted in battle completely different for each person. It's like Zhongli and Rick, both of whom have managed to take out famous AI computers in 1v1 battles. Namikaze Minato and 08 fought back and forth, reaching a human level of skill.

Recently, it has become popular for others to challenge the three of them. If it's 1v1, it's very hard for those three to win. If the three of them are together, it's a big battle. If they're not together, it's a big battle surrounded by others. Command skill gap only reflects when the strength difference is very small. If the opposition starts by building a power plant, barracks, and then brainlessly bunkers soldiers to change their home, not even the AI might be able to win.

Because it is not just one people that is so messed up—it's everyone.

At the front desk, today's Liu Yuan did not watch everyone play the game but began to pick a new game. The newcomers joined to buy a round of games and also bought a copy of office software, making Liu Yuan quite wealthy. Coupled with everyone's spending these days, in a few days of opening, Liu Yuan would be able to buy another game.

Now, he first picked, having enough money to directly buy a new game. Namikaze Minato had brought two people to the internet cafe, and according to this progress, he would bring more people in the future. Buying games is not a loss—the more choices for new people, the better.

After picking for half a day, he still couldn't find a particularly suitable type of game. Cultivation? Fantasy? Urban? Future technology?
There were too many types of games. Some small games didn't show up well on consoles, but if replaced with real games, they would be very sensational.

For example, Contra on the red and white machine is a small man jumping around. Changed into the Realism mode, it's really about one person battling alien monsters—the difficulty goes up, the game experience also goes up, and the rewards also goes up.

But just as he was seriously thinking about what to choose, Tina waved her hand.

"What's wrong?"

Tina pointed at the computer, "Passed... reward..."

She had cleared Resident Evil Veronica, Dark Chronicles, and RE 4—all three. Tina, the 'experiment,' is highly coveted by all organizations. In the game plot, she was constantly captured by different organizations, each obtaining virus samples for research.

The good news is that this research resulted in a fusion agent, a perfect fusion agent that can merge the Gastrea virus and Veronica viruses and keep the person in human form. The downside is that it needs to be frozen for at least ten years after use to mitigate the conflict between the viruses.

Ten years is too long, but while this thing won't be used for a while, it gives Tina a good head start.

As she used the Realism Substitution mode, Veronica's game of episodes saw her being pursued by the Ashford siblings. Veronica and the Dark Chronicles had Tina fighting with Claire, fighting with Wesker, and then following Leon to solve a village virus, saving a girl who was also infected.

Finally, during a book club meeting with Ashley, she was captured by a strange organization. Ashley was used as a bargaining chip, and she was used as an experiment.

This plot left Tina at a loss for words. The game experience felt like she was possessed by the god of misfortune—wherever things went wrong, she was there.

Even Leon joked about whether she was the mastermind behind the scenes.

But in reality, she wasn't. Whether it was the plot setting or Tina's own will, her goal was to make the virus no longer a threat to life. Because in the game, she is still set to mutate when she exceeds a fifty percent infection rate.

After being rescued by Leon, she experienced non-stop fighting, infected villagers, lake monsters, and previously encountered evil Special Forces members.

This excited Tina, as she met Ada Wong. After Leon giving a hard compliment to Ada, they arranged a secret meeting in a different time and place.
As for what happened after that, Tina didn't know.

After everything was done, looking at the clearance information, Tina decided to collect the rewards given after three consecutive game clearance, but when she got to the collection interface, she faced a dilemma.

She was completely unsure of what to choose.

Perfect T-Virus and T-Veronica Virus—these two virus effects she saw. According to the system description, the Perfect Virus will not produce any side effects after use. Veronica Virus doesn't even need her to be frozen for ten years; she can just use it directly. In addition to this, there are some firearms and knowledge. Using these two viruses can completely neutralize the side effects of the Gastrea virus, but this thing has a drawback: it's a one-time use.

Then there's the knowledge category, such as knowledge of pathology, experimental knowledge, or some weapons and equipment construction methods.

These three games involve a lot of things, so the rewards are very generous. The only drawback is that there are still no rewards related to the original gastrea virus after clearing these three generations.

It can't be said that there are none. For example, the T-virus and Gastrea virus tracker is very top-notch, but she doesn't find this useful.

Liu Yuan looked at Tina's selection screen and gave his advice after thinking for a long time.

"This, this, and this are a must if you want to be able to take in a large number of children next. Minato and the others can only provide you with food, the rest, you need to improve yourself."

Liu Yuan pointed out the choices of 'Semi-Artificial Intelligence System,' 'Mechanized Production Line,' and 'Complete Book of Experimental Knowledge.'

Since it was a pass to the third game, the rewards could be chosen from nine. Liu Yuan helped choose these three, and he said she could choose the remaining six herself. Even the most basic weaponry would be of great help to Tina.

Tina chose two copies of the Perfect Virus. Now that she was using the Mold Virus, the Mold Virus in the Gastrea virus couldn't further erode her body. With these two new viruses, she was perfectly capable of finding a genius to help her.

And she did have a target.

Kayu Senju, an Initiator who possessed the Dolphin Factor, had a super-high IQ of 210. If she could pull her into the team, then when she could get a perfect pass to obtain the Gastrea virus's effective antidote, she would be able to help develop and produce it along with her.





Chapter 61 - Veronica Virus and Kayu Senju

In the Tokyo region, a shocking event occurred the other day when the Legacy of the Seven Stars appeared and was stolen. In order to recover the Legacy of the Seven Stars, the entire Tokyo region's police force was mobilized.

Inside a room, Tina learned through Kohina Hiroku why this happened. According to Kohina Hiroku, her father had tried to compete for the Legacy of the Seven Stars and summon a Stage 5 Gastrea. However, her father was destroyed by Liu Yuan before he could act.
Although she knew about her father's plan, the exact reasons were unclear.

"Is that so?" Tina began to think of countermeasures. If, according to known intelligence, the Legacy of the Seven Stars could summon a Stage 5 Gastrea, the method was still unknown.

"Wait!!!"

She vaguely had a bad feeling as she recalled the words of the woman in Resident Evil Veronica, who was one day away from fusing the perfect virus.

"Tina, the person who created the viruses in you is a genius. You have talents far beyond mine, but sadly, you cannot control them. I will devour you today and make you a part of me."

She was then taken out by Tina and Chris with a bazooka.

Recalling further back, the word 'creation' was mentioned several times for the Gastrea virus.

The source of the T-virus, on the other hand, she knew through Umbrella's existing information, came from 'a plant of a certain tribe in Africa.'

She had once asked Liu Yuan in detail if everything in the game could be taken seriously. Liu Yuan made it clear that everything experienced within the game could be taken as a real occurrence, and that non-artificial creatures would never say the word 'creation.' If the Gastrea virus is created, then the Gastrea virus of the Zodiac Stage V must also be artificially created.

Humans, experiments with humans, experimental subjects destroying humans, and then transferring the hatred to the experimental subjects?

The more Tina thought about it, the more likely it seemed. To verify the possibility, she decided she had to seize the Legacy of the Seven Stars herself.

"Little Hina, accompany me to fight for the Legacy of the Seven Stars."

Currently, Tina had become an internationally wanted criminal, especially in the Tokyo area, where her bounty was terrifyingly high. It didn't matter though, as she played more and more Resident Evil, she became more skilled at mastering the Perfect Mold viruses in her body.
These viruses couldn't repel or fuse the Gastrea virus, but together they were powerful enough for her to deal with the enemies in the Tokyo area.

Outside of the city, the police and the Initiates were searching for the Legacy of the Seven Stars. Seitenshi had promised a large prize for finding it, and a very sizable amount of money if they found it together.

Tina and Kohina Hiroku entered the forest, searching around when they suddenly heard violent shaking behind them and shrieking voices.

"Run!!!"

"It's Stage 4!!!"

Stage four Gastreas were no longer something that could be taken out by ordinary human power. Tina glanced at the weapons in her backpack. When she cleared the second generation, she obtained Ada's love bazooka and three shells.
The introduction stated it had the ability to kill Stage 4 in one hit, but she was a bit uncertain without having tested it. In that case...

"Here's a thank you..."

Tina recognized the two who ran out as the civilian police duo, Rentaro Satomi and Enju Aihara. They had helped her once before when she was wanted, a favor that should be returned. A bazooka with Ada hickey appeared in Tina's hand. This love bazooka was specially painted by Ada to thank Tina for her help. She preferred it not only because it could kill Stage 4 but also for the sentimental value.

Aim the bazooka! Fire. The orange-colored tail flame strike propelled the warhead towards Stage 4. With a 'boom,' the Gastrea was directly blown up without even ashes left.

"What an unscientific bazooka..." Tina casually put the bazooka away and greeted Kohina Hiroku. "Time to go~"

"Good~"

Tina hadn't forgotten about her mission to find that genius cursed child and take her under her wing. She was lucky enough to follow the popular route of the newest Initiator and found her inside a dilapidated house.

Kayu Senju, a Cursed Child with a Dolphin Factor, had an intelligence of up to 210 IQ. If she were a normal child, she would have a promising future. But as a Cursed Child, her life could end tonight.

"What man?" Kayu Senju raised her gun and aimed it at Tina, who stepped into the light unperturbed. "You're pointing a gun at me."

"What are you!"

"Tina, Tina Sprout."

"It's you..." It was a name she'd heard many times. Her facilitator had said many times that if she caught her, she'd be fed and watered for the rest of her life. She tried to make a move, but before she could, blood ran down her arm.

"You're hurt."

"Back off!"

Tina spoke once more, "You're hurt." She took out the mixed herbs from her backpack. This was one of the rewards she chose this time, the Mixed Herb Formula. According to the formula, as long as you find the corresponding plants, you can make herbs that have a miraculous effect on external injuries. Mixed with a special ratio, it can cure superficial wounds.

"Stop!" Seeing Tina's movement, Kayu Senju was about to shoot. Even if she killed the other party, she would get a substantial bonus. Just by pulling the trigger, she could 'retire.'

But... She took a deep breath, her aura unchanged as she warned, but Tina shook her head. "Kayu, such behavior won't even dry you up by licking you oh~"

With that said, a pistol suddenly appeared in her hand. In a flash, she knocked the gun out of Kayu Senju's hand, then grabbed him.

"Kayu, join me?"

"What?"

She was resisting, but the difference in power prevented her from breaking free.

"Kayu, do you believe in fate? Want to get rid of this fate imposed on us?"

"Fate?"

"You're very smart. If I tell you that the so-called Gastrea virus was created by humans themselves, and that we've just become a contradiction created by their public opinion, and that I have the power to change that, what would you do?"

"Impossible!" Kayu Senju's pupils clenched. If everything Tina said was true, she knew why Tina was wanted all over the world, because she held the truth.

But in reality, it was entirely because her original 'master' was greedy for the special 'virus' that came out of Tina's body and wanted to take it for himself. Because it was hard to explain, he simply issued a wanted notice.

But looking at Kayu Senju, she seemed to be brainstorming strange things, so it's not a big problem! As long as the purpose is accomplished.

In a show of power, Tina took out the Perfect Veronica Virus and stabbed it directly into Kayu Senju's body.

"This is my sincerity. I hope you can join me. My purpose is to make people like us healthy and happy to live under the sun and to make those who wantonly conduct human experiments pay the price."




Chapter 62 - T-Virus and Gastrea Virus


"What is... what..." Kayu Senju felt excruciating pain all over her body. The Gastrea Virus inside her was active, but as it activated, it was devoured by the T-Veronica Virus.

A perfect dynamic balance formed between the two viruses, eliminating Kayu Senju's fear of dying from the Gastrea virus. As the perfect virus provided by the system, it fused perfectly without needing to be frozen.

"Power?" Kayu Senju felt her mind unusually clear and sensed the power from the virus. She now understood why Tina was wanted. In this pitch-black night, she saw light—not just for herself, but for all the cursed children.

She felt her body changing, as if she had numerous arms at her disposal. The blood in her body burned, with hot flames flowing through her veins. For five whole minutes, heat and light surpassed human limits, blooming from Kayu Senju's body.

After the five minutes, a smile appeared on Kayu Senju's face. "Tina, can I say goodbye to someone?"

These words proved she was willing to join Tina, but first, she wanted to save her facilitator, the idiotic civilian police officer with a head full of muscles. He wasn't strictly good or bad, but he had never abandoned her, even risking his life to protect her. He was a qualified facilitator and worth saving.

"No problem! You are free," Tina responded.

"Free?" Kayu Senju knew how precious this freedom was, though she might have to hide with Tina for a long time. She saw a future where she and others could live normally, making it all worthwhile.

However, they arrived too late at the scene. Dead bodies littered the ground, and Gastreas were devouring human flesh. The Initiates were dead, their bodies mangled beyond recognition.

"Damn it!"

Kayu Senju saw her facilitator's corpse, his blonde hair unmistakable. His weapon was damaged, and his body chewed to pieces. A Gastrea clung to his remains, as if showing off its reserve food.

"Damn it!!!!" Possibly affected by the virus or truly enraged, her eyes turned crimson, and vine-like tentacles appeared around her body. Low-stage Gastreas emerged but didn't attack Tina and her companions. Instead, they ran towards the Stage 4 Gastrea.

Kayu Senju's blood spilled, instantly igniting into hot flames upon contact with the creature. Tina recognized these flames; they reminded her of the dragon and phoenix twins she, Chris, and Claire had struggled to defeat.

Kayu Senju was a perfect fusion, in contrast to Tina's off-by-one-day timing. Facing a Stage 4 Gastrea alone, she had absolute power. The creature lost its resistance, its body gnawed by lower orders, leaving the human corpses untouched.

Kayu Senju approached her facilitator's remains, burning his body into ashes and wrapping them in a large leaf, then cradling it in her arms.

"What now?"

Anger? Rage?

No, Kayu Senju felt only regret. This fool had fulfilled his dream of dying facing a strong enemy.

"Let's go..."

Before she could finish, an ominous feeling arose. She saw blood bars—huge blood bars appearing on the ocean.

"Stage 5... Human Creation... wait?"

Tina knew the Seven Star Legacy could summon Stage Five, but what was the principle?

She shifted her line of site to the building housing the Seven Star Legacy, there was a children's tricycle in the middle of the open room.

Children's tricycle, Stage Five, Gastrea, human creation—Tina confirmed her suspicion.

The Gastrea were the result of human experiments, and the twelve Stage 5 Zodiacs were likely former experimental subjects. The so-called summoning might enable these experimental bodies to sense and seek their last humanity.

Tina trembled.

Having experienced a bio-hazard crisis, she knew the cruelty of biological experiments: the architect's daughter in Yokohama, the experimental subjects beneath the hospital in Raccoon City, and the poor villagers on the nameless island.

Discrimination inflicted mental and physical blows, but human biological experimentation was a complete extinction of humanity.

The Zodiac-Scorpio appeared. Its massive size could destroy any human city, and as a Stage 5, it had a regeneration speed that even lava couldn't kill. Unless the ultimate weapon, the 'Ladder of Heaven,' was used, survival in Tokyo was hopeless.

Even Tina wasn't confident against such a huge Gastrea, but she wasn't alone now.

Tina: "Boss, may I ask if the Perfect Virus can make people who have turned into Gastreas change back?"

Liu Yuan: "Theoretically, if it has a bit of human DNA left."

Tina: "Thank you!"

Tina took a deep breath and retrieved the T-virus from her system backpack. This perfect virus could strengthen human attributes comprehensively, and according to the system, its final strength could reach the tyrant level.

"Senju, you just joined, but will you accompany us on this mission?"

"I believe in you."

Kayu Senju had no one else to rely on in this world but Tina, and she looked forward to a future where everyone could live under the sun. It seemed difficult but not impossible. Mass-producing the virus injected into her body could make it happen.

Airplanes circled in the sky as the city's inner defense guns began attacking. They used special ammunition made of 'holmium' metal, but against such a massive monster, the metal had little effect.

Tina was about to move when she encountered Satomi Rentaro and Enju Aihara.

"You guys?" Satomi Rentaro froze for a moment, then hurriedly spoke, "Retreat quickly!"

"No need!" Tina shook her head and asked, "Can you call a helicopter for me? I need to get close to that creature."

"What are you going to do?"

"What for? I'm going to make her human again."

Watching Tina, Rentaro Satomi felt choked up. Tina seemed to have seen life and experienced countless battles.

At that moment, she recalled all the people she encountered in Resident Evil. Chris, Jill, Barry, Leon, and Claire—who prioritized saving others even with a glimmer of hope.

So many battles had shown her humanity's terrors and its glory.

No matter what, she would inherit their intentions and use her power to save herself and others.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuan, having stripped down to his shorts in the internet cafe, glanced at the time. After a moment's thought, he changed into his clothes.

Walking downstairs, Kisara greeted him, "What's up, boss?"

"Tina is in a little trouble. I'll Help her out."

"Go, go, go! Get me a bottle of Coke, cold."

A few seconds later, a bottle of iced Coke hit her square on the head. As she turned around to retaliate, Liu Yuan had already left.





Chapter 63 - Boss Goes on the Game to Pull Backups

Liu Yuan went out and did not head to Tina's world but used the system to enter the world of the game, Resident Evil.

All along, Liu Yuan publicized the game's difficulty in two ways: one is the Game Mode, and the other is the Realism Mode.

On top of that, there is a hidden difficulty, which is the Realism Substitution Mode.

To put it simply, the first is to play the game, the second is to cross over into someone to experience the world, and the third is to personally transmigrate to experience the world after the system has designed their identity.

Under the third difficulty, it is possible to treat this game world as a real, developing world. Things like going to this world to get help are possible.

At BSAA headquarters, in order to cope with the increasingly severe bio-hazard terrorist attacks, eleven members who had experienced the Raccoon City incident, mainly Chris, had set up the Anti-bio-hazard Terrorism Department.
They assisted the worldwide police in preventing bio-hazard from being used as terrorism or other sinister uses.

Today, there was a rare absence of tasks, but Chris was unable to rest because a strange man came to BSAA.

"Hello!"

"Hello."

Looking at Liu Yuan in front of him, Chris had an inexplicable feeling of strangeness. He took the lead and asked, "Do you have clues related to any bio-hazard attack? Please rest assured, this room does not have any monitoring or listening devices, I can guarantee your safety."

"I'm not here for myself."

Liu Yuan shook his head and took out a photo from his pocket. The photo was of no one else but Tina.

"Tina?"

Chris was visibly agitated when he saw Tina's photo. Since the last time he followed Leon back to America, Tina had lost contact. Now that he suddenly saw Tina's picture, he got excited.

"Don't get excited. Tina has encountered a monster turned by the Gastrea virus, and there are people blocking her. I would like to ask you to go over and help save her."

"Who are you to her?"

"Liu Yuan, her boss."

"You are Liu Yuan?"

Chris revealed a stunned expression. He had heard Tina mention Liu Yuan many times—a reliable big brother, a reliable adult. He had always wanted to meet Liu Yuan, but Tina had found various reasons to refuse him.

This time he actually saw a real person? Looking at Liu Yuan's young appearance, Chris was still in disbelief.

"Are you really Liu Yuan?"

"There's no need to lie to you. You can see Tina when you fly to Tokyo, Japan."

Although Liu Yuan was a stranger, Chris inexplicably felt that he was reliable. Without any hesitation, he got up and headed to the parking airport to prepare for departure.

"Brother? What are you doing?"

Today, Claire had come to announce something to Chris. She was going to participate in a special meeting, but before she could say anything, Chris spoke first: "Tina is in danger."

"I'm coming to help."

Chris didn't refuse. Claire had proven herself in the last Antarctic operation, and as an adult, she had earned her brother's trust.

The two flew the plane and set off. A minute later, in front of Leon's house, Liu Yuan knocked on the door.

"Is this Mr. Leon's house?"

"Who are you?"

Looking at the scruffy-faced Leon after he opened the door, Liu Yuan smiled and introduced himself, "My name is Liu Yuan. Tina is in danger. May I ask you to come over and help?"

"What?"

Leon's eyes widened. During this period, he blamed himself a lot. Since bringing Tina back to the United States, Tina had disappeared. Because of this, Ada had gotten angry with him once, then continued to work as an agent, hoping to find out where Tina was from every source.

And himself? He also used his channels to look for her, but the results were not ideal. Just like at the beginning, it was as if she had evaporated from the earth and couldn't be found by any channel or method.

"Yes, look here."

In the photo, Tina was about to face the giant proto-gut creatures. Through the photo, Leon couldn't determine the location.

"Where?"

"Japan, Tokyo area."

Leon didn't think twice. He got up and picked up his communicator. "Hunnigan, the nearest airport."

"Military airport, Leon, what are you doing?"

"Danger has been detected. I need to make a trip to Japan. Help me."

Hunnigan had worked with Leon a few times. She probably guessed what he was trying to do and said helplessly, "Agent Leon, this is against regulations."

"I have to take responsibility for what I've done."

"Fine! The roadmap is sent to you. I'm going to contact that military base and lend you a plane. Don't fall."

Without even questioning, he ran straight to the nearest airbase. Just as he was about to get into the car, a familiar person suddenly stopped him.

"Can I get a ride?"

"Ada?"

"Shhh~"

Ada opened the door and sat on the passenger side. "I heard all of your conversation."

"Why did you—"

"Now is not the time to dwell on that. We have business."

"Indeed."

Leon touched the pistol in his holster, and an unprecedented self-confidence appeared in his mind.

Arriving at the airport, he boarded the prepared fighter plane with Ada without any hindrance.

Chris and Leon's goal was very clear: Japan!

It was only when the plane was about to arrive in Japan that the people in both planes didn't notice that they were no longer in their own world and had arrived in a real world.

Liu Yuan, on the other hand, was sitting on a stone monument in the Tokyo area, looking at the planes that were getting closer in the distance. He leaned his head to look at Tina and her group running in the other direction.

"Tina~ This is my surprise for you."

Liu Yuan was happy to help everyone within the internet cafe solve some difficulties.

But sometimes, if he rushed to help with a problem that others could solve themselves, it would hinder their growth.

"Realism, Realism Substitution... when everything about the characters' emotions within the game is real, is it still a game? But Tina is also really lucky to be recognized by so many people."

If one were to enter the game and incarnate as the Fourth Natural Disaster to kill anything from plants, to humans, to even the planet, then the 'NPCs' of this game wouldn't come to help with whatever problems they encountered in reality. But if you were to get on good terms with various NPCs like Tina and gain their recognition, when you were in danger in reality, they would also think of helping you.

Of course, they can't do anything about traveling across worlds, but Liu Yuan's system can do it.

Liu Yuan sighed as he looked at the tens of thousands of dollars he had just saved these days disappear.

"Tina, you have to show your potential in the future. You have to pull more customers for me in the future, or else you'll lose money."

The money spent on bringing in-game characters to the real world was substantial, and for a poor shopkeeper like Liu Yuan, this move had almost delayed his plans by half a month.





Chapter 64 - Resident Evil Protagonist and Gastrea virus



Tina's heart was racing, even as she cursed herself for the bold and foolish idea.

"Save her! Save her! Save her!"

Fighting with Leon had taught her that if someone was in danger, and if she could save someone who needed saving, then she had to fight to the best of her ability. If she hadn't entered the cyber cafe, all she could do at the sight of this large monster would probably be to run, or simply support from a distance.

But now...

She looked towards the perfect T-virus sample in her hand, while the TT still had Liu Yuan's statement on it, "It's theoretically possible if it has a bit of human DNA in it."

It was just a theory, the success was unknown, but it was worth a try. Even if it couldn't turn it back into a human, it would be worth it to weaken the power of the Gastrea virus. According to the system's hints, the Perfect T Virus would gradually replace the Gastrea virus Virus, keeping the lifeform at a stable level. The most frightening thing about the proto-gut organism was its recovery power, and with the recovery power suppressed, winning would not be a problem.

But the way forward was blocked. The number of Stage 4 Gastrea's in front of them was so large that it made people tremble. Although Kayu Senju could control Gastrea, she could only control up to Stage 4, and having the third order help was like a joke—Stage 3 would become Stage 4's rations, and there would be no chance of resistance at all.

"Leave it to me, I'll help Tina kill all the blockers," Hiruko Kohina said with a happy laugh. She could feel that this was the most enjoyable fight she'd had in a while.

"Take this," Tina said, throwing a small knife to Hiruko Kohina.

"Eh?"

"Live!"

"Orders?"

"Orders."

A smile appeared on Hiruko Kohina's face. She liked Tina—not the kind of like she had when she was with her dad, but she liked being with her, and she was going to be with Tina forever and ever. And anyone who got in her way, she was going to kill—every single one of them.

With some help to stop them, Tina and Kayu Senju continued on. However, the next people to stop them were not Gastrea; they were humans.

They had gotten word from somewhere that Tina had appeared here.

Protecting the Tokyo area? Impossible.

The Gastrea of the Zodiac did have a record of kills, but it was definitely not something that the civilian police could be involved in.

Instead, capturing Tina was a very good choice.

"Wanted Tina Sprout, you are now under arrest for murder."

A dozen groups of civilian police and initiates, and there were even ranked triple-digit existences among these people. One or two were fine, but more people were very difficult to deal with, not to mention the constant circling of airplanes in the sky. Instead of intercepting Capricorn, they intercepted her.

Tina took a deep breath. She was a bit desperate right now.
Scorpio was at least a few dozen kilometers away from here. With help, would she still be able to make it there in time?

At this speed, arriving by herself would only result in two outcomes: the Tokyo area being destroyed, or Scorpio being killed. The second scenario would be fine; at most, one's plans would be ruined.

But if the first scenario happened...

"No! No matter what, we can't let it destroy this place."

There were not only cursed children here but also a large number of civilians. Studying these days had taught her one thing: the vast majority of people were blind followers, and whether these blind followers were bad or good or evil was no reason to let them die.

But now, is it really too late?

Just as she was despairing, the sound of fighter jets came from the sky. Two fighter jets hovered in mid-air.

"Yo! Is our little Tina in some kind of trouble? Want a ride?"

The one who greeted from the airplane was no other than Claire.

"Claire?"

"Call me sister~"

At the same time, a hook lock was thrown out from inside the airplane and wrapped precisely around Tina's waist, lifting her with force and pulling her onto the plane. Simultaneously, a red figure exchanged places with her to land on the ground.

"Just in time, it seems," Ada Wong said, bringing Tina to another plane and laughing lightly. "You told me that only unity we can win, now you want to fight alone?"

Leon, who was controlling the plane in the front row, waved his hand behind him. "Is it time to deal with that big guy? A BOW that big can blow for the rest of its life when it's taken out."

Sitting in the back seat, Tina shook her head. "No, I want to try and save her. She's a... victim too. Leon, help me."

"Okay~"

Just then, Chris's teasing voice came over the intercom. "What about me?"

"Thanks, Uncle Chris!"

"How many times have I told you, it's brother, not uncle!"

"Uncle~"

Claire laughed, "Brother, you're getting old~"

"Damn it!"

On the ground, Ada Wong had a smile on her face as she watched the two airplanes leave in the sky. But then the smile grew even wider as she looked around at the civilian police and the initiates.

"Guys, the fun is just beginning."

It all happened so fast that the civilian police and initiates didn't even react to what was going on before Tina was rescued. However, it didn't matter. There were still two other people who were related to Tina, so it would be easy to catch them and find out Tina's whereabouts.

"Looks like there's trouble~ Little monster, do you have any solution?"

"Solution?"

"Make them all lose their powers!"

Kayu Senju, who had just acquired the Veronica Virus, had fully grasped its power. Killing the people in front of her was as easy as slicing and dicing. She could treat them like a normal person would treat a cursed child. However, she couldn't kill them. But she could manage to disable these people in front of her, for example...

Vines that seemed like tentacles suddenly appeared, catching the civilian police off guard.

A gun?

In the eyes of Kayu Senju, the speed of the bullet was so slow that with a slight tilt of her head, the bullet missed.

As for the power and speed Initiators that sprinted over, they were even less of a threat. Now that she was stronger and faster, and as the battle progressed, her body was adapting to the Veronica virus.
The Veronica virus was trying to fuse with the Gastrea virus. Being the perfect virus, it was trying to create the perfect host.

On the other hand, Tina, who got on the airplane, soon reached the surroundings of Scorpio. Seeing this, Chris couldn't help but tease, "This thing, it's bigger than anything I've ever seen."

Leon said, "One look and I know it's not easy to deal with. Tina, what are you going to do?"

Tina took a deep breath and pulled out the Perfect T Virus. "Use this."

"Virus?"

Tina nodded, "That's right. This is the Perfect T Virus I got, and it doesn't have any side effects. As long as it still has humanity in it and human cells, she can turn back into a human. There's only this one left."

"Do it! Save her. If it fails, we'll then..."

Chris had already made up his mind. He was anti-BOWs no less, but if this BOWs could really save people, he would do his best to help.

Tina catapulted out. As a Cursed Child, her own physical qualities were far beyond normal, and with the Mold Virus she had acquired in the earliest days, she herself was beyond human. What she wanted was simple: jump over, inject the virus, done.

But just at that moment, Liu Yuan on the stone monument stood up. "One more step to go, Tina. Go for it."

A golden light enveloped the surroundings. 'Law of Regression.' This Golden Order Incantation removes all buffs within range, and the fusion between Gastrea was judged as a buff. The fusion between Gastrea temporarily disappeared, and the black creature resembling a core appeared in Tina's eyes.

"Go on, that's the one."

Having fought so many BOWs, she naturally knew the importance of the core.

Tina rushed up, and with one shot, accurately pierced the true core of Scorpio. Along with the invasion of the T-virus, it let out a roar. At the same time, a magical scene happened. It was turning into a human.




Chapter 65 - Tina and the Biohazard Binding

Scorpio's remaining human genes were fusing with the T-virus, and they began to fight the Gastrea virus for control of the body.

The once monstrous Scorpio started to shrink and gradually took on a human form.

When she finally transformed into a small girl, about 1.3 meters tall, Tina didn't hesitate. She jumped up, hugged the girl, and prepared to flee.

Scorpio's transformation stunned everyone, especially Seitenshi and her team. They had only ever seen people turn into Gastrea, never the other way around. It defied their understanding and made them realize that Tina possessed a method to transform the Gastrea virus.

Before Seitenshi could speak, Kikunojou Tendo gave the order. "Seize her!"

The airplanes that had been targeting Scorpio now turned towards Tina. But elite-born Chris was on the scene. He and Claire used their fighters' superior performance to harass the helicopters. Leon hovered the plane near Tina, who leaped aboard with the now-human girl in her arms.

With Tina safely on board, Leon maneuvered the plane and flew away. However, instead of leaving Japan, he flew several hundred kilometers to a relatively flat area to hover temporarily.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Leon asked.

Tina shook her head. "No, there are still people who need me here..."

"What about her?" Leon gestured to the girl in Tina's arms. Over time, she had turned into a human, but her cells were completely infected by the virus. She was now a viral human.

"I decided to watch over her for the time being. If I can't save her, I'll kill her."

Hearing this, Leon tossed a mobile terminal to her. "Take this and call us if you have any problems."

"Thanks."

Tina felt her heart warm as she held the mobile terminal. She hadn't expected that her friends from the game could come to the real world.

"Then we should get going."

"Don't forget to pick up Ada-san!"

"Won't forget."

A voice told Leon to leave, cautioning that staying could lead to international disputes. Knowing Tina was safe allowed his heart, which had been tense for so long, to relax.

As Leon left, the flip-brand mobile terminal in Tina's hand lit up. "Come with me, I'm not like that idiot," said Ada's image on the screen.

Seeing someone familiar, Tina refused. "No, there are still people here who need me, and more infected with the virus who need me. I can't just walk away."

"Stupidity is contagious. If you need anything, call your sister. I'll always answer."

"Thank you, sister Ada."

"Good girl~"

The screen went black, and then Chris and Claire's communication picked up. "Yo Tina, how are you feeling?" Chris asked.

"Fine as hell, how about you guys?"

"We..." Claire interrupted, "Stupid old man, don't waste time. Tina, it's time for us to go. Leon told us you're not ready to leave, but that's okay. I'll come to Japan soon to play with you~"

Claire's mischievous wink made Tina smile.

Chris cut in, "You need to be careful next. You're in a dangerous state right now."

Tina replied indifferently, "Is it as dangerous as when we were chased by the Tyrant?"

"Of course not! Go for it!"

"Hmm!"

They exchanged fist bumps over the screen. As the screen turned black, the two fighter planes in the sky flew away.

Looking at the girl in her arms and then at the airplanes fading away, Tina felt as if she were dreaming. The whole process was as thrilling as facing the final BOW with Chris and Leon.

"Is this... real?"

"You guess?" Liu Yuan's voice appeared beside her.

Tina nervously asked, "Boss, the game, is it really just a game?"

"Who knows? Just like the world we live in, it's not impossible to think of this world as an Earth OL with only one life."

"Then this memory..."

"You'll know tomorrow when you get on the game, won't you?"

"Thanks..."

Liu Yuan reached out and touched Tina's head. "Polite words are unnecessary. If you have the heart to bring more guests, go for it. Like Riku, if there's no money, you can bet your lifespans."

"But our lifespans..."

Tina knew deep down that the lifespan of a Cursed Child was very short, probably transforming into a Gastrea in their teens.

Liu Yuan loosened his hand and counted on his fingers, "I checked. Your lifespan, without external influences, is about eighty to a hundred years. Taking out a few decades to mortgage is no problem, and you can make money in the future to pay it back."

Liu Yuan wasn't worried about the money being returned. As long as the lifespan was mortgaged, if they didn't return the money, he could deduct it. According to the system, lifespan was equivalent to part of the soul, which held good value.

"Really?"

Tina saw more possibilities. Before, she thought about how one person could lead a group of kids. Now she could think about how a group of people could support each other. Only those with mature minds would be selected to enter the Internet cafe.

Looking at the contemplative Tina, Liu Yuan laughed, "I'm just an Internet cafe owner; I won't turn guests away."

Liu Yuan left, Tina's heart stabilized. Her goal was set, and there was no immediate danger.

Shortly after, Tina found Kayu Senju, while the silver-haired, red-eyed Scorpio in her arms opened her eyes.

"Mommy?"

With that cry, Tina felt abit awkward, but Hiruko Kohina's mind snapped.

"Kill you! Kill you!" Hiruko Kobina was impotently furious, while Kayu Senju silently watched from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, inside the Internet cafe, Kisara was still playing when Liu Yuan returned. Unable to sleep, he tossed and turned for half a day.

"Boss? You're back?"

"Back. What are you playing?"

"MC. Didn't you say you wanted to dig up blocks to build something before? I dug it up."

"Efficiency is quite fast, huh?"

Liu Yuan looked over. The night shift had finished digging up a slime block. Slime blocks in MC meant the area would spawn slimes, which produced slime balls, a valuable resource for players.

"That's for sure. Don't look at who I am. Come on, let's build."

"So I'm a tool man, huh?"

"Not really! You're my best and brightest partner."

"Are you sure it's not just the two of us at night and you have no choice?"

"Ch, I've been caught."

While bickering, Liu Yuan grabbed a bottle of Coke from the front desk. "Want a Coke?"

"Yes! Cold, not ice!"

"There's so much going on."

For both of them, tonight was another sleepless night.






Chapter 66 - Riku and Schwi's Wager

At eight o'clock the next morning, the internet café opened as usual.

"4D Internet Café is open~ Guests, come and play~"

All the regulars rushed in as soon as they received the message. The earliest to arrive today was Kayu Subaru.

"Yay!"
Confirming he was the first, Nayuki Subaru jumped and cheered with excitement.

"Haaaa.. What's wrong? So excited about eating poisonous mushrooms? Ughh." teased Kaede, who strutted in and slumped against the wall in disappointment when she saw that she wasn't the first.

"Shit, why? I clicked yes first."

Liu Yuan spread his hands helplessly. "There's a delay. Some places receive it faster, some slower."

Nayuki Subaru bragged to Fujimaru, "I won! You have to cover my internet bill today."

"I'll cover it. Hey, boss! Can you make our world delays the same? Otherwise, I'll never win."

"Gotta add money," Liu Yuan responded. He knew they had made a bet yesterday that whoever arrived last would treat the other to a day of internet. Liu Yuan wasn’t interested in participating in such wagers. The latency issue was like connecting to a distant server—playable but with higher latency. Equalizing the latency was possible, but it required additional payment.

"Can! Deduct it from my funds!"

Fujimaruka revealed a determined smile. "Kayu Subaru, you wait. I will win tomorrow."

As they swore their intentions, Liu Yuan asked, "Are you two going online? If not, please turn around and leave."

"We're going online! I'm covering his today."

The early arrivals happily went online. Within half a minute, people from Naruto and Teyvat also arrived.

Today, Tina brought Kayu Senju with her.

"Boss, turn on two machines. Give Kayu a set of games."

"Come on, girl, put your hand up for an age check."

Kayu Senju placed her hand on the scanner, and with a beep indicating 'adult', Liu Yuan's heart relaxed. He worried about customers like Tina and Kayu who looked very young.

Since she was confirmed an adult, he followed the normal process and activated the machine.

"Boss, Tina is looking at you differently. Did you help her out yesterday?" asked Kayu.

"You can tell?"

"Of course. She usually looks at you like a friend, but today she seems very grateful, with some other emotions."

"That's normal. It's what happens when you're young."

As they chatted, Riku arrived, looking somewhat tired. He didn’t come alone; he brought a child with him.

Liu Yuan turned to Kisara. "Is our store a regular store?"

Kisara hastily shook her head.

"?"

"Does a regular store collect life expectancy?"

"Who says they don't? Eighth pawnshops do."

Putting aside the banter, Liu Yuan asked, "Riku, who is this?"

"She..."

"Schwi."

Ex Machina species named Schwi introduced herself.

Schwi, a machine, looked human but was actually an artificial intelligence.

"Did you bring her to go online?"

Riku absently nodded.

Liu Yuan glanced at Schwi. Judging her height and appearance, she seemed underage. Before Liu Yuan asked her to reach out for age verification, the system provided detailed information.

"Physical age: 210 years old. Mental age cannot be judged. For artificial intelligence close to the human mind, please judge yourself if you can allow access to the internet."

The system couldn't judge her mental age. Based on her physical age and the average lifespan of the Ex Machina, Liu Yuan concluded she was an adult.

"No problem, the price is there."

Schwi looked up at the LCD screen displaying the prices, incredulous. A single part of an Ex Machina could access the internet for a day, and a whole Ex Machina could make one access it for almost a year, including buying all games and software.

"I'm sorry, Schwi. There's no money..."

"No money? That's okay, take Riku's life expectancy as collateral."

"Hey, hey, hey, why me?"

Riku was agitated. Shouldn’t she pay for her internet access?

Why should he pay for Schwi’s too?

Liu Yuan squinted at Riku. "If you don't pay, and she has no money, then I can only take her out."

Schwi looked at Riku with starry eyes. "Riku, please pay. The contract can't be honored if Schwi can't get online."

"..."

Though she wasn’t human, Riku felt a pang in his heart.

"You!!!"
Riku sighed. "Help her turn on a machine, and Red Alert by the way."

"Yay~"
Schwi spun around excitedly, smiling.

Her cute action and pleasant smile felt somewhat off to Kisara.

They officially turned on the computer and entered the game. Kisara came over to Liu Yuan's side and whispered, "Boss, that girl is strange... The smile, the movements, it all feels so fake. Is he so deep in the city now?"

Liu Yuan replied, "She's not human; she's imitating one. But I guess we'll see her real smile in about a year, right?"

"Hey? You know?"

"Guessing. Riku is happy, and Schwi, who follows Riku, is analyzing why. I guess Riku made some wager with Schwi, betting everything on winning the game Red Alert."

Riku looked over at Schwi, whom he had found in the ruins of the elven species just after the store closed yesterday. After a series of 'friendly' exchanges, they made a wager.

Within a day, Riku only had to win once for Schwi to listen to him in the future. Conversely, Riku would become Schwi's 'trophy'. Though Riku couldn't defeat the Ex Machina, he soon thought of a solution.

A game.

First, he played chess with Schwi and was quickly defeated by her superior calculation power. At this time, he received the internet café’s opening notice and invited Schwi to a special game.

The game chosen was Red Alert. Riku selected a classic confrontation map 'Ice and Snow'.

"That's the game. You’re an Ex Machina; you already understand how games work, right?"

"No problem..."

Although it was her first time with Red Alert, Schwi quickly comprehended its mechanics—constructing buildings and maneuvering soldiers. She recorded all the characteristics of each country and soldier types.

However, she overlooked one thing. With the Realism Mode applied, soldiers were no longer mere data. The system simulated the most realistic human choices.

At the same time, the decisions of both commanders would affect the morale of the soldiers.

This was no longer just a game duel, but the truest battle between man and machine under equal conditions.





Chapter 67: Newcomers, Newcomers, and Newcomers

Riku and Schwi's command of the battle was textbook level. From the initial base setup, the joint exploration with three dogs or soldiers, the construction of bunkers and outposts to intercept the enemy, the rapid tank deployment, to the coordination of infantry and tanks for the first wave of engagement, they executed every move flawlessly.

Riku chose France, aiming for a steady strategy, leveraging his superior understanding of patterns for victory. Schwi, opting for the Soviets, relied on data indicating the Soviets' equipment would overpower the Allies on this small map, especially once the Iron Curtain was deployed, rendering their tanks invincible.

The battle began.

In terms of speed, Riku was slightly inferior. His calculation power and reaction speed couldn't match Schwi's, and his point-to-point command ability was weaker.

However, in Realism Difficulty, soldiers had morale, and their trust in the commander influenced the outcome. Injuries lowered morale, which reduced the soldiers' desire to fight, diminishing their effectiveness.

Riku's strategy involved no solo battles. Each engagement saw tanks, infantry, dogs, and flying vehicles acting together, prioritizing safety and implementation over efficiency.

Sacrifices were avoided unless absolutely necessary.

In contrast, Schwi's data-driven approach meant sending exactly the calculated number of units needed.
She used lightly injured soldiers as cannon fodder and broken tanks as a front line without repairing them.

Initially, Schwi’s tactics worked, dismantling Riku’s outposts and cannons.

But soon, the tide turned. Despite having more infantry, Schwi’s forces suffered heavy losses while Riku’s had only minor injuries.

"What's going on? Data...error," Schwi murmured as her economy deteriorated. Riku's base vehicle and several tanks teleported to a safe location through hyperspace, unfolding new cannons, barracks, power plants, and tank factories.

Riku finally spoke as his cannons aimed at Schwi’s base, "You don’t understand the human heart. When you do, you’ll know why there’s a 'data error'."

Dozens of tanks surrounded Schwi's base. Riku's artillery array was deployed, and his soldiers, emboldened, prepared to charge. Schwi’s soldiers, demoralized, had lost their combat effectiveness.

It was checkmate.

"Schwi, admits defeat. Schwi will be yours from now on. Please treat Schwi gently," Schwi conceded, seeking to understand the ‘heart’ she couldn’t yet comprehend.

At this moment, Riku felt a chill, especially from behind, as he shivered.

"Ms. Schwi, here is the cleaning solution package you ordered."

"Thanks."

Schwi took a large bottle of cleaning fluid and sipped through a straw.

"What’s this?" Riku questioned, sensing something amiss.

"Cleaning fluid, the equivalent of coke."

"I thought she didn't have any money?"

"A certain gentleman did say he was going to pay for Schwi."

Riku, puzzled, saw Schwi adorably blink at him, shattering his inner defenses.

"Riku, do it again."

In this internet café, valuable items could be used instead of currency. Schwi’s memory bank contained parts from abandoned Ex Machina bodies, which could be dismantled for valuable components.

Schwi had grasped the art of command.

The human heart? She had recorded data from simulated human hearts. Yet, she wondered why humans were so contradictory: cowardly yet brave, resistant yet willing.

Kisara, dissatisfied, returned to the front desk. "Boss, that guy bullied Schwi."

"Bullying? I don't think so."

"How so?"

"Want to bet with me?"

"Bet on what?"

Kisara became interested. The last time she bet with Liu Yuan, she won a month of extra meat dishes and coke.

"Of course, if those two will become together. If I win, you need to bring twenty new customers."

"Hmph, and if you lose?"

"You tell me."

Kisara thought hard and replied, "Then all my coke will be free from now on. Twenty new people are worth the price, right?"

"Not only free, but I'll also buy you dessert every day."

"You're just waiting to lose!"

Kisara couldn’t understand the bond between a bitter young man and a robot.

Liu Yuan, however, did. Humans could develop affection for almost anything, even robots.

Schwi looked cute—who could resist that?

As they chatted, Subaru Natsuki shyly approached. Everyone had been bringing guests lately. Seeing others bring cute girls made him envious.

"Boss, can I go out and come back in?"

"Feel free to come and go during opening hours."

"Okay, thanks, boss!"

Natsuki Subaru gathered his courage and ran out. Kisara remarked, "See, that’s what it feels like to bring your sweetheart."

"That makes sense, but guess what she looks like?"

"How can I guess?"

"Aren't you a demon? Can't you eat memories and see it?"

"Hey, hey, hey, those are my abilities, and I can't use them here! Why don't you guess?"

"Me?" Liu Yuan thought. "If it’s me, it’s definitely the silver-haired, red-eyed little loli."

"?"

Kisara revealed a dangerous expression. But before Kisara could react, Natsuki Subaru returned with a silver-haired beauty and a blue-haired maid.

"Looks like I mostly guessed it right," Liu Yuan said, locking eyes with Natsuki Subaru, who nodded, recognizing a kindred spirit.





Chapter 68: Opening the Player Mall

In Liu Yuan's opinion, Natsuki Subaru bringing people in marked the start of a positive cycle.

When Emilia visited for the first time, Natsuki Subaru didn't introduce her to difficult games but instead played Minecraft with her. She didn’t quite understand his behavior, but everyone at the internet cafe saw it clearly.

No one pointed it out because it was evident that Emilia had a bit of a crush on Natsuki Subaru as well.

"Tsk, it's a shame," Liu Yuan muttered quietly to Kisara once everyone started playing their games, ensuring no one outside could hear them.

"Pity what?" Kisara asked, a bit confused as he wiped a cup. "Could it be that you also think it’s a pity that such a beautiful girl matches him, boss? Hmm! I agree with you, I feel that she is just right for you."

Liu Yuan clenched his right fist and lightly knocked Kisara's head.

"Ouch ouch ouch!"

"There’s no such thing as appropriate or inappropriate feelings. What I’m saying is that it’s a pity for the blue-haired one. Natsuki Subaru's heart is entirely on Emilia, and this blue-haired one seems to be all on Natsuki Subaru. Tsk, we’ll have plenty of gossip in the future."

"Boss, do you have melons?"

"Watermelon is enough."

Liu Yuan took out a large watermelon, and they ate while watching the show.

The influx of newcomers prompted Liu Yuan to study new games.

The Red Alert series was suitable for everyone to play during leisure time. According to the desire to buy expressed by internet cafe members, newcomers considered this game a must-buy. It didn’t waste time, had a certain degree of competitiveness, and allowed players to relax. Regardless of technological prowess or operational strength, the uncertainty of the game made it popular.

However, the problem arose that, except for Elden Ring’s in-game purchases, no other games offered internal purchase options. Games like Minecraft could incorporate in-game purchases, but it wasn’t necessary since it was a game of absolute freedom.

Wait?

Liu Yuan suddenly realized that since the game was about player creation, he could add a mall.

"System, is it possible to create a mall within the internet cafe for players to trade the items they obtain?"

After a long silence, the system replied affirmatively, "Except for some bound items, a mall can be constructed to facilitate player trading. The handling fee can be adjusted by the boss."

"Great, another way to make money," Liu Yuan thought. Based on the average game level, he decided to set a handling fee at three percent. According to the system, this trading mall used the system template and required no additional resources, ensuring Liu Yuan wasn't running a charity.

Charity? That was out of the question. Liu Yuan’s goal was to earn money steadily while keeping customers satisfied. In life-threatening situations, he’d help because living customers could spend more.

The player mall could trade two types of items: in-game items, usable only within games, and real-world items like clothing and props. Players set their prices, and the system took a three percent handling fee. Concerns about malicious price manipulation or hoarding were moot since the system would penalize such actions. The mall warned that malicious hoarding, which disrupted normal player experiences, would result in blacklisting and permanent bans.

Once everything was set up, Liu Yuan launched the mall immediately. Combined with TT, the cross-world chat software, it could handle the growing number of internet cafe users, even if it increased tenfold.

"Mall?"

"Three percent handling fee? You can sell things? Can I sell these big Runes of mine?"

Kaede tried trading her useless items but was prompted that bound goods couldn’t be traded. Despite the headache, she quickly threw up some food and materials she had obtained at the Singularity. These could be traded.

Curious, everyone paused their games to check out the new mall. Those who couldn’t pause found safe spots to hide and explore its functionality. They began communicating on the store's TT.

"Boss! How does this thing work?"

Liu Yuan: "Other than the things you can't sell, you can sell everything else through this."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The crowd fell silent, convinced of Liu Yuan's resourcefulness.

Liu Yuan added, "If you have any needs, you can post tasks here and trade directly through the mall after detailed exchanges. Tangible, intangible, as long as it belongs to you and can be used by others, you can bring it in for trade."

Fujimaruka returned excitedly, "All my apples were bought?"

Tina: "I bought them... they were cheap. Fujimaruka-san, I can make up the difference if you don’t have enough money."

Fujimaruka: "Enough, I grabbed them anyway; it didn't cost me a dime. This is convenient. I can grab more stuff and use the mall as system storage, eh hey!"

Fujimaruka realized the mall's potential. Though she hadn't found another Singularity, she had accumulated valuable items from pseudo-Singularitys. Knowing Tina needed food, she planned to sell food and clothes for a profit.

Reflecting on the fruit forest she encountered initially, if she had had the system then, she could’ve made thousands of dollars. Now, she enjoyed luxuries daily, drinking coke, eating sushi, and enjoying sashimi despite her world's near-apocalyptic state.

Everyone began studying the mall seriously. Many had special needs. Tina needed food, and Riku needed supplies. His situation was worse, with nothing but Schwi and a suit.

Riku looked at the same items uploaded by everyone in the system mall and made up his mind.

"Schwi..."

"In!"

"Your promise."

"I will obey Riku's orders forever..."

Looking down at the tearful Schwi, Riku's heart raced. He knew it was a personality simulated by the Ex Machina, but he couldn’t help it! It was just too cute!

"Schwi, let's make money! By then..."

A smile unconsciously crept onto Riku’s face. Through the Internet Café Acquisition System, he knew many materials and minerals could be sold to Liu Yuan. Items not worth much could be sold through the Trading Mall to those in need.

Finding items worth around thirteen thousand dollars would allow someone to come to the internet cafe to learn and improve their strength without worries.

This was a chance for humans to survive in a chaotic world and possibly change the course of the race war.





Chapter 69: Getting Rich by Picking Up Rags

In Riku's world, humanity had nothing left, and the power brought out by the cyber cafe was real. Riku looked at Schwi; although Schwi verbally 'obeyed' him, he couldn't guarantee that the other Ex Machinas didn't have other ideas, especially since this Ex Machina had also entered the cyber cafe.
An Ex Machina that had broken away from the linked network was a power Riku needed and was sure he could master.

"Okay, Schwi knows where the partially damaged machine is, hopefully, that will help Riku..."

"Take me there!"

"Okay."

Nowadays, it took months for Riku to reach the ruins of the Elven Capital, but when Schwi used the power of the Ex Machina, it took only an hour to complete the journey that previously took months. A certain battle had wiped out the entire region, and this place had been occupied by another race for a long time.
The Ex Machina, seeking to maximize efficiency, had abandoned the scrap metal and produced resources to rebuild again. Then the race moved out because of the war, leaving behind a field of rubble.

Riku and Schwi first encountered the ruins. Despite never having played Fallout 4, Riku and Schwi were more familiar with it than anyone else at the internet cafe.

The heritage of the Ex Machina and other races was substantial. They found valuable items like the Life Fruit Seed, strange Kikai parts, large cold-blooded animal eggs, and various knowledge and culture left behind by other races. Riku calculated that all together, these could be sold for more than seven hundred dollars—just enough for a day's worth of internet access, a sky-high price for someone like Riku who traded his lifespan for internet time.

The Ex Machina ruin pit presented a giant pit containing the physical remains of hundreds of Ex Machina, too scrapped for even recycling. Schwi showed no emotion, as there was no scrapyard for Ex Machina—only death in battle or program bugs leading to abandonment. This pit had been made by another race.
The Machina parts were useless to other races and too sturdy to destroy without significant effort, which could provoke powerful entities.

"Here..." Riku had an indescribable feeling looking at the humanoid Ex Machina in the pit.

He couldn't understand why so many races had to go to war. Couldn’t disputes be settled without conflict? Was there any point to this war.

Riku looked to the sky, filled with ashes since his childhood. He wondered what the sky would look like without them.

Would it be like Minecraft, with a blue sky, blue sea, crisp air, and a warm sun?

He longed to experience it here.

"Riku..."

Schwi didn't understand Riku’s behavior; to the Ex Machina, such emotional acts were meaningless. Still, she noted Riku's state for later observation.

"Alright, let’s make a big deal out of this and at least cover the next period of internet bills."

"Good~"

If it were just Riku, disassembling would take weeks, but with Schwi, they quickly dismantled the remains. The core computing 'chip' of the Ex Machina, named the data core, could be sold for $300+ even in fragments. A complete data core was worth far more. Riku appraised Schwi once and found a complete Ex Machina to be worth enough for thirty humans to buy all the games at the internet cafe and play for ten years. However, a Kikai Seed with a complete program couldn’t be sold by others, and he couldn’t bear to sell such a lovely Ex Machina. An obedient Kikai was far more useful than money.

Internet time could be exchanged for lifespan, but other races’ intelligence could not.

In eight hours, Riku and Schwi finished disassembling and categorizing all the Ex Machina below. To their surprise, they found a data core in perfect condition, valued at one hundred thousand dollars.

"Riku?"

Schwi didn't understand Riku’s contemplation. Shouldn't he be happy with such a complete 'part'? Why hesitate? Wouldn't it be better to trade it for more study time?

"Schwi, is it possible to obtain its data?"

Schwi shook her head, "This act is pointless; it already uploaded all its data before shutdown."

"Is that so?"

At the internet cafe, Liu Yuan yawned while chatting about a random confrontation played before opening the store.

Moon 3's tanks had invaded Liu Yuan's home, and Liu Yuan's tanks had cut into Moon 3's home. When the Iron Curtain under Kisara cooled down, it was a solid win, except Kisara gave the Iron Curtain to Moon 3's tanks instead.

"Hehehe~ shaky hands, shaky hands."

While teasing each other, Riku and Schwi walked into the store.

"Boss, shipment."

Liu Yuan spat out, "How many times have I said, this is a regular store, not a black market. Sell things honorably. Crap? There are actually excellent goods?"

Liu Yuan asked with surprise, "Did you take out a living Ex Machina? How did you come up with so many parts?" He glanced at Schwi, who was in good condition without missing parts.

"How much can you sell it for?"

"I’ll do the math. 239,000+, round it up to 240,000."

"Thanks, boss."

"Thanks for what? I’ll wipe your remembered accounts. But I have a suggestion."

"What?"

Tina, Minato, and Kaede all said Liu Yuan's suggestions were very useful, enough to save a life at a critical moment.






Chapter 70 - Schwi's Kiss?

"My personal advice: don't sell all these parts. Machines like Schwi can't maintain their bodies after leaving the team. If problems arise, I can help you replace some of the parts. If you sell them outright, it will be hard to buy them back. You can store them with me first and sell them when you need to."

If sold directly to the system, it would exchange the resources in various ways. According to the system, this high-tech stuff was popular in many worlds. It collected 240,000 here and could sell it for a much better price when it changed hands.

From this, it could be seen that many of the parts were useful, especially those evaluated by the system as 'Dara Core'. While it might be worth a hundred thousand dollars to the system, it could mean another life for Schwi.

"Like this? Then it's hard work, boss."

"No hard work! But here's a reminder: if you want to store it, for this kind of precision electronic equipment, you need a hundred dollars storage fee per day."

This wasn't Liu Yuan charging an arbitrary price, but the standard price given by the system. He didn't ask for much more than a single point.

Riku was not intimidated by this price but chose to sell fifty thousand dollars' worth of equipment. The rest were temporarily stored as backup.

He felt that Liu Yuan had a point. Although Fujimaru's world was also apocalyptic, people could cross over and loot without worries. As an ordinary human, the only one Riku could rely on right now was Schwi.

At the same time Liu Yuan was advising Riku, Kisara whispered to Schwi, "See? He's reserving the resources for you, spending a huge amount of money every day to maintain those parts, just so you can use them if needed."

"For... me?"

Schwi looked at Kisara in confusion. She couldn't understand what Riku was thinking, and she had even less idea what she was going to do next.

Kisara knew that Schwi was a robot, but that didn't stop her from playing her games.

She pressed against Schwi's ear and whispered, "I have a way to thank someone, but it can only be used on one person in a lifetime. Do you think he's someone who deserves to be with you forever?"

"Schwi...is Riku's..."

This statement made Kisara nod in satisfaction. "Childish, come on. I'll tell you. You'll do this and this..."

Kisara started to come up with bad ideas.

"Schwi, let's go."

Riku's call interrupted the whispered exchanges between the two. Schwi thanked Kisara before following Riku.

As the two made their way to the chair, Schwi leaned toward Riku and whispered, "Is Riku doing this for Schwi?"

"No!"

Riku dismissed outright. The closed heart he had over the years allowed him to lie without blushing.

"Like this? Riku~"

"What?"

Riku turned his head to look at Schwi. Schwi waved a hand, signaling him to come closer.

He leaned in, thinking that Schwi had some secret to tell.

"Chirp."

Feeling the somewhat cold sensation on his face, Riku looked at the girl beside him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"The network manager told me that a kiss is a way to show appreciation to someone you can be with forever. Thank you."

"???"

Riku subconsciously looked at Kisara, who at that moment was whistling and looking at the sky.

On the side, Liu Yuan was looking condescendingly into Kisara's eyes, "Our dear demon-sama, huh!"

"Eh? Boss? What's wrong?"

The whiny Kisara made the smile on Liu Yuan's face widen. "Are you the one teaching the guests bad manners?"

"What do you mean teaching bad manners? I'm helping Schwi her feelings. Boss, don't talk nonsense."

"Hehe, dare to do it but not admit it? In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Liu Yuan clenched his hands into fists, as if possessed by an angry mom, and drilled against Kisara's temples.

"Help...!!!"

Accompanied by Kisara's miserable screams, a beautiful day began for the store. The customers who came in afterward saw how miserable Kisara was, commenting, "You've angered the boss again."

"Ms. Kisara has done it again."

While Kisara covered her face, feeling that she couldn't stay in the store as a demon, she turned her grief into appetite, eating three bowls of rice for lunch as if two more bowls would give her money back.

Kissing, a simple yet complex gesture. In a family, a kiss from an elder represents care for the offspring.
A couple's kiss represents love for each other, so what about Schwi's kiss on Riku?

Riku, who was kissed, was in a daze all day, getting abused playing Red Alert with Schwi, and getting poked by minions when he missed his roll playing Elden Ring.

These were all mistakes that shouldn't be made, but he made them all. He hadn't recovered until the evening, when the store was closed and he followed Schwi out.

"Riku~"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Riku looked back to Schwi, especially at her mouth, his face reddening a little.

He didn't even notice that compared to before, his eyes now had a spark, while there was one more person, or rather an Ex Machina species, in the deepest part of his eyes.

This thing called karma was something Liu Yuan himself couldn't figure out, let alone Riku. In all the years he had been the village leader, he had seen his companions and friends die 48 times, a number significant enough in human history in his world. But even that had caused his heart to close up, until now.

"Riku is out of shape today, is it because of me?"

"..."

Riku looked towards Schwi, having a human exterior but being completely unrelated to a human. It was clearly a machine without feelings, but the simulated emotions were no different from real ones. Whether it was real or unreal, he couldn't tell anymore.

"Hmm."

For the first time, Riku denied his emotions. "Because you're my tool, and it bothers me when my tool goes wrong."

That statement made Schwi hug him, "Schwi is Riku's~"

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"

"Schwi is Riku's~"

"It's a tool~"

"It's Riku's~"

"Tool!"

Repeated several times, Riku silently shut his mouth. Whether he couldn't argue with Schwi or he acquiesced to the relationship was unknown. No one could figure out what Riku was thinking except for a special existence that could read hearts.

After they left, Liu Yuan was caught in a difficult choice.

After feedback from the system, the data core that Riku had temporarily stored had a soul. After Schwi's so-called data sharing, its data was not formatted but left here.

Theoretically, it was possible to take this core and recreate an Ex Machina. Because items saved by the system could only be dead items, items without a mind. But this data core was judged by the system as a living thing, and required two options.

Either completely format the data and put it into the system for preservation.

Or provide a certain amount of money, after which the system would anthropomorphize the data and help raise it.

Liu Yuan didn't even think about the first option, but the second cost was a little high, needing 50,000 yuan. What concept is this? If the data core's data was extracted and became a person, his time would be spent for nothing.

However, Liu Yuan considered the long term. An Internet cafe's most reasonable number of people was about fifty. If expanding the branch, it would need someone to look after it. Since it needed to be looked after, knowing and understanding the human situation of the clerk was essential.

Wooden? Forget it. I'll just give myself a hand. Since Kisara can't do it...

Liu Yuan made a choice. He chose the second option.