The Armor and Staff of the "Dark Great Sage"

In Lin Yi's memory, that area was relatively safe during the initial stages of the disaster, with moderate population density.

The most crucial factor was that a miniature Abyss Beast nest would spawn next to an abandoned newsstand less than a hundred meters diagonally across from the main entrance of Hongfu Restaurant.

Compared to the small or even medium-sized nests that might appear elsewhere, this one was entirely within a controllable range.

Furthermore, Hongfu Restaurant would later become one of the shelters established by the authorities in the early days.

This would not only be the perfect fuse to ignite his script for a genius's rise—an excellent starting point to reasonably showcase his combat talent under the public eye—but it would also prepare him to contact and integrate with the authorities early, increase his influence, and guide official decision-making.

Lin Ruiming and Zhou Jinghua exchanged a glance, both seeing unexpected surprise and gratification in each other's eyes.

Their son had always been sensible and rarely asked for anything; this time, not only did he agree, but he had also thoughtfully chosen a practical and convenient location.

"Good, good! Next Saturday at noon, Hongfu Restaurant it is!"

A radiant smile bloomed on Zhou Jinghua's face, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart. She replied repeatedly, "I'll go book a table first thing tomorrow morning. We must make it a lively celebration!"

With the date and location of the graduation banquet settled, Lin Yi began more detailed planning.

He found an old notebook and began to earnestly list his invitation list.

Close relatives, neighbors he interacted with frequently, and those good classmates and friends.

Every time a name was written down, fragments of his past-life memories surged—those faces that had vanished in the apocalypse, those backs that had struggled to survive.

He could not speak a warning, nor could he guarantee that everyone on the list would arrive on time; the apocalypse was like a giant sieve, and fate was unpredictable.

All he could do was take those who gathered at Hongfu Restaurant under his wing the moment the disaster broke out.

As for those who were absent for whatever reason.

Lin Yi silently whispered a "take care" in his heart; this was already their own choice within the torrent of fate.

High school graduates naturally couldn't go without gatherings among close friends.

In the evening, after a game of basketball, the smoky aroma of the barbecue stall, mixed with the charred scent of cumin and grease, permeated the summer night air.

After finalizing the details for the graduation banquet, Lin Yi immediately made calls, invited a few close friends, and organized this small gathering for the night.

Several sweaty, big boys who had just finished playing ball sat around a table, the very picture of youthful boisterousness.

Two bottles of ice-cold beer down, Zhang Haotian—the school team's star player sitting opposite Lin Yi, who was also the class sports representative—was arguing with Li Jie, another basketball talent from a neighboring class, about whether the final missed buzzer-beater on the court should have been passed.

Sitting beside him, a slightly chubby youth wearing a floral T-shirt and permed, slightly curly golden hair already had flushed cheeks and was spitting as he recounted interesting anecdotes from a game.

Lin Yi looked with a smile at this friend who would have died in the jaws of a Corrosive Abyssal Wolf on the very first day of the apocalypse.

This was his desk mate, Chen Yu.

Chen Yu was a "second-generation rich kid," and his high school grades were not ideal.

Precisely because of this, following the principle that "poor students without backgrounds sit in the back to play by themselves, while poor students with backgrounds sit with good students without backgrounds," Chen Yu had become his desk mate shortly after the start of their freshman year.

In truth, Lin Yi thought Chen Yu was a genuinely decent person.

Moreover, because of his family background, he had plenty of connections both inside and outside the school. Coupled with Chen Yu's loyal nature, no one in the class had ever been bullied while he was around.

Of course, he had never bullied his classmates either.

As for his poor grades.

Lin Yi never judged a friend by their grades.

As for Chen Yu, he had been discriminated against by "good students" quite a bit back in middle school. Being treated normally by a top student in high school had moved him deeply, so the two soon became close friends.

Being both desk mates and friends, calling them "best buds" after three years was no exaggeration.

Sorry, buddy, I have to use you for a bit right now, but it's for your own good.

Lin Yi muttered in his heart without a shred of guilt.

Then, he swiped his phone screen as if casually, and with a tap of his fingertip, a high-octane montage video of Dark Great Sage began to play. The impassioned soundtrack and the whistling of the staff breaking through the air instantly drowned out the surrounding noise.

In the video, the figure draped in dark gold armor, wielding a black-gold staff, moved nimbly among a horde of demons. The staff shadows were like dragons, and every swing carried a fierce, overbearing power capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, filled with the aesthetic of raw strength.

"Holy crap, this monkey is cool!"

Zhang Haotian, who had been arguing about the game, was drawn by the sound. He glanced at the screen and couldn't help but praise it.

Li Jie, sitting next to him, leaned over as well. "Is this Dark Great Sage? I heard it's been really popular lately. Seeing it now, the special effects are explosive!"

"Tsk!"

Lin Yi put down his phone at the right moment, picked up a skewer of sizzling lamb, and stared at the replay on the screen, his tone filled with just the right amount of admiration and longing.

"This Monkey King, this outfit, and the way he swings that staff is so exhilarating. It makes my heart itch; I wish I could get a set like that and find an empty spot to swing it around for a bit!"

These words were like sparks landing in dry firewood.

Chen Yu, this veteran gaming enthusiast, had his eyes light up instantly, like a fish hooked by a straight line.

"Brother Yi, you've finally seen the light! I told you, what man could refuse the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"

He slammed the table in excitement, causing the beer bottles to rattle and making Zhao Xiaowen, who had just picked up a grilled eggplant, cry out, "Oh my!" as she nearly dropped her chopsticks.

"Brother Yu, take it easy! The table is about to fall apart."

Li Jie spoke up in a hurry; it was said he had been pursuing Zhao Xiaowen lately, seizing every opportunity to curry favor with her.

Chen Yu had no time for such things at the moment; he immediately pulled out his latest model foldable smartphone, his fingers swiping across the screen with lightning speed.

"Come, come, let me show you a treasure! The official collector's edition art book, strictly digital-exclusive. Look at the details on this Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor, the texture, the finish. It's insanely cool."

A high-definition 3D render rotated on the screen, the cold metallic luster and the fierce, beast-faced pauldrons rendered in vivid detail.

Lin Yi leaned in, clicking his tongue in wonder. His eyes held undisguised admiration, but it soon faded into a helpless, self-deprecating smile.

"It's truly cool, but what a pity; I can only drool over it through a screen."

As he spoke, he raised his glass to Chen Yu, signaling for a refill, and added:

"With my meager pocket money, if I wanted to get a piece of cosplay gear like this Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor, I couldn't even afford the greaves for the kind of refined craftsmanship you're showing me. I reckon I could only buy that shoddy foam plastic stuff, so forget it."

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

Zhang Haotian chimed in vaguely while chewing on a meat skewer, drawing a burst of laughter from the group.

"Cosplay gear?"

Chen Yu seemed to have been struck by a realization. He was so excited that he slammed his freshly raised glass onto the table, slapped his thigh, and even raised his voice a few notches.

"Brother Yi, I've pitched this to you so many times, are you finally interested?"

"If you were interested in the field, you should've said so earlier! Can you actually wear those plastic scraps? You'd be fooling no one. If you're going to do it, do it right!"