Qin Guan had thought that his progress was quite fast, but when he heard that so many people had actually managed to clear Medium Mode in just a few hours, he felt a little defeated.
But once he changed his mindset, he let go of it. After all, his was the ultra-high difficulty mode, so he should not be too far from them, right?
Even Su Xiaoyu had managed to reach the eightieth-something platform for Medium Mode. Logically, since he was slightly better than her when it came to games, if he was in Medium Mode, he should have nearly cleared the game by then, right?
Su Xiaoyu leaned against the couch. "In conclusion, we'll know whether the news is real or fake once we try. I'll clear Medium Mode tonight and see whether it's as mystical as they make it out to be."
While they spoke, the doorbell rang.
"Ah, my fried chicken is here." Qin Guan jogged over and opened the door to bring in the bags of fried chicken to the dining table with a grin. He also took a can of Coca Cola from the fridge.
Su Xiaoyu stared at him in shock. "It's so late, and you're still eating fried chicken? Look at your pot belly! Ever since we entered university, your figure has been growing sideways!"
"So what if I have a pot belly? Am I acting arrogantly now?" Qin Guan said with righteous indignation.
Su Xiaoyu gasped. "Huh?"
'You're indeed not acting arrogantly… but why did you make it sound as if you were proud of it?!'
Qin Guan picked up a piece of boneless chicken and ate it happily before he took a sip of his Coke. "Do you know why you always lose to me in games? It's because you eat too little junk food. It might not have any nutrients, but it's high on sugar content. It can replenish the energy of your brain. That's why I win against you every single time."
"Oh." Su Xiaoyu then asked, "You hid yourself in the house for an entire afternoon, so what platform have you reached?"
Qin Guan choked and nearly snorted his Coke out the nose. "Hack, cough, cough. About that…"
Su Xiaoyu did not forget to add salt on the wound. "Don't lie now, or else it'll be really awkward when I clear Medium Mode before you."
Qin Guan instantly felt that the fried chicken in his hand had turned tasteless. He held back his answer for a long time before he finally said, "36th."
Su Xiaoyu put on an expression as if she understood what was going on.
Qin Guan was instantly displeased. "I'm telling you. There's a reason behind my results. It's mainly because my difficulty level…"
"What about your difficulty level?" Su Xiaoyu asked.
"Ah, forget it…" Qin Guan felt that he should keep his situation to himself. Even if he told Su Xiaoyu that he entered the Developer's Difficulty Level mode, she would not believe him…
Su Xiaoyu sighed. "Sigh, just work hard… I'll go work hard too. I'll try to clear Medium Mode tonight."
Qin Guan nearly died from choking on his Coke. 'Why do you sound as if you're disappointed that I failed to live up to your expectations?!
'Don't you dare overstep your boundaries! I terrify even myself when I get angry, you know?!'
In the end, Su Xiaoyu went into the bathroom with new clothes. She ran away after she acted all high-and-mighty, not giving Qin Guan a chance to refute her…
He took a sip of his Coke in grief while he lamented that life was as lonely as the snow in winter…
But despite that, his fighting spirit was ignited. Su Xiaoyu already dominated him in all other aspects of life, so was he going to allow her to dominate him in games as well?
'Damn it! I can't accept this!'
Once he gobbled up most of the fried chicken, Qin Guan had his consciousness sink back into the trial and began to challenge the 37th platform.
...
After spending a great amount of effort to reach the 57th platform, Qin Guan had his consciousness return to the real world.
It was not because he was tired, but that the jumping business was simply too dull. If he did not rest a bit after playing for a few hours in a go, it would be very difficult for him to continue on.
He cast a glance at his watch. It was already past two in the morning.
After nearly fourteen hours of hard labor, Qin Guan had managed to land on the 57th platform. Even if it was only because he had all the standard answers, it was truly a joyful event worthy of celebration.
However, when he reached the later stages, the difficulty level had increased exponentially. It was so much so that even if Qin Guan had the standard answers, he could not replicate them…
They were too darn hard!
He ran into all sorts of strange challenges, such as the platforms shattering the moment he landed on them. This meant that he had to begin his second take off within a very short period of time to reach the next platform.
Some platforms would suddenly have spikes shoot out from below, and only two corners would be safe. If he landed on the wrong spot, he would have to restart.
Other platforms would move irregularly, up and down, or left and right. He had to search for the right timing to jump, or he would plunge down.
The further he progressed, the more tricks the game displayed. Qin Guan suddenly had a feeling that he was playing a platform game.
… A very difficult platform game.
Dying dozens or hundreds of times in one place was torture to most people. They would not feel any sort of pleasure from playing the game. Qin Guan could already be considered to have a very strong will for lasting so long…
However, this did not fit with his image as a hardcore gamer. After all, he had never given up when he played games. When his teammates gave up, he was always the one who would never surrender.
If he never lost his will to fight no matter how difficult the situation became, what happened when he really won?
However, Qin Guan did discover something very strange. When he went through the trial in the world in his mind, he might be constantly jumping and falling while thinking nonstop of way to succeed, but he never got tired.
Once his consciousness returned to reality, he felt as if he had just taken a nap on the couch and felt quite refreshed.
When Qin Guan saw that it was quite late, he put away the remaining fried chicken into the fridge. He went to switch off the lights in the living room so he could return to his bedroom and continue challenging the trial.
Right then, Su Xiaoyu opened her door and walked out with a calm expression. "Qin Guan, I cleared the trial."
His heart clenched in pain.
'Ah, it's the familiar feeling of being dominated… Damn you!'
Qin Guan did not let his defeated feelings show. He pretended to be calm and asked, "Then… did you transform?"
Su Xiaoyu's expression darkened. "Stop making me sound like Ultraman, will you?!"
'Damn you and your transformation!'
Su Xiaoyu shut her eyes, and the next second, she turned into another person.
Her face remained the same, but her figure changed a little. The previous Su Xiaoyu might have had quite a good figure, but her curves had not been perfect. It might be because she hadn't exercise much, but at that moments, Qin Guan could see perfect curves even on her calves. It was the characteristic of someone who had great athletic abilities.
Her clothes had also changed. She was clearly in her pajamas moments before, but right then, she was dressed in a very cool-looking, Western-styled school uniform. She even had a short skirt and leather shoes on.
Qin Guan was instantly shocked. "Are you Sailor Moon?!"
Su Xiaoyu immediately hit his head. "Damn you and your Sailor Moon! I told you a long time ago to stop watching all those anime!"
Qin Guan originally wanted to dodge, but he could not…
In truth, Qin Guan's reaction time and control of his body was very good, but his physical attributes were simply too bad…
Once Su Xiaoyu took the new form, Qin Guan only saw a blur before he was hit. He did not even have time to dodge. Where was the justice in that?
He now had a deep understanding of the saying: all those who fall behind must be hit.
He could not win against her even if he wanted to, so Qin Guan could only swallow his pride and endure the humiliation in silence. "So, how do you feel?"
"I feel…" Su Xiaoyu thought about it for a moment. "I feel like I can win against ten of you!"
Qin Guan was speechless.
This was too humiliating!
However, what brought him even greater surprise was that the dialog box above Su Xiaoyu's head had changed. It was no longer lvl 1, but lvl 2, and there was an additional number behind it.
15!