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Thinking of this, Xuehui looked at the other person and said with some curiosity, "Um, I have a question that has been on my mind for a while, can I ask it?"

"What? Ask away. As long as it's not confidential, I can answer you," Director Wang waved his hand dismissively.

"Um...do you guys have any Dragon Group members here?"

"..." Hearing Xuehui's question, the other party paused for a moment, then raised the cigarette in his hand, took a deep drag, and exhaled a smoke ring. He slowly said, "The last newbie who asked this question got beaten up by his two mentors for a long time. What are you doing reading web novels? I already told you there's no Dragon Group anymore!"

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The next day, Xuehui kept quiet about the increasingly bizarre but important conversation from the previous night. After packing her luggage, everyone had a good meal at a popular restaurant in Shanghai before finally boarding the plane and embarking on her journey home.

After spending about 10 days in China, Yukihiro felt incredibly relaxed as he stepped back onto Japanese soil.

"Phew~ School starts soon."

Hearing Yukiteru's sigh, Eriri also said with a bitter face, "I'm a senior in high school now, and I feel the pressure of studying has increased, all because of college entrance exams, especially since I have to apply to Tokyo University of the Arts..."

Although it's an arts university, academic performance is still required, and Eriri feels she's going to be overwhelmed with practice problems from now on.

"Are you feeling the pain of being a slacker now? Although Eriri isn't a complete slacker, your academic ability is definitely the lowest among us." Shiho's taunt left Eriri speechless. What Shiho said was true. However, Shiho didn't keep kicking her while she was down. She walked over to Eriri and looked at her, saying, "I'll tutor you from now on. Getting you to the score you need for the art department entrance exam shouldn't be a problem."

"...You would be so kind?" Looking at Shiyu's appearance, Eriri instinctively felt a little disbelieving.

"Waaaaah... Yukiteru-kun, Eriri doesn't believe me! And I was even thinking of helping her!" Upon meeting Eriri's gaze, Utaha immediately leaned on Yukiteru's shoulder with a heartbroken expression and started sobbing.

Although everyone could tell that Shiho was faking it, Eriri couldn't help it. The stares from those around her made her extremely uncomfortable, so she could only awkwardly go over and apologize...

If this had happened at home, Eriri might not have gotten caught up in it, but what can you do when you're at a busy airport? People are watching you everywhere, and you even made one of your female companions cry. Is that how a best friend behaves?

In response, Eriri could only admit that she was far too naive. She should have thanked Utaha properly first, and then gone back to see what kind of scheme Utaha had up her sleeve...

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Updates have finally resumed. I'll slowly finish writing one chapter a day.

Chapter 369 School Opening

First, they made a detour to the Hikigaya family's house to pick up the two kittens they were fostering there. After giving the Hikigaya siblings the gifts they had brought back, they went to the Yuihama family's house to give Yuihama a gift as well. Only then did they return to their own home.

Back at home after 10 days away, the girls excitedly rushed to the sofa, including Yukino, who ignored the luggage at the door and followed them there.

"Emmm~ I'll let it go since I just caught a flight back today."

Xuehui helped them carry their luggage back to their rooms one by one, and after they changed their clothes, he came downstairs. Looking at the girls lying there comfortably, he said in an annoyed tone, "Hey, can you all perk up a bit? Weren't you all pretty excited when you first got back?"

"I'm hungry! I want to eat!"

"Where's my takeout? Why hasn't it arrived yet!"

"Meat! Meat!"

The last one was Yang Nai's call, which made Xue Hui roll her eyes: "Didn't you call a whole bunch of people on your way back? Judging by the time, you should be here soon, right?"

"No, it's been so long! Didn't I ask you to hurry up? It's still so slow, bad review!" Eriri said, touching her belly with a displeased expression.

"Tch, who told you not to order anything to eat on the plane?"

"That stuff is awful! Don't even mention what you made; even a random street food stall back in Shanghai was better than that!"

Um... if you say that, the airlines will be crying.

Fortunately, after about 6 or 7 minutes, the takeout finally arrived. The hotel had ordered about ten dishes, which was indeed quite a feast.

After a comfortable meal, everyone went to change clothes and take a shower. After resting for two more days, it was time for Shiyu to register for university, and Xuehui and the others would start school the day after that.

The holidays left for students are numbered.

For the next two days, apart from going home once each, they didn't go out much and stayed home to rest and prepare for the start of school.

Three days after returning, Chiba University.

Today is registration day for new students, and every year at this time, the school is bustling with activity. There's no way around it; when new students arrive, a batch of fresh-faced female and male students come in, and at this time, the eagerly awaiting upperclassmen excitedly come to the gate to welcome them, hoping to flirt with a group of new students.

Such things can happen at universities in any country.

Chiba University today is no exception. A large group of students are at the school gate, welcoming each new student who has come to register and guiding them through various enrollment procedures.

Just then, a sports car, roaring with its engine, pulled up directly at the school gate, followed by a black sedan.

Under the watchful eyes of all the new and returning students, Xuehui and Shiyu stepped out of the car. Two female bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses also got out of the car behind them. This was Shiyu's own request. Although there was no real danger, she had encountered many people trying to pick her up when she first entered high school, and she figured it would be no less frequent in college, so it was better to deal with the problem from the start.

As soon as the two appeared at the school gate, many people recognized them. Xuehui, needless to say, is now increasingly well-known in the technology and gaming fields besides being a light novel author; almost every young person, unless they live in a village without internet access, knows him. As for Shiyu, as one of the most beautiful female light novel authors these days, although she doesn't appear in many articles, her appearance is still memorable to many boys and girls. Boys are purely drawn to her looks, while girls are more interested in Shiyu's novels, especially romance novels, particularly those that are heart-wrenching—there's never a shortage of female readers who enjoy them.

Although a large number of people wanted to gather around after the two appeared, the two female reporters beside them, who exuded an aura of "keep away," made all the students hesitate.

Looking around, Xuehui noticed that several students were already taking out their phones to take pictures. He then looked at Shiyu and said, "Let's go, let's go and complete the formalities. Anyway, we don't need to stay in the dorms, so it's not that complicated."

Nodding, Shiyu had no objection to Xuehui's arrangement. She took his arm and walked into the campus, ignoring the stares from all around.

Those upperclassmen who had originally intended to flirt with Shiyu after seeing her were utterly disheartened after witnessing Shiyu and Yuki's intimate actions, like salted fish, completely losing all hope.

The enrollment process was quick. After receiving the textbooks, Shiyu went to the classroom to meet up with the counselor and classmates, so Xuehui wandered around the school alone for a while. They finally met up and left the school at noon.

Another day passed, and Soubu High School started its new semester. Yukiteru, Yukino, and Eriri became third-year students and held an entrance ceremony for the new first-year students in the school auditorium.

Compared to university, high school enrollment was relatively uneventful. The only noteworthy thing was that, due to Yukiteru and Eriri's fame in the otaku community, several first-year students applied to join the student council. However, they rejected all these applications. They were already very adept at handling student council affairs and didn't need to add any more members. Doing so would only make the student council bloated and wouldn't do them any good.

Life gradually settled down after the start of the new semester. Shi Yu's university life wasn't particularly eventful. Every day consisted of attending classes, chatting with a few nice girls, having lunch, and then returning home in the evening to make final preparations for the release of her new book.

After two days of quietly being a good student, Yukihiro, urged by Haruno, resumed his life of shuttling between school and company. It was April, and the day to attend the overseas game expo was drawing ever closer. The invitation had already been sent, the exhibition hall design was complete, and the pre-event staff had already arrived on-site to begin setup work.

Sitting in his office, Xuehui looked at a USB drive in his hand, ready to stir up trouble again.

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I skipped yesterday...

Unfortunately, I've been so engrossed in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 lately that my enthusiasm for writing has waned considerably.

That's all for now, I'm going to the amusement park!

Chapter 370 Watch me make your wives and daughters!

When it comes to Sword Art Online, what's most interesting is undoubtedly the fully immersive diving equipment with its near-realistic simulation.

Because of Yukihira, this thing has already appeared before the world, and in about half a year, people will be able to experience it.

So besides this, what else is worth exploring?

The answer is artificial intelligence, AI.

This thing isn't exactly rare, since many technological devices nowadays have certain intelligent functions, but they still can't reach a level similar to human thinking patterns or communicate with humans.

It can be intelligent, but it doesn't yet reach the level of artificial intelligence.

Moreover, aren't there always many people saying that if artificial intelligence really emerges, won't humanity's status be threatened? An overly automated and intelligent society will cause more and more people to lose their jobs, with everything being replaced by artificial programs and intelligent machines. As technology develops rapidly, the world will gradually become cold. Such arguments have never disappeared.

All of this is actually quite easy to understand, and it is very likely that it will actually happen.

However, these were not within Xuehui's considerations.

In his view, artificial intelligence is something that will inevitably emerge sooner or later. Even though there is ongoing debate about it, scientists will not simply stop exploring this subject.

Artificial intelligence is a product that represents a new era for human technology. How can it not be exciting and thrilling?

As for what makes humans lose their sense of existence, we'll discuss that later!

Leaning back in his chair, Xuehui tossed the USB drive in his hand, smacked his lips, and said, "Asuna's popularity has been soaring lately, and the novel has even entered the GGO arc. That illustration of Kirito as a girl has also sparked a lot of discussion, and people are even calling her Kiriko. Emmm~ When the Sword Art Online game comes out, should we add Asuna and Kirito as NPCs? We can consider it, but let's change Kirito to Kiriko, it'll be more interesting that way."

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Xuehui plugged the USB drive into the computer. Looking at the data files unfolding before him, he flexed his fingers and said, "While I could just create a template, I've learned so much theoretical knowledge from the system, it's too unchallenging not to put it into practice myself. Let's leave Asuna and Kirito aside for now and start with Yui, creating this 'good daughter.' Then, I'll create the 'waifu' you otaku talk about too."

Then, Xuehui opened a file, looked at the UI interface displayed in front of him, and began to type on the keyboard.

That evening, Xuehui simultaneously updated a message on his Twitter account, named after his pen name "Kong," and his Weibo account in China.

[I'm about to do something big. I'm currently in seclusion, and the company's operations have been handed over to others. I've finished writing two new volumes of my novel, which will be released as scheduled. I'll announce the details of what I'm up to once I've completed the project.]

It has to be said that Xuehui's post was very straightforward, bluntly stating that he was going to cause trouble, leaving room for speculation.

Then, very quickly, many people started commenting on both accounts. Although the Huaxia account hadn't been created for long, thanks to previous events and the strong promotion from partners, Xuehui had already amassed nearly 20 followers, which was quite fast.

Is that old fox Kong up to something again? And why is he keeping it so secret? What could it be?

Who knew? They were so quiet before, then suddenly they threw out a full-dive device, stunning everyone. This time, they'll probably go even further, right?

How big can it get? Is it going to reach the heavens?

Mars? It's quite possible!

[Are you guys thinking of starting a baby? And then raising a little thief, so the older generation can scam us, and the younger one can grow up and scam our next generation?]

Wake up, upstairs! How could you possibly have a child?! A person and their own hands can never have a happy ending!

Comments increased rapidly, and naturally, the discussion went off-topic just as quickly—this was true both domestically and internationally. As for Xuehui's true purpose, no one could guess it, since they hadn't been given any hints whatsoever.

At home, Yukino and the others were also very curious about what Yukiteru was up to.

When asked, Yang Nai shook her head and said, "Don't ask me, I don't know either. This guy has been in the office all day typing on his keyboard. I went over to take a look, and there were dense subtitles and formulas. I couldn't understand any of them and I didn't remember any of them."

This is infuriating! They're all working on this so seriously, yet they don't tell them anything. Although Yukino and the others are all very considerate and sensible girls, they can't resist their curiosity. What Yukiteru is doing so seriously must be something amazing, right?

Then, Xuehui, who was working hard at home, was surrounded by the women who broke in.

Having no other choice, he stopped what he was doing, looked at them, and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you all rushing in?"

Sister Xiaojing was the first to come up, tapped Xuehui's forehead, and said, "Tell me, what was the meaning of that tweet you just posted? What are you up to now?"

The others nodded in unison.

"Emmm~ Can't you let me keep this a secret?"

"You keep it a secret from outsiders, but you don't have to keep it a secret from us, do you?" Shiyu crossed her arms, making her collar look even more striking, and looked at Xuehui with a smile. "You still want to keep it a secret from us? Do you still want to have a nightlife?"

Ouch! This threat is really powerful; it hit Xuehui's weak spot right away.

Can we survive without nightlife?