With the start of a new month tomorrow, this book is also entering a new story arc, and the author plans to push for the ten-thousand-character daily quota again, so I'm preemptively reserving next month's guaranteed monthly votes here. …… Gensokyo, also known as the Eastern Loli Brigade, is arguably the largest haven for moe in the entire anime world, bar none. Unimpeachable in both quantity and quality, such a place is an absolute sanctum for otaku. Lin Luo wasn't sure if he'd ever get the chance to visit Gensokyo, as he hadn't encountered anything related to it so far, but that didn't stop him from running a practice session beforehand.

The Gensokyo Strategy Guide he created himself boasted a fidelity rate approaching one hundred percent. This simulation wasn't about virtual reality projection; it was about the accuracy of the characters' personalities—modeled precisely after the girls he remembered. While he could have created a virtual reality projection, he ultimately abandoned that notion.

The ultimate goal of the game was to conquer every beautiful woman in Gensokyo, achieving the ambition of an Eastern Harem Domination... naturally, nameless, faceless passersby didn't count. Because it was an extremely high-fidelity simulation, the game's difficulty was impossibly high, earning it the title of the hardest ever—a MAX level experience.

For Lin Luo, this was a challenge, a chance to surpass himself. If he could perfectly clear this game, he would no longer be merely 'not yet an immortal,' but something beyond immortal.

As a unique GAL game Lin Luo increasingly used for self-reflection and practice, it naturally couldn't be like the ordinary games he’d played before; it boasted two major features, one of which was "Clothing Removal."

If you think this refers to a typical stripping scene, you are sorely mistaken. The process for Clothing Removal is as follows: once the mutual Affection Level reaches a certain threshold, a battle sequence automatically triggers. Each person has ten items considered accessories, counting things like gloves and headbands. Only after the protagonist manages to strip off all ten of the girl's accessories during combat can the "conquest" scene commence.

However, if the protagonist proves incompetent and gets stripped himself, well, too bad—it’s the cleaver for him.

The second feature was "Synchronization." This Synchronization, too, differed greatly from standard GAL games; it wasn't synchronization with a single target, but synchronization between groups.

Take Kaguya and Mokou, for instance, eternal rivals. If pursued separately, one could only conquer one. Therefore, only by synchronized pursuit, where Affection Levels increase in tandem, could they turn from enemies to friends and coexist harmoniously. But pursuing these two automatically initiates the Bamboo Forest route and the Teacher Group route. At this point, every aspect must be accounted for; otherwise, if the Affection Levels of either party diverge too much... sorry, it’s time to sail.

Actually, the difficulty with Kaguya and Mokou wasn't that high, perhaps a MAX- at best. The real challenge lay with the protagonist's own team—Remilia's counterattack and Flandre's lack of moral restraint—that was true MAX territory.

The protagonist's core route wasn't accessible from the start; it required the story to progress to a certain point—specifically, NTR-ing Remilia's harem. But Remilia wouldn't abandon her harem, so pursuing her harem members would lead to a collision with Remilia herself, resulting in an awkward situation of mutual NTR.

Only after conquering all members of Remilia’s harem would the route to conquering Remilia herself open up, simultaneously unlocking the Flandre route as well.

But there was another crucial point to note: Remilia’s harem was quite numerous. For example, pursuing Alice, one of Remilia's harem members, would synchronize immediately with the Scarlet Devil Mansion route—the elegant head maid, the forever-young mistress, the various eccentricities of the second sister—any gap in Affection Level among them meant GAME OVER.

The only relatively safe path was Alice's route, as she didn't have many related contacts. However, the developers were unscrupulous; the Alice route contained a hidden scenario, and failure to achieve it also resulted in the cleaver, followed by Alice turning yandere and bathing Gensokyo in blood.

Furthermore, pursuing Flandre would also trigger the Yukari route, and pursuing Yukari would simultaneously initiate the Hakugyokurou route... Moreover, due to Flandre's various lack of restraint, reaching a certain point in her storyline would trigger the Sanae Group route.

And when the Remilia route, the Flandre route, and the Yukari route all reach a specific tipping point, the Underground Hell route would begin. Because the composition of Underground Hell was rather complex, shortly after starting it, the Yama Group route would branch off... In short, no matter which path was taken first, the player would end up simultaneously managing at least three different group routes, difficulty level constantly spiking to MAX.

Finally, even if the player successfully conquered every girl in Gensokyo, they shouldn't celebrate yet, because an ultimate boss awaited them afterward—the EX-level 'Gensou Musume.'

Conquering the Gensou Musume within a set time limit would grant congratulations: the title of Gensokyo Harem King would be unshakeable. Otherwise, the entire harem would rebel, and conquering the Gensou Musume automatically erased all save files—only one attempt, heaven or hell.

Such design made the practice runs startlingly realistic and forced the player to proceed with extreme caution.

Faced with such an immense challenge, even Lin Luo, bearing the title of the "King of Strategy Guides," felt it was as insurmountable as a towering abyss. Since this was a game intended for practice, even he, the creator, received no preferential treatment; everything had to start from zero.

He watched 'himself' get cleaved again and again, or be forcefully sailed over repeatedly—sometimes ruined by the second sister, sometimes thrown out of Gensokyo by Flandre, sometimes scrutinized by Yukari until he reached a Halley's Comet, or condemned to the eighteenth layer of hell by the Four Seasons, or occasionally turned into a frog by Frog Princess only to be frozen solid by ⑨... In short, the methods of death were varied and novel.

Yet, despite such hardship, Lin Luo never retreated a single step. He confronted death, he faced failure, and from where he was sailed over, he climbed back up; from where he was cleaved, he stood tall again... Finally, after seven days and seven nights of non-stop effort, and after experiencing hundreds of deaths, he finally pushed over the Gensou Musume, realizing his ambition of Gensokyo Harem Domination.

During those seven days, aside from necessary eating and drinking, he barely left his monitor. Even meals consisted of instant noodles right there in the room... This lifestyle brought back a unique nostalgia, reminiscent of his past.

Though the process was arduous and fraught with peril, the result was flawless.

"Ah, this truly is the life of an otaku," Lin Luo murmured, stepping off his bed after enjoying all the CGs. If he hadn't lacked talent, he might have even composed a poem to express his feelings.

Seven days and nights of self-challenge elevated his strategic capability to a new level. He was confident that even if he truly reached Gensokyo in the future, he would thrive there effortlessly.

"Sigh, there’s no one to share such an achievement with. Life is truly lonely," Lin Luo sighed again. In the past, after clearing any game, he would upload the strategy guide online for countless otaku to worship, eventually earning him the title 'King of Strategy Guides' and making him a legend in otaku circles.

But now... Ah, that’s right.

Lin Luo suddenly remembered; there were plenty of people in this world too. Although they were mere data projections, to them, they truly existed in this world and could serve as recipients for sharing.

With that thought, Lin Luo didn't hesitate. Using a projection program he’d already prepared, he linked the entire virtual world with the Sky Citadel where he resided, forming a massive network. Then, through the "Virtual Network," he transmitted the Gensokyo Strategy Guide game and the walkthrough.

Of course, this wasn't free. Receiving something for nothing was undesirable, even in a virtual world. Thus, he packaged the game and the guide together into one thousand copies, slapping a 998 tag on them... Just 998, and take Gensokyo home.

"With this, it won't take long for that data world I projected to become an otaku world, ha ha ha!" Lin Luo chuckled with great satisfaction. Seeing half of the thousand copies of Gensokyo purchased within minutes only heightened his anticipation for that world.

"Perhaps, one day in the future, that virtual world might even become real," Lin Luo mused. The transformation from fantasy to reality wasn't impossible—Lily, after all, came about that way.

Since the game was finished, there was no need to stay cooped up in his room. While there were many other games, after playing the definitive classic of Gensokyo, the rest suddenly seemed rather dull.

"Hmm... this must be the emptiness after a great battle..."

He wondered if those tigresses outside were still planning to rail against him? Lin Luo frowned slightly. After thinking it over, he concluded that facing them was necessary. Moreover, his strategic prowess had undergone a qualitative leap, and there were many new moves he could try out in reality... well, if the opportunity arose.

He pushed open his door and glanced left and right; no one was there.

"That makes sense. While waiting for them might be an option, seven days is a long time; they aren't so dense as to keep waiting here."

He cautiously descended the stairs to the first-floor hall, finding everyone seated around the massive dining table. He checked the wall clock; it was precisely twelve noon—lunchtime.

"Master, good afternoon."

Before Lin Luo even reached the bottom step, a sharp-eyed maid bowed slightly toward him.

Stare.

In an instant, every eye turned toward him. Lin Luo’s heart involuntarily fluttered; being glared at by several hundred people simultaneously exerted considerable pressure. However, to his surprise, after a quick glance, most people immediately averted their gaze and returned to warring with the food on their plates.

Uh, perhaps their anger had subsided?

Lin Luo felt relieved but also slightly disappointed. Wouldn't that mean he wouldn't get a chance to test his new moves?

"Yo," Lin Luo walked over, greeting the group around the table with a warm smile.

"We thought you were dead." Everyone responded with detached apathy, only Evangeline offering a sarcastic jab.

"Heh heh." Lin Luo offered a dry laugh. It seemed reality couldn't be completely disconnected from the game. But speaking of which...

"Why are you in my house?" Lin Luo looked toward a red-haired girl seated at the edge of the table and asked.