Great, now we are dead!

Of course!

Don't let Xiao Shou's bad-looking face fool you; he's basically on the side of good. He's not only helpful but also quick to stand up for what's right when injustice strikes!

Chika praised him profusely, "Asuna-chan, you can go to him if you encounter any trouble at school!"

"Okay, I'll consider it."

Asuna reluctantly agreed.

The image of Ye Shou that Chika spoke of was completely different from the one circulating in the public! This left Yuuki Asuna somewhat confused.

Ye Shou's reputation is not good. His abilities are beyond doubt, but he seems to be a villain who enjoys bullying the weak... His reputation has always been mixed. However, in Qianhua's account, Ye Shou seems to be a saint who is excellent in both character and academics, charitable, and without any flaws in his private morality!

Even if there are slight differences in evaluations of the same person, shouldn't the opinions be so polarized?

"Huh, they actually came to the cafeteria today?"

Chika suddenly showed a happy expression and changed her route with Asuna, heading towards another table.

The chestnut-haired girl looked up and saw Ye Shou and another student sitting not far away. The two sat facing each other, focused on their own dishes, appearing quiet and independent in the bustling cafeteria.

Asuna saw Chika humming a tune as she walked over, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow. The two of them sat down in the seats next to each other.

Chika didn't shy away from leaning against Ye Shou, while Asuna sat down next to Ruri. The maid's shoulder-length, raven-black hair and fair, delicate face gave Asuna a stunning impression.

"Hello"

"Hello"

The two greeted each other and introduced themselves. Ruri was quite famous in a certain circle. Even Asuna had heard her father mention that Ye Shou was always accompanied by a difficult maid.

Seeing Ruri in person now, Asuna felt a sense of relief.

She's just a normal girl, not as scary as her dad makes her out to be.

However, the young lady of the Yuki family did not notice the displeasure that flashed in the maid's eyes when she lowered her head.

This is unavoidable. After all, anyone would be unhappy if their time alone with someone they like was disturbed.

Chika, oblivious to the situation, unpacked the chopsticks and asked, "Don't you usually bring your own lunch?"

"There are times when I want to try something different."

"is it?"

Qianhua was puzzled. "It looks quite substantial to me. It's a good mix of meat and vegetables, nutritionally balanced, and tastes pretty good too."

You naturally felt the meal was more substantial, since you usually shamelessly ask for extra portions when you see unusual dishes.

Ye Shou couldn't help but glance at her, then cleared his throat.

"Liuli's craftsmanship is getting better every day, I can't stand it anymore."

"...Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

"That's right, it's because her cooking skills are getting better and better, and she's putting more effort into it, making my lunches more and more delicious—but she has less time for it."

This guy has a strong sense of responsibility. Even when the workload increases, he won't just do the bare minimum. He'll deduct time from his own rest period, resulting in his fatigue level accumulating day after day... This won't do.

"Is that why you came to the cafeteria?"

Chika nodded in agreement, while Asuna's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected that Ye Shou, who seemed so aloof, would have such a considerate side.

But Ye Shou then said, "Of course, if you can't put your energy into your work, even if it takes longer, your work efficiency will drop significantly—as her employer, I can't let this happen."

Asuna: "..."

The maid who was being criticized lowered her head in shame after hearing her master's words, but a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"hey-hey"

Qianhua flicked her chopsticks and chuckled, "You're still the same. You're clearly doing a good deed, but you always make yourself look like a bad guy."

Asuna, listen to me, the young lord has always been like this. Don't be fooled by his cold attitude; he's actually very easy to talk to."

No, that's probably just something they say to you—Asuna awkwardly agreed repeatedly.

She doesn't have Qianhua's thick skin; she wouldn't be so careless as to go up and flirt with Ye Shou!

"Miss Chika still loves ALO as much as ever."

Ruri noticed that Chika's phone charm had been changed to an ALO cartoon doll: "Is that a fairy from the Wind Clan?"

"Yes!"

The flowers were displayed as if to show off, and held in my hands as if they were precious treasures.

"It's my virtual avatar in the game, which was specially customized by someone."

This was just a free gift; that 10:1 scale figure cost me half a month's allowance!

"It's really very detailed,"

Ruri casually commented, then looked at Asuna, "By the way, Yuuki-kun's family is the operator of ALO, right? Speaking of which, it's a project that Kuze and Yuuki developed together."

"Really?!"

Chika turned around in surprise, "Asuna-chan's Yuuki, is that the one from the operator [Rect]?"

"Ah... I don't know much about business matters, and my family never lets me get involved."

Asuna waved her hand, her gaze shifting: "But this game is indeed run by my family, and we've mentioned it more than once during meals."

Actually, she knew quite a lot. For example, ALO was operated by a new joint venture between [Rect] and [Kuze Media Entertainment], but the power always lay with Kuze, and the Yuki family was just freeloading.

"Great"

Qianhua blinked: "Your internet speed must be really fast!"

"..."

Asuna bit her lip, tightened her expression, and nodded seriously.

"Well, it's alright, I guess."

"so good"

Chika pouted sadly, "I also want to play ALO with the highest settings, but Dad always says I have to improve my grades first... That's not something you can just improve on your own."

"You're only making progress verbally, you're only putting in the effort... Oh, right!"

Ye Shou remembered something and, seeing Qianhua's appearance, couldn't help but say, "ALO's 2022 Fairy Dance Extravaganza - a large-scale event project is in the pre-event phase. There will be cosplayer performances and lucky draws, and we expect to give away thousands of sets of equipment and small servers."

If you win but don't need the prize, you can get the cash back... Interested?

“Yes, yes!”

Chika immediately perked up: "Great! I was just worried about not having enough pocket money!"

"Don't talk like you're guaranteed to win. There will be a lot of people there."

"Okay, let's bring Miko-chan and Kei-chan along too, they're big fans of ALO too!"

Chika put her arm around Asuna's shoulder: "How about the four of us do a cosplay event sometime?"

"Huh? I'm here?"

The chestnut-haired girl looked stunned.

"Xiao Shou, what role do you plan to play?"

"……Um?"

Ye Shou raised his head:

Are you not even going to spare me?

Dragging the event organizer's boss to participate in the lucky draw... Chika, you're really despicable these days!

Chapter 90 Stray Dogs Don't Need Graves

Regardless of how despicable Fujiwara Chika was, after accepting the invitation, Ye Shou suddenly had a whim and went to the research institute to find Kayaba Akihiko, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and gave him a rather interesting task:

"Cosplay?"

"Yes."

"..."

Kayaba Akihiko glanced back at the bright, clean, and orderly experimental workshop, then turned back and pushed up his glasses, a flash of cold white light passing through him.

Are you still half asleep?

"No."

"For custom-made cosplay costumes, go to Amazon, or find a professional craftsman—this is the cutting-edge microscopic quantum observatory!"

"I didn't say you had to do it. I just asked you to contact Professor Agasa and invite him to do some research together."

"Professor Agasa? Ah, he seems like he might actually be interested in this... Then why don't you just contact him directly!"

Maoba couldn't understand Ye Shou's thought process at all.

Yes, as members of the same "Peace Union Organization," Kayaba had Professor Agasa's contact information, and the two had a fairly good relationship.

Dr. Agasa is very passionate about applying technology to people's lives and has many amazing little inventions. Kayaba's expertise, "quantum physics," is the kind of theory that is extremely profound and very difficult to apply in practice. To create cost-effective products, he needs to collaborate with very talented experimental physicists.

After joining TPC, Kayaba met Professor Agasa and, after witnessing the old man's incredibly talented and seemingly "wasteful" works, decided to make him a long-term partner.

(Actually, he's someone who uses quantum physics to make games, so he doesn't have the right to say that others are wasting their talent.)

For example, their "second-generation semi-immersive VR device" is significantly smaller and lighter than its predecessor, only the size of a headset. Once activated, the wearer does not need to enter sleep mode and can "render" the real space using virtual scenes while awake.

An ordinary stadium can feel like you're in the ancient Roman Colosseum;

The crude and rudimentary paintball range will become indistinguishable from a real transport ship and abandoned factory;

Simply put, it means "dreams come true"!

This equipment does not require a dedicated server; instead, all devices within a certain area can connect to the same server, creating a live-action version of the game.

While it may not offer the same level of immersion as a fully immersive experience due to power limitations, it will undoubtedly attract a large number of players. If its scale expands, it might even be introduced as an esports event into the Olympics.

Maoba is now living a very fulfilling life. At first, he harbored some resentment towards Ye Shou, feeling that he was being manipulated by this young upstart and was truly unwilling to accept it.

But now, on one hand, he knows the "truth" of the world and awaits the return of ghosts, gods, and magic. On the other hand, he can research groundbreaking cyberpunk technology and collaborate with extraordinary individuals like Professor Agasa—a life that could be considered ideal for a scientist.

New discoveries every day, new progress every day.

At a time like this, you want me to stop what I'm doing and make cosplay costumes just for you?

You've got the wrong person, Boss!

Kuze Yoshimori, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money. We scientists also have—

"This is the budget for the cosplay outfit."

"Even if it's something like that..."

Kayaba Akihiko glanced at the numbers at the bottom of the design drawings on the tablet and was immediately filled with awe.

He initially wanted to refuse, but he could feel Ye Shou's boundless respect and sincerity for science, and he simply couldn't refuse such a kind invitation.

This is no longer just "pocket money"... No scientist would refuse research funding!

Upon closer inspection of the blueprints, which were densely packed with numerical requirements, Kayaba Akihiko realized in less than three seconds that this was definitely not a cosplay outfit.

Just kidding, what cosplayer needs to jump two meters high?

"If we design it according to these requirements... wouldn't the result be a power suit?"

"It's just to make it more realistic when cosplaying."

Ye Shou raised his eyes: "How about it, can you do it?"

"Theoretically, there are no hard bottlenecks. I can make the operating system and neural sensing device very quickly. The difficulty lies in the materials... To maintain the current thickness and elasticity, we need to extract a portion of the data chip related to the materials that you have sealed."

Kayaba nodded, looking at Ye Shou through his glasses: "How much time do you want?"

"Half a month?"

"..."

Kayaba's eyes widened, and despite being mentally prepared, he was still taken aback: "This is not a timeframe that a research project should have!"

"That's why I asked you to contact Professor Agasa."

Ye Shou was also thinking of taking a shot, even if there was no chance of success.