Chapter 74: A Hundred Times, A Hundred Times

Just as the headache was settling in, the door sounded. Before Ye Chao could rise to open it, he heard the turn of a key; Fang Ju let himself in, his left hand carrying breakfast, his right clutching a holographic access helmet.

"Ye Chao, guess what I brought you—"

He stopped short at the threshold, his words cut off. His dazed gaze followed the sight: sprawled on the floor, black and white, was Gun Gun, wearing an eye-catching helmet marked XL-LLL.

Fang Ju had come specifically to deliver the helmet to Ye Chao; good things were meant to be shared among brothers. No matter how yesterday’s events began, it was Ye Chao’s camera that had saved his life.

But stepping through the door, he was dumbfounded. This—this was extravagance beyond belief! After hearing about the helmet’s capabilities, his own parents, in a fit of madness, ordered one immediately. Before leaving, he heard they were considering some subscription model, which struck him as lavish enough. He never imagined Ye Chao would go further—Gun Gun had one as well.

This was madness!

He glanced back and forth between Ye Chao and Gun Gun, his expression a portrait of embarrassment and disbelief.

His reaction was so overt and his gaze so unwavering that even Ye Chao, not known for high emotional intelligence, quickly grasped that Fang Ju’s shock was due to Gun Gun’s holographic helmet.

After a brief pause, Ye Chao nodded calmly, "Yes, I swapped it using silicon crystal rods and those old gadgets."

A flawless lie!

His regularly received silicon crystal rods were his greatest asset, the stack of nearly new USB drives, tablets, and laptops ranked second. Ever since opening the virtual space, he had moved everything in, a seamless operation.

"I’m not worried about that," Fang Ju said. Few knew better than he that Ye Chao often operated on a different wavelength. "I know you’re well-off, but this isn’t the way to spend it, is it?"

The helmet on Gun Gun’s head was clearly custom-made; no one understood that better than Fang Ju. His own square head struggled to wear the device, until a specialist had personally modified it—actually, Ye Chao had adjusted it, referencing the server room setup.

He almost forgot this detail…

"Well…" This was not an easy lie to craft. Ye Chao paused again. "After studying the helmet, I found my abilities allow me to connect directly into the game without it, so… I gave the helmet to Gun Gun."

Another flawless explanation! It could hardly be called a lie.

"Whoa, seriously?" Fang Ju’s eyebrows shot up, his embarrassed face brightening. "You can game without spending money? That’s some luck! But…" He suddenly became worried. "Isn’t that cheating? Won’t the specialist notice? What if…"

---

"It’s already been discovered. Right away, actually. But the specialist said connecting through my abilities counts as skill, and even rewarded me with access to combat mode."

Indeed, once you tell one lie, you must weave a tapestry of them to support it. Ye Chao found himself learning firsthand.

But… he couldn’t help smacking his lips. When had he become so adept at lying? And so effortlessly, too?

---

Learning that Ye Chao didn’t need the helmet, Fang Ju was delighted.

He was happy for Ye Chao—and even happier for himself.

A boy who had just discovered the world of gaming, willing to give up his spot so his brother could play alongside him—this was friendship forged in adversity!

Of course, if no lives had to be risked, all the better.

Without hesitation, Fang Ju claimed Ye Chao’s space and logged into the game.

The Skill Plaza was filling up rapidly; debate and arguments grew as options appeared but entry remained elusive.

In fact, Ye Chao had temporarily halted access.

A total of thirteen helmets were sold, including Fang Ju’s. Add Gun Gun, and himself…

As soon as Fang Ju entered the Skill Plaza, he excitedly asked, "Ye Chao, where are you? Which one is you? What should we play?"

Ye Chao, low on emotional intelligence, couldn’t quite grasp the appeal of duo games, or trio, or group play—the pleasure was as elusive to him as the difference between solo play and multiplayer.

But… once you tell a lie, you must fabricate many more. Fang Ju’s enthusiasm compelled Ye Chao to create an avatar for himself.

So there were fifteen people in total.

How to arrange them was a major issue!

Ye Chao wasn’t like Alpha Ji, able to juggle endless aliases and organize everyone perfectly…

Letting them battle each other was an option, but the odd number meant someone would always be left out.

Besides, these students were first-timers, each with their own agenda; they wouldn’t necessarily follow his arrangements. Some would choose AI opponents, others training, some would want to learn, some to have fun…

Could he manage five, six, or seven simultaneous games? The current scale of the virtual space could at most support four snowfield matches or one farm game; more would require dismantling the structure…

That was Alpha Ji’s specialty, not his. He wasn’t skilled at it yet.

His own ability allowed him to borrow Alpha Ji’s settings, creating a host of simple AI opponents. Their intelligence was roughly equivalent to the monsters wandering mazes in pre-1995 computer games…

---

Those monsters sufficed as maze foes, but put them in the snow maps or farm battlefields and they’d be overwhelmed in two rounds.

But if he didn’t arrange it, it would be absurd. He had already said this connected seven or eight cities, with hundreds of players—how could it be so poorly organized?

Ah, why bother with so many modes? Wasn’t he just making trouble for himself?

Moreover, neither the snow map nor the farm map was truly efficient for training. The most effective method was clearly…

Looking at Fang Ju, bubbling with excitement, and at Gun Gun—who, despite his programmer shell, was just as thrilled—Ye Chao suddenly had a bold idea.

---

In the Skill Plaza, the students were full of doubts, murmuring among themselves.

Suddenly, darkness fell, then again—a world entirely changed.

Ahead, they could make out a corner of a ruined town.

The outskirts were ringed by a patchy, not very tall wall and several crude arrow towers; inside stood a few damaged buildings and winding paths stretching outward.

The students found themselves inside the walls.

What place was this? As they looked around in curiosity—

"Go! Go! Go!" "Follow Me!" "Get In Position!"…

A chorus of footsteps accompanied by incomprehensible commands, as a squad of camouflaged, rifle-bearing soldiers rushed toward them. Their formation seemed loose, yet moved like water, swift and precise.

Yes, it was the same place where Fang Ju had been trounced a hundred times over just two nights before.

Map: Defend the Homeland.

Description: You and your friends have built a base in the wilderness after many hardships, but now it faces threats from monsters.

Pick up your weapons and fight for your home!

After two dry lines of introduction, the battle began—

"Wow… ah!" Fang Ju shouted in excitement, while the cries of classmates struck by gunfire rose in a chorus.