The Armor and Staff of the "Dark Great Sage"

In Lin Yi's memories, that area had been relatively safe in the early days of the disaster, with a moderate population density.

Most importantly, beside an abandoned newsstand less than a hundred meters diagonally across from the main entrance of Hongfu Restaurant, a tiny Abyss Beast Nest was going to appear.

Compared to the small—or even Medium Nests—that might emerge elsewhere, this one was entirely within manageable bounds.

Moreover, Hongfu Restaurant would later become one of the official shelters established in the early days.

It would not only be the perfect spark to ignite his script for a meteoric rise as a genius, an ideal starting point for showcasing his combat talent in front of everyone, but also give him a chance to make early contact with the authorities and integrate with them, build his influence as quickly as possible, and prepare to guide their decisions.

Lin Ruiming and Zhou Jinghua exchanged a glance, both seeing the unexpected delight and relief in each other's eyes.

Their son had always been sensible and rarely asked for anything. This time, not only had he agreed, but he had thoughtfully chosen somewhere convenient and affordable.

"Good, good! Next Saturday at noon, then—Hongfu Restaurant!"

Zhou Jinghua beamed as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "I'll go book a table first thing tomorrow morning. We'll have a proper celebration!"

With the date and venue for the graduation banquet settled, Lin Yi began making more detailed plans.

He found an old notebook and started carefully listing the people he wanted to invite.

Close relatives, neighbors they saw often, and good classmates and friends.

As he wrote down each name, fragments of memories from his previous life surged through him: faces that had vanished in the apocalypse, figures who had struggled to survive.

He couldn't warn them, much less guarantee that everyone on the list would make it to the banquet on time. The apocalypse was a vast sieve, and no one could predict what fate would bring.

All he could do was take the people gathered at Hongfu Restaurant under his wing when disaster struck.

As for those who couldn't make it for one reason or another...

Lin Yi silently wished them well. Each person had to make their own choice amid the raging currents of fate.

High school graduates naturally got together with their friends.

That evening, after a game of basketball, the smoky aroma of the barbecue stall, mixed with the fragrance of cumin and sizzling fat, filled the summer night air.

After settling the details of the graduation banquet, Lin Yi immediately called a few friends and arranged their little get-together that night.

The boys, still sweaty after their game, gathered around a table. They were the very picture of youthful exuberance.

After downing two bottles of chilled beer, Zhang Haotian—the starting player on the school team and the class sports representative, seated across from Lin Yi—was arguing with Li Jie, another skilled basketball player from a different class, over whether he should have passed the ball before missing that last game-winning shot.

Beside Zhang Haotian sat a slightly chubby young man in a floral T-shirt, his golden hair permed into loose curls. His cheeks were already faintly flushed as he talked animatedly about funny things that had happened in a game.

Lin Yi smiled as he watched the friend who was supposed to die in the jaws of a Corrosive Abyssal Wolf on the very first day of the apocalypse.

His deskmate, Chen Yu.

Chen Yu was the son of a wealthy family, but his grades in high school weren't great.

Because of that, and in keeping with the class seating rule—students without connections who did poorly sat in the back and did their own thing, while underachievers with connections sat with high achievers without connections—Chen Yu had become Lin Yi's deskmate not long after they started their first year.

As far as Lin Yi was concerned, Chen Yu was a genuinely good person.

Thanks to his family, he had plenty of connections both in and out of school. And he was a loyal friend, so with him around, no one in their class ever got bullied.

Of course, Chen Yu had never bullied anyone either.

As for his grades...

Lin Yi had never judged his friends by their grades.

Back in middle school, Chen Yu had often been looked down on by good students. Then, in high school, he was suddenly treated like a normal person by a top student. He was so touched that the two quickly became friends.

Deskmates as well as friends, they'd spent three years together. Calling them best friends wouldn't have been an exaggeration.

Sorry, buddy. I've got to make use of you this time, but it's for your own good.

Lin Yi muttered to himself without a shred of guilt.

Then, pretending to casually swipe at his phone screen, he tapped once. A high-energy fan edit of Dark Great Sage began playing, its rousing music and the whoosh of the staff cutting through the air instantly drowning out the surrounding noise.

Onscreen, a figure clad in dark gold armor and wielding a black-gold staff darted among the demons, his staff shadows coiling like dragons. Every swing carried the fierce force to split mountains and shatter stone, radiating a raw, primal beauty.

"Damn, that monkey looks awesome!"

Drawn by the sound, Zhang Haotian glanced at the screen and couldn't help praising it.

Li Jie leaned in too. "So this is Dark Great Sage? I've heard it's been really popular lately. Those effects are incredible!"

"Tsk!"

Lin Yi put down his phone at just the right moment and picked up a sizzling lamb skewer. His eyes stayed on the replay, and his voice held just the right mix of admiration and longing.

"That Monkey King, that getup, the way he swings that staff—it's so satisfying to watch. Makes me itch to get an outfit like that and go swing a staff around in some open space!"

His words were like a spark falling onto kindling.

Chen Yu, a devoted gamer, lit up at once, like a fish biting a straight hook.

"Brother Yi, you've finally come around! I've been telling you, what man could possibly say no to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"

He slapped the table excitedly, making the beer bottles wobble. Zhao Xiaowen, who had just picked up some grilled eggplant beside him, yelped and nearly dropped her chopsticks.

"Yu, take it easy! You're about to break the table."

Li Jie hurriedly spoke up. Rumor had it he was pursuing Zhao Xiaowen, and he took every chance he got to shower her with attention.

Chen Yu couldn't care less about any of that just then. He immediately pulled out his latest foldable phone and began swiping furiously.

"Come on, take a look at this treasure! The official collector's edition art book, exclusive to digital. Look at the details on the Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor—the patterns, the texture. It's so damn cool!"

A high-definition 3D render rotated on the screen, showing the cold metallic sheen and the ferocious beast-face details on the armor's clasps.

Lin Yi leaned over and watched with open admiration, clicking his tongue in appreciation. But then his expression turned rueful.

"It really is cool, but all I can do is drool at it through a screen."

He raised his cup to Chen Yu, signaling for another, and added, "With the pocket money I've got, I couldn't afford even one leg guard if I wanted a finely crafted set of armor like the Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor for cosplay. I'd probably have to settle for some shoddy foam-plastic stuff. Forget it."

"Foam plastic? What's the point of wearing that?"

Zhang Haotian mumbled around a mouthful of meat, making everyone burst out laughing.

"Cosplay gear?"

It was as if Chen Yu had finally caught on to the key point. He slammed his half-raised cup down on the table, smacked his thigh, and raised his voice.

"Brother Yi, I've recommended it to you so many times. You're finally interested?"

"You should've said you were into this stuff! Who'd wear flimsy plastic sheets? They're good for fooling ghosts, not people. If you're going to do it, do it right!"