Chapter Seventy-One: Time Is Like Water in a Sponge—Squeeze and There’s Always More

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At night, Liu Yang dragged his exhausted body home. Although he had spent half the day dozing off to catch up on sleep, the aftereffects of staying up all night were not so easily dispelled.

"Getting old, after all," he muttered to himself. "There was a time when I could go two days and nights without sleep and still attend class with energy to spare."

Murmuring, he quickly devoured the dinner he had bought on the way back, then immediately turned on his computer.

However, just as he was about to dive back into "Arcane Ascendant" and continue the fight, he hesitated.

[Shocking! A man dies suddenly at midnight because...]

He really didn’t want to end up as the headline in some sensational news report the next day.

"Forget it. I'll just read some game reviews and go to bed," Liu Yang restrained his urge to play.

After all, he was an adult now; self-control was a must.

He opened the game's review section, and the most popular comment immediately caught his eye.

["You Push Me" has the potential to become legendary!]

The shock "Arcane Ascendant" brought me far surpasses that of many mainstream games. The unique gameplay, the innovative mechanics, and especially the temporary separation of consciousness and memory—this technology alone makes it far more interesting than 99% of current VR games.

I have a hunch this game will reshape the entire industry!

Regardless of where the story goes, it’s bound for legendary status!

The designer "Push Me" is destined to become another titan in the world of Origin Games!

———

PurpleMist: Agree with the above. This game gives me chills—I can’t stop playing.

YourRascalIsOnline: Legendary designer? Are you talking about your mom? I seriously suspect you’re a hired shill from another studio. "Push Me" is platinum at the very least!

Liu Li Yu: Hey, brother, platinum is a bit much. Origin Games only gets one or two platinum designers a year. If you were talking about anyone else, I’d flame you, but "Push Me" really has the talent—just needs more time to mature.

1.2.3…999+ (__Input page jump)

———

After finishing the comment, Liu Yang gave it a decisive thumbs up.

That was just spot on.

If nothing else, the fact that "Push Me" made the game free for players was enough for him to support it unconditionally.

After closing the legendary comment, Liu Yang continued browsing.

Aside from praise for the game and for "Push Me," most of the comments were players sharing their in-game experiences.

"Oh? Female players get a different storyline from male players?"

Spying a post titled [The Rise of the Empress], Liu Yang clicked in, curious.

What he saw next blew his mind—a series of actions that shattered his understanding of the game.

Things like stirring up internal clan strife, assassinating the clan leader to take their place, forming strategy groups, manipulating the emotions of various prodigies to make them work for her—one outrageous move after another.

Liu Yang’s head buzzed as he read.

Compared to these stories, his own experiences seemed utterly bland—like plain boiled water.

This was what you called high-level play. Now, that was a real gamer.

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He had originally thought about sharing his own experiences, but now he felt it was better to stay quiet than embarrass himself.

Shaking his head, he closed the comments and browsed other threads.

[Crowdfunding Bounty: The Pants Bandit!]

Damn! This pervert is getting out of hand.

He’s everywhere. Every time I see his comments in-game, I start to wonder if I’m the real freak. It’s ruining the game for me!

Does anyone know who this jerk is?

I swear, I’m reporting him!

Reward: 17,242 (9,781 people already contributed)

———

Ginoom: Just turn off the bubble feature. You’re too sensitive.

FreeWandering: If you turn off chat bubbles in this game, you lose half the fun—no way.

AccountBanned: I tried it. Was having a blast at first, but as soon as I switched off the bubbles, I felt isolated—either getting humiliated or on my way to being humiliated. Sigh.

TigerWings: I hope they add a mode where you can play without memory blocks—blocking memories does nothing against idiot players. It’s torture.

NoGentleman: Come on, if they add that mode, the regular environment will only get worse. You never know the kinds of nonsense these players will come up with.

1.2.3...86+ (__Input page jump)

———

After reading the comments, Liu Yang silently chipped in two more coins to the bounty before closing the thread.

He went on to browse more player stories.

[Slaying Arcane Beasts with Warm Wine!]

[The Strongest Live-in Son-in-Law]

[My Wealth Exposed to the World!]

[My Unforgettable Youth with Five Alchemist Maidens]

"Holy—"

"Damn!"

"Awesome!"

"Unreal!"

"Can you even do that?"

"So jealous. I want girls like that telling me ‘let’s keep going tonight.’"

As he scrolled through the comments, Liu Yang couldn’t help but exclaim aloud at intervals.

Reading about other players’ exploits was exhilarating. He felt his blood boiling.

"Damn it! Who needs sleep? Let’s go!"

Energized, Liu Yang launched the game and dove back in.

As for whether he’d get enough sleep? Please, time is like water in a sponge—there’s always a little more to squeeze out. Worst case, he’d slack off at work and nap.

[Please set your logout time]

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"A billion hours."

[Notice: Maximum is six hours]

…

…

"Two hundred gold! Any higher bids?"

"This is an Arcane Beast egg—a rare species. It’s not impossible for it to hatch a beast with ninefold potential."

"Imagine—a ninefold beast, guarding your family for millennia!"

In a small underground auction house, Liu Yang’s body stiffened momentarily in his seat, then quickly relaxed.

He had trained in the Arcane Beast Mountains for a while and earned some cash. Following a tip about a hidden bargain, he’d arrived at this underground auction.

On stage was a heavily made-up woman, dressed so scantily it seemed a single piece of cloth barely covered the essentials.

At this moment, the auctioneer was enthusiastically promoting a fist-sized pink egg.

"In a dump like this, you expect a ninefold beast? At best, it’s triple-fold, and that’s if you’re lucky. Two hundred ten gold!"

This time, a burly man not far from Liu Yang stood to bid.

"We have a bid of two hundred ten gold—any higher?"

The auctioneer didn’t miss a beat, keeping her professional composure.

"Two hundred ten, going once!"

"Two hundred ten, going twice!"

"Two hundred ten—"

"Three hundred gold!"

Following his tip, Liu Yang called out his price.

This was the lowest price at which he could secure the rare beast egg.

At his bid, heads turned, especially the burly man, whose eyes flashed dangerously.

"Three hundred gold—any higher?"

The auctioneer smiled as if oblivious to the tension below.

"Kid, you’ve got guts, daring to compete with something my Bloodthirst Mercenary Group wants," the burly man muttered, sitting down and ceasing to bid.

The other attendees, sensing what was coming, wisely chose not to get involved.

With no further bids, Liu Yang won the rare beast egg for just three hundred gold.

When the auction ended, he stowed the egg and left, his gaze flickering to the shadow tailing him. A smirk played at his lips.

In truth, the real bargain wasn’t the egg he carried, but this so-called Bloodthirst Mercenary.

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