Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

Chapter 33 Synchronization Rate 91

They sat down side by side.

The seating on this machine is much cramped compared to that of a racing car, with only a very narrow partition separating the two control panels.

Gojo Satoru was so tall that his knees inevitably bumped against the person next to him as soon as he sat down.

He glanced down at it.

"Xiao Cheng, is it crowded?"

"It's not crowded."

Kikawa Sumi casually agreed, slightly adjusted her posture, and pulled the control lever towards herself.

Gojo Satoru also moved slightly outwards.

This was originally a very ordinary movement, but because his legs were so long, no matter how he moved, he still made a strong impression.

Sumi Kichikawa couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

"Is there enough room for you?"

Gojo Satoru said sincerely, "It's not my fault that my legs are too long."

"Yes, it's a problem with the machine."

"Dr. Kosuke is really reasonable."

"This is just an objective assessment."

Their serious conversation caught the attention of a passing couple who couldn't help but glance at them.

Gojo Satoru started inserting coins, and with the crisp sound of the coins falling into the coin slot, the game officially began.

Two pixelated figures appeared on the screen.

On the left is a small white-haired figure holding a staff.

On the right is a small figure with black hair, holding a short sword.

Gojo Satoru looked at the character and burst out laughing.

"The randomness is actually quite accurate."

Sumi Kichikawa glanced at it.

"You are a mage."

"It feels like it suits me perfectly," Gojo Satoru said. "Is Sumi a melee fighter?"

"That's also acceptable."

A game notification popped up.

[Two-player co-op mode launched.]

The higher the synchronization rate, the faster the stargate opens.

When Sumi Kichikawa saw the words "synchronization rate," her fingertips paused almost imperceptibly.

For a fleeting moment, a very familiar interface flashed uncontrollably through his mind—a semi-transparent blue grid, a character status bar, and a prompt for temporary team formation.

But this inexplicable illusion vanished in an instant. As the pixelated figure landed steadily in the forest map, Gojo Satoru's voice pulled him back to reality:

"Xiao Cheng, something strange is happening."

Kikawa Sumire snapped back to reality.

"Um."

Aside from the first level, which can be considered a tutorial for beginners, from the second level onwards, there are frequent complex mechanisms that require two people to step on the traps at the same time, borrow each other's positions, share damage, and even launch coordinated attacks.

However, Gojo Satoru adapted very quickly, and Sumi Kichikawa was not far behind; the two of them encountered almost no obstacles.

In some places, perfect understanding can be achieved without even communication:

The moment Gojo Satoru controlled the white-haired figure to leap onto the high platform, Sumire Kikawa had already lured the monster into the range of the spell's bombardment; and when Sumire Kikawa rushed into the mechanism door and pulled the switch, Gojo Satoru's barrier always blocked the fatal trap for him in the last second of the countdown.

At the end of the third level, a line of text popped up in the corner of the screen.

Synchronization rate: 72%.

Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow slightly: "There's actually such an evaluation system?"

"It's just a common mechanic in cooperative games."

"Isn't 72 a bit low?"

"After all, it's only just begun."

Gojo Satoru turned his head to look at him, a hint of interest in his eyes: "Doctor Kosumi, would you like to max it out?"

Kikawa Sumi's tone remained calm: "Since the system displays this, there's no harm in giving it a try."

Gojo Satoru smirked: "Okay."

At the start of the fourth challenge, the two became noticeably more serious. Kikawa Sumi took the initiative to plan the route: "I'll handle the left side; you go up."

Gojo Satoru immediately chimed in, "For that treasure chest in the top right corner?"

"Don't take it yet, it looks like a trap."

As soon as Sumi Kichikawa finished speaking, just three seconds later, a ring of deadly spikes suddenly sprang out from around the treasure chest.

Seeing this, Gojo Satoru whistled and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Sumi is so smart!"

"The map design is too obviously misleading."

"Wouldn't most people be modest in a situation like this?"

"This isn't a matter of modesty," Sumire Kichikawa said calmly, looking at the screen. "It's about experience." Satoru Gojo glanced at him sideways.

This doesn't seem to refer solely to gaming experience.

But Gojo Satoru did not ask further questions.

Just as Sumire Kichikawa never questioned the obvious abnormalities about him—such as the eye patch he never took off, his abnormally fast reaction speed, or the sense of alienation that occasionally emanated from him, which was completely different from that of ordinary people.

They all tacitly maintained a certain boundary.

Level 4 cleared.

Synchronization rate: 83%

Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue: "Just a little bit more."

Sumi Kichikawa glanced at the time: "The final stage?"

"Yes, the final hurdle."

The pixelated forest on the screen gradually faded, replaced by a deep starry sky. Two tiny figures, one white and one black, stood before a huge door, behind which swirled, eerie blue lights.

The notification popped up again: [Final Stage: Stargate Opens. Please stay in sync. Countdown begins.]

Gojo Satoru chuckled: "What do you mean by 'keeping in sync'?"

Kikkawa quickly scanned the operation instructions: "It should involve a mix of simultaneous input and reverse input commands."

"It doesn't sound difficult."

"That's not necessarily true."

Once the final level is activated, the on-screen instructions change so rapidly it's dizzying.

Sometimes it requires two people to press the button at the exact same time, sometimes it requires one person to perform the operation one after the other, and sometimes it even requires inputting completely opposite commands based on the other character's position.

If either side makes a mistake even once, the synchronization rate will immediately drop.

However, Gojo Satoru's reaction speed was astonishing, and Kikkawa Sumi's predictions were incredibly accurate. The two quickly developed a perfect rhythm under pressure.

"Jump." As soon as Gojo Satoru spoke, Sumi Kikawa's finger had already pressed the button.

"Pause for half a beat." Before Sumi Kichikawa finished speaking, Satoru Gojo's finger was already hovering steadily in mid-air.

"right."

"Left."

"transposition."

"block."

"Now."

As the last button was pressed down hard, the stargate on the screen suddenly burst into a dazzling light.

Synchronization rate: 91%

Gojo Satoru gave a soft "Oh," seemingly quite satisfied: "Ninety-one."

As Sumi Kichikawa looked at the number, her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

91.

For some reason, he had a subtle sensitivity to this number.

Deep within my consciousness, something seemed to be trying to break through the soil, accompanied by a fleeting glimpse of fragmented words—

[Online connection requirements...]

[Trust assessment...]

Synchronization rate...

Before he could even grasp that feeling, a burst of white light suddenly appeared on the screen.

Immediately afterwards, a short, piercing electrical hiss came from the game console's speakers.

Shila-

A tingling sensation appeared in the fingertip of Sumi Kichikawa.

Almost simultaneously, Gojo Satoru's hand reached across the control panel and pressed down on the edge of the machine on his side.

"Xiao Cheng?"

His voice was right beside me.

Because the seats were so close, when Gojo Satoru turned to the side, their shoulders almost touched.

Sumi Kichikawa blinked.

For a fleeting moment, he felt the sounds of the surrounding arcades fade into the distance.

The screen in front of you is no longer just a regular pixelated image.

It's like a real door.

There was a breeze behind the door.

It's sunny.

It has a clean and warm feel to it.

Like cherry blossoms in spring.

Like the dusk on the way home from school.

Like a world without curses, quests, or death countdowns.

That feeling lasted for less than a second.

The screen returned to normal the next second.

The game's ending music begins.

Congratulations on clearing the level!

Synchronization rate: 91%

[Title Obtained: Stargate Companion]

The surrounding noise returned.

The music from the claw machine, the laughter of students, and the distant engine sounds of a racing game.

everything is normal.

Gojo Satoru was still looking at him sideways.

"Xiao Cheng, did you just get an electric shock?"

Sumi Kichikawa looked down at her hands.

The fingertips weren't red.

There was no numbness either.

"It's probably static electricity."

Instead of immediately returning to his seat, Gojo Satoru asked with a hint of inquiry, "Really?"

Sumire Kichikawa looked up to meet his gaze. Although Satoru Gojo's tone still sounded relaxed and carefree, Sumire Kichikawa keenly sensed that the other man had indeed been carefully observing his state just now.

Kikkawa Sumi didn't shy away, only saying, "Really. It doesn't hurt, and it's not numb."

Gojo Satoru stared at him silently for two seconds, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"How dare this game console scare Dr. Kosuke? That's outrageous!"

"Did it scare you too?"

"Me?" Gojo Satoru deliberately dragged out the last syllable, shamelessly retorting, "I won't be scared by video games."

"Then you reacted very quickly just now."

"Because Dr. Kosuke seems to have suddenly disconnected from the internet."

Sumire Kawakawa paused for a moment.

Disconnected.

He used to use that word quite often.

Mission interruptions, world transitions, and temporary loss of consciousness are occasionally described by the system with prompts such as "unstable connection".

But all of that is in the past.

Kikawa Sumi quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

"I just spaced out for a second."

Gojou tilted his head.

"Was it because you were so moved after beating the game?"

"Because you almost pressed the wrong button just now."

"Hey—" Gojo Satoru immediately protested, "I didn't press the wrong button."

"Almost."

"How could you possibly miscalculate something that was almost a mistake?"

"If we calculate it, your synchronization rate will drop."

Gojo Satoru stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly chuckled. "Alright,"

He shrugged in a conciliatory manner.