Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

SorinMarkov requests a duel with you. Do you agree?

"If you're so capable, plant your flag; if you're not, shut up. Who do you think you are?" Solin's tone was calm, but it carried a strong sense of contempt. "We Chicken Leg Cult backstab countless giant swordsmen like you every day, you weakling."

The man glanced at Solin dejectedly, but ultimately didn't muster the courage to click "yes" before turning and leaving. Of course, this was just a minor incident, but it seems that Silica's popularity has indeed brought him some minor trouble.

For example, there's this woman who came directly to our door, with bright red wavy hair, named Rosalia.

151. Entrapment Enforcement & Ivy's New Playmate

"Oh, isn't this Silica?" Rosalia greeted Silica with a hint of provocation, staring directly at her. "Oh—you've successfully left the forest, that's great."

This was the last person Silica wanted to see right now. The spearman who had caused her to argue with the party and leave the group in the Lost Forest. Silica had initially just wanted to lower her head and pretend she hadn't seen her. However, she had no intention of stopping her mockery, continuing to maintain that twisted, sarcastic smile.

"But it's too late to come back now; the items have already been distributed. By the way... what happened to that lizard?"

Silica bit her lip as she listened to her sarcasm. Familiars couldn't be stored in the inventory, nor could they be kept elsewhere. In other words, there was only one reason why you couldn't see a familiar near a beast tamer. Rosalia, of course, knew this, and she said with a slight smile.

"Something must have happened to your lizard!"

"How could you just appear out of nowhere... It's dead, but! Pina will definitely come back to life!"

Of course, Sorin stood silently to the side the whole time. He sized up the woman and compared her to the information Kirito had given him. Both her ID and appearance matched the leader of the orange-named criminal guild, [Titan's Hand]. Of course, the leaders of these orange-named criminal guilds are usually green-named, which makes it easier for them to do many things, and they can also clear their names at crucial moments, leaving the teams planning to arrest them helpless.

In fact, being an orange-named criminal doesn't mean you haven't killed anyone. In a game world, there are many ways to kill. For example, you could imitate the "chicken hero," shouting "At least I'm not a coward/At least I can still get chicken," dragging a horde of deadly monsters in front of other players and then escaping using high-level stealth skills, or stealing their equipment and throwing them into dangerous dungeon areas. These actions are often more heinous than simple murder because as long as the orange name is cleared in time, no one will know about their crimes.

“We need some entrapment tactics now, at least to force her to take action.” Solin pondered this, and soon formed a plan in his mind, which he then shared with Yuna via private message.

Yuna nodded silently, indicating that she understood, and then watched Rosalia's performance with Sorin.

"Oh, so... you're planning to go to the Hill of Memories to get that item, right? But, are you really capable of conquering it at your level?" Hearing Silica's words, she widened her eyes slightly, whistled, and exuded a nonchalant, roguish air. "So, you're going to rely on this little girl's help, or rather, that mysterious person who doesn't even dare show their face? Miss, don't be fooled by that child; she's not as strong as she seems~"

Overwhelmed with remorse, Silica trembled. She lowered her head, desperately trying to hold back her tears. Meanwhile, Solin wasn't in a hurry to engage in a verbal battle with Miss Rosalia. He gently patted Silica's shoulder and, through the plaza's teleportation array, transferred with Silica and his two companions to the twenty-second floor.

Instead of heading straight to the Hill of Memories to complete the challenge, he planned to rest for the night and set off early the next morning. So, he quickly ended his stream, leaving a group of viewers, true to LowB culture, spouting LowB jargon in the black-screen chat room.

“My house is quite big, so when you’re done playing, you can just go straight to sleep, no problem,” Solin said to Silica. “If you’re coming, I can take you to the convenience store later.”

He had barely finished his somewhat irreverent line when he felt a hand suddenly appear on his lower back. When he looked up, he saw Yuna standing right in front of him.

“No, don’t do this, there are even more children now…” Sorin hurriedly replied, but was silenced by a gag. The two little girls stood together nearby. Silica had already put herself in the role of an older sister. She covered Ivyxin’s eyes with her right hand and her own eyes with her left, then peeked through her fingers at Sorin and Yuna’s interaction.

“Silica?” Ivysin’s tone was full of doubt.

“When movies showed scenes like this, my mom would cover my eyes. She said little kids shouldn’t know these things too early,” Silica whispered in Ivy’s ear. “I thought players like me were the youngest in SAO, but I didn’t expect there were even younger ones. Can I call you Little Ivy?”

"Um, I think it's okay, Sister Silica." Ivy nodded seriously and squeezed Silica's little hand. "What Daddy meant by 'friend'... is that what it is? Would you like to be friends with Ivy?"

"Mm." Silica had just finished agreeing when she saw that Sorin and Yuna had already separated. Although she couldn't see what Sorin's face looked like, she could roughly guess from the blush on his chin and cheeks that he was a particularly innocent person.

"So don't teach these awful lines to these kids, okay? Of course, I won't mind if you say them to Kirito or Agil." Yuna chuckled as she got off Sorin, and before leaving, she hooked Sorin's chin. "But it seems... little Ivy has a playmate now."

"If you ask me, childhood friendships are the most innocent, youth friendships are the strongest, and after that... it's rare to find a truly pure friendship." Solin looked at Ivy and Silica, whose relationship had suddenly become close, and sighed as if he were seeing his own childhood. "When you truly enter society, you'll find that friendships between people are often directly linked to your value and the benefits you can bring. In comparison, the friendships between children are much more precious."

"Actually, I had a vague feeling about this before I entered SAO. Among girls who are studying at school, some are more popular, while others are naturally isolated. My situation at the time was a bit special. They were willing to talk to me, while I just wanted to sit there quietly and read books."

As Yuna spoke, she took Solin's arm and looked at Ivy and Silica, who were chatting happily to the side, with a faint smile on her face.

"Wait a minute... is this feeling of watching a child finally grow up really suitable for the two of us, Yuna?"

152. It's best not to let children know the things that adults are worried about.

(Bonus chapter 38/75)

Solin was now very glad that he had prepared a fairly large room and a fairly large bed for Ivy. Silica removed all her clothes, changed into light pajamas, and lay down next to Ivy. Ivy sat curled up on the bed, a copy of Andersen's fairy tales that Solin had painstakingly copied for her resting on her lap, and in her hand she held a small "permanent preservation box" containing the card that Solin had made for Ivy.

“Mr. Sorin seems to treat you very well, little Ivy.” Silica looked at the notebook with its neat and dense handwriting and said with some envy, “But you call Mr. Sorin ‘Dad’… I feel that the age difference is a bit too much.”

"Sorin Markov, the vampire planeswalker who was born and ignited the spark in Innistra, created the archangel Ivyshin as the guardian of the Innistra spacetime to protect his homeworld while he traveled through the multiverse. That's the origin of Ivyshin." Ivyshin rambled on with a straight face, then, seeing Silica's surprised expression, she suddenly laughed. "This is a story Daddy told Ivyshin, isn't it amazing?"

“But I still don’t understand… though I still really envy you.” Silica said softly, taking the book from Ivy’s lap. “Shall I tell you a story?”

"Ah."

Ivyshin naturally nestled against Silica on the bed, then suddenly spread her wings, letting them relax and unfurl. Silica curiously touched Ivyshin's wings, then noticed Ivyshin's breathing suddenly quicken.

"What's wrong?" Silica stared at Ivyshin in confusion and asked with concern, "Is it because you don't want me to touch your wings... I'm sorry, I don't know."

"It's okay, it's just a little... a tiny bit sensitive," Ivy said softly, her voice tinged with shyness. "But if it's Sister Silica... it's fine."

"Let me continue the story. Deep in the vast ocean, there lived a kingdom of mermaids. The king had six beautiful daughters, especially the youngest, who was even more beautiful than her sisters..."

------

"Who are you... and why are you here? You're not a player, nor are you an NPC."

Sorin looked at the strange creature with a red scarf and a dog's head and human body in front of him and asked this question. Yuna stood to Sorin's right rear, drawing her rapier and pointing it at the uninvited guest, ready to attack at any moment. Sorin's reaction was not as intense as Yuna's, but he was still on guard.

"Me... just a hero for fun." The kobold adjusted his red scarf, coughed twice, and said seriously, "Mr. Mo Yulan... may I address you that way?"

“I believe that the prerequisite for communication is honesty between both parties. At least from what I can see now, I haven’t sensed any sincerity in your communication, you… embarrassing gentleman.” Solin started off with a serious tone, but the man’s appearance made it impossible for him to be serious. “Please explain your background and purpose now, and if it’s convenient, could you also tell me how you got in?”

"How did I get in... Let me put it this way, just because others can't do something doesn't mean I can't. For example, hacking into the SAO server and creating a normal mode for myself, that is, a non-expert character, and then setting up a max-level character with six top-tier gear, is relatively easy." The person boasted without restraint, and at least in Solin's opinion, this person was probably just bragging. "You can call me Chu Ziyu or Blank. As for my purpose... First of all, let me make it clear that I'm not going to help you clear a hundred floors or anything like that. You yourself know that you don't need to clear a hundred floors to beat SAO."

“It seems you know quite a bit. If I’m not mistaken, Rainbow Team shouldn’t have revealed the SAO rescue operation to anyone else, which means you might be a member of Rainbow Team, or you might be…” Sorin said, drawing his katana, “but now it seems your stance is questionable.”

“My stance is absolutely neutral. As I just said, being a hero is just a hobby. I was indeed one of the original members of Rainbow Team, and I commanded the first half of the SAO rescue operation.” Chu Ziyu explained briefly, then changed the subject, his tone suddenly becoming serious, “You may have realized the importance of that AI, but in fact, you don’t understand it enough.”

"You could say that once her identity is exposed, not only you, but even the Rainbow Squad can't protect her. And after you get out, there will definitely be more than one organization—including government-backed and private organizations—asking you about Cardinal and artificial intelligence. Make good use of your [system] to prevent truth serums and similar drugs from affecting you, and I will prepare a high-performance host body for that artificial intelligence, along with the necessary equipment and a fake identity."

“You really think a lot, Mr. Chu. I remember there’s a Chinese proverb that goes, ‘Offering kindness for no reason…’” Suolin’s tone softened slightly after hearing Chu Ziyu’s words, but he still couldn’t let go of his wariness.

"I don't want to rape you or steal from your house, don't even think about it. Besides, I've said from the beginning that helping you is just a hobby. I want to be a complete bystander, appreciating this interesting story and letting it develop in a direction I find enjoyable within a controllable framework. That's my only purpose." Chu Ziyu interrupted Suolin's next sentence and continued to explain, although his explanation only made Suolin more confused. "In short, I'm looking forward to a story with you as the protagonist, and I don't really like tragedies. That's all I have to say. Goodbye, Mr. Mo Yulan."

Before Solin could react, he instantly transformed into a streak of blue light and vanished, plunging the room back into silence. Yuna hadn't spoken at all, or rather, she hadn't had a chance to interject, because she hadn't understood a single word.

"Solin, would you mind explaining this to me?" She got up from the bed, walked to Solin's side, gently took his right hand, and then said with some hesitation, "Still, I can't say anything?"

"Alright, since he's already said so much, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. This matter goes back to when we first arrived on the fourth floor..."

153. Have we met somewhere before?

"Sister Silica, it's time to get up..."

Silica heard such a voice. She opened her eyes groggily and saw a pair of clear, crimson eyes and long, unblemished silver hair.

"Sister Silica, it's time to get up." Ivyxin knelt down beside Silica, gently rocked her a couple of times, and called out again, "Mom is already preparing breakfast."

"Heh... Good morning, Ivyxin." Silica rubbed her eyes, yawned, then sat up in bed and put on her gear again.

She pushed open the door and walked into the living room. Sorin never wore a mask at home; he was currently writing something in a notebook, while Yuna was busy in the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mr. Sorin.” Silica greeted Sorin, then suddenly noticed that he was staring at her intently. She asked, somewhat puzzled, “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“You look familiar, like I’ve seen you somewhere before… Wait, is your real name Ayano Keiko?” Sorin stared at Silica for a while, then suddenly pointed at her and said this.

“Yes… wait, how did you know?” Silica subconsciously acknowledged the name, then, sensing something was amiss, asked, “Mr. Sorin, do you know me?”

"What a coincidence... We've only met once. To be precise, I know your grandfather, Ayano Hajime. Professor Ayano taught us differentiation back then, and then he led our class in differentiation experiments. He would occasionally take you with him during class, so you should remember him."

As Solin spoke, he suddenly felt a pang of emotion. Ever since he met Silica, he felt like he was growing more and more like an old man. He smiled at Silica and then said jokingly, "He said your birthday is October 4th, and 10+4=14, which is the nuclear charge of silicon, so he named you Guizi. Speaking of which, back then, no one in the entire chemistry department skipped differentiation, all because of you."

"Is it HIT? I vaguely remember you... Then I think I can call you Uncle Solin." Silica looked at Solin with slight surprise, then suddenly covered her mouth and laughed, "So, Uncle Solin, can I come to visit Ivy often in the future?"

"Change how you address me, then do whatever you want." Sorin covered his forehead with his right hand and replied somewhat helplessly, then walked to the dining table and sat down. "Hurry up and eat. I still have my mission to do after I help you sort out the familiar problem."

The meal didn't take too long. Yuna made a simple omelet rice dish, and also prepared fruit juice for three people, placing it in front of herself and her two children.

"It's a real shame we can't enjoy vodka, the water of life," Sorin said, taking several gulps from the clear glass bottle on his desk before quickly shoveling food into the omelet rice in front of him with his chopsticks. "By the way, Ivy, the task of protecting Silica is yours later."

——————47th Floor, Hill of Memories——————

"It's called a maze, but it's actually a straight path. You just push your way uphill to the end, and there aren't any boss monsters." Solin opened his livestream as he was about to enter the Hill of Memories and introduced the maze. "Similar to the 47th floor, it's a garden-like area, which looks really grand (ah). The only downside is that it's really demanding on your graphics card, if this were a PC game. Of course, in this environment, the monsters are all kinds of mutated plants."

"Let me tell you, when I was playing this game, it felt a lot like playing Plants vs. Zombies. Of course, now it's a bunch of us leading the dirty tricks, breaking through the plants' blockade, and then eating the unlucky protagonist's brain... no, I mean getting the resurrection item."

[The story of Teacher Mo, who can still provide commentary even when surrounded by three beautiful girls (confirmed)]

[The antics of the old man, Suolin, who was accompanied by three pretty girls (correction)]

Even though there are more girls now, I still want to commit a crime for old man Suolin, I'll go for it.

[Upvoted +1]

"Dude, what's with all these comments..." Solin sighed helplessly, then stepped forward and instantly killed a man-eating plant crouching by the roadside, ready to attack him. "I thought you guys would only be able to complain about things like Plants vs. Zombies, which obviously reveals your age. What on earth are you guys thinking?"

“Mr. Sorin sometimes talks to himself strangely, Miss Yuna, what’s going on?” Silica asked, somewhat puzzled.

“He has a live stream room, and there should be a lot of viewers watching his stream right now. What he’s talking to himself is actually his commentary.” After explaining this to Silica, Yuna looked at her and Sorin with interest and then asked, “What were you and Sorin talking about just now?”

“Mr. Sorin said that my grandfather was once his teacher…” Silica had just finished speaking when a carnivorous plant suddenly appeared in her blind spot, stretching its head above her with its mouth wide open, about to bite her.

"Don't try to attack Silica, okay?"

Suddenly, Silica heard Ivy's voice. She looked up and saw that Ivy had somehow flapped her wings and flown into the air, forcefully stabbing the carnivorous plant on Silica's head with her double-pointed spear, then tearing it to the side. The carnivorous plant instantly turned into a pile of fragments and disappeared on the spot. Then, Ivy landed from the sky and stood steadily beside Silica.

"Wow, Ivyxin is amazing." Silica murmured to herself, mesmerized by Ivyxin's magnificent fighting style. "It doesn't seem so difficult after all, reviving Pina and all that..."

"It was originally a very easy dungeon with no boss, so the difficulty of Memories Hill itself wasn't that high. It was just that the 47th floor was considered a tough hurdle. Did you see me switch weapons the whole way?"

Seeing that Yuna and Ivy were more than enough to protect Silica from the remaining monsters along the roadside, Sorin wondered if this linear terrain was suitable for a one-shot kill. He switched to his one-handed sword and charged towards the final destination. Countless plant-type monsters were drawn to Sorin and sprang up to follow him, only to be met with a full-force katana attack from him at the finish line: [Extreme Sword Technique: Storm Style], falling to the ground one after another.

"All done, that should mean eliminating them all, right..."

154. I want to time travel!

The monsters had indeed been completely wiped out by Sorin, and now what lay before Silica was a sunken rock, shimmering with a white light.

She ran breathlessly to the rock and peered nervously at its top, only to find a hollow with tiny, thread-like grass growing on it; nothing else.

“How could this be… there’s nothing here, Mr. Solin!” Silica turned to look at Solin and suddenly burst into tears.

“Don’t rush… take another look.” Solin shook his head and then pointed to the top of the rock. Silica turned her gaze back to the top of the rock. Among the soft grass, a slender sprout was gradually growing. Two pure white leaves opened like seashells, and a slender stem grew from the center.