Great, we're doomed now!

"...Phoenix Institute?"

"what?"

"No." Ye Shou shook his head. It seemed that this image was just a pure coincidence.

After all, this guy doesn't seem like the type to be interested in women at all, while Brooch is the pure, secretly flirtatious Chu Nan.

Kayaba Akihiko gave Ye Shou a strange look: "It seems you've successfully won them over. With their help, you probably won't need me anymore, right?"

Kayaba knew perfectly well that he had been under close surveillance from the very beginning. He had no doubt that all his research had fallen into Ye Shou's hands. With the foundation laid by Ye Shou, Kamishiro and Higa could continue their in-depth research along the same lines and eventually put it into practical use.

"They are certainly excellent, but ultimately they lack the pioneering ability to lead humanity forward."

"You know that kind of talk won't move me," Mao said, his expression unchanged.

Unlike most scientists, he felt nothing about the so-called "loss of all mankind".

He embarked on this path to satisfy his own selfish desires and to build a city in the sky, not for those noble and glorious titles.

"What about the thing I gave you last time?"

"I'm not interested."

"This man is lying," Ye Shou smiled slightly.

"It's not that I can't understand you. Everyone has their own fantasy world where they enjoy freedom on a spiritual level."

The difference is that ordinary children can only build simple secret bases, and when they grow up, they forget everything and become 'adults' who have been domesticated by society and companies.

A very small number of people, however, do not change until adulthood, and try to realize their dreams in various ways.

They weren't chosen as the children of a "wine dad," but rather they actively chose a different destiny.

However, there's only one thing that bothers me.

Kayaba Akihiko frowned, staring rudely at Ye Shou, but made no move to say anything.

Ye Shou didn't take it to heart and said indifferently, "Your ideal is too easy to achieve."

"...What?" Kayaba was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It's just making an online game, bringing in ten thousand players, and then calling it a 'complete other world'—isn't that a bit unprofessional for a scientist?"

Ye Shou laughed: "If it were me, I would at least have to pull a country or even the whole world into my 'dream' before I would have the nerve to tell my childhood self that I had completed the mission."

"..."

"Moreover, even if we take a step back and say that the SAO you created is just a data world made up of 1s and 0s, and everything about it is designed, making you the undisputed savior—is that really meaningful?"

Fate is invincible because it is unpredictable, and time is terrifying because it is irreversible. The real world is full of surprises, which some call miracles and others call disasters, but without exception, they are all unpredictable phenomena.

When you can control everything, you should realize that this is just a bigger sandbox!

"...Are you saying I'm playing house?"

"There were a lot of participants, but the essence is the same: a crazy scientist with a girlish heart kidnapped 10,000 friends to play dead with him."

Ye Shou paused, his sharp gaze fixed on Mao Chang.

"The saddest thing is that you only see the world in the data, but you don't realize the distortion of reality. You are clearly a smart person, but you make the most inefficient choice."

"A distortion of reality?"

Kayaba was taken aback. He had originally thought Ye Shou was going to use "future technology" to lure him, but he hadn't expected it to involve something else.

"Even if you do nothing, this Earth is slowly starting to resemble an 'other world'."

Ye Shou snapped his fingers, and a large projection appeared in mid-air, which was a 3D scan of Mount Su Na.

Kayaba Akihiko glanced at it casually, then his gaze was drawn to something, first puzzled and then stunned.

"This is..."

"Whatever comes to mind, you guessed right."

Ye Shou said solemnly, "This is a humanoid creature with a total height of forty or fifty meters. Although it has been divided into several pieces, you can still feel its extremely strong vitality!"

It's not some fictional monster, nor is it a boss in your game; it's a real ancient deity from a Pacific island nation in the 21st century!

"It's not CGI from a movie, is it...?"

"My family's mineral exploration company just discovered it, and things are relatively stable for now."

"Impossible... This humanoid creature's size... This isn't scientific!"

It's certainly not scientific, but who in the realm of idealism and fantasy would tell you this?

Moreover, Su Nuo wasn't actually this big when it was still "alive." It was nurtured by the heavy resentment from being sealed underground for so many years... Let's just say this vitality is a special kind of fungus.

"This prosperous era is just as you wished~"

Ye Shou calmly crossed his arms and smiled, "Let's not rush to discuss the future. Would you like to go out and visit this behemoth with me?"

"..."

Kayaba Akihiko had no choice. If he could forcibly suppress his curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the previous USB drive, he absolutely had to see Ryomen Sukuna!

Isn't this exactly what he's been chasing since childhood—an "existence beyond the constraints of common sense" that he doesn't know where it exists?

drop!

drop!

drop!

Just as Ye Shou had piqued Mao Chang's curiosity, he received a call from home. Without even logging out, he started chatting directly in the game.

【Young Master, the Master and Madam, along with their friends, are flying home today. They miss you dearly, so please don't come back too late.】

"Going home?"

Ye Shou was somewhat surprised, as he had initially thought his father would deliberately avoid him.

"Friend? Which one?"

[The gentleman I mentioned before, Mr. Sawai Soichiro, is a senior from university who is now dedicated to public welfare.]

Ye Shou's fingertips twitched slightly, as if he had been stung by static electricity, the sensation running through his entire body.

But his expression remained unchanged, and his tone remained calm: "Okay, I understand."

Chapter 31: Everyone has a story from their youth.

A medium-sized Gulfstream landed smoothly on the runway. As it gradually slowed down, golden sunlight shone on its tail fin, where the family crest of a five-leaf gentian with double crosses was displayed on a black circular emblem.

Inside the cabin, the power seat slowly retracted, and a middle-aged man dressed casually, looking like he had just returned from a trip, straightened up. Someone removed his semi-enclosed helmet, revealing well-defined features that were even more rugged than Ye Shou's. It was clear that he had been a handsome young man in his youth, and even in his later years, he still possessed considerable charm.

A strand of white hair had already appeared at his temples, which he hadn't deliberately dyed black but instead combed meticulously, adding to his air of authority and reliability.

"call……"

He was still a little dazed after exiting the game, but his assistant promptly brought him some refreshing green tea. He rested for a while before calming down and couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Although it's interesting, I'm really not at an age where I should be doing high-flying things."

"President, you're exaggerating. This type of game is prone to causing '3D motion sickness,' especially on an airplane."

Hehe~

Junpei Kuze waved his hand, stood up, and stretched.

In addition to the accompanying personnel, there were two important passengers:

The elegant and sophisticated lady removed her blindfold, accepted the knitted cardigan offered by her assistant, and, though slightly tired, declined assistance, standing still for a moment with her eyes closed. Her upright posture swayed slightly before she seemed to find her balance and remained still. When she opened her eyes again, a gentle, generous, and subtle smile appeared on her face, her weariness completely gone, replaced by a vibrant and energetic expression.

If the family of three stands together, you will find that Ye Shou clearly inherited more of his mother's facial features, while he inherited more of his father's features, such as the sharp look in his eyes and brows.

If these two exuded elegance and composure, the remaining one was much more "ordinary".

I woke up uneventfully, blinked, rubbed my face, took a deep breath, and stood up. I was wearing a suit jacket lining, giving off the vibe of a civil servant who frequently travels for work.

But obviously, ordinary white-collar workers or civil servants cannot take advantage of the Kuse couple's "free ride" back.

"I can hardly remember when I last went back to Japan."

Sawai Soichiro, who looked a bit older than Kuze Junpei, let out a long sigh and took the suit jacket from his assistant, draping it over his arm.

"After being away from home for a long time, I even find it easier to communicate in English when I meet people from my hometown."

"You have plenty of time to regain your fluency in the language."

Junpei Kuze chuckled: "It's rare for you to come back, so stay a little longer."

"I originally planned to stay a few more days, and I hope you won't mind that I'm such an unwelcome guest and refuse to leave."

"Haha~"

The senior is still the same as always—Junpei is in a good mood.

Men and women approach friendship differently:

Women need to spend a lot of time together, communicating, and comforting each other to keep their friendships from deteriorating. The same applies to romantic relationships; for them, old memories fade, and new impressions and excitement take center stage.

Men, however, represent the other extreme. They value shared values ​​and tastes more. If they deeply approve of someone, they can remain honest with each other even after years of separation. Conversely, if they genuinely dislike someone, even daily meetings won't change their opinion.

Junpei Kuze and Soichiro Sawai are examples of this type of couple. Despite not having seen each other for many years, they still had no ill feelings towards each other after their reunion.

The two were seniors and juniors in the same club in college and had a very good relationship. They even formed a fraternity-like organization with a few like-minded friends back then.

We went diving together, played guitar half-naked after getting ashore, sang off-key songs at the top of our lungs, ate barbecue made from cheap ingredients, and then caused trouble at the school festival, using our favorite liquor brands as nicknames for each other... Thinking about it now makes me smile.

The senior figure who advocated for the establishment of the fraternity was an heir to a large conglomerate, no less influential than Kuze, but unfortunately, he died young—his family seemed to have a gene for short lifespans, with a rapid turnover of generations.

My classmates scattered to different places after graduation, and only a few of them still keep in touch.

Junpei felt regretful whenever he thought about it, after all, that senior had taken good care of him.

Go back and pay your respects, bringing with you his favorite water of life (Spirytus Vodka) – that was also his code name.

The water of life cannot be drunk straight; it needs to be mixed with other kinds of spirits to create a delicious cocktail. Just as we need to unite and cooperate to create greater energy.

He's a really charming man, so mature that he seems "not at all like someone our age."

Of course, Junpei and Soichiro were no less impressive and were highly respected among their peers. However, their personalities, ideals, and methods differed, leading them down different paths.