Afternoon.
Kiana, full from food and drink and having received a pile of offerings, was currently sprawled across a recliner inside the dojo—the "Little Grandmaster Exclusive Recliner" specially presented by Cheng Lingshuang.
Her current appearance was exactly like a cat basking in the sun, eyes half closed.
Su Yu had just twisted open the cap of a bottle of cola when that unserious red popup jumped into his vision again, carrying a thick sense of wanting credit.
System Notice: Detected that host has successfully fooled… cough, successfully won over everyone in Cuntun Dojo.
Achievement unlocked: "Friend of Taixu."
Evaluation: As expected of you, my host. Not only did you fool that stubborn Fu Hua, you even fooled all those disciples and grand-disciples crooked. In this wave of cyber traditional martial arts, this system hereby names you the strongest con artist!
The corner of Su Yu's mouth twitched.
He had gone from salted fish to con artist king. Guess whose "credit" was the greatest, huh?
Reward settlement in progress…
1. Fu Hua bond level increased: Lv.2 — Trusted Partner. In her eyes, you are now not only an old classmate, but also the "savior" of the Taixu Sect.
2. Special Buff "Martial Arts Prodigy (Pseudo)" loaded: During motion capture recording, all participants' martial arts comprehension speed increases by 200%. Note: Getting stronger while working? Even capitalists would weep.
Seeing this line, Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
This buff was something.
Originally, he had been worried that long-term recording would make the dojo disciples feel bored. Now, this was equivalent to handing them a "double experience card."
By then, even if he tried to drive them away, he might not be able to. Perhaps they would hug Su Yu's thigh and beg, "Eldest Senior Brother, let me train for one more hour, just one hour, onegai! I'll do anything!"
Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
Before he could look more closely, the noisy system text changed again. This time the font was bold, and it even came with flashing effects.
Reward Three — Core: Home System Upgrade!
Detected that [Cuntun Dojo] has established a deep bond with the host. It is now classified as the host's "Second Territory."
Territory Authority Details:
1. Character [Kiana Kaslana] has her distance restriction lifted within the territory.
2. Prerequisite: The host himself must be within the territory range, namely Cuntun Dojo. As long as you are in the dojo, even if you are squatting in the toilet while she is doing parkour on the roof, there will be no problem.
3. Note: Once the host leaves the dojo range, the restriction will immediately return to 1.5 meters. Please do not test the boundary repeatedly, or bear the consequences yourself.
Seeing that last line, Su Yu felt all the pores on his body relax.
This was the legendary… epic enhancement!
Although there was still the major prerequisite that Su Yu had to be present, for their current predicament, this was already a qualitative leap.
Without this home system upgrade, when recording motion capture, he would have to stick behind Kiana like a guardian spirit. The system would sound the alarm if they were even slightly too far apart.
Earlier, when Kiana said she would "knock Old Ma down in three punches," she had actually also been taking into account the limited time.
Under the original circumstances, not only could Kiana not fully stretch her limbs, the scene would also have been far too easy to misunderstand. Anyone who did not know better might think he had some perverted desire to control his little junior sister.
Although maybe, perhaps, a certain older single young woman across the hall who always liked drinking herself into a hangover had already started to develop that kind of misunderstanding. After all, in Himeko's eyes, Kiana really did follow him around like a little tail.
His tiny rental apartment was not completely unusable for motion capture, but the problem was that it was too small. There simply was not enough room to move.
Now, things were different.
The entire Cuntun Dojo, with its courtyard of several thousand square meters, was available for Kiana to run wild in however she liked.
He had to admit, although this system really had made Su Yu suffer quite a bit and liked to snipe at him for no reason, behaving exactly like a toxic friend, when it came time to give cheats, it really did give them.
Now, it had solved the biggest bug of close-range motion capture and incidentally turned "making the disciples work for free" into "giving benefits to the disciples."
Think about it. These martial arts maniacs normally had to bitterly hold horse stances to train. Now, as long as they put on motion capture suits and performed movements under Su Yu's command, they could receive an "enlightenment" buff.
Who could resist that?
This was not finding free labor.
This was practically opening a cyber tutoring class!
Warm System Reminder: Well? Feeling like your breathing has become smoother? Who was it that secretly muttered that this foster father wasn't strong enough? Do you still think foster father can't do it now?
However, one who takes benefits must also work properly. Since I have given you such major convenience, you had better make the next job look good.
"Fine, fine, I got it."
Su Yu replied inwardly and casually closed the noisy system panel.
This time, he did not snap back at the system. After all, this wave had genuinely been powerful. Though Su Yu suspected it had previously taken too many cuts from him in the early stages and was only now tossing him a carrot to make this donkey keep turning the millstone.
Whatever. He had received the reward. First, he would tease the cat.
"Su Yu, your smile is weird."
Kiana opened her eyes and looked at Su Yu, who had a mischievous smile on his face. She felt this guy was about to come up with some strange idea again.
"Are you planning something bad again?"
"What do you mean, bad idea? This is called win-win."
Su Yu stood up, clapped his hands, and called over Ma Feima and Cheng Lingshuang, who were still studying the equipment.
"Everyone, in order to ensure the authenticity of the motion capture data, my equipment is loaded with the newest neural feedback system."
He began talking nonsense with a solemn face, neither blushing nor hesitating.
"During the recording process, the equipment will stimulate your muscle groups with microcurrents to help you better understand Little Grandmaster's movement and force generation. Simply put… help me work, and you can get stronger too."
"Really?" Ma Feima froze.
It was not that he did not believe Su Yu. After all, the previous godlike display had truly convinced him of this so-called outer-sect eldest senior brother.
But the matter sounded too far beyond common sense. He subconsciously had to ask one more question.
"Try it and you'll know."
Su Yu pointed to the center of the venue and had Ma Feima put on a pair of wrist guards. In reality, the thing had no effect at all. It was purely to provide cover for the system's black technology.
The next ten minutes became a large-scale "now I'm convinced" scene.
Ma Feima merely performed a basic set of Taixu Long Fist, yet the sluggish force-generation feeling that had troubled him for years miraculously vanished.
He felt as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened. Every punch was smooth and satisfying.
"Divine! This is truly divine!"
The burly man was so excited that his face flushed red. The way he looked at Su Yu had changed from "this eldest senior brother has something to him" to "this man is basically my second parent."
Even Cheng Lingshuang, who only wanted to lie flat, changed her gaze.
She discovered that this "idle leveling" mode was practically tailor-made for her. No need to use her brain, and she could still gain experience. It was simply perfect.
"Eldest Senior Brother."
Cheng Lingshuang silently rolled her bedding into the motion capture area.
"I'll live here for the next few days. Whoever tries to chase me away, I'll fight them."
Ma Feima shouted at the top of his lungs and called over Lin Chaoyu and the others, who had been washing dishes and cleaning up in the kitchen.
"Divine! Truly divine!"
The more Su Mei looked at Su Yu, the more she felt that this "eldest senior brother" was unfathomable. As expected of someone capable of speaking with Dr. MEI.
"I say, Eldest Senior Brother Su, our Taixu Sword Sect wasn't really a cultivation sect in the past, was it? Is this equipment actually infused with spiritual energy or something?"
Su Mei's teasing made Su Yu roll his eyes.
"Sister Mei, you have to believe in science."
Even Fu Hua, upon hearing this, nearly failed to keep a straight face.
Believe in science? Do you want to listen to what you're saying?
With Kiana's humanoid tyrannosaurus combat power, even if someone said she was a cultivator, Fu Hua would not doubt it at all.
Still, this thing really depended on how one interpreted it. After all, in Kiana's original world, saying it was cultivation was not entirely wrong. The Shenzhou immortals in Honkai Impact 3rd used Honkai energy to begin with.
If one said Honkai energy was true qi or immortal power, that could also make sense.
Of course, Su Yu saying it was science was not wrong either. Biochemical warriors—calling that science was very reasonable!
Su Mei was speechless. "How is that different from an old celestial master who keeps saying 'believe in science' while reincarnating and flying down the mountain on a sword?"
While the group bantered, the system, which had originally gone quiet, popped up again.
System Notice: Side mission "Taixu Foundation" triggered.
Mission Objective: Establish a standard-compliant dedicated holographic motion capture venue within Cuntun Dojo.
Mission Funds: 500,000.00 Shenzhou credits. Deposited. Renovation use only.
Note: The money is for you, but every cent must be spent where it matters. Do not think about using it to buy unmodeled kitten packages, host.
Important Reminder: Do not forget the main mission!
Main Mission One: The Valkyrie's Heroic Form.
Note: Equipment is ready, free labor is ready. Once the venue is finished, motion capture hard! Otherwise, are you planning to finish this game in 2077?
Mission Objective 1: Complete motion capture for Kiana's four basic battlesuits: [Valkyrie Armor: White Comet], [Valkyrie Ranger], [Divine Prayer], and [White Knight: Moonlight].
Mission Objective 2: Monster Codex. Have Kiana describe the combat logic of zombies and Honkai beasts, then guide the dojo disciples in performing monster-side motion capture. After all, red flowers need green leaves. What good is having Valkyries if there are no monsters to fight?
Time Limit: The sooner the better. Our game is still waiting to go online and reap—cough, spread love and hope, OK?
Looking at the delightful string of zeroes on his retina, Su Yu almost wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
This system was normally noisy and stingy, and it had never given him cash before. Yet today, it was wildly coughing up coins. Su Yu almost wondered whether some behind-the-scenes power thought the system was too stingy and had grabbed it by the neck to make it spit out more.
Although the money was limited to renovation use, this was still an unexpected joy.
Five hundred thousand. In the old district of Skydome City, where every inch of land was precious, it could not buy a house, but it was more than enough to renovate a warehouse.
"Ahem. In short, since the cooperation has been settled, let's go look at the territory first."
Su Yu closed the system panel, put on the posture of Party A, and pointed at the tightly shut iron door deep inside the dojo.
"I also need to know how much foundation our number-one dojo really has."
Fu Hua pushed up her glasses. A trace of almost imperceptible embarrassment flashed across her expression.
She glanced at her eldest disciple, Lin Chaoyu, who sighed softly and took out a jingling ring of keys.
"Mr. Su, and… Little Grandmaster, this way please."
With an ear-grating creak from the rusty iron door, the other side of Cuntun Dojo appeared before everyone.
If the front hall was an antique martial arts holy land, then this backyard was practically… battle-damaged Syria style.
Weeds stubbornly pushed through the cracks in the concrete. Abandoned training posts stood crookedly like tombstones.
Most conspicuous was a huge red-brick factory building. Half the window glass was shattered, a large portion of the wall plaster had fallen off, and only the high ceiling structure still vaguely showed its former grandeur.
"This…"
Kiana widened her eyes, still holding half a bag of unfinished chips. She had clearly been shocked by the scene before her.
"Class—uh, do you usually train here? This looks like it got gnawed on by Honkai beasts from my world…"
"Cough."
Fu Hua stepped awkwardly in front of Kiana, trying to use her thin body to block the desolation behind her.
"We mainly teach in the front hall. This place… has fallen into disuse for a long time because of age and lack of repairs."
"Mr. Su, since we are already in the same boat, I will not hide this from you."
Lin Chaoyu walked forward. Her tone was calm, but carried helpless shrewdness.
She pointed at the drafty roof above.
"Do not be fooled by how large this place is. Three thousand square meters sounds like landlord wealth."
"But this building was leased long-term by the previous generation. We do not own the property rights, so it cannot be liquidated. And because it is a historical building, the repair standards are extremely high. The annual maintenance fee alone eats up seventy percent of the dojo's profit."
"Add to that the old dojo master… Hua's father, whose health has always been poor, and Master's wife who cares for him full-time at the nursing home. That expense…"
Lin Chaoyu paused and sighed softly.
"Although the junior sisters provide quite a bit of subsidy every year, everyone's money is not blown in by the wind. Each of them has their own difficulties. Although the junior sisters help, Master's personality… you understand."
She did not continue. Su Yu knew what the second half of that sentence was.
Su Yu looked at the young woman before him, wearing red-framed glasses and a discounted hoodie. She had already changed out of the Tang-style outfit and back into the familiar hoodie Su Yu knew.
In this world, she was a top student at Skydome University, a respected dojo master, a young grandmaster, and the pillar of seven disciples.
But beneath all those halos, she was merely an ordinary girl willing to run ten kilometers to save two credits on bus fare, working overnight at a convenience store, carrying the burden of an entire family.
The so-called "working warrior" was not just a meme nickname.
Su Yu looked at Fu Hua's straight back. It was not the pride of a grandmaster, but a stubbornness that refused to bend under the heavy pressure of life.
She was a true warrior.
Perhaps some people would say Hua was too foolish. As long as she was willing to ask, Eden would definitely help her. To that lady, money was already nothing but a string of numbers.
But Su Yu felt this was not foolishness.
Everyone had their own principles and creed.
If Fu Hua could simply open her mouth and ask Eden for help, then she would not be Fu Hua.
A person's character was their fate.
In the past, Su Yu had not understood that sentence so deeply. But too many things had happened recently.
If he were a cold-blooded person who refused to save someone dying before him, then his encounter with Kiana would never have happened.
By the same logic—
If Hua were not this kind of person, then none of this would have happened either.
Kiana, who had been silently following beside them, could not help clenching her fist.
She looked at the class monitor of this world, her gaze so complicated it was difficult to describe.
So… this is what Fu Hua is like in a world without Honkai?
Deeply loyal, valuing bonds and righteousness, willing to hide her brilliance and roll in the dust for the sake of family and responsibility.
What about the class monitor in that world… the class monitor who betrayed me… did she also have something she had no choice but to bear? Was there also someone waiting for her protection?
Kiana had never expected that the knot in her heart, which she had thought impossible to untie, would gradually loosen because of this Fu Hua's experience.
Perhaps this, too, was her fate, born from her character.
After all, Kiana Kaslana was such an emotional creature. If not, she would never have gained from those feelings the power to rewrite an imperfect story.
"All right, stop making it feel like a memorial service."
Su Yu suddenly spoke, breaking the somewhat gloomy atmosphere.
"The ceiling is high enough, and the space is big enough. Once we clean it up a little, it'll be a top-tier motion capture studio!"
After saying that, he directly took out the black card bound to the system and waved it under Fu Hua and Lin Chaoyu's shocked gazes.
"There is five hundred thousand here as the initial venue construction fund for the Honkai Impact 3rd project."
"Five hundred thousand?!"
Fu Hua was so frightened that her glasses went crooked. She hurriedly waved her hands. "No, that is too much! We cannot…"
"This is not for you. It is for my game."
Su Yu spoke nonsense with a solemn face.
"Think about it. I need to install holographic projection here, lay down green screens, and set up a constant temperature system. All of this is so Kiana—no, Little Grandmaster—can better cooperate with work. You just happen to benefit along the way by helping me supervise the renovations."
"Exactly, exactly!"
Su Mei, who had been silent, suddenly darted out from the side, her eyes bright enough to be frightening.
"Master, Eldest Senior Brother Su is right! And I have also decided to add investment! Not only will we repair the motion capture studio, we will properly renovate this broken courtyard too!"
Su Mei excitedly took out her phone, opened the calculator, and started tapping rapidly.
"Look, this area can become an internet-famous photo spot, and that area can become a holographic combat experience zone. Eldest Senior Brother, five hundred thousand is only the beginning. We can turn this place into Skydome City's cyberpunk martial arts holy land!"
"Great minds think alike!"
Su Yu also got excited, pointing at the broken factory building and laying out grand plans.
"I think that roof can be removed and replaced with a fully transparent one. At night, you can see the stars. Then we dig three underground floors and make a secret-base-style lounge…"
"Yes! And we need those cool neon signs, the kind that say Cuntun in cyber glitch style!"
The more Su Mei spoke, the more excited she became. She even started gesturing about digging a swimming pool in the courtyard.
The two of them became increasingly enthusiastic, as though they were about to demolish this century-old shop the next second and rebuild it as Dubai's sail-shaped hotel.
Fu Hua stood to the side, unable to cut in, and could only weakly raise her hand.
"Um… actually, as long as we repair the places that leak…"
Just as the two were planning to build a helipad in the backyard—
"Stop!"
A furious shout rang out like thunder on flat ground.
Cheng Lingshuang, who had been trying to secretly slip away in the corner, stiffened all over and froze in a golden rooster standing on one leg posture.
Su Yu and Su Mei were also instantly silenced by the shout.
Lin Chaoyu stood in the middle of the courtyard, arms crossed.
She took a deep breath, her gaze like a blade as it swept over everyone present.
"Is this how money is supposed to be spent?"
Lin Chaoyu took out the small notebook she always carried with her and began unleashing a storm.
"Factory roof reinforcement and waterproofing: quoted at one hundred and twenty thousand. Electrical rewiring: fifty thousand. Floor leveling and anti-slip treatment: eighty thousand."
"Motion capture equipment brackets and soundproofing: one hundred and fifty thousand. More than half of the five hundred thousand is gone already!"
She turned to Su Mei, her gaze sharp.
"And you want a transparent roof? A swimming pool? Second Junior Sister, we run a dojo, not a nightclub!"
Su Mei shrank her neck. The aura of "I shall direct the mountains and rivers" from earlier disappeared instantly.
"Eldest Senior Sister, I was just thinking about long-term development…"
"Long-term? Fix the drafty windows first, then talk about long-term!"
Lin Chaoyu turned toward Su Yu. Although he was the money-giving Party A, the majesty of the great housekeeper overpowered everything at this moment.
"Mr. Su, since we are all Taixu Sect people now, there are some things I must make clear. Money must be spent where it matters. Your money is not blown in by the wind either. Every expense must be carefully calculated!"
Finally, she glared at Cheng Lingshuang, who was preparing to quietly lower her foot.
"Fifth, if you dare run, you can forget about eating dinner tonight."
Cheng Lingshuang: "…Oh."
At this moment, a strange scene appeared in the backyard of Cuntun Dojo.
Su Yu, the sponsor; Su Mei, the investor; and Cheng Lingshuang, the genius salted-fish girl.
The three stood neatly in a row like elementary school students who had done something wrong, heads lowered as they obediently listened to Lin Chaoyu's lecture.
"Every sum of money must be audited! Every sum must be recorded! Increasing income and reducing expenditure is the way to manage a household!"
Lin Chaoyu held the small notebook and slapped it against her palm again and again, producing crisp sounds.
"Do you understand?"
"Understood!" x3
Kiana hid behind Su Yu, covering her mouth with both hands. Her shoulders shook, and her face flushed red from trying not to laugh.
Looking at Su Yu, who could normally fool people until they limped and often liked teasing her, now nodding obediently like a chick pecking rice, she felt this world truly was too wondrous.
Was this what people called… everything has its natural counter?
Su Yu secretly raised his eyes to look at Lin Chaoyu, whose aura was two meters eighty tall, then at Fu Hua beside her with an expression of "sorry my children have caused you trouble."
He could not help wildly complaining in his heart:
What eldest senior sister? This is practically the treasurer of the Taixu Sect!
I'm clearly Party A Daddy, so why do I feel like an elementary school student caught by the homeroom teacher for wasting pocket money? What even is this?
Fu Hua was helpless too. "Chaoyu, this child… sometimes really does resemble a sect leader more than I do."
Su Yu sighed and exchanged a glance with Su Mei, who wore the same bitter expression.
Confirmed by eye contact.
Both were people ruled by Eldest Senior Sister.
Fine.
In this household, Lin Chaoyu was the woman standing at the top of the food chain.
It seemed this five hundred thousand could not be squandered freely after all.
....
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