Great, we're doomed now!

In this magical land of East Asia, you'll find that even students at Shuchiin University, who have no worries about their future, are still urged to study by their parents.

Even the powerful and wealthy at the top of the social pyramid consider it a great honor for their children to have good grades—of course, if a child is raised poorly and the only option is to send them abroad for further education, that's another matter entirely.

Once NERvGear becomes a powerful teaching tool, families with the means will naturally become its supporters; otherwise, they risk falling behind their classmates.

In this way, the Jiushi Group will make countless profits... although Ye Shou doesn't care.

Ye Shou strongly promoted this for two reasons:

First, it follows the original idea of ​​spreading virtual reality technology around the world, thereby indirectly enhancing its own influence.

Secondly, the most recent thing that has appeared... is to protect all of humanity!

No joke!

Although he hasn't found the pyramids yet, and the exploration team sent to Kumamoto City hasn't discovered any ruins, now that he's encountered a "Sukuna Oni," he has to be wary of even more powerful monsters appearing in the future.

The technology in the real world is far inferior to the advanced technology of humans in Ultraman.

Therefore, he will actively promote this advanced technology now and in the future, just to contribute something, and who knows, maybe some genius will be inspired to develop some cutting-edge technology~

—If that's true, the Kuze Group will be the first to reap the rewards.

Who knows, when the Kirieloids come out in the future, Ye Shou will be able to pull out the Max Power Cannon from his crotch and blast these space bumpkins back!

……

【ALO】is really making waves. Although the helmet is only sold locally, the realism and playability shown in the game live streams have already earned it a worldwide reputation, and some small Southeast Asian countries are no exception.

In a ward of a plastic surgery hospital in Thailand, a small color TV hanging from the ceiling was broadcasting news about the ALO craze that had swept the country this month. The host looked quite excited, as if he had played it himself.

The patients in the room were also quite interested, and they all showed expressions of curiosity and envy—except for one person.

She was a very special patient. It wasn't that her injuries were particularly severe, but rather that as a patient who had undergone "full-body surgery," she should have received the best post-operative care. However, her guardian was extremely stingy and only arranged for her to stay in a regular ward.

She has just undergone surgery less than two weeks ago, and she can't even take off her bandages yet. She has to struggle to survive without a caregiver and is occasionally checked on by others.

Fortunately, she was very resilient and actually pulled through. The doctor said her surgery was a great success—you're a real girl now, be happy!

Her time in Thailand also brought about many changes within her, gradually making her stronger.

But I still burst into tears when I saw the incredibly familiar [ALO] promotional PV.

Chapter 30: Sawai? Which Sawai are you talking about? (5K)

"How come you're making money again? This is so troublesome."

Looking at the latest report, Ye Shou shook his head in dissatisfaction.

It seems his grandfather won't be able to return to Japan anytime soon.

"Lord Ye, the two have arrived and are waiting outside," Liuli reported after hanging up the phone. "They're a little earlier than the appointed time. Shall we meet them now?"

“Talented people are rare… Let them in.” Ye Shou put down his pen, stretched his wrist, and made a “removing” gesture. Liu Li noticed this strange action but said nothing.

In his daily life, he also uses the "Ghost Brain" to conduct imaginary weight training. His wrists, calves, and torso are all suspended with lead weights and sandbags. Moreover, he does not actually "sit" down; in his mind, he is handling official business in a standing posture.

So while he may appear to be sitting there listlessly, he is actually constantly expending his energy.

A moment later, the office door was pushed open, and a man and a woman who both looked like scholars walked in.

The woman had short, ear-length hair and wore a shirt and jeans, looking quite capable. However, she wasn't very good at hiding her emotions, and there was a hint of anxiety between her brows.

The guy was simpler; he was clearly a typical tech geek, the kind of top-tier hacker in Hollywood movies who could crack government networks. He was about the same age as Kayaba and Sugo, but his mental state was much younger.

"Welcome to our family, Dr. Higa, Dr. Kamishiro."

Ye Shou rarely left his seat and shook hands with them warmly, which made the two of them feel flattered. Of course, it was also possible that Ye Shou had a decisive and sharp spirit, which was completely unlike the meticulous and heavy-minded capitalist, which surprised them.

Ken Higa and Rinko Kamishiro, both from the same school as Akihiko Kayaba and Nobuyuki Sugo, are exceptionally talented, though not as famous as Kayaba. Ken Higa, in particular, is second only to Kayaba in talent, far surpassing Sugo.

Although they were scholars who were focused on research, they had heard of the Kyuuse Group and its young leader, Ye Shou, especially after news of the collaboration between Kayaba and the Kyuuse Group spread.

Just like Kayaba, they subconsciously felt that such a young heir to a wealthy family might have an eye for investment, but probably not much understanding of technology, so the project manager directly in contact with them should be someone else.

To everyone's surprise, these exceptionally talented individuals, literally wealthy beyond measure, would actually take the time to receive them. According to the secretary (maid), today's meeting wasn't even about any specific project; it was simply to enhance mutual understanding.

In other words, this important figure seems to have treated them as equals!

Even a cynical tech geek like Takeshi Higa subconsciously adopted a serious attitude and sat obediently on the sofa.

Ye Shou did not return to his seat, but instead sat opposite the two of them, without deliberately creating pressure or an image of superiority.

He has always had great respect for those who work in technology.

At school, he also respected his classmates who were diligent in their studies and exceptionally talented, such as Miyuki Shirogane.

Because you might become one of his employees!

He treated Liuli the same way; aside from matters of the heart, he never deliberately humiliated her because of her social status.

Because they work very hard!

I've worked so hard to create benefits for you, so what's wrong with providing a little emotional value?

Ye Shou has always been a very pragmatic person; the value of his employees determines the compensation he provides. If Liuli can develop the [Photogenetic Particle Converter], Ye Shou wouldn't even mind offering himself as payment.

The conversation that followed went very smoothly. Both of them were relatively pure scholars who had previously received invitations from government agencies and foreign capital, but because they had not yet presented any tangible projects that could create economic value like Kayaba, most of their offers came from universities and research institutes.

Although the treatment was quite good, they knew that once they entered that kind of place, they would inevitably have to spend energy to get sponsorships and build networks... After all, resources are limited, and seniority is the same all over the world.

The terms offered by the Jiushi Group were different; Ye Shou specifically provided a very large amount, which was even somewhat extravagant for these two people.

In addition, there is the most important point—

"It seems like Kayaba has disappeared."

Takeshi Higa glanced at Rinko Kamishiro and then asked, "His last public appearance was at the NERvGear launch event. Although his social media accounts said he needed to rest for a while, some media outlets said he had an accident."

He was in charge of such a large project, involving the interests of several parties; logically, someone should be keeping a close eye on him... Does Mr. Kuze know where he is?

After saying this, Rinko Shindai bit her lip and waited anxiously for Ye Shou's reply—she was the one who cared most about this issue.

“Mr. Kayaba Akihiko is currently living in seclusion at a resort hotel owned by the Kuze Group, so you two don’t need to worry.”

Liuli served the coffee with an impeccable smile.

"To protect some trade secrets, we did not tell the police and the media the whole truth, so there may be some misunderstandings. However, both of them are Mr. Kayaba's friends and will soon join us, so naturally they don't have many concerns."

"You two should know Nobuyuki Sugo, right?"

"Xuxiang?"

"That guy..."

The two looked at each other and nodded.

"Nobuyuki Sugo was an important member of [Rect] and had a cooperative relationship with our group. Because he and Mr. Kayaba were from the same school, he was responsible for many handover tasks, and thus he also gained access to many secrets of NERvGear and SAO... Unfortunately, he was eventually proven to be a corporate spy."

"..."

"..."

Rinko Kamishiro calmly took a sip of her coffee, while Takeshi Higa scoffed, neither of them seeming particularly surprised.

Did he do anything?

"Simply put, he took advantage of our trust and launched a penetration attack on the server firewall that day, which ultimately caused... very serious consequences." Liuli said regretfully, "He stole a lot of important data and is now wanted globally by the Jiushi Group, but the person who hired him is likely some capital in the Americas. If he goes into hiding, there is nothing we can do."

"That person is always restless, no matter where he goes."

Kamishiro sighed, but quickly forgot about Sugo: "What about Kayaba? How is he?"

"Mr. Kayaba has suffered a certain blow."

Liuli glanced at Ye Shou quickly, her words flowing smoothly and naturally, polite and restrained while concealing her regret and resentment, leaving no room for doubt.

“He was not sad because he was betrayed. In fact, according to him, he had never trusted Sugo Nobuyuki. Since he had no expectations, he was not disappointed.”

Upon hearing this, Rinko Kamishiro and Ken Higa exchanged a helpless glance and laughed in unison.

That kind of ruthless talk is definitely from Kayaba!

"The reason he was so devastated was that SAO, which he had poured so much energy into in the hope of fulfilling his childhood dream, died suddenly on the same day, causing the other world he created to lose its luster."

"I knew it..."

Rinko Kamishiro muttered to herself, confirming the truth of Ruri's words.

The outside world generally believes that NERvGear is Kayaba's masterpiece, and SAO is just an accompanying game software used to highlight its superior performance, like a "virtual reality introductory advertisement".

But those who truly understand Kayaba will know that he has always valued SAO more, or rather, all his research is to fulfill his wish to create a real otherworld.

This not only proves that Ye Shou and Liu Li did not lie to the two, but also proves that Kayaba must have a pleasant cooperation with the Kuze Group, otherwise he would never have mentioned such a thing to others!

"However, Lord Ye Shou highly values ​​Mr. Kayaba. Even though this incident has caused great losses to the group, Lord Ye Shou believes that his value far exceeds these intangible figures."

Liuli changed the subject and said eagerly, "What we need to do now is not only to promote virtual games like ALO, but also to fully develop the application prospects of the fully immersive device."

Therefore, Mr. Kayaba recommended the two of you to us, saying that he doesn't have many people he agrees with, and you two are among the best.

Higa and Kamishiro were slightly surprised, but then their faces flushed with excitement—Kayaba wouldn't say something like that so easily, it turns out they were so outstanding in Kayaba's eyes!

“I think that if we want Kayaba to recover quickly, we need to put pressure on him. And I believe that once you two join the company, you will soon be able to achieve something that will make Kayaba Akihiko take notice.”

Ye Shou extended his hand again: "Welcome to the Jiushi Group."

"Thank you!"

Higa Ken abandoned his last bit of hesitation, completely forgetting the olive branch offered to him by the National Research Institute. Full of anticipation and joy, he shook hands with Ye Shou, even excitedly covering him with his other hand as well.

"Technology is the future of humanity, so let's join hands and move forward for the development of science and technology!"

-

Let's work together to advance technology!

Beep!

The screen paused, and Ye Shou casually swiped to the side, observing Kayaba Akihiko's expression with amusement.

He now truly resembles a "mad scientist," not only in his white lab coat but also with a stubble on his chin. His tall, thin appearance makes him look malnourished, like a nerdy graduate student who substitutes Dr. Pepper for his regular meals.

His slightly sickly pale skin, coupled with his somewhat nervous eyes... made Ye Shou a little worried.

Could it be that leaving him here for too long has affected his mental state?

But then again, personal avatars in cyberspace are all "manually adjusted," and the fact that Kayaba still has the time and inclination to change his clothes and skin proves that he's in good spirits and even has the time and inclination to cosplay.