Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

The meeting ended unhappily.

……

The sea of ​​consciousness.

Saki encountered a problem.

He discovered that he now possessed great speed but lacked any combat ability.

His idea was originally perfect—

Referring to the map, I headed straight for the treasure chest, using my speed to bypass the afterimages, opened the chest, took the fragments inside, and made my escape.

However, while the plan was promising, its implementation encountered difficulties.

Because Saki overlooked one thing:

To open the treasure chest, you need to enter a "password".

Although Saki possesses the system, he can decipher the "Resonance Lock" at a glance.

However, in the sea of ​​consciousness, the act of "entering the password" requires him to constantly adjust his mental energy to the correct fluctuation.

This operation will take time.

However, the remaining images near the treasure chest were neither human nor compassionate.

As soon as Qi Ji touched the treasure chest, this group of bastards immediately pounced on him, howling.

And so, Saki was left speechless...

At this point, to be honest, I do miss the old days of telling stories.

That guy wasn't of much use, but getting beaten up was her forte.

Qi Ji found it quite convenient to use her to help pull monsters and buy some time.

Therefore, going it alone is no match for teamwork!

However, in the worldview of "Echoes", most of the Echoers in the Sea of ​​Consciousness are indeed fighting alone.

Because each echoer's spiritual frequency is unique, only one person can log in to the Sea of ​​Consciousness.

This rule was not broken until the "era of great alliances" began in Kalentia.

The plot synopsis that Saki had access to specifically mentioned:

This nation, with its king in power and a strong emphasis on both technology and resonance, achieved a breakthrough in the 90th year of the Echo Era that was enough to shake the old order.

This technology is named "Spiritual Harmony Array".

Its basic principle is:

Through a specially designed resonance device, the spiritual frequencies of multiple echoers are briefly "compressed in sync" at the moment of entering the sea of ​​consciousness, so that they maintain the same "phase coordinates" in the initial stage of entering the sea of ​​consciousness.

Simply put, it involves having a group of people "team up" to enter the sea of ​​consciousness.

The strategic value of this technology is self-evident.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, teamwork is far more efficient and safer than individual action.

A well-coordinated team of Echoes can clear a larger area of ​​remnants and seize higher-value treasure chests in a short time, and even challenge powerful Guardians that are difficult for a single Echo to deal with.

Of course, this technology still has strict limitations:

Firstly, it is only for use by third-order echoers.

For Echoers below the third rank, their spirit bodies have not yet completed the solidification of their armor, and their stability is insufficient to withstand the frequency disturbances during the synchronization process. Forcibly connecting to them will cause the spirit body to tear apart.

Echoers of the fourth rank and above, having already constructed mental palaces, possess spirits imprinted with strong personal "conceptual imprints," making it difficult for them to achieve harmony with others.

Just like two buildings with different foundations cannot be easily merged.

Only in the third stage, the transitional phase of "clothing complete but palace unbuilt," is the spirit body both strong enough and retaining enough plasticity, making it the best fit range for the harmonic array.

Secondly, the maximum number of people allowed to coordinate is currently five.

Beyond this number, the complexity of frequency interference increases exponentially, and the existing array core cannot stably withstand it.

Third, the synchronization effect only takes effect at the moment of login.

Once the team enters the Sea of ​​Consciousness and becomes separated, they will be unable to regroup through the formation.

Therefore, Kalentia added a "landing assembly" training course to the academy and the army.

The reason Saki brought this up at this particular time was because, while staring at the map, he suddenly realized—

It seems he's run into those scoundrels from Kalentia who are "illegally teaming up" and "ruining the game environment"...

Of course, Saki was not afraid of this group of scoundrels.

Because he's the laziest one!

Saki was even a little happy at this moment—

Here comes the person who will help pull the monsters!

They were responsible for pulling the monsters, while Qi Ji was responsible for opening the treasure chests.

With division of labor and cooperation, everyone can have a bright future!

This is a win-win situation!

Indeed, one cannot fight alone in the sea of ​​consciousness!

……

at the same time.

On the same small island in the sea of ​​consciousness.

"Miss Dorothy, you'll be in charge of opening the treasure chests. We'll help you clean up the debris around them."

The fragments you get from treasure chests will also be given priority for selection.

As he spoke, Charles generously made the decision for the rest of his teammates.

"Huh? Isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, we're all together..."

"Haha." Charles chuckled twice and waved his hand.

"It's alright, my echo fragments are already fully embedded anyway."

My family even went so far as to obtain a mythical fragment for me.

"It will take me a long time to refine this already, so getting other fragments would be pointless for me."

Charles spoke casually, basking in the envious glances of the crowd, before quickly adopting a humble smile.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to brag."

To be honest, Dorothy felt slightly uncomfortable with the other person's affected manner.

"Yes, yes, I really didn't show off at all!"

While inwardly complaining, the girl had to suppress her annoyance and flatter Ciel.

After all, the other party's family is the Isolde of Calentia!

A single, casual remark could have the power to completely transform her life.

Fortunately, besides being an Echoer, Dorothy is also a popular actress with superb acting skills.

Let's just treat it as a performance.

The girl cupped her hands around her heart and gave a perfectly timed expression of adoration.

This move can be considered Dorothy's ultimate weapon.

Even if you replaced it with Tsukimi, Tsukimi might not be able to withstand it.

After all, that guy is a die-hard Dorothy fan...

Charles was quite pleased with this and immediately expressed his opinion:

"All the fragments harvested in the Sea of ​​Consciousness this time will be given priority to Miss Dorothy. Does everyone have any objections?"

After all, Miss Dorothy is one of our key players in this City of Fire competition.

"No objection, no objection!" Rina, who desperately wanted to be a dog of the Isolde family, was the first to jump out and raise her hands in agreement with Ciel.

Art pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "What can you do even if you have a problem with it?" and remained silent.

The last member of the remaining team, Wu Ma Ling, seemed somewhat detached from the conversation, expressionless, as if lost in thought.

"Okay, it's decided then, let's go!"

With a wave of his hand, Charles directed everyone to head towards the core area of ​​the island.

Throughout the journey, Charles appeared relaxed and did not take the exploration of the Sea of ​​Consciousness to heart.

After all, their lineup is quite impressive.

Five skilled third-tier Echoers who had mastered the art of armor.

Two of them are S-level lineages, and three are A-level lineages.

This lineup venturing onto the edge of the Sea of ​​Consciousness is practically no different from buying a bulk of goods.

Along the way, Ciel kept telling jokes that he thought were funny, and although Dorothy didn't get any of the jokes, she could only smile along.

"Ugh, this feels even more tiring than filming!"

In order to get off work as soon as possible, Dorothy had no choice but to bring out her best acting skills once again.

She turned her head slightly, her eyelashes drooping for a moment, as if considering her words, or perhaps a little embarrassed.

When she looked up again, the girl's gaze held just the right amount of guilt and submissiveness, and her voice was soft:

“Um, Mr. Charles, I think quite a bit of time has passed. Should we speed things up?”

After all, your time is very precious...

I already feel incredibly indebted for troubling you to accompany me on this exploration of the Sea of ​​Consciousness amidst your busy schedule.

Dorothy's tone was soft and gentle as she spoke the last few words, carrying a soft sense of shame that made her feel "how could I possibly deserve such concern from you?"

Charles was taken aback by what he heard, and then a smile appeared on his face that was like an itch being tickled, a smile that he tried hard to suppress but couldn't help but smile.

He waved his hand, his tone carrying a deliberately nonchalant air:

"Oh, Miss Dorothy, what are you saying! How can accompanying you to explore the sea of ​​consciousness be considered troublesome? It is my honor."

As he spoke, he straightened his back slightly, and his voice became a few decibels louder than before:

"You don't need to worry about time. I, Charles, may not be able to say anything else, but in the Sea of ​​Consciousness, I have never let my companions down!"

Since Miss Dorothy wants to speed things up, let's get this over with quickly!

When he said "quick victory," he emphasized the words, as if he were promising something extraordinary.

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and couldn't help but add:

"Besides, what is a little time compared to fighting alongside the national goddess of Kalentia? It's an opportunity that many people would kill for."

As soon as he finished speaking, feeling that he had said something both generous and witty, he turned around with a hint of self-satisfaction, raised his chin towards the remaining image in front of him, and spoke in a light tone.

"Let's go, let Miss Dorothy see what Isolde efficiency is all about!"

Urged on by Xia Er's enthusiasm, the group immediately sped up their progress in clearing the map.

……

Looking at the five small red dots on the minimap that had been lingering for ages before finally engaging in battle with the remnants of the core area, Qi Ji was quite speechless.

What kind of efficiency is this?!

This Karentia team is just too terrible!

Can't you even clear out a monster?

He's really dragging him down!

Fortunately, the remaining monsters on this island are generally not strong, otherwise Qi Ji would have worried whether this small team could win.

After waiting a while longer, the five red dots finally approached the area where Qi Ji was located, near the treasure chest.

Because the [Thousand Faces] that Qi Ji is currently using to log in is under an infinite weakness buff, even the aura of existence is affected by the buff, weakening to the point of near non-existence.