123: Chapter 123 The entire internet is in tears! Stars gather to welcome the hero's return.

Chen Shuyu froze in place.

Those eyes, usually so resolute and efficient, held nothing but blank bewilderment at this moment.

Lu Li looked at her and shook his head helplessly.

He reached out to pick up the cola on the coffee table, lightly flicking the red can with his fingertip, making a crisp clinking sound.

"I said, I was the one who fixed that redstone circuit bug."

"Then when was that studio of yours... Genesis Studio... established?" Chen Shuyu pressed, like a drowning person clutching at a straw.

She hoped for an answer, one that she could accept.

For example, that Lu Li had actually established it a long time ago, only keeping it a secret from everyone.

However, Lu Li's answer shattered her illusion once again.

"Oh, that," Lu Li thought for a moment and said casually, "I just registered it on the fly when I made that bet with Qingxue to make a game in seven days."

Registered... on... the... fly...?

Chen Shuyu's eyes widened into perfect circles.

She remembered!

Half a year ago, Su Qingxue, exasperated by his lack of ambition, scolded Lu Li for doing nothing but playing games, telling him to make a profitable game within seven days, or else pack his bags and go to work at the company.

As it turned out, before the seven days were even up, Lu Li helped Su Qingxue solve the technical issues with the Xingchen System.

At the time, seeing Lu Li come to help the company, the two of them forgot all about it.

Who could have imagined that that bet would actually give birth to a miracle in gaming history!

A great masterpiece that redefined sandbox games!

"You... you..."

Chen Shuyu pointed a trembling finger at Lu Li, stammering 'you' for a long time without being able to squeeze out a single sentence.

Her cheeks flushed from fair to bright red at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally becoming so red they looked ready to drip blood.

Shame, embarrassment, disbelief, and a sense of grievance from being deceived plunged her brain into complete chaos.

Seeing her best friend questioning her life like this, Su Qingxue finally couldn't hold it in anymore, bursting out laughing and shaking with mirth.

This laugh was like lighting the fuse of a powder keg.

"Ahhhhh—!"

Chen Shuyu let out a shriek, spun around abruptly, hugged Su Qingxue, buried her head in Su Qingxue's shoulder, and frantically beat her back.

"Su Qingxue! You bad friend! You did this on purpose, didn't you!"

"You knew all along, yet you still watched me make a fool of myself!"

"I'm too embarrassed to see anyone! I want to die! Ahhh!"

In the office, Chen Shuyu's breakdown-induced shrieks and Su Qingxue's gloating laughter echoed.

Lu Li picked up his cola again and took a sip, watching the chaotic scene before him with a helpless yet doting smile on his face.

After a long while.

Chen Shuyu finally recovered from her extreme shock, and the way she looked at Lu Li completely changed.

It was a complex gaze mixed with adoration, fanaticism, and a hint of resentment.

"Lu Li..."

"Hmm?"

"Great God! Please accept my worship!"

Chen Shuyu suddenly stood up from the sofa and gave a standard ninety-degree bow, almost banging her head on the coffee table.

...

This minor internal reveal storm ended with Chen Shuyu completely transforming into Lu Li's fangirl.

Meanwhile, after Guanghui Technology officially resumed work, the direction of public opinion online also quietly shifted.

The discussion about the Virtual Helmet 'second world' remained as hot as ever, but another topic rushed onto the trending lists of major platforms with a warm and resolute posture.

#Repair Hero Doraemon#

#We Are All Waiting for Doraemon to Come Home#

#Yueyue Is Still Waiting for Her Hero#

These hashtags didn't buy trending spots, yet they rushed into the top three relying on the organic promotion of countless netizens.

In the comment section, there was no hostility, only anticipation.

"Hang in there, Guanghui Technology! As long as you can repair Doraemon, we'll wait even if the Virtual Helmet's release is delayed!"

"That is a lifesaver, not a machine. Please, President Lu, you must repair it!"

"Even if you only repair its memory, that would be good..."

Lu Li sat at his workstation, watching the comments scrolling on the screen.

His fingertip gently slid across the phone screen.

His gaze fell upon a metal box in the corner of his desk.

It was recovered from the ruins of the fire.

Opening the box.

Inside lay a charred and deformed metal torso; the originally round and cute blue coating had long since peeled off, revealing the gruesome internal structure.

Except for one spot on the chest.

Which it had shielded desperately beneath its body at the very last moment.

That was the core storage unit.

"Silly boy."

Lu Li reached out, his fingertip gently rubbing the surviving chip, his gaze incredibly gentle.

"Even though in the core code, survival priority is the first sequence."

"How did you learn self-sacrifice?"

This was probably the miracle of 'life'.

When code makes a choice outside of logic, it is no longer cold data.

Lu Li picked up the tweezers and gently began cleaning the carbonized residue around the chip.

"Don't worry."

"Since you call me master."

"I will definitely bring you back, safe and sound."

He glanced at the electronic calendar on the wall.

March 1st.

One week left.

That would be a press conference belonging solely to the 'Return of the Hero'.

...

March 1st, Mingzhu City International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The spring chill was biting, and a fine drizzle fell.

But this did not dampen people's enthusiasm in the slightest.

The new product launch event for the 'dorami' series of Guanghui Technology Robot Company was grandly held here.

Unlike Guanghui Technology's previous press conferences for mobile phones.

Today's venue was star-studded.

On the red carpet at the entrance, familiar figures appeared one after another, causing the camera flashes of the media reporters on both sides to go off in unison.

"Look! It's Brother Hu! He's here too!"

"Oh my god, Liu Yifei! Fairy Sister!"

"Yang Mi! She actually came too!"

"And Bai Lu, my Mei Lu is here too!!"

The reporters went wild.

These A-list stars, who were usually extremely elusive, gathered here today as if they had made an appointment.

Not to ride the coattails of the hype.

Nor for appearance fees.

As the CEO of the Robot Company, Chen Shuyu had only sent out the invitations through her network with the mindset of just giving it a try.

She never expected that they would not only come, but had also replied to the emails almost instantly with earnest words, for fear of being rejected.

What a joke, this was Guanghui Technology's launch event!

It was the launch event of the company that single-handedly went head-to-head with global tech hegemony, and still held a trump card like 'second world' in its hands.

Being able to get an admission ticket was itself a symbol of status and position.

The invitation she sent contained only one sentence:

[We sincerely invite you to witness the warmth of life bestowed by technology.]

At this moment.

All traffic, fame, and fortune became insignificant.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for that hero Blue Fatty, who saved the little girl in the fire, to once again speak that line with the classic raspy voice of the Taiwanese dub:

"Hello, I am Doraemon." (こんにちは、 Iはドラえもんです.)