Grace Bennett has already reached over level 80 on medium difficulty. By all rights, in any game, I should be just a bit better than Grace Bennett. Judging by medium difficulty, I should be about ready to clear it too, right?

Grace Bennett leaned back on the sofa: "Anyway, whether it's true or not, I'll just try and see. Tonight, I'll beat medium difficulty and see if it's really as amazing as everyone says."

As they were chatting, the doorbell rang.

"Ah, my fried chicken is here." William Carter ran to open the door, happily carried two bags of fried chicken to the dining table, and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge.

Grace Bennett stared at William Carter in shock: "You're still eating fried chicken this late? Look at your little belly—ever since you started college, your figure has gotten worse and worse."

William Carter retorted confidently, "What's wrong with a little belly? Am I not proud of it?"

Grace Bennett: ""

You really aren't proud, but why do you sound like you should be? Geez.

William Carter cheerfully took out a piece of boneless chicken and ate it, then took a sip of cola: "Do you know why you always lose to me in games? It's because you don't eat enough junk food. Junk food may not be nutritious, but it's high in sugar, which can effectively replenish brain energy. That's why I always beat you."

"Oh." Grace Bennett asked, "So after lazing at home all afternoon, what platform did you reach in the trial?"

William Carter almost sprayed cola out of his nose: "Cough, cough, well—"

Grace Bennett didn't forget to twist the knife: "Don't you dare lie, or if I finish the medium difficulty trial before you, it'll be pretty awkward."

Suddenly, the fried chicken in William Carter's hand tasted bland. After holding it in for a while, he finally said, "The 35th."

Grace Bennett gave an "I get it" look.

William Carter was immediately unhappy: "Let me tell you, there's a reason for my score. Mainly, it's my difficulty level—"

Grace Bennett: "What's wrong with your difficulty?"

"Forget it, whatever." William Carter felt it was better not to explain. Even if he told Grace Bennett he encountered developer difficulty, she probably wouldn't believe it.

Grace Bennett sighed: "Sigh, you hang in there. I'm going to take a shower and try to finish the medium difficulty trial tonight."

William Carter almost choked on his cola. What's with that tone of disappointment?

Don't go too far! If I really get mad, even I get scared of myself, okay?

In the end, Grace Carter grabbed her change of clothes and headed to the bathroom, showing off and then running away, not giving William Carter any chance to argue.

William Carter took a sorrowful sip of soda, sighing that life was as lonely as snow.

But no matter what, William Carter's fighting spirit was ignited. It's one thing to be outdone by Grace Bennett in other areas, but to be crushed in games too?

Unacceptable!

After wolfing down a couple more bites of fried chicken, William Carter's consciousness once again immersed itself in the trial, starting the assault on the 36th platform.

After finally making it to the 57th platform, William Carter's consciousness returned to the real world.

It wasn't really because of fatigue; it was just that this kind of thing was so boring. Playing for several hours straight without a break is really hard to keep up.

William Carter glanced at the clock—it was already past 2 a.m.

After nearly fourteen hours of hard struggle, and even with the standard answers, William Carter finally made it to the 57th platform. Truly something to celebrate.

But as he got further, the difficulty really ramped up. Even after seeing the standard answers, William Carter couldn't replicate them.

It was just too damn hard.

Now, William Carter was facing all sorts of bizarre challenges. For example, some platforms would shatter as soon as you stepped on them, so you had to double-jump to the next platform in a very short time;

Some platforms would suddenly sprout spikes when you landed, with only two corners being safe. If you landed in the wrong spot, you'd have to start over;

Others would move irregularly in all directions, so you had to time your jump just right—too early or too late, and you'd fall.

The further he went, the more tricks there were. William Carter suddenly had the illusion that he was playing a side-scrolling platformer.

And a super hardcore one at that.

Dying dozens or even hundreds of times in one spot—this kind of experience is torture for most people, with none of the satisfaction of gaming. The fact that William Carter could stick with it this long already showed his strong willpower.

But this also fit his identity as a hardcore gamer. After all, this guy never admits defeat in any game. When teammates surrender, he's always the one to vote no without hesitation.

No matter how tough things get, you can't lose your fighting spirit—what if you actually win?

However, William Carter noticed something strange: when he was doing the trial in the consciousness world, even though he was constantly jumping, falling, and strategizing, he didn't feel tired at all in reality.

When his consciousness returned to the real world, it felt like he'd just taken a nap on the sofa—he was actually pretty refreshed.

William Carter saw it was getting late, so he packed up the leftover fried chicken and put it in the fridge, planning to turn off the living room lights and go lie down in his bedroom to continue the trial.