Great, now we are dead!

"Kusei Yoshinori, where did he come from...? Impossible, this is more in-depth than my research?"

There's actually someone in this world above me... Hmm!

Chapter 14 A maid's job is to be served by her master—

Ye Shou did not believe that coercion or bribery could make Kayaba Akihiko obedient. In fact, even if he were sent to prison or trapped in cyberspace forever, this man would not bow down.

Most people have weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but someone like Kayaba, who is willing to pay any price for his dream, is practically invincible in bilateral games. Even though Ye Shou has countless times the resource advantage, he still can't "subdue" a mad scientist.

Therefore, we need to treat the symptoms!

The first thing to be certain of is that Kayaba Akihiko did not have any intention of seeking death.

A person who has no attachment to life could never create such a beautiful and wonderful game world. On the contrary, others can feel from SAO that he invested extremely strong passion and belief, to the point that he was willing to involve the fates of tens of thousands of people in order to realize his dream.

When the Eingredient arc of the original work ended, Kayaba Akihiko used microwaves to scan his brain, which was not a desperate act of suicide.

In reality, given his talent, even if he were caught, he wouldn't be sentenced to death; at the very least, the US government would certainly be happy to accept such a high-quality criminal.

The main reason he did that was for "fair competition"!

Only when the Creator himself joins this deadly game and accepts a fair death trial can the authenticity and integrity of SAO be finally restored.

(Perhaps there's a little guilt towards the deceased players, but not too much.)

Secondly, there was his last experiment:

They would conduct a highly efficient brain scan on themselves, attempting to digitize their memories and personality and store them on the internet.

Simply put, it means becoming a "digital life"!

However, there were no successful cases before, and he himself was unsure about this, so it was a gamble.

Now that we know this person's desires, we can turn them into a weakness if we operate properly.

What strategy did Ye Shou employ to exploit this weakness? The answer lies in the USB drive (data package) he handed over:

The system card occasionally refreshes with the option of "transferring to another world". Previously, Ye Shou spent most of his wealth to "purchase" a certain world, and since then he has had the permission to open the door repeatedly.

Ye Shou can open the door once per cycle (month), and stay in the other world for about twenty days. If he wants to stay longer after the expiration, he needs to pay a fee (Fate Coin). No matter how long he spends in the other world, only twenty-four hours have passed when he returns to the main world.

The data stored on the USB drive comes from another world, and the theme of that world is—

"Cyberpunk"!

For a scientist, what could be more appealing than "future technology"?

Imagine how magnificent and realistic the evolved SAO would be if he could apply the new technology to his own world (game).

Most mad scientists are perfectionists, and Ye Shougan asserts that Kayaba Akihiko will not have suicidal thoughts before completing the new SAO!

He must witness firsthand the heights his creation can reach before he can leave the real world without regrets!

The USB drive only contained some general theories and equations; if he wanted more detailed information, he would have to rely on Ye Shou!

Ye Shou wasn't worried that Kayaba Akihiko wouldn't understand... The prototype that this guy made didn't need a brain-computer interface, yet it allowed people to experience a virtual world with 99% realism. Its quality was truly impeccable.

In terms of technical prowess in a single field, Kayaba Akihiko's performance is in no way inferior to those legendary scientists in "cyberpunk." However, the overall technological strength in the real world is too weak, and it is far inferior to "cyberpunk" in terms of both basic science and theoretical level. Therefore, no matter how brilliant Kayaba Akihiko is, he cannot transcend the limitations of his time.

(The biggest advantage of cyberpunk is that there are almost no moral constraints; large-scale experiments like death games are nothing special.)

Ye Shou eagerly anticipates whether Kayaba will be like Prometheus who stole fire, bringing a new dawn to humanity.

—In this way, the fate of eight billion people in the world will be changed!

What's a game?

What Ye Shou wants is a virtual world that covers the entire globe, a second space, Earth Online!

When the time comes, we'll tear down Tokyo Tower, build a new one on the spot, and name it "Kuse Tower"!

Of course, one kotatsu alone cannot achieve this. As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This mad scientist is just a small step in Ye Shou's accumulation of strength.

Once I'm strong enough to be immune to rockets and poison, I'll contact Professor Agasa. With the advanced technology in "Detective Conan," getting a cybernetic body modification wouldn't be a problem.

……

"Intellectuals are just stubborn. Let's give them a few days to cool off before we talk."

Back home, Kuze was talking to Ruri in the study: "We need to be tolerant enough of [Rect]. The SAO incident wasn't their responsibility. Although we could work around to pin the blame on [Rect], we don't need to do that."

Nobuyuki Sugo, an elite executive of 【Rect】 who is in charge of game operation and maintenance, has disappeared without a trace!

The Inugami Group did a very clean job; nobody knows where he went. Even if he appears on TV or online as an idol in the future, it's likely that his acquaintances won't recognize him...

Before his disappearance, Sugo hacked into Kayaba's research institute. After the employees discovered this, they reported it to the company's senior management and the police. As a result, a large amount of evidence of transactions with American companies was found on Sugo's personal computer, and the financial transactions of his secret accounts were also exposed one after another.

They found diaries, work logs, and other similar items at his residence. It seems this guy had been jealous of Kayaba since his university days, secretly copying his inspirations and theories, and even had a dark history of plagiarizing technology and trading it to Western capital.

Taking all the evidence together, it's natural to arrive at the following conclusion:

This traitor, driven by jealousy of the Maochang Group and to satisfy his own greed and ambition, collaborated with American capital to transfer technical data and deliberately sabotaged [Rect]'s progress. After the incident broke out, fearing exposure, he simply ran away.

—It is said that upon hearing this news, the head of the Yuki family almost suffered a stroke on the spot.

He really thinks highly of that man!

She even considered marrying her beloved daughter to him, making him her son-in-law, even though the age gap between them was already two generations.

Unexpectedly, the talent he had been cultivating turned out to be a traitor who directly ruined the cooperation project with the Kuze Group, almost plunging [Rect] into an abyss of no return... The fact that he survived shows that Uncle Yuki is truly in good health.

"The news that there was a mole in [Rect] has already been released, so the public will naturally blame them for the incident... At this time, if the Kuze Group steps in to clean up the mess and bear most of the losses, the Yuki family will be grateful to us."

Liuli looked at Ye Shou with respect: "Your kindness has been rewarded."

"Does this count as kindness?"

Ye Shou chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Although the main responsibility lies with Kayaba and Sugo, the two major culprits, Ye Shou can hardly be considered innocent, and [Rect] is a complete victim.

"Of course, it's merciful,"

Liuli closed one eye and said mischievously, "After all, you saved this company, but you didn't make them offer their daughter as a maid."

"...Are you being sarcastic?"

Ye Shou looked up in astonishment.

"Don't dare."

Liuli closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly: "After all, I am just a lowly maid who was betrayed by my family. How can I be disrespectful to my master?"

It's confirmed; it's a sarcastic remark directed at him.

"Have I spoiled her too much lately?" Ye Shou couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Oh right, now that you mention it, I remember something."

Ye Shou pondered for a moment: "The Yuuki family's daughter is indeed a beauty."

"!"

Liuli opened her eyes wide, her small hands, clad in white silk gloves, quietly gripping the hem of her skirt.

"This is a real headache. Should I mention it?"

Ye Shou put down the documents, leisurely propped his head up with his hand, and looked at Liuli with a meaningful gaze.

"Maybe this maid will be more obedient."

"Well"

Liuli glanced at the corner and whispered, "I...I also..."

"Ok?"

“I’m very well-behaved, Master.”

The maid's voice was barely audible, her fingers nervously rubbing against the fabric.

"is it?"

Ye Shou smiled mischievously, "Then let's try it out."

—From that day on, Ruri took on the task of waiting outside while Ye Shou bathed, collecting and changing his clothes.

When doing this, she always wears a specially made maid dress with a low neckline and a short skirt, so that her absolute territory and stockings can be vaguely seen when she moves around, and her deep valley can be glimpsed when she kneels down.

Incidentally, the maid dress wasn't Ye Shou's request; she prepared it herself.

Chapter 15 This responsibility, once taken, lasts a lifetime.

The "SAO launch crash incident" has sparked widespread discussion in society. The more fervent the previous media hype, the more opportunistic the backlash now. The behind-the-scenes power struggles and clashes remain unknown, leaving the public to focus their attention solely on the operators.

Although the Yuki family's [Rect] was not small in scale, it was clearly not the center of the media storm, with most of the attention focused on Kayaba Akihiko and Kuze Hakami.

However, Kayaba had already "retired behind the scenes," and the media couldn't find him at all, so the firepower was ultimately poured on Ye Shou's side.

And Ye Shou himself, who is in the spotlight—

As a top student, he studied diligently.

Now that he had achieved his goal and amassed a fortune in gold coins, he was in an extremely comfortable mood and completely disregarded the strange looks from others. Whether it was the audacious reporter who tried to intercept him or the classmates with complicated expressions, he generously ignored them all.

Ye Shou's attitude led everyone to believe he was in a bad mood because he had lost money, and no one dared to press him for answers. Even the teachers became more cautious during lectures, fearing that any sensitive words might ignite Ye Shou's anger.

"Kou, when will SAO reopen?"

"Everyone says NERvGear has quality issues, is the gaming helmet you sent me the same?"

"They must have lost a lot of money this time, right?"

"So, what exactly caused the server to crash? I was happily grinding monsters at the time."

"Can the new server inherit the data? My administrator account, cough cough..."

—There are also gossipy, overweight women who aren't afraid of death.

As expected of Fujiwara-san, she said everything we dared not say!

Hey, don't ignore me!

"...Are you really that free? You should use that time to study!"

"You're saying the same thing as my mom again!"

Fujiwara snorted and turned his head away unconvinced: "They study hard every day, playing games is just a way to balance work and rest."

"I study hard every day, but my grades are only average."

"Here we go again! This time it's the same as my dad's!"

Fujiwara scratched his head in annoyance, sat down in the chair in front of Ye Shou, turned around and leaned on the back of the chair, looking at him with a rather resentful expression.

“My allowance is getting less and less every month, and it’s all Xiao Shou’s fault.”

"If you want to act cute, go to your uncle and aunt. I have no obligation to indulge you."

Ye Shou curled his lip.

"What kind of relationship do we have? Can't you at least look after your lovely childhood sweetheart?"

It has to be said that Chika's personality and appearance are inherently charming and cute. Even if she is a little clingy, she will not seem annoying. On the contrary, she has a kind of genuine and cheerful feeling. But Ye Shou has been immune to this since childhood.

To be honest, Chika did have reasons to resent Ye Shou:

Her grades were actually quite good, but they didn't stand out when she was around Ye Shou, who had been "someone else's child" since kindergarten.

Living in an environment where there is always someone better than her, Chika's competitive spirit was suppressed. She never had any motivation to strive for "number one" and gradually became lazy, instead indulging in things like magic, board games, and comics.

—Okay, actually it's because she likes it herself. Even without Ye Shou, she still wouldn't have become a top student.

Ye Shou's only excessive act was that he surpassed his childhood sweetheart in all her areas of expertise.

The Thousand Flowers Society speaks five languages, while Ye Shou is fluent in all six official languages ​​of the United Nations (Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic) except for Japanese.

One is a musical prodigy who won a gold medal in a world-class piano competition; the other is a monster who has little interest in music but can reach the same level after a month of intensive practice!

"Where has Fujiwara Chika gone, the aloof genius who once dominated the world stage?"

Ye Shou scoffed, "You weren't even as ambitious as you were when you were a kid! That genius girl has now been reduced to nothing more than acting cute and charming... tsk!"

"It's all Xiao Shou's fault."

Chika tilted her head, her face, which should have been puffed up with anger, was now all smiles.

"If it weren't for Xiao Shou, I would definitely have become a much better woman now."