Roy-Jay wasn't sure what the hidden task's required cap for the four women's affection levels was.
If it was below 80, that was no big deal. Figuring out their temperaments, matching their personalities—maintaining several "bosom buddy" level relationships with key NPCs simultaneously was entirely achievable.
But if the cap requirement was above 90? Then he needed to be extremely cautious.
For female NPCs, 90 affection points was a critical threshold. It represented the absolute pinnacle of platonic friendship.
It was also a line you absolutely didn't cross accidentally. Stumbling beyond it meant a fundamental, qualitative shift in the relationship—a turn towards romance.
And crucially, this shift always came with exclusivity.
Meaning, if Roy-Jay used special methods to push one female NPC's affection past 90, her feelings would become possessive. The affection levels of any other female NPCs closely connected to her would instantly freeze below 90. Sometimes, depending on their personality, they might even plummet dramatically.
Therefore, if Roy-Jay wanted all four female NPCs to hit 90 affection simultaneously, he absolutely could not touch Juri Saionji—the juicy prize already secured in his bowl—until the others were hovering right at the brink of that friendship limit.
It came back to that fundamental truth: The Illusion Realm wasn't a game. Even NPCs from borrowed worlds couldn't be casually conquered through brainless tactics.
In his past life, Roy-Jay had witnessed countless overconfident gamers, dreaming of seizing the protagonist's luck and building harems within borrowed worlds. Most got a brutal lesson in romantic fallout. Ending up with neither the chicken nor the eggs was considered a fortunate outcome. A few unlucky fools even triggered the School Days ending.
Juri Saionji was secured. Rey Miyamoto was traveling with the group; he had the next eight days to grind her affection. That left Mitsuko Shijou and Saeko Takashi as the problematic duo.
Perhaps... it was time for some alternative approaches?
Roy-Jay wasn't sentimental. He had zero moral hang-ups. If underhanded tactics could efficiently achieve his goals, he saw no reason not to play the villain now and then.
No. Not just a villain. An overlord, a mastermind. Perception mattered. Even when doing dirty work, you had to maintain an aura of terrifying competence...
While Roy-Jay schemed under the covers, a glaring red alert suddenly flashed across his visual projection:
[WARNING: Quest NPC Sirius Alice has died. B.O.S.S. transformation complete.]
[SPECIAL ALERT: B.O.S.S.-transformed NPCs possess the ability to sense other NPCs. Upon entering detection range, they will initiate autonomous pursuit and attack.]
Roy-Jay's brow furrowed, his expression hardening at the sudden alert.
So it happened. Sirius Alice—the NPC with the highest point coefficient—was gone after all.
Area detection... Autonomous pursuit...
The true difficulty of this Illusion Realm was finally beginning to surface.
Meanwhile, Jia Shuai's "Student Council of the World" team, along with several other Chinese player squads, carefully advanced along the south bank of the Murogami River.
Despite failing to secure Juri Saionji, the squad leaders had conferred. They decided to follow a crucial piece of intel from the "source material": the "two-story riverside villa." Their goal was the famed cache location—Nanami Xiang's villa.
Their assigned VIP, the military otaku Hiroshi Hirano, was tightly encircled in the center of the formation by players wielding melee weapons. He clutched a pistol, his expression a mix of intense nervousness and newfound determination.
BANG!
A zombie lunging from the shadow of a streetlight was instantly headshot by Hirano. He flashed a reassuring thumbs-up at the player he'd just saved.
"Damn, that fat nerd's reliable," muttered the miner known as Blackface, watching the corpse slump. "He's gotta have dropped two, three hundred zombies by now?" Without the constraint of limited ammo (all bought with points), Hirano alone could easily out-DPS half their team.
The burly fighter Big Bear shook his head regretfully. "Reliable, sure. Shame he doesn't have any hidden quests attached... If only our VIP was Mitsuko Shijou. Rumor has it she carries the E-Purple skill [Shijou-ryu Kenjutsu]. Even low affection might score you an F-Blue technique."
"Eh, doubtful," countered Blackface, nudging Big Bear with his elbow. "Mitsuko's a top-tier waifu in this dimension. Players would sink serious time grinding her affection. Hirano? He's just an ugly fat nerd. Any female player looking for a hidden quest would target the cooler guy, Koichi Kamiya." He grinned wickedly. "Unless... you wanna sacrifice your backside? Maybe showing him a whole new world unlocks a mega-reward?"
"Go to hell!" Big Bear shoved him back.
Their roughhousing was cut short as the same glaring red alert flashed across everyone's visual projection simultaneously.
"Shit!" Jia Shuai reacted first, barking an immediate halt. "We stop! NOW! We need to get off this riverbank immediately!"
The other squad leaders gathered, confused. "President? What's wrong? Why bail now? We'll lose a whole day's progress!"
Jia Shuai mentally cursed them for fools but kept his tone calm and explanatory. "Remember? Sirius Alice's first appearance is at Nanami Xiang's villa. If we keep pushing forward, there's a damn good chance we'll walk right into the B.O.S.S.-transformed Sirius Alice head-on..."
Before he could finish, a distant, unnatural howl tore through the quiet air.
"Wait… did you guys hear that?"
"Sounded like a wolf... but seriously? A city of millions? Wolves?"
"Get real. Wolves are extinct in Japan. The last one got wiped out in 1907..."
The players murmured, curious about the sound's origin but showing no real fear. A wolf? Hell, even a grizzly bear wouldn't threaten players armed like they were. One shot each would shred any dumb animal.
Among them, only Jia Shuai felt a deep, unsettling wrongness.
"Blackface. Big Bear." His voice was low and urgent. "Pass the word: full alert status. If... if things go sideways... permission granted to abandon Hirano. Run. Regroup at that 24-hour convenience store we passed earlier."