ã€ŠMini World Of Endless Fun Awaitsã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Mini Worlds Gaming Console (1)

    Chapter 1: Chapter 1 ¨C Mini Worlds Gaming Console (1)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ding dong¡­ ding dong¡­

    The ear-piercing chimes of the doorbell rang out incessantly, rousing Ren Suo from his slumber. He muttered something under his breath, rubbed his eyes groggily and turned to his side as he went back to sleep.

    The doorbell continued to ring on. At this point, Ren Suo could also feel a faint dampness spreading across his right cheek ¨C his face was touching the drool on his pillow when he turned over.

    Abination of disgust and the frustration from the doorbell chimes finally woke Ren Suo. He rubbed away the offensive secretion from the corners of his eyes, put on his slippers and walked over to slide open the securitytch. Opening the door wide, he was greeted by a deliveryman outside, dressed in his red and white uniform.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your parcel,¡± said the deliveryman. ¡°Please acknowledge here.¡±

    Ren Suo seemed to recall something ¨C his heart instantly leapt in excitement. Hurriedly, he unlocked the security gate, signed the necessary, collected the parcel and brought therge box into his house. Without skipping a beat, he found a small knife and eagerly went about unboxing the parcel!

    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Ren Suo rubbed his palms as his eyes lit with excitement. He slit the stic wrapper around therge box and with utmost sincerity, he received his dream bride for the past twenty-two years with utter affection ¨C

    A home cinematic gaming console!

    As a healthy, vigorous young man in the best years of his youth and bursting with boundless energy, Ren Suo was like most others. He yearned above all else to own a gaming console that he could y whenever he wished.

    However, he did note from a wealthy family growing up. Moreover, his parents had refrained from buying him gaming consoles to ensure that he focused his energy on his studies.

    When he entered university, Ren Suo had to buy aptop for his studies and internship, leaving him without any spare cash for gaming purchases. What¡¯s more, it wasn¡¯t convenient to keep a gaming console in his dormitory.

    Now, Ren Suo was a Year Four undergraduate on the cusp of joining the workforce, having found a job and made graduation ns. Furthermore, Ren Suo¡¯s eldest uncle was letting out his apartment in the heart of Lianjiang to Ren Suo at a highly-discounted token rate. Looking at it, Ren Suo finally has a ce to call his own in Lianjiang. Well, somewhat.

    Since there were still a couple of months to go before graduation and work, Ren Suo bought a gaming system, Hell4, off an online shop with the little cash that he had earned during internship. It was time for him to enjoy the exhration of the current hottest and most explosive work!

    Yet as Ren Suo unboxed the parcel, what greeted him was not the familiar packaging of Hell4 that he seen time and again on the Inte, but rather¡­

    A round, ck steel container?

    He lifted the circr container cautiously. An icy cool sensation spread across his palms and travelled like a cool current to dissipate the heat of his body. Lianjiang had turned warmer in March; to save on the electricity bills, Ren Suo would time the air-conditioner to turn off after one and a half hours even in these hot summer nights. Each morning, he would be awoken by the sweltering heat.

    This box looked no bigger than the typical Danish butter cookie tins. However, Ren Suo couldn¡¯t find the lid on the container; it seemed like a solid circr block.

    But as Ren Suo held it in his hand and felt its weight, he sensed that it wasn¡¯t very heavy. It definitely didn¡¯t have a solid steel core.

    Ren Suo flipped the circr box over and saw that in the middle of the other side was a concave depression that could be turned ¨C just like one of those money-scamming capsule toys. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Ren Suo turned the knob in the depression.

    A loud snap rang out, scaring the wits out of Ren Suo. He noticed a deep crack that formed along the cross section of the circr box, in the shape of an ¡®X¡¯. Watts of vapour emitted from the cracks like dry ice, which caused the circr box to disintegrate and reveal the object within.

    Ren Suo held up the circr ck steel lid that he turned earlier to inspect it, and saw that on its inside was a mortise and tenon structure that lined the rim. When he turned it earlier, he had released the core mechanism that held the mortise and tenon in ce, thereby causing the structure to copse.

    Although Ren Suo could make some sense out of it, he couldn¡¯t understand how a person could have spent so much effort on a mere storage box to create emitting vapour from it. That person must have been dying of boredom!

    Inside that boxy a strange, round machine. It was pure ck in colour and its exterior looked like a heap of vinyl records stacked together.

    Ren Suo scraped at the side of the machine, feeling theyers uponyers of metal beneath his fingernails. Indeed, there was a pitifully tiny crack between eachyer, which was too small even for his fingernails to dig into.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be Hell4, can it?¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned. Swiftly, he took out his phone and found the customer service on the online shopping tform and texted, ¡°Hello.¡±

    Customer Service, ¡°Dearest CatMall customer, this is the official customer service for Hell Co. The collector¡¯s limited edition Hell4Ever Unparalleled is currently avable for pre-order (please clic.k here for more details); 50% off for hot games (please clic.k here for more details); Hell Store web card (please clic.k here for more details); delivery by CatMall ¨C to the furthest areas (may take up to 10 days ¨C to check delivery information, please clic.k here for more details).

    Ren Suo, ¡°Are you there?¡±

    Customer Service, ¡°Hi there, yes I am. How may I help you?¡±

    Ren Suo, ¡°The thing is this: I think the Hell4 console that I received is a different model from the one I ordered¡­¡±

    Customer Service, ¡°Alright, please hold on a moment. Let me check for you¡­¡±

    Thirty secondster, the customer service personnel replied, ¡°Dear customer, it seems when you bought the Hell4 gaming system, it automatically utilised the 888-off-2000 discount voucher. However, the CatMall tform did not deduct the discount at check-out. When the message was ryed to the back-end service personnel, they mistook it as you having bought the 2888 Hell 4PRO version. That¡¯s why the Lianjiang warehouse mailed out the Hell4PRO.¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡± Huh? So you sent me the Hell 4PRO?¡±

    Customer Service, ¡°That¡¯s right. If you¡¯re not satisfied with it, you may get in touch with the After-Sales Refund Department in CatMall. However, you¡¯ll forfeit the 888-off-2000 discount voucher that you used earlier. As a gesture of good will, however, Hell Co. is willing to offer you a 500-off-2000 discount voucher aspensation.¡±

    Ren Suo nced at the circr gaming system on his desk and hesitated.

    ¡°Let me try it out first. If I still don¡¯t like it, then I¡¯ll return it.¡±

    ¡°Sure, we ept unconditional refunds within seven days. When your refund is sessful, you¡¯ll automatically receive the discount voucher from Hell Games. If you like the product, please take a picture and leave a five-star review alright? ~¡±

    Ren Suo kept his phone and began to fiddle with his new gaming system.

    Nheless, Ren Suo still had his doubts. It¡¯s not that he hasn¡¯t heard about Hell4PRO; in fact, as the newest gaming system that hadunched this year, Hell4PRO was an upgraded version of Hell4 with higher performance levels. Ren Suo had also been deliberating between Hell4 and Hell4PRO when thetter entered the market two days ago in Xuan Nation. But since he was embarrassingly short of money, he had chosen to buy Hell4 in the end.

    But he recalled that Hell4PRO didn¡¯t look like this model either!

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll try it out for now. Anyway, I can always return it¡­¡± With a ¡®nothing-to-lose¡¯ attitude, Ren Suo began to scrutinise the gaming system.

    Very soon, he discovered three troubling problems.

    Firstly, he could not find the power plug nor the power inlet for the gaming system.

    Secondly, he could not find the audio and visual output cables, or any socket in the gaming system itself.

    Thirdly, he could not find the controller.

    ¡°What shitty load of crap this is!¡± Ren Suo was bbergasted. Just as he was about toin to the Customer Service, the doorbell rang again.

    He opened the door a deliveryman from CatMall standing outside.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your parcel, please acknowledge.¡±

    ¡°Another parcel?¡± Ren Suo was rather baffled. He signed for the parcel and brought it in, before using his knife to swiftly tear it open.

    Three secondster, he was greeted by the packaging for Hell4PRO.

 Chapter 2 - Mini Worlds Gaming Console (2)

    Chapter 2: Chapter 2 ¨C Mini Worlds Gaming Console (2)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Sliding his fingers across the piece of art that was the Hell4PRO gaming console, Ren Suo put it before his eyes together with that unknown circr gaming system, his eyes darting back and forth between them incessantly.

    The Hell4PRO console was square in shape, with the logo of Hell Co. embossed on its top. It looked like fouryers of square boxes stacked together with a slight incline.

    The Hell4 console looked like a threeyered box while the Hell4PRO console looked like a fouryered box. That was why this generation of console earned the nickname ¡®real gaming console from hell¡¯ online ¨C a metaphor for the third and fourth levels of hell. Someone with too much time on his hands even made an image of Hell18 console on Photoshop. That¡¯s right ¨C it was eighteenyers stacked together.

    The Hell4PRO console came with aplete set of equipment ¨C HDMI cable, original power cable, original USB cable, a Hell Co. exclusive wireless Bluetooth controller, originalbat headphones and an official manual.

    Now that was the gaming console set that Ren Suo was familiar with.

    But the circr gaming console ¨C or perhaps it could be described as a ck circr object ¨Cpletely eluded Ren Suo¡¯s imagination.

    He had not the faintest idea how this thing worked and what it did.

    If Hell4PRO was four boxes stacked together, then the circr gaming console was at least made of more than a hundred discs stacked together.

    There was no logo, no cables, no controller. Nothing.

    Compared with the Hell4PRO, the circr gaming console was as understated as a super millionaire who loved to eat at the roadside grill stand. Even with his boyish sense of aesthetics, Ren Suo thought that the circr gaming console looked way cooler than the Hell4PRO.

    Its glossy ck exterior, like a shell of crystal, attracted his eyes. Even if Ren Suo decided that this thing was useless, he would put it at home as a disy piece. At least it looked cool.

    He fussed over it for a few minutes, but still did not find the start button on the circr gaming console. Disappointed, he put it aside and turned his attention to the Hell4PRO.

    When Ren Suo took the controller out of the box, he saw the blue light on the wireless Bluetooth controller light up.

    At the same time, a blue glow emitted from the core of that circr gaming console. The machine started humming faintly. Just then, the wall-mounted TV in the living room turned on by itself.

    Ren Suo stared dumbfounded at the myriad of colours exploding from the TV, which finally merged into a blue sphere. A crisp and chirpy voice eximed,

    ¡°Mini worlds of endless fun!¡±

    Ren Suo looked down at the Hell Co. controller on his hands, then at the cable-less circr gamign console, then back at the DaMi LED TV which had turned on by itself.

    ¡°Who can tell me how this Hell Co. controller connected itself to this gaming console, and how this console connected itself to the TV?¡±

    Just then, the screen turned ck and new information appeared on it:

    [Wireless Bluetooth ¡®Hell4PRO Game Controller¡¯ detected. Automatic connectionpleted.]

    [4K disy equipment ¡®DaMi L55M5-AB¡¯ detected. Automatic connectionpleted.]

    [Dear gamer, wee to the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. Mini worlds of endless fun await.]

    [First-time user detected. Please register a World ount.]

    Then a rectangr box appeared. Ren Suo¡¯s interest was piqued. This Mini World Gaming Console was pretty impressive ¨C it could connect itself to Hell Co.¡¯s controller and the DaMi TV wirelessly. It looked like future tech. But how could a hardcore gamer like himself not have heard of this gaming console before?

    This name. It sounded like it was developed by a local gaming manufacturer. But most of the consoles produced domestically were junk¡­

    Could this be a sampler for a new model? Why would it be delivered here then?

    Ren Suo examined the delivery box of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. The recipient was him, Ren Suo, indeed; even the address was perfectly correct. The only anomaly was that the name of the sender was one that he had never before seen ¨C Neisser Co.

    Ren Suo searched it up online, only to find that no information on thispany existed. But he wasn¡¯t hung up on this. He turned around to look at the TV again. The screen was still showing the prompt for him to register a World ount.

    ¡°Name? Hmm? Can I use Xuanese pinyin?¡± Ren Suo was rather surprised. He recalled that only English could be used for personal ounts on the Hell4PRO. Now it seemed that this gaming console was most likely domestically-produced. It used Xuanesepletely ¨C an advantage for those Xuan Nation yers tortured by English and Japanese.

    Picking a name was easy for Ren Suo.

    He was quite skilled at creating a name. In order to identify how his information was leaked from his junk messages and junk mail, he would always choose to use the name of thepany directly as his own name.

    For example, when creating an ount for Penguin Telmunications, his ount was Penguin_Ren. His gaming ount for Nine Cities Games was Nine Cities_Ren. Simple and vulgar.

    He had in fact decided on the name Hell-Ren for his gaming ount. If he couldn¡¯t use Xuanese, he would use English.

    But now this gaming console was not from Hell Co.. It was called ¡®Mini Worlds Gaming Console¡¯.

    He couldn¡¯t call himself World_Ren, could he?

    Ren Suo thought of the sender of the gaming console ¨C Naisser Co. That Naisser Co. must have at least been the distributor of this gamign console, right? Should be right to look for them?

    Hence, Ren Suo picked the name ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±.

    A red glow suddenly burst out from the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and scanned Ren Suo from head to toe, frightening him. The screen read:

    [Soul and physical data recorded. Apart from Naisser_Ren, no other information-bearing entity may use this product.]

    [Naisser_Ren, Level 1 gamer. Wee to Mini Worlds. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    Immediately, the main menu appeared. Ren Suo did not see a single game on the screen. The background was Earth, nestled among a patch of stars. He could even tell all the stars apart in the Sr System depicted in the background. A leisurely music yed in the background and Ren Suo soon rxed himself.

    ¡°Nice screen, eh? But what games are there? Where can I top-up credit to buy games?¡±

    Tworge square options appeared on the screen: [World Store] [What should you best do now?]

    Ren Suo picked [What should you best do now?], and a hint popped out:

    [Your best option now is to ess the free game of the week in the World Store.]

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s even a free game?¡± Ren Suo was surpised. He recalled that all Hell Games members enjoyed a free game each month as well. But he had to purchase membership.

    As for this Mini Worlds Gaming Console, all he had done was to register an ount. He had not topped up any credit. Was there a free game already?

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just an ordinary mini-game. Like those arcade games¡­¡±

    Ren Suo entered the World Store only to find it empty. There were only two options: [Free Game of the Month] and [Search]. When he clicked on [Search], a message popped out:

    [Each search costs 10 merit points. You can¡¯t afford it, pauper.]

    Ren Suo stared dumbly at the screen. Only then did he notice his merit points on the top right corner of the screen: 0.¡±The currency on this console is merit points? But you¡¯ve got to tell me where I can top up credit! And this message is way too colloquial, isnt¡¯ it?¡± Ren Suoined.

    Then, he picked [Free Game of the Month]. After three seconds of loading, an insanely cool game appeared on the screen ¨C

    ¡°Hitman¡±.

 Chapter 3 - This Gameâ€™s Pretty Interesting (1)

    Chapter 3: Chapter 3 ¨C This Game¡¯s Pretty Interesting (1)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Hitman¡±?

    Never heard of the game. Is it a mini-game made by foreign developers?

    Ren Suo nced at the clock. It was near noon. He ordered food to be delivered, then peed and washed his face. When he was done, he settled on the couch in the living room and started ying the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    The apartment his uncle rented out to him was well-designed, furnished with a sound system, a 4K TV, couch and other furniture. It was a haven for a single inhabitant. And even more so with a girlfriend.

    So Ren Suo bought his dream girlfriend ¨C the fourth princess, a.k.a. Hell4PRO.

    Having washed his face, Ren Suo felt fully awake. Only then did he recall that he had bought his games separately from his gaming console.

    The order confirmation in his mobile phone showed that his ¡°Unparalled Hero 8¡± and ¡°Curse of the Evil Spirit 2¡± was still on the way. It would probably take a couple more days to reach him. So, even though he had the console, it was useless.

    ¡°Unparalled Hero 8¡± was thetest arcade game, while ¡°Curse of the Evil Spirit 2¡± was a hardcore action RPG. Ren Suo had taken a long time to decide on these two games. He was ready to throw a few months into them till he became a tinum yer and till he started work.

    Because buying these two masterpieces had nearly emptied Ren Suo¡¯s gaming fund, he wasn¡¯t intending to buy digital copies of games on the Hell online game store. Digital copies were typically more expensive than physical copies. Unless there was a discount, Ren Suo would not consider them, not to mention the collectible nature and resale potential of physical copies.

    If he were to be rich in the future, Ren Suo would collect game discs as trophies of his glorious days;

    If he were poor, then he would sell them away to recoup his losses. After all, these games cost him quite a fortune.

    Because of these two reasons, Ren Suo chose to buy physical copies despite their long delivery time.

    Without the games, Ren Suo had no choice but to leave the Hell4PRO in the garage and y ¡°Hitman¡± on Mini Worlds.

    He clicked on [Free Game of the Month]. The game description of ¡°Hitman¡± introduced the game was an action RPG ¨C an immersive assassination game. The gamer yed the role of a modern hitman who had the skill ¡°Bullet Time¡± and was a master of all weaponry andbat styles. He could even pick other assassin characters. It looked pretty impressive.

    After selecting to download the game, a message popped out:

    [yer has chosen a free chapter. The free chapter of this month is Hitman¡¯s ¡°Bloodied Banquet¡±. Difficulty of game: 1 star.]

    [This free chapter has a difficulty rating of 1 star, hence the exclusive reward is canceled (exclusive rewards are awarded only to 2 stars or above).]

    [The time left in this free chapter is 14 hours 23 minutes 51 seconds. This game will be deleted when the time is up.]

    ¡°What? I can only y one chapter in the free game, and I¡¯m left with less than 15 hours?¡± Ren Suoined. But having seen the likes of too many freebies in Xuan Nation, he wasn¡¯t too surprised.

    Yet, the download speed of this game was crazy quick. In less than five seconds, Ren Suo received the message that the download wasplete. That took away any hopes Ren Suo had about the game. Although the apartment boasted Xuan Tel¡¯s 200M fibre optic cables, a game that could be downloaded via WIFI in less than 5 seconds couldn¡¯t have been more than 100M in size.

    Even if it was just a single chapter, the music, software, images¡­etc. had to be downloaded still. Such a small game was either cut to its bare bones or tiny in scale to begin with. Although size didn¡¯t equate to a game¡¯s quality, it limited how impressive a game could be.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s just a mini game¡­ Wait?¡±

    Ren Suo suddenly realized that he had not connected the Mini Worlds Gaming Console to the apartment WIFI.

    But this Mini Worlds Gaming Console was omnipotent the moment it appeared. It could connect to Hell4PRO¡¯s game controller and the DaMi TV. It wasn¡¯t too much of a stretch for it to be able to connect to the apartment¡¯s WIFI automatically.

    However, the moment he entered the game, Ren Suo¡¯s in expectations revived immediately!

    On the screen, rain drops fell off the roofs of the buildings on either side. Pitter patter, they hit the murky alley floor. In the distance, the lights on the skyscrapers and the streemp outside the alley became the only source of light in the alley.

    And in that dark abysmal alley, a figure shrouded under a ck umbre stepped leisurely through puddles of water till he upied the center of the screen. He was dressed in a suit, his bearing straight, like an aristocrat in the rainy night.

    Just then, the camera zoomed in under the umbre, giving the yer a clear view of this man¡¯s face-

    [Please configure the hitman¡¯s appearance.]

    ¡°What the-? This isn¡¯t CG, it¡¯s the actual graphics in the game?¡± Ren Suo was stunned. Even now, the rain-soaked alley was visible behind the character. The y of light, the rain drops, the buildings, the details, the ambience, the character¡­ they were unmatched even by that so-called highest-performance game ¡°Log Horizon¡±!

    ¡°No way this is a mini game. This is definitely a triple-A heavy-hitter!¡± Ren Suo¡¯s interest was piqued. He noticed that the character in the game was automatically set as a fearsome looking bald man. After he selected to change his appearance, a series of face-changing options popped out, intimidating Ren Suo.

    Although he liked to control cool-looking characters, Ren Suo was really not that interested in changing their appearance, especially when appearance attributes are so finely calibrated now that a single facial adjustment involved changing a dozen of digits. As a terminal patient ofziness, Ren Suo wasn¡¯t going to waste his time on this.

    Typically, one who liked good-looking characters but didn¡¯t want to waste time like Ren Suo would simply search for other yers¡¯ records, copy their facial attributes and paste it into his game to make a character he liked. At most he¡¯d adjust the pupil colour, hair style and hair colour. And vo ¨C that¡¯d be Ren Suo¡¯s character!

    But when Ren Suo searched ¡°Hitman¡± online, while he did find other games with the same theme and title, none of them had graphics like Ren Suo¡¯s version. And none of them allowed the yer to change the character¡¯s face. So Ren Suo¡¯szy tactic couldn¡¯t work.

    Thankfully, in the menu there were options like [Rmend a face] and [Rmend a character].

    In [Rmend a character], apart from the initial ¡®Bald Hitman¡¯, ¡®Clown Hitman¡¯, ¡®Demon-Hunter Hitman¡¯, there was also [For more characters, please purchase Characters DLC].

    Ren Suo looked and realized that apart from the looks and voice, the choice of characters would affect their skill and abilities. For instance, the Bald Hitman¡¯s skill was [Bullet Time], which affected the speed of time;

    Clown Hitman, who sported make-up on his face, had the skill [Shapeshifting], which needed 30 merit points to unlock;

    the white-haired wrinkly-faced Demon-Hunter Hitman¡¯s skill was [Abyssal Wolf Sword Art], which needed 30 merit points to unlock.

    Not only that, even their starting expertise were different. Bald Hitman¡¯s was [Combat Master] and [Weapon Master]. Clown Hitman¡¯s was [Weapon Novice] and [Throwing Expert]. Demon-Hunter Hitman¡¯s just [Grandmaster of Sword].

    Among the three [Rmended Characters], only Bald Hitman was rmended for first-time yers and free to use.

    Till now, Ren Suo had not figured out how he could top-up credit in the game. Regardless, he was not going to burn cash on a game that would be deleted in 14 hours. So he picked Bald Hitman.

    But of course, he wasn¡¯t going to use the default face settings. In the [Rmend a face] option, he picked a sharp-looking Xuannese face and added a teardrop shaped red mark on his forehead to make him look even more sick.

    [Please name the hitman.] The message popped up after he confirmed the character.

    Ren Suo just named him ¡°Hitman¡±. In the next instant, the image on the screen moved as his controller vibrated. The hitman smiled at him under the umbre; he could now control this character.

    Just then, a homeless drunkard appeared in front of the hitman. Stepping through murky puddles of water, he lifted his bottle like he was looking for a fight.

    Through the process of subduing this drunkard and walking out of the alley, Ren Suo learnt the basics of the game. After knocking out the drunkard with hisbat skills, the message popped out: [Find a way to enter the Lamperouge banquet on the 8thfloor of the ckthorn Tower using a legitimate identity by 2000HRS.]

    The camera moved upwards. In the screen, a bright majestic tower right in front of the alley rose up into the sky. A green inverted pyramid mark appeared above the tower. Looks like that¡¯s the target destination of the yer.

    Ren Suo controlled the hitman to walk out of the alley. Branded sportscars andmborginis lined the road outside the tower. Ushers holding umbres came greeted and weed guests outside the tower.

    He walked nearer to take a closer look. Those finely dressed social elites would produce an invitation before entering the tower. Only after the ushers had verified their invitations could they enter. Moreover, these ushers had impable service and manners; their eyes stayed on the guests all the way up till the point when they entered the elevator.

    For example, Ren Suo saw a young gentleman who had parked a distance away and had filthy water sshed onto him. When he approached the building and shed his invitation, the usher immediately said, ¡°Mr. Ricard, we have spare suits and dryers up in the tower. Allow me to take you there.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Truly, the usher¡¯s service was faultless. He led this young gentleman all the way to the elevator and told the usher inside the elevator about the gentleman¡¯s needs. Throughout the whole process, at least three ushers had their eyes on him. Looks like it was absolutely impossible to sneak in.

    Ren Suo controlled the hitman and made him attempt to enter the tower. Naturally, he was stopped by an usher. The usher spoke a few lines of English and simultaneously, a dialogue box popped up beside his head, ¡°Sir, please present your invitation.¡±

    At this moment, four options appeared at the bottom of the screen. Ren Suo could pick them using his direction pad, but he had only 10 seconds to do so, otherwise the first option would be picked for him by default.

    ¢Ù¡±I left my invitation at home.¡±

    ¢Ú¡±I¡¯m one of the people in charge of thepany up above. I need to ride the elevator up to pick up a document.¡±

    ¢Û (Attack him) ¡°Since when do I take instructions from you?¡±

    ¢Ü (Take out 5 pounds) ¡°Cousin! It¡¯s been such a long time¡­¡±

    Wow, he could pick a response? Ren Suo wasn¡¯t all too alien with this sort of gamey. These options basically decided how the yer would get past the obstacle. Based on Ren Suo¡¯s many years of watching gamey videos, he believed that ¢Ù was pretty much a useless option;¢Úwas a tactic of talking his way through the obstacle;¢Û was surely charging through with brute force;¢Ü was an option to bribe his way through.

    Tentatively, he picked the seemingly cost-free ¢Ú ¨C ¡°I¡¯m one of the people in charge of thepany up above. I need to ride the elevator up to pick up a document.¡±

    Usher: ¡°Oh? Unfortunately, the tower¡¯s been closed since 1800HRS. Pleasee back tomorrow.¡±

    Ren Suo: ¡°What gives you the right?¡±

    Usher: ¡°The fact that this tower belongs to the Lamperouge family.¡±

    Ren Suo: ¡°¡­¡±

    So his first attempt failed. Ren Suo decided to try again with the other options.

    But this time, the usher frowned. ¡°Why are you here again? Security, take this man next door so he can cool down.¡±

    Two nearly two-meter tall security personnel, dressed in blue uniforms, strode over and grasped the hitman, one on each side. Ren Suo assumed that the mission had failed. Soon, however, the hitman was taken to an alley.

    ¡°Don¡¯t start trouble, kid,¡± the security guard patted the hitman¡¯s head, then turned around and started to leave. Subconsciouly, Ren Suo pressed a button on his controller and the hitman automatically seized the guard¡¯s neck and snapped it with a crack.

    Ren Suo was momentarily stunned. But not the other guard. He immediately pressed something in his ear and shouted, ¡°A hostile has appeared. Position ¨C Palen Alley. Terry¡¯s been killed. Send reinforcements, send reinforcements!¡±

    He pulled out his baton and pointed it at the hitman, retreating out of the alley slowly while he reported the hitman¡¯s deeds to his superiors.

    Ren Suo watched as the security guard exited the alley. In the screen, the dead body of the guard began to glow a faint yellow. He made the hitman turn and examine the body. Three options appeared above the body: Search, Drag and Handle.

    [Search] allowed him to strip the guard of his clothes and equipment and use them himself;

    [Drag] would mean to move the body; but when Ren Suo clicked [Handle], the game prompt appeared: [You do not have any tools to handle the body.]

    Just then, a dozen men in ck armed with guns appeared outside the alley and started shooting at the hitman. Blood burst out of the hitman and the game screen turned into ck and white.

    [You died.]

 Chapter 4 - This Gameâ€™s Pretty Interesting (2)

    Chapter 4: Chapter 4 ¨C This Game¡¯s Pretty Interesting (2)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo turned on the air-conditioner and finished his take-out Luosifen (Chinese noodles) in the cool of his living room. Then, he took out a bottle of chilled orange juice from his refrigerator. He was in totalfort, from top to toe.

    Having had his fill, Ren Suo slouched on the couch and continued attacking this game ¨C Hitman.

    After his first mission failure, the game automatically restarted with him back in the alley where he had first started. It looked like it had an auto-save function.

    He realized that the game¡¯s degree of freedom was optimal. It wasn¡¯t ¡°you-may-be-free-but-you-gotta-do-this¡±; neither was it ¡°I¡¯m-not-telling-you-anything-go-figure-out-everything-yourself¡±. When Ren Suo controlled the movements of the character, the NPC around him would react immediately, giving Ren Suo immediate feedback.

    Earlier, Ren Su had identally killed a security guard. When he tried using the using the other three options to enter ckthorn Tower and selected ¢Ù¡±I left my invitation at home¡±, the usher would take out a name list with photos and get the hitman to identify his name. The usher would then verify his face based on the name.

    ¢Û (Attack him) ¡°Since when do I take instructions from you?¡±needed no further guesses. The hitman was shot a dozen times a few seconds after he snapped the usher¡¯s neck.

    ¢Ü (Take out 5 pounds) ¡°Cousin! It¡¯s been such a long time¡­¡±¨C this option made Ren Suo tear up inughter. The usher took the money, then stepped back and yelled, ¡°Suspicious character here!¡± Then two muscr security guard came and dragged him away.

    Surveying all these options, Ren Suo realized none of them would work. But in option ¢Ù, if Ren Suo knew the appearance of a certain guest, he could then use the Clown Hitman¡¯s ability [Shapeshifting] to get in;

    Option ¢Û would never get him past this scenario;

    and as for option ¢Û; Ren Suo suspected it was because his bribe was too small. But seeing as the hitman had only five pounds on him, there was nothing Ren Suo could do about it.

    He also tried sneaking around the back of the tower. But there were men in ck suits standing guard in the fire exit. They were all armed and would train their guns on any stranger who approached. The hitman could at most kill one before being shot to death himself.

    However, after multiple tries, Ren Suo seemed to find the right way to sneak in. Now, he tried using option ¢Ú again. As expected, the usher stopped him and two muscled guards dragged him into the alley.

    When Ren Suo saw that the distance was about right such that people outside the alley could not look in, he struck. The hitman snapped the neck of one of the guards!

    Just when the other guard was about to raise the rm, the hitman rushed up and choked him, while pulling out his baton and smashing it on his head.

    Ren Suo had pressed only one button. Only heaven knows how the hitman executed so many moves.

    After dispatching the two, the hitman put on the guard¡¯s clothes and tidied himself. The game prompted: [Disguise yourself as a ckthorn security guard?]

    Ren Suo clicked confirmed. The hitman put on the guard¡¯s documents, kept his own suit in the guard¡¯s clothes, then smeared mud over his face and walked out of the alley towards the tower.

    The hitman made a beeline for the tower. When the usher saw him, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Terry?¡±

    ¡°Him? Oh he went to pee. So I came back first¡­¡± But before the hitman could finish, the usher took two steps back and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re not Dennis. Dennis doesn¡¯t sound like that ¨C suspicious personnel here!¡±

    Pandemonium broke out by the entrance. Then the armed men in ck suits appeared and the screen faded into ck and white¡­

    This time, Ren Suo still killed a guard and knocked out the other. But before walking to the entrance of the tower, he controlled the hitman to go around the side of the tower. In the heavy downpour, he punched through a window and crawled into the first story of the tower.

    Then he walked towards the fire exit. Three men in ck suits, chatting idly by, looked at him. When they saw that it was a security guard, they frowned and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°I met a lunatic earlier. Made my clothes all dirty,¡± the hitman shrugged. Under the white light, the mud smeared all over his face made him look all the more filthy. ¡°I need to go up and get changed.¡±

    The men in ck suits nced at each other, and let him pass.

    ¡°Ahah!¡± Ren Suo punched his fist in the air. ¡°I was right! Those men in ck aren¡¯t with the security guards!¡±

    The ushers and security guards probably knew each other. So even in disguise, the usher could still expose the hitman because of his voice.

    These men in ck, on the other hand, were armed with much better gear. Ren Suo concluded that they belonged to different factions. The ushers and guards were employees of ckthorn Tower, while the men in ck were special guards stationed here because of tonight¡¯s banquet.

    He moved briskly to the ninth story. Three men in ck stood guard by the stairs on the ninth story and the hitman got past them with the same excuse. Ren Suo then controlled the hitman up on to the ninth story and got him to change back into his own suit in a concealed corner. Then he strode into the colorful banquet through the main doors under broad daylight.

    [You have entered the Lamerouge Banquet as ¡®an anonymous stranger¡¯. Saving under Save File 1.] The game prompted further: [Please find a lethal weapon in the banquet by 2000HRS and tag all suspicious characters.]

    Huh? Was the game¡¯s mission so open-ended?

    Ren Suo looked at them time in game ¨C it was 19HRS 48MIN. He knew that the passing of time in the game matched that of the real world. That left him with ten minutes to find a weapon and tag the suspicious characters.

    But what weapon could there possibly be in a banquet?

    Ren Suo walked the hitman around in the banquet. On a cutlery station, he picked up a knife and fork.

    [Knife ¨C low damage; can be thrown.]

    [Fork ¨C low damage; can be thrown.]

    They didn¡¯t seem like ¡®lethal weapons¡¯¡­

    Ren Suo was walking the hitman around in boredom when he identally knocked into a NPC.

    Earlier, the hitman had knocked into a finedy, who jumped and spilled her drink. The hitman had apologized profusely and backed away. So Ren Suo maneuvered the hitman very carefully.

    Based on Ren Suo¡¯s experience, this NPC would jump too after the hitman knocked into him. Yet just right before the hitman knocked into the NPC, the NPC swerved away in the nick of time and dodged the hitman.

    Immediately, a series of messages popped up in the bottom left corner of the screen.

    [[Weapon Expert] ability activated. You have discovered Automatic Pistol ¡®P19C¡¯]

    [¡®P19C¡¯ location tagged.]

    [You have discovered 1 suspicious character. Suspicious character tagged.]

    Ren Suo stared at the man milling around in the banquet. A yellow silhouette now glowed all over the man and a red pistol-shaped outline was visible on his hip. Now Ren Suo realised that finding a weapon and looking for suspicious characters were his missions.

    And the weapon he wanted was right on the suspicious character¡¯s hip!

 Chapter 5 - Loading Save File

    Chapter 5: Chapter 5 ¨C Loading Save File

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Although that suspicious character possessed the weapon he wanted, Ren Suo realized that the ¡®steal¡¯ option appeared only when he was standing behind that man.

    However, activating ¡®steal¡¯ required several seconds. Each time he attempted to ¡®steal¡¯, that man would move away, terminating the progress bar before it was full. The hitman had no choice but to follow him to see if he might stay in a spot for a longer duration.

    Unexpectedly, the NPC suddenly spun round and stared at the hitman. With a quizzical look, he asked, ¡°Friend, why are you following me?¡±

    ¡°Huh? I¡¯m doing no such thing,¡± the hitmanughed. Just then, the game prompt appeared:

    [You have attracted a suspicious character¡¯s attention.]

    ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t tail him¡­¡± Ren Suo had no choice but to move the hitman to a corner and track the suspicious character with his eyes.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you again!¡±

    As the hitman moved, he knocked into someone identally. That someone so happened to be the finedy from previously. Unfortunately, thedy was holding a ss of wine, which spilled its contents on the shirt of the middle-aged man she was talking to when the hitman knocked into her.

    A waiter hurried over with a towel. The middle-aged man grabbed the towel and frowned, ¡°Please be careful.¡±

    The finedy, however, was unwilling to let the matter go. ¡°Who are you? You¡¯ve got no manners at all. How can you be allowed into the Lamperouge Banquet?¡±

    Ren Suo quicklymanded the hitman to leave. ¡°This game¡¯s way too realistic¡­ It even reacts real-time? This Mini Worlds gaming console¡¯s really powerful!¡±

    Suddenly, a great idea struck Ren Suo. He looked for the suspicious character and waited till he walked past a young man holding a ss of wine. At the right timing, Ren Suo moved forward and bumped into the young man.

    The young man¡¯s ss tilted, spilling its contents onto the shirt of the suspicious character. Hurriedly, the hitman vanished into the crowd. The young man apologized to the suspicious character profusely, while a waiter hurried over with a towel.

    At this moment, the hitman crept up behind the suspicious character undetected, pretending to be watching themotion. In truth, while the suspicious character was wiping his shirt, the [steal] progress bar was rapidly filling up¡­

    [You have acquired ¡®P19C¡¯, with 17 bullets and a silencer (needs to be equipped).]

    Finally, he had a weapon. Ren Suo breathed out in relief. Just then, a young man in a brown suit appeared behind the hitman and ced his hand on the hitman¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± the man in brown suit whispered.

    [You have attracted a suspicious character¡¯s attention.]

    [A suspicious character has discovered you!]

    [[Weapon Expert] ability activated. You have discovered pistol ¡®Beretta 92¡¯]

    [Location of ¡®Beretta 92¡¯ tagged.]

    [You have discovered a suspicious character. Location suspicious character tagged.]

    [You are held hostage by a suspicious character. You are in danger and any action will cause you to be attacked.]

    Then, Ren Suo saw the young man in brown suit hold up a pistol in red silhouette to the hitman¡¯s abdomen. The hitman was covered in blue chains, looking as if he had been caught.

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Now, if Ren Suo did nothing, the hitman would automatically obey the young man¡¯s instructions and follow him to the entrance of the banquet hall.

    He pretended to be taking the hitman to the toilet and walked till they reached the corner where the hitman had taken off his clothes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, but since you¡¯ve discovered us and are trying to take advantage of us¡­¡± the young man in brown suit said behind the hitman. At the same time, his pistol moved towards the back of the hitman¡¯s heart. ¡°If you want to live long, don¡¯t be a busybody.¡±

    All of a sudden, a deafening gunshot from the banquet hall pierced the air. The young man in brown suit seemed to be momentarily distracted by the gunshot because Ren Suo saw that the blue chains on the hitman had been reced by a game prompt: [Press ¡õ to retaliate.]

    Without hesitation, Ren Suo made the hitman m backwards with full force, throwing the young man in brown suit into the wall. In one fluid motion, the hitman pressed himself against him, pulled out his pistol and put it against the young man¡¯s head ¨C

    ¡°Biu!¡±

    Ren Suo could not help but exim inwardly. The game¡¯s reaction was otherworldly fast. In the spot where the hitman¡¯s pistol met the man¡¯s head, a small hole had appeared, fresh blood oozing out from it. The young man fell limp on the ground.

    [The time now is 2000HRS. Mercenary organisation ¡®Poker¡¯ hasunched an offensive against the Lamperouge family.] The game prompt appeared: [Escort key personnel Kallen Lamperouge safely out of the tower.]

    ¡°Oh! So it¡¯s a protection mission, not an assasination!¡± Ren Suo eximed. He hurried back into the banquet hall only to find it in a state of chaos. The socialites who had been chatting their lives away only a moment earlier were now either yelling in pain on the floor or cowering in a corner.

    Three assassins armed with pistols stood at the entrance, shooting any guests who tried to flee. Some of them dashed towards the restrooms, elevators and fire exits. When they saw the hitman ¡®who seemed to have juste out of the restroom¡¯, they whipped out their pistols and fired without a word!

    The game prompt: [Press and hold R1 to activate skill.]

    Ren Suo quickly held down the R1 button. The screen turned into a faint blue and, as if time had frozen, the movement of the two assassins in front of the hitman slowed to snail pace. Slowly, they aimed their pistols at the hitman and the projected trajectories of their bullets appeared on screen!

    It was the Bald Hitman¡¯s ability ¨C [Bullet Time]! Not only could it slow down time, it could predict the trajectories of bullets!

    Ren Suo immediately made the hitman take out his pistol and aimed. He had a good few seconds to aim for the assassins¡¯ heads. Even on the controller, he could st off their heads easily with headshots.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Yet another two men rushed over. Ren Suo dispatched them swiftly using [Bullet Time]. Then, the assassins who stood guard by the entrance of the banquet hall shouted, ¡°Sniper! Find cover!¡±

    Ren Suo chuckled, ¡°Seems like there¡¯s a god-like mode in this game!¡± Under his control, the hitman strode into the banquet hall like a boss. The assassins hiding behind tables and pirs fired at the hitman. Ren Suo repeated his tactic, entering [Bullet Time] and shooting their heads off while dodging their bullets.

    Suddenly, the blue filter on the screen faded off and a message popped up in the bottom left corner: [Ability has worn out.]

    What?

    Ren Suo was in a daze. In the next second, the hitman¡¯s body was riddled with bullets.

    [You died.]

    This time, instead of loading automatically, there were two save files for Ren Suo to choose from: [Save File 0: The Hitman Out of the Alley] and [Save File 1: The Arrival of the Nameless Guest].

    Ren Suo chose Save File 1 and started directly in the banquet hall. He examined closely and found an ability bar on the top left corner. The information box introduced it as [Using abilities expends this ability bar. When not using an ability, the recovery speed is 1 point/second.]

    He had a total of 5 ability points. Maintaining [Bullet Time] expended 1 ability point per second, which meant that he could at most maintain 5 seconds of [Bullet Time] before he had to wait for the ability bar to recover.

    ¡°Looks like passing this stage¡¯s gonna be a challenge,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s interest was piqued. A game with some challenge hooked him more than anything else.

    As Ren Suo made the hitman move, he suddenly saw red silhouettes popping up among the guests.

    [You have discovered a suspicious character. Location of suspicious character tagged.]

    [You have discovered a suspicious character. Location of suspicious character tagged.]

    [You have discovered a suspicious character. Location of suspicious character tagged.]

    ¡­

    In a matter of seconds, Ren Suo had discovered 8 suspicious characters without having to do anything!

    Previously, he had to knock into the suspicious character to discover him. Why was it so easy this time?

    Just then, Ren Suo caught sight of the young man in brown suit who had threatened him with his pistol. He too was cast in red silhouette and tagged as ¡®suspicious character¡¯.

    Ren Suo continued observing and found that all the NPCs in the banquet hall looked unique, unlike faces made of the same model. Among the tagged suspicious characters, Ren Suo could identify from memory five of them whom he had killed in the previous round.

    As for the other three, Ren Suo could not quite remember them. But these three stood near the banquet hall and so were very possibly the ones in charge of standing guard at the door.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Realisation dawned on Ren Suo. ¡°So, every time load a save file, the character¡¯s previous progress isn¡¯t lost. It bes knowledge already acquired in the next run!¡±

 Chapter 6 - Celestial Palace

    Chapter 6: Chapter 6 ¨C Celestial Pce

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The hitman, whom Ren Suo was controlling, must have raised suspicions. He was probably held hostage because the young man in the brown suit spotted him when he was stealing the gun.

    In hindsight, the target of the hitman had been too obvious and tant when he appeared alone behind the suspicious character to steal the gun.

    Reusing the same tactic of ¡°touch and go¡±, he approached another suspicious character amongst the crowd and started executing the n that he had devised beforehand. He made use of a passerby¡¯s drink and spilled it onto the suspicious character, causing the person to be all drenched and distracted. The hitman then approached him slowly andunched a stealthy swipe at his rump to end it all off.

    [¡®Beretta 92¡¯ unlocked, 15 rounds per reload, silencer included.]

    Ren Suo allowed the hitman to escape and wander around the banquet hall after getting his hands on the pistol sessfully. As he loitered around while waiting for the clock to hit the 2000HRS, he realized that there were even more suspicious characters when he made physical contact with them.

    When the time arrived, gunshots were fired from one side of the hall with a loud bang. Without waiting for any prompts given by the game, Ren Suo controlled the hitman and shot the assassin hiding behind the pir dead with a single shot. He then took the spot and use his excellent vision. [Bullet time] set off on a streak of 3 consecutive kills on other assassins who were ambushed behind the pir.

    As the chaos went on in the banquet hall, the hitman took his time to heal and recharge behind the pir. After some calction, Ren Suo deduced that he could maintain a duration of five seconds of shooting while hiding in this safe territory, followed by five seconds of rest. Even if the assassins were able to find cover, he would still be able tounch a headshot on them just as they peek out.

    ¡®Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!¡¯

    At this very moment, the men in ck who tried to counterattack with guns were turned into lifeless souls by two rapid-fire assault rifles while making their entry into the banquet hall.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the basement a battle of pistols? Why are there assault rifles? And where did they evene from?¡± Ren Suo discovered that beside the pyramid-shaped tables where the wine sses were ced, two assassins were standing, spraying a barrage of bullets from their rifles. After their magazines were emptied, they squatted down and took another loaded magazine from underneath the table to replenish their ammo.

    They actually hid the assault rifles underneath the table!?

    Before Ren Suo could even react, the assassins dispersed into three groups, one of which dashed out to secure the lift and the safety passage, while another group of six which was led by one of the gunmen, moved towards the inner hall. Thest groupprised solely of the remaining gunmen who proceeded to fire at his hitman¡¯s vantage point.

    Momentarily, the carvings on the pir and the cement within were blown off by the iing projectiles.

    The screen suddenly turned red, indicating that the hitman was injured, though he still showed signs of life. Ren Suo knew that this couldn¡¯t drag on any longer. Just when the assassin was reloading his gun, he turned around and activated [Bullet Time].

    ¡°Pow!¡± Yet another assassinunched a bullet at the hitman. In order to dodge the bullet, the hitman had no option but to take cover, inevitably giving the other assassins enough time to corner him and take aim.

    As the window for [Bullet Time] closed, the assassins holding the assault rifles reloaded their weapons and began firing away at the pir.

    [You died.]

    The storyline reyed again, and it was yet another failed attempt at the mission for Ren Suo. However, joy and tion were written all over his face.

    After entering the banquet hall again this time, the hitman not only discovered fifteen suspicious characters instantly, but also¡ª

    [[Weapon Expert] Special Notice. You have discovered assault rifle ¡®Steyr AUG¡¯.]

    The assault rifles were indeed hidden underneath the pyramid-shaped tables!

    Unlike the first time, Ren Suo did not attempt to steal any pistol. Rather, he circled around the vicinity of the pyramid-shaped table, waiting for 2000HRS. Just as the assassins retrieved the assault rifle, he activated [Bullet Time] and shot several bullets at the assants, identified by the red outline on their body, at point nk range.

    At once, the assassins who were approaching the table were eliminated by Ren Suo altogether. Many others who couldn¡¯t find cover were wiped out as well.

    Ren Suo also figured out that the table would be a good shield for the hitman to seek cover and reload his weapon before subsequently activating [Bullet Time]. Activating it seemed like a good choice, regardless of whether the assassins exposed their cover or not.

    The damage caused by the assault rifles was significantlyrger than that of the pistol. Previously, the pistol was unable to cause much damage to the assassins hiding behind the pyramid-shaped tables. However, the bullets from the assault rifle could now seem to pierce through every line of defense the assassins had, forcing them to be hunted down.

    Even though there were over 20 assassins, they were faced with the challenge of withstanding the attack of the hitman with [Bullet Time], [Weapon Expert], and the strongest firepower in the banquet hall. Moreover, the assassins were unable to take control of the lift and the safety exit this time, thus allowing the men in ck to enter and save the day.

    There were also a few gentlemen holding guns that appeared in the banquet hall, and under siege, the assassins were swiftly annihted in no time at all!

    ¡°Is the stage finally cleared?¡±

    However, even before Ren Suo could catch his breath and heave a sigh of relief, the men in ck suddenly took aim at him!

    At this moment, a wrinkled English gentleman pointed his gun at the hitman and raised his voice. He yelled, ¡°Put down your gun! Identify yourself. I remember that there weren¡¯t any Asians on the guest list for the banquet!¡±

    This time, three options popped up on the screen as the timer began the ten-second countdown.

    1. ¡°Me? I¡¯m just an admirer of Miss Kallen. I had devised a n to take on that bunch of assassins after I found out by chance, that they were actually trying to harm her.¡±

    2. ¡°I was just tasked by somebody else to protect Miss Kallen Lamperouge.¡±

    3. ¡°I have never answered to anyone or exined my actions.¡±

    The first two options seemed rtively polite, but the third option could havee across as the hitman trying to pick a fight and was too aggressive. Hence, Ren Suo decided to choose option 2.

    Unexpectedly, the Englishman frowned as he ordered, ¡°Hmm, who knows if you are actually an assassin trying to infiltrate us. Tie him up and lock him in the toilet! And make sure he doesn¡¯t follow us!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Ren Suo was in utter shock as he saw the restrained hitman being dragged to the washroom. One of the men in ck took the chance and knocked him out with a karate chop, right at the back of his head.

    [Miss Kallen Lamperouge was killed while you were unconscious. Mission failed.]

    Going through the storyline again, Ren Suo chose option 1 after killing all the assassins.

    Even from the screen, Ren Suo could tell that the men in ck had weird expressions on their faces. He could tell that the gaze in the old gentleman¡¯s eyes instantaneously changed as he said with a frown, ¡°Are you telling the truth¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a hundred percent the truth. I am willing to sacrifice my life for Miss Kallen.¡±

    The man approved of him and conceded, ¡°Alright, you can tag along with the ckwater Squad to lead the way. Miss Kallen must stay at the back. It¡¯s safer that way. The Poker assassins have gained control of the first floor after they dashed in and killed our security officers. They are headed our way and are moving through the safety passage.¡±

    ¡°We must leave the ninth floor now, they are highly likely to nt bombs underneath!¡± The Englishman scanned the banquet hall and hurriedly called out the surviving guests, ¡°Miss Chris, Sir Morris¡­leave with us now!¡±

    The armed men in ck progressively walked out of the banquet, and Ren Suo wanted to take a glimpse of how Miss Kallen Lamperouge looked like. However, she was sandwiched in between the men and waspletely not visible. All that could be seen was an inverted gold arrow floating behind the men in ck.

    ¡°That should be where she is located¡­¡± he murmured.

    The hitman picked up his assault rifle as he wiped out everyone ahead of him, clearing the entire path, starting from the safety passage. When they arrived at the seventh floor, a gigantic st could be hearding from the ninth floor as the building trembled and quaked.

    The assassins lined up their defenses on the second floor, but how would they even stop the hitman on a roll? As the hitman utilized [Bullet Time] to terminate the assassins, one of them actually managed to toss up a grenade.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    [You died.]

    Load the file again!

    This time, when the hitman arrived at the same spot, he jumped over the barriers andnded on the assassins. Using the 5 seconds of [Bullet Time] that he had, he managed to cause a ruckus and a stir to break out amongst the assassins and as that particr one got his grenade ready, he was instantly killed by the hitman.

    [You have received a fragmentation grenade.]

    The clean and swift job done by the hitman brought the men in ck endless surprises as it just seemed way too perfect to be true. The Englishman said, ¡°What a scary Asian¡­.Are you an ancient assassin from the country of cherry blossoms? Or are you an ancient swordsman? A normal human being would definitely not be this impressive, are you actually human?¡±

    At this instant, the time paused as a pop up appeared on the screen with the words: ¡°I am a hitman from Naisser_Ren.¡±

    The words ¡°I am a hitman from¡± were fixed while the word ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± could be edited. Ren Suo sighed. ¡°I can actually create my own conversation¡­?¡±

    ¡°Wait a second, isn¡¯t Naisser_Ren my game ID? How can it turn into the hitman¡¯s background?¡±

    Ren Suo scratched his head. However, without much thought, he edited as he pleased. He typed: [I am a hitman from the Celestial Pce.]

    The Englishman was obviously stunned as he said in a profound manner: ¡°Celestial Pce? Are you from the Land of Mystery?¡±

    This time, another game prompt appeared: [Exin Celestial Pce.]

    ¡°What in the world? It¡¯s actually asking me questions! Surely there is a GM chatting with me?¡± Ren Suo snickered, and he typed, ¡°Celestial Pce is a secret organization in the Land of Mystery. I am just one of their normal hitmen of average level.¡±

    The Englishman nodded as he politely replied, ¡°The Lamperouge would be immensely grateful towards you if you would protect us with the best of your abilities.¡±

    Following this, the hitman dashed into the hall located on the first floor as he activated [Bullet Time]. He threw the fragmentation grenade at the crowd, and with a deafening bang, a few men were left dead andid lifelessly on the ground. The hitman then hid inside the safety passage as he waited for [Bullet Time] to be unlocked again. He started shooting down the assassins in five second intervals whenever he could activate [Bullet Time].

    With the hitman who was taking the lead by killing more than ten men, somebody from the back shouted, ¡°Legendary shooter! The police have arrived! The SAS helicopter!¡±

    The assassins simultaneously fired a few more shots at the hitman, as though they had just received an order, and most of them sped off in their vehicles, leaving only a small number of people to ensure their escape.

    The police rm sounded. The sound of wind from the spinning propeller enveloped the sky. The police surrounded theplex as the special forces members who were armed with rifles, stormed into the building. They broke in through the windows and rapidly apprehended the remaining assants.

    ¡°This stage is definitely cleared. Right?¡± Ren Suo said, wiping the sweat off his forehead as he looked out of the window. The sky had turned darkpletely.

    ¡°It¡¯s already past 6pm? I¡¯ve actually yed this game for over 6 hours?¡± Ren Suo was shocked as he felt that he had only gone through a few storylines and he hadn¡¯t even spent much time on the game.

    However, Ren Suo thought of how the enemy¡¯s AI was too overpowering, and a single shot to the vital points would have caused the hitman to lose his life. Despite being in [Bullet Time], he still had to n each and every move. The moves could only be executed when the enemy temporarily ceased fire.

    Furthermore, he had to wait for his skill to cool down, and as the timepounded, it really did cause him lots of time.

    Just as Ren Suo wanted to call for food delivery, the game suddenly gave him two options which popped up on the screen, with the same 10 seconds countdown:

    1. Take a cigarette, inhale a puff after lighting it, make a smoke ring and say with a smile, ¡°Goodbye everyone.¡±

    2. ¡°Help me express my greetings to Miss Kallen Lamperouge and tell her that I look forward to our next meeting.¡±

    It seemed that the options did not affect much of the gamey. Hence, without hesitation, Ren Suo picked option 1. The hitman in the game asked for a cigarette from the Englishman, then made a thick smoke ring before saying the following to the men in ck: ¡°Goodbye, everyone.¡±

    The very next moment, the screen froze and condensed into ck and white colors.

    [Mission Aplished.]

    [Score: 66.5 (Barely Qualified); High Score: 66.5 (Barely Qualified)]

    [Do you choose this ending as your final result to be uploaded? You will receive the merit award equivalent to your grading after the upload is sessful.]

    [After the report is uploaded, this chapter would bepletely closed.]

 Chapter 7 - â€“ Special Achievement: Obsessed with a Lolicon

    Chapter 7: Chapter 7 ¨C Special Achievement: Obsessed with a Lolicon

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°What? I have only achieved a score of 66.5%?¡±

    Ren Suo was dumbfounded. He felt that he had done a good job and killed all that he had needed to eliminate. Howe he only barely passed the mission?

    There was a question mark icon beside his current mission score. Upon querying the following breakdown of information appeared:

    [Completed basic mission objective ¨C 60 points awarded]

    [Killed a moderate number of enemies ¨C 5 points awarded]

    [Sessfully saved small number of the innocent ¨C 1-0.5=0.5 points awarded]

    [Special aplishment: Lolicon ¨C 1 point (this point is only given when the total score is below 80 points)]

    [Total score is 66.5 points. Appraisal: Barely Qualified.]

    Ren Suo rubbed his chin. Could it be that there are many more ways to score points in this game? There was arge degree of freedom granted to the yer in the game, and indeed, there were many aspects in which Ren Suo could work on, in order to improve his gamey. From the score breakdown, he had already found a scoring point.

    ¡°Most importantly, what in the world is this Lolicon thing about¡­¡±

    Ren Suo called for yet another takeaway service as hey on the couch, continuing strong in the game. He felt that the game was pretty good and enjoyable. There was an eptable amount of freedom given to the yer, and a standard enemy Artificial Intelligence (AI) that was not weak and senseless like a mere ovey, nor buffed in difficulty to the likes of a terminator. Yet, the difficulty and challenges would vary from yer to yer, based on the yer¡¯s actions. There were even lots of characteristic differences, as evidenced when some assassins got frightened and escaped upon sight of Ren Suo¡¯s avatar in the game.

    Loading Save File 0, Ren Suo restarted the game with the hitman in the alley. As usual, he instinctively tricked and lured two guards out. However, this time, he chose to knock both out, instead of choosing to kill just one of them.

    He proceeded through the various stages¡ªone by one¡ªand this time, the game automatically created a second save file when his avatar entered the ballroom.

    This time, Ren Suo decided to take much more care and precautions when he used the hitman to attack. When he invaded the ballroom in the previous attempt, he did not pay much attention to the escaping guests and had even shot some of them dead by ident in his haste to kill all to win as quickly as possible.

    When the Englishman emerged from the inner hall, there were still 13 surviving guests in the ballroom.

    At that very moment, Ren Suo¡¯s takeaway arrived. But it was only at that point when he realized that there was no option to pause the game¡ªleaving him with no choice but to rush off and collect his takeaway. The delivery man apologized repeatedly for what appeared to be a small leak in the takeaway bag, but Ren Suo could not care less as he hastily left to put the food in the kitchen before returning to the game. However, as he took the food out of the bag, he identally lifted the cover of the food container and as a result, spilled the oily and greasy sauce all over his hand.

    He hurriedly proceeded to wash his hands. By the time he returned to the game, the Englishman and other gunmen who were dressed in ck, were pointing their guns anxiously at the hitman, giving Ren Suo a great shock. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±

    Ren Suo swiftly stopped the hitman from attacking and left the ballroom. However, to his dismay, an explosion urred on the ninth floor as soon as the hitman had left due to the dy in his action. A message immediately popped up on his screen:

    [Kallen Lamperouge is dead. Mission failed.]

    With no other option, Ren Suo tried again. On his next attempt, he managed to clear the stage without any mishaps and even increased the number of surviving guests in the ballroom to 15¡ªtwo more than the previous attempt.

    The game appraised Ren Suo¡¯s performance, and this time, he got a score of 71%, just like he expected!

    [Completed basic mission objective ¨C 60 points awarded]

    [Killed a moderate number of enemies ¨C 5 points awarded]

    [Sessfully saved moderate number of the innocent ¨C 5 points awarded ¡±

    [Special aplishment: Lolicon ¨C 1 point awarded (this point is given only if the total score is below 80 points)]

    [Total score awarded is 71 points. Appraisal: Moderately good.]

    ¡°Only moderately good, not very good¡­?¡± Ren Suo curled his lips, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any other area that I could improve on, is there?¡±

    At that point, a message appeared on his screen: [The yer has received an appraisal of ¡®moderately good¡¯ for fulfilling the main task and hidden requirements. Hence, the yer will receive information for the chapter¡¯s hidden side mission.]

    [Side mission: Protect Yuffie Lamperouge. The lower the damage that the target receives, the higher the score.]

    Yuffie Lamperouge?

    The main mission was to protect Kallen Lamperouge. Surely, they must be from the same family? Furthermore, the evening banquet was organized by the Lamperouge family, so that meant there was a very high possibility that both Kallen and Yuffie were together at the same location.

    Since Yuffie required the yer¡¯s protection, that meant that she would definitely be killed if there was no intervention made by the yer.

    Although Ren Suo had yet to spot Kallen Lamperouge so far, it was easy for him to follow and proceed, now that both Kallen and Yuffie would be in the inner hall of the ballroom where the Englishman NPC came out from. After all, the ninth floor was not ridiculously spacious. It housed only the main ballroom and the inner hall.

    But when did Yuffie die?

    A crucial timing immediately came to Ren Suo¡¯s mind¡ª2000HRS. At this exact time, a gunshot can be heard from the inner hall while the assassins in the ballroom would begin their attack. Thus, the assassination of the guests in both the inner hall and that of the outer main ballroom would be coordinated.

    If Yuffie was really in the inner hall and not in the main ballroom, then it was almost certain she died from the gunshot at 20:00.

    After finishing his food, Ren Suo went back to lie down on the couch as he turned on his Mini Worlds Gaming Console. He then began loading Save File 2. He used the hitman to look around the ballroom for an entire round, only to see that there were no significant findings apart from the dozen or so assassins who were emitting an intense red glow in the darkness of the room.

    How was he going to find Yuffie Lamperouge?

    Ren Suo pondered for a short moment before allowing the hitman to steal a pistol. He then guided the avatar directly towards the inner hall. However, in the pathway leading from the ballroom to the inner hall, he was stopped by a middle-aged official who was leading two ck-shirted men behind him.

    ¡°Mister, this is a private area,¡± said the middle-aged official apologetically. ¡°You have not obtained permission to enter.¡±

    Four in-game options appeared on the screen:

    ¢Ù¡±I am here in search of Kallen Lamperouge.¡±

    ¢Ú¡±I am here in search of Yuffie Lamperouge.¡±

    ¢Û¡±How do I get in?¡±

    ¢Ü (Attack) ¡°Go and eat shit.¡±

    Ren Suo selected option ¢Ú, after which the middle-aged official looked at the hitman while a small smile emerged on his face. ¡°Ms. Yuffie will be making her address at 20:00. Please wait patiently until then.¡±

    The options did not disappear, though option ¢Ú was now greyed out. Ren Suo then selected option ¢Û, and the middle-aged official said,

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, only those who are in cooperation with the Lamperouge family have the rights and are permitted to enter¡­ Oh, I also recall that no Asians were invited, you are¡­?¡±

    Ren Suo sensed that something was amiss, but at this moment, a young man appeared in a bid to enter the inner hall. The official immediately directed his attention to him, ¡°Mister, you are¡­?¡±

    ¡°I am Ingres Ricard, and I am here on behalf of my father to celebrate Ms. Kallen¡¯s birthday.¡± Ingres smiled slightly and continued, ¡°My clothes had been soiled just now and I just managed to change into a new set. I am really sorry for turning upte.¡±

    Ren Suo finally knew the purpose of this evening banquet.

    ¡°Ah, so you are the young master Ingres of the Ricard family. It is of great honor to meet you for the first time.¡± The middle-aged official created up a path for him to pass through and said politely, ¡°Please, enter.¡±

    Judging from the current situation, Ren Suo reckoned that he stood little chance of being allowed to enter the inner hall if he does not resort to using force.

    But then he thought, Yuffie¡¯s death takes ce 1 minute before 20:00. If I let the hitman rush in at this time, I would still stand a chance at saving her. Hence, Ren Suo decided to wait patiently until 19:59, when he let the hitman attack the men dressed in ck and the middle-aged official who was guarding the pathway.

    Ren Suo seeded¡ªthe hitman who was adept at closebat, first attacked three defenseless men effortlessly. It should be a piece of cake for him.

    Yet, he failed. Upon seeing the hitman attack the ck-shirted men guarding the pathway, the other assassins hiding amongst the guests also pulled out their guns and began their surprise attack after hesitating for two to three seconds.

    The ck-shirted men had believed that the hitman was part of the assassins. Then, two other ck-shirted men appeared from the pathway. They started firing at the hitman. Ren Suo immediatelyunched [Bullet Time] and exchanged shots with them. At this moment, one of the assassins shouted from behind:

    ¡°He isn¡¯t one of us!¡±

    ¡°Pew!¡± A bullet came from behind, killing the hitman.

    [You died.]

    As Ren Suo was brought to the load save screen, he calmed down, realizing that forcing his way into the inner hall was not a viable option. Well at least, not for the hitman whom he controlled.

    If it were the ¡®Clown Hitman¡¯, it would be possible for him to pretend as the Englishman, while the ¡®Bald Hitman¡¯ was only proficient atbat skills and fighting off enemies with brute force. Ren Suo needed toe up with a more ingenious n.

    Ren Suo proceeded to load Save File 0 and started again in the alley. This time, instead of letting the hitman head straight to the building, he stood beside the road, outside the building, while patiently waiting for his target.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    A bright blue pyramid was floating on the shadow of a person surrounded by blue blight, stunning him. It seemed like a beacon reminding Ren Suo to notice it.

    This person is Ren Suo¡¯s target to achieve his n¡ªIngres Ricard, the young man he encountered previously.

    As such, he was a tad bit intrigued. He wondered, ¡°Why is the game automatically showing such a symbol just when I decide to deal with him?¡±

    Ren Suo did not dwell on it any further and proceeded to lead the hitman directly towards Ingres Ricard in a bid to subdue him. Unexpectedly, dialogue options appeared on the screen:

    ¢Ù¡±Mr. Ricard, I am the Lamperouge family¡¯s butler. Your clothes appear to be soiled, please follow me to change into a new clean set.¡±

    ¢Ú (Attack) ¡°This road which I had built, belongs to me, and so do all of the trees here, which have been nted by me. If you want to pass, leave all your wealth behind!¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned for a brief second. He then proceeded to select option ¢Ù. Ingres smiled and said, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so sorry to have to trouble you¡­ How did you know that I was Ingres Ricard?¡±

    The hitman let out a grin and said, ¡°As Lamperouge family¡¯s butler, I must have the details of their guests at my fingertips.¡±

    This is so exciting!

    Ren Suo stood up and ensured that the game had a ¡®past experience memory¡¯ function; there would be no other way to exin why the game would automatically single out Ingres, nor would the hitman be able to know that Ingres had soiled his clothes. Neither would he be able to know of Ingres¡¯ name and background.

    ¡°How is this function made? Are programmers these days so capable?¡± Ren Suo murmured to himself. He was thrilled as he led the hitman to bring Ingres to a secluded area and knocked him out before searching him for his identification documents and invitation card. He then strutted confidently into the ckthorn Tower.

    This time, the attendant was all smiles as he brought him to the lift. The moment the hitman, once again, entered the ballroom, a message prompt that was drastically different from the ones before appeared:

    [You have entered the Lamperouge¡¯s evening banquet as ¡®Ingres Ricard¡¯. Creating Save File 3.]

    [Search for any weapons capable of injuring and killing and mark out all suspicious characters before 20:00.]

    Ren Suo led the hitman to enter the inner hall, and the hitman naturally exined to the middle-aged official that he was Ingres Ricard. The official did not probe further about why the Ricards had an Asian Son. Instead, he let it pass, though he put on a cryptic smile that hung from the corners of his lips.

    Then, the hitman walked through the pathway and sessfully entered the inner hall!

    Another message appeared. This time, even the mission had been changed:

    [You have entered the second hall on the ninth floor of the ckthorn Tower. Creating Save File 4.]

    [Protect Kallen Lamperouge.]

    The inner hall was actually very simr to the main ballroom, but with much lesser people, all of whom were now just making small talk while sitting on the couches. At the center, Ren Suo finally saw the target whom he had to protect.

    She had a long, tangerine-colored hair, and a long white corset gown on. With her was an adorable, young girl with fiery red hair, ying with her teddy bear. Waiting close to them was a familiar face that Ren Suo recognized¡ªthe Englishman.

    There were inverted golden pyramids hovering above their heads¡ªtelling yers they were the targets needing protection.

    Ren Suo led the hitman forward, near the crowd surrounding the two targets. He thenmented, ¡°Ms. Kallen, even the brightest of stars pale inparison to your beauty.¡±

    The small girl clung on tightly to the bottom of the tallerdy¡¯s gown, looking on timidly at the hitman as thedy chuckled and said, ¡°Thank you for giving my sister suchpliments, but it seems she¡¯d preferpliments like ¡®cute¡¯.¡±

    Huh? Ren Suo was stunned as he looked at the small girl behind the tallerdy.

    Wait, Kallen Lamperouge was actually a small Loli?

    It was then that Ren Suo suddenly remembered one of the lines from the score breakdown earlier: [Special aplishment: Lolicon]

    Ren Suo also recalled the weird expression on the ck-shirted man¡¯s face when the hitman mentioned that he was there as he was someone who admired Ms. Kallen.

    ¡°This game, it has really won me over¡­¡±

 Chapter 8 - Acting as Lamperouge Familyâ€™s Butler

    Chapter 8: Chapter 8 ¨C Acting as Lamperouge Family¡¯s Butler

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°I¡¯ve finally cleared this chapter¡­¡±

    Ren Suo gleamed in content and satisfaction as he put the game controller down while marveling at his high score of 85 points.

    [Completed basic mission objective: 60 points awarded]

    [Killed a moderate number of enemies: 5 points awarded]

    [Sessfully saved moderate number of the innocent: 5 points awarded]

    [Completed special side mission: 15 points awarded]

    [Total score is 85 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]

    [Current mission score: 85 points (extraordinary). Highest mission score: 85 points (extraordinary)]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score.]

    [Once your score has been uploaded, this chapter will be closed permanently.]

    Ren Suo could not think of any other way in which he could further improve his score. He decided to save and upload it as his final score since he would not revisit this chapter again anyway.

    ¡°It¡¯s sote already?¡± Ren Suo muttered and nced at his phone to see that it was already 23HRS 29MIN. Despite having already figured out a way toplete the side mission, it was still no easy feat for Ren Suo to protect both Yuffie and Kallen Lamperouge at the same time while still attempting to protect as many guests as he could. He had to attempt the stage multiple times before he could finally attain a score that he was satisfied with.

    [Final mission score has been uploaded. You have received 15 merits. Use them wisely.]

    [You have received 1* one-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the content inventory.]

    [Since this is a free chapter, you are not eligible to receive the special rewards.]

    [Chapter ¡®The Bloody Banquet¡¯ of ¡®Hitman¡¯ has closed. Thank you for ying. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    Ren Suo turned off the television, and a wave of tiredness washed over him. He had spent an entire day being immersed in the game. Shaking his head, he proceeded to wash up and get ready for bed. Half an hourter, he drifted off to dreand and dozed off as soon as his head met his pillow. He fell fast asleep. It was as if sleeping was such a rare opportunity toe by that not even a single ache or pain could disrupt him from his beauty sleep.

    ¡­

    Misty drizzle falls would be expected in the Fog City of Ennd a few hourster, ording to the weather forecast.

    This city had been a globalized city ever since the 18th century. As much as most of the power and authority had already been given up and passed on to the younger generations of the nation, it still retained its extraordinary legacies and charisma today.

    At dusk, several tourists were walking through the streets of the city under the dim yellow glow of the streetmps in the midst of the falling raindrops. It was as if they could feel the pride and glory of the then forming empire on which the sun never sets.

    Limousines pulled up one after another in front of the ckthorn Tower, standing ever-so-tall in the misty rain to wee an endless list of honored guests.

    The majority of the invited guests came from traditional nobilities which had existed even before the Glorious Revolution. Some were also from families which had newly risen to fame in thest hundred years. The banquet this evening was organized for the top echelons of society, during which the nobilities made beneficial exchanges amidst their joyous chatter and conversations.

    A BMW 750Li was parked by the road less than 300 meters away from the ckthorn Tower. Ingres tapped on the steering wheel eagerly in desperation and asked frantically, ¡°Karon, where did you put the umbre¡­Sigh, I forgot again.¡±

    His driver, Karon had fallen ill yesterday, leaving Ingres with no choice but to take the wheel himself. However, thest time he ever drove was when he was taking a driving test to obtain his driver¡¯s license. The reason being, he had no interest in driving at all.

    Although he knew how to drive, Ingres never took much notice of the fuel level. s, the car ran out of fuel and the engine stopped running.

    It was fortunate that the ckthorn Tower was now only a walking distance away from Ingres, though there was another persisting problem¡ªthere was no umbre in the car. Karon was also the one who took charge of keeping the umbre and hence, Ingres did not know where it had been ced.

    Ingres let out a long sigh and whipped out his mobile phone. He then decided to first give the insurancepany a call and get them to tow the car away. Consequently, he alighted from the car and started walking towards the ckthorn Tower, which was still standing tall in the misty rain.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, the rain isn¡¯t that heavy¡­¡± Ingresforted himself as he trudged on amidst the drizzles. At this moment, another car zoomed past him and caused water to be sshed all over him as the car drove through puddles of water on the road. He was drenched, and his formal attire was now soaked.

    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Ingres cursed softly as he looked towards the car that was speeding off and showing no intentions of stopping. ¡°Don¡¯t ever let me see you again, or I¡¯ll be sure to stick your face into the toilet bowl!¡±

    Ingres took quicker and wider strides towards the ckthorn Tower; he did not want to get drenched a second time. Heck, could the day get any worse?

    At this moment, an Asian face appeared in front of him. There was a red, tear-stained spot in between his brows. It was a handsome youngd, who was now walking towards Ingres. The man greeted, ¡°Mr. Ricard, right? I am the Lamperouge family¡¯s butler. Your clothes appear to be soiled, please follow me to change into a fresh and clean set.¡±

    The handsomed took an initiating step forward, holding out the ck umbre over Ingres¡¯ head. Seeing that he was no longer in the rain, Ingres heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to have to trouble you¡­How did you know that I was Ingres Ricard?¡±

    The handsomed let out a brief grin before answering, ¡°As the Lamperouge family¡¯s butler, I must have the details of their guests at my fingertips. I will escort you to the ckthorn Tower. Please, follow me.¡±

    Ingres heaved a sigh of relief as he followed behind the handsomed who turned into a small pathway; it was the end of his misfortunate events of the day.

    Why is he not walking on the main road instead? Ingres was a tad perturbed and asked, ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like the way to the ckthorn Tower¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±

    After hearing a snickeringugh from the handsomed, Ingres felt a blow to the back of his head, and he instantly lost his consciousness.

    A few minutester, a handsomed strutted confidently into the ckthorn building with an umbre in hand.

    ¡°Mister, please show us your invitation card,¡± the attendant requested politely as he stopped thed. The attendant asked after taking a look, ¡°Are you Your Excellency, Albus Ricard?¡±

    ¡°No, I am Albus Ricard¡¯s nephew,¡± the youngd replied courteously. He continued, ¡°My uncle has some matters to attend to, and thus, he has entrusted me to attend the Lamperouge¡¯s banquet in his ce.¡±

    ¡°Alright, please follow me.¡±

    The handsomed boarded the elevator which ascended to the banquet hall on the ninth floor. The very moment that he stepped foot inside the elevator, it was as if his entire body flickered briefly.

    Without hesitation, he tookrge strides towards a corner of the banquet hall, hitting a youngdy¡¯s arm by ident during the process and causing the wine ss in her hand to tip over. As a result, its amber contents spilled onto the man beside her who was wearing a brown suit.

    Then, the handsomed speedily disappeared into the crowd. While the man in the brown suit was cleaning up his clothes, thed walked past the man again with a ss of wine in his right hand. At the same time, in his left handid a pistol and some other essories for a silencer.

    Thed walked towards the pathway leading to the inner hall and sessfully passed the middle-aged butler and ck-shirted men¡¯s interrogation by exining his identity. Although neither of them had seen Ingres Ricard in the flesh before, they had some qualms about his Asian looks. However, they did not stop him because of that.

    Upon entering the inner hall, the handsomed assembled the pistol and pulled the trigger before walking towards the crowd which was surrounding Kallen and Yuffie Lamperouge. He was all smiles¡ªbeaming with joy.

    The carpeted floor of the inner hall perfectly muffled the sounds of footsteps which were amplified by his rubber shoes. A pleasant and charismatic smile formed on his face as he lightly pressed the trigger with his finger. By the time Yuffie, who was wearing a gorgeous gown, noticed the handsome Asiand, they were already standing at less than a meter apart from each other.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Yuffie put her hand out for a handshake and greeted. ¡°Are you from Fanying Nation?¡± she asked.

    ¡°No, I am from Xuan Nation.¡± The handsomed turned his head slightly with a smile on his face. ¡°Ms. Yuffie¡­¡±

    He continued, ¡°I am not sure if I should say this, but¡­¡±

 Chapter 9 - The Maturing Hitman

    Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Maturing Hitman

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The first thing that came to Ren Suo¡¯s mind when he awoke from his slumber was that he was famished.

    Unable to wait for a second longer for the food to be delivered to his doorstep, Ren Suo put on a sweater and headed downstairs to the Jianji Porridge Noodles stall. He then shouted his order, ¡°A bowl¡­Tworge bowls of Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce! Please make it quick, I¡¯m very hungry!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Therge te of hot, simmering noodles served by the waiter was already enough to make one drool. The te of thick yellow yee-fu noodles was soaked in a mix of thick beef brisket sauce and fried bean paste, topped with tender beef briskets and sulent slices of pork belly which were wobbling like tofu cubes, apanied by aplimentary bowl of fresh cream-colored soup brewed with tfish¡ªit certainly would whet anyone¡¯s appetite just by looking. For the hungry Ren Suo, it was extremely appetizing. He picked up a pair of disinfected chopsticks which he had long prepared and began gulping down his food ravenously.

    Two strangers came to sit at his table while he tucked in. Since it was a small stall, there were barely any avable seats and sharing tables was amon practice during peak hours. Ren Suo did not mind as he continued eating and drinking his bowl of soup, savoring the thick and tasty meat, noodles, and soup which came together as one in his mouth¡ªslowly flowing down his throat and filling his empty stomach. He felt rejuvenated.

    Ren Suo had no idea why he was so hungry. It was only when he had finished arge portion of his food and recovered his senses that he overheard the conversation between the two strangers who were seated opposite him:

    ¡°¡­see, it¡¯s really the Lamperouge family!¡±

    Lamperouge?

    Ren Suo looked up to see two girls sitting opposite him. They were dressed in suits, and he reckoned that they must have been white-cordies who worked at the nearby office building.

    The house that he was currently living in was rented to him by his first uncle. It was situated in a prime location which was near the train station, the shopping district, and the offices. Naturally, the white-cor workers would be around at lunchtime. Although Jianji was an ordinary food stall that looked a lot like porridge and noodles stall from the eighties with no extravagant d¨¦cor, it served up savory food at an affordable price. Hence, it was no wonder it was favored by most office workers.

    Ren Suo felt fortunate to have arrived earlier before the lunch crowd, or else he would have had to sit at the temporary tables ced outside the stall, along the pedestrian walkway.

    He took a nce at his phone, and it was only then that he realized it was already noon time¡ªhe actually slept for 11 hours? He remembered clearly that he had gone to bed before midnight!

    ¡°Oh damn, tsk tsk tsk¡­I¡¯ve seen this person before. He¡¯s the male model for Numero and has an extremely good figure. He was born into the Piaget aristocrat family¡­I was so shocked I almost peed my pants!¡±

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s impressive! Is this the Bronze Shield Defence Force? It¡¯s a real gun battle!¡±

    ¡°Turns out Ennd¡¯s aristocratic families indeed have skilled butlers who are well-versed in wielding both the pen and the sword.¡±

    ¡°Even in the Fog City, there are assassins¡­¡±

    Engrossed and amused by their conversation, Ren Suo said, ¡°Do you guys know about the stage of the Lamperouge banquet too?¡±

    The two girls looked up, ncing cautiously at Ren Suo. One of the girls who had short hair replied, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know about it at this point? All of my friends have been talking about the hitman.¡±

    Ren Suo scratched his head and asked, ¡°Huh? This game¡­is it actually that popr?¡±

    He recalled the time when he searched online for more information about the game ¡°The Hitman¡± yesterday. However, he barely found anything. How did this be the talk of the town just a dayter as he ate his noodles? Is the Information Age developing so rapidly?

    ¡°What game?¡± the short-haired girl chuckled. Showing her phone to Ren Suo, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s a real-life video!¡±

    In the video, Ren Suo saw a handsomed from Xuan Nation who was walking into a grand banquet hall with a pistol in his hand. The skulls of three people exploded as he shot three bullets at them, after which he bent down to retrieve a concealed assault rifle from under the table¡ª

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sparks flew from the barrel of the rifle, mixed with the blood spurting out from those who had been shot dead. The assistants who were standing on the dead guests¡¯ bodies attempted to take their guns out to return fire. However, it was as if the man from Xuan Nation knew about their identity and ns inside out. By the time they managed to take out their guns, they had already be victims of his rifle. They were sted into fragments even though they had been hiding behind the pir to take cover.

    Ren Suo immediately linked the scenes with the game scenario that he had been ying yesterday. He thought that everything is the same, even that man from Xuan Nation. I was the one who had created him, except¡­

    This was all happening in real life!

    Although yesterday¡¯s game seemed rather realistic, Ren Suo could tell that it was just virtual and not real life¡ªthey were special effects andputer graphics¡ªand yet what the short-haired girl showed him on her mobile phone was all real¡ªthe blood, the people, and all the action!

    ¡°This¡­Is this a film?¡± Ren Suo figured.

    ¡°What film? This is a video!¡± The short-haired girl looked at Ren Suo in disbelief. She asked in bafflement, ¡°How could you not know about this incident? What else do you think I am talking about?¡±

    ¡°How could you try to flirt and hit on others without even knowing a thing? Shame on you!¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment. He hurriedly finished up thest bit of noodles and soup left in his bowl and promptly returned home to surf the inte. Could it be that people are broadcasting a live-stream of themselves ying the game ¡°The Hitman¡±? Or could ¡°The Hitman¡± have been remade into a movie?

    They¡¯re even spreading and circting the video in the chat groups¡­How is this possible? All of my friends have been sharing photos of themselves with their significant others, their vacations and delicacies that they¡¯ve been enjoying!

    Ren Suo opened his group chat with his friends on his mobile phone, and to his utter surprise, the entire chat group was filled with videos about ¡°The Hitman¡±!

    Top student of University: (Attached image: ckthorn Tower) ¡°What on earth! Even the government of the nation can¡¯t stop this video from spreading. I¡¯m convinced, this must have been plotted by the Pacific Federation.¡±

    Female member from the Comic Association: (Attached image: The Man From Xuan Nation) ¡°Regardless of what happened, the hitman is so ~handsome~! Please meet my new husband, I am now Mrs. Hitman!¡±

    University junior in second year: (Attached image: Yuffie Lamperouge) ¡°So cute and innocent! I¡¯m such a fan of strong girls like her who¡¯ve been through bloodshed and tears!¡±

    University otaku junior in third year: (Attached image: Kallen Lamperouge) ¡°I¡¯m attracted to 3D now¡­ I¡¯ve lost it, I¡¯ve lost it.¡±

    High school ssmate: (Attached image: The Bloody Banquet) ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous overseas. That¡¯s such arge-scale assassination attack. It¡¯s no wonder there are so few foreigners here.¡±

    Primary school ssmate: ¡°It¡¯s just a movie trailer, how could you all believe it! Think for yourself, how could such an absurd thing happen!¡±

    The chat group was indeed flooded with messages.

    Ren Suo felt like he was missing something, and hence, he quickly proceeded to search for information on the inte using hisputer. Very soon, he found out the truth which made him break out in a cold sweat.

    In the early hours of the morning at 4:55, standard time, a peculiar video rapidly took over all live-streaming tforms and video-streaming sites. Yes, even live-streaming tforms were stopped by this 25-minute and 36-second-long video which had reced the main page.

    At that time, anyone who opened their web browser would automatically be redirected to any one of the live-streaming channels which were airing the video. Even the startup page and pop-up blocker embedded in the inte browser could not stop this from happening; it was a major inte disaster that was much worse than unforgiving page-redirecting advertisements.

    This video was titled ¡°The Hitman ¨C The Bloody Banquet¡±.

    It must have sounded like a senseless, violent X-rated film that was made for moneyundering purposes.

    However, in reality, it was a real video.

    ¡°The mission is to protect Kallen Lamperouge¡­¡± In the video, a handsome Xuan Nationd muttered under his breath as he walked briskly along an alley with an umbre in his hand.

    Then, just like how Ren Suo cleared the stages, the man from Xuan Nation knocked Ingres out and entered the inner hall by pretending to be one of the members of the Ricard family and stealing a gun in the process. He then entered the inner hall in search of Yuffie Lamperouge, who was weing the guests with her sister.

    ¡°I am not sure if I should say this, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it then.¡± Yuffie had no intention of continuing a conversation with the strange man, even though he was incredibly handsome.

    ¡°I do think so too, but please remember¡­¡± The man from Xuan Nation tightened his grip on the pistol and smiled as he said, ¡°Both your life and your sister¡¯s life¡­are far more important than mine!¡±

 Chapter 10 - The Heavenly Debate

    Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Heavenly Debate

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yuffie smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°You will believe me soon enough.¡± With that, the man from Xuan Nation turned around and walked towards the English gentleman who was staring at him from the side.

    ¡°Mister, you are¡­¡±

    Without any further probing, the man from Xuan Nation leaned forward and said in a hushed tone, ¡°Butler Walter¡­Be quiet, there are assassins disguised as guests in here.¡±

    The smile on the English gentleman¡¯s face remained as he took a step back and hid in a corner. The man from Xuan Nation took the hint as he followed tactfully and said, ¡°At your twelve and one o¡¯clock, there are two assassins who are disguised amongst the waiters. In the main hall on the other side, there are three more assassins, simrly disguised as waiters.¡±

    ¡°There is also an assault rifle hidden in the main hall as well as thirteen more assassins who are disguised as guests. Be discreet,¡± he continued.

    The English gentleman did not seem to doubt the man from Xuan Nation at all. He said softly, ¡°That waiter is certainly suspicious. His movements are rigid, and his right hand is unnaturally positioned at his pocket. He even has thick makeup on¡­They must have infiltrated this ce beforehand.¡±

    ¡°Their n is tounch a surprise attack at 8 p.m. to kill Ms. Yuffie and Ms. Kallen, as well as all of the other guests here at the banquet today,¡± the man from Xuan Nation said. ¡°There¡¯s only 4 minutes left.¡±

    ¡°All the guests who are attending the banquet today are closely connected to the Lamperouge family and they supposedly belong to the samemunity¡­¡± The English gentleman said in an unimpressed manner, ¡°How could they have possibly resorted to hiring anonymous assassins?¡±

    ¡°By the way, who are you?¡±

    ¡°I am a hitman from Celestial Pce.¡± The man from Xuan Nation smiled slightly and exined, ¡°I am here with the purpose of protecting Ms. Kallen and Ms. Yuffie. Take note, we only have six minutes to spare.¡±

    ¡°I will take care of the three assassins in the main hall, and when I make my moveter, take down the two assassins in here immediately. I¡¯ll retrieve the assault rifle hidden below the banquet tables at once¡­Let¡¯s go now, we are running out of time.¡±

    Without even waiting for the English gentleman to respond, the man from Xuan Nation advanced towards the other side of the inner hall. He beckoned a ck-shirted man over after contemting for three seconds.

    The man from Xuan Nation now stood in the pathway connecting the inner hall to the main banquet hall. Without any warning, he whipped out his silenced pistol, turned around and fired three shots.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Spot on.

    At the same time, the English gentleman and the ck-shirted men sessfully took down the two assassins who were disguised as waiters and standing around in the inner hall.

    As the gunshots reverberated through from the inner hall to the main banquet hall, the disguised assassins in the main hall alsounched their attack. The rapid explosions of gunpowder were clear signals for them to begin their attack, although they did not know why their n was brought forward and executed in advance.

    Amidst the gun battle, an assassin who was positioned close to a table that was filled with a pyramid of wine sses, bent down to reach for the assault rifle that they had hidden earlier. However, he soon learnt that he stood no chance against the man from Xuan Nation. The entire table quickly fell to the ground and the cascading wine sses crashed down onto his head.

    Unfazed, the man from Xuan Nation picked the assault rifle up from the ground. The assassins were the only ones left standing now as all the guests were now on the floor, after the assassins had begun shooting at them. Pulling out the safety pin and activating the fully automatic mode, the man from Xuan Nation unleashed a series of bullets at the assassins who were standing in the main hall.

    Raking the entire hall with gunfire, the man from Xuan Nation miraculously managed to put a bullet through each one of the assassin¡¯s heads. All of them were killed even before the rifle ran out of bullets!

    Ren Suo was watching the video stream on G site, Xuan Nation¡¯srgest social media tform which allowed one to meet people of the same gender and befriend them. When he reached this scene, the entire screen was filled with the samements:

    ¡°Terrifying! Terrifying! Terrifying!¡±

    The effect of using the fully automatic mode of the rifle was devastating. It was impossible that the Pacific Federation would release such a video as they would be bashed by the masses even if it were just a part of their historical epic film.

    From that point forward, the video was mainly showing how the god-like man from Xuan Nation cleared the floors from the ninth to the first. Even the English gentleman and ck-shirted men took a backseat as their faces turned white just from watching the Hitman put a bullet through a skull with each shot.

    Boom!

    The ninth floor exploded into pieces that were scattered all over the ce. By this time, Yuffie, the man from Xuan Nation, and the other guests were already in the hall on the first floor.

    Lying on the ground, the assassins also learnt that their partners in hiding had all been killed and that the police had ambushed the hall. They now nned to block the escaping guests on the first floor, while some of them entered through the windows from the second and third floors to surround the guests.

    However, the man from Xuan Nation had such remarkable skill in handling the gun and tactical movements that any assassin who appeared before him was shot dead immediately. He was able to shoot and eliminate all 40 over assassins as he walked on and proceeded in his path. When one of the assassins was just about to release a fragmentation grenade into the stairway, he was instantly shot dead by the Xuan Nation man instead!

    Boom!

    Such astounding visual acuity and marksmanship, coupled with the sounds of police sirens and helicopter rotors nearby, was bing too much for the assassins to handle. Other than a small minority of the assassins who were covering the back, the rest used all their means to escape, screaming for their lives as they ran out of the ckthorn Tower.

    ¡°It¡¯s safe now.¡± The man from Xuan Nation said as he put down his rifle and smiled. He lit a cigarette from his pocket, and smoke emerged from his nostrils.

    ¡°Miss, outside the building there are still¡­¡± said a voice from the crowd.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    The man from Xuan Nation spun around to see Yuffie Lamperouge emerge from the stairway, walking towards him. He smiled and said, ¡°Do you believe me now?¡±

    ¡°I am eternally grateful for your help, distinguished sire.¡± As Yuffie took a deep bow, the entire screen filled with bulletments¡ª

    ¡°Pause now to see.¡±

    ¡°Pause now to see.¡±

    ¡°Just be sharp-eyed like me, I don¡¯t need to pause¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s so t, what is there to see¡±

    Speechless, Ren Suo turned off the bulletments.

    ¡°I do not know why you helped us, but the Lamperouge family will definitely repay your kindness,¡± Yuffie said. ¡°Where do youe from, sire? Do you require our family¡¯s assistance in any way?¡±

    ¡°You have earned a friendship with us, the Lamperouge family, and in my family¡¯s name, I will fulfill any request you wish, even if it means having to give our all,¡± Yuffie continued.

    The English gentleman standing beside her opened his mouth slightly, preparing to speak, but said nothing eventually. Not only did Yuffie¡¯s words convey her gratitude towards the man from Xuan Nation, they were also representative of the sentiments of the guests who had just scraped past death¡¯s door. The Lamperouge family would definitely remember such a friend and benefactor who saved them from a close shave with death.

    Yet, the man from Xuan Nation just smiled as he looked at Yuffie who was behind him. Waving his hand, he said, ¡°Come over here.¡±

    Everyone turned around and looked towards the direction that he was pointing to. The young, princess-like Kallen Lamperouge, who was wearing a white pantyhose and hugging her teddy bear, scurried forward with her short legs, then hid behind her sister. Yuffie smiled and said, ¡°Kallen, say thank you to this¡­uncle.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, uncle,¡± Kallen said in a clear and crisp voice.

    The man from Xuan Nation stroked Kallen¡¯s hair and said, ¡°Kallen¡­she is my only request.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s faces turned pale, including Yuffie, who had still been cheery just a moment earlier.

    Even without turning on the bulletments, Ren Suo could already guess what would appear in thements¡ª¡±Death sentence on the way¡±, ¡°Call the cops¡±, or ¡°The Hitman is quite humorous.¡±

    ¡°Please protect her and take good care of her.¡± The man from Xuan Nation smiled and said, ¡°She is our hope.¡±

    The man from Xuan Nation pulled back his hand and took the cigarette out of his mouth. He said, ¡°That¡¯s the end of my mission. It¡¯s time for me to take my leave. See you next time, if we ever meet again.¡±

    ¡°Sire, there are many cops outside, if you go out now¡­¡± The English gentleman coaxed him to stay, but in the next instant, his eyes widened in shock, much like everyone else.

    The man from Xuan Nation took a gentle leap as the cigarette left his hand and flew across the hall into the round dustbin. When the cigarettended in the cigarette tray on top of the bin, the man from Xuan Nation began to fade away slowly.

    When the police entered the building, they were just as astonished as the Lamperouges. Their eyes widened as they witnessed the man from Xuan Nation vanished into thin air, right in front of their eyes. Apart from the vapor that was stilling from the cigarette in the dustbin, there was absolutely no trace of the man from Xuan Nation!

    The video stream ended abruptly. Ren Suo opened the discussion panel to see if there were any pinned messages, but there was only a topment section. There was a string of red words at the top of the section which read:

    ¡°[The Hitman ¨C The Bloody Banquet] PV has been aired today. Eagerly awaiting to meet everyone likely next year!¡±

    This was just a typicalment, and yet it had a staggering¡­1234567¡­3 million likes!

    G site has only hundreds of thousands to a million users. How could this video have gotten 3 million likes in less than 12 hours?

    The second most popr discussion pointed out this fact:

    ¡°The ckthorn Tower incident has be the talk of the town all around Fog City, and while it has yet to be reported in the newspaper, many witnesses, including me, have seen the ninth floor of the ckthorn Tower explodest night. And I know one of the guests who were present at that time, she was my university professor! Stop acting like this is a movie PV!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t the website take the video down?¡±

    ¡°You can watch this video online at any local or overseas webpage. It¡¯s so realistic that it seems impossible, but at the same time it¡¯s so impossible that it seems realistic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m shaken. Could this be our country¡¯s secret organization from the heavenly Kunlun Celestial pce in the Northwest?¡±

    ¡°Even if it were someone from the heavens, at the very least, it has to be our celestial pce from Changbai Mountain!¡±

    ¡°Why not one from the cursed heavens celestial pce then?¡±

    ¡°There are still organizations overseas that are attempting to assassinate the rich families living in the city, this is just so appalling¡­¡±

    Ren Suo surfed the Inte and searched for information on other websites, after which he found that the same video was indeed everywhere. Some of theizens had even found news articles of all the people in the video from the past, thus proving that the characters in the video were all real people. In fact, even the ckthorn Tower exists in real life¡ªck clouds of smoke were still billowing out of the ninth floor which had exploded into pieces.

    At this juncture, Ren Suo could finally sense that this was indeed a real-life video.

    Many people were enjoying the scenes in this unique and out-of-the-ordinary movie merrily. However, the difference was that movies are fictional, but this video was non-fictional, in which the scenes actually took ce in real life! Having witnessed with their very own eyes, the assassinsunch an attack as well as the appearance of the highly skilled who imed to be a heavenly being from Xuan Nation and saved everyone all by himself, most of the people of Xuan Nation embraced it just like a regr movie.

    However, things were different for Ren Suo. He knew that this was all just the oue of his creations during the game!

    He had stopped the assassins and saved as many of the distinguished guests as possible. This was all the result of him spending many hours trying over and over again in the game!

    ¡°The game, reality, the small world¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered softly under his breath as he went back into the living room. He stared at the strange round-shaped game console and pondered for a moment before picking up the controller. He then pressed a button and the game console came to life.

    [Wee back, mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    [You have a treasure chest that is yet to be activated. Do you wish to proceed to the safehouse inventory?¡±]

 Chapter 11 - The Victoria Intelligence Agency and the Extraordinaires

    Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Victoria Intelligence Agency and the Extraordinaires

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    In Ennd¡¯s Fog City, three ck limousines made a turn slowly and drove into a manor. It was a manor which had a long history that dated back to a long time ago. Even though it rained just a few hours ago, the ground was still dry. Such meticulousness indubitably exhibited the massive wealth of the manor¡¯s owner.

    In therge house, an English gentleman and six servants were waiting patiently for their arrival. The English gentleman who was clearly their leader said, ¡°Ms. Meph, how have you been? Thest time we met¡­you were only 12 years old.¡±

    At the front of the group of guests stood a talldy who had long and dark hair. She took off her hat and revealed her feminine British face, on which there was a pair of round and silver frame sses that added to hermanding demeanor. She said, ¡°Butler Walter, please lead the way. I am now an intelligence officer working for the Victoria Intelligence Agency.¡±

    The English gentleman smiled and led them into the house. The teenage girl, Yuffie, and loli, Kallen, were already waiting inside. Three cups of piping hot ck tea were ced on the table.

    ¡°Please have a seat,¡± Yuffie started, ¡°I am Yuffie Lamperouge, the head of the Lamperouge family.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you for the first time,¡± Meph replied as she sat down, her white-gloved hands interlocking. Her eyes narrowed into a thin, snake-like line as she scrutinized the two girls in front of her. She introduced herself, ¡°I am Meph Einheim Hircine, the supervisor of the Victoria Intelligence Agency. We are civil servants working for the government under Her Majesty, the Queen.¡±

    Yuffie said, ¡°Victoria¡­Intelligence Agency?¡±

    ¡°We are a special department which was established this year, and precisely 135 days ago,¡± Meph replied coolly. ¡°To the masses, we are a territorial searchmittee under Her Majesty¡¯s Most Honorable Privy Council.¡±

    Yuffie was starting to form some impression about this territorial searchmittee. It shot to fame amongst British upper-ss societies in recent years, for it heldw enforcement power that was equivalent to the royal police. Whenever they carried out an operation, many other departments had to assist andply. The powerful and wealthy nobilities dared not interfere either. Instead, they instructed their subordinates andpanies to fully cooperate with them.

    It was said that the nobilities and the finance consortium had already held a meeting in private beforehand in order toe to a consensus. Although the Lamperouge family also had the right to participate in the meeting, they felt that the underage Yuffie was too young to attend on behalf of the former head of the household who had already passed away. Moreover, Yuffie had yet to fully understand the situation of the family¡¯s business. Hence, the nobilities did not even bother inviting Yuffie to take part in the meeting, but instead just informed her of the result of the meeting directly. She was told to cooperate fully with the territorial searchmittee.

    It was only at that point when Yuffie realized that the territorial searchmittee was the Victoria Intelligence Agency. She nodded her head and replied, ¡°All right, what questions do you have for me? If it¡¯s regarding the ckthorn Tower incident that took ce yesterday, I¡¯m sure we, the Lamperouge family, have already revealed all the information we know. Regarding the anonymous assassins, there is a good reason to believe that it was Baron xman from my aunt¡¯s family, who was behind it.¡±

    Meph said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, apart from the ¡®Hitman¡¯ who imed to have hailed from the heavenly realm, investigations on the incident areplete. The anonymous assassins hiding in their base in Fog City have been fully eradicated. As for xman¡­I believe you and your family have ns in mind for dealing with it.¡±

    Yuffie replied, ¡°But of course. What else does the Victoria Intelligence Agency require of me?¡±

    ¡°I am here to find out more about that ¡®Hitman¡¯ who said he came from the heavens,¡± Meph answered. ¡°But to date, we are still unable to find any trace of him. We have conducted searches on trains, nes and everywhere else, but I think that the chances of finding him are very slim.¡±

    Yuffie touched Kallen¡¯s head and smiled bitterly. She said, ¡°We are also trying to find him to repay him for his efforts in any way possible¡­However, he just disappeared.¡±

    ¡°Yes indeed, he disappeared.¡± Meph said, ¡°Not only were there 5 cameras recording the entire incident from varying angles, but there were also close to 100 pairs of eyes who saw him vanish into thin air.¡±

    ¡°There was no hypnosis and no smoke¡­It wasn¡¯t magic, nor were there hidden escape mechanisms. It¡¯s as if the atoms making up his body split into infinitely small particles and dispersed into the air.¡±

    Yuffie picked up the teacup and looked at the light reflecting off the surface of the ck tea. She remarked, ¡°His marksmanship was also¡­exceptional.¡±

    Meph said, ¡°Yes, and he also has an enormous organization at his back to support him. They know everything about the anonymous assassins¡¯ operation, all the way down to the fine details. The Hitman knew for certain which of the guests were disguised as assassins. There was absolutely no hesitation with each one of his shots. They were all clean and precise.¡±

    ¡°ording to our investigation and the assassins¡¯ testimony, we believe that the nned operation had been perfect. Even if you had been able to take down the disguised assassins, the bomb hidden on the ninth floor would still have exploded. Furthermore, there were even more assassins surrounding the building waiting for the go-ahead to fire their shots.¡±

    Meph continued, ¡°Such violent yet straightforward tactics aremonly employed by anonymous assassins. There was close to zero chance anyone would have survived their ambush attack¡­¡±

    ¡°Luckily for us, the Hitman appeared and helped us escape,¡± Yuffie said.

    ¡°Perhaps it wasn¡¯t obvious to all of you who had been there at the scene, but ording to our investigation, we found out that the hitman from Xuan Nation is actually very scary.¡± Meph sighed and continued, ¡°In the intense exchange of gunfire, he managed to protect some of the guests, while still shooting down the assassins as quickly as possible. Yet, at the end of it all, he still remained unscathed¡­I¡¯m sure you know that the footage of the entire incident has been uploaded online, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I know, and I learned that it wasn¡¯t possible to remove the video unless the server is disconnected.¡± Yuffieughed and continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect myself to be so famous.¡±

    ¡°Because every one of the Hitman¡¯s actions was so meticulous, calm and perfect, many people online believe the entire footage to be a scene from a movie. It¡¯s unthinkable that anyone could actually pull the stunts off so perfectly in real life.¡± Meph continued, ¡°The organization behind him controls an enormous power¡­Furthermore, after checking the camera angles and cements, and seeking opinions from many people, there was no way there could be cameras on-site at that time.¡±

    Yuffie was slightly enlightened after listening to Meph dissect and analyze the entire incident. She questioned, ¡°In that case¡­The Hitman¡¯s existence is more rming than that of the anonymous assassins?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Although I can¡¯t disclose the details, it is way beyond our imagination what the organization behind the Hitman holds.¡±

    Meph nodded her head as she said, ¡°And the reason I¡¯m here today, is to find out the Hitman¡¯s purpose and hidden agenda.¡±

    Instinctively, both Meph and Yuffie turned to look at the well-behaved loli, Kallen, who was sitting at the side. Kallen blinked and nudged herself towards Yuffie, grabbing tightly onto her sister¡¯s sleeves.

    Meph said, ¡°There is no doubt that the Hitman wanted to protect both of you, but judging from the Hitman¡¯s actions, his main target is very likely to protect Ms. Kallen.¡±

    ¡°But my sister¡­¡± Yuffie hugged Kallen gently. She questioned, ¡°She¡­is she someone special?¡±

    Meph paused for a moment and turned to look at the English gentleman. He took the hint and quickly asked the rest of the servants to leave. Yuffie said suddenly, ¡°Butler Walter, please stay in here, you don¡¯t need to leave.¡±

    Meph did not mind and likewise asked her subordinates to leave. When there were only four of them left in the living room, she said, ¡°I suspect that Ms. Kallen has special abilities.¡±

    ¡°Special abilities?¡± Yuffie was confused.

    ¡°As a matter of fact, some of the consortium members and nobilities already know about this. And I think that the Lamperouge family also has the right to know about it, so I shall get straight to the point.¡± Meph looked at Yuffie solemnly and said, ¡°How did you think the Hitman managed to disappear?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yuffie did not quite understand why Meph had changed the topic, though she replied, ¡°I guess¡­it was some special ability of his that we do not know of.¡±

    ¡°We have reason to believe so too.¡± Meph took a sip of ck tea and continued, ¡°Half a year ago, such people who had ¡®special abilities¡¯ not known to us started appearing one by one.¡±

    ¡°Typically, these people are called the Extraordinaires, and the special abilities they have¡­are called superpowers.¡±

    Being born into a wealthy family, Yuffie quickly understood what Meph was driving at. She said, ¡°So the target of Victoria Intelligence Agency is¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, to search for Extraordinaires and information about them. That¡¯s part of what the Agency does,¡± Meph finished the sentence for her.

    Yuffie remained silent for a moment. Yuffie herself was nomoner, and she had been through the unusual incidentst night. There was no reason why Meph would tell her false information, for she could uncover the truth with just a phone call. She said, ¡°So the Agency thinks my sister is one of them? But she¡¯s still so young, and has never shown any signs¡­¡±

    Meph said, ¡°The superpowers of the Extraordinaires vary greatly, and we also do not know what special ability your sister has. However, it isn¡¯t difficult to find out if she really has such natural abilities¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Treasure chest?

    Ren Suo finally remembered. He had received a treasure chest, in addition to merits, when he passed the free chapter in the game yesterday, but he had gone to sleep without unlocking it as he was too tired.

    In the safehouse inventory, there was only one item¡ªthe treasure chest.

    [One-star treasure chest: Don¡¯t bother wishing for any legendary weapon.]

    [Do you wish to unlock the treasure chest?]

    Certainly, Ren Suo selected ¡®yes¡¯. But the next moment, a message popped up: [Number of treasure chest keys left: 0]

    Ren Suo blinked in confusion.

    You need a key to open the treasure chest?

    Ren Suo was slightly bamboozled at the sudden request, though it was typical of other games from this game console.

    ¡°Do I need to top up credits¡­¡± Ren Suo murmured, who had his wallet ready in hand. After all, this ¡°Mini Worlds¡± gaming console looked peculiar and mysterious, and the games he yed on it had somehow tranted exactly into real life¡­

    Just take my money, there¡¯s nothing to lose!

    Ren Suo knew he was presented with a golden opportunity!

    However, the system prompted: [Searching for keys¡­ Searching for keys¡­]

    [Do you wish to continue in search mode? Beware, if a key is found, 1 merit will be deducted automatically. The search will continue until there are 0 merits left.]

    What on earth? It seems that no merits will be deducted if no keys are found, and so allowing the search to proceed and continue, did not present to be a big issue. Ren Suo checked to see that he had 15 merits remaining and left the search on.

    All of a sudden, Ren Suo¡¯s phone rang. He nced at his phone and picked it up immediately. He said, ¡°Hello Director Ye, how may I help you?¡±

    ¡°Xiao Suo, there are some urgent matters to settle, can you be here before 3 o¡¯clock?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why is it so urgent?¡±

    ¡°I have been really busy, and it totally slipped my mind. There is a health examination for public servants today, and all new workers who have yet to be assigned to a specific post have to attend it. I just remembered that I have yet to inform the neers and the higher-ups requested everyone to attend by today. This is very urgent.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll head over now.¡± Ren Suo replied.

 Chapter 12 - A Stirring in the Heart

    Chapter 12: Chapter 12: A Stirring in the Heart

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    It was 2:30 in the afternoon when Ren Suo arrived at the office on Xianlin Street in Quanliu District of Lianjiang City. This was going to be his future workce.

    Even though Ren Suo had graduated from one of the nation¡¯s key universities, he chose to work in an office on the streets.

    He had passed the nationwide civil service examination but did not perform as well in the interview. Fortunately, he still managed to enter the civil service sector with the help of his uncle who had some connections with the governors of Lianjiang City.

    The street office was Xuan Nation¡¯s most foundational-level, staffed and functional unit that was affiliated to the government. To put it frankly, the street office was actually just like a township government. Career progression was not all impossible. If one bes a leader in the political party¡¯s office, such as a secretary, it was possible for the individual to rise higher through the ranks. However, more often than not, it was not easy to attain such a position, for when someone who holds key positions leaves, the higher-ups would slyly send in a substitute straight away to boost their portfolio.

    Ren Suo did not work in the street office with the intention of bing Xuan Nation¡¯s ¡°future leader¡±. All he wanted was a stable, easy-going job that allowed him to earn his keep for the rest of his life, and the street office was the exact ce to be. Being in the public service administration industry was in line with his parents¡¯ hopes and expectations, and so he spent two years in his time as a third- and fourth-year university student to prepare for the civil service examination.

    The street offices could either be very busy or very peaceful. For the offices which had many tasks toplete, the workers would have to work extra hard. On the other hand, offices with fewer tasks to manage gave workers the opportunity to take tea breaks all day long. Based on Ren Suo¡¯s observations, the Xianlin Road¡¯s street office, where he was going to work at, belonged to thetter category. The families living along the street managed by the Xianlin Road Street Office, were all decently well-off and affluent, owning property managementpanies or having their ownmunitymittee. It was one of the newest urban districts that was built during the development of Lianjiang City.

    On the other end of the spectrum, offices in older districts and those in viges within a city had much more to do. Owing to theck of property managementpanies in the area, the old water pipes and power cables which had been installed tens of years ago, as well as the fact that most people living there worked hard all their lives, many old folks would go to the street office to chat with the workers there. There would be people asking for help at the office every day whenever the water pipes of their homes burst or when the fuse of electrical equipment was blown. The residents even sought help when they had to photocopy or print documents.

    The office workers would then tell them that the residents¡¯mittee was, in fact, located slightly closer to them than the office did and that they could have gone there instead¡­

    Ren Suo had envisioned himself living the rest of his life peacefully working a job in Xianlin Road¡¯s street office, enjoying his time surfing the inte and drinking his tea. Who would have known that before he was officially in service, he¡¯d be called down for a health screening?

    ¡°Is Xiao Suo here?¡± asked Ye Jiamin, the director of the office. The moment Ren Suo entered the office, Ye Jiamin, who had been talking to other people, noticed him immediately. She waved to him and said, ¡°Come over here, let me introduce you to everyone. Xiao Xuan and Xiao Long, this is Ren Suo. Just like both of you, he is also one of this year¡¯s newly recruited employees.¡±

    Director Ye said to Ren Suo, ¡°This is Li Qingxuan, and this is Mo Zhaolong. They are also university students who graduated this year. I hope to see all of you get along well with one another, I¡¯m sure you teenagers will have topics inmon to talk about.¡±

    Ren Suo, Qingxuan and Zhaolong exchanged greetings. Director Ye continued, ¡°We¡¯ve just been waiting for you, the others have gone ahead to the health center on Yuexiu Street for the health screening. Now that you¡¯ve arrived, we should set off too.¡±

    Yuexiu Street was located not too far from the office on Xianlin Street, and the three of them decided to head there by foot while they chatted merrily. Director Ye was indeed a befitting street office director. At forty years of age, she was kind and pleasant and made sure to look after and include everyone in her conversation. ¡°You teenagers like to y games and watch television dramas every day, but you must still remember to exercise regrly. However, I¡¯m not worried because once all of you join the office, there would be nock of exercise.¡±

    Li Qingxuan acted surprised and asked, ¡°Really? Is the street office really that busy? I thought that we would just be chit-chatting with the old folks every day.¡±

    ¡°We indeed do so on some asions.¡± Director Ye chuckled and continued, ¡°We get very busy when we have to survey the streets and all the alleys. For example, half a month ago, the city¡¯s governors gave orders to check on the situation of the permanent residents here. Even though we delegated the task to the various residents¡¯mittees, I still had to check through all of the information and verify thetest information on the tenants and business owners.¡±

    ¡°And 5 days ago, the higher-ups requested for all avable manpower to visit all neighboring households, looking for a fugitive¡­no, a 17-year-old high school student who had run away from home. Who knows which leader¡¯s son it must have been¡­¡± the director continued.

    ¡°Many simr incidents like this happened recently. There was just no time for me to rx.¡±

    In less than 20 minutes, the group arrived at the health center on Yuexiu Street. There was already a long queue inside, and upon looking in, Ren Suo felt like there were more than a thousand people. He could not help but exim, ¡°Wow! There are so many people out on a working day for a health screening?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we are the secondst batch of people here for the screening,¡± said an apologetic Director Ye. She exined, ¡°The schedule for the health screening exercise this time is very tight as the entire district has toplete the health screening within the day. We actually arranged for our employees toe in four batches, but I was so busy that I only just remembered to inform all of you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s alright,¡± the three newbies replied in unison.

    There was a worktable by the door where people could take a copy of the examination form, and behind the worktable was a listless young man who was d in a ck vest. When Ren Suo took a copy of the form, the young man remained engrossed in his mobile game with his eyes glued to the screen of the mobile phone.

    For some unknown reason, there was a stir in Ren Suo¡¯s heart, and it started palpitating vigorously. He stared nkly at the young man for a long while, until Mo Zhaolong, who was standing behind him, hit him on the back. Ren Suo was jolted out of his daze and quickly proceeded to queue up for the body check.

    How could I feel something towards such a man, who was nowhere near beautiful nor charming?

    ¡°Bro,¡± Mo Zhaolong came up to him and smiled, ¡°I see¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Ren Suo shook his head vigorously and denied vehemently, ¡°I am straight like a metal ruler.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what every guy says before they meet the right one; they all think they¡¯re straight.¡± Mo Zhaolong coaxed, ¡°From young, we¡¯ve all missed out on many things we like but could not have, do you really wish to miss out on someone whom you fancy now?¡±

    ¡°Go away, man.¡±

    Many men often grow closer after asking and discussing such philosophical questions. Ren Suo queued up together with Mo Zhaolong for their health screening examination. They passed most of the screenings quickly, including the general physical examination station as well as the eye test. There was a blood drawing cart in the health center, and there was also a massive amount of people queuing up for it. Ren Suo and Zhaolong were thest ones to queue up for that station.

    The chatty Mo Zhaolong was articte and a good talker. During their wait, he started talking to Ren Suo about his life during university, dissing his roommate and teachers while Ren Suo nodded his head in agreement as he recalled his own experience in university. They even talked about an unpopr Xuan Nationic ¡°Seabreeze: A Collection of Stories¡± which they both fancied. Ren Suo now felt that he had made a rather good friend.

    ¡ª¡ª

    It wasmon to find friends withmon interests but to find one who shared amon attraction for an umon interest was very rare. Ren Suo had never found a friend whom he could talk about thisic with, and hence, he was bursting with excitement at the fact that he had found someone who enjoyed the sameic as he did.

    When it was almost their turn to have their blood drawn, Ren Suo was still rattling on and on about theic. However, Mo Zhaolong¡¯s face suddenly turned as pale as a sheet. He clutched his stomach and said, ¡°Argh, my stomach hurts¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯d better hurry to the toilet,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°But I¡¯d have to queue all the way from the back of the queue again if I leave.¡± Mo Zhaolong was sour as he said, ¡°Thest batch of people has arrived, I¡¯ll have to queue for another hour¡­¡±

    Mo Zhaolong looked at Ren Suo and asked, ¡°Buddy, can you have your blood drawn in my ce?¡±

    ¡°Huh? How does that work?¡± Ren Suo asked as he blinked his eyes in confusion. He had heard about helping others in physical checkups before, but not during health examinations.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re only going to draw a small volume of blood. Everything will be fine.¡± Mo Zhaolong said persuasively, ¡°I have already gone for a health examination half a month ago and I¡¯m as healthy as a horse. I doubt there¡¯ll be any problems with me this time around, so it¡¯ll be a waste of time if I queued for another hour instead¡­How about this? I¡¯ll treat you to a barbeque with beerter!¡±

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment and thought it sounded logical; he could even get a free meal. Hence, he grabbed Zhaolong¡¯s examination form and proceeded to have his blood drawn.

    He firstpleted his round of blood drawing, before he proceeded to the other queue with Mo Zhaolong¡¯s form in hand. There were many people in therge room who were all queueing to have their blood drawn, and Ren Suo thought it would be easy for him to blend in with the squeezy crowd. However, the moment he sat down, a young man in a ck vest walked over and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already have your blood drawn?¡±

    ¡°¡­Ah?¡± Ren Suo did not expect that the examination would be taken so seriously. He scratched his head and smiled before saying, ¡°I¡¯m just helping a friend¡­¡±

    ¡°Helping a friend? Who?¡± the man in the ck vest asked, raising one of his brows.

    Ren Suo did not think much of the situation and waved the examination form in the air as he said, ¡°My colleague. He had a sudden stomach ache and went to the toilet. I¡¯m helping him with the drawing of blood instead. In that case, I¡¯ll call him over.¡±

    The man in ck vest said, ¡°Bring us to him.¡±

    It was only at this point that Ren Suo noticed the four other men who were all d in ck vests, standing behind the table used for drawing blood. All of them looked tough and young like soldiers. They did not seem to be doctors or normal staff members.

    Is there something wrong? Ren Suo blinked his eyes and turned to look behind. As soon as he did, a familiar figure darted towards the door. He pointed at the figure and shouted, ¡°Bro Zhaolong, are you done with your business in the toilet? Why are you leaving?!¡±

    Ren Suo exposed him immediately, for he did not have any intention to take the me for someone whom he had just met.

    The four men in ck vests looked over without dy. However, the area was so crowded that there was no way they could rush over.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape!¡±

    The man at the front grabbed onto the top edge of the wall as he leaped upwards and to Ren Suo¡¯s surprise, he started scaling and walking on the wall. The man pounced forward again and flew a short distance across the room above everyone¡¯s heads, beforending right in front of the door!

    ¡°Flying scorpion?¡±

    ¡°What¡ªis he catching a criminal?¡±

    ¡°Which dumb criminal woulde to a ce full of civil service workers¡­¡±

    One of the civil servants was bbering nonsensically while Ren Suo squeezed his way through the crowd to find out what was going on.

    Mo Zhaolong began to run and flee, but the health center was only so big. There was nowhere else he could run to except the door. One of the men in ck vests shouted at the top of his voice, ¡°Minghuo, stop him!¡±

    The young man in the ck vest who was sitting beside the door and in-charge of giving out the examination forms stood upzily and pointed at Mo Zhaolong. He said, ¡°Stop here.¡±

    ¡°Stop my ass¡ª¡±

    Mo Zhaolong threw a punch at the young man.

    The other young man in a ck vest curled his finger and pointed towards the door, and the two metal gates creaked as it was closed shut instantly. Without any preemptive movement, he plunged himself towards the front of Mo Zhaolong¡¯s body¡ªsending Zhaolong flying meters away!

    It was a disturbing sight as Mo Zhaolong grimaced in pain on the floor, unable to get up, while the other men in ck vests rushed forward to hold him down.

    ¡°You guys forced me!¡± Mo Zhaolong scolded harshly.

    Suddenly, without any warning, therge men in ck vests who were holding Zhaolong down passed out and fell to the ground. Even the people who were standing close to him lost consciousness instantly as everyone looked on in shock.

    ¡°Is that a virus?¡±

    ¡°What kind of virus is so deadly?¡±

    ¡°Hurry! Go back! It can be spread through the air!¡±

    The surrounding onlookers hurriedly rushed back into the health center in a whoosh, leaving only Ren Suo behind. He hid behind pir and stared nkly at Mo Zhaolong.

    For some reason, Ren Suo¡¯s heart began pumping faster when he was looking at Mo Zhaolong, giving him a feeling¡ª

    A stirring feeling in his heart.

 Chapter 13 - : Key Acquired! (1)

    Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Key Acquired! (1)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Upon seeing what had happened, the listless young man became more energized instead. He took out his phone and swiped the screen a few times. He said, ¡°Your ability¡­¡±

    ¡°On the night of the 1st of March, at Middle Jiefang North Road.¡±

    ¡°On the night of the 6th of March, at Songfang Harbour.¡±

    ¡°On the night of the 19th Of March, at Langui Street.¡±

    ¡°Andst Friday, at Dongxiao South Street¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you remember these dates and locations?¡±

    Mo Zhaolong clutched his stomach as he stood up¡ªhis face full of anger and irritation. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t remember.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, if only you knew, it¡¯d be much easier for me. That just means that there¡¯s another person who has simr abilities as you in Lianjiang City.¡± The young man in a ck vest scratched his head and said, ¡°Please understand the hard work of us civil servants¡­¡±

    ¡°Understand my foot!¡±

    Mo Zhaolong knew he was running out of time. He did not know when the police would arrive, and he needed to escape before that. Regardless, with his ability, it would be easy for him to continue living his carefree life in a small town or a small city somewhere else.

    Mo Zhaolong stared at the man in the ck vest with an icy cold gaze. Putting up with the pain, he ran towards the man and pointed at him. Nothing changed in the air. Instead, the man in the ck vest stepped abruptly to the side, then charged towards Mo Zhaolong once again!

    ¡°You think I¡¯m scared of you?!¡± Mo Zhaolong knew in his heart that the closer the other party is, the greater the likelihood of being affected by his ability. He would then have no difficulty in es¡­ca¡­ping¡­

    With a dull thud, Mo Zhaolong saw the man in the ck vest swing a punch right into his diaphragm. He knew it was a fatal blow, as he would pass out due to the rapid blood umtion and hemorrhage in his chest due to external trauma suffered by the heart¡­

    ¡°Done.¡± After knocking Mo Zhaolong out, the young man in the ck vest promptly took a few steps back. He waved his hand in front of his nose as if he were trying to disperse a bad odor in the air.

    He saw that there was only one man still in therge room on the first level who was looking on. He shouted, ¡°Hey, who is that?¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the young man and pointed to himself.

    ¡°Yes, yes, you. Wake those unlucky guys up¡­Never mind, just drag them to the side and leave them be, so they don¡¯t block the way. Don¡¯t worry, this isn¡¯t a virus. They¡¯ve just lost consciousness. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± The man said, stifling a yawn, as he picked his phone up to make a call.

    Ren Suo scratched his head. The man in the ck vest was obviously in the civil service too, and he seemed to be of high rank. Regardless, dragging the men to the side was no challenging task. Hence, Ren Suo naturally conceded and abided by the man¡¯s instructions.

    He deduced that the ck vests that the men were wearing, were of rtively good quality as they felt strong to the touch and yet not rigid. After pulling the men to the side, Ren Suo looked at Mo Zhaolong who was still lying motionless on the floor. He noticed that Mo Zhaolong¡¯s heartbeat was fading away gradually. However, he still felt a peculiar attraction to him.

    The young man in the ck vest was still on the phone. Without further ado, Ren Suo walked inrge strides towards Mo Zhaolong and started pulling him away.

    As soon as Ren Suo touched Mo Zhaolong, Ren Suo¡¯s body twitched, and he heard a voiceing from deep within his heart.

    The voice sounded exactly like Ren Suo himself.

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a state of unconsciousness. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has yet to form fully. 39 seconds is required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 38, 37, 36¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned, and he stood rooted to the ground as he listened to the countdown in his head. Just then, the man in the ck vest ended his call and turned back towards Ren Suo. Heshed out at Ren Suo with a stern expression on his face, ¡°What are you doing!?¡±

    Ren Suo was greatly taken aback but continued holding onto Mo Zhaolong. He stammered, ¡°You¡­you asked me to¡­¡±

    ¡°I asked you to move those guys to the side, not him!¡± The young man in the ck vest walked towards him and said sternly, ¡°He is a criminal!¡±

    ¡°Cri¡­criminal?!¡± Ren Suo was genuinely shocked. He questioned, ¡°Didn¡¯t he just want to skip the blood test and not have his blood drawn and his blood sample collected?¡±

    ¡°Draw his blood¡­Oh, I understand why now.¡± The young man¡¯s voice was cold. He said, ¡°He¡¯s actually quite smart then. At least, he knows that having his blood drawn poses the highest risk of exposing himself¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, by the way, how did he make those men unconscious?¡± Ren Suo asked, who quickly found something to talk about as he heard the countdown reach 10 seconds.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The young man took a nce at Ren Suo and said, ¡°If you are eligible to know, you will know¡­Hand him over to me now, I will¡ª¡±

    ¡°Xiao Long, Xiao Suo!¡±

    At this moment, Director Ye scrambled down the stairs from the second floor, panting heavily in a bid to catch her breath. She said to the young man, ¡°Hello, I am Director Ye Jiamin from Xianlin Road¡¯s street office. You are from the newly-formed National Security team¡­¡±

    ¡°I am Li Dan from the newly-established branch 18 of the Ministry of National Security,¡± exined the man in the ck vest who then presented his work permit to Director Ye. He pointed at Mo Zhaolong and said, ¡°We will now be in charge of this man. We will inform you about the details of the charter and give you noticeter on.¡±

    Director Ye was shocked. She looked at Ren Suo, who was still conscious, and said, ¡°What about Xiao Suo¡­¡±

    ¡°He is just a passerby,¡± Li Dan said in a rxed tone.

    At this point, the countdown timer finally ended. Ren Suo immediately stood up and said, ¡°In that case¡­Leader, I¡¯ll carry on with my health examination.¡±

    Ren Suo put his hand out towards Li Dan as if he had no control of his limbs.

    Li Dan was slightly surprised but still shook hands with Ren Suo. Ren Suo felt like he was touching a cool piece of jade.

    Li Dan turned around to wake his colleagues and said, ¡°I am not a leader.¡±

    Ren Suo quickly handed in his examination form and said to Director Ye, ¡°Director Ye, I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±

    Director Ye nodded her head but wasden with anxiety. She said, ¡°That should be all for now, if there is anything, I¡¯ll let you know immediately.¡±

    After a short pause, Director Ye looked at Ren Suo and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s best you stay in Lianjiang these few days. Do you understand?¡±

    It was clear that Director Ye thought Ren Suo had something to do with what happened to Mo Zhaolong. Ren Suo shrugged his shoulders and replied, ¡°Sure.¡±

    Ren Suo immediately rode the subway home. He activated the Mini Worlds Gaming Console with its controller. Bursting with anxiety, his hands were turning mmy and sweat was breaking out on his forehead.

    When the countdown timer ended just now, Ren Suo heard the voice say: ¡°You have retrieved a key. Proceed to the safehouse inventory to inquire.¡±

    When he shook hands with Li Dan, he heard the voice say:

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is on high alert; unable to retrieve the key.¡±

    At that time, Ren Suo was extremely afraid that Li Dan would notice something and arrest him, just like how he did to Mo Zhaolong. However, nothing had happened.

    In the safehouse inventory in the game, there was an odd-looking, greyish-white key amongst the disyed items.

    [1-star Sleepy Key: +10% chance of receiving additional sleepy-type rewards.]

    Sleepy-type?

    Ren Suo immediately linked the key to Mo Zhaolong. Was this key formed based on Mo Zhaolong¡¯s baffling ability?

    There were only two items in the safehouse inventory: One was the key, and the other was the treasure chest. It was obvious what Ren Suo decided to do next.

    [You have used a ¡®1-star Sleepy Key¡¯ to activate the treasure chest.]

    [You have received the ability ¡®Fighter Novice¡¯.]

    [You have received the ability ¡®The Lure of Sweet Dreams¡¯ from the key¡¯s special effect.]

 Chapter 14 - Key Acquired! (2)

    Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Key Acquired! (2)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    [Fighter Novice]

    [Grade: 1-star ability, Prerequisites: Aplete, upright physical body of primates.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer will automatically be proficient in typical fighting styles and techniques. The yer¡¯s body will be equivalent to the result of having been through 100 fights and experience a physiological reaction equivalent to 1000 days of training. Upgrades are also applicable.]

    [Remarks: ¡®The head, elbows, knees, head, legs, and shoulders are the most primitive form of weapons used by humans.¡¯]

    ¡­

    [The Lure of Sweet Dreams]

    [Grade: 1-star ability, Prerequisites: A pair of hands.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer can hypnotize at his discretion any intelligent and willing target. The method of hypnosis varies based on the time and location, but both hands are required to do so. The required time varies between 30~300 seconds. If sessful, the target will fall into deep sleep.]

    [Remarks: ¡®I shine in the battle zone, and yet I can¡¯t sleep well at night¡¯. The Bald Hitman is resistant to most types of drugs which would affect the brain¡¯s functions. In the countless sleepless nights, he needs his trusty pair of hands, which he understands the most, to put himself to sleep.¡¯]

    ¡­

    After reading the descriptions of the two abilities, a message popped up: [Do you wish to equip the item/ability?]

    Upon confirmation, the screen jumped to the Equipment page. The left of the screen read [Game Characters], and on the right read [Equipment].

    The list of [Game Characters] was empty, except for one option: [Naisser_Ren]. Apart from the name, Ren Suo also saw how the [Naisser_Ren] looked like. He was practically Ren Suo himself.

    The [Equipment] list was subdivided into [Abilities], [Props], and [Backup].

    ¡°If I am right, when ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is equipped with an ability, I will very likely gain that corresponding ability¡­¡±

    Ren Suo recalled the voice he had heard when he touched Mo Zhaolong. It was obvious that the Mini Worlds Gaming Console was seemingly attached to his body. If he were to equip the game character with an ability now, it was very likely that it would be reflected in his body as well.

    However, Ren Suo realized that he could only equip the character with one ability. There was only one box in the [Abilities] column.

    Ren Suo excitedly tried to equip the ability [Fighter Novice] and set [The Lure of Sweet Dreams] as the backup.

    ¡°If I¡¯m right, I would no longer be someone who does not know how to fight. Instead, I would be a novice fighter who has been training for 3 years and fought hundreds of battles!¡±

    Which teenage boy going through his high school years wouldn¡¯t have longed for himself to be able to wield the sword proficiently and have immeasurable might to shape the world as he wished? Today, our strongest warriors are troops and fighters who are well-versed in a multitude of war tactics. If we look past the weapons these warriors use, the best power avable to the masses is to learn many different fighting techniques.

    Yet,ziness and theck of tenacity hinders these teenage children in their quest to achieve that power they crave for.

    Ren Suo did not know what kind of fighting techniques he would acquire, but he knew that it would be way better than the moves executed just by his natural instincts.

    Ren Suo stood up and paced around in the living room, awaiting the moment an unknown entity ¡®X¡¯ would impart knowledge into his brain.

    What will that feel like? Will my head hurt? Or will it feel good acquiring such arge amount of knowledge? ¡­

    15 minutes passed by, but nothing happened.

    ¡°¡­¡± Ren Suo decided to test himself. He looked at the white wall beside him, lifted his fist and punched towards the wall¡ª

    There was something!

    Ren Suo felt his waist moving down slightly and his lower body gripped firmly onto the ground. His shoulders and waist were operating in a way that he could not fathom. From within his body, an enormous strength emerged, as his entire body weight transferred onto his fist¡ª

    ¡°What the f***!¡±

    Ren Suo hollered in pain as he crouched down onto the floor while staring at his fist. It had turned so red that it actually started appearing a little purple.

    He looked back at the white wall. It was sparkling clean and looking as if it were mocking him, ¡°Hmph, dumb human.¡±

    Ren Suo now believed he really did acquire the [Fighter Novice] ability, although it would only take effect when he needed it. The only problem was that Ren Suo¡¯s current physique was not that of a fighter, but that of a typical person who did not train regrly!

    [Fighter Novice] would indeed enhance one¡¯s fighting skills. However, as Ren Suo¡¯s physique was only that of an average person, the ability would merely allow him to subdue a few hooligans. He still stood no chance against opponents who possessed weapons.

    ¡°I should just equip my avatar with another ability,¡± said Ren Suo as he shrugged his shoulders nonchntly before closing his eyes gently.

    ording to the game¡¯s instructions, he would now be able to change the equipped abilities without turning on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    Just as he had expected, when he calmed down and focused hard, he could naturally feel the presence of the [Equipment] list.

    The [Props] column was empty, while [Fighter Novice] was in the [Abilities] column, and [The Allure of Sweet Dreams] was in the [Backup] column. With a conscious change that he performed in his mind, [Fighter Novice] and [The Allure of Sweet Dreams] swapped positions while turning grey at the same time.

    After a cooldown period of 10 seconds, [The Allure of Sweet Dreams] had been equipped.

    ording to the game¡¯s description, the [Abilities] column equips invisible skills that enhance the yer¡¯s knowledge, whereas the [Props] column equips physical items which boost the yer¡¯s strength. On the other hand, the [Backup] column equips other abilities and props which can also be equipped as and when the yer desirester on.

    ¡°How do I use the ability [The Allure of Sweet Dreams]?¡±

    The ability appeared to be a hypnotic skill, but how could Ren Suo use this skill when he did not seem to have any knowledge of hypnosis in his mind?

    Ren Suo read the description of the ability again. He realized that the prerequisite was a pair of hands, simr to what the effect description had mentioned. He looked at his hands, immersed in thought.

    ¡°How¡­how do I use my hands?¡± He wondered.

    For humans, our pair of hands are mainly used to touch and perform tasks. Ren Suo could not think of any other way to utilize the hands.

    Instead, as he looked at his hands in boredom, Ren Suo realized his hands trembled in a unique way. He then tried to use his fingers to draw intriguing patterns and shapes in the air¡­

    ¡­

    Ding dong ~ Ding dong ~

    The doorbell rang. Ren Suo, who had been dozing off on the couch, let out a muffled groan as he awoke and wiped the saliva off the corner of his mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯ming¡­¡±

    It was yet another deliveryman at the door. The games ¡°Unparalleled Spirits 8¡± and ¡°Cursed Devils 2¡±, which he had ordered together with his ¡°Hell 4PRO¡± game console, had arrived.

    Although it had been three days since he unboxed the ¡°Hell 4PRO¡± game console, Ren Suo had not activated it before.

    He looked out of the window and realized that it was already the morning of the next day. It dawned upon him that he had fallen asleep on the couch while ying with his fingers yesterday!

    Ren Suo felt energized and rejuvenated. He seemed to understand now that this was the effect of the ability [The Allure of Sweet Dreams].

    It was such a good sleep.

    Ren Suo put the new game discs and the ¡°Hell 4PRO¡± game console aside. The ¡°Hell 4PRO¡± game console had been something which he longed to have for many years and he no longer had the intention to ask for a refund. There was a chance that he might have the time to y the games in the future.

    For now, however, he had a new love¡ªthe Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    ¡°Mini worlds of endless fun await!¡±

 Chapter 15 - New Game Acquired!

    Chapter 15: Chapter 15: New Game Acquired!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    After a moment of excitement, Ren Suo calmed himself down and got a grip on his emotions..

    Mo Zhaolong¡¯s incident served as a warning to him.

    The hypnotic ability that Mo Zhaolong possessed must have been acquired using unconventional ways. Ren Suo previously thought that Mo Zhaolong had learned some high-level skills, but he now had a different idea since he had already retrieved the [1-star Sleepy Key] from him.

    At this juncture, Ren Suo figured that he should be perceiving the situation differently from typical reality and let go of his stereotypical views of the world that a model student would have. That was, with the delusional mindset of a chuunibyou¡ªin other words, have immature and unrealistic fantasies about the world.

    Our world, our mother Earth, was no longer an innocentdy dressed in her blue-and-white-striped cloak.

    Instead, with the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and Mo Zhaolong¡¯s otherworldly ability, inexplicable and absurd events were happening all over the world.

    Furthermore, the highly-skilled man in the ck vest, who Ren Suo felt a mystifying and unfathomable attraction towards, was likely to be a person with a ¡®special talent¡¯.

    At this moment, Ren Suo took out his mobile phone to see if there were any special news reports recently.

    All the reports were regarding superstars having affairs andmitting adultery, the President being displeased with the idea of feminism, a nuptial tradition of pranking the bridesmaid in a vige wedding¡­There were no atypical news articles or anything out of the ordinary.

    Ren Suo then headed to the forum site which he frequently contributed to, only to discover that there were no news articles or reports that were beyond his imagination.

    ¡°Could Mo Zhaolong¡¯s incident have really been an exceptionally rare event?¡± Ren Suo could not help but think that he must be suffering from the ¡°eighth-grader syndrome¡±. At this very moment, he noticed that the forum page had refreshed itself and a new thread appeared:

    [Does the *Heavenly Hitman* really exist?]

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ren Suo clicked in out of curiosity. However, at the next second, a system message appeared: ¡°The thread you were looking for does not exist.¡±

    Ren Suo paused for a moment and realized that all information on the inte was subjected to regtions.

    Terms and keywords such as ¡°Heavenly Hitman¡± and ¡°Lamperouge¡± had been banned from discussion.

    With the appearance of the controversial video [The Hitman ¨C the Bloody Ball], the entire world now knew that there was an organization named the ¡°Heavenly Realm¡± in the East. They believed any hitman in this organization to be an extraordinary gunman who could fight one to a hundred other opponents.

    Although the country was not able to stop the spread of the video, they were able to ban people from discussing the incident on mass media, in hopes of calming the waves arising from the incident.

    Without mass media tforms like Weibo, news sites, and forums, the talks about the incident would not have been able to proliferate, and the entire incident would have been forgotten quickly. Other hot topics in the news would have caught the attention of the masses.

    Ren Suo tried performing searches on international search engines using Romanized keywords like ¡®xiangongshashou¡¯. However, just as he expected, no such articles could be found.

    All sites fromrge nations had begun censoring articles rted to the Hitman; it was not just Xuan Nation alone. Since they had the ability to regte information rted to the ¡®Hitman from the Heavens¡¯, they naturally had the power to control and regte the dissemination of other ¡®special information¡¯ revolving the incident.

    ¡®Talents¡¯ like Mo Zhaolong must still be a ¡®rarity¡¯, and there should be few of such people in the world, for there had yet to be any surges in the discussions about him. This also proved that peculiar events were happening around the world, which had urged countries around the globe toe together to control the release of information rted to the incident.

    Previously, Ren Suo had resigned to fate and felt that he would just be a mere chess piece in the game of life, an insignificant soul going along with the flow of nature.

    However, he now knew that he had to take a shot at breaking out of this fate.

    There was no grand nor honorable reason why Ren Suo felt inclined to do so. He just hoped that in the future, he and his family would have a safe environment to live in despite all the tumultuous seas and cmities which had happened around the world. To achieve this, he needed to be unique, to be ¡®irreceable¡¯. He had been a typical,zy, nothing out-of-the-ordinary human, and he stood absolutely no chance at being a leader. Moreover, he was even afraid of death.

    Now, with his Mini Worlds Gaming Console, he would be able to earn the title of being ¡®irreceable¡¯ to the country, to the society, and to the people. Consequently, he would receive the blessing and protection of everyone, regardless of what was toe in the future!

    Ren Suo navigated to the World Shop and found that the [Free Game-of-the-Month] column was greyed out. When he tried to enter, a message appeared: [You have finished the Free Game-of-the-Month. Please wait patiently for next month¡¯s Free Game-of-the-Month.]

    10 merits were still required to conduct a single [Search] for a key. Ren Suo had 14 merits left after using one merit to retrieve the 1-star Sleeping Key.

    Although Ren Suo did not know how valuable merits were, he did not want to risk spending all his merits searching for keys. After all, he had not found out where or how he could credit more merits in the game. The [Search] page no longer showed the prompt ¡°You fool, you are too poor to perform a search¡±. Instead, the prompt read ¡°Enter the special rewards that you wish to obtain.¡± Ren Suo was bewildered.

    Perhaps due to the fact that Ren Suo now had merits, there was also a new column in the World Shop which read: [April Fools¡¯ Discounted Items!]

    April Fools¡¯? Ren Suo was stunned for a moment. He realized it would be April 1 in two days.

    [April Fools¡¯ discounted items: Between 28 March ~ 31 March, and between 2 April ~ 3 April, the following games can be bought at a 50% discounted price.]

    Why is there no offer on April Fools¡¯ Day itself¡­?

    As Ren Suo had expected, all the games on the list had to be bought with merits.

    Although Ren Suo was not wealthy, he now had an unquenchable and insatiable desire to buy more merits with his money, for he realized that he could not even afford any of the discounted games.

    [The Lurking] 50% OFF, 40 merits; [Soul Ferry] 50% OFF, 45 merits; [The Fiery Supernatural] 50% OFF, 150 merits¡­

    ¡°But I only have 14 merits!¡± Ren Suo was perplexed. He did not see ¡°The Hitman¡± in the list, but he knew he would not have been able to afford it either. ¡°Isn¡¯t there something simr to a beginner¡¯s wee gift?¡±

    Even if he had money and could top-up his merits, he would not have been able to buy some of the games anyway. For example, [The Fiery Supernatural] was only avable to level 4 yers and was greyed out and inessible to Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo realized that these games either required yers to be level 1 or level 4; levels 2 and 3 seemed to be merely a transitioning phase, whereas level 4 was the peak.

    Ren Suo still had no idea if there were any games that required yers to have an even higher level than level 4. Even so, he realized that there were hundreds of discounted games as he scrolled quickly through the list. He also found out that there was absolutely no information about any of the games online. Thus there was no way Ren Suo could search online for gamey strategies and walkthroughs.

    Ren Suo then discovered an avable option at the top of the list: [Show only games I can afford]. He immediately selected that option.

    The long list instantly disappeared, leaving only one option.

    [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters], 50% OFF, 8 merits.

    ¡­The name sounded tacky and inelegant, even more so than [The Hitman].

    However, this was the only game that Ren Suo could afford. If he did not buy this, he could only wait for the free game that would be released next week. Only after clearing those games, could he then earn more merits to buy other games.

    When Ren Suo read the game description however, he found a major highlight:

    [This game increases one¡¯s intellectual ability. The yer¡¯s avatar will be transformed into a seeker striving to climb the highest mountains, encountering countless extreme weather conditions in the process. Your body is the only one you can rely on! The highest reward for clearing this game is 40 merits. You will receive a special reward ¡°Enhanced Physique¡±. In-game purchases are avable. There is only 1 chapter and no expansion packs. Game difficulty: 1 star.]

    A whooping 40 merits!

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes gleamed in fascination and shock. Spending 8 merits to gain 40 merits, that would be a 400% profit!

    He did not even bother considering if he would be at a loss.

    It is just a 1-star difficulty game, how hard would it be for me to get a perfect score?! How could I not clear this intellectual game?!

    ¡°I¡¯m a hardcore gamer!¡±

 Chapter 16 - A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters

    Chapter 16: Chapter 16: A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°This game is hardcore as hell¡­¡±

    It was only when the first glimmer of dawn shone through the balcony onto Ren Suo¡¯s restless face that he realized he had stayed up the entire night.

    After purchasing the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] the day before, he had been ying it continuously and never once stopped except the times when he had to eat or sleep.

    While the name of the game sounded tacky, Ren Suo realized the graphics of the game were almost as realistic as that in [The Hitman]. He too could create his own character in the game, and it was possible to even create a female character!

    Ren Suo was instantly mesmerized by the default female character. She had an exuberant aura with a pure, holy look, and flowy, golden-colored hair which she had tied back into a ponytail. The ck full-body training suit she wore could barely even hide her killer figure¡­

    Holy cow! Why isn¡¯t there an option to fine-tune her bare body!

    Ren Suo selected the female character straightaway. If given a choice, which fool would prefer seeing an old man moving around on the screen anyway¡­

    Do you think men who select female avatars in online games are weird freaks with malicious intent? No, they just want better visuals when they are ying their game.

    Furthermore, in this game, the male and female characters each have different strengths.

    [Male character: Shorter health recovery time.]

    [Female character: Faster response time when faced with danger.]

    Due to the above reasons, Ren Suo felt it was a reasonable choice to y as a female character. He was toozy to further customize the fine details of the character. Thus, he decided to use the default female character.

    It was definitely because he just wanted a good visual to look at every day, and not because he had any other romantic thoughts¡­No, he was indeed attracted to her.

    There was no option to name the character. However, it was preset as ¡°The Seeker¡±.

    When the game began, Ren Suo found that it was nowhere close to what he had initially expected. There were no exciting, thrilling and enticing actions made by the character which he could look forward to.

    Instead, the realistic graphics turned into a patchwork immediately, with a brown ground and a blue sky. Yes, the game simply used the two colors to draw a distinct difference between the sky and the ground!

    Most importantly, the girl in the game had turned into a stickman.

    It was strange that the standard of the graphics dropped miserably, from the deceivingly real scenes in [The Hitman] to that of the game of Tetris. This could well have caused the game developers to be sued for fraud and taking advantage of customers.

    On the screen, the stickman Seeker stood at the bottom, with many tforms above her. Ren Suo could control the Seeker and make it jump onto the tforms.

    The game was simple. At the bottom left corner of the screen, there was a bar indicating the amount of elevation above sea level. It was 0 meters. At the tip of the bar was a green marker indicating 10000 meters. That was the target of the game.

    At the top left-hand corner of the screen, there was a green-colored strip that was equivalent to a health indication bar. When the Seeker jumped, the bar decreased but also recovered quickly.

    The game was as simple as that and there was nothing else apart from the above. The only thing Ren Suo needed to do was to lead the Seeker to jump upwards continuously.

    It was simple enough at first. The Seeker did not even need to ¡®jump¡¯ since the entire screen was filled with tforms that almost formed a continuous staircase. All the Seeker needed to do was walk across it.

    However, after an hour, Ren Suo realized that something was amiss. The elevation meter was increasing too slowly.

    On average, for every minute Ren Suo jumped, the elevation meter only rose 2 meters. Even though it was just a simple game, the increment rate was simply too slow¡­

    At the end of the first hour, Ren Suo reached 102 meters.

    At the end of the second hour, Ren Suo reached 240 meters.

    At the end of the third hour, Ren Suo was exasperated. An in-game message suddenly popped up on the screen: [Do you wish to use 5 merits to skip to the first checkpoint?]

    Apart from the green marker at the top, there were many white markers in between the elevation bar. That had to be the checkpoints that the yer could restart from should he fail in the game.

    The first checkpoint was at 2048 meters. At the rate that Ren Suo was advancing, he would need at least 20 more hours before he could reach the first checkpoint¡­

    It was no wonder he only needed to spend 8 merits to buy the game after the 50% discount; it was too damned difficult!

    If he were to spend just 5 merits, he would be able to skip 20 grueling hours. When would such a good opportunity present itself again?

    Without question, Ren Suo picked¡ªNo!

    He had 14 merits at the start, and after buying the game he had 6 merits remaining. If he were to spend another 5 merits, he would only be left with 1 merit!

    Ren Suo could not bear to be left with just 1 merit; mainly because he knew the Mini Worlds Gaming Console was full of surprises beyond his imagination. Perhaps, it was a mystical game console, or perhaps, it was an alien¡¯s gift or even a gift from the future¡­Regardless, he had to be careful.

    If he had 0 merits left, would the game console disappear?

    Or worse, if he had negative merits, would he be killed instead?

    20 hours of his time seemed insignificant inparison with these inherent threats. Either way, time was what the young had most¡­

    Ren Suo looked at the in-game purchase list again.

    [Skip to the checkpoint at 5896 meters: 10 merits];

    [Skip to the checkpoint at 6853 meters: 12 merits];

    [Oxygen tank: 1 merit];

    [Escape rope: 1 merit]¡­

    Merits could only bring the yer as far as the checkpoint at 5896 meters or 6853 meters; the rest was up to the yer. Instead, it was the other items in the purchase list which had Ren Suo scratching his head. Does the Seeker actually need these items?

    Ren Suo was determined not to spend a single merit¡ªno matter what happened!

    At the break of dawn, Ren Suo finally managed to reach the first checkpoint and could no longer resist sleeping. While he had the option to pause the game, Ren Suo was far too engrossed in it, given that the distance the Seeker jumped each time had to be controlled by him.

    If he pressed harder, the Seeker would jump further; if he pressed with lesser strength, the Seeker would jump a shorter distance. In addition, there were many split paths that led to new and different paths. This was a game that would require the yer¡¯s full attention and Ren Suo could not bear to put down the game controller unless he urgently needed to go to the toilet.

    The game was actually pretty decent if one looked past the appalling graphics.

    By the time Ren Suo awoke 8 hourster, it was almost 2:00 p.m. A great pang of hunger rushed over him¡­

    ¡°Tworge bowls of Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce! I¡¯m famished!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    There was barely anyone patronizing the food stall at the time, and Ren Suo found a seat with no difficulty. As he waited impatiently for his noodles, he suddenly diverted his attention to the teenage girl who was standing on the opposite side of the road.

    The girl had silky, creamy-white skin, wearing a red tutu and white stockings with her hair tied into two ponytails. She appeared to be on her way home from grocery shopping, evidenced by her hands that were full of bags. Even for Ren Suo who had many years of experience watching sexual scenes on the inte, it was undeniable that the girl was one of the best five he had ever seen.

    Although Ren Suo had been known for being a restrained, role-model senior in university, he nheless, felt an urge to go forward to ask the girl for her contact, such as her WeChat ount name.

    However, he quickly realized that it was not her beauty that attracted him the most. Instead, it was because he felt his heart stir when he saw her!

    That stirring feeling was no different from what he felt when he saw Li Dan, the man in the ck vest, and Mo Zhaolong. It was as if he was salivating upon seeing sumptuous food!

    ¡°Your noodles are here.¡±

    Ren Suo turned back to see his fragrant bowl of piping hot noodles being served to him. He licked his lips as he tucked in eagerly.

    For some unknown reason, however, all that filled his mind while he ate his noodles were Li Dan, Mo Zhaolong, and the spectacrly breathtaking girl, whom he just saw¡­

 Chapter 17 - : I am Weak

    Chapter 17: Chapter 17: I am Weak

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Chapter 17: I am Weak

    The strange stir in Ren Suo¡¯s heart finally vanished when he returned home from lunch. He realized what had just happened only after he calmed himself down.

    Based on the theory that he had deduced, the stirring feeling in his heart was due to the game¡¯s [Searching for Keys] function. The moment he left his house, anyone whom he could retrieve a key from would cause a stir in his heart.

    Although Ren Suo was still unsure of what kind of people he could retrieve keys from, he knew that, at the very least, these people should possess a stronger physical ability than an ordinary university graduate like him who did not make regr efforts to keep in shape. Mo Zhaolong and Li Dan were two examples of such. This implied that ¡°Stealing Armor¡± was not going to be a feasible method.

    Ren Suo figured that he had to find better rewards in the game.

    Setting his niggling worry aside, he continued steadfastly in the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]. Upon reaching the checkpoint at 2048 meters, Ren Suo realized that his rate of ascent had greatly increased. Previously, he could only rise two meters for every minute of jumping; now, he would elevate two meters every 30 seconds.

    However, that required him to constantly keep the Seeker moving.

    At the current stage, the tforms on the screen were no longer ced as close to one another as they were in the first 2000 meters. The Seeker had already died once when Ren Suo pressed the game controller with too little strength and caused the Seeker to not jump far enough to reach the target tform. As there were no other tforms beneath it, the Seeker dropped all the way to the bottom of the screen and died. Ren Suo had no choice but to restart from thetest checkpoint.

    In another attempt, Ren Suo used too much strength, and this resulted in the Seeker jumping too far. As the Seeker was about to fall to her death from missing the tform, the stickman-like Seeker suddenly turned around and grabbed onto the edge of the tform.

    It was only then that Ren Suo recalled it was the effect of the female Seeker¡¯s ability: [Female character: Faster response time when faced with danger]. However, after staring at the stickman-like character for tens of hours, Ren Suo had long forgotten that the character he was controlling was a female one.

    When the Seeker reached approximately 3000 meters above sea level, Ren Suo discovered a hidden message: As the Seeker moved around in different directions, specific white markers on the elevation meter would turn grey.

    When the Seeker jumped to the left, the 5896-meter checkpoint marker turned grey; when the Seeker jumped to the right, the 6853-meter checkpoint marker turned grey instead.

    This meant that there were two split paths at this point of the game; the checkpoint for going left was totally different from that of going right. Furthermore, there would be no way of going to the other checkpoint once the yer chose a specific path unless the yer restarted from the checkpoint at 2048 meters.

    Ren Suo quickly selected a path without much thought. When he reached 4000 meters, he found that the elevation rate increased further. For every minute of jumping at full speed, the Seeker gained 5 meters.

    At the same time, however, the journey was getting tougher and Ren Suo finally encountered the first ¡®trap¡¯.

    It was a grey tform that had a slightly lighter tone than the other tforms. When the Seeker leaped onto it, the tform suddenly shattered into pieces. Ren Suo instinctively pressed to jump again, allowing the Seeker to leap and grab a hold on the edge of another tform. It was such a close shave.

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief. Had he dropped all the way down, he would have wasted all the efforts he had put in for the past 10 hours¡­

    10 hours?!

    Ren Suo looked up and realized that it was close to midnight. He quickly ordered some food to be delivered to his doorstep, using his mobile phone, after which he resumed his game. He was still feeling rather energized as he had only woken up in the afternoon.

    When he reached 4500 meters, Ren Suo saw other people appear in the game.

    They were matchstick-like characters.

    These matchstick-like characters did not move like the Seeker did. Instead of jumping directly onto the tforms, they took a hidden path that was not shown on the screen. However, they moved upwards rtively slowly.

    When the Seeker breezed past these matchstick characters, they stopped instead.

    [This is a team of fully-equipped climbers. They are currently talking about you.]

    A strange message popped up in the game.

    Ren Suo stopped for a short while, but the characters did not continue moving, and he continued on his quest upwards instead.

    While there were also simr traps in the path ahead, they were not difficult to handle. When he reached a height of 4800 meters, another group of matchstick-like characters appeared from behind. This time, however, the group sped past him in the blink of an eye, unlike his previous encounter.

    These matchstick-like characters seemed to be sitting on some sort of transport vehicle which resembled cars¡­

    ¡°Wow!¡± Ren Suo eximed in amusement and continued, ¡°What sorcery is this?¡±

    Ren Suo was starting to think that he had missed a location in the game and failed to obtain a simr transport vehicle. Just then, the group of matchstick-like characters looped back around in the car.

    [Do you need any help?] A message from the matchstick-like characters appeared.

    To Ren Suo¡¯s delight, two reply options appeared:

    ¢Ù¡±No need.¡±

    ¢Ú¡±No, thanks.¡±

    ¡­

    There were no other options given.

    ¡°How the heck do I even make a choice!¡± Ren Suo uttered in pique. ¡°Both options would mean that I¡¯m rejecting their help!¡±

    However, Ren Suo soon realized that when he chose an option, the game would not proceed with the reply immediately. He had to select [Confirm] before a response was given. Thus, he could still select the other option at this point in time.

    Finally, the Seeker said, ¡°No, thanks.¡±

    The car that the matchstick-like characters were riding on did not move from its position. Instead, they left together with Ren Suo when he controlled the Seeker to move forward.

    Finally, at 4 a.m. in the morning, Ren Suo managed to lead the Seeker to the 5896-meter checkpoint!

    Upon reaching each checkpoint, Ren Suo felt as if he had aplished a major goal in each stage of his life. He could finally rx his body.

    Interestingly, the checkpoint at 5896 meters was different from that at 2048 meters. While all checkpoints hadrge tforms taking up the entire bottom portion of the screen which was impossible for the Seeker to fall through, there were many other matchstick-like characters on the tform at this checkpoint.

    There was also a special name given to this checkpoint: Base Camp.

    The other matchstick-like characters crowded around the Seeker in surprise when they saw her. Many speech bubbles appeared momentarily and disappeared very quickly; thus, Ren Suo could not read what they said in time.

    Ren Suo put the game controller down and went to bed. He only awoke at 11 a.m. the next day to his usual famished stomach. Hastily, he proceeded downstairs to satiate his hunger. As soon as he arrived, thedy at the stall said, ¡°The usual, tworge bowls of Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce?¡±

    Ren Suo also felt slightly weird that he was able to stomach so much food recently. Although he enjoyed eating, he was far from being a glutton. But now, his appetite seemed to have doubled.

    Once he arrived back home, he continued his quest in the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]. Ren Suo realized that on therge tform at the 5896-meter checkpoint, the matchstick-like characters were no longer crowding around the Seeker.

    After ying the game for two days, Ren Suo figured that the game seemed to have a special appealing power. All the Seeker could do was jump, but the strength and direction of her jump required the yer¡¯s finesse and delicate control.

    For example, before Ren Suo reached the tform at the 5896-meter checkpoint, he encountered the light grey tform which would shatter uponnding on it. It appeared along a route that he could not avoid unless he took longer and obscured route which was out of the right side of the screen. Embracing the challenge, Ren Suo decided to jump directly onto the shattering grey tform, but just as hended on it, he jumped again. He managed to achieve a double jump, and sessfullynded on a safe tform before the grey tform shattered!

    Although the Seeker had almost depleted all her energy, it was an exhrating challenge for Ren Suo!

    The Seeker was now more than halfway through to the 10000-meter summit. Furthermore, for every jump the Seeker made, she gained nearly 1-meter elevation. Ren Suo was thrilled as one can be.

    ¡°Great, I must finish and conquer this game today!¡±

 Chapter 18 - : April Foolsâ€™ Appraisal

    Chapter 18: Chapter 18: April Fools¡¯ Appraisal

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Through the days and nights, as I tear the heavens apart, glorious light will shine and cleanse even the specks of dust on earth ~¡±

    While sleeping, Ren Suo heard his phone ring. He sighed under his breath as he reached out for his mobile phone. When he saw the name of the contact disyed on the screen, he tried to freshen himself up before answering the phone. ¡°Hello, I am Ren Suo.¡±

    ¡°Ren Suo, you have to report to the Lianjiang Ministry of State Security by 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.¡± Director Ye¡¯s voice was at the other end of the line. She continued, ¡°Did you just wake up?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    ¡°Sigh, young people these days are too much. All of you sleep sote, just like my son who¡¯s in junior high now¡­¡± Director Yemented. ¡°Anyway, remember to turn up on time, or else you¡¯ll automatically lose the opportunity for an interview.¡±

    ¡°I will lose the interview opportunity?¡± Ren Suo questioned as he became more alert. ¡°What interview opportunity?¡±

    ¡°No details have been given yet.¡± Director Ye lowered her voice and said, ¡°But if you pass the interview, you¡¯ll likely be transferred to the Ministry of State Security.¡±

    ¡°Ministry of State Security!¡± Ren Suo eximed. ¡°Are there better benefits offered there?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea,¡± Director Ye replied. ¡°All I know is that the basic pay is higher than what you will get from working at the street office. There are also more allowances given here and there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely show up then!¡± a delighted Ren Suo eximed. Which fool would miss out on such a good opportunity to increase one¡¯s standing in the workforce? He continued, ¡°Is there anything I should take note of?¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much to take note, but on our end, both you and Li Qingxuan have received this opportunity. Both of you should take the chance to interact with each other and the interviewer,¡± Director Ye said in an oddly happy tone. ¡°Li Qingxuan¡¯s mobile number is 14¡­¡±

    After ending the call with Director Ye, Ren Suo proceeded to freshen up. By the time he was done brushing his teeth, he realized that it was already 10 in the morning.

    It was the 1st of April, 10 a.m.

    Ren Suo had purchased the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] on 28 March and started his challenging journey to the summit from the base camp at 5896 meters on 30 March. After staying up for 2 days and 1 night, he had finally brought the Seeker to the 10000-meter summit at 11 p.m.st night!

    The journey to the summit was even more disheartening than it was tiring. After the base camp, the game difficulty increased greatly. Initially, the gap between the tforms just got wider and the tforms differed in width. He would also asionally encounter grey tforms that would shatter the moment his avatarnded on it.

    However, the difficulty just continued to increase¡­

    The background changed into a scene of a snowstorm falling from the sky. Even though the Seeker was standing still, she could be blown off the tform, or even blown off track when she jumped.

    There were also light blue-colored tforms where ice thorns would emerge from the moment the Seeker jumped onto it. The ice thorns would kill the Seeker immediately, and it would be ¡®game over¡¯. Furthermore, the safe tforms would be located amongst a sea of such tforms that had ice thorns. There would even be only one grey-colored shattering tform amidst the blue-colored tforms asionally, and above it, there would be clouds obscuring the view. The Seeker had no choice but to jump twice tond onto the grey tform, after which Ren Suo had to quickly adjust the Seeker¡¯s direction so as tond on a safe tform.

    Besides those challenges, there were also storms that shrouded the entire screen in white clouds. Ren Suo would not be able to see the safe tforms, and the only option was to wait in the safe zone for the weather to clear out. In addition, even when the storm had subsided, there would still be obscured patches of white on the screen, and the Seeker could only see what was inside when she jumped into it.

    Furthermore, there appeared to be day and night in the game. It was easy enough to handle before the base camp, but after passing the base camp, the time of day presented significant differences. For example, it became harder to distinguish the color of the tforms at night¡­

    The difference in the difficulty of the journey between after crossing the base camp and that of when starting out at 0 meters, wasparable to reciting the value of pi backward instead¡­

    The most troublesome situation was when Ren Suo met other stickman-like characters along the way. They naturally did not take such a dangerous route that consisted of jumping onto tforms like the Seeker did. Instead, they proceeded on a gently-sloping route at a rtively slow pace. Whenever they saw the Seeker, they would stop and ask if she needed help. The same two options were presented each time: ¡°No, thank you¡± and ¡°No, thanks¡±.

    Ren Suo led the Seeker safely up to the Forward Base Camp checkpoint at 6690 meters, followed by the Campsite I checkpoint at 7900 meters, the Campsite II checkpoint at 7900 meters, the Campsite III checkpoint at 8400 meters, the Campsite IV checkpoint at 9000 meters, andstly the Campsite V checkpoint at 9600 meters¡­

    Finally, at 11:11 p.m.st night, he sessfully led the Seeker onto the 10000-meter high summit for the first time, jumping onto the sparkling gold tform!

    The next moment, Ren Suo fell asleep.

    Ren Suo could finally release the tension in his muscles and rx his mind which had been put through intense concentration after reaching the goal. He fell into a deep sleep, and he finally woke up only 11 hourster, until¡­

    ¡°Ah, ah¡­¡± Ren Suo realized that he was so hungry that he could barely move. He picked up his mobile phone and called the food delivery service number. ¡°Hello¡­Tworge bowls of Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce¡­ My address is Apartment 1506, No. 233 Tian Gardens¡­I live right above your stall.¡±

    It was fortunate that Ren Suo still remembered the phone number of the Jianji stall downstairs, or he might as well starve to death in his house¡­

    At that moment, he recalled that he had alreadypleted the mission in the game. Hastily, he turned on the game console to look at his score.

    [Mission aplished.]

    [Completed basic mission objective ¨C 60 points awarded]

    [Total score is 60 points. Appraisal: Barely passed.]

    [Current mission score: 60 points (barely passed). High score: 60 points (barely passed).]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]

    [You may only upload your score once.]

    ¡°Only 60 points?!¡± Ren Suo was dumbfounded. This game is simply impossible. How could there be such a great disparity from the maximum score?

    The scoreboard in this game was slightly different from that in [The Hitman]. In [The Hitman], once a score had been uploaded, a prompt would pop up on the screen to inform the yer that the game will be closed permanently. However, in [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters], there was no such prompt. This had to be the difference between a free game and a paid one, he thought.

    [The yer has received an appraisal of ¡°barely passed¡± and thus fulfilled the hidden requirements. The yer will now receive information regarding the chapter¡¯s hidden side mission.]

    ¡°In [The Hitman], I needed an appraisal of ¡°moderately good¡± in order to unlock the hidden mission, but now I only need a ¡°barely passed¡±¡­This game must be extremely challenging, or perhaps, it really is just a badly designed game¡­¡±

    [Side mission: A true strong warrior is known by many; a warrior whom no one knows about is a pitiful one! Get more people to witness the glorious moment of you reaching the 10000-meter summit! The more people there are to witness your achievement, the higher your score.]

    Ren Suo wanted to vomit blood. What in the world, must the Seeker be so self-indulging and pretentious?!

    In conventional novels with ostentatious characters, such as detectives who could miraculously figure out the cause behind a mysterious explosion, or intellectuals who knew the principles of electric circuits at the back of their hands, or otherwise, magicians who could guess the make and quality of the Emperor¡¯s chamber pot, or even prophets who knew the news that was toe the following day, there would be, at the least, a narrator exining the reasons behind the remarkable achievements of these characters.

    Even television dramas and animation films had modest narrators speaking in low and attractive voices when they usedputer graphics during scene transitions.

    This game did not have a wide audience, and yet the Seeker acted pretentiously. Furthermore, it required the yer to get more audience as witnesses¡­

    ¡°People, people¡­where do I find these people¡­¡± Ren Suomented. As soon as he did, the delivery man from Jianji stall arrived, and Ren Suo proceeded to collect his food at the door. When he came back, he found that the game had automatically restored the previous checkpoint and he was now back at Campsite V at 9600 meters.

    At this moment, five matchstick-like characters appeared on the screen and began to set out from Campsite V with much difficulty¡­

 Chapter 19 - Improving Oneâ€™s Physical Abilities

    Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Improving One¡¯s Physical Abilities

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°So, this is how it is done¡­¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the pathetic amount of 2 merits that he had left, though he felt that everything was worth it. He had gotten 80 points on the scoreboard!

    [Mission aplished.]

    [Completed basic mission objective ¨C 60 points awarded]

    [Completed side mission ¨C 15 points awarded]

    [Saved other characters ¨C 5 points awarded]

    [Total score is 80 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]

    [Current mission score: 80 points (extraordinary). High score: 80 points (extraordinary).]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]

    [You may upload your score once.]

    No other prompts providing tips to increase the score appeared. Even if there had been any, Ren Suo no longer wanted to try again. He had barely reached the goal even after staying up for another night.

    It was now 4 a.m. and Ren Suo had to be at the Ministry of State Security in the afternoon. He knew he had to sleep and could not y any longer.

    More importantly, he was getting tired of ying the game.

    Oveing the obstacles to ascend to the summit and helping the matchstick-like characters reach the summit were both extremely difficult tasks. However, unlike the former which required skill and precision, thetter depended more on luck. Ren Suo had started helping the matchstick-like characters reach the summit from Campsite V at 9600 meters, which did not seem too big of a challenge for just the remaining 400 meters.

    However¡­

    Not only did he try the entire night, but he also spent an additional 4 merits. He felt as if he had been yed by the game instead¡­

    Fortunately, it was finally time to reap the rewards. Ren Suo increased his attention as he anxiously uploaded his score.

    [Your score has been uploaded sessfully. You have received 24 merits. Use them wisely.]

    [You have received 1* one-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the safehouse inventory.]

    [You have received the following special reward: Enhanced Physique. It can be found and activated in the safehouse inventory.]

    [Your score for [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10000 Meters] has been uploaded. Thank you for ying. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    ¡°Only 24 merits!¡± Ren Suo was perplexed. What happened to the 40 merits the description mentioned?

    Although he had only gotten a score of 80 points, the math still did not add up. He reckoned he should have been awarded 40 * 0.8 = 32 merits instead!

    Is this not how merits are calcted and awarded?

    If only this game console was a well-known system, Ren Suo could have asked for a refund. However, the Mini Worlds Gaming Console did not even have a customer service hotline that he could call to ask for one¡­

    Nheless, he managed to earn 12 merits more than what he had spent. It was not a bad deal.

    Ren Suo opened the safehouse inventory. Apart from the treasure chest, there was a shiny sphere glowing with a subtle green tint.

    [Enhanced Physique: A one-time reward that disappears when used. Enhances all physical entities. It can only be used by the yer. The weaker the yer¡¯s body, the greater the enhancement.]

    The treasure chest required a key to be opened, as usual. However, Ren Suo had already used the one-star Sleepy Key to open the previous treasure chest, thus he had to find ways to obtain more keys before he could open the new treasure chest. On the other hand, he was able to use the ¡°Enhanced Physique¡± ability immediately.

    [Do you confirm that you would like to use ¡®Enhanced Physique¡¯? Yes/No]

    Ren Suo selected ¡°Yes¡±, and the glowing green sphere slowly disappeared from his safehouse inventory.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°What happens now?¡±

    After waiting for a minute, Ren Suo still did not feel any physical changes in his body and started feeling depressed and dejected. He then realized that it was 4:15 in the morning and yawned¡­

    It was already past 12 midnight when Ren Suo fell asleep.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Ren Suo rubbed his eyes as he awoke the next morning. The safehouse inventory was still being disyed on the screen. It was only 30 secondster that he finally recalled how he had fallen asleep the previous night.

    He rubbed his bottoms and heaved a sigh of relief when he confirmed that he was unhurt. After this, he proceeded to the toilet to freshen up while he tried to recall what had happened¡­

    ¡°Wait, hold up¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was amazed!

    This was the first time ever since he had gotten the Mini Worlds Gaming Console that he had not awakened from his sleep to find himself as hungry as the ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul!

    When Ren Suo had awoken from his sleep thest two days, he was so hungry he could barely move. Even the simple act of ordering food delivery had felt exhausting. This time, however, he felt refreshed and energized, even as he stretched his muscles!

    After washing up, Ren Suo deliberated for a short while but still decided to call for food delivery. It was solely because he waszy and not because he could not go down by himself.

    Ren Suo spoke into the microphone of his mobile phone, ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Hello?¡± thedy at the Jianji stall answered.

    Ren Suo continued, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± thedy manning the Jianji stall consequently replied.

    After cing his order, Ren Suo paced around in the living room for a short while. He was bing more confident that this was the effect of [Enhanced Physique].

    ¡°But I don¡¯t think I smell¡­¡± Ren Suo said as he took a sniff of himself. He rubbed his elbows together and specks of dirt came off. However, it was typical for sebum and dirt to umte there following a night¡¯s sleep.

    Based on Ren Suo¡¯s simple and unscientific reasoning, his body had undergone a transformation. Hence, there should be noticeable changes urring, such as the pores of the skin releasing toxins, resulting in the body producing a foul odor that was akin to feces¡­

    However, Ren Suo¡¯s pores were smaller than the sharp end of a needle. If toxins were released from such tiny pores, he would have had blood full of toxins.

    Furthermore, the dust particles, dead skin cells, and bacteria in the air would make up much of the sebum and impurities. The sebum would glue the impurities together to form dirt. Thus, it was unrealistic for normal people to secrete toxins and fats through the pores of the skin.

    To secrete toxins, that would instead require¨C¨C

    ¡°Holy cow!¡±

    Ren Suo eximed as he mbered hastily to the toilet. The moment he pulled down his pants, he felt as if the world tore apart and then came back together again. The earth trembled and the sky crackled as Ren Suo discharged a long stream of solid waste from his bowels. It was as if a huge explosion had urred¡­

    By the time Ren Suo came out of the toilet to collect his food, the delivery man had already been waiting at the door for a while. The delivery man took a deep breath and was just about toment about having to wait such a long time for Ren Suo toe to the door. However, the unpleasant odor from Ren Suo¡¯s prior business was so strong that the delivery man¡¯s face suddenly turned pale, and he simply scurried away quickly instead after handing the food to Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo shut the main door and quietly shut the toilet door as well. It was April, and the weather in Lianjiang was getting warmer. Although Ren Suo had flushed the toilet, the foul odor had already spread quickly around the house¡­

    Even Ren Suo himself could not stand the smell after a short while and thus, proceeded to eat at his balcony instead. When he had finally finished eating to his heart¡¯s content, he received a message on his phone.

    ¡°Director Ye from the street office: In case any unforeseen idents ur, bring along two extra sets of clothes to the interview.¡±

    A change of clothes? Do I need to change into different sets of clothes just for an interview? Ren Suo was perplexed. Suddenly, Ren Suo¡¯s phone rang.

    ¡°Hello?¡± a crisp and clear female voice said from the other end of the line. She asked, ¡°Is this Ren Suo?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Ren Suo replied as he smacked his lips after finishing theplimentary fresh soup from Jianji stall.

    ¡°Are you eating? I¡¯m so sorry for disturbing you,¡± said the girl on the other end of the line.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ve just finished my food. You are¡­?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    The girl replied, ¡°I am Li Qingxuan. I am also going to the interview at the Ministry of State Securityter in the afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ren Suo said as he recalled that Director Ye had called him yesterday to inform him of his interview this afternoon at the Ministry of State Security. Many enticing benefits would be awaiting him if he passed the interview. Apart from him, there was this other girl who also received the interview opportunity.

    ¡°Did you forget?¡± asked a bemused Li Qingxuan. ¡°It¡¯s already one o¡¯clock.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t,¡± Ren Suo denied as he shook his head. ¡°I am just about to prepare for it¡­Why did you call me?¡±

    Li Qingxuan replied, ¡°This interview opportunity came so suddenly, and it seemed so strange. I¡¯m just wondering if you have any insider information about it.¡±

    ¡°How would that be possible? I am also just an ordinary university graduate,¡± Ren Suo replied shamelessly as he nced at the Mini Worlds Gaming Console in his living room.

    ¡°How about this? Let¡¯s go in together so that, at the very least, we would be familiar with each other. Shall we meet at the Ministry¡¯s entrance at 2 p.m.?¡± Li Qingxuan asked.

    Ren Suo replied cautiously, ¡°Is this a date?¡±

    Li Qingxuan also became more vignt and asked, ¡°You like guys. Don¡¯t you?¡±

 Chapter 20 - Shot to Death?

    Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Shot to Death?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    By two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, in Lianjiang City¡¯s Ministry of State Security, more than two hundred people were squeezed inside the main hall of the building. Most of the crowd were teenagers.

    Li Qingxuan was also bewildered. She replied, ¡°I doubt they require so many people in the civilian department in theory, do they? However, this is just an interview. I suppose they are only going to select one in ten people or even one in a hundred people.¡±

    ¡°Even so, how did we get selected in the first ce?¡± Ren Suo questioned. ¡°We hadn¡¯t applied for a transfer nor been through any interview. This opportunity basically just fell from the skies and appeared out of nowhere. If not for the fact that it was Director Ye who called us, I would have thought this was some marketing trap.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Li Qingxuan agreed.

    A cheery and enthusiastic young man beside them who overheard their conversation chipped in and said in agreement, ¡°I have just joined the tax bureau too, and now, I have also received the news that I could be transferred to the Ministry of State Security¡­Could this really be just like what the rumor said?¡±

    ¡°What rumor?¡± Ren Suo and Li Qingxuan asked.

    ¡°Do you guys not know?¡± the young man asked. He seemed to be proud of showcasing his knowledge¡ªespecially to the young woman Li Qingxuan. He lowered his voice and said in a mysterious tone, ¡°These days, it is indeed hard to tell if something is true on the inte, and if there were any slightly popr rumors that appear, they would be suppressed immediately.¡±

    ¡°However, there¡¯s someone in my family who is in the loop, and I can confirm that some of the rumors going around on the inte are true,¡± the young man exined. He looked at Li Qingxuan and continued, ¡°Pleased to meet you, I am Xie Qiansi.¡±

    Li Qingxuan nced at Ren Suo. Instinctively, Ren Suo put his arm around Xie Qiansi¡¯s shoulder and said warmly, ¡°You are called Qiansi? We are really fated then!¡±

    ¡°What fate?¡± asked Xie Qiansi.

    ¡°My name is Ren Suo, and you are Xie Qiansi. Together we are called Suo Qiansi, which means we must have an earth-shattering fate to have met.¡±

    ¡°Is¡­is this how it goes?¡± a puzzled Xie Qiansi said.

    At this point, Li Qingxuan covered her mouth as she smiled. She said, ¡°Hello, I am Li Qingxuan. What were you saying about the rumors just now?¡±

    Her question captured Xie Qiansi¡¯s attention. He said, ¡°I can¡¯t go into the details, but I¡¯m sure you guys must have read some news articles about the Extraordinaires in the past few months?¡±

    Li Qingxuan pondered for a while and nodded her head. She said, ¡°Two months ago, there were supposedly two people performing a fire and ice show on West Street. They wielded ice and breathed fire and seemed to be real Extraordinaires who were performing without any props. It spread like wildfire in my chat groups back then.¡±

    Li Qingxuan continued, ¡°It was easy to shoot fire, but to make ice on the spot¡­No one saw them with niters they could make ice with. However, they were only popr for a few days, and they disappeared even before the New Year. When I went to take a look on the first day of the New Year, they were no longer there.¡±

    ¡°I vaguely recall reading simr news articles, but I¡¯ve forgotten the details,¡± she added.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Extraordinary abilities¡­For example, the hitman from [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet] two days ago?¡±

    Xie Qiansi nodded his head. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t have proof that they all took ce, and you guys may not even believe what I¡¯m going to say. Regardless, [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet] definitely took ce in real life. Even up till now, that video was still being circted around the entire inte, and the ckthorn Tower in Fog City still remained under renovation. The higher-ups seemed to be trying to suppress any rted information, but¡­¡±

    He shrugged his shoulders as he continued, ¡°Do you think they are people with unimaginable ck magic or people with¡­abilities from other dimensions?¡±

    Li Qingxuan asked, ¡°Regardless of which, what has this got to do with us?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you would be surprised.¡± Xie Qiansi exined, ¡°If I am right, what we are about to join is the newly-established Branch 18 of the Ministry of State Security. You guys would have had seen the people from the agency.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± a slightly surprised Li Qingxuan asked.

    Ren Suo, on the other hand, wasposed. He said, ¡°The guys d in ck vests during the health examination?¡±

    ¡°They are called the ck cats by other departments,¡± Xie Qiansi said. Heughed as he continued, ¡°We all received the interview opportunity suddenly after we had gone for the health examination. Clearly, our opportunity arose from the health examination, but our physical conditions are all just slightly better than average people, at the very most.¡±

    ¡°What kind of job do you guys think does not consider your intellectual abilities, skills, physical abilities, but instead some specific potential in your body?¡± Xie Qiansi asked.

    Looking at Ren Suo and Li Qingxuan focused in thought, Xie Qiansi took out his phone and said, ¡°Let¡¯s add each other on WeChat. It would be easier for us to contact one another in the future.¡±

    After Ren Suo added Xie Qiansi as a good friend on WeChat, he was immediately added to a group chat that had a meaningful name.

    [The Future Leaders of Xuan Nation]

    ¡°More people are added to the group again?¡±

    ¡°Is it a pretty girl?¡±

    ¡°Yet another person has been talked into this by our Great Master Xie.¡±

    Xie Qiansi said to Li Qingxuan, ¡°Having connections is the most important when joining any organization. Even in the Ministry of State Security, establishing good connections with other people is crucial. Even if any of us fails the interview, we may not necessarily return to our previous post, since we are likely to be ¡®talented¡¯ people. At that time, it could be beneficial for both of us to remain in contact and help each other out¡­¡±

    ¡°You are truly one Great Master Xie,¡± Ren Suo interrupted. ¡°Did you create this group?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± an extremely proud Xie Qiansi eximed.

    ¡°What happens if I send inappropriate videos in the group then, will you be responsible?¡± Ren Suo asked in a seemingly serious tone.

    Xie Qiansi¡¯s face froze. He said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have no choice but to kick you out¡­¡±

    ¡°My young brother, the most important thing in an organization is to have good rtions with others. If you kick someone out of the group just like that, they would be offended!¡± Ren Suo said solemnly as he pped Xie Qiansi¡¯s back lightly.

    Xie Qiansi rolled his eyes. Who wouldn¡¯t have known Ren Suo was just trying to stop him from hitting on Li Qingxuan? Without any hesitation, he turned around and walked towards another beautifuldy.

    Li Qingxuan looked at Ren Suo and nodded her head in approval. She smiled and said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°No worries.¡± Ren Suo waved his hand and said, ¡°I just can¡¯t stand people who are so pretentious and so full of themselves¡­Eh?¡±

    Not far from them, Xie Qiansi was now introducing himself to a youngdy with an extremely cute and rounded face. He said, ¡°I am Xie Qiansi. Do you know any insider information about this interview?¡±

    The cute young girl shook her head and replied softly, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I am Qiao Muyi¡­¡±

    The cute and young girl, who had a soft and shy voice, was definitely Xie Qiansi¡¯s ideal type. Just as he took a step forward and was about to show off his wide connections and good interaction skills, a hand grabbed his shoulder and held him back.

    The next moment, a man whom Xie Qiansi did not know was called ¡®Ren Suo¡¯ or ¡®Renso¡¯ came up to them and put a hand on Qiao Muyi¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°We have such amazing fate! I am Ren Suo, and you are Qiao Muyi. Together we are called Suo Muyi, which means we have an earth-shattering fate to have met.¡±

    Qiao Muyi stared nkly at Ren Suo and blinked her eyes.

    Xie Qiansi¡¯s blood started to boil. This idiot did not even bother changing the way he introduced himself!

    Ren Suo continued to smile happily, until a voice in his head said, ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a foreign state. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed. 9658 seconds required to retrieve the key, do not remove physical contact. 9657, 9656, 9655¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was bewildered. Over 900 seconds; that was equivalent to more than two hours! How could he find an excuse to maintain physical contact with Qiao Muyi for such a long time?

    Ren Suo had noticed earlier that Qiao Muyi caused his heart to palpitate vigorously. He knew immediately that she must be yet another key! He had thought that he would not be able to retrieve any key from Qiao Muyi, like what happened with Li Dan in the ck vest.

    To his surprise, he was able to retrieve a key from Qiao Muyi. However, the time required was too long and simply impossible, unless he knocked her out and dragged her into a dark house to steal the key!

    At this moment, fiverge buses arrived in front of the Ministry of State Security building and traffic piled up instantly. Ren Suo looked over curiously and thought to himself that the Ministry seemed to be organizing a tour.

    A few men d in ck vests alighted from the coach buses. Ren Suo spotted Li Dan among them, and their leader who looked fierce and tough walked to the entrance of the building. He bellowed at the top of his voice, ¡°Be quiet! I am You Jilong, and I am in charge of your interviews! I will now be taking attendance. When your name is called, take out your identity card,e forward and stand in a line!¡±

    The entire hall of people on the first level quietened down. Suddenly, in the now quiet hall, someone in the crowd asked, ¡°Are you going to shoot all of us dead?¡±

 Chapter 21 - Needless Routines

    Chapter 21: Chapter 21- Needless Routines

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Are you going to shoot all of us dead?¡±

    All the interviewees in the building who had heard the question were stunned and their faces all turned pale. You Jilong¡¯s face turned grim as heshed out, ¡°Who was that? Come out now!¡±

    Ren Suo turned around to take a nce and caught a glimpse of a striking figure navigating at light speed through the crowd. However, there were too many people, and Ren Suo could not get a good look.

    You Jilong scrutinized therge crowd in the hall which consisted of over 200 interviewees. His face remained solemn as he continued, ¡°All of you, interviewees, will be proceeding to a training camp for a five-day-long basic training program. During this period, you will not be able to contact anyone outside. If you do not wish to participate, you may leave now, but you will automatically be deemed to have given up this interview opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Five days?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯tmunicate with the outside world either?¡±

    The sudden news took all the interviewees by surprise. Someone asked, ¡°But you didn¡¯t tell us this beforehand!¡±

    Ren Suo was enlightened; he finally understood why Director Ye had asked him to bring along extra sets of clothing.

    You Jilong exined dully, ¡°I know, but it was only three hours ago when the higher-ups ryed the instructions to skip the boring interviews and proceed directly to the basic training as a form of assessment. We will not be forcing anyone to attend either, so if you wish to leave, you may do so and return to your original post.¡±

    Li Qingxuan raised her hand and asked, ¡°We have only brought some clothes along but not our luggage and daily necessities like our toothbrushes and toothpaste. We won¡¯t have the necessary supplies to stay there for five days¡­¡±

    ¡°The training camp has uniforms in all sorts of sizes, as well as aplete range of daily necessities. As for your undergarments, you may purchase them directly at the camppound,¡± You Jilong replied monotonously. ¡°The items are all supplied by the internal department and cannot be purchased outside. They are sold at half the price of the same type of items you find in the market, and several types of payment methods are supported, including UnionPay and Alipay. There is no need to worry.¡±

    Another person asked, ¡°What position exactly are we being interviewed for?¡±

    You Jilong replied, ¡°We will exin once we reach the training camp. For now, I can only say it¡¯s a job in Branch 18 of the Ministry of State Security. Alright, those who do not wish to participate in the training camp, please leave now. Otherwise, when I call your nameter,e out and queue up here.¡±

    The crowd exchanged nces and one after another, a sizeable amount of people left the building. These people would have been newly assigned to a post in another ministry or department, and the benefits there could already be better than that in the Ministry of State Security. It was already confusing enough for them to be randomly called to show up for the interview at such short notice. Now that they had to fulfill such arduous and difficult conditions that were mandatory, they would naturally give up on this ¡®opportunity¡¯ without much hesitation.

    Why would they choose to go through such pain when they already had a better job?

    Within a few minutes, dozens of people had left the hall while Ren Suo naturally stayed put. He was bing more and more curious about this Branch 18 of the Ministry of State Security. Furthermore, the benefits that he would receive at the Ministry was indeed better than that at the street office!

    Li Qingxuan, Xie Qiansi, and Qiao Muyi also remained in the hall. Ren Suo thought that perhaps they had other intentions and reasons for staying put. The rest of the people, however, were either just going with the flow for the fun of it or were now curious about the ¡®rumor¡¯ that Xie Qiansi had been talking about.

    You Jilong remained unperturbed as he looked at the over hundred people remaining in the building. He took out a name list and started taking attendance. He shouted, ¡°Wang Fugui, Ling Huyao, Lai Haiwen¡­Come forward!¡±

    Eight men stepped forward. They handed their identification cards to one of the men d in ck vests for verification. Consequently, the man then led them up to arge coach bus outside.

    Ren Suo was checked by Li Dan, who still had the same sleepy look on his face. Dark circles encircled his eyes. However, he could still recognize Ren Suo as he said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡±

    Ren Suoughed and replied, ¡°The question I asked you the previous time, can you answer me now?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Dan hesitated for a short while and replied, ¡°Well, you asked about how that guy was able to cause the rest to fall asleep¡­You will find out very soon, in just a few hours. Go up the bus, remember you¡¯re in team 8.¡±

    There was only onerge bus left outside the building. The other buses had been filled up with people and had already departed. Ren Suo boarded thest remaining bus only to see that Qiao Muyi was already seated at the front. His face lit up and without asking for her permission, he proceeded to sit beside her¨C¨C

    ¡°It¡¯s better if girls sat together,¡± Li Qingxuan interrupted as she held Ren Suo back and sat down happily beside Qiao Muyi.

    Without any choice, Ren Suo proceeded to sit directly behind Qiao Muyi. How was Ren Suo going to maintain physical ¡®contact¡¯ with Qiao Muyi for a good two to three hours and retrieve his key? At this moment, Xie Qiansi sat down beside Ren Suo. He instinctively blurted out in despise, ¡°Isn¡¯t it inappropriate for guys to sit together?¡±

    Xie Qiansi could not be bothered to answer as he continued his conversation with Li Qingxuan and Qiao Muyi who were sitting directly in front. He took out his mobile phone to add Qiao Muyi on WeChat and he sent her the same statement that he had used before, ¡°It would be beneficial for all of us if we keep in contact and help each other out¡­¡±

    Although there were very few girls among those who turned up for the interview, Li Qingxuan and Qiao Muyi were indeed rtively pretty. It was no wonder that Xie Qiansi was so desperate to get into their good books.

    The bus was now filled with people and a man d in a ck vest walked up. He said loudly, ¡°If you want to notify your family, do so now. When we reach the training campter, all of your mobile phones will be collected and kept away from you.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t even use our phones?¡± A huge uproar exploded on the bus. In Xuan Nation where people had been ustomed to using smart technology in their daily lives, it would be an extremely rare sight to see teenagers not using their phones, much like it was rare to see online gamers not collecting their daily check-in gifts.

    Everyone had thought that although they would be separated from the outside world, they would still have ess to their phones. The people who thought they could just disable mobile data and had hastily activated short-term unlimited mobile data to download movies and novels also stopped in their movements.

    Xie Qiansi was even more upset. He had created a WeChat group chat and added many people to the chat group, in hopes of using the messaging tform to interact with other people. Now that they were not going to have their phone with them, the group would be rendered useless¡­

    Ren Suo, on the other hand, had no such qualms. Since he lived alone, all he needed to do was send a broadcast message to his family members and inform them that he would be going away to attend a civil servant training camp for the next few days.

    Five hourster, Ren Suo and the other interviewees crossed out of Lianjiang City¡¯s boundaries and were approaching Qing Ping Mountain Range. The long and grueling bus journey caused everyone to be tired and sleepy, and many of them had already adjusted their seats to afortable position and fallen asleep. At this juncture, Ren Suo observed that almost all the people around him had drifted off to dreand, and he sneakily extended his hand towards Qiao Muyi¡­

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a sleepy state. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed. 303 seconds required to retrieve. Do not remove physical contact. 302, 301, 300¡­¡±

    Oh? Now that Qiao Muyi was sleeping, Ren Suo only needed about five minutes to retrieve the key from her?

    However, at this moment, Qiao Muyi shifted her body as she let out a soft grumble. She turned her head to see a hand on her shoulder.

    Qiao Muyi saw Ren Suo fast asleep while leaning on her chair with his groping hand resting on her shoulder. She flicked a finger to push Ren Suo¡¯s hand away.

    ¡°Physical contact has been lost.¡±

    Ren Suo let out a whimper as he pretended to shift from an ufortable sleeping position and leaned back against his seat. Did Qiao Muyi wake up from her sleep by chance, or had the fact that he was retrieving a key caused her to awaken?

    Regardless, Ren Suo now knew that a sleeping ¡®key¡¯ required a much shorter time to retrieve. It was a pleasant surprise since he still had a treasure chest that was waiting to be opened. He could not miss the opportunity to retrieve a key from Qiao Muyi. There would be plenty of chances to do so over the next few days at the training camp.

    The sky outside darkened. Ren Suo¡¯s growling stomach told him it was almost time for dinner. Just then, therge bus finally passed through a military security checkpoint and headed towards a hidden training camp between the mountains.

    It had been a long ride. After sitting on the bus for numerous hours, Ren Suo could finally alight from the bus and stretch his aching legs. He could hear his bones and his entire body cracking.

    ¡°There are many buses here,¡± Ren Suo muttered as he saw more than ten of suchrge coach buses parked at the training camp.

    ¡°These people do not alle from Lianjiang City,¡± Xie Qiansi said, who was also slightly surprised. He continued, ¡°The license tes of those buses show that they are from the nearby Yuanshan City and Pingjiang City¡­Theserge buses were all hired by the Ministry of State Security at short notice.¡±

    Ren Suo added, ¡°That means that all civil servants from the whole province who have met the criteria set by the Ministry of State Security have been gathered here?¡±

    Suddenly, someone beside them said, ¡°There are so many people here in this secluded ce. When they shoot all of us dead, there wouldn¡¯t even be a need to follow the routine for the disposal of the bodies.¡±

 Chapter 22 - The Young Man, Yu Kuangtu

    Chapter 22: Chapter 22 ¨C The Young Man, Yu Kuangtu

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°There are so many people here in this secluded ce. When they shoot all of us dead, there wouldn¡¯t even be a need to follow the routine for the disposal of the bodies.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s face turned grim as they turned around in a bid to find out who had made such a disparaging remark. However, no one could identify the person who had made thement as the sun had already set and the sky was dark. Moreover, everyone had just met and were not yet familiar with one another. They had no choice but to just let it pass.

    ¡°Come over here!¡± one of the men who were d in ck vests shouted. He ushered everyone into the training camp and said, ¡°Head over there to have your dinner! After you have finished eating,e back out to the parade square and line up in your respective groups to wait!¡±

    It was only at the mention of food that everyone realized that they were famished. Even those who had eaten their lunch at 2 p.m. would have finished digesting their food since it was already more than 6 hours since theyst ate.

    Furthermore, the long bus journey was physically and mentally draining at an extreme level, and everyone was now at an unfamiliar location that they had never been to in the past. Eating food was the perfect way to destress.

    They were brought into therge dining hall of the training camp in several groups of thirty people. They retrieved their own tes and proceeded to collect their meal which included two vegetable dishes, one choice of meat, and a bowl of soup at no cost. They had to help themselves to the rice. The atmosphere felt just like a school canteen.

    There were already many people eating in the dining hall. Amidst the incessant chatter and bustle in the dining hall, Ren Suo figured out that some of the people did not look like typical civil servants. Instead, they had tanned skin and moved in the style of¡­soldiers.

    Ren Suo was naturally inclined towards having his meal with Qiao Muyi and Li Qingxuan. However, Qiao Muyi and Li Qingxuan had already opened up with each other for some reason, and both of them had sat down together at a table in a corner of the dining hall. When Ren Suo finally found them, a few other guys were just about to sit down together with the two beautifuldies. Ren Suo swiftly stepped forward to put down his te and said, ¡°Hello, what a coincidence!¡±

    What coincidence¡­The guys looked woefully at Ren Suo who had appeared out of nowhere and then had no choice but to resort to sitting down elsewhere to eat instead.

    Li Qingxuan smiled unnaturally at Ren Suo while Qiao Muyi continued eating silently. Ren Suo tried to initiate a conversation and started, ¡°I hope we are not here for military training! Just look at this dining hall and the entire training camp¡­Tsk tsk tsk.¡±

    Ren Suo needed to find a way to get Qiao Muyi to fall asleep and let her guard down so that he could maintain physical contact with her for a good two minutes to retrieve the key he needed. Although he still had no such opportunity, he figured that it would be a good move to get into her good books first.

    Li Qingxuan was slightly disheartened. She said, ¡°To be honest, I am already regretting my decision toe here. I had thought that, at the very most, I would being here to study, but if it¡¯s a military-style training¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only five days though,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Five days is troublesome enough. I didn¡¯t bring my skincare products along¡­ ¡± Li Qingxuanmented.

    Suddenly, Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Actually, I feel that this would be a turning point in our lives.¡±

    Ren Suo and Li Qingxuan looked at her. She continued mysteriously, ¡°However, the turning point could either be for better or for worse¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was stumped by her words and remained silent. After they finished their meal, they proceeded to the parade square to join their group. All three of them were in group 8. There wererge, noticeable signs in the parade square, and Ren Suo saw that there was a total of only nine groups.

    Based on the assumption that each group consisted of thirty people each, there would be a whopping 270 civil servants at the training camp!

    Although there were thousands of civil servants in Lianjiang City alone, and possibly hundreds of thousands of civil servants in the entire Lian Province, the people at the training camp were all the youngest of the lot and would have had to pass the ¡®special requirements¡¯ set by the Ministry of State Security.

    These people included those from other government domains, such as personnel from the Security Bureau and Adjudicative Body. Ren Suo had also found out that Xie Qiansi was actually a section member in the Civil Division of the People¡¯s Court when they had a discussion earlier on.

    It was a rare one in ten chance to be able to be at the training camp.

    What exactly happened that required them toe all the way to train in a secluded area, away from the outside world?

    A short while after 8 p.m., thest group of people finished their dinner and emerged from the dining hall. The man in the ck vest called a few people over to organize the entire crowd into their groups and in no time, everyone split up into their respective groups and separated themselves by gender. After all, they were civil servants and no longer yful students.

    ¡°I am Zhao Jingzhong, and I will be your instructor for the next five days!¡± a man said, who was standing in front of Group 8, simrly d in a ck vest. He continued in a loud voice, ¡°After five days if you are still unable to meet the training criteria, we will naturally not meet again. If you pass, we will unlikely meet again either. Those who pass will be sent back to your respective cities and take on more important roles!¡±

    ¡°During the next five days, I do not require all of you to be as sharp and disciplined as soldiers in the military. However! Rules are still rules, andmands that are given must still be followed! Keep quiet when you are to be quiet; eat when you are told to eat; be in position by the time you are told to gather; and don¡¯t fall behind when the group is moving!¡± Zhao Jingzhongmanded.

    He continued, ¡°We will now be heading to the main auditorium, where all your questions will be answered. I¡¯m sure that by the time all of you step out of the auditorium, your anger will be appeased and instead be reced with a strong determination to press on and give your best efforts!¡±

    Suddenly, a thunderous voice boomed from the crowd, ¡°Fight onward for the rise of Xuan Nation!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The crowd was speechless.

    Everyone turned their heads to find out who had been interjecting such absurd remarks at the most appropriate of times since the afternoon, but they still had no clue as to who it was.

    In an orderly fashion, everyone headed towards the main auditorium in their groups. After walking for nearly ten minutes, they finally reached it. There were no chairs in the auditorium, and everyone had to sit cross-legged on the floor.

    A short momentter, another young man who was simrly d in a ck vest but looked more mature walked onto the podium.

    All of a sudden, Xie Qiansi, who was sitting beside Ren Suo, felt a trembleing from beside him. He turned to look at Ren Suo and saw that he was actually drooling while looking at the man on stage. The intense look on Ren Suo¡¯s face and his unblinking eyes reminded Xie Qiansi of his poodle at home. He felt a chill down his spine as goosebumps formed on his skin.

    Ren Suo seemed to have noticed his unsightly state and hastily wiped his saliva off from the corners of his mouth. However, not once did he shift his eyes away from the young man on the podium whom he had been ogling at.

    If Qiao Muyi had caused Ren Suo¡¯s heart to palpitate in trepidation, then the young man on the podium would have caused Ren Suo¡¯s heart to race so fast and vigorously that he would have copsed!

    Ren Suo felt an enormous desire to rush forward immediately to hug the young man but had fortunately curbed that craving with all his energy.

    Without a doubt, the young man was also a key, and this key would definitely be of a very high level, for the extremely delectable attraction he felt towards the young man far surpassed what he felt towards Li Dan and Qiao Muyi!

    ¡°Silence,¡± the young manmanded monotonously.

    The entire crowd in the auditorium fell silent.

    The young man had amanding yet respectable presence which was felt by the audience in the auditorium, and theyplied with the young man¡¯s instructions without question.

    However, to Ren Suo, the young man had instantly turned from an already delicious cake into an even more mouth-watering strawberry-topped cake!

    I really want it¡­I really, really want it¡­

    Xie Qiansi nudged away slightly from Ren Suo as a shiver ran down his spine. It was as if he could hear Ren Suo¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°I am Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director of the 18th Branch of the Ministry of State Security of Lianjiang City,¡± the young man said solemnly. ¡°At the same time, I am currently a Second Rank Practitioner, the strongest individual soldier in the whole Lian Province!¡±

    Strongest individual soldier? Practitioner? Second Rank?

    The young people below the stage would have thought that Yu Kuangtu had simply read too many online novels and was a serious chuunibyu who had a strong desire to act.

    However, in Yu Kuangtu¡¯s authoritative and powerful presence, no one dared to make a noise and continued listening silently, although they did not believe him.

    ¡°I know that only seeing is believing, so¡­¡± Yu Kuangtu continued.

    He lowered his body while retracting his right fist and used his left palm to cup his right fist.

    ¡°We will now prove it all to you¡­ Li Dan!¡± Yu Kuangtu eximed.

    Yu Kuangtu punched upwards into the air!

    Suddenly, following a resounding crackle in the air, a fireball emerged from Yu Kuangtu¡¯s fist. The crowd watched on as the fireball rapidly grew bigger in size. Within seconds, it was hovering above their heads. The radius of the fireball was already as long as a dumper truck and glowing almost as bright and as blinding as the sun!

    ¡°Understood!¡± shouted Li Dan.

    Ren Suo watched as Li Dan, who had been standing at the side, jumped upwards all of a sudden as he punched towards the enormous fireball!

    In an instant, the fireball dispersed into the air just like the fleeting first snow melting rapidly in the sun. A cool breeze rushed into the auditorium and it felt as if it was piercing through everyone¡¯s heart and soul.

    Yu Kuangtu looked at the amused crowd and tapped the microphone beside him. When he had everyone¡¯s attention again, he said, ¡°This, this is the power of the Practitioners.¡±

    ¡°And all of you, are the civil servants who have qualified to be one of the Practitioners,¡± he concluded.

 Chapter 23 - - The Beginning

    Chapter 23: Chapter 23 ¨C The Beginning

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Half an hourter, therge crowd started streaming out of the main auditorium. Some people were excited about what awaited them while some remained deep in thought, pondering over what they had just heard and seen. Others were bewildered and at aplete loss for words while the rest appeared calm andposed.

    Within the past 30 minutes, Branch 18 of the Ministry of State Security had thoroughly changed and reshaped everyone¡¯s three fundamental views¡ªtheir views on life, their worldview, and their values. Although they were all still surrounded by hills and mountains outside the camp, and the tiny stars still shone dimly in the night sky, they felt as if their entire world had changed, and even the air felt fresher and more pleasing.

    They now realized that this was the power of Reiki¡ªenergy healing and rejuvenation.

    In Eastern cultures like that of Xuan Nation, this would be termed as Reiki rejuvenation, while in Western cultures as headed by the Pacific Federation, this would usually be termed as the opening of the mind¡¯s eye, or the awakening of one¡¯s superpowers.

    Regardless of the term used, the unique characteristic of this was that there were only very few people who had ¡®extraordinary abilities¡¯. These people would unconsciously awaken their own abilities and be able to control the vast amount of ¡®Reiki¡¯ in the air, simr to dark energy. They would feel as if they were born with an extra leg or hand, with which they could perform extraordinary abilities.

    ording to Yu Kuangtu, an ¡®Extraordinaire¡¯ had already been sent into space in a man-made spacecraftunched by Xuan Nation three months ago. He was able to test the control of Reiki in the vacuum of space, which showed the possibility of Reiki being able to be garnered and recovered throughout the universe, and not just on Earth.

    Consequently, with the existence of those with ¡®extraordinary abilities¡¯, people who possessed ¡®ordinary abilities¡¯ must also exist. Xuan Nation discovered through research that most of these people with extraordinary abilities appeared gradually over thest six months, and this was true in other nations as well.

    Most of these Extraordinaries became more prominent in society after they discovered their extraordinary abilities and attempted to use their abilities to garner fame and wealth while only a minority chose to remain discreet about it. In many foreign countries, many of these Extraordinaires set up their own religions or gangs, or even threaten prominent figures and top leaders into submission.

    Xuan Nation had been no exception. However, such Extraordinaires were quickly apprehended by the police and sent to a research center for abnormal people, for observations to be carried out.

    Yu Kuangtu also mentioned that while most of the extraordinary abilities were rted to fighting and martial arts, there were also abilities that allowed one to create things. For example, some of the Extraordinaires in the research center were able to produce superconducting materials. They were able to generate massive wealth from selling these materials, so much that they could afford to livevishly for the rest of their lives.

    On the other hand, Extraordinaires who attempted to use violence to seize the wealth of civilians had be criminals. After they were arrested, they were not given the death penalty, but were instead sent to the research center for further research as ¡®disposable and destructible material¡¯.

    Yu Kuangtu¡¯s tone was yful and casual when he talked about the Extraordinaire criminals, and it was clearly a deliberate warning to the civil servants who were listening below the stage. He was just trying to warn them not tomit any crimes with their acquired abilities.

    To date, Xuan Nation had yet to discover a way to identify people with ¡®extraordinary abilities¡¯, nor could they pick out the nature and characteristics of these ¡®extraordinary abilities¡¯. However, after months of intense research and overtime work, they soon found a way to identify people with ¡®ordinary abilities¡¯.

    They had already put the method to test in the military and very quickly identified a group of talents. This group of talents coborated with the nation¡¯s Reiki researchers while practicing the nation¡¯s Reiki rejuvenation techniques. Their physical abilities strengthened rapidly, and they soon mastered many special techniques to utilize Reiki.

    Thereafter, these talents were dispatched to different regions over the entire nation and coborated with the civil sector and medical sector to pick out civil servants who had ¡®ordinary abilities¡¯ through health examinations. They would then teach and guide the selected civil servants to be the foundational practicing body of Reiki of Xuan Nation.

    Indeed, the members of Branch 18 of the Ministry of State Security who were all d in ck vests were the first batch of Practitioners, who had been selected from the nation¡¯s military!

    On the other hand, civil servants like Ren Suo were those with ¡®ordinary abilities¡¯.

    During the training, Ren Suo and the other selected civil servants would be taught by the men d in the ck vests the methods to practice Reiki, to master basic Reiki techniques, and be ustomed to the ways of the Practitioners.

    Yu Kuangtu also mentioned that all the civil servants who were listening to his speech in the auditorium were newly-appointed civil servants who had cleared the background checks. When they had mastered how to practice Reiki, their information would be stored into their files within the Ministry of State Security, and both their immediate family and themselves would not be allowed to emigrate to other countries.

    When they leave the training camp, they would be allocated to different departments under different ministries based on their learning progress as the nation¡¯s foundational Practitioners. They would be in charge of leading and guiding civilians to learn and practice Reiki while setting appropriate guidelines and restrictions on their practice!

    ¡°Indeed, I was right!¡± eximed Xie Qiansi. The moment the group left the auditorium, Xie Qiansi blurted uncontrobly, ¡°Haha! Joining the civil service sector indeed has its benefits. We are now going to be the country¡¯s first batch of Practitioners¡­¡±

    ¡°The first batch of Practitioners are those in the ck vests,¡± said Ren Suo.

    ¡°¡­Although those ck cats are the first batch of Practitioners, they must not have been practicing for a very long time. As long as we work slightly harder, we will definitely be able to leap ahead of them in therge,petitive world of Reiki rejuvenation! Moreover, our Xuan Nation is the only country in the world so far to be so generous as to let civil servants like us start practicing Reiki immediately. We are going to be extraordinary people!¡± Xie Qiansi continued.

    After Xie Qiansi¡¯s n to form a mini group failed, he remained determined and fell into the fantasy of having the world revolve around him. However, Ren Suo was not intrigued. Most of the people around him, regardless of gender, had smiles on their faces, as if they were going to be the next king of the world.

    Their generation of civil servants was definitely not as grounded or down-to-earth as those whoid the foundation of Xuan Nation tens of years ago. In recent years, they were provided with many entertainment sources like anime, games, and novels, and this naturally influenced them to have an extremely strengthened divergent thinking.

    Even if the older generation perceived the younger civil servants to be more mature for their age, it was not surprising that society was moving away from collectivism and advancing towards individualism, with the emergence of such heroic ideals that they were ¡®heroes who could reshape history¡¯.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be fascinated by that though. I¡¯m confident that other countries will soon develop their own departments catered towards extraordinary abilities,¡± Ren Suo said. He smiled as he continued, ¡°I am sure that this technique of identifying people with ¡®ordinary abilities¡¯ would be easily discovered by other countries too. If not, our nation would definitely not be so aggressive in searching for people like us with such abilities. Putting everything else aside, news of us attending this training camp could well have spread to other countries.¡±

    Xie Qiansi did not understand. He asked, ¡°Why do you say so?¡±

    ¡°If the screening method could not be easily replicated or had many technology barriers, our country would not have wanted to train so many people at once. Even though all of us here are civil servants who have passed background checks, we would still be sent out to different locations within our country. How would the government be able to ensure that all this information remains a secret? Furthermore, all of us are just those who were selected from Lian Province. ording to the Deputy Director, the entire Xuan Nation is conducting training camps for the selected civil servants. It would not be difficult for such information to be leaked out,¡± Ren Suo exined.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± a round-faced young man beside them who had overheard their conversation said. He added, ¡°The only reason for training so many people at once is that the screening method is so simple that other countries would be able to figure it out in no time if they started researching on the Extraordinaires. That is why our country is wasting no time to train as many people as possible to gain an edge over other countries.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, with Reiki rejuvenation, the individual¡¯s power will soon be stronger than the group¡¯s ability. The more Practitioners are trained, and the earlier people start practicing, the stronger the collective might of the nation,¡± the young man said.

    Jealousy was written all over his face as he continued, ¡°If only we could stay here to practice for a longer time¡­We are only going to be practicing for five days and then be sent out to work, but these soldiers are able to train here for a much longer period.¡±

    Ren Suo nodded his head in agreement. Although Yu Kuangtu had not disclosed these details directly, it would be easy to uncover these minute details if one were to think of Reiki as a global practice.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°This is just like ying a game. We are engineers who are sent into the field after a short production period. On the other hand, those soldiers who continue training in the camp would have to take on much greater challenges than us. Indeed, every cloud has a silver lining.¡±

    ¡°Nheless, the faster we progress, therger the advantage we obtain,¡± the young man said with a sigh. He turned around and introduced himself to Ren Suo and Xie Qiansi, ¡°I¡¯m Yuan Dang. Let¡¯s train together as a small group over the next few days.¡±

    The three men exchanged greetings. Xie Qiansi nced deliberately at Ren Suo, seemingly trying to ask, ¡°Does this person have fate with you?¡± Naturally, Ren Suo did not make anyments but instead went over to Li Qingxuan¡¯s group in an attempt to strike a conversation.

    However, Li Qingxuan and Qiao Muyi had also gotten closer to the other girls in Group 8, and Ren Suo had no opportunity to chip in amidst the incessant chattering between the group of girls.

    Soon, therge group dispersed and they headed towards their respective dormitories. Zhao Jingzhong, their instructor, led Group 8 to the sixth block. There were clothes piled ording to their tagged sizes at the foot of the block.

    ¡°I will now split everyone into your respective rooms. When I call your names,e out to retrieve your keys and uniforms. The females would be staying in the rooms on the top three floors while the males would be staying in those on the bottom three floors. There would be four people allocated to each room. Your pillows and nkets are already inside the rooms. Do you guys remember therge supermarket we passed by just now? All your daily necessities can be purchased inside directly,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said.

    ¡°Do they sell condoms?¡± asked a voice from the group.

    Everyone turned silent immediately. They looked around to find out just who had such great confidence in his looks such that he or she was brave enough to ask such a question. Everyone here was all civil servants who did not know each other well¡ªhow could someone be so direct about his desires?!

    However, just like before, they could not identify the source of the question.

    Zhao Jingzhong took out the roster and started going down the list. He called the girls out first, and Ren Suo looked on gloomily as Qiao Muyi retrieved her room key and uniform and headed upstairs while talking andughing. It seemed that touching her in the night to retrieve the key was not going to be possible.

    Zhao Jingzhong then started calling out the names of the guys. Ren Suo was in the same room as Xie Qiansi. At this moment, Yuan Dang came over and expressed his intention of staying in the same room as Ren Suo and Xie Qiansi. He exchanged keys with another young man.

    ¡°Why do you want to sleep in the same room as us? We don¡¯t know each other prior to this,¡± Ren Suo asked curiously.

    Yuan Dangughed as he replied, ¡°Since we don¡¯t know each other beforehand, wouldn¡¯t it be the same regardless of who slept in the same room as you? Anyway, I feel like I can have more interesting conversations with both of you.¡±

    Apart from Yuan Dang, they had another roommate named Zhao Huo. He was a tall and handsomed who wore earrings. Were civil servants allowed to wear earrings these days?

    Zhao Huo seemed to notice that they were looking at his earrings. He pointed at his ears and said, ¡°I am from one of the ethnic minorities, and this is an ethnic tradition. A girl gave this to me.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­such lovebirds,¡± everyone remarked as they formed an impression of Zhao Huo. They headed upstairs to their room 6-213 and put down their uniforms before heading down again to the supermarket to purchase their daily needs.

    When they reached the ground level, Ren Suo told the rest to go ahead without him. He waited for some time at the bottom of their building until Qiao Muyi and her roommates appeared. It was just like what Ren Suo had predicted¡ªhe recalled that they had not gone to the washroom ever since they had their dinner, so he had already expected that they would spend some time to use the washroom beforeing back down.

    ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Ren Suo greeted confidently. He asked, ¡°Are you all going to the supermarket? Let¡¯s go together!¡±

    Qiao Muyi whispered something into Li Qingxuan¡¯s ears, and Li Qingxuan nudged Qiao Muyi with a shy look. The four girls started tough, and Ren Suo was clueless as to what Qiao Muyi had told them.

    Nheless, Ren Suo did not fret over it. At the very least, they did not hate him.

    Once we all get to know each other better over the next few days, Qiao Muyi might even allow me to touch her for a few minutes after she falls asleep¡­

    At the same point in time, within the Tedamia mountains in the Wei Er region, a beautiful, golden-haired girl donning a training suit appeared¡­

 Chapter 24 - Louder, I Canâ€™t Hear You

    Chapter 24: Chapter 24 ¨C Louder, I Can¡¯t Hear You

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The next morning, everyone put on the uniforms that they were given. The uniforms did not have camouge patterns, unlike that of typical military wear. Instead, it was a set of grey-colored long pants with a grey-colored vest, which appeared to be a lower quality version of that worn by those d in ck vests. After everyone finished their meals in the canteen, they returned and gathered in the area in front of their dormitory building. They started counting off.

    ¡°1!¡±¡±2!¡±¡±3!¡±¡­

    After all, thirty of them called out their respective numbers, Zhao Jingzhong said in a booming voice, ¡°Why are your voices so soft? Are all of you still sleeping? Count off again!¡±

    ¡°1!¡±¡±2!¡±¡±3!¡±¡­

    ¡°I still can¡¯t hear you! Louder!¡± shouted Zhao Jingzhong.

    ¡°1!¡±¡±2!¡±¡±3!¡±¡­

    Zhao Jingzhong was finally satisfied after they counted off for the third time. He then brought them to arge field within the training camp.

    There were already several other groups dispersed around the field. Some of them were groups that included civil servants, while others were just soldiers training by themselves. Ren Suo reconnoitered around the running track and figured out that it was about a kilometer long. In fact, the first item on their training regime was to do a one-kilometer run!

    Ren Suo did not have any qualms about running this distance. Civil servants who have sessfully entered the service had already had to undergo a physical fitness examination. Although some of them were fitter than the others, a one-kilometer run should not pose a major challenge to everyone.

    However, Zhao Jingzhong then said that it was not just a typical run. Instead, they had to train while running!

    ¡°This sports ground is unlike any other sports ground. Although there is a running track, as well as a fully-equipped football field with maintained grass turfs and goalposts, and there are even people ying football on it¡­the truth is, this ce is not so ordinary,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said. ¡°This is a training area filled with an abundance of Reiki, and was chosen and deployed by a select group of professionals.¡±

    He continued, ¡°I cannot disclose the specific details of the technology and methods used to achieve this, but what I can say is that the amount of Reiki present in this sports ground is three times higher than that in other environments. If you perform your training here, you can aplish more with less effort and master the skills and techniques in a shorter amount of time. There are six of such sports grounds in the entire training camp, specifically used by Practitioners to train.¡±

    Someone asked, ¡°Instructor, wouldn¡¯t the Reiki escape since there are no shelters over the sports grounds?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t escape,¡± Zhao Jingzhong replied instantly. It was as if he had been through professional training and knew that the students would ask such a question. He exined, ¡°Reiki is just a term that we use when we talk about it. It is intangible and cannot be seen or touched, and neither is it a gas. Rather, Reiki is an energy that fills the entire universe, and it would not be contained nor dispersed by physical barriers or theck of it.¡±

    ¡°Instructor, which ce has the most Reiki?¡±

    ¡°Instructor, which specific area is Reiki most concentrated? Is it on the sides of the running track? Or is it 1 meter away from it? 2 meters?¡±

    ¡°Instructor¡­¡±

    Zhao Jingzhong was annoyed by the dozens of questions asked by the group. Exasperated, he snapped, ¡°Stop asking so many questions! I¡¯m now going to tell you the method to practice. I won¡¯t repeat it again even if you can¡¯t hear! All of you¡ª¡±

    The group quieted down immediately. An extremely pleased Zhao Jingzhong continued, ¡°This is the most basic method of practice. Firstly, at such a ce, you¡­¡±

    ¡°Louder, I can¡¯t hear!¡± interjected someone rudely.

    Instantaneously, Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s fuse blew. He hollered, ¡°Who was that?! Come out now!¡±

    No one said anything as Zhao Jingzhong took a quick sweeping nce at the group. He was actually astonished, for he had not seen anyone talking. Furthermore, the voice did not seem to havee from the group of students, but instead came from above them.

    However, he was certain that it was one of the students who had made the remark, but he simply had not noticed who it was. That was what infuriated him the most. He had been transferred from the military to the Ministry of State Security to be part of the first batch of internally trained fighters. While he was in the military, he was a squadmander, and his military instincts naturally kicked in. He could not tolerate such deliberate disobedience and talking back to those of higher ranks.

    ¡°I repeat,e, out, now!¡± Zhao Jingzhong shouted again.

    He waited for another three seconds but still, no one owned up. His voice turned cold as hemanded, ¡°All of you, in a push-up position, ready!¡±

    Everyone in the group looked at each other. Some of themplied and crouched down into position while some of them had no intention to receive the punishment. A proud and arrogant Xie Qiansi questioned, ¡°Why should I do it?¡±

    ¡°Why? Because someone amongst all of you was asking for trouble, and yet he did not take the initiative to own up, so all of you will be punished together!¡±

    ¡°On what basis should we be punished as a whole?¡± probed Xie Qiansi. Unlike typical university students who trapped themselves in their own ivory tower, he was ready to go head to head against Zhao Jingzhong. After all, Xie Qiansi came from a well-off family and naturally had a vast amount of experiences. He continued, ¡°Why are you venting your anger on all of us when it was you who did not have the ability to find out who that person was? Who do you think you are?¡±

    ¡°Because all of you are a group and treated as one!¡± Zhao Jingzhong replied as he stared coldly at Xie Qiansi.

    ¡°A group as one? Just because you were from the military doesn¡¯t mean we would follow suit here,¡± Xie Qiansi retorted. ¡°We have only just met one another yesterday. I can¡¯t even remember all of their names or their faces at this point. Why should we be treated as a group, as one entity? Shouldn¡¯t you be part of us then, why are you not doing it too?¡±

    He rattled on, ¡°After five days, all of us will be dispatched to different parts of Xuan Nation to work for the people. We are all here to learn and to practice, not for you to vent your anger on when you feel humiliated! Furthermore, Xuan Nation has already been reformed into an open society since tens of years ago. Don¡¯t bamboozle us with your feudalistic ¡®One for all, all for one¡¯ mentality from the olden times! You either be courageous enough to find out who offended you by yourself, or you carry on with the lesson normally! We are not your soldiers and we don¡¯t need toply with everything you say. Are you going to shoot all of us dead if a murder happened in here?¡±

    It must have been addictive for Xie Qiansi the moment he started rambling on. Nheless, all

    that he said was true; on what basis should everyone be punished just because the offender did not own himself up? A normal person would not be willing to take the me for others unless it was a close friend or colleague whom one could ¡®protect¡¯ with a short exnation. There was virtually no way anyone in the group, who had been mere strangers less than 24 hours ago, would be willing to take responsibility for the offender. Furthermore, they did not even know each other¡¯s names nor did they know who the offender was.

    Xie Qiansi had not blurted his words out without thinking through it carefully. Everything that he said was straight to the point, and he had positioned himself well with themon person¡¯s stance. Although his ¡®WeChat group¡¯ was currently ineffective, Xie Qiansi knew that these people would be able to enjoy their lives when they left the camp. It would be beneficial for him if he got into the good books of everyone and stood up for them against such uneptable demands to forge ¡®friendships¡¯ with hisrades.

    Most importantly, Xie Qiansi was sure that Zhao Jingzhong would have to impart the knowledge of how to train and practice to them either way or else it would not have done him any good to go against Zhao Jingzhong.

    However, Xie Qiansi was still unable to preempt the mindset of these ex-soldiers. Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s face turned grim as he went against Xie Qiansi physically!

    ¡°I see you¡¯re much like that troublemaking ass!¡± Zhao Jingzhong retorted.

    He was zingly fast, and his hands that were made of steel were equally threatening. Given his background, Xie Qiansi had been treated well ever since he was young, and although he would have kept fit asionally, he was not adept in fighting, and definitely not prepared to

    dodge Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s swift attack.

    However, two pairs of hands promptly reached out to stop him. The pair on the left punched directly at Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s elbows and in one swift motion locked his arms to prevent him from further attacks, while two hands on the right grabbed onto Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s shoulders as if resting them on his shoulders.

    ¡°Instructor, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need to get physical. Is there?¡± Ren Suo said with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s just push-ups, we¡¯ll all do it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Zhao Huo, who was pressing down Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s shoulders. He smiled and said, ¡°We will keep him in check and stop him from spouting such nonsense again.¡±

    Zhao Jingzhong red at them as he writhed himself free of their grip and walked back to the front with a cold snort.

    Ren Suo could finally heave a sigh of relief. It was fortunate that he had equipped himself with the ¡®Fighter Novice¡¯ ability before he turned up for the interview, in case any unfortunate events urred, and perhaps because he did not want to waste the ability. When he saw Zhao Jingzhong walk up to Xie Qiansi and about to hit him, Ren Suo took initiative to stop him.

    On one hand, despite Xie Qiansi being provocative and authoritative, he knew how to keep good rtionships with others¡ªhe had bought a lot of delicious food from the supermarket for his roommates to eat the previous night. On the other hand, Ren Suo wanted to test out the ¡®Fighter Novice¡¯ ability and find out how effective it was.

    The result was rtively good. Although Zhao Jingzhong did not use his ¡®extraordinary abilities¡¯, he looked like an experienced soldier who was moderately good at fighting inparison with average people. The fact that Ren Suo could subdue him rather easily meant that Ren Suo¡¯s fighting ability was at least that of an experienced soldier.

    In addition, Ren Suo would have earned himself some fame. Zhao Jingzhong was not just an ordinary person, but an Extraordinaire in charge of training them. For Ren Suo to have been able to stop him in one swift movement was sufficient for others to look up to him.

    Zhao Huo did not seem weak either and could possibly be another determined warrior who stayed up for two nights toplete the game [A Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]. Ren Suo was also not sure who was the more skillful one between him and Zhao Huo, but those who had been selected for the training camp must have been of a certain proficiency.

    Qiao Muyi and Li Qingxuan were looking in Ren Suo¡¯s direction, and he turned around and smiled at them. Did I gain a +1 good impression point?

    ¡°You guys have a point,¡± said Zhao Jingzhong. He appeared to have put what had just happened aside quickly and said, ¡°We should start our actual practice now.¡±

    ¡°Listen carefully. This method only works if you follow the breathing sequence while you are running, so you must follow the breathing sequence strictly. You mustplete 64 cycles of the sequence before you can stop, and if you mess up any part of the sequence, your prior efforts would all be wasted.¡±

    ¡°One breath is one inhtion and one exhtion. A long breath would be a very slow inhtion and exhtion, while a short breath is an inhtion and an exhtion within one second. The entire sequence goes: three long, one short, two long, three short¡­¡±

    ¡°If your breathing rhythm is correct and effective, the Reiki in the air will be inhaled into your body. Eachplete cycle is considered one round of practice. After ten rounds of practice, you will be able to form your own ¡®air currents¡¯.¡±

    Zhao Jingzhong repeated the breathing rhythm sequence thrice. He then pointed at the running track and said, ¡°All right, all of you will now start your practice.¡±

    ¡°Take note,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said as if he suddenly remembered something. He continued, ¡°All of you are considered to possess special abilities based on your physical conditions; however¡­ if you are still unable to generate your own breathing currents after these five days, it means that your abilities are barely usable¡­¡±

 Chapter 25 - Training Camp

    Chapter 25: Chapter 25 ¨C Training Camp

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Ha, ha, ha¡­¡±

    On the training ground, most of the members of Group 8 had stopped at the side of the running track and bent down to catch their breaths. Even Xie Qiansi, who usually initiated conversations with everyone, had run out of energy to talk and was panting heavily with long beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. The rest of the group likewise looked like they were about to melt in the heat and copse from their exhaustion.

    ¡°Have we been duped?¡± Yuan Dang asked as he wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeves. He looked at the other groups at the training area and said, ¡°Why does it seem like we are the only ones so tired and left panting so heavily like dogs?¡±

    ¡°Even dogs don¡¯t pant so heavily,¡± Qiao Muyi retorted glumly. She had not sweated much, but she gathered together with the rest of the girls in the group, slowly catching their breaths.

    The group had been running along the track while practicing the breathing pattern taught by Zhao Jingzhong. Although the breathing pattern was ratherplicated, it was quickly retained in muscle memory after about ten tries. ordingly, it became a mere repetition, simr to radio calisthenics where there were many different actions but all of which were variations that stemmed from the basic ones.

    Many of them had feared that the technique they would be taught woulde from a mysterious ¡®divine book¡¯ of some kind that had been kept secret. They had not imagined that the technique was just a simple breathing technique resembling that which was utilized in yoga and naturally, they were not afraid of learning such a technique. The civil servants who were present would all have an above-average level of intellect and required no more than one hour to master the breathing pattern.

    However, the problem they faced was their inability toplete 64 cycles of the breathing pattern.

    Each cycle of the breathing pattern required one minute toplete, and 64 cycles of it added up to an hour. However, when they used such a breathing method while they ran, they realized that they became exhausted in a shorter time. Even if they were to jog slowly or even brisk walk, they were not able toplete the full 64 cycles and had to stop halfway.

    Every time they stopped, they would have to restart the cycle from the beginning. On the other hand, their exhaustion would not restart again but would instead umte, to the extent that most of them could no longer continue after they had be familiar with the breathing pattern. Only a small handful of about 10 of them could persist for a few more cycles before they eventually fell out as well. Zhao Huo, for example, could onlyplete 24 cycles before he too was drained and stopped at the side to rest.

    Xie Qiansi felt that it was peculiar and quickly left his group to check on the other groups. He came back after a short while with a livid look on his face. He said, ¡°Heck, we have been yed by our instructor!¡±

    ¡°What happened? Did he teach us a fake breathing technique?¡± Zhao Huo questioned as he narrowed his eyes and fiddled with his earrings.

    Xie Qiansi exined, ¡°My friend¡¯s instructor only taught them to repeat the breathing pattern for four cycles, and the pattern is lessplicated than ours. He went to ask his instructor, and he said that there are actually three levels of the breathing technique. The most basic level only required 4 cycles, while the intermediate level had 16 and the advanced levelprised 64. The higher the level of difficulty, the more effective the uptake of Reiki would be.¡±

    ¡°All of them started from the basic technique of 4 cycles so that their body would be ustomed to the Reiki in their body. Otherwise, under such an environment where there is a high concentration of Reiki, most people would not be able to practice the intermediate or advanced level techniques, unless they had an extremely strong physical ability,¡± he continued.

    Amotion broke out immediately and they said, ¡°How could our instructor dupe us like that?!¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s allowed,¡± an extremely displeased Xie Qiansi said. He added, ¡°The instructors only need to teach us the breathing technique. Their instructor said that most of the soldiers had begun practicing straight from the intermediate level technique, but their physical endurance is no doubt better than ours. A small number of the soldiers even started directly from the advanced level technique, and the effectiveness of the advanced technique was much higher than that of the intermediate one.¡±

    ¡°If the basic technique has an average effectiveness of 1, the intermediate technique would have an average effectiveness of 2, while that of the advanced technique would be 4! Even if we question him, our instructor could just attribute it to him thinking that we have a rtively good natural ability, and so he taught us the advanced technique first for our benefit. We would need to expend energy in order to practice, and yet the energy we have in one day is limited. If we start immediately from the advanced breathing technique, we would naturally improve faster than others who begin from the basic technique,¡± he continued.

    Li Qingxuan said, ¡°However, not only are we not able to finish one full round of the breathing technique now, but we have also exhausted most of our energy¡­The instructor would just have wasted our entire morning, and that¡¯s for no good reason.¡±

    Yuan Dang asked, ¡°In any case, did Master Xie ask them for the basic technique?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I did,¡± Master Xie said as he held his head up high. ¡°The basic breathing technique is actually very simple, listen carefully¡­¡±

    ¡°It seems like none of you havepleted a full round of the breathing cycle,¡± said Zhao Jingzhong, who had also been practicing the breathing technique on the training ground.

    All of a sudden, Zhao Jingzhong walked towards them and saw that the group had stopped and been sweating profusely. He shouted loudly, ¡°Group 8, gather round!¡±

    He seemed to have used some Reiki technique to shout and project his voice. Although his voice was not extremely loud, the sound diminished very slowly, and his voice could be heard throughout the entire training ground. Group members who had been resting at other corners of the trainingpound heard him and walked back to assemble.

    ¡°I had thought that all of you were skilled talents and would be able to master the breathing technique easily,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said in a seemingly regretful tone. He said, ¡°I had overestimated all of you. Now, I would have no choice but to start with the basic breathing method so that all of you can get a grasp of practicing Reiki as soon as possible.¡±

    All of the students of the group shrugged their shoulders. What else could they do? me themselves for not being prodigies?

    Who had known that therge-eyed Zhao Jingzhong who had thick eyebrows would be so petty as to take his small ¡®revenge¡¯ on them in such a way?

    ¡°All right, all of you, remember that the basic breathing pattern goes¡­Eh? Why is there one less person?¡±

    Everyone was dazed as they nced at each other, but they were not familiar with one another yet and could only check to see if their roommates were present. Quickly, Yuan Dang eximed, ¡°Ren Suo¡¯s missing!¡±

    ¡°Ren Suo?¡± a few of them who knew Ren Suo personally said as they looked around for him. They soon saw him on the track and said, ¡°Ren Suo is on the running track!¡±

    Everyone looked in the direction of the track and indeed, Ren Suo was still jogging at a slow pace on the track. His eyes were extremely focused on the path ahead of him. Every once in a while, a small, white cloud of mist would emerge from his mouth. It was an incredible sight!

    Immediately, everyone recalled the time when they saw Zhao Jingzhong practicing on the sports ground, during which he too breathed out a white, long and thick cloud of mist from his mouth. If they had not seen the ball of white mist, they would not have thought that the breathing technique was a legitimate way to practice. A few of them had also tried to spit out the white mist, but could notst longer than a few seconds.

    Each expelled cloud of white mist represented aplete cycle of the breathing pattern!

    Zhao Jingzhong signaled for the group to remain quiet and he said, ¡°Let him continue running. Let¡¯s see how long it takes before he tires out.¡±

    Five minutes passed.

    Ten minutes passed.

    Yet, Ren Suo remained on the track, deeply focused in his practice. Everyone was bing more and more amazed.

    Then, after 15 minutes had gone by, Ren Suo finally stopped. However, he did not drop to the ground in exhaustion, but instead walked over to the group energetically!

    ¡°How is he not tired?¡± some people curiously asked.

    Zhao Jingzhong answered emotionlessly, ¡°What I taught all of you just now was the advanced breathing technique. Uponpletion of one full round of the breathing cycle, Reiki will be replenished, and your body will recover one-third of your strength. The rate of recovery will also be increased, and it won¡¯t be long before you can carry on with your second breathing cycle.¡±

    ¡°On the other hand, the basic breathing technique does not have such benefits. Hence, in one day, the advanced technique is ten times more effective than the basic technique, although the time taken toplete one advanced cycle is longer than that of the basic cycle!¡± he exined.

    ¡°Nheless, this is subjective, and the actual effectiveness still depends on your individual skill level. Some people have a high skill level and use the basic technique, but their speed is ten times faster than the average person. On the other hand, some people have a lower skill level and yet, they choose to practice with the advanced technique. Hence they do not even achieve half of the average standard¡­¡± he continued.

    ¡°Skill level?¡± Yuan Dang asked. Everyone was daze and confused. Yuan Dang asked straightforwardly, ¡°Does it refer to Spirit Affinities?!¡±

    ¡°What Spirit Affinity! You must have read too many novels. The skill level we refer to here is just a measure of your physical condition,¡± said Zhao Jingzhong. He looked at the anxious faces in front of him and decided not to scare the group any further. He said reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this skill level is just like your physical ability, you can improve slowly. For example, I started off with a level of 2.13, but when I went for the testst week, it had already escted to 2.33.¡±

    At this moment, Ren Suo walked towards them. The discussion about skill level had piqued his interest.

    He asked, ¡°How can we find out our current skill level then?¡±

    ¡°When you are able to form your own breathing current, you can go for a test. The test date is stated in your schedule, and it will be held on the fifth day of training,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said. He nced at Ren Suo and asked, ¡°Have you finished a full round of the breathing cycle?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re good, did you serve in the military before?¡± Zhao Jingzhong asked. He continued, ¡°You are the only one here who was able toplete one full round while the rest of the group is already so exhausted. The rejuvenation of Reiki only happens at thest cycle in the advanced breathing method, so you would have had to persevere with your physical strength for the first 63 cycles. Most average people would only be able to practice the advanced level breathing technique after they have activated their own breathing currents¡­You¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t serve in the military,¡± Ren Suo replied. He looked at the rest of the group and said, ¡°I¡­it¡¯s just that I liked to stay fit, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Zhao Jingzhong did not fully buy his answer but did not bother probing further. Instead, he said, ¡°Take a short rest, then carry on with your own practice. Otherwise, you can listen to me exin the basic breathing technique to the rest of them, although the basic technique would be much less effective than the advanced one you have been practicing. All right, the rest of you, listen carefully! The basic method involves¡­¡±

    Ren Suo knew that he had been able toplete the 64 breathing cycles of the advanced technique because of the [Enhanced Physique] reward. Otherwise, he would have been drained of all of his energy, much like the rest of the group.

    Nheless, he had been able to feel a strong, heart-like, rhythmic palpitation where his Dantian was located, right in his diaphragm. Furthermore, he did not feel any exhaustion at all throughout his practice!

    The effect of [Enhanced Physique] seemed to be much stronger than he had imagined. It had not only strengthened a single area of his body but also improved his physical condition and ability as a whole. For example, his waist and core had be stronger, his kidney had also be more tolerant, and the other effect was that he couldst longer¡ªalthough it was not applicable to him at the moment.

    After Zhao Jingzhong finished exining the basic breathing technique to the group, Ren Suo was stopped by Zhao Huo and Qiao Muyi. They wanted to practice together with Ren Suo, using the advanced breathing method.

    ¡°Just now, it was because everyone fell out one after another and we did not have a leader to take the lead. Now that you can take charge, I feel that we can take up a challenge and practice using the advanced method with you,¡± said Zhao Huo.

    Ren Suo did not object to his suggestion. A few other students who heard what Zhao Huo said also came forward and followed likewise.

    Ren Suo had no interest in remaining discreet, and furthermore being discreet referred to ¡®low-profile identity, high-profile work¡¯.

    When training, it was crucial to perform to the best of one¡¯s ability, in order to be noticed by others and through doing so, expand one¡¯s socialwork and widen one¡¯s horizons. Although Ren Suo did not have as many ulterior motives or agendas as Xie Qiansi, Ren Suo did not want to lose out on such a beneficial opportunity to make himself known.

    Most importantly, this was a golden opportunity to close the distance between him and Qiao Muyi!

    He had not forgotten about the unopened treasure chest in his game at home!

    Ren Suo had thought that there was a direct rtionship between those with ¡®special abilities¡¯ and his keys; however, he had only discovered a total of five keys, from Qiao Muyi, Li Dan, Yu Kuangtu, and another two of the men d in the ck vests. The other students and the instructor did not give him any ripples nor ¡®palpitations¡¯ in his heart.

    He had intitally thought that he could retrieve at least 10 keys while he was at the training camp for his useter on¡­

    At the same point in time, a strange rumor began to spread in Kamiya Vige which was located near the Tedamia mountain range: a beautiful, golden-haired girl wearing a thin training suit had been spotted trekking through the mountains and forests at a zingly fast speed.

    The only point of contention was that there were witness ounts of the girl from two viges located 5 kilometres apart. However, the forests on Tedamia mountain were so thick and dense that people and even wild animals had died while trekking through it. It was virtually impossible to travel such a long distance in a day, on foot¡­

 Chapter 26 - Getting to Know About Reiki

    Chapter 26: Chapter 26 ¨C Getting to Know About Reiki

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Reiki is not a gas nor a tangible object. It is an absolute energy that permeates throughout the universe.¡±

    In the afternoon, everyone attended a lesson on ¡°Getting to Know Reiki¡± in the auditorium, after they had finished their lunch and taken their afternoon nap.

    The lesson was not taught by those who wore ck vests. Instead, a middle-aged schr exined Reiki to them in a pre-recorded video. During his self-introduction, Xie Qiansi, who was sitting beside Ren Suo, remarked, ¡°Isn¡¯t he one of the youngest schrs in the Chinese Academy of Sciences at present?¡±

    ¡°Is he very capable?¡± Yuan Dang asked, who was sitting beside him.

    ¡°A national treasure would be the phrase to describe him,¡± Xie Qiansi replied. He continued, ¡°He is an expert in Applied Physics.¡±

    The middle-aged schr in the video continued, ¡°The concept of absolute energy only surfaced after the discovery of Reiki. What absolute energy refers to is a form of energy which can be converted into any other form of energy without causing any change or disturbance. Until today, we have yet to discover any form of energy in which absolute energy cannot be converted into. In other words, through some specific means, Reiki is able to convert itself into all other forms of energy, including kic energy, heat, potential energy, as well as electrical energy.¡±

    ¡°At the same time, Reiki can be utilized as a tangible substance, such as a Reiki me¡ª¡±

    At this point in the video, a me emerged from the hands of a man d in a ck vest with his face censored.

    ¡°As everyone would know, a fire, or a me in this instance, is the result ofbustion when fuel and oxygen in the air mix together and ignites in a chemical reaction. The visible light which appears, as well as any other observed physical changes, can be ssified as both chemical and physical phenomena. However, a Practitioner who has attained a certain level of mastery of Reiki is able to create and ignite a me directly without requiring or consuming any fuel.¡±

    ¡°In addition, the intensity of the resulting me and even the quality and nature of the me depends on the Practitioner¡¯s technique and ability. We have already conducted tests on Reiki mes in a fully enclosed and isted room. It was found that even after 10 minutes of burning, there was no change in the oxygen concentration present in the room.¡±

    ¡°As such, the material that fuels the mes is something which we cannot observe in the physical dimension; it is the Reiki we cannot see that fuels it. However, this does not mean that the mes are not able tobust with tangible objects. In fact, it is only due to the masterful technique of the Practitioner that the me he has created is under his ¡®full control¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The moment that the Practitioner releases the me from his control, the Reiki me would be able to burn normally. It would be able tobust with physical materials while consuming oxygen. At the same time, the Practitioner would still be able to sustain the fire for an indefinite amount of time with Reiki. As such, the me would not be extinguished even in extremely cold environments, in conditions where oxygen is scarce or absent, and even in water.¡±

    ¡°In this scenario, Reiki functions as an energy source. It is able to present itself through the familiar physical phenomena we observe, and yet it can still exist without any of such physical conditions present. This phenomenon, is what we call absolute energy,¡± the middle-aged schr in the video exined.

    The schr then illustrated the dangers of Reiki as an energy source with a few more examples: it can exist anywhere, and it has the potential to do anything. In one scenario, a Practitioner would be able to master skills that enable him to survive and live on Reiki energy alone and not needing food and water.

    In the second half of the lesson, the schr talked about breathing currents.

    ¡°What is breathing current? Actually, it is simply the main processor of our internal circtory system,¡± said the middle-aged schr. He exined, ¡°The term breathing current better describes what a beginning Practitioner feels when he is first able to generate his own. In reality, the breathing current is a special and unique bodyposition that cannot be observed or measured with physical equipment. This breathing current is usually felt most strongly where the Dantian is located, which is 2.55 inches below the navel.¡±

    ¡°Only a Practitioner himself would be able to feel the presence of their own breathing currents; it would not be visible to other people. Breathing currents mostmonly appear as rotating air currents to the Practitioner. Each rotation is able to connect with the Reiki present and the activated Reiki will be absorbed into the body, causing minute changes to the body condition of the Practitioner. As the Practitioner achieves a certain level of mastery, his breathing current will increase immensely, and the activated and absorbed Reiki will double correspondingly. Currently, the nation is grouping the various levels of practice of all Practitioners into ranks, and will temporarily be termed as first rank, second rank, third rank, and so on.¡±

    ¡°The importance of a breathing current to a Practitioner is irrefutable.¡± The middle-aged schr pointed to the central processing unit of aputer and said, ¡°ording to our research, if wepare the physical body of humans to Practitioners, breathing currents would have the same purpose as the CPU, the internal storage unit,rge external storage devices, and many more. Breathing currents can also be internal or external, where an internal breathing current always interacts with ¡®activated¡¯ Reiki, while an external breathing current is the intermediary transfer point between the internal, physical body and the external Reiki, so the Reiki cannot be used directly.¡±

    ¡°All of the Reiki techniques used by Practitioners must first be processed through their breathing currents. Some of these techniques require aparatively small amount of Reiki, thus the Practitioner can directly utilize the stored and ¡®activated¡¯ Reiki in the body, and hence the effect of these techniques can be released in a very short amount of time. In contrast, if the technique requires more Reiki to take effect, the external breathing current must be utilized, and if the Reiki garnered from the external breathing current is insufficient, the rate of the external breathing current has to be increased to absorb more of the external Reiki present.¡±

    The middle-aged schr made an advertisement in the middle of the lesson:

    ¡°The breathing current of a Practitioner will automatically be adjusted ording to his skill level of Reiki. However, Reiki techniques are still considered to be part of empirical research in the field of Science. If a Practitioner has any findings or is able to create new Reiki techniques, the Practitioner may submit his work to the Xuan Nation Knowledge Web. There is a specialized team in the Chinese Academy of Sciences who will review the submissions, thus it is fine to submit the work in an incorrect format.¡±

    ¡°However, all submitted work must be true and real. Resources for the research of Reiki Practice are scarce and precious, so anyone who submits fake and untrue findings would be dealt with severely.¡±

    ¡°So, how do we generate our own breathing currents easily and rxingly?¡± the middle-aged schr asked suddenly in an extremely exaggerated tone. He continued, ¡°Of course, it is to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Practice breathing currents while exercising!¡±

    The middle-aged schr was brimming with smiles. He must have had much fun teasing in the video.

    ¡°The lower portion of the Dantian in the human body is now considered to be a special part naturally containing breathing currents. Through performing breathing patterns while exercising and hence absorbing Reiki, the Reiki in the body will flow through the blood, organs, and cells of the body. All the Reiki will then eventually be umted and stored in the lower part of the Dantian. As long as there is sufficient Reiki present in the surroundings, and the Practitioner is able to sustain the breathing rhythms, the flowing Reiki will definitely and automatically create a breathing current.¡±

    ¡°When the breathing current expands to a certain level, the active internal current will be formed and the Practitioner will be able to feel it. After which, humans will be able to observe the Reiki realm through the internal currents, and officially begin their Practice in Reiki.¡±

    A diagram of the human body appeared behind the middle-aged schr in the video. A breathing current was highlighted in blue where the lower portion of the Dantian was located.

    ¡°Breathing currents generally appear only after Reiki rejuvenation, and are physiologicalponents which cannot be seen. Instead, it is only generated when the Practitioner has Practiced sufficiently.¡±

    ¡°The most obvious trait of breathing currents is the constant feedback from the body due to the activation of Reiki when practicing the breathing patterns. Practitioners who have activated their own breathing currents can generally perform the intermediate level technique of breathing patterns without much difficulty.¡±

    ¡°The transformation phase is when the breathing current stabilizes and bes apparent to the Practitioner after a certain period of Practice. The Practitioner will then be able to perform the breathing patterns and train at any location. The breathing currents generated during the maturing phase and the transformation phase is actually very simr. The only difference is that only when one is able to generate one¡¯s own breathing current in the transformation phase, will one be considered to have fully be a Practitioner.¡±

    At this point, Ren Suo had a sudden realization of something.

    The middle-aged schr continued, ¡°Some people may ask, have there been cases where people are able to generate their own breathing currents without Practicing? The answer is yes.¡±

    ¡°Our nation has been able to identify a number of people who are able to generate their own breathing currents naturally without any form of practice. These people would also have been able to master certain Reiki techniques, although they may not necessarily have attained the techniques from birth. Instead, they are able to immediately grasp the techniques after Reiki rejuvenation. However, these Reiki techniques stem directly from the breathing currents themselves, and thus we are not able to fully understand and replicate them.¡±

    ¡°This group of people who are able to generate their own breathing currents naturally are who we call the Extraordinaires. They have extraordinary abilities that are much more powerful than the Reiki techniques used by ordinary Practitioners¡ªalthough both utilize Reiki. The procedure to using the techniques are also much simpler and utilizes less activated Reiki from the inner breathing current. These Extraordinaires are still able to learn other typical Reiki techniques and continue to improve.¡±

    ¡°Generally speaking, these Reiki techniques which cannot be fully replicated and which vary from one individual to another are termed ¡®Awakened Abilities¡¯. These Awakened Abilities are suddenly acquired by these people, and the Extraordinaires who possess such abilities are called the Awakened. For now, we still do not know if ordinary Practitioners are able to acquire Awakened Abilities in the future, or if the Awakened will have further Awakened Abilities. We are also unsure about the total number of Awakened Abilities.¡±

    ¡°In addition, the Awakened will naturally have their own breathing currents, and thus are also able to practice. On the other hand, Practitioners need to train their ability to generate their own breathing currents, and even so, they may not be able to be Awakened.¡±

    The lesson on ¡°Getting to Know Reiki¡± went on for the entire afternoon. If not for the fact that they were not allowed to take down any notes, many people would have written down all the knowledge that was taught to them. The lesson imparted valuable knowledge which had been studied and verified by the nation, and this knowledge would not have been avable to the general public at the current time when Reiki rejuvenation was only at the starting phase.

    Even while they were eating their dinner, everyone was still dazed and acting as if they were in a dream. Yuan Dang said as he ate his food, ¡°Is therge fireball that emerged from the Deputy Director¡¯s fist yesterday an Awakened Ability or an ordinary Reiki ability?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a Reiki ability?¡± Xie Qiansi replied. He was not sure either. He continued, ¡°In that scenario, wouldn¡¯t it be more suitable to showcase the Reiki techniques which we can learn? Furthermore, it would be better to encourage us by showcasing an ability which we can achieve too.¡±

    ¡°It is also possible that he used an Awakened Ability for dramatic effect,¡± Zhao Huo said.

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°What makes all of you so sure that the Deputy Director is an Awakened Extraordinaire? Muyi, what do you think?¡±

    Qiao Muyi, who was sitting opposite them to eat, nced at Ren Suo. She said slowly, ¡°If the Deputy Director is an Awakened Extraordinaire, can he make me generate my breathing current at a quicker speed?¡±

    Everyone was stunned for a moment, and they suddenly realized that Qiao Muyi had subtly criticized them for discussing other Practitioners when they had not even been able to generate their own breathing currents yet. At a loss for words, they continued eating silently.

    Only Ren Suo was secretly rejoicing¡ªhe had asked Muyi a question directly, and she answered!

    I am no longer just a stranger to Qiao Muyi, am I?

    Great, I should now be able to ask her out to the small forest and get her to sleep in front of me¡­?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s getting colder¡­¡±

    Amongst the Tedamia mountains, a group of tourists who were ascending the mountain in an SUV made several remarks andments about the ce as they looked around. A teenage girl sitting in thest row and wearing only a shirt and outer coat shivered as she quickly took out a down jacket and put it on.

    ¡°We are now reaching 4000 meters above sea level,¡± the tour leader who was a government official said. She continued, ¡°It will only get colder as we climb higher, so please keep yourselves warm. There are people who freeze to death on the mountain every year.¡±

    ¡°We have already left the forested areas in Tedamia, and in another 10 hours, we will arrive at the grand entrance to the peak of the holy Hyjal Mountain ¨C the Hyjal basecamp. If anyone is feeling unwell at any point in time, please let me know immediately¡­¡±

    The teenage girl in thest row of the SUV suddenly interrupted the team leader and said, ¡°I suppose that the only way to get from Grace City to the basecamp is by vehicle, using the mountain roads?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said the tour leader. He continued, ¡°Grace City is the closest city from the northern peak of Hyjal. You can still fly into Grace City by ne, and then reach the main entrance of Hyjal by car. This mountain road is also the only road that is essible by car, and even the Kamiyans who live at the foot of Hyjal Mountain ess the Hyjal entrance by car.¡±

    ¡°That¡­that person is¡­¡± the teenage girl gasped.

    Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing to. They saw a figure with golden-colored long hair speeding through the mountains, slightly over a hundred meters away from them and to the left of their vehicle. The dense forests and the loose gravel on the sloping sides of the mountain posed no challenge to her at all. It was as if she was parkouring.

    ¡°Is that a girl?¡± some of them remarked in astonishment.

    It was apparent to them that the clothes the golden-haired figure wore were thin. In the midst of her vigorous movements, her wide ck-colored clothes fluttered when the cold breeze blew, entuating her perfect figure. If one had good eyesight, one could even see her pretty face glistening amidst the dustnding on her.

    ¡°What happened to her? Did her car break down? Why is she running upwards¡­¡± the tour leader muttered. However, he could not even finish his sentences. The next thing he knew, his eyes widened in terror as he eximed, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The golden-haired girl ran directly upwards onto a steep cliff at close to a staggering 75-degree angle. However, as she reached out to grab the rocks at the edge of the top of the cliff after walking over ten meters upwards, the rocks cracked and split into pieces!

    The golden-haired girl lost her bnce all of a sudden and stumbled over. Just as she was about to roll all the way down along the sides of the cliff, everyone on the SUV eximed in utter horror while looking at the girl fall from such a height. They were about to witness the girl fall to her death if shended on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff!

    However, the golden-haired girl was able to react almost instantly as she leaped upwards from the sides of the cliff onto the top edge of it. The gorgeous girl had forward-flipped onto the top of the cliff!

    As they looked on, their hearts all skipped a beat in immense fear!

    ¡°Drive over. Let¡¯s see if she needs any help?¡± the teenage girl suggested.

    However, barely a few seconds had passed when the golden-haired girl began continuing with her journey upwards, disappearing quickly from their sight. She was definitely not ascending the mountain by looping around the sides using the mountain road. Instead, she was proceeding upwards along the shortest route while climbing her way past any obstacle!

    The trembling teenage girl suddenly became excited as she took out herptop and started typing furiously on the keyboard.

    ¡°You are¡­writing an article?¡± asked someone who was sitting beside her curiously.

    ¡°I am a media editor from Xuan Nation. This is a miraculous sight! At more than 4000 meters above sea level, an adventurous girl wearing just a thinyer of clothing is parkouring!¡± the teenage girl replied animatedly. She continued, ¡°If only I had taken a picture of her just now¡­ But no matter what, writing my article first will not be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Either way, I have a feeling that I will meet her again soon!¡±

 Chapter 27 - Awakening?

    Chapter 27: Chapter 27- Awakening?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    When Ren Suo was eating on the second day of the training camp, he noticed that some of the members in Group 8 gave him a thumbs up discreetly. Some of them even went over to him directly and remarked that he was ¡°one hell of an amazing guy¡±.

    Ren Suo was confused and could not figure out what had actually happened. Eventually, Xie Qiansi provided him with the answer. He said, ¡°I did not expect you to go right in for the kill so quickly! Although you are not as handsome as me, I suppose you do have nice, thick eyebrows.¡±

    ¡°What kill?¡±

    ¡°Stop putting up an act man, I had also just heard about it. You said that you were going out for a walkst night, but you were actually upstairs in the girls¡¯ room! Someone saw you walking out of Qiao Muyi¡¯s room, and we all know what is going on!¡±

    Ren Suo was perplexed. He said, ¡°I bought a deck of poker cards, so I just went up to y with them¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was determined to retrieve the key from Qiao Muyi. Hence, he would do anything to get closer to her.

    There had been no lessons scheduled for the previous night, and many of them were thoroughly exhausted from the training in the day. Furthermore, the Reiki umtion system at the sportspound was not activated in the night.

    As such, Ren Suo bought a deck of poker cards and brought it up to the girls¡¯ room to y. Although there were already four people in Qiao Muyi¡¯s room, it was no big deal; the losing yer for one game of Big Deuce would sit out for the next game, and thus, there would be four people left in each game.

    From the experience that Ren Suo had from university, bonding through poker cards was a sure way of forging deeper friendships with one another!

    ¡°Tsk, there¡¯s no use trying to exin yourself. The more you exin, the more it seems like you are hiding something from us.¡± Xie Qiansi pped Ren Suo¡¯s back lightly and said, ¡°Feel free to approach us and ask for help if you need any!¡±

    Even though Ren Suo had talked Xie Qiansi down a few times the previous day, he did not hold any grudges against him anymore after a night¡¯s sleep. Furthermore, Ren Suo was the only strong person in Group 8 who could utilize the advanced breathing method. It was natural for Xie Qiansi to think that Ren Suo had a promising future and would definitely want to maintain a good rtionship with him.

    What is the one most important thing for civil servants? Good connections.

    After everyone had finished their breakfast, their instructor, Zhao Jingzhong, led the group to another sports ground.

    ¡°All of you will be training here today,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said.

    In front of him, Ren Suo saw an unsheltered fitness ground, which had various types of fitness equipment installed and was surrounded by a running track. There were already many people panting loudly and practicing the breathing patterns while working out with the fitness equipment. It was a bustling sight.

    Zhao Jingzhong said, ¡°This morning, you would all be making use of this fitness equipment in your training. During the process, simply maintain your breathing rhythms. After a short rest in the afternoon, we will be heading to the field to run and train.¡±

    ¡°The routine for the next two days would be simr to today¡¯s. All of you have to learn to generate your own breathing currents as soon as possible,¡± he continued.

    Li Qingxuan raised her hand and asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this be too tiring for us? We trained for the whole morning yesterday, and we already needed the remaining time of the day to get some rest before we could recover to continue training today¡­¡±

    ¡°Yesterday¡¯s training was for you all to familiarize yourselves with the breathing techniques,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said. He exined, ¡°Now that all of you are familiar with the breathing techniques, even if you have depleted all of your energy in the morning, you will be fine in the afternoon after drinking the ¡®Number 3 Potion¡¯. After you start drinking the potion and sleep for about an hour, most of your energy will be restored and all of you can continue training in the afternoon.¡±

    Everyone was amazed. Was there really such a miraculous drink?

    Furthermore, the name ¡®Number 3 Potion¡¯ sounded so grand and professional.

    ¡°Everyone will be given one bottle of the potion. If you still have any energy remaining, the effect of the potion will decrease significantly,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said. He looked at them and asked, ¡°What are all of you still waiting for?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes, yes!¡± everyone said as they instantly dispersed to train and practice their breathing patterns.

    Zhao Jingzhong nced at the group, turned around and walked back to the dormitory building outside the sports ground. He took out his mobile phone and sent a message:

    [The target did not appear today.]

    [Any suspicious targets yet?]

    [No.]

    [Continue to observe them.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Over the next two days, the instructors led the students around the various sports grounds to find the most suitable one for them. Since different people have different physical abilities, those who are not able to run fast enough to utilize the intermediate level breathing technique could perform much better when doing other fitness exercises as they are more rxed and are hence more productive.

    Although Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director, had not mentioned it previously, all the civil servants who had the opportunity to go for the training camp at the training facility were already considered to be ¡®people with important skills¡¯. They were very likely to be part of the strategic ns the nation had for the future when Reiki rejuvenation became the key to survival and sess. As such, the nation would naturally give them nothing less than the best in terms of their training, at least before they officially be Practitioners.

    At the same time, they also needed to find the most suitable and effective method of training for themselves, and this information would be submitted to the nation for collection and statistical analysis.

    In addition, it was said that the various cities would be preparing to construct and set up Reiki training centers, or upgrade current facilities to include relevant Reiki ¡®add-ons¡¯. This was to enable the civil servants to be able to continue with their practice after they hadpleted the training camp. However, there were too many types of facilities to build and the current budget was insufficient; hence, it would not have been feasible to construct all the various types of fitness facilities in all the cities. Instead, the government would consider the type of fitness facility the civil servants located in each city were more suited for and cater to them ordingly when constructing the Reiki facilities in the city.

    After three days, the students had tried out all the various Reiki training facilities, they conducted their own self-training on the fourth day. Ever since the second day, shrill shouts woulde suddenly out of nowhere as people were training while running, while exercising with the fitness equipment, or while ying ser, basketball or badminton.

    Do not be rmed: they were not screaming because of the sh between the otaku part and the sport part of their personality. It was solely because they had activated their own breathing currents.

    To put it simply, it was overwhelmingly amusing when they felt another ¡®organ¡¯ which they could control in the lower portion of their Dantian. After they had activated their own breathing currents, they squeezed out every possible second to practice even more diligently, for there would not be any of such beneficial Reiki sports grounds when they returned to their respective cities. Furthermore, they still had to master the intermediate and advanced level breathing techniques as soon as possible.

    The instructors were not at all surprised by the rate at which the students were progressing. They were all part of the specially hand-picked group of Practitioners from their previous militarypanies and had all activated their breathing currents by the second portion of their training, just like Zhao Jingzhong.

    Ren Suo imed that he only activated his own breathing current on the third day of training. Most people had also activated their breathing currents at this time and so Ren Suo was considered average and did not attract much attention.

    However, only Ren Suo himself knew that he had already activated his breathing current from the very beginning during the first day.

    On the first day, Ren Suo had already felt a subtle palpitation from the lower part of his Dantian, but he had not known then that was perfectly normal until he found out during the introductory lesson to Reiki that it was actually the effect of the breathing current.

    However, during the introductory lesson to Reiki, it was said that there would be a prominent feeling when the breathing current formed, and this was in line with what other people told him when he asked them.

    As such, Ren Suo himself also did not know when exactly he had activated his own breathing current!

    Ren Suo thought hard about it and figured it was due to the [Enhanced Physique] ability he had equipped his avatar with. When he fell deep asleep at that time, he did not know what changes had urred to his body. Other than this, he could not think of any other logical exnation.

    Regardless, this did not affect his training.

    Four days had already gone by and tomorrow would be thest day of the training.

    Ren Suo could not wait to finally be able to return to his Mini Worlds Gaming Console at home.

    On the fourth afternoon, the group was consuming their lunch as usual in the dining hall. Ren Suo finished drinking his potion and waited for the rest of his roommates to finish eating so that they could return to their room and take a nap while the potion took effect for them to continue trainingter in the afternoon.

    However, he did not want to let the free time go to waste, and thus, took out his deck of poker cards to y a game of ¡®Battling The Landlord¡¯ with Qiao Muyi and the rest of the girls.

    Do you have a decently good impression of me now, Muyi?

    Will you let me touch you for a few minutes so that I can get my key?

    For the past few days, Ren Suo had ¡°strongly encouraged¡± his roommates to sit with Qiao Muyi and her roommates during their meals, and his roommates did not object to his request either. They even teased him while keeping a straight face, as if having split personalities, tapping on his shoulders and saying, ¡°We will help you, but you must also remember to help us!¡±

    Ren Suo almost thought that they wanted him to be one of the Pumpkin Brothers.

    Just then, a fight broke out at the entrance to the dining hall. Everyone looked over curiously. Ren Suo craned his neck as he took the opportunity to peek at Li Qingxuan¡¯s hand, for she was the Dizhu ndlord) for the round.

    ¡°What are you looking at,¡± Li Qingxuan retorted. She flicked Ren Suo¡¯s head with her finger and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cheat!¡±

    The fight at the entrance to the dining hall was growing more intense and it seemed like someone was bing violent. The onlookers quickly formed a surrounding circle to watch the fight, and the already small entrance was bing more cramped.

    Ren Suo saw that he could not win thendlord in the game and instead collected back his cards and said, ¡°You all have already finished eating, right? Let¡¯s go back to sleep.¡±

    Everyone returned their trays to the tray return counter. As they passed by the entrance ready to leave, they saw that a fight indeed had broken out. Two guys wearing the grey-colored vests were being held back by other people and the two of them were staring intensely at each other with so much fury. It was as ifser beams were shooting out from their eyes. The scene felt like a husky and a poodle facing off with each other in thepetition pit.

    Nheless, it seemed like everything was under control now that they were being held back by people. All of them that were here at the training camp were civil servants, and they, no doubt, had a certain level of awareness; they would not just let them start fighting physically without doing anything to stop them.

    However, just as Ren Suo and his group were about to leave the dining hall, a loud roar emerged from within the crowd, ¡°I want you to die!¡±

    Suddenly, with a thunderous crack, numerous mes appeared in the ground and began radiating outwards rapidly as if it was a river ofva flowing everywhere!

 Chapter 28 - Get Them in Bed!

    Chapter 28: Chapter 28 ¨C Get Them in Bed!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The ring of fire took everyone by surprise. Those who were closest to the center of all the action were engulfed in mes and sted backward several meters away. Even those who were looking on from a slightly farther distance were thrown off their feet and onto the ground behind them.

    Fortunately for Ren Suo and his group, they had not been close to the scene and had only lost their bnce and fallen onto the ground. Although the initial burst of mes had reached them, their clothes had not caught fire. They looked at the ming man in utter shock and disbelief.

    Without a doubt, he was a ming man!

    All of his clothes had already burned into ashes and his skin was dry and fragmented resembling cracked earth. The red, boiling blood underneath his skin glowed intensely and flowed likeva. All of his hair had been burned into nothingness. The mes which caught all the onlookers around him by surprise had now be his protective armor!

    His abilities must have been Awakened!

    Everyone thought so as they recalled what Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director, had told them previously.

    There was no other possible exnation for what they had just witnessed! From a student who was still undergoing training to learn to generate his own breathing current, to suddenly utilizing such a horrific skill, it must have been his Awakening!

    Up till now, although most of the students had sessfully activated their own breathing currents, they still had doubts about the entire concept of Reiki, for the feeling they experienced when they generated their own breathing currents was just too underwhelming. It did not feel fulfilling or grand like whatics portrayed. They merely felt like they had grown another organ inside their body, and when they practiced, they could feel this ¡®organ¡¯ growing stronger and bigger.

    However, they found themselves being unable to control this ¡®organ¡¯.

    Taking Xie Qiansi as an example, he had activated his own breathing current on the night of the third day of training. He was so excited that he could not keep still as he announced to the world that he would practice until he ¡°awakened his ultimate skill¡±¡­

    And yet, he was the fastest one to fall asleep that night.

    Dreaming about oneself being able to control a desired energy source seemed to be a very effective sleeping pill.

    On the other hand, right in front of everyone, was an ordinary student who had suddenly turned into someone wielding a powerful skill!

    Although the effect of his skill still could notpare to the deadly wrath of a hand grenade, the mes were generated all by himself, and this power has a limitless potential to grow! If he could be a ming man now, what would stop him from bing a ming asteroid in the future?

    ¡°Shame on him, standing naked in broad daylight!¡± Qiao Muyi eximed.

    Everyone lowered their heads as they heard Qiao Muyi¡¯s voice from behind them. Indeed, the ming man was standing bare in his birthday suit, and the cracks and fissures remained on his skin, as if he was a worm that was about to emerge from his cocoon¡­

    ¡°Ha¡­Tch¡­¡± The ming man grabbed his throat as the onlookers shouted in shock and fled away from him. A mysterious tinge of sadness emerged from his eyes. He tried to go closer to the crowd, but the mes started to dance around ording to his movements!

    His feet scorched the ground, leaving dark, ck marks as the waves of mes grew bigger and more intense. Everyone including Ren Suo could feel the room heating up suddenly.

    Everyone distanced themselves from the ming man as fast as they could, but Ren Suo took a few steps forward instead and became very noticeable in the crowd which was backing away.

    ¡°Brother Ren Suo, what are you doing?¡± Yuan Dang asked when he saw Ren Suo moving forward. He hurriedly grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s arm to stop him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go quickly. This guy¡¯s out of control!¡±

    Ren Suo was jolted from his daze as his heart started palpitating quickly. He stared at the ming man as a look of struggle appeared on his face¡ª

    He had found yet another key!

    Compared to Qiao Muyi, the ming man was an extremely dangerous creature. If he were to rush into the ring of mes, the people around him would not suspect anything, but would instead give him a thumbs up andpliment him for being brave and courageous enough to stop the man.

    However, the problem was that Ren Suo would not be able to subdue the man!

    Even though he had equipped himself with the [Enhanced Physique] and ¡°[Fighter Novice] abilities, it was obvious that his physical ability was still within the limits of humans. Yet, the ming man in front of him was just like someone who time traveled from the technological times to the magical dimension. Without a gun, there was no way he could defeat the man.

    Just at this moment, a few bald men emerged from the crowd¡ª

    No, they were guys with a buzz cut.

    A few muscr soldiers who were also practicing pushed their way through the crowd and walked towards the ming man valiantly.

    ¡°Stop now!¡± one of the menmanded loudly. He said, ¡°Take deep breaths. Don¡¯t let the Reiki eat into your brain!¡±

    ¡°Argh¡­Ah, ah, ah!¡± the ming man bellowed as he straightened his back. As he screamed, a pillow of mes emerged under his feet and mes started dancing around the entire dining hall!

    ¡°If only he had clothes on¡­¡± Qiao Muyi said with a sigh. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

    It was only now that Ren Suo realized why all superheroes wore their trademark underwear at the very least; otherwise, no matter how cool or stunning their abilities were, they could not be spared from a very embarrassing predicament¡­

    The next moment, without any warning, the ming man dashed straight towards the three soldiers with his dark, burnt body that was suddenly glowing like a hot red burning metal!

    ¡°Has he gone mad now?¡± one of the soldiers questioned as he picked up arge table from beside him. He lifted the table above his head and threw it directly at the ming man. He instructed, ¡°Let¡¯s bring him under control first!¡±

    ordingly, the three soldiers ran fearlessly into the fire. The ming man raised his hands as the table flew towards him, and instantly the table fragmented into pieces with a loud crack. The three soldiers took the opportunity to run towards the ming man.

    The soldiers seemed to have an invisible protective cloak around them. They were surrounded by the mes but the mes avoided them automatically. They could even touch the burning skin of the ming man directly with their bare hands!

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±

    The ming man let out a roar as a slew of fiery mes radiated outwards from him. However, the three soldiers remained unharmed as they pinned him to the ground.

    After a short while, the mes died out and the man¡¯s cracked and fissured skin returned back to normal. He was no longer struggling and insteadid motionless on the ground.

    ¡°Ah, what a sight, three muscr man sitting on a naked man lying on the ground in broad daylight¡­¡±

    The dining hall became noisy again as the onlooking crowd and the three soldiers looked grimly at the man.

    ¡°What happened here?¡±

    Ren Suo broke out of his daze. He saw Li Dan with his dark eyebags and donning his ck vest walking towards him. He seemed to have just finished his meal with grains of rice still remaining at the corners of his mouth. He was slightly shocked as he saw the three strong soldiers pinning a naked man down on the floor, but recovered his senses quickly. He said, ¡°He has been Awakened? Bring him to the logistics area and take care of him there.¡±

    Li Dan surveyed one round around the dining hall and asked, ¡°Can anyone exin to me what had just happened¡­I remember seeing you. Do you know what just happened? Oh my gosh, have you not eaten yet, that¡¯s so disgusting.¡±

    Everyone else had moved further away from the man just now, and Ren Suo who had stood rooted in his original spot was naturally the most noticeable. He heard what Li Dan said and quickly wiped away his saliva and replied, ¡°I just finished my food¡­Ah, it seemed like the man fought with another person, and as they were fighting, he suddenly began shooting mes.¡±

    ¡°Fighting with someone else?¡± Li Dan looked around and saw the students who had been blown out of the dining hall and were engulfed in mes. ¡°Gosh, he created such a big mess¡­The few of you, carry the injured students and follow us to the logistics area.¡±

    Ren Suo and the few others who had been pointed out by Li Dan looked at each other nkly. Ren Suo asked, ¡°Do we need stretchers? We have not learnt how to perform first aid before¡­¡±

    ¡°The few of them out there look like they are almost dying; it¡¯s more important to bring them to the logistics department to treat them as soon as possible.¡± Li Dan said, ¡°The medical officers at the logistics department are all having their meals now. It¡¯s already a hassle to disrupt their meal and call them over now.¡±

    The few of them followed Li Dan¡¯s instructions and gathered over ten people to help carry the six people who suffered the most severe injuries. Five others who had been burned but had been slightly farther away also followed Li Dan to the logistics area.

    As they walked quickly towards the logistics area carrying the six burned bodies and one naked man, they naturally attracted a lot of attention. Li Dan, as excited as the smartphone zombies in the cities, was walking at the front while he yed on his mobile phone.

    The moment they entered the logistics area, they saw two men d in ck vests watching American drama shows while consuming their meals. They looked up and saw the injured members and said calmly, ¡°Leave them on the bed.¡±

    Li Dan said, ¡°There¡¯s one who had just Awakened.¡±

    ¡°That one there without any clothes on? Aish¡­¡± one of the men d in the ck vest said as he stood up with his mouth still full. He walked over to the man and hit the man¡¯s stomach with force.

    An astonishing sight unfolded before them¡ªmysterious runes appeared out of nowhere from the typical-looking hospital bed with white sheets! Chains suddenly emerged from the four legs of the bed and chained the man securely to the bed!

    The man in the ck vest proceeded to tap the other injured members¡¯ bodies, but something different happened. A warm glow radiated from the beds they were on and surrounded thempletely.

    ¡°Stop looking. It¡¯s time to leave,¡± Li Dan reminded. He said, ¡°It¡¯s been so many days here. Are you all still so shocked at such a sight?¡±

    The students smiled bitterly. They had not been able to snap out from the usual technological world and adapt to such a mystical world.

    Ren Suo nced at Qiao Muyi and walked over to Li Dan. He asked, ¡°That¡­do you still remember me?¡±

    ¡°I still remember you.¡± Li Dan said, ¡°You always appear without leaving a trace in front of me¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was perplexed. How could someone like him who have gone through nine years ofpulsory education not know how to use idioms properly? Regardless, Ren Suo instinctively wanted to form a good rtionship with Li Dan¡ªeven though Qiao Muyi was soon to be in his reach but both of them had his keys. He said, ¡°By the way, is Mo Zhaolong also one of the Awakened?¡±

    ¡°Mo Zhaolong? Oh, that criminal with extraordinary abilities.¡± Li Dan looked at Ren Suo and said, ¡°I am not supposed to disclose this to normal citizens, but since you are more than ordinary people, and you would encounter them anyway, I will tell you¡­¡±

    ¡°That extraordinary criminal¡¯s Awakened ability is [Fog of Lethargy], so anyone who is close enough to him will be affected by the Reiki-generated fog which is invisible and has no smell. An average person will fall unconscious within five seconds, and he previously used this ability of his to sexually assault a few girls after they finished work at night.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly surprised. He said, ¡°He must be so brave to continue being a civil servant¡­¡±

    Li Dan exined, ¡°Who will look for extraordinary criminals like him? The government. And who will likely be researching on extraordinary abilities? The government. He thought that by putting himself in the government as a civil servant, not only would he be able to hide his true identity, he would also be able to obtain more information from the government and even get a support from the government when he needed to gain higher authority.¡±

    Li Dan smiled and continued, ¡°Actually, his thinking is not wrong; if Extraordinaires want to join forces with us voluntarily, and if they had not used their extraordinary abilities tomit crimes previously, we will actually treat these Awakened Extraordinaires well.¡±

    ¡°But now, ha ha¡­As the Deputy Director has mentioned, these Awakened Extraordinaires who use their Awakened abilities tomit crimes would all be sent to the research center.¡± Li Dan looked at Ren Suo and said, ¡°Anyway¡­you are from Lianjiang City, right? We would likely be colleagues soon. I am Li Dan.¡±

    Ren Suo stretched his hand out and replied, ¡°I am Ren Suo.¡±

    Li Dan looked at Ren Suo¡¯s outstretched hand andughed. He shook hands with Ren Suo and turned around to leave.

    Ren Suo also followed the rest of the group back to their dormitory. Someone asked him, ¡°Ren Suo, you met the guy in the ck vest before?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± Ren Suo said. He then told them about his experience with Mo Zhaolong previously, and what Li Dan had told him about Mo Zhaolong. Everyone started discussing about the matter:

    ¡°There¡¯s even such Awakened abilities?¡±

    ¡°If only such an Awakened ability could be used to treat insomnia¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, how could he use it to sexually assault girls!¡±

    Qiao Muyi said solemnly, ¡°But why are all of you so excited about this?¡±

    Xie Qiansi said self-righteously, ¡°How can that be? We are all members of the government. How could we have such inappropriate thoughts¡­¡±

    Ren Suo remained speechless the entire walk back to their dormitory. When they were about to reach their dormitory, Ren Suo suddenly patted Qiao Muyi on the back and smiled as he returned her gaze. He said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, there was a mosquito on your back, I swiped it away.¡±

    Qiao Muyi returned a short ¡°Oh¡± as the voices of those around them who were discussing about Mo Zhaolong became quieter momentarily but returned back to normal after a second.

    Ren Suo had not noticed such details. When he got back to his room, hey down on his bed immediately as the voice he heard just moments ago repeated in his head:

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a foreign state. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed. 10999 seconds required to retrieve the key, do not remove physical contact. 10998, 10997, 10996¡­¡±

    That was what he had heard when he touched Li Dan.

    ¡°A key has been found¡±

    ¡°The key is in a friendly state. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed. 4600 seconds required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 4599, 4598, 4597¡­¡±

    That was what he had heard when he touched Qiao Muyi.

    Previously, when Ren Suo had touched Li Dan, the key was ¡°in a high alert state¡± and was ¡°unable to be retrieved¡±.

    Now, Li Dan¡¯s key was in a foreign state, which meant that Li Dan¡¯s impression of Ren Suo would determine the difficulty to retrieve the key from him. In other words, the closer two people were, the easier it was to retrieve the key!

    Based on fighting ability alone, there was no question that Ren Suo would not be able to defeat the experienced Li Dan. However, the varying difficulty for him to retrieve the key from Li Dan was proof that there was an extremely viable method to retrieve the keys from people, which did not involve physical force¡ª

    To hypnotize them!

    Indeed, as long as they would fall asleepfortably in front of Ren Suo, he would be able to retrieve the keys from them easily.

    He could just treat the voice telling him about the key¡¯s state and the countdown timer as the progress bar in GalGames!

    Ren Suo had purposefully touched Qiao Muyi briefly just to prove that his theory was correct.

    Previously, when he and Qiao Muyi were still strangers, more than 9000 seconds were required to retrieve the key. However, he only needed 3000 seconds to do so now, and the state of the key had progressed from ¡®foreign¡¯ to ¡®friendly¡¯, indicating that a good rtionship would indeed shorten the retrieval time.

    ¡°Make good rtionships, and get them in bed!¡±

    Ren Suo had found his own goal!

 Chapter 29 - â€“ Clothing and Lock

    Chapter 29: Chapter 29 ¨C Clothing and Lock

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    On the night of the fourth day of their training, the camp participants were led to arge building by their respective instructors.

    ¡°303¡­we¡¯re here,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said as he stopped in front of the door of one of the many rooms in the building. He pushed the door open as he turned around and said to the group, ¡°When all of you are inside, don¡¯t touch any of the things or you may damage them¡­If anything happens, you will have to bear the consequences.¡±

    Over the course of thest three days, all the members of Group 8 had gotten a better idea of their instructor, Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s character and habits.

    Although Zhao Jingzhong was previously from the military, he always spoke in a calm andposed manner, and never once emphasized important information twice. It was possible that this was his natural character, or perhaps it was due to the fact that Xie Qiansi had gone against his instructions on the very first day.

    He would make sure to teach the group all that he needed, but he never once talked about the consequences of misbehavior in detail. It was all up to the students to follow his instructions, but it was also not unreasonable to say that he was merely ¡°going with the flow¡± and ¡°doing the bare minimum¡±.

    On the third day when they headed to the third exercise ground to train, Zhao Jingzhong briefly told them to avoid using any of the equipment which had a red-colored star marking on them but did not tell them the rationale behind it. One of the group members had been curious and used one of such equipment. He instantly found himself drained of all his energy and had no strength to carry on training the entire morning until he drank the elixir during lunch and recovered some of his energy.

    They soon found out that those equipment were specially for first-tier Practitioners. Such equipment will slowly and healthily deplete their active Reiki, through which they can gradually expand their total Reiki storage capacity. Users of such equipment who have yet to develop into full-fledged Practitioners would only find themselves drained of all their energy.

    From then on, everyone took Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s warnings seriously and did not dare to ignore them. When they entered the room, they saw three long rows of tables with a hexagonal te on each of them, and above each te hovered an almost transparent cube-shaped crystal. There was also a ckboard and a teacher¡¯s desk at the front, making the room look like a ssroom.

    There were 10 members in Group 8, and there were 30 cubic crystals in the room. They stood behind the rows of tables as they watched the crystals float above the tes, giving them a mysterious feeling.

    ¡°Maic levitation?¡± one of them asked.

    ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s Reiki levitation,¡± Zhao Jingzhong corrected. He said solemnly, ¡°I have to ask all of you now, has anyone not activated their own breathing currents?¡±

    No one spoke up.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Only those who have activated their own breathing currents will benefit from today¡¯s lesson,¡± he said.

    He continued, ¡°Today, you will be learning about the most basic and elementary Reiki techniques.¡±

    Reiki techniques!

    Instantly, everyone became excited. They were finally going to master some out-of-the-ordinary abilities!

    If Extraordinaires werepared to firearms, then they had been umting ammunition when they were practicing how to generate their own breathing currents previously, while the weapon itself was the Reiki technique they used! The power of the Extraordinaires was, of course, not how much ammunition they had, but the magnitude of the effect from firing their shots!

    Zhao Jingzhong picked up the tworge diagrams from the desk in front of him and attached them to the ckboard with mas. There were two people demonstrating an ability on each of the diagrams. One of the diagrams has the word ¡°Clothing¡±, and the other had the word ¡°Lock¡± on it.

    He exined, ¡°The two Reiki techniques that you all will be learning today are ¡®Clothing¡¯ and ¡®Lock¡¯. ¡®Clothing¡¯ utilizes the active Reiki of your internal breathing current to protect you from external harm by forming an invisible armor on you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure many of you have witnessed, for yourselves, the incident that happened in the afternoon, where the man Awakened. That Awakened ability is actually decently powerful, and not only does it allow the user to transform himself physically, it also allows him to control the strength of the mes. However, once you make use of the ¡®Clothing¡¯ technique, you will not be harmed in any way,¡± he continued.

    ¡°When you are swimming, the ¡®Clothing¡¯ technique will allow you to breathe in the water by channeling away the water directly around you.¡±

    ¡°In tests which have been conducted to test the ability of ¡®Clothing¡¯ to withstand an external force, it was found that a Practitioner who has used ¡®Clothing¡¯ can withstand an impact from a heavy truck traveling at 60 kilometers per hour, and even remain rooted to the ground on impact. Of course, the assumption here is that the Practitioner has sufficient Reiki to sustain the ability. However, with ¡®Clothing¡¯, physical attacks from normal people is well within tolerable limits.¡±

    As he exined, Zhao Jingzhong pointed to one of therge diagrams on the board. One of the figures in the diagram was attacking the other figure who had an invisible armor on him. He said, ¡°Swords and daggers, the fist, chainsaws¡­These are just some of the moremonly seen weapons which ¡®Clothing¡¯ can protect you against without much difficulty. However, you all must remember that ¡®Clothing¡¯ cannot protect you from bullets, so if someone is pointing a gun at you, I would still suggest that you run away first.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, ¡®Clothing¡¯ has other useful applications, for example¡­¡±

    At this juncture, Zhao Jingzhong took the ¡®Clothing¡¯ diagram down from the board. With a swift movement of his finger, he slit the paper into two halves!

    Following a quick whoosh, a clean cut appeared in the paper. Although he had only used his finger to slice the paper into two, the cut looked so clean and neat, as if it was performed with a pair of scissors.

    ¡°If you find the time to study ¡®Clothing¡¯ in detail and practice more, you would be able to concentrate your Reiki onto just a tiny spot, and use it like a knife or sword. Of course, this is not easy at all and also unnecessary,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said. He continued, ¡°If you are really going to be fighting for our nation in the future, you will definitely be taught other Reiki techniques used for war. Nheless, ¡®Clothing¡¯ is the starting point for most other Reiki techniques, so you will definitely not go wrong practicing ¡®Clothing¡¯ more.¡±

    Ren Suo was sure that Zhao Jingzhong had used the ¡®Clothing¡¯ technique to protect himself from water when he sparred with them earlier on. If he had used this technique when he sparred with Ren Suo, Ren Suo would still have stood no chance against him even though he was equipped with the [Enhanced Physique] and [Fighter Novice] abilities!

    ¡°Everyone, this is ¡®Clothing¡¯,¡± said Zhao Jingzhong as he showed his right arm to everyone. He continued, ¡°Although we say that ¡®Clothing¡¯ is invisible, you would still see some traces of it when you scrutinize at a closer distance. Look carefully¡­¡±

    The students observed Zhao Jingzhong¡¯s arm carefully. There seemed to be ayer of mist forming around his arm, as if heat was radiating and disrupting the airflow.

    ¡°Upon using the ¡®Clothing¡¯ technique, a thin and almost invisibleyer of Reiki would form over your skin. Thisyer of Reiki would be able to filter the molecules directly around you and hence, will disrupt the flow of air around you slightly. This is also the reason why you are protected from most external harm and impact. Once you are more adept at the technique, you will be able to manipte theyer of Reiki as you desire, allowing it to form only where you need it. Naturally, this would require a very high level of mastery, but would greatly reduce the amount of Reiki it requires to sustain it.¡±

    ¡°Currently, we have found that ¡®Clothing¡¯ cannot protect you against objects travelling at or faster than the speed of sound, such as fired bullets, as well as attacks using light, poisonous gas, and sound. Well, if you were to jump from a building, the result would differ based on the height you jump from. Generally, you would be safe from a height of 30 metres or less, but any higher, and it would depend on your luck.¡±

    Zhao Jingzhong pointed to the other diagram on the board and said, ¡°Apart from the ¡®Clothing¡¯ technique, you all would also be learning the ¡®Lock¡¯ technique.¡±

    On the diagram, a small figure A was holding on to the right hand of small figure B, while pushing down on the back of the head of small figure B with the other hand.

    ¡°Reiki is intangible and cannot be seen, and so are your breathing currents. However, it is possible to use Reiki to disrupt the breathing current,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said. He exined, ¡°The ¡®Lock¡¯ technique is the ultimate move to use when dealing with ordinary people. It uses Reiki to suppress and control the physical movements of the human body. When [Lock] is used, the Practitioner can only control the target and other techniques cannot be used concurrently. As a result, the target would be locked in position and unable to move at all.¡±

    ¡°This does not mean that ¡®Lock¡¯ bes useless when dealing with those who are Awakened. It would still be able to limit the effectiveness of the target¡¯s Reiki current. Of course, the assumption is that the target would not be hindering you from using your Reiki to attack him. In other words, the ¡®Clothing¡¯ technique would be able to ovee ¡®Lock¡¯pletely. However, when you are dealing with those who be Awakened on their own, using ¡®Lock¡¯ would likely make your target lose the willpower to continue fighting or resisting your attacks.¡±

 Chapter 30 - Knowledge From Understood But Unspoken Experience

    Chapter 30: Chapter 30 ¨C Knowledge From Understood But Unspoken Experience

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Zhao Jingzhong gave a brief exnation of the [Lock] technique though he did not bother demonstrating the use of the technique. Instead, he continued with the next topic and asked, ¡°I suppose all of you are very curious about the crystal cubes in front of you, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that some of you would have guessed correctly. All of you will be making use of these crystal cubes to learn the Reiki techniques,¡± he answered his own question.

    ¡°Although the ¡®Clothing¡¯ and ¡®Lock¡¯ techniques are very simple, do not have any special or hidden tricks, and have very limited potential for widespread destruction¡ªat least when you all use them¡ªthey are still very valuable and precious techniques. After all of you learn these two techniques, you would basically have the ability to subdue any normal person.¡±

    ¡°Your breathing currents would not be detected by regr security checks, such as those on trains and at train stations or at the airport. You all would be able to take any normal person down without any weapons at all, as long as they do not use any extremely violent weapons against you.¡±

    ¡°Taekwondo, Karate, Xing Yi Fist, the Eight Trigram Palm, Brazilian jiu-jitsu¡­All the closebat fighting techniques normal people learn would be useless against you. As long as you catch them, they would all be able to be subdued by you.¡±

    He continued, ¡°In other words, once you master the proper way of using the techniques, you would be akin to half a ¡®superman¡¯. As such, important techniques like these naturally cannot be transmitted or imparted to just anyone so easily.¡±

    ¡°All of you here can learn these two techniques solely because you have been approved by the nation, and have cleared background checks. Furthermore, all of you are people with ordinary abilities. However, it still does not mean that information from here would not leak out for sure. In fact, this knowledge could even be transmitted to those who are Awakened but had not been discovered yet. If such Awakened people get their hands on these Reiki techniques, they would pose huge security risks to the entire society.¡±

    ¡°As such, this is how you all would receive the knowledge¡ª¡±

    Zhao Jingzhong pointed to his head and said, ¡°Through understanding, not spoken.¡±

    ¡°The crystal cubes you see in front of you are special study tools developed by the research center named ¡®The Knowledge Web¡¯. Now, I want all of you to hold the crystals in your hands, and try to generate your breathing flows while letting the Reiki flow in your body,¡± Zhao Jingzhong instructed.

    Ren Suo and the rest of the group gently lifted the floating crystals from the te. They could feel the coldness of the crystals on their palms. Under the light of the incandescentmps in the room, a warm glow reflected off the edges of the crystal.

    The breathing patterns could be utilized even when they were not exercising, especially for the students in Practice mode who could already generate their own breathing currents. They would still be able to utilize Reiki while maintaining the breathing patterns normally, albeit with lower effectiveness. ording to research, when they generated their breathing current while at rest, the basic breathing technique had 0.1% effectiveness, the intermediate level breathing technique would be 0.33% effective, while the advanced breathing technique would be 1.25% effective. With such low effectiveness, they would have been better off spending their time sleeping.

    However, as they used the breathing patterns at this time, they noticed that the crystals had begun to glow faintly. Following this, they felt a tingling sensation along their arms as they continued holding on to the crystal cubes. The sensation was akin to that felt in the calves when standing up after squatting down in the toilet for half an hour. The tingling continued radiating upwards through their arm and all the way to their heads.

    What followed next were changes that happened to the left eye of those who were holding the crystals on their left hand. Likewise, there were also changes happening to the right eye of those who were holding the crystals on their right hand.

    Ren Suo was holding the crystal in his right palm, and correspondingly, he lost all his vision in his right eye¡ªleaving a lonely darkness on one side of his vision.

    Zhao Jingzhong said, ¡°Now, close your eyes, and follow the instructions carefully.¡±

    Ren Suo closed both of his eyes and his entire world plunged into darkness. However, he could still make out a distinctive grey seed in the pitch darkness,

    He attempted to ¡®think¡¯ of touching this grey seed, but in his vision, he could only see ripples forming when he thought of touching it; nothing else happened.

    What was going on? Ren Suo was stunned for a moment, until Zhao Jingzhong said, ¡°Hold on for a short while¡­there are still groups which have not gotten into position.¡±

    Two minutester, Zhao Jingzhong said, ¡°We are going to start now. Follow the instructions carefully and wait patiently. Don¡¯t mess around! Counting down now, in 10, 9, 8, 7¡­¡±

    When Zhao Jingzhong reached 0, Ren Suo saw the entire dark space light up instantly by a fire.

    The fire was weak and at an extremely long distance away, as if it was about to be extinguished, and yet it was able to glow so brightly. Ren Suo almost thought it was just a figment of his imagination.

    However, the next instant, a weak but bright fire lit up in another spot, followed by a third fire, then a fourth, a fifth¡­

    Within a couple of seconds, Ren Suo saw the entire dark space light up with countless mes. Although each individual me was weak and seemed insignificant, all the mes joined together to form arge, red of fire, lighting up the entire space!

    Ren Suo tried to touch the grey seed again, and this time with just a quick thought, the grey seed also lit up in mes immediately!

    Instinctively, Ren Suo knew that this was his appearance in the dark space, and he and the other mes were connected together in a mysterious and unexinable way.

    ¡°Wee all Practitioners to the Knowledge Web.¡±

    A sentence in an Arial font appeared as mes.

    ¡°It is now time to transmit knowledge on the techniques ¡®Clothing¡¯ and ¡®Lock¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Proceeding to authentication of origin. Representatives from the Qinghai region, please light your me of authentication.¡±

    Amongst the sea of mes, Ren Suo saw a region of mes flicker momentarily. A red circle emerged from the flickering region of mes, which epassed the mes in the immediate area.

    ¡°Next, representatives from Tianjing region¡­¡±

    More and more red circles appeared as the sentences which appeared guided everyone along the authentication process. Very soon, it was Ren Suo and his group¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Representatives from Lian provincial region, please light your me of authentication.¡±

    Ren Suo could only feel the area right in front of him be upied by a wheel of fire, and then saw his me within an enormous, pale red colored protective bubble. So this is how the red circle actually looks like, Ren Suo thought.

    After a few more minutes, the mes of sentences finally finished authenticating all the regions and proceeded to the next step.

    ¡°Next, all representative please download [Clothing] and [Lock].¡±

    Download? It had been a long time since Ren Suo heard such a typical term from the inte ever since the training camp started, and he was surprised for a moment.

    The ming sentences turned into tworge yellow-colored words glowing warmly: [Clothes] and [Lock]. Countless fire linkages radiated outwards from each of the two words, connecting to the edges of every red circle.

    Ren Suo saw the red circle his me was in shake slightly as the fire links from the two words attached to the red circle. Then even more fire links formed and connected to the mes within the circle.

    Ren Suo¡¯s me instantly became bigger as if more firewood had been added to it. The next moment, he felt as if a wave of knowledge was injected into his subconscious¡ª

    No, it was not words, not sound, nor images.

    Instead, Ren Suo felt as if he was in one of his memories, and he started generating his breathing current. As Ren Suo manipted the flowing Reiki in his mind, he could feel the Reiki transform into a protective armor on him, or be ayer of air flowing along and locking his arm like invisible shackles!

    When Ren Suo broke out from the memory, he saw a line of words appear in front of him as mes:

    ¡°Knowledge of [Clothes] and [Lock] has been transmitted sessfully. Exiting current Knowledge Web session in 13 seconds.¡±

    After 13 seconds, the me furthest away from him extinguished, and the entire space began turning dark again as if the entire city started losing power. The mes which had been present everywhere within the space began to die off, and even Ren Suo¡¯s own me seemed to lose all its fuel source and extinguished.

    The Knowledge Net session ended, and the entire space returned to darkness.

    Ren Suo opened his eyes and saw the other students cing the crystal cubes back down onto the table with their faces filled with excitement and awe.

    ¡°This is how Reiki techniques are taught,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said stately as he stood at the front of the room.

    ¡°The knowledge is learned through understood yet unspoken experience.¡±

 Chapter 31 - What? I am Hitting on a Girl?

    Chapter 31: Chapter 31- What? I am Hitting on a Girl?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Assemble directly in front of theboratory building tomorrow morning at 7.30 o¡¯clock after you have eaten your breakfast,¡± Zhao Jingzhong said.

    After everyone had learned the two Reiki techniques, Zhao Jingzhong instructed everyone to ce the crystals back onto the tes and led everyone out of the building.

    They exited the building in an orderly fashion. Everyone was excited and some of the group members who were more eager began trying their hands on the two Reiki techniques that they have just learned, ¡®Clothing¡¯ and ¡®Lock¡¯. However, their efforts only resulted in their faces turning red with exhaustion.

    ¡°All of you have learned the techniques, haven¡¯t you?¡± Yuan Dang asked.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Xie Qiansi added, ¡°Learning through experience and not through verbal teaching! We¡¯re finally learning the ways of true Practitioners! Insane!¡±

    Another member from Group 8 said, ¡°I originally thought that we would be learning some abstract metaphysical methodologies or gain some spiritual powers, or perhaps some ancient Xuan techniques from literature or ancient texts¡­Who knew it would just be a direct infusion of knowledge¡­¡±

    ¡°If only we had such learning methods while we were still in school, we wouldn¡¯t have needed to spend so much time listening to teachers rattling on and on. We could have spent that time ying instead.¡±

    ¡°Such a teaching method is bound to revolutionize the way knowledge is transmitted throughout our education system. It seems like teachers would be driven out of their profession soon.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we would be able to gain all sorts of knowledge, or at the least, acquire a Bachelor¡¯s degree in every discipline.¡±

    Only Qiao Muyi had remained cool and collected. She said, ¡°Have you all noticed that your breathing currents are almost depleted?¡±

    Everyone was stunned for a brief moment. They had not taken note of the state of their breathing currents when they were not exercising while performing the breathing rhythms since their breathing currents had not stabilized. Upon hearing what Qiao Muyi said, everyone tried to perform the breathing rhythms and realized that their breathing currents had been reduced to a mere trickle of air. They had to focus on absorbing more Reiki into their bodies before they could formally generate their breathing currents again.

    ¡°It must be that our internal Reiki is utilized for the transmission of Reiki techniques. This must also be why we could only learn the Reiki techniques after we were able to generate our own breathing currents,¡± Li Qingxuan reckoned. She said, ¡°However, I don¡¯t think this transmission requires a lot of internal Reiki. The amount that ordinary people can hold when they first activate their breathing currents should be sufficient for such a transmission of Reiki techniques.¡±

    ¡°In the Reiki introduction lesson that we had conducted previously, the schr mentioned that the breathing currents generated in the maturing phase and the transformation phase are actually very simr. Over thest few days, we have been practicing in order to generate our own breathing currents and reach the transformation phase, but the total amount of internal Reiki we are able to hold in our body is still the same. Hence, if the nation is able to urately control the amount of Reiki needed for the transmission of Reiki techniques, these techniques can be transmitted to their ¡®target group¡¯ precisely,¡± she continued.

    Everyone was slightly amused by Li Qingxuan¡¯s analysis. Very quickly, someone replied, ¡°Does that mean that the reception of such knowledge requires our own Reiki? In that case, if we were to receive a huge amount of other knowledge¡­¡±

    ¡°I would suppose so. Furthermore, the two Reiki techniques that we have learned, [Clothes] and [Lock], are¡­more about feeling and experiencing. I would think that the size of the transmitted knowledge is small, and it would possibly be just over 10 bits if the knowledge were to be transmitted through the inte. However, if we were to download entire textbooks of knowledge, they would probably be megabytes in size, and if we add on supplementary materials like videos and practical knowledge, I would expect the size to be in the range of gigabytes.¡±

    Yuan Dang nodded his head in agreement. He said, ¡°I believe this is why downloading multiple disciplines of knowledge would not be feasible. Not only do you need people who are willing to upload the knowledge, but you would also need to have sufficient internal Reiki to be able to sustain the entire transmission process of such an enormous amount of knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Simply put, we are still in the times when we can only use a dial-up connection to connect to the inte, and there would be no use daydreaming about the distant future where we use fiber-opticworks.¡±

    Everyone realized how fortunate they already were. As the first batch of civil servants to be Practitioners, it was just a matter of time before they could benefit from the knowledge they require to perform their duties. They were already the first 1% of people in the entire world to be Practitioners, and they had even learned two Reiki techniques which could essentially make them superhumans. What more could they wish for?

    At this juncture, Ren Suo walked closer to Qiao Muyi and patted her back. He said in a hushed tone, ¡°Muyi, I have something to talk to you about in private.¡±

    Qiao Muyi took a nce at Li Qingxuan and the rest of the girls before replying, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi discreetly separated from the group, but those who had taken interest in the developments between both of them naturally noticed their disappearance. Xie Qiansi and the rest of the roommates in Ren Suo¡¯s room have all noticed Ren Suo¡¯s actions but did not say anything. After a short while, Li Qingxuan and the rest of the girls noticed that Qiao Muyi and Ren Suo were no longer with the group. Nheless, as adults, they all knew¡­

    Naturally, those who knew would know.

    At the same time, Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi were headed towards the supermarket located in the training campus. However, Ren Suo had no intention of going to a crowded area and hence, pointed towards a small forested area a short distance away. Trees still stood in the area that Ren Suo pointed at and had not been cut down for the development of the training campus. He said to Qiao Muyi, ¡°Let¡¯s go over there to talk.¡±

    Qiao Muyi nodded her head and followed Ren Suo towards the small grove area. However, before they reached the grove, Qiao Muyi stopped and said, ¡°I think this is far enough.¡±

    ¡°Here?¡± Ren Suo looked around and saw that there was no one else around. He felt it was still within hisfort zone and agreed, ¡°Alright.¡±

    When Ren Suo touched Qiao Muyi¡¯s shoulder just now, he realized that he only needed 3000 seconds to retrieve the key from a conscious and awake Qiao Muyi.

    There were only 3600 seconds in an hour, and now he would be able to retrieve the key by touching Qiao Muyi for less than an hour. This meant that their rtionship has be much closer than when he had needed over 9000 seconds to retrieve the key from her.

    The next day would be the fifth andst day of the training camp. They would be returning to the city in the afternoon, and Ren Suo was unsure of what jobs they would be assigned to by the Ministry of State Security when they returned. Would they be dispatched to other cities for business trips or even for long-term attachments? Now that they had learned how to Practice¡ªand it¡¯s even two Reiki techniques¡ªcould they say ¡®No¡¯ to the Nation¡¯s orders?

    It was now or never for Ren Suo to retrieve the key from Qiao Muyi.

    Furthermore, when they return to the city, they would regain ess to their phones. The five days of group training andmunal living was nothing significant, and he would never know how busy Qiao Muyi would be when they return. If Ren Suo did not make a move now, he may never ever get the chance to do so again.

    Ren Suo had never been one to dy doing anything and always held the philosophy of ¡®work first, yter¡¯, typical of a model student who would dutifullyplete his work before rxing. If he did notplete his homework on the first day of the holidays, he would never bepleting it afterward. If he saw something he wanted, he would quickly calcte his finances to assess if he was able to afford it. He would only purchase the item if he could, and not otherwise, and never wasted any time being indecisive.

    Ren Suo stared at Qiao Muyi, his expression slightlyplicated as he racked his brains to think of a reason for him to ask her to sleep in front of him. However, Qiao Muyi said suddenly, ¡°I am not someone to beat around the bush, so¡­we can only be friends.¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­Hmm?¡± Ren Suo let out a nasal, thinking hum through his nose.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Although you are definitely a nice person, I don¡¯t have any intentions to start dating at the moment.¡± Qiao Muyi continued, ¡°Furthermore, your character does not really fit my expectations.¡±

    What? Ren Suo was dumbfounded. He stretched out a hand in an attempt to stop Qiao Muyi from leaving and exin why he called her out, but Qiao Muyi nimbly avoided his outstretched hand. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going back first, see you tomorrow.¡±

    Qiao Muyi seemed to let out a satisfied smile as she left hurriedly without stopping, leaving Ren Suo behind standing alone by the trees, like arge, solidified pile of garbage. It was as if a chapter had ended in a game and remained frozen in thest scene.

    It was only then that Ren Suo recalled his actions over thest few days:

    Talking to Qiao Muyi and the group of girls at every avable opportunity;

    Going to the girls¡¯ room to y poker cards with them;

    Insisting on eating with the girls during meals;

    Engaging himself in the girls¡¯ conversations without being asked to¡­

    Have I been mistaken for chattering with them and trying to hit on Qiao Muyi?

    As a houseperson who¡¯s prepared to make his game console his wife in the future, this was the first time Ren Suo had a realization of what his actions in the past few days had meant to other people. Although he was not shy when talking to girls, he was not someone who would frequently engage in a conversation with other girls¡­Alright, fine, he was slightly shy as someone who was single, but it was natural for anyone who did not have a partner to be so.

    However, over thest four days, he had treated Qiao Muyi as an NPC while pursuing his goal of ¡®retrieving keys¡¯ as part of the game mission. He had also figured out that decreasing the distance between them would be able to reduce the amount of time he needed to maintain physical contact to retrieve the key. As such, he tried his best to get as close to Qiao Muyi as possible.

    Thinking back, Ren Suo realized that his actions were typical of hitting someone up and deepening the feelings between the two of them in Xuan Nation¡¯s society and culture.

    Ren Suo recalled the looks of ¡®approval¡¯ and ¡®awe¡¯ from Xie Qiansi and his roommates, as well as the weird smiles from the girls. He finally understood why they had such reactions. They had misinterpreted him!

    At this juncture, Ren Suo had a strong urge of running to catch up with Qiao Muyi and yell in her face, ¡°You have misunderstood me! I just wanted you to sleep in front of me, not get into a rtionship with me!¡±

    ¡°Psht¡­Haha.¡±

    Ren Suo turned around in the direction of the sound and saw a human figure on the grass behind him, between the line of trees.

 Chapter 32 - Slept With One

    Chapter 32: Chapter 32 ¨C Slept With One

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Haha¡­I¡¯ve heard many stories about people getting thrown into the friend zone, but it¡¯s actually my first time witnessing someone get rejected.¡±

    There was a figure sitting on the grass between the trees,ughing uncontrobly at Ren Suo.

    Under the dim glow of the moon, Ren Suo could not make out who it was, but he was able to recognize the voice. He said, ¡°Is that¡­Li Dan?¡±

    ¡°Call me Brother Dan,¡± Li Dan said nonchntly.

    ¡°Eh¡­all right, Brother Dan,¡± said Ren Suo, considering that Li Dan was much more highly skilled than he was. Ren Suo asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Sleeping,¡± Li Dan said before heid back down on the grass.

    Ren Suo was confused. Walking over to Li Dan, he asked, ¡°Why are you sleeping on¡­the grass?¡±

    ¡°Is that very peculiar? I¡¯m not even sleeping naked,¡± Li Dan replied.

    ¡°What¡¯s peculiar is that you are actually not sleeping in the nu¡­nevermind,¡± Ren Suo said as he sat down beside Li Dan, hoping to get closer to him. He asked, ¡°Is the wooden bed in the dormitory too hard for you to sleep on?¡±

    Li Dan said, ¡°The mattress I sleep on is from Simmons.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°Then¡­is it because of your roommates?¡±

    Li Dan replied, ¡°Each of us has our own rooms.¡±

    Ren Suo guessed again, asking, ¡°¡­unless it¡¯s because you naturally like the soil and the grass?¡±

    ¡°No, I still have to shower when I return to my room,¡± Li Dan answered with a shrug.

    ¡°Why on earth are you sleeping here then?¡± Ren Suo questioned.

    ¡°Because I can¡¯t fall asleep,¡± Li Dan said.

    Ren Suo was stunned for a brief moment. ¡°Oh? Do you have insomnia? Or neurasthenia? Or perhaps because of your bottomless pit of desires?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m too handsome that I can¡¯t fall asleep.¡±

    Upon hearing Li Dan¡¯s answer, Ren Suo remained speechless as he looked at the faint figure of Li Dan under the moonlight.

    After about a minute, Li Dan finally said, ¡°It¡¯s because of physical reasons. Nowadays, even if I put on earplugs, I am still able to hear the faintest of sounds from very far away, and it bes so noisy that I can¡¯t fall asleep.¡±

    ¡°Have you tried noise-canceling headphones?¡± Ren Suo asked. He scratched his head and suggested, ¡°Perhaps you could use the earbuds with noise-reduction from Hell Company or the noise-canceling headphones from Bose¡­¡±

    ¡°They are all useless. In fact, they make things worse, as many of those noise-canceling earphones drown out ambient noise by producing sounds instead, which are even more audible and annoying to me,¡± Li Dan said. Heid back down again and said, ¡°But it¡¯s also no big deal, not sleeping won¡¯t cause any problems for me now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because¡­you have Awakened?¡± Ren Suo probed.

    Instantly, Ren Suo felt as if the temperature around him dipped a few degrees, and he seemed to have stopped breathing. Li Dan who was lying on the grass shot Ren Suo an intense death stare, his eyes glimmered horrifyingly in the dark. It was the first time Ren Suo felt what a ¡®killing machine¡¯ was like in real life!

    He felt as if S686, AK47 and M416 guns were pointing straight at him with the icy cold metal of the gun barrelsing into contact with his skin. The bone-shattering destructive energy seemed to radiate through the air right into Ren Suo¡¯s nervous system, continually exciting his pituitary nd!

    The fear of guns and weapons, as well as the fear of wild animals arose from natural instincts. However, the apprehension Ren Suo felt towards Li Dan was as if he was facing fear itself, right in the face!

    It was absolute control of a higher presence over a lesser presence!

    ¡°¡­Do not ever attempt to probe into other people¡¯s Awakening so casually again,¡± Li Dan said solemnly. He continued, ¡°It¡¯s a very sensitive topic even within Branch 18.¡±

    ¡°Over the course of thest six months, I have seen many people who had Awakened kill manymoners in order to hide their own abilities. This is exactly what the phrase ¡®with great poweres great responsibility¡¯ warns us against, the moment they have a strong sword to wield, thoughts of killing others arise easily.¡±

    The gripping hold over Ren Suo¡¯s entire body seemed to disappear. No longer feeling like needles surrounding him, Ren Suo gasped for air and said, ¡°Under¡­understood.¡±

    ¡°Go back to your room since you have nothing else to do here. You will have to leave soon after youplete registration tomorrow morning,¡± Li Dan said.

    Ren Suo hesitated for a good ten seconds before he finally said, ¡°Well¡­I previously learned a technique to help people sleep more easily, do you want to try?¡±

    ¡°Hypnosis?¡± Li Dan said sullenly, ¡°Practitioners who are from the same batch as me all strengthen our three spiritual energies jing, qi, and shen at the same time when we practice the breathing rhythms. You may not even be hypnotized sessfully, what¡¯s more to say if I were to be hypnotized? I¡¯ve tried many methods before, and even had doctors who were performing hypnosis on me fall asleep instead.¡±

    Ren Suo scratched his head and said, ¡°Well, the technique I know is a very unique technique that I learned by chance. It¡¯s really very impressive, and I even use it on myself sometimes when I have insomnia. I am able to fall asleep in less than ten seconds, so I suppose it really is quite powerful.¡±

    ¡°You used it on yourself?¡± Li Dan was stunned for a moment. He smiled as he said, ¡°Have you been counting sheep?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± Ren Suo was not able to fully exin his ¡®skill¡¯ clearly. He asked, ¡°Why not just let me have a go at it? Regardless, if it is not effective you won¡¯t be at a loss, but if it seeds¡­I¡¯m sure it¡¯s been a long time since you had a good sleep?¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s words went straight into Li Dan¡¯s heart.

    Most people would think that sleep is a waste of time, for a third of the day would go past from sleeping. A short nap could waste six hours, and a deep sleep could be nine hours long. If people were able to conserve this time, they would be able to y many more games, read many more books, or even down many more drinks¡­

    Yet, the experience Li Dan went through of going over forty consecutive days without sleep has proven that not only is sleep a biological need, but also a physical need for rest.

    Of course, Li Dan could not have gone totally without any sleep at all, but regardless, without proper sleep, his energy was barely sufficient to get him through the day, simr to the fatigue felt by people who had worked hard physically for an entire day.

    However, Li Dan had also realized that even though he had much more extra time due to shorter periods of sleep, he still hoped to have quiet moments spent in the dark where he could clear his mind and collect his thoughts. Darkness, peacefulness, warmth, emptying the mind of any thoughts; these were some of the benefits sleep sought to provide. To humans, sleep would be akin to reliving the times when they were still a fetus in their mother¡¯s womb.

    Apart from regaining physical strength and energy, sleep was also a splendid enjoyment.

    Yet, Li Dan had been unable to enjoy any of the benefits sleep could provide. In the foreseeable future, he would have to live with such a disruption, unless he found a breakthrough for himself. Fortunately for Reiki rejuvenation, he had been able to nourish his body with Reiki without sleeping. He would otherwise have suffered from organ failure or cirrhosis-rted problems from overworking his body long ago. Regardless, he still hoped to have a good sleep one day.

    ¡°Alright, you can give it a try,¡± he said, finally.

    Ren Suo tried his best to contain his excitement. In his mind, he equipped himself with the [Lure of Sweet Dreams] ability from the game inventory. He looked at Li Dan who was lying down on the grass and thought in his heart: Hypnotize him.

    Then, Ren Suo stretched out his hands instinctively, and Li Dan looked on as Ren Suo¡¯s fingers moved and flickered in the air rapidly.

    Although the area amongst the trees was not well-lit, as a skilled, first rank Practitioner, Li Dan had long acquired the ability to see decently well in the dark, and naturally, he could see what Ren Suo was doing with his hands.

    It was as if Ren Suo was a magician performing a magic trick, using his hand movements to draw his attention. At the same time, Ren Suo seemed like he was an old rogue seducing a young maiden.

    A thought shed past in Li Dan¡¯s mind: Could this fellow be an ability wielder? However, he was starting to think Ren Suo¡¯s hypnosis technique was useless.

    Who would be hypnotized by such hand movements? Only a fool would believe him¡­

    Ren Suo waited for another ten seconds before he put down his hands. There was not a single sounding from Li Dan.

    In the shadows amongst the trees in the forest, Li Dany on the grass, without making any sounds.

    Slowly¡­

    Slowly¡­

    Ren Suo ced his hands on Li Dan¡¯s thigh.

    He thought that cing his hand on other areas of Li Dan¡¯s body would seem inappropriate. Furthermore, there was bound to be more fats on the thighs and would slightly decrease his sensitivity to Ren Suo¡¯s touch.

    There were still no sounds from Li Dan.

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a sleeping state. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed. 303 seconds required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 302, 301, 300¡­¡±

    Sess!

 Chapter 33 - Huh? Good-for-nothing?

    Chapter 33: Chapter 33 ¨C Huh? Good-for-nothing?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    On the fifth day of their training, everyone gathered in front of the experiment and researchboratories.

    Now that they could see theboratory building clearly under the daylight, they noticed that a thick and heavy metal door, which was painted ck, protected the main entrance to the building, and it seemed to be thicker than the surrounding walls. All the windows of the building were made of bulletproof ss and were such that people could not see what was happening in the building from outside even without curtains. The air venttion inside the building was maintained solely by the venttion system.

    ¡°Could this be the legendary windows that appear frequently in ****¡­the one-sided windows?¡± Yuan Dang said with an ironically calm and serious look on his face.

    As a whole, Ren Suo found that his roommates were not quirky and would maintain afortable distance when interacting with other people. They did not fuss about seniority¡ªthey were only going to be together for a short five days anyway¡ªand they barely talked to one another, even keeping much of their background undisclosed.

    Nheless, their training was not a military training, but a stepping stone for them to cross from an ordinary person to be a Practitioner. It was natural even for the calmest and most cryptic of people to show some of their excitement during their training. Although the group was still rtively reserved, they were able to form decently close friendships, and the more embarrassing topics the guys talked about at night proved to be one of the most important exchanges in deepening their friendships.

    Although Xie Qiansi befriended them with other intentions in mind, he had decent looks and could hold a conversation well, and he was naturally able to make friends with most of the people in Group 8. Yuan Dang who graduated from the top two institutions of Xuan Nation was the first person in the group to master the intermediate level breathing technique, but was not aspetent as a leader, and liked to tease others or make explicit remarks jokingly. On the other hand, Zhao Huo represented the mass majority who focused diligently on their training.

    ¡°We would be leaving the camp in the afternoon. Are we not going to practice today?¡± asked Ren Suo. He sighed and said, ¡°I have not even be a first-rank Practitioner yet.¡±

    Simr to the development phase of the breathing currents, the transformation phase also did not require a very long time to reach. However, this also depended on the individual skill level. Those who were more highly skilled only required two to three days to reach the transformation phase, while those who required more time could even take a year. The middle-aged schr exined therge difference in the time required during the introductory lesson to Reiki: the maturing phase is akin to the sperm fusing with and fertilizing the egg, while the transformation phase is simr to the development from a zygote into a fetus, and finally to a baby.

    Some people could be born prematurely at just 28 weeks, while some people were like Nezha who required three years before he could wield his weapons skillfully.

    It has been theorized that there was little corrtion between one¡¯s skill level and the duration it takes before one reaches the transformation phase. There had been Practitioners with a lower skill level activating their breathing currents in just a few days, and there had also been Practitioners with a higher skill level passing the maturing phase in the day and reaching the transformation phase by the evening.

    The principle behind the rtionship, orck thereof, between the two, has yet to be exined, and it seems that it is based on one¡¯s luck. Regardless, practicing is a definite way to increase one¡¯s chances of reaching the transformation phase more quickly, which was the reason why Ren Suo did not want to waste any opportunity to train.

    He had witnessed the power of [Clothes] and [Lock] the day before, and even though he had the game console from Subor Culture Company, he also longed to acquire such extraordinary abilities. Furthermore, the rewards from the games in the game console he had remained within the spectrum of abilities typical humans could acquire, and the only ¡®special¡¯ reward was the [Enhanced Physique] ability which seemed to have helped him activate his breathing current on the first day.

    However, the moment Ren Suo opened his mouth, his roommates turned to look at him with looks of disappointment, as if saying ¡®I understand you¡¯ while giving him a friendly pat on the back.

    Xie Qiansi said, ¡°I understand that you would want to keep a distance for now¡­But don¡¯t worry, there are plenty more fish out there in the sea.¡±

    Yuan Dang said, ¡°Also, you still have more chances, we are all from Lianjiang City.¡±

    Zhao Huo agreed, ¡°Mmhmm.¡±

    They turned around to take a look at the girls standing at the front of the group, then turned back towards Ren Suo and let out a sigh.

    Ren Suo finally used his brain to think about what they were referring to after he had realized for the first time in more than twenty years yesterday that his actions were misleading and could easily be taken as him chasing a girl. He had always been someone who focused solely on his targets, not thinking about anything else and never giving up until he finally achieved his goal.

    At 8 a.m., the instructors walked over one after another, and Yu Kuangtu whom they had only seen once throughout the duration of the camp appeared once again. He walked towards the metal door of the building, then grabbed onto the handle with his bare hands and pulled the door open!

    Everyone stared at him in awe as the instructors quickly added to their amazement. They said, ¡°If you strengthen your ability of [Clothes] to its limit, withstanding the repulsive force exerted back on yourself by your opponent would be a child¡¯s y. But unfortunately, all of you are still too inexperienced and do not have such skills.¡±

    Yuan Dang muttered to himself, ¡°This is the strongest and best lock in the world¡­¡±

    Everyone agreed with Yuan Dang. It was indeed true that modern technology was of no use against this traditional metal gate, and only the most vicious and most fundamental form of force would be able to open such a massive metal door!

    Or perhaps, only those who could use extraordinary, unfathomable techniques could open such a door!

    After opening the door, Yu Kuangtu led a group of instructors into the building, while the rest of the trainees at the camp followed the instructions of the remaining instructors. The groups which were called out were told to line up and they proceeded to the researchboratory on the third floor, while the groups which were not called out remained outside the building waiting for their turn.

    The situation was as if an inspection ceremony on thest day of a military training camp, and naturally, many people were displeased having to wait. However, the instructors who waited outside the building with them made use of the time to showcase some of the skills and uses of the [Clothes] and [Lock] technique.

    Even though the students had acquired the [Clothes] and [Lock] techniques, but learning 1+1 does not equate to understanding Fourier transformation. The instructors took the chance to demonstrate some of the more advanced techniques [Clothes] and [Lock] were capable of, such as [Equip Partial Clothes], [Clothing Armor], and [Deadly Scissor-lock], and the students watched in awe.

    The most impressive technique was the one Zhao Jingzhong demonstrate¡ªthe secretbination of [Clothes] and [Lock]! Anyone who came into contact with his invisible outer shield would be immobilized and be rooted to the ground, unable to control himself anymore!

    It was only then that everyone found out that Zhao Jingzhong was a highly skilled first rank Practitioner. The ¡®Clothes-Lock¡¯bination technique was top of its ss even amongst the soldiers who were the first batch of people to undergo training as Practitioners. As such, even though the students knew the basic knowledge of the techniques, they still needed to spend countless hours honing their skills, and even so, such advanced techniques may not be attained by everyone.

    When other people asked the instructors how they could learn such techniques, they only smiled slightly and said, ¡°You will know when you get back.¡±

    ¡°Why does this sound like a bad omen, as if we will meet with unfortunate events after we leave the training camp¡­¡±

    It was a familiar voice that had not appeared in a few days. No one could tell if it was a guy or a girl, and they could never figure out whose voice it was. Everyone turned silent. They had all thought that it was an annoying rascal who was making unnecessary remarks, but they all knew now that even the instructors could not figure out who was the one who had been doing so, and thus he must have been using some kind of advanced Reiki technique that had yet to be discovered.

    After a short while, the members of Group 7 emerged from the building. Some of them were ted, some of them remained calm, while a few of them had cryptic looks on their faces. Zhao Jingzhong led Group 8 up to the third floor to wait outside a sealed room. They took turns to go into the room, and each person spent a few minutes inside.

    When it was Ren Suo¡¯s turn to enter, he noticed that the room was very big and empty, and only Yu Kuangtu and three other people d in ck vests were seated on one side. On the floor was a strange ck tile which was four square meters in size, surrounded by four things resembling diffuser panels used in photography.

    Yu Kuangtu signaled Ren Suo to step within the ck tile. He said, ¡°Perform your breathing rhythms for about one to two minutes.¡±

    Ren Suo followed ordingly. After about one to two minutes, Yu Kuangtu and the other three men raised their eyebrows.

    They looked at an anxious Ren Suo as Yu Kuangtu said calmly, ¡°Your Reiki breathing score is 1.25.¡±

    After a short pause, he said, ¡°The current average score of the new batch of Practitioners is 1.77.¡±

 Chapter 34 - Young People, Train Diligently, Donâ€™t Daydream

    Chapter 34: Chapter 34 ¨C Young People, Train Diligently, Don¡¯t Daydream

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Upon hearing what Yu Kuangtu said, Ren Suo¡¯s heart sank immediately.

    He felt like his teacher had found out that he had notpleted his work over the holidays, like his parents were reprimanding him for scoring only 59 marks in his test, and like his rtives found out the **** that he had downloaded¡­

    The nine years ofpulsory education that Ren Suo had been through trained him to be good with numbers. The average score was 1.77 and his score was 1.25, what did that imply? It meant that he was 1.77-1.25=0.52 points below the average!

    Based on the ratio of 0.52/1.77, his score was 29.3% below the average!

    29.3%, that was a huge difference!

    If the average height of the men in Xuan Nation was 167cm, then Ren Suo would only be 118cm tall and would not even need to buy tickets to enter the children¡¯s amusement park!

    If the average life expectancy of men in Xuan Nation was 74 years, then Ren Suo would only be able to live until he was 53 years old! He would have left the world even before his social insurance had been fully paid for and he would not even have been given his retirement fund yet.

    Even though the average score for the National College Entrance Examination is not known, but Ren Suo would have had paid tens of thousands of dors to enroll in a course in university if he had obtained 29.3% lower than the average score¡­

    Upon seeing Ren Suo¡¯s face fall, ady d in a ck vest chuckled and said, ¡°Sir, don¡¯t scare him anymore.¡±

    Ren Suo came to his senses and saw the corners of Yu Kuangtu¡¯s lips turn up in a slight smile. He felt his soule back to his body as he continued breathing normally.

    ¡°The Ministry¡¯s score requirement for Practitioners is 1.00, you exceeded it by 0.25.¡± Yu Kuangtu smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, a lower score doesn¡¯t mean you are very weak or at a huge disadvantage. At the least, amongst ordinary people, you are performing better than you think.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps your instructor did not tell you all, but your skill score can improve gradually, as long as you practice diligently. It can increase to 2.00 or 3.00, and it is possible for it to be even higher. However, don¡¯t get your hopes too high, the increase of skill score is simr to the learning curve of the divine Dragon Elephant skill mentioned in a certain martial arts novel. It is easy to increase the score in the beginning, but it bes exponentially harder as you progress¡­¡±

    ¡°However, it would not be difficult for you to increase your skill score to the average ability. Although it would be more of a challenge to be in the lead throughout your journey as a Practitioner, you should not take this fact at heart and be too affected by it.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Just like a student who only scored 10 marks in an exam and striving to improve and merely pass?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­something like that,¡± Yu Kuangtu said as he nodded his head. He continued, ¡°Anyway, you should be grateful to be able toe here¡­Most people in the world are nowhere near the skill score of 1.00, and they can only wait even if they wanted to practice. At the very least, you have passed the most crucial foundation criteria, or else you would be no different from ordinary people who can only envy those who have better skills than them.¡±

    Eh?

    Ren Suo realized that as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of State Security, Yu Kuangtu was not extremely serious and solemn. In fact, he looked rather young like he was only about 24 years old and had just graduated from university.

    Yu Kuangtu did not have a striking physical appearance: he was not very handsome and did not have extremely smooth and silky white skin typical of the current perceived standards of handsome men, but it would also be a far cry to say that he looked strong and muscr like typical soldiers for Ren Suo had never seen a soldier with such fair skin.

    However, what Yu Kuangtu possessed was apelling aura such that although he was sitting down and Ren Suo was standing up, Yu Kuangtu remained extremely rxed and at ease, and spoke with such confidence that Ren Suo could feel his self-esteem diminish.

    He had a fearless approach to anything, believing that he could control any situation perfectly and not being afraid of any challenges in his way. Although Ren Suo have had thought that Yu Kuangtu, became the Deputy Director by his own capabilities with his strong determination and perseverance, he now had a different impression.

    It was not difficult to guess that for Yu Kuangtu to have be one of the key appointment holders within the Ministry of State Security, a core department in charge of all the Practitioners, he must have hade from a well-connected family with a wealthy background. Furthermore, Lianjiang City was one of the fourrgest cities that were integral to the development and prosperity of Xuan Nation. For him to have assumed the post of Deputy Director in Lianjiang City, the capital of Lianjiang Province, Yu Kuangtu must have been very much trusted by the Nation¡¯s top political leaders.

    Moreover, in Ren Suo¡¯s eyes, Yu Kuangtu was simply amazing¡ªeven more so than Li Dan!

    The attraction of his key to Ren Suo was overwhelming. As Ren Suo stared more and more intensely at him, he quickly looked away again, in fear that he would not be able to resist the urge to rush forward and touch the Deputy Director directly and risk himself being burnt to ashes in a massive fireball.

    ¡°¡­You are from Lianjiang City, are you not?¡± asked Yu Kuangtu suddenly.

    ¡°Yes, yes, I am,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°All right, you may go out now. Be diligent in your practice in the future and do not be too self-absorbed in your fantasies.¡± Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Keep your skill score to yourself. If you tell that to other people¡­I don¡¯t know what will happen, but you will have to bear the consequences on your own.¡±

    After Ren Suo left the room, Yu Kuangtu wrote down Ren Suo¡¯s information in his file. He ced Ren Suo¡¯s file on the smaller pile of records on his right. The girl in the ck vest beside him smiled and said, ¡°We need more people in Changlong City, why not give this one with a poorer skill score to us?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, which city doesn¡¯t need more people now?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Soon, it was time for lunch. It was thest meal everyone would eat in the dining hall, where they could enjoy two vegetable dishes and two meat dishes for free. Everyone was extremely excited and asionally some of the cheekier students went around asking people about their skill score.

    ¡°My skill score is 2.20, what about you?¡±

    ¡°Mine is 2.55¡­I¡¯m so trash, it¡¯s such a pathetic score, all of you are definitely better than me. What about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a lost cause. I only got a score of 2.43. It looks like I don¡¯t have much talent as a Practitioner¡­What¡¯s your score?¡±

    Any logical person would ignore these boasting peacocks. Instead, they would quietly remember these people¡¯s faces, and¡­ask them for their contact details.

    It was unquestionable that the higher their skill score, the brighter their future would be. Not only could they enhance their individual abilities, but their influence in the future world of Reiki rejuvenation was also something a typical person could not predict.

    The group members of Group 8 remained rtively quiet. They merely discussed getting their mobile phones back after lunch. Xie Qiansi said, ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe I have survived five days without my mobile phone¡­I hope the world hasn¡¯t changed when we leave this ce. Sigh, there would be many people looking for me, I pray that my WeChat and QQ application doesn¡¯t crash with too many unread notifications.¡±

    ¡°But in actual fact, you have no notifications at all,¡± taunted Qiao Muyi who was sitting opposite him.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± said Xie Qiansi confidently.

    Although matters that people all knew had happened between Qiao Muyi and Ren Suo, that did not stop the two of them from talking over lunch. Everyone knew that as Practitioners, they would soon be important members within their respective departments. Hence, maintaining a good rtionship now was beneficial, for the contact could be of use someday.

    After everyone had eaten their lunch, they packed their belongings and prepared to return to their respective cities. When Ren Suo went up therge coach he was assigned to, he saw Qiao Muyi in the same seat she was in as before. His eyes lit up as he advanced towards the seat beside her¡ª

    ¡°Brother Suo,e and sit over here! Let¡¯s y cards!¡± Yuan Dang and Xie Qiansi called out to Ren Suo warmly as they pulled him towards them. Ren Suo tried to resist, but the seats around Qiao Muyi had been quickly upied by the other girls who had been her roommates.

    ¡°I have a¡­a story about borrowing arrows with thatched boats to tell you all.¡±

 Chapter 35 - The Free Game Of The Month Has Been Updated!

    Chapter 35: Chapter 35 ¨C The Free Game Of The Month Has Been Updated!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    It was already 7:26 p.m. when they arrived back at the Lianjiang City Ministry of State Security building.

    You Xulong, the ck cat of the Ministry of State Security in charge of bringing them back, dismissed everyone once they arrived. He told them that the Ministry would inform them of their job postings in the next one to three working days through text message.

    Someone asked if they had to conceal their identity as a Practitioner. You Xulong shrugged and replied, ¡°That is up to you, but I would rather not. Although the Inte Surveince Department would still be monitoring and blocking any information on the inte rted to the Practitioners, if you choose to divulge information about yourself being a Practitioner and get harmed by criminals¡­don¡¯t me us for not warning you first.¡±

    As young people, they naturally had the inclination to boast about their newly acquired knowledge, but most of them knew that they had already stepped into the future and had to take precautions. Everyone agreed with You Xulong¡ªat least on the surface¡ªand parted ways to go home.

    Under Xie Qiansi¡¯s motivation, all the members of Group 8 had exchanged WeChat details with one another, and all of them were added into a WeChat group. That¡¯s right, it was the group with the name [We, the Future of Xuan Nation]. Over thest five days, Xie Qiansi had taken the opportunity to talk to almost every one of the civil servants from Lianjiang City, and they were likewise willing to exchange contacts formunication. As such, the group now consisted of all the civil servants from Lianjiang City who had be Practitioners.

    When Ren Suo exchanged WeChat details with Qiao Muyi, he contemted carefully and said in a serious tone, ¡°Actually, I am not trying to hit you up.¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at Ren Suo blink a few times as he swallowed a full mouth of saliva¡ªit was solely because the key was so irresistible¡ªuntil Li Qingxuan walked over and shot a nce at Ren Suo before pulling Qiao Muyi away.

    Ren Suo was so frantic and desperate, yet he could not do anything. How on earth was he going to get Qiao Muyi on a bed, and make her sleep peacefully?

    They bid farewell to one another, and Ren Suo took the subway home. Along the way, he stopped by the Jianji stall below his apartment. It was already night time when he arrived at the stall and thedy tending the stall said in a tone of surprise, ¡°Did you find another stall to take away from? I have not seen you for a few days.¡±

    ¡°I went to travel,¡± Ren Suo said. He shrugged and continued, ¡°Give me a bowl of Yee-fu noodles with beef brisket in fried bean sauce.¡±

    ¡°All right, two bowls¡­one bowl?¡± thedy asked.

    ¡°Yes please, one bowl will do. Here are 18 dors,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Young man, you have to eat more,¡± thedy coaxed. She said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to slim down, getting a girlfriend is not based on your physique¡­¡±

    Ren Suo had not expected thedy to be so thoughtful and agreed, ¡°Yes, I know.¡±

    ¡°But it depends on both your looks and your physique,¡± continued thedy. She said, ¡°In your case¡­even if you had a good physique, you still won¡¯t make the cut.¡±

    Ren Suo was speechless. He said, ¡°¡­Can I have my money back?¡±

    The moment Ren Suo pushed open his door and reached home, he looked around and found that everything appeared normal and there were no signs of intrusion when he was away thest five days. He immediately opened his bedroom door and pulled out arge storage box from underneath his bed.

    There was a huge pile of clothes inside the box. Ren Suo removed all the clothes to reveal the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, which looked like a technology product from a science fiction movie.

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief. There were many hidden secrets within the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, and Ren Suo naturally made sure to keep it well-hidden before he left his house. He was not afraid of special agencies of the Nation finding out about his Mini Worlds Gaming Console and forcing him to hand it over to them¡ªhow would he dare to defy the national agencies? He would have no choice but to hand the game console to them, but he thought that it could even be possible that the nation would reward him for his contributions, and he could buy new houses.

    What Ren Suo was truly afraid of was the game console being stolen by burrs; he would be at a huge loss if that happened. If the burr found out about the mysterious powers of the game console, his life could be in danger if the burr were to send assassins to silence him. If that really happened, he would not even have an opportunity to regret before he was sent to the afterlife.

    Although the game console was unlikely to fetch a high price, it would truly pose a danger if a knowledgeable burr got his hands on it.

    Ren Suo could finally feel relieved after ensuring that his Mini Worlds Gaming Console was safe and sound. He ced the game console back in the living room and turned it on using the game controller. The game console connected automatically to his television immediately. After a five-day hiatus, Ren Suo finally saw the familiar dreamy cosmic start screen.

    In the selection column, there were still only three options: [World Shop], [What should you do now?], and [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Metres].

    Ren Suo noticed that on the bottom right corner of the row for [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Metres], there was a tiny, rotating circr disc icon, which seemed like it was reading from a disc. However, Ren Suo had not inserted any disc into the game console. He had no idea where to insert the disc in the first ce.

    Ren Suo did not bother about the icon and instead opened up the [World Shop] to see if the [Free Game of the Month] had been updated. He was not in a hurry to open the treasure chest since he knew he already retrieved a key and he was almost certain he could open the treasure chest anytime.

    On the 28th of March, Ren Suo had bought the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Metres], and on the 1st of April, hepleted the game for the first time. In the wee hours of the morning on the 2nd of April, he finally uploaded his score.

    On the other hand, [The Hitman] was the free game for March. Ren Suo thought, it was now the month of April, the free game of the month should have been updated, shouldn¡¯t it?

    Ren Suo had thought of this when he was in the training camp. He had not had the opportunity to check if the free game of the month had been updated previously, for he had been called for the training camp for public servants the day he hadpleted the game where the character in the game jumped on wooden nks all the way from zero to 10,000 meters.

    The date was now the 8th of April. The [April Fools¡¯ Discounted Items!] column no longer appeared in the shop and was reced with the option [Smashing the door of life and death, trampling the door of right and wrong]. After a quick nce, Ren Suo ignored the option¡ªit was probably a demanding game he could not afford either.

    As expected, the [Free Game of the Month] had been updated!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    As Li Dan pushed open the door to the meeting room on the third level of the Ministry of State Security building in Lianjiang, he saw that everyone else was already seated. Li Dan took a yawn as he found an avable seat and sat down.

    Although Li Dan felt refreshed after a good night¡¯s sleep, he still felt a peculiar tiredness. He thought that it could be a side effect of him after not sleeping for a long period of time and did not pay much attention to it.

    Instead, he was impressed that the guy called Ren Suo actually had the ability to make him fall asleep. He was already thinking of reasons the entire afternoon to request to his superiors to transfer Ren Suo to his department.

    Ultimately, he could not possibly be so honest to tell his superiors that he wanted Ren Suo in his department as he wanted Ren Suo to help him fall asleep¡­

    After a short while, a few more people d in ck vests entered the meeting room. Li Dan took a quick nce and found that all the Practitioners of Branch 18 from Lianjiang City had all been gathered here.

    Although all the members of Branch 18 were Practitioners, not all the Practitioners of the Nation belonged to Branch 18. In the other departments within the Ministry of State Security alone, there was a small group of Practitioners who wouldy the foundation for the influx of potential civil servant Practitioners in the future.

    Inparison with other government domains like the Security Bureau and the Bureau of Administration, the most unique aspect of Branch 18 was their focus on handling matters rted to Practitioners. However, this job would soon be handed over to the Security Bureau in the near future, as they would be the ones in charge of dealing with Practitioners and those who had been Awakened whomitted crimes. Branch 18 would then merely be handling ¡®unusual¡¯ Practitioners.

    Li Dan had originally intended to head home to rest and finally be able to remove his ck vest, but he was called back while he was still on his journey home.

    Had someone been Awakened and was going around killing people unstoppably?

    Or had someone of importance been killed by an Awakened person?

    Was the Pacific Federation going to organize the world¡¯s first Extraordinaire Martial Arts Meet?

    As Li Dan thought about the possible reasons why they had all been called back, Yu Kuangtu, who was sitting on the main seat saw that everyone had arrived, and said, ¡°The reason why all of you had been called back was because the Red Mansion received a confirmed piece of news.¡±

    Upon hearing the word ¡®Red Mansion¡¯, everyone straightened their backs instinctively. As the pioneer batch of Practitioners, they all knew that their training was held under the instructions and guidance of the Red Mansion. Even though they had never seen people from the Red Mansion before, they all knew that the Red Mansion held an important ce in the core of Xuan Nation¡¯s Reiki research.

    Yu Kuangtu turned the projector on, and a website was shown on the projector screen.

    ¡°GilliGilli?¡± Someone recognized the page immediately and said, ¡°The interactive bulletments website?¡±

    ¡°This website was chosen because the number of views on this website is the most,¡± Yu Kuangtu said as he navigated through the pages and opened the ranking list on the website. They looked at the most-viewed video at the top of the ranking list.

    ¡°Naisser_Ren uploaded another video? The same Naisser_Ren who rose to fame iming to be the best assassin in the world and who could not be tracked by all the countries?¡± One of the people in ck vests said, ¡°It is said that this Naisser_Ren is someone from the heavenly realms and from the secret organization of Xuan Nation¡­¡±

    ¡°The title of the video¡­it seems like it¡¯s from a game.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a reality challenge.¡±

    Li Dan squinted his small eyes to see the title of the video at the top of the ranking list and muttered, ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends Ten Thousand Meters¡­?¡±

 Chapter 36 - : Chapter 36: The Dilemma

    Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Dilemma

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo turned on hisputer and waited for more than a minute before a message from 360 appeared, saying: ¡°Current boot time: 10 seconds. Your boot-up speed is faster than 99% of the country¡¯sputers!¡± Unhurriedly, Ren Suo opened a Word document.

    Another 10 seconds passed before the 2003 version of Wordunched.

    At this point, the capabilities of theputer Ren Suo used must be obvious: it was a faded beauty. Nheless, theputer was able to meet Ren Suo¡¯s daily needs, and he was still able to watch videos and write documents with theputer without much problem.

    However, ever since Ren Suo started ying on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and experienced the advanced technological capabilities of the game console, he started having second thoughts about keeping hisputer. His currentputer was old and did not have much memorative¡¯ value. Furthermore, while new technology products serve the same functional purposes as before, their appearance would still be more appealing and striking.

    In his Word document, Ren Suo wrote:

    [Over My Dead Body: Chapter 1]

    [Lurk: Chapter 1]

    [Massacre in the Underground City]

    After hesitating for a short while, Ren Suo continued writing:

    [Over My Dead Body: Chapter 1] (Maximum reward: 80 merits, difficulty: 2 stars, specialized reward: ¡®Heart-strengthening¡¯ ability)

    [Lurk: Chapter 1] (Maximum reward: 100 merits, difficulty: 2 stars, specialized reward: ¡®The Art of Deceiving¡¯ ability)

    [Massacre in the Underground City] (Maximum reward: 60 merits, difficulty: 1 star, specialized reward: not applicable as it is a free game with only 1-star difficulty)

    As Ren Suo had some umted merits, not only did the system show the highest possible rewards he could obtain for each game (this was not shown for the free game of the previous month), there was also a prompt which said:

    ¡°Uponpletion of any free chapter from a game, the required merits to acquire the game would reduce ordingly.¡±

    ¡°The total merits required to acquire the game can be found through the search function of the World Shop.¡±

    For example, Ren Suo hadpleted the chapter [The Bloody Banquet] from the game [The Hitman], and thus the number of merits he needed to acquire the game would be reduced if he searched for it in the World Shop. However, he did not know how much fewer merits would be required for he was not about to spend 10 merits to perform a search to satisfy his curiosity.

    [Over My Dead Body: Chapter 1] was an economic simtion game. The synopsis read: ¡°Giving the yer the opportunity to experience what it is like to operate a family business! In a world of natural and man-made disasters, in a world of ghosts and spirits, in a world full of crises and cmities, the yer needs to protect and save his own family in theplex world. The yer would also need to be courageous and brave enough to break free from the cursed spell of life and other external vulnerabilities.¡±

    [Lurk: Chapter 1 was an interactive narrative game. The synopsis read: ¡°With a stone-cold heart, yet bustling with activity, would you choose to sacrifice yourself wholeheartedly for the better future of your nation, even if it means you would fall into the bottomless hell pit of lies? Or would you choose to be indecisive for your own glory and honor?¡±

    [Massacre in the Underground City] was a card-based action and adventure game. The synopsis read: ¡°The rotten culture of the abyss hidden within the underground city has infiltrated the world. To save yourself, you have to emerge from the corrupt metropolis, travel through the darkest of caverns and leave the horrid underground city by fighting against the strongest enemies at the heart of the deep abyss in a battle of life and death.¡±

    Ren Suo lifted his hands off the keyboard and looked at what he had just typed as he contemted carefully over his options.

    All of the three free games for the month seemed fun.

    But Ren Suo could only choose one out of the three to y.

    It was not impossible, however, to y all three of them. The system prompted that as the yer¡¯s level increased, the number of free games each month would increase, and the yer would also be able to choose more games to y each month. However, Ren Suo still had no idea how he could increase his yer level, so he was left with no choice but to select only one out of the avable three.

    Furthermore, there was no longer any discount for the purchase of games. If Ren Suo did not choose to y any of the free games, he would not be able to y any. With his very limited amount of umted merits, he would definitely not be able to afford anything after spending some merits to search for games in the store.

    ¡°What should I do?¡± Ren Suo pondered.

    If he only considered the rewarded merits from each game, it was obvious that he should choose to y [Lurk]. The short-term benefit was the earned merits, while the long-term benefit would be the discounted game cost. Unfortunately, the specialized reward [The Art of Deceiving] did not seem to be functionally useful.

    The next best option would be [Over My Dead Body]. Although the number of rewarded merits was fewer than that of [Lurk], the specialized reward [Heart-strengthening] seemed to be useful, but Ren Suo had no idea what the ability entailed just yet.

    Thest option would be ¡°Massacre in the Underground City¡±, with the lowest amount of merits rewarded. Both the short-term and long-term benefits were unattractive. Furthermore, no specialized rewards would be given. Unless he was left with no other choice like before when he only had the option to y [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet], Ren Suo would definitely not pick this option.

    However, if he took the game content into consideration, the choice would not be as straightforward.

    [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet] had a difficulty rating of 1 star. Simrly, [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] had a difficulty rating of 1 star.

    Without a doubt, both of these games were two of the easiest games avable, but were they that easy? The former required some amount of brainwork toplete, while thetter required Ren Suo to stay up for a few nights toplete.

    Even though Ren Suo had not owned any other game console prior to the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, but he was still a frequent visitor to cybercafes. While he could not be considered a legendary yer in the online games, he was not a clumsy amateur either. He was not one to neglect his studies and ruin his future, so he always yed with moderation. Nheless, Ren Suo was essentially one of the best few amongst people of his age. Many of his schoolmates would flock to team up with him to y FPS and MOBA games.

    Ren Suo was essentially a decent gamer, but even the 1-starred games proved to be a significant challenge to him. How difficult would the 2-starred games be?

    After some time, Ren Suo figured that he would not choose a game just yet. He had just returned home after a long ride anyway and instead decided to take a rest first.

    CTRL + A, Delete.

    Ren Suo deleted everything that he had just typed and went for a shower. He heated up the yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce which had already turned cold, then held it in his hand as he returned to hisputer. He navigated to the video site GiliGili, preparing to watch videos as he ate his¡­supper?

    However, as soon as the website loaded, he spat out a mouthful of the simmering hot noodles, which covered his screen and keyboard with a brownyer of a hot, gluey mix of noodles and fried bean sauce.

    At the top of the webpage was a horizontal banner that usually showed seasonal news and the website¡¯srge-scale promotion events. Yet, it was now reced with sixrge words in a ck font over a white background:

    ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters!¡±

    Ren Suo hurriedly cleaned up the mess on hisputer, then took a deep breath before clicking into the page, to realize that it was a¡­what on earth?!

    Large-scale serial documentary film?!

    There were a total of 55P (number of separated parts to the entire video), and apart from thest two Ps, they were all 120-minute-long videos! That was a total of 4 and a half days long!

    Each individual P had its own title stating the corresponding timestamps. For example, the first few Ps had the titles ¡°3 April 00:00~02:00¡±, ¡°3 April 02:00~04:00¡±, ¡°3 April 04:00~06:00¡±, while 54P was titled ¡°8 April 10:00~11:43¡±.

    Thest P was a ¡°Highlights¡± video, which seemed to be a cut andbined version a staggering 200 minutes long! That was almost three hours!

    3rd of April¡­?

    Ren Suo recalled that that was the first day of his training camp.

    However, that was also the day immediately after he uploaded his score for the game!

 Chapter 37 - You Can Even Make This Into A Movie?

    Chapter 37: Chapter 37 ¨C You Can Even Make This Into A Movie?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    When Ren Suo saw the video clip on ¡°The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡±, he had strange spection and theory about what will happen after he uploaded his score afterpleting the game.

    Now, therge-scale documentary entitled ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± had confirmed his theory!

    Shortly after he uploaded his final game score each time, the ount named ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ will upload a real-life video with events closely in line with the game contents onto all major video streaming and sharing sites!

    However, Ren Suo had thought nothing of this as the game ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± seemed more like a puzzle mini-game for yers to enjoy in their leisure time, and had not posed a significant challenge toplete.

    Ren Suo would never have thought that the events in the game could actually happen in real life.

    Yet, the appearance of the video was simply a smack in the face: No matter what you y, it will always happen in real life!

    Ren Suo started ying the first part 1P. In the dark of the night amongst the trees of the forest, a young golden-haired girl appeared out of the shadows. She was wearing a thin greyish-ck colored tracksuit. The rough material stood in contrast to her silky, smooth skin; as the most distinguished, highest tier member of GiliGili, Ren Suo could watch the video on 1080P+ extremely high quality, and on erging the video on fullscreen mode, he could see even the finest details of the golden-haired girl very clearly without anyg!

    The golden-haired girl, whose wless skin appeared almost transparent in the dark of the night, stepped onto the soil. When the cold wind blew, faint red ripples formed on her smooth, pale skin. Her shoulder-length golden-colored hair danced gracefully in the wind as she continued on her journey step-by-step through the forest.

    Ren Suo immediately knew that that was the avatar he had yed in the game¡ªthe female Seeker!

    ¡°Hello everyone, introducing to you, my wife.¡±

    ¡°I can y with her feet for a whole year!¡±

    ¡°Oh my dear wife, you¡¯re my wife as long as you¡¯re a girl.jpg¡±

    ¡°This looks just like a movie made from CG.¡±

    ¡°Is this an animation film using thetest motion capture technology to create life-like CG characters?¡±

    ¡°The total duration is ridiculous¡­Could they possibly have documented each and every one of the goddess¡¯ movements, even when she ate or used the toilet?¡±

    ¡°Skip directly to 63:23 to see the goddess emptying her dder!¡±

    Ren Suo wavered for a moment before he quickly dragged the video scrubber to the corresponding timestamp. The Seeker squatted down, and¡­

    She picked up a snake that everyone could not see clearly in the video from the ground, then twisted the neck of the snake before lifting it up high in the air above her head.

    Under the faint glimmer of the moonlight, a long, revolting stream of saliva leaked out of the mouth of the fierce and evil-looking snake which was over a metre long, as the elegant and beautifuldy gripped onto its head, waving it from side to side like a small kid wriggling around while being carried in the arms.

    In one smooth motion, the Seeker swung her hand and released the snake, sending it flying a long distance away, before continuing her journey towards the Tedamia mountains in the distance.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the pee? Where¡¯s the pee I want to drink?!¡±

    ¡°Fool, you have been tricked!¡±

    ¡°You disgusting otaku, don¡¯t you know pretty young girls don¡¯t pee?¡±

    ¡°Pee from a pretty young girl¡­that¡¯s not pee, it¡¯s holy water!¡±

    The yful bulletments on the screen were unending. Ren Suo skipped all the way to the end of the video to see that the Seeker was still walking in the forest. However, she had been walking on unpaved ground and in a short time span of two hours, her feet had already been cut and pricked by the thorns and stones on the ground.

    Ren Suo quickly skimmed through the video parts and found that the Seeker spent the entire day on the 3rd of April walking through the forest and crossing the mountains. Although the ground was rtively t throughout, the forest itself was no easy ce to traverse on foot.

    However, what was unbelievable was that the Seeker had not taken any rest for the entire day!

    She did not eat or rest!

    And naturally, she did not empty her bowels either¡­

    Ren Suo viewed a few other Ps fromter on, and noticed that there were bulletments at the beginning of each P, saying: ¡°There is no peeing scene in this P, please go to the next P.¡±

    What a bunch of otakus with nothing better to do.

    On the morning of the 4th of April, the slim Seeker finally met some people¡ªas she ran on the mountainous grounds, a few teenagers who were herding sheep and cows appeared in the scene.

    It was obvious that the group of teenagers were shocked yet excited when they saw the Seeker run past them. They were shouting and waving their arms in the distance, but no one could understand what they were saying until a bulletment said:

    ¡°They are most likely Kamiyans from the Tedamia mountainous region who are speaking the Kamiyannguage. See page 221 of thements section for more details.¡±

    Ren Suo read in thements section:

    ¡°The Kamiyans live on the two ends of the Tedamia mountainous region. Most of them live in Ni¡¯er while a small minority live in Xuan Nation and Kong Que Nation. Kamiyans have their own ethnic culture andnguage. They lived deep within the forests amongst the mountains isted from the rest of the world until people from around the world began their quest to conquer the Hyjal mountain peak. The Kamiyans were called the ¡®Porters of Tedamia¡¯ as they helped many groups of people around the world to reach the Jomolungma peak by giving them directions or being their porters.¡±

    Hyjal peak of the Tedamia mountain region!

    Ren Suo finally knew where the Seeker was heading towards.

    The Hyjal peak of the Tedamia mountains is regarded as the world¡¯s highest peak, is it not?!

    Located on the border between Xuan Nation and Ni¡¯er Nation, the Hyjal peak was the main peak of the Tedamia mountains. The Northern side of the Tedamia mountain region was located within the borders of Xuan Nation, while the Southern side of the Tedamia mountain region stood within the borders of Ni¡¯er Nation. The peak was 10,230 meters above sea level. The mountain itself was pyramidal-shaped and known as the backbone of the world.

    The word ¡°Hyjal¡± referred to being ¡°holy and eversting¡± in ancient Xuannguage. The Hyjal peak, which remained covered in snow all year round, was part of the beliefs of the mountain people who lived in the Western region of ancient Xuan Nation and had been an object of awe and spectacrity to people ever since a very long time ago.

    In the modern context, as the world¡¯s highest point, the Hyjal peak had be one of the peaks mountaineers of expedition groups around the world seek to conquer. Although there are other mountain peaks that had more treacherous and challenging hikes, reaching the Hyjal peak would signify that one had conquered the world; one would have the entire world under one¡¯s feet!

    Ren Suo was about to continue watching the video clips when he saw the topment in the hotments section:

    ¡°Watch 55P, the highlights clip! You will finally be able to understand all that has happened, and if you still don¡¯t believe this is true you can slowly watch the previous 54P. That part is meant to thoroughly shatter the world view you hold on dearly to! Believe me, be patient and stay hopeful!¡±

    ¡°Zhang He from the mountaineering team in the video clip has already proven his identity. He is the Chairman of Yoka Investment and Asset Management LLC, which is a subsidiary of Yoka Food Group. He is also an amateur mountaineer. Fortunately, he is all right now!¡±

    At this juncture, Ren Suo decided to not look through the rest of the individual P and skipped directly to 55P, the highlights video clip!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°She is just an ordinary person.¡±

    In the conference room on the third level of the Ministry of State Security building, the projector screen was showing the 55P of the video ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡±. A woman around the age of 25 said, ¡°From the start until a height of 4000 metres above sea level, her energy did not surpass that of ordinary people. I dare say that anyone of us here will be able to do better. Her strength is also slightly weaker than average men, which corresponds to the muscle distribution of her arms, neck, and legs.¡±

    ¡°The only unusual thing is her stamina,¡± someone else said. She continued, ¡°The girl walked and climbed for days without any rest or food, and yet she could maintain the same speed from the very beginning. I swear with my frying pan that she utilized Reiki to help her!¡±

    As thest of the speaker¡¯s words came out of the speaker¡¯s mouth, she mmed a frying pan onto the table. Yu Kuangtu¡¯s eyes widened and he raised his brows as he said, ¡°Xu Hailin, what did you bring a new frying pan here for?¡±

    ¡°My mom asked me to buy a new pan home¡­¡± Xu Hailin replied as she scratched her head, ¡°The pan at home is spoilt so she asked me to buy one back for her to cook supper for me.¡±

    Xu Hailin looked like she was from the rural viges, but when she spoke, her sentences were filled with euphemisms. Yu Kuangtu shrugged and said, ¡°Alright, alright. I don¡¯t want to waste any more of your time, so watch the remaining over two hours of the highlights video clip at home. We still have to discuss after all of you have finished watching it¡­But for now, you all may leave first.¡±

    Without waiting for the rest to stand up, Yu Kuangtu continued, ¡°Finish watching the video at home and note down the extraordinary traits of the girl and any suspicious points. Hand your findings to Wang Qingyu by 9.30 a.m. before work tomorrow.¡±

    Everyone sighed and said, ¡°Why do we still have homework¡­¡±

 Chapter 38 - The Peopleâ€™s Goddess (1)

    Chapter 38: Chapter 38 ¨C The People¡¯s Goddess (1)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Located just southwest of Xuan Nation, Grace City lies within the south-western region of the Tibetan teau. It is adjacent to Nagqu to the North, Lhasa City and Lhoka City to the East, and Ngari Prefecture to the West. It is also connected to other cities like Ni¡¯er and Maurya. Sitting at 4,000 meters above mean sea level, Grace City is situated in the middle of the Tedamia mountain region, with a city border 1,753 kilometers in length and upying a totalnd area of 182 thousand square kilometers. It is also the city located closest to the peak of the Hyjal mountain.

    Most if not all mountaineering teams would choose to fly, by ne, into Grace City in Xuan Nation or into Zetu City in Ni¡¯er Nation, before continuing their journey into the Tedamia mountain region in an off-road vehicle.

    Infrastructure and facilities like railways and the airport in Grace City were only constructed after the founding of Xuan Nation. It was originally intended to be developed into a key farming and agricultural area, but with the rise of global interest to explore and conquer the Hyjal mountain peak, Grace City soon developed from serving merely as a tertiary sector of the economy into one of Xuan Nation¡¯s renowned tourist cities. Compared to other polluted cities located within Xuan Nation, the clean and fresh air in the Tibetian teau proved to be a refreshing and rxing getaway for city dwellers.

    Nheless, it wasrgely a ce for the less well-off to rx; the rich would still be ¡®busy¡¯ enjoying their lives, going on holidays to moremon and well-known countries and staying in five-star hotels.

    The night sky was clear in Grace City, and the stars could still be seen shining dimly in the dark. Although the sky was not as clean and clear as that in the South Pole, at the peak of summer, the people of Grace City would still be able to observe the constetions in the night sky clearly without any equipment, which was an experience unparalleled to that of other city dwellers.

    Zhang Hi, however, was in no mood to admire the stars glimmering in the night sky. He sat on a bed beside a full ash-tray in a single-bedroom on the third level of the Grace People¡¯s Hospital as he stared intensely at the screen of his mobile phone.

    Zhang Hi took out his box of cigarettes and realized that there was only one stick left in the box. Just as he was about to light the remaining cigarette up, he heard a knocking at the door. A voice said, ¡°Mr. Zhang.¡±

    Zhang Hi sighed as he put the cigarette back into the box and turned off his mobile phone. He replied, ¡°Pleasee in.¡±

    A group of people entered the already cramped room. Zhang Hi noticed that apart from the senior official from Grace City whom he already met in the afternoon, there were a few other foreign officials who came in.

    ¡°Sorry to interrupt your rest, Mr. Zhang,¡± the middle-aged official said. He looked at his watch and continued, ¡°It is already past midnight, but for some special reasons, I seek your understanding, Mr. Zhang.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Zhang Hi said as he sat back on his bed. He continued, ¡°I have not slept yet, anyway. Although it had been a tiring day¡­it¡¯s even more unforgettable.¡±

    The official looked apologetically at Zhang Hi as the other foreign officials took their seats around the hospital room. The Grace City official¡¯s secretary had been the one interviewing Zhang Hi in the afternoon about the details of what had happened, but now, it was a Xuan Nation official d in a ck vest doing the talking.

    ¡°Mr. Zhang Hi,¡± started the man in the ck vest. He said, ¡°On the 8th of April, which was today, at 12.30 p.m., you returned to the fifth campsite situated 9,600 meters above sea level, along the northern slope of the Hyjal peak, is that right? And at 3.15 p.m., you went up a Xuan Nation transport helicopter at the fifth campsite, and returned back to Grace City at 6.30 p.m., is that correct?¡±

    Zhang Hi nodded his head and said, ¡°That is correct.¡±

    At the same time, Zhang Hi noticed that the other foreign officials nodded their heads and could not help but feel slightly surprised¡ªcould they understand the Xuannguage too?

    ¡°I want you to recall, all the events that happened starting from the moment you set off from the fifth campsite in the wee hours of the morning on the 8th of April,¡± the man in the ck vest said as he nced at his watch. He asked, ¡°You have not slept for over 24 hours, would you be alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Zhang Hi said with a smile. He continued, ¡°I have not been able to calm myself down since the afternoon, but I have already taken a short nap just now, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Everyone was very understanding of him. It was perfectly normal for anyone who faced the same miraculous circumstances as him to be unable to fall asleep immediately with so many thoughts and questions running through the mind.

    ¡°Do I have to start recounting from the time I left the fifth campsite? I think that talking about what happened from 9.30 a.m. onwards would be better,¡± reminded Zhang Hi.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, we just want to have a better understanding of some of the details this time,¡± the man in the ck vest said. He continued, ¡°Also, don¡¯t worry about missing out any details along the way, just tell us anything whenever you recall it.¡±

    ¡°Alright then,¡± said Zhang Hi as he took out his cigarette box subconsciously but quickly put it back again. The man in the ck vestughed and said, ¡°Mr. Zhang, don¡¯t worry, it is perfectly normal to take a puff to freshen up.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Right¡­¡± Zhang Hi said as he observed that the local official had remained silent, indicating that the man in the ck vest had amanding position in the room. Although Zhang Hi still felt uneasy, he continued to light up his cigarette. As the hot whiff of smoke rejuvenated his lungs, he felt as if he was teleported back to 24 hours ago¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The mountaineering team that Zhang Hi had been part ofprised mainly of people from Xuan Nation. There was a total of six people in the team, including the team leader.

    Although it was the height of spring and not the best time for climbing the mountain, it was just slightly less dangerous than climbing in the summer. In fact, with the industrialization of high altitude tourism to the Hyjal mountains, it was no more unsafe to climb the mountain in spring than in the summer, as long as the team leader was reliable.

    Zhang Hi had first arrived in Grace City at the start of March. He met up with the rest of the team and reached the northern entrance to the Hyjal mountain peak on the 5th of March, which was the base camp that was situated 5,896 meters above sea level. As they waited for the tents and other equipment to be delivered to the base camp, they took part in preparatory training for more than 20 days in order to adapt to the high altitude conditions and familiarize themselves with the route to the summit.

    One of the members had suffered from acute high altitude sickness and was vomiting non-stop, and thus had no choice but to return to Grace City for treatment, leaving the team with only five people.

    The training process was an extremely unforgettable mountaineering experience for Zhang Hi, although it was actually nothing out of the ordinary: over the past 50 years, many people have ascended to the Hyjal peak, and countless teams have risked their lives to find the safest route up and the best locations to set up camps. Apart from the base camp on Hyjal mountain, there were also the advance base camp, the first campsite, the second campsite, the third campsite, the fourth campsite, as well as the fifth campsite. As long as the teams made sufficient preparations and took the necessary safety precautions to follow the given route, the risks involved when ascending the mountain could be lowered to the lowest possible.

    On the 3rd of April, the three expedition teams decided to set off towards the Hyjal peak as the weather was optimal. They reached the second campsite by the end of the first day, then the third campsite by the second day and the fourth campsite by the end of the third day. By the fourth day, they had arrived at the fifth campsite. However, the fifth campsite, which was located at a height of 9,600 meters above sea level, was too high for the Kamiyan people to continue carrying spare oxygen tanks for them. As such, each and every one of the mountaineers had to equip themselves with a filled oxygen tank and continue the daunting climb after passing the fourth campsite.

    Zhang Hi was a middle-aged man who was over thirty years of age and had a sessful career. Although he had no kids as yet, his wife was pregnant. Climbing the Hyjal mountain was solely to fulfill his dream: after he entered the mountaineering club in university where he met his first love, both of them aspired to conquer the Hyjal peak together.

    Together, they had first conquered the 5000-meter-tall Haba Snow Mountain which was most suited for beginners. They then climbed the intermediate level Amne Machin Mountain at a height of 6,000 meters above sea level, the advanced level Muztagata Mountain with a height of 7,000 meters above sea level, and the master level Cho Oyu Mountain which stood 8,000 meters above sea level. Having attained certificates verifying their expeditions up to the 6000-meter, 7000-meter, and 8000-meter-tall mountains, Zhang Hi and his first love finally met the criteria set by the Xuan Nation Mountaineering Association to then be able to take on the challenge of climbing the 10000-meter-tall Hyjal mountain. People who otherwise did not have mountaineering certificates would not be able to proceed higher than the Hyjal mountain basecamp located 5,896 meters above sea level.

    Unfortunately, during one of their expeditions, Zhang Hi¡¯s first love met with an ident and died. After many muddle-headed years of working, he finally met his current wife and got married, and pressed on courageously until the present day.

    Zhang Hi knew that this year was his final opportunity to fulfill his dreams. Once his wife had given birth to their newborn child, his responsibilities as a father would greatly surpass hisparatively insignificant aspirations.

    It was thest time Zhang Hi could make impulsive and risky decisions¡ªto relive his days as a kid¡ªbefore responsibilities as a father took over.

    However, while Zhang Hi had managed to reach the fifth campsite safely with his team, he now had a small problem.

    The remaining oxygen in his oxygen tank had depleted to the minimum volume.

    It was not that the oxygen tank had not been refilled before leaving the fourth campsite, but rather that Zhang Hi was consuming more oxygen than average during the climb from the fourth to the fifth campsite, and the ¡®backup oxygen¡¯ was gradually being used up. If he were to continue his quest towards the summit, he could not make any mistakes or meet any other unforeseen circumstances, or else he would risk not being able to make it back down from the summit.

    Zhang Hi had the option of waiting for the rest of his team at the fifth campsite while they hiked to the summit, and then make their way down together when they descended. With less physical activity, his oxygen consumption would greatly decrease.

    ¡°This means that you risked your life to climb all the way to the summit?¡± a foreign official who had golden-colored hair asked in Xuannguage.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Hi replied.

    ¡°Why must you take such a risk?¡± the foreign official questioned.

    ¡°Why? Because it¡¯s my dream, there are memories, there are hope and miracles¡­I was very conflicted too when I made that decision at that point in time. But if you ask me for the most fundamental reason why I made such a risky decision, I suppose¡­it¡¯s because I did not want to admit defeat,¡± Zhang Hi said. He continued with a slight smile, ¡°I know that if I had given up then, I would regret my decision for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°But it is also because of this decision¡­that I, along with my teammates, met the girl.¡±

 Chapter 39 - The Peopleâ€™s Goddess (2)

    Chapter 39: Chapter 39 ¨C The People¡¯s Goddess (2)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    At 4 o¡¯clock in the morning, on the 8th of April, Zhang Hi and his team set off from the fifth campsite. There were now only 12 people left in the entire mountaineering expedition group.

    The three teams had a total of 20 people originally, but 8 of them were suffering from severe illnesses when they underwent health checks at the fourth campsite. They were not suffering from typical conditions like vomiting of blood but were instead showing psychotic behavior where theyyzily on the ground as if they were drunk and were unconscious. Even when they tried to stand up, they were unable to differentiate between their shoes and their thermos sks¡ªyes, one of them even stuffed his boots into his mouth and wondered why there was no watering out of them.

    In their case, they could only remain at the fourth campsite and wait for the Kamiyan people to escort them down the mountain safely.

    The low atmospheric pressure at a high altitude of more than 8,000 meters above sea level on the Hyjal mountain reduces the oxygen concentration within the human body to about one-third the level aspared to at sea level. Even when they were sleeping at night and the mountaineers kept their oxygen masks on, they could still feel physically ufortable due to the high altitude and thin air.

    Compared with those people, Zhang Hi was considered lucky. He was still able to remain conscious and alert in his ascent up the mountain, but what was unfortunate was that his physical endurance had reached its limit, and his body had no choice but to use up more oxygen to function.

    Although the group had already stopped at the fifth campsite, which was asrge as a football field, for six hours to rest, Zhang Hi still felt a sunken feeling exerted on his body when he woke up.

    When they set off from the fifth campsite, his other teammates could see that the amount of oxygen left in the oxygen tank Zhang Hi was carrying on his back was much lower than the others¡ªit had dropped to a very dangerous level. Someone had given Zhang Hi a pat on his shoulder and pointed to his oxygen tank, but he shook his head and the others did not continue to coax him further.

    All of them had to conserve their avable oxygen by reducing the energy expended from talking, but they had also fulfilled basic human responsibilities¡ªto advise Zhang Hi to treasure his life.

    Anyone who dared to climb up and conquer the Hyjal mountain had to be responsible for themselves. Although the route to the peak had been nned out, such that it was the safest way possible, they still saw many dead bodies buried under theyers of snow during their climb. Whilst some of the dead bodies were found in locations that were extraordinarily hard to reach, the majority of corpses had been gathered together. They were mountaineers who had lost their lives for some reason or another during their journey on the mountain.

    Without a doubt, Mount Hyjal was sufficiently cold to be a natural preservation ground for the corpses. The rate of dposition of the body was extremely slow, and since the mountaineers would generally be wearing thickyers of protective equipment against the cold, the dposing flesh and remaining bones of the corpses would be hidden from the view of other climbers. They would only be able to seeyers of clothing over dead bodies serving asndmarks.

    This is the sad truth of the Hyjal mountain route, 9,000 meters above sea level¡ªevery path was found at the expense of countless lives. Some of the paths could not even be considered a path as it required an almost 90¡ã incline along the cliff, achieved by nailing down the rope securely with just one¡¯s bare hands and climbing slowly onto it. There could even be cracked cliffs where one needed to secure the ropes and boards for the people behind to climb slowly across the precipice, 9,000 meters above the ground. If any one made a mistake and fell all the way to the bottom, there was not even a chance of recovering the dead body.

    The team had initially felt a sense of fear when they first saw the many dead corpses along the way, but they soon felt more at ease and even nodded slightly at them in greeting when they walked past the bodies. After all, any of the team members could well be a part of them, so it was not a bad idea to exchange greetings with their potential neighbors beforehand.

    You could either ovee all the obstacles nature presented in your way, or decide to be nature itself, or else you should just give up. If you dared to climb Mount Hyjal, then no one else should be responsible for your life.

    Anyone who climbed Mount Hyjal would have had their own aspirations, or at the least, they would have wanted to gain some experience they could be proud of, to gain fame and recognition, or to fulfill their dreams. But at more than 9,000 meters above sea level, they were so close to the world¡¯s highest peak, and they had only one thing in mind: to conquer it, and survive the journey back!

    At about 8:50 in the morning, on the 9th of April, the group had already reached the checkpoint at 9,810 meters above sea level. They would only require at most two hours to reach the summit of the Hyjal mountain, and after taking photographs to remember the moment, they would be able to return safely to the fifth campsite before 1 o¡¯clock that afternoon.

    Thetest time to descent from the Hyjal mountain was at 13:00 hours. Any dy would result in being unable to set up camp before sunset due to the unpredictable weather. They could even be trapped to death enroute. When Zhang Hi and the rest of the group saw the sign of the 9810-meter checkpoint, they saw yet another dead body buried in the snow, right beside the sign post. No one knew if he had been trapped there due to adverse weather conditions and froze to his death.

    Now, Zhang Hi was manifesting severe conditions like nausea, paleness and cold sweats, and was slowly falling behind the group. With his oxygen tank almost depleted of oxygen, he was now showing signs of hypoxemia.

    Even if Zhang Hi persevered and reached the peak, he would not be able to return to the bottom due to theck of oxygen. He had overestimated his physical ability and had used up more oxygen than expected during his ascent. Regardless, he was now at a dead end.

    Zhang Hi could not possibly turn back at this point now, and so he trudged on with all his energy. All he thought about was that if he were to die, he had to die at the peak of Mount Hyjal, 10,000 meters above the sea level. Prior to his expedition, he had already arranged for his family to receive his life insurance benefits should he meet with an unfortunate ident.

    At this point in time, no one would be willing to help him. At the most, they would inform the Kamiyan people of the location of his dead body so that they could recover it and arrange for his family to retrieve his corpse for burial.

    Theck of oxygen in his body made Zhang Hi extremely exhausted and feel heavy. The equipment he was carrying felt like he was being chained by the mountain as if attempting to make him stay on this natural cemetery forever.

    At this juncture, Zhang Hi no longer had many thoughts in mind. Ordinary people who were about to die could, at the least, take a walk down memoryne, but for Zhang Hi who was about to die due to ack of oxygen to the brain, he could not even afford to ¡®recall¡¯ and reminisce about his past memories as he slowly lost consciousness.

    Just as he was about to shut his eyes and lose all of his consciousness, Zhang Hi heard a strange voiceing from below and behind him in the whistling of the bitterly cold wind.

    It was the sound of rocks falling and hitting each other.

    Did something drop? Or did a hailstorm form due to the wind?

    Zhang Hi forced himself to open his eyes, and through his blurred vision, he saw what seemed like a human figure below him.

    A human figure¡­ below¡­?

    Zhang Hi had been walking on the mountain route, and below him was a steep slope with an incline of almost 80¡ã!

    In his stupor, Zhang Hi thought that he must have been hallucinating in delirium. However, the figure went over to him very quickly, and took off his oxygen mask!

    Instantly, he felt the bitter cold air assaulting his face like knives piercing through his skin. Just as he was about to shut both of his eyes and fall unconscious, another oxygen mask snapped onto his face and over his nose. Instinctively, he tookrge gulps of the oxygenated air and as the oxygen-rich air filled his lungs, he gradually regained consciousness.

    ¡°Who saved me?¡± Zhang Hi thought the moment he regained consciousness. ¡°Who would be willing to sacrifice their oxygen tank to me?¡±

    Everyone could, at most, carry one oxygen tank, otherwise, they would definitely not be able to move with the huge weight on their backs. But without any doubt, Zhang Hi was breathing someone else¡¯s oxygen. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see an unfamiliar aface.

    In the snow and wind, her golden hair was lined with frost, and her exposed skin was flushed red due to the extreme cold. Her thin set of clothes danced in the wind as if a useless armor in the assaulting cold wind and served merely as a cover for her. She had a rtively thin figure and yet her eyes shone with aforting glow from her beautiful face, as if a warm beam of sunlight prated deep within Zhang Hi.

    She kept the oxygen mask over Zhang Hi¡¯s face with her right hand and held onto the oxygen tank with her left. A length of rope was wrapped around her waist, but she carried nothing else.

    A¡­young girl who had golden hair.

    A¡­mountaineer who did not use an oxygen tank.

    A¡­mountaineer who did not use the conventional mountain routes but instead climbed directly onto the cliffs.

    A¡­mountaineer who did not wear any protective clothing, who did not wear gloves or boots, who was still able to continue her ascent as per normal at 9,000 meters above sea level!

    Without any warm clothing, without any oxygen tank, what was this sorcery?

    Based on the general guideline of a six centigrade drop in temperature for every 1000-meter increment above sea level, since it was spring on the ground in the Tedamia region with a temperature of about 20¡ãC, then it would be at least -34¡ãC at the current elevation of more than 9,000 meters. And in fact, when they set out from the fifth campsite at an elevation of 9,600 meters, the measured temperature was -40¡ãC.

    How cold was it at -40¡ãC? Saliva would turn into ice even before reaching the ground; a normal person without any warm clothing and protective equipment would lose all body heat in under an hour, and the body temperature would drop below -25¡ãC. The temperature regtory center of the brain would cease to function, and one would quickly stop breathing, the heart would stop beating, and the blood pressure would drop rapidly. All reflexes would disappear and there would be no response to external stimuli. Eventually, the vasomotor center and the respiratory center would stop functioning and result in death.

    In other words, the young golden-haired girl should have been frozen into an ice sculpture by now, and her limbs should be weak and stiff. There was no way she could still be moving and functioning normally!

    Furthermore, she did not use an oxygen tank?!

    Some people amongst extreme groups of mountaineering hobbyists believed that the potential of the human body was limitless, and indeed there had been many mountaineers who had limatized to the thinner air at higher altitudes by training at an elevation of 6,000 meters above sea level. The partial pressure of oxygen in alver air and the partial pressure of oxygenated pulmonary venous blood was about 100 mmHg in people living at lower altitudes, and that of the Kamiyan people who lived at higher altitudes was only 10 mmHg. The less oxygen required, the higher one could climb.

    As such, some people believe that as long as one lived sufficiently long at a certain altitude, it was possible for one to climb the Hyjal mountain, which, at its peak, had an atmospheric pressure at less than a third of that at sea level, without bringing any oxygen tanks!

    However, this was not possible. Even at the third campsite, 8,400 meters above sea level, there had yet to be any instances of anyone being able to continue the ascent without using an oxygen tank. Even the Kamiyan people who lived their lives at higher altitudes than most people could not do so!

    Furthermore, the young golden-haired girl did not walk the usual paths but instead chose to climb the cliffs which stood at an incline of 70¡ã~90¡ã, using just her bare hands¡­

    Countlessplicated thoughts and questions formed in Zhang Hi¡¯s head as he finally managed a short mutter, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He did not think that he had such charisma that the golden-haired girl would sacrifice her life to save him, and it naturally followed that the girl merely wanted to help him when she saw that he was about to die.

    The young girl with golden-colored hair smiled as she helped him remove the oxygen tank on his back, and rece it with the one she had been holding on her hand.

    Zhang Hi did not stop her, and neither was he in the position to stop her¡ªshould he be worried about the golden-haired girl who would die from ack of oxygen after giving him her oxygen tank?

    That would have been nonsense, for Zhang Hi could tell with just his eyes that the young girl with golden hair was in a much better physical condition than him!

    ¡°At that point in time, I¡¯m sure you would have known that the person in front of you¡­is not an ordinary person,¡± said the official in the ck vest.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be exaggerating if I called her a superwoman,¡± said Zhang Hi. He smiled and continued, ¡°She¡¯s simply¡­the goddess of Mount Hyjal. Ordinary people like me can only hope for her existence.¡±

 Chapter 40 - The Peopleâ€™s Goddess (3)

    Chapter 40: Chapter 40 ¨C The People¡¯s Goddess (3)

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°How could this possibly be the same as the game that I yed?¡±

    Ren Suo was perplexed.

    Although he knew that the video was a real-life portrayal of the events that happened in the game, but¡­the disparity between the quality of the graphics in the game and in the video was simply too huge!

    In the game [The Hitman], while the avatars and buildings were unbelievably lifelike, it was still obvious that it was a game. When Ren Suo watched the video [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet], he was sure that it was a real-life portrayal of the events which took ce when he yed the game. Even though the avatars were shown at a different angle in the real-life video, but¡­at the least, they still donned the same clothes as they had in the game itself.

    But what about [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]?

    The characters in the game were all matchstick-like figures! Matchstick figures!

    Matchstick figures and real-life humans were simply worlds apart!

    Furthermore, the differences did not stop at just the characters. The gamey was simr to a ¡®jumping¡¯ game, where Ren Suo had to control his strength and respond sufficiently quick for the character to be able to jump sessfully from one tform to the next.

    He had not been able to figure out how the game could be tranted into reality¡ªcould the matchstick-like characters be made to jump a step at a time up to 10,000 meters above sea level?

    However, the Mini Worlds Gaming Console had just pped him right in his face¡ªyour low intellect has limited your imagination!

    In the three-hour-long highlights clip, the first hour showed the Seeker moving swiftly through the trees on rtively t ground, as if an eagle swooping over the forests. It could be assumed at that point that she was merely an expert in navigating through forests. However, as she entered the area on Mount Hyjal which was nketed byyers of white snow, Ren Suo finally understood what the ¡®jumping¡¯ process signified.

    Climbing!

    The Seeker was climbing directly onto the edges of cliffs without any supporting equipment!

    Even if there were already unpaved roads ahead, the Seeker would not take the route if it was not the shortest one. Instead, she opened her palms and gripped onto the rocks with her fingers which anchored perfectly into the gaps between the rocks as she aptly adjusted the strength and flexibility of her fingers to be like a whip when flexible and metal when firm. She did not stop for a moment throughout the entire process, and it was as if her hands wereyered with 502 adhesives.

    asionally, the Seeker would meet other people along the shortest route she took. When they saw her hiking up the mountain in just a thinyer of clothing, they would all stop to ask if she needed any help, to which she would reply in a hoarse voice, ¡°No need, no, thanks.¡±

    It was exactly the same as it had been in the game!

    The same process continued all the way until the Seeker arrived at the Hyjal basecamp situated 5,896 meters above sea level. Her whole body was glowing faintly in a shade of red in the extreme cold, covered only by a thinyer of clothes. At that point, she had not eaten or slept for a few days, and her appearance confused the other people who were also at the basecamp. They blinked and rubbed their eyes subconsciously¡ªwas she real or were they hallucinating?

    It was 20¡ãC below freezing! If anyone appeared there wearing such little clothing, they would be better off beingndmarks!

    Some people stopped the Seeker from proceeding further, while some people brought clothes over for her. Nheless, the Seeker waved her hand to reject them, and after resting at the basecamp for a short while, she continued her journey towards the peak!

    Ren Suo still remembered that when he reached a certain height in the game, the bottom left corner of the screen would show that the Seeker had received a ¡°cold buff¡±, which meant that the more energy she used to jump, the longer she took to recover the expended energy.

    Ren Suo had thought that it was merely a difficulty setting in the game. He had not imagined that it was real¡ªif one were to be at a ce more than 6,000 meters above sea level, wearing nothing more than just a thin set of fitness attire and without using an oxygen tank, it was natural to regain energy at a much slower rate.

    Previously, Ren Suo had thought that the ¡°cold buff¡± was a wicked setting in the game, but now he knew that it was actually easier than it would have been in real life!

    The first campsite 7,200 meters above sea level!

    The second campsite 7,900 meters above sea level!

    The third campsite 8,400 meters above sea level!

    The fourth campsite 9,000 meters above sea level!

    Throughout much of the journey, the Seeker was climbing directly onto the cliffs with her bare hands. A 70¡ã incline was considered a gentle slope and the mostmon ones were inclined at an 80¡ã angle. There were even some 90¡ã precipices which proved to be a major challenge even for the Seeker.

    The sight of the prating bitter cold wind in the mountains was enough to make anyone watching it shiver. When night came or when storm clouds covered the sky, it was so dark that one would not be able to see one¡¯s fingers when stretched out in front, and yet, the Seeker continued to brave through the darkness jumping from cliff to cliff. When an unavoidable ice storm blew, the Seeker continued climbing directly into the heart of the storm, forming white clouds of mist as her palms came into contact with the icy cold hail. In an environment with a temperature close to 40¡ãC below freezing, the Seeker¡¯s skin was akin to burning hot metal.

    Furthermore, at more than 7,000 meters above sea level, the Seeker¡¯s ascent became even more dangerous. The Seeker would frequently propel herself upwards by holding onto icicles, but even though the Seeker moved steadily in the video, above 7,000 meters above sea level the Seeker would grab onto fragile icicles that would break due to the applied weight and pressure at least 5 times every minute. Amidst the bulletments flying across the screen, the beautiful and mesmerizing Seeker would always be able to reach out for another stable piece of icicle or rock and continue her climb upwards!

    On one asion, the three consecutive icicles that the Seeker held onto broke into pieces and it was nerve-wracking!

    ¡°That can¡¯t be real¡­she almost fell to her death!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it¡¯s real, go back to see 54P, this really is the Hyjal mountain, not a green screen effect from a Hollywood movie!¡±

    ¡°Just wait a bit more and you will find out if this is real or fake¡­¡±

    ¡°With each new video from Naisser_Ren, it only gets scarier and scarier¡­I thought that the Heavenly Hitman was already horrifying. I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s now a worse one¡ªwithout any rest or sleep, without any food or water, she climbed 10,000 meters in just five days. Can humans possibly achieve this?!¡±

    At this juncture, Ren Suo also felt a sense of pride and satisfaction¡ªwhat other people could see was only the numerous close encounters the Seeker had with death, but in reality, Ren Suo spent days reviving the character countless times to sessfullyplete the game with his own umted experience!

    Ren Suo had figured out that the broken icicles were the ice tforms in the game which would shatter uponnding on them. The pitch-ck night and white fog which clouded his vision of the tforms in the game was an imitation of the natural phenomenon of the weather on the mountain. Additionally, the segmented cliffs which were a distance away from each other in real life were the more distant tforms that required Ren Suo to use all his strength to control the Seeker to leap onto in the game!

    This was the result of the numerous days he spent on the game!

    The Seeker was reenacting his journey topleting the game!

    ¡­Although a number of narrow escapes from death were the result of the female Seeker¡¯s special ability of ¡®faster response time when faced with danger¡¯, but Ren Suo¡¯s efforts were still significant without a doubt!

    When the Seeker arrived at the fourth campsite, she took a short detour instead, walking over to the wind shelter and collected an oxygen tank, an oxygen mask, a regtor and a bundle of climbing rope which the Kamiyan people had left there.

    ¡°She finally needs some equipment?¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be, why would a goddess need all these¡­¡±

    ¡°Is this the limit of humans?¡±

    Amidst the confusion in the bulletments, the Seeker continued on her journey without using the equipment. Instead, she simply held on to the equipment with one hand, and began climbing again with just her other hand!

    Ren Suo was stunned.

    But Ren Suo naturally recalled what was going on¡ªhe had purchased an oxygen tank and a bundle of rope with 2 merit points in the in-game store.

    In actual fact, he had spent 4 merit points¡ªhe had not achieved a desirable score the first time hepleted the game with the purchased oxygen tank and rope; hence, he tried once more and spent another 2 merit points on another oxygen tank and another bundle of rope.

    Ren Suo had previously thought about where the oxygen tank and rope he had purchased woulde from. After all, the Seeker was only wearing a singleyer of clothing and could not possibly have taken the equipment out of nowhere from beneath her armpits, could she? Ren Suo would not have been surprised if that were to happen, but he would never have thought that the Seeker would actually acquire the equipment by collecting them at the fourth campsite.

    This was a detail that did not appear in the game.

    After which, it was time for the Seeker to make her way to the fifth campsite at 9,600 meters above sea level, and head towards the 10000-meter-tall summit!

    The climb after the 9600-meter checkpoint was even more challenging, especially since the Seeker was still holding onto the equipment with one hand and propelling herself up the cliffs with her other hand and her two legs. Although the difficulty at this point in the game had not increased, in reality, every movement the Seeker took was equally nerve-wracking for the audience behind the screens.

    It was as if watching someone partake in extreme sports in a first-person perspective video, where the person would be dangling dangerously on the parapet of a tall building, looking down at the streets hundreds of meters below. The extreme height at which the video was filmed was sufficient to make the viewers behind the screen feel fearful and anxious.

    Soon, the Seeker met yet another person in the video¡ªin front of her, there appeared to be another group of mountaineers who chose to make their final climb towards the 10000-meter-tall summit at the same time in the early hours of the morning.

    In the video, a man was seen clearly being left behind, using his thick gloves as support to rest beside a face of the cliff. The Seeker walked directly towards him. She opened the valve of the oxygen tank as she removed the oxygen mask the man had been wearing and reced it with the one she had been carrying.

    At this juncture, Ren Suo saw hundreds of bulletments appearing suddenly:

    ¡°Thank you for saving my husband!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for saving my son!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for saving my husband!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for saving my son!¡±

    ¡°So she took the oxygen tank to save people!¡±

    ¡°Amazing, truly amazing! How did she even know that there would be someone who would run out of oxygen?¡±

    ¡°That is why she¡¯s a goddess!¡±

    ¡­

    Eh? Did the family of the man whom the Seeker had saved also watch the video on GiliGili?

    Ren Suo had long expected the Seeker to have saved someone along the way¡ªbecause that was exactly what Ren Suo had done in the game.

    In the game, when the Seeker passed by the group of mountaineers at this point, one of the matchstick characters had a countdown timer floating above his head which showed barely a few minutes remaining. With each passing second, the character was getting closer to his death.

    On his first attempt toplete the game, Ren Suo had not cared about the countdown timer. It was only when he was reattempting the game to achieve a better score that he found out that he had to give the character a new oxygen tank for the character to be able to continue his journey towards the summit.

    After the Seeker saved the life of the man in the video, the man thanked her and proceeded onward towards the summit with the new oxygen tank. The Seeker also continued her climb towards the peak.

    The viewers of the video could see that the Seeker was nearing the peak of the mountain. Her climbing speed was much faster than the walking speed of the other mountaineers, and although the loose rocks and fragile icicles were extremely dangerous, it posed no major challenge to the Seeker who had almost inhuman abilities.

    However, for some unknown reason, when the Seeker was just a short distance away from the peak, she stopped on a safe mountain route and untied the climbing rope she had bundled around her waist.

    In the previous 54P, the Seeker had waited for a whole hour¡ªand in the fast-forwarded highlights clip it was just a mere 10 seconds¡ªbefore the group of mountaineers caught up with the Seeker.

    At this moment, one of the mountaineers lost his footing and was about to fall like a drunkard towards the side of the cliff!

    His teammate who was in front of him could not react in time and just as it seemed like he was about to fall and sumb to fate right in the face of sess, the Seeker threw out one end of the rope she had already prepared and looped nicely around the man who was about to fall over!

    With a strong tug, she pulled the man, along with all his equipment which totaled to more than 80 kg of load, back up to the ground beside her!

    ¡°This amount of strength is also iparable.¡±

    ¡°With such massive strength, she brings an even greater miracle!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s truly a goddess!¡±

    Thereafter, the awe-struck mountaineers followed the Seeker to climb up onto the peak of the Hyjal mountain!

    The time was 11:40 in the morning, on the 8th of April!

    Under the eyes of the twelve mountaineers, a golden-haired girl sessfully climbed the 10230-meter-tall Hyjal mountain, without any warm protective clothing, without any oxygen tanks, without food, and without rest! She climbed the whole journey and it was as if she was challenging death!

    The Seeker stood at the very top of the mountain, looking down at the many mountains and clouds all around. The entire world was under her feet!

    The ring sunlight shone like a glorifying light onto the Seeker. Although she had not eaten nor showered in days and her thin face was covered in dust, the moment was extraordinarily majestic. Her eyes shone with confidence as a brilliant exuberance radiated from her, filling the onlookers with awe. Even the audience from behind the screens could feel the splendor and magnificence of the moment!

    At that moment, the screen became filled with bulletments repeating the same sentence:

    ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters!¡±

    The two mountaineers who had received help from the Seeker was about toe forward to thank her when a bright glow of light radiated from the Seeker as if a miracle was about to happen.

    The scene which unfolded before them was so unbelievable that even though they saw it with their own eyes, they could not help but think it was just a movie.

    Under the sunlight, the cuts and bruises on the Seeker¡¯s body began to fade, the dust on her face disappeared, and her perfect skin and thin face began to glow. Her eyes remained equally striking.

    She stretched out her hands in front of her as if she was about to hug the sky.

    Then, her entire body, along with her clothes, turned into a brilliant golden glow. Under the astonished gaze of the mountaineers, the Seeker seemed to be a breeze of wind, a jolt of electricity, a ray of light, turning into an exquisite, unique mystical story. The Seeker had vanished, right out of their sight.

 Chapter 41 - What Kind of People Were Supporting Them?

    Chapter 41: Chapter 41 ¨C What Kind of People Were Supporting Them?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    When Ren Suo woke up early the next morning, he felt slightly unusual.

    It was unusual in the sense that he felt particrlyfortable.

    Under normal circumstances, a typical 22-year-old teenager like him who developed healthily and never met people who were perverts before in their lives would naturally feel the urge to empty their dders when they woke up after a night¡¯s sleep. At the same time, they would also feel a wave ofziness as theyzed on the bed unwilling to get up, even though they are refreshed and awake.

    However, when Ren Suo opened his eyes that morning, he could feel his body jolt awake the moment he awoke and his limbs tingling as if urging him to get out of bed quickly. It was as if he had taken a walk down memoryne to a time when he was five years old and felt extremely excited that he was going to the yground in the morning.

    It was as if he had barely slept but merelyy down while still being awake for a short time.

    Ren Suo cupped his mouth with his hands as he breathed into his palm. The strong starchy odor in his breath confirmed that indeed he had not opened his mouth for 8 hours and resulted in the microbes fermenting in his mouth.

    It was already 9:04 a.m. after Ren Suo had brushed his teeth and washed up. Just then, his mobile phone rang.

    He took a quick nce at the caller identification disyed on his mobile phone screen and picked up the call.

    ¡°Hello, mom, what¡¯s the matter so early in the morning?¡±

    ¡°Eh? I already came back yesterday, I¡¯m at home now.¡±

    ¡°What? A blind date? What for, I¡¯m already tall and muscr¡­Furthermore, didn¡¯t you and dad tell me not to date at university? You were even coaxing sis repeatedly not to get into a rtionship thest time I went back home¡­¡±

    After a few minutes, Ren Suo finally put down his phone with a face of resignation.

    He had never thought that his mother would urge him to go for a blind date just when he was about to graduate from university. She had already nned for him to get married the next year and have children the following year. She even told him that she preferred him to have one son and daughter each, in line with the nation¡¯s two-child policy¡­

    What nonsense, thought Ren Suo as he recalled that his parents had forbidden him to date all the way through college to university. As such, he had totally no experience nor ¡®skill¡¯ in dating and being in a rtionship¡­

    But of course, this was thest of Ren Suo¡¯s shields from the truth. In actual fact, he had never bothered heeding the advice from his parents. How can they stop him in this aspect anyway?

    Ren Suo had interacted with the girls in his ss and co-curricr activity clubs before, but unfortunately for Ren Suo, he still felt that cybercafes were more enticing and interesting. Eventually, he found that his games and books were much more alluring than the girls¡­

    He would never have thought that his mother would be so desperate for him to start dating a girl whom he fancied. Although he had repeatedly turned his mother down, saying that he had no interest in getting to know more girls, his mother remained persistent in arranging for him to make friends with the daughter of one of her old friends¡­He was just short of saying that he was a ¡°coward¡± and was ¡°still a child at interacting with girls¡±.

    Ren Suo had been told that the girl was two years younger than him and was still a first-year student at a top-tier university in Lianjiang City. She was simply a young junior at her tender age. Most of the girls of her age would typically not be keen to go on blind dates, and neither would her parents be so desperate for her to get into a rtionship, unless¡­with her looks, she needed some help to find a guy.

    Nheless, his mother had not been very serious about it, and who would know if the entire n would not fall through after she had sent the photo of him to the other party?

    At such a thought, Ren Suo calmed down but soon realized that he had forgotten to tell his parents about him bing a Practitioner.

    Someone had already asked one of the instructors before, when they were still at the training camp, if they could talk about the techniques that they used to train and practice the utilization of Reiki, to which the instructor replied straightforwardly, ¡°The higher-ups did not say that the techniques should be kept secret, but the location of the training is to be kept strictly secret. If anyone is found to have leaked the location of the training camp, they will be dealt with ordingly for leaking official secrets.¡±

    ¡°Of course, this is due to the fact that the location where you train at in order to activate your Reiki currents is the most important part, not the breathing technique itself. Practicing in such a training ground where there is a high amount of Reiki is a crucial part of the activation process. Practicing the breathing techniques alone would not be of much significance, so even if you all were to teach other people the breathing techniques, it would be highly unlikely that they can feel the presence of Reiki and continue their training, unless they are truly talented people with a skill level many times higher than all of you.¡±

    ¡°But if you do have such friends or rtives, please introduce them to us, even if they used to be famous entrepreneurs or billionaires. The nation is willing to give these people a ce that lived up to their talents¡­as well as prepare them for their future!¡±

    Despite what the instructor had said, Ren Suo was still keen on letting his rtives try their hands at feeling the presence of Reiki. However, the breathing technique did not appear to be very magical either and had some simrity to the ¡°Qi Gong¡± scam from the 1980s; thus, it would not be easy for his rtives to believe this was the practice of the Practitioners to activate their Reiki currents¡­Indeed, it would require quite a bit of effort for Ren Suo to get his rtives to believe him.

    Prior to activating his own Reiki current, Ren Suo could not feel the presence of Reiki unless he was on the training ground itself. It was only within the training ground that he could perform his breathing techniques and feel that his body seemed to have countless mouths all over his body, gulping down the Reiki present in every nook and cranny around the training ground.

    As such, a normal person who was practicing the breathing technique would virtually be unable to feel anything different, unless the person was, in actual fact, a talent like the instructor had mentioned. For such aplex sequence of steps required to perform the breathing technique, if a normal person could not feel any positive feedback, the person would be unable to tell if the breathing technique was performed correctly and would naturally give up very quickly.

    ¡°Perhaps I should find a day to go back home and get them to practice, who knows if there could really be a talent in the Ren family¡­Eh?¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned momentarily. He sat down quickly on the couch and began utilizing the breathing technique.

    The next moment, his face lit up. It was as if he saw that his favourite game was on sale at 99% OFF!

    Ren Suo could feel that the rate of absorption of Reiki into his body increased many folds. If the rate of absorption of Reiki could bepared to that of using a straw to drink, then the rate of absorption at the current time was akin to pan-frying and cooking the Reiki into a sumptuous beef steak and gulping it down in one mouth. The absorption rate was tens of times more than it had been previously.

    Ren Suo recalled the lesson on Reiki during the training camp ¡°¡­After the Reiki currents you generate pass the transformation phase and formally enter the cumtive development phase, a Reikiwork will form throughout your entire physical body, due to the continuous flow of the internal active Reiki in your body. Hence, the rate of absorption of Reiki would reach the maximum capability of the Practitioner ording to his skill level. As such, regardless of location and amount of Reiki present in the environment, the speed of practice for the Practitioner would not be hindered.¡±

    In other words, before the Practitioner¡¯s breathing current reached the transformation phase, the Practitioner was just like a student practicing the same type of problem over and over again, and regardless of the number of questions the student attempted, he would merely be getting better at the specific skill and not be acquiring new knowledge. In contrast, after the Practitioner¡¯s breathing current passed the transformation phase, he would finally be learning new knowledge. All the new knowledge acquired would be umted and the student¡¯s knowledge web would expand!

    This meant that Ren Suo had finally be a true Practitioner!

    But soon, Ren Suo smiled bitterly as he muttered to himself, ¡°I only have a low skill score of 1.25 and I can already feel such a drastic increase in the rate of absorption of Reiki, how powerful would those people with high skill scores above 2 be¡­¡±

    The time it would take for a Practitioner¡¯s breathing current to develop from the maturing phase to the transformation phase varied from person to person. Even though practicing breathing techniques between this period would slightly shorten the maturation time, but the effect of it was still limited. This was also the reason why they had only five days at the training camp; they would be able to perform their duties as long as they were able to generate their own Reiki currents. On the other hand, the time at which their breathing currents passed the transformation phase would be up to their talents and fate.

    Suddenly, Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone rang. It was only then that he realized that he had been practicing for close to an hour and that it was almost 10 o¡¯clock in the morning. The adrenaline rush from practicing the breathing techniques made it easy for people to forget the time.

    ¡°Good morning, Mr. Ren Suo. I am calling from the Lianjiang Ministry of State Security, and I am pleased to inform you that you have been employed by the Countermeasure Office for Extraordinaire Criminals of the Ministry of State Security in Lianjiang City. More details will be told to you soon by your corresponding unit.¡±

    Ren Suo blinked his eyes as he vaguely recalled that when they were dismissed yesterday, You Xulong told them that they would be informed of their new allocations in the next one to three working days. Nheless, the call came out of a sudden and no contact number had even been provided¡­

    Regardless, although Ren Suo had sessfully been transferred to the Ministry of State Security, he was still a fourth-year university student! He still had one to two more months before he could start work officially, was there a need for such a rush¡­?

    Ren Suo thought for a moment and figured that the Ministry of State Security seemed to be very short of manpower to carry out the necessary duties, judging from how the Ministry sent them forbined training urgently and immediately sent them back to their respective cities the moment the crucial training waspleted¡­

    ¡°Whatever¡­I shall just open my treasure chest and start on the new game first!¡± Having just be an official Practitioner, Ren Suo was ted and refreshed as he decided to reap the benefits from his hard work before thinking about anything else!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    In the conference hall of the Ministry of State Security, the projector screen was frozen at the instant that the Seeker had turned into light.

    The door opened and Yu Kuangtu walked in. Following behind him were a few people d in ck vests who carried piles of documents. They distributed the documents to every person in the conference room.

    Li Dan flipped open the document and took a look. He raised his eyebrows as he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the n scheduled to begin next month¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, as all of you can see, the Citizen Examination n will be brought forward,¡± Yu Kuangtu exined preemptively.

    All of them d in the ck vests looked nkly at one another. Someone said, ¡°What about the supporting packages¡­¡±

    ¡°They have all been brought forward,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He sped his hands together and continued before anyone else had the chance to interrupt, ¡°I know that the ns from hereon will require our full involvement, and we are short on manpower now¡­As such, all the civil servant Practitioners who had been sent back to continue their practice will be called back as soon as possible. All of you will form individual small groups and begin your work.¡±

    ¡°Is there a need for such a hurry?¡± someone asked.

    ¡°This is not the city¡¯s instruction, nor is it the province¡¯s instruction,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He pointed upwards then behind at the frozen frame on the projector screen and continued sullenly, ¡°This video, ¡®A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡¯, was thest straw. The whole world now knows that this world¡­has changed.¡±

    ¡°With regards to the Heavenly Hitman in the previous video, we can think that he was an extraordinarily skillful and talented killer, and in thest scene we can say that he used some sort of special technique orputer effects¡­In this new video, if it was just fire sparkles and icicles, we can simply believe that they were special effects. But now, a real person appeared! Everyone would know that there is barely any logical scientific exnation for her disappearance, and no exnation we give would be satisfactory to the masses.¡±

    ¡°And yet, the girl in this video clearly had not slept or taken a rest for five consecutive days, and challenged what had been thought to be impossible. The implication of this is scarier than any extraordinary ability. The almost inhuman abilities could have been special effects, but the person herself¡­¡±

    Yu Kuangtu sighed before he continued, ¡°Whether or not she is really rted to Practitioners is no longer important as ordinary people would no longer believe that she is not. Such incidents are happening more and more frequently and the higher-ups¡¯ intention is to get hold of all the Practitioners in the entire nation as soon as possible. Other countries are also bringing forward their ns to train a pool of Practitioners seemingly in response to this new video.¡±

    ¡°All right, you may all go back to work.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu turned to look at the golden-haired girl on the screen who was just about to turn into a ray of light and disappear. His eyes were filled with both desire and confusion.

    He had a strong desire because he had never thought that the ability of humans could reach such a level¡­What happened to the golden-haired girl and how was she now? Did the girl be a higher level being? Or did she travel in time like what many people today fantasized about?

    And confusion, because he felt that the ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± who was behind the videos and did not appear to have anyone controlling him, seemed to be the voice of some unknown powerful entity.

    To date, Xuan Nation still could not find any traces of the Heavenly Hitman.

    And now, the sudden appearance and disappearance of this golden-haired girl who climbed 10,000 meters added to the confusion.

    Where on earth did theye from?

    What on earth did they want?

    What kind of people¡­were supporting them?

 Chapter 42 - : Free Reward!

    Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Free Reward!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Mini worlds of endless fun await.¡±

    Ren Suo noticed that the opening sound yed by the system when it was turning on had changed slightly. Previously, it seemed clearer and crisper as if a youngdy was crunching tunefully on an apple; now, the sound appeared much more soothing, as if a young college girl was reciting a passage from the textbook calmly.

    ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t sound gloomy and ominous¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered under his breath. He used to like watching the animation of ¡°Thriller Paradise¡±, but he would always end up skipping the OP (opening theme) as he was scared of hearing the different people saying ¡°Wee to Thriller Paradise¡± in various sinister and gloomy tones.

    Ren Suo navigated to the safehouse inventory and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his key still in the inventory, shining splendidly.

    [1-star close friend key: +10% chance of receiving additional close friend-type rewards]

    The description was typical and simr to that of the 1-star sleepy key. Ren Suo could make guesses as to what sleepy-type rewards could entail, but close friend-type rewards¡­what on earth could they be?

    Could it be a 15-times magnification eyepiece? Or could it be an electron microscope capable of magnifying objects over three million times?

    Regardless, Ren Suo soon found that it did not matter for now¡ªhis luck had not been sufficient for him to hit the 10% chance of receiving the reward.

    He thought that it was better to believe that the promised rewards could actually be obtained rather than doubt the system. The game console could well be a holy treasure and would cut him some ck and increase his chances of obtaining the special rewards upon seeing that he was sincere and faithful. If licking the game console could earn him bonus points, Ren Suo was sure to do so to such arge extent that the console would appear to have been waxed.

    Nervously, Ren Suo opened the treasure chest he had earned frompleting the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters].

    [You have used a 1-star close friend key to activate the treasure chest.]

    [You have received the ability ¡®Unlimited Energy¡¯.]

    [Unlimited Energy¡ªGrade: 1-star ability, Pre-requisites: A physical body.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer would possess unlimited energy. Although the yer will still be limited by the maximum capabilities of his/her physical body, the energy recovery rate is increased to the MAX physical ability value of carbon-based lifeforms that walk upright on the third from the sun in the Sr System located near the inner rim of the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way. In addition, any difort would be suppressed within tolerable limits of the yer.]

    [Action: For every 1 second using ¡®Unlimited Energy¡¯, the yer¡¯s lifespan will be shortened by 1 second.]

    [Remarks: In the journey towards fame and glory, the Seekers trained hard and endured much suffering, depleting all of the energy that ordinary people possess. They signify the highest capabilities of ordinary people¡ªbut that is just the limit of ordinary people.]

    ¡°Eh¡­this seems like a formal exnation of the gamey and settings¡­¡±

    In the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Metres], it would have no big deal if he had just been a matchstick character jumping from one tform to another. However, it had been tranted into reality by a female Seeker climbing the 10000-meter-tall Hyjal mountain, and it was highly illogical and unthinkable to have happened in real life.

    Putting aside thest scene where the Seeker ¡°Transcended Nothingness in ordance to Dao¡± (this was the exnation that appeared most frequently in the bulletments on the screen, and this showed the increasing prevalence of online novels in influencing the spread of Taoist culture) for a moment, the fact that the Seeker could climb from 0 meters above sea level all the way up to the peak at 10,000 meters above sea level without any sleep or rest was sufficient to make people suspect that she could just as well be a robot devised by a mad scientist.

    It is a known fact that no one on earth can survive without sleep, and only an extremely small handful of extraordinary people (less than five) can remain in a conscious state of full alertness for close to 24 hours. In actual fact, these people merely distributed their sleep times throughout the day, and thus they couldplete one sleep cycle in tens of seconds when they closed their eyes for a very short amount of time. As such, it would seem like they could remain awake forever without sleeping. Regardless, the longest record for a human remaining awake without sleep was for 11 consecutive days.

    It is also a known fact that no one on earth can survive longer than 2~7 days without water, and no one on earth can survive longer than 90 days without food. Nheless, these are extreme cases and in reality, these timings would be shortened based on one¡¯s physical and mental conditions.

    Without a doubt, the Seeker¡¯s physical capabilities and mental conditions were those of the highest limits of humans. It did not seem illogical for the Seeker not to sleep or rest, nor eat or drink for five consecutive days¡­but as if!

    In those five days, the Seeker was almost consistently expanding arge amount of energy as she climbed the cliffs and walked the forests. In contrast, those who held the records of not sleeping or eating or drinking for the longest periods of time would have been lying down to minimize movement and hence energy expenditure. Furthermore, there was no reason to doubt that the Seeker was fake for there was a video recording of her entire journey up the mountain, and there were even real people appearing in the video. There were absolutely no loopholes.

    The Seeker had encountered people from Xuan Nation as well as those from other countries, and foreign video streaming sites on the inte were already bustling with themotion about the Seeker. Some television stations had also conducted long-distance video interviews with people who encountered the Seeker while on their expedition journey. As such, there was absolutely no doubt that the Seeker was real.

    The unquestionable fact that the Seeker was real was naturally the reason why people began suspecting that the Seeker was one of the group of special people who were termed as ¡°Extraordinaires¡± or those who had ¡°Awakened¡± and who were trending on the inte periodically. Furthermore, thest scene where the Seeker turned into a bright light made people¡¯s minds wander especially wild.

    Now, with the ability [Unlimited Energy], Ren Suo figured that she was not a Practitioner but an ordinary person. The strongest ordinary person on earth!

    ¡°But this abilityes at a price¡­that¡¯s tricky,¡± Ren Suo said as he scratched his head.

    For every one second [Unlimited Energy] is equipped, one second would be deducted from one¡¯s lifespan. That meant that if Ren Suo equipped the ability when had 50 more years to live, his lifespan would be halved to just 25 more years when he might quickly age and die.

    On second thought, Ren Suo figured that he may not even be able to live to half his original lifespan. Today, the probability of one dying of old age was low; instead, most people would suffer from geriatric diseases and die due to the immune system weakening with age. By this logic, after cutting his lifespan by half, Ren Suo thought that it was highly likely that he would grow into old age much faster and suffer from various geriatric diseases at a much earlier age and consequently die even earlier.

    But I will still try it and see how it feels like first, thought Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo opened the [Equipment] page and removed the currently equipped [Fighter Novice] ability. He then equipped himself with the [Unlimited Energy] ability.

    The moment he equipped himself with the ability, Ren Suo felt that something was amiss.

    He had feltzy and slightly drained physically due to practicing the advanced breathing technique just moments ago as if an ordinary person feeling fatigued from a jaw ache after sucking on river snails. He also felt mentally drained as if he had justpleted a three-hour-longprehensive science examination and could not concentrate any longer. This was also why he had stopped practicing and returned to his game console.

    However, after equipping the ability [Unlimited Energy], Ren Suo felt refreshed and alert, as if he had just finished reading a number of erotica books. He also felt physically energized like he had just ended work and rxed like he had removed a few hundred jin of fats from his body.

    Ren Suo stood up from the couch and started jumping around his house. He first did 100 push-ups and after realizing he was not tired at all, he started doing sit-ups while performing the advanced level breathing technique and continued practicing¡­

    It was not until he felt slightly ufortable due to a full body of sweat that he stopped to wipe his sweat with a piece of cloth.

    Ren Suo looked at the mirror and saw the sweat on his body as he felt just a hint of ache from his muscles. He thought that he had never felt so good¡ªhe could continue exercising and practicing!

    ¡°¡­It¡¯s actually not bad,¡± thought Ren Suo happily as he unequipped the ability [Unlimited Energy].

    However, the moment he unequipped the ability, Ren Suo immediately fell to the floor in the toilet as his legs momentarily lost all their strength! Fortunately, he was able to hold onto the washbasin with his hands, or he would have copsed and hit the ground!

    An immense, unending aching pain radiated through his entire body as if an octopus was attacking him. He felt as if his body no longer belonged to him; he was just a soul attached to a rotting physical body.

    ¡°Equip, quickly equip with [Unlimited Energy]¡­¡± Ren Suo thought Ren Suo. But he quickly dismissed the foolish idea.

    After a good ten minutes, Ren Suo was finally able to straighten his waist slowly and crawled back to the couch like a baby. He looked at the ability [Unlimited Energy] in the [Backup] list on the [Equipment] page. A wave of fear rushed over him.

    Ren Suo had never tried smoking before, nor had he ever tried using illegal drugs. However, Ren Suo knew that this ability had many simrities to those illegal items which were addictive.

    They were both harmful and would lead to over-reliance. It would be hard to escape when addicted to them.

    Ren Suo knew that if he equipped himself with the [Unlimited Energy] ability now in order to escape from the physical aching pain and mental tiredness, then he would be reliant on the ability for his entire life. He would never be able to escape from the grip of the ability and with it, his lifespan would indubitably be shortened by half.

    With the ability, it was as if one escaped the hells and ascended to the heavens, and the feeling of a healthy body was naturally exceptionally tempting. Ren Suo even began to think that the ability could cause the brain to secrete more endorphins, for he felt that the ache and pain from his muscles seemed to be suppressed.

    This was akin to having a tonic for a poison. If he did not want to age early, Ren Suo knew that he should only use this ability in times of emergency to save his life.

    He understood that equipping such an ability just tost him through the night while ying games was a luxurious waste and he could only fantasize doing so.

    After some time, Ren Suo figured that he still did not have the strength to head downstairs for his meal and decided to call the Jian Ji stall located downstairs with his mobile phone.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°All right,¡± came the reply from the other end of the phone.

    Ren Suo nced at his phone and thought, did the telephone at the Jian Ji stall downstairs have a caller number disy¡­?

    Ren Suo sat up on the couch with some effort and opened the [World Store]. He navigated quickly to the [Free Game of the Month] section and eximed, ¡°I choose you!¡±

    After a night of contemtion and sleep, Ren Suo finally decided that the lucky game to be selected by him would be¡ª

    [Over My Dead Body]!

 Chapter 43 - The Endless Battle

    Chapter 43: Chapter 43 ¨C The Endless Battle

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    It was only after much deliberation that Ren Suo had finally chosen to y the game [Over My Dead Body].

    He knew that the games in the Mini Worlds Gaming Console were not the same as other mainstream games. The synopsis given for each game was very brief and vague. As such, before ying any of the games, he would have no idea what the gamey would be like.

    Given that, Ren Suo had to use other statistics to allow him to judge the differences between the games.

    In the game [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet], Ren Suo had managed to achieve an ¡°Extraordinary¡± appraisal with a score of 80 points, and received 15 merits; in the game [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters], he had also managed to achieve an ¡°Extraordinary¡± appraisal with a score of 80 points, and received 24 merits.

    Disregarding the differences between the genres of the two games, [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] was indeed more worthwhile toplete than [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet] as he received more merits from the former, despite both having the same difficulty rating and him receiving the same score and appraisal. At the same time, Ren Suo could easily feel that the former game was more challenging toplete than thetter.

    With the same reasoning, Ren Suo had a conclusion he could not yet verify: between the games with the same difficulty rating, the greater the maximum number of merits he could earn, the higher would be the actual difficulty of the game.

    As such, the game [Lurk: Chapter 1], which had a maximum reward of 100 merits, would be more challenging than the game [Over My Dead Body: Chapter 1], which had a maximum reward of 80 merits, even though both games had a difficulty rating of 2 stars.

    There was little incentive for Ren Suo to choose to y the game [Massacre in the Underground City], and he gave it up directly. Between the two remaining options, he figured that the easier game [Over My Dead Body] would be the best step into the 2-star difficulty tier of games for him.

    If Ren Suo chose a game that was too hard for him toplete, it would be equivalent to him wasting the free game for the month. Not only would he be unable to receive any merits withoutpleting the game, but he might also not have sufficient merits to purchase the game in the future, even if there was a discount.

    Ren Suo had 25 merits remaining after spending 1 merit to retrieve the key. He did not think that he could afford many of the avable games with the small number of merits he had. After the 50% discount on the games in the store the previous month, Ren Suo was still unable to afford any of the games, except for the minigame [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters].

    Furthermore, any discounts or promotions in the future may not even be 50% OFF. If they were only offering a 10% or 20% OFF, Ren Suo could only let it pass in front of his eyes, wait for the next free game of the month to be released andplete it to earn more merits.

    Between the two games, he was the most confident ofpleting [Massacre in the Underground City], but it had the lowest incentive; [Lurk: Chapter 1] was the riskiest, but it had the best incentive.

    As a true citizen of Xuan Nation, the Doctrine of the Mean was deeply ingrained in Ren Suo¡¯s mind, and thus, he decided on [Over My Dead Body].

    What, Ren Suo is a scaredy-cat and that makes him less of a main character?

    Well, Ren Suo still wants to be a civil servant after receiving the Mini Worlds Gaming Console¡­It looks like he does not have much high ambitions.

    Although Ren Suo did note from a rich or wealthy family, they were still rtively well-off and lived without much pain or worry; throughout his childhood, he had never encountered any bullies as he always studied in a decent college, even though he was not one of the most popr students in school; none of his girlfriends had despised his background and left him¡ªbut of course, that was on the basis that he had a girlfriend before.

    Nheless, Ren Suo did not think of himself as a timid person at all; instead, he believed he was being cautious¡ªeh, they meant the same thing.

    ¡°I choose you, [Over My Dead Body]!¡±

    [The yer has selected a free chapter from one of the free games of the month, ¡°Chapter 1: The Chronicle¡± from ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, difficulty: 2 stars.]

    [This free chapter has a difficulty rating of 2 stars, and the specialized reward is the ability ¡®Heart-strengthening¡¯.]

    [The closing time for this free chapter is on 31 April at 23:59:59, after which the game will be deleted automatically.]

    Ren Suo entered the game and immediately felt themon feature of games which rewarded the yer with arger number of merits and which was even split into different chapters¡ªjust like in [The Hitman], there was also an opening CG in this game.

    ¡°In the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eunuchs began to gain influence in a despotism, and the consorts manipted the Emperor for their own benefits. The wealthy aristocrat families started dominating different parts of thend, and the ordinary people lived in destitute¡­¡±

    ¡°In the year 184 CE, the Yellow Turban Rebellion took ce, shocking and shaking the entire nation¡­¡±

    ¡°The rebellion continued for the next four years, depleting thest of the avable resources of the Han Dynasty and fragmenting the people into different parts of thend by forceful means¡­¡±

    ¡°In 189 CE, the young Emperor Liu Ban took the throne, and the power struggle between the consorts and the eunuchs intensified. General-in-Chief He Jin died in the imperial pce, just after Dong Zhuo and the forces hemanded had infiltrated the capital city Luoyang and seized control of the Han imperial court as per He Jin had ordered. In the same year, Liu Ban was deposed by Dong Zhuo, who reced him with Liu Xie, as a puppet emperor. However, Dong Zhuo¡¯s conduct towards the court and the imperial officials was bullying and oppressive¡­¡±

    ¡°In 190 CE, the eighteen princes formed the Guandong coalition and fought against Dong Zhuo and his army in a closely matched battle at Ho Pass. Dong Zhuo and his army relocated to Chang¡¯an City while internal conflicts grew amongst the coalition forces resulting in their breaking of camps and subsequent failure.¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the ink paintings on the screen depicting the intense battle between the armies and nodded in his heart. Could this be a strategy game? Like the Game of the Three Kingdoms where I select a prince to conquer the world?

    In its final years, the Eastern Han Dynasty was split into three kingdoms; the mes of beacon fire reached to the sky and burned ceaselessly. Having yed such games before, Ren Suo was no stranger to such games. Moreover, he hade across such war strategyics and films countless times in the past.

    However, the next moment, the style of the scenes changed dramatically from that with a rich history to one with unnerving and mysterious: ¡°However, when Dong Zhuo led the Xi Liang army out of Chang¡¯an, not only did he force all the people to vacate the province, set fire to the area and resulted in countless injuries and deaths of the civilians, he even robbed and destroyed almost all of the imperial tombs!¡±

    ¡°Emperor Guangwu of Han utilized extraordinary powers to summon the stars and meteors beyond the skies to destroy and eliminate the evil demons. After he regained control of the empire, he revamped the entire system by putting the imperial tomb at the heart of his rule, and the imperial blood as the basis of his reign. With his wide connections, his remarkable abilities, and some luck, he was able to fully eradicate the spiritual heart in the centralnds,pletely preventing the birth of more evil demons by targeting the source.¡±

    ¡°Now, however, the imperial tomb has been destroyed, and the imperial bloodline is in a mess. The Emperor¡¯s control has been greatly suppressed and spiritual veins have reappeared in the centralnds. The evil demons are rejuvenated with spiritual energy, and elites also found sess with the help of this energy. From then on, the empire found themselves in darker periods, under the Yin Dynasty, as well as the Tai and Han Dynasty. The demons made use of the energy to wreak havoc around the nation, and the elites also lived their lives benefiting from the spiritual energy.¡±

    ¡°However, Emperor Guangwu of Han had already preempted this and taken the necessary measures.¡±

    ¡°At the beginning of the re-establishment of the Han Dynasty, in order to prolong the lineage of the Wang Dynasty and the royal family, Emperor Guangwu established the Cloud tform Pavilion. He dispatched 28 warriors to gather methods to disrupt and destroy the process of Practicing. With the suppression of the spiritual energy, Practitioners turned back into ordinary people, and with time, knowledge about the Practice became sparse and was viewed as absurd. The organization of Practitioners who nurtured demons copsedpletely.¡±

    ¡°If the spiritual Reiki energy ever reappears, it means that the imperial tomb is damaged and the imperial bloodline is messed up. The Han Dynasty would be in havoc. As such, Emperor Guangwu of Han found the descendants of Champion Marquess Huo and sealed the way to the Cloud tform Pavilion in their blood. He locked their blood with three shackles:

    Firstly, to protect the Han Dynasty with their lives, and not acquire more political power than given;

    Secondly, to risk their lives to destroy all demons, without breaking the first rule;

    Thirdly, to continue their lineage, without breaking the first two rules.

    Breaking any of the rules would awaken the curse of the bloodline, and strengthen the hold of the shackles!¡±

    ¡°Now, with the rejuvenation of Reiki energy, the descendants of the Huo family, who have been living quietly in anonymity, have awakened the innate talents deeply ingrained in their blood¡­ as well as their mission.¡±

    The opening CG of the game ended and very quickly an input box appeared:

    [Enter your family name: Huo]

    The default is set to the Huo family¡­Ren Suo thought for a moment and very naturally changed the surname to ¡°Ren¡±.

    [Enter the name of the head of the first generation: **]

    Based on the martial arts novels that Ren Suo had read before, he entered the name ¡®Woxing¡¯. He had actually heard of such a name before, and it was indeed the most aggressive sounding name with the surname ¡®Ren¡¯¡­Ren Suo had once thought of changing his name to the name ¡®Ren Woxing¡¯ (meaning ¡°I do what I want¡±) when he was in third grade of elementary school, to which his father would point the feather duster at him and say, ¡°You want to be called Ren Woxing? In that case, your dad here would be called Ren Woda (meaning ¡°I beat whoever I want¡±).¡±

    Ren Woxing was perfectly beaten by Ren Woda, and his ns to change his name was dismissed.

    The scene on the screen changed. A green lush mountain appeared, and on it were more than ten tombstones. Three young people were kneeling in front of the tombstones and burning joss paper.

    The handsome and fit young man in the center was called ¡°Ren Woxing¡±. He said, ¡°Second brother, third brother, don¡¯t cry anymore. We are the only ones left in the Ren family, so we need to take up the responsibility to fulfill our mission.¡±

    ¡°Mission¡­mission?!¡± said Ren Feifan, the third brother. He wiped his tears as he cried, ¡°I know we have toplete the mission, but why must dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, and uncle die so miserably?!¡±

    ¡°Third brother, think back about what they told us about the inheritance,¡± said Ren Changsheng, the second brother. He sobbed for a while before he calmed down gradually and said, ¡°This is the curse of the bloodline of the champions. Those with this blood running through their body possesses an extraordinary talent and perfect physique to train. In the era of Reiki rejuvenation, such people will be able to be strong and powerful practitioners of Reiki in a very short period of time.¡±

    ¡°However, the true perfect form is actually that of ¡®Transcending Nothingness in ordance with the Dao¡¯. We are now merely more simr to that perfect body, and it is only after we pass the age of 24 that we would achieve the perfect form. At that point, the moment wee into contact with Reiki, we will shatter into pieces by Reiki¡­Not a single inch of our bones would be spared, and only a pool of blood will remain.¡±

    ¡°The bloodline of the champions is the envy of the people, but it is also a curse.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Ren Feifan started bawling again.

 Chapter 44 - Mating, Mating, The Purpose Is To Mate!

    Chapter 44: Chapter 44 ¨C Mating, Mating, The Purpose Is To Mate!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The three Ren brothers returned to their home, just beside the cemetery. They sat down and discussed their ns for the future. Apart from Ren Feifan, the youngest among the three brothers, Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng had now calmed down.

    Ren Changsheng asked, ¡°Big Brother, you went with Father to the town market at the bottom of the mountain before, did you not?¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°Yes, I did. Why do you ask?¡±

    Ren Changsheng said, ¡°We have now acquired the knowledge by inheritance and discovered that our family died because of the curse of the champion¡¯s blood. However, ording to our ancestors, the original intention of Emperor Guangwu was to preserve the training methods through the bloodline of the champion, who was able to pass on this ¡®knowledge by inheritance¡¯. As such, Emperor Guangwu even sealed our blood for the sole purpose of passing on the knowledge by inheritance.¡±

    He continued, ¡°Last time, Champion Marquess of Jinghuan did not study or practice when they were young, but when they developed into their 20s, they became insurmountably powerful. They were as well-versed in astronomy and geography as they were in war strategies and operations. This was the result of their knowledge from the inheritance of the ancestral Huo family of practitioners, as well as their naturally insurmountable power of understanding and talents.¡±

    ¡°In the age of Reiki rejuvenation today, none of the more remarkable and outstanding individuals around the world have performed any training, and thus even if we do not have the champion¡¯s blood flowing in us, we would still be able to be the greatest Practitioner and control the world, based on our skills alone. We would be able to help restore the Hans back to their ce in the pce. At the same time, the recovery of the demons would mean that people around the world have no choice but to slow down their paces and allow us time to assist the Hans back to their rightful positions.¡±

    ¡°When the royal Han family is restored to their positions, we will then destroy and eliminate the demons to help them suppress the evil spirits. When the evil spirits are subdued, we will be able to be mortals again, and the Rens will continue to live in anonymity¡­¡±

    ¡°None of us in the Ren family have vited any of the rules based on the knowledge of inheritance. How did we acquire the blood of the champion?¡± Ren Changsheng asked.

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°That just means¡­we did vite one of them.¡±

    ¡°Did we? How is that possible?¡± Ren Changsheng questioned. ¡°Have we ever thought of going against the royal Han family, or have we ever thought of not eliminating the demons?¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°Well¡­What if the bloodline of the royal Han family has died out?¡±

    Ren Changsheng was stunned for a moment. He said, ¡°Has it¡­died out?¡±

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. The entire nation had been in turmoil as a result of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Recently, I heard that the eighteen princes have formed the Guandong Army to fight against Dong Zhuo who is manipting the Emperor¡­The whole world is in chaos. Nheless, it is said that the emperor of the royal Han family is still alive.¡±

    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Ren Changsheng said.

    ¡°The emperor of the royal Han family is still alive, but that doesn¡¯t mean that the bloodline of Emperor Guangwu is still surviving,¡± Ren Woxing exined.

    The two elder brothers remained silent for a short while, and only Ren Feifan was still sobbing. Ren Suo raised a brow at the dramatic twist in the story¡ªthe Liu Xie portrayed in the game was actually not an emperor of pure Han lineage?

    Perhaps it was not just Liu Xie; there was no DNA gic testing in the olden days and who would know if¡­eh, the royal family tree is trulyplicated.

    ¡°I guess that is the only reason then,¡± said Ren Changsheng, the second brother, with a sigh. He said, ¡°Before his death, Emperor Guangwu made sacrifices and worked hard all his life, and yet he was still unable to win the hearts of all the people and the heavens¡­¡±

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°Fortunately, in his bid for the Han Dynasty to prosper for thousands of years toe, Emperor Guangwu sacrificed the inheritance of Reiki and the passing down of the training methodologies. He even set rules as leashes to warn descendants like us who possess the blood of the champion, although he did give us a way out of this.¡±

    Ren Changsheng let out a bitterugh and said, ¡°Big Brother, if you think that coition with the elves is a means of survival¡­¡±

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°But Second Brother, you do know that even though we did not resist the shackles, it has be even stronger.¡±

    ¡°We still have to fulfill our mission. Emperor Guangwu did not only transform our bloodline, but descendants like us who are born out of this blood are fated to be trapped within this cycle the moment the bloodline was awakened.¡±

    ¡°Even though we are born as rational people with the capability to reason, when we meet the descendants of Guangwu, we would still put our lives on the line to pledge our loyalty to them; when we encounter demons and ghosts, we will risk our lives to kill all of them; when we meet elves¡­we would naturally have the desire to carry on our lineage,¡± he continued.

    Ren Feifan finally stopped crying. He nced at his two older brothers in confusion and asked, ¡°Coition with elves¡­what does that mean?¡±

    Ren Changsheng looked at Third Brother bitterly and said, ¡°If only you would recall the knowledge of inheritance¡­sigh, that would have been much faster.¡±

    ¡°Champion Marquess of Jinghuan, Huo Qubing, once said that he could not ept the Emperor¡¯s gift of starting his family when the Xiongnu people had not beenpletely eradicated, and he had yet to fulfill his duty. Other people then had thought that he wanted to start a family only after he had defeated the Xiongnu people. But in reality, it was because he knew that the curse of the bloodline of the champion would spread to his partner.¡±

    ¡°Any coitus with the opposite sex would result in the other party being drained of all her internal Reiki and she will die within a night. Once the blood of the champion is awakened, he will not live past the age of 24, and he would be unable to continue his bloodline.¡±

    ¡°At that time, Emperor Guangwu found our ancestors through the descendants of Huo Yu, the son of the younger brother of the Champion Marquess Huo Qubing. He made our ancestors awaken the bloodline of the champions and sealed it, which was why our ancestors could have children with ordinary people,¡± Ren Changsheng exined.

    Ren Feifan was stunned for a moment. He asked, ¡°That¡­that means that I cannot marry Xiao Cui, the girl I saw at the market thest time?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t marry anyone,¡± Ren Changsheng replied. He added, ¡°Otherwise, on the first night after your marriage, your wife will die right in front of your eyes.¡±

    Ren Feifan started bawling again. He cried, ¡°I¡¯m going to be a bachelor! Mother, Father, I am sorry, I have failed you¡­I¡¯m going to be thest of our family¡­¡±

    Ren Woxing tapped Third Brother¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much¡­We can¡¯t be acquainted with humans, but Emperor Guangwu realized that there are other living beings that can bear the blood of the champion.¡±

    He continued, ¡°Elves, that is, mountain elves. Any pure elf who has not harmed any humans and is born and bred naturally can live harmoniously with us. We are able to connect spiritually with them and bear offspring, even though the process will deplete most of our energy¡­ Although most elves do not have feelings, we can perform a trade with them.¡±

    Ren Feifan wiped his tears and said, ¡°So our bloodline will not be broken?¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t,¡± Ren Woxing replied. He said, ¡°The Ren family will persist! Until the dayes when a unifying dynasty arises, we will offer the methodologies of sealing spiritual energy andpletely eradicate the generation of demons and the curse of the bloodline¡­Until that day, we will not perish.¡±

    Second Brother Ren Changshengughed bitterly and said, ¡°Big Brother, our descendants will surely hate you.¡±

    ¡°This is our fate¡­Let them hate,¡± Ren Woxing replied as heughed grimly. He continued, ¡°After receiving the knowledge from the inheritance, I am unsure if this is because I have developed feelings from being tied down by Emperor Guangwu¡¯s shackles, or because I am influenced by the determination of Champion Marquess to defend and protect the world, and to ughter and eliminate all demons.¡±

    ¡°They will cross over my dead body and witness the eradication and cleansing of the demons of all time, and behold the birth of a prosperous, peaceful age¡­They will also usher in the days without any disruptions from Reiki or bloodshed.¡±

    ¡°This is our mission. It is our responsibility as the chosen descendants to pass on the knowledge through inheritance, and it is also the curse of the shackles of Emperor Guangwu. We are born for this mission, and we will die with this mission¡­¡±

    That was the end of the animation, and the game officially began.

    On the screen, the house where the Ren brothers were discussing previously looked just like a wooden hut. The view from the camera seemed to be from the seat of the head of the house, looking at the two rows of chairs in front and the courtyard outside the house.

    The second brother, Ren Changsheng, looked like a learned and refined man and was sitting at the bottom right corner of the screen. He seemed to function as the guide for the game. He said:

    ¡°Big Brother, you are now the head of the Ren family.¡±

    ¡°Our current abilities are still very weak, and the outside world is in havoc. We should start training first for us to be able to aplish greater things.¡±

    The option [Training] appeared in the table on the left side of the screen. Ren Suo clicked on the option and a pop-up appeared: [Please select what you would like each character to train for the uing season.]

    [You have a total of 3 action points to allocate.]

    [Training options include: Attack, Defense, Scout, Movement, Recovery, Management.]

    3 action points: there are 3 people in the Ren family. Do action points corrte with the number of people in the family?

    Ren Suo chose a random option. Ren Changsheng said, ¡°All right, in the uing season of Autumn, the three of us brothers will study our ¡®Attack¡¯ spells together.¡±

    Studying spells directly? That¡¯s fast. Don¡¯t they need to train first?

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth as he saw the year at the upper left corner of the screen change from Autumn 190 AD to Winter 190 AD. Therge trees in the courtyard outside the house had also turned bare. The second brother, Ren Changsheng, had also put on severalyers of clothes that had been patched up.

    The screen showed: ¡°After training, you all have learned more Attack spells. The Attack ability has increased!¡±

    ¡°Ren Woxing learned Sword Master!¡±

    ¡°Ren Changsheng learned me!¡±

    ¡°Ren Feifan learned Spear Wielder!¡±

    Then, Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Brother, we have a guest!¡±

    A young girl wearing a brown robe suddenly appeared at the door. She had ck-colored hair and eyes.

    The young girl said, ¡°I am an earth elf from Taibai ins. I am here to seek the Elder¡¯s help to kill the Demon Army which has invaded Taibai ins.¡±

    Ren Woxing asked, ¡°Where do youe from? What is the Demon Army?¡±

    The girl from Taibai ins replied, ¡°Elders, you do not need to hide anything from me. The three of you are young, but after Reiki rejuvenation, all of you would be great immortals of the present age with skills equivalent to thousands of days of training. The Demon Army consists of evil spirits arising from the anger and hatred of the fallen souls at Ho Pass in the East. Any ce the Demon Army tramples will be barren, and wherever the Demon Army remains will surely result in disastrous consequences. They are now heading into the boundaries of Taibai ins, and is not far away from you Elders, which is why I am here to seek your help.¡±

    As the brain of the family, Ren Changsheng questioned, ¡°You are an earth elf? What will we gain if we help you chase the Demon Army away?¡±

    Slightly astonished, the elf from Taibai ins said, ¡°I remember that before the dayes when all Reiki is concealed, it is the natural duty of practitioners to eliminate all demons¡­Regardless, as an earth spirit, I have remained in hibernation for a rtively long period of time, until I awoke from the rejuvenation of Reiki in recent times. I really don¡¯t have much to offer to you Elders¡­¡±

    Ren Changsheng seemed like he wanted to be the least pleasant one amongst the three brothers as he smiled and said, ¡°We have a family practice of spiritual connection to perform coition with elves and have children.¡±

 Chapter 45 - A Turn-based Game?!

    Chapter 45: Chapter 45 ¨C A Turn-based Game?!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The elf from Taibai ins was stunned momentarily. Her voice remained calm as she said, ¡°For practitioners like you to continue your bloodline, the best tier of partners would be other practitioners of the opposite sex, followed by those from the rich aristocratic families who are the middle tier of partners, and ordinary people who are the lowest tier of partners¡­Why would you want me, an earth elf?¡±

    ¡°You have to understand that although practitioners like you can have children with us earth elves, the children who are born as a result tend to have very short lifespans, and would usually pass away before they even be from full-grown adults¡­Eh?¡±

    The elf from Taibai ins seemed to have noticed something and said, ¡°The three of you elders are actually¡­holy beings with extraordinary natural abilities?¡±

    Ren Changsheng shook his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s just part of the curse.¡±

    The elf from Taibai ins finally understood. She said, ¡°Indeed, holy beings with extraordinary natural abilities will eventually meet their fate of Transcending Nothingness. If you are not able to escape from such a fate before it happens, it is certain you wille to a bad end, void of emotions¡­Holy beings like you are the ones that even the heavens and the earth envy. Once you are born, unless you sessfully evade the fate of Transcending Nothingness, there is no way you will be able to have children¡­¡±

    ¡°It is rare to see all of you three elders who are holy beings with such extraordinary natural abilities. It is no wonder that you all want to establish a spiritual connection with elves, in order to continue your bloodline. Only pure elves who possess a great amount of Reiki within them are able to carry the blood of the extraordinary holy beings¡­¡± she continued.

    Ren Changsheng asked, ¡°Will you agree to this¡­?¡±

    The elf from Taibai ins answered, ¡°This is not impossible. However, the energy of you, holy beings, is so immense that carrying your blood within the weak bodies of elves like me would only result in my death. Furthermore, as an earth elf, my level of practice is very low¡­If you all are able to gather some amount of Reiki crystals as a means of transmission, I would be willing to establish spiritual connections with you, for you to continue the bloodline of the holy beings¡­¡±

    ¡°However, even so, I will be forced to stay in hibernation for a hundred years to regain my immensely drained energy. Unless the three of you elders are able to gather a sufficient amount of Reiki crystals aspensation, I will not agree to this,¡± the elf continued.

    Ren Woxing was hesitant and asked, ¡°Reiki crystals?¡±

    The elf from Taibai ins replied, ¡°Reiki crystals are important resources for us to practice. They are filled with Reiki and are formed with the emergence of spiritual Reiki energy around the world. Additionally, the Reiki in the physical bodies of demons and ghosts, as well as within the internal body of Practitioners like you, will crystallize into Reiki crystals after the death of the body.¡±

    Ren Changsheng suddenly calmed down and said in a more solemn tone, ¡°What if I insist in a spiritual connection with you even though I do not have the Reiki crystals?¡±

    The elf from Taibai ins remainedposed and said, ¡°The most important aspect of a spiritual connection is the wholehearted participation of both parties, and earth elves like me heed only the words of the heavens and the earth. We never bow down to any other living beings. I will be around in Taibai ins just beside where you live. If you, elders, have prepared the Reiki crystals, you maye and find me. Also, I hope you remember that there is a Demon Army infiltrating Taibai ins. If they are not stopped, Taibai ins will be destroyed, and be corrupted and impure¡­¡±

    With that, the youngdy from Taibai ins turned to leave. Ren Changsheng let out a sigh and said, ¡°Indeed, we can only make a deal with elves¡­The elves would rather die than give in to other demands. It is no use trying to coerce these spiritual animals who are bred by the heavens and the earth into giving in to us.¡±

    Ren Woxing was slightly surprised and remarked, ¡°Second Brother, you did not seem like such a person before.¡±

    Ren Changsheng said, ¡°For us to be able to continue our lineage, it is a must to be firm and cold-hearted. Big Brother, as the head of the family, you have to preserve your dignity, while Third Brother is still young and inexperienced. Naturally, I have to be the more unpleasant one.¡±

    The conversation ended and Ren Suo saw a line of information appear at the upper right corner of the screen:

    [Seek and suppress the evil demons and gather Reiki crystals to continue the Ren family bloodline. You fail if all the members of the Ren family die.]

    It seems like the game is in stages, and the first mission now is to¡­have a child!

    Ren Suo noticed that the bar at the bottom left corner of the screen now had a [Start Expedition] option, along with the [Training] option.

    He clicked on [Start Expedition] and Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Without a doubt, we need to have Reiki crystals if we want to make a spiritual connection with elves. Apart from the rare asion that a Reiki crystal is received by chance, the best method now is none other than to y the evil demons.¡±

    ¡°A Demon Army is entrenched in Taibai ins. If they continue to remain in Taibai ins, the practice of the earth elf there would very likely be disrupted. She is currently the only female elf body that we know of. The higher her level of attainment, the higher the quality of the children she bears. House Master, let us now deal with the Demon Army!¡±

    Arge brown-colored map that looked like it was made from sheepskin instantly appeared on the screen. Ren Suo could easily identify the map as that of the Three Kingdoms during the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. There was a green dot in the center of the map, beside Luoyang City, which was marked: [House of the Ren Family].

    Beside the green dot, there was a ck dot that was marked [Taibai ins] and showed that it was in the state ¡°Demons entrenched¡±.

    The house of the Ren family was actually on a mountain close to Luoyang City?

    Apart from Taibai ins and the Ren house, all the other areas like ¡°Luoyang City¡±, ¡°Chang¡¯an City¡±, and ¡°Ye City¡± remained greyed out and locked. Ren Suo could only select ¡°Taibai ins¡±.

    [Please select the members for the expedition.]

    [Ren Woxing, 18 years old: Attack 1, Defense 0, Scout 0, Movement 0, Recovery 0, Management 1.]

    [Ren Changsheng, 16 years old: Attack 1, Defense 0, Scout 0, Movement 0, Recovery 0, Management 1.]

    [Ren Feifan, 14 years old: Attack 1, Defense 0, Scout 0, Movement 0, Recovery 0, Management 0.]

    Apart from the [Attack] skill which they had just finished training, all of them had a skill level of 0 for all the other aspects¡­

    Aren¡¯t they naturally talented?! Ren Suomented in his heart.

    Regardless, whether they were considered a mule or a horse, they had to do something. Ren Suo selected all of them for the expedition.

    [For safety reasons, there must be at least 1 person remaining to guard the house.]

    Ren Suo kicked Ren Feifan who appeared to be the weakest of the three brothers out of the team.

    [The guardian of the house must have a Management skill greater than 0.]

    Ren Suo wanted to vomit blood. The game is so detailed, Ren Suo thought as he kicked Ren Changsheng out from the expedition team instead.

    [There are 41 units of food (1 unit of food can sustain 1 person for 1 day) and 14 units of treasure (1 unit of treasure can be exchanged for 1 unit of food) in the house. How much would you like to bring along for the expedition?]

    Is the Ren family so poor?

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment and decided to bring 20 units of food and no treasures.

    The screen returned to the Ren family¡¯s hut. The [Start Expedition] option now showed that ¡°1 team has been dispatched¡±. Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Big Brother left me behind¡­What should I do? Practice, I shall.¡±

    Ren Suo opened the [Training] menu and found that there was 1 action point avable, just as he expected. He thought for a moment and selected the option [Recovery].

    Ren Suo found that the game was not very difficult yet, and this was a family economic simtion game.

    The most important thing to take note of when ying economic simtion games was to not fall into any traps and be at a disadvantage. Now that two of the Ren brothers were sent out to fight, there was a high chance that they would be injured or even die. Thus, it was a decent choice to train someone at home to have healing abilities.

    The 1 action point was used and the scene changed to that following Ren Woxing, who was walking in the forest with Third Brother.

    [Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan are heading towards Taibai ins.]

    On the screen, Ren Suo saw three paths appear on the forest map. All the paths led towards the same destination ¡°Taibai ins¡±, but there were four to five question marks along each of the paths.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouths and randomly selected one of the paths.

    ¡°Along the way, both of you encountered a fierce and ferocious tiger!

    Is a fight about to happen?!

    Ren Suo sat upright as he looked at the screen intently.

    [The third Brother, Ren Feifan, was too scared and retreated from the battle, leaving only Ren Woxing behind to face the ferocious tiger!]

    The scene zoomed in deeper into the forest. A young man holding a wooden sword was standing on one side, and a ferocious tiger equivalent to the size of three young men was on the other side. Both of them were separated by arge distance as they looked at each other intently¡­

    Avable actions: [Attack] [Defend] [Heal] [Move]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a turn-based game?!¡± Ren Suo rolled his eyes as he queried the statistics of the ferocious tiger:

    [Ferocious tiger: Attack 0.8, Defense 0, Scout 0, Movement 0, Recovery 0.]

    ¡°¡­Eh? The tiger is so weak too?¡± Ren Suo said as he scratched his head. He selected [Attack].

    ¡°An average sword made of average metal can turn into anything in the hands of a tenacious wielder!¡± Ren Woxing shouted. The next moment, the wooden sword turned into a long beam of red and hit the tiger!

    The beam of light sliced through the head of the ferocious tiger and blood started flowing out of its head as it fell dead to the ground within moments.

    [The battle has ended. You obtained 7 units of animal meat on the body of the ferocious animal.]

    Is it so simple? Ren Suo was bewildered for a moment.

    The screen returned to the map. Ren Woxing was extremely angry and said, ¡°Third Brother, why did you run away?¡±

    Ren Feifan cried, ¡°I¡­I¡¯m scared¡­¡±

 Chapter 46 - run-hit-run

    Chapter 46: Chapter 46 ¨C run-hit-run

    Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan encountered a few more snakes and brown bears along their journey but managed to defeat them without any trouble.

    Ren Feifan also became braver and more courageous. He used a wooden stick to pierce through the body of a brown bear and killed it. Who says an enemy must be shot dead with a gun when a stick can pierce through the enemy to achieve the same oue?

    Interestingly, however, Ren Suo could only control Ren Woxing as the yer of the game. He could not control the actions of Ren Feifan.

    Ren Suo thought that it could be because of the fact that he had selected Ren Woxing as his game character at the start of the game. However, ording to the game settings, Ren Woxing would only be able to live until the age of 24. Which character would Ren Suo control then after Ren Woxing dies?

    Nheless, the tigers, bears, and wild boars that the Ren brothers had killed allowed them to replenish their food stores¡ªthey had brought along with them 20 units of food, and when they arrived at Taibai ins, they had only used up 4 of them.

    Ren Feifan said, ¡°Big Brother, your cooking is terrible¡­It¡¯s so bad¡­How could you waste such good meat¡­¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°There are memories of culinary skills in the transmission of knowledge, you should learn too.¡±

    ¡°You and Ren Feifan have entered Taibai ins when suddenly a young girl appeared in front and was escaping in your direction. There were odd-looking troops, looking like half-human and half-ghost, who were following behind her whileughing loudly.¡±

    ¡°Ren Feifan cried out shrilly, ¡®Xiao Cui!¡¯, as he dashed over to her and led her away, along with one of the Demons, leaving the remaining four Demons to his beloved Big Brother.¡±

    Ren Suo scolded Ren Feifan in his heart for leaving his brother behind as the screen broke into the fighting scene. He was only in control of Ren Woxing, who was about to go against four zombie-like Demons who were d in broken armor!

    [Demon: Attack 9, Defense 0, Scout 0, Movement 0, Recovery 0.]

    ¡°I¡¯m dead now¡­¡± Ren Suo was at a loss what to do and randomly attacked one of the Demon Troops.

    After his wooden sword turned into a beam of light and killed one of the Demon Troops, it returned back to Ren Woxing¡¯s hand. It was now the Demons¡¯ turn, and they all moved forward a step.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    It was only then that Ren Suo realized that on the turn-based battlefield, there were movement distances that melee characters like the Demons had to move sufficiently close before they could attack Ren Woxing.

    Ren Suo was overjoyed upon realizing this and remarked, ¡°Hahaha eat this! Biubiubiu!¡±

    With the Sword Master skill, Ren Woxing easily defeated the Demons. On the other hand, Ren Feifan had just reappeared with the young girl. He said righteously, ¡°Big Brother, this is Xiao Cui whom I met thest time I went to the market¡­She lives with her family in the vige on the other side of Taibai ins, which has already been infiltrated by the Demon Army¡­I want to take revenge on them for Xiao Cui!¡±

    Ren Woxing rolled his eyes and retorted, ¡°You did not even dare to fight a tiger previously, and now you want to fight the Demon Army with a spear?¡±

    [The battle has ended. You found 1x Perfect Straight Sword, 1x treasure, 6x Reiki crystals on the Demon Troops. Ren Woxing was directly equipped with the Perfect Straight Sword, Fighting Ability +0.3.]

    [You and Ren Feifan continue on your quest. One dayter, the Demon Army was spotted entrenched in the remains of the destroyed vige.]

    [Do you wish to lure the Demons out individually, or do you want to infiltrate directly?]

    Without hesitation, Ren Suo chose to lure the Demons out one by one. The game prompted, [Select bait character: Ren Woxing, Ren Feifan, Xiao Cui.]

    Ren Suo pondered for a while. Since Ren Woxing was a character with ranged attack who should optimally remain at a distance at all times, Ren Suo decided to send Ren Feifan to lure the Demons out. He had not turned crazy such as to send Xiao Cui as bait.

    There were at least thirty Demon Troops in the vige, and Ren Feifan lured them out one or two at a time. They were not that clever and Ren Suo managed to kill more than ten of them on the western side of the vige.

    However, when Ren Feifan reached the center of the vige and attempted to lure the Demon Troops out, the remaining 18 of them emerged at the same time!

    Ren Woxing hollered angrily, ¡°Are you trying to kill me?!¡±

    Ren Feifan cried as he shouted, ¡°Big Brother¡­I¡¯m sorry, Big Brother. I saw them eating¡­ eating¡­and I could not control myself and attacked them¡­I¡­¡±

    The game prompted: [Select your battle strategy: Leave Ren Feifan and Xiao Cui behind and escape, or let Ren Feifan stand in front of Ren Woxing and take on the Demons while retreating?]

    Without a doubt, the selected choice was thetter!

    The screen jumped into the battle scene. Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan were on one edge of the battlefield, and 18 Demons were attacking towards them. Ren Suo utilized the ¡®run-hit-run¡¯ strategy directly, allowing Ren Woxing to retreat while using his Sword Master ability to kill the Demons. He had in eight of the Demons when the Demons finally closed in on them!

    Ren Woxing, who was standing in front of Ren Feifan, took three consecutive hits from the surrounding three Demons. He let out a loud cry as he pierced the three Demons to death in one swift movement! He shouted again as he pierced yet another one of the Demons!

    ¡°What on earth, I thought that this melee spear-armed troop is useless! So his attack has arge area of effect and he can even attack twice in one round?¡± Ren Suo said to himself as his eyes lit up. Previously, he had defeated the tigers and brown bears within seconds and there had not been any opportunity for the spear wielder to shine, thus Ren Suo had no idea about the characteristics of the spear wielder.

    Most importantly, Ren Suo was not able to control the spear wielder, and hence he could not control any of Ren Feifan¡¯s attacks¡­

    Now, he could use a flying sword as a ranged attack and a spear as a close-range attack. It was the perfectbination for a fight, capable of defeating this army of Demon Troops!

    The fight that continued after that was a child¡¯s y. The only more challenging enemy was a ¡®Demon Leader¡¯ with Attack 2 and Defense 1, but was killed after a hit each from the sword and the spear.

    The battle between the trained warriors and the demons seemed to be from a fantasy novel¡­The opponents would simplypare their attributes to determine the winner: Oh, you¡¯re in the Foundation Refining stage, but I¡¯m in the Core Formation stage, so you¡¯re dead.

    [The battle has ended. You found 2x Perfect Straight Sword, 3x Perfect Spear, 4x treasure, 40x Reiki crystals from the Demon Troops.]

    Ren Suo finally let out a sigh of relief after the end of the expedition. The risks he took and the long process of luring the Demons out individually during the expedition took an unexpectedly long time toplete. Even though it was a simple turn-based game, Ren Suo had spent the entire afternoon on it.

    [Ren Feifan led Xiao Cui over and hopes to bring the poor girl home; otherwise, she would not be able to survive in the chaotic outside world. Do you agree?]

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°You may bring her home, but¡­I can¡¯t stop Second Brother from scolding you.¡±

    Ren Feifan blushed and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, it is my duty to save people!¡±

    When they returned home, Ren Changsheng appeared¡­along with three other girls.

    Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Brother, this is Miss Zhuo and her servant. I heard their cries for help when I was on the mountain and realized that their car had broken down on the mountain road. They almost died but fortunately, I had learned a healing technique¡­They would like to seek shelter and remain here for at least a year. They are willing to pay 3000x treasures. Patriarch, please make a decision.¡±

    3000x treasures were no small amount, and Ren Suo would naturally not decline the offer. Furthermore, this could be an important part of the game scenario.

    The pretty girl said, ¡°Hello, Master Ren. I am Zhuo Yu and I¡¯m pleased to meet you.¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°No problem, my brothers and I will build a house for you two. Coincidentally, we need to arrange a ce for Xiao Cui to stay too.¡±

    The scene turned dark as night fell. Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng were in the midst of a discussion.

    Ren Woxing questioned, ¡°Second Brother, why did you let outsiders stay in our house? We are practitioners, how inconvenient would that be?¡±

    Ren Changsheng exined himself, ¡°Brother, we must think of this in the long term. In the future, we need to defeat all the demons and y all the ghosts while gathering Reiki crystals for us to continue our bloodline. At the same time, we have to traverse all thends and kill all the evil demons in search of more elves. The earth elf from Taibai ins will fall into her slumber again after just one spiritual exchange.¡±

    ¡°The three of us have a limited ability to achieve all of this. Our family has to prosper and thrive so that we have more subordinates who can function as our eyes to gather information from the different parts of thend. In this way, we would not need to spend time to search for information about the demons and elves from across thend,¡± he continued.

    Ren Woxing was confused. He asked, ¡°Prosper and thrive? How can we prosper? We can¡¯t bear children.¡±

    Ren Changsheng said, ¡°While we are not able to bear children, the ce that we live in is a safe haven for the people in the chaotic world outside. We can take in these people and ensure their safety. In exchange, they would be our subordinates, which can be considered as increasing our family size and prospering. Big Brother, didn¡¯t you agree to save Xiao Cui and bring her back because of this?¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°¡­Yes!¡±

    Ren Changsheng let out a long sigh. He said, ¡°However if only we could be in control of one of the political parties¡­We can use the powers of us as Practitioners to support him and not only would we be able to unite the states, we would also be able to¡ªAH!¡±

    All of a sudden, Ren Changsheng fell to the floor as if he turned mad. Ren Woxing held onto him quickly and asked, ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother, are you all right?!¡±

    Ren Changsheng regained his breath as he shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­It¡¯s just that Emperor Guangwu¡¯s grip tightened. We swear on our lives to protect the Han Dynasty, and not be corrupted with political powers¡­ Even though we may not be able to fulfill the first use, the second part is still forbidden.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore¡­ I learned from Zhuo Ji and Zhuo Yu that there are many evil Demons at Ho Pass, and the Demons which infiltrated Taibai ins are a small part of those at Ho Pass.¡±

    ¡°Patriarch, if we are able to kill all the Demons in Ho Pass, we would have sufficient Reiki crystals to perform a spiritual exchange with the earth elf from Taibai ins, and we would be able to continue our lineage!¡±

 Chapter 47 - Why Canâ€™t I Witness the Process? Did You Delete It?

    Chapter 47: Chapter 47 ¨C Why Can¡¯t I Witness the Process? Did You Delete It?

    When the supper deliveryman rang the doorbell, Ren Suo had also justpleted his first mission.

    In all honesty, the battles in the game were not challenging¡ªthe [Sword Master] ability Ren Woxing possessed was akin to using sniper rifles on therge battlefield, and the [me] ability of Ren Changsheng functioned as a fragment grenade that could strge groups of enemies into pieces.

    Ren Feifan was even more impressive with his spear, virtually undefeatable at close range. With each sweep of his spear as he charged right into the heart of the battlefield, he could easily eliminate the enemies.

    As a whole, each of the three brothers had their individual strengths and weaknesses: Ren Woxing, the eldest brother, could inflict damage to any enemy within arge area with his Sword Master ability, but could only attack a single target each time; Ren Changsheng, the second of the three brothers, could inflict damage to groups of enemies within a moderate range; Ren Feifan, the youngest of three brothers, could attack groups of enemies with a high uracy rate and be virtually unbeatable, but only at close range.

    As such, Ren Suo knew how to train and y the characters. Ren Woxing would naturally be a ranged fighter and be trained in attack and movement; Second Brother Ren Changsheng would usually be stationed at home, and be trained in recovery and management; Ren Feifan would easily be at the frontline and thus must be trained in both attack and defense.

    Oddly, however, the attack skills could not be changed once it was acquired initially. Ren Suo had trained Ren Woxing for three seasons but found that the listed attack skill was still [Sword Master].

    It was already the winter of year 191 in the game. In the Ren family¡¯s house, there were 28 other ¡®vigers¡¯, apart from the three Ren brothers. Other than Zhuo Yu and Xiao Cui, there were other ordinary people whom the three Ren brothers had saved when they went on expeditions previously.

    These vigers were extremely important, even more so than Reiki crystals and treasures. The most obvious change was the increasing increment of skill points when the three Ren brothers trained. From +1 to +1.1, +1.2, each of them had different rates of increase in their skill scores. The additional bonus points also increased with the rise in the poption of vigers.

    Ren Feifan was the most impressive of the three brothers. Ever since he found Xiao Cui, his skill level started increasing directly from +2. He was now the strongest in terms ofbat power.

    When Ren Suo queried the data on the [Vigers], a message appeared: [As the poption of vigers increases, more plots ofnd would be avable for agriculture and farming. There would also be more people with special upations, such as doctors, tailors, cksmiths, hunters, and miners. At the same time, most Practitioners do not like to be alone and need people to cheer them on to affirm that they have made the best and rightful decision to embark on their practice.]

    To put it simply, Practitioners generally like to act cool in front of other people, and the more ordinary people watching them, the greater their motivation to practice. Ren Feifan was the most obvious example¡ªit appeared that he wanted to act cool in front of Xiao Cui.

    At the same time, Ren Suo also found that in the six attributes of the Practitioners, [Management] was the most special attribute as it was influenced by the poption size of the vigers. As the number of vigers increased, the [Management] score increased as well. The number of treasures and food gained in each season would also increase ordingly, and special rewards may even appear. For example, in the summer of year 191, one of the vigers found a Reiki crystal in the wild and decided to hand it to the Ren brothers. After the incident, the system especially prompted: [Ren Changsheng obtained a Management score fulfilling two conditions and initiated the discovery of 1 Reiki crystal.]

    Furthermore, the Reiki crystal that was found from the wild was more rewarding than any of the previous crystals. An ordinary Ghost Troop would typically give 1 unit of Reiki crystals, while a Ghost Leader would give 5~10 units for each crystal, and yet the one that was found gave 100 units of crystals!

    This amount was equivalent to that earned from the hard work of the Ren brothers risking their lives to defeat the monsters at Ho Pass after one season! Yet, this amount was easily picked up in the wild!

    If the number of vigers continues to increase and people be different types of workers like miners and hunters, the chance and frequency of retrieving a Reiki crystal from the wild would greatly increase. There seemed like there would be absolutely no loss but only profits!

    Additionally, each viger also possesses special abilities. For example, Zhuo Yu has the special ability [Kind] and can reduce the chances that a viger would leave the house.

    In thest three seasons, Ren Suo let the three Ren brothers train for one season, then split them up into two waves to battle at Ho Pass. He sent Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan together in the first expedition, but when they met a strong Ghost Master with a defense of 3, the two brothers could not withstand any of his attacks. Ren Feifan was gravely hurt by the Ghost Master, which had an attack of 3.

    Ren Suo had thought that there was finally going to be a death in the game, but as it turned out, Ren Feifan was merely severely injured and could not continue fighting. When they returned home, Ren Feifan was healed quickly by Ren Changsheng.

    However, in the character card for Ren Feifan, his maximum age decreased to 22 years old, and his avatar seemed to grow older with white hair appearing.

    Ren Suo was able to query the information about all the vigers and the Ren family members. Most of the vigers had a maximum age of over 50 years old, while the three Ren brothers could only live to the age of 23. It seemed like the failure of the expedition was the cause for the maximum age of Ren Feifan to drop to 22 years old.

    Ren Changsheng also said: ¡°Brother, ording to the transmitted knowledge, people like us with the blood of the champion has an innate skill called [Heart Strengthening]. It can temporarily prevent us from dying when we receive a fatal blow, and after a period of time, we could be able to recover naturally and continue to move, but with some difficulty. However, when the ability is utilized naturally, our lifespan would decrease.¡± As much as the battles proved to be dangerous, the Ren family had to persevere and kill all the Demons to obtain Reiki crystals and raise their family poption. If Ren Suo could also increase the poption of the vigers and obtain Reiki crystals from more avenues, then the Ren family Practitioners would not need to head out to fight as often.

    As such, Ren Suo figured out a management strategy for this game: There had to be someone with high management ability and one with a strongbat ability within the family in order to deal with such scenarios.

    When autumn arrived yet again, they finally had more than 300 Reiki crystals and Ren Changsheng said, ¡°We finally have sufficient Reiki crystals to fulfill the requirements given by the earth elf from Taibai ins! Master, let us prosper and raise our family poption!¡±

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°We finally obtained these Reiki crystals after much hard work¡­Should we give them away just like this?¡± Ren Changshengughed and said, ¡°Big Brother, these Reiki crystals are a precious resource to Practitioners to help them in their practice, but we have the blood of the champion and are naturally able to utilize Reiki. As the years pass and we grow older, our level of practice would continually increase, but the only thing that is stopping us from persisting in our practice is time.¡± He continued, ¡°We have absolutely no need for things like Reiki crystals to support us in our practice. Isn¡¯t it great that we can exchange these crystals which we have no use for with what we need instead?¡± A new option [Spiritual Exchange] appeared on the left side of the screen, above the [Start Expedition] option.

    Ren Suo selected [Spiritual Exchange] and a list appeared. There was, however, only one option: [Earth Elf of Taibai ins, 300 Reiki Crystals, Type: Earth.]

    ¡°Why does it feel like I¡¯m hiring a courtesan¡­¡± Ren Suo remarked. He selected the earth elf of Taibai ins, then chose one of the Ren brothers to perform the spiritual exchange with the earth elf from Taibai ins.

    When Ren Suo selected Ren Feifan, a voice emerged from the avatar of Ren Feifan: ¡°Eh eh eh, Big Brother, I don¡¯t want to do it so early¡­¡±

    When Ren Suo selected Ren Changsheng instead, Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Master, we are the first generation of Practitioners of the Ren family. The subsequent second generation would be direct descendents and it follows that the oldest of the subsequent generation should naturally be the child of the head of the family.¡± Oh well, Ren Suo was left with no option but to select Ren Woxing to perform the spiritual exchange with the earth elf from Taibai ins.

    The elf from Taibai ins said, ¡°¡­ As you wish, I hope that when I awake from my hibernation, I will still be able to see our child.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s here, it¡¯s here!¡± Ren Suo said as he widened his eyes, eagerly watching the scene where the Practitioner and the elf performed the exchange. Suddenly, a piercingly bright light appeared on the screen! Ren Suo blurted as he closed his eyes instinctively, ¡°What on earth, my eyes are going blind!¡± When Ren Suo opened his eyes, the scene had returned back to the main hall of the Ren family house.

    Ren Changsheng said, ¡°The exchange between the head of the family and the earth elf to bear children would require one season toplete. I will now take charge of family matters.¡± Ren Suo thought, ¡°Can I not watch the process?¡±He felt slightly reluctant as he quickly finished the tasks for the winter of year 191. Soon, the year 192 came and spring arrived.

    ¡°Wah, wah¡­¡± The cries of a baby rang through the hall of the house. Ren Woxing appeared on the screen carrying his baby.

    Ren Feifan said, ¡°Wow, the baby looks just like you! Big Brother, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?¡± Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Wee back! The Ren family finally has a second generation. Big Brother, have you thought of a name for your child?¡± Ren Woxing replied, ¡°This baby girl is born from the spiritual exchange between the elf from Taibai ins and me¡­I already thought of a name for her. As for me¡­Heh, after we perform a spiritual exchange with an elf, we will also use up some of our inner energy. It seems like I have to rest at home over the next season.¡± Ren Suo sighed when he realized that an input prompt did not appear, which meant that he could not name the child. Ren Suo had wanted to name the child ¡°Ren Wo¡¯ke¡±¡­

    ¡°Our child, since she was born in winter, I will call her¡ª¡± Ren Woxing began excitedly. ¡°Ren Xiaobai!¡± Ren Suo almost choked on the m soup he was eating for supper.

    What has winter got to do with Xiaobai (beginner)?

    The game AI truly stooped to Ren Suo¡¯s level in terms of naming the characters!

    At this moment, the mission list on the right side of the screen was updated and a new icon appeared: ¡°Family Tree¡±.

    In the family tree, the first generation was naturally the three Ren brothers and linked with a line below the avatar and the name for Ren Woxing was a baby avatar with the name ¡°Ren Xiaobai¡±.

    [Eliminate the evil Demons and obtain Reiki crystals to continue the family bloodline. Until 266 AD, there was at least one member of direct descent in the Ren family.]

 Chapter 48 - Why Did You Mess With Cao Cao Aloneâ€¦

    Chapter 48: Chapter 48 ¨C Why Did You Mess With Cao Cao Alone¡­

    Xuzhou City, Autumn, Year 193.

    Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan were in the midst of a battle with more than 80 Ghost Troops. The ¡®run-hit-run¡¯ strategy was still being used, but this time, however, there were also Archer Ghosts with a ranged attack and Cavalry Ghosts who had extraordinarily fast movement speeds. It was a slightly challenging battle.

    As the game progressed, the enemies also became stronger. Although there were still enemies with an Attack of 1 and Defense of 0, there were many more enemies with Attack 2 and Defense 1 after the year 194.

    With the increase inbat power of the enemies, the amount of Reiki crystals earned from defeating them naturally increased correspondingly. After each season of the expedition, Ren Suo could earn more than 200 Reiki crystals in the game.

    However, earning more was not remarkable; rather, being able to spend them fast was the real test of skill. Ever since Ren Xiaobai was born and the earth elf from Taibai ins went into hibernation, the Ren family had yet to find another elf whom they could perform spiritual exchange with.

    It was 3:00 in the wee hours of the morning, and Ren Suo was bing slightly dazed from spending numerous hours on the game when he identally selected the [Scout] option as he was deciding on the training domains for the season.

    The [Training] selection process worked in such a way that, unless all of the action points were used on the one single domain, each character would train on one random training domain ording to the distribution of the action points. For example, when Ren Suo allocated 2 action points to Attack and 1 action point to Scout, there was an equal chance that Ren Woxing or either of the other two brothers would then train on the Scout domain.

    As such, there was no way for Ren Suo to control which domain each character would be trained on unless he trained everyone only in the one same domain each time.

    Ren Suo had always wanted Ren Feifan to gain +1 Management point so that he could remain at home while Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng were sent out on a long-distance DPS expedition to secure a round of kills.

    However, in reality, the Management attribute score of Ren Changsheng continued to increase, while that of Ren Feifan remained at 0, and the difference was as if that between a top student and another who was at the bottom of the list.

    After Ren Suo identally chose the Scout option, Ren Woxing gained a +1.3 Scout attribute score. In the next season, Ren Suo sent Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan out in an expedition to Tiger Pass, when a prompt suddenly appeared:

    [Ren Woxing noticed that there is a mysterious foging from the northeast, do you wish to investigate?]

    A new dot suddenly appeared on therge map. Ren Suo was jolted awake in an instant and sent the two Ren brothers over to investigate.

    There, they met ake elf, Ling Po!

    Ling Po said, ¡°Elders, arge demon has been loitering nearby recently, but I am not skilled enough to defeat him. Would you be kind enough to lend a helping hand to bring peace back to the surrounding area again?¡±

    Then, Dong Province in the northeast lit up on the map. It was now a possible expedition area, and an additional line of information appeared: [Presence of a small number of demons (easy).]

    It was only then that Ren Suo realized that there was such a use for the Scout ability of the characters which he had never thought to be useful: Not only did the ability increase the chances of expanding the essible area on the map, it would also allow difficulty descriptions of the newly appeared expedition areas!

    After the Ren brothers returned home from the expedition, the name ¡°Ling Po Lake Elf¡± appeared in the [Spiritual Exchange] list found in the main hall of the Ren family house. The price was exorbitant¡ª1000 Reiki crystals were required to mate!

    Ren Suo finally understood the purpose of each of the six-character attributes thoroughly.

    Attack: When engaging in a battle with demons, having a higher Attack than the Defense of the target would result in the target being killed instantly. If the character¡¯s Attack is smaller than or equal to the Defense of the target, the target would receive damage based on the form (Defense ¨C Attack), and the target¡¯s Defense would be reduced ordingly. For example, if Ren Woxing with Attack 1 attacked a Ghost Troop with Defense 3, the Ghost Troop would then have a reduced Defense 2.

    Defense: It is essentially the health points of the Practitioners of the Ren family. They would survive as long as their Defense does not drop to 0 and would be replenished after every battle.

    Scout: Gather information on the enemies and increase the chance of urrence of rare events.

    Movement: In battle, the character would be able to move the same distance as the Movement score. On the world map, it is thergest distance the Practitioners of the Ren family can travel. Indeed, if the target destination was too far, the Ren Practitioner may not be able to return home in time within the season after the expedition.

    Recovery: In battle, the character would be able to recover Defense points based on the number of Recovery points. Vigers who are about to die in battle can also be saved. Outside the battle, the probability of vigers dying would be reduced.

    Management: Matters unrted to battle are rted to Management.

    Ren Suo had a decent impression of the game thus far.

    The game wasplicated but not difficult to understand, and the plot was interesting and varied. It was indeed a very interesting family management simtion game with tactical gamey based on the context of the Three Kingdoms.

    This was because most of the locations where the demons appeared were famous historical ces where veryrge numbers of injuries and deaths urred.

    Ho Pass was where the Guandong coalition of 18 officials and warlords fought Dong Zhuo; Yan Province was where the rebels in the Yellow Turban Rebellion fought the imperial army; Xu Province was where Cao Cao¡¯s Army invaded to avenge the murder of Cao Cao¡¯s father¡­

    The Ren brothers had to spend a few seasons fighting before the enemies at each of the locations could all be eliminated, during which they would also meet with thieves and robbers, rebels in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, lone Demons and wild Ghosts¡­In the chaotic world of Reiki rejuvenation, both the Demons were vicious and humans were malicious. Only Practitioners like the Ren brothers were capable of defeating the evil Demons.

    ¡°I shall sleep after this battle!¡± Ren Suo said. Ren Suo looked at the bright sky outside as an urge to equip himself with the [Unlimited Energy] ability to continue ying the game arose.

    However, Ren Suo touched his hair and decided not to make such a poor decision which would damage his organs and whiten his hair.

    Ren Suo finally defeated the challenging big BOSS ¡°Six Arm Demon Corpse¡±, and the results of the battle appeared:

    [The battle has ended. You found 3x Perfect Straight Sword, 8x Perfect Spear, 1x Superior Long Sword, 120x Treasure, 250x Reiki crystals.]

    However, at this juncture, Ren Feifan suddenly said, ¡°Big Brother, why¡­why are there so many demons? They had all been ordinary people before¡­¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°They had a lot of hate and resentment when they died, so they formed a connection with Reiki and turned into demons. Isn¡¯t this very normal? From the transmitted knowledge by descent, you should have also understood that amongst the demons and ghosts, they are monsters who were originally humans but died full of resentment and hate, who were then associated with and transformed by Reiki and became thirsty for the blood of animals.¡±

    Ren Feifan said, ¡°I know¡­But these people were all ordinary people who had been farming all their lives, just like Xiao Cu¡­Why, why do they end up in such a state, filled with much hate and resentment, waiting to be ughtered?¡±

    Ren Woxing said, ¡°The ughtering has the capability to scare and terrorize the enemies and make them surrender¡­At the same time, ughtering can ease the pressure and stress of the troops, as well as calm and appease the anger of Cao Cao. It is said that Cao Cao¡¯s father was murdered in Xu Zhou, and this is also the reason why troops have been dispatched this time, to avenge his father.¡±

    Ren Feifan asked, ¡°So¡­is this all Cao Cao¡¯s fault?¡±

    Ren Woxing replied, ¡°You can say so¡­What has gotten into you?¡± Ren Feifan said, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the scene with raised eyebrows. Ren Feifan was obviously nning something!

    The next moment, as Ren Suo had predicted, the game prompted: [Ren Feifan has left the team.]

    It was now the winter of year 193, and Ren Feifan was no longer present in the main hall of the Ren family house. Ren Changsheng said, ¡°Master, Third Brother has disappeared¡­Please let us know your ns for the uing season.¡± The demons were growing stronger by the day, but now with Ren Feifan gone, the indispensable, one and the only close-range fighter was no longer avable. How was Ren Suo going to fight in the game without Ren Feifan?

    Fortunately, however, Ren Feifan returned in spring the next year. However, his hair had turned grey like that of sixty to seventy-year-olds, and he was visibly worn-out. It was as if he was in his final years.

    Ren Feifan said, ¡°Big Brother, Second Brother¡­I am back.¡± Ren Suo queried Ren Feifan¡¯s attributes and found that his lifespan had reduced to 18 years!

    And he was 18 years old that year!

    Thankfully, the game had not been made to leave the yer hanging. Ren Changsheng said in astonishment, ¡°Third Brother, you¡­what happened to you?¡±

    Ren Feifan replied, ¡°I tried to kill Cao Cao, but I failed. Not only did he have talents who know roughly how to utilize Reiki, but more importantly, when I was about to hurt him, my body tensed up and froze¡­I tried to kill him three times, but failed each time.¡±

    Ren Changsheng said, ¡°That is exactly the power of the shackles within our blood. We have already went against the rules once, and now that this has urred once again, the shackles would be tightened and the blood of the champion would be stronger, resulting in a shorter lifespan. Third Brother, why are you so foolish¡­Do we have a feud with Cao Cao? Why did you make it so hard on yourself?¡±

    Ren Feifan replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­Whenever I close my eyes, I can see the resentful souls of the dead bodies in Xu Provinceing together and turning into creatures which look like humans but are not humans, and ghosts but are not ghosts.¡±

    ¡°What did they do wrong? They had not done wrong, so someone else must have been wrong. Isn¡¯t punishing the ones that had done wrong the logical action¡­¡±

    In the garden outside the Ren family house, spring was in the air, and the sky was clear.

    Ren Suo nced at the amount of Reiki crystals written at the top right corner of the screen, then selected the [Spiritual Exchange] option. He selected the Ling Po Lake Elf, then chose Ren Feifan.

    In the summer of year 194, Ren Feifan appeared in the main hall of the house carrying a baby. He looked weak and weary, but a smile was on his face.

    ¡°This child shall be named Ren Buhui¡­¡± Ren Feifan said. Then, the game entered a CG sequence.

    ¡°Big Brother, fortunately¡­I am able to continue our Ren family bloodline without dying¡­¡±

    Ren Feifan said as Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng helped him maintain his bnce. He continued feebly, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I have yet to learn how to cook, and I still have to rely on Big Brother to cook food for me¡­although the food you cook is really terrible¡­¡±

    ¡°Second Brother, it has been hard on you all these years, and I know that many of the things that you have had to go around clearing up the mess I have caused. This time, I don¡¯t know what will happen after I offended Cao Cao. I still have onest thing, Second Brother, please help Xiao Cui to find a good man¡­¡±

    ¡°Third Brother!¡±

    ¡°Third Brother, don¡¯t speak anymore!¡±

    Ren Feifan embraced his two other brothers in a tight hug and finally cried. His tears dripped down his cheeks as his body began to shine brightly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry¡­Will you all remember me after I go?¡±

    ¡°I will!¡± Ren Woxing said as he nodded his head vigorously. ¡°I, you, Second Brother¡­ We will not be forgotten by people!¡±

    [In the summer of year 194, Ren Feifan passed away at the age of 18. Hisst words were: I¡¯m sorry for leaving so early.]

    In the Family Tree page, the avatar of Ren Feifan turned grey.

    Ren Suo stared nkly at the screen for some time before he regained his senses and remembered about the game.

    ¡°Oh no, I have not saved my progress!¡± It was only then that Ren Suo realized that he had already spent 16 continuous hours on the game. He had almost never stopped ying, and since the game was not very challenging, he had been toozy to save the game.

    However, when he turned the game system on, he realized that there was only the option to exit the game. There was no option to save!

    Ren Suo chose to exit the game, then reopened the game. When the system was reading the game, a message appeared on the save file page:

    [The name is cast in stone, preserved in history, never to be lost.]

    There was no way to save his current game progress. The only options were to read the game save file directly, or start over again.

    Now, Ren Suo finally understood why the game was given a 2-star difficulty rating. In his Ren family savefile, Ren Woxing would soon die in year 195, leaving behind only Ren Changsheng and two other infants! Ren Changsheng would not be able to leave the house, and would only be able to wait for the two children to grow up. By that time, he could well have aged and died too!

    Furthermore, when the two children grow older, they would not be strong enough to defeat the demons which are also growing stronger by the day!

    Even if they did manage to grow up, they were characters which Ren Suo was not able to control, and had the tendency to take unexpected actions. Apart from Ren Feifan¡¯s sudden withdrawal from the team previously, Ren Changsheng also left the team without warning in one of the expeditions to save a group of refugees, almost causing Ren Woxing to die in that expedition.

    Ren Suo had to be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances when uncontroble characters in the family caused trouble. At the same time, he had to fight increasingly stronger enemies, manage sudden disasters, counter theck of targets avable for Spiritual Exchange, as well as the shortening lifespan and potential end of his bloodline due to the curse. In such pressing circumstances, Ren Suo had to ensure that the family survived and prospered for 76 years.

    Simply put, it was as challenging and as demanding as an online novel writer hoping to shoot to fame with his first novel.

 Chapter 49 - Saved File Gone to Waste

    Chapter 49: Chapter 49 ¨C Saved File Gone to Waste

    [In the summer of year 195, Ren Woxing passed away at the age of 23. Hisst words were: I really hope¡­to be able to catch the prawns in the river with my brothers again.]

    [In the summer of year 195, Ren Changsheng took over the role of the head of the family, and his name was changed to Ren Woxing. Ever since then, the names of each generation of patriarchs would be changed to Ren Woxing.]

    [In the autumn of year 199, Ren Changsheng passed away at the age of 23. Hisst words were: I have never regretted being born into the Ren family.]

    [In the autumn of year 199, Ren Xiaobai took over the role of the head of the family, and her name was changed to Ren Woxing.]

    [In the spring of year 206, Ren Luo, the child of Ren Xiaobai and the White Horse Elf, was born.]

    [In the summer of year 209, Ren Buhui died at the age of 15 during the battle against the evil Demons at the Red Cliffs.]

    At this juncture three days after he had acquired the game, Ren Suo knew that he no longer stood a chance atpleting the mission, based on the current game progress.

    The Practitioners of the Ren family could only start training from the age of eight, and they were only able to take part in battles and perform spiritual exchanges after they turned 14. Thus, the newborn children had no other purpose except to increase the Ren family poption during their first eight years.

    Ren Suo had previously thought that after Ren Woxing¡¯s death, he would not be able to control any other character but only be able to watch the game continue by itself. He had not expected that each generation of patriarchs would have their name changed to ¡°Ren Woxing¡±, which meant that the yer would continue to be in control of the character.

    In the year 209, the most significant and decisive battle which was fought at the Red Cliffs between Cao Cao and the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei came to an end. Ren Suo sent Ren Buhui, Ren Feifan¡¯s daughter, on an expedition to the newly opened location [Ghost Demons of Red Cliffs] to acquire more Reiki crystals. Ren Xiaobai and Ren Buhui were the only two Practitioners in the Ren family who could be sent out on expeditions, and since one of them had to remain at home to look after the house, hence Ren Suo could only send Ren Buhui for the expedition.

    Unfortunately, Ren Buhui was not the ¡°Third Generation Ren Woxing¡±, and so Ren Suo could not control Ren Buhui¡¯s actions. However, after he sent Ren Buhui for the expedition, only news of her dying on the battlefield returned. The fact that she did not even have a chance of escaping back home meant that the Demons at the Red Cliffs were far more powerful than Ren Suo had anticipated.

    Now, there were only 3-year-old Ren Luo and 18-year-old Ren Xiaobai in the Ren family, but Ren Xiaobai passed away earlier at the age of 21 as she had two prior close deaths.

    Nheless, even if Ren Xiaobai could live two more years until the age of 23, the Demons of the Three Kingdoms would still have grown stronger as time passed. Ren Luo, the sole member of the Ren family left in the game, would still have had to start his training from scratch, and would stand no chance against the Demons! If the Ren family could not defeat the Demons and earn more Reiki crystals, they would naturally be unable to perform spiritual exchanges with the elves!

    At first nce, the game logic seemed impossible: the Practitioners of the Ren family would only be able to train between 8~23 years old, and the length of time they could train each season was the same. Although they could increase their training speeds with more vigers, the fact remained that once the older generation passed away, the younger generation would naturally be too weak and unable to seed in the battlefield due to their short training period. Even if they spent more time to train, the Demons would continually grow stronger, and the time period during which they could perform spiritual exchange would also be shortened further from the typical 10 years of time they had!

    However, even though the game had a 2-star difficulty rating, it did not mean that devising a strategy toplete it was impossible. There were two methods through which the Practitioners of the Ren family could suppress the Demons forever. The first method was to search for strong and powerful elves to perform spiritual exchanges with and give birth to children who would not only have special abilities, but also an increased training speed.

    For example, Ren Xiaobai, the child of Ren Woxing and the Earth Elf of Taibai ins, acquired the attack ability [The Technique of the Earth] after her training. While this ability was fundamentally simr to the [me] ability possessed by Ren Changsheng, the difference was that when Ren Xiaobai trained on Attack, her Defense attribute would gain +0.5 points as well, and when she trained on Defense, her Defense would gain a total of +1.5 points.

    In other words, when Ren Xiaobai trained on Attack, her Attack and Defense attributes would increase by +1 and +0.5 points respectively; and when Ren Xiaobai trained on Defense, her Attack attribute would remain the same with +0, but her Defense would increase by +1.5 points.

    And this was without taking into ount the additional points contributed by the vigers!

    Yet, the Earth Elf of Taibai ins was one of the weaker elves¡ªit was evident from the fact that a low price of only 300 Reiki crystals was required to perform spiritual exchange with her. If spiritual exchanges were performed with stronger and more powerful elves, it was not impossible for all the attributes of the characters to increase +10 in just one season. Of course, that would require the Practitioners of the Ren family to defeat more Demons and earn more Reiki crystals¡­

    The second method was inheritance! In the spring of year 199, when Ren Xiaobai just turned eight and could begin training, a new function [Inherit] appeared on the left side of the main hall of the Ren family house.

    [Inherit] allowed for the instantaneous sacrifice of the life of a chosen member of the family to pass on his/her attribute points to another member of the family. Based on the degree of consanguinity between the two members and thepatibilities of their individual attributes, between 25~50% of the total attribute points could be inherited by the receiving member.

    Ren Suo opted for Ren Xiaobai to inherit the attributes from Ren Changsheng, who was close to the end of his lifespan. Ren Changsheng died immediately, and Ren Xiaobai inherited 35% of the attributes passed by Ren Changsheng. Without this boost in power, she would not have been able to clear the Battle of Guandu and obtain sufficient Reiki crystals to perform spiritual exchange with the White Horse Elf.

    This was the most reliable and most cost-effective method to be stronger. With each subsequent inheritance, the next younger generation would always be stronger than the previous. They would then be able to keep up with the rate at which the Demons be more powerful, provided that each generation of the Ren family was able to mate and the bloodline did not break.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo found that it was impossible to utilize the strategy of constantly training only and not battling any Demons until the characters became very powerful. Not only would the period during which they could mate be shortened, but the Demons would also continue growing stronger. More importantly, as the Demons became more powerful, they would move about and actively kill the elves living nearby!

    This meant that there would be fewer elves the Practitioners of the Ren family could mate and perform spiritual exchange with!

    In 200 AD, after the death of Ren Changsheng, and when Ren Xiaobai was still young, the Battle of Guandu took ce. Cao Cao won a decisive victory and the Battlefield of Guandu became a massive source of emergence of Demons. There were no members of the Ren family capable of going on expeditions, and thus the Battlefield of Guandu was left undisturbed.

    Yet, when it was the year 203, Ren Suo suddenly received the following piece of information: [The Demons of Guandu has killed the Elf of Liyang.]

    It was only then that Ren Suo understood that the Demons would really actively seek and kill elves. He had thought that it had just been part of the storyline when the Elf of Taibai ins sought the Ren family¡¯s help!

    At this juncture, Ren Suo had gotten a clearer idea of the gamey, as well as the main sequence of tactics he should employ to sessfullyplete the game. Undoubtedly, the locations where Demons spawned were rted to the locations where crucial events took ce during the period of the Three Kingdoms. To be exact, the locations were whererge numbers of people had been killed in history.

    The ces that had already appeared were Ho Pass, Guandu, and the Red Cliffs. There were also Xiaoyao Ford, Han River, Jieting and other ces that would appearter on. Additionally, there were also Demons that would spawn at locations where natural disasters urred, such as where the Locust gue, the Winter Storm, and the Flood of the Yellow River took ce. In year 217, a pandemic broke out, turning the Central ins into a massive Ghost Demon breeding ground. By that time, there would not be a shortage of Demons to acquire Reiki crystals from.

    Family management, unpredictable human behavior, inheritance across generations¡­Ren Suo wrote down his thoughts on how to sessfullyplete the game. He read through it again and figured it was viable and got ready to restart the game.

    Suddenly, at this moment, his mobile phone rang.

    Ren Suo peered at the caller identification disy and saw that it was an unknown local number. He picked up his mobile phone and said, ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Hello, is this Ren Suo?¡± said a girl on the other end of the line, in a crisp and clear voice.

    ¡°Yes, speaking, you are?¡±

    ¡°I am An Su¡¯yu, a member of the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals. I am calling to inform you that you have been selected to be part of the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals. Please report to the Ministry of National Security at Number 220 Geming Street in Yuexiu District of Lianjiang City by tomorrow. You will officially start work tomorrow.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly shocked. He started, ¡°I am still in my fourth year of university, so only in June can I¡­¡±

    ¡°I am also unsure of the basic remuneration,¡± interrupted the girl at the other end of the line. She continued, ¡°But what I do know is that construction of the training facility in Lianjiang City has beenpleted, and for now, it is only open to civil servants of the nation¡­To be urate, only members of the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals have the authority to ess the training facility. Each person can stay in the training facility for an hour each day.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will report in the afternoon!¡± replied Ren Suo immediately.

    For Ren Suo, ying more games would merely earn him more rewards. On the other hand, bing a civil servant who is a Practitioner a day earlier would grant him earlier ess to the training facility where there is a high concentration of Reiki present!

    Ren Suo was still one with reason¡ªbased solely on the fact that he had only bought the game console as it was on offer, it was not difficult to tell that he was someone who would work hard first and enjoyter.

    It was not as if the Mini Worlds Gaming Console would run away if he left it alone. On the other hand, the next few years of his effort would determine if he could truly be the first batch of Practitioners in Xuan Nation, and be able to live afortable and worry-free life in the future!

    Ren Suo suddenly remembered something as he picked up the game controller and returned to the main page. He selected [Game Characters].

    He was currently equipped with the [Lure of Sweet Dreams] ability, and the back-up ability was [Unlimited Energy]. Since he would be out in the afternoon, it would not harm to be more careful and be equipped with the [Fighter Novice] ability. Furthermore, he was still not familiar and well-versed in the [Clothes] and [Lock] skills.

    However, when Ren Suo saw the [Game Characters] list on the left and right side of the screen, he was stunned.

    [Game Character]: Ren Suo.

    [Equipped Ability]: Lure of Sweet Dreams.

    [Equipped Props]: None.

    [Standby Ability]: Unlimited Energy.

    [Unequipped Abilities]: Fighter Novice, Skill: Clothes, Skill: Lock.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [Game Character]: Ren Woxing.

    [Equipped Ability]: None.

    [Equipped Props]: None.

    [Standby Ability]: None.

 Chapter 50 - Countermeasure Division Team 3

    Chapter 50: Chapter 50 ¨C Countermeasure Division Team 3

    Ren Suo arrived at the Ministry of State Security building and found that it was rtively quiet. He looked around in the main hall on the first level and realized that the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals was located on the third story.

    The Xuan Nation Ministry of State Security was actually a nket name for the 17 offices it epassed, with each office serving a different purpose. The new ¡°Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals¡± was the 18th one to be established. Not every province had a Ministry of Security branch, and not every one of such branches had all 17 divisions set up. For example, the Ministry of Security in Lianjiang City only had the Operational Guidance Division, the Social Research Division, the Science and Technology Investigation Division, the Enterprises Division, and the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals.

    The other divisions, such as the Confidential Communications Division, the International Intelligence Division, and the Counterintelligence Department had not been set up in the Lianjiang City Ministry of Security, as Lianjiang City was not considered as one of the more important cities in Xuan Nation, despite it being a major port city.

    When Ren Suo arrived at the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals, he realized that the office upied the entire third level of the Ministry of State Security building. The various provincial offices governed by the Ministry of State Security were also colloquially called the Ministry of State Security, but in actual fact, the provincial level office should be termed the Provincial Office of the Ministry of State Security.

    When he arrived, Ren Suo contacted An Suyu, thedy who had called him earlier, directly. A youngdy who was in her 20s appeared. Despite her elegant-sounding name, An Suyu had short hair and slightly tanned skin. She appeared attractive with decently good looks and figure. Looking at the girl standing up straight in front of him, Ren Suo felt as if he would be attracted to her at any moment.

    She said, ¡°Follow me.¡±

    An Suyu kept an indifferent expression on her face as she led Ren Suo into room 303 on the third floor.

    She said, ¡°You are now a member of Team Three of the Countermeasure Division. Your identification documents and team uniforms are with your team leader¡­Team Leader You, your team member is here!¡±

    At first nce, there seemed to be no one in room 303, but after An Suyu shouted into the room, arge man with a square-shaped face emerged from behind a pile of paper documents, a ¡°paper wall¡± which was stacked as tall as the projector¡¯s height, at the farthest corner of the room. ¡°A newbie?¡±

    Ren Suo recognized the man immediately¡ªit was You Xulong!

    He was the man d in the ck vest who was in charge of bringing the civil servants from Lianjiang City to the group training ground!

    ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t you know that the Ministry assigned two new members to your team?¡± An Suyu replied fiercely. She continued, ¡°You have always beenining during the meetings that you don¡¯t have enough manpower¡­¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I don¡¯t!¡± You Xulong interrupted. He immediately continued, ¡°There are only two new members? Doesn¡¯t Lianjiang City have over a hundred¡­¡±

    ¡°You want those that have not even fully be a part of us?¡± An Suyu questioned. She turned around to face Ren Suo and said, ¡°Alright, this is You Xulong, your superior and the team leader of Team Three of the Countermeasure Division¡­You should know him, right? He will tell you more about the details.¡±

    ¡°Come over here,¡± You Xulong said.

    You Xulong looked through the huge pile of documents in front of him as if a third senior student looking for his examination paper. Finally, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and said, ¡°This is a contract detailing your remuneration and benefits. Have a look and sign it if there is no issue.¡±

    Ren Suo took the piece of paper and read through it. Arge smile quickly emerged on his face. In the contract, it was stated that there was no probationary period and he would immediately be recognized as an employee. He would receive a monthly sry of 6000 dors and although it did not seem to be much, there would be additional subsidies for meals, transport, and housing. Ren Suo roughly calcted that he would earn at least a five-figure sum each month. And naturally, the division would cover his endowment, medical, unemployment, work-rted injury, and childbirth insurance, as well as provide housing amodation funds.

    Most importantly, after three years, he would be able to apply for zero-interest housing loans up to a sum of five million dors.

    After his initial excitement, Ren Suo calmed down as he continued flipping through the contract. He looked up and asked doubtfully, ¡°Also, don¡¯t we have ess rights into the training facility?¡±

    ¡°Training facility? Oh, training!¡± You Xulong pped his forehead and said, ¡°Ah, this contract was written and printed two months ago, but the training facility had not been built at that time¡­ Entry to the training facility is linked to our work identification document¡­Oh right, let me find your work ID¡­¡±

    Unlike previously when he brought them to the training camp, You Xulong was more rxed and casual when dealing with administrative matters, although he still had a tough and stern-looking square-shaped face. Even Ren Suo who had been extremely nervous had calmed down. He knew that as a Practitioner, the department he would enter would not be just like any other. However, now that he knew that his superior was also a typical person like him, Ren Suo felt more at ease.

    ¡°Ah, so I left it here yesterday,¡± said You Xulong as he pulled out two small notebooks. He nced at Ren Suo as he handed him one of the notebooks and said, ¡°Keep it properly. If you lose it, you would have to pay a recement fee of 65 dors. The training facility is near Stadium West Road and was revamped from the pre-existing sports center¡­Just navigate your way there using GPS.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Ren Suo replied as he took his notebook over from You Xulong. The Xuan Nation g was printed on the brown-colored front cover of the horizontal notebook. The first page contained Ren Suo¡¯s photograph, his name, and the name of the department he worked in. There were also two professional guidelines written on it:

    ¡°1. The holder of this permit has the duty and responsibility to save any Xuan Nation citizen in need of help.¡±

    ¡°2. The holder of this permit has the authority to seek the cooperation of citizens and organizations of Xuan Nation. The Ministry of State Security would be responsible for any resulting loss or damage.¡±

    The first line was a duty while the second was a right.

    Nheless, these two lines sufficiently underscored the weight of the identification book.

    ¡°You understand what this line of work entails, don¡¯t you?¡± Ren Xulong questioned as he patted Ren Suo¡¯s shoulder. He said, ¡°Not just anyone is able to join the Countermeasures Division, and furthermore not just anyone¡­can join Team Three.¡±

    ¡°With regard to this, I still don¡¯t fully understand,¡± Ren Suo said. He asked, ¡°Eh¡­Why was I selected to join the Countermeasure Department?¡±

    Before Ren Suo hade to report, he checked his WeChat messenger on his mobile phone. He had not opened it for three consecutive days while ying his game. Other than calling for food delivery, he had not touched his mobile phone.

    There were few notifications from his chats, given that Ren Suo had been a diligent and hardworking student in school. He used WeChat mostly to contact other people for important matters, and not to chat with his friends.

    The only exception was the group he had been added into a few days ago, ¡®We Are the Future of Xuan Nation¡¯, which he had yet to mute.

    He clicked into the chat group and had wanted to ask for more information about the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals, but found that many other people were already discussing the departments that they were allocated to.¡±

    ¡°Looking for buddies going to the Social Research Division!¡±

    ¡°Social Research Division +1.¡±

    ¡°You all are so lucky to be able to enter the Ministry of State Security, why am I sent to the Baiyun District Ministry of Public Security¡­¡±

    ¡°You are also going to the Ministry of Public Security? Me too! But I¡¯m sent to the Haizhu district branch of the Ministry of Public Security.¡±

    ¡°Cries o(¨i©n¨i)o, have we been left out? Why have I not received any notification yet?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Director Yu is in the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals and that the benefits and career progression there is the best. Did anyone get into that division?¡±

    At this juncture, a user by the name of ¡°Xiao Qiao¡± replied:

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry man, those who are sent to the Ministry of Public Security or the Social Research Division of the Ministry of State Security will also have bright futures like me who has been allocated to the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals!¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, what a braggart!¡±

    ¡°Girl, do you not have any more achievements to boast about?¡±

    Ren Suo was getting annoyed by suchments, and although he had not asked what he had intended to, he could already tell that the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals was an attractive department to be in in the eyes of the civil servant Practitioners. Regardless, Ren Suo still did not know why he had been selected to join the department directly.

    You Xulong looked at Ren Suo and asked, ¡°You have progressed into the transformation phase, have you not?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± said Ren Suo, taken by surprise. He paused for a while and said, ¡°How did you¡­¡±

    Ren Suo had just progressed into the transformation phase three days ago and officially became a Practitioner. How did You Xulong know about this?

    ¡°When you all went through the skill test on the fifth day of your training, we also tested for the estimated period you all will progress into the transformation phase.¡± You Xulong continued, ¡°Those of you who would progress into the transformation phase within the following one to two days would be selected to join the Countermeasure Division directly. Those who needed slightly more time, between seven and eight days to fifteen days, would receive their notification of eptance into the division after they progress into the transformation phase. The rest who needed even more time would be dispatched to other divisions or ministries.¡±

    ¡°As of now, the only criteria to join the Countermeasure Division would be to be a true Practitioner!¡± You Xulong tapped the pile of documents on his table and continued, ¡°Furthermore, we are all very busy here, and with the danger involved in our work, only Practitioners who have passed the transformation phase would be safe.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the only reason?¡± questioned Ren Suo.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the only reason. Do you think you were selected because the Deputy Director likes your face?¡± You Xulong joked. He looked around the office and said, ¡°The other team members are out, performing their duties to search for the ¡®goddess¡¯. I¡¯ll introduce you to them when everyone is back tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Search for the goddess?¡± Ren Suo questioned.

    ¡°Yes, searching for the goddess,¡± You Xulong answered. He continued, ¡°Have you watched the video [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]?¡±

    Ren Suo froze for a moment but quickly rxed as he regained hisposure and said, ¡°Yes, I saw it.¡±

    ¡°You know that everything in the video is real, right?¡± You Xulong continued, ¡°However, I¡¯m sure you did not notice that the goddess in the video, who is the main female character, spoke with a native ent of Lian Province when she said ¡®Thank you¡¯.¡±

    Ren Suo was shocked for a moment and said, ¡°Yes, I think so¡­¡±

    Indeed, Ren Suo had not noticed that before, but now that he thought about it, it was true that when the Seeker spoke in Mandarin, it sounded very pleasant and natural, and so it had to be very simr to the Lian Province native ent.

    You Xulong said, ¡°Because of this, the entire Ministry is currently trying to find traces of the goddess. However, it has been days since we started searching for her, but nothing has been found. I suppose the Ministry would be halting this useless search today.¡±

    You Xulong shrugged and said, ¡°There, this would be your workstation. Now follow us to collect your uniform, you would start work tomorrow and we will take attendance at 9:00¡­¡±

    At this moment, An Suyu suddenly opened the door. She said, ¡°Team Leader You, your other new team member is here!¡±

    Ren Suo turned around to see who was the new Practitioner fortunate enough to be able to work together with him in Team 3. The next moment, however, Ren Suo was stunned as the thirst in his heart arose once again and his heart started palpitating¡ª

    ¡°Hello, Team Leader You,¡± a beautifuldy greeted in smiles. She turned to look at Ren Suo and was slightly surprised, ¡°You are here too.¡±

    She smiled the next second, ¡°I guess we are colleagues now then.¡±

    Indeed, it was Qiao Muyi.

    Based on what You Xulong had said earlier, only Practitioners who had passed the transformation phase would be able to enter the Countermeasure Division, so that means that Qiao Muyi had also passed the transformation phase?

    ¡°You arrived at the right time,¡± said You Xulong. He suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°Oh right, I still need to test you two¡­¡±

    ¡°Test?¡± said Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi as they turned to look at You Xulong at the same time. An Suyu, who was about to leave, also stopped in her tracks as she looked at the two of them in anticipation.

    ¡°Yeah, a test,¡± replied You Xulong as he stretched his hands out and ced them on each of their shoulders.

    The moment You Xulong¡¯s handnded on his shoulder, Ren Suo knew something was amiss¡ªin an instant, he felt one half of his body be numb.

    If that continued, he would lose control of his entire body¡­

    Suddenly, You Xulong violently retracted his hands and smiled at the both of them. He said, ¡°Both of you are progressing well with your [Clothes] skill. It is sufficient to handle the work we do every day here in Team 3.¡±

    Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi exchanged nces and immediately knew what they had been tested on: You Xulong had used the [Lock] skill on them and was testing their ability to resist by using their individual [Clothes] skill!

    It seems that both of them had sessfully resisted him.

    ¡°We will now proceed to collect your uniforms. You two can sign the contractter when wee back,¡± You Xulong said as he walked out of the office light-heartedly. Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi followed closely behind him.

    No one noticed that his hands ced behind his back trembled slightly.

    It was only then that Ren Suo let out a sigh of relief.

    Before he came to report, he deliberated for some time and decided not to equip himself with the [Fighter Novice] ability. Instead, he chose to equip himself with¡ª

    Skill: [Clothes]!

 Chapter 51 - I Am Still A Kid

    Chapter 51: Chapter 51: I Am Still A Kid

    Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi followed You Xulong to the underground warehouse of the Ministry of State Security building, and each collected a specially-made set of uniforms. It consisted of a lightweight tactical vest reinforced with manganese steel which was resistant to shes and cuts, as well as a pair of ck-colored boxers.

    The ck-colored tactical vest was naturally the ones donned by the other members of the Countermeasure Division which Ren Suo had seen before numerous times. He lifted the vest and found that it was not very heavy. The vest did not seem like any ordinary sh-proof vest with manganese steel tes, but rather made from special man-made fibers.

    You Xulong exined bluntly, ¡°This set of clothes is not excellent at preventing shes and cuts, but it is quite water-resistant and dries very quickly. It is also rtively fireproof. Nheless, the main purpose of this set of clothes is to help you avoid streaking in public under any circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Streaking?¡±

    ¡°Although Teams 1 and 2 are the ones usually involved inbat, it would note as a surprise that given that we frequently work in the field, we would also encounter asional unforeseen circumstances,¡± You Xulong said. He continued, ¡°Or perhaps ignorant people on the streets would dare to offend you all¡­¡±

    ¡°Either way, there remains a possibility that you all would need to engage inbat¡ªor at least circumstances in which you all need to protect yourselves. At the present moment, both of you are valuable tactical resources to the nation, and even if any of you havemitted a crime, the case will be handed over to the Ministry of State Security which will then put you on trial.¡±

    You Xulong took a nce at the two of them and said, ¡°But regardless, both of you should still abide by the rules andws of the nation.¡±

    ¡°If you have been given the death penalty, then it would be reported that you have been executed ordingly. However¡­given that you are still valuable tactical resources to the nation, you will definitely not be released so easily¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly taken aback. He took a quick nce at Qiao Muyi to see that she looked disturbed.

    You Xulong continued, ¡°Regardless, just be careful and diligent in your work. Both of you would not have much opportunity to be involved in fights anyway since both of you are not in Team 1 or 2. The other members of the Countermeasure Division generally perform logistical and administrative work. Of course, I don¡¯t mean that both of you would definitely not have a chance to be involved inbat. It could be possible in the future if we expand thebat teams.¡±

    ¡°I have digressed¡­Anyway, the main purpose of this set of sh-proof vest and boxers is so that you will not need to end up naked in a fight.¡±

    Qiao Muyi was stunned as she asked, ¡°Why would we end up naked afterbat?¡±

    ¡°Under normal circumstances, when you all use the [Clothes] and [Lock] skills, your logical mind remains in control of your innate abilities. This means that you all would be aware of the clothes that you are wearing, and will ensure that the [Clothes] formed with Reiki would beyered above your actual clothes,¡± You Xulong said. He continued, ¡°However, when you are in a dangerous fight, you would frequently neglect such details, and as a result when you use [Clothes]¡­¡± As You Xulong spoke, he walked around the warehouse and picked up a piece of cloth. He wrapped the cloth around his arm and even tied a dead knot.

    The next moment, the cloth wrapped around You Xulong¡¯s hand was torn into pieces as if it had been expanded from the inside.

    ¡°There you go,¡± said You Xulong, unfazed. ¡°That is what would happen.¡±

    ¡°If you fail to control the [Clothes] skill properly, the Reiki-fuelledyer of [Clothes] would be formed immediately above your skin, and based on the situation, it could continuously expand and cause the physical clothes that you are wearing to over-expand and burst.¡±

    ¡°However, these two sets of uniforms are specially-made sh-proof clothes¡­Indeed, this is true on the surface, but in actual fact, they were made from a kind of material devised from the techniques of certain Awakened Practitioners. After you have put them on, you just need to spend about 10 minutes to let your Reiki flow into the clothes. In that way, when you use the [Clothes] skill, your expanded Reiki will be able to recognize this set of clothes as your own skin automatically,¡± You Xulong exined.

    ¡°Wow!¡± a slightly delighted Ren Suo said. He looked at the set of clothes and asked, ¡°Is it so powerful? It¡¯s so customizable and adaptable?¡±

    ¡°Can one who is Awakened actually create such special materials?¡± Qiao Muyi questioned.

    You Xulong looked at her and replied, ¡°This isn¡¯t something that one who is Awakened can achieve.¡±

    Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi both understood what You Xulong was trying to imply: One person who is Awakened would not be able to achieve that, but what about arge group of them?

    Suddenly, Ren Suo was slightly more cautious but also hesitant.

    Xuan Nation was now strongly pushing for the development of Reiki techniques and investing all avable resources to train Practitioners and those who are Awakened. Those who were already Awakened were being used to gradually create and develop Reiki techniques vastly different from the typical scientific realm, and rted special products had even been created.

    Without a doubt, in the era when Reiki emerged suddenly, Xuan Nation would continue to gain an advantage with itsrge poption, and strive to remain at the forefront of the Reiki wave to continually enhance the strength and power of Xuan Nation.

    That was why Ren Suo was hesitant¡ªshould I report my peculiar acquisition of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console?

    Ren Suo still had no thorough understanding of the mechanisms of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. He only knew roughly how he could earn more merits and then use them to purchase new games, search for keys, open treasure chests, and then continue earning more merits through ying free games¡­

    The only thing Ren Suo knew for sure was that the events which took ce in the games he yed on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console would be tranted in various ways into real life. But what did all of this mean?

    If I showed the game console to the nation¡­

    Ren Suo fell silent as he pondered. Suddenly, You Xulong pped hard on his back, ¡°It¡¯s time to go back to sign the contract! Have you not seen any new clothes before? What¡¯s with staring at it for so long?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­why is the uniform made of one vest and the pair of boxers?¡± Ren Suo asked casually as he regained hisposure.

    ¡°The vest is for you to wear as the outermostyer when you are working in the field, so people can recognize that you are from the new division of the Ministry of State Security,¡± You Xulong said. He exined, ¡°Ordinary people may not know of such a division, but other people working for the government would know that you are working in the field when they see you. At the least, they would not disturb you, and they may even volunteer to help you.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, smarter people out there should at least figure out that they should not mess with people d in such ck vests.¡±

    Qiao Muyiughed and said, ¡°So it¡¯s like the uniforms of the Embroidered Uniform Guards? Their dragon-embroidered robes?

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s simr to that. Regardless, it¡¯s just a way for people to know that you are part of arger organization and should not be messed with,¡± You Xulong said.

    He continued, ¡°The vest can be seen on the outside, and as for the boxers¡­I suppose I don¡¯t need to borate on that?¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Is there one spare set so that I can wash and dry them?¡±

    ¡°No, I already mentioned that the uniforms dry very quickly. They would be dry by tomorrow if you wash them when you reach home¡­¡± You Xulong replied.

    After Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi signed their contracts and left the office, they added each other on WeChat before they parted ways¡ªtheir mobile phones had been confiscated during the training camp. And when their mobile phones were returned to them, both of them were in a very awkward situation¡­

    Qiao Muyi looked at Ren Suo and smiled as she asked, ¡°You have given up, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    In another world, the answer was no¡ªRen Suo would neverin that he had too many keys. But nheless, Ren Suo would still feel embarrassed when asked such a question in person.

    They added each other WeChat and Ren Suo realized that Qiao Muyi¡¯s WeChat username was ¡°Xiao Qiao¡±. He quickly recalled the message he saw previously. Isn¡¯t that the person who was boasting in the group¡­

    Now that Ren Suo had gotten Qiao Muyi¡¯s WeChat contact, he knew that he would soon get the opportunity to retrieve the key from her, but he did not need it urgently anyway. He went home eagerly and turned on his Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    Before he left home, Ren Suo had discovered a new setting of the game console. He had pondered hard over how he should make use of the setting as he was on the way home, and now, he could not wait to try it out!

    Ren Suo held the game controller in his hand and the moment he turned the game console on, he knew what he wanted¡ª

    He liked feeling the excitement of looking forward to ying games on the game console. He liked feeling the thrill of wrecking his brains to sessfullyplete the game. He liked feeling the presence of the game console linked to him at every moment!

    And this was the secret between him and the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    This was what Ren Suo truly wanted. He hoped that he could keep his secret with the game console forever.

    He wanted to continue ying on the game console.

    He did not want to give this opportunity to anyone else!

    ¡°So I guess I¡¯m still a selfish kid after all¡­¡± Ren Suo mumbled to himself.

    Unless he met with other special circumstances, it was unlikely that Ren Suo would reconsider his decision. But for now, with the emergence of Reiki, when everyone was still finding their way through the unknown, Ren Suo decided that he should fulfill his selfish desires first.

    He wanted to be¡­the world¡¯s only yer!

    ¡°Mini worlds of endless fun await!¡±

 Chapter 52 - Education is a Problem

    Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Education is a Problem

    ¡°You like to read novels, don¡¯t you? But be more discreet about it, man.¡±

    Ren Suo let out a short ¡°ah¡± before quickly turning off his mobile phone. He smiled and said apologetically to Chen Kun, ¡°Sorry, brother Chen Kun, I will take note.¡±

    ¡°Even though we have more freedom when we are out on the field, if something happens and you do not take action in time, it will be recorded down and may affect your resume,¡± Chen Kun reminded. He was not displeased, however, he said, ¡°My stomach hurts slightly¡­¡±

    Ren Suo took the hint and thumped his chest as he said, ¡°Go ahead! Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll be fine watching alone.¡±

    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll leave it to you then!¡±

    Ren Suo watched as Chen Kun walked into the academic block and he took out his mobile phone again. Ren Suo leaned on one of the walls of the stadium and took a quick nce at the junior high students lining up to draw their blood before continuing to read the ¡°Three Kingdoms¡± novel.

    It was the seventh consecutive day of work for Ren Suo¡ªindeed, there had not been any off days for him in between.

    He even had to apply for a leave day to attend his oral thesis defense session toplete hisst year in university¡­

    It was not that there were no days off for those who worked in the Countermeasure Division. In fact, the stated working hours were perfectly normal¡ª9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and off on the weekends. However, as one of the nation¡¯s public service units, their schedule would naturally be affected by the requirements of their work.

    Of course, the Countermeasure Division was not a shady business. Since it was specially established to be the nation¡¯s special unitprising of only Practitioners, thews had to be followed, even if the employee benefits were not the best one could find in the industry. They were naturally paid for their overtime hours, and if their weekends were burned, they could rearrange their off days directly. ording to Team Leader You Xulong, they would be able to rx after this busy period.

    Well, but after this busy period¡­

    For the past seven days, Ren Suo had not been in the office at the Countermeasure Division for more than three hours in total. Most of his time had been spent out on the field with Chen Kun.

    The members of Team 3 were dispatched to work on the field in groups of two or three, based on the danger and difficulty of the mission. Ren Suo was paired up with Chen Kun, who was a former police cadet.

    Chen Kun was one year older than Ren Suo and was a student in a police college, where he was about to graduate to be an official policeman when he was found to have Reiki abilities. Military personnel and students at the police colleges were the first group of public servants to undergo the health examination. He had thus undergone training to be a member of the Countermeasure Division just two months before Ren Suo had been.

    Ren Suo had wanted to be grouped together with Qiao Muyi to forge a closer bond with her, but in order to protect the new members like the two of them, the Countermeasure Division would abide by the practice of the ¡°old leading the young¡±, where the more experienced and more able members would be paired with the new and inexperienced members.

    Nheless, when Ren Suo saw the messages in the WeChat group ¡°We Are the Future of Xuan Nation¡±, he felt relieved that he had not been paired with Qiao Muyi. The messages she sent with the WeChat username ¡°Xiao Qiao¡± had been straightforward and demeaning, often showing off how great the unit she was in had been and sending images of sizzling barbeque dinners. asionally, she even sent suggestive images which would then turn out to be a gif of a female ghost¡­

    Ren Suo felt that if he had been paired up with her, he would soon be pulled down by her and beaten to death.

    Although he had been out on the field every day, his work had not been extremely tiring. To be precise, what Ren Suo and the rest had to do was to don their uniforms and proceed to their destination and watch as people underwent their health examinations.

    For instance, he was now in the stadium of Lianjiang City No. 36 High School, an averagely-performing junior high school. His main task was to supervise the students who were queuing up to have their blood drawn.

    Typically, such health examinations would be arranged by the individual schools where the students would proceed to the health centers nearby to have their examinations done. However, it was said that the higher-ups had ordered that all the schools within the city, from the primary all the way up to the university level, were toplete the examinations as soon as possible. At the least, everyone¡¯s blood had to be drawn, even if there was no time toplete the other checks.

    It was not hard for Ren Suo to figure out that the blood test was the key for the nation to test for one¡¯s Reiki Practice ability. Previously when Ren Suo went through the blood drawing process with the other civil servants, the members of the Countermeasure Division had been the ones supervising them. Now that Ren Suo had be one of the members of the Countermeasure Division, it was his turn to watch as other people had their blood drawn.

    In addition, not only were all the schools required to perform the health examinations, even privatepanies were urged by the government to go through the necessary examinations. Their examinations were actually more crucial than students¡ªas one of the TOP4 first-tier cities in Xuan Nation, Lianjiang City had a resident poption of over 20 million and a floating poption of over 8 million. Each day, a vast amount of people travel to Lianjiang City from different parts of the Xuan Nation to seek better opportunities there.

    Even though there were many students in Lianjiang City, it was a ¡°simple¡± matter whenpared to the evenrger amount of people who were already in the workforce, including white-cor workers and migrant workers.

    It was easy for schools to cooperate and organize the examinations since students were mostly gathered in schools and schools were under the management of the Ministry of Education. With a directive issued, no school could defy the orders from the Ministry.

    Furthermore, there were about 900 primary schools, 300 junior high schools, 150 high schools, and 43 universities in Lianjiang City¡ªseemingly arge number in total? However, this number would just be a small fraction whenpared to the number of small enterprises and private businesses in the entire city!

    It was said that those who were in the other departments were working their tails off having to look through all the information of the working poption making up the resident poption. Compared to them, Ren Suo was fortunate to be tasked to supervise the students who were drawing blood.

    Ren Suo had also asked You Xulong about why they did not disclose the technology to the public which would then encourage ordinary people to get examined at the hospitals by themselves, easing the workload. At that time, You Xulong had just shot him a nce and asked, ¡°Have you ever seen any information online rted to Reiki, regardless if it was from within the country?¡±

    Ren Suo quickly understood¡ªthe recent events that urred in his life had clouded his thinking.

    Ren Suo had wrongly assumed that the development of Reiki wasmon knowledge as he had been in contact with Practitioners recently, and even the higher management had not been too concerned whether the information would be leaked out by them. However, in reality, countries all around the world were silently censoring all the ¡°rumors¡± revolving around Reiki.

    When Ren Suo took breaks from ying his game, he would lie down and watch videos or scroll through his Weibo feed. He would asionallye across peculiar news articles like ¡°Shocking! Revengeful me Soul Appears in Luzhou¡±, ¡°Eating the Hokkiens Exined¡±, or ¡°The Live Show of the Dead Designer¡±.

    However, a short while after he started watching the videos or reading the articles, prompts like ¡°this video cannot be found¡± or ¡°this Weibo has been deleted¡± would appear. If Ren Suo was willing to wait a little longer, he could possibly see that the site had deactivated the uploader¡¯s blog or ount, and inform readers that the uploader was spreading false rumors¡­

    As such, in the current situation when the development of Reiki technology was still in its early stages, nations from around the world all chose to conceal such information from the public while utilizing various methods to gather people with Reiki abilities and be in control of them as early on as possible. In this way, groups formed from Extraordinaires could also be prevented from emerging.

    Ren Suo suspected that the reason why they were taught [Clothes] and [Lock] was because these two abilities did not have much visible effect and would thus not cause suspicions to arise.

    Even if they leaked such information to the public, most people would think that they had just practiced the Thirteen Methods of Taibao or the Induced Paralysis of the Body¡­

    Any actions the nation took rted to Reiki was still kept discreet while performingrge-scale collections of blood samples to find Practitioners.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    Ren Suo looked up from his mobile phone screen to see a male junior high school student trying to escape from having his blood drawn. A female teacher who was standing at the side supervising the line of students quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Wen Junjie! Don¡¯t be scared, it¡¯s just drawing of your blood!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want!¡± the student shouted.

    Ren Suo closed his eyes slightly as he thought silently and waited for his equipped ability [Skill: Clothes] to be reced with [Skill: Lock].

    The reason why the members of the Countermeasure Division were tasked to supervise the drawing of the students¡¯ blood was arge number of students, and there was a high possibility of ¡°striking jackpot¡±, hence they required a member from the Countermeasure Division toe to the rescue in times of need.

    Furthermore, students were different from adults in that they were generally less adapted to society and often had the mindset that the ¡°world revolves around me¡± as they were still growing up. As such, they would be lured by the attractiveness of their Awakened Powers more easily and were hence more dangerous.

    However, Ren Suo had not struck any of such ¡°jackpots¡± for the past seven days. He had heard that there were people Qiao Muyi and her buddy had encountered who just did not want to undergo the examination, although he did not know the details¡ªsuch information remained ssified.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be so lucky¡­¡± muttered Ren Suo as he walked towards the student alone. Chen Kun had not yet returned from the toilet. He asked, ¡°What happened here?¡±

    Perhaps it was due to Ren Suo looking slightly fierce or that the ck vest he wore appeared to give him some evil form of authority, the junior high school student suddenly became anxious and wriggled free from the grasp of the teacher. He backed off a few steps and hollered, ¡°Don¡¯te any closer!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± said Ren Suo as he purposefully stepped forward one step. He stared into the student¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°He is just being yful, I will ask him to have his blood drawn¡­¡± said the female teacher quickly as she extended her hand to grab the student. She said, ¡°Wen Junjie! Stop messing around, or else I would have to call your parents¡ª¡±

    The other students who were also queueing up to have their blood drawn looked over.

    ¡°They can¡¯t tell me what to do either!¡± the student shouted. He seemed to have been triggered as he yelled, ¡°Come any closer and I will not hold back anymore¡ª¡±

    At that moment, the long-suppressed desire arose from within Ren Suo as he looked at the sumptuous male junior high school student¡ª

    Ren Suo did not hesitate any longer as he rushed forward and stretched out to grab the junior high school student! But his speed was indeed not fast enough as the student reacted and was about to raise both of his hands to stop Ren Suo¡ª

    However, he stood no chance against Ren Suo the moment Ren Suo touched him.

    As the student appeared to lose his strength the moment Ren Suo grabbed him, the female teacher quickly held onto Ren Suo and said, ¡°He is just a child, don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°He will be fine,¡± replied Ren Suo as he waved his hands. He said, ¡°He has just lost his strength, but for his own sake, it would be best to let him remain in this state for the time being.¡±

    At this juncture, Chen Kun finally returned from the toilet. He saw Ren Suo holding onto a student and immediately understood what had happened. He quickly called the Countermeasure Division for assistance.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°You hurt your hand?¡± asked thedy manning the counter at the Jianji stall, noticing the bandage on Ren Suo¡¯s right hand.

    ¡°Yes, thanks to a kid,¡± replied Ren Suo as he navigated to Alipay on his mobile phone. He said, ¡°One bowl of Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite an injury,¡± thedy said. She seemed to have had a simr experience and continued, ¡°Kids these days are so hard to teach, they don¡¯t listen, and even if they did, they don¡¯t do it. Sigh¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed, education is a problem,¡± Ren Suo said with augh.

    Ren Suo reached home with his takeaway. He looked at his injured right hand, and although it still hurt slightly, it had its benefits¡ªat the least, You Xulong had given three days off to rest.

    The junior high student had been subdued by the Countermeasure Division, and although he attempted to harm people, due to his age and him being Awakened at such a young age, he would likely not be punished severely, provided that he had notmitted any crimes before that.

    Even though there was no detailed report yet, Ren Suo guessed that his Awakened Power would be rted to the maniption of air to create wind des.

    Otherwise, there was no exnation as to why Ren Suo felt like his palm was cut by a steel de when he grabbed onto the student¡¯s arm.

    Ren Suo had to have eight stitches done in the hospital and it hurt so much he cried; otherwise, You Xulong might not have given Ren Suo the days off during such a busy period.

    ording to You Xulong, Practitioners like Ren Suo would recover more quickly than ordinary people, and he would be able to remove the stitches in three days.

    After a busy seven days, Ren Suo finally had the time to rx. He nned to try out the facilities provided to the Countermeasure Division members at the training stadium for free, and as for the rest of his time¡­

    Of course, he would be staying up to y his game!

    ¡°Education is a problem.¡±

    As Ren Suo opened the game [Over My Dead Body], he could not help but recall that statement.

    ¡°I plead with you, my dear brothers and sisters, please stop causing trouble¡­¡±

 Chapter 53 - This Is Not A Historical Game!

    Chapter 53: Chapter 53: This Is Not A Historical Game!

    ¡°Through the days and nights, as I tear the heavens apart, glorious light will shine and cleanse even the specks of dust on earth~¡±

    Ren Suo wiped the saliva off the corners of his lips as he subconsciously reached out for his mobile phone with his right hand, when he felt a bolt of pain rush through his body from his palm, jolting him awake slightly.

    He held up his mobile phone and nced at the disy to see who was calling. His eyes widened in confusion as he picked up the call and said, ¡°Hello? What¡¯s up?¡±

    It was Li Qingxuan who was on the other end of the line. She said, ¡°Were you still sleeping? It¡¯s almost noon. You were injured, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, every man stays upte at least thirty days a month¡­How did you know I was injured?¡± asked a slightly surprised Ren Suo.

    ¡°We¡¯re in the same division,¡± said Li Qingxuan with augh. ¡°You¡¯re in Team 3 and I¡¯m in Team 6!¡±

    Ren Suo pped his head as he remembered that more familiar faces had joined the Countermeasure Division over thest few days¡ªother than Qiao Muyi, Li Qingxuan, Xie Qiansi, and Zhao Huo had also joined the division.

    They entered the divisionter than Ren Suo as they needed slightly more time before they passed the transformation phase. However, as they were not posted into Team 3, Ren Suo had only found out about their joining the Countermeasure Division through WeChat. In fact, he had never seen them before in real life.

    They naturally did not have much opportunity to meet each other as all of them in the Countermeasure Division had been dispatched to various schools over the city and had not spent much time in the office.

    ¡°News about you subduing an Awakened teenager has made its rounds in the office,¡± Li Qingxuan replied. She said, ¡°I heard that you remained unfaced even though one of your hands was injured and continued using the [Lock] skill on him until the others from the Countermeasure Division arrived to take over¡­That¡¯s so amazing!¡±

    Upon receiving such apliment from a pretty girl, even a slightly slow-witted like Ren Suo could not help but grin in satisfaction. He smiled as he said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m just slightly better than you guys¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be so narcissistic. I merely gave you a smallpliment and you¡¯re so proud?¡± Li Qingxuan said, ¡°Anyway, we really need your help, great master. Xiao Qiao told me that your [Clothes] skill is quite good too. You could even pass your team leader¡¯s test?¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Ren Suo blinked and said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You are able to use [Clothes] and [Lock] so well, looks like you really are a beast in Reiki,¡±mented a slightly impressed Li Qingxuan. She continued, ¡°When I first entered my team, my team leader trapped me without any difficulty with his [Lock], and yet you were able to train your [Clothes] and [Lock] to such a proficient and skillful level in such a short time¡­I suppose different people indeed have different talents, and even with the same resources, people like you would still perform better¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyway, since we have been given two days off, I was intending to train at the training stadium these two days, so I was wondering if I could get some help from you, great, master. My [Clothes] skill saw some improvement but my [Lock] skill is still a far cry from your level.¡±

    Ren Suo stammered, ¡°¡­Ah?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you out on a date,¡± Li Qingxuan said. She continued, ¡°Qiao Muyi, Li Jiamin and the rest of the girls would be there¡­I¡¯m not sure about the guy¡¯s side though.¡±

    ¡°So are you going toe this afternoon? We have agreed to meet at 3 p.m. at the training stadium.¡±

    Ren Suo was fully awake now. He sat upright on the couch as he looked at the timestamp ¡°Year 222, Spring¡± on the top left corner of the television screen in front of him. He remained silent for a few seconds before replying, ¡°I¡­I think I shall give it a miss, I won¡¯t be going.¡±

    Li Qingxuan kept silent for a few moments and said, ¡°All right, I suppose it¡¯s not very convenient for you to leave your house in your current state?¡±

    ¡°Ah? Eh? Yes¡­¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Well then, I will let Jiamin and the rest know that you aren¡¯t feeling well and won¡¯t be able to turn up. But you cannot reject us the next time, grandmaster,¡± said Li Qingxuan with augh before hanging up. Ren Suo looked at his mobile phone for a good while before he finally regained his senses.

    ¡°She¡¯s such a gentle and warm-hearted person¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered. He was not one who liked to talk much, but that did not mean he had low emotional intelligence.

    He knew that Li Qingxuan had helped him find an excuse for not turning up, and even said that she would help to exin to the rest, making sure that Ren Suo would not seem like a ¡°selfish¡± brat. Furthermore, they had wanted to learn from him as they were not as proficient in their Reiki techniques, and it would not have reflected well on Ren Suo had he turned them down without any reason.

    Otherwise, they would have thought that Ren Suo was on a high horse and looking down on them, and he could even be seen as trying to keep a secret technique he discovered to himself, especially in a time when mastering Reiki techniques was important.

    After all, they were of the same social standing and jealousy was not unexpected. If Ren Suo continued in this way, he could easily paint a negative image for himself and lose personal connections with others.

    Such personal connections with others might not be easily felt, but once a person loses all of such connections, he would feel as if life was going against him¡ªthis was something Ren Suo had previously experienced.

    However, even if Ren Suo had the time, he would still have turned them down.

    That was because he had merely equipped the two skills [Clothes] and [Lock]!

    It was just like bringing in a cheat sheet into an examination!

    How could he teach such an experience to them? Not unless they had the Mini Worlds Gaming Console!

    Ren Suo could easily equip himself with [Skill: Clothes] and [Skill: Lock], and he would naturally be able to use those skills, without any prior practice. It was as if he had directly maxed out the levels of the two skills.

    What he had overlooked, however, was that everyone else had just started learning the skills. At the most, some of them would have a stronger foundation and be more proficient at one of the skills, but to be able to train both of the skills to a decent level like Ren Suo seemed to have, it required at least a few months of training which only the first batch of Practitioners had have!

    ¡°I must be more discreet¡­¡± muttered Ren Suo to himself. He had realized that he had been slightly overdoing it recently. ¡°If the higher-ups start to think that I am capable and transfer me to Team 1 or Team 2, I will have to be involved in the fights and that would be troublesome¡­¡±

    Ren Suo did not want to have to pretend to be fond of fighting while fearing it. He would definitely prefer and enjoy a more rxed life where he did not need to be involved inbat. Otherwise, why would he have gone for the civil service entrance examination and apply to work in the district office?

    Was that not because it was a financially stable job that did not require much work?

    Even though he now had the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and had be a Practitioner, Ren Suo would still rather lead a peaceful life. Was ying theputer not fun? Was watching movies not appealing? Or were the recent novelsing to an end? Why would anyone choose to go to a ce where their lives would be endangered to fight?

    As Ren Suo looked at the screen, he felt like asking the same question to the Ren brothers¡ªwhy won¡¯t you all be good and not cause any trouble?

    The current save file he was on was the thirty-sixth one he had created over the past few days. Apart from the first save file which he gave up after year 206, the other save files were used by Ren Suo to experiment.

    When Ren Suo created the second save file, he found that, although the head of the house had the same surname and name, the gender, age, and names of the three characters were instead assigned randomly¡ªthe worst he had encountered was when one of the characters was already 20 years old at the start of the game and died just three yearster!

    But when he was lucky, the eldest of the three characters would only be 15 years old, and he felt that the difficulty of the game decreased significantly!

    Through the process, Ren Suo also found that the character with the role of the head of the house in the game [Over My Dead Body] could be equipped with abilities in the [Game Characters] menu!

    After many experiments, Ren Suo had figured out the effects the different equipped abilities would have on the main character in the game.

    [Fighter Novice], Attack +0.1, while [The Lure of Sweet Dreams] had no effect. Both of those abilities were essentially useless when equipped.

    [Skill: Clothes], Defense +1, while [Skill: Lock] interestingly added Attack +0.5 and Management +0.5¡ªwhat had Management got to do with [Lock]¡­.

    The only ability that pleasantly surprised Ren Suo was [Unlimited Energy]!

    When the patriarch character was equipped with the ability [Unlimited Energy], Ren Suo found that every round (every season), he would have action points +1!

    The extra +1 action point was actually because the patriarch character could perform two actions each round, although neither of the actions could be an [Expedition]. If Ren Suo sent the patriarch character on an expedition, the additional 1 action point given would be automatically removed.

    Under normal circumstances, however, the extra +1 action point meant that the lead patriarch character could train twice as fast as the rest of the family members!

    Furthermore, when the elder patriarch character dies, the next generation patriarch would automatically be equipped with the ability!

    For example in the current save file, the year was 222 and it was the third generation of ¡°Ren Woxing¡±.

    The first Ren Woxing passed on double attribute points to his own son before he died, who became the second generation Ren Woxing. His own daughter then acquired the second generation Ren Woxing¡¯s attribute points after his further training. When the third generation Ren Woxing took over at the age of 17, younger than her supposed peak at 23 years old, she already had abined attribute score 2.5 times better than thebat power of the second generation.

    But this was not the most beneficial find. What amazed Ren Suo most was that when the patriarch character performed [Spiritual Exchange], the two action points were still effective!

    What did that mean?

    It meant that each time the patriarch character performed a spiritual exchange, it was assured that¡ª

    He could kill two birds with one stone!

    As such, in the first 32 years of the current save file, Ren Suo would always let the patriarch character perform spiritual exchange first, unless the gender of the elf was ipatible, or if the patriarch character was younger than 14 years old!

    It was simply a beneficial tool to increase their poption!

    However, even with such improvements, Ren Suo still found himself unable toplete the challenging game sessfully after staying up the entire night and trying numerous times¡­

    Of course, there was a crucial reason for this. In the year 217, which was the 22nd year of the Jian¡¯an period, a great gue broke out in the Central ins, resulting in arge-scale break out of demons that were strong and powerful. They spawned in extremelyrge numbers, and if Ren Suo could not eliminate all of them quickly, the demons would find their way to the Ren family house and destroy the entire family.

    However, the gue in the year 217 was nothing harder than that of a small boss. The medium boss was the one Ren Suo was currently facing¡ªthe Battle of Yiling in the year 222!

    Ren Suo had previously read the Three Kingdoms and was very familiar with the historical events urring during that time. But in anticipation of the readerining that the entire historical portion is irrelevant, the summarized story is given below: In the summer of year 222, Lu Xununched a fire attack on Liu Bei¡¯s army, resulting in a devastating loss of 80 thousand troops!

    More importantly, out of the 80 thousand troops who perished, many of them were troops hand-picked and trained by Liu Bei for a significant period of time. As they had been burnt to death, an ¡°extraordinarilyrge¡± quantity of Fire Demons appeared in Yiling!

    In the previous save file, Ren Suo had sent all of the Ren brothers to fight¡­but it was simply too challenging. After more than 10 years, the Fire Demons began killing the elves all around the map, and slowly found their way to the Ren family house¡­

    In the current loaded save file, Ren Suo was still thinking hard about how to ovee that challenge. However, the non-yable characters had already helped him make the decision.

    When Ren Suo wanted to send a character out on an expedition, a young man named ¡°Ren Xing¡± suddenly appeared: ¡°My patriarch, since you have concluded that the reign of Han Zhongwang is bound to fall, I am willing to sacrifice myself to convince Han Zhongwang to withdraw his troops!¡±

    Ren Xing was a fourth-generation member of the Ren family and was the biological son of Ren Ying, the third generation patriarch. Fortunately, there was an option to stop Ren Xing, which Ren Suo immediately selected.

    Ren Ying said, ¡°Ren Xing, even if I have to break your legs, I will not allow you to send yourself to die!¡±

    Ren Xing said, ¡°Every one of us has to bear the responsibility for the prosperity of our¡­Ah¡ª¡±

    A system prompt appeared: [Ren Xing has been severely injured. As such, no actions are avable this season.]

    Who cares about not being to perform any action for one season, it was better than sending himself to death! At the least, Ren Xing was more responsible and bothered to tell his mother before he left, giving his mother a chance to¡­break his leg.

    Ren Suo opened the panel showing the list of Ren family members. He looked at the five pathetic names and felt as if he would never be loved again.

    In thest ten years in the game, he had popted the family with more than ten members, but only a few of them died naturally at their age limit of 23. Most of them had died from various strange reasons.

    Some of them fell in love with Diao Chan;

    Some of them colluded with Sun Ce instead;

    Some of them even engaged in a conversation with Zhuge Liang;

    There were many others who felt extremely righteous, or who plotted their own political revenge, wanting to assassinate Li Jue, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and even Sima Yi¡­

    Ren Suo sighed in desperation before he pulled himself together and prepared to continue ying when he saw a text notification appear on his mobile phone.

    It was Xie Qiansi, asking him out for a drink.

    Ren Suo was about to ignore the message when his spirits suddenly fell.

    Then it dawned upon him.

    He recalled that Li Qingxuan seemed to have said that they were given off these two days¡­

    That meant that despite his three days off, he was merely given one extra day off¡­

    Oh heavens, what a sly move from that thick-browed andrge-eyed You Xulong!

 Chapter 54 - Saving Cao Zhi and Findingâ€¦The Goddess of the River of Luo?

    Chapter 54: Chapter 54 ¨C Saving Cao Zhi and Finding¡­The Goddess of the River of Luo?

    Despite the high difficulty of the game, Ren Suo reached the year 222 and was not about to give up so easily.

    Furthermore, in the current loaded save file, the first three generations of Ren leaders were all rare Defense-type characters!

    Other than the uncontroble factors in the game, Ren Suo thought that there was no other better strategy to sessfullyplete the game than having a strong Defense-focused character.

    Even though Ren Suo could select the ¡°Training¡± orders for the characters, he was not able to control the attribute each character would be trained in. Even if Ren Suo selected [Attack] for all the characters, there were still eight different possible attack types they could acquire. There were five melee types and three ranged types.

    Melee types: Double Attack to enemies within the area of effect (Spear); Triple Attack to a single target (Sword); Four times Critical Attack to a single target (Axe); Single Attack to a single target, but vulnerability to attack decreases with each battle (Shield); and Single Attack to a single target, but two moves can be made each round (Warrior).

    Ranged types: Attack a single target on the entire map (Flying Sword); Single Attack to all targets within an intermediate range of effect (Magic); and Attack any target from nearby to far away (Bow).

    Out of the eight possible attack types, the more interesting ones were naturally the Shield type, Warrior type, and the Bow type.

    This time, the characters Ren Suo had sent on the expedition to eliminate the Fire Demons at Yiling were Ren Ying, who possessed the Formidable Shield and Lightning Axe; Ren Wuxie, who possessed the Fiery Fist; and Ren Luoyang, who possessed the Silverwolf Witch Bow. As a team, there were all the three types¡ªShield, Warrior, and Bow.

    A system prompt appeared: [During the expedition, Ren Luoyang saw a group of soldiers being chased by Typhoid Bronze Ghosts.]

    In the year 222, traces of the gue which emerged in Jian¡¯an years ago still remained. For many years, the ¡°gue of Typhoid Fever¡± killed over 20 million people. Of which, a seemingly small proportion of 0.1% of them became Typhoid Bronze Ghosts, which actually amounted to the birth of over 20 thousand revengeful, resentful, and blood-thirsty Ghost Demons!

    No matter how Ren Suo tried to kill all of them, he could only eliminate a few thousands of them in the following few years. As such, it was no rare sight to encounter them along the way during the expedition. As long as the Ghost Demons did not intrude into the homes of the elves, and the elves did not report any matter to the Ren family of Practitioners, the yer would not be able to find the lone Ghosts in the wild.

    Without a doubt, the Ghost Demons would remain in the area where they had died in the initial stages. Ren Suo had relied on the Ren vigers previously to obtain ¡°information¡± about where wars had broken out in the Central ins, and about how many people were killed in the wars¡­ Later on, after Ren Suo had read ¡°The Three Kingdoms¡±. He found out where the wars took ce and no longer needed to seek for such information.

    The Ghost Demons in the ¡°?¡± checkpoint they encountered along the way was nothing out of the ordinary, but with regard to the soldiers¡­

    Ren Wuxie said, ¡°Master, judging from their armor, they seem to be Wei soldiers. We should just let them be.¡±

    Ren Luoyang said, ¡°Wuxie, how could we just leave them be! Their leader is also a powerful Practitioner whose abilities are strong. It is highly possible that they would be able to escape safely. I think that we should make sure that they all perish instead.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ren Suo had not imagined both of them to be against the Cao family. Nheless, only a few of the members in the Ren family sided with Cao Wei, and simrly only a few sided with Liu Bei. The majority of them were less informed citizens who were easily influenced and just rode with the tides. At that time, the name Cao Cao was nothing extraordinary amongst the citizens and after he died two years ago, his son Cao Pi had forced thest ruler of the Eastern Han dynasty to abdicate his position to him.

    Naturally, the members of the Ren family, who had the blood of the Hans, did not favor Cao Cao.

    Even though the abdicated ruler of the Eastern Han dynasty did not fully share the same lineage as the Hans, whom the Ren family pledged their allegiance to, he was nheless a great warrior who descended from Emperor Guangwu.

    Regardless, Ren Suo did not hold any political stance in the game and even though the Ghost Demons had not appeared inrge numbers, they were still ¡®meat¡¯ for him to keep. As such, Ren Suo selected the option [Proceed to eliminate the Ghost Demons].

    Ren Woxing (Ren Ying) said, ¡°My fellow Practitioners and I were predestined to kill demons the day we were born. Till death, we fight!¡±

    In the battle scene, Ren Suo could only control the main character¡¯s actions to battle.

    At the beginning of the battle, [Fiery Fist] Ren Wuxie with an Attack of 34 points swiftly charged into the sea of Ghost Demons, killing a Typhoid Ghost with each of his punches, before he quickly retreated back again to avoid being surrounded by the Ghosts Demons!

    The ¡°Warrior¡± type was a broad term Ren Suo used to ssify special abilities involving the fist, the palm, the leg or the foot. Those included abilities like the Fiery Knife Palm, the Great Ocean Swing Fist, and the Lightning Blitz Leg, although each of the abilities dealt varying amounts of damage to enemies. Furthermore, members of the Ren family who trained those special abilities could move twice in each round of the battle.

    That meant that they could move twice and attack twice in each round, and depending on the abilities they had, their Movement points would increase by 0.1~0.3 for each Attack point they had. They would hence be able to move zingly fast like the wind in the battle!

    If only there were such Warrior-type members in the Ren family before the year 210, Ren Suo would have been sufficiently confident to send each of the Ren family members to different locations to kill more Demons.

    Although Ren Suo was unable to fully control the actions of the other Ren family members (even in battle), he would be able to lead the other members if he sent the character acting as the head of the family out on the expedition together.

    Thereafter, even if Ren Suo did not send the main character to battle, the game AI would still remember what Ren Suo had led the character type to do previously. For example, Ren Suo had led a Warrior-type character to employ the kiting tactic, where he kept a distance from the enemy but still remained within ranged attack distance. Afterwhich, whenever a Warrior-type character engaged in battle (even other unborn Warrior-type characters or those whom he had not led before) would also learn to employ such a tactic in future battles.

    Nheless, that was not surprising to Ren Suo who had alreadypleted the game [The Hitman]. He knew that the game characters were capable of ¡°remembering the knowledge that was taught, taking down notes and even sharing with other students¡±.

    In the meantime, [Silverwolf Witch Bow] Ren Luoyang had also taken out his inherited ¡°Celestial Wolf Bow¡± which had been passed down from the ancestors.

    The Celestial Wolf Bow was actually the bow used by one of the first generation Ren family Practitioners¡ªRen Tiang (Celestial Wolf) utilized such weapon during his entire lifetime. When Ren Tiang passed down his knowledge to the selected second-generation Ren family Practitioner, thetter would be able to perfectly inherit the weapon of the ancestor if he also wielded the bow. Furthermore, there would be additional inherited attribute points.

    [Celestial Wolf Bow: Ranged attacks gain a 1.2 times multiplier boost.]

    Changing to a far-ranged attack, Ren Luoyang was able to select any one target on the entire battlefield to attack with perfect precision!

    If the Warrior type was the most versatile of all the melee types, then the Bow type would be the most well-rounded of all character types. The Bow-type characters were able to switch between close-ranged, mid-ranged, and far-ranged attacks at will. Of which, the far-ranged attacks would enable the character to attack any single target on the entire map with damage greater than all other types except the Sword-type!

    Upon seeing the Ren family Practitioners helping them eliminate the Typhoid Bronze Ghosts, the Wei soldiers turned to escape towards their direction.

    After one round, the two sides were now at a moderate distance from each other. Ren Luoyang switched to a mid-ranged attack and was able to attack three single targets at once!

    If the distance between the two sides were closer, Ren Luoyang would be able to switch to the close-ranged attack and attack five times in one round!

    At this moment, Ren Ying rushed to the front, lifted her shield and raised her enormous axe, then charged courageously into the sea of Ghost Demons! The Typhoid Bronze Ghosts immediately stopped chasing those who were escaping and turned to surround Ren Ying instead!

    A middle-aged schr who had been escaping eximed, ¡°Quick, stop her! She¡¯s going to die!¡±

    Nheless, after one round, Ren Ying remained unscathed, and together with Ren Wuxie and Ren Luoyang, they killed dozens of powerful Typhoid Bronze Ghosts!

    That was the strength and power of the Shield-type Practitioner!

    Shield-type characters could only attack once in each round, but they had the strongest Defense amongst all the character types. If an enemy¡¯s Attack was lower than their Defense, there was no way the enemy could hurt them!

    When an ordinary Ren family Practitioner gets attacked, their remaining Defense points would be calcted by the form [Defense ¨C Attack], and when their remaining Defense points drops to 0, they would be knocked out.

    On the other hand, when a Sword-type Ren family Practitioner gets attacked, as long as the opponent¡¯s Attack is lower than his/her Defense, the damage dealt would still be 0!

    The generations of patriarchs in the current save file were all Shield types. When Ren Suo allocated action points to [Defense] in the [Training] panel, it was more than likely that the patriarch character would train on Defense.

    Combining that with other factors like being the direct descendant or having the same ability type as the ancestor, each generation of patriarchs was able to inherit 40%~50% of the previous patriarch¡¯s attribute points.

    In addition, when each generation of patriarchs trained, they would be able to acquire twice the attribute points due to the bonus given by the [Unlimited Energy] skill.

    Altogether, Ren Ying now had a staggering 75 Defense points!

    She was essentially undefeatable!

    Furthermore, each generation of patriarchs honed their skill of [The Angry Roar Stance], which was simply a skill to mock and paralyze the enemy. The character¡¯s Attack and Defense would be increased by 30% each, and the character would be able to deplete the Vengeance score of enemies within a five square distance.

    The Typhoid Bronze Ghosts stood no chance against Ren Ying, who had a Defense of 97.5 points on the character chart.

    Having spent a few minutes to eliminate the entire group of Demons, the middle-aged schr whom they saved came forward to express his gratitude:

    ¡°I am Cao Zhi, the Prince of Juancheng, and I thank all of you for saving my life. Where do my saviors hail from? Sigh, the Central ins has been gued with diseases for a long time, and Demons continue to roam all about. I had never expected to run into them on such paved roads.¡±

    You were just lucky, Ren Suo thought.

    Indeed, although the Demons lurked everywhere in recent years, the Demons would have chosen to hide in the forests and mountains, and not risk their lives¡ªhad the regr army proceeded to chase them away. If the entire army worked together, it appeared that they would have been able to eliminate the Demons.

    As such, safety would be restored as long as the various armies could chase the Demons away from the roads. On the other hand, the remaining minor problems like subduing the Demons who hid in the mountains and forests, and rescuing the civilians who did not live in the city could then be solved when the kingdoms were united.

    Ren Suo realized that Cao Zhi was unlike any of the other generals and warlords like Lu Bu, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Zhao Yun. He did not seem to be suspicious or provoked. He thought, how could I have forgotten¡­

    In 222 AD, Cao Zhi was conferred the title Prince of Juancheng. On his way home, he penned a love poem to his lover, ¡°Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River¡±¡­.

    Ren Woxing (Ren Ying) said, ¡°We are the Ren family, I am Ren Woxing.¡±

    Cao Zhi was taken aback. He asked, ¡°Am I meeting the famous Ren family renowned for eliminating Demons?¡±

    After an exchange of greetings, Ren Suo thought that Cao Zhi would repay them by rewarding them with treasures, and that would be the end of the segment. However, Cao Zhi said, ¡°All of you are truly Demon killers who care for the world. All of you do not seek fame and even rejected my father¡¯s offer to work for him. I am truly grateful but have nothing to offer, except¡­¡±

    Following behind Cao Zhi were his personal troops who were the best in his army and had 19 Attack and 21 Defense (revealed by Ren Ying after scouting). The valiant General suddenly said, ¡°Your Majesty, are you really¡­¡±

    Cao Zhi said, ¡°Even if I had been able to escape without the help from the Ren family Practitioners, all of you would have died in the wrath of the Demons instead. All of you are my treasured and precious troops, what else couldpare to losing you all?¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly surprised¡ªnot because he thought that Cao Zhi was good with words and easily appeased the troops, but because he was surprised what Cao Zhi was intending to give him.

    Ren Suo scrutinized Cao Zhi¡¯s avatar. Yes, he looked like a pretty middle-aged uncle.

    On the other hand, the head of the Ren family, Ren Ying, was a young and beautiful girl who was just over ten years old. Could it be that the old Cao Zhi was using his figure to try his luck with the young Ren Ying?

    Please do not do this to me, Ren Suo thought as he recalled the four or five members of the Ren family who had previously fallen into a love trap or secretly engaged in a prohibited act and thereaftermitted suicide or fallen into depression with their training rates dropping below 1¡­

    Even though he was still in control of the main character who was the head of the Ren family, Ren Suo was still slightly afraid of such undesirable consequences.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°This is a jade pendant that my father bestowed upon me and it is said to be a token of the gods. I am not sufficiently skilled and have only been able to see mere shadows of the goddess, in my dreams. I only remember the appearance of her as she tripped lightly like a startled swan¡­To repay the kindness of saving my life, and so as to not let this treasure go to waste, I hope you ept my token of appreciation.¡±

    A series of prompts appeared: [You have received the ¡®Jade Pendant of the Goddess of the Luo River¡¯.]

    [You have discovered the exact location of the Goddess of the Luo River!]

    [You may now perform Spiritual Exchange with ¡®Goddess: Mi Fei¡¯!]

    [There is a great difference between a Spiritual Exchange with an elf and a god/goddess! The talented child of Gods/Goddesses will have blessed unique talents. When you encounter difficulties, do not forget about these talented children.]

 Chapter 55 - White-Eyebrowed Ma Liang and The Goddess of the Luo River, Mi Fei

    Chapter 55: Chapter 55 ¨C White-Eyebrowed Ma Liang and The Goddess of the Luo River, Mi Fei

    Realizing that Ren Ying and Ren Wuxie would only survive until the age of 20, Ren Suo felt that he would not be able toplete the mission sessfully, and the current game save would be rendered useless again.

    It was no exaggeration to say that the previous expedition was a massive failure. The three strongest members of the Ren family had been sent on the expedition to Yiling to eliminate the Fire Demons: Ren Ying, with the Formidable Shield and Lightning Axe; Ren Wuxie, with the Fiery Fist; and Ren Luoyang, with the Silverwolf Witch Bow. They could well have been the best and most formidable team in the Ren family¡¯s entire history¡ªalthough there were only a few of them who could be sent on expeditions.

    However, Ren Wuxiended himself on the brink of death twice and Ren Ying once. Had Ren Luoyang and Ren Ying not have sufficient [Recovery] points, Ren Wuxie would not have been able to survive the battle and return home.

    But losing Ren Wuxie would not have been as heartbreaking for Ren Suo as Ren Ying, the current head of the family, losing one year of her life.

    The character with the role of the head of the family could be equipped with abilities, and thus Ren Suo had always equipped them with the [Unlimited Energy] ability. Based on the rules of the game, the side-effect of [Unlimited Energy] was that her lifespan would be cut in half when she became the head of the family. In that case, her lifespan would only be 12 years long, instead of the usual 24 years of the Ren family members.

    But in reality, because Ren Ying had not been equipped with the ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± ability before she took on the role as the head of the family, she had a typical lifespan even until the age of 15. Even if she was equipped with the [Unlimited Energy] ability thereafter, Ren Suo would still take the trouble to unequip the ability from the main menu.

    This was because the [Unlimited Energy] ability had no effect during expeditions, and leaving it equipped would only waste one season of time in her life.

    However, even by doing so, Ren Ying¡¯s lifespan would still be cut short to 21 years long due to the doubled rate in her training. Although Ren Ying had already undergone a spiritual exchange once, Ren Suo still hoped that she could give birth to more pairs of twins to increase the poption of the Ren family.

    And when Ren Ying had her lifespan cut short by one year, 10 attribute points were also stripped off her, and she lost one chance to bear a pair of twins!

    The Fire Demons stronghold in Yiling was truly scary.

    It was not scary in the sense that the Fire Demons had a high DPS (damage per second). In fact, regardless of their Attack, they still stood no chance against the Defense of Ren Ying.

    As long as the enemy¡¯s Attack was lower than the Defense of Ren Ying, who was a Shield-type character, it was just a matter of time before sessfully eliminating all the Fire Demons, if she managed to attract the attention of the enemy.

    After all, it was a turn-based battle and Ren Suo could not control any of the other characters, apart from the head of the family, and hence there was not much difficulty in navigating the battle.

    However, even with Ren Ying¡¯s unbeatable Defense, the problem was that they could not escape from being surrounded by the attacking Fire Demons!

    With the aid of the [Scout] ability of Ren Ying, Ren Luoyang, and Ren Wuxie, the attributes of an ordinary Fire Demon was gathered:

    [Fire Demon]

    [Attack 15, Defense 20, Movement 10]

    [Elite: They had been a part of the Elite Forces when they were alive. After their death, they retain their military might as an elite. When there are more than 5 allies within a 5 tile radius, they gain an Attack boost +5 and Defense boost +5.]

    [de of mes: Their weapons have been cursed by the mes of Fire, and their every attack would cause fire-type damage.]

    [Radiating Vengeance: When the Emperors of the Han Dynasty regained the throne, the Fire Demons felt that they needed to help restore peace in the world instead. Their determination turned into an obsession, and you would be able to feel theirpulsion from far away. They want you to feel their pain and their dissatisfaction. In each round, enemies within a 1 tile radius would receive a Defense damage of -1, but will not result in death.]

    To be honest, the attributes of the Fire Demons were not uneptable, even though their attributes basically doubled to tripled from that when they had still been alive. Even if they attacked in waves, the Ren family Practitioners were still able to defeat them.

    However, their [Radiating Vengeance] abilitypletely destroyed the advantage Ren Ying had as a Shield-type warrior.

    Although [Radiating Vengeance] was not an Attack ability and would not trigger her passive effects, but once the Fire Demons start to surround Ren Ying, her Defense would drop based on the number of Fire Demons directly around her!

    Even though she had a Defense of 97.5 points, therge number of Fire Demons who would surround her was insurmountable! Furthermore, this was merely the effect of ordinary Fire Demons. There were also other stronger enemies like the Hungry Fire Demon Leader and the legendary General of the Shu-Han army, who had died in the historical battle of Yiling!

    For example, the strongest three members of the Ren family had previously encountered ¡°White-Eyebrowed Ma Liang¡±, and it was then when Ren Wuxie, who moved like the wind, was instantly dealt with by an almost fatal blow from Ma Liang!

    [White-Eyebrowed Ma Liang]

    [Attack 35, Defense 100, Movement 10]

    [Pce Attendant of Han Dynasty: In the absence of the higher ranking General of the Shu-Han Army, Ma Liang can control the movement of any single ally.]

    [¡°Authority of the White Eyebrows: When there are more than 5 allies in a 5 tile radius, Attack +10, Movement +5.]

    [Fire-type Ability ¨C ming Eyebrows: When Ma Liang was burnt to death, only his eyebrows remained unscathed with his ash-ck body. The Reiki of Grievance revived him then, and he naturally acquired the ability of the ming Eyebrows. A middle-ranged fire-type attack on a single target.]

    Such a famous historical figure like the General of the Shu-Han Army, paired with an extraordinarily high Defense, was essentially the boss of every battle.

    The [Fire-type Ability ¨C ming Eyebrows] was deceivingly harmless. Of course, the ming Eyebrows ability still paled inparison with the abilities of the Ren family Practitioners.

    However, the problem was that in the Central ins, only the Ren family of Practitioners had a proper training system and a long history of such abilities. Most other people did not possess any such abilities, even if they were able to feel the presence of Reiki.

    And even if they did possess such abilities, they would have been innate, naturally acquired ones, like that of Ma Liang. Such abilities seemed powerful but were naturally iparable to those which had been passed down for numerous generations from ancestors to their descendants, and which had even been acknowledged as treasured abilities by Emperor Wu of Han!

    Emperor Wu of Han had rightly believed that the descendants of those with the blood of the champion only needed to safe keep those abilities, and pass them on to the descendants of the Han Dynasty in times of crises to avert dangers.

    Why had the Ren family of Practitioners always thought of killing the warlords to unite the kingdoms more quickly?

    It was because none of the warlords would be able to defeat the Ren family of Practitioners!

    Even if the great historical generals like Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, the Xiahou brothers, Zhang He, and Lu Meng, had now be Practitioners, but regardless of their talents, they would never be able to surpass the level of the Ren family of Practitioners who had the blood of the champion running through their veins!

    No matter how powerful their naturally acquired abilities were, they would never beparable to those possessed by the Ren family of Practitioners which had been passed down from ancestor generations to their descendants!

    However, if the enemy possessed a far-ranged ability with a strong Attack, the fundamental weakness of the Ren family Practitioners would be exploited¡ª

    There were too few members in the Ren family.

    At the current juncture, Ren Suo could not afford to let anyone of the members of the Ren family members die. If anyone of them were on the brink of death, he would immediately head back home and let them recover. Had there been more members in the Ren family, with at least seven to eight who were as strong as Ren Luoyang, Ren Suo would have been able to afford to lose a few of the Ren family members in the battle against the Fire Demons, even if there were barely twenty of them in total.

    Furthermore, when they faced with over a hundred Fire Demons in each battle, and the Shield-type Practitioner Ren Ying was surrounded by eight Fire Demons in each round, she would receive Defense damage of -8 per round. After five to six rounds, Ren Ying would also have to face her death.

    More importantly, in order to clear all the Fire Demons at their stronghold, they had to battle at least five times. And each time, the General of the Shu-Han Army would be different, and the number of Fire Demons spawning would increase.

    Ren Suoid down on the couch as he looked at therge and grand main hall of the Ren family house and sighed.

    As the number of vigers in the Ren family vige increased, the main hall of the Ren family house also became more beautiful. It was now the year 222 in the game and the poption of Ren vigers had surpassed 1200, unlocking more advanced protective armor for the Ren family Practitioners to equip, as well as increasing the training rate of the Ren family Practitioners.

    But Ren Suo did not feel any sense of pride or achievement. All he thought about was whether there was a betterbination of Practitioners to send on the expeditions.

    There were no restrictions on the number of people who could be sent on an expedition, except that each team could only have four people. However, the yer could send multiple expedition teams in the ¡°Start Expedition¡± menu.

    The problem was then¡ª

    That there were only five people in the Ren family.

    One of them was only 13 years old and was still in training; one of them was only five years old, who was one of the twins born between Ren Ying and a male elf during her first Spiritual Exchange. He was the fourth generation of Ren family Practitioners, Ren Xing.

    At the young age of five, Ren Xing already wanted to advise the King of Hanzhong to withdraw his troops, aptly disying the high level of political consciousness of the Ren family. Ren Suo suspected that Ren Xing would act recklessly the moment he turned 14 and could be sent on expeditions.

    Although it was not mentioned in the game, Ren Suo suspected that after he read ¡°The Three Kingdoms¡±, the head of the family in the game seemed to automatically acquire memories of the relevant knowledge, and would even impart the knowledge to the other Ren family members.

    At this point, one may question, what happened to the other one of the twins? He had died earlier on.

    It was actually a mistake on Ren Suo¡¯s part¡ªif none of the members who remained at home to look after the house were trained in [Recovery] when the poption of the Ren vigers was moderatelyrge, the children in the Ren family who were below eight years old were susceptible to deadly illnesses.

    It was in the year 219 during the final period of the breakout of the epidemic in the Central ins when he contracted a deadly illness and died, as none of the Ren family members remaining at home during one of the seasons had been trained in [Recovery].

    Nheless, such incidents could have been avoided if there were more members in the Ren family.

    And that would lead back to the problem of theck of education¡­

    The members of the Ren family would frequently be involved in the historical turmoil for all sorts of strange reasons and die very early on.

    But no matter the oue, Ren Suo had no choice but to try again¡­

    Ren Suo sighed as he prepared to start another game. However, at this moment, he thought of the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of the Luo River that Cao Zhi had given to him.

    He selected [Spiritual Exchange] and indeed he found the option ¡°Mi Fei¡±.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo was stunned.

    [Mi Fei. A member of the family. Type: Water.]

    Aren¡¯t Reiki crystals used to exploit¡­no, trade with elves for Spiritual Exchange?

    Why is the price for the Spiritual Exchange with Mi Fei a member of the family?

 Chapter 56 - What on Earth, Exploiting Nature

    Chapter 56: Chapter 56 ¨C What on Earth, Exploiting Nature

    ¡°What¡­what on earth is this, it¡¯s daylight robbery!¡±

    Although Ren Suo was still on the couch, his body was tilted at a 60¡ã angle towards the television screen. If it were 10 years ago, he would have been treated to a tight p from his father¡ªwere you so eager to develop myopia from sitting so close to the television screen?

    The words on the screen were actually rtivelyrge, and Ren Suo could see them clearly even when he was lying down on the couch. The only reason he was staring so close to the screen was that he was intrigued¡­and excited!

    An avatar from [Over My Dead Body] was being shown on the screen. It was a small and cute little girl who was dressed in white. A faint, blue glow radiated out from her as she walked along the stream, a lotus emerging with each step she took!

    [Ren Ying]

    [Age: 1]

    [Lifespan: 23]

    [Attack 28, Defense 75, Scout 12, Movement 13, Recovery 5, Management 10]

    [Inherited Ability ¨C Abundant Fury of the Holy Force: Inbat, Attack +35%, Defense +35%, and enemies within a 5 tile radius would be forced to attack oneself. This is a single target water-type attack.]

    (Inheritance: The Holy Force (Ren Woxing), Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Nu), Abundant Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Ying).)

    In theory, every Practitioner of the Ren family would only have one attack ability, and each Practitioner would bear children with simr abilities to themselves. If members of the family have the same abilities, the abilities they pass down to their descendants during the [Inherit] process would have evolved.

    In the previous scenario, the head of the Ren family in one generation acquired the ability [The Holy Force]. After the Inheritance process, the subsequent head of the family acquired the evolved ability [Fury of the Holy Force]; the third head of the family then acquired the subsequently evolved ability [Abundant Fury of the Holy Force].

    However, there were exceptions to that, such as when the Ren family Practitioner was weaker than the elf during the Spiritual Exchange. Ren Suo figured that there was a form topare the strength of the two characters involved with two variables: one was the ¡°Total Attribute Score of Practitioner¡±, and the other was the ¡°Number of Reiki Crystals Required for Exchange with Elf¡±. Comparing the two values would determine the inherited ability of the children.

    In the case that the Practitioner was weaker than the Elf, the nature of the ability acquired by their children would be based on that of the Elf. Of course, that was not necessarily a bad thing. Even after acquiring the ability corresponding to the type of the Elf, the newborn character¡¯sbat power would not be lower than that of the other Ren family members. In fact, that could mean diversifying the types of abilities possessed by the Ren family.

    The only other case was that the Practitioner overpowered the Elf; there were no exceptions.

    That meant that throughout the game, each character would only have at most one ability forbat.

    However, Ren Ying had yet another inherited ability!

    [Inherited Ability ¨C The Rhapsody of the Goddess of the Luo River: Grants immunity to all water-type and fire-type damage. Water-type attacks deal 4 times the damage.]

    What!

    A!

    Beast!

    Upon seeing the details of the ability, Ren Suo¡¯s eyes almost popped out!

    Both of the abilities could be stacked and take effect at the same time!

    She was an extraordinarily powerful warrior with both Axe-type and Shield-type forms, and was immune to all fire-type and water-type damage!

    More importantly¡ª

    She was only one year old!

    And she perfectly inherited all the attributes from the previous generation!

    Interestingly, she was also not bound by the usual restrictions and at just one-year-old. She could train, go on expeditions, and even¡­take part in the spiritual exchange.

    Although she only had a lifespan of 23 years, Ren Suo could still continue surviving in the game for another 23 years!

    In the scene on the screen, the small girl Ren Ying was confused and asked, ¡°I¡­Didn¡¯t I die?¡±

    Ren Luoyang said, ¡°Master, you are still alive. You were rejuvenated and brought back to life by the goddess and you now reside within her.¡±

    Ren Suo opened the [Spiritual Exchange] menu and found that the ¡°Goddess: Mi Fei¡± option had indeed disappeared. He sighed to himself but he had already expected it¡ªthere were likely only one or two chances in each game for a character to be revived and even inherit a super ability.

    In actual fact, had he not saved Cao Zhi¡¯s life by coincidence, Ren Suo would never have found out about such an easter egg hidden in the game.

    Mi Fei, the Goddess of the Luo River, was naturally not Lady Zhen whom Cao Zhi fell in love with in history. Instead, Mi Fei was the daughter of Fu Xi in ancient legends and mythologies, who fell in love with the scenic beauty of the riverbank of the Luo River. She descended from the heavens and then became the Goddess of the Luo River.

    Gods and Goddesses were definitely not a definite urrence in every game. In other words, Ren Suo might only have found out about their existence when he hadpleted the game at least once but wanted to achieve a higher score with an ¡°Extraordinary¡± rating.

    Ren Suo had not known about the powers of the Gods and Goddesses either. He had only been experimenting in the current game save as he had thought that he was not able toplete the objectives sessfully. It was only then that he found out that the Spiritual Exchange with ¡°Goddess: Mi Fei¡± was open to all genders, which meant that both males and females could perform Spiritual Exchange with her.

    Naturally, Ren Suo chose Ren Ying to have Spiritual Exchange with Mi Fei after equipping Ren Ying with the [Unlimited Energy] ability.

    Mi Fei said, ¡°¡­This is interesting.¡±

    The cost of the Spiritual Exchange was the loss of the member used for such exchange with Mi Fei. As such, during the process of Spiritual Exchange with Mi Fei, Ren Ying naturally ¡°disappeared¡±.

    Nheless, she returned!

    [Unlimited Energy] had not resulted in any effect during the Spiritual Exchange¡ªthere was still only one Ren Ying.

    However, at just one year old, the head of the family Ren Ying had perfectly inherited the attributes of the previous generation and acquired two inherited abilities. She had fully matched up with the Goddess Mi Fei¡¯s attributes!

    Ren Suo took a deep breath and felt that he was not far from fulfilling the mission objectives andpleting the game!

    It was now the year 223 and the Fire Demon stronghold in Yiling no longer posed any dangers. However, subsequently, there were still the Six Expeditions from Mount Qiunched by Zhuge Liang, the Two Floods of Jingzhou, and the Conquest of Shu by Wei in the year 263, as well as the numerous incidents and big bosses (Ren Suo suspected that Zhuge Liang could even turn into a Ghost Demon) that Ren Suo had to defeat.

    But nheless, it was without a doubt that with the ¡°new¡± Ren Ying, the Ren family was getting closer to surviving until the year 266! That was the second year after Emperor Wu of Jin took over the throne.

    If the year 265 was the final year during which both the Wei and Jin forces remained at war, then the year 266 would undoubtedly be the start of the unified Jin Dynasty. It seemed that the final checkpoint of the first objective in [Over My Dead Body] was the founding of the Jin Dynasty.

    Although Ren Suo¡¯s hand had almost fully healed and he needed to return to work the next day, he was confident that he would be able to aplish the objective of the game that day!

    I¡¯m going to get my first blood! Ren Suo thought as he headed downstairs for dinner. He ordered a bowl of piping hot Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets in fried bean sauce, as per usual. Ren Suo checked his mobile phone as he ate and saw a video clip shared in the WeChat group, ¡°We Are the Future of Xuan Nation¡±.

    The video was titled: ¡°Exploit nature to be Awakened! Extraordinaire teaches you how to acquire Awakened Abilities!¡±

    ¡°This video is probably real, right?¡±

    ¡°Watch it fast, it¡¯ll probably be deleted very soon.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you send this video into the group to close the group down? /grimace¡±

    ¡°No way, no one here is being monitored right? /funny¡±

    Xiao Qiao said, ¡°I hereby dere solemnly that I have not participated in any discussion in this group, and do not understand the topics discussed within. I have also not interacted with any of the members of this group in person. I willply with and cooperate in any investigations conducted by the relevant departments without hesitation.¡±

    Thereafter, a long chain of the same messages ensued: ¡°I hereby dere solemnly that I have not participated in any discussion in this group, and do not understand the topics discussed within. I have also not interacted with any of the members of this group in person. I willply with and cooperate in any investigations conducted by the relevant departments without hesitation.¡±

    ¡°I hereby dere solemnly that¡­¡±

    Exploit nature? Awakening? Slightly curious, Ren Suo clicked on the video. He did not have any Extraordinary powers and he thought that the video must be worth watching as a reference since the members of the group had said that the video was real.

    In the video, there was a balcony of a tall building, and in the background were numerous buildings of varying heights, as well as a busy main road. A seemingly tough man with a sharp face was standing on the balcony, facing the camera. He spoke with a clear and defining tone of the Xuan Nationnguage. He started, ¡°Hello everyone, I am Li Le.¡±

    ¡°Before I begin my exnation, regardless whether you believe me, we have to first assume that Extraordinary powers are real and that Extraordinaires truly exist. The world we live in today¡­is no longer as simple and naive as what the nine years ofpulsory education that everyone has been through have taught you,¡± he said.

    ¡°Also, I hope that you have already watched [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]. Otherwise, you would not be able to understand many of the concepts I would be talking about!¡±

    At this point, Ren Suo choked and the noodles he had just sucked into his mouth flew out in a whoosh.

    What has this got to do with [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]?!

 Chapter 57 - I Am Actually So Great and Mighty

    Chapter 57: Chapter 57 ¨C I Am Actually So Great and Mighty

    ¡°The Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening is based on the video [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters].¡±

    In his clip, Li Le said, ¡°After watching that video, many of you would have thought that the video was fake, and did not n to look into it in more detail.¡±

    ¡°But some people went back to look at the evidence presented in 54P and saw the truth with their own eyes¡ªthat the entire video was real.¡±

    ¡°And most of these people who believed the video to be real would also have thought that this female goddess¡­No, I don¡¯t like to use the word ¡®goddess¡¯ to describe her, because the girl had challenged and subsequently ovee nature, and I would not use such passive words like ¡®goddess¡¯, which signify an ¡®end¡¯ of a journey, to describe her.¡±

    ¡°I am from Xuan Nation, and in Xuan Nation, we have an old saying: ¡®One has not lived in vain if one dies after being told of the right path¡¯. The girl we see in the video did not wait in agony for the holy beings to impart the knowledge of the right path. Instead, she set out on her own, oveing nature, and finally learned the right path.¡±

    ¡°I call her, the Seeker.¡±

    Li Le walked to the edge of the balcony he was on. If he were to nt slightly to the side and lose his bnce, it was highly likely that he would fall 24 stories down onto the ground far below. There would have been no chance of survival and his body would have been smashed into pieces!

    ¡°Over thest few days, I finished watching all of the 54P of the video¡ªyes, it took me a total of 4 days, 11 hours and 43 minutes. After 6463 minutes, I finished watching every, single, one, of the video.¡±

    For some unknown reason, as he looked at the eye bags on Li Le¡¯s face, Ren Suo felt as if whatever Li Le had said was extremely convincing.

    Li Le said, ¡°I witnessed the entire transformation of the Seeker. Throughout her journey, she did not rest, nor did she eat or drink. And yet, with a haggard face and fragile figure, she managed to aplish what had previously been thought to be humanly impossible and reached the peak of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°Those who believed that this video was real might have thought of reasons to prove the authenticity of her conquest: she could have been a robot warrior made by the Pacific Federation, or a super-woman who was transformed and acquired special powers after being bitten by a spider, an ant, or a praying mantis, or even a mutant whose powers suddenly awakened¡­¡±

    ¡°But I say that she isn¡¯t someone as mysterious as many of you think,¡± Li Le said in an extremely confident tone. ¡°The Seeker, she is just an ordinary person!¡±

    An ordinary person?

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. He had not thought that anyone would have figured so.

    Given that the Seeker not only had ¡°inhumane strength¡±, could climb the cliffs to reach the peak with her bare hands, and even had extraordinary reflexes which allowed her to react instantaneously to avoid danger in precarious situations which urred tens to hundreds of times, it was no surprise that virtually no one believed that the Seeker was a real person when Ren Suo was watching the video on Giligili¡ª

    It had to be the work of special effects, or otherwise, she would have to be a robot, or an Extraordinaire.

    Regardless, it seemed impossible that she was an ordinary person.

    Unless the United Nations had amended their definition of an ordinary person.

    Li Le continued, ¡°No, you did not get me wrong. The Seeker is just an ordinary person. I can show you an unending list of examples to prove my point, but all that would be useless¡ªyou would still not be able to believe that an ordinary person could survive without sleep or rest for five consecutive days while conquering the 10000-meter-tall peak.¡±

    ¡°But this truth is of no value either, you may argue. What benefit does it bring us even if she really were an ordinary person?¡±

    ¡°Actually, she is indeed an ordinary person, and there are benefits for us to gain from that.¡±

    ¡°Why did she participate in such an extreme challenge and not stop to rest, even for a moment? Why did she climb the 10000-meter-tall mountain and put herself in danger a countless number of times? Why did she¡­disappear in the light at the end?¡±

    ¡°That is all because, through such a method, by thriving near death, she was willing to risk everything to seek the right path!¡±

    As Li Le stood on the edge of the balcony, he assumed a striking pose with his eyes shining, full of energy!

    Suddenly, he stepped forward heavily with his right foot on the edge of the balcony. He straightened his body upright like a pencil, and with a swift movement from his waist, he twisted his upper body and threw a powerful punch forward!

    Ren Suo continued watching nervously. That was amonly seen move, and even though Li Le threw a punch with much force, Ren Suo would usually not have taken a second look.

    However, Li Le was doing all that on the edge of a balcony, high above the ground on a tall building!

    If he were to make a single mistake, or even lose his bnce slightly¡­

    Ren Suo could tell that Li Le was also feeling nervous. He did not dare to look elsewhere and the veins on his arms were prominent. The thick jugr vein on his neck was also bulging.

    However, he did not stop there but instead continued showing off his moves on the edge of the balcony!

    Ren Suo had seen some of the martial arts like Karate, Taekwondo, and the more rxed Tai Chi before, but had never learned any of them. The only form of martial arts he knew was perhaps Set Eleven of Radio Calisthenics for primary and secondary school students.

    Nheless, Ren Suo could tell that Li Le was extremely natural and fluent with his moves. Each punch and kick was forceful and purposeful. His strong build added to his tough, metal-like figure, and no one would feel like resisting him in a fight.

    Just by looking, Ren Suo felt like he could beat someone to death!

    With his brute force, he could punch anyone to death!

    In fact, there were many martial arts practitioners like Li Le in Xuan Nation. Apart from practitioners of the traditional Chinese Ba Gua Zhang (Eight Trigram Palm) and Xing Yi Quan (Form-Intention Fist), Japanese Karate and Kendo, Korean Taekwondo, as well as hobbyists who learn martial arts to keep fit, the rest were masters of their trade. They were Grand Masters of the various martial arts clubs in the different towns and regardless of their techniques, they had to have very strong foundations in their martial arts.

    In terms ofbat techniques, they might just be slightly stronger than the gangsters on the street¡ªthe masters of martial arts usually spar with others to learn from one another, while on the other hand, gangsters were frequently brutal in their attacks on people.

    Regardless, their muscles, lower body, and stance would definitely be trained to near perfection, and each of their moves would be strong and powerful. One move of theirs would be sufficient to make an ordinary person lose all of their strength.

    Li Le was just like one of them. Even though he was showcasing his moves on the edge of the balcony, his lower body remained firm and rooted to the ground. He did not shake or shiver at all¡ªhe would have fallen 24 stories otherwise¡ªand it was as if he was a rock connected firmly to the balcony, unable to be moved in the strong wind!

    After about three minutes, Li Le seemed toplete a full routine. His entire body glistened with sweat as if he had just emerged from the water. Yet, for some unknown reason, his eyes continued to glow brighter and brighter. When he looked towards the camera, Ren Suo felt as if the light shining from his eyes prated through the screen like two swords!

    ¡°This is the Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening!¡±

    Li Le said in a clear and loud voice, ¡°I am a descendent of the Li ancestors from Hejian City. My ancestors passed down techniques based on the fist and the spear. I trained under Old Master Fan until one year ago when I returned home after being diagnosed with leukemia.¡±

    ¡°Half a year ago, I met someone walking in fire and flying with the wind in the city, and that was when I began my search into the world of the mysterious unknown. At that time, I was holding on to myst breaths, but I did not want to implicate my family and my friends by ending up useless and lying in agony on the hospital bed.¡±

    ¡°I pinned all of my hope on extraordinary powers, just like how people of the past pinned their fate on alchemy, amulets or talismans. It was merely thest straw and thest rope I could cling onto to save myself when I was right by death¡¯s door.¡±

    ¡°And yet, I seeded.¡±

    Li Le clenched his fists and continued, ¡°If [The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet] was Naisser_Ren¡¯s way of telling us that our world is moreplicated than we think, then [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] is actually Naisser_Ren¡¯s way of telling us the extraordinary path!¡±

    ¡°When the Seeker turned into light at the end of the video, it signified her transformation into the extraordinary!¡±

    ¡°This is exactly the Technique to Awakening presented to us in [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]: there is much more we do not know about between life and death! As long as we start living life on the edge between life and death, there is hope that we can awaken our own abilities, and enter the realm of the extraordinary!¡±

    ¡°Of course, seeing is believing and actions are louder than words.¡±

    Li Le looked straight at the camera and said, emphasizing each word with a short pause between them,

    ¡°With this method, I have awakened my own extraordinary power!¡±

    As he said that, Li Le clenched his fists tightly, and very quickly, his bronze-colored skin started to shine with a copper-colored glow. Soon, his hands turned fully copper-colored, and sharp scales started forming over his smooth skin as if that of a monster.

    ¡°This ability, I call it¡ª¡±

    ¡°Copper Scales!¡±

    Li Le walked over to the other side of the balcony to reveal a¡­motorcycle!

    It was a very ordinary motorcyclemonly seen in the city. It was painted red in the middle and the seat at the back was ck and made of leather. At the very back was a storage box that could store items and also prevent the second rider from falling over even without holding onto the driver.

    In both Xuan Nation of today and other second and third-tier cities, such motorcycles would still bemonly seen outside train stations, which were used to provide passenger ferrying services (at a high price). Some of those motorcycles would even be installed with rain shelters and back carriages. They were a convenient yet dangerous means of transport for people.

    There was no vehicle license te on the motorcycle. Li Le sat down on the motorcycle and turned the key and the engine was ignited. With his left foot, he lifted the motorcycle stand and started riding the motorcycle on the balcony!

    What was he trying to do? Make the motorcycle fly on the balcony?

    Li Le had not gone too wild. He rode the motorcycle for about three to four meters before he stopped and turned to look at the camera. He said, ¡°Here you have seen a perfectly working and rideable motorcycle.¡±

    He turned off the engine, came down and pressed onto the red frame of the motorcycle.

    Ren Suo narrowed his eyes and muttered, ¡°Could he be¡­¡±

    ¡°Is he going to tear the motorcycle apart?!¡±

    Ren Suo turned his head around swiftly to see a group of people crowding behind him. The remark hade from one of the astonished teenagers within the group.

    Ren Suo had not put on his headphones to watch the video, and since the Jian Ji Noodles Stall was located right beside the street, it was very noisy. He had turned the volume to the loudest in order to hear what Li Le was saying clearly.

    As such, the other customers at the stall could hear the video as well, but Ren Suo had not noticed when they had started crowding behind him.

    They saw that Ren Suo did not mind them crowding behind him as he continued with his eyes glued to his mobile phone screen.

    ¡°Watch carefully¡ª!¡±

    With his hands filled with the copper-colored scales, he crushed the entire metal frame of the motorcycle into pieces, as if he were crushing old cardboard boxes!

    The next moment, his hands prated into the fuel pipes and tank, and with a powerful motion from the center, he ripped the motorcycle into two halves!

    Li Le straightened his back slowly as he raised both of his scaly copper-colored hands which were glistening with oil in the sun.

    After which, he punched down onto the ground, and the concrete floor crumbled into powder as if he was digging sand!

    ¡°I am still experimenting with my ability,¡± Li Le said as he looked at the camera. He continued calmly, ¡°Of course, this extraordinary ability did not only grant me destructive power. After I Awakened, my physical health improved.¡±

    ¡°ording to the report from mytest health examination, although I have not fully recovered, my condition is now under control and has started to improve.¡±

    ¡°This is due to the extraordinary ability I acquired. And this extraordinary ability was acquired through the Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that training on the edge of the balcony is not the only way in the Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening. There must be other methods, such as mountain climbing and swimming¡­Regardless, the core of the technique lies in the line of life and death!¡±

    ¡°As long as you remain in such a circumstance, you stand a chance at awakening your own extraordinary ability!¡±

    Li Le¡¯s copper-colored scales dispersed and he said, ¡°My intention of uploading my gained knowledge and experience on the inte is not because I want to show off howpassionate I am, nor is it because I want to be famous. If all goes well, I would not be in Xuan Nation anymore by the time this video is uploaded.¡±

    ¡°I learned the technique from the video [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] uploaded by Naisser_Ren. He was willing to utilize special methods to ensure that the video remains on the inte forever for everyone to see, and this meant that he was hoping that more people would see it, understand, and learn from it.¡±

    ¡°I, Li Le, am very grateful for his kindness, and since I started a new life because of Naisser_Ren, I ought to repay his kindness. However, Naisser_Ren left no trace of finding him. Undoubtedly, he must be someone with strong and powerful abilities, and would probably not notice a small fry like me.¡±

    ¡°As such, I followed in his footsteps and put all the secrets that I have learned from his video in my own video. This is the only way I can repay him for his kindness.¡±

    Suddenly, Li Le bowed to the camera and said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know who you are, and I don¡¯t know why you are doing this, but¡­thank you, Naisser_Ren.¡±

    That was the end of the video.

    Ren Suo turned off the screen of his mobile phone. Someone from amongst the group of people crowding behind Ren Suo asked, ¡°Brother, where did you find this video? Why can¡¯t I find it?¡±

    Ren Suo slurped thest strand of noodles into his mouth and wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue before saying, ¡°The video must have been removed. Don¡¯t bother trying.¡±

    Calmly, Ren Suo left the noodles stall, as if nothing had happened.

    That was, until he reached home, closed the door, and reached for the wall to maintain his bnce as he clutched his chest.

    He could feel his heart beating fast and hard. He licked his lips and let out a burst of strangeughter, like a Gundam fan seeing a rare Gundam model, like a virgin hugging his partner, like a poor man winning the grand prize in the lottery.

    ¡°Heh heh heh¡­I am actually so great and mighty?!¡±

 Chapter 58 - Trace of the Demons

    Chapter 58: Chapter 58 ¨C Trace of the Demons

    ¡°I hope you are not intending to take revenge, right? He is still a kid,¡± Chen Kun asked.

    Ren Suo touched the bandage that he still had on his right hand. He shrugged and replied, ¡°No, how could I do such a thing? We have rules and guidelines in our work.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that I am more interested in getting to know about their extraordinary abilities, but¡­due to confidentiality regtions, I would never know who actually had such extraordinary abilities,¡± Ren Suo continued.

    ¡°I do think that the Deputy Director has extraordinary abilities, but I would never dare to ask. But naturally I would treasure this opportunity to be able to observe those who are Awakened now.¡±

    ¡°Moreover, I am not heartless. How could I still target him given his unfortunate oue?¡±

    Chen Kun pondered for a while and thought that what Ren Suo said made sense. He gave Ren Suo a pat on his shoulders and said with a smile, ¡°I guess those of you who studied more are indeed smarter than people like me!¡±

    A wide grin emerged on Ren Suo¡¯s face. He thought,ing from the police academy, this guy really knows his way around words, he must have been single for a long time?

    The pair walked to their car provided by the Ministry of State Security and the humble Ren Suo sat on the passenger seat. Chen Kun looked at him and said, ¡°Have you not gotten your license?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°I have, but I want to y games on my mobile phone.¡±

    ¡°¡­ All right, up to you then,¡± Chen Kun said.

    Ever since he saw the video ¡°Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening¡± posted by Li Le two days ago, Ren Suo had been actively searching on the inte for other interesting videos.

    Undoubtedly, the ¡°Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening¡± video was quickly taken down, but if one spent more effort to search deeper, it was still easy to find the original video specially reposted using other titles like ¡°The XX Year of Records of XX Achievements¡± on tforms such as Baidu Wangpan and QQ.

    Although there was asional news like ¡°Netizen Detained for 15 Days for Spreading False Rumors¡±, Xuan Nation was still unable to fully track down every one of such people. It was extremely easy to buy Wangpan ounts registered under another person¡¯s mobile phone number on Taobao, and there was an even more ingenious method¡ªdownloading the video from Wangpan overseas.

    When Ren Suo had free time during work, he would watch these videos and hoped to find a suitable method to be Awakened, just like Li Le had.

    Ren Suorgely believed that the Exploiting Nature Technique to Awakening was real, mainly because Li Le had praised and thanked Naisser_Ren, which made Ren Suo feel proud and aplished.

    Subsequently, it was because Li Le talked with such confidence and persuasiveness that Ren Suo believed him easily. He believed that the reason why the Seeker could ascend to the heavenly realm and be Awakened was because of her prior conquest right on the edge of life and death.

    But regardless of the validity of the Exploiting Nature Technique to Awakening, Ren Suo could never imitate it.

    He still treasured his many years ahead of him.

    Even for Li Le, it was because he had developed a terminal illness and did not have much time left to live that he decided to take a gamble.

    As Ren Suo watched the videos, they soon arrived at a hospital in the suburbs of Lianjiang City. The sign read ¡°Affiliated Hospital of Hua Nan Medical University¡±, but Ren Suo did not remember Lianjiang City having a ¡°Hua Nan Medical University¡±. Furthermore, there were few people around in such a remote area.

    Along the way, Resnuo had only seen a few plots ofnd still under construction, but there were no one around either.

    The director of the hospital must have been suffering from some head damage to have set up a hospital here.

    Although it was called a hospital, there was a wall surrounding the entirepound, and there were even soldiers guarding the entrance. Ren Suo and Chen Kun had to present their identification card and verify their identity with an iris scan before they were allowed to enter.

    Ren Suo was slightly perplexed and ask, ¡°Where did they get the images of my iris?¡±

    Unsurprised, Chen Kun replied, ¡°You must have gone through a physical examination when you reached the trainingpound, did you not? At that time, images of your iris, your teeth, and your fingerprints were all recorded down. If for some reason in the future you die and shatter into different parts, we would still be able to identify you easily.¡±

    Ren Suo nodded while he felt slightly disturbed by Chen Kun¡¯s words¡­

    When they walked into the hospital building, the looks on Chen Kun and Ren Suo¡¯s faces changedpletely.

    Chen Kun looked at Ren Suo and smiled bitterly. He said, ¡°Do you now know why no one in Team Two and Three would fight for such a job? We would all rather be slightly busier working on the field then toe here.¡±

    Ren Suo said in a hushed voice, ¡°Why does it feel so ufortable here¡­It¡¯s not just the pungent smell of disinfectant¡­¡±

    Chen Kun replied, ¡°You know that the training ground is a ce where Reiki is concentrated in, and since there is a ce to concentrate Reiki, there is naturally also a ce where Reiki is extremely sparse. I do not know the details as well, but this is where Practitioners and those who are Awakened are ¡®handled¡¯, and the easiest way to control them is to remove the source of their Reiki directly.¡±

    ¡°There is virtually no Reiki here. It would not affect ordinary people, but for us Practitioners, it will have a devastating effect akin to ack of oxygen.¡±

    The term ¡°handling¡± made Ren Suo slightly uneasy, but he soon came to terms with it¡ª

    He was not the one being ¡°handled¡±; he was in control of himself!

    Chen Kun said something to the nurse at the front desk and after a short while, a young female doctor emerged and walked towards them. Following behind her was a boy in his uniform.

    The boy looked haggard and his eyes were swollen as if he had cried for a long time. When he saw Ren Suo he stepped backward instinctively, but he soon rxed and walked over.

    ¡°Countermeasure Division,¡± Chen Kun said as he and Ren Suo showed their identification card to the female doctor. Ren Suo looked at the female doctor¡¯s chest¡­

    ¡­the identification card at the female doctor¡¯s chest and it read: ¡°Chief Physician: Yao Meilu¡±.

    Yao Meilu gave the boy a pat on his head as she said to them, ¡°This kid has had a hard time, you all¡­should be nicer to him.¡±

    It appeared that Yao Meilu had talked to the boy prior to that. Although the boy was slightly scared, he did not resist. Judging by how close the boy was to the doctor, it was obvious that apart from drawing his blood for testing, it was unlikely that they did not perform any studies or experiments on him, such as cutting him into pieces.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Chen Kun said as he stepped slightly in front of Ren Suo. He continued, ¡°We will definitely protect the child, doctor. If you do not trust us, should I leave my contact number?¡±

    Ren Suo rolled his eyes as he left the main hall of the hospital to give the ¡®blossoming¡¯ and infatuated Chen Kun and the doctor some personal space. At the same time, Ren Suo wanted to get out of the ce as soon as possible, which was devoid of Reiki and making him feel extremely ufortable.

    After some time, Chen Kun and the boy emerged from the building. When the boy saw Ren Suo, he averted eye contact with him, but quickly mustered up the courage and said to Ren Suo, ¡°Aren¡¯t you here for revenge? Come at me!¡±

    This boy was indeed the benefactor who gave Ren Suo three days off from work to y his game at home¡­No, this boy was his enemy, the junior high student from Number 36 High School, named Wu Jianming.

    Ren Suo and his partner¡¯s current task was to bring Wu Jianming back to his home, and then bring him back to the hospital before 8 p.m.

    As to why two members from the Countermeasure Division were needed to do that¡­It was because although Wu Jianming was still a high school student, he was still someone who was Awakened. Only members from the Countermeasure Division would be able to restrain him and keep him under control if he were to explode in anger. In that case, ordinary equipment like handcuffs would have been useless against him.

    Ren Suo smiled as he pointed to the car and said, ¡°Get in. We are just here to send you home.¡±

    Upon hearing the word ¡°home¡±, Wu Jianming gasped, leaving his mouth opened, and his eyes turned red again. His nose shrunk as he bit on his lower lip and continuously wiped the tears in his eyes.

    Ren Suo led Wu Jianming to the passenger seat at the back of the car. Seeing that the boy was still crying, Ren Suo handed him a few pieces of tissue. The confined space in the car seemed to give the boy a much greater sense of security and although there were two strangers, Ren Suo and Chen Kun, in the car with him, he started sobbing quietly.

    Ren Suo nced at Chen Kun who was driving as he ced his left hand on Wu Jianming¡¯s shoulder. Ren Suo said to the boy, ¡°Look at my hand.¡±

    Wu Jianming opened his red and swollen eyes to see Ren Suo making strange yet fluid and continuous movements with his right hand¡­

    ¡°Wow, buddy, you really have a talent for calming kids down!¡± Chen Kun eximed when he saw that Wu Jianming, who had been crying a few moments ago, had fallen asleep.

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°I just happened to know some hypnosis techniques. It is very effective for treating insomnia, if Brother Kun needs any help curing insomnia next time, feel free to approach me.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t want to wake up feeling sore at my butt,¡± Chen Kun joked.

    Making such suggestive jokes was now a daily urrence, and Ren Suo did not mind. He held onto Wu Jianming¡¯s shoulders as if to prevent him from falling over in the back seat.

    But after helping Wu Jianming upright in his seat, Ren Suo did not remove his hand.

    ¡°Searching now¡­¡±

    ¡°Searching now¡­¡±

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a sleeping state. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has yet to form fully. 606 seconds required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 605, 604, 603¡­¡±

    ¡°The key has been retrieved sessfully.¡±

    Ren Suo let out a deep sigh of relief¡ªhe seeded!

    The reason why he specially requested to take up the task of escorting Wu Jianming was exactly because he wanted the key from Wu Jianming!

    This was a major benefit for Ren Suo as one of the civil servants in one of the nation¡¯s departments which dealt with the Awakened. He could openly approach those who were Awakened, and then retrieve keys from them easily!

    Furthermore, it was not difficult to see that departments like the Countermeasure Division which dealt with the Awakened would be extremely valued, and he would also be able to acquire information rted to the Awakened more easily.

    When that time came, he would not need to retrieve keys through inefficient means like ¡°fighting¡±, but simply retrieve them directly from the ones who were Awakened.

    At this juncture, Ren Suo began regretting joining the civil service despite graduating with a medical specialty. He could have been transferred to the hospital which was devoid of Reiki, and although it would be more ufortable for him, that was the ce where all those who were Awakened from Lianjiang would be brought to. In that case, there would be a limitless number of keys for Ren Suo to retrieve.

    However, with more experience at retrieving keys, Ren Suo realized that Wu Jianming¡¯s ¡°key¡± had yet to form, and even though he was in a sleeping state, the time required to retrieve his ¡°key¡± was still double that of Qiao Muyi and Lidan.

    Ren Suo still did not know the difference between a key that had been formed and one which had yet to be formed. However, under normal circumstances, Wu Jianming was not appealing at all to Ren Suo, but inparison, Qiao Muyi and Lidan were extremely attractive to Ren Suo under any circumstances.

    Did fully formed keys persist in their attraction to Ren Suo? And did keys which had yet to form only be known to Ren Suo when the Awakened utilized their abilities?

    It was a pity that the Mini Worlds Gaming Console did note with any instructions for its use. Otherwise, Ren Suo would not have needed to guess blindly.

    After over an hour, they finally reached the city and arrived in front of a residential building located in Laocheng District. It was an old structure that had been around for over twenty years, and there were no propertypanies within it. There was not even a lift for the building.

    At this time, Wu Jianming gradually awoke. When he saw the familiar scenes outside the car, the look on his face wasplex.

    When Chen Kun stopped the car, Wu Jianming immediately opened the door and ran out. Even Ren Suo could not hold him back in time.

    Fortunately, the two policemen who were guarding at the foot of the residential building stopped him and questioned, ¡°Who are you? Do you live here?¡±

    In order to prevent Wu Jianming from making any rash actions, Ren Suo quickly went forward and grabbed him by his shoulder. When Ren Suo got down of the car, he had unequipped [The Lure of Sweet Dreams] and equipped [Lock].

    In one conscious thought, his Reiki could control each and every of Wu Jianming¡¯s actions.

    ¡°Countermeasure Division,¡± Ren Suo said as he showed them his identification card. Without hesitation, the policemen said, ¡°Your colleagues have been waiting upstairs for a very long time¡­¡±

    ¡°You guys arrived just in time.¡±

    In the stairway of the residential building, two men and one woman, all d in the ck vests, appeared. Thedy amongst them was extraordinarily beautiful, and the tight ck vest showed off her curves perfectly. She had shoulder-length ck hair and a soothing smile. In addition, the confidence she exuded from deep within her immediately drew Ren Suo and Chen Kun¡¯s attention.

    ¡°I am Team Leader Yao Fei from Team Two of the Countermeasure Division,¡± said the beautiful girl. She introduced, ¡°This is Li Shuanghe, and this is Fang Jun.¡±

    All of them were from the same division and were simrly all Practitioners. They quickly introduced themselves and turned their attention towards the only ¡°lost soul¡±.

    Li Shuanghe and Fang Jun noticed that the new member of Team Three was staring at their team leader, but it was no surprise to them¡ªthey had gotten used to it from numerous past encounters.

    But it was the first time they met with such an embarrassing encounter.

    Chen Kun pped Ren Suo on his shoulder as he thought, are teenagers these days so thick-skinned and embarrassing, haven¡¯t they seen prettydies before?

    Ren Suo finally came to his senses and stammered, ¡°I, I am Ren Suo¡­¡±

    ¡°All right, bring him over,¡± Yao Fei said calmly as she turned and walked up the stairs. Wu Jianming immediately followed suit. Chen Kun pped Ren Suo¡¯s shoulders and said in a hushed tone, ¡°Brother, I will share a few links with youter so you can watch as much as you want. Don¡¯t be so embarrassing next time¡­¡±

    Ren Suo rolled his eyes but was toozy to exin himself¡ªin fact, he knew that no matter how he exined, there would be no use.

    He did not expect that Yao Fei, the Team Leader of Team Two could actually be much more attractive than Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director!

    Furthermore, he was so close to her!

    Had Ren Suo not held himself back, he would have gone straight for her!

    In Yu Kuangtu¡¯s case, Ren Suo had a few days of mental preparation to get a grip of himself, but the first time he met Yao Fei, it was already at such a close distance!

    In the stairway, Wu Jianming could no longer hold back and dashed up the stairs. He clenched his teeth and asked, ¡°My, my parents, did they really¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, they have passed away,¡± a merciless Fang Jun said as he dashed all of this junior high school student¡¯s hopes. He continued, ¡°They died in the house. Everything that we told you previously at the hospital was all the truth.¡±

    ¡°Fang Jun,¡± interrupted Li Shuanghe, stopping his colleague from rattling on. He saw Wu Jianming¡¯s arched shoulders and reached out to console him. Suddenly, Wu Jiangming wriggled free of his touch and said, ¡°Tell me! Who did this, tell me who did this¡­¡±

    Yao Fei stood in front of the anti-theft door of unit 402. The policeman guarding in front of the door saw her and immediately opened the main door. Ren Suo followed behind Yao Fei and entered the house to see many people inside. They were searching with gloves on and using many different kinds of tools.

    Wu Jianming saw the broken couch in the living room, the toppled Z9D television, and the dark, hardened bloodstains. He instantly broke out in a fury, rushing forward and grabbing Yao Fei. He asked loudly, ¡°Who! Who! Tell me, who did all of this! I am going to make them pay!¡±

    Yao Fei handed them a pair of gloves each, and as they wore the gloves, she looked at Wu Jianming and said calmly, ¡°It was the Demon.¡±

    Ren Suo, who had been thinking about whether he should continue ying a dozen more games to achieve his ¡°perfect starter¡± that night, returned to his senses immediately.

    The Demon?

 Chapter 59 - Starving Ghost

    Chapter 59: Chapter 59 ¨C Starving Ghost

    ¡°Demons?¡±

    Apart from the members of Team 2, Ren Suo, Chen Kun, and Wu Jianming were stunned.

    ¡°You all know that in this world there is Reiki, there are those who are Awakened, and there are Practitioners, then¡­it is not so shocking to know that there are non-human beings in this world, is it?¡± Yao Fei said.

    Yao Fei pointed to a corner of the room. Everyone turned to look in the direction she pointed at to see a refrigerator with three doors. There were five clear and distinct w marks on it.

    The five w marks were of varying depths, but it was obvious that it was done with the same one hand. The force had been so great that the inner material of the doors of the refrigerator could be seen.

    Yao Fei said, ¡°Usually, onlyrge cats like tigers and lions can cause such massive damage. However, afterparison with the mitochondrial DNA of the fur left behind in the w marks and in other parts of the house, as well as that of the nail shavings in the w marks, we discovered that they did not belong to the cats, but¡­¡±

    She looked at them intensely before confidently finishing her sentence, ¡°Humans.¡±

    Turning to look at Wu Jianming, she said, ¡°As much as you want to find the murderer, we, too, want to get to the bottom of this. We allowed you toe home at this time but we hope that you can provide us with some information as well. We want to know what valuable items the murderer had destroyed and from that information deduce his motive, his identity, and his next move.¡±

    Wu Jianming remained silent and his eyes were still red. He nodded his head.

    Yao Fei led Wu Jianming further into the house. Ren Suo and Chen Kun subconsciously followed suit but were stopped by Li Shuanghe and Fang Jun.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with our Team Leader around, even someone who is Awakened cannot defeat her so easily,¡± Li Shuanghe said with augh.

    Ren Suo and Chen Kun understood what he meant¡ªthey did not want those from Team 3 to be involved any deeper into the matter.

    In fact, in the short amount of time Ren Suo had been at work, he understood the general differences between the different teams within the Countermeasure Division. To be exact, it was the difference between Teams 1 and 2, and the rest of the teams.

    Teams 1 and 2 of the Countermeasure Division were responsible for all matters regarding Extraordinaire Criminals and could be called the true ¡°Commissioned Officials in Countermeasures Against Extraordinaire Criminals¡±. In contrast, the rest of the teams could be better seen as preventive measures against Extraordinaires¡ªthey collected information of all possible Practitioners and those who were likely to be Awakened throughout the entire city so that they could be observed secretly. If those people turned out to be Awakened who possessed hidden abilities but still lived peacefully, they would then dispatch people to keep watch on them so that they would be able to stop them in time if the Awakened encountered conflicts with other people.

    In addition, those in the other teams had to clear any problems created by Teams 1 and 2 as well as oversee other logistics matters, including such ¡°runner¡± and escort tasks.

    That was also why You Xulong was previously responsible for the mass training of civil servants¡ªthe mass training for civil servants was considered a logistic task.

    Nheless, Ren Suo and Chen Kun did not mind and took a short rest leaning against the wall. Ren Suo naturally took out his mobile phone to y, while a curious Chen Kun asked, ¡°Your Team Leader mentioned Demons just now¡­That is not a joke, right?¡±

    ¡°That w mark seems impressive but an Awakened person is also capable of doing so. Why is she so sure it was not a human, but suspect it was a¡­Demon?¡±

    Li Shuanghe and Fang Jun exchanged eye contact. Li Shuanghe smiled and said, ¡°You guys are curious?¡±

    Ren Suo and Chen Kun nodded their heads.

    ¡°Well, we are all colleagues and by right we can disclose such confidential information to you¡­ but¡­¡± Li Shuanghe said with a shrug.

    Chen Kun took the hint and asked, ¡°Buddy, what¡¯s your request?¡±

    ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a prettydy in Team 3, shall we have a bonding session someday?¡± Li Shuanghe asked without hesitation.

    Chen Kun replied immediately, ¡°In that case, will your Team Leader turn up?¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡± Li Shuanghe said.

    ¡°Alright then, leave it to me!¡± Chen Kun agreed.

    Li Shuanghe and Chen Kun exchanged a momentous p. It signified a great and noble agreement sealed in the passage of time, beginning a new page in history¡­

    Fang Jun was speechless. He said, ¡°If Team Leader finds out about this, I¡¯m going to say that I don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± said Li Shuanghe as he waved his hand. He calmed down and said, ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t tell anyone about what I will tell you. This is supposed to be kept secret and if this leaks out¡­Heh, at the most I would be scolded by Team Leader, but I don¡¯t know what will happen to the two of you.¡±

    ¡°We are already in the Countermeasure Division, how would we dare to leak such information out? Stopped keeping us in suspense already,¡± Chen Kunughed.

    Li Shuanghe took a look around the messy house and said softly, ¡°Actually, when we first discovered this ce, we also thought that it was done by someone who had Awakened.¡±

    ¡°But as soon as we reported this up, there was a problem.¡±

    Li Shuanghe looked at them intensely and continued, ¡°There had been over twenty of such cases in just half a month in the entire nation, with the same method of crime! Furthermore, it was not only humans who were targeted but also poultry animals like cows and sheep.¡±

    Ren Suo and Chen Kun¡¯s hearts skipped a beat.

    Chen Kun fell silent for a moment before asking, ¡°Does that mean that¡­ =someone created a new type of Reiki technique and circted it? Some Practitioners then learned it and started the mass killing of people?¡±

    Li Shuanghe said, ¡°It¡¯s not so simple. If the murderer killed only humans, it would not be soplicated. After all, humans do kill other humans. But, the fact is that the murderer killed not just humans, but also¡­¡±

    Li Shuanghe paused for a moment as if he could not think of a word. Fang Junpleted the sentence for him and said, ¡°Crunched them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, crunch them!¡± Li Shuanghe said as he very confidently nodded his head.

    Chen Kun was confused. He asked, ¡°Chewed them!¡±

    Li Shuanghe opened his mouth and pointed to his neat row of teeth. He said, ¡°Chewed. You guys are lucky that you don¡¯t need to take on policeman responsibilities like us. When we saw the dead bodies¡­Argh, I vomited out my entire supper.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°So he ate humans?¡±

    Li Shuanghe shook his head and said, ¡°No, he chewed on them. Almost all of the victims appeared to have been ¡®chewed¡¯ once and then spat out again. When we saw the corpses of the victims they had already been reassembled, but it is said that every piece of meat had bite marks left behind by teeth. The body was simply a meat filling, not a corpse¡­¡±

    Ren Suo and Chen Kun gulped. They felt as if they would never eat meatballs or any food with meat fillings in it ever again.

    Li Shuanghe continued, ¡°More importantly, it was found from the examination that the meat contained traces of enzymes like salivary amse and pepsin, but not aminopeptidase, ¦Á-glucosidase, and ¦Â-glucosidase¡­¡±

    Chen Kun scratched his head. He said, ¡°What does that mean¡­What enzymes? I think I heard those words in senior high school¡­¡±

    Li Shuanghe exined, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know the details either. I just know the conclusion.¡±

    ¡°In simple terms, the murderer would have had chewed and swallowed the meat, and it passed through the esophagus and the stomach, but not the intestines.¡±

    ¡°Usually, even if the murderer purged the meat out, it would still contain traces of enzymes found in the intestines. Furthermore, although the chewed, swallowed and then purged meat only contained enzymes from the stomach, it still remained undigested¡­¡±

    By this time, Ren Suo¡¯s blood had turned cold, but Chen Kun still did not fully understand. He asked, ¡°So what does that mean?¡±

    Li Shuanghe said, ¡°That means that the murderer did not have intestines, and it was also highly possible he did not have a stomach either. After he finished chewing a person, the masticated meat then fell out of his stomach¡­This is why the method of murder is so peculiar, leaving behind corpses which looked more like minced meat.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­¡±

    Chen Kun was shocked and said softly, ¡°It is no wonder she said it was a Demon¡­This is truly¡­ non-human.¡±

    Indeed, even though the murderer resembled a human gically, he was able to devour a live person, did not have any intestines, and was perhaps not even sane¡ªwhy would any sane personmit such an energy-consuming crime?

    If such incidents took ce anywhere else in the world, they would havebeled the murderer as the presence of a ¡°Demon¡± as well.

    And that meant that this ¡°Demon¡± presence could not be left to propagate in the world. It was something humans need, and must, kill.

    When Ren Suo heard about such a thing, he was naturally shocked as well.

    It did note as a shock to Li Shuanghe and Fang Jun for even they had no appetite when they first received the information. Instead, they took pity for the two members of Team 3 standing in front of them, for eating would be their most hated activity of the day for the few days toe.

    However, the reason why Ren Suo was shocked was different from Chen Kun.

    When Ren Suo heard the word ¡°Demon¡± previously, he already had a strange premonition.

    After listening to Li Shuanghe¡¯s description, he was even surer of the link between the ¡°Demon¡± and that in his memory¡ªto be exact, he linked it to a specific monster in the game!

    Sharp, wed hands;

    Craving for human meat;

    Without an abdomen;

    And consequently any eaten meat would fall out;

    Turned into minced meat;

    This monster was amon enemy that Ren Suo encountered in the game [Over My Dead Body], which appeared through all of its time periods¡ª

    The Starving Ghost!

 Chapter 60 - So Itâ€™s A Game Developed By BOSS?

    Chapter 60 ¨C So It¡¯s A Game Developed By BOSS?

    In the game [Over My Dead Body], all the demon monsters arose for specific reasons and were not created without any basis.

    Although the monsters were frequently discussed together as a whole, there were, in fact, minor differences between each of the four types of monsters in the game, spirits (yao), demons (mo), ghosts (gui), and beasts (guai).

    Spirits referred specifically to nts and flowers which cultivated Reiki and turned into active, living beings like the ¡°Decaying Coyote¡±, ¡°Frightening Wolf¡±, ¡°Starving Vulture¡± or ¡°Raving Vines¡±, whichmonly appeared in ¡°?¡± battles en route an expedition.

    Demons referred specifically to humans who grew stronger after eating some mystical, precious fruit or acquiring the ability to cultivate Reiki. Such humans then fall deeper and start killing living beings. The bones strengthen their physical abilities and the hearts strengthen their weapons and skills. They were seen as especially evil threats to elves. Demons were lessmonly seen but would usually appear as a small lower-level boss.

    Ghosts referred specifically to humans who died but had not moved on due to their strong hatred and resentment. They revived by cultivating Reiki and were the mostmonly seen type of monsters, forming the main bulk of the enemies that the yer had to ¡°kill and destroy¡± in the game.

    Beasts, on the other hand, were lifeless creatures who gained awareness due to the cultivation of Reiki. Most elves belonged to this category, although most beasts did not affect humans. If they did be enemies like the ghosts, they would be boss-tier or higher.

    For example, in the year 220 after Guan Yu had been murdered, Ren Suo encountered the ¡°Green Dragon Crescent de¡±. Ren Suo realized that in the previous few game saves, there was a chance of encountering it during the ¡°?¡± battle when he entered the Eastern Wu region.

    On encountering it, the ¡°Green Dragon Crescent de¡± would immediately begin its attack. It had an Attack of 100 and could deal damage to any target on the entire map. Furthermore, it had a four times attack boost on single targets¡­

    Ren Suo highly suspected that he could negotiate with and appease the ¡°Green Dragon Crescent de¡±, or even acquire and use it.

    Simr to how he had acquired the ¡°Jade Pendant of the Goddess of the Luo River¡± from Cao Zhi and subsequently opened up the option to perform Spiritual Exchange with Mi Fei, Ren Suo thought that there was a hidden mission to acquire the ¡°Green Dragon Crescent de¡± and receive the legendary sword from a certain character. However, he had yet to find such a character.

    The demon which Li Shuanghe had just described was exactly like the ¡°Starving Ghost¡± that Ren Suo saw in the ¡°Family Record of Secrets¡±.

    The ¡°Family Record of Secrets¡± was actually aption of the information gathered by the yer in the game, and was closely linked to the [Scout] attribute of the characters in the game.

    It was avable across all the game saves. As such, the weaknesses and modes of attack of all the known monsters from every game save would be recorded down as one ¡°Family Record of Secrets¡±, and the detailed attributes of any previously encountered monster would automatically be disyed in newly created game saves.

    Amongst the list of known monsters, the ¡°Starving Ghost¡± was a ¡°Raging Road Monster¡± which appeared throughout all time periods in the game and could be encountered anytime during an expedition.

    [Starving Ghost: Their fear of starving and immense craving for a full stomach burns through their organs and intestines like mes of a raging fire. The more this fire burns, the more Reiki they absorb.]

    [Appearance: They look no different from humans, but their nails and teeth are extremely sharp, and their abdomens have beenpletely dposed.]

    [Characteristics: They love to move at night and will attack all animals. After they kill their target, they consume the entire corpse directly. Yet, no matter how they eat, the consumed meat will fall out from their open abdomen; however, they will swallow and eat this meat again and again. After some time when they think that they had gotten their fill, they will find a ce to sleep like a normal person for the next 3 to 5 days. Following which, when their craving for food arises again, they will repeat the above actions.]

    [Origin: They were ordinary humans who had starved to death. The probability of them turning into ghosts is directly proportional to the length of time they were left starving before they died.]

    [Standard Attributes: Attack 1, Defense 0, Movement 0, Scout 0, Recovery 0.]

    [Remarks: Bepassionate and allow them to be freed.]

    The most significant difference between the Starving Ghost and the majority of other ghosts in the game was that the probability of them turning into ghosts was totally unrted to their individual physical fitness.

    Other ghosts, like the Ghost Troops from Ho Pass and the Evil Ghosts from Yiling, had a higher probability of turning into ghosts the better their physical fitness. Most of the Typhoid Bronze Ghosts who arose from the typhoid gue were, in fact, young people who were strong and fit.

    On the other hand, most of the Starving Ghosts were actually older people or women.

    And indeed, most of the people who eventually died after going through tortuous periods of starvation amidst the chaos during the Three Kingdoms were such people.

    This was because most of the men served in the military and were provided with at least some food, although they would have likely sacrificed their lives in bloody battles that were fought due to certain people¡¯s high ambitions.

    Young men and women who starved to death, on the other hand, would unlikely turn into ghosts due to the short period of starvation they experienced, and they did not possess sufficient hatred to want to take revenge on society.

    During the final chaotic years of the Eastern Han Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, locust gues, floods, and droughts were aplenty. Roosters could not be seen crowing for thousands of miles and the white of bones could be seen everywhere. As such, the Starving Ghosts could be found almost anywhere in the Central ins.

    Had it been any other one of the monsters, Ren Suo might not have recognized it immediately. However, the portrayal of the Starving Ghost was one he had seen a countless number of times¡­

    Chen Kun continued discussing the details with Li Shuanghe, but Ren Suo was no longer listening. Ren Suo was slightly conflicted.

    After half an hour, Yao Fei led Wu Jianming out of the room, who seemed to have calmed down. Instead, he had a look of determination on his face. How special Yao Fei¡¯s counseling session with him must have been, thought Ren Suo.

    ¡°Think about my suggestion when you return,¡± Yao Fei said to Wu Jianming. She turned to look at Ren Suo and his partner.

    ¡°Over to you now, please send him back safely,¡± Yao Fei said. She continued, ¡°Although the higher-ups have ordered the media to stay away¡­there will always be people who hope to be famous and attempt to leak some information to receive attention.¡±

    ¡°Return directly to the hospital, and do not stop halfway during the journey,¡± she said.

    Chen Kun replied, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Li Shuanghe took the initiative and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring all of you downstairs.¡±

    The five of them walked down the staircase and bid farewell at the main entrance of the building. Li Shuanghe said, ¡°Let¡¯s exchange contacts so that we can discuss thatter on.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh, right,¡± Chen Kun said immediately. Ren Suo¡¯s face turned ck as he listened to the conversation akin to that of illegal drug dealers.

    Ren Suo had thought that those in the Countermeasure Division were Practitioners who were honest and steadfast.

    Very quickly, Ren Suo figured that his partner was not one of such people.

    Some time ago, Ren Suo figured that Team 3 of the Countermeasure Division was not one of such people.

    Now, Ren Suo figured that Team 2 of the Countermeasure Division was almost simrly not¡­

    Ren Suo pondered for a short while and walked over to the silent Fang Jun. He asked softly, ¡°Well, have you all not discovered any samples of the ¡®demon¡¯ yet?¡±

    Fang Jun shook his head.

    ¡°I think that you guys can look into the homeless who reside around the area,¡± Ren Suo said.

    He continued, ¡°People who have hands like ws are generally very rare and would be easily recognized in public. But if the streets appear old and sloppy, and they sleep for days without moving¡­¡±

    Fang Jun was slightly taken aback as he thought that what Ren Suo told him made sense. He was about to thank Ren Suo but realized that Ren Suo had already left with the car.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Shuanghe asked when he saw Fang Jun standing still and not moving.

    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just¡­¡± Fang Jun said. He continued, ¡°That guy just now, I think he has the potential to join us in Team 2.¡±

    ¡°The infatuated one staring at our Team Leader?¡± Li Shuanghe asked.

    ¡°Yes yes yes, that one¡­¡± Fang Jun replied.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The moment Ren Suo returned home after a day of work, he sat down on his soft andfortable couch.

    Much had been gained from today.

    One key was acquired.

    Information about the monsters was also known.

    Previously, Ren Suo had not thought deeper into it and simply assumed that the monsters in [Over My Dead Body] were merely pre-configured characters in the game.

    Now that he had given it more thought, he realized that [Over My Dead Body] was actually very simr to real life!

    In the real world, Reiki was being revived; in the game, during the Three Kingdoms, Reiki was revived.

    In the real world, Practitioners and the Awakened were appearing; in the game, the Practitioners of the family reappeared.

    In that case, would it not be perfectly normal for monsters in the game to appear in the real world as well?

    At this point, Ren Suo turned on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and loaded the save file of [Over My Dead Body] in the year 265!

    It was thest year before he would have sessfullypleted the mission. Ren Suo had to defeat the strongest army of monsters in the entire history of the Three Kingdoms¡ª

    The remaining Evil Souls of Shu Han!

    Previously, when the Ren family of Practitioners were eliminating the monsters at the strongholds in Yiling and Wu Zhang ins, they had not encountered Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang. Ren Suo had thought that the difficulty of the game seemed to drop and he as the yer no longer needed to spend so much time defeating the impossibly buffed boss characters.

    However, in the year 263 when the Shu Han fell to Wei, and Jiang Wei sacrificed his life for his nation, Ren Suo knew¡ªhoping that the difficulty of the game would drop was equivalent to hoping that life was kind to him; it was not possible!

    It was just that the corpses of the two legendaries were well-kept by Shu Han state!

    When Shu Han fell with the death of Jiang Wei, the entire nation lost its life while resentment and enmity arose. The two legendaries, who had already been strong Practitioners before their death pared to the ordinary people, not the Ren family of Practitioners), gathered Reiki from the earth and heavens, empowered by the fury of its thousands of citizens, and walked right out of their graves!

    In addition, all of the ministers and officials who had served and died in honor of the Han Shu nation also revived.

    The Elite Bai Er Troops who served Liu Bei also reformed once again, turning into horrifying Bai Er Death Troops!

    But that was not the end. It was now a few years topleting the mission requirements and Ren Suo intended to scrape through the mission and finish watching the Mission Cleared CG before deciding what to do next.

    Ren Suo did not mind even if the remaining Evil Souls of Luo Han were to kill all of the elves¡ªthe Ren family of Practitioners would be able to pull through just a few years!

    However, the problem was that the Evil Souls of Luo Han were different from other enemies.

    Their leader still had human nature in him and was a wise person.

    They left thend of the Shu, taking care not to encroach on the interests of the people to the slightest degree, as they headed directly and quickly towards the Ren family house!

    It was the first time Ren Suo had seen such a game strategy.

    It was only natural for the yer to head for the boss after many tries and attempts navigating through the game.

    But in this game, the boss was charging towards the yer to surround and defeat him instead?!

    What on earth, was the Ren family of Practitioners the BOSS instead?

 Chapter 61 - The Blessings of the Ancestors!

    <strong>Chapter 61: Chapter 61 ¨C The Blessings of the Ancestors!</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo was right.

    In the winter of the year 265, even though Ren Suo had not sent any of the Ren family members on expeditions, the Evil Souls of Shu Han found their way to the Ren family house.

    Ren Han was now the head of the sixth generation of the Ren family. He was the grandchild of the extraordinarily-skilled ¡°Ren Ying¡± (Ren Ying and the extraordinarily-skilled Ren Ying were considered two generations).

    In a short span of 76 years, the Eastern Han dynasty was left behind in history. 76 years was merely the lifetime of ordinary, long-living humans, and yet the Three Kingdoms, which only emerged in the final years of the Han dynasty, was also about to be unified as one. Most of the war heroes during those final years of the Han dynasty were now merely memories of the past.

    It started with the fall of Shu Han, followed by Cao Huan¡¯s abdication of the throne in the summer of the year 265. Cao Wei was killed in the same year, leaving behind Sun Wu to guard the eastern region of the Yangtze River. However, Sun Hao, the eldest son of Sun Wu, was weak and powerless, and it was only a matter of time before therge army of the Western Jin empire would cross the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and take over thend.

    The establishment of the Western Jin dynasty would mark the cessation of war between the Three Kingdoms in the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, which was the end of the era of the Three Kingdoms.

    Finally, that also marked thepletion of the first chapter of [Over My Dead Body].

    In the short span of 76 years, the number of Ren family Practitioners grew from the initial three to a total of over 50, across six generations. Each generation of Practitioners of the Ren family fought and killed countless numbers of monsters in endless battles, putting their lives at risk to protect and continue their bloodline.

    All of them enjoyed the fleeting years of glory during the peak of their lives. Not once could they afford to think about love or hope for an impossible future. They could only focus on their solemn responsibilities.

    There was currently a total of 14 Practitioners in the Ren family, eight of which could engage in battle. The extraordinary Ren Ying had done wonders in the poption of the Ren family.

    However, during the winter of the year 265, even though Ren Suo was unwilling, he still had to fight against the monsters.

    Just outside of the prosperous vige of the Ren family were structured agricultural terraces which should be bare except for roaming hares in the winter. However, on the screen, there were countless troops d in ck-colored armor standing on the terraces, surrounding the entire Ren vige.

    Dark, gloomy clouds descended over the vige, threatening to overwhelm it.

    In front of the troops d in ck-colored armor stood a Silver General d in white-colored armor, people with warrior masks, peaceful-looking warriors, as well as ministers from Shu Han.

    An amiable old man with long arms that extended beyond his knees and wore ancient Chinese clothing was standing right at the front.

    The old man said, ¡°I am Liu Bei, the Prince of the Han dynasty, Provincial Governor of Zhang Wu Province.¡±

    Ren Han, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, said, ¡°I have met you before, Emperor Zhao Lie. Your Majesty, you are already dead, what do you seek in returning to the human world and seeking bloodshed again?¡±

    Liu Bei turned his head and looked at the tall mountains in the distance, almost joining seamlessly with the vast blue skies above. He said, ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­it¡¯s out of my reach, but I can¡¯t let go so easily either.¡±

    ¡°Over thest 800 years and more, the majestic Han dynasty prospered, but now it has crumbled into nothing¡­¡±

    ¡°Perhaps this is what we call history, and what we call fate. We are just ancient people left behind in the forgotten world of history, lifeless souls which live on longing to be alive again.¡±

    ¡°If only the world was pure and simple, then perhaps we could still live on in the memories of the living, but slowly forgotten as memories fade¡­¡±

    Ren Han, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, said, ¡°Your Majesty, that will not be the case. The people of the future will definitely remember your contributions as well as that of the other heroes. They will continue to remember your legacies and as time passes, they will honor your glorious achievements even more. Historical records will dly contain your honorable conquests and the people will sing praises of your achievements. All of you will live on in people¡¯s hearts and minds longer than any other Emperors of the other dynasties.¡±

    Ren Suo felt as if every generation of Ren family Practitioners seemed to have read the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms before¡­

    Liu Bei sighed and said, ¡°So what if that is so? In any case, we have fallen and nothing can change that.¡±

    Ren Han coaxed, ¡°Since nothing can be changed, would it not be better to just let it go and rest peacefully?¡±

    Liu Bei said, ¡°No, even though we have been turned into ashes, but there is still hope for ashes to be reignited. Indeed, the Han dynasty has fallen, and I have been defeated¡­but that is only true in the world of the living.¡±

    Ren Han was stunned momentarily. He turned to look at the person behind Liu Bei and said, ¡°Prime Minister, could it be¡­¡±

    Zhuge Liang nodded and said, ¡°Head of the Ren family, as you would imagine, before my death, I found a way to ensure that the souls of the dead remained sane and reasoned. I had set up the Light of the Seven Stars in the Zhangyuan ins, in hopes of setting the souls free so that they can continue to fight for the prosperity of the Han dynasty, but unfortunately¡­¡±

    Zhuge Liang continued, ¡°Nheless, Jiang Wei has already learned the magical method I utilized and set up the necessary in Jiange and Chengdu City. All that is left is his death, which wouldplete the entire set up.¡±

    Liu Bei said, ¡°While I was still alive, I did not manage to emerge victorious as the champion, but bing the hero in the realm of the ghosts is an eptablepromise.¡±

    A stunned Ren Han replied, ¡°So¡­ you intend to conquer the world as members of the dead?¡±

    Liu Bei said, ¡°Why can¡¯t we do so? Unlike the inheritance of the throne over generations of the living, the dead never die. The loss of intellect as one bes a member of the dead is no longer a problem, so we can conquer and control the world for thousands and millions of years toe.¡±

    ¡°The people are afraid of fatuous emperors ascending to the throne, afraid of powerful yet tyrannical ministers, and afraid of uwful armies. But these are all no longer problems in the realm of the dead,¡± he continued.

    Zhuge Liang added, ¡°We have no descendants, no desires, and no weaknesses.¡±

    ¡°We have nothing left, except¡­to cleanse the world and restore the Han dynasty ording to our ideals!¡±

    ¡°We will establish a prosperous world that lives on forever!¡± eximed Zhuge Liang.

    Liu Bei said, ¡°However, in this world, there is still you, the Ren family.¡±

    He continued, ¡°The Ren family that exterminates all monsters, that tames all ghosts, that protects the world¡­You are not influenced by any political forces, but quietly protects and maintains the peace in the world by killing all demons and monsters possible.¡±

    ¡°You possess limitless possibilities of heavenly abilities and are extremely well-versed in them. None of the Practitioners from all the different empires stand a chance against you. Highly-skilled Practitioner Cao Zhen from the Wei empire was once defeatedpletely right here, and the Practitioner Lu Xun from the Wu empire did not dare toe any closer as he watched from afar. My ministers have also crossed paths with you before, and all of them bow down to you in respect.¡±

    ¡°However, it was only as I was reawakened as a ghost that I saw clearly how great the Ren family was.¡±

    Liu Bei looked at the Ren family vige and continued, ¡°Where the Ren family lives is the root of all Reiki sources. Over many generations, the Ren family Practitioners protected this ce, and countless numbers of Practitioners died here in their prime. Their will and determination of ¡®killing and subduing all monsters¡¯ became infused within the source of Reiki.¡±

    ¡°It was precisely due to your sacrifice that more monsters do not appear in the world.¡±

    Ren Suo blinked as he pondered over what Liu Bei had said. He was slightly shocked as he muttered to himself, ¡°Could it be that the game would decrease slightly in difficulty if more Practitioners of the Ren family died?¡±

    Ren Suo recalled that indeed, there were slight differences in the number of monsters that spawned in the fixed scenarios in theter years of the game, such as at the Red Cliff and Xiaoyao Ford. However, he was unsure if that was due to a random setting of the game or truly influenced by the number of Ren family Practitioners that died.

    Liu Bei said, ¡°Nheless, to us, ghosts, the Ren family remains a hindrance that is stopping us from what we set out to achieve. As long as you exist, even if we, the Shu Han ghost souls, regain control over the world, the determination that flows with the Reiki can still suppress us, and the heavens and the earth will continue to restrict us!¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, the Ren family Practitioners will never allow us to regain control over the world so easily!¡±

    That would be hard to say, Ren Suo thought. All he wanted was to survive two more years in the game and was neutral in the war between the Han Empire and the Western Jin Empire. Furthermore, Ren Suo had no interest in the Western Jin Empire. The young of the Sima family who took over the throne looked down on widows and that did not bode well with Ren Suo from the beginning. The subsequent progress of the Western Jin dynasty, as well as its judicial system and culture, did not give Ren Suo much to like either.

    But of course, based on the game rules, the Ren family of Practitioners had to eliminate all monsters.

    All of Ren Suo¡¯s thoughts seemed to be reflected in the head of the Ren family character in the game.

    Ren Han remained speechless, ¡°¡­¡±

    Liu Bei said, ¡°I know that we, ghost souls, will never be able to defeat the Ren family Practitioners in skill and ability, so we have no choice but to¡­win in numbers.¡±

    Zhuge Liang said, ¡°Please allow us to fulfill our dreams, or perhaps, allow us to continue living our dreams¡­¡±

    ¡°The Ren family¡­is a mountain that we must conquer!¡±

    Entering battle!

    All eight Practitioners of the Ren family have entered the battlefield!

    [Enemies: ¡°Emperor Zhao Lie of Han¡±, ¡°Zhuge Liang, Marquis Zhongwu of Han¡±, ¡°Zhao Yun, Marquis Shunping of Han¡±, ¡°Zhang Fei, Marquis of Xi District of Han¡±, ¡°Fa Zheng, Marquis Yi of Han¡±, ¡°General Jiang Wei of Han¡±, ¡°Huang Zhong, Marquis Gang of Han¡±, ¡°Ma Chao, Marquis Wei of Han¡±, ¡°Chen Dao, Vige Marquis of Han¡±¡­¡±Elite Bai Er Troops¡±¡­]

    Ren Suo looked at the list of enemies and their details. He was speechless.

    [Elite Bai Er Troops]

    [Attack 20, Defense 20, Movement 10]

    [Bai Er: 15% chance of dealing 2x damage during an attack; 15% chance of gaining a 20 point Defense buff when being attacked (buff applies only for one turn).]

    [Elite: They had been a part of the Elite Forces when they were alive. After their death, they retain their military might as an elite. When there are more than 5 allies within a 5 tile radius, they gain an Attack boost +5 and Defense boost +5.]

    [Mentality: They have a strong sense of self-will and are not affected by ordinary revenge mechanisms.]

    Small pawns like the Elite Bai Er Troops were already so powerful, and the legendaries whose names were carved in history had even more outrageous statistics.

    [Emperor Zhao Lie of Han]

    [Attack 25, Defense 300, Movement 10]

    [The Emperor of the Han Dynasty: He controls all ghost souls who have pledged allegiance to Han.]

    [Zhao Lie: Liu Bei spent all his life trying to restore the Han Dynasty. After his death, he obtained approval from all the previous 29 generations of emperors of the Han Dynasty. Every round, 29 Defense points will be restored (but not exceeding the initial maximum Defense of 300).]

    [Benevolence: Liu Bei is famous for his benevolence towards others. He can donate his Defense points to any of the Shu Han allies, limited to two characters each round. Each character can receive up to a maximum of 50 Defense points (which onlysts for one round).]

    [Rally Cheer: All Han warriors respond with his onemand. Liu Bei can select any enemy unit to which any attacks by any Shu Han unit will result in the selected enemy unit receiving 2 times critical damage in the same round (for example, if the original critical damage is 4 times, the critical damage will be 8 times).]

    [Gender Double Sword: A single target melee attack; enables the character to attack twice each round.]

    The other enemies like Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun had slightly less powerful statistics and abilities than Liu Bei although they were still very strong.

    To be honest, even though those legendary heroes were powerful Practitioners while they were still alive, and they were strengthened and rejuvenated by Reiki after their death, they still could notpare, individually, to the Practitioners of the Ren family. To say the least, Ren Han, the sixth generation head of the family was able to suppress Liu Bei without much difficulty¡ª

    [Ren Han]

    [Age: 15]

    [Maximum Age: 23]

    [Attack 50, Defense 200, Scout 20, Movement 24, Recovery 7, Management 17]

    [Inherited Ability ¨C Heat-Shivering Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force: Inbat, Attack +50%, Defense +50%, and enemies within an 8 tile radius can be forced to attack oneself. All attacks with Attack lower than one¡¯s own Defense cause no effect. A single-target attack that deals 2x water damage and 2x fire damage (if the enemy is not one of the weaker elemental types, 4x Attack damage will be dealt on the single target).]

    [Inheritance: The Holy Force (Ren Woxing), Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Nu), Abundant Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Ying), Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force (Ren Pingsheng).]

    It seemed that the Ren family would be able to win, as long as the Shu Han enemies did not have any abilities that would weaken their Defense armor.

    But the problem still remained¡ªthe Shu Han army was huge.

    With so many characters, they were bound to have many different types of abilities.

    The moment the battle started, Ren Suo could not use the word ¡°many¡± to describe the Shu Han army¡ªplete¡± was no exaggeration to describe their perfectbination!

    The Shu Han leader gave the Elite Bai Er Troops limitless buffs, and the court officials changed the ying groundpletely! There were so many rows in the list of abilities that Ren Suo could barely finish looking through them¡ª

    [Fiery Rattan Armor: Deals 2 damage to nearby enemies.]

    [Borrowing the East Wind: Increases the range of ranged attacks of Shu Han units and decreases the range of ranged attacks of Ren family units.]

    [Eight Trigram Formation: Reduces Movement of enemies by 5 and increases Movement of Shu Han ally units by 10.]

    [Fog of War: Covers and protects the important Shu Han units at thest row.]

    [Form of the White Horse: Increases Movement and Attack of Shu Han cavalry units by 30% each.]

    ¡­

    The makeup of the Shu Han army was simply perfect!

    They had abilities to weaken all short-ranged, intermediate-ranged, or long-ranged attacks!

    This was a battle of overall ability. Ren Suo could already predict that once the sixth generation head of the family was weakened to his death by the Fiery Rattan Armor, the remaining Practitioners of the Ren family would also quickly sumb to the enemies¡¯ attacks.

    And this was indeed what happened. In the beginning, the sixth generation head of the Ren family managed to use his ability to badly mock and paralyze the enemy, and kill a good amount of enemies with the rest of the Practitioners of the Ren family. However, just as they were about to reach the heart of the Shu Han army, Liu Bei and the other important legendary characters retreated!

    What a disgrace! How could they escape!

    Ren Suo now fully understood where the Ren family stood.

    You see, they had to gather the strength of all of their people, and attempt to win in numbers, doesn¡¯t that mean that the Ren family was the BOSS instead?

    Liu Bei and his army were fighting against the Ren family as if they were the BOSS instead!

    The Ren family attacked as the Shu Han army ran each time until finally, the Defense of the sixth-generation head of the Ren family had depleted to a critical level. The next moment, Huang Zhongunched on a long-ranged attack on him and he fell right onto the verge of death immediately!

    Then, the rest of the Shu Han army charged forward towards them, and killed the sixth generation head of the Ren family!

    Ren Suo clutched his forehead and sighed, ¡°This must be where I fall¡­Looks like this is where I have to start again¡­¡±

    However, on the screen, an option appeared over the body of the dead Ren Han:

    [Do you wish to be revived by using the Dead Souls of the Ancestors? Yes/No]

 Chapter 62 - Appraisal, Grain Rain Discounts

    <strong>Chapter 62: Chapter 62 ¨C Appraisal, Grain Rain Discounts</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°AD 266 was the second year of the Taishi era under the rule of Emperor Wu in the Jin dynasty in the west, and also the second year of the Ganlu era under the rule of Emperor Mo in the Wu dynasty in the east.¡±

    ¡°Vast territories and much political power fell into the hands of the Sima family. Eastern Wu was the only other kingdom then which had not fallen to Jin, but was barely surviving on its own. As war ceased briefly, the people could finally rest and rehabilitate, and the demons gradually ceased to exist.¡±

    ¡°In AD 279, Jia Chong, the Grand Chief Controller of the Jin dynasty was given the highest authority as Commander-in-Chief and put in-charge of a six-pronged military campaign against Wu.¡±

    ¡°In AD 280, the Wu Emperor Sun Hao surrendered to the Jin dynasty and given the title ¡®Marquis of Guiming¡¯, which, interestingly, was in contrast to Emperor Liu Shan of the fallen Shu Han state, who was enfeoffed the title ¡®Duke of Anle¡¯. From that moment on, all of the states were united by the Western Jin dynasty.¡±

    ¡°In AD 266, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, Ren Han, entered the Luoyang Pce and left behind the ancestral secret about the royal spell of ¡®Perfect Understanding of All Heavens and Earth¡¯.¡±

    ¡°However, even until AD 299, the Jin dynasty did not make use of the ¡®Perfect Understanding of All Heavens and Earth¡¯ to cease all sources of Reiki, but instead plundered through thends to eliminate all forms of Reiki practices amongst the people.¡±

    The scene on the screen suddenly changed to that inside a house. It was the middle of the night, and on the sickbed was Ren Han. Under the unsteady candle light, his pale skin could be seen, but both his eyes remained brimming with energy.

    Ren Han said, ¡°The ancestors of the Ren family, we have all been wrong¡­ Not every leader of a nation is able to manage the power and authority in his hands, unlike the wise and brilliant Emperor Guangwu who was also skilled in martial arts. The Sima family¡­ They are also merely a bigger and slightly more powerful family. The future of us, the Ren family¡­ should never be entrusted to anyone else!¡±

    Feebly, Ren Han took out a token, saying, ¡°The Chixiao Token¡­ This was the mysterious item that formed from the dead body of Emperor Zhaolie after he received the affirmation of all Emperors of the Han dynasty and turned into the King of the Ghosts¡­¡±

    He continued, ¡°This token has extraordinary powers. All Han people around the one who possesses this token will receive numerous benefits. And if the Chixiao Token selects its owner, all restrictions would be removed and the holder would be able to be affirmed by the ancestral emperors of the Han dynasty to be one of the royal members of the Han dynasty!¡±

    ¡°For us, this means that we would be able to break free of the first shackle of our bloodline and establish our own political regime with our own abilities without any hindrance!¡±

    ¡°As long as we, the Ren family, possess our own political power, we can unite the world using our unparalleled abilities. With that, we can put the ¡®Perfect Understanding of All Heavens and Earth¡¯ to good use, and fundamentally remove the curse upon our bloodline¡­¡±

    ¡°However, it is extraordinarily difficult for the Chixiao Token to select its owner¡­ You have to keep the Chixiao Token safely. The Sima familycks morals and the world is cruel ¨C they will soon dig their own graves. When that timees¡­ The world will be a living hell, and the people of Han would be the first to bear the brunt of it.¡±

    ¡°We must continue eliminating all monsters, and we must continue making our name known around the world! When the people of Han is in danger, there must be one of us¡­one of us from the Ren family¡­who will be recognized by the Chixiao Token¡­¡±

    ¡°Always, always remember this!¡±

    ¡°In the year 270, Ren Han passed away at the age of 20. Hisst words were: The Ren family¡­ still lives on.¡±

    ¡°In AD 299, war broke out once again between the eight princes of the Jin dynasty and seven years of battle yet again gued the Central ins with aggression and malice¡­¡±

    The screen turned ck and a few messages from the system appeared:

    ¡°¡î Achievement Complete ¨C Annals of the Han Dynasty!¡±

    ¡°You now have ess to Chapter 2 of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Your current game data has been saved and may be used in Chapter 2.¡±

    Rensuo rolled his eyes. He simply could not imagine himself going through the same thing again in the next chapter, unless he bought the game¡­ But that was only going to happen if he had a lot of money, or his fingers had a mind of their own.

    Firstly, Rensuo knew that the unlucky him would have to spend a few days trying to get a perfect start to the game.

    Furthermore, throughout the game, the head of the Ren family may be unlucky and encounter only strong elves. He would have no choice but to perform spiritual exchange with the elf and the child would then be unable to inherit the inherited ability of the family lineage. In that case, the inherited ability of the lineage of the Ren family head would be rendered useless.

    In addition, Rensuo may meet special encounters throughout the game. Had he not encountered Cao Zhi in the present game save, he would definitely not have been able to survive until year 265 in the game.

    Lastly, whether he was able to sessfullyplete the chapter also depended on the reproduction rate and death rate. Rensuo was fortunate enough to have a barely sufficient number of Souls of the Ancestors in the current game save for the sixth generation Ren Han to be revived and kill Emperor Zhaolie of Han. Otherwise, if he had to give up on the game save when he already made it to the final battle, he would have been really depressed ¨C any normal person would feel like smashing the game controller.

    Thinking back, Rensuo thought that the abilities of the Ghost Troops of the Shu Han army was actually mediocre. If not for theirrge size in numbers, the Ren family Practitioners who were archers would have easily killed Liu Bei in the first few turns.

    Typically, only abilities which ¡°exchanged one life for another¡± couldpare with the inherited abilities of the Ren family Practitioners, such as Jiang Wei¡¯s Twisted Fate ability and Zhuge Liang¡¯s Light of the Seven Stars ability.

    In particr, it was obvious that Zhuge Liang was intended to kill targets in one turn. Rensuo did not think it was possible to train a game character in the first chapter that was able to take a total damage of 2240 points.

    At this juncture, the screen finally showed what Rensuo was eagerly waiting for:

    ¡°Mission aplished.¡±

    ¡°Completed basic mission objective ¨C 60 points awarded¡±

    ¡°Large family: More than 50 members in the family ¨C 5 points awarded¡±

    ¡°Spiritual exchange: Performed spiritual exchange with 1 elf ¨C 1 point awarded¡±

    ¡°History lover: Witnessed 10 historical events ¨C 5 points awarded¡±

    ¡°Long-lived: Formed positive friendships with more than 20 special historical figures ¨C 5 points awarded¡±

    ¡°Total score is 76 points. Appraisal: Moderately good.¡±

    ¡°Current mission score: 75 points (moderately good). Highscore: 75 points (moderately good).¡±

    ¡°Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.¡±

    ¡°You may only upload your score once.¡±

    Rensuo had not expected the appraisal for the present game save to be that well.

    Nheless, there could be more bonus points as there was arge amount of freedom given in the game.

    Or perhaps, the game was simply too difficult, and as long as the yer was able toplete the mission, they would have gained many bonus points.

    Regardless, what surprised Rensuo the most was the category ¡°Long-lived¡±.

    Bonus points were given for forming positive friendships with historical figures?!

    Rensuo had thought that encounters in the game, like going on shooting trips with Lu Bu and studying with Guan Yu, had been a mechanism of the game to increase the difficulty ¨C to make things moreplicated for the yer by increasing the number of game characters.

    While the game characters werepletely unafraid of natural disasters, such encounters were actually the times when the Ren family would decrease greatly in numbers.

    Who knew that if such encounters would contribute to more bonus points if you survived!

    Presently, the question for Rensuo would then be: should I upload this result?

    Or create a new game save and try one more time?

    76 years¡­ If he really wanted to achieve an even better score, Rensuo would definitely have to keep trying until he obtained a perfect setup at the beginning of the game. And even if he continued ying from the best possible setup, he may not survive until year 266 in the game¡­

    Rensuo looked at the time and realized it was 2 a.m. in the morning. Oh no, he thought, I still have to work tomorrow.

    In that case¡­ Nevermind, I will think about this tomorrow.

    Rensuo exited the game and was about to turn the game console off when he noticed from the corner of his eye that the ¡°World Shop¡± icon at the left corner of the screen showed rain!

    He had never seen such a situation before and so he clicked into the ¡°World Shop¡±.

    There, he saw the banner: ¡°Grain Rain Sr Term Discount Event!¡±

    Rensuo was stunned for a moment.

    Even the 24 sr terms are reasons for discounts?! Rensuo looked at the date and realized that it was indeed thest sr term of spring, the Grain Rain term.

    Wait, what about Tomb-Sweeping Day¡­ I was at the group training on that day!

    Rensuo felt as if he was at the losing end, but he was quickly relieved ¨C he could not afford the games even if they were on discount anyway.

    On a separate note, the column ¡°Smashing the Door of Life and Death, Trampling the Door of Right and Wrong¡± had been removed and reced with the column ¡°Here Comes the Grim Reaper¡±. Rensuo was bored and opened the column, but was instantly taken aback. What on earth, it required 468 merit points to acquire!

    If only I could buy it with real money¡­ Rensuo looked at the pathetic 25 merit points that he had and muttered to himself, ¡°This game must not be fun¡­¡±

    But he still could not resist, and clicked to see the game description. The game title was very down-to-earth ¨C

    ¡°The Grim Reaper is Omnipresent¡±.

    ¡°This is a puzzle game in which the yer would take the role of a Grim Reaper. The yer would have to make use of various peculiar rtionships between causes and effects to identify and kill evil targets who havemitted grave crimes. This is an unlimited game and the mission targets would be set at random. There are nopletion criteria, but instead there is a list of achievements which grants the yer corresponding merit points and specialized rewards onpletion of an achievement. In-game purchases are avable. Game difficulty: 1~3 stars.¡±

    ¡°Some of the recurring achievements include:

    Kill 200 evil targets ¨C 5 points awarded;

    Kill 5 low-level evil Awakened targets ¨C 10 points awarded;

    Kill 1 mid-level evil Awakened target ¨C 30 points awarded;

    Kill 1 high-level evil Awakened target ¨C 100 points awarded.¡±

    Rensuo remarked, ¡°The game seems very time-consuming.¡±

    He knew that in order to achieve good scores in such games where the difficulty would vary and was also a ¡°puzzle¡± game, the yer would have to y for long hours andte into the night. He might even have to equip himself with the ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± ability.

    In that case, he would definitely be seeing lots of his hair on the floor or on the bed ¨C just not on his head.

    It was the first time, though, that Rensuo found such a game that allowed the yer to farm unlimited merit points. He made a mental note of the game, for it was a game that would reduce earning merit points to just a time issue.

    Nheless, the game required 468 merit points to acquire¡­ He could not afford it even if he was willing to stay up through the night to y the game.

    Rensuo selected the ¡°Grain Rain Sr Term Discounts!¡± option and his eyes lit up instantly.

    There was a total of four games in the discounts list, but two of which cost three-digit figures of merit points to acquire. Clearly, some games were too expensive even if they were discounted for a poor yer like Rensuo.

    Only two of the games had rtively more affordable prices ¨C

    ¡°Torturous Rain of Blood¡±, 50% OFF, 45 merit points.

    ¡°Wicked Priest¡±, 50% OFF, 50 merit points.

 Chapter 63 - March On, Cross Over My Dead Body

    <strong>Chapter 63 ¨C March On, Cross Over My Dead Body</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Do you wish to revive by using the Dead Souls of the Ancestors? Yes/No¡±

    The Dead Souls¡­ of the Ancestors?

    Rensuo hesitated for a moment but finally selected ¡°Yes¡±.

    The next moment, a ghost-like figure appeared and hovered above the dead body of the sixth Ren Woxing having the role of the head of the family.

    It was Ren Pingsheng, the birth father of the sixth-generation Ren Woxing!

    The spirit, Ren Pingsheng, saw Ren Han on the ground, battered by the attacks of the Ghost Troops surrounding him. Ren Pingsheng heaved a sigh and helped Ren Han up from the ground with a move of his right hand.

    Thereafter, the figure fused together with Ren Han¡¯s body, and Ren Han regained all of his health! All of the negative buffs he received were also removed!

    All that was left was the faintst words of Ren Pingsheng: ¡°In thest twenty years, I, Pinsheng, only hated one person. Mother¡­ I did not let my family down.¡±

    And that was the samest words Ren Pingsheng left behind when he died years ago.

    With the revival of Ren Han, the now protected Ren family Practitioners resumed their attack to break through the defenses of the Ghost Troop Army.

    On the other hand, the Ghost Troops who had fallen before were also revived by the court officials who were still in the fog of war!

    At this juncture, Ren Han¡¯s inherited ability ¡°Heat-Shivering Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force¡± was unable to epass the entire battlefield, and the long-ranged enemies begun attacking the other Practitioners of the Ren family who were standing behind Ren Han!

    Even though the Defense of the Ren family Practitioners were not low, and there were also Practitioners who specialized in Recovery, they were still not able to hold off the attacks by the enemies and died one after another.

    But just at that moment, the yer was given the option to revive again by using the Dead Souls of the Ancestors!

    Bowed-attacker Ren Qiao has been killed.

    Ren Luoyang said, ¡°There is nothing that cannot be solved with an arrow. If one arrow is not sufficient, there are always more arrows to follow. And if that still fails¡­ there is nothing else I can do but to entrust the future in your hands now.¡±

    Warrior Ren Qiling has been killed.

    Ren Wuxie said, ¡°I have always aspired to navigate the ces and traverse the mountains and the seas with my own pair of legs¡­ I heard that there are more inds on the other side of the most eastern part of the sea? I wish I could be there to have a look.¡±

    One by one, as the Practitioners were killed, the souls of their birth parents would appear and fuse together with their bodies, reviving them and allowing them to continue fighting!

    However, although the Ren family of Practitioners were strong, the strength and might of the Evil Souls of Shu Han was extraordinary. The enemies maintained their Eight Trigram Formation and slowed the movement of the Ren family Practitioners down to the maximum!

    Ren Han was killed for the second time!

    Ren Ying said, ¡°Sigh¡­ Sometimes I also wish that I could be loved and cherished like most other girls are¡­¡±

    After using the Souls of Ren Ying, who was the head of the family for the third and fourth generations of the Ren family, Ren Han was revived again!

    At this point, the Ren family of Practitioners had finally gotten closer to the centre of the enemy¡¯s formation, where the historic and well-known Generals were lying in wait!

    Zhang Bao said, ¡°I will not be a disgrace to my father¡¯s name and fame!¡±

    With one swift move, Ren Han used the inherited ability, Heat-Shivering Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force, and killed Zhang Bao!

    Guan Xing said, ¡°Life and death is a natural phenomenon of humans, just as mayflies die the day they emerge. But as long as I am loyal and filial, what¡¯s there to dread about death?¡±

    With one swift arrow from the Destructive Silver Wolf Bow, Ren Qiao shot Guan Xing dead!

    Chen Dao said, ¡°I, Chen Dao, a member of the Elite Bai Er Troops, will ept any judgement from the skills of the Ren family!¡±

    With one swift blow, Ren Qiling¡¯s ability Phantom Punch of Destruction sent Chen Dao flying miles away!

    Even though the Ren family Practitioners were able to kill each of the Shu Han leaders in one move, there was no doubt that they were still much stronger and tougher than the Elite Bai Er Troops, and were able to rapidly weaken the Defences of the Ren family Practitioners.

    Furthermore, ¡°Fei Yi, Marquis of Cheng District¡± was able to cast a middle-ranged ability that caused the sixth-generation Ren Han¡¯s Defense to decrease continuously. Even though they fought their way through the hordes of enemies quickly, Ren Han¡¯s Defense soon fell into the critical zone!

    Through the fog of war, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun each shot one arrow and killed Ren Han instantly!

    Undoubtedly, Rensuo had no other choice but to use another Dead Soul of the Ancestors!

    The soul that emerged from above Ren Han this time was that of his great-grandfather and the second generation of the Ren family, Ren Nu!

    The floating apparition of Ren Nu looked down toward the ground and did not say a word. A few secondster, he suddenly looked up to reveal a face full of tears.

    Ren Nu said, ¡°Father, I have never med you¡­ And I have never once felt regretful for being your son, for being a descendent of the Ren family, or for having to live with such a heavy responsibility throughout my life. For all of these, I am proud.¡±

    With that, Ren Han was brought back alive and kicking once again!

    He was now very close to the strongest of the Shu Han enemies, and the ¡°Heat-Shivering Cross-Elemental Abundant Fury of the Holy Force¡± could now take effect on a small portion of the Generals and Leaders hidden in the fog of war!

    Despite the endless Ghost Troops attempting to outnk the Ren family Practitioners and the numerous revivals of Ren Han, the Ren family Practitioners remained as strong and powerful as before. They casted their individual ultimate skills tirelessly, and freed up a path for the sixth generation Ren Nu!

    ¡°Return of the Six Suns with the Fire of Truth¡±!

    ¡°Phantom Punch of Destruction¡±!

    ¡°Royal Sword of Heavenly Massacre¡±!

    ¡°Unparalleled Sword of All Heavens and Earth!¡±

    ¡°Vain Spear Silhouette of the Prosperous World!¡±

    The ¡°brave¡± Ghost Troops of the Shu Han army were no match to the Ren family Practitioners, who lived up to their name as the ¡°boss¡±. With each attack, the Ren family Practitioners were able to wipe out massive numbers of the enemies, and some of the Practitioners with close-ranged attacks even sent objects flying into the distance to block far-ranged attacks!

    Finally, the Ren family Practitioners fought their way into the fog of war!

    All of the most powerful enemies of the Shu Han army were now paralysed due to the effect of Ren Han¡¯s ¡°Angry Roar Stance¡± ability!

    ¡°Zhao Yun, Marquis Shunping of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Phoenix Homage Spear¡±! Attack: 40, deals 2x damage to single targets!

    ¡°Zhang Fei, Marquis of Xi District of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Chaos Snake Tooth Spear¡±! Attack: 45, deals area damage!

    ¡°Huang Zhong, Marquis Gang of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Sun-Catching Arrow¡±! Attack: 40, deals 2x long-ranged damage!

    ¡°Pang Tong, Marquis Jing of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Looping Iron Chains¡±! Three selected enemy units would receive all damage dealt to any of them (total damage would not be split equally, but each of the three targets would receive the totalbined damage).

    ¡°Zhuge Liang, Marquis Zhongwu of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Maze of the Eight Trigrams¡±! Move any one target in the round three tiles away. Can be used to save ally units or hinder the progress of enemy units.

    ¡°General Jiang Wei of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Last Wish¡±! Negates negative status effects of three selected targets, including ¡®Mocking Paralysis¡±!

    Even though Ren Han was able to paralyse the enemy units with his ability, but there were also many Shu Han Practitioners who could cast ranged canon attacks on any area on the battlefield.

    In addition, Jiang Wei could negate the negative status effects of three ally units in each turn. Even though Ren Han could paralyse them again the next turn, the Shu Han general would then take the opportunity to eliminate the supporting Ren family Practitioners!

    Furthermore, Ren Han could also be involuntarily moved into the middle of the crowd of Ren family Practitioners by Zhuge Liang. Arge portion of the casted abilities were momentarily lost and more than half of the Ren family Practitioners were killed that turn, leaving Rensuo with no choice but to utilize the Soul of the Ancestors to revive the Ren family Practitioners again!

    The fourth generation of Ren Practitioners, the third generation of Ren Practitioners, the second generation of Ren Practitioners¡­

    Over 50 of those Practitioners who once fought their way to fame during the chaotic era of the Three Kingdoms and spent their short yet morous lives killing and eliminating demons and ghosts, reappeared for thest time on the battlefield. They gave theirst, remaining strength and power to their descendants!

    Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Jiang Wei, Fei Yi, Jiang Wan, Guan Suo, Sun Gan, and Yang Yi had all been killed in battle!

    Three Practitioners of the Ren family were gone forever and could no longer be revived as they had no more Souls of the Ancestors they could utilize!

    At this juncture, Rensuo finally understood the game mechanism for a character¡¯s death in battle.

    Any game character who was killed within the base of the Ren family (characters who said theirst words before they died) could be called upon by descendants of the Ren family in the final battles of each stage of the game, giving them an opportunity for a ¡°full revive¡±!

    However, Rensuo figured that there was a sequence to the revival of the Soul of the Ancestors. Directly-rted members of the family (grandfather, father, son, grandson) only needed to utilize one Soul of the Ancestors to be fully revived.

    On the other hand, ancestors who did not have any direct descendants (that is, the family name lineage hadpletely died out) would have to utilize two such Souls for their descendants to be revived!

    Furthermore, the Souls of ancestors who had direct descendants who were still alive could not be utilized by descendants of branch lineages!

    However, even with such a strong support of the Souls of Ancestors to fully revive the Ren family descendants, they were pitted against the formidable Shu Han army of Ghost Troops, which was one of the strongest and elite forces during the chaotic era of the Three Kingdoms.

    While Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, Li Yan, and Pang Tong were killed, two of the Ren family Practitioners lost their lives as well!

    There were now only three Practitioners of the Ren family left!

    Jiang Wei remarked, ¡°The Ren family is truly formidable¡­ If our n still fails this time, it could only be heaven¡¯s fate!¡±

    Then, Jiang Wei turned his sword toward himself and stabbed it through his body!

    ¡°General Jiang Wei of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Twisted Fate¡±! User¡¯s Defense drops immediately to 0 while dealing damage equivalent to the user¡¯s original Defense to all nearby enemies!

    Jiang Wei¡¯s original Defense was high, and Liu Bei had also provided him with a boost of Defense +50. Of the three remaining Ren Practitioners, only Ren Han could survive!

    Two more Practitioners of the Ren family had been killed, leaving only the head of the sixth generation of the Ren family, Ren Han!

    Zhuge Liang stood in front of Liu Bei as he looked at Ren Han, shaking his head gently. He said, ¡°This is truly a critical moment¡­¡±

    ¡°Zhuge Liang, Marquis Zhongwu of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Light of the Seven Stars¡±! User¡¯s Defense drops immediately to 0 while dealing seven consecutive attacks on the enemy. Each of the seven attacks deals 2x the damage of the previous attack.

    Zhuge Liang, who had been sitting on a wheelchair, gradually turned into ashes and disappeared. In the meantime, Ren Han received possibly the strongest set of attacks in the entire game!

    Zhuge Liang had an Attack of 35, which meant that the first attack was 35, the second would be 70, the third 140, the fourth 280, and the fifth 560!

    On the other hand, Ren Han had a Defense of 200+200*50% which amounted to a total of 300 points. After the fifth attack, Ren Han fell into a critical state!

    Liu Bei walked up to Ren Han and sighed. He said, ¡°The present generation had not been able to prevent the decline of the Han Dynasty. But I, without first ensuring I have sufficient capability, set out to restore justice to the Han Dynasty.¡±

    ¡°Emperor Zhao Lie of Han¡± cast skill ¡°Gender Double Sword¡±, killing Ren Han.

    At this juncture, thest Soul of the Ancestor of the Ren family finally appeared above Ren Han.

    That was the first head of the family Rensuo had chosen for the current game save.

    It was Ren Woxing.

    Ren Woxing looked around the area and saw the massive numbers of Ghost Troops and Ghost Leaders, while all but one of the Ren family descendants were now dead bodies around the entire battlefield. He let out aforting smile.

    ¡°Descendants of the Ren family, all of you carried such a heavy task on your shoulders while being restricted by the most unforgiving shackles. Love, friendship, hopes for the future¡­ all of these beautiful memories could never belong to us.¡±

    ¡°We possess the strongest powers, but yet we are predestined to walk on the most tragic of paths.¡±

    ¡°You may hate me, this surname, this family, and this destiny¡­ but regardless¡­¡±

    ¡°Please, march on, as you cross over my dead body.¡±

    With that, Ren Han was fully revived for the fourth time!

    In the real world, Rensuo was pressing the buttons on the game controller continuously in excitement.

    It¡¯s time for me to bring you to death¡¯s door with a 4x single target critical attack!

    However, suddenly at this moment, Liu Bei said, ¡°The power of the Souls of the Ancestors of the Ren family is truly remarkable¡­ But what makes you any different for us then? Don¡¯t you also make use of the powers of the spirits, demons, ghosts, and beasts?¡±

    This time, a dialogue box appeared on the screen. In the dialogue box were the words ¡°Ren Woxing said¡±.

    Rensuo scratched his head and thought, am I supposed to help Ren Han reply Liu Bei¡¯s question?

    Rensuo entered:

    ¡°Why should I even consider about morality and justice when dealing with a monster like you?! Have a taste of my axe!¡±

    Previously, Liu Bei gave 100 of his 300 Defense points to Jiang Wei and Zhuge Liang, leaving him with only 200 Defense points in the round.

    Ren Han had a base attack of 50 points, and there was a 4x critical attack with fire and water attacks!

    A system message appeared: ¡°Ren Woxing has killed Emperor Zhao Lie of Han¡±

    ¡°The Shu Han Ghost Army has lost their King and they have vanished¡±

    ¡°¡î Achievementplete ¨C Liberating the Heroic Spirits of Shu Han¡±

 Chapter 64 - Holiday, Upload Appraisal!

    <strong>Chapter 64: Chapter 64 ¨C Holiday, Upload Appraisal!</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    April 20, Grain Rain (sr term): Auspicious day for burials, restoring graves, and nting. Inauspicious day for residence relocation, sacrifice, and breaking ground for tombs.

    ¡°Hey, stop sleeping, it¡¯s time to go, it¡¯s time to go!¡±

    Rensuo, who had been sleeping on the passenger seat, woke up in an instant. He opened his eyes and saw Chen Kun knocking on the window from outside the car.

    Rensuo rubbed his eyes and got down the car, saying, ¡°Sigh, Brother Kun¡­ I¡¯m quite tired today.¡±

    ¡°You have been like this since the morning and even fell asleep face-down on your braised pork rice! Young man, you must take care of your body,¡± said Chen Kun.

    Chen Kun sighed again and added, ¡°It¡¯s my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have given you the link to the website.¡±

    The sleepy Rensuo was toozy to think about what Chen Kun was trying to joke about, when suddenly a familiar voice came from behind, ¡°Rensuo, if you sway any more, you¡¯re going to hit themppost!¡±

    With a dull thud, Rensuo¡¯s head met the hard metal of themppost. Immediately,ughter from two different people behind could be heard.

    Rensuo turned his head to see who they were as he finally became more alert. He said, ¡°Xiao Qiao? Wei Shao?¡±

    Indeed, the two people behind him were Qiao Muyi and her partner, Wei Shaojun. Wei Shaojun was a handsome, short-haired girl who wore a pair of spectacles and also dressed more like a guy. The members of Team 3 of the Countermeasure Division all called her ¡°Wei Shao¡±.

    They exchanged greetings with Rensuo. Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°What brings you two here?¡±

    Rensuo looked at Chen Kun for an answer. A helpless Chen Kun said, ¡°You¡¯re really in such a daze¡­ We are here to investigate what¡¯s going on with the Long Hui Building.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± said Rensuo as he raised his head and looked at the construction site a short distance away. The building being constructed was over ten stories tall. He finally remembered what he was here for, saying, ¡°The construction site that was reported to be haunted?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Chen Kun. He continued, ¡°It was reported by the person-in-charge of the constructionpany. He said that there seemed to be weird sounds on the construction site during the night, and for consecutive nights, there have been workers who suddenly copsed and die when they were doing work then. When the chiefbor contractor also died in a simr way, the constructionpany finally decided to report the matter to the police. But the Public Security Bureau of Heitu did not manage to identify any problems and thus handed the investigation over to us.¡±

    Apart from carrying out the orders from the higher-ups, the Countermeasure Division also had to solve unexined supernatural mysteries. Rather, thetter was the main task of those who worked in the Countermeasure Division.

    If it was an Awakened person who was causing trouble, Team 1 and Team 2 of the Countermeasure Division would take charge; otherwise, the rest of the teams would have to settle the problem.

    Rensuo looked at Qiao Muyi and her partner, saying, ¡°What brings both of you here then?¡±

    Wei Shaojun replied, ¡°We are handling a reported missing person case. Seven to eight children from a primary school nearby have gone missing in just half a month. We checked their location of residence and their school and found that they were all not far from this construction site. More importantly, though, was that a child told us that the missing children would y around here, near the construction site, asionally.¡±

    ¡°Then it must be the same case,¡± said Rensuo. He shrugged and followed the rest into the construction site which was fenced up.

    Numerous seals of the Public Security Bureau were hanging outside the entrance of the construction site, and the main gate was locked with arge metal chain. Rensuo and the rest did not have the key to unlock the chain, but it did not matter to them ¨C they climbed over the wall instead.

    There was not a single person on the construction site, but it was not unexpected. As much as the workers wanted to earn money, any normal person would not want to risk their lives either, after witnessing a number of their co-workers suddenly dying in their sleep. No one from the management of the constructionpany did not dare to appear at the construction site either. However, this made the work easier for Rensuo and the rest ¨C they could search wherever they wanted without any hindrance.

    Silently, Rensuo equipped himself with the ¡°Clothes¡± skill and began searching for clues amongst the cement and rebar. He had not learned how to conduct a detective investigation before. However, for them, searching for clues naturally did not mean using their eyes to look for physical clues. If there were visible clues, they would have been found by their colleagues in the police force anyway.

    As a Practitioner, they naturally depended on their mature, generated breathing currents to detect presence of Reiki onsite.

    After their generated breathing currents matured, they would be particrly sensitive to changes in the flow of Reiki. If there were supernatural events that had urred and obvious traces of Reiki were left behind, they would naturally be able to feel it.

    Almost two hours passed and the sky was turning dark, but they had not found any problems. Chen Kunmented, ¡°It looks like we have toe back and continue with our investigation tomorrow. If we still can¡¯t find anything tomorrow, we will have toe back the next day again then.¡±

    Supernatural cases like the one they were working on all had an investigation deadline. If they were unable to find any leads for three consecutive days, they would give up on the investigation as they could not afford to waste manpower on such cases.

    Wei Shaojun said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because the problem only happens at night?¡±

    Rensuo looked back at the construction site under the darkening sky and said emotionlessly, ¡°If that is the case we would have to report this up to the higher-ups and wait for approval from Team Leader to work overtime at night.¡±

    The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement. Although the Countermeasure Division was a civil service unit, they were all originally from different departments and did not have grand, noble visions. Rather, most of them were fortunatemoners who would abide by the rules and guidelines in their work, and not embark on a risky adventure trying to uncover the ¡°one and only truth¡± in the heat of the moment.

    Just as they were about to leave the construction site, however, they suddenly heard a wailing from very far away.

    Chen Kun¡¯s face turned pale as he said, ¡°This case¡­ I think we should hand it over to Team 1 and 2.¡±

    As Practitioners with a palm of ¡°steel¡±, they were no longer as afraid of strange and mysterious urrences, but such a supernatural case still gave them goosebumps.

    The increasing prevalence of popr culture and horror movies yed an instrumental role in influencing the way people viewed the world, values, and their lives. Even though they possessedbat skills much stronger than ordinary people, they were still not immune to and totally unafraid of such supernatural urrences.

    They quickly returned to the Ministry of State Security with their cars to report their findings and mark their attendance at work. When they were about to leave, Qiao Muyi suddenly turned to Rensuo and asked, ¡°Oh, I just remembered that we are going to train at the training facility tonight, are youing along? The members of Group 8 from our group training are all invited and we are nning to catch up with one another at the same time.¡±

    Rensuo asked, ¡°Eh? Why am I not aware of this?¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Did you not read your WeChat messages?¡±

    Rensuo pped his forehead as he realized that he had been in a daze since he turned off the Small World game console the night before and spent a sleepless night thereafter. He had been half asleep throughout the entire day and naturally was not aware of the meeting.

    Rensuo agreed, although he originally wanted to decline the invitation but also did not want to return home too early that day. He rode the subway with Qiao Muyi to the stadium in Tianhe District.

    ¡°We agreed to meet at 7.30 p.m. so we still have some time before that. Shall we eat first?¡± suggested Qiao Muyi.

    Rensuo had no reason to decline and they decided to eat fried chicken at a KFC fast food stall.

    Throughout the entire meal, Rensuo appeared to be preupied and weighed down with trouble, prompting Qiao Muyi to ask, ¡°Did anything happen? Do you need any help?¡±

    I am thinking if I should do it¡­ Rensuo looked at Qiao Muyi and casually asked, ¡°Would you be willing to help?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± said Qiao Muyi. She had only asked casually but noticed that Rensuo seemed to be asking a serious question. She slowly swayed her head from side to side and said, ¡°It depends on what help you need¡­ Between the both of us, I am willing to help you with a 500-dor matter, at the most.¡±

    ¡°A 500-dor matter?¡± asked a slightly dazed Rensuo.

    Qiao Muyi exined, ¡°Yes, this is how I group my friends. 500 dors means I am willing to lend you up to 500 dors. It is alright if you end up not returning the money to me, but we will never be friends again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s such a straightforward way to determine the value of your friends¡­¡± murmured Rensuo under his breath. He asked, ¡°What about Wei Shaojun then?¡±

    ¡°1250 dors, I suppose,¡± said Qiao Muyi. ¡°So, how much do you want to borrow from me?¡±

    Who knew that the value was so precise, to the tens digit¡­ Rensuo shook his head and said, ¡°No, it actually does not have anything to do with you, but if you really want to know ¨C¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to know,¡± interrupted an unfeeling Qiao Muyi. She continued, dealing another blow to Rensuo, ¡°It¡¯s about time, let¡¯s go¡­ over¡­¡±

    As Qiao Muyi was about to finish her sentence, her body suddenly nted to one side and was about to fall over. Fortunately, Rensuo reacted in time and held her up, or else she would definitely have fell right to the ground.

    ¡°I¡­¡± said Qiao Muyi. Her face was extremely pale and Rensuo began feeling a repulsive force from his hands which made him release Qiao Muyi from his grip.

    Qiao Muyi had initiated her ¡°Clothes¡± ability!

    In theory, ¡°Clothes¡± was able to repel all negative forces around the user, but it did not appear to have much effect as Qiao Muyi sat on the chair, her face dripping with sweat. She persisted in holding onto the table for more than ten seconds, but suddenly closed her eyes and passed out.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Should I call the ambnce?¡±

    The customers who were sitting at the tables around them asked quickly when they saw Qiao Muyi suddenly pass out when she was energetic and alive just moments ago.

    Rensuo immediately understood the gravity of the situation. He carried Qiao Muyi up from the chair and ran downstairs immediately. He quickly gged down a taxi and told the driver the address of the Third Affliated Hospital of Lianjiang Medical University.

    The driver asked, ¡°Is this an emergency? We would need at least one hour to get there, why not go to a closer hospital?¡±

    Rensuo said, ¡°This is a recurring disease and only that hospital has the imported medical equipment to treat it. Please get there as quickly as possible!¡±

    Rensuo knew that Qiao Muyi was afflicted with some damaging form of Reiki and it was no use going to an ordinary hospital. Only that hospital which specially dealt with and studied Practitioners and those who were Awakened would be able to save Qiao Muyi¡¯s life!

    The construction site, the wailing, and the sudden deaths¡­

    Although Rensuo could not be certain if the problem at the construction site was rted to the wailing, he was sure the truth was not far from it. Qiao Muyi had activated ¡°Clothes¡± but was not able to protect herself from it, making it obvious that the mysterious force hidden at the construction site was definitely not part of a typical supernatural incident.

    To put it simply, they must have encountered a highly-skilled entity at the construction site previously.

    As the taxi sped towards the hospital, Rensuo informed You Xulong of what happened to Qiao Muyi, who said he would inform the hospital immediately. At the same time, the Long Hui Building case would be handed over to Team 1 and 2 of the Countermeasure Division.

    Amidst the rush, it was fortunate that Qiao Muyi was a Practitioner herself and was able to slightly resist whatever mysterious force was affecting her. When they arrived at the hospital, she was still able to maintain an extremely weak breathing. The doctors and nurses who were already waiting at the main gate of the hospital quickly rushed Qiao Muyi into the hospital for emergency resuscitation on a stretcher.

    Rensuo wanted to enter the hospital but the doctor whom he met before, Yao Meilu, stopped him. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she will be fine once she goes in. Although this is a rare incident, we have previously encountered simr cases before and have already developed aplete treatment n. Practitioners like you cannot enter the hospital if there is no official business.¡±

    Seeing that Yao Meilu, who was a professional medical personnel, was extremely confident and serious, Rensuo had no reason to believe her. Furthermore, Rensuo did not want to enter the hospital which was an area devoid of Reiki¡­

    At this moment, he received another call from You Xulong.

    He said, ¡°Members from Team 2 of the Countermeasure Division have went to investigate the construction site, and they are still investigating. Those who entered the construction site today are Qiao Muyi, Wei Shaojun, Chen Kun, and you. The Deputy Director has instructed the remaining three of you, excluding Qiao Muyi, to temporarily join Team 2 in their investigation into this construction site incident.¡±

    You Xulong then gave Rensuo the contact number of Lu Luo, the Assistant Team Leader of Team 2, saying, ¡°The Deputy Director must think that there is some special information on you to let you all continue taking charge of this incident¡­ Don¡¯t worry, at the most, Team 2 would only ask for your assistance in their investigation and would not make you do much work.¡±

    Rensuo returned to the city centre on the taxi he had arrived at the hospital in as he called Lu Luo.

    ¡°Hello, is this Lu Luo, the Assistant Team Leader of Team 2? I am Rensuo from Team 3¡­¡± started Rensuo.

    Lu Luo interrrupted Rensuo, saying, ¡°You¡¯re Rensuo? Great, although the Deputy Director has given orders, but we Team 2 do not require any of your help.¡±

    Rensuo was slightly confused and said, ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Please convey the message to the other two members, just don¡¯te and bother us. We, Team 2, will handle and close this case perfectly. That¡¯s all,¡± said Lu Luo.

    Rensuo looked at his phone and his thoughts were in a mess.

    They truly don¡¯t need much of our help.

    In fact, they totally don¡¯t need us to work for them.

    Rensuo informed the other two members of the news, and was puzzled:

    Team 3 had instructed me to work for Team 2,

    But Team 2 does not need me to work,

    So¡­ I don¡¯t need to work, then I am on leave?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    By the time Rensuo reached home, it was past 11 p.m.

    He immediately turned the Small World game console on and opened the ¡°Inventory¡±.

    It was empty, except for two keys.

    One was a ¡°1-star wind de key¡±, and another was a ¡°1-star resentful key¡±!

    The first key was the one Rensuo had retrieved from Wu Jianming, the junior high school student, and the second key was the one he had just retrieved from Qiao Muyi!

    When Rensuo had rushed Qiao Muyi to the hospital earlier, he had a full hour during the taxi journey. Furthermore, Qiao Muyi was barely conscious. Although Rensuo had no such intention earlier, he already fulfilled the time required for him to retrieve the key halfway through the journey!

    That was perhaps an unexpected gain, although the only reason he could obtain the key was because Qiao Muyi was unlucky today¡­

    Rensuo looked at the time and realized it was 11.30 p.m.

    15 minutes more and the day would be over.

    Should I buy it? Should I buy it?

    If I miss the promotion today, there would not be any discount anymore!

    The reason why Rensuo could not sleep the previous night and remained dazed and unfocused for the entire day was simply because he was considering if he should buy it!

    Should I buy it? Or should I not buy it?

    It was now 11.40 p.m.

    Rensuo looked at the screen and took out a coin. He decided to let fate decide if he should buy it or not.

    Heads and he would buy it, tails and he would not.

    Rensuo flicked the coin with his thumb. Just as the coin was dropping back down, he reached out and grabed the coin.

    He took a deep breath, and a wave of relief rushed over him.

    The moment he flicked the coin, Rensuo already made a decision.

    Rensuo ¨C

    He was a gamer,

    And merit points could be earned again,

    But it was not everyday that a discount would be given!

    More importantly, Rensuo really wanted that specialized reward!

    Bought it!

    Although he had decided to buy it, Rensuo quickly immediately entered the game ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± and uploaded the game save.

    The game rewards would have to make up for the insufficient merit points!

 Chapter 65 - â€“ Level Two Player

    <strong>Chapter 65: Chapter 65 ¨C Level Two yer</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Although both the discounted prices of the games ¡°Torturous Rain of Blood¡± and ¡°Wicked Priest¡± were rtively cheaper, Rensuo was still unable to afford them.

    Rensuo only had 24 merit points at present (Retrieving the key from Qiao Muyi cost 1 merit point), and it was unlikely for him to be able to buy any games that were not on discount.

    It was not that there were no other more affordable games on the Small World game console; rather, the original cost of games that were featured in the rmended list would generally be above three figures.

    That was why Rensuo did not waste such an opportunity to buy one of the rmended games that were currently on discount.

    At present, Rensuo only knew that longer promotions would be held during certain well-known international holidays, such as during April Fools¡¯ and International Workers¡¯ Day¡­ On the other hand, Rensuo still did not know if there would be promotions held over the National Day of Xuan Nation or during the Christmas festive season.

    Although Rensuo knew that discounts would be given for the games on the Small World game console based on the 24 sr terms, but unfortunately, the discounts would only be effective on that one particr day each time.

    In that case, Rensuo had to decide if he wanted to acquire the game within the day.

    Rensuo knew that even if took leave from work that day, he would still not be able toplete another round of the game ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± within the day. The reason why he was unable to focus during work was precisely because he was constantly deliberating whether or not he should buy the game.

    Should he miss the current promotion, he would really have lost the chance to buy the game, especially if the game is not on discount during subsequent promotions. If he wanted to buy it in the future when the game was no longer on discount, he would have to umte more than a hundred merit points, and first use 10 merit points to search for the game, before he could buy it. But even so, he could well use his umted merit points to purchase another pricier game that was on discount at that point in time instead.

    Of course, his main intent was not merely to purchase any game, but rather, he really wanted the specialized rewards of one of the discounted games!

    In that case, Rensuo had no choice but to submit his current score and appraisal for the game ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, and use the rewarded merit points to purchase the other game.

    ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± was slightly different from the game ¡°The Killer¡±, in which there were time limitations when ying the chapter ¡°The Bloody Evening Ball¡¯, and Rensuo would not be able to improve his score in just a day.

    On the other hand, although ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± was more challenging, it would be a lie to say that Rensuo had no way to improve his current score.

    Firstly, the given starting set up of the current game save was not the best or the most perfect. If Rensuo was willing to spend some time, he would be able to create a new game save that started off with a perfect set up where all the three starting Ren family characters were 14 years old.

    Furthermore, while Rensuo knew that Shield-type Practitioners were powerful, he felt that it might be better if each generation of Ren family Practitioners were of different types. If they were equipped with the skill ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± and allowed to train without stopping, would that allow them to be more holistically developed?

    Although the game did not allow the yer to read from a particr game save and continue again from there, the time when Cao Zhi became the Prince of Juancheng was pre-set and confirmed. It was not impossible to obtain the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of the Luo River in the game again.

    Also, Rensuo had not encountered the scenario to obtain the strongest ¡°beast¡±, which was the Green Dragon Crescent de¡­

    Additionally, the side-mission ¡°72 graves of Cao Cao¡± was another scenario which Rensuo had skipped previously, as he was preupied with letting the Ren family Practitioners train as much as possible before the Battle of Yiling.

    Now that Rensuo had merely achieved a score of 75 points with an appraisal of ¡°moderately good¡±, it meant that as long as Rensuo was willing, it was highly possible for him to achieve a score of 80 points with an appraisal of ¡°extraordinary¡± if he tried again.

    Although Rensuo had achieved a score of 75 points in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, the game did not provide him with any hints. Perhaps it was because the game knew that Rensuo could do better on his own (yes, Rensuo suspected that his own thoughts and feelings were known to the game console), or perhaps it was the game setting which only provided hints when the yer¡¯s score was above 80 points.

    However, if Rensuo had gotten a hint when he achieved 80 points, that meant that it was highly possible for him to try again and achieve a score of 90 points!

    Rensuo had never achieved such a high score of 90 points!

    The truth was that Rensuo was not bothered about how high his score was, but the higher the score he obtained, the more merit points he would be rewarded with.

    And that was the reason why Rensuo was troubled the entire day ¨C

    Deliberating if he should buy the game, by uploading the current game score now, but lose the opportunity to earn more merit points;

    Or not buy the game, but miss the opportunity to purchase the game at a discounted cost!

    Nheless, the moment Rensuo pressed the key on the game controller, it could not be undone.

    ¡°Your score has been uploaded sessfully. You have received 36 merit points. Use them wisely.¡±

    ¡°You have received 1x 2-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.¡±

    ¡°You have received the following specialized reward: Heart Strengthening. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.¡±

    ¡°Your score for ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ has been uploaded. Thank you for ying. A small world brings immeasurable and unending happiness!¡±

    ¡°You have received one new message.¡±

    36 merit points! Adding that to the 24 merit points Rensuo already had, he now had a total of 60 merit points!

    However, the maximum number of merit points obtainable for the game was 75 while he had only gotten 36 of them. That meant that he had only been rewarded with 45% of the maximum obtainable number of 80 merit points¡­ How exactly was the proportion calcted?

    Rensuo immediately opened up the ¡°Grain Rain Sr Term Discount Event!¡± menu and selected the option to buy the game!

    He was presented with only two options: ¡°Torturous Rain of Blood¡± and ¡°Wicked Priest¡±!

    ¡°Torturous Rain of Blood¡±

    ¡°This is a role-ying puzzle adventure game. The yer would act as an Awakened person who has lost his memory. He walks through the rainy Manhattan City as he seeks to uncover the truth of the ever-changing world and recover his lost memories. The maximum reward for clearing the mission is 120 merit points, and the avable specialized reward is ¡°Strength in the Rain¡±. There is only one chapter in this game with no subsequent development chapters. In-game purchases are avable. Difficulty rating: 1 star.¡±

    ¡°Wicked Priest¡±

    ¡°This is a role-ying rescuepetition game. The yer acts as the light of all humans that has the heart of all and who is a gentleman in rain or shine. In the future toe, the yer decides to hold a fair and just priest selection contest for the sake of all beings. The maximum reward for clearing the mission is 150 merit points, and the avable specialized reward is ¡°The Touch of Recovery¡±. There is only one chapter in this game with no subsequent development chapters. In-game purchases are avable. Difficulty rating: 2 stars.¡±

    Both of the games still required a moderate number of merit points to acquire after the discount, but it was much lower than their original cost.

    The original cost of ¡°Torturous Rain of Blood¡± was 90 merit points, and the maximum reward was 120 merit points. There was only a amount of 30 merit points to be earned¡­ And this was only achievable if the yer achieved a perfect score of 100 points.

    On the other hand, the original cost of ¡°Wicked Priest¡± was 100 merit points, and the maximum reward was 150 merit points. The amount of 50 merit points to be earned was higher than ¡°Torturous Rain of Blood¡±, but this game had a 2-star difficulty.

    Initially, Rensuo was actually slightly perturbed. Even though ¡°The Killer¡± and ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± were expensive games as well, why were their maximum rewarded merit points much lower?

    But after some thinking, he understood ¨C it was because he had merely yed one of the chapters of each game.

    Each chapter had a maximum of at least 40-80 merit points to be earned, and if there were more than 5 chapters in the game, they would have over 400 merit points to be earned in total. In fact, Rensuo felt that the subsequent chapters of the games would increase in difficulty and also their corresponding rewards.

    In particr, Rensuo thought that ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± would epass many of the historical events that happened, including the Turbulent Period, the Uprising of the Five Barbarians, the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties, the period of the Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty, the period of the Five Kingdoms and Ten Dynasties, the Jingkang uprising, the hundred-year-period of the Yuan dynasty¡­

    Just a simple count gives more than five possible chapters. If Rensuo bought the game, he would easily end up ying through the night for months.

    Of course, however, the game would definitely be extremely expensive. Assuming each chapter rewarded a maximum of 80 merit points, the game would reward the yer with almost 500 merit points in total, and the game must likely cost more than that amount.

    Regardless, if the game was not discounted, Rensuo would not be able to afford it anyway.

    Rensuo selected the option to buy the game!

    ¡°You have received one message.¡±

    Rensuo was stunned for a moment. He was stopped from buying the game? He nced at the time ¨C 23:51, the day was almost over!

    Rensuo hastily opened the inbox. When he clicked on the message titled ¡°Congrattions from the Small World¡±, the screen shed momentarily.

    The default yer avatar appeared in the center of the screen with Rensuo¡¯s yer ID written below: Neisser Ren.

    Below the yer ID was a shining golden pentagram. The golden streaks concentrated into a point and turned into a second pentagram which was stacked behind the first!

    ¡°Congrattions, you are now a level 2 yer!¡±

    ¡°Backup slot in Equipment List +1.¡±

    ¡°You may choose one of the three yer privileges below as your reward.¡±

    ¡°¢Ù Meticulous yer: When making any purchases using merit points in the Small World, there is a 50% chance of -1 merit point required for your purchase (each purchase cannot be lower than 1 merit point)¡±

    ¡°¢Ú Novice: +5% merit points earned each time (not lower than 1 merit point)¡±

    ¡°¢Û Picky yer: After the avable free games-of-the-month are refreshed each month, and before you select one of the games as your free game-of-the-month, you can choose to rece one of the avable free games with another game. The maximum amount of rewarded merit points for the new game would be 10% more than the game being reced.¡±

 Chapter 66 - Opening the Treasure Chest; He is Called Ren (2-in-1)

    <strong>Chapter 66: Chapter 66 ¨C Opening the Treasure Chest; He is Called Ren (2-in-1)</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Which of the three options should I choose?

    If only Ren Suo had enough time to deliberate over the options, he would have rephrased the three options and posted them online for his friends to discuss and provide their opinions.

    However, he wanted to purchase a new game now and does not have the luxury of time. He had to make a decision on his own.

    Choosing the first option would give him a 50% chance of saving 1 merit point in every purchase. That meant that he may only need to spend 49 merit points to purchase an item that was originally worth 50 merit points.

    The second option was even easier to understand: he would receive additional +5% merit points whenever he uploaded his final mission scores. For example, when the final mission score for a subsequent mission is uploaded, he would receive 5 extra merit points, in addition to the given 100 merit points.

    The third option was more unique and unusual.

    The Picky yer.

    Ren Suo felt that the quantity and quality of the free games given each month were varied. If he selected the ¡°Picky yer¡± option, he would be able to swap one of the given free games that had the least benefits to him for another one that would reap greater rewards, provided that he had not yet selected the free game he wanted to y.

    However, it was an option that required luck. If the game that had been swapped in was one that Ren Suo felt was too challenging or was one that was still less rewarding than the other given free games, he would have wasted that privilege.

    Additionally, such privilege could only be used once each month¡ªsince free games only refresh once a month.

    Ren Suo nced at the clock and realized that it was 11:57 p.m.!

    He did not have any more time to spare!

    Each of the three privileges was unique in their own right, and choosing one of them over the others would not put him at any significant disadvantage. In that case¡­

    Without further hesitation, Ren Suo selected the first yer privilege, ¡°Meticulous yer¡±!

    This was mainly because he was a person who always sought to achieve bnce: not to embark on the most dangerous journey, but neither the safest one. He would choose the one with an average, moderate amount of risk.

    To him, ¡°Novice¡± was the safest bet, and ¡°Picky yer¡± was the riskiest. ¡°Meticulous yer¡± was the only option where he did not fully understand its advantages, but he thought it would prove to be useful.

    After Ren Suo made his selection, he was now officially a Level 2 yer of the Mini Worlds. He quickly navigated back to the Grain Rain Promotions screen and bought the game¡ª

    [Holy Priest: Survival Battle]!

    In thest three minutes of the ongoing promotion, Ren Suo managed to purchase one of the discounted games sessfully!

    His 60 merit points dropped back down to a measly 11 merit points.

    Ren Suo was stunned for a moment but quickly found that his luck was actually decent¡ªhe had scored the 50% chance in his first purchase after acquiring the yer privilege ¡°Meticulous yer¡±, and managed to save 1 merit point for his purchase.

    Ren Suo exited from the Mini Worlds Shop and proceeded to the safehouse inventory.

    He had not forgotten about the 2-star treasure chest that he received as part of the rewards from uploading his mission score in the game [Over My Dead Body].

    Furthermore, he now had 2 keys! Why should he wait to open the treasure chest?

    At this juncture, he noticed that a tiny, rotating disc animation appeared at the bottom right corner of the icon for the game [Over My Dead Body].

    It was as if the disc was currently being read.

    There was no time restriction imposed on the game [Over My Dead Body]. Hence, based on the trend, it should only be deleted automatically the following month.

    Now that Ren Suo had already uploaded his final mission score, he could still continue to y the game¡ªalthough there were barely any benefits for Ren Suo to do so.

    But in retrospect, ying games throughout his 22 years of being alive did not have many benefits for Ren Suo either!

    It was only after he acquired the Mini Worlds Gaming Console that Ren Suo found out that he could earn more merit points to purchase more games by ying the free games. He could even acquire other strange abilities through specialized rewards.

    As Ren Suo looked at the rotating disc on the bottom right corner of the [Over My Dead Body] game icon, he remembered that he saw the same strange animation on that of the [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] game icon.

    However, although the shining disc was still shown above the [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] game icon, it was no longer rotating and evidently frozen in ce.

    On the other hand, the new game [Holy Priest: Survival Battle], which had just finished downloading, did not have any of such disc icons on the bottom right corner of the game icon.

    What¡­do the disc icons mean?

    Ren Suo scratched his head but still could note up with a usible exnation¡ªthere was no use thinking so hard about it anyway. He prepared to reap the rewards from his previous mission.

    There were three items in the safehouse inventory: the 2-star treasure chest, a 1-star wind de key, and a 1-star resentful key.

    Ren Suo was excited as he eagerly chose to open the 2-star treasure chest!

    However, a system prompt appeared:

    [You do not have a 2-star key and cannot activate a 2-star treasure chest.]

    ¡°¡­¡± Ren Suo was speechless as he blinked nkly at the screen.

    Although he had already noticed that the keys and the treasure chests had individual star ratings and had his doubts, Ren Suo was still slightly dumbfounded when presented with such message¡ª

    It was simple and straightforward to spend money in the game, but it was excruciatingly difficult to redeem his rewards!

    The Mini Worlds Gaming Console had a steep learning curve and a high cost, typical of hardcore local system games, including the deterring settings of free reloadable games that hindered the game experience!

    [You have two 1-star keys, do you wish tobine them? (One 2-star key can be formed from two 1-star keys)]

    Eh?

    Ren Suo selected the 1-star wind de key and found that there was indeed a [Combine] option.

    He heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the game was notpletely heartless and did not require him to obtain a 2-star key regardless¡ªit was already extremely hard for Ren Suo to obtain a 1-star key. Where can he even find a 2-star key?

    Furthermore, it was rtively cheap as only two 1-star keys were needed to bebined into one 2-star key.

    On the [Combine] screen, Ren Suo saw abination table but was immediately dumbfounded as he scanned the rows:

    2-star key = 1-star key * 2;

    3-star key = 2-star key * 3;

    ¡­

    9-star key = 8-star key * 9;

    ¡°9 * 8 * 7 * 6¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself as he silently took out his mobile phone out and began calcting the number of 1-star keys needed to form one 9-star key.

    It was not a lot; only 362880 1-star keys were needed to do so.

    Ren Suo shook his head and decided not to think so far ahead¡ªjust like how he would dream of enrolling in Tianjing University or Tsinghua University and being able to boast about it when he was younger.

    [Do you wish to proceed withbining the keys? Note: after thebination process, the type of the newly-formed key would be randomly selected and enhanced from that of any one of the original keys.]

    [Combination sess rate to form 2-star key: 90%.]

    ¡°Why is there even a sess rate forbining keys too?¡± Ren Suomented. ¡°This is bing more and more like an online game with reloadable credits.¡±

    [Combination sessful. You obtained a 2-star wind de key.]

    [2-star wind de key: +15% chance of receiving additional wind de-type rewards.]

    It was now the nerve-racking time to activate the treasure chest!

    [You used ¡®2-star wind de key¡¯ to activate the treasure chest.]

    [You received Prop ¡®Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo¡¯.]

    ¡°¡­What?¡±

    It was the first time that Ren Suo had obtained a Prop. The previous rewards he had received before were either Abilities or one-time Ability.

    Nheless, his empty [Props] column would be less lonely now.

    But wasn¡¯t the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo the token that Cao Zhi had given the Ren family of Practitioners for them to perform spiritual exchange with the Goddess of the Luo River?

    Now that Ren Suo received the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo, could it mean that¡­

    He could also¡­

    ¡­see the Goddess of the Luo River transform from a paper character into a real-life three-dimensional character?!

    Indeed, Ren Suo only had such pure thought, and nothing else.

    [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo]

    [Grade: 2-star Prop. Pre-requisite: A fully-developed breathing system.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer would be able to breathe normally in any water environment. The yer¡¯s vision and hearing abilities would also be slightly increased. The yer¡¯s swimming ability would increase significantly, and the effect of water pressure would be drastically reduced.]

    [Remarks: A trace of warmth lingers on the crystal-clear jade pendant.]

    Although the prop did not match up to Ren Suo¡¯s imagination, it was not useless either. It lived up to its grade as a 2-star prop.

    In other words, having the prop meant that Ren Suo now had extraordinary powers and would be able to roam the seas and yet would never drown!

    Although humans now had submarines¡­but at the least, Ren Suo would not need swimming goggles, nor would he be afraid of water entering through his nose or ears!

    The more Ren Suo thought about the effect of the prop, the more he felt that it was not of much use. Nheless, Ren Suo equipped himself with the prop and looked at the description of the specialized reward he received from [Over My Dead Body]¡ªthe [Heart Strengthening] ability.

    [Heart Strengthening]

    [Grade: 2-star ability. Prerequisite: A blood cirction system simr to that of upright primates, Reiki novice.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer would be able to use this Reiki ability on any target on the brink of death that has a fully-developed heart and who is still conscious. Heart Strengthening is able to strengthen the heart and boost all body functions of the dying target. At the same time, the target¡¯s lifespan would increase by at least 12 hours without any side effects. However, using Heart Strengthening multiple times on the same target within a short timeframe (72 hours) can result in heart rupture in physically weaker targets.]

    [Remarks: ¡®This is thest time I will be selfish. Although I know that I can¡¯t live much longer even if I return home, but¡­being able to have my family beside me when I die is thest kindness fate can bestow upon me. At the very least, before I die, let me see these precious treasures as I fade away to an eversting slumber. My ancestors, please forgive my willfulness.¡¯]

    Ren Suo¡¯s heart sank as he read the remarks. He recalled his journey through the game a few days ago.

    After some time, he finally regained his senses and smiled bitterly, saying, ¡°It was a good game¡­¡±

    ¡°Even though that was a story from 2000 years ago¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since Ist met you, Yu Kuangtu.¡±

    In a special science researchboratory located within the Central Science Research Center in Tianjing of Xuan Nation, Yu Kuangtu, who was leading Li Dan to leave the center, saw a familiar figure heading towards them.

    ¡°You could Facetime me if you wish to see me every day, Teacher,¡± Yu Kuangtu replied as he looked at the young man sitting on a wheelchair in front of him, being pushed by his dedicated nurse. Yu Kuangtuughed as he said, ¡°Or should I say, the web that Teacher created can now support long-distancemunication?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s far from being possible,¡± the young man said. He covered his mouth as he coughed twice. He asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Aren¡¯t you from the Lianjiang area? I remember that you don¡¯t like toe back here much¡­¡±

    ¡°There are too many people I dislike here. Well, Teacher is an exception,¡± Yu Kuangtu retorted.

    ¡°I¡¯m only here this time because my subordinate has entered the second-tier. I brought him here to be tested.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± the young man said as he turned to look at Li Dan, who was standing beside Yu Kuangtu. The young man said, ¡°Not bad, not bad¡­Mmm, this smell¡­Is the Awakened ability sound-rted?¡±

    Noticing the shocked look on Li Dan¡¯s face, the young man smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so shocked, this is the only small ability I, a useless person, have. It¡¯s an ability that no one else can learn¡­I shall not disturb you two anymore.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    Li Dan looked as the young man was wheeled away on the wheelchair and asked, ¡°Director Yu, who is that man? Why did he¡­harm himself?¡±

    Li Dan had noticed then that the young man had a paleplexion and his skin was ice-cold. His breathing was quick and he could barely focus during the conversation. It was obvious that that was all due to arge loss of blood internally. That was also the reason why he had to sit in a wheelchair, as it was hard for him to walk normally in such a state.

    But what was this ce? Internal bleeding was not a big problem and could be treated easily. However, the young man seemed to have been in such a state for a long period of time and required dedicated personnel to take care of him.

    ¡°Teacher is the creator of the web and is also the strongest Practitioner in Xuan Nation,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. His words rang loudly in his ears.

    Li Dan was extremely astonished. He said, ¡°But I didn¡¯t feel¡­¡±

    ¡°That is because he is too powerful and you cannot even feel the movement of his breathing currents,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He exined, ¡°The ¡®tiered¡¯ system of ranking Practitioners was established based on him as the model. Most of the Reiki abilities were also created mainly under his support and supervision.¡±

    ¡°I remember that he was a fourth-tier Practitioner just three months ago. But now, he has be even scarier.¡±

    Li Dan looked in the direction that the young man left in surprise. His mouth was open as he said, ¡°Four¡­fourth-tier¡­?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°As second-tier Practitioners, we are essentially the strongest group of Practitioners, and it is the case for other countries as well. At the most, there are only a few people who are Awakened that are naturally as talented, but they would still not be higher than the third-tier rank. But sadly, even though Teacher¡¯s level is way above all Practitioners in the world, his ability cannot be used inbat.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Li Dan. ¡°A second-tier Practitioner would hardly sumb to any illness, so as a fourth-tier Practitioner¡­He should be able to take any nuclear bombs in his face, can he not?¡±

    ¡°So what if he could,¡± Yu Kuangtu replied with a sigh. He said, ¡°With such immense strength, it can only be a horrifying curse. In order to prolong his life and prevent his strength from growing further, he has to lose arge volume of blood every three hours, and survive with just an extremely small intake of sugar. Otherwise¡­he would have been dead by now.¡±

    ¡°This can actually be a curse¡­In such a vast world, there really are unending surprises,¡± remarked Li Dan in awe. ¡°Oh, you have not told me who this strongest Practitioner is.¡±

    ¡°I do not know either. His identity and files are top secrets,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He continued, ¡°When I was learning from Teacher at the beginning, he once said that he no longer had any family, and he would probably never have any in the future either. He is the sole surviving member of his family line.¡±

    ¡°As such, he told us to call him by his surname. His surname is¡­¡±

    Li Dan walked a few steps forward but did not hear any sound following behind. He turned his head to see Yu Kuangtu still rooted in his original spot, his eyes gazing into the air lifelessly.

    ¡°Eh?¡± said Li Dan as he tapped Yu Kuangtu on his shoulders. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu regained his senses and rubbed his temples, saying, ¡°Nothing¡­It¡¯s just¡­I seemed to have forgotten something.¡±

    Losing his memory while walking? Li Dan blinked a few times and decided to change the subject. He asked, ¡°So what is the young man just now, who is the strongest Practitioner, called?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°I remember, that Teacher asked us to call him¡­Ren.¡±

 Chapter 67 - A Matter of Paths

    Chapter 67: Chapter 67 ¨C A Matter of Paths

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo woke up the next afternoon feeling refreshed. After washing up, he proceeded to have lunch.

    It was simply amazing to take a short break after just a few days of work.

    Ren Suo went to bed after experimenting with his newly acquired abilities and props the night before and had not started ying his new game.

    Just as Ren Suo finished his lunch at the noodles stall downstairs and was about to return home to start ying the new game, he suddenly received a call from his mother.

    ¡°Ren Suo!¡± his mother said energetically. She continued, ¡°You don¡¯t need to work today, right?!¡±

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment and realized that it was Saturday. It was no wonder his mother asked such a question.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Do you remember what I told you about our neighbor Auntie Zhang¡¯s daughter who is currently a freshman in Lianjiang University?¡± his mother said.

    ¡°Yes¡­And so?¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you agree to meet her today? The time and location have been arranged, so meet her at Tianhe Center Station at 2:30 in the afternoon!¡± his mother said. She continued, ¡°You teenagers should decide where you would like to go afterward, but first meet to talk and shop. She is also interested in taking the civil service entrance examination to be a civil servant, so share your experience with her. How great it is for a girl to be a public servant¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was about to be drowned in his mother¡¯sment. He quickly interrupted her, asking, ¡°Wait, did I agree to this?¡±

    ¡°You did,¡± his mother confirmed. She said, ¡°Four nights ago, I found out during our conversation that Auntie Zhang¡¯s daughter is looking to be a civil servant, so we arranged a time for the both of you to meet.¡±

    ¡°But, when did you tell me about that?¡± a slightly confused Ren Suo asked.

    His mother said, ¡°I informed you right after my conversation with Auntie Zhang. You were busy at that time and briefly agreed before quickly hanging up.¡±

    Ren Suo recalled that four days ago, he was still trying toplete the game [Over My Dead Body]. Although it was a turn-based game, it was nheless very intense during the battles, having to consider the enemy¡¯s location, his own units¡¯ location, the units¡¯ attack area¡­He could cause his own units to be injured or die if he did not concentrate just for a short moment, and thus Ren Suo was extremely focused while ying the game.

    In that case, it was indeed possible that he half-heartedly agreed to the meetup during the phone call with his mother¡­

    More importantly, Ren Suo was easily confused, and he could not trust his own memory very much either.

    ¡°Well,¡± his mother said in a suddenly serious tone. She continued, ¡°You can¡¯t be regretting now, right?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think my son is someone who goes back on his words,¡± his mother said.

    Ren Suo went through a decent family education, with a strict mother and kind father. Upon hearing his mother¡¯s tone, he subconsciously yielded and said, ¡°Alright, alright, I will be there this afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Great, remember her mobile number, her name is Xia Lingyu¡­¡± his mother said.

    ¡°Right, wouldn¡¯t it be easier if I talk to her directly over the phone?¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°You have not even met her in person, so how sure are you that you would be able to strike up a conversation with her?¡± his mother questioned.

    Ren Suo suddenly thought that his mother¡¯s words were logical.

    On the other end of the line, Ren Suo¡¯s mother hung up the phone. Ren Suo¡¯s father, who was eating, asked, ¡°Did you really inform Ren Suo about this? You did not even bring your mobile phone with you when you went out to walk that day.¡±

    ¡°I forgot to inform him,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother said naturally. She retorted, ¡°But he did not remember either, so whatever I say is the truth.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It was 2 p.m. and Ren Suo had arrived at Tianhe Center Station.

    Standing others up (no-show) was something Ren Suo could never bear to do, but calling the girl directly to cancel their meeting in the afternoon seemed too rude too¡ªthat wasrgely because she did not call him before, and Ren Suo was not keen on calling her first.

    Sigh, it¡¯s already a pain introducing myself over the phone.

    Since his mother mentioned that the girl was interested in getting to know more about the civil service entrance examination, Ren Suo transferred his study materials on the exposition writing and aptitude tests, as well as sample online examination papers, into a USB sh drive, intending to give it to her directly if she wanted it. He thought that a first-year university student like her would be intimidated by arge number of study materials in the USB drive.

    Even for Ren Suo, he only started preparing for the aptitude and exposition writing tests diligently in his third year of university, when he was supposed to find a job to intern in.

    The first two years of university were the most carefree days where students were free of worry and very little people would actually study. Especially for those who were not the top students in the university, the MOBA and 3A games, American and Japanese drama series or even live-streaming updates of their roommates were sufficient to kill most students¡¯ moods to study.

    Ren Suo sent a text message to the girl: ¡°Hello, I am Ren Suo, I am at exit A. Let me know when you have arrived.¡±

    He received a reply very quickly: ¡°_(:§Ù¡¹¡Ï)_, I am reaching soon, senior¡±

    Great, it looks like she did not have any more expectations than just asking her senior questions.

    It would not be so awkward for us then.

    Ren Suo took out his mobile phone as he waited for the girl and soon navigated to the Fantasy Forum. It was a forum which he frequently visited, and it had many different categories, including current affairs, games, novels, movies, dates,ics, fantasy¡­One could talk about anything.

    There were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of such online forums in Xuan Nation. Most of such online forums would then gradually die due to theck of fresh content.

    But after someone once uploaded a novel on Fantasy Forum and was edited and published by a publishingpany, Fantasy Forum became a well-known site to most people. Eventually, more and more people started uploading novels¡ªshort, medium, or long¡ªonto the site, and hence, Fantasy Forum had many users who would write, as well as many users who would read. Hundreds of thousands of users would visit the site every day, ensuring its survival as an online forum over a long period of time.

    Before Ren Suo went to bed the night before, he had posted a question about which yer privilege he should choose, seeking other forum members¡¯ help in his dilemma.

    After all, he would still level up in the future, and Ren Suo had not found out about any other Mini Worlds yers¡ªthere was no one he could ask about it.

    As Ren Suo was worried that he would be identified by other Mini Worlds yers, he decided to rephrase the question about the yer privileges. He said that he was ying a foreign reloadable card game and substituted the word ¡°game¡± for ¡°mission¡±, and the word ¡°merit points¡± for ¡°game coins¡±. He also mentioned how many merit points he had earned, and the rewards he received for each game¡­

    Ren Suo went to check on the question he posted and found that there were already more than 20 replies, many of which helped him to dissect the pros and cons of each of the three privileges.

    Nheless, Ren Suo already thought of most of the views given in the replies. For example, he already understood the limitations of the privilege ¡°Picky yer¡±, the diminishing returns of the privilege ¡°Meticulous yer¡±, and theck of benefits early in the game of the privilege ¡°Novice¡±¡­

    But there was one suggestion that refreshed Ren Suo¡¯s perception:

    ¡°Each of the three privileges has their use, and it is not very meaningful to say which one of them is the best because this is actually three different progression paths.¡±

    ¡°If you choose the first privilege, then you should purchase more missions (games) that have a lower price tag. Quantity is key in this case. Seek to reduce the number of coins (merit points) that you would have to use. Perhaps there are other ways you can spend coins that you did not specify, but regardless, the main aim is to make more purchases.¡±

    ¡°If you choose the second privilege, then you should only consider the mission (game) that gives you the best rewards. You should also ensure that you achieve a sufficiently high score in each mission to make full use of the privilege.¡±

    ¡°If you choose the third privilege, then you should always swap the mission (game) that provides the best reward with another mission (game) with 10% better rewards when you are choosing the free mission (game) every month unless there are other special situations. You must then choose to y the reced mission (game) and achieve a high score; otherwise, you would have wasted this privilege.¡±

    Ren Suo felt that it was a very logical analysis, especially the suggestion given for the third privilege. He had previously thought that ¡°Picky yer¡± was meant to swap his least favorite game away.

    But the best and correct way to make use of that privilege was, as the suggestion mentioned, to swap the game which gave the highest rewards with another one which gave 10% more rewards.

    Although Ren Suo had already selected his privilege, such an analysis which perceived the privileges as different ¡°paths¡± broadened his perspective.

    Rather thanparing the pros and cons of each of the privileges, it would be better to choose the privilege that was in line with the game progress path.

    For example, ¡°Novice¡± and ¡°Picky yer¡± couldplement each other perfectly. After all, both of the privileges increase the variety of attainable rewards from the games. If there was a game that gave 100 merit points as the reward, after changing it to a game that gave 110 merit points as a reward and perfectlypleting the game, the total amount of merit points earned would be 115.5. After many months, the extra merit points earned were no small number¡ªRen Suo was left with just 11 merit points now.

    Additionally, Ren Suo guessed that he would be able to level up his privileges each time he leveled up, or perhaps acquire other privileges.

    At that point, he would need to think about which privilege he should choose using such a ¡°path¡± framework.

    ¡°Making more purchases¡­¡± Ren Suo pondered. Suddenly, Ren Suo felt that his path was blocked and he looked up to see a handsome and slightly smart-looking guy, wearing a ck jacket and a pair of jeans, standing in front of him. Beside him was a young and pretty girl who was wearing a white skirt.

    ¡°You are¡­Senior Ren?¡± the girl probed.

    Ren Suo nodded his head as he nced at the handsome guy beside the young girl. He quickly understood:

    She brought her boyfriend to warn me and tell me to back off¡­

    Although Ren Suo did not have any such intentions to date the girl, he still felt slightly ufortable, just like any other ordinary guy being cold-heartedly ¡°rejected¡± after being asked out by a girl.

    Regardless, Ren Suo was a working adult and quickly adjusted his mindset. He said to the girl, ¡°You must be Xia Lingyu? If you already have other things nned, you can leave first with your boyfriend¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± the young girl in the white skirt said. She was slightly stunned and quickly dragged the handsome guy beside her over and said, ¡°You made a mistake, I am not Xiao Yu.¡±

    What?

    Ren Suo was stunned momentarily and turned to look at the handsome guy beside the girl. The handsome guy blushed andughed shyly, saying, ¡°I am Xia Lingyu, and she¡¯s my ssmate Li Ke¡¯er. Both of us are interested to find out more about the civil service entrance examination from you, senior¡­¡±

    Upon hearing the voice, Ren Suo knew that he had recognized the wrong person¡ªXia Lingyu was a young woman who dressed neutrally and had cut her hair short.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Ren Suo said as he stretched his hand out, slightly embarrassed. He continued, ¡°Hello, I am Ren Suo.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Xia Lingyu greeted as she and Li Ke¡¯er shook hands with Ren Suo. The awkwardness in the air fell and they asked, ¡°Shall we find a ce to sit down first?¡±

    But the awkwardness returned, even worse this time¡ªafter Ren Suo shook hands with them, he remained rooted to the ground and did not answer their question.

    After they called him a few times, Ren Suo finally regained his senses and replied, ¡°Sure, I¡¯m not very familiar with this ce¡­How about you lead the way?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± they replied.

    As they walked, Ren Suo looked at the two girls¡¯ bottoms¡­No, no, he was looking at their back, as he fell into deep thought.

    When he shook hands with them just now, he heard the familiar voice.

    [A key has been found.]

    [The key is in a foreign state. Starting to retrieve the key.]

    [The key has yet to form. 8777 seconds is required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 8776, 8775, 8774¡­]

    [A key has been found.]

    [The key is in a foreign state. Starting to retrieve the key.]

    [The key has yet to form. 9130 seconds is required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 9129, 9128, 9127¡­]

    Both of the girls had keys!

 Chapter 68 - The Ren Tribe of Luoyang

    <strong>Chapter 68: Chapter 68 ¨C The Ren Tribe of Luoyang</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Here¡¯s your Nata de Coco Milk Foam.¡±

    Ren Suo used the straw to mix the milk foam in the drink as he looked around the shop¡ªthe wooden tables were dark brown in color and the hanging ceiling lights lit the shop with an amber hue. Ren Suo and the girls were sitting by the window, and it was the best area to sit at.

    It was in the afternoon and the shop was still rtively crowded. Ren Suo was salivating at his drink. Although the shop looked rtively well-decorated, the menu was heartless towards those who were single¡ªall the snow ice choices on the menu were double portions. Ren Suo would not have beenfortable with sharing the snow ice with the two girls and was left with no choice but to order the milk foam drink.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo was embarrassed to eat a double portion of snow ice alone, and neither did he have the ability to stomach everything¡­

    ¡°Stop there!¡±

    Suddenly, a stern shout came from outside the shop. Ren Suo looked in the direction of the shout just in time to see a haggard-looking man with a beard and wearing tattered clothing running past the shop. A few men donning vests stating that they were ¡°Urban Management Law Enforcement¡± personnel were chasing after him, as if they were ying a game of police and thief.

    The passers-by did not seem intrigued nor perturbed and even opened up a path for them to catch the man.

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned and asked, ¡°How could the Urban Management Law Enforcement personnel try to catch the man like this in broad daylight?¡±

    Li Ke¡¯er let out augh and said, ¡°Catch the man? This is called maintainingw and order in the city. How could you not know about this as a civil servant?¡±

    Ren Suo shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯d think that the targets of the Urban Management Law Enforcement Agency were the street peddlers, but that person¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than that now,¡± Xia Lingyu said. She was no longer as shy as when they first met and was showing more of her calm andposed personality as a handsome girl. She continued, ¡°About a week ago, the Urban Management Law Enforcement Agency joined forces with the Public Security Bureau to carry out enforcement duties against the vagrants and beggars in Lianjiang City. They sent those who needed help to treatment centers and gave those who wandered around tickets to travel back home. The scammers were detained and brought back to the detention center.¡±

    ¡°This has been the talk of the town for the past few days, how could you not know about all of this? The Public Security Bureau of Lianjiang City had busted a number of child-trafficking syndicates who abducted children and forced them to beg on the streets and even captured murderers who hid by pretending to be beggars. The other cities and provinces seem to be following in the footsteps of Lianjiang City and strongly resolving the problem of vagrants and beggars,¡± she said.

    Ren Suo shook his head and said, ¡°I have been busy these few days¡­with my work!¡±

    Li Ke¡¯er was slightly surprised and said, ¡°I always thought that civil servants should always be up to date with current affairs, especially local state news. Don¡¯t you need to study or research or something?¡±

    ¡°The department I am in is slightly special and we are not involved in those lower-level work,¡± Ren Suo said as he looked at what was going on outside. The vagrant from before was already in the hands of two enforcement agency members. He was sulking unhappily as he walked back with them, one on each side of him.

    Most of the people were supportive of the work of the Urban Management Law Enforcement Agency¡ªthe news must have yed an important, positive role in doing so. After all, what more did they ask for now that the government was willing to solve the problems at the lowest ss of society?

    The tone of the two university girls when telling him about the entire situation implied that therge majority of people were extremely supportive of the Lianjiang City government¡¯s stance and actions.

    Only Ren Suo thought that it was slightly strange.

    Team 2 of the Countermeasure Division is currently investigating the strange happenings urring at the construction site, and that means that they have closed their previous case of the non-human murderer¡­ They must have relied upon the Urban Management Law Enforcement Agency and the Public Security Bureau to weed out all the ¡°Hungry Ghost Demons¡± hiding amongst the vagrants and beggars on the streets.

    It looks like they havepletely eradicated the hidden threat by finding all the vagrants and beggars throughout Lianjiang City and deal with them using administrative power. In this way, it would be extremely obvious to spot any Hungry Ghost Demons that hide amongst the vagrants.

    This is also possibly the most suitable way to find all the Hungry Ghost Demons in Lianjiang City, and so the method employed by the Countermeasure Division of Lianjiang City to find all the Demons would soon be used by the entire nation¡­

    ¡°By the way, if it is alright, what department is senior in?¡± Xia Lingyu and Li Ke¡¯er asked. They finally got down to business when they finished half of their snow ice.

    ¡°I previously nned to enter the Street Office,¡± Ren Suo replied. He continued, ¡°But now, due to special reasons, I am working in the Countermeasure Division which is a branch of the Ministry of National Security.

    ¡°The Ministry of National Security¡­¡± Xia Lingyu said. She and Li Ke¡¯er exchanged nces. Ren Suo felt that they seemed slightly surprised yet happy.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Li Ke¡¯er apologized and said, ¡°Is it alright for senior to tell us about this?¡±

    ¡°I cannot disclose what we do in detail, but what department I work under is public information,¡± Ren Suo said. He continued, ¡°Anyway, I am just one of the errand-runners at the bottom of the food chain and naturally, I need to tell people my identity before I can get down to work.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± acknowledged Xia Lingyu and Li Ke¡¯er before changing the topic to the civil service entrance examination. Ren Suo gave them the USB drive he had prepared beforehand and briefly discussed the important points to take note and the amount of time needed to revise and prepare for the examination, as well as the differences between the city-level examination, provincial-level examination, and the national-level examination.

    Suddenly, Li Ke¡¯er asked, ¡°I recall that the Ministry of State Security employ people directly and would not open up the positions to the public. They also only transfer people between departments very rarely¡­¡±

    Ren Suo looked very seriously at the two girls as they talked. It seemed rare for the two girls to be under such an intense gaze and they slightly averted eye contact, feeling slightly embarrassed.

    Under normal circumstances, Ren Suo would naturally not be so bold¡ªbut in the context of a mission, it was a totally different story.

    Were Xia Lingyu and Li Ke¡¯er just girls to Ren Suo? No! They were girls who had keys with them!

    ¡°Do both of you¡­wish to enter the Ministry of State Security?¡± Ren Suo suddenly asked.

    ¡°I am thinking of doing so,¡± Li Ke¡¯er said openly. She continued, ¡°Actually, I think that it would be very interesting to work in the Ministry of State Security, but unfortunately, we did not enter the police academy.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Ren Suo inquired.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Ke¡¯er said.

    ¡°As girls, you would probably prefer an ordinary nine-to-five job, wouldn¡¯t it be better to be a member of other ministry departments? Why exactly do you wish to enter the Ministry of State Security then?¡± Ren Suo questioned.

    Li Ke¡¯er did not reply immediately, as if thinking of a reason. But Xia Lingyu said, ¡°Because it¡¯s cool!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cool?¡± a slightly surprised Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t it quite amazing to tell people that you are from the Ministry of State Security?¡± Xia Lingyu said in all seriousness.

    It was Ren Suo¡¯s turn to remain silent. But he pondered for a short while and said, ¡°The Ministry of State Security is very short of manpower now¡­If you have some ¡®special abilities¡¯, perhaps the Ministry would make an exception to employ you.¡±

    ¡°Special abilities?¡± the two surprised girls eximed. ¡°Don¡¯t they need specialized talents¡­¡±

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I am just casually saying. I am not managing employment anyway¡­By the way, what are both of you majoring in?¡±

    They replied, ¡°We major in history.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to meet girls who choose to major in history,¡± Ren Suo remarked.

    ¡°We are also starting to regret slightly now and are thinking of changing majors¡­¡± they replied.

    After mentioning ¡°special abilities¡±, Ren Suo realized that the two girls did not ask more about the Ministry of State Security, further confirming Ren Suo¡¯s guess.

    The two girls must be Awakeners!

    Ren Suo had always been thinking about themon traits of those who possessed keys: Yu Kuangtu, Li Dan, Mo Zhaolong, Yao Fei, Wu Jianming, Qiao Muyi¡­Some of them were Practitioners and some of them were Awakeners. It was very easy to tell in one nce who were Practitioners, but that was not the case for Awakeners!

    As long as Awakeners did not use their Awakened Reiki Abilities, they would look no different from ordinary people!

    Both Wu Jianming and Wu Zhaolong were not Practitioners at that time when Ren Suo found that they possessed keys, so they must be Awakeners! Based on that fact alone, Ren Suo was quite sure that the possession of keys was rted to being an Awakener.

    Although Qiao Muyi still did not reveal her identity as an Awakener, it did not mean that she was not one.

    As for Yu Kuangtu and Yao Fei, both of them were powerful members within the Countermeasure Division and were even more likely to be Awakeners.

    With the same line of reasoning, Ren Suo was almost certain that the two university girls sitting in front of him were Awakeners.

    The reason why Ren Suo did not feel an extremely strong attraction towards them until they made physical contact and he realized that they possessed keys based on the key-searching system was likely because their keys had not fully developed.

    The keys had not fully developed¡­could that mean that they had not fully discovered their Awakened Ability?

    On the other hand, could it then be that the Awakeners like Qiao Muyi, Yu Kuangtu, Li Dan, and Yao Fei had already fully developed their Awakened Abilities, and was a ¡°1-star¡± level, which was why Ren Suo felt such as strong attraction towards them?

    Nheless, Ren Suo discovered that the two girls truly wanted to join the Ministry of State Security. Or rather, they wanted to enter the civil service.

    Thinking back about Mo Zhaolong, Ren Suo quickly understood their mentality¡ªas Awakeners, they wanted to disguise themselves in the heart of the nation while waiting for the nation to n and disclose their intentions towards Awakeners.

    It was a verymon idea to have. Apart from a group of Awakeners who would immediately call the police after they discovered that they had fully Awakened, most of the Awakeners would calm down first and either pretend that nothing had happened, make use of their Awakened Ability tomit crimes or start businesses, ory low in wait of what was nned for them.

    Most people belonged to the third category of Awakeners who did not want to give up on their abilities so easily but did not want tomit crimes either or did not have an ability suitable for starting lucrative businesses. As such, they awaited any news of the nation announcing any policies with regard to them, or perhaps meet an Extraordinary Abilities group or the like¡­

    Naturally, bing a civil servant was the best ce to be in the loop of the nation¡¯s ns and policies.

    Unless they were sure that the nation would treat them Awakeners kindly, they would definitely not expose their abilities first. It was not because they could not trust their nation, but because theycked a ¡°backup n¡± to fall back on.

    What would happen if they meet ill-intentioned people if they expose their abilities?

    But based on what Ren Suo knew, the nation was rapidly developing ns and policies for Awakeners and Practitioners¡ªit was evident from the fact that those in the Countermeasure Division were working non-stop.

    The trend was headed towards a new era of Reiki technologies, and it would not be long before the nation would disclose information about Practitioners and Awakeners and develop aplete Practitioner system. All Practitioners and Awakeners would then be involved in it and be under the watch and management of the nation.

    At this juncture, Ren Suo did not reveal any other information, but only hinted to them to ¡°wait for a while more¡± and that ¡°the situation regarding the employment of Ministry of State Security could change¡±. Afterwhich, he discussed about the positives and negatives of university life as their senior, and reduced the awkwardness between him and the two girls in preparation for retrieving the key¡­

    ¡°By the way, the senior¡¯s surname is Ren? It¡¯s a mboyant surname,¡± Li Ke¡¯ermented with augh.

    Between the two of them, Xia Lingyu looked more like a guy, but in reality, Li Ke¡¯er was more extroverted and liked to talk more.

    Ren Suo shrugged and said, ¡°It¡¯s a rare surname too. I only know of my rtives and I having such a surname.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­Oh, where is senior¡¯s ancestral home?¡± Li Ke¡¯er asked as if she suddenly thought of something.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Fofeng Vige of Lian Province. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± a suddenly excited Li Ke¡¯er eximed. She tugged on Xia Lingyu¡¯s sleeves and smiled, saying, ¡°Xiao Yu, senior is part of the Ren family lineage that Teacher Cheng was telling us about!¡±

    ¡°What Ren family lineage?¡± a confused Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Well, during one of our history elective modules in university, our lecturer, Teacher Cheng, once told us that during the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, there lived a mysterious family tribe. They were only recorded in unofficial historical ounts, but were rted to many warlords of that time,¡± Li Ke¡¯er said.

    She continued, ¡°And that was the Ren family tribe of Luoyang. However, the Ren family tribe of Luoyang no longer exists today, but their descendants then continued to live and preserve their family lineage. Today, there are only three Ren families, the Ren family in Fofeng, Changlong, and Tai¡¯an.¡±

    Ren Suo was astounded.

    He began to recall that a year ago when he went back to his hometown, the area was indeed called the Ren family town, and the shrine was very big¡­

    ¡°Senior, your ancestors may well be therge family with a long-standing history!¡± the girls eximed.

 Chapter 69 - Kill and Destroy

    Chapter 69: Chapter 69 ¨C Kill and Destroy

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    The sky was already dark when Ren Suo parted ways with Xia Lingyu and Li Ke¡¯er.

    As it was April when the zenith of the sun was shifting towards the Northern Tropic, the northern hemisphere experienced longer periods of daylight. Furthermore, Lianjiang City, which Ren Suo was in. was situated along the Northern Tropic, making the contrast between day and night even more distinct.

    When the sky turned dark, it would have been past 7 p.m. Ren Suo had even eaten dinner with the girls and exchanged contact numbers before parting ways.

    It was because Ren Suo was extremely curious about the ¡°Ren family of Luoyang¡± that they talked for such a long time. In a quest to fulfill his curiosity, Li Ke¡¯er and Xia Lingyu had told Ren Suo about everything they had learned, and they even discussed while searching for information online.

    One of the many facts that they learned was that the Ren family was actually not located in Luoyang but Taibai ins, which was located near the mountain ranges south of the then Luoyang and southwest of present-day Beimang Mountain.

    Another fact they found out was that there were no detailed records of the number of historical figures who had friends from the Ren family. Nheless, all of those ¡°friends¡± were masters of the Qi Men Dun Jia and astrological methods of divination, as well as proficient in geology and astronomy. The killing was effortless to them, and their methods of saving lives were equally divine.

    Another example was that the Ren family was actually not formed of people from the same family lineage but were instead a vige of people who had the same surname, Ren. As time passed, the people from the Ren vige were dispersed throughout the Nine Provinces, where the people who still had the surname Ren today came from.

    By the end of their conversation, Ren Suo was almost certain about his intuition, but he still wanted to know more about the historical records of the Ren family of Luoyang.

    However, ording to Li Ke¡¯er, there were actually few records of the Ren family of Luoyang in history, of which none were entered into official historical records. The only recounts of the Ren family of Luoyang were in the letters and records of famous warriors during the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty.

    No one would have believed that they lived such arge family during the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty if not for the fact that the records came from a vast number of famous historical figures, from well-known names like Lu Bu and Zhang Xiu to Liu Bei and Cao Cao, and from Jiang Wei and Lu Xun to Ji Kang and Chen Lin.

    But that was also almost all that was known about the Ren family of Luoyang. Although the Ren family knew many well-known figures in history, they never once became officials in the pce, nor did they ever pledge their allegiance to a particr political power. In most historical ounts, the Ren family was described as being akin to legendary figures like Chen Zhuan, Zhang Sanfeng, and Hua Tuo. They were able to wield the ultimate abilities they possessed so effortlessly that it seemed strangely extraordinary.

    However, unlike legends such as Chen Zhuan, Zhang Sanfeng, and Hua Tuo, the Ren family never left behind any known works. They remained very secretive and mysterious and never epted any disciples.

    Due to the fact that official historical records did not mention about the Ren family, as time passed, increasingly fewer researchers and historians took notice of them. Those who did be aware of the Ren family, however, would often be forced to give up due to theck of new historical evidence about them.

    The reason why the present generation of researchers and historians became aware of the Ren family was that archaeological records were normalized and central databases were established and it was then that they discovered the existence of the peculiar Ren family during the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty.

    ¡°There are actually very few local researchers who research about the Ren family,¡± Li Ke¡¯er said as they were waiting for their train. She continued, ¡°Finding out more about the Ren family is also just a mere hobby of Teacher Cheng. Currently, local researchers have only found out that the Ren family was separated into three branches, and one of which is located at the senior¡¯s hometown in Fofeng Vige. If you are still interested to find out more about it, why don¡¯t you make a trip back to your hometown to search for records?¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Although Ren Suo said so, he did not actually intend to do so.

    If it was not a coincidence that he also had the surname Ren, Ren Suo figured that he would soon find out more about the Ren family very soon, and he did not need to search for information on his own. On the other hand, if it was really a coincidence¡­it was even more certain that Ren Suo would not search for information as he had no interest in his own ancestors.

    When the train pulled into the station, Li Ke¡¯er and Xia Lingyu bid their goodbyes to Ren Suo as they took the train heading in the opposite direction. As Ren Suo looked at them leaving, he thought to himself that people truly cannot be judged based on their appearances.

    Over thest few hours, Ren Suo found out that not only were the two girls Awakeners but also that there seemed to be more than just a simple friendship between the two of them¡ªbut that was only Ren Suo¡¯s guess, and he did not have any of such ¡°relevant experience¡±.

    Ren Suo also did not know how they became such close friends, but based on the current situation, it seemed that they knew they were both Awakeners. Although they were Awakeners with keys that had not ¡°formed fully¡±, it was almost as rare as striking the lottery for them to have found each other.

    That being said, however, it was still not extraordinary for such urrences to happen, given therge poption of Xuan Nation.

    The reason why they wanted to meet Ren Suo was also very likely because they wanted to get information from a civil servant about any ¡°special¡± movements and ns within the government, while also considering if they wanted to be a civil servant themselves.

    After all, being an Awakener would have thrown their life aspirations off-track, especially if they were not willing to give up on their Awakened Abilities. If they wanted to further make use of their Awakened Abilities, the direction that the government was heading with regards to Awakeners like them would be extremely important. It would be the best-case scenario if they became a government official.

    As Ren Suo pondered about what he had just learned, his train pulled into the station. However, loud shrieks suddenly echoed from the front.

    Ren Suo looked up to see deep red-colored bloodstains on the ss windows of the arriving train!

    Passengers, who were waiting for the train, also saw the bloodstains. They were shaken and took a few steps back. At this juncture, the tform staff also rushed forward and told passengers to remain calm while evacuating.

    Ren Suo equipped himself with the [Clothes] ability!

    Afterwhich, an unfazed Ren Suo waited for the train doors to open.

    As the train doors whooshed open, the panicking passengers in the train rushed out in a frenzy. In the meantime, the subway police and staff entered the train cabin.

    Ren Suo stood on the tform and saw only one teenager, who was wearing a jacket, left inside the cabin through the train windows. There was also a dead body of a middle-aged man on the floor¡ªhis head seemed to have been twisted a few rounds forcefully and the flesh in his neck was all torn apart. Arge pool of blood had formed on the floor.

    A strange feeling emerged in Ren Suo¡¯s heart as he looked at the teenager.

    It was not the same feeling of extreme attraction, but more of¡­a disgust felt after taking a whiff of spoilt, rotten food.

    ¡°Turn around and put your hands up!¡± the subway police shouted as they slowly surrounded the teenager, with batons in hand. Even though they did not have guns, any ordinary thief would have been scared to their wits seeing the strong and muscr subway police advancing towards him.

    However, the teenager in the jacket merely puckered his lips as he suddenly took a deep breath. He appeared somewhat ferocious as he shouted, ¡°Back off! Or you would be sorry!¡±

    Hmm?

    Ren Suo looked on as a deep purple mist suddenly began emerging from the teenager¡¯s body as if a me was surrounding him.

    Ren Suo was stunned momentarily but soon thought of something.

    ¡°Sir, please go back up to the gates, it is¡­¡± said a subway policewoman, urging Ren Suo to leave. She tried to pull Ren Suo away but realized that Ren Suo remained rooted in his original position.

    ¡°He is going to run,¡± Ren Suo said. At the same moment that Ren Suo finished his sentence, the teenager in the train cabin sprung towards the group of subway policemen, as if he were apressed spring that had been released!

    The subway policemen who had anticipated his move swung their batons towards him, but the batons were all broken in one fist of the teenager!

    The four subway policemen charged forward to surround him, but they were all sent flying backward when the teenager swung himself at them! Other crew members came forward to help but were all thrown back!

    The policewoman was astounded and quickly held onto Ren Suo¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Hurry, it is dangerous here!¡±

    However, Ren Suo pushed her away and slowly approached the train cabin, muttering softly to himself, ¡°6, 5, 4¡­¡±

    At this moment, the teenager ran out of the cabin to see that the tform was empty, except for a calm andposed man who was walking towards him.

    The teenager¡¯s expression turned cold. In Ren Suo¡¯s eyes, however, the ck misty ze surrounding the teenager was growing bigger.

    ¡°You are asking to die!¡± the teenager shouted.

    ¡°¡­ 1, 0. Great, the ability has been equipped,¡± said Ren Suo to himself as the teenager threw a punch at him. Ren Suo stepped back and dodged the punch.

    ¡°Trying to run? Let¡¯s see how you dodge this!¡± the teenager hollered furiously as he threw yet another punch at Ren Suo.

    This time, Ren Suo was extremely focused. He dodged sideways as he swung his left hand towards the teenager, pping thetter in his face. Upon impact, the teenager fell straight to the ground!

    ¡°You¡ª¡± shouted the teenager as he attempted to return the blow as soon as he fell down. However, the moment he stretched his fist out towards Ren Suo, he lost his strength and fell back to the ground.

    ¡°What happened?¡± thought the teenager, stunned. At this moment, Ren Suo lifted his head and threw him towards the wall!

    The impact almost made the teenager lose consciousness. Then, Ren Suo threw another punch towards his diaphragm, just below his ribcage, and finally knocked the teenager out.

    Ever since Ren Suo obtained the ability [Fighter Novice], Ren Suo had researched the web on how to knock people out more easily. He learned that the back of a person¡¯s head and the diaphragm at the front of a person¡¯s chest were the two easiest ces to strike to cause the person to lose consciousness.

    Although he was not fully equipped¡­but the effect seemed rather impressive.

    At this point, the subway staff who were still able to move walked over in shock. Ren Suo showed them his official work pass and called his team leader to inform him about the entire incident and the presence of the Awakened teenagermitting a crime. You Xulong told Ren Suo that he would send the other members over immediately and that the subway department would assist in handling the case.

    As Ren Suo calmed down after sessfully handling the sudden incident, he felt a sense of fear.

    Why did he rush forward to subdue the teenager just now?

    Indeed, he had the ability ¡°Lock¡±, and it was almost effortless to subdue an Awakened person like the teenager who had no prior experience honing his skills. As long as he had physical contact with the person, any other power was no use against Ren Suo¡¯s [Lock]¡ªat least for now.

    But what if the target had a ranged attack ability?

    In that situation, Ren Suo, who would have equipped himself with [Ability: Lock] would have to rely on his own Reiki ability to invoke [Clothes] to block the target¡¯s attack.

    It had to be made clear that Ren Suo¡¯s own Reiki talent was merely average, and the [Clothes] he invoked on his own was extremely weak. As such, the defense power [Clothes] would provide him with was insufficient to ensure his safety.

    ¡°Why did I voluntarily go forward to subdue him?¡± Ren Suo asked himself as he looked at the unconscious teenager on the ground. He continued grabbing the teenager¡¯s arm with one hand, preparing to [Lock] him any moment if required.

    But of course, there was one other minor reason:

    [A key has been found.]

    [The key is in a state of unconsciousness. Starting to retrieve the key.]

    [The key has already been formed. 72 seconds is required to retrieve. Do not remove physical contact. 71, 70, 69¡­]

    In Ren Suo¡¯s eyes, the ck mist of wrath around the teenager was no longer asrge, but instead, smoky ck clouds of smoke were dispersing.

    That was how¡­demons looked like.

    In the game [Over My Dead Body], demons were one of the four types of monsters in the game. They were the incarnations of humans who had been Practitioners. In the game, demons were essentially humans who had mists of ck smoke surrounding them.

    Demons were humans that had been negatively influenced by Reiki. Apart from the changes in their behavior, more importantly, they gradually lose their ¡°human nature¡±. They be tools of Reiki that are unable tomunicate and reason, and can only continue doing what they had been used to, which was to continue utilizing Reiki and savaging humans.

    Of course, those who had totally no ability to think and reason were the worst and most corrupt of demons that Ren Suo did not evene across in the game. Most of the demons he encountered were mere ¡°viins¡± in the ordinary sense. In the game, ¡°demons¡± were human-looking Practitioners.

    But not all ¡°viins¡± were demons, although demons were definite and grave threats to the development and harmony of society.

    In reality, however, it was different.

    At first nce, Ren Suo was able to confirm that the teenager was a ¡°demon¡±.

    Thereafter, based on his own set of abilities, he very naturally equipped himself with [Ability: Lock], and went forward to ¡°kill and destroy¡± the monster.

    Why was this happening¡­

    At this moment, Ren Suo felt the teenager twitch. Then, the ck fury suddenly froze and turned into a cloud of thin smoke, and vanished into Ren Suo¡¯s arm in a whoosh!

 Chapter 70 - The Start Of The Game

    Chapter 70: Chapter 70 ¨C The Start Of The Game

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    What happened?

    Ren Suo looked at his arm. A green jade-looking tattoo appeared on it. The tattoo glowed as soon as a gust of smoke entered it!

    At this moment, Ren Suo felt lighter and ¡®cleaner¡¯ too.

    To put it simply, it felt as though he let out a big smelly fart.

    He touched the tattoo and received a message instantly:

    [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo]

    [Grade: 2-star Prop. Prerequisite: A fully-developed breathing system.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer would be able to breathe normally in any water environment. The yer¡¯s vision and hearing abilities would also be slightly increased. The yer¡¯s swimming ability would increase significantly, and the effect of water pressure would be drastically reduced.]

    [Conditional Effect:Upon satisfying the condition of ¡®Defeating the arbitrary demon¡¯, the jade will purify the contaminated reiki. During the purification process, it will also purify the yer¡¯s reiki, causing a slight increase in the yer¡¯s experience level.]

    [Note:There is a tinge of warmth on the crystal clear jade piece, which looks like the blood of the legendary Monk yer Demon.]

    Soon enough, the green tattoo slowly disappeared, and Ren Suo finally understood what just happened.

    Once Ren Suo obtained the ¡®Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo¡¯, it was only natural for him to equip it as he had an empty equipment bar.

    However,there was a hidden effect behind the ¡®Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo¡¯, which would only surface upon the defeat of the demons. Although he wasn¡¯t sure whether the purification of his Reiki would benefit him significantly, the slight increase in his experience level had already caught him by surprise.

    However, the hidden effect of the ¡®Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo¡¯ might be the reason why Ren Suo instinctively fought the enemy previously.

    Although it may have been a sessful fight this time, no one knows for sure what will happen if Ren Suo were to act rashly against another BOSS¡­

    He didn¡¯t have the genes of the champion warrior. Hence, Ren Suo wasn¡¯t invincible.

    Using the same logic, he also doesn¡¯t possess the power to lock up the demons. The hidden psychological effect of the ¡®Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo¡¯ shouldn¡¯t be that significant. As long as Ren Suo ced extra concern over his emotions,he would be able to control it better.

    As a preventive measure, Ren Suo decided to look for an empty space for the Jade piece. He will only equip it when he actually faced the demons, to see whether he is able to control his emotions.

    ¡°Brother Liang! Brother Liang! Call 120 quick! It seems like Brother Liang cannot make it through!¡±

    Ren Suo looked over and saw the cops that resisted the teenager, who was now being carried to the podium. The former was receiving emergency treatment. Ren Suo asked the 2 cops beside him to continue suppressing the teenager and went over to find out more about the situation.

    The one performing emergency treatment on the injured policeman was the one Ren Suo had pushed away earlier, and she frantically said, ¡°I think Brother Liang had broken a few of his ribs, which also pierced through his internal organs¡­¡±

    The injured policeman was subconsciously vomiting blood profusely and was hyperventting. Fearing that the policeman may not make it through, Ren Suo squatted down and said, ¡°Let me treat him.¡±

    He ced one hand on the injured policeman¡¯s chest and secretly equipped the [Heart-strengthening] ability.

    With one main ability slot and two spare ability slots, Ren Suo ced his mostmonly used [Clothes] and [Lock]. As for the [Heart-strengthening] ability, it was only there for precautionary measures. However, Ren Suo actually managed to put it to good use.

    [Heart-strengthening] ability had no special effects, as Ren Suo only felt that he transferred some of his Reiki into the injured policeman¡¯s heart. However, the injured policeman immediately had his breathing regted and stopped vomiting blood. The colleagues at the side were very thankful for what Ren Suo had done, while he just waved his hand and went back to look at the teenager.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The bureau and the police came over in a matter of seconds, and although an Awakener was involved in this incident, it was still necessary for the police to take down statements for the investigation. After a grueling one hour, Ren Suo still had to head back to the bureau to exin what had happened all over again.

    At the bureau,Ren Suo was personally interrogated by Yu Kuangtu. No one knew why he was still at work when it was already sote.

    ¡°Hmm¡­so it really exists? Is it possible to find its descendant¡­¡±

    Yu Kuangtu saw Ren Suo walking in, and he slowly ced his phone down.

    ¡°Please take a seat. Ah, so many issues popped up as soon as I came back.¡±

    He still had his nonchnt image, as well as his charisma. Ren Suo was very careful with his answers to the questions that were posed to him.

    After asking some basic questions and details regarding the incident, Yu Kuangtu paused for a moment and asked, ¡°Are you ¡®Awakened¡¯ yet?¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned, but he didn¡¯t look at Yu Kuangtu, so thetter could not see his expression.

    ¡°Finally, there were updates from the hospital. The doctors and nurses felt that it was weird for a body to have its organs functioning at its optimal state even though the policeman had suffered multiple internal bleeding and injuries. They suspected that we had given him some sort of special potion, but I dissuaded them.¡±

    Ren Suo took a moment to ponder and felt that he could afford to let them know that he was the one who gave the injured policeman the ¡°special potion¡±.

    Yu Kuangtu exined that the skill of Awakeners is no longer as closely researched upon by countries aspared to the past and that he would just have to register the license for his skill. Also, employees that are Awakeners will also receive an additional bonus of 3000 yuan every month.

    ¡°I am an Awakener,¡± Ren Suo said with gusto. ¡°I have the ability to keep a severely injured person alive for a few more hours.¡±

    Being afraid that they may expect too much from him, Ren Suo chose not to let them know that the ¡®few hours¡¯ was actually 12 hours.

    ¡°Hmm¡­not bad. Yours is a form of rare healing technique,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Alright, you shall stay in the team for the next few days. You will soon have more important missions as long as everything goes smoothly.

    The phone rang, and Yu Kuangtu picked it up. He then hinted at Ren Suo to leave.

    ¡°What? The new episode is out?¡±

    Ren Suo let out a sigh of relief and left the office.

    Time to head home and y games¡­

    It was such a hectic day, and it felt more like a weekday rather than a weekend.

    Only games can get me excited!

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Back at home, Ren Suo cooked up a meal and enjoyed his instant noodles. He proceeded to y his game while lying on the sofa.

    [Over My Dead Body] was currently loading, but Ren Suo remembered that [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] loaded in a matter of seconds.

    However, none of these were as important as the [Holy Priest: Survival Battle]!

    Ren Suo had only one purpose for buying the [Holy Priest: Survival Battle]. It was to obtain the exclusive reward, [Healing touch]!

    This is the first time Ren Suo saw an exclusive reward that is magic-rted!

    Also, based on the name of the reward, it is also a healing skill!

    If Ren Suo was unsure previously, regarding the effect of the skills he obtained from the games, the application of the [Heart-strengthening] ability had basically proved that he is able to use such skills in reality. So, if he were to get a healing skill¡­

    Needless to say,Ren Suo can say goodbye to cough and flu. Of course, another possibility would be that the healing skill can only improve his immune system, that¡¯s all.

    However, that was all Ren Suo needed.

    Ren Suo¡¯s grandmother passed away 3 years ago due to an old age-rted disease.

    As he was very close to his grandparents, Ren Suo almost transferred to the medicine course due to the passing of his grandmother.

    However, he did not do so as he wasn¡¯t smart enough. On the same note, he did not have enough time to numb his pain.

    This was the limitation of modern life science, which was also the limitation of the era.

    Life and death were both phases of life. All of us should ept this fact. Even for Ren Suo, he would also have to witness the passing of his parents if he doesn¡¯t encounter any mishaps.

    Death can never be prevented, unless technological advancements such as recharging of the brain, retrieving of signals from souls, and hibernation of the body were invented.

    However, when Ren Suo saw the existence of the [Healing Touch], he began feeling agitated.

    Science can¡¯t save the dead, but how about¡­non-scientific methods?

    Even if the skill can only treat diseases, it would be enough for Ren Suo as he wouldn¡¯t have to see his loved ones getting tortured by illnesses ever again.

    What¡¯s even better is that Ren Suo would be able to binge on spicy and oily food choices without being overly concerned about falling sick or having a pimple outbreak.

    For himself, for his family, for the 49 points that he had used up.

    The game begins.

 Chapter 71 - Video Refresh

    <strong>Chapter 71: Chapter 71 ¨C Video Refresh</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°ss, remember not to casually allow others to view the stuff you are watching so that unnecessary chaos can be prevented.¡±

    Upon walking out of Luoyang City, Luolong Police Station, Ren Qingqing looked up and uncontrobly felt a sense of detachment.

    ¡°You really gave me a good scare.¡± Her dormmate came out of the police station andined, ¡± Qingqing, don¡¯t walk so fast.¡±

    ¡°Shall we go back to the dorm?¡±

    ¡°How about having a meal to calm our nerves?¡± Ren Qingqing looked at the scorching sun and said, ¡°Since we rarely hang out, shall we try the food at Fan Sakura restaurant? I heard they are having a 60% discount¡­Let me ask my friends¡­¡±

    Ren Qingqing and her dormmate spent half an hour trying to find a ce to eat. As they were about to take a seat at the restaurant, her dormmate uncontrobly looked around and asked, ¡± Qingqing, do you think there are monsters here, just like the ce we were at just now?¡±

    ¡°Do you think monsters wille here to eat sushi? Don¡¯t overthink.¡± Ren Qingqing looked at her dormmate and proceeded to look at the menu, and asked, ¡°Your standard order, seaweed with octopus and snail meat?¡±

    However, her dormmate wasn¡¯t willing to give up just there and continued asking, ¡°Qingqing, do you think we can be as powerful as those guys in the ck armor?¡±

    ¡°The rich rely on technology while the poor rely on mutation, have you mutated yet?¡± Ren Qingqing inelegantly told her dormmate, while passing the menu to her, ¡°I¡¯ve ordered. It¡¯s your turn to order.¡±

    ¡°It may not be the case.¡± Her dormmate said, ¡°Those guys in ck armor don¡¯t look like they are wealthy. Instead, they just look like regr policemen.¡±

    In the morning, Ren Qingqing and her dormmate were on their way for mountain trekking. However, while taking the path to the train station, they saw a horrifying scene¡ª

    A hideous monster, with a dposing opened stomach and hanging intestines, was being chased by a few guys in ck armor.

    The girls were so terrified that they stood frozen to the ground. The guys in ck armor didn¡¯t need to use guns as they apprehended the monster using batons and their bare hands. When the monster tried to resist and sprung an attack on the guys in ck armor, the armor deflected the attack!

    Upon the apprehension of the monster by the guys in ck armor, the girls were called upon the police station to take down their statements. However, the girls were told to take a rest at the police station¡ªRen Qingqing had a hunch that the police were getting their information from the school.

    After a thorough search, the police were still unable to find out any information and had no choice but to release them. They didn¡¯t sign any form of agreement but had to factory reset their phones.

    Ren Qingqing obliged obediently, but her dormmate was reluctant, as she had to clear her data on the iCloud because she uses an APPLE handphone¡­

    Although they had some losses, they were still thankful that they made it out unscathed. Hence, they weren¡¯t feeling too dejected when they were having their lunch.

    Looking around them, the girls felt a sense of superiority over others as they had witnessed monsters with magical powers and strength.

    Just like how DOTA and CS yers despised LOL and CF yers respectively, the girls felt as though they were ying ¡®Extraordinary World¡¯, having an edge over those mortals that were in the ¡®Scientific Earth¡¯.

    ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the case, but at the end of the day, we are still ordinary human beings. We can only sit around and see what happens.¡± Ren Qingqing said, ¡°We can only keep up with the updates if an organization is set up against the monsters. When that happens, phones will be obsolete, and we will be using magic to alter our looks and voice and even treat our myopia¡­¡±

    ¡°Updates¡­You must have been ying too much Soul of the Sword.¡± Her dormmate was speechless. ¡°If anything, the government is the one that controls the teaching of magic. The government will be our biggest support, or should I say our greatest support is none other than the government.¡±

    ¡°No matter what, it is of no concern to us.¡± Ren Qingqing shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°Perhaps you can head back home to look for any form of Kung Fu manuals. Aren¡¯t there many actors that lead a better life after they mysteriously stumble upon a chessboard, jade, manuals or even rings?¡±

    ¡°My family and ancestors are all poor farmers.¡± Her dormmate said with exasperation.

    ¡°Poverty ends after 3 generations.¡± Ren Qingqing continued, ¡°Theoretically, if your ancestors were indeed poor, there wouldn¡¯t even be an existence of the third generation. Hence, your ancestors definitely enjoyed sess before, so hang in there, youngdy!¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m nothing but an ordinary girl now.¡± Her dormmate said, ¡°On the other hand, shouldn¡¯t you be the main lead since you¡¯re under the Taian family tree?¡±

    ¡°What nonsense, it¡¯s merely an entire vige with people that have the same surname.¡± Ren Qingqing said, ¡°You would never imagine how shocked I was when I realized how few people there are with the surname ¡®Ren¡¯. In the past, due to the fact that the entire vige went to the same school, I had thought that ¡®Ren¡¯ was as popr as ¡®Chen¡¯, ¡®Li¡¯ and ¡®Huang¡¯.

    As soon as the sushi was served, both of them eagerly took out their phones and refreshed their social tform feed. ¡± Ehh, the UP master uploaded a new video?¡±

    ¡°What UP master? You mean an anime narrator?¡± Ren Qingqing asked.

    The reason why Ren Qingqing is close to her dormmate is because they are a gamer geek and an anime geek respectively. Both of them usually stay in the dorm, unlike their other dormmates.

    The two girls decided to mountain trek as they were worried that they may die in the dorm, sooner orter, due to theck of exercise.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s Naisser_Ren! He¡¯s the one thatunched [The Bloody Banquet] and [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]!¡± Her dormmate eximed.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s him.¡±Ren Qingqing nodded nonchntly.

    Ren Qingqing had seen [The Bloody Banquet] previously, but she had no interest in [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] because she felt that there were too manyputer generated graphics.

    Wait a minute, Ren Qingqing had not seen monsters previously, but now she has. After realizing the fact that the world wasn¡¯t that scientific after all, she suspected that Naisser_Ren¡¯s videos may be real¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s the new video called? [Over My Dead Body]? Not a charismatic hitman yet again?¡± Her dormmate said.

    Ren Qingqing remembered that her dormmate favored the Heaven Pce Hitman from [The Bloody Banquet], even her screensaver was downloaded from the video.

    ¡°Interesting name, sounds like a type of special skill.¡± Ren Qingqing said.

    ¡°Thankfully, there¡¯s free WIFI here¡­What the heck?¡±

    Her dormmate eximed, and Ren Qingqing curiously asked, ¡°Why did you shout?¡±

    ¡°He no longer uploads videos that showcase superpowers, and instead, he uploads mega drama series.¡±

    ¡°Dramas?¡± Ren Qingqingughed while moving beside her dormmate. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s real¡­He has uploaded 6 episodes already.¡±

    Just as they were discussing, her dormmate¡¯s phone had a notification.

    [The UP master that you follow has uploaded a new video.]

    ¡°What?¡± Her dormmate clicked on the notification. ¡°He actually uploaded a new episode¡­Wait, in the past 18 hours, he actually uploaded 1 episode every 6 hours?¡±

    Ren Qingqing leaned over and saw, [Naisser_Ren has uploaded episode 1 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±]

    Naisser_Ren has uploaded episode 2 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±]

    [Naisser_Ren has uploaded episode 3 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±].

    His frequency of uploads was simply astonishing.

    ¡°ce your phone in the middle, and let¡¯s watch it together.¡± Ren Qingqing said, as her dormmate¡¯s phone has a screenrge enough for both of them to enjoy the videosfortably.

    As the video began, what was shown was a breathtaking view of mountains, greenery, and the ocean. There was also a narration that came alongside.

    [This is a 2000 year old myth.]

    [This is the ce responsible for the rise and fall of a family.]

    [A.D.190 is the beginning of everything.]

    Shortly after, the theme song cued in¡­?

    The song started. It brought about a pessimistic connotation and was orchestrated by instruments they can¡¯t decipher.

    Although there was indeed someone singing, the song just felt like background music. The reason for this was because the characters appeared and disappeared at ease, each leaving a clear sentence¡ª

    [Brother, the food you cook¡­tastes awful.]

    [Remember to wake me up when you are eating. If I¡¯m not awake, you guys can break up.]

    [In the future, I¡¯ll be fine alone.]

    [There are many things that should be pondered about after death¡­and now is the perfect time.]

    [I can finally stop waking up early anymore¡­but at the same time, this means that I can¡¯t train with you guys too¡­]

    [Eh¡­I also want to be cherished and be well taken care of like a girl¡­]

    Suddenly, her dormmate paused the video, pointed to female lead on the screen and said, ¡°Qingqing, doesn¡¯t she look like you? Since when did you participate in the production of this drama?¡±

    Ren Qingqing analyzed the screen carefully, slowly realizing that the side view of the female main lead indeed looked like her and that she looks younger than Qingqing, coupled with betterplexion¡­

    Even their voices sounded simr.

    Looking at this role, Ren Qingqing felt a throbbing sensation¡­

 Chapter 72 - Holy Priest: Survival Battle

    <strong>Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Holy Priest: Survival Battle</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Mmm¡­?¡±

    In his slumber, Ren Suo felt the rays of bright light piercing through his eyelids. He stretched sleepily and identally pushed something to the floor.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Ren Suo looked down to see the game controller on the floor. He continued lying down on the couch as he wiped a mix of saliva and unknown substances off the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand. He shook his head as he finally recalled why he was sleeping on the couch.

    He had fallen asleep while ying the game.

    Or rather, he had been tortured to exhaustion by the exciting game¡­

    Ren Suo looked at the time and realized that it was already afternoon. He called for takeout and freshened up slightly before returning to sit in front of the television, ready to embark on his game journey on a new day.

    ¡°Eh? There is an intro animation?¡±

    Ren Suo had wanted to experience the game as soon as possible the previous night, so he pressed the game controller the moment the game loaded and must have missed the game introduction. He loosened his grip on the game controller as he continued to watch the introduction of the exciting game.

    On the screen was a scene of a snow-covered wilderness. A domineering and fierce-looking saber-toothed tiger was running across thend at a zing speed. The might and valor of the now-extinct animal could be felt through the screen.

    And yet, the saber-toothed tiger was attempting to escape from danger!

    Chasing behind the tiger were hunters wearing cloaks made of animal skin with spears or bows and arrows in hand!

    After an intense, nerve-wracking Hollywood-style battle, a spear from the hunters finally pierced into the tiger¡¯s mouth, marking their victory. However, the saber-toothed tiger retaliated onest time on its brink of death, killing one and injuring one of the hunters.

    The injured hunterid down on the floor with his abdomen exposed and intestines punctured by the sharp ws of the saber-toothed tiger. Massive volumes of blood were gushing out of his body, and it was a dire situation even with the medical technology of today. Just as he was on the edge of life and death, a girl, holding a walking stick and not a spear, appeared from the side and walked over to him. Oddly, she started dancing around the injured hunter.

    As the girl starting dancing about, a light starting glowing around the injured hunter.

    A short whileter, the injured hunter healed fully and was able to move about energetically as usual!

    The screen started shing and the time in the animation fast forwarded to show the healers and the injured of different time periods¡ªmagic healing water from burned amulets devised by witches were used to treat warriors andbatants, hymns were sung by priests to the wealthy, the blood ofmoners was purified by doctors¡­

    As time progressed through the ages, the tools that the healers used also changed gradually: In the beginning, they used walking sticks made from the bones of animals; then, they used bronze sticks of authority and inscribed silver tools, andter progressed to using sharp des to cause bleeding, golden-threaded robes to prevent death, and Gu poison to preserve bodies¡­

    Some used bows to shoot into the sky, causing light showers to fall upon the people, curing them of illnesses;

    Some used straight swords to release positive energy and ward off all evil¡­

    They were not bounded by techniques or equipment like daggers, spears, swords or halberds, nor their fists, palms, needles, or staffs. They could treat and heal people with anything, and they would all regain their health.

    ¡°We will always be watching,¡± an immensely noble and dignified voice said. Ren Suo quivered upon hearing the voice in a perfectly enunciatednguage of Xuan Nation.

    The animation ended and the main page loaded. Ren Suo saw the character he had created¡ª

    On the vast, barrennd stood a short, big-bellied character with a head of curly hair and a bust muchrger than typical Asian women. Above her head floated her name, ¡°Zhao Zili¡±.

    Ren Suo would usually create characters that he fancied¡­

    But of course, he had not fallen prey to a hypnotic trance that made him fancy plump girls all of a sudden. Rather, it was because he had to pay money to customize the face of the in-game character.

    If he spent money, not only would he be able to customize the character¡¯s looks, but also switch between characters he already had.

    Ren Suo currently had a total of three game characters: the Seeker from [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters], Ren Woxing from [Over My Dead Body], as well as¡­himself.

    However, the character customizations required money. 5 merit points were needed to customize the face of the character, and 3 merit points were needed to switch the game character. On the other hand, there was no charge to be randomly given a character.

    As a ¡°fully-equipped non-casher¡± of games, Ren Suo had not spent a single cent on the game and naturally chose to be given a random character.

    Furthermore, 1 merit point was required to change the character after being randomly given one.

    And that was why Ren Suo had no choice but to use the given character to y the game. Fortunately, there was no score attributed to looks in [Holy Priest: Survival Battle], and no physicalbat skills were required either. As such, the yer would not be at any disadvantage as long as he had a pair of hands and legs¡ªbut of course, there were no advantages either.

    There were only four options on the main page:

    ¡°Begin Training¡±

    ¡°Continue Training¡±

    ¡°Rey Training¡±

    ¡°Achievements¡±

    Of the four, the ¡°Continue Training¡± option was greyed out, since Ren Suo did not pass the previous round of training he entered.

    There was no autosaving function in the game, but instead, it was split into three checkpoints, and he was allowed to save his progress uponpletion of each checkpoint. In that way, even if Ren Suo failed at the second checkpoint, he would still be able to restart from that checkpoint again.

    Hence, it was no big deal that Ren Suo had just stayed up all night but failed to pass even the first checkpoint.

    Ren Suo went into training immediately. Shortly after, his game avatar appeared on a tform atop the peak of a snowy mountain. Many other people of other skin colors also appeared together with her.

    The only simrity between all of them was that they were all mature adults. There were barely any children.

    ¡°This time, it¡¯s¡­the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow,¡± Ren Suo muttered as hey on the couch. He thought aloud, ¡°This is going to be hard¡­¡±

    Ren Suo silently put on his Bluetooth earbuds and heard shrieks of human voices amidst the roaring of the wind and snow:

    ¡°Where am I? I was clearly in the office just now!¡±

    ¡°Call the cops now¡­Where¡¯s my mobile phone?¡±

    ¡°What the hell £¤@*£¨@£¤£©@*¡±

    ¡°Game?¡±

    A mix ofnguages could be heard, but everyone was quickly silenced.

    Between the tall snow-covered mountains, a male figure with a cloak formed in the snow and wind. When he spoke, everyone had to remain silent¡ªeven the rain and snow subsided.

    ¡°I am the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow.¡±

    ¡°In a few moments, everyone would proceed with the training to select the best priest amongst all of you.¡±

    ¡°The one who emerges champion will be noticed by and receive the Talents of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of the Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow.¡±

    ¡°And the rest who failed will receive our care and mercy; your health will be restored as you leave the training.¡±

    ¡°The details of the training are already in your minds.¡±

    ¡°Please feel free to soar high in the training as no one will lose anything because of it.¡±

    As soon as the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow finished his speech, a loud rumble emerged from the snowy mountain, revealing white snow-covered ins on both sides. An enormous head emerged at the front¡ªthey were on an ice dragon, not a snowy mountain!

    The ice dragon spread its wings and flew up high into the sky. At the same time, the trainees remained on the back of the ice dragon, as if they were bonded together by the wind, rain, and snow. No one fell in mid-air to the ground below!

    ¡°Long, long!¡±

    ¡°Dragon!¡±

    ¡°This is a training¡­that¡¯s what it is!¡±

    ¡°¤Ê¤ë¤Û¤É (s)!¡±

    At that moment, an exmation mark icon appeared on the screen beside a message box. Ren Suo clicked on it and the training details appeared:

    [The location of this round of training is White Snow Land. The weather is snowy and windy. Sounds would be muffled, and vision would be slightly poorer.]

    [There are a total of 100 trainees in this round who are people with suboptimal health statuses, illnesses, or disabilities. However, all trainees have been granted protection by the gods and would not be affected by their respective conditions during the training. Physical disabilities have also been healed.]

    [Training summary: The purpose of the training is to select one best priest who can save all who has to be saved, regardless of environmental conditions. Furthermore, the gods have adapted from the tools created by humans to devise new recovery equipment. Trainees must use this new recovery equipment to heal other trainees and emerge champion.]

    [Everyone has a ¡®health bar¡¯. When the health bar is filled to the maximum, the trainee would have been sufficiently healed and leave the training to continue living as a healthy person.]

    [Everyone¡¯s health bar starts at 0. Trainees can heal other trainees using the recovery equipment ced at different locations throughout the training area. Upon sessful healing of the target trainee, he/she who is fully recovered will have to leave the training.]

    [Food and drinks that decrease the health level of trainees can also be found throughout the training area.]

    [The gods will also bless trainees with ¡®Angels¡¯ Light, where the health of trainees under the Angels¡¯ Light would gradually increase. The gods will also send angels to drop recovery equipment, as well as cast recovery spells at certain locations in Angels¡¯ Grace.]

    [The locations of Angels¡¯ Light and Angels¡¯ Grace would be updated live on the map.]

    [All trainees are protected by the gods and would never die, feel pain, or be affected by the heat or cold. Trainees¡¯ health will increase when the protection of the gods is activated during an attack or fall; the initial miracle ¡®Flight¡¯ can only be cast once.]

    [All trainees are equipped with the miracle ¡®Touch of Recovery¡¯, so the bare hands can also be used to heal others.]

    [Not only would the strongest priest be able to heal all beings, but he will also remain amongst the people to understand their pain and suffering due to illnesses so as toprehend the mindsets and perceptions of ordinary people. A perfectly healthy person would not be able to stand in their shoes and understand the thoughts of the sick.]

    When Ren Suo finished reading the training details, the ice dragon had also arrived at the training location, the White Snow ins. Ren Suo could now control his character to jump down.

    ¡°So it is alright if I fail the training?¡±

    ¡°This seems quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°It scared me, I thought I entered an endless cycle¡­¡±

    Ren Suo studied the map as he ignored themotion of voices¡ªyes, he was very close to the shooting range of the White Snow ins now!

    It was not the first time Ren Suo was ying this map. In about 10 seconds, the ice dragon will fly past the shooting range, and at that time, he would control his character to jump straight down to the ground below!

    When jumping, he would press the forward button to increase the rate of descent!

    When the character dropped to a certain altitude, a pair of white wings would emerge and slow him down like an angel descending from the sky.

    No matter how many times he watched the animation, Ren Suo could not help but exim in awe¡ªit was an amazing animation.

    Ren Suo panned around and found that there was someone behind his character!

    Incredible, the first round was supposed to be first-time yers of the game, and most yers would only jump down at thest moment. Who else would be so courageous as to jump down at the start¡­

    It was very likely that the person wanted to talk to the main character, which was the character Ren Suo controlled.

    Poof!

    The Wings of the Angels disappeared as Ren Suo¡¯s characternded in the shooting range. Ren Suo looked around and realized that the person was about to walk over. Ren Suo controlled his character to search for items.

    There was a ¡°Fried Chicken Set¡± on the table, which Ren Suo conveniently retrieved.

    [Fried Chicken Set: Reduce 75 health points over 7.5 seconds to a minimum of 25 health points. It is the mostmon energy food and loved by fatties.]

    Ren Suo¡¯s character continued in search of items and quickly found, amongst a pile of sandbags, a long-barreled recovery gun¡ª98K!

    ¡°Aye, what amazing luck!¡± a pleasantly surprised Ren Suo remarked as he controlled his character to retrieve the gun and load it with bullets.

    [98K Holy Light: A modified long-ranged recovery weapon devised by the Master of the Holy Light. It has an astounding healing capability, allowing the priest, when safe, to heal people who are not in sight. It uses 7.62mm holy recovery bullets, 3 essory slots. Holds up to 5 rounds. Recovery mode: Single. Reload time: 1.9 seconds.]

    By the time Ren Suo¡¯s character loaded the bullets in the gun, the person had caught up to her. The person had e on his face and wore a thick pair of sses. He had a simr physique to Ren Suo¡¯s character, but he was much fatter.

    ¡°What are you running for¡­¡± the bespectacled character with a face full of e said as a ray of green light shot out from his right hand!

    It was the Touch of Recovery!

    Who would have expected that the bespectacled character with a face full of e would have familiarized himself with the training so quickly!

    However, the range of the Touch of Recovery was very small and Ren Suo easily avoided it by controlling his character to take two steps back. At the same time, his 98K had been fully loaded with bullets and he pointed it at the person!

    The bespectacled character with a face full of e immediately raised his hands up in shock, ¡°Wait, what are you doing¡­We are both from Xuan Nation¡­¡±

    Bang¡ª

    A loud bang sounded!

    The forehead of the bespectacled character with a face full of e exploded into white light. The next second, a pair of wings emerged once again on his back, but instead of falling, he was flying upwards.

    He had failed in the training and was ascending to the sky!

    But at the same time, his fats and e gradually disappeared, and he turned back into a rtively healthy young man. If Ren Suo guessed correctly, his short-sightedness would also have been cured.

    And in his original spot a box was left behind¡ªhe could not bring the items he retrieved with him, and those items were packaged into a box by the gods and left at the original position.

    ¡°First blood,¡± Ren Suo said as he heaved a sigh of relief.

    Author Ting Ri Says:

    PS: Another double update¡­Lost my saved document¡­Would appreciate more likes as encouragement! Although I double updated for two consecutive days, please do not misunderstand and think that this will be the norm¡­

 Chapter 73 - Poverty Calms A Person

    <strong>Chapter 73: Chapter 73 ¨C Poverty Calms A Person</strong>

    By the time the chubby main character walked out of the range, she already had a level 2 helmet and a level 2 armor, as well as a red dot scope ¡°SCAR of the Rain¡±, a 4x scope ¡°98K Holy Light¡±, and a collection of tonic supplies.

    ¡°Inferior Broken Saint Seiya Combat Helmet (level 2 helmet): Inferior helmet made with inferior materials that provides effective protection against healing miracles. Healing -40%, durability 150. Turns into ¡°Real Saint Seiya Combat Helmet¡± after excessive rounds of healing.¡±

    ¡°Multicolored Saint Seiya Combat Armor (level 2 armor): Inferior armor made with inferior materials that provides effective protection against healing miracles. Healing -40%, durability 220, mobile bag +5. Turns into ¡°Real Saint Seiya Combat Armor¡± after excessive rounds of healing.¡±

    ¡°SCAR of the Rain: Modified healing assault weapon devised by the Ruler of the Wind, Rain and Snow. The SCAR of the Rain was amon weapon used and favored by the special army of priests with its high precision and low recoil. Uses 5.56 mm Saint¡¯s Healing Bullets, 5 essory slots, and holds up to 30 rounds. Has 2 healing modes: Single/Automatic. Reload time: 0.096 seconds.¡±

    Different maps had different battle gear names, and even battle gear from the same map could have different names as well. For example, Rensuo recalled that thebat helmet and armor he received from the map White Snow Land could have been named ording to the Marvel series.

    However, the durability and healing resistance were the same regardless of the names. There were three levels in total and Rensuo categorized them as such: level 1 helmet, level 2 helmet, level 3 helmet, level 1 armor, level 2 armor, level 3 armor.

    On the other hand, the healing weapons generally had the same names, although different maps had weapons of different specialties. In general, the mostmonly used guns could be found in all the maps.

    Rensuo felt that the equipment he received was bulky and had not expected the battle range to have so many items. He was just missing some essories to have a fully equipped range of healing weapons.

    Outside the range, Rensuo saw a snow sled pulled by two reindeers. Although there was no carriage attached to it, it was still a means of transport and hence Rensuo controlled the character to sit on the sled.

    Rensuo looked at the map. The area ¡°Enjoyment Zone¡± was now shown on the map and it was just below the battle range, not far from where the character was currently at. It was essentially situated at the center of the entire map.

    The Enjoyment Zone was a circr zone, outside of which was the ¡°Healing Zone¡±. The biggest difference between the Enjoyment Zone and the Healing Zone was naturally that the Healing Zone had healing miracles in effect at every single moment. As long as the character remained within the Healing Zone, her health would slowly increase.

    Nheless, ording to the game introduction, the tonics appeared to be able to be used only when they were used within the Enjoyment Zone. If the health-depleting tonics were used in the Healing Zone, they would taste like wax and be unable to be consumed.

    Indeed, the Enjoyment Zone meant that any item that was consumed would be extremely tasty.

    However, the in-game character was the one that would be consuming the tonic and not Rensuo himself, hence such a game setting waspletely meaningless to Rensuo.

    The speed of the snow sled was decently fast and the reindeers barely slowed down while travelling uphill. Rensuo controlled the game character to search for items as she entered the Enjoyment Zone.

    But this was just the first checkpoint, and most of the trainees in the game only jumped down at the back of the Ice Dragon. Rensuo¡¯s in-game character had jumped down at the beginning and so she did not see anyone throughout her journey, allowing her to pick up a bag full of essories without hindrance.

    Furthermore, during her journey, Rensuo encountered a round of ¡°Angels¡¯ Grace¡± where a six-winged seraph flew across the sky and dropped healing bullets and one or two boxes of tonic supplies. When the seraph flew across the sky, sounds resembling hymns of praise also echoed in the sky, allowing trainers along the flight path of the seraph to be able to hear the sound of it flying by.

    As there was no other trainees around at that point in time, there was nopetition and he easily retrieved a 8x scope, a ¡°Holy Light AWM¡±, and a ¡°Pure White Priest Suit¡±.

    At this juncture, the audience watching Rensuo y the game must have understood that the ¡°healing weapons¡± were in fact real-life weapons with an added recovery spell that allowed the weapons to shoot healing bullets which would then turn into healing miracles.

    Moreover, the strength of the healing miracles would depend on the size of the holy healing bullets and the length of time the barrel had been blessed. The longer the barrel, the longer it would be blessed, and naturally the better the healing ability.

    A single shot from the submachine gun produced a weak healing effect on targets concentrated nearby; a single shot from the assault rifle produced a moderate healing effect on most targets nearby up till a distance away; a single shot from the sniper rifle produced the strongest healing effect but also had the most restrictions, and could generally only heal targets who were further away.

    It appeared that the healing system was perfect: priests who charged forward first were in the most vulnerable position but would be able to quickly heal weakened targets concentrated nearby with the submachine gun;

    Priests who remained at the back would adapt to the events that urred at the front and be able to take care of both nearby and faraway targets, healing them when necessary;

    Priests who hid themselves within the battlefield would only save targets who were about to die with their sniper rifles. After aiming with their magnification scopes, they would save the target with one snipe, effectively refilling the health of the target!

    There were even more powerful item supplies like the Holy Grenade and the Healing Fog¡­

    Trainees were generally allowed to carry two main types of weapons with them, as well as a small healing pistol and the Holy Grenade. They could also bring along a physical recovery weapon like the ¡°Heavenly Ascension Mace¡±.

    When Rensuo saw the detailed description of the game, his first reaction was: how was it possible to y with such settings?

    Nheless, although the setup of the game was slightly peculiar, the gamey was still a decently positive experience. Otherwise, Rensuo would not have continued ying until he fell asleep on the couch the previous night. In fact, it was simply a special shooting game where the yer had to win 99 other contestants.

    The AWM in the game was hence as powerful as it was in real life. Each shot of the AWM could be devastating and it was a weapon Rensuo received through the ¡°Angels¡¯ Grace¡± drop, so he naturally equipped himself with the AWM.

    ¡°Holy Light AWM: This is a modified far-ranged weapon devised by the Master of the Holy Light. It has astounding healing capabilities, allowing the priest user to heal targets outside of his/her range of vision in a safe environment. Uses .300 Magnum (7.62x67mm) holy recovery bullets, 4 essory slots. Holds up to 5 rounds. Healing mode: Single. Reload time: 1.850 seconds.¡±

    On the other hand, the ¡°Pure White Priest Suit¡± did not seem to have any specialized effects. It appeared light and came with a hood, allowing the trainee user to bepletely disguised in the snow.

    Rensuo arrived at the third Enjoyment Zone. The epassing circle was already very small with only 50 people left, and that was where Rensuo encountered the first enemy in that round.

    As Rensuo¡¯s in-game character headed towards the third Enjoyment Zone atop the snow sled, Rensuo heard whooshing sounds from beside him. He looked in that direction to see a middle-aged man wearing a Saint Seiya suit, riding rapidly through the snow on a pr bear!

    Rensuo immediately controlled his character to dismount the sled and used the ¡°SCAR of the Rain¡± to shoot the middle-aged man and the pr bear!

    There were different means of transportation in the current map, including pr bears, reindeer sleds, pumpkin horse carriages. All of them made use of animals to move but were not much slower than the four-wheeled vehicles used in real life.

    However, unlike the trainees in the game, after the animals were healed, they would sleep soundly at their original position and would not wake up. It was nheless a way to hinder an enemy¡¯s movement through the snow.

    Rensuo did not bother getting a clear look at the skin color of the middle-aged man and immediately swept him down from the pr bear.

    After being shot a few times with recovery bullets, the pr bearidzily on the ground, its body emitting a white glow. The pr bear touched its face with its paws and looked in confusion at the middle-aged man who was rising to the sky, then turned around to Rensuo¡¯s character and opened its arms, as if wanting a hug.

    Rensuo¡¯s character did not react, but Rensuo himself was quickly flustered.

    Just as Rensuo was about to control his character to search for items in the middle-aged man¡¯s bag, a white glow emerged from beside his character and Rensuo started to hear the sound of the 98K from behind him.

    There was someone there!

    Quickly, Rensuo controlled his character to run back to his snow sled and leave the area. He could not afford to interact with the pr bear and look through the middle-aged man¡¯s bag any longer.

    ¡­

    By the time Rensuo reached the fifth Enjoyment Zone, the circle was extremely small with only 18 people left.

    Donning the Pure White Priest Suit, Rensuo¡¯s game characterid on the ground and was virtually hidden in the snow. In fact, Rensuo had shot another trainee who happened to pass by and gained a sniper rifle silencer and an assault rifle silencer from that trainee¡¯s bag.

    The character crawled slowly towards the hills in the middle of the map, which was where the fifth Enjoyment Zone was located. With natural barriers and a high vantage point, it was easy to shoot tens of targets.

    Listening to the incessant gunshots nearby, Rensuo knew that it was now the most challenging moment in the first round.

    All the trainees would have been unfamiliar with the game mechanics at the start of the round, but after half an hour of chasing and hiding, in addition to the guidance from the Memories of the Heavens, the twenty of them who managed to survive till the current point would either have been fully ustomed to the game mechanics and was always ready to send any target to the heavens, or otherwise would have managed to survive by hiding for most of the game like Rensuo had been.

    After all, the aim of thepetition was to be thest one standing on the battlefield, and not to save the most number of trainees.

    Eh?

    Rensuo thought he saw a figure moving behind the dead tree in front of him.

    He took out his AWM and aimed at the area through his 8x scope.

    Indeed, there was a young, fat girl who was wearing the Saint Seiya suit. She had slightly crooked teeth and wore a pair of spectacles that made her eyes look small¡­

    ¡°Let me help you regain your beauty!¡±

    Biu ~

    With the silencer attached, the sound of the AWM became extremely muted. Through the 8x scope, Rensuo saw the young, fat girl lose her fats and her puffy face became smaller. She rose to the sky as a pretty, young girl.

    Rensuo snorted happily as he reloaded his AWM. But at the same time, a green glow emerged from his character¡¯s waist, and at the left corner he saw his health bar increase by more than 10 points!

    He was shot by a sniper!

    Rensuo immediately controlled his character to run forward. Her health bar was just about to fill up by the continued shots when she reached the tree that the fat, young girl ascended to the heavens. She quickly ate a ¡°Fried Chicken Set¡±, drank a bottle of ¡°Nuka C¡±, and then ate a piece of ¡°Kinder Chocte¡±.

    ¡°Nuka C: +40 happiness points over 4 seconds. It is the mostmonly seen carbonated drink and is called the holy drink of fatties.¡±

    ¡°Kinder Chocte: +75 happiness points over 7.5 seconds. It is a chocte made of hazelnut and milk, and is sweet and appetizing.

    The Fried Chicken Set was only able to decrease the character¡¯s health to 25 points, and happiness points were required to slowly decrease the health lower than that. The higher the happiness points, the faster the health points decreased, and the trainee¡¯s running speed would also increase.

    Rensuo¡¯s character looked at the hills a distance away through the 8x scope of the AWM, remaining in a preparatory state. The moment Rensuo saw a trainee appear, he instantly shot him, causing him to ascend to the heavens.

    Just like Ren Woxing, Rensuo¡¯s current game character was also able to be equipped with abilities and props that Rensuo had. After the character was equipped with ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±, there was only one effect ¨C she could view and aim through the scope for an unlimited amount of time!

    Rensuo let out a sigh of relief as he was about to enter the sixth Enjoyment Zone circle as the top ten trainees.

    But at this moment, a gunshot sounded from behind him, and his character¡¯s health bar was refilling rapidly!

    Rensuo pulled back on his right game control stick as he controlled his character to walk towards the other side of the tree. However, he had still not found who was shooting him when his character¡¯s health bar already filled up and rose to the sky!

    The tree he was hiding behind had also started growing new green leaves in the bitter winter after receiving excessive heals¡­

    ¡°Ah! ¨C¡±

    Seeing himself lose without finding out who shot him, Rensuo stomped his foot in his anger and subconsciously raised the game controller ¨C

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, there¡¯s no need to be angry,¡± muttered Rensuo to himself as he calmed down and ced the game controller down.

    After all, the Hell 4 game controller cost a few hundred silver and he could not afford to buy another one.

    Poverty truly calms a person.

    But ramming the right stick of the game controller was not a way to solve the problem either, for Rensuo had already been shot and lost multiple times without him ever finding out who had shot him in time.

    Rensuo sighed and walked over to the dining table to eat his takeout meal as he checked his mobile phone. It was only then that he realized You Xulong had sent him a message.

    ¡°You Xulong: Every team member must finish watching all episodes of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± and record down all the different types of monsters that appeared by next Friday. Note down in detail their natures and abilities, as well as their strength and weaknesses.¡±

    What?

    Rensuo quietly opened his video app and indeed, Neisser Ren had uploaded new videos.

    Although Rensuo had already expected that, but upon seeing the new videos, he could not help but be surprised, although a stronger curiosity quickly followed.

    Was it just a video,

    Or a record of events that happened in history?

    More importantly¡­ Was the Ren family he created really rted to him?

 Chapter 74 - â€“ Family Comedy Drama

    Chapter 74: Chapter 74 ¨C Family Comedy Drama

    The school bell rang, signaling the end of the fourth lesson in the afternoon. Ren Qingqing hastily kept her textbook and pen in her bag and walked out of the ssroom building.

    Ren Qingqing¡¯s roommate had to hasten her pace almost to a jog in order to catch up with her. Shemented, ¡°Qing, where are you rushing of to?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up, the rest of the school is going to rush to the dining hall very soon and the queue is going to be very long. I want to takeout my food to the dorm quickly,¡± said Ren Qingqing as she continued walking.

    Her roommate smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you always prefer to take your time to go to the dining hall? You were toozy to even walk when I asked you to run thest time and would rather queue and eat the leftovers. Now, you even want to takeout your food?¡±

    Ren Qingqing¡¯s roommate grabbed her hand and swung it around, saying, ¡°Heh, is it because you want to catch up with the series?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s already 6 p.m., Neisser Ren should have uploaded a new video. I can¡¯t possibly watch it on my mobile phone with my limited data n, replied Ren Qingqing.

    ¡°Alright, I shall takeout my food too and make good use of dearest Qingqing¡¯s 24-inch disy screen,¡± said her roommate with augh.

    Ren Qingqing had spent a few hundred dors in the first year of university to purchase a second-hand disy screen. It was rtively cost-effective and she was the only one in the entire dormitory to own such a disy screen, bing a true ¡°inte addiction girl¡±.

    Both of them returned to their room immediately after taking out their food from the dining hall. Without a doubt, there was no one else in as the rest were still eating slowly in the dining hall.

    The dormitory rooms in the school were designed such that each bed and desk were a set, with the desk below the bed. The desk was huge and there was more than sufficient space to amodate two people eating after shifting the books on the desk to one side. Ren Qingqing¡¯s roommate set her stool in front of Ren Qingqing¡¯s desk.

    Currently, Neisser Ren would upload a new episode of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± at 3 a.m., 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. every day, and indeed at 3 o¡¯clock that afternoon, he had uploaded a new episode, bringing the total number of episodes thus far to 14.

    ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± had only emerged just four days ago but it had instantly be the most streamed video on all video sites. It had started updating since Saturday morning and after being forcefully shown on the homepages of the video sites, clicks on it had increased continuously.

    Apart from the fact that the updates were extremely frequent, it was also a video series about the legends of the Practitioners and monsters during the Three Kingdoms and the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, that was extremely addictive to watch with its extraordinary special effects, actors, details, and plot.

    Many people did not understand why Neisser Ren, who had always posted videos about the ¡°records of modern legends¡±, would suddenly upload such a video series. Nheless, with his fame and extraordinary hacking skills (forcefully showing his videos on any website), his new video series still attracted arge audience.

    Eventually, the captivating series itself drew the attention of its incredibly huge audience.

    Upon clicking the video, the bulletments appeared and grew longer at an observable rate. Furthermore, the duration of the video pleasantly surprised Ren Qingqing and her roommate ¨C it was 46 minutes long!

    Not counting the oPeD, the bulk of the video was still at least 40 minutes long!

    For some unknown reason, the length of each episode of the series was different. The longer ones wereparable to a movie at over 120 minutes long, while the shorter ones could be just 20 minutes long.

    But as more episodes were updated, the web forums discussing the video series very quickly found a trend ¨C each episode would hint at the time in the video, and almost every episode depicted events that took ce within the year and in chronological order!

    As such, the series was actually separated into episodes based on the progression of time in the video, and each episode was essentially one year in the video!

    Everyone was amused at such an unprecedented way of separating the entire series into episodes.

    But that also allowed the viewers to understand the chronology of the entire series. They only needed to know that the first episode took ce during the first year of the Chuping era of the Eastern Han dynasty, which was 190 CE. Afterwhich, anyone could count which year it was in any of the subsequent episodes.

    The fourteenth episode hence illustrated the events in 203 CE.

    Recalling the contents of the previous episode, both Ren Qingqing and her roommate smiled in unison.

    The main plot of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± revolved around the Ren family of Practitioners, beginning from the time when the entire Ren family suddenly died, leaving three brothers behind.

    In the first episode, information about the bloodline of the Ren family was concealed, and all other information including the revival of the Reiki sources in the Central ins was fully revealed. The intriguing angle shown through the story and its refreshing plot filled the fantasy series with unending suspense: In the end, would the Ren family of Practitioners be able to break free of their own bloodline, and free their descendants from the grasp of Emperor Guangwu? What role would the Ren family y amidst the Period of the Three Kingdoms in the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty?

    Unlike her roommate, Ren Qingqing was a serious and experienced gamer who naturally yed numerous games about the Three Kingdoms. Although she was not considered a Three Kingdoms fanatic, she was still knowledgeable in the detailed literary texts as well as the major wars and iconic figures of that time.

    Just as Ren Qingqing had thought that ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± was purely a story about ghosts and demons, she was quickly proven wrong.

    Earlier on in the series, the Ren family of Practitioners already had to eradicate the Demon Ghost Troops at Ho Pass. Then, in episode five, which was set in the 194 CE, the Ren brothers headed to Xu Province to eradicate monsters. However, the scene that awaited them left them dumbfounded. It was a mass massacre, a scene of living hell: dead bodies were strewn all over the ground and demons were roaming about everywhere.

    The Ren brothers subdued most of the monsters and also saved a group of vigers. Along the way home, the second Ren brother remained silent throughout.

    When they were a day away from home, the second Ren brother suddenly left the team and headed towards Yan Province!

    He wanted to kill the cruel warlord, Cao Cao!

    The second Ren brother only attempted to kill Cao Cao once ¨C that was when Cao Cao was fighting against Lu Bu. The second Ren brother first hid outside Cao Cao¡¯s camp and tracked his movements, then found out the tent he resided in. In the middle of the night, he infiltrated secretly into Cao Cao¡¯s camp.

    The second Ren brother was a Practitioner versed in the sword. With his sword, no monster would dare to pick a fight with him. In addition, he was an extremely strong and powerful Practitioner of the Ren family with the Inheritance of Emperor Guangwu, and was not afraid of any living person. Even when pitted against strong monsters, he could fight one to a hundred!

    The second Ren brother found Cao Cao¡¯s tent without being discovered. However, just as he pulled out his sword, he could see his sideburns turn grey.

    That was why he could only draw the sword once.

    After that, all of his hair turned grey.

    His sword rapidly shed through the cloth of the tent from top to bottom, splitting the tent into two. The guards had not even figured out what had happened when the second Ren brother had already fled from the camp at a zingly fast speed.

    He could only manage to nce back once but realized that Cao Cao was still alive ¨C at the moment when wielded his sword, Cao Cao sat up from his sleeping position as if he was sleepwalking, and sessfully avoided his deadly blow!

    The second Ren brother decided to return home even though he could not aplish what he had intended to achieve. However, because of his actions, he started vomiting blood continuously along the way and eventually copsed along the road. Even though he had only brushed the edges of the Laws of the Inheritance, the grip of Emperor Guangwu already brought devastating consequences.

    Subsequently, he was saved by Zhang Liao, a subordinate of Lu Bu, but that was another story to tell.

    In a short span of thirteen episodes, the Ren family of Practitioners had interacted with numerous well-known historical figures. They affected the path of the historical figures in one way or another, and they were also affected by them. But that did not hinder the Ren family of Practitioners from progressing towards their goal: to eliminate all monsters in the world and break free of the shackles of their bloodline.

    At the peak of the suspense, the three Ren brothers began to die, one after another.

    The curse of their short 24-year-long lifespan struck them like the Sword of Damocles, and they perished as soon as their time was up.

    In 198 CE, Ren Woxing, the head of the first generation of the Ren family followed his two brothers into the grave. Before his death, he transferred his abilities and identity to Ren Nu, who was only eight years old at that time.

    Ren Nu was the son born between Ren Woxing and the Earth Elf of Taibai ins. He became the head of the family at the age of eight, and he also had six younger siblings.

    Fortunately, things were not too hard for Ren Nu.

    When the first generation of the Ren family went on missions to eliminate monsters, they took in many people into their vige and offered them protection and a ce for rest and recovery. When there were no adults amongst the Ren family, the vigers who were once saved by the Ren family would willingly take care of them. There was even a viger entrusted by Ren Woxing who would handle all the daily tasks of the Ren family, and thus Ren Nu did not necessarily need to make any decisions.

    As such, Ren Nu could make full use of his time to set out to train.

    Before the age of 14, the Ren family Practitioners were not allowed to set out on expeditions to spawn areas of the monsters, but that did not mean that they could not leave the house.

    In fact, even without training, the potential of the Ren family Practitioners would already increase naturally as they grew older. The only thing that they needed to learn was their special abilities.

    Although he was just a kid and was still training on his special ability, Ren Nu already possessed the power to subdue almost any other person.

    Throughout his training journey, Ren Nu could make use of the Hungry Ghosts and bandits along the way to practice and experiment with his abilities.

    During his training journey, Ren Nu met a group of cousins who were, to his surprise, Practitioners with ¡°Inherited Abilities¡±.

    The goal of the cousins was to make use of that power to punish those who were evil. Thinking that it was too striking for a young child like him to be alone in the wild, he decided to conceal his abilities and followed them to learn more about the happenings in the world.

    Ren Nu teamed up with the group of cousins and journeyed across thend. Episodes nine to 13 all revolved around Ren Nu¡¯s journey.

    Inparison with the solemn journey of the initial Ren family of Practitioners, weighed down by their fates, the story of Ren Nu¡¯s journey was more light-hearted and brought moreughter. Very soon, the three of them became known throughout the Central ins, but naturally also made many enemies.

    Episode 14 was simrly a continuation of the story of Ren Nu¡¯s journey, frequently making Ren Qingqing and her roommate burst intoughter ¨C

    After an intense battle, the young female cousin was poisoned and upon verification by the young male cousin, he was bbergasted, saying, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the peculiar aphrodisiac poison that causes death if the infected person does not perform sexual intercourse within 15 minutes?! We have no time to spare, this is a responsibility that I, as your cousin, have to take. Ren Nu, go to the side and take a dump first¡­¡±

    At this moment, Ren Nu plucked out a bunch of grass from the soil. With his ¡°Level 3 Healing Ability¡±, he infused a cure in the bunch of grass and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have the cure!¡±

    The young male cousin was speechless.

    Returning on their journey, they encountered a tiger spirit and a poisonous snake in an intense battle. The three of them crowded around to watch them but were noticed by the poisonous snake, and so they collectively killed the snake.

    However, the tiger spirit was also on the verge of death. Before it died, it ran back to itsir and held its cub in its embrace as it looked intensely at the three of them.

    The young man understood its intentions and asked, ¡°Are you afraid that no one would take care of your child if you die, and want me to take care of it for you?¡±

    The tiger spirit nodded her head and he immediately banged his chest, saying, ¡°No problem! I will definitely take good care of your child¡­¡±

    At this moment, Ren Nu plucked another bunch of grass from the soil and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be able to heal it!¡±

    Once again, the young male cousin was speechless.

    Along their journey, they also encountered a powerful Practitioner robbing the people of their valuables. The young male cousin immediately went forward but was quickly knocked to the ground by the powerful Practitioner.

    The powerful Practitioner said, ¡°Hmph, you have angered me, but it seems that you have some potential. If you are willing to be my disciple, I will let you and your friends go.¡±

    The young cousin let out a face of agony. He said, ¡°I will not bow down to you¡­ but for the sake of my friends¡­¡±

    At this moment, Ren Nu wielded his de from with his fingers and immediately shed the powerful Practitioner to death. He cried out loudly, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the amulet I picked up on the street to be so powerful.¡±

    The young male cousin was left speechless yet again.

    40 minutes went by very quickly. At the end of the episode, the three of them were in an old house for the night. Ren Nu suddenly said to his twopanions, ¡°I am leaving.¡±

    ¡°I will not being back ever again,¡± he finished.

    The two cousins were stunned and tried to persuade Ren Nu to stay, but they knew he was extremely serious about it.

    Then, the young guy suddenly stood up and left, saying, ¡°I am going to take a dump outside, so you two can talk¡­¡±

    Only Ren Nu and the young girl remained in the old house. Due to therge number of deaths on the Central ins, they could easily find an abandoned house that they could live in after packing it up. While it was an old house, it had undamaged roofs. The blushed faces of the two teenagers could be seen in the faint light of a fire burning only from firewood.

    Upon seeing the scene, Ren Qingqing and her roommate took a deep breath as they became anxious awaiting what was next.

    In the past few episodes showing their entire journey, there seemed to be an ambiguous romantic rtionship between the two cousins initially. But ever since Ren Nu appeared, that ambiguity and romance faded into oblivion.

    On the contrary, Ren Nu matured and grew taller extremely fast over the two years, and by the time he was 14, he already looked like he was 18.

    There were numerous flirtatious exchanges between Ren Nu and the young girl, as well as asional extraordinarily sweet moments between them. They looked the part as a couple, given their small age gap.

    Suddenly, the girl said, ¡°Actually, you have always been helping us throughout our journey. Compared to us, you are much more powerful, am I right?¡±

    Ren Nu nodded his head.

    ¡°Do you not have anything you want to tell me?¡± asked the girl.

    Ren Nu hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

    ¡°What if I say¡­ that I want to go back with you?¡± asked the girl as he looked intensely at Ren Nu, the light in her eyes gleaming even brighter than the moon.

    ¡°There is a vige just outside the ce I live in,¡± said Ren Nu calmly. He continued, ¡°It is a very safe and peaceful ce¡­ You can stay there.¡±

    The girl said, ¡°You know¡­ you know what I am trying to say. You know that I am hoping for an answer that will make me happy.¡±

    ¡°I know, but I just hope that, your happiness would not turn into misery in ten years¡¯ time. You¡­ should receive much more happiness than that.¡±

    ¡°I need to go back and be responsible for my family. It is entrusted to me by my dead ancestors, and it is also the wish of my brothers and sisters. I cannot always be beside you, and I will not be able to live to see our grandchildren running around us, and that is exactly why I cannot give you a satisfactory answer that will make you happy¡­¡±

    ¡­

    ¡­

    When the young guy returned, only the girl remained in the old house.

    ¡°He left¡­?¡± asked the young guy. He sighed and said, ¡°I had thought that you would be able to get us an impressive son-inw. He is such a strong and powerful Practitioner¡­ The little overlord of the early days was not even as strong as him.¡±

    The young girl remained silent for a moment andughed sarcastically, saying, ¡°What little overlord¡­ the undefeatable Lu Bu is not as strong as him!¡±

    The young guy did not react for a brief moment. He nodded his head and said, ¡°Fine, fine¡­ You are right. Either way, I cannot defeat him, and neither can I defeat you.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± said the young girl suddenly. She continued, ¡°Brother Zhi, it¡¯s time for us to go home too.¡±

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s proceed as you wish,¡± he replied. He continued, ¡°However, Sun Ce died three years ago, and Sun Quan is now the General Who Attacks Barbarians and Administrator of Kuaiji. If you return¡­ our family would not reject General Sun¡¯s proposal for betrothment with you, unless you leave Jiangdong with Mother.¡±

    He asked, ¡°Do you really wish to go back after escaping for so long?¡±

    The girl asked, ¡°Will I be happy if I marry General Sun?¡±

    He replied, ¡°Only the person who is drinking the water will know if it is hot or cold. But in such a chaotic world, bing the spouse of a young general would grant you safety and afortable life. You would not need to worry about being attacked, and I guess that is the most fortunate thing¡­¡±

    ¡°In that case, I, Bu Lianshi, am willing to fulfil our family¡¯s wishes,¡± said the girl, her eyes gleaming.

    The scene remained etched in Ren Qingqing and her roommate¡¯s memories.

    When the scene reappeared, it was already eight episodester.

    In episode 22 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± which was set in 211 CE, a grey-haired Ren Nu recalled the young girl¡¯s gaze as he was about to die.

    Two sentences appeared on the screen as narration:

    ¡°In the autumn of year 211, Ren Nu passed away at the age of 22. Military Sesses: Annihtion Battle of Guandu, Annihtion of tworge ghost monsters at the Red Cliff.¡±

    ¡°In the spring of year 238, Bu Lianshi, the spouse of Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu, passed away. In February the same year, she was honored as the Empress. She bore two daughters who were adored by Sun Quan. Bu Lianshi was one who did not grow jealous of the other wives of Sun Quan and was highly respected by the people.¡±

 Chapter 75 - The Tour Around The Television Drama Location

    <strong>Chapter 75: Chapter 75 ¨C The Tour Around The Television Drama Location</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    The same drama series was perceived in different ways by different people: some saw the hope of love that existed at the far corners of the earth, while some saw the opportunities that came along with it.

    Wang Jun did not take notice of the opportunities that emerged, but others managed to exploit them, providing him with a chance to redeem himself ¨C a chance to be a guide.

    ¡°This should be the ce that you described,¡± said Wang Jun. He was leading a group of blue-eyed, sharp-nosed foreigners and they had arrived at an unnamed mountain close to the Beimang Mountain. He said, ¡°This is the only vantage point that allows you to see Taibai ins. You¡¯re fortunate to have found me, not many people know where Taibai ins is located.¡±

    The past few days saw many strange investigation and expedition teams arriving at the Beimang Mountain, which spanned hundreds of li within Luoyang City.

    In the past, the Beimang Mountain had been a favored tomb ground of emperors and government officials. Poems often referenced to the Beimang Mountain as an ancient mountain for burial with a long history, such as one with the line ¡°Follow the waters of the Eastern Luo River, and will you find another tomb on Beimang Mountain¡±.

    The Beimang Mountain is a branch of the Qin Mountains and a spur of Mount Xiao, spanning an extremelyrge area. Ever since the start of the 21st century, the tombs which stood at the top of the mountains became a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level.

    Many academics believe that there are many more ancient tombs hidden within the Beimang Mountain. However, due to the passage of time, the changes in terrain and the creation of new tombs, many of the ancient tombs would have been damaged and turned into ruins, hidden between the rocks. There was also no reliable equipment avable to detect them, and even if there were, it would be hard to excavate them without affecting the existing tombs¡­

    Nheless, it was not umon for archaeological teams to head to the Beimang Mountain, though not in asrge numbers as in recent days. It was an even rarer sight to see foreign archaeological expedition teams to go there.

    Wang Jun was a local escort ¨C that is, a local tour guide ¨C who brought tourists around the famous sights of Luoyang City and was naturally very familiar with the surroundings of Luoyang City. His job as a local guide allowed him to be discovered by the foreign expedition team standing behind him.

    Finding a local guide was naturally the easiest and most convenient way to travel in a foreign country. Moreover, there was a trantor amongst the group of foreigners and so they would not be afraid of being cheated by an unscrupulous guide.

    But Wang Jun did not understand why the group of foreigners wanted toe to such a ce. It was not that he had not led expedition teams on tours before, and there were also asional learning journeys where professors brought their students to learn about and discover the tombs of Beimang Mountain. However, the tours he had led in the past were all headed for areas near Beimang Mountain, and not to an unnamed mountain on the external face of the mountain.

    What made Wang Jun even more surprised was that more people started turning up after he brought the group of foreigners there!

    And it was not just one other group, but many other groups of people!

    ¡°Brother Wang, you¡¯re here too?¡± asked another local guide who knew Wang Jun. He seemed to be equally surprised about the peculiar requests of the tourists. He went closer to Wang Jun and asked, ¡°Your group also wanted toe here?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± replied Wang Jun as he stomped his feet lightly. Bewildered, he asked, ¡°There¡¯s barely any trees or scenery to see here¡­ are they here to search for treasures?¡±

    ¡°Or perhaps there¡¯s a big tomb below?¡± said the other guide as he used his right hand to mimic the action of a shovel. He said, ¡°But even foreigners have been attracted toe here¡­ perhaps it is the tomb of some emperor!¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be, stop guessing blindly,¡± remarked Wang Jun.

    A young female local guide who brought a group of locals walked over at this moment. She waved her mobile phone in front of them and said, ¡°It¡¯s pop-culture tourism.¡±

    ¡°Pop-culture tourism?¡± asked Wang Jun and the other guide in confusion. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    They looked at the scene on the female guide¡¯s mobile phone and it looked extremely simr to where they were. But there were some slight differences ¨Cat the bottom of the unnamed mountain in the video was a dense forest, but right there and then the mountain was bare, due tond degradation.

    ¡°It just means that they are here to visit and take pictures of scenes that have appeared in movies and television shows,¡± said the female guide as she pointed at the group of people taking photos all around the mountain. She continued, ¡°It is umon here in Xuan Nation, but it is a very popr form of tourism in Fan Ying Nation. There are even tour groups that set out to visit ces that appeared in various anime series.¡±

    Anime?

    Pop-culture tourism?

    ¡°So¡­¡± said Wang Jun, who somewhat understood what the female guide had mentioned. He pointed at the expedition groups which included people of all ages from young to old, of both genders and of various skin colors and continued uncertainly, ¡°They are actually all¡­¡±

    ¡°2D degenerates?¡±

    It was such a profound way to describe them that the female guide could not help but ask, ¡°Do you not surf the web these days? Search for it yourself, the drama series is titled ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯.¡±

    Wang Jun scratched his head as he quickly took out his smartphone to search for the drama series. It was not that he did not surf the web, but he usually only read online novels like the Rebel Trump of the City and rarely watched videos ¨C watching videos wasted too much data and he often could not find any wifi to connect to when he was out.

    Hmm¡­ Over My Dead Body is a drama series with four new episodes each day.

    The speed of update is simr to locally-made poor quality war spy movies¡­

    After watching for a short while, Wang Jun eventually summarized the series in a few words:

    Ordinary people, immortals, monsters, love, cultivation, history¡­

    There were too many concepts for Wang Jun to understand.

    At this moment, the girl who tranted for the group of foreigners walked over and said to Wang Jun, ¡°Tour Guide Wang, we would like to head to Taibai ins.¡±

    ¡°Taibai ins?¡± asked Wang Jun. He said, ¡°We would need to head down the mountain and ride a car to reach Taibai ins. Although we can see it from here and the straight-line distance is short, there is no direct route through the dense forests. It would take one to two hours to get there by going around the forests.¡±

    ¡°That would not be a problem,¡± said the girl.

    However, when Wang Jun led the group of foreigners down the mountain, the other groups also followed suit. In fact, all of them were on their cars and headed towards Taibai ins!

    Taibai ins was actually an ancient name. It was part of the Beimang Mountain and apart from a very small number of locals, not many people remembered its name. Wang Jun only knew about the ce because he had heard about it from his grandfather.

    However, when he directed the driver onto a road near Taibai ins, they were stopped by the traffic police. The road was entirely blocked by a few police vehicles.

    Fulfilling his duty as a tour guide, Wang Jun went down the car and asked loudly, ¡°Can we pass?¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t pass!¡± said the policeman. He said, ¡°A criminal suspect escaped in front and we need to close the entire section of the road. You have to go back and use another road to cross.¡±

    ¡°Capturing a criminal?¡± said a baffled Wang Jun. He went back onto the car and exined the situation to the trantor.

    The female trantor then turned around and exined the situation to the foreigners. One of them who appeared to be in the fifties or sixties said something, and the female trantor said to Wang Jun, ¡°Are there any other roads into Taibai ins?¡±

    Wang Jun replied, ¡°If they blocked all the paths in front, then there is no other way in. Even if we cut through the mountains, there is an area with degradednd where no trees grow and we would easily be spotted by people.¡±

    ¡°We have no other choice¡­ but to turn back and leave.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡­

    On the mountain not far away from Wang Jun, Lidan whose eye circles were so dark they could be national treasures, took a nce at the vehicles in the distance that were stopped by the traffic police. He asked, ¡°Those people¡­ their noses are sharp¡­ Are we not detaining them?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to do that. Most of the people whoe here are true academics and researchers. It¡¯s very unlikely for them to be Practitioners,¡± said a man d in the ck vest in front of Lidan. He continued, ¡°The most important thing now is to find the Elf of Taibai ins¡­ Deputy Team Leader Li, sorry to have to trouble you to stay here for the next few days.¡±

    ¡°No worries, it¡¯s my duty to serve the country,¡± said Li Dan as he waved his hand.

    ¡°Although the intelligence reports have not been cross-checked, but in theory, it is true that the Elf of Taibai ins should be more easily attracted by an Awakened person,¡± said the man d in the ck vest. He continued, ¡°Nheless, you would only need to stay here for a few days. If there is still no evidence of the Elf, I don¡¯t think the superiors would want to waste more time here¡­¡±

    Li Danughed and continued walking around the mountain with the rest of the people. Nheless, he still felt a sense of¡­ aching in his heart.

    Indeed, he was part of the pop-culture tourism.

    And it was a ce that appeared in a drama series at that.

    Or rather, he was trying to seek a sense of reality from a fictional story.

    The Mountain Spirit and Earth Elf which appeared in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± were suggested to be immortal in the drama series. Even if Reiki was suppressed, they would merely be forced to remain in deep sleep, until Reiki was rejuvenated again.

    And it was now the age of Reiki rejuvenation.

    Once all the criteria were met, it was not unexpected for people to wonder if the earth elves would reappear once again in the current day and age.

    If that was just an idea of the 2D degenerates who had Awakened, the government would just have sent a group of people to investigate in the mountains.

    However, once the nation believed that the entire setting was real¡­ it became a secret exercise.

    When Over My Dead Body was uploaded, all Awakeners in the area around Tianjing City, including Lidan, were transferred out to take part in the exercise. Yu Kuangtu, Lidan¡¯s superior, was not part of the exercise as he was the person-in-charge of Lianjiang City and had to rush back to organize the entire situation.

    The one and only aim of the exercise was none other than to find the Earth Elf that appeared in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±.

    When Lidan first heard about the absurd exercise, the first question he had was if his superiors were foolish and mindless.

    How could they believe the contents of such a drama series that had no published director, actors or productionpany?

    But he soon understood.

    Firstly, the videos were uploaded by ¡°Neisser Ren¡±, who had already uploaded two previous videos which seemed to be true. The nation would rather believe the events that urred in the series to be true and leave no chances.

    Secondly, Lidan knew Yu Kuangtu¡¯s teacher, who was called Ren.

    When he came across the Ren family in the drama series, Lidan immediately thought about Ren.

    Ren appeared to be the founder and creator of the Practitioner system of Xuan Nation, and was also an important person in the Reiki research center. If he supported the ideas presented in the drama series, the higher-ups of the nation would likely believe that Over My Dead Body was a true story.

    If Ren was a descendant of the Ren family, it was probable that he could even revive the astounding abilities of the Ren Practitioners then.

    Those abilities were absolutely terrifying even to Lidan. If those abilities could be proven to exist, it would set a clear direction for researchers of the Reiki research center, even if there was no discovered way to learn those abilities at present!

    As such, the best method to prove the existence of such abilities was to find the Earth Elf.

    Not only would they be able to find an intelligent being that was simr to humans and capable ofmunication, they would, more importantly, be able to confirm the existence of the Ren family during the Period of the Three Kingdoms, since the elves had extraordinarily good memory and would definitely remember their encounters and ¡®spiritual exchanges¡¯ with the Ren family!

    Furthermore, as more episodes of Over My Dead Body were uploaded, even Lidan started to think that the drama series was far from fiction. Ghost Troops, Hungry Ghost Demons, Demon Humans¡­ Those enemies were the result of the rejuvenation of Reiki then, and they have also started showing up in Xuan Nation today, in the faces of the members of the Countermeasure Division.

    Lidan had personally encountered Ghost Troops and Hungry Ghost Demons before, and they matched almost perfectly with the detailed descriptions of the monsters in the drama series. They could even be subdued in the same way as described in the series!

    It was beneficial to simply watch the drama series to learn how to fight the monsters!

    In addition, the drama series even exined the formation of the different monsters. The Ren family in the series seemed to be weak as they worked alone but they were unstoppable. On the other hand, if Xuan Nation were to activate their weapons, they would be able to destroy all the monsters that emerged very easily!

    When Lidan could fall asleep, he would rewatch the episodes of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±. He often eximed to himself:

    ¡°Neisser Ren¡­ What exactly are you trying to do¡­¡±

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Damn it.

    On the screen, a scene of the fat main character bing slimmer and rising to the sky as a handsome young man was shown. It was apanied by a mission failure message: ¡°You have been healed.¡±

    Rensuo looked at the shattered game controller in front of him as he was lost in thought.

 Chapter 76 - Silent Treatment

    <strong>Chapter 76: Chapter 76 ¨C Silent Treatment</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°We look forward to seeing you again.¡±

    Ren Suo walked out of the TGBus shop with a bag in his hand. He had purchased a new Hell 4 game controller¡ªhe even chose a gold-colored one.

    Although the gold-colored option cost 30 dors more than the mostmon ck and white-colored ones, the golden color naturally made Ren Suo feel like ¡®he was more special and unique¡¯. Even though Ren Suo had also purchased a case for the controller which would conceal the color of the controller, he still decided to purchase the gold-colored controller.

    Indeed, appearances were hopelessly important to Ren Suo, especially with regards to technology products that were used daily. He would purchase products that looked nicer.

    And the reason why he specially came out of the house to buy a new game controller was that he had smashed his old one while ying [Holy Priest: Survival Battle].

    In that round of the game, Ren Suo had risen to the top three after a painstaking time directing his character to stay alive and eliminate opponents. He made his character lie perfectly hidden on the snow-covered ground. However, a short and frail white man suddenly walked past in front of his character.

    Ren Suo could not help but use his fully automatic ¡°SCAR of the Rain¡± to send the thin and frail white man to the heavens. At the same time, however, he exposed his character¡¯s position and was simrly sent to the heavens by the eagle-eyed sniper who was behind.

    ¡°The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.¡± The oriole would be the most privileged of the three, followed by the cicada, and the mantis is the most unfortunate¡ªit was clearly just a step away from sess but was instead pushed off the cliff at the veryst moment.

    At that moment, Ren Suo rolled around on the couch in agitation. But as he rolled about, his grip on the controller loosened and flew from his hand right onto the corner of the wall, smashing it instantly.

    Although Ren Suo could also purchase a new controller online, he could not afford to waste any time waiting for the express delivery, which was why he went out to the ACG Star Mall himself to buy a new one.

    He had originally intended to return home after buying the new controller, but he changed his mind and decided to have his meal outside after a long time staying at home.

    But he simply went to KFC and ordered a fried chicken set with Fatty¡¯s Holy Water (C).

    The graphics quality of ¡°Survival Battle¡± was actuallyparable to ¡°The Hitman¡±, but its sound effects were unexpectedly¡­exaggerated.

    Whenever Ren Suo made his character drink c and eat fried chicken to increase her happiness score, loud chewing and slurping sounds would resonate in his ears. And the chicken of that fried chicken meal had even been fried until the bones were soft.

    As Ren Suo watched his character¡¯s glistening white teeth crunch down on the delicious, mouth-watering fried chicken and then, gulp down the c happily, he could not help but drool.

    Ren Suo had almost ordered fried chicken delivery but then stopped himself. He figured that fried chicken was high in calories and also ¡®heaty¡¯. For people like him who came from the south, bing fat was merely a side concern since he could develop oral ulcers or throat inmmation if he was unlucky.

    Of course, the more important reason was that ordering fried chicken would cost him an additional delivery surcharge of eight dors. Inparison, the free delivery from the Jian Ji Noodles Stall below his apartment was more economical.

    It was dinner time and there were many people in the KFC outlet. But Ren Suo was alone and could easily find a seat. He ordered a bucket of fried chicken as well arge cup of iced c and started eating contentedly at one of the rows of seats facing the window.

    After some time, a teen girl sat down beside Ren Suo. She plugged her mobile phone into the socket in the wall to charge and gleefully started watching a video with her earphones in.

    How could she not buy any food, and yet hog the seats during the peak period while using the wifi and electricity for free¡­

    Ren Suo criticized her in his heart as he shot a nce at her. He noticed the scene in the video on her mobile phone and could not help but stop for a moment.

    ¡°How could that be so popr?¡±

    Astonishingly, the teen girl was watching episode 18 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, which had been uploaded at 3 p.m. that day. Ren Suo did not imagine that a stranger sitting beside him would also watch that drama series.

    But he did not have the right to criticize her either¡ªhe had stopped ying [Holy Priest: Survival Battle] to watch the new episode at 3 p.m. sharp.

    Undoubtedly, Ren Suo knew all of the content and plot of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, but there were also many things in the drama series that he did not know prior to watching it. For example, he did not know about the training the Ren family members had to undergo before they stepped up as the next head of the family. He also did not know about the many stories of love and hate that the Ren family members encountered when they set out on expeditions¡­

    Like most of the ordinary people, Ren Suo was more interested in the love stories andical moments in the plot. Admittedly, ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± actually had decent video-cutting and editing skills. Almost every episode was action-packed and extremely exciting. Furthermore, apart from the main plot, there were also special animations of extraordinary abilities, much like popcorn movies.

    Although the spokennguage was that of Xuan Nation, Ren Suo could not understand it either (after all, that was the spokennguage 2000 years ago). However, there were subtitles in thenguage of Xuan Nation and in English, which satisfied the needs of the general audience from around the world.

    Nheless, Ren Suo felt a peculiar sense of pride when he saw the teen girl who was a stranger watching ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± with such concentration. Perhaps due to his striking stare, the teen girl turned her head and noticed Ren Suo staring at her own mobile phone. She took out her earpiece and asked softly, ¡°Do you watch ¡®Dead Body¡¯ too?¡±

    ¡°Dead Body?¡± Ren Suo said, surprised. But he quickly responded and said, ¡°I watch it too. Do you think that it is nice to watch?¡±

    The girl nodded her head with zest and said, ¡°Yes, it is! Although there are no celebrities that I like in the movie, there is no fanciful clothing, and I can¡¯t fully understand what they are saying, it is actually quite interesting and unique for an ordinary web series.¡±

    Of course, there are no celebrities, the characters are all real people¡­ Ren Suo continued talking to the girl for a short while and found that she actually liked the drama series. It seemed that her friends did not watch the series which resulted in her not being able to discuss the plot with other people, so she earnestly started discussing it with Ren Suo.

    And Ren Suo dly revealed the future storyline to her.

    ¡°Ren Nu was unfortunate and would remain single throughout his life, although he would still save a few decent girls before his death.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of Ren Xian, he would leave to join Liu Bei in a few more episodes but quickly die of old age.¡±

    ¡­

    Eventually, the teen girl put on her headphones and continued watching the drama silently. Ren Suo also finished his fried chicken and continued on his way home with therge cup of c in his hand.

    However, when he walked past an inte caf¨¦ in the ACG Star Mall, he saw an enormous advertisement posted outside. The inte caf¨¦ was organizing a ¡°CrossFire Offline Competition¡±, and not only would the champion receive a 1000-dors membership card, but he will also receive an MX8.0 mechanical gaming keyboard, as well as a Logitech g502 mouse.

    The dream of CrossFire, when it was released, was to have 300 million yers, and that was when Ren Suo was in junior high school. But when he never yed it before as he always yed RPG games when he went to inte cafes.

    Who would have known that the game would be so popr now that he had graduated from university?

    He nced into the inte caf¨¦ and saw that many of the screens were in the first-person view, and they were shooting their guns in crossfire on a desert map.

    Everyone had headphones on and only the sounds of keyboards and left mouse keys clicking could be heard in the inte caf¨¦ as if footsteps in the dark.

    Eh?

    It was only then that Ren Suo realized that he seemed to have made a strange mistake. He turned around and looked for a shop sellingputer essories¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    When Ren Suo reached home, he first went to his bedroom and disconnected his wired keyboard and mouse from hisputer, then carefully moved the Mini Worlds Gaming Console onto his desk.

    Afterwhich, Ren Suo took out the new game controller which he had just purchased, as well as a set of wireless/Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

    He ced the mouse and keyboard on the table and was quickly lost.

    From the very beginning, Ren Suo was able to use the game controller to turn the game console on because the wireless game controller had a button used specifically to turn the game console on wirelessly.

    But why would the wireless mouse and keyboard have such a button to turn the game console on?

    Ren Suo clicked the mouse. There was no response.

    Was I just dreaming of the impossible?

    The Mini Worlds Gaming Console had utilized some sort of unexinable ¡®dark magic¡¯ to connect to his television screen and the game controller automatically, and Ren Suo had thought that it was extremely intelligent.

    Without much hope, Ren Suo continued pressing all the buttons on the keyboard. However, when he pressed the ¡°wake-up¡± key, the disy screen suddenly lit up.

    Ren Suo was amused. It worked!

    But it had to be attributed to the fact that he wanted to get things cheap and purchased an older version of the wireless keyboard used solely for testing purposes. The current, newer keyboards no longer had the ¡°wake-up¡± and ¡°sleep¡± keys.

    Without any dy, Ren Suo immediately tried to use the mouse and keyboard to y [Holy Priest: Survival Battle]. While the new game controls took a while getting used to, there was sufficient time in the first round of the game for him to get familiar with it.

    Ren Suo very quickly mastered the new game controls. Compared to the game controller, the mouse allowed Ren Suo to pan around much more quickly. Even when he was in a battle with multiple opponents, Ren Suo was able to eliminate other opponents very quickly and decisively with the help of camouge items.

    He had sessfully proceeded to the top ten!

    In fact, Ren Suo had already mastered the techniques in the previous days, but the game controller restricted his movements. Now equipped with a mouse, he could finally realize his full potential and even fight many opponents alone!

    Ren Suo fought well to the final round. When there were only him and one other opponent left, he felt that it was where he would have to concede.

    Thest round was in a bungalow, and he was right in the center. The other trainee opponent was hiding in a dead-end of the bungalow and could not see Ren Suo¡¯s character from the window. But if he entered through the window, the opponent would definitely be able to react in time.

    Ren Suo did not have a hand grenade with him and had no other choice but to force his way in. However, the trainee in the bungalow seemed to know that he had an edge and boasted to Ren Suo, saying, ¡°You already lost, just walk in obediently and ept uncle¡¯s recovery touch of love!¡±

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips as he suddenly thought of something. He turned on his microphone and shouted, ¡°Can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Obviously, hmph. Are you a scared kid? On the ount that we are both from the same country, I will make it quick and send you to the heavens happily and swiftly, soe in,¡± the uncle said.

    ¡°But why can¡¯t I see your position? I can¡¯t hear if you are on the left or on the right.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me? Our voices have been enhanced, and what we say would be clearlymunicated to anyone in the area. It is the same logic as the increase in our physical ability and enhanced vision¡ªthey are all unsaid ¡®blessings¡¯. Has no one ever told you about these?¡±

    ¡°Thanks, uncle. I wouldn¡¯t have known if not for you. But don¡¯t think that you will definitely win. Have you ever heard of the Skill of Silent Recovery?¡± Ren Suo shouted.

    ¡°What Skill of Silent Recovery? You added a silencer?¡± the slightly puzzled uncle questioned.

    ¡°I will now let you have a taste of the Skill of Silent Recovery! Wallla¡ª¡± Ren Suo loudly said.

    Ren Suo continued screaming as he opened the door. The middle-aged uncle with arge beer belly had indeed not heard the sound of the doors opening and did not notice that Ren Suo¡¯s character had walked in.

    ¡°ept the exceptional recovery of the SCAR of the Rain!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

    ¡°What the hell, you are one sly¡ª¡± the uncle said.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Have a good journey,¡± Ren Suo said.

    As he watched the middle-aged uncle slowly transform into a handsome, charismatic and healthy man and ascend to the sky, Ren Suo could finally rx his tense muscles.

    At the same time, the mission sess message also appeared on the screen:

    ¡°Wee back, we apologize for theck of hospitality!¡±

 Chapter 77 - Plug-in, Forming A Team

    Chapter 77: Chapter 77- Plug-in, Forming A Team

    [Final priest¡¯s points: 1000]

    [Points for treating patients: 130]

    [Treatment output points: 156]

    [Total Points: 1286]

    [Congrattions on earning 1286 points.]

    [Congrattions on the clearing in the ¡°White Snowy Field¡± of the Lord of Storms. You have received the gift of the Lord of Storms and Snows: Avnche.]

    [Avnche Lv1: The healing ability of all charge guns, assault rifles, and portable pistols increased slightly.]

    [You can use the points to purchase gifts at the lounge. ]

    A long list of information overwhelmed him. When he finished reading and clicked ¡°Next¡±, he saw a fat man in a bedroom.

    The bedroom is small, with only a table, a single armchair and a bed with a quilt. There are no windows, and there are thermometer and hygrometer next to the window. The temperature in the room is 22 degrees Celsius, the rtive humidity is 60% RH, and the humidity index is 50, which is the most suitable temperature for people on earth.

    There was a letter on the desktop, which was nk when he picked it up, but after a second, a mysterious paragraph appeared.

    [This is the lounge for participants. Only you can enter here. The area outside is meant formunication and shopping. You can do consumer shopping or head to the Central Exchange of Light Balls to purchase gifts.]

    [You have one day to rest, socialize, shop, eat and adjust to the new environment. When you enter the second trial, your mental and physical state will naturally return to its best state.]

    [Here, you still have the protection of the gods and cannot be harmed. At the same time, the act of you trying to harm other trainers is prohibited, and you will be forced to return to the lounge as a result of the action. You will also be confined until the beginning of the second trial. ]

    A six-digit digital clock suddenly appeared on the wall, fixed at 23:59:59, but the countdown had not started yet.

    Ren Suo attempted to control the fat man to try to leave the lounge. However, the door showed a red prompt: ¡°There is around 3 minutes left before entering rest time.¡±

    Hmm?

    Why are there words such as ¡°around¡±, which brings about uncertainty?

    Ren Suo thought to himself, wouldn¡¯t he have to wait for the results of the other trials to be released before he can rest?

    Ren Suo had yed so many games, such that he has already experienced 7 types of trial grounds. He has experienced 3 of the Lord of Storms and Snows, 3 of the Master of Billions of Glory, and 1 of the Eternal Heart. He isn¡¯t sure whether there are trial grounds that he hasn¡¯t tried before.

    With so many trial grounds, it is only normal that there are many trials to be carried out. Ren Suo guessed that every time he returned to the same trial ground, he was actually randomly selected by many trial grounds. Theoretically, when the fat man is having the trial, there are also other trials happening at the same time.

    That¡¯s the reason why there¡¯s a need to wait for all trials to bepleted before taking the time to rest.

    However, due to the existence of the Healing Light Curtain, each trial will actually be limited to less than one hour. After one hour, no matter how the tester hides, the Healing Light Curtain will still copse onto the trial ground.

    The Healing Light Curtain gets stronger as it drags longer. Initially, the Light Curtain is bright green. However, towards the end, it fades into the dark green of an endless jungle. Even if the trainer ate fried chicken while drinking Coke, he would still not be able to withstand it.

    Therefore, the time taken for each trial is controble. The trial thatpletes first, will at most be 10 minutes faster than thest trial.

    Ren Suo recalled that when he cleared the level, the area had shrunk to a very small size. If it shrank again, the entire trial ground would soon turn dark green. The same would apply to other trial grounds; hence, the existence of the ¡®around 3 minutes left¡¯ prompt.

    In fact, after a few tens of seconds, the red reminder of the door slowly disappeared, and Ren Suo heard a calm, unrecognizable voice saying: ¡°The rest time begins.¡±

    When the fat man left the bedroom, countless ck doors appeared at the same time, in front of him. Men and women came out directly from the ck doors.

    However, when they came out, the doorway disappeared.

    At this moment, he heard a whisper: ¡°If you want to go back to the lounge, press and hold any part of the building with your right hand for three seconds for the portal to appear.¡±

    So there is a difference between the lounge and the za?

    But Ren Suo felt weird triggering the portal¡ª¡ªa strong sensation of the usage of technology these days.

    If teleportation was supposed to be magical, shouldn¡¯t the ones teleporting be given a magic scroll or ring to do so¡­¡­?

    However, Ren Suo was quickly distracted by the za.

    Coffee shops, Chinese restaurants, Gaming hub, KTV, Hotpot restaurants, Comic stores, Cinemas, Fast-food restaurants¡­

    The streets are full of modern consumer facilities, and all the facilities are not built in rigid shapes, but are instead arc-shaped building models, one by one forming multiplerge and small rings, centered on the nearby giant white light sphere and is the point of the exhibition.

    This wonderful natural structure looks much more beautiful than the concrete jungle of modern cities.

    In the beginning, other trainees that came out of the lounge were also startled by others, but they were quickly attracted to the various consumer services here, as if they were admiring the socializing za in the city.

    ¡°Are we back to reality?¡±

    ¡°OMG,Who_can¡­¡±

    ¡°Do we have to pay to purchase items here? I lost my wallet not long ago before I came here¡­¡±

    The room was filled with question marks and footsteps, the Fat Man headed into theic store as controlled by Ren Suo, but was stuck at the entrance.

    [Comic Store: 1 Point per hour, automatically renews uponpletion of an hour ]

    Ren Suo was able to afford to waste 1 point; hence, he went ahead with it to see what will happen.

    The Comic Store looked like any other regr book store, and the only difference was the presence of a variety of drinks and desserts, all on a free-flow basis.

    Inside the store, there are rows of bookshelves filled withics, but before entering that area, there is a navigation bookshelf filled with navigation books that are written in differentnguages. Ren Suo opened the Xuanwen¡¯s ¡°Manga Guide¡±, and easily found the position of theic based on the first letter of the book¡¯s name.

    The book area and the browsing area arepletely separated. In addition to themon desks, there are many sofas,rge beds, tatami mats, and even cats and dogs in the browsing area.

    Even shortly after the Fat Man came in, there was already a fat boy who was about the same size as the Fat Man holding a C and Mango Mleuca, with a fewic books sandwiched in his armpit, that came over to the browsing area andid on the sofa, readingics and eating. He also didn¡¯t forget to pet the orange cat next to him.

    ¡­ He seemed like he was really enjoying it.

    If Ren Suo was willing, fat people can also enjoy such a decadent capitalist life. But it was the fat man in the game that would benefit, not him. Hence, Ren Suo was toozy to spend time on the Fat Man and left theics store immediately. He then proceeded to the giant white light sphere in the middle of the hall.

    Although there are a lot of entertainment facilities along the way, most of them are restaurants. They had everything. The eight major dishes of the Xuan Kingdom to the fish and chips in Britain, the Southeast Asian dishes to the sashimi sushi sashimi, to meet the demands of the poor and the rich.

    Consumption is akin to self-service. 1 point / hour for all-you-can-eat. First, you have to go to the front desk to choose dishes, and then choose a table by yourself. After a few seconds, the center of the table will sink and the menu will rise up.

    However, most people would make the same choice as Ren Suo, which is to seek advice from the counter at the central white light sphere.

    Purchasing gifts is more important than binging, for the sake of winning the trials.

    The white light sphere floats in the air, and the light, directly under the big ball of light, almost turns into a veil of light that gently drapes over the trainer.

    As long as the trainer strokes the light yarn with his hand, he would be able to directlyunch a redemption interface!

    It¡¯s almost like grabbing a ray of light!

    Ren Suo was amazed by such a fantastic and mysterious setting. However, he was quickly distracted by the contents of the exchange interface.

    The gifts that can be exchanged are divided into four categories: Lord of Storms and Snows, Lord of Glorious Glory, Heart of Perpetual Burning, and others. And the right side of the interface shows the gifts he already has.

    ¡°Infinite Stamina¡±, ¡°Life Asylum¡±, ¡°Sound Optimization¡±, ¡°Vision Optimization¡±, ¡°Hearing Optimization¡±, ¡°Avnche Lv1¡±.

    The gifts that can be exchanged using the Lord of Storms and Snows mainly include ¡°Wind Fury¡±, ¡°Rain Curtain¡±, and ¡°Avnche¡±, which correspond to enhanced fire rate, reduced single-shot healing interval, and enhanced single-shot healing ability.

    And the gift of Billions of Glorious Masters is ¡°Xinghui¡±, ¡°Yuehua¡±, and ¡°Sundial¡±. In fact, the effect is the same as that of the Lord of the Storm and Snow, except that the Lord of the Storm and Snow strengthens the assault gun, assault healing rifles, and portable healing pistols, while Billions of Glorious Masters strengthen healing shotguns and sniper healing rifles.

    The gifts of these two gods are to strengthen the power of healing equipment, and all can be upgraded¡ªeach skill can be upgraded by 10 levels!

    If you click on the gift, there will be an actualbat disy.

    For example, in a full-scale demonstration of ¡°Xinghui¡±, a priest hid on the grass and held an AWM. He saw a white fat man eating fried chicken on the top of a mountain with a 15x lens.

    There is no need to consider the fall of the bomb, it is a straight shot to the head!

    The rate of fire is increased to the maximum level, and likesers, the bullet had no need to consider gravity.

    The eternal scorching heart is slightly different. ¡°This god is mainly¡­a plug-in?¡±

    Yes, in Ren Suo¡¯s opinion, this deity is just a plug-in for selling gun battle games.

    ¡°Quietness¡±: The trainer¡¯s hands will receive a blessing of tranquility, better control of any healing firearms, able to reduce the recoil of the healing firearms, and all healing firearms have no recoil at the full level;

    ¡°Scorching¡±: The experimenter¡¯s eyes will be bestowed with infrared thermal energy detection, and you will be able to see the location of the creatures within a certain range. The first level is 5 meters, and at the highest level, no one can hide within 50 meters.

    ¡°Enthusiastic¡±: The mental state of the trainer is sublimated. When any target that requires treatment appears in the sight, the trainer will subconsciously aim the therapeutic device at the target. This state will onlyst for 0.001 seconds at the first level, and the alignment position is either the trunk or limbs. At the highest level, this state willst for 0.1 seconds, and the alignment position is locked at the trunk.

    Although Ren Suo didn¡¯t y many gunfight games before, he is smart enough to know that these three gifts are not ¡®reclining¡¯, ¡®perspective¡¯ and ¡®self-sighting¡¯!

    However, Ren Suo calmed down in a matter of seconds.

    Although it looks like a plug-in ability, everyone is on the same starting line if everyone is able to exchange it.

    In addition, gifts such as Eternal Scorching Heart are limited. At low levels, the actualbat performance is also normal. The self-sighting is only 0.001 seconds, which is almost fleeting; and the ¡®see-through¡¯ ability is only applicable to people within five meters¡­¡­within five meters, Ren Suo would already be able to hear the footsteps.

    When only low-level gifts are avable, these gifts are mainly used to make up for the shorings of the trainer: ¡®No Recoil¡¯ to save handicap, ¡®Self-sighting¡¯ can help people with slow reaction, and ¡®Perspective¡¯ can prevent sneak attacks by Lao Yin.

    ¡°How much would these gifts cost?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª1000 points for everything.

    In other words, Ren Suo can only redeem one gift now.

    In addition to the gifts from the three gods, there is also an ¡®Other¡¯ category.

    Ren Suo nced and was instantly attracted by the most expensive gift.

    [Team contract: Let 2 to 4 trainers form a team and be considered as one person to enter the trial. If you pass the trial, the points will be distributed ording to the result of each person. Note: Only effective in the second trial.]

 Chapter 78 - Time for Change! Golden Ranger!

    Chapter 78: Chapter 78 ¨C Time for Change! Golden Ranger!

    You can even form teams in this game?

    Ren Suo selected to view the details for forming teams and the ¡°Team Contract¡± appeared. It exined the hidden advantages and disadvantages:

    [Trainees with the Team Contract would not ascend to the heavens immediately after being fully healed. Instead, they would remain on the ground at the current position and enter a state of ¡®sub-optimal health¡¯, having insufficient energy to move. Their filled health would reset to 0 and rise again slowly. When their health refills fully, they will be removed from the training session immediately. Other healing shots will speed up this process.]

    [When the trainee is in a state of ¡®sub-optimal health¡¯, his/her teammates can spend 10 seconds to give the trainee their fats and unbnced health conditions, through which the trainee can break out of the state of ¡®sub-optimal health¡¯. Upon sessfully breaking free of the state of ¡®sub-optimal health¡¯, the trainee¡¯s health will remain at 90 points, but he/she will be free to move.]

    [Trainees with the Team Contract will be able to see their teammates position on the map.]

    [Trainees with the Team Contract are given trantion miracles that allow them tomunicate with their teammates clearly regardless of distance, and differences innguages spoken would not affect gamey (the trainees will hear their teammates speaking in their mostfortablenguage).]

    [Upon sessfullypleting the round, trainees with the Team Contract will receive an individual ¡®Final Priest Score¡¯ which is an average score based on the number of people in the team. The other scores including the number of healed opponents and healing output are calcted on an individual basis.]

    [Trainees with the Team Contract would not be immediately kicked out of the training session when they ascend to the heavens but will be returned to the resting room to continue watching their teammates¡¯ progress. If the team sessfullypletes the training session, the trainees that had previously lost would instead also pass.]

    [Trainees with the Team Contract must enter the same training ground and session with their teammates. However, the Team Contract is only valid for Round Two of the training. Once Round Two of the training ends, the Team Contract will no longer appear in the Exchange List, and the team will be dissolved by default.]

    Ren Suo only had one thought upon looking through the Team Contract.

    It was powerful!

    There would definitely be people who buy it!

    Imagine the significant advantage of purchasing a Team Contract and forming a team of four, while the rest of the trainees are individual entities and ying alone.

    Furthermore, a teammate who was fully healed would not ascend to the heavens immediately. As long as the enemy did not continue to heal the teammate, the rest of the team could essentially revive the teammate after eliminating the enemy.

    In that case, the team of four people would gain a significant advantage over the lone trainees and could utilize a variety ofbat tactics: luring, nking, surrounding¡­Regardless, there was almost no hope for a lone warrior to win against a four-man team.

    If all of the four-team members were able to make it to thest circle, it was almost certain that the team would win the training session.

    In that case, the value of forming a team was not to be looked down upon. If the probability of sess in a 100-yer training session is one out of 100, then after forming a four-man team, the probability of sess would berger than all other lone yers without a team. If all the other trainees in the training session were ying individually, then the probability of the four-men team winning would be 99%!

    However, forming teams was not something that few people would think about.

    If a four-man team encountered another four-men team, it would be a battle of individual capability.

    Presently, Ren Suo was already hearing numerous exchanges in the za:

    ¡°Xuan Nation, is anyone from Xuan Nation forming a team?!¡±

    ¡°Violent Mace Heal, I want to form a team with a few ranged snipers.¡±

    ¡°One more yer, one more yer, join our team with 1000 points!¡±

    Ren Suo could only understand thenguage of Xuan Nation, so he naturally only paid attention to the shouts of Xuan Nation people. Without a doubt, the Central Sphere Exchange Corner was where all trainees had to go to, so it was the easiest and most direct ce to ask people to form teams.

    Besides, all of the trainees barely knew each other, and they would not have known the ability of the other trainees in the previous training round. As such, it was only logical to simply form teams with anyone else who was willing to do so.

    Nheless, the trainees who managed to appear there must have passed the first round of training and stood out amongst 99 other people. They must have had a certain level of capability, and it was unlikely to form a team with an inexperienced or reckless yer.

    The trainees were not senseless and would definitely have known that although the other Talents would strengthen their character, it would not give them a significant advantage over their enemies if the Talent level was not increased sufficiently.

    On the other hand, the advantage of forming a team was almost greater than a max-level Talent!

    It was obvious which was the better option.

    However, forming a team would require spending all of the umted points from the previous training round. Based on Ren Suo¡¯s calctions, sessfully healing a trainee would give him 10 points + 10 points for healing output = 20 points in total. As such, 1000 points was equivalent to sessfully healing 50 trainees.

    That was an almost impossible target for the trainees who were dispersed around the entire training ground, unless the trainee could be a Buddha who could wipe out the entire training field with one palm.

    Since that was an impossible target, forming a team would mean that the trainee would lose an opportunity to purchase Talents.

    But even if the trainee and his/her team passed Round Two of the training, the ¡°Final Witch Score¡± which formed the main bulk of the points would have to be averaged out amongst the team members. If they scored 1000 points, the average score per person would be 250 points. In that case, they would still be unable to purchase powerful Talents even after passing Round Two.

    Of course, however, it was possible for the ¡°Final Witch Score¡± for Round Two to be more than 4000 points. But if that was so, another trainee who yed individually would then be able to buy four Talents at once.

    Regardless, as long as the trainee was able toplete Round Two sessfully individually, he/she would gain a significant advantage over those who formed teams, in Round Three, which was an individualpetition round.

    As Ren Suo was pondering over whether he should team up, someone tapped on his character and a dialogue bubble appeared over his head. Ren Suo heard a voice beside him saying, ¡°Do you want to form a team?¡±

    Conversation options appeared and Ren Suo selected ¡°Thanks, but no thanks, see you¡± and left.

    Ren Suo naturally could not form a team by himself, and other people formed teams as they were not confident of passing Round Two, so what about Ren Suo?

    He was not confident either.

    However, as long as he continued trying for tens or even hundreds of rounds, there would definitely be one round in which he passed.

    When the break time started, Ren Suo could save his current game progress. That meant that he could enter Round Two of training as many times as he needed.

    If he wanted to, he could even rey Round One to gain more points, but that was not necessary.

    Even if he could heal 20 to 30 people, he would merely receive about 100 more points. There was no point if he could not earn at least 1000 points and purchase a useful Talent.

    Rather than retrying Round One, it was more logical to find ways to pass Round Two.

    Nheless, a small number of points could still be useful. In the ¡°Others¡± category, there were other ¡°Minor Talents¡± that were worth 100 points.

    ¡°Enhanced Physique¡± allowed trainees to turn into strong men and beautiful women from their original average physical abilities and appearances. It was simr topletely healing a trainee.

    But there was a special remark for the Talent: ¡°This Talent is evesting and would not be negatively affected by eating junk food and drinking unhealthy drinks¡±. That was why the Talent cost 100 points.

    Other than ¡°Enhanced Physique¡±, there were other Minor Talents like ¡°Height Adjustment¡±, ¡°Appearance Adjustment¡±, ¡°Pupil Color Adjustment¡±¡­ They appeared to be very minor and less significant Minor Talents.

    All of the Minor Talents had two simrities: they were useful for the trainees¡¯ life, and at the same time, they were not useful for their training.

    Naturally, Ren Suo did not waste any points on the Minor Talents and would rather keep his points until he sessfullypleted Round Two and purchase more useful Talents with his umted points¡­

    The nine Major Talents were all very useful. Ren Suo particrly favored the assault rifle and the sniper rifle as his main healing equipment, but now that he had received ¡°Avnche Lv 1¡±, he knew that he should focus on the Talents of the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow. In that case, it would be best for him to rece his sniper rifle with a single-shot rifle that could be equipped with a high magnification scope.

    Ren Suo could only purchase one Talent.

    How should he choose¡­ Eh?

    Ren Suo suddenly noticed a small ¡°plus¡± sign that was almost invisible on the upper left corner of the Exchange screen.

    He clicked on it and a golden-colored figure appeared in the game. The golden-colored figure appeared in front of Ren Suo¡¯s game character, but it appeared that other yers in the game could not see it. Some yers even walked right through the golden-colored figure.

    ¡°You are quite lucky to have noticed the hint I left behind in the Kingdom of the Holy Light,¡± the figure said. He continued in a strange and mysterious voice, ¡°And on you¡­there is something that I want.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal,d,¡± he said.

    ¡°You have encountered Golden Ranger, the archenemy of the Master of the Holy Light.¡±

    ¡°You can now use merit points to employ the Golden Ranger to attack the exchange system of the Holy Gods.¡±

    ¡°Each sessful attack on the system by the Golden Ranger can reward the yer with 1,000~10,000 game points. A minimum of 1 merit point is required to attack the system, up to a maximum of 10 merit points. The more merit points used per attack, the higher the sess rate of the attack, and therger the number of game points earned.¡±

    Ren Suo blinked.

    Golden Ranger?

    Ding~

    Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone suddenly lit up and a message appeared:

    [Crazy You Jilong: Remember to analyze the monsters and other information in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯. Organize your points into an Excel table, the table format has already been sent in WeChat. The deadline is Friday. Also,e back to work if Team Two did not assign you work!]

    Ren Suo had almost forgotten to submit the major assignment.

    And analyze the information¡­

    Ren Suo remembered about the extremely detailed Family Record of Secrets in the game. Without a doubt, the Countermeasure Division would have a perfect understanding of the monsters as well as the ways to subdue them, if he were to submit that.

    But he could not submit the Family Record of Secrets directly, nor could he admit that he was a genius even if he wanted to do so. There was much information that existed in the Family Record because of his past game saves and was not present in the uploaded save file¡­

    If he purposely concealed certain pieces of information, it could result in the Countermeasure Division being unable to take precautions against the formation of monsters. It would also cause trouble if the measures they employed were found to be ineffective.

    Ren Suo could not bear to conceal critical information that he already knew. If he did not pass on his knowledge that could save lives, he knew that he would feel guilty if an attack of monsters took ce.

    Ensuring my survival with my knowledge, and saving the world from harm¡ªyes, I want to aplish both of that.

    I need to figure out a way to disclose the contents of the Family Record of Secrets without involving myself at all¡­

    Ren Suo pondered hard about what to do, and eventually his attention turned to the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, then to the game character still shown on the screen.

    He thought of an absurd idea, or rather, with hisplete confidence in the abilities of the game console, he thought of performing a small little test.

    But¡­the results could be very interesting.

 Chapter 79 - Why did it have to be me?

    <strong>Chapter 79: Chapter 79 ¨C Why did it have to be me?</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Ren Ying¡­¡±

    Ren Qingqing was visibly perturbed as she looked at the girl that appeared on the screen.

    Her roommate tapped her on the shoulder and said, ¡°You can be honest with me, were you a child celebrityst time? The female character looks exactly like a younger you¡­¡±

    It was currently Friday afternoon and ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± had been updated to episode 25. The year in the series was now 214 CE.

    Ren Nu, the second-generation head of the Ren family passed away in the summer of the year 211 and was seeded by the third-generation Ren Ying who was¡­10 years old.

    Ren Ying was the daughter of Ren Nu and the Earth Elf of Qing Qiu when they performed spiritual exchange in the year 204. Although it was unclear why the position of the head of the family could not be passed on to the other adults of the second generation but instead to the underage Ren Ying, the people of Xuan Nation quickly figured a reason for that: the sessor of the head of the family had to be a direct descendant of the bloodline.

    It was a simr concept to the inheritance of the throne. If the prince had yet to reach adulthood after the death of the emperor, was it not logical for the throne to be passed on to an adult prince or the emperor¡¯s siblings? However, ever since the former dynasties of Xuan Nation switched to the Fengjian (feudal) system, most conflicts of session arose between the older generation and the younger crown prince, and there were very few examples of agnatic seniority. Two such instances were recorded in history: during the Yuan Dynasty when the ethnic minorities were in power, and during the Song Dynasty when Empress Dowager Du convinced Emperor Taizu of Song to pass down the throne to his brother instead.

    On the contrary, it wasmon for a young crown prince to ascend the throne with hundreds of officials assisting him.

    Although the Ren family was not a ruling royal family, bing the head of the family was equivalent to gaining control of an extraordinary force in the world, and so handing down the position to a direct descendant was not illogical.

    Furthermore, for some unknown reason, when the eldest son took over the position, his natural abilities would be far stronger than the rest of his generation. In addition, the heads of the family across generations also had ¡°inherited abilities¡± which became stronger as it was passed down generations. In that way, the eldest son who took over the position of his father would essentially be the strongest Practitioner when he reached adulthood.

    It seemed logical, too, for the strongest Practitioner in the future to be the next head of the family.

    There were already many forum discussions about ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± online, some of whichpared the strength of the abilities of the different members of the Ren family. For example, there were forums titled ¡°Is Ren Woxing or Ren Nu stronger?¡± thatpared the abilities between father and son; and there were countless intense discussions about the family tree that resulted from the peculiar curse of the Ren family bloodline.

    There were also discussions about the history of Reiki rejuvenation, and how that made the famous historical figures of the Period of the Three Kingdoms Practitioners.

    In the drama series, Zhao Yun charged into Cao Cao¡¯s army seven times, just like he did in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms; Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu actually could predict the weather; the elite warriors were able to fight one to a hundred; the advisors were all engaged in a cycle of schemes and traps, thinking that ¡°I know what you are plotting¡±, ¡°I know that you know what I am plotting¡±, ¡°I know that you know that I know what you are plotting¡±¡­

    Many people thought that ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± was the best drama series remake of the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms using the Ren family of Practitioners as a theme that brings the plot together with the history of the Three Kingdoms. The idea of eliminating monsters was also seen as a way to oppose the wars of the monarchical reign, highlight the woes of themoners due to the war, rejoice in the pricelessness of peace and harmony¡­

    Regardless, Over My Dead Body was simply an extremely enjoyable drama series to watch in Ren Qingqing¡¯s eyes.

    It was when Ren Ying in the drama series gradually grew older that Ren Qingqing realized that she was almost¡­exactly like her.

    She had already known that one of the characters in the drama series was simr to her, given that the character appeared in the opening theme. But it was only when Ren Ying emerged in the drama series that Ren Qingqing realized that the character already looked simr to her when she was young, and not only when she grew up.

    Nheless, Ren Qingqing was not extremely perturbed and merely remarked, ¡°Who knew that I actually have the look of a celebrity¡­ Indeed, you should never judge a book by its cover.¡±

    Her roommate raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that idiom is used to describe yourself, huh?¡±

    Ring~ Ring~

    Ren Qingqing¡¯s mobile phone that was on the table suddenly rang. She picked up her phone and answered the call, but ended it just two ¡°Yes¡± repliester. Her roommate asked, ¡°A scam call?¡±

    Ren Qingqing replied, ¡°It was a call for blood donation. The school blood donation station, the Luoyang Central Hospital, and Number 150 Hospital all called me these two days, asking me if I wanted to donate blood¡­ It seems like they found out that my blood type is rarer?¡±

    Her roommate asked, ¡°Rh-negative blood?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They called to ask me to attend a detailed checkup, but I went mountain climbingst week. My activeness was still in CD mode, so I was toozy to go out,¡± Ren Qingqing said.

    ¡°Wow, in CD mode¡­ Will it be able to level up to Lv 2 for you to be satisfied in life?¡± her roommate joked.

    By the time they finished watching episode 25, it was the afternoon break time. Ren Qingqing was about to take a nap when she received another text message: [Express Delivery No. 03456464878 has been ced in delivery box no. 2 at Block 16 of Qilin District. Collection code: 0316.]

    ¡°Express delivery?¡± Ren Qingqing muttered as she blinked in confusion. She did not recall shopping online recently.

    But it could also be that someone sent her a present, or that her parents mailed some nice food to her. Ren Qingqing walked down the hostel building, intending to collect the mail before she slept.

    It was in the afternoon and the sun zed mercilessly on the ground. Most of the students had either returned to the dormitory or were studying in the library. Ren Qingqing walked to the delivery boxes barely meeting anyone along the way. At this moment, a ck-colored car drove towards her, forcing her to stop to allow the car to pass in front.

    However, the ck car started to slow down as if wanting to stop. When it passed Ren Qingqing, the door of the car suddenly opened even though it was still moving.

    Before Ren Qingqing could react, a man quickly covered her mouth with a towel, dragged her into the car and closed the door in the blink of an eye.

    The idling car immediately sped away, out of the school.

    ¡°They really did it.¡±

    Another ck-colored car was parked a short distance away. A man and a woman looked at the direction the other car was heading towards as the woman in the passenger seat pressed the microphone attached to her cor, saying, ¡°The car-te number is Lian A-WSSD79, it has exited from the West gate towards Lianhu Road. Intercept them.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    The woman turned off her microphone and took out her mobile phone. She called another number and said, ¡°Team Han, you may proceed to catch them. Arrest all the medical personnel of the school donation center, Luoyang Central Hospital, and Number 150 Hospital who are involved in this incident for endangering national safety.¡±

    ¡°Understood,mander.¡±

    After the woman finished issuing the numerous orders, the man at the driver seat finally said calmly, ¡°Rest assured, you won¡¯t be able to catch them.¡±

    The woman was stunned momentarily. She asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The one who bribed the medical personnel could already have left Xuan Nation; the people in the car just now may well just be gangsters from the street who have also been bribed. I suppose they would havee up with an excuse like ¡®a rich student is attracted to a university girl¡¯ to employ them to kidnap Ren Qingqing,¡± the man said.

    ¡°It is all thanks to online novels and gossip news that such excuses are so easy to believe.¡±

    The man continued, ¡°It was long expected that Ren Qingqing would be noticed by people. But even if we react fast and increase the security ssification of the documents of the Ren family, there are too many interception points. If other countries put a little more effort into it, they would still be able to find out all the information about the Ren family.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, there have been researchers and academics who have researched about the Ren family of Luoyang before. Even if all of those researchers and academics have been protected, their previous theses would have been published a long time ago, and it is even searchable on Google. It is actually not that difficult to find a member of the Ren family.¡±

    ¡°But the problem is that they did not bother finding other people, but instead focused all their attention on Ren Qingqing¡­ I believe you know what I am trying to say, Director.¡±

    The woman closed her eyes in thought until a report was made through the receiver in her ear: ¡°¡­ A total of three people are involved in the kidnapping. They are all Luoyang citizens between 17~26 years old and do not have jobs¡­ Ren Qingqing is safe and physically unharmed. She fainted after inhaling diethyl ether from a towel and has been sent to the hospital for review.¡±

    Upon hearing the report, the woman said, ¡°Qiu Changqing, finish what you wanted to say.¡±

    Qiu Changqing shrugged and said, ¡°This is just a test.¡±

    ¡°They must have known that Ren Qingqing looked very simr to Ren Ying in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯, but what did that mean? Nothing, because there are many people who look alike in the world.¡±

    ¡°They are just trying to test what we are capable of.¡±

    Qiu Changqing took out his mobile phone,unched an APP and found the video ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±.

    ¡°This is a drama series about the cultivation of immortality revolving around the ancient period of Xuan Nation. It is a drama series that aired at the same time around the world, and one that was published by ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯. Because of the two videos he had posted prior to this, no country would ignore this group of people that may seem like hackers but actually possess next-generation technologies.¡±

    ¡°But it would be a chore for foreigners to just understand ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ and an even more challenging task for them to confirm that what was depicted in the drama series are true. Perhaps academics in Fanying Nation just across the sea are able to do that, but¡­only information that has been confirmed to be true from their own sources is reliable.¡±

    ¡°Notwithstanding foreigners, even ordinary people from Xuan Nation would not think of the drama series as ¡®real¡¯. It is, after all, a historical drama series. How could it be real? The people are all dead, how could they film a drama out of it?¡±

    ¡°But what have we been doing?¡± Qiu Changqing said as he shrugged and raised his outstretched hands. He continued, ¡°Archaeologists that research about the Han dynasty, Jin dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, and other rted information were all gathered in secret in recent days.¡±

    ¡°That couldn¡¯t have possibly remained an absolute secret due to its extremelyrge scope. Too many people were involved, and it was easy to find out that all of them had disappeared if just a few of them were targeted and watched. In that case, they would naturally find out that: Xuan Nation is investigating ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯.¡±

    ¡°But what were the results of the investigation? They did not know, and so they started watching Ren Qingqing. Her looks and age are too simr to the ¡®Ren family bloodline¡¯, so they took the chance to make a move before the drama series reached the part when ¡®Ren Ying¡¯ grew up.¡±

    ¡°And that was why they employed people to perform their test,¡± Qiu Changqing said. He stretched out two of his fingers and exined, ¡°Firstly, if we did not protect Ren Qingqing when they abducted her in their ¡®test¡¯, they could then interrogate her and find out what they wanted; on the contrary, if we protected Ren Qingqing, they would know that she is valuable to Xuan Nation and can easily figure out that Xuan Nation had verified the authenticity of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯. Otherwise, there was no way to exin why we would be paying attention to an ordinary university girl.¡±

    ¡°But of course, this is just my guess, Commander. Before they make their next move, it is not possible for us to find out what these foreign spies would do,¡± Qiu Changqing said.

    Themander immediately asked, ¡°Based on your guess, what do you think they would do next?¡±

    Qiu Changqing replied calmly, ¡°They would obtain a sample of blood from a member of the Ren family, and get their hands on a member who is less than 24 years old. Even if they cannot get one of them alive, they would figure out a way to bring the dead body away with them!¡±

    Themander immediately made a call.

    But she soon ended the call with a face of fascination.

    ¡°All members and branches of the Ren family have been granted special protection. Ren Qingqing, who has Practitioner talent, would immediately be part of the first batch of students at the Tianjing Headquarters and be taught personally by Teacher,¡± she said.

    Teacher?

    Qiu Changqing remained silent for a moment but quickly reacted, saying, ¡°Oh right, the person at Tianjing is the one that is the most interested in this incident. The rest of the Ren tribe is essentially thest of his tribe, and they are also¡­the key to his survival.¡±

    ¡°He must want to know why his bloodline was the only one to be Awakened in this age of Reiki rejuvenation, and why¡­the other diverged bloodlines remain unscathed?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In an underground researchboratory somewhere in Tianjing, a thin and weak teenager sat almost lifelessly in a wheelchair. He was looking at an LCD screen that was showing a drama at 4K resolution.

    He watched the drama very seriously and intensely in its entirety, not skipping the opening or closing theme. When he finished watching thetest episode, he turned himself around in the wheelchair and looked at another disy screen.

    On the disy screen were the file details of a 46-year-old man named ¡®Ren Weiguo¡¯. He spent three seconds on that page and continued scrolling.

    When he reached the end, there were three files that were color-coded red, especially listed as notable targets.

    Ren Qingqing.

    Ren Jiajie.

    Ren Suo.

    The first two were found to have Practitioner talent in the ¡®Nationwide Practitioner Talent Testing¡±, and thest one was a member of the Countermeasure Division who was transferred there after having found to have Practitioner talent in the civil servant health examination.

    The blood samples of the three of them had been sent for analysis using thetest equipment at the research center, and their base talents could even be known. Among the three of them, Ren Qingqing¡¯s talent score was the best, followed by Ren Jiajie, and finally Ren Suo.

    But even Ren Qingqing¡¯s talent score was far lower than his own. The difference wasrger than day and night.

    Soon, he would be able to meet Ren Qingqing and Ren Jiajie, and he would then have all the time to observe in detail how their breathing currents transformed and matured¡­

    As for Ren Suo, his breathing current had already matured. His talent score is mediocre, and his bloodline had been disrupted before. His family ancestral history iscking, and there was no purposeful use in observing his progress.

    However, he was extremely envious of all three of them, regardless if they were male or female, handsome, pretty, or ugly.

    That was because, they were able to Practice, but not be affected by the curse of the bloodline.

    ¡°Why¡­did it have to be me?¡±

 Chapter 80 - No Feeling

    <strong>Chapter 80: Chapter 80 ¨C No Feeling</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Amidst a busy, chaotic world, Ren Suo stood in front of You Jilong, giving him an evil eye.

    ¡°Why did you note to work?¡± You Jilong questioned.

    ¡°I¡¯m working in Team Two of the Countermeasure Division,¡± Ren Suo nonchntly replied.

    ¡°But they did not assign any tasks to you!¡± You Jilong said as he pulled his lips.

    ¡°Not having any tasks is a task,¡± Ren Suo seriously said. He continued, ¡°I am one of the few people who went to the construction site before. Team Two could have wanted to lure any unknown creature out by asking me not to do anything¡­¡±

    You Jilong was speechless. He said, ¡°If not for Wei Shaojun who finally grew a conscience and came back to work, I¡¯d never have known that you have been taking your own holiday all this time, you tax thief¡­¡±

    ¡°We are all civil servants, how could I be called a thief?¡± Ren Suo said as he nced indignantly at Wei Shaojun who was sitting not far away.

    How silly, why would youe back to work when you could have a break¡­

    What happened to agreeing that we all wish to be able to not go to work?

    Wei Shaojun seemed to notice his nce as he exchanged eye contact with Ren Suo. He smiled and turned back to continue working for the development and harmony of society.

    You Jilong could not be bothered to argue with Ren Suo any further. After all, Ren Suo was indeed working for Team Two as he had mentioned, and he did submit his work on Friday as agreed previously.

    But deep in his heart, You Jilong already carved down Ren Suo¡¯s name, ready to submit his name if there were any overtime matters to take care of in the future.

    ¡°I have to say, though, that your report was quite good,¡± You Jilong said in a calmer tone. He said, ¡°At the least, you did watch the drama series seriously over the past few days.¡±

    Ren Suo did not know if You Jilong was trying to ridicule or praise him. Heughed shyly and said, ¡°It has always been my nature to be serious in my work.¡±

    You Jilong said, ¡°Although there¡¯s nothing very special, your analysis on the monsters was indeed moreprehensive, and I can see that you did put in effort into it. Team Three was finally able to submit a full report after you submitted your part and even received the praise of the Deputy Director. He is intending to use the report as a model analysis report for Lianjiang City¡ªother people are not as free as you and do not have so much time to watch the drama series.¡±

    Ren Suo finally understood what You Jilong meant. He replied, ¡°Thank you for yourpliment, Team Leader!¡±

    Ren Suo thought to himself that that was the result of him spending one entire hour trying to consolidate all crucial information in his analysis while removing parts that were unsupported in the video. Even though his report could notpare to that of the professional academics who researched on the same area, it was still better than that of the other members of the team.

    Was Iplimenting him?

    You Jilong thought to himself as he waved his hand, saying, ¡°The Deputy Director said that he wants you to meet him when you return to work. After youe back from meeting him, I shall think of what work I will give you¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will go and find him first,¡± Ren Suo quickly replied.

    He walked right out of the office of Team Three without stopping. But he was stopped by a familiar person right outside the door.

    ¡°You¡­ Are you all right now?¡± a slightly surprised Ren Suo asked when he saw Qiao Muyi.

    Just a week ago, she was on the verge of death and barely breathing for over an hour before she was received at the hospital in the suburbs of the city. It was as if she was possessed by a ghost and appeared to have her life shortened by half by the time they arrived at the hospital. How could she be running about so energetically just dayster?

    Qiao Muyi who was wearing the ck vest replied, ¡°I was discharged from the hospital two days ago, but the Ministry granted me a longer period off work. But I was too bored at home so I decided to continueing to work, but at ater timing so I can rest more.¡±

    Wow, all of you are such conscientious people who would work diligently for the advancement of our society and make me appear even more of a tax thief who only likes to y games.

    Qiao Muyiughed and said, ¡°I saw you talking to Team Leader from outside, so I decided to wait until you were done. I haven¡¯t gotten a chance to thank you yet and have been waiting for a chance to thank you personally. You finally turned up at work¡­¡±

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s no need to thank me. It¡¯s what I should have done,¡± Ren Suo immediately said, averting the topic.

    ¡°Let me treat you to dinner tonight, you saved my life regardless, and I should at least be able to repay your kindness with a meal, right?¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    Having said that, Ren Suo had no reason to reject her. He said, ¡°Alright, but you would have to decide where to eat. I am going to look for the Deputy Director now.¡±

    Qiao Muyi thumped her chest and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will definitely be satisfied with the meal.¡±

    Ren Suo watched as Qiao Muyi walked into the office and sighed lightly before turning around and walking down to the second floor.

    He knew that he could finally be considered a friend to Qiao Muyi. If he asked her to ¡°sleep in front of him¡±, she might well agree to it.

    However, he no longer had any feelings towards her.

    In other words, Qiao Muyi no longer had the key that Ren Suo wanted.

    That feeling¡­ Ren Suo felt as if all the effort that he put in previously were all wasted. Instead, he sessfully retrieved the key from Qiao Muyi due to an unexpected extraordinary incident.

    It felt just like trying to get out of a maze in a game. When he was about to walk out of the maze, there was suddenly a bug that caused the rewards in the treasure chest for the maze to appear straight away.

    Even though he achieved his aim, there was a bizarre sense of grief and heartache¡­

    But was there only one key that could be retrieved from each person?

    Ren Suo thought back about how the ¡°key¡± feeling of attraction disappeared immediately after he retrieved the key from their holders.

    In Qiao Muyi¡¯s case, she was the first key holder whom he met again after he retrieved the key from her. But the ¡°key¡± feeling of attraction did not return.

    If one key could only be retrieved from each key holder, there would definitely be insufficient keys in the future.

    It was either that the keys must be able to be purchased using merit points, or that there were other hidden ways to retrieve keys. Otherwise, there would definitely be insufficient keys for him to open the treasure chests afterpleting missions in the future¡­

    As Ren Suo pondered about the keys, he arrived at the Deputy Director¡¯s office. He knocked on the door and said, ¡°Deputy Director Yu, I am Ren Suo from Team Three.¡±

    ¡°Come in,¡± the reply came.

    Yu Kuangtu seemed to be quite energized. He saw the smile on Ren Suo¡¯s face and said, ¡°Have a seat.¡±

    Ren Suo sat down ordingly. Yu Kuangtu asked, ¡°How¡¯s your Awakened Abilitying along?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ren Suo was momentarily stupefied at the question. He muttered, ¡°How is it¡­? Isn¡¯t it still the same?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Yu Kuangtu was slightly surprised and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you only awaken your Awakened Ability that day when you were saving the person?¡±

    Ren Suo noticed Yu Kuangtu¡¯s surprised look and thought quickly in his head:

    He thinks that there would be changes to my Awakened Ability;

    He thinks that I only awakened my Awakened Ability that day when I saved the person;

    It was Saturday when I saved the person, today is Friday, which means six days have passed;

    There would be changes within six days¡­ that means that Yu Kuangtu would have been told that there would be changes to Awakened Abilities after they were awakened! That was why he asked such a question.

    However, Ren Suo¡¯s ¡°Awakened Ability¡± was actually just an ability that he equipped from the game, and it would naturally not change as with an actual Awakened Ability.

    Ren Suo rapidly thought about the entire situation and then said calmly, ¡°Well, I feel that it seems much easier to utilize my Awakened Ability as if it is a subconscious action. It¡¯s just like digging your nose.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu did not react for a moment. Upon hearing Ren Suo¡¯s unusualparison, he did not continue probing further about his Awakened Ability. He said, ¡°By the way, your hometown is in Fofeng?¡±

    Ren Suo blinked. Was it finallying? He nodded his head vigorously and said, ¡°Yes, it is.¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­ Eh¡­ Never mind, I am toozy to beat around the bush too,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    He took out a file from his drawer and said, ¡°Take a look at it first, I shall continue after that.¡±

 Chapter 81 - Why Donâ€™t You Believe It?

    <strong>Chapter 81: Chapter 81 ¨C Why Don¡¯t You Believe It?</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo took the file from Yu Kuangtu. There was no title on the cover of the file, and it was just like a file that students used to store their examination papers. Ren Suo flipped open the file to the first page to see a front-facing file photo of him which he took when he graduated.

    It was the file of Ren Suo¡¯s personal details. From his rtives and his ancestral home to his educational background and lodging history to his lifelong achievements, there was a full record of everything about him.

    Ren Suo was not surprised, however. The moment he was transferred to the Ministry of State Security, he knew that his entire background would have been traced and checked.

    The most important information were:

    ¡°Base Practitioner Talent Score: 1.25, Potential: Low¡±

    ¡°Awakened Ability: First-aid Rescue¡±

    Even though he knew long ago that his talent score was mediocre, his instructor had yed it down during the training camp. Ren Suo had to work after the end of the training camp, and he gradually forgot about it.

    But now that he saw that his potential was written as ¡°low¡±, he could not help but feel slightly disheartened.

    There was another page at the back:

    ¡°Born in Fofeng as a member of the Ren tribe. An offshoot of the Ren family of Luoyang. An Important Protected Member of the City.¡±

    Key Protected Member of the City¡­

    Ren Suo had only heard of key primary schools of the area, key secondary schools of the city, and key high schools of the province, but had never heard of key protected members of the city.

    Yu Kuangtu looked up and saw that Ren Suo was looking at that page. He knew what Ren Suo was thinking about.

    He said, ¡°The Key Members Protection n is a special policy that was implemented recently. In general, there are currently only key members of the city, the province, and the nation. Most of the potential Awakeners who are willing to be a part of the nation¡¯s Practitioner system are listed as key protection members.¡±

    ¡°This n was devised based on the prior protection n for research center personnel. Currently, both the Awakened and Practitioners are tactical resources. The presence of certain Awakened people can rapidly increase the speed of the nation¡¯s research, and Practitioners can also gradually awaken as their ability enhances. As such, it is extremely important to protect Awakeners who have weakbat power.¡±

    ¡°The term ¡®key member of the city¡¯ is for ordinary Practitioners who had some Practitioner talent. While it may sound exaggerated, it means that there would be more policemen in the area, and all foreigners would be scrutinized. The local security checks would also be much more stringent. In essence, it is an enhanced protection the city is capable of arranging with its police force.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°Is that sufficient? What if¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that not sufficient? Although no one can guarantee that foreign opposing powers would not infiltrate here, the most that they can do is also to bribe the jobless locals and instigate them to harm the key protected members,¡± Yu Kuangtu said with augh.

    ¡°Do you actually think that the nation would allow foreigners who havebat experience to roam around freely here? Do you think that mercenaries would be allowed across our borders? Even if it was to expand the tourism industry here, the public security bureau of the nation would still be extremely particr towards those groups of people.¡±

    ¡°But in general, members of the Countermeasure Division would not be a Key Protected Member. You are an exception,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Is it because of¡­¡¯Over My Dead Body¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It looks like you have done your own research. The Ren family of Fofeng are said to be offshoots of the Ren family of Luoyang,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°You are part of the ministry, so there is no harm telling you this information¡­ The nation has already confirmed that the Ren family of Luoyang did exist in the past.¡±

    Ren Suo rubbed his palms as he felt his sweat between his fingertips.

    Yu Kuangtu continued, ¡°Traces of the earth elves have even been found.¡±

    R en Suo was surprised. He eximed, ¡°Earth elves?! Are they the earth elves that the Ren family performed spiritual exchange within the drama series?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu leaned back in his chair and replied, ¡°Yes, but there are merely traces of them. Someone was once saved by the earth elf, but that was it. I don¡¯t know the details as I am not in charge of this area, so let¡¯s go back to you¡­ Although you have the surname Ren, you did not awaken the Blood of the Champion.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Ren Suo said. ¡°If I did, I would be living like a saint now.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°ording to internal research, the awakening of the Blood is likely controlled by information in the DNA, which means that you would not awaken the Blood if it is not sufficiently ¡®pure¡¯. You would live just like an ordinary person, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, not everyone who has the surname Ren would carry the blood of the legendary Ren family?¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo blinked. He asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The ancient people often used the mostmon surname around their area as their own surname, especially if they wanted to ease into the local culture as fast as possible, or simply because they were too poor to have a surname. That is why there were entire viges of people with the surname Li or Chen in the past,¡± Li Kuangtu exined.

    He continued, ¡°In episode 21 of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯, a man who lived in the Ren vige for protection changed his own surname to ¡®Ren¡¯.¡±

    ¡°And that was a verymon thing to do at that time.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°So, it is very likely that many people with the surname Ren today have such a surname due to their ancestor following the trend?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Following the trend¡­ I suppose you are not wrong to say so. Either way, your Practitioner talent score is so¡­ ordinary, the Blood of the Champion will definitely not be awakened.¡±

    Ren Suo received 4x the damage.

    Yu Kuangtu continued, ¡°But even so, there is still a slight risk. Of course, your personal file has been kept more secure after you joined the Countermeasure Division, and no one can ess and view your background from the household registration system.¡±

    ¡°However, for precautionary purposes, you should avoid working on the field as much as possible these few days¡­ Eh, I looked through your analysis of the monsters and I thought it was quite good.¡±

    ¡°At this time, the higher-ups have tasked the Countermeasure Divisions of all cities to analyze and study Naisser_Ren¡¯s videos. They have instructed the analysis to be done from the perspective of the members of the Countermeasure Division. I was thinking about who the lucky person to work overtime would be¡­ How about this, stay at home toplete the analysis report on ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ these few days. Submit a draft providing aprehensive analysis of all three of his videos within five days. The report should be at least 20 thousand words long.¡±

    Five days;

    20 thousand words;

    Which means 4000 words per day.

    It was almost more words per day than the rate of update of a particr book!

    Ren Suo gaped as he listened to Yu Kuangtu. He pulled the corners of his mouth as he asked, ¡°Does that mean that I can work from home in the future?¡±

    ¡°You wish. After these few days, the foreign powers would divert their attention, and you can continue working diligently in the office,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He nced at Ren Suo and said, ¡°Alright, you may leave now.¡±

    But Ren Suo remained in his seat, asking, ¡°Can I ask a question?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°You may, but you have already asked a question.¡±

    Ren Suo was speechless for a second. Who would have guessed that Yu Kuangtu would employ such tactics? Ren Suo decided to continue with his question and asked, ¡°¡­ the top, do they really believe that ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯s¡¯ videos are factual history? After all, it is a drama series in 4K resolution with its own opening and closing theme¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyone would think that it is just a drama series. Wouldn¡¯t it be too¡­absurd, to believe that the drama series was real?¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    That was a question that Ren Suo actually thought of as well.

    The previous two videos by ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± involved numerous witnesses, proving that they were real.

    But ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± described stories that took ce two thousand years ago. Were there video cameras two thousand years ago, that captured the exchanges between the saints and the famous historical figures, as well as the story of the saints eliminating monsters¡­

    It was a ridiculous idea in itself. Who would believe all of that?

    Yu Kuangtu stared at Ren Suo for a while beforeughing suddenly. He said, ¡°How would I know? I am just a worker here too. Do you think that I have the power to make policies?¡±

    ¡°¡­ You have a point. I¡¯ll go out now,¡± Ren Suo said. He thought that what Yu Kuangtu said made sense and stood up to leave his office.

    At this moment, Yu Kuangtu suddenly continued again, ¡°Nheless, what¡¯s there not to believe?¡±

    Ren Suo turned around to look at Yu Kuangtu. He maintained the smile on his face, but his nce was dead serious.

    ¡°In the age of Reiki rejuvenation, our nation has a Practitioner family with a long-standing history. Furthermore, they have aplete system of abilities that were passed down from many generations ago¡­¡±

    ¡°As long as there are no loopholes in the videos, and the stories can be proven, why should we not believe it? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if there were?¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, we do have the evidence.¡±

    Evidence?

    Ren Suo wanted to probe further, but Yu Kuangtu did not want to say anymore. With a light push of his left hand, Ren Suo was sent out the door.

    Ren Suo returned to the office of Team Three. When he walked passed Qiao Muyi¡¯s desk, she said softly, ¡°Remember about our dinner after work!¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I have already ended work, see you!¡±

 Chapter 82 - 2 Merit Points

    <strong>Chapter 82: Chapter 82 ¨C 2 Merit Points</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    It was almost dinner time when Ren Suo walked out of the training facility at the sports stadium.

    Ren Suo did not go home because he had to meet Qiao Muyi for dinner. It was rare for him to be out, so he took the chance to train at the stadium. After all, as a member of the Countermeasure Division, he did not need to pay to use the training facility¡ªin fact, there was also no way for outsiders to enter the stadium to train, even if they were willing to pay.

    As it was still during working hours, the stadium was almost empty except for Ren Suo and a few staff members.

    Ren Suo could tell that he was rather well-respected by the staff. When he was Practicing, the staff prepared drinks for him and even asked what he would like to eat, as well as the size of his bathrobe. Indeed, the training facility even provided refreshments, bathing rooms, saunas¡­

    All of that reflected the attitude of the nation towards ¡°loyal¡± Practitioners: Although the basic pay was not much and less than that of graduates from the top universities, the members of the Countermeasure Division received rtively more subsidies and other benefits.

    Of course, the most important of which was the training facility. All Practitioners who were open to change and who were set on keeping up with the ¡°Reiki Revolution¡± would definitely benefit much more with the aid of the training facilities, aspared to heresy.

    Usually, Ren Suo trained for a while before he slept every day, much like how running before sleep could improve the quality of sleep. But if Practicing in an ordinary environment had an efficiency of 1, Practicing in the training stadium would have an efficiency of 15¡ªor perhaps even higher.

    With the training stadium and a Practitioner system established by the nation, it would definitely be better than to practice blindly himself. Furthermore, if he worked hard and well, he could even exchange abilities.

    In the 5 hours of practice at the training stadium, Ren Suo could not resist the temptation and used [Unlimited Energy] for 2 hours. He felt that his breathing current improved by about 10%, while all the Practicing he had done before sleeping the past few days did not even add up to 1%¡­

    And after 5 p.m., Ren Suo saw more people entering the training stadium.

    Although the training stadium was termed a stadium, it was actually arge area divided into two zones¡ªthe ¡°Meditation Zone¡± and the ¡°Dynamic Zone¡±. The ¡°Meditation Zone¡± was made of many small rooms about the size of a cubicle in a restroom. There was a cushion in each room and every room was soundproof, allowing Practitioners to Practice inside in peace.

    On the other hand, the ¡°Dynamic Zone¡± was filled with numerous equipment, allowing Practitioners to exercise while adjusting their breathing.

    After the breathing currents of Practitioners matured, they could choose their preferred method of Practice¡ªeither while meditating or exercising.

    Ren Suo naturally chose the dynamic method of practice. After all, he spent most of his time ying games at home and felt unfit, so he decided to exercise while Practicing¡­

    The truth was that once Practitioners could generate their own breathing currents, their physique would also be stronger, so there was no need for Ren Suo to have such a worry. When Ren Suo was about to leave the training stadium, he walked into Xie Qiansi, who had just gone in.

    Aspared to just over 10 days ago, Xie Qiansi appeared steadier and much more grounded. When he saw Ren Suo, he was slightly shocked but quickly pulled Ren Suo to the Resting Zone to chat. Xie Qiansi said, ¡°You have not said a thing in our chatroom and do not even post updates on your profile regrly, I almost thought you were performing some secret mission. Are you that busy in the Countermeasure Division?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is indeed quite busy,¡± a serious Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo and Xie Qiansi talked for a while. Ren Suo found out that Xie Qiansi had entered the Special Operations Team in the Public Security Bureau which was mainly responsible for fast response against those who used their Awakened Abilities in their jurisdiction areas, such as performers who breathed fire and made ice on the streets, hooligans who used their Awakened abilities in fights, or Awakeners who had suddenly been Awakened on the streets. These ¡°human Awakeners¡± who were ¡°obvious targets¡± all fell under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Bureau.

    The Countermeasure Division, on the other hand, focused on non-human and paranormal presence and out-of-the-ordinary incidents. While there were ovepping areas between the jurisdiction of the Countermeasure Division and the Public Security Bureau, they mainly shared information with each other. Simpler cases were handled by the nearest Special Operations Team, and the moreplex cases were handled by the Countermeasure Division.

    Suddenly, Xie Qiansi asked, ¡°Do you know where Zhao Huo went recently?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea¡­ But he isn¡¯t in the Countermeasure Division, right?¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Xie Qiansi suddenly lowered his voice and said, ¡°He is missing.¡±

    ¡°Missing? Is he dead?¡± a slightly stunned Ren Suo said.

    Xie Qiansi raised his brows and said, ¡°Come on, we slept together for a few days, do you need to be so cold¡­ Do you remember that Zhao Huo had a talent score of 3.12? Even amongst the hundreds of people at the mass training, he should be one of the top five talents.¡±

    ¡°I discovered that just a few days after we came back from the training, he went missing along with the other talents with extraordinarily high talent scores.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°And so?¡±

    Xie Qiansi said, ¡°Heh, I have inside information that they should have went to further their Practice. Naturally, amazing talents like them would receive more care.¡±

    ¡°And the more important thing is what they will do when theye back from their further training,¡± Xie Qiansi said as he pointed to Ren Suo, then back to himself. He continued, ¡°Did you know? We are just tools that have been sent out to the field after minimal training, to take care of the overall situation¡­ We¡¯re just like the students that go to vocational schools afterpletingpulsory education. Although it sounds impressive, it does not have that good a future.¡±

    ¡°The nation needs technically-skilled workers like us who have undergone technical training, but they need even more ¡®university graduates¡¯ who had aplete education and had unlimited potential¡­ Do you understand what I mean?¡± Xie Qiansi asked.

    Ren Suo shook his head.

    Xie Qiansi exined, ¡°You went to university so you would know that the professors at university are not just responsible for teaching students, but also participating in research. To our nation, that is the most suitable position for those ¡®talented Practitioners¡¯¡ªa role where they are able to impart their knowledge and experience, and at the same time, achieve break-throughs in certain technologies for the nation under excellent environments¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was beginning to understand. He said, ¡°So what you are saying is that when Zhao Huo and the rest return¡­ they will likely take on the responsibilities of a teacher or the like?¡±

    Xie Qiansi stood up as he replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that, but if your superiors hint you with words like ¡®further training¡¯, you should probably think wisely.¡±

    ¡­

    What Xie Qiansi said made Ren Suo unconcentrated during his meal with Qiao Muyi. She asked, ¡°Do you not like to eat Chuan Chuan Xiang (Skewer Steamboat)?¡±

    Qiao Muyi had brought Ren Suo to an Old Chengdu Chuan Chuan Xiang steamboat stall for dinner. There was free flow JDB herbal tea and beer, and each skewer cost 1 dor. There was even a 42% discount on the final bill. Qiao Muyi expressed, ¡°A girl like me, who can only afford to eat soil, can only treat people to such delicious yet cheap food¡±.

    Upon seeing Ren Suo unconcentrated and seemingly preupied throughout the meal, Qiao Muyi had thought that he was picky and did not like the food.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°No, no it¡¯s not because I don¡¯t like the food.¡± He paused for a moment to think before asking, ¡°Do you know that Zhao Huo¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, you spoke to chairperson Xie?¡± Qiao Muyi asked immediately.

    They jokingly referred to Xie Qiansi as the ¡°Chairperson¡± as he was the one who always wanted to be in authority and liked to expand his personal connections. Ren Suo was stunned momentarily but quickly responded, asking, ¡°He spoke to you too?¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°We regrly arrange to meet to Practice at the training stadium. Are you worried that you would lose your rice bowl when those Practitioners withprehensive andplete training reappear?¡±

    Ren Suo nodded. He was indeed concerned about that.

    Qiao Muyi casually said, ¡°Well, there¡¯s no need for you to be worried. For those who work in the government, although those who are more capable will do more work, the experience is crucial as well. We have been civil servant Practitioners from the start, so even if it¡¯s to uphold a good image of the government, they would ensure that we are able to keep our jobs. Moreover, it would probably be muchter in the future when Practitioners bemonce. Who knows what the world would be like at that point in time.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, even if there are more university graduates, does that really mean that specialized school students would not be able to find a job?¡±

    ¡°More importantly, I¡¯m sure you have heard of the saying ¡®With great poweres great responsibility¡¯,¡± Qiao Muyi said. She picked up a chicken kidney skewer dripping with chili oil from the hotpot. The strong fragrance lingered in the air as she chewed into it. Qiao Muyi continued, ¡°Conversely, with less ability, there is less responsibility.¡±

    ¡°If you want to be ahead of the times, there would be many more opportunities in the future which are more important than further training; if you wish to just get by in life, being a Practitioner would be sufficient to allow you to lead a morefortable life, to say the least. Most people are ordinary people like us. After all, we are all born useful.¡±

    ¡°We have already entered the service and have many options. We are here to maintain order, not to join in the fight to be the best of Practitioners,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    Ren Suo was very much relieved after hearing what Qiao Muyi said. It was equivalent to saying ¡°It is alright even if you have failed the examination since many people failed too¡±. Ren Suo also began eating the skewer hotpotfortably.

    Ren Suo was happy, not because Qiao Muyi said that he would still be able to livefortably even as an ordinary person. Rather, it was because she said that ¡°there are many more opportunities that are more important than further training¡±. He realized that:

    If not for the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, he would not have been able to activate his own breathing current that quickly. He even suspected that the talent score he attained could be due to the [Enhanced Physique] ability.

    And now, because of the equipped [Heart Strengthening] ability, he was slightly stronger than ordinary Practitioners. It was as if he had a golden rice bowl.

    Even if he could not be the strongest Practitioner, but as long as he continued to receive more rewards from the game, he could, at the least, be a useful person to his nation, his society, his race, and his family!

    Yes, even if I am just an ordinary person, I should be a precious one that would be cared for, praised, and only be eaten as thest resort!

    ¡°By the way, when I was recovering in the hospital, my Awakened Ability was activated. I suppose I would be transferred out of here soon,¡± Qiao Muyi nonchntly said.

    Ren Suo almost wanted to stab himself with the skewer. He ced the skewer on the table and looked bitterly at Qiao Muyi secretly.

    Ren Suo no longer had a ¡°key attraction¡± towards Qiao Muyi and had almost forgotten that she was likely to be an Awakened.

    ¡°You¡­ you just told me that we all have our strengths to be put to use, and now you are telling me that you are better than me¡­¡± Ren Suomented.

    Qiao Muyiughed and said, ¡°Nah, it is perfectly normal to be Awakened aftering back to life from death¡¯s door¡­ It¡¯s nothing much anyway, it just makes me more able to feel Reiki, which means that my talent score will increase gradually.¡±

    Perfectly normal, my foot.

    If not for the fact that Ren Suo felt a sense of ¡°key attraction¡± towards those who were Awakened, he could well have believed Qiao Muyi. She must have found out that those who were Awakened would receive preferential treatment from the Countermeasure Division, and made use of the opportunity to divulge her ability to raise her worth.

    Furthermore, her Awakened ability seemed to be quite strong!

    When they finished their dinner, Qiao Muyi asked if Ren Suo wanted to send her home, but Ren Suo turned down her silly request. He wanted to go home as soon as possible to test out his n of making purchases in the game!

    Previously, Ren Suo had been deliberating if he should spend the merit points. But now, he knew that he would not have such opportunities in real life with his low talent score, diligence andck of courage, so he should focus on his strategy while ying the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    With his determination, he must acquire the [Touch of Recovery] ability!

    Ren Suo loaded the save file which began from ¡°before round 2 of training¡±, for the 78th time. He controlled his character to walk towards the Talent Exchange za and summoned the Golden Ranger.

    [Do you wish to spend merit points for the Golden Ranger to attack the exchange system?]

    [Please enter the number of merit points to spend.]

    Ren Suo entered a number and the system prompted again: [Confirm that you wish to spend 2 merit points to employ the Golden Ranger?]

    [Employment was sessful! The Golden Ranger is now attacking, please wait¡­]

    At the same time, Ren Suo saw a prompt appear at the top right corner of the screen:

    [You have triggered the effect of ¡°Meticulous yer¡± and spent 1 merit point. Remaining merit points: 10]

    The effect was triggered on the very first purchase!

 Chapter 83 - Almost Scammed

    Chapter 83: Chapter 83 ¨C Almost Scammed

    Over thest two days, Ren Suo had attempted to pass Round 2 of the training in the game 77 times.

    But he never got into the top ten. Not even once.

    Ren Suo¡¯s guess was right¡ªmany people chose to purchase the Team Contract to form teams of four in Round 2. The worst round was when Ren Suo randomly chose a gathering point tond in but realized four other separate teamsnded there too.

    All four of the members of the teamsnded in the same area!

    In that round, Ren Suo did not even dare to search around for items and ran out of the gathering zone immediately, where he found Hades¡¯ Cerberus. It was the map of Fiery ck Land, the training ground of eternal warmth.

    An active volcano that constantly spewedva was at the center of the map. Grey clouds of ash covered the sky and burningva flowed between the cracks of the earth. Furthermore, electricity could be generated with the thermal energy from the earth, so ack of light for vision was not a problem. From afar, the human city there looked like interconnecting spider webs.

    However, if a yer came into contact with the flowingva, the Protection of the Gods would be activated which could cause the health to increase significantly and result in termination of the training.

    The modes of transport in the Fiery ck Land map were Hades¡¯ Cerberus (four-seater), the ckhorn Cow (two-seater), and the Fiery Spider (6-seater), all of which sounded like mythical beasts,pletely opposite of the fairytale-like style of White Snowy Field.

    However, while Ren Suo tried his best to stay alive in the game, his training was terminated when he was in 25th ce. He had encountered a small two-men team who perhaps lost two of their original teammates after an intense battle. Regardless, they were very well-equipped and even had ¡°Wind and Rain AUG¡±, which was an airdropped weapon. Ren Suo was sandwiched between the two of them and could not escape, and his character was sent to the skies.

    Ren Suo had overestimated himself and underestimated the other trainees.

    Even though Ren Suo was more skilled than an average yer, his opponents were still stronger as a group. No matter how many times he tried, there was a 100% chance that he would fail if he encountered the unavoidable four-men teams.

    The trainees in Round 2 were those who managed to grasp the training rules quickly and who survived with luck and ability. Even if they were not as proficient in battle as Ren Suo, they would still not be a burden to their team.

    Furthermore, there was even an in-built trantion system which mademunication seamless. Only one team captain was needed to organize everyone and all four members of the team would be able to work together easily.

    After failing 77 times, Ren Suo could either form a team or¡­ devise another strategy.

    The Golden Ranger naturally was one of his options.

    If Ren Suo formed a team, even if he could pass Round 2, he still had to battle alone in Round 3. Even though he could not do so at present, what would happen if a trainee was able to pass Round 2 alone?

    Without a doubt, those who were able to pass Round 2 alone would have sufficient Talents to dominate the battlefield in Round 3.

    For example, the power of the ¡°Avnche Lv 1¡± Talent that Ren Suo¡¯s character was equipped with could barely be felt. However, if it were a maxed out Avnche Talent, the power of the pistol could be as great as that of the rifle, and the power of the rifle could be as great as that of the sniper rifle. Two recovery shots from the weapon would be sufficient to send anyone to the heavens, regardless of the protective armor that was equipped.

    It would not be an exaggeration to say that those who survived Round 3 were god-tier priests.

    Rather than struggling hard to survive in Round 3, it would be more strategic to think of ways to pass Round 2 alone and gain unparalleled advantages.

    After all, it was a game with a 2-star difficulty, which would reward up to 150 merit points, so sacrifices had to be made¡ªat least to people like Ren Suo who were not the best at devising strategies. Hopefully, in the end, the spent merit points would be regained from an excellent appraisal.

    The only other game that Ren Suo had yed which had in-app purchases was [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10000 Meters], and making in-app purchases was an almost certain requirement to seed in that game.

    As such, it is very likely that in-app purchases were needed to pass the mission and achieve a high score in games with in-app purchases.

    Since in-app purchases was a must, it would be better to do so earlier on in the game!

    In employing the Golden Ranger, the yer could choose how many merit points were to be spent. From the very start, Ren Suo recalled his yer privilege.

    ¡°Meticulous yer: When making any purchases using merit points in the Mini Worlds, there is a 50% chance of -1 merit point required for your purchase (each purchase cannot be lower than 1 merit point)¡±

    It would be unfortunate for Ren Suo if in-app purchases did not constitute ¡°any purchase¡±.

    But Ren Suo was even luckier. The first time he employed the Golden Ranger, the yer privilege was invoked and he only spent 1 merit point to achieve an effect worth 2 merit points!

    As Ren Suo watched the screen eagerly, two shining stars were drawn out by the Golden Ranger in his fist.

    The next second, the Golden Ranger swung his right hand in a tossing motion and a glowing diamond de appeared.

    ¡°Here we go!¡± the Golden Ranger said.

    The next moment, he swung the de towards Ren Suo¡¯s character!

    The diamond de sliced through his character¡¯s body.

    Then, a message appeared on the screen: [Your character, ¡®Zhao Zili¡¯ suffered a Holy Attack!]

    [Your character, ¡®Zhao Zili¡¯ had been in!]

    Ren Suo was stunned and stared as the screen turned ck.

    Nheless, the merit point had indeed been spent, and he was only left with 10 merit points.

    Ren Suo loaded the game save again and simrly summoned the Golden Ranger. He turned on his microphone and asked, ¡°How on earth are you going to let me umte points?¡±

    The Golden Tanger replied, ¡°Eh? Do you wish to know? Telling you this would not do any harm¡­ umting points is actually when the ¡®holes¡¯ created in your body by the gods are ¡®filled¡¯ by the Talents bestowed by them. However, those holes would not affect you, nor will you feel them.¡±

    ¡°Fundamentally, the Exchange System detects the number of holes in your body, then fills the holes with the Talents you need.¡±

    ¡°umting points is essentially creating holes in your body,¡± the Golden Ranger said. Despite his body was covered in a golden-colored glow, he talked in a joking tone. He continued, ¡°Opening holes is actually not difficult. Rather, it is controlling the holes that is a challenge. As such, failure to open holes means that the holes could not be controlled.¡±

    ¡°Empty holes would not affect you in any way, provided they are controble holes. On the other hand, uncontainable holes would only¡­ devour you.¡±

    Ren Suo was so perplexed that there was still information that he did not know in the in-app gamble that his teeth chattered. He asked, ¡°Would the chances of sess increase if I give you more merit points?¡±

    The Golden Ranger replied, ¡°The base sess rate is 50%. For every addition of the thing that I want, the energy I gather would increase slightly and the sess rate would increase by about 3%. At the same time, the minimum number of holes that would be opened in your body would also increase.¡±

    The system prompted: [You received the detailed description of the Golden Ranger Attack System.]

    [For every 1 merit point spent, the sess rate of the Golden Ranger¡¯s attack on the Exchange System would increase by 3% (the base sess rate is 50%). The minimum number of points gained would increase by 1000 (the base minimum number of points gained is 1000, up to 10000). If the attack fails, the Golden Ranger would kill the yer¡¯s character directly.]

    It was actually an informative description that would not have been known if he had not asked!

    No, the Golden Ranger must have wanted to con the yer of his merit points and so purposely did not divulge the information.

    If Ren Suo had seeded the attack on the Exchange System the first few times and failed on thest time, he would have suffered a huge loss¡ªhe would have nothing left even if he reloaded the game save after he died.

    His failure this time was also a reminder to him that he should return to the room to save the game whenever the attack on the Exchange System was sessful.

    What he should do next was naturally to continue spending his merit points. Although the chance of sess of 56% was not high, even if he spent all of his 10 merit points at once, the sess rate was only 80% and there was still a chance he would be killed instead.

    If not for ¡°Meticulous yer¡±, Ren Suo would definitely have spent all of his merit points at once to maximize his chances of earning 10000 points. However, with the yer privilege, Ren Suo felt that it was alright to make a gamble.

    If he won, he would receive at least the base of 2000 points, with an upper limit of 10000 points!

    Ren Suo betted thrice consecutively, of which the yer privilege was invoked once. He spent 5 merit points and was left with 5 merit points.

    Since he betted consecutively, naturally his luck was decent for the first two times where he seeded, and then, he failed in the third round. He received 3000 and 5000 points respectively in the first two rounds, adding up to 8000 points!

    In addition to the wasted 1 merit point at the beginning, Ren Suo had received 8000 points from spending 6 merit points, which was actually decent.

    But, was 8000 points sufficient?

    Should he spend thest 5 merit points he had?

    Ren Suo pondered for a while and returned to the resting room to save his progress. With the initial 1000 points he had, in addition to the 8000 points he won, he decided to attempt passing Round 2 and surpass the advantage that the four-men teams had.

    With his 9000 points, he could exchange for 9 Talents, or even max out the ¡°Avnche Lv 1¡± Talent that his character was equipped with.

    The fully-leveled Avnche would be able to send even opponents equipped with level 3 armor to the heavens in two recovery shots from an assault rifle;

    The level 9 Rage of the Wind would be able to send a bullet almost instantaneously towards the target as long as the target could be seen in the 4x scope; the fully-leveled Rage of the Wind would be able to eliminate an opponent definitively, even if the target was running, as long as the target is focused in the 8x scope. On the other hand, the ¡°Stars of Glory¡± of the Master of the Holy Light would be required for the same effect with the 15x scope¡ªafter all, that distance would now have been the range of a sniper.

    The level 9 Curtain of Rain would be able to decrease the reload time of affected recovery weapons to 0.05s, allowing 20 shots per second with minimal recoil; the fully-leveled Curtain of Rain would be able to decrease the reload time to 0.03s, allowing 30 shots per second.

    Or perhaps¡­

 Chapter 84 - Fatty Would Like You To Relay A Message (Part One)

    Chapter 84: Chapter 84 ¨C Fatty Would Like You To Ry A Message (Part One)

    The Land of the Light.

    It was the training map that most closely resembled Earth. The sun was shining in the sky, and there were countless buildings and ruins on thend.

    In a manor, a few trainees were rummaging through the shelves for recovery weapons. Although the recovery weapons were generally ced at the most obvious of ces, the other items and essories were usually less visible. For example, small recovery items like c and chocte could be hidden in the cabs.

    The ¡°Fried Chicken Set¡± and the more superior ¡°Barbeque Delights Set¡± that would instantaneously cause all health to be depleted could also be found at ces where food would appear: on the bed, beneath the nkets, in the toilet¡­

    The four-men team was actually doing a rather thorough job at searching for recovery weapons and items in the manor. A slouching, chubby young man said, ¡°Wow, there is a Fried Chicken Set and three bottles of c on the bed¡­ They are randomly spawned, right?¡±

    ¡°I suppose so, I don¡¯t think anyone would put all of them on the bed?¡± a girl said through the Team Contract Communication System Channel.

    ¡°Either way, this finally looks like a ce where humans can live in. Could this be somewhere on Earth?¡± a middle-aged man remarked. He continued, ¡°I was previously in ck Fiery Land, and I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s no ce on Earth whereva from the volcano flows through the city.¡±

    A girl with a sweet voice chimed in and said, ¡°I was in White Snowy Field the previous round. It looked somewhat like a big nation in the North, but it was not fully like it¡­ At least, I have not heard of any nation that uses pr bears as a mode of transportation. Brother Xi, do you have a scope? I have a gun but no scope.¡±

    ¡°I do, I¡¯ll give it to youter, Little Tao,¡± came the reply.

    The team consisted of two guys and two girls, all of whom were from Xuan Nation. With their Team Contracts, they sought to conquer Round 2 together.

    Although there was an in-built trantion system in the Team Contract andnguage barriers would thus not pose a problem inmunication between team members, there was still a natural human tendency to iste each other by skin color and nationality. Forming a team with people from the same nation was naturally seen to be better than forming a team with people with other nationalities.

    ¡°What kind of training is this exactly?¡± the young man, who was called Brother Xi by the rest of the team, asked. He was asking the same question that the team had been discussing for the entire day, saying, ¡°What benefit is there to be the most powerful priest?¡±

    The middle-aged man said, ¡°Just know that there are no disadvantages to that. Even if we fail the training, our illnesses would be cured and our body would return to good shape, just like a strong and healthy ordinary person. In that way, there is no harm in continuing the training.¡±

    ¡°Uncle Li, what if those people that we have sent to the heavens actually died?¡± the girl, who was called Little Tao, asked.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then all the more that we have to fight till the end. Based on game theory, regardless of whether ascending to the heavens is real, only those who reach the end will be the champions,¡± Uncle Li said.

    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡±

    At the same time, Little Tao walked to the entrance of the manor. She shouted, ¡°Brother Xi, give me the scope!¡±

    ¡°Coming¨C ¡± Brother Xi said.

    Brother Xi somersaulted out of the second floor of the manor. Since the height was not too high, the Protection of the Gods was not triggered when hended, and no pain would be felt either.

    However, while Brother Xi was still in mid-air, streaks of white light illuminated out of his body¨C

    He had lost all of his strength even before hended and he copsed to the floor!

    Little Tao was shocked. She looked towards the source of the gunshot and saw a plump girl squatting at the corner. At the same time, the plump girl turned her head to look towards Little Tao.

    The next moment, the plump girl swiftly took aim at Little Tao with the ¡°SCAR of the Rain¡± in her hands.

    A series of Holy Bullets rained down on Little Tao but her reflexes were quick. She dodged to the left and took cover in the house.

    ¡°There¡¯s an enemy! At the corner of the wall of the house, Brother Xi was killed!¡± Little Tao shouted.

    ¡°What?¡± Uncle Li replied.

    Uncle Li who was in another room on the second floor rushed to the window and saw the plump girl that Little Tao was talking about. He raised his gun and aimed at her¨C

    However, just as Uncle Li saw the plump girl in his 4x scope, he realized that she was also aiming at him!

    Bang, bang, bang! The sound of three gunshots rang through the air. The level 1 ¡°Poor Quality Rooster Helmet¡± Uncle Li was equipped with was fully healed and turned into a ¡°Real Rooster Helmet¡±. It lost all of its healing effects and even mocked the enemy.

    At the same time, however, Uncle Li¡¯s health was fully recovered with three Holy Bullets. He went limp and copsed to the floor, feeling an itching sensation throughout his body simultaneously.

    It felt as if he wanted to shed ayer of skin.

    Uncle Li said in realization, ¡°So¡­ It is because the body is trying to shed the agedyer of biological material which causes us to copse to the ground when our health is fully recovered. As more time passes, I will eventually break free of this aged body and the help my teammates can provide is limited¡­¡±

    But at that juncture, Uncle Li realized that the other girl, Jia Min, had also been shot down by the plump girl!

    Little Tao, who was in the house, was the only one in their team that was still alive!

    How could their four-men team be eliminated by just one person?

    Uncle Li dragged himself and his body to the window. He peered out of the window using his beer belly as a cushion and saw the plump girl getting ready to invade the room.

    Little Tao hid in one of the rooms in the house. Uncle Li looked on as the plump girl pushed open the room doors without any qualms, giving him a sense of hope¡ªthe plump girl definitely could not see what was happening inside the house, but she would always make noises when pushing open the doors, allowing Little Tao to know if she was near.

    How considerate. If she started to search the house, Little Tao would definitely be able to shoot her to recovery!

    However, Uncle Li saw the plump girl standing stationary by the door. She even put down her weapon, then pulled something with her left hand, and raised her right hand¨C

    She was about to throw a Holy Grenade!

    [Holy Grenade: Explosive weapon storing pure recovery miracles. The recovery miracles would be released upon detonation and greatly heal all living beings within a certain radius. Detonation dy: 6000ms.]

    Did she know where Little Tao was?

    However, at that juncture, Uncle Li heard an unknown yet sacred voice in his ears:

    ¡°The people of Xuan Nation, remember this.¡±

    ¡°The Grim Bird Wyvern is a Spirit-Ghost type monster that feeds on dposing carcasses. It is the result of transformation where carcasses are abundant. Both of its wings emit blinding light and its mouth can emit waves that prate metal and wood. They are susceptible to sonic booms and fire. The Grim Bird Wyvern likes to linger around cemeteries and hospitals.¡±

    ¡°The Horrifying Metal Ghost is a Ghost-type monster. It arises from dead humans who were killed and their bodies stabbed with metallic weapons. Their bodies are as strong as metal and their bones are as hard as steel. Their ws are no match for swords and are extremely fast. They are susceptible to mud. The Horrifying Metal Ghost feeds on metal for survival.¡±

    ¡°The Evil Fire Spirit is a Spirit-Demon-Ghost type monster. All living souls that die in the mes of fire can be a Fire Spirit. It can control the mes of fire and ignite any object. Rings of fire always surround their bodies to set any living organism they encounter on fire. They are susceptible to water and troops.¡±

    ¡°True souls are formed when the objects that humans and monsters frequently use are empowered with spiritual Reiki. Most true souls do not harm humans and could instead strengthen and improve the quality of the objects. However, if the object is used for killing and ughtering, the owner could be deluded¡­¡±

    The voice actually did not speak slowly, but Uncle Li was able to remember every single word that was said as if he was reading a book.

    He saw the plump girl¡¯s mouth open and close, and it was obvious that the voice belonged to her.

    But why was she suddenly telling us the descriptions of the monsters?

    After she finished saying the 18 different descriptions of the monsters, she continued, ¡°When you go back, upload this information onto the inte or the likes as soon as possible. Believe me, the earlier this information is published, the more beneficial it would be¡­¡±

    The moment she finished, Uncle Li saw the plump girl throw the Holy Grenade into the room that Little Tao was in.

    In the short yet clear singing of hymns, Uncle Li and his three teammates lost all of their filthy aged body and ascended to the heavens with their confused memories.

 Chapter 85 - Fatty Would Like You To Relay A Message (Part Two)

    Chapter 85: Chapter 85 ¨C Fatty Would Like You To Ry A Message (Part Two)

    This is the third group, that¡¯s a total of 12 people now,¡± Ren Suo muttered.

    After Ren Suo finished searching all of their equipment, his character no longer had any weaknesses.

    She was equipped with the smelly ¡°Poor Quality Old Clown Hat (Lv 3 Helmet)¡±, the ¡°Poor Quality Old Clown Purple Jacket (Lv 3 Armor), the air-dropped recovery weapon ¡°Wind and Rain AUG¡±, the recovery assault rifle ¡°Holy Light 98K¡±¡­

    There were also 3 ¡°Fried Chicken Sets¡±, 5 bottles of ¡°Nuka C¡±, 4 pieces of ¡°Healthy Chocte¡±, as well as sufficient tonics in the bag.

    Ren Suo controlled his character to run out of the manor. She rode on a snow unicorn, which she hid previously. Looking at the Enjoyment Zone on the map which had shrunk in size, she tapped the back of the unicorn and a warm, white glow was emitted from it. A seat of light emerged on its back, allowing Ren Suo¡¯s character to sit on itfortably; otherwise, she would have fallen down as it moved.

    The appearances of the transportation tools in Land of the Light were, without a doubt, the best that Ren Suo had seen, across the different training maps. Apart from the fairytale-like Snow Unicorn, there was also the Crystal Lotus Light and the Grounded Somersault Cloud¡­

    Ren Suo did not know how trainees controlled the transportation tools, but he found that the snow unicorn would move ordingly to his will after his character tapped on its back.

    After traveling towards the Enjoyment Zone for some time, Ren Suo heard the sound of a Holy Gunshot. His face lit up as he headed swiftly towards the source of the sound.

    ¡°I hope they are from Xuan Nation too¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered.

    The snow unicorn could carry only two people at one time. It looked just like a horse, but made much more noise whening into contact with the ground, perhaps due to its great speedparable to that of cars.

    When they were near the battle zone, Ren Suo dismounted the unicorn and walked over slowly. It was a mountainous area with many trees around. The gunshots appeared to being from the other side of the mountain. As Ren Suo¡¯s character neared the mountain ridge, an extremely plump figure that was outlined in a red glow appeared on the screen!

    ¡°Eh? Could they be the plump white people from the Pacific Federation?¡­ Wow, they are actually people from Xuan Nation, how could they be so fat when they are so tall¡­¡± Ren Suo said to himself.

    Ren Suo controlled his character to move discreetly to a high vantage point and saw two teams in an intense battle between the trees. He looked through his 8x scope and saw that the chubby Xuan Nation team seemed to be fighting against a team of chubby ck people.

    It was a battle between the chubby people! Their goal was to help their opponent slim down, while the winning team would remain chubby. The losing team would have to leave their fats behind and return to the sobering reality of bing fit and charismatic!

    Ren Suo controlled his character to move behind the chubby Xuan Nation team stealthily, preparing for a sneak attack on them as they attacked the other team.

    However, the chubby Xuan Nation team was not very skillful and very quickly, two of them had already fallen to the ground. On the other hand, the three chubby ck guys from the other team had surrounded them and attacked from three directions. They even threw a ¡°Recovery Smoke Grenade¡± to force the Xuan Nation team to move.

    ¡°Don¡¯t save me! Someone is behind that tree on your left!¡±

    ¡°The smoke! A person is walking out of the smoke!¡±

    ¡°That person is going to get thest hit on me!¡±

    A short and chubby member from the Xuan Nation team suffered thest hit and ascended to the heavens as a tender and attractive guy. In the meantime, one of the other two chubby Xuan Nation team members had also been shot to the ground by one of the members of the other team.

    There was only one chubby Xuan Nation team member left while the other two members were lying lifelessly on the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s rare to meet people who are also from Xuan Nation¡­ I cannot miss the opportunity,¡± Ren Suo thought. He emerged sideways from behind the tree and aimed at the chubby ck man, who was about to deal thest hit on the chubby Xuan Nation man, with his fully-equipped ¡°Wind and Rain AUG¡±.

    The hushed sound of the silenced recovery shot still rang rtively shrilly through the forest. Upon seeing the Holy Light bursting out of his body, the chubby ck man fell to the floor and rolled behind a tree that was beside him. However, the Holy Bullet was swift and quickly refilled his health bar!

    ¡°#@*@#£¤%!¡±

    As Ren Suo was not on the same team as the chubby ck man, he could not hear what he was saying. However, at the same moment, the other two ck men immediately looked towards where Ren Suo¡¯s character was hiding, so the men must have been reporting his character¡¯s location to his teammates.

    The chubby Xuan Nation man who was on the verge of dying was stunned upon realizing that someone was helping him. He then hid cowardly behind a stone, intending to take a backseat as he watched on but reap the benefitster.

    But it was exactly what Ren Suo would have wanted!

    One of the chubby ck men pulled their teammate, who was on the floor, to the side. At the same time, another one of them began shooting with his recovery rifle in the general direction where the plump girl was hiding at, in an attempt to suppress her and allow more time for his teammate to be revived.

    In the meantime, however, Ren Suo unhurriedly waited for a short while, then pulled the safety pin out of the Holy Grenade. He waited for four full seconds before throwing it towards where the two chubby ck men were.

    Following a loud boom, a strong and fit ck man ascended to the sky, and a chubby ck man fell to the ground.

    The chubby ck man who had been shooting at Ren Suo¡¯s character was shocked. At the same time, Ren Suo took out the ¡°Holy Light 98K¡±, and the moment the chubby ck man¡¯s head appeared, he took aim at his head, which was covered in a ck panther mask, through the 8x scope!

    With a bang, a ck glow of light radiated out from beneath the ck panther mask. Although it looked mesmerizing, the chubby ck man with the mask and the other man who had been sted by Ren Suo¡¯s Holy Grenade were ascending to the heavens, turning into strong men and following in their teammate¡¯s footsteps to the skies.

    Interestingly, the sight of the ck men rising to the sky with white wings on their back actually looked strange¡­

    At that juncture, only Ren Suo and two other chubby Xuan Nation men remained in the battlezone¡ªbut one of them also rose to the sky as it had been too long since he fell to the ground, turning him into a tall and handsome man.

    Ren Suo repeated the same trick as before. He turned on the ¡°Holy Message¡± function and said, ¡°The people of Xuan Nation, remember this¡­¡±

    He repeated the 18 descriptions of the monsters and then said, ¡°When you go back, publish this information as soon as possible. Believe me, the earlier this information is published, the more beneficial it would be¡­¡±

    ¡°What if I forget about it?¡± the Xuan Nation man, who was on the ground, said.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a short whileter, you won¡¯t forget about it,¡± Ren Suo said.

    As Ren Suo finished his sentence, he controlled his character to emerge from hiding, and the chubby Xuan Nation man who had been observing the situation said, ¡°She¡¯s out!¡±

    The other chubby Xuan Nation man who was hiding behind the stone also turned around and wanted to shoot Ren Suo¡¯s character to death. However, Ren Suo had already pre-empted their moves and fitted the ¡°Holy Light 98K¡± with a red dot sight. The moment Ren Suo saw the batman mask on the chubby face of the Xuan Nation man through the sight, Ren Suo sted the man¡¯s head with a 7.62mm Holy Bullet!

    The next second, two handsome young men slowly rose to the skies.

    ¡°16¡­ No, 14 down,¡± Ren Suo muttered as he sighed in relief. He briefly searched through the items that were left behind by the trainees he had eliminated, then returned to his snow unicorn. He headed straight for the Final Battle Zone¡ªhe had spent too much time on the previous two teams.

    In that round of the game, Ren Suo had told the more important information of the monsters to 14 people from Xuan Nation. As long as one of them shared that information, he would not have spent his merit points and umted points in vain.

    In [Holy Priest: Survival Battle], Ren Suo¡¯s aim was not only to pass the stage and reap the rewards but also to reveal information about the monsters in [Over My Dead Body] during Round 2 of the game.

    Ren Suo did not dare to reveal that information with his own name. Based on the previous three games that he yed, ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± would automatically upload the yer¡¯s game process onto the inte. In that way, every movement and action of Ren Suo¡¯s character would be exposed on the inte, and what Ren Suo said regarding the monsters would naturally be heard by the government of Xuan Nation.

    Nheless, there always had to be a n B. If ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± did not do the same thing as he had done for the previous three games, Ren Suo pinned his hopes on another aspect of the game: actualization of the game in real life.

    If Ren Suo still had not realized that the events which urred in the game would be reality after he had been ying the games for some time, he would truly be a fool.

    Although he did not know why events in [Over My Dead Body] which urred in the past would be reality, it was only after he had finished ying [The Hitman] and [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters] that they turned into reality.

    It was very likely that the trainees in [Holy Priest: Survival Battle] were humans. Of course, Ren Suo could not do anything if they were humans from a parallel universe.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo had secretly listened in on the conversations of other trainees. They generally discussed topics like ¡°reality¡± and ¡°future technology¡±, and Ren Suo figured that such could not be AI-generated conversations.

    That was why Ren Suo decided to tell the trainees of Xuan Nation information about the monsters.

    As long as one person from Xuan Nation divulged the information, Ren Suo would then be able to review the important information and submit a proper report to the Countermeasure Division.

    At that time, Ren Suo would naturally be able to perfectly aplish his goal. He could receive a promotion and pay raise due to his ¡°hard work from surfing the inte¡±.

    There was also another reason why he chose to reveal the information about the monsters in Round 2: Round 3 was a single-yer battle, and the trainees who werepeting in that round would definitely be skilled and proficient. Even yers who made in-game purchases would not be sufficiently confident that they could pass the round easily.

    On the other hand, yers could form teams in Round 2. Ren Suo would encounter four-men teamsprising people from Xuan Nation very easily, and he could reveal the information more quickly through the encounters.

    However, to achieve that, Ren Suo naturally had to n how to best utilize his umted points.

    The truth was that, in terms of battle skills, Ren Suo could spend more time practicing to be more adept gradually. Even if he could not be the best, he could definitely train until he had average skills. As such, he could neglect bing stronger in battle to ovee the weaknesses of the Talents he had for the time being.

    Instead, what he needed was the ability to control the battlefield. He had to ensure his safety while being able to talk to the other trainees and be constantly aware of his enemies¡¯ movements.

    Hence, Ren Suo spent all of his 9000 umted points on ¡°ze¡±!

    [ze: The eyes of the trainee are bestowed with infrared-sensing abilities. The trainee would be able to detect the location of all living objects within a certain radius. The radius is 5 meters at Lv 1, and when fully-leveled, humans within a radius of 50 meters cannot be concealed.]

    Ren Suo¡¯s character was equipped with ze Lv 9, so no enemies within a 45-meter-radius could hide from his sight!

    Without a doubt, had Ren Suo spent the 9000 umted points onbat Talents; he would definitely be at a losing end when fighting against enemies with the same standards as him if he did not eliminate the enemy at first sight¨C

    Whether it was ¡°Rage of the Wind¡±, ¡°Curtain of Rain¡±, ¡°Avnche¡±, ¡°Glorious Stars¡±, ¡°Resplendent Moon¡±, or ¡°Striking Sun¡±, they allowed the recovery weapon to be upgraded to that of another technology tree. If Ren Suo and his enemy knew each other¡¯s location in a battle, the enemy with abat Talent would be able to recover or gain an advantage by making use of it. Ren Suo who only had ordinary weapons would stand no chance against the enemy in that scenario.

    However, the only yer who made in-game purchases was Ren Suo.

    Hence, none of the enemies¡¯ Talents had the ability to cripple Ren Suo, at least in Round 2.

    If Ren Suo managed to proceed to Round 3, he would then be able to obtainbat Talents, and would not be at a disadvantage,pared to the other trainees.

    It is unfortunate, to yers who did not purchase anything in the game, that such was just a part of the services provided to those who did make purchases in the game.

    It was also only under such circumstances that Ren Suo could fully realize his ¡°Reveal n¡±.

    To increase the area in which his voice could be heard and make his words sound more impactful, Ren Suo had specially exchanged points for the ¡°Sacred Voice¡± and the ¡°Sacred Message¡± Talents.

    The ¡°Sacred Voice¡± Talent increased the area in which his voice could be heard, and made his voice sound crisper, more sacred, and more respectable;

    The ¡°Sacred Message¡± Talent was an active Talent that utilized energy when in effect. However, Ren Suo¡¯s character was equipped with ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± and could effectively use ¡°Sacred Message¡± indefinitely. The effect was that Ren Suo¡¯s words would be deeply etched in the minds of the listeners (provided they could understand him). The listeners would be able to remember the sacred message for one to three days, and would rapidly forget the message after that period.

    The two Talents were absolutely useless in battle and required only 100 umted points to acquire, but they suited Ren Suo¡¯s needs perfectly.

    If the information provided by the game was factual, and the trainees would return to the real world, then it was possible that the hints that Ren Suo had nted would take effect.

    ¡°Now¡­ it¡¯s time toplete the game!¡±

 Chapter 86 - Passed! New Month!

    Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Passed! New Month!

    It was the 1st of May, 11 days after ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± had emerged on the inte.

    Ren Qingqing had gone through an ¡°underserved cmity¡± due to her ¡°special bloodline¡± and ¡°special ability¡±, and was told that she was already halfway into a new world¡ªthe reality was undoubtedly convincing when told by the police, the mayor, and your parents that you would be a superwoman.

    Ren Qingqing had dropped out of school and relocated from Luoyang to the suburbs of Tianjing in haste and confusion. She was now staying in an academic institute that was undergoing construction¡ªindeed it appeared to be an academic institution, for Ren Qingqing was quite sure that she could identify an academic institute, given that she had been studying for over ten years.

    The dormitory could be considered as the best in Xuan Nation. Each apartment was shared by two people with individual rooms, showers, toilets, a kitchen and a living room. When Ren Qingqing moved into her room, there was already another person in that apartment.

    Ren Qingqing¡¯s roommate was a cute girl with baby fats, who was a year younger than she was. Her name was Tang Yihan and she spoke with a southern Xuannguage ent. She asionallypsed into dialect but would quickly revert back to using the ordinarynguage of Xuan Nation. She was a very interesting person and would frequently hug Ren Qingqing, calling her ¡°Sister Qing, Sister Qing¡±.

    Nheless, Ren Qingqing did not look down on her¡ªon her first day, she saw Tang Yihan swimming in the air in the living room, as if she was not affected by gravity.

    Ren Qingqing knew that she was a superwoman in making, so Tang Yihan was already one. There was no way an ordinary person could defy gravity; even Newton¡¯s coffin abided by thews of gravity.

    Very quickly, Ren Qingqing realized that the academic institution she was in would indeed impart knowledge like ¡°the True Practice¡±, and ¡°Extraordinary Abilities¡±, as she had guessed. Furthermore, it was possibly the most powerful academic institution formed to be the ¡°best in Xuan Nation¡±. More people checked into the girls¡¯ dormitory over the next few days, and all of them were teen girls who came from all over Xuan Nation and possessed ¡°special talents¡±.

    Most of them possessed some special ability, and they would try to find ways of improving their abilities, even though they had not started studying¡ªor perhaps, they were showing off their abilities.

    Ren Qingqing was slightly older than the rest of them and remained in the living room of her apartment to catch up with drama series on herrge 55-inch LCD television. Unlike her previous roommate, Tang Yihan did not share the same hobby as her. Furthermore, Tang Yihan had not been to Tianjing before and was enjoying her time outside, spending money to visit ces like the Great Wall and watch the g Raising Ceremony.

    That morning, the moment Tang Yihan opened the apartment door, she immediately started removing her clothes while levitating in the air. She said, ¡°It¡¯s so hot outside today, it¡¯s almostparable to my hometown¡­ Isn¡¯t Tianjing further north?! My undergarments are all wet now!¡±

    ¡°The Labor Day holiday has begun, so I¡¯m sure many people are here for travel,¡± Ren Qingqing¡ªwho was wearing a thin shirt as shey on the couch, drinking a can of c, and eating a packet of chips¡ªsaid. Shezily said, ¡°It¡¯s about the same everywhere when it gets warmer¡­ perhaps it¡¯s colder up north?¡±

    Tang Yihan only kept her undergarments on her as she hugged the air conditioner on the wall. She eximed happily, ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m going to melt.¡±

    Ren Qingqing said, ¡°Have some decency, our dear Little Han is a flying angel.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Tang Yihan remarked as she floated over to Ren Qingqing. She asked, ¡°What episode are you at now?¡±

    Ren Qingqing replied, ¡°Episode 45! It¡¯s the year 234 now in the drama¡­¡±

    ¡°Has the Battle of Red Cliff ended?¡± Tang Yihan curiously asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s been more than ten episodes since it ended,¡± Ren Qingqing said in disbelief, although she knew that Tang Yihan was not very interested in history. Even if she had some knowledge about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, she would not know what event urred in which year. Ren Qingqing said, ¡°They are now showing the part where Minister Zhuge was involved in Wuzhang ins.¡±

    Tang Yihan scratched her head and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a fairytale-like story about the immortal Ren family warriors? How is Zhuge Liang involved?¡±

    ¡°Because of one of the Practitioners of the Ren family,¡± Ren Qingqing said. She exined, ¡°Ren Ge is the son of Ren Luoyang, a third-generation Practitioner¡­ Ren Ge is one of the Practitioners of the Ren family of Practitioners, who are old enough to take part inbat. He was traveling across thend of Shu, and he greatly respected Minister Zhuge. However, he could tell that Minister Zhuge would not be able to live for long, so he stayed by him, wanting to save his life in times of emergency¡­¡±

    ¡°There are even abilities to revive a person?¡± Tang Yihan asked.

    ¡°There are Lv 1 Rejuvenation, Lv 2 Full Rejuvenation, Lv 3 Ultimate Rejuvenation, Lv 4 Blood Cirction¡­ Lv 7 Soul Recovery¡­ and at Lv 10 and above, it is Transcendence: Preservation,¡± Ren Qingqing said. She continued, ¡°There has always been one Practitioner in the Ren family who specializes in recovery techniques. But to ordinary people, the Soul Recovery ability is sufficient to revive a person, for the skin to regenerate, and to calm the mind. The Lv 10 and above abilities are meant for the Ren family.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Tang Yihan said. She asked, ¡°Since the Soul Recovery ability is already so powerful, what is the purpose of the even stronger and higher-level abilities? If the injury is worse than that and requires more than ¡®reviving a person¡¯ and ¡®for the skin to regenerate¡¯, he would have been dead long ago.¡±

    It seemed that Tang Yihan did not watch much of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, so Ren Qingqing exined patiently, ¡°That¡¯s not always the case. When the Ren family of Practitioners grew older, they would learn defense abilities. These defense abilities would usually require one to two days to train, and aplicated ceremony that can only bepleted in the Ren family house has to be performed to establish the defense ability. After the ability has been established, a multiyer armor that can be deployed at will would form around the Practitioner.¡±

    ¡°Such multiyered defense armor can vary greatly between Practitioners, depending on their individual strengths and depth of study of the defense knowledge. For example, Ren Ying, the present head of the Ren family, has 85yers of defense armor on her. She also specializes in defense, so all theyers of defense armor are fused together with her ¡°Innate Qi¡± ability, and is virtually undefeatable by the monsters.¡±

    ¡°An ordinary multiyered armor can be damaged from the attacks of monsters, causing one or moreyers of the armor to be dropped. When defending against powerful attacks, over tenyers of armor may be dropped, and entireyers of armor could be pierced through when surrounded. Only Practitioners like Ren Ying are able to fuse all theiryers of armor together and none of theyers would be damaged by small and minor attacks.¡±

    ¡°Nheless, the armor is extremely tough, and as long as not all of them are pierced through, the Ren family of Practitioners would essentially remain unharmed. There was once a situation when a Grim Wyvern Bird emitted a sound wave that pierced through rocks, but the Ren family Practitioner that was fighting it remained perfectly unharmed and killed it immediately instead.¡±

    Tang Yihan was still slightly confused. She scratched her head, asking, ¡°So how is that rted to recovery?¡±

    Ren Qingqing looked at the Ren family Practitioner on the television screen who was peering at a tent. She said, ¡°Transcendence abilities at Lv 10 and above are used to repair and replenish theyers of armor on Practitioners. However, the entire process requires 2 hours to fully repair the Practitioner¡¯s armor. As such, the Ren family Practitioners are able to quickly recover their defenses when they continuously encounter major battles while they are traveling and out in the wild.¡±

    ¡°That is why the Transcendence abilities at Lv 10 and above no longer treat humans but instead, meant specially for repairing the invisible armor fused together by their abilities.¡±

    Tang Yihan dragged her words as she said in agreement, ¡°That seemsplicated¡­ But is the armor really that powerful? Can it block a bullet?¡±

    Ren Qingqing thought about it and replied, ¡°I would suppose so, but perhaps it can only block a limited number of bullets. If it were Ren Ying, apart from missiles and special sharp weapons, it would be meaningless to attack her usingmon weapons and ammunition, regardless of quantity¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that the Ren Ying you have been talking about? She looks just like you!¡± Tang Yihan eximed as she pped Ren Qingqing on her shoulder. She smiled and said, ¡°So you can be this pretty when you put on makeup and change a set of clothes?¡±

    On the screen was the over 10 years old Ren Ying who was berating Ren Ge, who was kneeling down on the floor with a head of grey hair. Ren Ge had attempted to save Minister Zhuge prior to that, but the moment he tried to do so, he turned old rapidly.

    He had prolonged Minister Zhuge¡¯s life by at most half a day, but he himself lost two years of his life.

    Ren Ying, who was almost 30 years old, was used to that, having been reborn once after Spiritual Exchange with the Goddess of the River of Luo.

    Just ten years after being reborn, she matured faster for her age. She also received the protection of the Goddess of the River of Luo and donned an aqua blue-colored, fire- and water-resistant robe all day long. Her appearance was pure and elegant with a charming andmanding presence.

    She looked just like a more luxurious and deluxe version of Ren Qingqing.

    Ren Ying looked beautiful even when she was angry and scolding Ren Ge. After that scene, the Ren family of Practitioners set out on an expedition to eliminate the Ghost Monsters at Wuzhang ins and was pitted against Wei Yan, the ¡°first-generation Ghost General¡±.

    Tang Yihan finished watching the rest of the episode with Ren Qingqing. When she saw Ren Ying¡¯s virtually indestructible aqua-blue armor in battle, it was as if the enemies were of no disturbance to her. She could not help but exim, ¡°It would be great if we could learn such abilities.¡±

    ¡°How can that be possible, it¡¯s merely an ability in the drama series,¡± Ren Qingqing said with augh.

    ¡°But it could be real though¡­ There are already people who are starting to experiment with such abilities that provide long-term protection, it¡¯s just that it is not perfect yet,¡± Tang Yihan casually said as she shook her calves while floating in the air.

    Ren Qingqing blinked. She already knew that her roommate had an extraordinary background and was well-informed with insider information, so Ren Qingqing trusted her.

    But Tang Yihan only mentioned that casually and continued watching the drama series when she finished her sentence. When the ending theme came on, she floated to the bedroom to retrieve her clothes and proceeded to shower.

    Before she entered the bathroom, Tang Yihan suddenly turned around and said, ¡°Oh, by the way, we should be starting school after the Labor Day holidays, so you take the opportunity these few days to hang around outside to y before that timees.¡±

    ¡°You should be receiving the notification soon.¡±

    School is starting?

    After enjoying the past few days in the dormitory, Ren Qingqing finally remembered the great and important revival mission she was entrusted with.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Huh? That can¡¯t be¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo, who had no sense of the great and important revival mission he was entrusted with, sat on the chair as he listened to Yu Kuangtu over the mobile phone. He subconsciouslymented, ¡°The danger warning is going to be removed?¡±

    ¡°Major changes are going to take ce within the nation in three days. When that timees, the importance of your identity would be insignificant,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He questioned, ¡°You are not still thinking of receiving your pay without working, are you?¡±

    ¡°Well, no¡­¡± Ren Suo replied. Even though it would be most ideal to be paid without working, he was not senseless to say such a thing to his superiors.

    ¡°Nheless, your report was not bad indeed,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    He continued, ¡°After I submitted your draft report, the higher-ups highly valued two of the points you mentioned. One was the ¡°Bullet Time¡± ability that the Hitman had, and the other was about the Strong Warrior having a secret ability that allowed her to have ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± by trading time off her lifespan. The evidence you presented for the case that the ¡°Strong Warrior is a human¡± was acknowledged by many academics and researchers.¡±

    The ¡°Strong Warrior¡± referred specifically to the female Seeker in ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡±.

    ¡®But of course, I drew the target after I released the arrow, so the report revealed nothing but the truth,¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    In order to submit the ¡°Research Report on ¡®The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡¯ and ¡®A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡¯¡±, Ren Suo had looked through the game settings thoroughly to uncover details that were hinted at in the videos but not clearly revealed, making use of his ¡°extraordinary observation skills¡±. All of the details that he included in the report were perfectly logical in the context of the videos andplete with convincing evidence.

    After a short pause, Yu Kuangtu, who was on the other end of the line, said, ¡°You seem to be more suited for research and analysis, rather thanbat¡­ Everything is still in the initial development stage, so anyone with such abilities would be favored. You may be transferred elsewhere soon.¡±

    ¡°Train well over the next two days. The day after, which is thest day of the holidays, head over to the Countermeasure Division in the morning,¡± Yu Kuangtu said in a steady andposed manner. He continued, ¡°You would go through an aptitude test then¡­ Your future could be determined by the results of the test.¡±

    The call ended, and Ren Suo lightly heaved a sigh of relief.

    It was exactly as Qiao Muyi had said.

    It was presently the beginning of a new age, and opportunities would be abundant.

    But it was up to him if he was able to catch it.

    Ren Suo shook his head and looked at the screen.

    ¡°Wee, we apologize for theck of hospitality!¡±

    After easilypleting Round 2, Ren Suo found himself pitted against 155 other people in the grand battle of Round 3. After three days, Ren Suo finallypleted the game for the first time that morning!

    And it was currently the start of a new month, which was also the official International Labor Day holiday!

 Chapter 87 - : In Big Trouble

    Chapter 87: Chapter 87: In Big Trouble

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    [Final Priest Score: 10,000]

    [Healed Patients Score: 50]

    [Healing Output Score: 55]

    [Total Score: 10,105]

    [Congrattions, you have been awarded 10,105 umted points.]

    [You have sessfullypleted the training in ¡®The Land of the Light¡¯ of the Master of the Holy Light. You are bestowed with the Talent from the Master of the Holy Light: Striking Sun.]

    [Striking Sun Lv 1: The healing ability of all shotgun and sniper recovery bullets are increased slightly.]

    There are still umted points for passing the stage?

    Ren Suo was stunned for a moment and continued pressing the button on the game controller to proceed.

    His character did not return to the resting room this time but instead appeared on a tform on an ind somewhere on Earth.

    There was a sea of clouds below and there was no sun in the sky, but it was sufficiently bright¡ªthere were three ¡°giant light bulbs¡± that were shining in different colors.

    The first was the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow, with a snowy white figure under a cloak, but was a gentleman glowing in a faint blue light;

    There was also the Heart of Evesting Warmth, made up of seemingly evesting fiery mes, but was ady with a beautiful figure whose hair flowed in the mes;

    The third was the Master of the Holy Light who appeared as a giant ball of light as if cosying the sun.

    ¡°Mortal, you have won in all three consecutive rounds of training, and emerged as the champion amongst millions of other trainees,¡± the three immortals said at the same time, in perfect Xuannguage. They continued, ¡°We are willing to make you our executor as our connection with those on the ground below!¡±

    Ren Suo blinked as he continued staring at the scene on the screen.

    After about a minute, the Master of the Holy Light said in a seemingly young male voice, ¡°We are waiting for your answer, mortal.¡±

    ¡°My answer? There¡¯s no option¡­ Eh?¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo pulled his lips as he turned on the microphone and said, ¡°Hello, hello, can you hear me?¡±

    There was a moment of silence.

    ¡°Yes, we can hear you,¡± the Heart of Evesting Warmth said with a smile. She remarked, ¡°What an interesting mortal!¡±

    Not only did the Heart of Evesting Warmth look like a woman, but her voice was also sweet and teasing¡­ Ren Suo could not help but scrutinize her figure that was made up of mes. It would definitely have been hot and fiery in his hands.

    Fortunately, Ren Suo was controlling his character in the game. If the immortals saw how rude Ren Suo was, they might have given him one heck of a ¡°recovery¡±¡ªthe kind where he would not be able to leave the hospital ever again.

    ¡°Oh¡­ I am willing to do so!¡± Ren Suo said into the microphone.

    Perhaps because they had not seen such a strange mortal, who was not at all grateful for meeting with such a miraculous encounter, the three immortals paused for a short while before answering slowly, ¡°Mortal, state your name.¡±

    ¡°I am¡­¡± began Ren Suo who quickly stopped himself. He recalled the given name of his character, then continued, ¡°My surname is Zhao, I am Zhao Zili!¡±

    The immortals replied, ¡°Great, we have bestowed you with the treasures of the Holy Light. You need to abide by the 36 Precepts, emanating the Glorious Light of us Immortals as you traverse the world and extend our blessings!¡±

    A ray of lightnded on Ren Suo¡¯s character, then Ren Suo heard three voices at the same time:

    ¡°Zhao Zili, from here on, you will be our Executor and hold the authority to control life in your hands!¡±

    Bright white light emerged and remained on the screen.

    [You have received the Treasures of the Holy Light.]

    [You can buy recovery weapons and Talents from the Treasures of the Holy Light directly without having to change menus.]

    ¡®Why would I still need skills afterpleting the stage,¡¯ Ren Suo thought with augh.

    [Missionplete.]

    [Completed basic mission target ¨C 60 points awarded;]

    [Lone wolf: passed all missions alone ¨C 10 points awarded;]

    [In-game purchases ¨C Life-changing or genius?: Received more than 18000 umted points ¨C 5 points awarded;]

    [Heart-to-heart talk: Communicated with enemies in training for more than 30 minutes ¨C 5 points awarded;]

    [Novice Priest: Saved more than 20 trainees ¨C 2 points awarded;]

    [Total score is 82 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]

    [Current mission score: 82 points (Extraordinary). Highscore: 82 points (Extraordinary).]

    [The yer has received an appraisal of Extraordinary, fulfilling the hidden requirements, hence the yer will receive information for the game¡¯s hidden side mission.]

    [Side mission: Strongest priest. The more trainees who are fully healed by the yer over the three training rounds, the higher the score.]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]

    [You may only upload your score once.]

    Of course!

    Upon seeing the two categories ¡°Lone wolf¡± and ¡°In-game purchases¡±, Ren Suo knew that his game tactics were right!

    1000 umted points were given for the first round, 4000 for the second, and 10000 for the third, amounting to a total of 15000 umted points. However, 18000 umted points were required for the ¡°In-game purchases ¨C Life-changing or genius?¡± category. That meant that in order to receive 1500 + 1500 additional umted points, Ren Suo had to fully heal more than 150 trainees across the three rounds of training, or at least 50 people in each round. Adding that to the 15000 umted points, he would then be able to surpass a total of 18000 umted points and fulfill the hidden requirement.

    But that was almost impossible!

    That must have been why there was a question mark behind ¡°or a genius¡±. It was obvious that even the game developers thought that the hidden requirement could only be fulfilled by making in-game purchases!

    Ren Suo¡¯s decision toplete the training rounds alone was even wiser, allowing him to directly receive 10 more points in the ¡°Lone wolf¡± category!

    On the other hand, the side mission ¡°Strongest Priest¡± was extremely challenging. Ren Suo had healed a total of 27 people over the three training rounds, of which he only saved 5 people in the intensest round.

    In order toplete the side mission, he would have to make an effort from the very first training round and fully heal at least 30 people. He would also need to make in-game purchases in the second round to fully heal 30 more people. Only then would he be able toplete the side mission and achieve a good score¡­

    However, Ren Suo did not have any more merit points.

    If he yed the game another time, he may not receive a better score either.

    Furthermore, he urgently needed more merit points now!

    Ren Suo had to head down to the Countermeasure Division in two days¡¯ time to undergo an aptitude test. He knew that the aptitude test was meant to test and appraise his Awakened Ability, and not his innate ability¡ªhe was still a Tier 1 Practitioner who was nowhere close to bing a Tier 2 Practitioner, so there was nothing to test in that aspect.

    Consequently, the specialized reward of [Holy Priest: Survival Battle] was the Touch of Recovery, which could give Ren Suo a slight edge in the test.

    Since Awakened Abilities could only be revealed by the individual himself, it was not possible to fully exin what his/her Ability was, and it was fully up to the individual to describe the effects of the Ability¡ªas long as it could be confirmed and tested to be effective.

    When Qiao Muyi mentioned that she could increase her talent score with her Awakened Ability, it must have been confirmed by the Countermeasure Division, and her talent score could indeed be tested.

    After confirming that the score was correct, Ren Suo chose to upload it.

    [Your mission score has been uploaded sessfully. You have received 99 merit points, use wisely.]

    [You have received 1* 2-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.]

    [You have received the following specialized reward: Touch of Recovery. It can be equipped on the Equipment screen.]

    [Your score for ¡®Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡¯ has been uploaded. Thank you for ying. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    99 merit points!

    That was definitely the highest number of merit points Ren Suo had been awarded thus far!

    In addition to the 5 merit points he had left previously, he now had over a hundred merit points¡ª104 merit points!

    It was as if he was a child who suddenly received arge-denomination note after being used to receiving only a few dors of allowance each day!

    Ren Suo exited the game and saw the familiar disc icon spinning on the bottom right corner of the ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± game icon.

    On the other hand, the disc icon for ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± was still spinning.

    The online drama series ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± had been showing for over ten days, and the disc icon had been spinning for the same duration¡­

    ¡°Which is why I say, when would there be a user guide for the game console?¡± Ren Suo said with a sigh. He navigated to the Equipment screen and queried Touch of Recovery, wanting to see if its effect was the same as he expected.

    [Touch of Recovery]

    [Grade: 2-star ability. Prerequisites: the lower arm of primates and being a novice of Reiki.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer would receive the miracle ability of basic healing. A green light can be emitted from the hand of the yer up to a maximum distance of 14.14213 cm. All living organisms (nts and animals) in the green light would recover to its best state based on their gene map (congenital diseases cannot be healed). The yer¡¯s energy, strength, and other internal energy would be depleted based on the extent of the given recovery.]

    [Remarks: ¡®I heard that saints treat the ill as they cannot bear to leave them, but I am also told that butchers would treat sick livestock to reap more benefits¡¯.]

    The ability appeared to be¡­ quite decent?

    Nheless, what did ¡°recover to its best state based on their gene map¡± mean?

    Practice is the sole measure of truth. Ren Suo immediately ced his right hand over his lower abdomen and activated the ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± in his heart.

    A green light emerged from his right hand, and he felt a sense of warmth on his stomach.

    But that was all.

    Ren Suo lifted his shirt but was slightly saddened to not see six-packs form on his t abdomen.

    After three minutes, Ren Suo suddenly felt extremely tired. He stopped the Touch of Recovery and walked to the living room, thinking about how he could test the ability.

    His bottom? He had spicy m hotpot recently¡­

    Ren Suo did not pay attention as he walked across the room, and rammed his foot into the corner of the coffee table. He jumped in exmation and then rolled around on the couch in pain.

    It was an opportunity!

    Ren Suo quickly began focusing and held his injured toe with his right hand, and activated the ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± in his heart!

    A green glow emerged from between his fingers. Ren Suo felt the pain in his toe dissipate rapidly, and after a short while, the pain disappearedpletely!

    ¡°Eh? Not bad¡­¡± a slightly surprised Ren Suo muttered as he wriggled his toes.

    However, the next moment, Ren Suo yawned naturally and said, ¡°Why do I feel so sleepy, it¡¯s only afternoon¡­¡±

    ¡°The ability, it can¡¯t be¡­ I only healed my little toe¡­¡±

    ¡°Or perhaps, I start to feel tired when the recovery has reached its limit and cannot be used anymore?¡±

    Ren Suo struggled to stay awake, but in his state of drowsiness, he soon sumbed to sleep.

    ¡°Forget it, the Labor Day promotion will run for the entire month¡­ I shall think about it when I wake up¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    In the meantime, across the seas in the southeastern region of the Pacific Federation, it was in the wee hours of the morning in a small port town in the state of South Carolina with the Antic Ocean to the east.

    A group of strange people donning ck robes and wearing grotesque smiley masks gathered in the woods just outside of the town. They each held an inverted ck-colored cross in their hand.

    Although it appeared strange, the gathering was made public and recorded in their individual Twitter profiles. There was even going to be a live stream of the gathering.

    To put it inly, it was a leisure activity of the teenagers in the town. They would not create trouble usually and much preferred imitating such strange and mysterious rituals shown in movies. After the ritual, they would then gather firewood, roasted meat and beer in celebration during the early hours of the morning.

    They thought that such realistic ¡°rituals¡± would set them apart from other people their age¡ªin fact, they have tried most of the rituals portrayed in movies, including the summoning of devils, deities, and monsters. The only difference between their ¡°rituals¡± and the actual ones was that they would substitute the sacrificial offerings with the beef that they were going to roastter on.

    And who would have known that their spoofs would be so well-received that they had a decentlyrge number of followers and likes on Twitter, and there were hundreds of people watching their live stream?

    There were not many rules in the town either, and the people of the town were ustomed to what the teenagers liked to do.

    ¡°What ritual are we performing today?¡± one of the teenagers asked.

    ¡°Twilight¡¯s Hammer¡­ Hey, we should use this prop instead!¡± another one of them replied.

    The rest of the teenagers watched as Peter took out a stone egg with three strange patterns carved onto it. They smiled and said, ¡°Have you not given up on that, Peter? That¡¯s just some useless, boring egg carved by people!¡±

    Peter shrugged and replied, ¡°We don¡¯t have any other good prop anyway. I¡¯ll bring the Frostmourne from home the next time then. This stone egg is not so simple though, it looks heavy but is actually very light.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, we shall crown Peter as the king next time!¡± everyone said as theyughed. Under Peter¡¯smand, the teenagers crowded around the stone egg in a circle.

    The one in charge of the video turned on the camera and signaled that the live stream had begun, and everyone stoppedughing¡ªthey had to maintain their professionalism, even if it was all an act. With Peter¡¯s lead, they chanted in unison:

    ¡°In the beginning was shadow eternal. Hate zed forth, and fire was born. Wounds scabbed, and so begat earth. Cries of anguish birthed howling wind. Wherein the skies wept seas of tears¡­¡±

    Halfway through the chant, everyone suddenly stopped.

    They saw light bursting out of through the carvings of the stone egg that they used as a prop.

    A secondter, a crisp shout rang through the silence.

    ¡°Jesus!¡±

    ¡°Did the stone egg break?¡±

    ¡°What ising out of it?¡±

    The teenagers stepped back slowly as they looked anxiously at the stone egg which was starting to break apart. There were also people who were very excited¡ªcontrol of information was strict in the USA too, but it was still possible to find out that radical changes were urring in the world.

    Peter was one of them who did not back out, but instead walked closer to the stone egg. He was the one who started the event and was naturally interested in such strange and mysterious objects. How could he not be excited now that he had an opportunity to witness and be in close contact with one of such things?!

    Opportunities could emerge at any moment, but it was up to the individual to make use of it.

    In the midst of the myriad of emotions of the teenagers, the stone egg shatteredpletely!

    Light as bright as a burning magnesium bar suddenly emerged from within the stone egg, and shot up towards the sky!

    High up in the sky, the light dispersed into countless light clusters and scattered in all directions!

    The teenagers standing in the woods stared as everything took ce in their faces.

    ¡°What¡­ have we done?¡± one of them asked.

    ¡°When the policee, just say that we were setting fireworks, will they believe us?¡± another one of them asked.

    ¡°We should say the truth,¡± Peter said. He continued, ¡°We are the first ones to witness this, and if we lie, wouldn¡¯t it be like a horror movie waiting to unfold¡­¡±

    ¡°Moreover, no one will believe us when we say the truth¡­ right? But I just feel like we¡¯ve gotten ourselves in big trouble¡­¡±

 Chapter 88 - Special Lucky Draw Event

    Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Special Lucky Draw Event

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Mysterious phenomenon urred in the south-eastern region of the Pacific Federation, Mayan relics suspected to be activated by teenagers!¡±

    The QQ headline appeared on the notifications screen the moment Ren Suo checked his mobile phone after he showered. Ren Suo was forced to navigate to the settings within the QQ application to turn off notifications¡ªhe had just reinstalled the application and did not expect notifications to be turned on automatically.

    After putting on his clothes, Ren Suo headed to the cafeteria of the training stadium and ordered a cup of milk tea with pudding, as well as a te of teriyaki chicken chop with rice. Feeling refreshed, he took out hisptop and ced it on the table.

    It was the second day of the Labor Day holidays, which meant that Ren Suo had to return to the Countermeasure Division the next day for an aptitude test. Although he felt that it was no use for him to train at thest minute, he still tried his luck when he woke up that morning. Perhaps he could experience an ¡°epiphany¡± or a ¡°sh of inspiration¡±, and improve tremendously¡­

    There were already many people in the training stadium when he arrived there early in the morning, so the rest of the Countermeasure Division and the other departments must have also been on holiday as well. Just like Ren Suo, most of the people headed to the resting zone or the cafeteria to rest, eat, or read a book when they felt tired after Practicing. They would then continue Practicing when their energy had been replenished.

    That also allowed Ren Suo to find out the daily lives of those civil servant Practitioners who were ¡°half a step ahead of the ordinary people¡±. They would be very busy on regr working days, and during holidays, they would waste no time and head to the training stadium energetically to Practice.

    Nheless, Ren Suo did not meet anyone he knew, or perhaps they were Practicing silently in the ¡°Meditation Zone¡±.

    Ren Suo¡¯sptop quickly lit up, and after entering his password, the ssic Windows screen appeared. There were no software applications installed¡ªRen Suo had restored hisptop once and disabled allwork ess functions. Theptop was used especially by him to record down his findings on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    Simrly, his mobile phone had also been restored once to factory settings in order to remove any trace of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console on it. He had previously installed too many useless mobile applications, leading to the restriction of too many functions like the ¡°camera¡± and ¡°microphone¡±. To best protect his secret, he only downloaded a few necessary applications after he restored his mobile phone, and even pasted a sticker over both his front and back cameras, rendering them useless.

    Ren Suo knew that it was almost like he was burying his head in the sand and deceiving himself because it was not possible to fully conceal the Mini Worlds Gaming Console if he was being investigated. However, Ren Suo felt that what he did would at least remove the possibility of ¡°anyone identally finding out the secret¡±.

    As for the information from the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, Ren Suo had not achieved the level of having ¡°photographic memory¡±, so he had no choice but to record down the information before it was forgotten. Rather than writing them down in a notebook, he felt that it was naturally safer and more efficient to type it down on aptop.

    Ren Suo had even titled the content as ¡°Novel Story Details¡±.

    It was perfectly normal for an over-twenty young man who did not wish to work to imagine himself as a writer, right?

    First of all, there was a document named ¡°Main Character¡¯s Abilities¡±. Ren Suo wrote down all the abilities he had and added on details that were not mentioned in the description of the ability.

    Taking ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± for example, when the ability was activated, the user would not feel tired and would be unable to sleep; and ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± for example, could actually create six-packs.

    Ren Suo touched his abdomen and felt that his abdominal muscles had be firmer and more toned, and there was even a ¡°+¡± line¡ªhe knew that some of his ssmates who yed basketball often had such bodies.

    ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± would take effect the moment it was activated. If the body part that was in contact was not severely ¡°damaged¡±, it would be ¡°improved¡± to its maximum capability based on the gic map.

    In addition, ¡°improving¡± consumed more energy than ¡°healing¡±. When Ren Suo woke up the previous day, he purposely cut his finger while bearing the pain to test the ability. He did not feel lethargic after treating the cut, and yet the wound had healedpletely.

    Thereafter, Ren Suo had made more than thirty cuts on his arm which appeared so severe that his rtives would have rushed him to a mental hospital for treatment if he had posted a picture of it on his social media ount. When he finished treating himself, he did not feel tired at all.

    Then, Ren Suo started ¡°improving¡± his stomach area. Less than ten secondster, he started feeling lethargic. But when he started the next round of treatment when he regained energy, it would cause him to fall into a deep sleep, regardless of what he was treating.

    Although the Touch of Recovery consumed his internal Reiki, it did not use much of it. Rather, it depleted more of Ren Suo¡¯s physical energy and mental concentration. Ren Suo had thought about what would happen if he could equip himself with two abilities at the same time. With ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± and ¡°Touch of Recovery¡±, he could possibly even revive a person in times of emergency.

    But that was just his imagination. As a yer, he had only gotten one more backup ability slot after leveling up by one level. Having more ability or prop slots was an unreachable goal for the time being.

    Ren Suo opened the second document, ¡°Main Storyline¡±.

    That was where he recorded down what he was going to do next.

    Afterpleting the game ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, he received one more 2-star treasure chest. However, the problem was that he did not have a key.

    As such, his next n was to figure a way to retrieve a key¡ªthe treasure chests had decent items in them and could give pleasant surprises.

    Afterwhich, it was the game he was going to choose next.

    [May Day Golden Week Promotion: 20~50% OFF games!]

    [Free Games of the Month: ¡®A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡¯, ¡®Lurk: Chapter 1¡¯]

    There were only two free games to choose from that month, and one of which was ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meers¡± that he had already purchased!

    Perhaps he had been weirdly deluded by the three given options the previous month since the truth was that when he first received the Mini Worlds Gaming Console in March, there was only one free game option: ¡°The Hitman: Chapter 1¡±.

    In that case, Ren Suo should have been thankful that there was more than one option to choose from since the number of free games to choose from each month was not set.

    Other than ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡±, Ren Suo somehow felt that he had seen the game ¡°Lurk¡± appear many times.

    If not for the May Day Golden Week Lucky Pick event, Ren Suo would have had no choice but to try out the game that had already appeared previously. However, the May Day promotion provided him with another option.

    [May Day Golden Week Special Lucky Pick Event: The yer can choose to spend 10 merit points to pick a discounted game at random, and it will be added to the list of free games for the month!]

    [Remarks: The yer must not have picked a free game for the month.]

    When Ren Suo opened the ¡°Free Game of the Month¡± page, the system would automatically disy the details of the Lucky Pick Event, so Ren Suo naturally focused on the promoted games.

    He could only pick one free game to y, which meant that regardless of how many times he yed the Lucky Pick, he could still only select one of them to y for free.

    However, the May Day promotion was a major one and there were thirty games that were on sale. Furthermore, most of the games cost over 50 merit points after the discount, and if he was lucky, he would benefit by picking a game of moderate difficulty.

    ¡°Lurk: Chapter 1¡± was a game with a 2-star difficulty, but the maximum reward was only 100 merit points, lower than that of other single-chapter 2-star games.

    Moreover, if he picked a game with a 3-star difficulty, he would make a huge profit!

    There was even one 3+ star game¡ªthe entire series of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±!

    It was the first time that Ren Suo saw such a strange game difficulty: 3+ stars. ording to the system, it meant that the game was more difficult than a game of a 3-star difficulty but less challenging than a game of a 4-star difficulty.

    Only lower-leveled yers would see the ¡°+¡± sign. If Ren Suo was a Level 4 yer, he would not see the ¡°+¡± sign.

    If a lower-leveled yer managed toplete a ¡°+¡± game, the yer would receive much more yer Experience Points. yer Experience Points cannot be viewed and would be umted each time a game ispleted. The yer would level up when the criterion for the number of Experience Points umted was met.

    Nheless, Ren Suo finally learned the true cost of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±¡ª320 merit points. There were four chapters and the total maximum number of merit points of all of them was 800 merit points. Each chapter had different specialized rewards and treasure chests, so it was equivalent to buying four games.

    But even though it was on 50% OFF, 160 merit points were still required to purchase it.

    However, Ren Suo would be able to y it for free if he picked it!

    There were still a few days left until the promotion ended, so Ren Suo was not in a rush to make a decision.

    Ren Suo continued Practicing in the afternoon. Although he was able to utilize the ¡°advanced method¡±, in addition to the aid of ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±, the growth of his breathing current was still rtively slow.

    He was not that talented, and even a talented individual required a few days of continuous Practice to improve his breathing current. For someone like Ren Suo who did not Practice diligently and consistently, and who had a poor talent score, he could well fall behind the average standards of an ordinary Xuan Nation Practitioner.

    Even with the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, although it gave him a tiny boost in ability, an ability which would directly increase his standard of Practice was still presently unheard of.

    If only his home was concentrated with Reiki, Ren Suo would be able to perform the advanced method of training whenever he was ying games or even when he was eating, sleeping or defecating. But, how could life be so good¡­

    At night, when Ren Suo was on the subway and about to reach home, he suddenly received a call.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Little Suo,¡± the voice on the other end of the line said.

    ¡°Oh, Chairman Xie!¡± Ren Suo replied, immediately figuring out who it was. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean¡­ Don¡¯t you remember that you asked me for a favor to find a person? I found the person,¡± Xie Qiansi said.

    ¡°Find a person¡­ Oh, Zhao Zili!¡± Ren Suo said as he suddenly recalled the favor he asked of Xie Qiansi. He said, ¡°You found her.¡±

    Xie Qiansi replied, ¡°I asked my uncle for help, and he finally managed to find the person you described after much effort¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡± said Ren Suo.

    ¡°Just remember that I did you a favor,¡± Xie Qiansi said.

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°Truly, Chairman Xie¡­ How are you so sure that I will repay the favor in the future?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re someone who doesn¡¯t like to work and isn¡¯t very motivated either,¡± Xie Qiansi replied. He continued, ¡°But you always bring unexpected performance¡­ I can only say that you are lucky. And luck is the strongest capital at any point in time.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, thank you for your help. So you found Zhao Zili?¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xie Qiansi replied. His tone was more serious as he continued, ¡°But first, did you really not know this person beforehand? Did she offend you?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ren Suo said, slightly puzzled. He asked, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know her. Why?¡±

    Xie Qiansi said, ¡°There are a total of 674 people in Xuan Nation called Zhao Zili, of which there are only 51 people in the age group of 16~30 as you described. And the physical appearance and characteristics of only 2 of them matched what you described. One of them is in Heilongjiang City, and the other is in Lianjiang City.¡±

    ¡°In Lianjiang City? How coincidental,¡± said a surprised Ren Suo. He asked, ¡°But, the person I¡¯m looking for could be the one in Heilongjiang City¡­¡±

    Xie Qiansi continued, ¡°Also, the Zhao Zili in Lianjiang City is a drug addict and a diabetic patient. She has past records of burry and theft and was admitted to the hospital half a month ago, after being involved in a fight with gangsters. She has no rtives and no money to treat his illness, so she has been in the hospital ever since then, struggling between life and death.¡±

    ¡°And just yesterday afternoon, she breathed herst and passed away. She is probably in the morgue by now,¡± Xie Qiansi said.

 Chapter 89 - The All-Devouring Soul

    Chapter 89: Chapter 89: The All-Devouring Soul

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    In the end, Ren Suo still did not visit Zhao Zili.

    Ren Suo was also beginning to regret asking Xie Qiansi for a favor to investigate.

    Fortunately, he had not searched for the person with the Countermeasure Division¡¯s system, or traces would have been left behind, and it would have been troublesome. But the present situation was not much better¡ªat least, Xie Qiansi and his uncle now knew that ¡°there was someone looking for Zhao Zili¡±.

    Ren Suo had no choice but to tell Xie Qiansi that Zhao Zili had scammed his money and disappeared. Such a reason appeared logical when considering Zhao Zili¡¯s identity and background, and it was up to luck if Xie Qiansi believed that story.

    Nheless, regardless of how sharp and clever Xie Qiansi was, he would not be able to figure out any link between Ren Suo and Zhao Zili. At the most, he would be surprised at ¡°how lucky Ren Suo was to meet Zhao Zili by coincidence¡±.

    Was there any unfavorable evidence against Ren Suo? No.

    Whether it was the Hitman, the Seeker, or the Ren family Practitioners, Ren Suo did not form any physical connection with any of them¡ªrather, he was indirectly affected by them.

    Zhao Zili was the first in-game character that Ren Suo had interacted with outside of the game, through the exchange of information. But the death of Zhao Zili calmed Ren Suo down quickly¡ª What was he thinking? Did that not go against his own code of conduct?

    He had no reason to interact with those ¡°game characters¡±. His identity and knowledge of information made his move to investigate Zhao Zili appear unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary.

    ¡®I am bing too conceited,¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    With the help of his ¡°yer privilege¡±, Ren Suo had been able toplete the game ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± without too much difficulty. Furthermore, he was able to smoothly disseminate the ¡°information of monsters¡± without hindrance, giving Ren Suo a bizarre sense of confidence that he was more and more adept at using the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    That was also why he thought of investigating Zhao Zili, to try and find out the connection between the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and the real world.

    If Zhao Zili was not dead, Ren Suo would definitely look for her. Through interviewing and monitoring her, Ren Suo wanted to find out what would happen to her subsequently, such that she would be controlled by the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    Now, Ren Suo finally understood; he had been controlling a dead person in the game.

    But through the death of Zhao Zili, Ren Suo also understood that the Mini Worlds Gaming Console was even more dangerous than he had previously imagined it to be.

    After he uploaded his final game score the previous afternoon, Zhao Zili also passed away then. Ren Suo would never believe that it was just a mere coincidence.

    Previously, Ren Suo had already figured out that not only could the game console ¡°turn the events which urred in the game into reality¡±, but also ¡°change the past¡±. Now, it could even ¡°control life and death¡±, and yet he had assumed that he had fully understood the mechanics of the game console.

    It was just like ordinary people witnessing a magical dragon flying in the sky through the clouds, riding with the wind and being able to control the rain. When the magical dragon descended to interact with the ordinary people, they thought that they could simply be riders of the dragon.

    What if Ren Suo became a character in the game, how would he deal with that?

    Furthermore, he also avoided any connection with the characters in the game as much as possible. His decision to investigate Zhao Zili would only raise more suspicions, and he could only make use of official resources if he had official reasons to do so and investigate the link between the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and the real world.

    Ren Suo knew just how much attention the Countermeasure Division and the government were putting into every single move of ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±, as well as the information that were revealed in his videos.

    Ren Suo set a new rule for himself:

    ¡°y carefully, and remain lowkey. As much as possible, do not bring the game into my own life. For example, do not name the characters with the surname Ren so hastily, otherwise in the future, it would not be as simple as the Ren family lineage being watched.¡±

    Ren Suo returned to the couch and pressed the ¡°on¡± button on the game controller, and the television screen lit up.

    After passing the game [Holy Priest: Survival Battle], Ren Suo had moved the game console back to the living room. Unless it was necessary to use the mouse, he would definitely use the television to y¡ªit was solely because the television screen was of 4K resolution and even had an HDR function, so more details could be seen.

    Moreover, the couch gave him a much more versatile position to y in than theputer chair¡ªhe could sit, lie down, or even roll aroundfortably.

    The video for ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± had not been uploaded, and Ren Suo did not know when it would be uploaded either¡ª¡±A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± had only started uploading after five days.

    As such, Ren Suo did not bother about it and instead, focused on preparing for the Lucky Pick.

    Currently, in the list of thirty discounted games as part of the May Day Promotion, there were 5 games that cost below 50 merit points, 17 games that cost between 50 to 100 merit points, 5 games that cost between 100 to 150 merit points, and 3 games that cost over 150 merit points.

    The prices above were all discounted.

    It was already eight-thirty at night. Ren Suo first proceeded to take a thorough shower, spreading the shower gel all over his body, as if it was free. He even formed bubbles with the shampoo on his hair. Afterward, he put on the mostfortable set of pajamas, and then wiped the game controller with a single-use disinfecting alcohol swab.

    He had to shower and change his clothes before the Lucky Pick!

    Ren Suo had already set a target for himself¡ªhe would only draw up to five times.

    If he picked one of the 4 multi-chapter games that cost more than 150 merit points, he would stop immediately!

    Ren Suo realized that the more chapters there were in the game, the more costly it would be, and naturally, the maximum merit points that could be earned was much higher than that of single-chapter games. The games that still cost over 150 merit points after the discount were all multi-chapter games¡ªat least, that was the case for games with a difficulty rating of 3-star and below.

    And the 54 merit points that he would have left would still be sufficient to make in-game purchases or purchase another game.

    Ready, pick, begin!

    [Do you wish to spend 10 merit points to participate in the May Day Golden Week Special Lucky Pick Event?]

    The Lucky Pick page was interesting. It turned into a roulette wheel divided evenly into 31 segments, with the name of one game written in each segment¡­ Wait, 31 segments?

    Ren Suo realized that there was an additional segment glowing in gold color, and squarely written on it was ¡°100g Gold Bar * 10¡±.

    There was even a remark at the bottom: [The Gold Bars are acquired through legal channels for investment purposes and can be used safely.]

    You can actually receive real gold bars in the Golden Week Lucky Pick?!

    Based on the current rate, it was possible to sell the ten 100g gold bars for 200 thousand dors.

    Eh? It is a good option too¡­

    As Ren Suo was pondering about it, the spinner on the wheel started to spin.

    Fortunately, the wheel did not have a segmentbeled ¡°Thank you for ying¡±; otherwise, Ren Suo would have thought that the Lucky Pick was rigged. Many online lucky draws were manipted as such, where although the segments appeared to be of even sizes, the spinner wouldnd on the ¡°thank you for ying¡± segment nine out of 10 times, and on the remaining time, it wouldnd on ¡°you have drawn a Xuan Nation life insurance worth 1000 dors¡±¡­

    The spinner spun rtively fast. As it slowed down in ordance with physics principles, it finallynded on the segment on the bottom right corner.

    [From the Depths of Hell], 40% OFF, 2-star difficulty, a puzzle adventure game. The yer would take on the role of a coffin store owner who is able tomunicate with ghosts and embark on a mission to uncover the secrets of a long-forgotten criminal case that decided his life or death. The game costs 60 merit points after the discount and up to 180 merit points can be earned frompleting the game. In-game purchases are avable and the specialized reward is ¡°Third Eye¡±.

    Indeed, the rewards were decent, and Ren Suo was quite lucky on his first try. Ren Suo spun the wheel three more times, and apart from the second game he picked which was a 1-star difficulty game that cost only 15 merit points after the discount, the other two games were rtively decent:

    [Fighting Warrior], 20% OFF, 3-star difficulty, a fighting game. The yer would take on the role of an ordinary practitioner of martial arts and challenge the current top ten strongest people in the world. The game costs 96 merit points after the discount and up to 200 merit points can be earned frompleting the game. The specialized reward is ¡°Fighting Master¡±.

    [The Deep Sea Monster], 50% OFF, 3-star difficulty, a strategy simtion sandbox game. In a world of Reiki rejuvenation, the yer would be a creature of the deep sea and strive to be the strongest of all in the deep depths of the sea, through killing and feeding onrge numbers of other creatures and evolving into the deep sea monster. It is all up to the yer to decide how the creature would evolve! The game costs 100 merit points after the discount and up to 250 merit points can be earned frompleting the game. In-game purchases are avable and the specialized reward is ¡°Further Evolution¡±.

    Although it was unknown what ¡°Further Evolution¡± meant, the more stars the game had, the more expensive and the more challenging it was, and so were the rewards. The rewards from the 3-star game would definitely not leave Ren Suo disappointed.

    Ren Suo was already satisfied to have picked ¡°The Deep Sea Monster¡±. However, he looked at the other multi-chapter 3-star games and was slightly hesitant¡ªin particr, he was considering the rated 3+ star ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, after he cleared the game, he could well be a level 3 yer immediately.

    He still remembered that there were games that only yers who were level 4 and above could y.

    ¡°Forget it, I should not stingy with such little merit points,¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself. He no longer saw 10 merit points as arge number after having over a hundred points previously and spun the spinner again.

    The spinner started spinning, and as it slowed down, Ren Suo naturally focused on the gold bars option.

    ¡®It would also be great if I got 200 thousand dors¡­ But I wonder how I could exchange them. Express delivery? Or transmission through the air?¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    Regardless, if Ren Suo truly received 200 thousand dors, he could buy a small car for himself and would no longer need to squeeze with people on the subway.

    After buying a car to rece walking as his mode of transportation, he would still be able to purchase a newputer and a pair of sound-reducing headphones. A new pair of noise-reducing headphones in coboration with an anime had been released recently, but it cost a few thousand dors, and Ren Suo could not afford it.

    Afterwhich, he could remit tens of thousand dors to his family as the best way of indicating that he was safe.

    Just as Ren Suo was thinking about how to spend the 200 thousand dors, the spinner went past the golden bars segment on the wheel slightly and stopped at the next segment.

    Ren Suo blinked and sucked his thumb as he sighed lightly.

    Was he lucky, or was he unlucky?

    He missed the 200 thousand dors.

    And¡­ picked the same game again.

    [System hint: You have picked the same game again, you can choose to redraw or level up the game (direction of leveling up cannot be controlled).]

    I know what¡¯s ¡°redraw¡±, but what does ¡°level up the game¡± mean?

    Ren Suo deliberated for a moment and decided to level up the game¡ªif that was the wrong move, he could just pick another game to y anyway. Picking the same game twice in a row should bring some surprises, no?

    Then, a new game appeared.

    [The All-Devouring Soul]

    [This game is leveled up from ¡®The Deep Sea Monster¡¯ and is a role-ying strategy simtion sandbox game. In a world of Reiki rejuvenation, the yer would take on the role of any living creature and strive to be the strongest living creature in the world, through oveing all challenges and devouring living creatures in the world. The yer is in control of how the creature would evolve and the kind of enemies the creature would fight against. The reward for clearing the game is 250 merit points, and the specialized reward is ¡®Extraordinary Evolution¡¯. In-game purchases are avable with possible continuation chapters. Current game difficulty: 3+ star.]

 Chapter 90 - School Medic

    Chapter 90: Chapter 90 ¨C School Medic

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    It was thest day of the May Day holidays. The Countermeasure Division was still on holiday and there was only one to two security guards on duty.

    As a government office, holidays were truly adhered to.

    Yu Kuangtu was still in his office, but when Ren Suo went in, he heard the sound of ¡°¡­ Fist of Eternal Destruction¡­¡± from theputer on his work table.

    Although Yu Kuangtu immediately closed the video that he was watching, Ren Suo could tell that he was watching episode 50 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± just based from the sound¡ªthe Fist of Eternal Destruction had only been discovered through inheritance by the Ren family of Practitioners after episode 50. Furthermore, the voice said ¡°Fist of Destruction¡± in a dialect of the ancient Luoyang region, and it was easily recognizable.

    Ren Suo had not expected that Yu Kuangtu, with his thick eyebrows, would catch up with thetest episode of the drama series so quickly.

    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Yu Kuangtu said as he gestured to Ren Suo to take a seat. He said, ¡°We have to wait for a while, they have not arrived yet.¡±

    Who has not arrived?

    But Ren Suo did not question it and sat down quietly while Yu Kuangtu continued watching the episode. As he watched, he suddenly asked, ¡°Is the ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ series ending soon?¡±

    Eh? Is he asking me?

    Ren Suo deliberated for a moment and decided that he would showcase his ¡°strong analysis skills¡±. He said, ¡°It will either finish in a few days or else it will be hundreds of episodes long.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Why do you say so?¡± a slightly surprised Yu Kuangtu questioned.

    Ren Suo exined, ¡°Deputy Director, firstly, this drama series follows the historical timeline quite closely. Apart from things like Reiki, the Earth Elves, and the Monsters, there is no other additional content that deviates from history. The births and deaths of historical figures, the urrence of historical events, and even whether the various historical figures knew the Ren family Practitioners could be traced and backed with evidence.¡±

    ¡°The mission of the Ren family was to live until the Central ins united as one. When the war ends, they would hand over the method of suppressing Reiki sources to the imperial family, and the imperial family would be able to do the same.¡±

    ¡°And during the period of the Three Kingdoms, it was Sima Yan who ended the chaos after the state of Cao Wei was surrendered, and he established the Jin dynasty. If the drama series were to end soon, it might be when the Jin dynasty was established after the fall of the state of Shu, or after the fall of the state of Eastern Wu. However, if it were the former, it only signifies that the war was on an irreversible course, but thetter would signify the true ending.¡±

    ¡°If the n of the Ren family is sessful, then after the Reiki sources on the Central ins subside, it would naturally be the end of the drama series. On the contrary, if their n fails, or if there is an unexpected turn of events, the drama series may well continue showing. However, the Uprising of the Five Barbarians would soon follow, and the chaos that reigned would only end when the Tang dynasty was established¡­¡±

    Ren Suo shrugged and continued, ¡°But no one knows what ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is thinking about, nor the source of his videos. Who knows, that he may upload the drama series in seasons?¡±

    Nheless, Yu Kuangtu listened to Ren Suo attentively. He said, ¡°Not bad¡­ you are able to deduce so many possibilities just based on that one set up. Indeed, you should go¡­¡±

    At that moment, Yu Kuangtu¡¯s mobile phone rang. He answered the call and replied ¡°yes¡± a few times, then ended the call and stopped the video. He led Ren Suo to a room on the first level of the Countermeasure Division building.

    Upon entering the room, Ren Suo saw a number of people who donned white gowns setting up some equipment. Amongst them, there was a female doctor whom he still remembered¡ªYao Meilu, a female doctor from the Third Hospital in the suburbs.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Yao Meilu said as she seemed to remember Ren Suo as well. She looked at him and turned around to Yu Kuangtu, asking, ¡°He¡¯s the one that you want to test?¡±

    ¡°Well, perhaps he might be talented?¡± Yu Kuangtu said in an extremely humble tone, devoid of any obnoxiousness. He calmly chatted with Yao Meilu. It appeared that the Countermeasure Division and the medical system were fully independent of each other.

    ¡°He better be, otherwise we would have wasted our time. These equipment were supposed to be returned yesterday,¡± Yao Meilu said as she pointed at the equipment that were being set up by the rest of the medical team. After a short while, she began the examination of Ren Suo, surrounded by the various equipment.

    The examination was actually to Practice with the Practice methods. As Yao Meilu watched, her face turned more and more pale. She said, ¡°Although it¡¯s not up to me to decide¡­ I don¡¯t think this talent score would meet the average standards required by the school. Furthermore,paring the time that he activated his breathing currents previously to his current breathing current ability and talent score, it seems to me that he iscking in Practice¡­¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°But we arecking talents, so the requirements can be lowered. Moreover, he is from the Countermeasure Division, and just like you, we only have a few hours of rest each week. Where would we find the time to Practice?¡±

    Yao Meilu agreed with Yu Kuangtu. She said, ¡°Alright, but if he does not have that talent, he would still not be epted by the school even with his resuscitation-type Awakened Ability¡­¡±

    Yao Meilu carefully retrieved a crystal cube from her pocket and handed it to Ren Suo, saying, ¡°Hold the Knowledge Web, you still remember how to use it, right?¡±

    Ren Suo naturally remembered how to use the Knowledge Web. It was through the Knowledge Web that he had learned ¡°Clothes¡± and ¡°Lock¡±, through downloading the Reiki abilities into his brain. However, the Knowledge Web that Yao Meilu was holding seemed to be slightly different. There appeared to be some white impurity deep within the crystal and was not as pure as the one that he had seen previously.

    Ren Suo took the Knowledge Web in his hand and began Practicing. He was naturally immersed in the dark space within the Knowledge Net.

    In the dark space, the word ¡°Heal¡± slowly appeared in white. As Ren Suo looked at the word, he naturally acquired the Reiki ability: ¡°Heal¡±.

    When Ren Suo regained his awareness of the physical world, he had already left the space of the Knowledge Web. Yao Meilu saw him open his eyes and took the Knowledge Web from him. She observed that the impurity inside the crystal had disappeared and sighed, saying, ¡°You had it easy, you used up all of the test credits.¡±

    Yao Meilu turned around and signaled to a medic behind with her finger. One of the medics came forward with a cage that had a small white mouse inside.

    ¡°I will now create a small wound by cutting the skin of the mouse open. Try to heal the mouse with the ¡®Heal¡¯ ability you have just learned,¡± Yao Meilu said to Ren Suo as she put on a pair of surgical rubber gloves.

    Ren Suo blinked and pointed at himself, saying, ¡°But I¡­ I just learned it less than a minute ago¡­¡±

    ¡°Being able to use the ability has no rtion to the time since you learned it,¡± Yao Meilu said as she grabbed the mouse in the cage. She continued, ¡°¡®Heal¡¯ is different from ¡®Clothes¡¯ and ¡®Lock¡¯. The two abilities that you learned previously are non-affinity dependent abilities and any Practitioner can utilize it. On the other hand, ¡®Heal¡¯ is an ability that transforms Reiki into life energy. It is able to catalyze the regeneration of physical body parts and is also capable of other functions like treating wounds. Since it is a life-type ability, Practitioners need to possess qualities like ¡®life affinity¡¯, which are hard to observe and detect.¡±

    Ren Suo asked curiously, ¡°Does that mean that without the required qualities, the corresponding type of abilities cannot be utilized? For example, without a fire affinity, fire cannot be cast?¡±

    Yao Meilu shook her head and said, ¡°How can that be, affinity is just one of the many criteria, and the environment and tier has a muchrger impact. Just like in junior high school, for example, you may perform much better in some subjects but horribly in other subjects. There would be mathematics questions at the junior high level that you cannot solve. When you proceed on to senior high school, even though there will be more questions that you cannot solve at the senior high level, but when you look back, the questions which you could not solve previously in junior high would no longer be unsolvable to you.¡±

    ¡°Practitioners are grouped into various tiers, such as tier 1, tier 2, and so on. Although abilities are not as clearly segregated in this manner, the average tier required of a Practitioner to be able to utilize the ability is seen as the tier of the ability.¡±

    ¡°The level of affinity can be ssified as weak or strong, and not as simple as ¡®1¡¯ or ¡®0¡¯. Those with a stronger affinity may be able to utilize a tier 2 ability when they are only a tier 1 Practitioner, although such a situation is extremely rare; those with an average affinity would be able to use abilities of the same tier; those with a weak affinity may only be able to utilize a tier 1 ability when they are a tier 2 Practitioner, or even when they are tier 3 or tier 4¡­¡±

    ¡°The reason why you are taught ¡®Clothes¡¯ and ¡®Lock¡¯ at the beginning is not only because they are more useful and practical, but also because they are non-affinity dependent abilities. As such, the learning rate of those abilities is only affected by the diligence and intelligence of the Practitioner,¡± Yao Meilu exined.

    Ren Suo was enlightened. He turned to look at Yao Meilu and asked out of curiosity, ¡°Are you a Practitioner as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Yao Meilu casually replied. She said, ¡°I am going to start now. If you are able to cast ¡®Heal¡¯, it would mean that you have an excellent affinity.¡±

    ¡°Excellent?¡± a stunned Ren Suo said. He said, ¡°This ability¡­¡±

    ¡°Indeed, it is a tier 2 ability. A Practitioner with an average affinity would only be able to use this ability when he is tier 2 or above,¡± Yao Meilu said. She grabbed the mouse that was squeaking as it was being held down by the other medics, then cut an opening in its abdomen. She said, ¡°If your affinity has not reached that level¡­ then you won¡¯t stand a chance to be¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Yu Kuangtu interrupted. He said, ¡°Ren Suo, you may begin now.¡±

    At that moment, Ren Suo felt like he was standing on a crossroads¡ªif he failed, he would return to his usual work routine, but if he seeded, interesting changes may take ce in his life. That moment felt extremely surreal.

    He took a deep breath and ced his hand over the wound on the mouse, then began generating his breathing current ording to the instructions in his memory.

    White light emerged from his palm, and his right hand was almost fully engulfed in a ball of light, like a light bulb with a radius as long as his palm. Ren Suo felt his possessed Reiki deplete rapidly. When he almost utilized a third of his Reiki, he quickly stopped.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Yao Meilu said as he looked at the mouse. She said, ¡°What a pity.¡±

    There was no change to the wound on the mouse.

    ¡°You have an average affinity, only able to generate the light effect but unable to fully transform the Reiki into life energy¡­¡± Yao Meilu said.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Ren Suo said as he took a deep breath. He continued, ¡°Give me a moment, I will try again.¡±

    Yao Meilu looked at Yu Kuangtu. He said, ¡°If the mouse isn¡¯t going to bleed to death yet.¡±

    Ren Suo calmed himself down quickly and ced his hand over the wound on the mouse. His palm was almost cupping the entire mouse.

    The white light emerged once again and surrounded his entire palm. Yao Meilu was no longer hopeful. Affinity was a definite thing, much like puberty. A teenager would not grow stronger or more resilient before puberty and would develop averagely unless he or she was gifted.

    Nheless, Yao Meilu could sense that Ren Suo was extremely nervous, for he was grabbing the mouse very tightly. His right hand was almost clenched together like a fist, and she was suspecting if the mouse would have been crushed to death instead.

    But Yao Meilu somehow thought that she saw a ray of green light¡­

    After a few seconds, Ren Suo released his grip on the mouse, and let out a deep breath. Yao Meilu looked at the mouse and was momentarily stunned.

    Yu Kuangtu, who had been observing from a distance, also let out a light sigh.

    The wound on the mouse had disappearedpletely.

    ¡°¡­¡± Yao Meilu was speechless as she reced the mouse into the cage. She said, ¡°You have an excellent affinity. Deputy Director Yu, he is thest one to be tested, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He smiled and said, ¡°I will get the security guards to help you move the equipment. Ren Suo, follow me.¡±

    As Ren Suo followed Yu Kuangtu back to his office, he felt that he had passed the test.

    ¡°I was right, with a resuscitation-type natural ability, your life-affinity must be better,¡± Yu Kuangtu said as he took out a can of fruit juice from a small refrigerator below his table and gave it to Ren Suo. He said, ¡°Oh dear me, it¡¯s a good thing you did not let me down.¡±

    Actually, you were wrong, if not for the Touch of Recovery, I would have failed and not have been able to bluff my way through.

    But Ren Suo did not want to expose himself. He opened the can of fruit juice and drank a mouthful to calm himself down. He asked, ¡°Deputy Director, this is because¡­¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Ah, well, in about a week or so, the Lianjiang School of Practitioners would be established.¡±

    ¡®Here ites¡¯, a slightly excited Ren Suo thought.

    ¡°The school would take in students of six levels from junior high to senior high level. It would be a direct admission full-time school. There are currently about 650 students in Lianjiang in the suitable age group with Practitioner talent. Apart from culture lessons, these students would undergo thorough and detailed Practitioner training in the school.¡±

    Six levels from junior high to senior high level¡­?

    Am I going to be a Senior Three student? Go through Senior Three again?

    Or perhaps¡­ be a teacher?

    As Ren Suo¡¯s thoughts ran wild, Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Thebat abilities of Practitioners would be much stronger than ordinary people. In the event that a fight urs, it may result in death or disability. As such, such a Practitioner school would require school medics that are able to cast ¡®Heal¡¯. Unfortunately, Practitioner schools are not under my jurisdiction and are overseen directly by the government. There are merely ten of such schools throughout the nation and is of extremely high interest to people. Nheless, I need someone inside to help me look out for talents¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned. He pointed at himself and said, ¡°A school medic?¡±

 Chapter 91 - How Do I Pretend I Had No Idea?

    Chapter 91: Chapter 91: How Do I Pretend I Had No Idea?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo had studied a STEM degree in university and could not even differentiate between the lungs and the kidney. How could he be a school medic?

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you do not need to obtain a medical license. You just need to be able to cast ¡®Heal¡¯. There is a proper clinic in the school,plete with all the various disciplines of medicine. You only need to ¡®revive¡¯ people¡ªwhen the injury is too serious, you need to preserve the student¡¯s life in whatever way possible.¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s jaw dropped. He asked, ¡°But¡­ Why not ask Doctor Yao to do that? She seems to have learned medicine before and should be able to cast ¡®Heal¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, she does not know ¡®Heal¡¯. It¡¯s notmon to find someone with an excellent life affinity,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    ¡°In that case, the other tier 2 Practitioners can take on the role too,¡± Ren Suo said.

    The moment Ren Suo finished his sentence, Yu Kuangtu stared at him as if he was looking at a fool.

    He said, ¡°I, Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director of the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division, am only a tier 2 Practitioner currently. There are less than ten people in the entire Lianjiang City who are tier 2 Practitioners, and Lianjiang City is one of the first-tier cities in Xuan Nation.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°What about other life-affinity Practitioners?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°Their talent scores are mostly above average, so they are fighting actively in the frontline and can treat their teammates in times of need¡­ Or perhaps you prefer such a life?¡±

    ¡°Nheless, the school in Tianjing should have professional medical Practitioners with life affinities, so we need to think of our own solution here in Lianjiang City. ¡®Equipping ourselves with a school medic with healing abilities¡¯ is just a suggestion from the superiors, but now that I have found you, the government can¡¯t possibly reject the help I have given the school.¡±

    Everything made sense to Ren Suo now.

    In Yu Kuangtu¡¯s eyes, Ren Suo had an excellent life affinity and was able to cast the tier 2 ability ¡°Heal¡±. However, he did not have a good talent score and would have limited room for growth in the future, but this meant that he was perfectly suited for a role that was high in demand and yet did not require very strong abilities.

    The school medic, who resuscitated people in the Practitioner school, was such a role.

    ¡°But don¡¯t think that you can just wait for someone to be on the verge of death all day long and still get your pay and status so easily,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He continued, ¡°The teachers in the school also have to continue to progress in their Practice ording to the requirements and work on research topics, apart from teaching. For you, although you won¡¯t have progress requirements, you still need to work on research topics.¡±

    ¡°The progress of your research would directly impact your pay¡­ But I have not asked if you are willing to take on the role.¡±

    Ren Suo hesitated for a moment and asked, ¡°Would I not be in the Countermeasure Division anymore if I go to the school?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Yu Kuangtu replied. Ren Suo had not expected the reply. He exined, ¡°Since your research topic is decided by me, you will still be part of the Countermeasure Division. You would receive the pay from both the Countermeasure Division and the school¡­ If the progress of your research is poor, I will consider reducing your pay, but if your progress is good, you would earn yourself a good reputation as well as award money.¡±

    Ren Suo probed further, asking, ¡°In that case, where would I stay? Where would I work in the school?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu¡¯s said, ¡°You don¡¯t have an office to work in. You just need to remain contactable round the clock, and if any emergency urs in the school, they would inform you immediately for you to head over.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu¡¯s response took Ren Suo by surprise.

    ¡°As for where you would stay¡­ Because you need to be ready to perform resuscitation at any time, you should be staying in the teachers¡¯ dormitory. It would likely be a single room.¡±

    Noticing that Ren Suo still had doubts, Yu Kuangtu revealed his trump card, saying, ¡°To allow the students to Practice better, the schoolpound, including the teaching block, the dormitories, and the stadium, is equipped with Practice Area switches!¡±

    ¡°Although it is still less efficient than the official major training stadium, it would still greatly increase the effectiveness of your Practice!¡±

    Ren Suo was amazed. He remarked, ¡°There¡¯s such amazing technology?!¡±

    ¡°It was only discovered six days ago. All the ten Practitioner schools were also upgraded at thest minute so that they are able to make use of the technology during lessons. The schools were supposed to start tomorrow, but it has since been dyed by more than a week. Otherwise, how would I have been able to ¡®squeeze¡¯ you in?¡±

    Ren Suo could no longer think of any disadvantages for him if he took up the offer. It was as good as finding a retirement job. He agreed resolutely, ¡°I will take on this job!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak as if you are an assassin going to murder the King of Qin,¡± Yu Kuangtu remarked.

    Yu Kuangtu nced at Ren Suo and took out a document file from his drawer. He said, ¡°I will now tell you your research topic¡­¡±

    ¡°So I just told you about the Practice Area switches, right? Your research topic is rted to that,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo was slightly taken aback. He said, ¡°That sounds very challenging if I were to research that alone¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not asking you to do that, there are many more professional researchers in the nation,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He continued, ¡°However, the technology was discovered six days ago. Do you know why?¡±

    What was the special asion six days ago?

    ¡°To celebrate the May Day Golden Week?¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°¡­ It was because the Tianjing Research Center discovered a crucial trick in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ and made a breakthrough,¡± Yu Kuangtu said as he forcefully brought Ren Suo¡¯s wild, divergent thoughts back. He continued, ¡°Because of that, our nation was able to make a huge leap in front of other countries in terms of such technology.¡±

    ¡°In addition, the Tianjing Research Center has also discovered the base ability tree of the Ren family, and subsequently, they would have to spend much time to refine it.¡±

    ¡°And with regards to your research topic, it will be split into a main topic and a side topic. The side research topic is the abilities in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯. Record down all the abilities that appeared in the videos and try your best to ¡®imagine¡¯ what the effects, pre-requisites, and training methods of the abilities are.¡±

    ¡°As for the main topic, it is to research all the videos posted by ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯. Research all the information that we can make use of in the videos and if possible, find out what this ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Yu Kuangtu leaned forward and rested his chin on his palm with his arms propped up on the table. He looked very seriously at Ren Suo and said, ¡°From the beginning, this was one of the important tasks of the Countermeasure Division. Apart from you, the Countermeasure Divisions of the other cities, the Criminal Psychology Department, and university professors of psychology are all researching ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯, and this includes both Practitioners and academics.¡±

    ¡°Your research work cannot be revealed, and yet all of you would need to exchange information. There is a web address of a forum and your ount password inside the file. Destroy the page with your password after you memorize it. Your ount can only ess the relevant discussion forums and thetest research theses and investigation reports of the various regions can be found on it. If you make significant contributions in the future and issue an important thesis, your ount privilege may be elevated.¡±

    ¡°The forum is hosted on the dark web and cannot be found outside of it. When you settle down in the school, the inte connection for your room would be modified and you would then be able to enter the site. You would not be able to ess the site from elsewhere. If there is a need, you may seek technical support from the school and with the Countermeasure Division as support, the school will definitely ede to your requests as much as possible,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    He walked to Ren Suo and gave him a heavy pat on his shoulder.

    He said, ¡°Without any help from official sources, your research and analysis on ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ already receivedpliments from Tianjing. Now that I have created the best and mostfortable environment for you to conduct your research, I¡¯m sure you would be able to present even better results, right? To be frank, if you are able to make a name for yourself, not only would you be respected and acknowledged, the Lianjiang City Countermeasure Division would also be highly valued.¡±

    ¡°A school medic that does not research ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ thoroughly is not a good member of the Countermeasure Division. You must do well, I have high hopes for you!¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    With that being said, what else could Ren Suo say?

    Ren Suo looked up and looked at Yu Kuangtu as if he was a ¡°loyal minister to the King¡±. He said solemnly, ¡°I will definitely not let you down, Deputy Director!¡±

    How am I going to analyze everything as if I did not know about any of it?

    The ability to do just that would probably be the most important survival skill for Ren Suo in the near future.

 Chapter 92 - Deities Are Real

    Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Deities Are Real

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    There was still a week to go before school started, so Ren Suo continued staying in the apartment that was rented from his uncle.

    Just minutes after Ren Suo called his uncle to exin the situation so he could rent the apartment out to other people, his mother called him.

    ¡°Your department gave you an apartment?! And you¡¯re going to be a teacher?¡± asked his mother, her voice filled with amazement. She asked, ¡°Did you ept a bribe? Did such a good thing really happen?¡±

    ¡°¡­ They did not give me an apartment, it¡¯s just a private residence hall room,¡± said Ren Suo, almost at a loss for words. He said, ¡°The living conditions there could well be worse than uncle¡¯s apartment.¡±

    His mother replied, ¡°Heh, how could the apartment you rented from your uncle beparable to the one the government gave you? You earned that based on your own ability. Hehe, you¡¯re a civil servant who has even received an apartment now; people will say you¡¯re my rich and capable son¡­¡±

    ¡°No, please don¡¯t¡­ Oh right, have you been practicing the set of breathing techniques I taught you? Do you feel anything different?¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°No,¡± his mother replied. She said, ¡°By the way, son, is it really¡­ the breathing techniques of those who are cultivating spiritual immortality?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, didn¡¯t you believe me previously?¡± a surprised Ren Suo asked. He had previously said that the breathing techniques were ¡°thetest methods discovered by the government that could prevent aging¡± as an excuse to his mother. If he had directly mentioned that it was to cultivate spiritual immortality, she would have thought he was spouting nonsense.

    She said, ¡°Well, our neighbor¡¯s son received some eptance letter by a school a few days ago. The town government even sent people over specially to exin the situation to them. Tsk tsk tsk, what an honor, even to his ancestors! Aunty Shen has been going around proudly announcing to everyone that her son is going to be a spiritual immortal for the society under the guidance of the government. That amount of glory¡­¡±

    ¡°But son, you¡¯re also a spiritual immortal, right? That is why the nation has given you a house, it¡¯s truly glorifying,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother said enviously.

    ¡°Why does the spiritual immortal in your words sound merely as valuable as an apartment¡­¡± said Ren Suo, who could not be bothered to correct her any longer. He replied, ¡°By the way, do you or dad have any physical or health problems? For example, any pain due to age¡­¡±

    ¡°Your dad and I always go for a stroll everyday after our meals, and we y badminton with our neighbours during the weekends too. We have sufficient food and adequate rest, waking up at seven and sleeping by eleven. You should worry about yourself more. Do you eat vegetables outside?¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother replied.

    Upon hearing what his mother said, Ren Suo was relieved. With the Touch of Recovery, although it could only treat minor illnesses, it should still be extremely effective for healing rheumatoid arthritis. But as it turned out, his parents were in better physical shape than he was, and that ability need not be put to use.

    Ren Suo quickly interrupted his mother¡¯s nagging, saying, ¡°Yes, yes¡­ It¡¯s still the Golden Week. Is Fei Fei at home? Ask her to pick up the call.¡±

    Fei Fei was Ren Suo¡¯s sister who was a third-year student at senior high school. She lived in Hengshan High School, the best high school in town. It was not far from home, but all the students of the school were required to live in-campus. Furthermore, the school followed the military-style and the students were not allowed to bring their mobile phones along with them. It was essentially a school where students were pushed to excel and advance to the next level of study.

    Ren Suo was also from the same high school. Although Hengshan High School was not as terrifying as some other secondary schools which would physically punish students who did not do well, the discipline of the school was still extremely strict. They weed students who were willing to study as hard as possible and would not hesitate to expel students who did not bode well the school¡¯s culture. The students spent much of their third year in school and were only allowed to return home on holidays and special asions.

    Students who studied in such schools naturally did not have an extremely ¡°colorful¡± youth. If they started dating early on, they would either be forced to separate into different sses or be forced to return home. But even so, Ren Suo still supported her sister to study in the school¡ªentering and graduating from university was the best path to take in life, regardless of the rejuvenation of Reiki or otherwise.

    ording to Yu Kuangtu, the Tianjing School of Practitioners was the only such school which epted university students and adults who had ¡°exceptional talent¡±. Such exceptional talent not only required a good talent score but also required a certain level of academic qualification since they would be nurtured into both a strong warrior and also Practitioner researchers who could take part in research immediately. They would receive the best of Practice resources.

    The benefit was boundless, as can be seen by the nation treating those who could enter the Tianjing School as a university student and had good Practitioner talent as an important person to the nation and nurturing them ordingly.

    ¡°Fei Fei went back to school yesterday, it¡¯s just like that as a year three student,¡± his mother said. She continued, ¡°However, one of Fei Fei¡¯s ssmates suddenly disappeared in ss yesterday, and only reappeared half an hourter. Everyone is suspecting that there is paranormal activity in the school, and the town sent people to the school to investigate. The school would be giving a break these two days, you should call backter, Fei Fei should be back home by then.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°People suddenly disappeared? How did they disappear?¡±

    ¡°They just disappeared. The parents¡¯ chat room is saying that the student started disappearing into thin air inch by inch for almost ten seconds. He then reappeared. Everyone else in the ss witnessed the entire event and rumors are being passed all around in the town, that¡¯s how the town government got involved,¡± she replied.

    His mother seemed slightly displeased¡ªshe could not be med though, for it was May and there was only a month to the National College Entrance Examination. His sister¡¯s results could be affected due to such an incident and it was no wonder that as a mother, she would be affected.

    After ending the call, Ren Suo felt like he remembered something.

    But it was nothing extraordinary for anything to happen in recent times, and monsters were emerging one after another. Ren Suo sat down on the couch and turned on the game console. He navigated to the ¡°Equipment¡± page.

    A new skill had been acquired: ¡°Ability: Heal¡±.

    Ren Suo immediately equipped himself with the ability, and then made a small cut in his finger. He had been performing many of such experiments over the past few days and it was as if he was now immune to the minute pain.

    After the white glow covered his finger, Ren Suo felt a sense of warmth in his fingers and the pain disappeared. The wound had vanished too.

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief¡ªatst, he no longer needed to attempt to pull off the ¡°Touch of Recovery¡±. Had the green light activated by the Touch of Recovery been more obvious, he would have missed that opportunity to ¡°retire¡±. In such dynamic times, opportunities were indeed aplenty.

    Indeed, taking on the role of a school medic who was meant to resuscitate lives while researching ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±, Ren Suo felt like he was ready to retire¡­

    Although he had obtained the web address of the forum and his ount password, Ren Suo could not ess the forum that Yu Kuangtu had mentioned, since the inte ess point in his current apartment had not been modified. Otherwise, Ren Suo would have longed to find out for himself the progress of the nation¡¯s research on ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±.

    On another note, Ren Suo¡¯s mother now believed that ¡°spiritual immortality¡± existed, and it appeared that the nation could no longer conceal that fact. Ren Suo woke his mobile phone and scrolled through the news and othermunity news. However, the moment he entered the socialworking application, many ounts, official ones and citizen journalism ounts alike, were all resharing articles like ¡°10 Tricks to Awakening Your Reiki¡±, ¡°Establishment of Practitioner Schools, Entering A New Era of Extraordinaires¡±, ¡°How to Test Your Practitioner Talent¡±¡­

    Although the nation had yet to officially announce the news, the emergence of Practitioner Schools and loosened grip over the media likely signified a gradual introduction of a new set of world views. It would not be long before official news sources would report articles guiding different organizations on the attitudes to be taken toward Practitioners.

    Amongst the various news articles being shared, one of them caught Ren Suo¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Multiple people around the nation disappeared at the same time, reappeared with drastic changes to their body, ims deities are real!¡±

    Ren Suo clicked into the article to find a video clip that appeared to be a recording of a marriage in a Western country. In the video was a plump and handicapped groom, as well as a cute and tender-looking young woman with a slender figure¡ªthe groom must have been rich, or the two of them must have been deeply in love.

    However, just as they were exchanging wedding rings, the groom suddenly started disappearing, inch by inch, from the head down. His hand was still holding onto the bride¡¯s, but ten secondster, the groom disappearedpletely.

    In the second half of the video, a tall, muscr, handsome man appeared, donning an obviously oversized groom suit. Loud shouts and gasps echoed throughout the wedding hall. Ren Suo could tell from the facial features of the man that he was very possibly the same person as the plump groom from before.

    The post wrote that the man was a French man, who disappeared suddenly the previous day, and reappeared in the same position an hour after. When he reappeared, he became fit and healthy, and subsequent medical checks revealed that all his illnesses from before had disappearedpletely without a trace. His excess fat had also turned into a body of muscles, and both of his legs were perfectly normal. It was as if he had slimmed down after eating healthily and keeping fit for an entire year!

    When the transformed groom returned, he could not stop telling people that he had been chosen by the deities. He had only returned to Earth as he had failed the training, but even though he failed, he received full recovery. Not only did he lose fat and gain muscle, but he was also fully cured of all his illnesses!

    Nheless, there were many skepticalments who did not believe the story:

    ¡°The PS is so fake, it is so obvious that they are two different people.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he have died after failing the training, shouldn¡¯t his memory have been lost instead of being given such major benefits?¡±

    ¡°Please choose me if there are really such amazing things¡­¡±

 Chapter 93 - Evolutionary Option

    Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Evolutionary Option

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    It has begun?

    Most people would not have fully believed such a news article, but Ren Suo clearly knew what had happened¡ªthe training had begun.

    Ren Suo had done his own calctions on the number of people who would be involved. There were three stages in the training to be the best priest, of which there were at least a hundred people in each stage. Only one of them would be able to proceed to the next stage and ordingly, if there were a hundred people in stage 3, there would naturally be ten thousand people in stage 2, and so in the first stage, there would be a million people!

    That also meant that a million people participated in the training the previous day, and within an hour, 900 thousand of them failed and returned to reality!

    Ren Suo was relieved¡ªthe setting of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± was legitimate, and the deities would truly allow the trainees to return, and in addition, ¡®transform¡¯ them to be healthier and fitter when they returned.

    Almost all of the one million who participated in the training were people who were less fit, were disabled, or ill with chronic diseases. For various reasons, they were less prominent people, who would usually remain at home, and hence, they might not have been noticed when they disappeared during the training. The trainingsted only one hour and it was also natural for most of them to have disappeared without being noticed during that short amount of time.

    Additionally, although one million people were arge number, they were dispersed all around the globe, and hence, it was not a huge number whenpared to the total global poption of seven billion. Furthermore, although those people said that they had ¡°a mysterious encounter¡±, they did not gain superpowers but instead became healthier, and hence, it had not garnered widespread attention as yet.

    The government would have likely intervened and blocked ess to relevant information while initiating investigations into the origins of the ¡°Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow¡±, the ¡°Master of the Holy Light¡±, and the ¡°Heart of Evesting Warmth¡±.

    However, when the time arrives and ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± releases his new video¡­

    Ren Suo was also eager to see how the hints he had hidden through the game would be presented in the video. However, there was a one day break between each stage of the training, and based on the trend of Naisser_Ren¡¯s videos, he would not release videos showing events which had not urred, and thus, the earliest that the new video would be released was two dayster.

    Ren Suo took a look at the profile of ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±, and indeed, he had not released any new video. It appeared that he would release a video showing all the stages in one go.

    Or would he edit it into a series?

    Ren Suo stopped thinking about that and loaded up the game [The All-Devouring Soul] with a slightly heavy heart.

    That game would likely be how most of his time would be spent that month.

    The difficulty of the game truly matched up to the ¡°3+ stars¡± it was given, more than Ren Suo had imagined it to be.

    It was a single-save game with auto-saving functionality, and previous game checkpoints could not be reloaded. Ren Suo had failed in the previous try and had no choice but to restart again from the beginning.

    The start of the game was a world map.

    Numerous colors filled the entire world map, but there were three main categories: the blue, the yellow, and the red.

    Blue-colored regions had the least sources of Reiki andprisedrgely of oceans and the North and South poles.

    Yellow-colored regions had an average amount of Reiki resources andprisedrgely of cities and towns of Europe and Australia.

    Red-colored regions had the most resources of Reiki,prisingrgely of densely-popted cities like the Pacific Federation, Fanying Nation, Xuan Nation, and South America.

    The time was written on the top left corner of the screen: X May, 16:45.

    At the bottom of the screen was a message: [Press ¡ð to begin random selection.]

    Indeed, the game would automatically generate the life form that would be controlled, whether it was an air,nd, or sea life form, and where it would be born.

    If the yer did not want the various attributes to be generated at random, he could simply spend merit points to select ordingly.

    1 merit point was required to select the spawn area, 2 merit points were required to designate the type of the generated life form (nt or animal), and 3 merit points were required to specify the life form that would be generated.

    Ren Suo had always allowed the game to progress naturally, and likewise, he let the game generate the life form at random. The map began to shrink and his location was set at a mound in a mountain range in the southwest of Xuan Nation¨C

    The scene changed and the screen plunged into darkness. The only light source was far ahead and in the darkness, Ren Suo saw a life form.

    It was long and thin, with scales covering its entire body. It had four short and thick legs, and a t but long tail. Its back was slightly raised and as Ren Suo moved the stick on the game controller, the creature ran forward ordingly.

    Shortly after, it managed to dig out of the burrow, and Ren Suo could now see the burrow it was in from the outside. The creature did not receive anymand from Ren Suo and curled up into a ball on the ground. Its scales were brown in color, much like the ground.

    The creature was a pangolin.

    [Press ¡÷ to open the evolutionary tree.]

    It was an exciting moment. Even though Ren Suo had just started a new game, he could not help but feel anxious at that point.

    When the evolutionary treemap opened, Ren Suo saw the entire progression of the pangolin, as well as its scientific name: Xuan Nation pangolin.

    A green-colored energy bar could be seen on the left side of the screen. At present, it showed the current energy status and four statistics of the pangolin: Damage 6, Defense 10, Movement 8, Recovery 7.

    Natural Talent: Burrowing (Press R2 to activate. Requires 20 seconds to burrow into the ground, the strength of the ability increases with higher Damage.)

    Current Status: Full (No effect).

    The energy was currently full and there were two options at the bottom: ¡°Evolve¡±, ¡°Devolve¡±.

    ¡°Devolve¡± was greyed out¡ªit was only the beginning of the game, and the game character had not undergone any evolutionary changes.

    Ren Suo selected ¡°Evolve¡± and three cards appeared on the screen. Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up momentarily!

    The three cards were: ¡°Scales of Armor¡±, ¡°Tough Palm¡±, and ¡°Mangle¡±!

    The ¡°Scales of Armor¡± card was red in color with the words written in grey. Its effect was: Adds a defense armor of 5 Defense points to the life form, refreshes every day.

    The ¡°Tough Palm¡± card was red in color with the words written in blue. Its effect was: Adds a defense armor of 15 Defense points to the life form, refreshes every day, but creates a wounded buff¡ª¡±causes the life form to receive moderate damage, and all abilities of the injured life form would be decreased by 30%, and 3 hours of non-movement are required to recover.¡±

    The ¡°Mangle¡± card was red in color with the words written in blue. Its effect was: For every damage dealt with the life form, its overall ability would be strengthened when it recovers. Minor injuries increase overall ability by 1 point, moderate injuries increase overall ability by 2 points, and major injuries increase overall ability by 3 points.

    There was no need for hesitation and Ren Suo picked ¡°Mangle¡±!

    If the location was set in the city, Ren Suo might have considered ¡°Tough Palm¡±, since the pangolin was unable to win humans in a fight. But in the wild, it was the best ce to level up through training, and ¡°Mangle¡± would allow it to grow much stronger in just a few days, such that it would not be able to be captured by humans with hunting equipment!

    A crimson-red pattern shed on the body of the pangolin, indicating that it had been evolved with the ¡°Mangle¡± ability.

    Based on Ren Suo¡¯s initial observations, ¡°Mangle¡± was one of the best evolutionary abilities in the early stages of the evolutionary map!

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to scout a few rounds around the area and finally saw a spider on a tree. He immediately controlled the pangolin to scurry over.

    The pangolin was one of the best life forms Ren Suo had been randomly given amongst the few rounds he had attempted the game¡ªit could climb trees, burrow into the ground, swim in the water and had rtively sharp ws. It was much better than the fat hog that Ren Suo controlled in his first attempt at the game, and the living environment was much better as well.

    Recalling the hog, Ren Suo truly felt that he was unlucky¡ªit already did not appear promising to be controlling a pig, but what made matters worse was that it was a hog in a cage, waiting to be ughtered. There was nothing much that Ren Suo could do in that situation!

    The spider on the tree appeared quite big, but it was slightly confused looking at the pangolin. Big Brother, I am not part of your diet.

    Nheless, the pangolin swiftly maneuvered through the spider¡¯s web and caught the spider. The pangolin jumped down to the ground with the spider in its small paws and easily crushed the spider while remaining unharmed.

    The pangolin naturally could not eat the spider, unless Ren Suo evolved the spider with the ¡°Universal Diet¡± ability. Otherwise, the pangolin could only feed on insects like termites and bees at present.

    A green smoke emerged from the body of the dead spider andnded on the pangolin¡¯s body. Following which, Ren Suo saw the empty energy bar rise just slightly.

    After ying for three hours, the same amount of time had also passed in the game. From afternoon till night, the pangolin caught and killed numerous spiders, bird eggs, pheasants and even a lost monkey. To capture the monkey, the pangolin had been injured moderately severely and with the Mangle ability, it then managed to puncture the throat of the monkey.

    After that, the pangolin¡¯s energy bar was refilled, and Ren Suo selected ¡°Evolve¡± once again!

    There were still three cards that appeared: ¡°Omnivore¡±, ¡°Armored¡±, and ¡°Universal Diet¡±!

    The ¡°Omnivore¡± card was red in color with grey text. Its effect was: Allows the life form to feed on both animals and nts, and increases its overall ability by absorbing the Reiki.

    The ¡°Armored¡± card was red in color with grey text. Its effect was: Adds a defense armor of 5 Defense points to the life form and enhances the effect of the next evolutionary ability.

    The ¡°Universal Diet¡± card was red in color with blue text. Its effect was: Allows the life form to feed on both animals and nts while ignoring all toxic and poisonous effects (digestion time is increased), and increases its overall ability by absorbing the Reiki.

    There was no need for hesitation and Ren Suo selected ¡°Universal Diet¡±. The pangolin was an animal who could only feed on insects initially, and abilities like Omnivore and Universal Diet would appear in the first three evolutions. If he did not choose any of such abilities, the pangolin would easily starve to death.

    On the screen, a red glow of light emerged from the teeth in the mouth of the pangolin, and its teeth appeared much sharper.

    The sky had turned dark. The pangolin was also injured and Ren Suo controlled it to eat the meat of the monkey from before and its status changed to:

    Repleted (all abilities decrease by 10% until digestion isplete)

    Moderate injury (all abilities decrease by 30% until full recovery)

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to burrow a hole to rest. He selected ¡°Fast forward 12 hours¡± and the day arrived immediately.

    As daylight broke, the pangolin¡¯s injuries recovered fully and digestion wasplete. Its overall ability was now over 10 points.

    On the top right corner of the screen were two values indicatingbat ability.

    The first value represented the pangolin¡¯sbat ability: 27.

    Whilst the second value represented thebat ability of the strongest creature in the world: 43650.

    Ren Suo recalled that thebat power of the strongest creature in the world had been 43250 the night before.

    Only a night had passed and thebat ability of the strongest creature had increased by 400 points, which was equivalent to 15 of his pangolins!

    Toplete the game, the yer had to control his character to beat the world¡¯s strongest creature!

    In Ren Suo¡¯s previous attempts at the game, the life forms he had controlled leveled up at a rate much slower than that of the strongest creature. Some of the life forms he controlled could not even deter humans from capturing it and was kept by humans and studied as rare animals¡­

    ¡°Nheless, it is still too difficult to level up in the jungle¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered. He felt that it was indeed a pain, saying, ¡°If only it spawned in another country, there would at least be bears or crocodiles to kill and feed on, and it would definitely be so full from eating animals and nts. There are none of such animals here in Xuan Nation unless there are heavenly treasures I have not discovered.¡±

    ¡°The best way to level up as fast as possible is still to enter the human territory, and find¡­ items filled with Reiki to devour!¡±

 Chapter 94 - A Smelly Sock Too?!

    Chapter 94: Chapter 94: A Smelly Sock Too?!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The next day, Ren Suo was awoken by a phone call.

    ¡°It¡¯s Yu Kuangtu here, I have sent the information to you via WeChat, verify the authenticity of the information by today and write a general evaluation of it. For example, whether it can be trusted, cannot be trusted, or can be fully trusted,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    ¡°¡­ Okay, okay,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Ren Suo looked at the time and saw that it was 10 a.m. He put down the mobile phone and freshened up, then turned on hisputer to download the document which Yu Kuangtu sent on WeChat.

    Although Ren Suo should have been ¡°Practicing before starting work¡±, Yu Kuangtu must have thought that Ren Suo waszing around and so decided to get him to work beforehand.

    The document was merely titled ¡°0503¡± and it looked like a date. But the moment Ren Suo opened the document, his eyes narrowed almost to a line.

    ¡°Scientific name: Grim Bird Wyvern¡±

    ¡°Type: Spirit, Ghost¡±

    ¡°Emergence: Transformed from birds that feed on dposing carcasses, where carcasses are abundant.¡±

    ¡°Special Features: Both of its wings emit blinding light and its mouth can emit waves that prate metal and wood; they are susceptible to sonic booms and fire; likes to linger around cemeteries and hospitals.¡±

    It contained information about the monsters that Ren Suo had revealed through his character in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±!

    ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± had not uploaded any new videos on the inte, and yet the information had appeared. That meant that the people who participated in the second stage of the training had returned, and at least one of them had revealed the information ording to what Ren Suo had said in the game then.

    Although only a small number of monsters, like the Hungry Ghost Demon, had appeared in Lianjiang City, that did not mean that other special types of monsters had not appeared elsewhere. As long as such information spread on the inte and was discovered by members of the Countermeasure Division of the other areas, the information would naturally be important.

    Nheless, at that time, Ren Suo had intended to be the first one to discover the information. It could have earned him some benefits. However, the time when the trainees would return and where the information would be uploaded to was uncertain, so unless Ren Suo trawled through the inte on hisputer all day long, he was unlikely to be the first person to discover that information.

    Ren Suo quickly browsed through the information and confirmed that it was indeed the content that he had revealed previously. He pondered for a moment and added small pieces of information in the document¡ªat that time, he had purposely omitted some details that could be deduced from the drama series in order to reduce the amount of information that he said.

    And now it was apt to fill in the gaps in the information, in a pretense that he had worked hard.

    After spending 15 minutes finishing up the work, the Yee-fu noodles with beef briskets with fried bean sauce, as well as a te of vegetables, which Ren Suo had ordered from the stall downstairs, had also been delivered. After his call with his mother the day before, Ren Suo realized that he had indeed not eaten vegetables the past few days.

    As Ren Suo ate his lunch, he turned on the game console and continued ying the game. Ren Suo was rxed as he yed the game, since starting a second save file was not allowed beforepleting the first.

    It had to be made known that [The All-Devouring Soul] was an extremely addictive game, especially after the pangolin that Ren Suo controlled acquired the two abilities ¡°Mangle¡± and ¡°Universal Diet¡±. Ren Suo¡¯s tactic was such that he would allow the pangolin to be injured, and then, control it to feed on a full meal at night, then wait for its overall ability to increase the next morning.

    Ren Suo would fast forward the time in the game until the next morning, and observe how much the pangolin¡¯s overall ability andbat ability increased respectively.

    If thebat power increased, he would naturally want to test the increase in the performance of the pangolin. Previously, it spent much effort to kill the monkey, but now, it could quickly puncture the monkey¡¯s throat in one try¡ª¡±Universal Diet¡± did not only enhance digestion but also strengthened the sharpness and force of the pangolin¡¯s teeth and jaw.

    Furthermore, after its overall ability increased, the pangolin¡¯s strength also increased greatly. It could now capture and kill birds, spiders, and insects with much ease, and for it to ¡°best absorb nutrients¡±, Ren Suo even controlled the pangolin to feed on more nutritious fruits.

    A few hours passed as Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to scout around the area, capture and kill other creatures, eat fruits, and sleep, and subsequently observe how much stronger the pangolin grew, then repeat the same cycle again¡­

    One minute in real life was also one minute in the game, but it was possible to fast forward the time if the character in the game was sleeping or en route to a location.

    It was presently noon in the game, and the pangolin had just eliminated a nest of snakes. It was slightly injured and slightly too full, so Ren Suo decided to just let it sleep until the next morning.

    The energy bar of the pangolin was not full, but there were no longer many creatures worthy of capturing and killing in the vicinity. Without hesitation, Ren Suo chose to send the pangolin towards a city area inhabited by humans!

    Ren Suo had already checked and found that the pangolin was in the vicinity of Jingnan Province and there seemed to be cities nearby. And as expected, after the pangolin walked for about three hours in the game, a highway appeared!

    However, as the pangolin proceeded onto the highway, Ren Suo saw that a car ident had taken ce not far away.

    A truck had flipped to its side after crashing into a por tree by the side of the road. There was no other vehicle on the highway except for the truck, and it was likely that the truck had crashed as the driver was too tired.

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to walk over and found a man in the cab. It appeared that he had hit his head against the steering wheel and was bleeding at the forehead. The truck seemed to have not been equipped with an airbag, but it wasmon for most domestic trucks to not be equipped with an airbag due to the higher costs involved.

    All would be well if no idents were to happen, and even a fool would not voluntarily crash the truck he was driving. However, if an ident happened and luck was not on one¡¯s side, the oue would be as such.

    Fortunately, an anti-collision bar had been installed at the front of the truck, and it had only crashed into a tree. The cab had not been deformed, or otherwise, the driver could only be rescued after the firefighters arrived.

    Was there any way to save him? Ren Suo took a look around and found that the truck had not overturned entirely. The front of the truck, the por tree, and the slope were bncing one another, and there was space below.

    While saving people was not part of the criteria to pass the game, killing people was in fact more likely to be one of the criteria¡ªkilling small animals earned Reiki, so it must be the same to do the same with humans.

    If Ren Suo had a sudden inspiration and interest, he might well start a save file where he would ¡°kill to be a saint¡±, and enhance his abilities by massacringrge groups. He could enjoy the attempt at the game, and nothing would go wrong as long as he did not upload that save file as his final score.

    He was still experimenting in the game, and it was more important for him to pass the stage while maintaining the bottom line.

    The windows had all shattered and Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to gnaw at the driver¡¯s seat belt until it was able to drag the driver out of the cab slowly. With the help of gravity, it was not too difficult for the pangolin to pull a fully-grown adult, in addition to the fact that the bite strength of the pangolin was sufficiently strong.

    After spending a few minutes dragging the driver to a safe location, Ren Suo realized that the driver¡¯s injury to the forehead appeared serious. It was uncertain if the driver could survive, for there appeared to be no one on the highway even after a long while.

    If only I could heal his injuries¡­

    Ren Suo blinked and navigated to the ¡°Equipment¡± page outside of the game.

    At that time, a new character [The All-Devouring Soul] was added to the list of game characters, which was equipped with the ability ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±.

    Unlike the other game characters, many abilities were unable to be equipped to [The All-Devouring Soul], including ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±, ¡°Fighter Novice¡±, ¡°Touch of Recovery¡±¡­ Many abilities could only be equipped by human characters.

    As such, Ren Suo equipped [The All-Devouring Soul] with ¡°Ability: Clothes¡±¡ªit gave his game character an additional 1 Defense point.

    Since it could be equipped with ¡°Ability: Clothes¡±, it was naturally able to be equipped with ¡°Ability: Heal¡±. Ren Suo equipped [The All-Devouring Soul] with ¡°Heal¡± and returned to the game, and realized that¡ª

    Indeed, the pangolin had an additional 1 Recovery point.

    ¡°The pangolin does not have a breathing current, can it really not be invoked¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered as he ran out of ideas, and had tried his best to save the injured driver. Nheless, the save file might not be uploaded anyway, and Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to leave.

    However, when the driver was moved by the pangolin, the jade pendant around the driver¡¯s neck fell off. When the pangolin came into contact with it while it was walking away, a game prompt appeared: [Absorbing Reiki now.]

    Eh?

    Ren Suo was stunned for a moment. Ten secondster, the absorption of the Reiki hadpleted, and the pangolin¡¯s energy bar was filled, and even in excess.

    In the previous attempts, Ren Suo had not managed to find any ¡°Reiki items¡±, which was also why he decided to head to the city from the wild¡ªit was impossible to catch up with the growth rate of the strongest creature in the world, even if he made his character eat humans!

    Why did the jade pendant he encountered on the road contain Reiki?

    Or perhaps, was the driver like the main character in School Beauty¡¯s Personal Bodyguard? Did he have many beneficial items with him?

    Ren Suo chose to ¡°Evolve¡± and realized that the options he were given were slightly more interesting:

    The ¡°ws and Fangs¡± card was red with grey text. Its effect was: Damage of the life form would double permanently, but would not be higher than its total Defense and Recoverybined.

    The ¡°Fortified Defense¡± card was red with blue text. Its effect was: Defense of the life form would double permanently, but would not be higher than its total Movement and Damagebined.

    The third option was the most fascinating one.

    The ¡°Second Sight+¡± card was red with blue text. Its effect was: The life form¡¯s second sight would be activated and it would be able to see the amount of Reiki present in all objects in view. The enhanced effect allows the life form to know the time required to absorb the Reiki in the object.

    The emergence of Second Sight in the game was not strange to Ren Suo¡ªit was indeed a necessary evolutionary ability. How else would Reiki items be found?

    However, was ¡°Second Sight+¡± due to encountering the jade pendant?

    Without a doubt, Ren Suo chose ¡°Second Sight+¡±, and the pangolin acquired another ability.

    [Press R3 to enter Second Sight mode.]

    When Second Sight was activated, the entire background turned to a dark grey tone. The grass by the road was slightly green in color, and there was also some color on the cab of the truck. The driver appeared red in color, but his clothes were a dark green color!

    The pangolin touched the driver¡¯s white vest (the kind that uncles liked to wear), and a small box appeared instantly on the right side of the screen.

    [6-year-old Vest]

    [Reiki content: Extremely scarce]

    [Chance of Enhancement: 0.106%]

    [Time Required to Absorb: 13 hours 25 minutes]

    A vest had Reiki?!

    Ren Suo did not believe in heresy, and controlled the pangolin to touch the driver¡¯s sock:

    [17-year-old Sock (Smelly)]

    [Reiki content: Moderately scarce]

    [Chance of Enhancement: 0.03%]

    [Time Required to Absorb: 24 hours 03 minutes]

    How could a smelly sock also contain Reiki?!

 Chapter 95 - Afterimage

    Chapter 95: Chapter 95 ¨C Afterimage

    [Adult Human]

    [Reiki content: Scarce]

    [Time required to absorb: Self-will of the life form has to be removed to be absorbed]

    Indeed, it was not possible to directly absorb Reiki from a human. He had to be killed first.

    Ren Suo continued looking for other Reiki items on the driver, and there were quite a few¡ªhis wallet, underwear, keys¡­

    There was also the jade pendant, although its Reiki had been absorbed, the information could still be retrieved about it:

    [36-year-old Guanyin Jade Pendant]

    [Reiki content: None]

    [Chance of Enhancement: 20%]

    The chance of Enhancement was likely the contributing factor to the enhancement of the evolution option. At merely 20%, Ren Suo must have been lucky.

    Who would have known that the Reiki setting of the game was so down to earth, Ren Suo had assumed that items from which Reiki could be absorbed would mostly be rare objects like doomed antiques and holy historical relics¡­

    But now it seemed that most objects in the world were Reiki items, only that they differed in how much Reiki they contained, not whether they were a Reiki object or otherwise.

    What Ren Suo did not expect was that there was an extremely old and slightly crumpled hundred-dor note in the driver¡¯s wallet. It was an old version of the hundred-dor note that was only in cirction ten years ago and had the heads of four notable figures on it. There was much Reiki in it, and it was easy to absorb as well!

    [100 RMB note (1987)]

    [Reiki content: Scarce]

    [Chance of Enhancement: 8%]

    [Time required to absorb: 36 seconds]

    The Reiki content of humans was scarce, and the Reiki content in that note was also scarce, which meant that the amount of Reiki in the driver was actually simr to that in the old edition RMB note!

    Ren Suo had no intention of taking the note¡ªif the pangolin were to purchase anything using that note, it would either be captured and be made into a dish or be sent to a research organization. Instead, he let the pangolin absorb all of the note¡¯s Reiki right there and then.

    However, at that moment, the siren of an ambnce sounded on the highway and Ren Suo saw an ambnce quickly heading towards the overturned truck.

    Ren Suo looked around and found that there were no cameras before and after that section of the highway, so a car must have driven by and left after calling the police.

    A firetruck and police car followed behind the ambnce. The paramedics were surprised when they found the driver to have crawled out of the truck by himself, but they quickly loaded the driver into the ambnce. In the meantime, the firefighters and the police took care of the truck and conducted preliminary investigations at the scene.

    Ren Suo suddenly had an idea and controlled the pangolin to enter the ambnce first. There was a nurse inside the ambnce, but there was a stretcher at the door (the paramedics used the stretcher to lift the patient) and so the nurse would not have been able to see that a pangolin had crawled in!

    The pangolin crawled right into the ambnce and squatted behind a table inside, in a corner that would definitely not be seen.

    Ren Suo then fast-forwarded the time in the game by 2 hours.

    Two hourster, the pangolin had indeed not been noticed and was still in the ambnce.

    However, the ambnce was still moving.

    Ren Suo fast-forwarded the time in 10-minute intervals, and very soon the ambnce came to a stop. A few paramedics unloaded the stretcher and Ren Suo quickly controlled the pangolin to get off the ambnce as well.

    The area appeared to be a small housing estate. Only a building and a garden to the side could be seen, as the pangolin¡¯s view angle was very low. Ren Suo naturally moved the pangolin into the grass in the garden.

    The time was 16:44 and there were a few hours before the sky would turn dark. But before then, Ren Suo had to find a ce for the pangolin to stay in¡ªhe would not dare to let the pangolin sleep just anywhere in the city.

    It was not just that the pangolin¡¯s vision was extremely poor at night, but also that he would very likely end up in a cage if it was found by other people¡­

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to leave the small estate and realized that there was a primary school and a junior high school nearby.

    There would not be anyone in the junior high school at night, and there could even be a canteen, where there would be food ingredients to consume. It was close to dismissal time and that seemed like a decent ce to head to.

    The only problem was that,

    How could such arge pangolin cross the road¡­

    ¡°This is going to be troublesome¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself.

    Ren Suo then remembered that the pangolin¡¯s energy bar was almost filled¡ªonly a small part of the energy from the jade pendant had been used to evolve, but much of it still remained. After absorbing the Reiki from the hundred-dor note, it was ready to evolve again.

    Undoubtedly, evolution was faster in a societyprised of humans. In just a short few hours, the pangolin was able to evolve twice, without engaging in anybat. But that could, of course, be rted to the immense potential of the pangolin¡ªor rather, it was so weak that it could evolve just by absorbing a small amount of energy.

    For that evolution, two options ¡°Fortified Defense¡± and ¡°ws and Fangs¡± which were red with grey words appeared, and by then, Ren Suo could guess that grey words likely represented ordinary abilities, while blue words likely represented rare abilities.

    However, the third option was of a colorbination that Ren Suo had never seen before¡ªyellow and red.

    The card ¡°Afterimage¡± was red with yellow words. Its effect was: Active ability that can be used three times a day. When in effect, the life form would be forced to enter a state of exhaustion (all abilities decrease by 25%, requires 60 minutes to recover; the stronger the Recovery ability, the shorter the time required to recover), and its Movement ability would increase by 30% within 10 seconds (Movement is raised to 522 points if the resulting Movement remains lower than 522).

    The hint provided: An increased Defense can reduce the kic Damage on impact, or transform the ability into a Damage ability.

    An active ability!

    It was the first time that Ren Suo had seen an active ability. After selecting ¡°Afterimage¡±, an ability bar appeared on the left side of the screen. The ¡°left¡± and ¡°right¡± keys on the game controller could be used to select the ability in use, and pressing ¡°¡õ¡± would cast the ability.

    Ren Suo selected the blue human figure icon representing ¡°Afterimage¡± in the abilities bar. He controlled the pangolin to move into the grass by the road, and when there were no cars on the road, he activated ¡°Afterimage¡± and made a dash for the school gate!

    If I die, it would just be a few hours wasted anyway!

    On the screen, the pangolin crossed the road as fast as lightning, living up to the ability¡¯s name ¡°Afterimage¡±. It was on the other side of the road almost in an instant, and slipped into the school through the fence!

    When the pangolin burrowed into a bush inside the school, the effect also subsided!

    However, the pangolin was also given an exhaustion debuff and needed one hour to recover, but it was just a matter of fast-forwarding the time in the game anyway.

    After fast-forwarding an hour, the time was now 17:50, and the students of the junior high school had also been dismissed. The gates of the school were wide open and students carrying their school bags were seen flowing out the gates.

    ¡°It¡¯s still not time to explore¡­¡± Ren Suo said as he felt slightly frustrated. As he was about to fast-forward another one hour, the voice of a few students was heard between the bushes.

    ¡°Come,e over here, have a talk with us, your big brothers,¡± one of the voices said.

    ¡°Hah, I am getting angry just by looking at you,¡± another voice said.

    ¡°What are you scared of, is big brother going to hurt you?¡± another one of them taunted.

    Three junior high school boys were surrounding another weaker high school boy. They were almost dragging the boy all the way to the back of the ssroom building. They sounded as if they were mimicking gangsters.

    Was it a case of school bullying?

    As mentioned before, Ren Suo studied in a top-tier junior high school in his town. Discipline was strict and the students lived on campus every day. While there were still cases of bullying in the school, they generally only involved discrimination, such as not acknowledging them, not caring for them, ignoring them, or mocking them. But that was the limit and if it affected the student¡¯s studies or fights took ce, the teachers would have had to step in.

    Consequently, it was the first time that Ren Suo witnessed such a case of bullying where violence and money were involved. Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to follow them secretly.

    Behind the ssrooms was the sports field, and between the ssrooms and the field was a toilet, likely meant for students to use during physical education lessons. There were numerous people ying basketball on the field, and so the group of boys entered the female toilet¨C

    There were only male students ying basketball after school, so the female toilet was safer, and it was a logical choice.

    After the boys entered the female toilet, the pangolin followed suit and immediately hid in the space under the sink, listening to the conversation quietly.

    ¡°Orphan Liang,¡± the tall student said as he pped the weaker boy¡¯s face a few times lightly. The weaker boy was extremely ashamed as the tall student said, ¡°We let you off the previous time, so where¡¯s your money now?¡±

 Chapter 96 - The Tiles Of The Female Washroom

    Chapter 96: Chapter 96 ¨C The Tiles Of The Female Washroom

    The weaker junior high school boy replied in a trembling voice, ¡°I¡­ I only have this much¡­¡±

    The pangolin could not see how much the boy took out from where it was at, but the three hooligan-like students quickly answered the question. One of them said, ¡°What? Two-fifty? Do you think we are beggars?!¡±

    Two of the hooligan-like students started throwing kicks and punches at the weaker boy. The boy cowered and fell towards the wall of the toilet and let out a shout in agony. He cried as he said, ¡°I only have this much breakfast money, I really only have this much.¡±

    ¡°How dare you talk back?!¡± the student, who appeared to be the leader of the trio, shouted. He walked over and grabbed the weaker boy¡¯s chin and questioned, ¡°What about your lunch allowance?¡±

    ¡°My lunch allowance is deducted directly from the bank card by the school every month¡­¡± the weaker boy said.

    ¡°You still eat the trash served by the school?¡± one of the trio mocked with augh.

    ¡°Wait, you said bank card, do you know the passcode?¡± another one of them asked.

    The weaker boy quickly shook his head, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°What a dumb kid, if you don¡¯t know then go back and ask! Do you have the brain of a pig? If your father is dead, then ask your mother for it!¡± the trio said.

    The leader of the trio pped the boy. He did not respond, and the other two students started rummaging through the boy¡¯s bag. They casually poured out all the contents of his bag, including his stationery and books.

    ¡°There really is no money,¡± the two of them remarked.

    ¡°Forget it, there¡¯s nothing we can do about him. Let¡¯s go find Brother Kun¡­¡± the leader said.

    It should be noted that although the game seemed extremely real, the details of the characters wereputer-processed¡ªmuch like ¡°The Hitman¡±, it was obvious that the characters were fake, but they tied in well with the reality and has a fairy tale effect.

    For example, the three hooligan-like boys looked slightly contorted and abnormal, and they were brazenly arrogant.

    On the other hand, the student who was bullied had a nose that appeared segmented and was thin and weak. Although he did not look very pleasant, he would not be despised by others. It felt like he was a small animal that looked pitiful and helpless.

    The game was notprised of missions, so it waspletely up to Ren Suo whether he wanted to help the boy. His only worry was if he would immediately fail and lose his progress if his pangolin was exposed¡­

    Nheless, the natural talent of the pangolin, ¡°Burrow¡±, was extremely capable. With that ability, the pangolin could burrow into any soil ground and hide there, providing it an escape route.

    Ren Suo then controlled the pangolin to dash out from its hiding spot and bit the ankle of one of the hooligan-like boys!

    The boy was protected by the Nike basketball shoe he was wearing, and Ren Suo even had to press ¡°X¡± so the pangolin would jump and be able to bite the boy.

    A shrill shout emerged from the toilet, and the boy jumped around in pain. However, the pangolin continued its attack and bit and wed the ankles of the other two of the trio. The boys looked down to see a ¡°mouse¡± asrge as a cat biting them and started shouting loudly in shock, then ran away.

    The trio shrieked, ¡°Mouse! There¡¯s a mouse!¡±

    Can¡¯t students these days not recognize a pangolin?

    Only the weaker boy remained in the toilet, still crouching by the wall, looking at the pangolin in fear. Ren Suo did not bother about the boy and was preparing to leave¡ªif the hooligan students brought a security guard over to catch the ¡°mouse¡±, it would be GG for him.

    However, Ren Suo subconsciously pressed R3 and activated the ¡°Second Vision¡± ability. He took a nce around the female toilet and found that there was actually a good ¡°thing¡± in there!

    In front of the cubicle that was closest to the door, beside the basins, there was a floor tile that was billowing thick, ck smoke!

    The pangolin walked over and arge chunk of information appeared upon contact:

    [Floor tile from the female toilet that had been stepped on for 14 years (dirty)]

    [Reiki content: Extremely little]

    [Chance of Enhancement: 30%]

    [Time required to absorb: 13 hours 16 minutes]

    [Filth: A floor tile stained with the blood, urine, and body fluids of countless people, stepped on for over ten years, and dirtied by immense filth, but remained so resilient it remains intact till today. Absorbing the Reiki of this holy item can open up the Filth path in the evolutionary tree during the next evolution.]

    [Unyielding: Every life form that steps on it may trigger a fall.]

    Stepped on for 14 years¡­ The toilet was older than the junior high school students.

    Indeed, the cubicle that was closest to the door was the mostmonly used cubicle in the female toilet. That tile would have been stepped on the most number of times, and simrly, it would likely be stained with the bodily fluids of the female students, especially since that was the toilet that the girls in their physical education lessons would head to¡­ since the girls would ¡°asionally¡± be excused from the lessons.

    Compared to the driver¡¯s jade pendant, the tile was apter as a ¡°Reiki item¡±. Not only was there a higher chance of activating Enhancement, but it also had existential abilities¡ªif even a floor tile could have an ¡°unyielding¡± nature, Ren Suo could finally be made to believe that all objects had a spiritual essence.¡¯

    Ren Suo was still slightly unsure of the Reiki content settings in the game, for he had previously encountered ¡°extremely scarce¡±, ¡°moderately scarce¡±, and ¡°scarce¡±, and now, there was ¡°extremely little¡±.

    However, based on the ¡°Second Vision¡± mode, the floor tile contained much more Reiki than the hundred-dor note, which meant that ¡°extremely little¡± was more than ¡°scarce¡±.

    With the same line of reasoning, above ¡°extremely little¡±, there should be Reiki content descriptors like ¡°moderately little¡± and ¡°little¡±.

    The tile was not big and the pangolin could dig it out and take it away. Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to begin the digging¡ªactually, he just needed to press and hold the ¡ð button, and the pangolin began working its way with its small ws.

    However, Ren Suo overestimated the pangolin¡¯s ability and underestimated the floor tile.

    The tile had, after all, been stepped on for more than ten years and remained intact, and the attachment of the tile to the ground was unexpectedly strong. The pangolin spent a few minutes before it managed to dig out the entire tile.

    But at that moment, hurried footsteps and loud voices could be heard from the outside. ¡°It¡¯s inside!¡±

    ¡°Hurry, catch that big mouse!¡±

    ¡°Damn it, the bite is so painful!¡±

    It was unclear whether the trio had brought a teacher or a security guard, but there was no doubt that they were here to seek revenge. However, they were in their school uniforms, and there were obvious injuries on their leg, so any adult would naturally believe them.

    It¡¯s going to be troublesome now. If the pangolin did not have the tile with it, activating ¡°Afterimage¡± would definitely allow it to escape. Looks like I have to leave the tile behind and escape first, ande back at night to retrieve it¡­

    ¡°Come inside here!¡± the weaker boy said.

    Ren Suo realized that the weaker boy had not left the toilet and was slowly recing the books into his bag.

    The boy had also heard the voices outside, and he hugged his bag and walked over to the pangolin. He gestured for the pangolin to go in.

    To go in or not?

    Ren Suo did not deliberate too much and let the pangolin into the bag with the floor tile. It was obvious that the boy wanted to save the pangolin, and Ren Suo chose to believe him.

    At the most, I just have to restart from the beginning again.

    It was pitch ck inside the bag and only the teacher¡¯s voice could be heard, asking the boy where the ¡°animal¡± had gone. The boy said that the animal had crawled into the water pipes, then slipped away quickly.

    Ren Suo fast-forwarded the game by 30 minutes, to find the pangolin lying on a bamboo mat, beside the weaker boy¡¯s bag.

    Where was the floor tile?!

    The pangolin crawled into the bag in search of the tile when the sound of footsteps came from outside the bag. The boy held a clean tile in his hand as he looked at the pangolin rummaging through his bag. He could not help but ask in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t you asleep?¡±

    Is sleeping the default setting for fast-forwarding¡­

    The boy ced the tile in front of the pangolin and said, ¡°You look like you really wanted this tile, but it was very dirty, so I washed it.¡±

    Was it still effective after washing?

    The pangolin touched the tile and found that the information of the tile had not changed, except that the ¡°(dirty)¡± word in its name was gone.

    Good, it is now time to bring the tile to a safe ce and fast-forward 13 hours to absorb the Reiki.

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to carry the tile and was about to run away, when the weaker boy rubbed his palms together and said, ¡°Well¡­ I am Huo Liang, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    How silly, why would the boy talk to a pangolin?

    But Huo Liang continued, saying, ¡°Are you one of the Reiki creatures that the news has been reporting? You can understand me, don¡¯t you? Thank you for saving me.¡±

    Reiki creature? The news?

    Ren Suo thought about it, but the nation had not announced any of such news.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want my mother to worry¡­ But I am not smart, and I was born with congenital heart disease. My body is weak and my mother has no choice but to work outside every day to pay for my medicine,¡± the boy said.

    Huo Liang lowered his voice and said, ¡°And I am not talented either, so I did not make it into the Practitioner School. There was a year three senior in our school that had Practitioner talent and not long after he entered the Practitioner School, he now has an Extraordinary Ability¡­¡±

    Hold on, the Practitioner School has not started, has it?

 Chapter 97 - One of the Reborn?

    Chapter 97: Chapter 97: One of the Reborn?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo blinked as if he suddenly recalled something.

    He controlled the pangolin to run outside suddenly, and Huo Liang quickly ran after him, saying, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t go¡ª¡±

    The house was not big,prising two rooms and a living room. Although the pangolin¡¯s vision was poor, the calendar would definitely be hung at a prominent location in the house. The moment the pangolin entered the living room, Ren Suo saw the calendar hung on a cab, and he controlled the pangolin to climb onto it.

    The current date was written on the calendar.

    ¡°X of May, Lunar Calendar X day of the X month, suitable for marriage¡­¡±

    However, just as the pangolin looked at the calendar, the date ¡°X May¡± on the calendar changed into ¡°X of X¡±!

    The default month setting was May when the yer was not noticing the month, but when the yer did notice, the game was unwilling to disclose that information to the yer.

    At that point, it was obvious to Ren Suo that the time in the game was either in a parallel universe or in the future!

    Based on the characteristics of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, it was highly likely to be the future!

    Once Ren Suo uploaded thepleted game save, his entire gamey would be reality and take ce in the future!

    In that case, was he controlling the pangolin in the future and causing convergence of the world line, which causes an effect in the present, or was the Mini Worlds Gaming Console able to calcte the future of the entire universe and even the changes that would ur?

    However, the question remained, why was the game unwilling to let him know the exact time in the future that it would take ce?

    All of those meaningless and unverifiable questions in Ren Suo¡¯s mind were quickly interrupted when Huo Liang scooped the pangolin up in his arms.

    He looked seriously at the pangolin and said, ¡°¡ªPangolin, I want to be stronger, please teach me!¡±

    ¡°I can adopt and feed you! Please be my holy creature!¡± Huo Liang continued.

    The pangolin pped the Huo Liang¡¯s hands away and slipped into the room to retrieve the floor tile.

    Ren Suo thought, ¡®This kid must have read too many novels. Why would he think that it was so easy to meet a holy creature?¡¯

    It was a problem that had to be treated!

    It¡¯s time to slip away. My time is very precious. The darned strongest creature in the world has gained a few hundreds ofbat points again!

    After the pangolin broke free from his grip, Huo Liang knew the pangolin¡¯s reply to his question. He was extremely sullen and stood leaning against the wall. However, he saw that the pangolin did not leave after picking up the floor tile, but instead remained in the living room, looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Huo Liang said as he looked up and traced the pangolin¡¯s gaze to the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.

    There was an incandescent bulb as well as another smaller light bulb installed in his living room. The incandescent bulb was used at night, while the smaller light bulb was used during sleep so that he and his mother could navigate their way to the toilet in the middle of the night if they needed to. It was an extremely energy-saving bulb that was not too bright for the eyes while sleeping.

    ¡°Do you want that?¡± Huo Liang asked as he looked at the pangolin.

    At that moment, a rarely seen dialogue box appeared with the following options¡ª

    ¢Ù Yes

    ¢Ú No

    Ren Suo naturally selected ¡°Yes¡±.

    ¡°Ah? Which part of it do you want?¡± an extremely surprised Huo Liang asked.

    The pangolin lifted its hand and continued pointing at the lightbulb.

    Huo Liang stared at the light bulb and remained silent for some time, then probed, ¡°You want the light bulb holder?¡±

    The pangolin nodded its head.

    With that, Huo Liang took some time removing the light bulb holder, and it was handed over to the pangolin.

    [36-year-old Lightbulb Holder]

    [Reiki content: Moderately little]

    [Chance of Enhancement: 50%]

    [Time required to absorb: 16 hours 16 minutes]

    [Passionate Glow: After being used for 36 years, thismp holder is filled with invigorating passion and the strength of light. After absorbing its Reiki, there would be a chance for the elemental path in the evolutionary tree to be activated during the next evolution]

    [Warding Evil: When using thismp holder, the hearts of all living souls can be calmed, and it can burn evil]

    Themp holder was truly¡­ a great item!

    It made the trip to the city from the countryside worth it!

    Ren Suo had not imagined that he would find such a beneficial Reiki object in an ordinary house like that!

    The house appeared to be part of an old apartment building, and perhaps there would be many of such amazing items in the other rooms!

    However, from the pangolin¡¯s field of view, Ren Suo saw Huo Liang looking at him feebly and his face was filled with grief.

    He said, ¡°My mother is definitely going to scold me badly for removing themp holder.¡±

    On the screen, Huo Liang continued looking at the pangolin as he pped his hands together, begging, ¡°You are filled with so much spiritual essence, you definitely have a way to make me stronger, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Behind the screen, Ren Suo scratched his head.

    ¡°You better hope that I am able to pass the game in this try with a high score¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    I am fat, and e still grows on my face.

    It was a simple yet straightforward description, but it fully portrayed Chen Zile¡¯s sorrows¡ªit was not that a fat person like him did not have human rights, for there would always be a few people like him in every ss who could not fit in with the more popr students, and they could then form their own support group. In that way, Chen Zile still had a few close friends in real life.

    But while he was alone, Chen Zile hated his current self. It was only due to him being rejected when he was in his second year of senior high school, for a rtively touching reason:

    ¡°Ah? You like me because I am nice to you? But.. but it¡¯s only because I want to rub your stomach,¡± the girl said back then.

    The world came crashing down on Chen Zile immediately. At that time, he choked momentarily, remaining silent for a long time and finally said, ¡°Oh¡­ Sorry to disturb you then.¡±

    The girl looked cautiously at him and asked, ¡°Then¡­ can I still rub your stomach next time?¡±

    From that moment on, Chen Zile was determined to slim down.

    ¡ªThat determinationsted three days for a grand total of 2-night jogging sessions. In fact, the second night jogging session was cut short due to his aching leg muscles (stemming from the excessive exercise the day before), after which he duly returned home to rest, and even ate supper in the middle of the night as he was too hungry in his sleep.

    Originally, Chen Zile no longer held any hopes for his future. After all, who would willingly choose to make themselves suffer?

    It was his belief that being fat was the final evolution of humans, especially after he watched the movie ¡°Wall-E¡±¡ªhumans would eventually be fat if they did not work!

    To put it simply, he had given up on himself, and was trying to block off the beauty standards of the world with his impossible fantasies.

    He had imagined himself to be a strong and determined member of the Fatties¡¯ Club. But when he was chosen to take part in the training where he personally sent a middle-aged white man with an oily face to the heavens with his ¡°P18C of the Rain¡±, he surrendered.

    I want to be a hot and handsome guy too!

    However, in the training, it was easy to be handsome and slim down, but it was hard to continue being fat.

    If anyone saw a trainee who was not fat in the training, that person must have experienced a much more torturous life in reality than a fat person did: disabilities, congenital diseases, chronic illnesses¡­

    Nheless, those people generally did not appear in the third stage of the training, as most of them would rush back to reality to experience their changed lives after recovering their health.

    Chen Zile had encountered such people in the first stage of the training. He was a teenager from Xuan Nation who lost both his limbs in a car ident. When he was healed, he was virtually jumping and running everywhere. He hugged Chen Zile,ughing as he spoke to Chen Zile in a northeastern dialect that he could not understand. In the end, he let Chen Zile send him back to reality.

    Chen Zile asked, ¡°What if this was all fake? What would you do if you actually died after being sent to the heavens?¡±

    The teenager, who was called Da Wei,ughed and said, ¡°If I die, so be it. If that is the case, I would no longer be a burden to my parents. And if I do return, I would have perfectly functioning limbs. To me, both options are much better than being a useless person!¡±

    It really is tough for those who are disabled.

    However, it was not easy to be fat.

    Chen Zile had not thought that he would also experience the pain of being fat in the training.

    Who would have imagined that after drinking four cans of c, Chen Zile¡¯s stomach became bloated, and after eating the Fried Chicken Set, he was on the verge of vomiting? Chen Zile had vowed never to eat fried chicken ever again after leaving the training, and he would not drink the fatty¡¯s water of happiness either!

    In the previous two rounds of training, he drank 4 cans of c, 3 bars of chocte, and 2 fried chicken sets every hour on average. If Chen Zile did not have arge appetite to start with, he could well end up feeling nauseous from all the food and drinks.

    Fortunately, there was a day of rest between each stage of the training. There were entertainment facilities in the resting zone, and Chen Zile took the opportunity to go to aic book cafe to finish reading aic series that had not been fully tranted into Chinese¡ªit felt like the deities were Chinese.

    At that point in time, Chen Zile had sessfully proceeded to the third stage of the training, which was also thest stage.

    He was one of the strongest trainees who had survived the second stage as a single-person team and now possessed 7 Talents. Apart from ¡°ze¡±, which was leveled up to level 2 to enhance his vision of Voldemort, the rest was ¡°Glorious Stars¡±. Even the rewards for the first two stages of the training was ¡°Glorious Stars¡±.

    Indeed, Chen Zile mainly used the sniper recovery weapon. Although he was fat, he was not shortsighted, and his dynamic visual acuity was extremely good. He had not lost a single time in a fight against his opponents, but he had never won either¡ªhe was merely avoiding being shot.

    In addition, he had held a real gun before when he went overseas with his father. He also cosyed Counter-Strike regrly in real life and was a true military cosyer.

    Although he had managed to pass stage two because he was lucky (the Enjoyment Zone formed close to him), his technical handling ability of the weapons was in fact one of the best amongst the trainees.

    After he received the Glorious Stars Talents, Chen Zile was even stronger and more adept and sent numerous fat or disabled trainees to the skies. With his ¡°Holy Light 98K¡± equipped with a red dot sight, he managed to achieve a morous achievement of fully healing 19 people in just three circles.

    The level 5 ¡°Glorious Stars¡± Talent allowed Chen Zile¡¯s shots from his recovery sniper rifle to be unaffected by the speed of the wind, electromaic waves, and other elemental conditions. It was only affected by gravity and required virtually no time to aim and preempt.

    At present, the fourth Enjoyment Zone was about to shrink and there were 34 people left. Chen Zile stood on the edge of the circle of the Enjoyment Zone, patiently awaiting those who remained outside.

    Chen Zile¡¯s strategy of focusing on leveling up ¡°Glorious Stars¡± gave him an extreme edge over his opponents in the second, third, and fourth circle. At that time, many of the trainees would be running towards the Enjoyment Zone, and the sniper rifle had thergest advantage. However, in the fifth circle, the battlezone became too small. The distance between one another was reduced and it was the recovery assault rifle¡¯s turn to shine.

    As such, Chen Zile had to send as many trainees as possible to the skies at the start and reduce the number of trainees who remained in theter rounds. There would be a lower chance of short distance encounters and his recovery sniper rifle would still remain advantageous to him!

    Roar¨C

    It was the sound of the Great Ravenous Dragon!

    How silly, how did he dare to ride the five-seater Great Ravenous Dragon? Chen Zilong had not imagined that there would be such a fool who would do so. In ¡°Land of the Light¡±, the best form of transportation for a single person was the Lightning Wyvern. It was as fast as lightning and it was useless to aim a shot at it unless the distance was sufficiently close. The Snow Unicorn was the next best option as it was able to withstand a portion of the recovery effects.

    Even with Chen Zile¡¯s level 5 ¡°Glorious Stars¡±, he had to stand right in front of the Lightning Wyvern to stand a chance at shooting the trainee who was on it; it was otherwise impossible to do so.

    The Great Ravenous Dragon did not move slowly either, but it was virtually defenseless. Any trainee who rode on it was essentially a prominent target!

    As the footsteps of the Great Ravenous Dragon came closer, Chen Zile switched to the Holy Light 98K and waited patiently for the ¡°vehicle¡± to appear in view.

    It was now on the other side of the slope on the other mountain!

    It was about to appear!

    At that moment, Chen Zile heard the footsteps of the Great Ravenous Dragon stop.

    You were about to enter the zone, why did you stop?

    Chen Zile looked into the distance with his naked eye and was relieved¡ªthere was at least a hundred-meter distance from his position to the slope of the mountain.

    Even a fully-levelled ¡°ze¡± would not be able to see me.

    And so¡ª¡ª

    A gun sh appeared from the opposite mountain. Chen Zile then realized that his ¡°Poorly-Made Poor Quality Dragon Ritual Mask¡± quickly lighted up in mes, hail, and lightning. It transformed into a ¡°Real Dragon Ritual Mask¡±.

    But Chen Zile had not ascended to the sky yet!

    That opponent had not upgraded his recovery assault rifle, and Chen Zile¡¯s level 3 helmet was able to withstand one shot from it. His health only rose to 95%, so he could still be saved!

    Chen Zile almost instantly rolled backward, down the slope.

    The injury dealt from rolling down the slope would not activate the Protection of the Gods, and Chen Zile¡¯syer of fats acted as the best protection during that time. Within a few seconds, he reached the bottom of the slope. He hid in the bushes as a phantom tank, and began drinking c and eating fried chicken!

    However, at that moment, a Holy Grenade also rolled down from the ridge of the mountains to where Chen Zile was hiding.

    ¡°What the¨C¡± Chen Zile eximed.

    Even as Chen Zile turned into a handsome guy with four-pack abs, he could not figure out how his opponent had found out his location, and how his opponent knew that he was hiding in the bushes to recover?

    It could not have been ¡°ze¡±, for ¡°ze¡± could not take effect from such a terrifyingly great distance!

    Furthermore, the entire sequence of events took ce very quickly. Chen Zile thought about the distance from which the hand grenade was thrown and realized that his opponent must have rushed over after shooting his helmet. When his opponent reached a suitably close distance, he had then thrown the Holy Grenade from the other side of the slope, causing Chen Zile to ascend to the heavens without even finishing his fried chicken.

    Did my opponent do well?

    No, it was me who received it well.

    Rather than skill¡­ it was more justified to say that he had already known my location, preempted my reaction, and knew exactly where I was going to hide!

    It had to be made known that while Chen Zile was in hiding, he had not fired the rifle, nor did he move in his camougebat suit. He could not have been seen from that far away!

    That opponent¡¯s moves seemed to suggest that he had experienced it himself before.

    It was as if his opponent had experienced that training before, and was trying again after loading a saved game.

    As Chen Zile rose to the sky, he then decided to take thest opportunity to carve the looks of that fat trainee who had caused him to ascend to the heavens in his mind.

    That opponent¡¯s strange actions and ability to foresee the oue reminded Chen Zile of a word that had been trending on the inte.

    Furthermore, it seemed that many more strange happenings had taken ce recently, and the nation was also preparing to establish a Practitioner School, so whatever appeared would not have been extraordinary.

    Could that opponent be¡­ one of the Reborn?!

 Chapter 98 - -Why Did the Gods Speak Mandarin?

    Chapter 98: Chapter 98 -Why Did the Gods Speak Mandarin?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    May 6, 20th day of the 3rd lunar month. Auspicious day for a grand opening, residence relocation, and travel. Inauspicious day for marriage, breaking ground for tombs, and burials.

    Ren Suo arrived at the ¡°Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang¡± with his two luggage. He felt as if he had stepped into a fantasy world.

    ¡°The name of the school is too domineering¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered.

    The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was the newly-established Practitioner School of Lianjiang City. It appeared to be situated in the school district where the high school of Lianjiang University had previously been set to be located but was repurposed for the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang by the government.

    Developing upon the foundation of the high school district, the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang epassed the nearby forest and undevelopednd. The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was located near the outskirts of the city, making it seem as big as a university campus due to the extremelyrgend area it upied.

    It was obvious that the government was not satisfied with just the six hundred students in the first round of admission. The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang would likely be a Practitioner Institution that wouldprise students of all education levels, such as from the junior and senior high school level to the university level.

    Ren Suo entered the schoolpound without difficulty and managed to find the teachers¡¯ halls of residence with the assistance of the security guard. The teachers¡¯ halls of residenceprised three consecutive blocks of 11-story apartments and were located slightly further away from the ssrooms. There was a small supermarket right beside the apartments. The apartments looked quite good and were ess controlled. Ren Suo tapped his teacher¡¯s pass that Yu Kuangtu had given him and he was allowed in.

    Ren Suo stayed in apartment 402, which had two rooms and a living room, as well as a kitchen and a toilet. Any decorations had to be brought and installed by Ren Suo himself. The moment he opened the door, he saw tworge carton boxes sitting silently at the entrance.

    In the carton boxes were hisputer and a portion of his clothes. Ren Suo looked around the apartment and was extremely satisfied¡ªit was better than his uncle¡¯s apartment,plete with brand new furniture. The government had spent the money to treat them well as the pioneering batch of Practitioners with extraordinary capabilities.

    Ren Suo took out an electromaic radiation detector which he had purchased after he experienced the beneficial effects of ¡°Enhanced Physique¡± and fully believed the extraordinary capabilities of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. The electromaic radiation detector was used to detect any hidden audio-receiving headsets, wiretapped sim cards, pinhole cameras, GPS trackers or the like, and Ren Suo usually would perform a sweep in his house to check for the presence of such devices.

    It was illegal to sell wiretapping devices, but anti-wiretapping devices were widely avable.

    The shop owner who sold Ren Suo the electromaic radiation detector had made it clear that higher-quality wiretapping and spying devices had disguise capabilities and could be hard to detect. However, if he directly scanned the areas where such devices were most likely installed, any wireless transmission device would still be exposed at a sufficiently close distance regardless of its concealment ability.

    Ren Suo took a scan of his new home with the electromaic radiation detector. When he found that there was no presence of any such devices, it was as if a stone was lifted from his heart.

    It was because it gave him a greater peace of mind that he had done so. After all, he was not a key observation target and was, at most, an emergency doctor who ¡°had some talent but was of poor quality¡±. It was not worth wiretapping him¡ªdoing so would require additional manpower as well.

    An important reason why he was willing to move into the Practitioner Institution was that his safety would be the most highly assured there, as long as the government was not spying on or wiretapping him.

    It was obvious that the Practitioner Institution would definitely be a key-controlled area by the government, and any criminal would not be allowed into the area.

    Subsequently, as long as Ren Suoid low, he would be able to peacefully enjoy his time on his games.

    Ren Suo took out the Mini Worlds Gaming Console carefully and looked around the living room. He opened the bottom cab of the television cab and put the game console inside.

    There would not be any problems with a physical barrier between the game console and the television, since the game console connected to the television wirelessly.

    It was noon by the time Ren Suo finished fiddling with everything. He looked at his phone and was intending to head outside to explore any good food options, when Yu Kuangtu called unexpectedly at that time.

    ¡°You have moved into your new apartment, haven¡¯t you?¡± Yu Kuangtu asked.

    ¡°Just finished doing so,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Thework has already been set up for you beforehand, you can ess the internal forum site from there now. You would be able to submit a name list report to me before tomorrow, right?¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    ¡°What report?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    Yu Kuangtu was stunned and remained speechless for a moment. He said, ¡°Bro, your research topic is Naisser_Ren¡­ How could you not know by now what great move he had made an hour ago? I would have thought you already prepared a draft in your mind!¡±

    ¡°I was moving in for the past hour,¡± a nonchnt Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Alright, the deadline is tight this time. Submit the name list by midnight today, as the other members of the Countermeasure Division are busy solving the problems caused by the monsters¡­ Your suggestions could determine the decisions made by the Countermeasure Division. I shall not talk about other consequences, but this is more important than the ¡®Encyclopedia of Monsters¡¯, so spend more effort on it,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    It looks like there was no chance of eating at a nice restaurant anymore.

    After all, Ren Suo had to fulfill his duties as a paid worker. He shrugged and put down his mobile phone, and went to the small supermarket downstairs to buy a bowl of braised beef instant noodles and two fish sausage sticks, as well as his other daily necessities. After returning home, he set up hisputer and cooked the noodles, then began work as he ate.

    Ren Suo first opened up the GiliGili website and truly, in the list of activities of ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±, there was an exception amidst a string of new episodes of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±.

    ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle ¨C Part 1¡±.

    ¡°Eh? There¡¯s only Part 1?¡± Ren Suo said to himself. He had estimated the duration of the training and thought that the Survival Battle training had already ended, and ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± would release the full contents at once.

    Ren Suo clicked into the video and realized that ¡°Part 1¡± was 160 minutes long, longer than the total time of the first two rounds of the training.

    Once the video started, Ren Suo saw the familiar figures of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of the Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow.

    ¡°The one who emerges as a champion will be noticed by and receive the Talents of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of the Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow.¡±

    ¡°And the rest who have failed will receive our care and mercy and will have your health restored as you leave the training.¡±

    ¡°The details of the training are already in your minds.¡±

    ¡°Please feel free to soar high in the training as no one will lose anything because of it.¡±

    After the three gods spent three minutes exining the rules of the training, the training process began.

    However, the video was not just fixated on a particr training or a particr trainee. It was instead a video showing the highlights of 156 trainees!

    A plump ck girl traversed through the Land of Lava, with a submachine recovery gun in her hands, as if in a world of her own, shooting and turning other fat trainees into muscr men;

    A plump white man and his three other teammates remained low in the wilderness of the Snowy White Land, each of them throwing a Holy Grenade at the same time, sending another team of trainees who were passing by on their Pumpkin Carriage to the skies;

    An untidy and frivolous-looking middle-aged manid on the ground between the bushes in the Land of Light, each of his silenced shots sending a 7.62mm Holy Recovery Bullet at a poor soul more than 800 meters away;

    ¡­

    The video editing was amazing with grand effects like a war blockbuster movie. It portrayed the exciting process of the trainees saving one another while preserving certain snippets where trainees failed to fully heal his opponent but were instead sent to the skies in a transformed healthy body. The viewers were made to feel that the transformation from a plump man to a fit and charming guy was so simple.

    Ren Suo turned the bulletments off halfway through the video. All of the bulletments were about people ¡°wanting to join the training too and lose¡±, asking the gods to ¡°shoot me¡±, or saying, ¡°Fatties please shoot me, I will not retaliate¡±.

    As Ren Suo finished his instant noodles with the additional ingredients, the video also ended.

    The editing by ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± was simply incredible. In addition to the epic sound effects, the highlights video showed exciting moments one after another, and Ren Suo could not bear to skip any part.

    Ren Suo also saw the highlights of Zhao Zili in the video, which was the character he had controlled. However, amongst the 156 trainees, she did not stand out strikingly.

    Interestingly, Ren Suo noticed a number at the top right corner of the video, counting up from No. 1 to No. 156. Each time the trainee in focus changed, the number would also increase by one. For example, Zhao Zili¡¯s segment was No. 98.

    At thest minute of the video, the screen turned ck, and a paragraph written in differentnguages appeared.

    The Xuan Language version read:

    ¡°You have just watched the training snippets from the first and second rounds of training of the 156 trainees who made it into the third round of the training. To thank everyone around the world for your support towards ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯, as well as to fulfill the callings of the gods, there would now be a guessingpetition. Comment in thements section the trainee number whom you think will pass the third round of the training (the trainee number can be found on the top right corner of each segment). ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ will pick a lucky winner from those who guessed the trainee number correctly, and the lucky winner may receive a Recovery Set (contents to be confirmed, timing to be confirmed). Each person is only entitled to one vote, and the voting will close 24 hours after the upload time of this video.¡±

    Ren Suo could barely read English and found that the contents of the English version were almost exactly the same as the Xuan Language version, about the guessingpetition.

    Ren Suo had a sudden realization and uttered, ¡°So that¡¯s why¡­ It¡¯s no wonder Yu Kuangtu needs the information so urgently and wants me to submit the analysis report by tonight. He must have wanted to take part in the guessingpetition.¡±

    But, the reward is so mysterious.

    Thank everyone around the world for their support? Fulfill the callings of the gods? Lucky draw?

    How did ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± intend to send the prize? Wasn¡¯t he only restricted to uploading edited videos on the inte?

    Nheless, the event drew remarkable enthusiasm. On the GiliGili website alone, there were over 30 thousand pages in thements section, which amounted to over 500 thousandments¡ªand that was only the amount on one site.

    ¡°Forget it, I will know what happens in 24 hours anyway,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo created a new tab in his inte browser and entered a strange web address.

    He had remembered the web address a long time ago.

    Upon entering the website, the ount log in page was disyed. After typing in his details, a prompt appeared on the website instead:

    [Connect a microphone and camera to yourputer now. If you do not have these essories, please connect your mobile phone to yourputer with a USB cable.]

    The request was strange, but it was nheless the internal intr of the nation, so Ren Suo was not bothered by it and connected his mobile phone to hisputer.

    ¡°Face the camera directly and recite the following within 10 seconds: ¡®The boundless horizon is my love, at the foot of the continuous mountains flowers bloom¡¯.¡±

    Ren Suo blinked and thought, ¡®Isn¡¯t this a popr ¡°brainwashing¡± song that trendedst time?¡¯ But upon seeing the request, Ren Suo did not hesitate. He recited the lyrics of the song but naturally sung to its tune.

    ¡°Wee, ¡®Suo¡¯. Level 1 Researcher.¡±

    ¡°Your nickname has been automatically set as one of the words in your name. You may change your nickname, but keep the forum clean.¡±

    ¡°Based on your assigned research topic and level, you have been automatically added to the ¡®Extraordinary Phenomena¡¯ section.¡±

    Ren Suo almost did not need to take any actions on the intr, and automatically entered the corresponding discussion forum.

    He knew by now that he had to connect a camera and a microphone and recite a line from the pop song likely as part of a three-factor authentication process to confirm his identity on the intr.

    It was just that he was amazed by the technology within the intr.

    When did the web software technology of the nation develop to such a high standard? Theputation power required must be immense, no?

    How did it authenticate my identity through the camera and microphone on my mobile phone?

    Furthermore, it was just a part of the login process.

    Ren Suo suppressed his shock and amazement and looked at the messages on the forum page. As he had expected, although it was the ¡°Extraordinary Phenomena¡± section, virtually every message was discussing ¡°Naisser_Ren¡±.

    And amongst the most trending discussion, was¨C

    ¡°Why did all three gods, the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of the Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow all speak in Mandarin?¡±

    Ren Suo muttered to himself, ¡°¡­ It¡¯s because I can only understand Mandarin.¡±

 Chapter 99 - Worse Than A Pangolin

    Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Worse Than A Pangolin

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Why did the gods speak in Mandarin?

    Ren Suo pondered over the question and realized that indeed, the Master of the Holy Light, the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow, as well as the Heart of Evesting Warmth, all spoke in Mandarin in the video!

    It was just that he had been listening to Mandarin being spoken in the game previously and so did not take much notice of it.

    Now that the researches in the forum highlighted that point, Ren Suo realized how absurd the situation was.

    Furthermore, the three gods did not look like the Taoist gods, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, nor the Three Immortals of Xuan Nation. Based on their names, they appeared more like Western deities or the unknown entities of the Cthulhu Mythos.

    Ren Suo clicked into the particr discussion and found that everyone was extremely serious in their posted messages. There were no useless remarks typical of online forums, such as ¡°firstmenter¡± or ¡°made it to the first page¡±. Instead, every posted message talked about their individual theories for the three gods in the video speaking Mandarin.

    ¡°The gods may be ancient Xuan Nation people who had practiced to be so. They may well be Practitioners from the Ren family.¡±

    Thement by a level 2 researcher spoke of vast imagination and even knew how to y on hot topics.

    ¡°Naisser_Ren has uploaded so many real videos and perhaps this video serves his goal¡ªto attempt to deceive all of us that there are gods in this world. However, it would appear ¡°weird¡± regardless of thenguage spoken by those gods. True gods would be able tomunicate with humans without verbalmunication, and those gods were unable to do that, so there¡¯s a loophole here.¡±

    What the level 3 researcher said made much more sense than the previousment. Many other researchers liked his message¡ªthere was an ¡°Agree¡±, ¡°Disagree¡±, and ¡°Not helpful¡± option at the bottom right corner of each posted message, and the level 3 researcher had received 35 likes for his views.

    ¡°We need to consider this with the big picture in mind. We can say that the video from ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is fake, but what if it is real? We should analyze this across the videos he has uploaded so far.

    What was the purpose of ¡®The Hitman¡¯? It is an opening to announce and show the world that there is the existence of a mysterious force in the world.

    What about ¡®A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡¯? It uncovered and exposed a new way of Awakening to everyone. While such a method is extremely dangerous, it has indeed opened up a new path for the majority of the ordinary people.

    The ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± series has not ended and so I would not dare to say for certain that my view is urate, but the series has already shown us the attributes and trends of the moremon monsters, and the series of technologies hidden within is an even more important resource. Furthermore, ******* (only shown to level 3 researchers and above).

    Then, what about ¡®Holy Priest: Survival Battle Part 1¡¯? Did anyone realize that the people who appeared in the first three works only appeared once and never reappeared again¡ªthe ancient Ren family of Practitioners could not possibly have revived, could they? Meanwhile, the Hitman has disappeared without any trace and the ¡°Strong Warrior¡± has turned into an immortal.

    And yet in ¡®Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡¯, ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ introduced a guessingpetition. Don¡¯t be fooled by the lucky draw, realize the important hidden information within. ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is intending to announce their existence, which is to tell the whole world that an organization such as ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ exists! Those gods who spoke Mandarin would then be the puppets that ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ would push to the front line!

    The reason why they spoke in Mandarin, is likely because their first target is us, Xuan Nation!¡±

    That was thement posted by a level 4 researcher, who gained 754 likes. There must not have been many researchers who could ess the intr, considering the forum¡¯s concealment and its ess criteria. Receiving such arge number of likes meant that most of the people on the intr agreed with the researcher.

    However, as Ren Suo read through the serious and well-thought-outment, he did not know how to exin what he thought.

    I randomly picked the games and yed them in no particr order¡­

    He was amused that someone could have deduced a purpose and trend for the order of the appearance of the videos. It was solely due to the ¡°free games of the month¡±, the ¡°promotion events¡± and Ren Suo ¡°not knowing what he thought at that time either¡±.

    Nheless, there was no way anyone would believe him if Ren Suo said the truth on the forum, and could even garnerrge numbers of dislikes and ¡°not helpful¡± votes.

    Ren Suo pondered about the question and realized that he was indeed the cause of it.

    Ren Suo did not believe that the three gods could only speak Mandarin. However, although his game character ¡°Zhao Zili¡± spoke Mandarin, the trainees from other nations would naturally hear their respective nativenguages¡ªMandarin was not the universalnguage either, so there was no way trainees from other nations could continue the training if they did not understand what was being said.

    But when ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± edited the video, it was very likely that only the version that Ren Suo had yed was included and versions in othernguages were not in the video, thus resulting in such a misunderstanding.

    Ren Suo naturally could not speak the truth and gave a like to the level 4 researcher¡¯sment instead. He exited the webpage and created a new Word document. He was prepared toe up with a few ¡°reasons¡± to submit to Yu Kuangtu.

    Either way, it did not matter whether Yu Kuangtu believed him since it would eventually be revealed that Ren Suo was correct. However, he could not submit just one name, No. 98 Zhao Zili, directly, so he picked two other trainees and attributed his guess to them being ¡°intelligent, brave and decisive¡± and ¡°extremely lucky¡±, as well as other adjectives to describe them.

    Having picked three out of 156 of the trainees, of which one of the three would emerge as the champion, the analysis should be sufficiently substantial, no?

    By the time Ren Suo finished making up reasons for his choices, it was almost 2 p.m. He nned to submit the report only at 11 p.m., else Yu Kuangtu would think that he was not serious in his work.

    It was now time to test out the controble Reiki-gathering equipment.

    Ren Suo walked out of the bedroom into the living room. He saw a strange button on the wall, and there was even an electronic disy above the button.

    ¡°Reiki level: 2.3¡±

    Ren Suo pressed the button, and ten secondster, the disy changed to ¡°Reiki level: 18.9¡±. At the same time, the floor of an empty area in the living lit up with white light.

    That was the controble Reiki-gathering equipment that the government wanted to install even though they had to dy the opening of the school by one week so that the teachers and students could Practice in a Reiki-saturated environment.

    Then, Ren Suo retrieved a peculiar object from his luggage.

    It was a rare object he bought from the Jianji Noodles Stall for 60 dors¨C

    An oldmp holder that was said to have been used for thirty years!

    Ren Suo hugged themp holder as he stepped into the lighted area in the living room. He activated ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± as he held onto themp holder and Practiced as he sat in a cross-legged lotus position. But even after Practicing for three hours, he had to admit.

    There was no effect at all.

    Ren Suo scratched his head as he muttered to himself, ¡°It seems like the ability to absorb Reiki from old objects is only possible in the game. However, in terms of old objects, the most ancient of all would be the jade pendant, but that is not a tangible object¡­¡±

    When equipped with the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of the Luo River, Ren Suo did not need to be essorized with the jade pendant to activate the ability of it. When it was activated, a tattoo resembling the jade pendant would appear on a part of his body.

    It was naturally very convenient, but after Ren Suo realized the ability to absorb Reiki of objects in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, he no longer considered the other strong props of the game console.

    Nheless, the controble Reiki-gathering equipment was rtively useful, even though it could notpare to the training facility. But it was sufficient for Ren Suo.

    The only drawback was that he would be charged for the duration that the controble Reiki-gathering equipment was used, so Ren Suo immediately turned it off after he finished Practicing. Although the equipment was free, there was a limit to the duration it could be used each month, so it should only be used when he was most energized, to make the most out of his money.

    Ren Suo could not help but remark, ¡°If only I could absorb Reiki just like in the game.¡±

    If everyone Practiced the same way, Ren Suo would not havemented so. However, he knew that the pangolin in the game could Practice so easily as if it was robbing objects of Reiki. The difference between the two methods was so vastly different that he could not help butment that¡ª

    I am worse than a pangolin!

 Chapter 100 - The Hopes of the Pangolin

    Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Hopes of the Pangolin

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Huo Liang asked. He looked at the pangolin with tears welling up in hisrge sparkling eyes.

    Five days had gone by in the game and although the pangolin had not managed to help Huo Liang be stronger, it had given him the resolve to be stronger¡ªthe trio of hooligan-like students had not dared to go to school ever since they were bitten by the pangolin.

    And on the third day, the pangolin suddenly opened its mouth to speak, giving Huo Liang a shock.

    ¡°You have not even memorized the form to calcte the volume of a cone?¡±

    ¡°The phrase ¡®the mountain ind stands tall¡¯ is preceded by ¡®Even as water surges¡¯!¡±

    ¡°The cost of the shirt is 9 pounds and 15 pence! The answer is C!¡±

    Hiding in Huo Liang¡¯s bag, the pangolin could only be heard by Huo Liang himself. It was coincidentally the month exam before the end of the term that few days. With the pangolin, Huo Liang was able to cheat and breeze through paper after paper at an incredible speed.

    But after the examination ended, the pangolin said, ¡°You¡¯re doomed!¡±

    ¡°If you do badly in the end-of-term examination but was able to do so well in this month¡¯s examination, your teacher is definitely going to use you of cheating! When that happens you won¡¯t be able to defend yourself! Even breathing is a sin for those who do badly!¡±

    Huo Liang was slightly taken aback and asked, ¡°What should I do now?¡±

    ¡°I will guide you these two days, if you don¡¯t learn well, haha, prepare for your doom!¡± the pangolin said.

    In the following two days, Huo Liang studied under the guidance of the pangolin. He did not have a tutor before and did not dare to ask questions in school either, nor did he have many friends whom he could consult with, resulting in him umting many misconceptions and knowledge gaps. After they were rified by the pangolin, he felt enlightened, as if he had awakened from a dream.

    After school that day, Huo Liang ran home and attempted three sets of mock examination papers in two hours, under the supervision of the pangolin. They were the three main subjects.

    ¡°You are actually quite bright,¡± the pangolin said.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s the way, just as I thought.¡±

    ¡°Youpleted the papers quite quickly. Alright, only these two questions are wrong, be careful the next time. But on the whole, your result is quite good.¡±

    Huo Liang looked at the pangolin reviewing his papers on the table and giving itsments. He was extremely delighted as he received back his papers and made corrections. Then, he heard the pangolin saying, ¡°I am leaving.¡±

    Huo Liang was shocked and said, ¡°But, but I have not be stronger¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool, did I ever agree to your request? I only stayed these few days to repay you for themp holder,¡± the pangolin replied.

    Looking at Huo Liang about to burst out in tears on the screen, Ren Suo thought about it and entered in the dialogue box: ¡°Sigh, I am actually just a thief who stole a precious treasure from the Deities¡¯ Pce. I finally managed to return to reality but was turned into a pangolin. If I stay here any longer, the Pce guards would soon catch on and you would be implicated.¡±

    The best excuse for a child like Huo Liang was none other than saying that ¡°It¡¯s for your best benefit that I am leaving because I don¡¯t want to implicate you¡±. As to why Ren Suo said the Deities¡¯ Pce¡­ it was just because he remembered that he once made up a story about such an extraordinary force.

    ¡°I am not afraid!¡± Huo Liang said without hesitation.

    ¡°What about your mother? Do you want to drag your mother into this as well?¡± Ren Suo replied through the dialogue box.

    Huo Liang remained silent.

    ¡°Study well. I am not a human after all and do not have any abilities that I can impart to you. But as long as you continue to work hard, perhaps¡­ there would not be any significant use.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let your imagination run wild, there is no such easy way out in life.¡±

    As Ren Suo typed the above line, he subconsciously looked at the cab with the Mini Worlds Gaming Console inside.

    ¡°I am leaving now. If I manage to survive, I will visit you again.¡±

    Without letting Huo Liang stop him from its great mission of devouring Reiki, the pangolin left the housing estate without hesitation.

    After all, all of the Reiki items in the estate had been devoured of all their Reiki.

    Over thest five days, Ren Suo had found a total of 91 objects with scarce Reiki content and 13 objects with moderately little Reiki content in the housing estate. In addition to the floor tile he had gotten from the female toilet previously, the pangolin had evolved 16 times!

    Not allmp holders had decent amounts of Reiki in them, and whether it would be a Reiki object was dependent on luck¡ªthe luck of the antique.

    But over ten peculiar cases of theft and loss of property were reported in the district, and posters urging people to ¡°protect against fire, theft, and vagrants¡± had emerged on the ground level of the buildings. The people in the district must have thought that some homeless person had appeared who was going around stealing weird objects.

    However, Ren Suo did not proceed to the second old district as the side goal either. He had only stayed for one more day because of Huo Liang¡ªthe homework of a second-year junior high school student only required one extra day of guidance.

    Furthermore, as the pangolin grew stronger, more Reiki was needed to evolve. After it finished absorbing the Reiki in that district, Ren Suo realized that objects with moderately little Reiki were also no longer very beneficial to the pangolin.

    He needed to find and devour the Reiki of objects with higher Reiki content.

    The pangolin leaped off the edge of the fourth level of the building, and a meaty pair of wings emerged from its body¡ª

    It was ¡°Bat Wings¡±, a rare evolution whose ability card was red with blue words.

    The pangolinnded gracefully on the floor and its body was already changing based on the environment. It was not exactly simr to the environment but looked more like a smudge on the ground. No matter where it was, it would not draw the attention of people and would not be stepped on either. Moreover, when it moved, the appearance of the smudge would change rapidly ording to the changing environment. Ren Suo had not let the pangolin be invisible, but rather less ¡°eye-catching¡±.

    It was ¡°Blend-in Smudge+¡±, a rare evolution whose ability card was red with blue words and was a result of the ability of the floor tile from the female toilet.

    The pangolin arrived at a public bus stop and waited for 3 minutes before going onto city bus number 8. Ren Suo fast-forwarded the game by 1 hour and 30 minutes, and the pangolin arrived at Anshun West High-Speed Railway Station.

    After looking at the lighted circuit boards in the main hall, Ren Suo realized that there was indeed no direct high-speed rail connection to Lianjiang. He had already checked beforehand in real life and had expected it to be the same in the game.

    Should I let the pangolin take a special trip to Lianjiang?

    Ren Suo looked at the 336bat points of the pangolin. Afterparing it to the 46832bat points of the strongest yer in the world, Ren Suo dismissed that idea.

    He did not have much time to waste.

    Furthermore, if the pangolin traveled the Lianjiang, it was highly likely that it would see a Ren Suo who was ying games on the game console anyway.

    Would he believe it then? Or would he not believe it?

    Unless the events in the game took ce tens of yearster, there was no point in making the pangolin travel to Lianjiang. Ren Suo himself could predict what would happen to him ten dayster or tens of dayster¡ªthe future of ordinary people like him was predictable as such.

    It was fortunate that Ren Suo noticed a train that was about to depart Anshun West station and controlled the pangolin to dash immediately towards the gates.

    The security checks at the gates were meant for humans and not pangolins, and the pangolin managed to hide and pass through the checks into the waiting area as a smudge on the ground without much difficulty. The only problem was that the ticket gate was too narrow and there was only space for one person to walk through.

    As such, the pangolin said to the ticket inspector, ¡°Hey, guess who I am?¡±

    It was ¡°Telepathy¡±, an evolution whose card was red with yellow words. It allowed the pangolin tomunicate its thoughts directly to another life form without ¡°speaking¡±¡ªin the game, the effect was effectively a one-way dialogue box.

    It was one of the two ability cards of the pangolin that were yellow-worded, and Ren Suo had not selected it because he wanted to guide Huo Liang in his work, but because it was an effective and useful ability in many situations, includingmunicating, disrupting, and scaring.

    Any person who heard the ¡°voice¡± would be extremely suspicious as the ¡°voice¡± produced by the ability had no particr direction and no one would imagine that a pangolin that they could not see was essentially speaking to them. For example, an extremely bold hooligan was scared to his wits after the pangolin cornered him into an alley and even wet his pants after hearing the ¡°voice¡±.

    When the ticket inspector heard the ¡°voice¡±, he was stunned momentarily and looked around. At the same time, the pangolin used ¡°Afterimage¡± and slipped through the gate in a whoosh. After waiting for a while, it got inside the high-speed train!

    Ren Suo fast-forwarded the game by 10 hours and 30 minutes. As the sky began to light up the next day, the pangolin finally arrived at the ce where Ren Suo thought had the most Reiki objects¡ª

    Tianjing City, the capital of Xuan Nation!

    In fact, Ren Suo had never been to Tianjiang City. The ces of interest in Tianjing City were extremely crowded during the holidays and his friends who had been there before all advised him¨C

    ¡°Don¡¯t go there.¡±

    That time, however, he had controlled the pangolin to Tianjing City on the legendary high-speed train, without needing to squeeze with the crowd or spend too much time himself. But the most important thing to do was still to level up as fast as possible. After just one night, the strongest yer in the world had gained another 1000bat points!

    Ren Suo more or less understood the mechanics of thebat score. The ws of the pangolin were now able to dig through concrete and crush metal cans, and it would only suffer from moderate injuries when it was hit by a car traveling at 60 km/h (of course, this was also due to its 15yers of defense armor) while needing only 1 hour to fully recover from its injuries. However, itsbat power was still merely 336 points.

    As such, Ren Suo suspected that thebat power of adult humans was likely 100, and 100bat points would be the benchmark. Although the pangolin was still a pangolin, its bite strength, movement ability, defense, and recovery ability was far stronger than humans, and could well be the king of the pangolins.

    But that was not of any use either, for the goal of the game was not to win against the BOSS but to find ways to be the strongest in the world.

    The present difficulty was that the various attributes of the pangolin was almost at its maximum. For example, its recovery ability was already at a maximum of 150 points.

    150 recovery points could be equivalent to 1.5 times the recovery ability of humans, but to the pangolin, it was 10 times its usual recovery ability. An average pangolin was, after all, only 2 kg, and Ren Suo¡¯s pangolin character was merely 4.5 kg, which was just a tenth of an average adult female human.

    After one of the pangolin¡¯s attributes reached its maximum, a hint appeared in the attributes column:

    [Maximum value: ¡®Super-evolution¡¯ would definitely be evoked during the next evolution.]

    Ren Suo was extremely eager to find out what changes the super-evolution would bring for the pangolin.

    But he still had to find Reiki objects and absorb the Reiki in them.

    Ren Suo pressed R3 and entered the Reiki vision mode. In an instant, the entire screen turned yellow.

    After a few seconds, the screen returned to normal, and it was then that Ren Suo suddenly realized that light beams of Reiki which pierced through the clouds were everywhere in Tianjing City.

    The pangolin moved to a taller building. Ren Suo used his mobile phone to find out the location of that building the pangolin was on, muttering, ¡°The KFC stall beside Tianjing West Station¡­ Found it.¡±

    ¡°Directly east, 7 kilometers away¡­ Yes, that should be the Pce Museum.¡±

    ¡°Directly north, 10 kilometers away¡­ That should be the Summer Pce.¡±

    At that time, the sky was already bright. Suddenly, a golden-colored beam of light emerged from somewhere further than the Pce Museum. It exploded into crimson-red streaks and virtually shrouded the entirend. The entire screen was now crimson-red in color.

    Ren Suo was taken aback and thought for a moment that the game had turned into a horror game.

    After a few minutes, the crimson-red color slowly converged together and disappeared. The light beam that was even farther east than the Pce Museum appeared to have be thicker by a few centimeters.

    ¡°That terrifying Reiki light beam should not be the Pce Museum, no?¡± Ren Suo said as he looked at the time in the game, 04:51.

    Without any doubt, the explosion of Reiki moments ago must have been due to some event.

    If it was not that it was so coincidental that the pangolin had encountered a sudden event, it must be that there would be such events urring daily in Tianjing city.

    In that direction, at that time, the most likely event would be¡­

    ¡°The g-raising ceremony?¡±

    Ren Suo blinked and muttered to himself, ¡°In that case, the Reiki streaks that virtually covered Tianjing City in its entirety, could it really be¡­¡±

 Chapter 101 - â€“ Reiki Treasure

    Chapter 101: Chapter 101 ¨C Reiki Treasure

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°So it was really this¡­¡±

    The pangolin stopped when it arrived at the foot of the mountain. The path in front was closed and there was an invisible barrier preventing the pangolin from entering. Moreover, the steps were sparkling clean, rendering the pangolin¡¯s smudge ability ineffective.

    The ¡°Reiki Vision¡± could not be activated either for there was no other effect than turning the entire screen a golden color. There wererge throngs of people visiting the site at the bottom of the mountain and Ren Suo realized that almost all 15yers of defense armor of the pangolin had been stepped on and destroyed by humans.

    The defense armor was actually simr to ¡°Clothes¡± and was an additionalyer of protection over the physical body made of special energy. However, since the pangolin was able to choose ¡°Strong Fist¡± in its first evolution and receive 15yers of defense armor, the defense armor was actually not very strong even though it appeared impressive¡ª

    Oneyer was destroyed each time the pangolin was stepped on by people.

    In the chaos of the crowd, Ren Suo heard people on the screen shouting after they stepped on the pangolin, ¡°Who brought their dog here! Quickly carry your dog!¡±¡±Wow, wow, wow, what is that hard thing crawling on the ground?¡±

    Ren Suo had no choice but to let the pangolin continue receiving damage from being stepped on by people, and it even received minor damage by the time it was able to break out of the crowd to the edge of the forbidden area. That was the edge where people were crowding around, and the pangolin would not be stepped on. It was also not surprising at all for a smudge to be on the ground at that position.

    That was also the first time that Ren Suo saw one of the world¡¯s best sights and confirmed that such was the strongest Reiki object in Tianjing City¡ªit might even be the strongest one in Xuan Nation.

    The mountain was located in the east of Tianjing City, or perhaps it could be said that Tianjing City was built by the mountain. It was not a huge mountain, and it looked like an unwrapped salty glutinous rice dumpling. There was almost no gravel on the slopes of the mountain. It had been cleaned and maintained in a pristine condition since generations and dynasties ago. Illuminated by the golden light of the sun, the mountain appeared as clean and as smooth as white jade.

    Looking up from the bottom of the steps, the light appeared to be guided by the skies to the summit of the mountain. The glimmering sunlight seemed to concentrate at the summit of the mountain miraculously due to the mountain¡¯s shape, as if orange-colored mes were burning at its summit. It was a spectacr sight.

    That was the Volcano of Legacies, the greatest wonder of the world in Xuan Nation, a result of thebination of nature and the wisdom of the workers across generations and dynasties together.

    The Volcano of Legacies was an extinct volcano but had erupted numerous times in the long past. Its shape was eventually reduced to that of a regr mountain over many eruptions while the mes andva zed its sides. Before the Common Era, people had already discovered the uniqueness and beauty of the extinct volcano, and willingly repaired the jade-white and ss-like slopes of the mountain.

    After clearing nearly all gravel and rocks off the sides of the mountain, extraordinary reflections of light urred. Sunlight was clearly reflected numerous times on the sides of the mountain and eventually converged at the crater of the volcano, forming an illusion of mes at its summit, as if it was a miraculous sight.

    The volcano was hence respected and called a miraculous mountain across the ages and dynasties. After Xuan Nation was established, it was officially named the Volcano of Legacies.

    It was just that Ren Suo had never imagined that a naturalndscape like that could also be a Reiki object.

    After all, the entire naturalndscape was too big¡­

    It was not possible for the pangolin to remain on the mountain and absorb its Reiki, even if Ren Suo wanted to do so. The golden Reiki beam at the foot of the Volcano of Legacies that was within the forbidden area was almost solidified. Ordinary people could enter and exit the area at will, but for a half-extraordinary creature like the pangolin, it was as if a wall was blocking it.

    Furthermore, the Volcano of Legacies was too clean and the pangolin would be easily spotted if it slipped in¡ªthere were tens of thousands of people there.

    What should I do? Should I just give up?

    Ren Suo was not one to give up so easily. Instead, he let the pangolin remain at that position for 5 minutes, when the ¡°Reiki Vision¡± was activated automatically.

    [You have discovered the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation!]

    [Do you wish to activate the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation? You may activate the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation before the stipted time. As a reward, you may then receive specialized evolutionary abilities.]

    [Caution: After activating the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, there will be a series of unexpected consequences.]

    [Caution: After activating the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, you will be able to receive a ¡®Legendary Evolution¡¯.]

    [Caution: The Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation can be automatically activated in the next 200 ~ 400 days.]

    [Volcano of Legacies]

    [Reiki content: ???]

    [Time required to activate: 6 times of 12 hours each]

    [City/Country: ???]

    [Warding Evil: ???]

    Ren Suo blinked, and naturally chose to activate the Reiki Treasure.

    It was just a game anyway, what was there to be scared of? There would be dire consequences? If that¡¯s the case¡­ I shall just start a new savefile.

    During the activation period, the pangolin had to remain in contact with the Reiki beam of the Volcano of Legacies. That was not a problem, but instead that after each activation period of 12 hours, an explosion like the one Ren Suo saw during the g-raising ceremony earlier on in the morning would ur. When that happened, half the city would be lit in a crimson-red color, and the Reiki energy from the Volcano of Legacies would radiate across half of the city.

    Ren Suo fast-forwarded the game by 12 hours, then saw the pangolin¡¯s health dropping in the crimson-red air in the dark night due to a curse¡ª

    There was originally no ¡°curse¡± mechanism in the game, but when the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation erupted, a simr effect forcefully affected all unorthodox living creatures¡ªthe pangolin¡¯s recovery ability was suppressed to -15 points, and it was quickly being weakened towards its death even as it stayed put without doing anything!

    In the pangolin¡¯s field of view, even without ¡°Reiki vision¡±, strange arcs of red-colored light were visible in the night sky, simr to the auroras that appeared in the pr regions.

    The streaks of red light epassed an extremely huge area and covered almost the entire Tianjing City. When the pangolin ran out, many people wereing out of the houses onto the streets and taking images of the sky with their mobile phones.

    After running for half an hour, the pangolin was outside the crimson-red zone. Ren Suo fast-forwarded the game to the next afternoon and it was only then that the eruption of the Volcano of Legacies ended. Thereafter, Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to sneak back into the area.

    However, the nearby area surrounding the Volcano of Legacies was now blocked by colored three-meter-tall steel fences, as if surrounding a construction site.

    There was a sign on the fence that read: ¡°The Volcano of Legacies is undergoing urgent maintenance works. We seek your understanding for the inconvenience.¡±

    The duration of the maintenance and when the site would reopen was not mentioned.

    It did not take a genius to know that it was not a mere coincidence that maintenance began just the day after the pangolin had activated the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation in the Volcano of Legacies.

    It had to be that the nation¡¯s Practitioner department of that time had detected the source of the extraordinary natural phenomenon the day before. It came from the Volcano of Legacies. As such, they had urgently locked the area down within just half a day.

    Ren Suo did not dare to risk letting the pangolin into the area. The smudge camouge was not capable of doing anything and everything. If there were infrared thermosensors installed inside, the pangolin would be easily spotted.

    The game was autosaving, and while the pangolin could deal with ordinary people, it would not be possible to win in a fight against the military or Practitioners. Based on the current ability of the pangolin, Ren Suo would then have no choice but to restart the game.

    Since he could not clear the stage, he naturally had to return and level up before trying again. There were countless Reiki objects and museums in Tianjing City. Ren Suo found a museum with a slightly smaller Reiki beam and controlled the pangolin to enter.

    Ren Suo was not very worried whether other people would find out about the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, since the game had already made it clear that ¡°You may activate the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation before the stipted time. As a reward, you may then receive specialized evolutionary abilities¡±, which seemed like a reward only the game character was entitled to.

    Furthermore, even if it were discovered by other people, could the pangolin stop them from activating it with his small arm?

    Nheless, security was tight inside the Tianjing Museum. Expensive exhibits were also separated a distance away by a ss panel, of course. Unless Ren Suo wanted the pangolin to be finished and cooked as a dish, there was no way the pangolin could break the ss ande into contact with the exhibits, and naturally, it could not absorb its Reiki.

    Ren Suo searched for a while in real life and found a decent target.

    Within the Imperial College Museum, there was a congregation of tombstonesprising 189rge stone tablets, each engraved with Confucian ssics. They were not highly protected, and even if it were, it would not be behind a ss panel. Not many people visited the museum usually either, so the pangolin would not be discovered easily, disguised as a smudge on the ground.

    The Reiki beam inside the museum was much smaller than other museums, but while some of the stone tablets had ¡°scarce¡± Reiki content, there were some with ¡°little¡± Reiki content. There were even a few stone tablets with ¡°moderate¡± Reiki content. After a short span of one day umting the Reiki, the pangolin absorbed the Reiki of the 65 stone tablets with the most Reiki content and underwent 4 evolutions!

    Of the 4 evolutions, the most important one was naturally the first, with the ¡°Super-evolution¡± as a result of the maxed out attribute!

 Chapter 102 - Upgraded Reiki Vein

    Chapter 102: Chapter 102 ¨C Upgraded Reiki Vein

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The evolution card ¡°Cloak¡± was blue with red words. Its effect was: doubles the number ofyers of protective armor on the user.

    The evolution card ¡°Strike¡± was grey with red words. Its effect was: an active ability that allows a critical hit on a specified target, and guarantees an attack on the target¡¯s weak area. Cooldown time is 60 seconds.

    Finally, there was naturally a super-evolution card¡ª

    ¡°Personify¡±, a colorless evolution card. Its effect was: allows creatures to imitate humans; increases the upper limit of ability attributes to the human level. The yer may switch between ¡°true body¡± and ¡°human form¡± at will, with each conversion taking 10 seconds and having a cooldown time of 12 hours.

    It was the first time that Ren Suo saw such a colorless card, and also a super-evolution card.

    There was no doubt that ¡°Personify¡± seemed to be a decent ability, but the upper limit of human abilities was actually not extremely powerful in nature. If there were other types of super-evolution abilities like ¡°Tiger Mimic¡± or ¡°Whale Mimic¡±, the increased ability attributes could then be considered extraordinary.

    However, those ¡°beast¡± forms would not be any more practical in the city than the pangolin itself in its original form. As such, Ren Suo hesitated no further and selected ¡°Personify¡±.

    ¡°Personify¡± was of little to no help to the pangolin at the beginning. The only benefit was that the upper limit of the pangolin¡¯s attributes increased, and when Ren Suo chose to evolve abilities like ¡°ws and Fangs¡± and ¡°Fortify¡± in the future, the pangolin would be able to continue growing stronger.

    Moreover, Ren Suo had gradually discovered the true might of the pangolin. At present, its physical capabilities were quite simr to that of strong human athletes. However, its body was so small, which meant that its reaction speed and individual destructive power were far beyond that of humans. It would not even receive much damage from bashing through cement walls.

    All but one of the subsequent evolution cards were unremarkable. It was an ordinary evolution card with a surprisingly practical benefit¡ª

    ¡°Cold-Blooded Animal¡±, a red evolution card with grey words. Its effect was: the user may switch from being a warm-blooded animal to being a cold-blooded animal. The internal temperature of a cold-blooded animal would be absolutely consistent with the temperature of the surrounding environment. When resting in a warm area, the recovery ability of the user would be increased by 30%.

    With ¡°Blend-in Smudge¡± and ¡°Cold-Blooded Animal¡±, Ren Suo could finally continue opening the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation with little worry. At most, in times of danger, he could simply use ¡°Afterimage¡±.

    The only problem was that ¡°Afterimage¡± should not be used more than once consecutively. The personnel near the Volcano of Legacies would definitely sense that something was amiss the moment ¡°Afterimage¡± was used, so Ren Suo would definitely not want to risk the safety of the pangolin unless he was sufficiently confident.

    The pangolin climbed over the 3-meter-tall colored metal fence easily. Many schrs, personnel d in ck vests, military personnel, and rows of tents appeared on the screen. Various equipment were seen inside the tents, and they appeared to make up a temporary research center.

    The personnel on-site did not step onto the upper slopes of the volcano in order not to damage the jade white appearance of the volcano but instead conducted observations from outside the cordon line.

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to reach the edge of the Reiki beam carefully and fast-forward the game by 2 hours. The second activation of the Reiki Treasure waspleted, and another red lotus shower of lights appeared over the skies of Tianjing City.

    Instantly, a hugemotion was heard from the temporary research center. Many equipment were sounding and the personnel d in the ck vests and schrs gathered beside the Volcano of Legacies. The pangolin took the opportunity to slip away and returned to the Imperial College Museum to continue absorbing Reiki from the gravestones.

    After the third, fourth, and fifth activations of the Volcano of Legacies, the temporary research center grew bigger and bigger, and the number of equipment and instruments increased. However, they still had not figured out that all of the Reiki explosions were rted to a small animal.

    More foreigners appeared in the vicinity of the tourist viewing area surrounding the Volcano of Legacies. It appeared that in just a few days, the red lotus light showers had be a rare astronomy urrence and attracted the attention of many countries.

    Ren Suo rubbed his palms as he activated the Reiki Treasure for thest time. He watched as the pangolin remained hidden under the bright light of the sun at noon, and made contact with the Reiki beam of the Volcano of Legacies.

    Fast-forward to two hours!

    The scene changed from day to night, and when the fast-forwarding ended, the sky on the screen was no longer red.

    Instead, light streaks greeted his eyes and looking up, meteor showers covered the night sky!

    From within the crater of the Volcano of Legacies, dazzling arrays of golden-colored stardust scattered in all directions, lighting up the night sky like a day. It was as if the legacies of the troops who fought on the battlefield were reignited once again!

    [You have activated the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation .]

    [Grade of the Reiki Vein of Xuan Nation +1.]

    [The chances of Awakening of ordinary people in Xuan Nation has increased.]

    [Practitioners of Xuan Nation who were Practicing during the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation would very likely receive benefits from the Reiki vein.]

    [The Reiki energy in the world has risen slightly.]

    [Due to the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, the other 11 Reiki Treasures of the world would also be activated automatically in 30 days.]

    [You have received 15 Evolutions as a reward.]

    A long chain of messages scrolled past, and then the entire screen suddenly froze. The clock on the upper right corner of the screen also paused.

    [You have received one Legendary Evolution!]

    On the screen, the golden dazzle of the Volcano of Legacies slowly shrunk, bing smaller and smaller until it turned into a painting, and fused into the back of a crimson-red card.

    [You have received the Crimson-Red Legendary Card: Unending Legacy.]

    The crimson-red legendary card turned to reveal its front: a depiction of a right arm dripping with blood with the fist clenched tightly, the blood dripping from the wound onto the neat pages of a book below, turning the text into a deep red color.

    [Unending Legacy: An active ability that enables the All-Devouring Soul to inherit a creature whose will is far lower than itself. The inheritor will be able to evolve the same number of times that the original creature had undergone, but the evolution abilities would not be inherited directly (the crimson-red legendary card would bepletely inherited).

    The inheritor would be able to select the same number of evolution cards as the evolution count from a pool of cards, amounting to 3 times the evolution count. The cooldown time is 72 hours.]

    It appeared that ¡°Unending Legacy¡± was the only legendary evolution card with no other options to choose from.

    However, Ren Suo did not have any time to study the ability further, for that legendary evolution card was different from ordinary evolution cards. Ordinary evolutions would only be known to the pangolin itself, but the moment the legendary card was invoked, a crimson-red star shower shot out from the crater of the Volcano of Legacies right towards the location of the concealed pangolin.

    That was too obvious!

    Ren Suo immediately activated ¡°Afterimage¡±, and ran like the wind!

    ¡°Catch it!¡±

    Although the pangolin was already running at an extremely fast speed, the speed of the personnel d in ck vests was not slow either!

    Several groups of personnel d in the ck vests ran as they prepared their guns. With superb marksmanship even while running, they shot the pangolin with great uracy!

    How were the capabilities of the personnel of the Countermeasure Division of Tianjing City high?!

    Ren Suo had finally been able to equip the pangolin with evolutionary armor, but even the 60yers of armor on the pangolin were no match for the bullets, and theyers disintegrated instantly!

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    Although Ren Suo did not know why they would coax a pangolin to surrender, he had no intention to reason with them¡ªthey were, after all, a different species from the pangolin.

    Even if he let the pangolin surrender, Tianjing City would definitely ce the pangolin under arrest until the truth of the Volcano of Legacies was revealed.

    But the problem now was that Ren Suo did not have so much time for the pangolin to waste in the game.

    That was because after he activated the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, thebat score of the world¡¯s strongest creature as indicated on the upper right corner of the screen had soared by more than 10,000!

    It was already 615,000 points!

    It was only then when Ren Suo understood what the game hint meant when it said that the activation of the Reiki Treasure would ¡°lead to a series of unpredictable consequences¡±.

    After the activation of the Reiki Treasure, the character Ren Suo controlled would get a chance to strengthen greatly, but the strongest soul in the world would also benefit from it!

    For the All-Devouring Soul to find and obtain Reiki, it was actually both plunder and opening of Reiki sources!

 Chapter 103 - The Elf Protection Act

    Chapter 103: Chapter 103 ¨C The Elf Protection Act

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The pangolin had not managed to lose the ck-vested troops chasing behind even after dashing into Northern Mang Forest Nature Reserve!

    But Ren Suo could understand why that was so.

    After all, the troops who were chasing after his pangolin character were also pangolins¡ªbut in human form.

    They had a t but long tail that grazed the ground, their backs were arched like a hunched person, and they had a brown, scaly appearance. Their heads were cone-shaped, their eyes small, mouth sharp, and tongues long. Their appearances were as ordinary as a typical pangolin, with two rows of white, sharp-like teeth, and tight, muscr abdomen. Their thighs and arms were extremely muscr and they were not to be messed with.

    However, they looked just like humans, with thin and long limbs, running wildly on the street!

    The reason why that happened was due to the events for the past 1 hour in the game.

    At that time, the pangolin had just ignited the Volcano of Legacies but was discovered by humans. Ren Suo activated ¡°Afterimage¡± in the fastest time possible and controlled the pangolin to escape as fast as possible.

    He was, in fact, about to seed in the escape. Although the personnel of the Countermeasure Division were almost catching up to the pangolin, Ren Suo had activated ¡°Afterimage¡± three consecutive times and maintained the pangolin¡¯s immense speed from the beginning. The personnel of the Countermeasure Division who were chasing the pangolin must have utilized a special ability to have been able to catch up with the pangolin.

    Ren Suo would have conceded if that ability was longsting, but fortunately, it was not. As such, the personnel of the Countermeasure Division were left behind when ¡°Afterimage¡± was activated for the third time, and they could no longer catch up with it.

    However, there was a price to pay for activating ¡°Afterimage¡± consecutively. After using ¡°Afterimage¡±, the pangolin would fall into exhaustion and 60 minutes were required for it to recover.

    After the first activation of ¡°Afterimage¡±, the pangolin had already fallen into exhaustion. There was no problem in activating ¡°Afterimage¡± for a second time under such a condition, but the length of time required to recover was increased, not just twice, but thrice.

    After activating the ability the second time, the recovery time from exhaustion was increased to 180 minutes, or 3 hours.

    After activating the ability the second time, the recovery time from exhaustion was increased to 540 minutes, or 9 hours.

    In that case, after activating ¡°Afterimage¡± thrice in a row, was the pangolin able to escape to a safe area?

    The answer was a grim no!

    The pangolin had widened the distance between it and the personnel of the Countermeasure Division, and then hid in a small alley while activating ¡°Smudge Camouge¡± and ¡°Cold-Blooded¡±.

    However, when Ren Suo attempted to fast-forward the game by 9 hours to let the pangolin recover from its exhaustion, only 36 minutes passed in the game when the fast-forwarding was disrupted.

    That was because on both ends of the alleyway that the pangolin was hiding in were two personnel of the Countermeasure Division! Although it could not be seen on the screen, Ren Suo felt that personnel from the Countermeasure Division were also in the buildings on both sides!

    How did they discover the pangolin¡¯s location?

    The pangolin had perfectly blended into the environment in terms of body heat and appearance. Based on the presently avable technology, it was quite unlikely for them to have found the pangolin so quickly.

    Could the Countermeasure Division have abilities like ¡°Reiki Vision¡± as well?

    But even if they did, they should have searched area by area, and not nk that area like they were doing!

    Their ability was way better than what Ren Suo had expected. It was unlikely to have been the typical power of the Countermeasure Division, or they would have found the pangolin in less than 36 minutes.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°It must have been done with an Awakened Ability that was able to find out the target¡¯s location through certain preserved information. Or perhaps it is a high-level ability that is extremely difficult to cast and is only able to be utilized by high-level Practitioners. I just don¡¯t know which kind it is.¡±

    He was easily not far from the truth.

    But the problem at present was how the pangolin would escape.

    He had used up the maximum number of times ¡°Afterimage¡± could be activated. Under normal circumstances, the pangolin could run faster than ordinary humans, even without ¡°Afterimage¡±. However, the pangolin was in an exhausted state with all attributes weakened by 25%, and Ren Suo was fully confident that the pangolin would not be able to outrun the Practitioners d in the ck vests who were surrounding it.

    As such, Ren Suo activated the 15 evolutions at that position, hoping that they would be helpful.

    ¡°Fortified Defense¡±, ¡°ws and Fangs¡±, ¡°Shadow y¡± (increases the Evasion of any directional attacks by 3%), ¡°Impregnable Metal Wall¡± (increases theyers of Defense armor by 30), ¡°Cloak¡±, ¡°Sprinter¡± (increases Movement by 30), ¡°Dash¡± (doubles Movement), ¡°Dash¡±¡­

    Evolving 15 times at once felt indescribably amazing for Ren Suo as he saw the pangolin¡¯s various attributes increase dramatically. If the attributes of an ordinary person was indeed 100 each, then Ren Suo was about to create a monster far stronger than humans.

    As escaping was of utmost importance at that point in time, Ren Suo chose to boost the pangolin¡¯s attributes for survival. After all, just based on the evolution description, Ren Suo knew that the pangolin still could not defend against a round of bullets with its current evolutionary abilities¡ª

    A monster that was far better than humans was nheless still a living creature! Unlike inics and movies where monsters easily defend against bullets, the truth was that even if the bullet did not manage to pierce through the armor of the monster, the strength of the impact was sufficient to hinder it!

    Based on the present Defense of the pangolin, it would not be possible for the pangolin to take many bullet shots unless it had hundreds of thousands ofyers of defense armor.

    After the evolutions, the pangolin now had an 250 Attack, 410 Defense, 522 Movement, 480 Recovery, and 260yers of defense armor, as well as some assist-type evolutionary abilities, such as ¡°Meditation¡± (when resting, recovery time of all negative statuses are reduced by 10% up to a maximum of 50%).

    Amongst all the attributes, Movement had reached its maximum value!

    However, the game prompted that two attributes had to be leveled up to its maximum for the second super-evolution to take ce. As such, the pangolin could only remain in its present state.

    At that point in time, Ren Suo was extremely confident and continued ying the game, controlling the pangolin to escape from the personnel of the Countermeasure Division who were surrounding it and about to close in on it!

    But the moment the pangolin climbed to the roof of the building, a fire sword flew towards the pangolin from the roof of another building more than a hundred meters away. The sword pierced the pangolin, and the grip could be seen still wobbling in its chest.

    The personnel d in the ck vest knew that he had been exposed and immediately picked up the loud hailer and said:

    ¡°The Elf Protection Act has already been passed in the nation. Mountain elves, earth elves, and fairies are all protected by the nation and will be given training guidance and induction training. You would also enjoy a level 2 member discount if you join now, so don¡¯t miss this opportunity!¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, we will have to forcefully protect you by shooting you with the anesthesia gun for defying the Vocational Elfw!¡±

    Ren Suo was frightened and quickly controlled the pangolin to slip away. Although the pangolin was already in a state of exhaustion and all of its attributes were weakened by 25%, its movement was still close to 400 after being decreased by 25% from 522 points. It was still 4 times faster than humans and was able to maintain a high-speed run of 9 meters per second for a long period of time!

    If he did not consider the physical energy remaining, it would be able to reach incredible speeds of 30 meters per second, but it could only do so for less than 20 seconds, after which it would be forced to stop.

    But regardless, that speed of 9 meters per second was sufficient to y a game of cat and mouse with the Countermeasure Division in the alley area!

    ¡ªAnd then the pangolin was slowed down.

    The entire area suddenly began gusting with strong winds. Ren Suo opened the attributes panel and found that the pangolin was affected by a ¡°Strength of the Wind¡± effect. Yes, it was a negative effect.

    [Strength of the Wind: The Movement of living creatures with the Mark of the Wind would be increased by 10% ~ 30%, while that of living creatures without the Mark of the Wind would be decreased by 20%. You are currently unable to be immune to this effect.]

    The pangolin had not managed to run far before the personnel d in the ck vest had caught up with it on the roof.

    After three rounds of cat-and-mouse chase through the streets and alleys, the pangolin was hindered by all sorts of abilities, including speed reduction debuffs, spells, and curses. Perhaps because it was the capital city of the nation, the personnel had all used silenced anesthesia guns. Although the damage from the guns was not high, the stacking of the anesthetic effects caused numbing conditions of the pangolin for up to 30 minutes at a time!

    Furthermore, the personnel d in the ck vest had some amazing ability which allowed him to shoot the pangolin with high uracy, missing only four of the ten shots even though both he and his target were moving at high speeds!

    Seeing that his pangolin character, who had finally managed to activate the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation after some difficulty, was about to be captured to be national property, Ren Suo directly exited the game to think of a game n.

    What was fortunate presently was that perhaps due to ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, the nation had established the Elf Protection Act. That was why the Countermeasure Division was trying to catch the pangolin with whatever method possible, and not kill or injure it. It appeared that during that time, mountain elves, earth elves, and fairies were still a rare sight.

    By the time he returned home from his dinner, Ren Suo had thought of a game n.

    He returned to the game and quickly controlled the pangolin to run to a spot where the personnel in the ck vests could not reach temporarily and activated ¡°Personify¡±!

    Then, the pangolin¡¯s body rapidly increased in size and became a human-looking pangolin!

    The second move was to exit the game and open the ¡°Equipment¡± page.

    He equipped ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± on the ¡°All-Devouring Soul¡±!

    Returning to the game, he found that the effects like ¡°Exhaustion¡± and ¡°Strength of the Wind¡± had all turned grey, and the same message was written after each of the effects:

    ¡°Effect currently ineffective against you.¡±

    After this, the pangolin was able to continue running with a Movement of 522,pletely disregarding its physical energy!

    Although that enabled the pangolin to escape from the personnel surrounding him, it also attracted much more attention at the same time.

    After all, it was a human-like pangolin who was running with an afterimage!

    Within 30 minutes, the pangolin ran a horizontal distance of 44 kilometers, reaching speeds of 36 meters per second, neglecting jumps and falls. It ran from the Volcano of Legacies in the east of Tianjing City all the way out of 8 ring roads around the city and then, hid in a forest garden. But shortly after, a helicopter was flying above the forest in search of the pangolin!

    Ren Suo looked at the Western Mang Forest Nature Reserve on the screen and lightly licked his lips.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use continuing to run like this, I should think of a way out here¡­¡± Ren Suo thought.

 Chapter 104 - The Crimson Trump Card, A True Trump Card!

    Chapter 104: Chapter 104 ¨C The Crimson Trump Card, A True Trump Card!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Up till the present moment, the majority of evolutionary abilities, which the pangolin that Ren Suo was controlling had, did not give it an edge over the personnel of the Countermeasure Division or those who were Awakened.

    The camouge ability was effectively useless as one of the members of the Countermeasure Division specialized in detecting and was able to identify the precise location where the pangolin was at using an unknown technique.

    Notwithstanding thebat ability, while the pangolin was a strong creature, it waspletely unable to defend itself against gun bullets, and definitely not against paralyzing anesthesia guns¡ªin that day and age, even a normal person would fall unconscious when shot by an anesthesia gun. Ren Suo was starting to understand why he had only seen monsters once or twice in therge city.

    As long as the monsters did not evolve to a sufficiently high level and were unable to defend against the firearms, they would be locked in and killed by the personnel d in ck vests of the Countermeasure Division using special techniques. No matter how fast the monsters were, could they outrun a bullet?

    If they could outrun a bullet, it meant that their physical body was able to withstand breaking the sound barrier, and that also meant that they would be able to withstand the impact from a bullet.

    Sigh, so what if Reiki was rejuvenated, if ordinary life forms would still be targeted and shot at by firearm weapons in the early stages?

    No one would know if those so-called ¡°monsters¡± were actually sent to researchbs for research after being anesthetized.

    The pangolin was only escaping and not harming any people currently, so it appeared to have been ssified as an elf. The Ren family of Practitioners in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± had also encountered elves a handful of times and gave birth to a few of their descendants. The most unique trait of elves was that they did not harm people and were able tomunicate with humans. It was thus no wonder that the Countermeasure Division had spoken to the pangolin on their own ord.

    However, in the game, the All-Devouring Soul would not be able to achieve its goal even by teaming up with any organization.

    To be the strongest in the world was the goal of the All-Devouring Soul, but no human organization would be willing to make a non-human entity the strongest.

    If the Countermeasure Division had an Awakened Ability that coerced the All-Devouring Soul to form a contract with them, which made the All-Devouring Soul their servant¡­ it would be GG for that game save.

    Ren Suo looked at thebat appraisal score at the top right corner of the screen. The strongest creature in the world was still getting stronger. Less than an hour after the pangolin activated the Volcano of Legacies, the strongest creature in the world had gained another 1000bat points.

    Nheless, the pangolin was also stronger than ever before with abat power of 2300.

    The basis of thebat score was still something that Ren Suo barely understood, but it definitely did not mean that the pangolin could win in a fight against 23 ordinary people.

    If it could win a fight against 23 ordinary people without sustaining any injury, it would naturally be able to win a fight against 2300 people without sustaining any injury either, provided that thetter group did not flee first.

    Regardless, the pangolin was still no match for the Countermeasure Division.

    The helicopter wasing closer from afar, and there was not much time left for the pangolin to stay put. It would have more time to escape if the helicopter had to find a ce tond, but there was still the possibility that the Countermeasure Division personnel could descend from a rope at a lower altitude, or perhaps the personnel from before who could control the wind, could utilize ¡°Strength of the Wind¡± and allow the entire group of them to jump down directly from the helicopter.

    Ren Suo waspletely clueless as to what Awakened Abilities his opponent had, and how many people they had.

    Moreover, Ren Suo had no intention of injuring any of his colleagues from the Countermeasure Division! He was, after all, a sry-receiving member of the Countermeasure Division and was able to enjoy his life ying games while ¡°conning¡± the Countermeasure Division of their money.

    Doing work? It was no longer possible for him to work at the front line for his entire life. He could only survive through exposing certain critical pieces of information at suitable timings.

    Activate ¡°Reiki Vision¡±!

    The surroundings were dense forests and it was a sea of green. Obviously, Ren Suo was not looking for any treasure; rather, he was looking for a wild animal.

    As he was trying to evade detection by the infrared thermosensors, Ren Suo realized that it was simr to the Reiki Vision sensor. As long as the Reiki content was different from that of the surrounding environment, the shape of that different object would be shown and exposed in the Reiki Vision.

    There was no way of looking through a wall, but there was no problem doing so in the forest, within a certain area!

    Of course, the most important reason was that the time in the game was currently 1 a.m., and the pangolin could not see anything with its bare eyes.

    As the pangolin ran, Ren Suo panned the camera using the right stick of the controller, panning 360¡ã around the area to look at the living objects nearby.

    Not insects, it¡¯s too low for a starting point.

    Birds¡­ they can be a backup choice.

    Lizards¡­ they can be a backup choice.

    There¡¯s a river nearby, so there would be fishes¡­ Hmm, perhaps I can evolve the fish into an enormous deep-sea monster.

    What on earth, it¡¯s supposed to be a nature reserve, where are the stronger creatures!

    Ren Suo blinked and paused the game for a moment to search for the definition of a nature reserve on his mobile phone.

    Hmm¡­ It just means that the natural environment is preserved, so it has nothing to do with keeping wild animals.

    What should I do? Should I run another ten over kilometers to the next nature reserve? But who knows if there would be stronger wild animals in the next nature reserve¡­

    Forget it, I shall just find a bird and make do with it.

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to take a look around and randomly ran towards a bird-type Reiki creature. At that juncture, the helicopter was also nearing the location of the pangolin.

    I don¡¯t have much time left, I choose you, Kotori Minami¡ª

    Eh?

    Just as the human-like pangolin charged towards the bird, the bush at the side shook violently, and a small fox emerged. It had a brownish-red back, a white belly, and a white-tipped tail. It appeared to have been frightened by the human-like pangolin.

    It seemed to be the only fox in the area, and Ren Suo did not know if it had escaped from a fox-breeding shop or if it was a wild animal.

    Nheless, Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the fox and immediately controlled the human-like pangolin to rush over and catch the fox. With quick and nimble control, he changed the active ability to ¡°Unending Legacy¡±!

    ¡°Unending Legacy¡±, activate!

    Time seemed to stop in an instant. A crimson-red me emerged from the body of the human-like pangolin, and the me converged into a crimson-red trump card above the pangolin¡¯s head. With a whistle, the me entered the head of the small fox and fused together with it!

    [You have activated Unending Legacy.]

    [The master of the All-Devouring Soul has now been transferred to the Red Fox.]

    [The Red Fox received the crimson-red trump card: Unending Legacy.]

    [The Red Fox received 28 evolution opportunities.]

    [Do you wish to use the special effect of Unending Legacy: Rekindle (choose 28 out of 84 evolutionary cards)? Otherwise, you may evolve as per usual.]

    Since it was a special effect of the crimson-red trump card, Ren Suo naturally decided to try ¡°Rekindle¡± at least once.

    On the screen, 9 rows of evolution cards appeared, amounting to a total of 84 cards. Ren Suo quickly browsed through all of them and realized that the evolutionary abilities of the red fox were very different from the pangolin.

    Most of the evolutionary abilities of the pangolin were physical attack types, and it was essentially a macho guy; on the other hand, the red fox was more of an assassin and a spy!

    ¡°Seductive Charm¡±, ¡°Hint¡±, ¡°Delusion¡±, ¡°Concealed Presence¡±¡­

    Of the 84 evolution cards, there was actually only one super-evolution card, which was ¡°Personify¡±. Moreover, it was greyed out as Ren Suo had to level up any one of the red fox¡¯s attributes to its maximum value before he could select it.

    Perhaps that was because of inheritance from the pangolin, or perhaps ¡°Personify¡± was the only option for the first super-evolution?

    Wait.

    Very quickly, Ren Suo understood the significance of ¡°Unending Legacy: Rekindle¡±.

    Previously when the pangolin leveled up in the wild, Ren Suo would choose the most useful one of the three evolution cards during each evolution, and it was basically a blind guess and choice;

    But in Rekindle, he was essentially developing the best survival method for the character by selecting abination of cards among the 84 given choices!

    After 45 minutes of study in real life, Ren Suo finally decided on abination of evolutionary abilities and continued the game.

    He controlled the small fox to jump onto the ground while looking at the pangolin. It still stood at its original position.

    Why was it still not dead?

    Eh?

    Ren Suo thought of a possibility. He opened the evolution panel and realized that in the description of ¡°Unending Legacy¡±, it did not state that the previous creature after the inheritance would die.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo realized that on the top left corner of the screen where the pangolin¡¯s avatar was previously shown, it had changed to the avatar of the small fox. The avatar of the pangolin was on the second row.

    At the same time, on the right of the pangolin¡¯s avatar, a hint appeared saying, ¡°Press the up arrow key to change the controlled target¡±.

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the screen perspective change from that of the small fox to that of the human-form pangolin!

    Based on the game hints, the human-form pangolin was unable to further evolve, no longer able to devour Reiki, and all of its evolutions were lost. The reason why it still maintained its human form and its physical attributes only dropped to that of an average human was because super-evolutions could not be undone.

    However, Ren Suo was still able to control the pangolin! That was sufficient for him!

    ¡°My pangolinrade, we are personnel from the Countermeasure Division and are here to protect you. Please do not resist and ept that the nation would change you¡­¡±

    Ren Suo let the pangolin remain at its position and ept the change, then controlled his red fox character and slipped away from the scene.

    However, his emotions were surging in excitement.

    The crimson-red trump card is truly a trump card!

 Chapter 105 - Meeting the Earth Elf Again

    Chapter 105: Chapter 105 ¨C Meeting the Earth Elf Again

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    When Ren Suo awoke the next day, he realized that he had fallen asleep on the keyboard of hisptop.

    How unhealthy.

    Ren Suo subconsciously looked at the time on his mobile phone and realized that Yu Kuangtu had sent him a message:

    ¡°Amazing, you guessed it correctly! I was right to have chosen you! I will report your achievement to the superiors!¡±

    Eh?

    Ren Suo leaned back on the chair as he stretched his muscles, then he realized what Yu Kuangtu¡¯s message implied.

    He opened up the GiliGili website and indeed, Naisser_Ren had uploaded a new video!

    ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle Part 2¡±.

    Ren Suo clicked into the video and this time, there was no introduction by the Master of the Holy Light, the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow, or the Heart of Evesting Warmth. It jumped straight to the point.

    The perspective was one that Ren Suo was familiar with¡ªthat of Zhao Zili.

    Of course, the game character looked very different from the real person. The facial features of the fat trainees were elongated and less clear, although their clothes were simr.

    On the top right corner of the screen was the trainee number of Zhao Zili: No. 98.

    Subsequently, it was naturally Zhao Zili¡¯s time to shine as the process when he attained victory easily was shown. The entire video was 65 minutes long. After Zhao Zili emerged victoriously, the full sequence of him epting the coronation of the three gods was shown.

    ¡°My surname is Zhao, I am Zhao Zili!¡± Zhao Zili said.

    The immortals replied, ¡°Great, we have bestowed you with the treasures of the Holy Light. You need to abide by the 36 Precepts, emanating the Glorious Light of us Immortals as you traverse the world and extend our blessings!¡±

    ¡°Zhao Zili, from here on, you will be our Executor and hold the authority to control life in your hands!¡±

    The screen was frozen amidst a glorious white light.

    Then a dark screen appeared, and an announcement by ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± in eightnguages was shown:

    ¡°The first round of the lucky draw event has ended. Those who guessed correctly need not be bothered about the lucky draw and no details of the lucky draw winner is required. However, if you are the lucky winner, our Executor would find you and give you the lovely Recovery Set.¡±

    ¡­ Why did the announcement sound something like ¡°Do not worry after you have invested in Bitcoin, just wait for a few years and sell them when you see that the value of Bitcoin has risen on television. If you are not notified on television that its value has risen, just assume you have lost your investment.¡±

    Nheless, neither Ren Suo nor his family members were ill or in pain, and they were not fat either. He was naturally not interested in the Recovery Set and did not even leave ament to vote. As such, Ren Suo washed up quickly and then, went out to eat.

    Indeed, our great brother Ren Suo had yed tillte in the night again and had only awoken in the afternoon.

    Along the way, Ren Suo noticed that there were already many parents bringing their children who were going to be students at the school into the campus.

    The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang had already confirmed that the first day of school would be on the 10th of May, and the new students were already gradually moving in.

    The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was not only the Practitioner Institution for Lianjiang City, but also for the neighboring cities. The nation had established ten such Practitioner Institutions and were evenly spread out throughout the nation to serve all areas equally.

    Students from the other cities were starting to rush over to move into the dormitories early. Almost all of them were apanied by their parents, and as they walked into the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, those who were more humble were barely able to conceal their joy, while the prouder ones held their chins up high.

    ording to Ren Suo¡¯s mother, receiving the letter of eptance from the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was no longer any different from being epted into Tianjing University¡ªthey were all rare geniuses.

    Moreover, being epted into Tianjinng University only meant that the students would be the best of university graduates while being epted into the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang meant that they were about to be divine!

    Numerous men dressed in suits were wandering outside the institution. When Ren Suo walked out, one of the men dressed in a suit immediately walked up to him.

    He said, ¡°Are you a parent of a new student in the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang? I am a Hong Fu Real Estate¡­¡±

    Ren Suo shook his head vigorously and replied, ¡°I am not interested in buying a house.¡±

    The man dressed in the suit continued, ¡°Mister¡­ mister if your child is studying in the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, why not consider buying a future house for your child? This area will definitely be developed into a business center in the future, and Hong Fu Real Estate Agency is now willing to give a ny percent mortgage loan!¡±

    He quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s all right even if you really do not have sufficient funds. Mister, if you have any intention to switch jobs and are willing to sign a 10-year employment contract with Hong Fu Real Estate Agency, you would also be given an exquisitely-designed luxury home here for free!¡±

    Ren Suo looked at him suspiciously, saying, ¡°Are the benefits that great to be a salesperson these days? Even being given a free house.¡±

    The man dressed in the suit wiped his sweat as he said, ¡°You would be able to enjoy the promotion as long as you have any direct rtive studying in the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang. If your rtive attains decent results in the institution, you would even be able to rise through the ranks within Hong Fu Real Estate Agency.¡±

    Ren Suo now understood the agency¡¯s intent. He said, ¡°So the agency is wanting to¡­ form beneficial connections?¡±

    ¡°Something like that,¡± the man, who was dressed in the suit, said. He took out a piece of tissue and wiped the sweat on his forehead, then took out a document detailing the benefits. He continued, ¡°If you are able to convince your rtive from the Heavenly Institute of Lianjiang to join Hong Fu Real Estate Agency after graduation, based on our big boss¡¯ intention, your rtive would take an annual sry starting from 300 thousand dors and your rtive would be able to choose any property in the city. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°Wow, that sounds amazing!¡± Ren Suo eximed as he looked at the document detailing the benefits. He said, ¡°My annual sry is not even 300 thousand dors now!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the man in the suit said. He was overjoyed as his time spent standing for two days was starting to pay off. He asked, ¡°Are you the brother or the father? You look really young!¡±

    ¡°I am the brother,¡± replied Ren Suo, pretending to be serious. He continued, ¡°But my sister does not study in the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, that should be alright too, no?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± said the man in the suit, stunned. He immediately took the document detailing the benefits back from Ren Suo and said, ¡°Bro, we are all just working here, let¡¯s not waste each other¡¯s time, okay?¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the other men wandering outside the school gate and asked, ¡°Are the rest of them here with the same purpose as you?¡±

    The man replied, ¡°Mostly. The Heavenly Institute of Lianjiang is a rare opportunity, and practicing to be a divine being is an even rarer opportunity. Even the wealthy are not able to buy their way in, so naturally, all sorts of ways are used¡­ Heh, there¡¯s two people, hold on.¡±

    Ren Suo looked on as the man who was dressed in the suit rushed towards a pair of parents who had just walked out of the school. He shrugged and left to eat a te of braised chicken with rice for his lunch.

    All sorts of tactics had emerged with the emergence of the Practitioner Institution.

    What would happen then, when the Reiki Treasure erupted?

    On Ren Suo¡¯s way back to the school, many more cars had appeared outside the school gate as the Heavenly Institute of Lianjiang did not allow cars to be driven into the school. As such, the new students and their parents had to walk into the school while lugging their luggage along.

    Ren Suo had only taken a quick nce and his heart started wavering.

    ¡°One, two, three¡­ ?!¡±

    In one quick nce, Ren Suo saw five new students, of which one of the guys and one of the girls gave Ren Suo a peculiar sense of attraction. Beside the high school girl, who seemed to carry a key, stood another young woman around the age of twenty, and she too gave Ren Suo the same strong feeling of attraction!

    Fortunately for Ren Suo, he was standing some distance away and was able to resist the temptation. He forced himself to look away and slipped into the school while looking down at the floor.

    The teen guys and girls, brothers and sisters, as well as the uncles and aunties noticed the furtive Ren Suo. They remarked, ¡°Is that a school personnel?¡±

    ¡°He went in after tapping his ess card, so he must be. Could there be such an old student?¡±

    ¡°He might be a road sweeper¡­¡±

    It was only when Ren Suo was on the way home that he suddenly thought of another benefit as the ¡°emergency school medic¡±.

    ¡ªHe could be in close contact with severely injured students who were unconscious for long periods of time.

    If the student happened to carry a key, he would be able to retrieve it without much difficulty!

    Ren Suo still remembered that he had a two-star treasure chest which he had been awarded forpleting ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, waiting to be opened by him!

    However, not every student had a key, and those who did have the key might not be involved in a serious fight, wherein they would require his assistance for a grave injury.

    If those students got into a fight and were able to utilize an ability that made people fall unconscious for a long period of time, and if that resulting unconsciousness could not be treated by a regr hospital but required the treatment of an extraordinary ability¡­

    Ren Suo shook his head and dismissed the idea.

    How could there be such a good thing in life?

    Assuming he was able to discover such an ability, it had to be handed to the nation through formal and appropriate methods for the nation to impart it to students¡ªRen Suo could not teach the students just like that.

    Ren Suo, you are someone who stayed at home ying games every day. Where could you have gotten the ability from? Be honest, did you discover a door to another dimension that enables you to warp into other dimensions like a mystical world, the world of the divine, or the world of martial artists?

    What, you created that by yourself? All the better!

    If Ren Suo could devise his own ability, he would definitely be an important researcher. Be prepared to say goodbye to your game console then, the nation needs the great contribution of your youth and hair towards developing Reiki technology.

    Ren Suo: Wait, why do I feel like I fit all the conditions above?

    Ren Suo quickly returned home and turned on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. He also brought hisptop from the bedroom to the living room and opened the document ¡°Purchase n¡± which he had written the previous night.

    Subconsciously, Ren Suo took a nce at the other games and realized that the disc icon was still rotating for ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, but on the bottom right corner of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, the disc icon was now reced by a blinking down arrow, as if a document was being downloaded.

    Ren Suo was slightly doubtful, but it was obvious that ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± was in an ¡°in progress¡± state, so he put the matter aside and loaded ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±.

    He loaded the game save and the scene unfolded slowly as if it were an ink painting scroll. Under the illumination of the bright morning sun, a beautiful youngdy was standing by the side of a road. She was wearing a red robe and her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her white thighs were exposed, and she appeared delicate and pleasant.

    That was the appearance of the red fox, in its human form using ¡°Personify¡±, after Unlimited Legacy was effected from the pangolin!

    Logically speaking, even if an animal mimicked a human form, it would still retain some of its animal characteristics. For the human-form pangolin, for example, rather than saying that it retained some traits of pangolin in its human form, it looked more like a pangolin who grew some human characteristics¡­

    However, after the red fox was Personified, it lookedpletely like a human. There were absolutely no ws, and its cute appearance was capable of ¡°seducing¡± any human heart.

    That was exactly the effect of ¡°Delusion¡± and ¡°Hint¡±, and they helped conceal any non-human traits of the Personified red fox!

    Compared tobat ability, the strength of the red fox was much more suited in the human environment of the city!

    However, the reason why Ren Suo stopped the red fox at that position the night before was that, after the red fox had escaped from danger, a familiar creature appeared in front of it¡ª

    ¡°What a strong Reiki presence.¡±

    A cute, white-haired and white-eyed Northern Mang Earth Elf, wearing a white gown, suddenly emerged from the ground. When Ren Suo encountered the elf in the middle of the previous night, he was so shocked that he almost dropped the game controller.

    Had the Northern Mang Earth Elf been ugly, Ren Suo would have had a nightmare.

    ¡°Since we are of the same kind¡­ Young fox, do you need some help? Of course, this is a trade, an exchange.¡±

    ¡°The red fox has encountered the Northern Mang Earth Elf. You may trade with the elf using merit points.¡±

 Chapter 106 - True Communication with the Fist

    Chapter 106: Chapter 106: True Communication with the Fist

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The game description of ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± wrote that there were possible in-game purchases but Ren Suo had not encountered any such opportunities after ying the game for a long time and assumed that the ¡°in-game purchases¡± were referring to the life form selection at the start of the game.

    He had not imagined that like ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, in-game purchases would only appear after meeting certain criteria in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±.

    In this day and age, a rookie is not qualified to make such in-game purchases.

    In ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, Ren Suo had to pass the first round of training before he could take a gamble with the Golden Ranger during the break time.

    Simrly, in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, the earth elf with the ¡°responsibility¡± of in-game purchases only appeared after he had received a Trump Card.

    The Northern Mang Earth Elf standing in front of the red fox said, ¡°If not for the distinctive crimson-red glow on your body, I would not have noticed your presence. Your physical self appears to be the same as those who live here? It is with a great affinity that we meet.¡±

    ¡°In that case, do you wish to acquire some knowledge, equipment, or help from me, your senior?¡± the elf asked.

    A list of avable purchases appeared on the screen, and they were naturally purchases with merit points.

    Ren Suo had already thoroughly looked through the list of items the previous night, and even wrote down his analysis of the items on hisptop.

    The main items avable for purchase from the Northern Mang Earth Elf were generally abilities and Reiki objects.

    The abilities she sold were all ability amulets, which meant that the yer would directly acquire the ability after purchasing it.

    Upon seeing the ability amulet, Ren Suo remembered the Knowledge Web tform that the Countermeasure Division used to transmit knowledge of abilities.

    He had not expected that both types of knowledge transmitting tools had simr methods of imparting knowledge, allowing the user to ¡°learn¡± and remember the knowledge directly.

    At present, Ren Suo did not yet know the limits of such technology. If such technology would soon be widely used in the future, he would have to advise his sister not to specialize in any teaching-rted field in university.

    Ren Suo was not interested in most of the ability amulets at first. Unlike the pangolin, the red fox was a character who survived by ¡°enchanting¡± people with her charming figure. Why would she need most of the attack abilities?

    But Ren Suo suddenly realized that it appeared to be a wonderful opportunity to experiment.

    In the list of ability amulets, there was a ranged attack ability that would not deal any damage, but merely make the target fall unconscious.

    If the affected target was not treated with Reiki, he or she would be bed-ridden for many days and require glucose drips to stay alive during that period.

    Indeed, that ability was called ¡°Tame Head¡±. It waspletely unrted to the Tame Head ck magic in Southeast Asia, but its only effect was to cause Reiki to press down on the target¡¯s skull, causing the target to fall unconscious due to the pressure on the head.

    If Ren Suo bought that ability amulet and buried it somewhere, then let the pangolin reveal that information, wouldn¡¯t the nation then be able to acquire that ability?

    But Ren Suo soon had his qualms about doing so: firstly, getting hold of the ability amulet did not necessarily mean that the nation would be able to dissect and analyze the ability for use; secondly, if the ability could be analyzed for use, it might not necessarily be taught to ordinary secondary and primary school students; thirdly, they might not necessarily be involved in fights after learning the ability¡­

    ¡°Why is it so hard these days for keys to find their way to me¡­¡± Ren Suo said with a sigh. Nheless, he still purchased the ¡°Tame Head Ability Amulet¡± for 3 merit points.

    Ren Suo thought, ¡®I shall just see it as buying a lottery ticket, if it doesn¡¯t work out as nned, I shall just donate it to the nation.¡¯

    Subsequently, it was easier to purchase the other items he wanted to buy. Ren Suo had studied the list of items the night before and devised a purchase game n. However, he naturally did not dare to purchase too many items. It would be a tragedy if he failed toplete the game that round while ending up with no more merit points.

    The most significant of the avable ability amulets was none other than the ¡°Underground Travel Ability Amulet¡±, but it cost a whopping 25 merit points¡ªa daylight robbery that he definitely could not afford.

    As such, Ren Suo purchased five ¡°Underground Travel Amulets¡±, which cost 2 merit points each. Although it had one word less than the ¡°Underground Travel Ability Amulet¡±, the ¡°Underground Travel Amulet¡± allowed the red fox to move normally in the ground for ten seconds, after which it would spring back to the ground automatically.

    Ren Suo then purchased a ¡°Teleportation Service¡±, and let the Northern Mang Earth Elf teleport the red fox directly closer to the city. After all, it was in the early hours of the morning, no shops were open in front and the vige behind was quiet, and Ren Suo did not know how long he had to wait before a car would appear.

    Ren Suo¡¯s ¡°Meticulous yer¡± yer privilege was activated multiple times and only 10 merit points were spent in total. That was also thergest amount of merit points Ren Suo had spent while being unsure if he could get a good score in the present game save.

    After Ren Suopleted his purchases, the Northern Pang Earth Elf sent the red elf to an alley in the city. The elf said, ¡°There are many other elves like me in the world. You have a precious treasure on you, so whenever you would like to trade with any of my friends, you just need to hit the ground thrice while in a safe environment. An elf who is willing to trade with you would then appear.¡±

    Wow, the game is truly evil, there are even many different avable choices of ¡°products¡± in the in-game purchases? Is such a method of earning money even legal?

    After the Northern Mang Earth Elf left, Ren Suo controlled the red fox to leave the alley, when a drunkard stumbled into the alley vomiting.

    The drunkard was bald with arge belly and his face was blushed red. His waist belt was not even worn properly as he was vomiting in the alley. When he looked up and saw the red fox who had the appearance of a youngdy, the drunkard seemed to sober up and a creepy smile emerged on his face. He said, ¡°Hey, youngdy¡­¡±

    If Ren Suo had not known that the events in the game were likely predictions of the future by the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, he would have been exasperated that the strategy the game employed was horrid.

    But regardless, it was what Ren Suo would have wanted too!

    Activate the ability ¡°Seductive Charm¡±!

    After a minute, the red fox had the drunkard¡¯s wallet and mobile phone in her hands. At the same time, she had also found out the password to unlock the drunkard¡¯s phone, his Alipay password, WeChat Pay password, and even ordered a taxi for the international airport in the Tianjing capital, through the DiDi mobile application.

    The ¡°Seductive Charm¡± ability card was green with golden words. Its effect was: Seductively charm other creatures. Based on factors likepatibility and appearance, the target would let down their guard. This ability can be used unlimited times but if found out by the target, the target could be triggered. If the user is in human form and possessesmunication evolutionary ability, the target can bemanded by typing into the dialogue box.

    The ¡°Voice of Charm¡± ability card was green with blue words. Its effect was: Make sounds so that other creatures cannot concentrate. This ability is automatically activated inbat. Activating this ability under normal circumstances allows the user tomunicate their thoughts through sound while ensuring that other creatures are highly unlikely to noticenguage differences.

    With that ability, it meant that the red fox was merely making fox noises when ¡°talking¡± to the drunkard previously. It was just that that had gonepletely unnoticed by the drunkard.

    In the old days, ¡°Voice of Charm¡± would have been almost wless. But in the present age, having a voice recorder could expose the red fox.

    However, it did not matter to Ren Suo, as the subsequent journey of the red fox was no longer Xuan Nation!

    The line of text that scrolled past when the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation was activated was actually hinting to the yer the method to level up the All-Devouring Soul quickly!

    ¡°As the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation has been activated, other Reiki Treasures in 11 other ces on Earth would be activated automatically in 30 days.¡±

    That also meant that there were eleven other Reiki Treasures in the world, which would allow the All-Devouring Soul to activate them and reap great benefits before they did so automatically!

    Furthermore, the Reiki Treasure Ren Suo had activated was in ¡°Xuan Nation¡±, which likely meant that the other Reiki Treasures were found in their respected nations.

    In that case, the best action to take was to fly to otherrge nations by ne and activate the Reiki Treasures there!

    When the red fox arrived at the airport, Ren Suo quickly found a flight that was scheduled to depart very soon. It was a flight to arge European country. The red fox immediately activated ¡°Seductive Charm¡± and ¡°Voice of Charm¡±, taking on the identity of the drunkard to purchase the flight ticket!

    The ticket staff and security staff all let the red fox through without any problems!

    That was something which the macho pangolin could not have done. Rather than trying to control the pangolin to go overseas on a ne, it would have been easier to hijack a ne instead.

    It was only then that Ren Suo remembered the pangolin, which he had abandoned in the forest. While the red fox in the appearance of a youngdy waited in the waiting area, Ren Suo switched the yer perspective to control the pangolin instead.

    The scene instantly changed from the waiting area with the morning sunlight shining through the ss windows to¡­ a small brightly-lit room?

    It looked like an interrogation room in a police station from the scene of a drama series.

    The pangolin was seated in a chair and there two people d in ck vests standing on either side of the pangolin. They pressed down on the pangolin¡¯s shoulders, and there was another middle-aged man looking at the pangolin at the other side of the table.

    ¡°It has been 5 hours, you did not resist and allowed us to bring you back here, why are you not speaking up?¡± the middle-aged man questioned. He knocked on the table with a pen and said, ¡°Even if you can¡¯t understand us, you should not just remain dazed and silent. If you are not able tomunicate, then we can only keep you forcefully. My pangolinrade, that would not do you any good.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ren Suo pondered for a moment, suddenly at a loss, not knowing what to do with the pangolin.

    He also wanted tomunicate with the Countermeasure Division!

    But the pangolin was unable to talk in that state!

    What a y! I thought that I could make use of ¡°Unlimited Legacies¡± to y dirty for once!

    However, Ren Suo did not give up. He opened the controller settings in the menu to see if there were any useful controller options.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    At the very bottom of the menu, there was an option that read ¡°Special Control Options for the Hell 4 Controller¡±. It allowed the yer to control the hand moved by the character in the game based on which hand the yer was holding the game controller.

    Ren Suo thought for a second and immediately opened the shopping application on his mobile phone and purchased a game controller, just in case.

    With two controllers, would that not mean that he could control both hands of the character in the game?

    Subsequently, Ren Suo raised the game controller up with his right hand, and the pangolin in the game also lifted its right fist, scaring the two personnel d in the ck vests who were standing beside it.

    The middle-aged man sitting opposite gestured to the two personnel in the ck vests not to act rashly, allowing the pangolin to continue its action.

    Ren Suo noticed that there was a bottle of water on the table. He controlled the pangolin to reach its right fist out, over the top of the bottle, then smashed its fist down on the it!

    The personnel in the ck vests tensed up, but the middle-aged man remained calm, allowing the pangolin to continue.

    Ren Suo then controlled the pangolin¡¯s right hand and started drawing on the table.

    As the pangolin¡¯s fist was damp, it left watermarks on the table as its fist moved along.

    Very quickly, arge word ¡°Xuan¡± appeared on the table.

    The entire atmosphere in the interrogation room seemed to rx.

    ¡°Great, my pangolinrade, you¡¯re truly a good pangolin elf. You know the name of the country, and even learned the nationalnguage on your own! Good, good!¡±

    The middle-aged man asked, ¡°Are you not able to speak?¡±

    The pangolin waved its right hand.

    ¡°Then, are you able to write?¡± the man asked.

    After a brief pause, the pangolin pressed the back of its head with its right hand and nodded.

    The man asked, ¡°Do you wish tomunicate with us?¡±

    Again, the pangolin nodded.

    The middle-aged man said, ¡°Great, Guo Wei, bring us a bottle of ink and some paper. Also, get a photographer toe over and take a picture of the ¡®Xuan¡¯ word on the table, and submit a report to the higher authorities. This could be a great achievement for the ¡®Endangered Elves Protection Division¡¯! The pangolin has even talked to us with his fist!¡±

 Chapter 107 - We Are Sure That He Is A Reborn!

    Chapter 107: Chapter 107: We Are Sure That He Is A Reborn!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°The Heaven Switch¡­¡± Ren Suo said as he looked at the game console on the web page. He shook his head.

    Shortly after he purchased a new controller, a sudden thought arose in his mind¡ªwhat if he could control the fingers of the in-game characters using the game controller? Would that mean that he could control the characters to write words in the game?

    However, at the very best, game consoles that were sold in the market only had elerometers which allowed the user to control the actions of the characters in the game through moving the controller ordingly, such as to punch or dance. They were not capable of mimicking the fine and minute actions of the fingers.

    Games that required finger control would generally be a tablet or mobile phone games, allowing the yer to swipe on the screen ordingly with the fingers. Fruit Ninja was an example of such a game.

    It appeared that, for the time being, Ren Suo could only control the human-form pangolin tomunicate with the personnel of the ¡°Endangered Elves Protection Division¡± of the Countermeasure Division with its fist.

    Ren Suo had to acknowledge that controlling the finer, more detailed movements of the pangolin¡¯s fingers was not possible at present unless glove-like controllers and essories of game consoles emerged on the market, which would then allow the yer to control the minute movements of in-game characters, including their individual finger movements.

    What about customizing such a pair of gloves?

    Ren Suo thought about it and immediately shook his head to dismiss the idea¡ªeven if he had the money to customize it, it would take years to design and create such.

    Furthermore, producing such a pair of gaming gloves was not only a matter of money. To produce such a new product, he would need workers and a factory, as well as specialized personnel like engineers, designers, and programmers. He had to establish apany to do so.

    If Ren Suo had so much time and money, why would he not invest in holographic virtual reality technology instead?

    By doing so, there was even a possibility of him traveling through dimensions into that of the game¡¯s, and the character would not just be able to move both its hands, but also wag its tail.

    ¡°The operations of the game are limited by the technology of today¡­ If only the nation diverted some of its concentration on Reiki technologies to developing virtual holographic technologies instead¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo could not help but dream of that possibility. Holographic virtual reality technology was limited by the constraints of biotechnology and information technology, as well as theck of brain wave analysis and informatization of the soul.

    Those problems are challenges of formal technological research at present. However, if a high-dimensional ¡°force¡± like Reiki could be transformed into a variable of any form of energy, that could bring about developments in holographic virtual reality technology.

    ¡°If I can guide the nation towards development in this area¡­¡± Ren Suo thought.

    Ren Suo silently remembered that point, but it was just a passing thought, and he would have to wait for opportunities in the future to do that.

    He closed the shopping webpage and opened up a webpage of the most famousndmarks of the world, noting down a list of possible monuments and naturalndscapes which could be Reiki Treasures.

    Ren Suo had been able to quickly identify the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation as it would be bursting with a red aura every morning due to the g-raising ceremony. However, the Reiki Treasures of other countries might not be as easily identifiable, and Ren Suo had to make contact with the different possible sites to find out if it was a Reiki Treasure.

    ¡°¡­ But, speaking of this country, this should be its most famous one, no?¡± Ren Suo said.

    Very quickly, Ren Suo locked in on his target. Foreigners spoke of the Great Wall and the Volcano of Legacies as the most famousndmarks of Xuan Nation, of which the Volcano of Legacies was a Reiki Treasure. Simrly, the Reiki Treasures of another country would definitely be one of the renowned culturalndmarks of that country.

    ¡°You have received a must-read message.¡±

    A message suddenly popped out on the bottom right corner of hisptop screen. Ren Suo was taken aback¡ªwhat kind of junk advertisement was that?

    He had not installed any antivirus software!

    Computer viruses in recent years would appear after installing antivirus software in the form of ¡°Your XX antivirus has detected dangerous programs in yourputer and has automatically removed the dangerous programs¡±¡­

    On the contrary, that notification message was written in white over a ck background and appeared from the bottom right corner of the screen. There was actually no ¡°X¡± button and Ren Suo had no idea how to dismiss the notification, leaving him with no choice but to click on it.

    The webpage automatically opened the internal intr forum on ¡°Extraordinary Phenomena¡± and navigated to a pinned and highlighted post with the title in red font: ¡°Investigation Report on Zhao Zili¡±.

    Ren Suo was stunned for a moment. He had never thought that the intr had such automatic navigation capabilities, and how the intr page could send a notification to hisputer.

    Fortunately, Ren Suo had properly differentiated the use of his desktopputer and hisptop. He would usually research and y games on his desktopputer while reserving hisptop for recording information about the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. Otherwise, the Mini Worlds Gaming Console could well have been found out by the intr service.

    The ¡°Investigation Report on Zhao Zili¡± post had detailed the entire background of Zhao Zili.

    Zhao Zili was born on 9 June 1985 in Jiushui Vige, Sanyuan City, Lian Province. All of her immediate rtives have passed away. She graduated from Sanyuan Number 9 Junior High School with below-average results. Upon graduation, she worked as a specialized production line worker in an electronics factory until 2005. After which, she worked casual jobs as her livelihood.

    Zhao Zili has three separate records of theft, but as the amount involved did not meet the criteria for a charge, she was detained for 15 days on each ount.

    In 2012, when Zhao Zili was arrested for robbery, she was found to have diabetes and used illegal drugs. She was sent to the drug rehabilitation center for treatment but continued illegal drug use after release.

    One month ago, Zhao Zili was involved in a fight and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. She lost consciousness after emergency treatment and received minimum viable treatment for 14 days at the hospital. She was pronounced dead at 13:14 hours on the 1st of May.

    On May 3, Zhao Zili entered the Survival Battle Training of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow.

    On May 7, Zhao Zili was made known in the video from ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ to be the only winner of the Survival Battle Training.

    There are 3 eyewitness reports, as follows.

    Li, a trainee who recounted the second stage of the training: ¡°Zhao Zili fought the stage alone. I teamed up with three other trainees, but she seemed to haveplete knowledge of our every action. After she eliminated two of my teammates, she used some special method to tell me about the Information of Monsters, and somehow, I managed to remember her entire message very clearly.¡±

    (Remarks: Until he finished reporting the message, Li still remembered the Information of Monsters in full detail.)

    Huang, a trainee who recounted the second stage of the training: ¡°After Zhao Zili assisted us in eliminating the ck people trainees, she confronted me and told me the Information of Monsters. He then shot me dead with a recovery assault rifle in one bullet (only 1 shot could be taken at 1 time at a short distance). I was hiding behind a rock then, but was shot right in the head the moment I popped my head out slightly.¡±

    (Remarks: Until he finished reporting the message, Huang still remembered the Information of Monsters in full detail.)

    Chen, a trainee who recounted the third stage of the training: ¡°I had been hiding among the bushes and could not have been spotted even when looking directly in my direction unless I was moving. But Zhao Zili was standing more than a hundred meters away, on a slope about 200 meters away (the ¡®ze¡¯ Talent can only provide information of all living objects within a 50-meter radius), and she managed to shoot me directly in the head with one shot of the recovery bullet. I was still in the training but rolled down the slope, so I attempted to reduce my health by eating a fried chicken set.

    However, within 8 seconds, Zhao Zili must have run at least 100 meters while releasing the safety pin of the Holy Grenade in advance. She then threw the hand grenade right at where I was hiding.¡±

    There were twoments at the very bottom of the post:

    ¡°Click here to learn more about the detailed effects of ¡®Talents¡¯, exchange costs and rules for receiving umted points.¡±

    ¡°This is an information analysis post. Only logical replies can be added, and replies/likes can only be used once in this thread.¡±

    There were two ways of sorting post replies: one was by the number of likes, and the other was by the time posted. It appeared that the default sorting order for such highlighted posts was by the number of likes.

    ¡°Luo¡±, level 4 researcher: ¡°My conclusion first¡ªit can be confirmed that Zhao Zili must either be a ¡®Seer¡¯ or one of the Reborn since he was able to be reborn into his past body from the future!¡±

    Ren Suo was startled upon reading that conclusion.

 Chapter 108 - Real-life In-game Purchase

    Chapter 108: Chapter 108 ¨C Real-life In-game Purchase

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Luo¡±, level 4 researcher: ¡°Point 1, how did he know the Information of Monsters in such detail?

    Most of the information had not appeared in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯, so there is no way that he could have deduced the information from the videos. It must be then that he could foresee the future and know beforehand about the monsters that would appear, which allowed him to get hold of the Information of Monsters.¡±

    ¡ªThat was because all of the Information of Monsters was what Ren Suo had known from ying the other game saves of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±!

    ¡°Point 2, in the second stage of the training, Zhao Zili was clearly much stronger inbat than the other trainees. But the fact is that no matter how well Zhao Zili performed in the first stage, she would only receive a maximum of three Talents, which would not have allowed him to have such a drastic advantage over his opponents then.

    Furthermore, Zhao Zili was a social idler and not a worker specialized in any field, which means that: either Zhao Zili had ¡®special abilities¡¯;

    Or otherwise, he had gotten hold of certain secret tricks which enabled him to receive more Talents during the Talent Exchange process.

    Based on the eyewitness reports, there is a greater possibility that it is thetter.¡±

    ¡ªHe was quite right, Ren Suo had been able to pass stage two of the training because of the unorthodox transactions he made with the Golden Ranger.

    ¡°Point 3, in the third stage of the training, in addition to Chen¡¯s ount, we can also see from the video which ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ posted that in general, Zhao Zili¡¯s movements were swift and decisive, almost without any hesitation. All of his actions only seemed to be possible with a top-down, eagle¡¯s eye view.

    The vast majority of trainees who encountered him would be sent to the skies in one shot. Zhao Zili¡¯s firing uracy was perfect even at an extremelyrge distance away, taking aim at trainees who were in hiding even beforehand and instantly disqualifying them from the training.

    He even attempted thrice to suddenly take aim into the distance over 400 meters away, without any reason and shot dead a trainee, who was squatting in hiding.

    That is no longer possible to be exined by ¡®Talents¡¯ or ¡®special abilities¡¯. There are two possibilities:

    One, he was chosen by the three gods from the beginning and was given stronger, more powerful Talents.

    Or two, he had been through the training before and sessfully proceeded to thest stage, or perhaps, he had already won the training at least once prior.

    Based on the fact that he had died once but was revived, I am more inclined to believe that he is a Reborn who can time travel.¡±

    The reply by ¡°Luo¡± received 888 likes, and there was arge red stamp on the top right corner of his reply: ¡°Verified¡±.

    It signified that the analysis by ¡°Luo¡± had been verified as an urate conjecture and was epted and reported to a higher authority. Based on the appraisal of the higher-ups, ¡°Luo¡± would then receive higher ess privileges or mary rewards.

    Consequently, those who liked the reply would be seen as ¡°well-informed¡± and would also receive forum points (only applicable to those who liked the reply before it was verified and epted).

    Since the entire thread limited users to only one like, posts that had a high number of likes would be truly deserving posts.

    That was actually the true method of discussion in the internal forum. Researchers would evoke discussion and likes and replies could be given. In that way, the information revealed could be analyzed to the finest detail.

    If a post that had not been epted and verified waster found to be true, the intr system would re-evaluate the post andpensate the user, who posted, with double the rewards.

    Yu Kuangtu, getting Ren Suo to look through the information in the intr forum and write theses for the Countermeasure Division to report to a higher authority, was actually equivalent to indicating that the theses were done by the Countermeasure Division and essentially, raise the achievements made by the Countermeasure Division.

    What Ren Suo was supposed to do was essentially ¡°feeding¡± reports, with the benefit being that he would receive a base pay and only be required to submit analysis reports to the Countermeasure Division when required; the disadvantage was that, if he submitted an erroneous analysis, his appraisal would drop, unlike in the forum where such users would merely be downvoted.

    Ren Suo looked back at the analysis on the screen written by ¡°Luo¡±. He felt slightly sour.

    The main reason why people thought that Zhao Zili was a Reborn was because ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± had not released the video of the first two stages of the training. Only the highlights of those two stages were chosen to be shown, and the process where Zhao Zili had only managed to pass the first two stages with luck was not shown to the world.

    On the other hand, the third stage of the training was shown in full, but the biggest difference between the third stage and the first two stages was that the third stage was not random when Ren Suo yed it.

    For the first stage, there were a hundred thousand different training sites taking ce at the same time, while for the second stage, there were a hundred different training sites. Every time Zhao Zili entered the first two stages again, the training site was different.

    However, for the third stage, there was only one training site, and even the trainees in that round were the same in every attempt. Their actions, thoughts, andbat movements were all the same when Zhao Zili acted the same as she did previously.

    As such, Ren Suo could attempt the stage as many times as he wanted. Even if the trainees were of simr capabilities as Zhao Zili, Ren Suo could reattempt the stage an unlimited number of times, remembering the position of the trainees he encountered, as well as their reactions.

    What eyewitness ¡°Chen¡± had mentioned, as written in the information report, made Ren Suo recall the encounter as well.

    Ren Suo had controlled Zhao Zili to ride the Great Ravenous Dragon in order to cross the cliff. The first time he did that, she was shot dead.

    The second time, Zhao Zili came down the Dragon but was still shot dead; however, Ren Suo managed to find out ¡°Chen¡¯s¡± position.

    The third time, Zhao Zili took aim at the opponent¡¯s position and shot urately. However, the opponent was not immediately dead and by the time Zhao Zili rushed over, he had managed to recover after finishing a fried chicken. Zhao Zili was once again shot dead.

    The fourth time, Zhao Zili threw a Holy Grenade at the opponent¡¯s position as she was rushing over, and the opponent finally died.

    As such, there was no particr technique, Ren Suo merely tried the stage again and again until he finally managed a perfect strategy.

    However, in the eyes of others, it was no longer just cheating, but simply ¡°foreknowledge¡±.

    It appeared to them that, either Zhao Zili could foresee the events of the future, or she was from the future¡ªand yet, Zhao Zili could provide the Information of Monsters, which led researchers to think that she was more likely to be a Reborn.

    Ren Suo thought, ¡°If Zhao Zili was still alive, all the different organizations would be trying all possible ways to contact her. Even if they cannot catch her, they would want tomunicate with her, at the least¡­ After all, she is a time traveler who knows the future, albeit a suspect who is illegally reborn¡­¡±

    ¡°But there is no way Zhao Zili would appear, unless¡­¡±

    Ren Suo rolled his eyes as he thought of a brilliant idea. In response to the analysis report, he replied:

    ¡°Rather than thinking that Zhao Zili traveled through time, why not consider the presence of other variable forces. The same effect could be achieved if there was someone, or some particr force, that already knew about the entire process of the Survival Battle Training and so revived Zhao Zili to take part in the training, while providing her with intelligence about the training, the Information of Monsters, as well as granting her special abilities¡­¡±

    Ren Suo wrote continuously and submitted a reply hundreds of words long. It might not be of much use, but it could also quickly be one of his achievements.

    Suddenly, his mobile phone screen lit up. There was a new text message from Huo He, the Dean of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang.

    Ren Suo naturally had to keep in contact with the Dean of the Institution while working in the school, although most of the affairs were unrted to him.

    But that night, the principal would be holding a dialogue session before school began. All teaching staff had to attend, and the emergency doctor Ren Suo was one of them.

    That night, Ren Suo proceeded to the hall of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang to listen to the principal¡¯s speech. However, what the principal talked about did not concern him, since he was not involved in teaching, so he started looking around.

    The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang seemed to be like the Countermeasure Division: Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director of the Countermeasure Division, was a powerful Practitioner, and the Deputy Principal of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang who was standing at the side was also a strong Practitioner¡ªone who had a key too and appeared to be a strong Awakened Practitioner.

    The teaching faculty was separated into two groups. One group of teachers was responsible for teaching cultural lessons. It consisted of trained teachers who were mostly middle-aged and appeared to be highly-acimed teachers who had been transferred from other schools.

    The other group only consisted of ten teachers, and they were responsible for teaching students how to Practice. However, amongst the ten of them, four were holders of keys!

    It was indeed the right decision toe to the school! There are both teachers and students, and the chances of keys appearing have greatly increased!

    That meant that Ren Suo was halfway there in retrieving keys¡ªhe had found them.

    But the problem which followed was, ¡®How he was going to actually retrieve the keys?¡¯

    Ren Suo saw a familiar face amongst the Practitioner teaching faculty. He waited until the dialogue session finally ended and walked over to greet him, saying, ¡°Zhao Huo!¡±

    Indeed, it was the Zhao Huo whom Ren Suo had trained and slept together with, under the same roof, during the mass training session.

    Zhao Huo was also surprised to meet Ren Suo, and they agreed to catch up over some food and drinks.

    When Zhao Huo first returned from the mass training, he had been further trained as his talent score was extremely high. He had then learned many other types of abilities and was sent to be a teacher at the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, responsible for teaching while training.

    ¡°So, you will really teach the students abilities?¡± Ren Suo asked as he was peeling a prawn.

    Zhao Huo replied, ¡°Of course. However, after the students learn the abilities, they have to sign an agreement stating that they would only work in government units upon graduation.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°That¡¯s still great. I also want to learn more abilities, how do you teach them?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we are still using the Knowledge Web to impart the knowledge directly. We would then further guide them based on their aptitude. If you want to learn them, you can just buy them directly on the Knowledge Web, can¡¯t you?¡± Zhao Huo said.

    ¡°Buy them on the Knowledge Web?¡± a slightly stunned Ren Suo said. He asked, ¡°I have the Knowledge Web in my room¡­ But how do I buy the abilities?¡±

    ¡°The Knowledge Web is still in the trial stage, so abilities can only be purchased between 18:00 and 24:00 every night. You can buy them upon logging in,¡± Zhao Huo replied.

    He continued, ¡°The purchases are made using Reiki Stones. Yes, they are the mystical Reiki Stones from fantasy tales, but they are essentially just virtual currency. Us Practitioner teachers are given Reiki Stones as part of our pay every month, so I suppose you would receive them too. After all, you are also a Practitioner in the school, although you are not a teacher.¡±

    After parting ways with Zhao Huo, Ren Suo hurriedly called Yu Kuangtu to ask about the Reiki Stones. Yu Kuangtu exined¡ª

    ¡°I forgot to tell you about that, you can just log in to the Knowledge Web directly. Your Knowledge Web ount is tied to your researcher ount. If I am not wrong, you should be given 50 Reiki Stones at the start and an additional 50 Reiki Stones for being a researcher. The reward for your report would only be given to you next month.¡±

    What a scam, if I did not have a connection with someone here, I would have wasted such a great benefit.

    Ren Suo returned home hurriedly. It was not yet 24:00, so he picked up the Knowledge Web in the living room in his hands and activated his breathing current. Then, he naturally entered the dark universe of the Knowledge Web.

    In an instant, tens of different colored stars appeared in front of his eyes, although they were slightly dimmed.

    ¡°Wee, Suo.¡±

    ¡°This is your first time entering the Knowledge Web Universe Ver. 1.25. There will now be a brief introduction. Currently, there is only the ¡®Abilities Universe¡¯ service avable.¡±

    ¡°Every star in the Universe represents one type of Reiki ability. You may receive the detailed information and cost of them by looking at the individual stars. You are advised to carefully read the information about its ability level, its required affinity type, its effect, and its cost.¡±

    ¡°If you wish to purchase the ability, activate ¡®Willpower¡¯ and swipe forcefully over the price tag of the corresponding star, and your purchase would bepleted.¡±

    ¡°Some of the abilities are rted by progression or inclusion. After purchasing an ability, the cost of its rted abilities will be changed ordingly.¡±

    ¡°For safety reasons, every person is only allowed to purchase one ability per day.¡±

    Ren Suo thought, ¡°There are already so many abilities in the Knowledge Web?¡±

    He widened his eyes to browse through the tens of ability stars in the Knowledge Universe. Amongst the stars, only three of them were lit brightly, of which two were white and one was green. They were ¡°Clothes¡±, ¡°Armor¡±, and ¡°Heal¡±!

    Ren Suo looked through the abilities in the Knowledge Universe like a hungry soul scavenging for food. He was like a hardcore gamer who chanced upon a discount for many 3A games and the only thought that arose was that he wanted all of them!

    However, Ren Suo only had 100 Reiki Stones. The cost of the abilities being sold ranged from 50 to 250 Reiki Stones. Just like ying with the Mini Worlds Gaming Console, he still could not afford the abilities sold in the Knowledge Universe, and neither was spending real cash to buy Reiki Stones an option.

    Why do I feel like this is a real-life in-game purchase¡­

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Ren Suo suddenly saw an interesting ability.

    It was an ability that might make up for the insufficient capability of his game controller.

    But, it could turn out that the purchased ability was useless¡­

    As Ren Suo was hesitating, a voice was heard in the Knowledge Universe saying, ¡°There are 5 minutes left before the closure of the Knowledge Web, please make your purchase as soon as possible¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was shocked momentarily. The next second, a thought emerged in his head, ¡°There are only 5 minutes left? I¡¯m just going to buy it!¡±

    Impulse is truly a devil.

    After Ren Suo regained his full senses, he had already emerged from the Knowledge Web with a new ability in his mind.

    Great, I just have to give it a try now.

 Chapter 109 - The Heavenly Palace Is Very Powerful

    <strong>Chapter 109: Chapter 109: The Heavenly Pce Is Very Powerful</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo woke up early the next morning and continued his journey in the game.

    Before sleeping, the night before, he had already thought of his ¡°script¡± and how he would make use of the pangolin tomunicate with the Countermeasure Division in the game. The only problem at present was whether the ability Ren Suo had downloaded from the Knowledge Web could be put to good use.

    Ren Suo opened the ¡°Equipment¡± page, and a new ability had indeed emerged¡ª

    It was ¡°Ability: Ventriloquy¡±, a tier-one ability with no dependent affinities, which he had purchased for 50 Reiki Stones from the Knowledge Universe.

    Its effect was simple, allowing noises to be made through the whirlpool of Reiki in the abdomen. If used often, it could even reduce belly fat and train the abdominal muscles.

    The following were the three major prohibitions of such ability:

    First, it should not be used when experiencing stomach pain, or else the pain would not be able to be suppressed by the user;

    Second, it should not be used when taking a dump, or else a rectal prpse will ur; and

    Third, it should not be used while eating, or else the user would pass gas.

    There was a limited number of contexts in which the ability could be used, since very few Practitioners were mute, and very few Practitioners would buy that ability to strengthen their abdominal muscles¡­

    The ability was priced at 50 Reiki Stones, which was one of the cheapest amongst the tens of abilities in the Reiki Universe, and not without reason.

    However, there are no useless abilities, only useless Practitioners¡­ my foot!

    If not for the fact that the abilities Ren Suo learned could also be equipped by the in-game characters through the ¡°Equipment¡± page, Ren Suo would not have purchased such a useless ability¡ªhe did not need to train to be a six-pack beast anyway!

    Ren Suo equipped the ¡°All-Devouring Soul¡± with the ability, and after changing the game character to the pangolin¡ª

    ¡°Ventriloquy¡± actually appeared on the bottom left corner of the abilities column, and there was a textbox where words could be entered to be spoken!

    Indeed, in human form, several of the spells equipped by the game characters can be used normally!

    A bottle of ink and a stack of A4 paper was currently ced in front of the pangolin as itmunicated with the middle-aged man from the Countermeasure Division.

    The middle-aged man said, ¡°At pangolinrade¡¯s request, we have now provided you with paper and ink. You may tell us if you have any other requests.¡±

    ¡°We have a few questions we need you to answer. As long as you are willing to answer our questions honestly, I can assure you that you will be given afortable living environment and a good guide in your Practice.¡±

    ¡°There is no need to hurry, you may write your answer down word by word. We have a lot of time¡ª¡± the middle-aged man said.

    The pangolin replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    On the screen, it was obvious that both the man, who was d in the ck vest and the middle-aged man were dumbfounded.

    The middle-aged man asked, ¡°You¡­ canmunicate with your abdomen? Why did you not say so earlier and instead wrote with your fist?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°As I was, being chased, by you, I hit, my head, became unconscious, and forgot, that I could, do so, when I awoke.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Alright,¡± the middle-aged man said. He continued, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    ¡°Firstly, what did you do to cause the red glow in the sky of Tianjing? There was even a meteor showerst night, what exactly happened?¡± the man asked.

    It was time to put to the test Ren Suo¡¯s skills in making up tales.

    The pangolin answered, ¡°We are, from the, Heavenly Pce. We brought, two things, with us, when we left.¡±

    ¡°One, was a, Tablet of, Merits. It can, allow us, to be, human.¡±

    ¡°The other, was a, Tablet of, Treasure. It contained, a secret,¡± the pangolin said.

    At that juncture, a ¡°?¡± symbol emerged above the head of the middle-aged man.

    He said, ¡°Hold on, let me make a call first¡­¡±

    After 20 minutes, the middle-aged man returned with a young man dressed in a suit. The young man stood at the side but did not say anything, as if he was surveilling the conversation.

    The middle-aged man then continued, asking, ¡°What is the Heavenly Pce? Where is it?¡±

    ¡°Heavenly Pce, is very, powerful. It is in, another, universe,¡± the pangolin answered.

    The middle-aged man asked the same question a few times, and the pangolin gave the exact same answer. Forced to change the question, he said, ¡°How is that rted to the extraordinary red glow phenomena over the past few days?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°The, Tablet of Merits, can allow us, to change, our form. Igniting the, Reiki source, brings great, merits.¡±

    The middle-aged man asked, ¡°Merits? Igniting the Reiki source? Does that refer to¡­ the Fire of Legaciesst night?¡±

    The pangolin said, ¡°Yes. That is, the Reiki Source, of Xuan Nation. From now on, the Reiki Source, of Xuan Nation, has be, stronger.¡±

    The middle-aged man exchanged nces with the young man in the suit, then asked, ¡°How did you ignite the Reiki source?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°The Tablet of Merits, posted six times, for half, a day, each time.¡±

    ¡°If sessful, I would, be human. The Tablet of Merits, fuses with the, Reiki source.¡±

    The men looked at the pangolin¡ªit did not look fully like a human, nor exactly like a pangolin, making what it said seem extremely convincing.

    The middle-aged man asked, ¡°Then, what is the Tablet of Treasure?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°The Tablet of Treasure, is an ability, it contains, a secret. A truly suitable person, can receive, great powers, after learning it.¡±

    The middle-aged man probed, ¡°Have you learned it?¡±

    The pangolin raised its right fist, shaking it. It said, ¡°The Tablet of Treasure, is of no use, to me.¡±

    The middle-aged man had not expected such a reply. He said, ¡°Then¡­ where is the Tablet of Treasure?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°I have, hidden it in, a small alley. Do you, want it?¡±

    The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°We are willing to pay a high price in exchange for the Table of Treasure. You will definitely be satisfied.¡±

    At that moment, the young man suddenly asked, ¡°You just said that ¡®we¡¯ left the Heavenly Pce? So there are others with you?¡±

    Again, the pangolin pressed its right fist on his head and nodded.

    The young man asked, ¡°Where are the rest then?¡±

    The pangolin said, ¡°Dispersed. They are also, going to ignite, Reiki sources.¡±

    The young man questioned, ¡°Why did all of you leave the Heavenly Pce?¡±

    The pangolin exined, ¡°Because we, want to, change form. But in the, Heavenly Pce, there are no, merits. So the, Heavenly Pce, gave us, the Tablet, of Merits, and told me, the Reiki Source, of Xuan Nation.¡±

    The young man said, ¡°In that case, do you know where are the other Reiki Sources?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°No, I only know, that of, Xuan Nation.¡±

    The young man asked, ¡°What about the Tablet of Treasure then? Is it also given by the Heavenly Pce?¡±

    The pangolin said, ¡°I picked, it up, from the, Heavenly Pce. Everyone learns, in the Pce, so there are, many Tablets, of Treasure.¡±

    Everyone on the screen fell into deep thought, except for the pangolin. Satisfied, Ren Suo nodded his head.

    He had tried his best.

    By fabricating the presence of a particr power, Ren Suo attempted to maximize the value of the ¡°Tame Head Tablet¡±. If that was not sufficient to get the nation to value the ability and make it a well-known ability too, Ren Suo would have to admit defeat and be left with no clue on how he could receive more unconscious patients.

    After all, there were plenty of ways Practitioners could deal with ordinary people, such as by simply activating ¡°Clothes¡± and charging over recklessly. However, it was not as easy to subdue other Practitioners.

    In the Knowledge Universe, Ren Suo had not seen any practical ability like ¡°Tame Head¡± which was not at all lethal but was a ranged ability that could not be blocked by Practitioners.

    It was a practical ability that also seemed to be a huge secret.

    Now, it is up to luck to activate the secret ability, please be well-known quickly¡­

    As to why Ren Suo had ¡°used¡± the Heavenly Pce¡­ it was because he had already mentioned it before in ¡°The Hitman¡±. Talking about it again now would make it seem realistic.

    Ren Suo quickly recorded down his fabricated tale, so that he could use it again if he failed toplete the game in the current game save.

    Now, it was time to control the red fox to activate the second Reiki Treasure, and turn the pangolin¡¯s words into reality!

    The ne gradually descended into London Heathrow International Airport. The red fox, with a body as red as fire, attracted much attention throughout the journey, and easily passed through immigration¡ªthe visa, face verification, and security checks were all sessfully fooled with the drunkard¡¯s identity and ¡°Seductive Charm¡±.

    Even those who lined up immediately behind the red fox did not sense anything amiss.

    ¡°Seductive Charm¡±, ¡°Illusion¡±, ¡°Delusion¡± and ¡°Body Fragrance Charm +10¡± was sufficient to let anyone who was near the red fox automatically approve of all of its movement.

    Out of the 26 evolutionary abilities of the red fox, Ren Suo had chosen to evolve one of them 10 times, and that was ¡°Body Fragrance Charm¡±.

    That was also the only ability that could be stacked. The ability card was green with blue words, and it had only one effect:

    The body fragrance of the red fox would be stronger and detectable from arger radius around the fox. All attributes and abilities of the fox would increase significantly within the radius of the fragrance. This evolutionary ability can be evolved multiple times and stacked.

    Compared to vision, appearance, and voice, body fragrance was the simplest yet most widely-affecting and most directly impactful factor.

    At present, any living creature within a 50-meter radius of the red fox would be subconsciously affected by the red fox and would even be charmed by it!

    That was the charm of ¡°Unlimited Legacies: Reignite¡±. With normal evolutions, Ren Suo might not dare to choose to evolve such an assist ability. Even if he did choose such an ability, it might not necessarily appear again in the next evolution to stack the upgrades.

    On the contrary, with ¡°Reignite¡±, Ren Suo could choose to evolve ¡°Body Fragrance Charm¡± directly 10 times, allowing that ability to achieve an assisting effect almost akin to cheating!

    Even though the four attributes of the red fox were not high at present, who could stop the red fox in what it was doing?

    Standing by the road outside the airport, a luxury car stopped in front of the red fox in less than 30 seconds¡ªalthough Ren Suo was not good with cars, he was still able to identify a sports car.

    The difficulty of the game had even dropped after bing a beautiful youngdy¡ªthat must be the right strategy to take in this game.

    After getting onto the car, the white man beside the fox kept talking, but Ren Suo could understand a limited number of vocabry like ¡°beautiful¡±. Nheless, it did not matter if Ren Suo could not understand what he was saying, as long as the charming sounds made by the red fox could be understood by the white man.

    The red fox said, ¡°Sir, to the Elizabeth Tower please, or it is also known as¡­ the Big Ben.¡±

 Chapter 110 - The Identity of â€œNaisser_Renâ€ Has Been Exposed

    <strong>Chapter 110: Chapter 110: The Identity of ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± Has Been Exposed</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    May 9 was an important day for Ren Qingqing.

    It was still a day before school started, and neither was it Ren Qingqing¡¯s birthday. Rather¡­ it marked the end of the ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± drama series.

    Spanning 76 episodes, the long drama series began showing at 9 a.m. on April 20 and updated its final episode at 3 a.m. on May 9.

    Other than the first episode, which talked about events in both 190 and 191 CE, every other episode in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± spanned one year each. The life of the Ren family of Practitioners through the four seasons in one single year was illustrated in each episode in chronological order, until the series ended in 266 CE, when the Jin dynasty was established.

    The duration of each episode varied, with the shorter ones being as short as the time needed to cook a cup of instant noodles and finishing in just a few minutes with the ¡°Ren family descendants¡± Practicing at home; while the longer episodes could even be blockbusters on their own. For example, episode 75 could well be turned into a standalone immortal heroes action movie.

    ¡°Naisser_Ren¡¯s¡± productions were all exquisite works. Every episode was either hrious or exciting and action-packed. The audience would not feel the time dragging on and would finish one episode in the blink of an eye. The pace of the storyline had even be a ssic work used by film academies for study and research.

    In fact, by episode 75, which depicted the events that took ce in 265 CE, Ren Qingqing had somewhat felt that the drama would soon end.

    The secondst episode, which was uploaded the night before at 9 p.m., was a staggering 2 hours long, but Ren Qingqing watched the entire episode from start to end without skipping any part, and she was extremely satisfied.

    With a cursed bloodline and controlled by shackles, countless loved ones were lost over generations of Practitioners of the Ren family, but they stood firm in their belief and duty to eliminate all monsters. After going through that much, they finally exploded.

    Pitted against the strongest Ghost Troop Contingents of the mighty army of the Han dynasty, the Ren family did not retreat and surrender. Even though the enemy was thousands of timesrger in strength and there were many ghost heroes, the Ren family fought against the tens of thousands of elite Shu-Han warriors, with their spiritual energy, aided by the Three Aspirations of Moonlight!

    However, even though the Ren family of Practitioners were the most powerful, they were nheless still people.

    Against a sea of enemies, their defensive abilities crumbled, and even the sixth generation master Ren Han, who began Practicing from the age of eight and never once allowed his descendants to die, was disabled and killed by the Ghost Troops.

    But when Ren Han fell, an apparition of a teenager floated above his body.

    It was Ren Pingsheng, the biological father of Ren Han.

    Ren Qingqing still had an impression of Ren Pingsheng, as he once fell in love with an Elf and received a Love Crystal after a spiritual exchange with the Elf.

    Later on, Ren Pingsheng became the fifth generation master and the Elf fell into deep slumber due to the spiritual exchange, and would only reemerge in the world hundreds of yearster¡ªat that time, Ren Pingsheng would have long been forgotten by the world.

    ¡°In thest twenty years, I, Pinsheng, only hated one person. Mother¡­ I did not let my family down.¡±

    The scenes, which followed, touched Ren Qingqing so much that tears welled up in her eyes¡ªthe dead Practitioners of the Ren family reappeared one after another, on thend that they once lived on, on thend that they once loved upon, and the verynd that they died on. Each one of them revived the dying Practitioners of the Ren family on the battleground, providing the strength that they needed to fight on.

    All of those apparitions who reappeared were young men and youngdies, who had begun Practicing from a young age and started killing monsters way bigger than them ever since they matured. Every one of them lived a colorful life for just over twenty years but then died in the embrace of their closest rtives.

    As Ren Qingqing watched Ren Ying, whom she closely resembled, say ¡°Sigh¡­ Sometimes I also wish that I could be loved and cherished like most other girls are¡­¡±, Ren Qingqing burst into tears.

    She truly believed that, more than two thousand years ago, there once lived a person who looked very simr to her, and who shouldered such a huge responsibility as a girl.

    ¡°Descendants of the Ren family, all of you carried such a heavy task on your shoulders while being restricted by the most unforgiving shackles. Love, friendship, hopes for the future¡­ all of these beautiful memories could never belong to us.¡±

    ¡°We possess the strongest powers, but yet we are predestined to walk on the most tragic of paths.¡±

    ¡°You may hate me, this surname, this family, and this destiny¡­ but regardless¡­¡±

    ¡°Please, march on, as you cross over my dead body.¡±

    Those were the words of the very first head of the Ren family, as he helped Ren Han, the sixth generation master, up from the ground. When his voice sounded, the entire drama series reached its climax, linking his words over 70 years and across multiple generations.

    When the vast majority of the troops of the Shu Han kingdom had been eliminated, Ren Han was also the only member of the Ren family left standing on the battlefield, along with a few teenagers and toddlers who remained at home, unable to participate in the battle. Ren Han looked back at the vastnd, and he was the only one of his family left in the world, again. It was exactly the same years ago when Ren Woxing looked back at the Ren family vige.

    Perhaps, that was the reason why the drama series naturally became extremely popr without any prior publicity.

    It recounted the historical events of the rise and fall of an ¡°immortal¡± family.

    It recounted the joys and sorrows of the meeting and the separation of a group of young guys and girls.

    It was something which people of all ages aspired to be, wishing that when they were teenagers, they could hold swords in their hands and risk their lives to fight monsters.

    ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± perfectly portrayed the deepest, greatest ¡°eighth-grader¡± desire of people.

    After watching episode 75, Ren Qingqing could somewhat tell that the drama series was about to end. She talked about the exciting storyline of episode 75 online with her friends who were also interested in the drama series, as she eagerly awaited the new episode released at 3 a.m.

    The moment episode 76 was uploaded, Ren Qingqing immediately clicked in to watch. Surprisingly, episode 76 was very short.

    In the video, Ren Han stepped into a quiet Luoyang Pce in the middle of the night, seemingly devoid of people throughout the journey. He left behind the ability of the ¡°Perfect Understanding of All Heavens and Earth¡±, written on a bamboo slip, and then, left quietly.

    The following day, Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin, discovered the token left behind by Ren Han and immediately dered martialw. Entry to the Pce was forbidden for three days and three nights so that the ¡°Perfect Understanding of All Heavens and Earth¡± could be studied in detail.

    In a dark room, the unworthy, undeserving first emperor of the Jin dynasty spoke his mind in a hushed, solemn tone:

    ¡°The ability is real. As long as this ability is used, all Reiki sources can be disrupted and broken. Crimesmitted with force would not be easily possible, and our nation will benefit, protecting all of my family and our descendants.¡±

    ¡°However, the hearts of the people will be altered.¡±

    ¡°If this ability is used, even I, as the Emperor, will end up being despised and bullied by others.¡±

    Amidst the darkness of the room, a me emerged. In the scene, the burning bamboo slip, along with the cold-hearted face of Sima Yan, concluded the drama series.

    Ren Qingqing was dazed as she watched therge words ¡°End of Season 1¡± appear on the screen at 3 o¡¯clock in the morning.

    What happened to the Ren family? Did they break free of the curse of their bloodline?

    It was obvious that Sima Yan had not made use of the ¡°Perfect Understanding of All Heavens and Earth¡±, so Reiki sources remained. Consequently, would the Ren family still have to continue inheriting the devastatingly cursed bloodline?

    Most importantly¡ª

    When would there be a second season?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    May 9 was also an important day for Ren Suo.

    Just after he awoke, Yu Kuangtu called.

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°I suppose, you are still not aware that thest episode of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ has been released. Just as you thought, the drama series ended after Sima Yan established the Wei dynasty. ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ had not uploaded any episodes since 9 a.m. today.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°¡­ Alright, indeed I am not aware of that. Well, do you want me to analyze something?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I called to ask if you are willing to be a special adviser to the ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ Special Investigation Task Force,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo was stunned and said, ¡°¡­ What?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu exined, ¡°¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ made a blunder in thest episode of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯. The Countermeasure Division of Lianjiang City has already cross-checked with the Tianjing headquarters, and we have an initial confirmation of the identity of ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯!¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s face was (£þ_,£þ). He eximed, ¡°Really?! That¡¯s amazing!¡±

 Chapter 111 - Becoming A Special Consultant

    Chapter 111: Chapter 111 ¨C Bing A Special Consultant

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Naisser_Ren is definitely from Lianjiang City!¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Upon hearing Yu Kuangtu say that so confidently, Ren Suo also became curious¡ªactually, he was not afraid that his identity was exposed. If it had really been exposed, Yu Kuangtu would not have called him but would have instead invited him to the Countermeasure Division for a meal.

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°In thest episode of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯, there is a scene where someone said a strange sentence that was totally not in line with the style of that era.¡±

    He continued, ¡°At 87 minutes and 36 seconds, when Ren Han was about to kill Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of Han, he said a strange sentence which detractedpletely from the typical ¡°elegant speech (yayan)¡± of the Eastern Han period. He even spoke with the tone and grammar structure of the Lianjiang dialect. If you do not believe me, you can turn on yourputer now to watch it.¡±

    Most of the conversations in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± were iprehensible to the majority of people, and they had to guess the meaning of what was being said. Experts had verified that the people in the video indeed spoke with the ¡°elegant speech¡± structure of the Eastern Han period, which was also the standard form ofmunication during the Han dynasty.

    2000 yearster, the time had brought along with it numerous changes, and the Chinese characters were simplified numerous times. Furthermore, much of the spoken tones were passed on by word of mouth, and could even be considered as the least ¡°stable¡± inherited culture. The Chinesenguage had evolved several times through such a long time period, although some viewersmented that ¡°preserving historical uracy in this area was useless and whoever decided it to be so was silly¡±.

    Nheless, viewing the drama series as a foreign show would not make a difference, since there were subtitles.

    While speaking to Yu Kuangtu, Ren Suo sat down and turned on hisputer. He skipped to the specific time in the video that Yu Kuangtu had mentioned.

    ¡°Why should I even consider morality and justice when dealing with a monster like you?! Have a taste of my ax!¡±

    Ren Han, who had always been well-mannered and discerning, suddenly said such a line in an urate Lianjiang dialect. Numerous bulletments scrolled across the screen:

    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I can understand what he¡¯s saying after such a long time!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from Kaiping City of Lian Province.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from Lianjiang City, what a trendy phrase he said.¡±

    In the flood of bulletments, those fewments were not eye-catching, but that was sufficient for the nation to notice.

    ¡°You heard that right? What do you think that signifies?¡± Yu Kuangtu suddenly asked.

    Ren Suo replied honestly, ¡°That sentence was probably said by ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ himself.¡±

    ¡°Bingo!¡± Yu Kuangtuughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s what the Tianjing headquarters think too. It is very likely that amongst the historical data collected by ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ about the Ren family of Practitioners, the audio for that particr scene was lost, so he had to record his own voiceover.¡±

    ¡°Although the line was still said with Ren Han¡¯s voice, the tone and intonation of that sentence must definitely belong to ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯!¡±

    ¡°The Lianjiang dialect is only prevalently used in Lian Province, so we are nowunching an investigation with the premise that ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is someone from Lian Province!¡±

    ¡°The nation has already decided to set up a specialized task force in Lianjiang City to especially investigate ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯!¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo pulled on the corners of his lips as he said, ¡°Oh¡­ That sounds great, but what has that got to do with me?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°In our Countermeasure Division, you are the most knowledgeable with regard to ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯. Furthermore, you are from Lian Province too, and almost all of your guesses so far have been spot on.¡±

    ¡°To form the special task force, the higher-ups have reshuffled talented investigation officials, and our Countermeasure Division also has the privilege to rmend individuals to join the team. However, you are currently a school medic at the Heavenly Institution of Lian, so in theory, you cannot concurrently be involved in the special task force. But you can receive information about the developments of the special investigation as a ¡®special adviser¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Your analysis skills are indeed extremely strong, although your Practice talent is mediocre, so you are well-suited to be an analyst behind the frontline. The special task force would have to travel around the entire day to investigate the tracks of ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯, so your position as a ¡®special adviser¡¯ is the best arrangement too. However, you still have to provide relevant professional analysis reports to the special task force every month.¡±

    ¡°Previously, I asked you to find out more about ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ as your research topic. You could take a long time to do that, and it did not matter if you submitted good work. However, if you be a special adviser, the special task force will contact you directly if they have any queries, and you must provide a detailed analysis as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°If you be a special adviser, not only would you receive an additional reward, you would also be awarded an additional portion of Reiki Stones. But that is also all of the benefits of bing a special adviser; there are no other achievements.¡±

    ¡°Ren Suo, you are truly a talent, and I truly feel that you would be of help to the special task force. This work may reduce the amount of time you have to Practice, so I can understand perfectly even if you reject this opportunity,¡± Yu Kuangtu said in a serious tone.

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°Thank you Deputy Director for your rmendation. I am just wondering why¡­ you would rmend me?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°It is because you truly have such a skill, and I really want you to contribute to the nation in this area. If you are unable to perform well in the special task force, as the rmender, I will also be humiliated.¡±

    With that said, it was naturally hard for Ren Suo to reject the rmendation. He said, ¡°Alright, I ept the position as a special adviser. How should I contact them?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to contact them. I will report your researcher¡¯s identity to the superiors. Other researchers with strong analysis abilities in extraordinary phenomena would also be special advisers.¡±

    ¡°Most likely, after tomorrow, your intr ount would reflect your special adviser status. When the special task force encounters a problem, they would invite you directly to provide your opinion, and you would need to provide as detailed an analysis as possible within the specified time.¡±

    ¡°Some of the problems may even be ssified as secret and only you would be able to see them. Beware, if any of you discloses the secret information, you will be dealt with ordingly under the internal confidentiality regtions,¡± Yu Kuangtu warned.

    After ending the call, Ren Suo stared at his mobile phone, his heart bustling with emotion.

    What a great man!

    It¡¯s been a long time since I met such a nice person.

    Naturally, Ren Suo knew the significance of that rmendation.

    To start, he was granted ess to the intr as he had a clean family background, was a university graduate, and was part of the first batch of civil servant Practitioners. It was also the result of him providing limited beneficial suggestions.

    Although the information in the intr was not ¡°top secret¡±, disclosing that information was still prohibited. Furthermore, as researchers, being able to discuss such information from many locations around the nation was due to the trust of the nation.

    Now that Yu Kuangtu let him join the special task force, he would be able to receive first-hand information about ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯. It meant that Ren Suo was a prominent figure in the Countermeasure Division of Lianjiang City.

    How great was ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ now?

    Countries around the world were all trying to find out his identity. If he was discovered, his hacker-level abilities to traverse across time eras and extraordinary camera skills were sufficient for all nations to want to get a hold of him. Furthermore, there was absolutely no way to remove his uploaded videos from the inte¡ªhow OP is that?

    No one was able to find out where the video cameras were ced in the videos that he had recorded. It was almost certain that it was invisible, and it was virtually a camera that could fly¡ªhow OP is that?

    It was evident that the information that Ren Suo had provided earlier on had allowed him to receive top-tier tasks as a talented researcher, and be a special adviser to the ¡°Naisser_Ren Special Investigation Task Force¡±.

    Of course, what was most important to Ren Suo was naturally the fact that it meant that he could receive thetest information in the investigation of him.

    Who would imagine that ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± would be supernumerary personnel of the Countermeasure Division, and was now even a special adviser to the special investigation task force?

    How did the message reply, which Ren Suo had posted blindly that day, turn into an opportunity for him to be a special adviser?

    It is hard to predict the future, and only the game can foresee what was toe.

    Ren Suo sighed with contentment as he found another excuse for his game ying.

 Chapter 112 - Re-Encounter With Kallen

    Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Re-Encounter With Kallen

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo entered ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± and looked at the forbidden boundary under the Elizabeth Tower. He frowned slightly.

    Big Ben, also known as the Elizabeth Tower and the Clock Tower of Westminster Pce, was the most famous gothic building in London, Ennd. To the British, the clock tower had much significance and was both the symbol of the building of the British Parliament, as well as the prominentndmark that its citizens ¡®hear¡¯ every day.

    Ren Suo¡¯s guess was not wrong. The Big Ben was indeed a spiritual possession of the British, and it was only the Big Ben in particr, not the Parliament Building. Ren Suo thought that he could reduce many possible targets if ¡°parliament¡± and ¡°government¡± buildings were unable to be Reiki Treasures.

    Under the ¡°Reiki Vision¡±, the entire bell tower of Big Ben was nearly a solid ¡°golden pir¡±.

    While the inside of Big Ben was not open to foreigners, the red fox did not need to enter either. She could not enter the tower either, due to the enchantment of the Reiki Treasure, which repelled all non-human beings.

    Big Ben was located just north of the Parliament Building. The red fox easily came into contact with the golden Reiki pir by standing at the side of the road. After five minutes of physical contact with the Reiki pir, the information of the Reiki Treasure was naturally obtained:

    [You have discovered the Reiki Treasure of Ennd!]

    [Do you wish to activate the Reiki Treasure of Ennd? You may activate the Reiki Treasure of Ennd before the stipted time. As a reward, you may then receive specialized evolutionary abilities.]

    [Caution: After activating the Reiki Treasure of Ennd, there will be a series of unexpected consequences.]

    [Caution: After activating the Reiki Treasure of Ennd, you will receive a ¡®Legendary Evolution¡¯.]

    [Caution: The Reiki Treasure of Ennd will otherwise be automatically activated in 29 days.]

    [Elizabeth Tower]

    [Reiki content: ???]

    [Time required to activate: 3 times of 12 hours each]

    [City/Country: ???]

    [The Sun Never Sets: ???]

    Indeed, it turned out that as long as the All-Devouring Soul activated any one of the world¡¯s Reiki Treasures, the other Reiki Treasures of the world would automatically be activated after one month. There was no way to prevent the automatic activation of other Reiki Treasures, even if Ren Suo cursed the heavens.

    That was undoubtedly part of the challenge of the game¡ªif the All-Devouring Soul was unable to activate the rest of the Reiki Treasures within a month, it would have lost a great opportunity.

    Furthermore, it would be wise to achieve the target of ¡°overpowering the strongest soul in the world¡± within that 30 days.

    Otherwise, when the other Reiki Treasures were activated, there was no knowing how much stronger the strongest soul in the world would be.

    Nheless, the Reiki Treasure of Ennd was quite different from that of Xuan Nation, in that the former only required three rounds of activation toplete.

    It was definitely less effortful for Ren Suo. But on the third day, just as he thought that he could obtain the Reiki Treasure of Ennd effortlessly and happily, the challenge came.

    As with the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, when the red fox opened the Reiki Treasure of Ennd, a light curtain that could be seen by mortals and visible to the naked eye would fill the sky. But different from activating the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, the light curtain in Ennd transitioned between white, red, and blue, and it looked like a huge Razer keyboard ¡°polluting¡± the sky with its light.

    There was no doubt that the light curtain with transitioning colors also attracted the attention of the authorities of Ennd. But unlike the Fire of Legacies in Xuan Nation, there were too many prominentndmarks in London which overwhelmed the authorities: the Buckingham Pce, the London Eye, the London Bridge, Westminster ¡­ They found nothing on the first day.

    However, when the red fox opened the Reiki source for the second time, the authorities managed to deduce that the source of the light curtain was from the Big Ben, perhaps from observing the location where the light curtain first appeared. As such, they immediately cordoned off the Big Ben!

    At that point, Ren Suo¡¯s progress in the game was hindered.

    Ren Suo tried to let the red fox approach directly with ¡°Seductive Charm¡±. Beyond the cordon line, there were army personnel as well as other young people wearing the ¡°Homnd Security and Investigations Agent¡± tag. Thetter group possessed Reiki beams akin to Practitioners.

    Ren Suo had long observed that Practitioners and mortals appeared slightly different under ¡°Reiki Vision¡±.

    Both Practitioners and mortals had a glow of blood. The glow of ordinary people was red with a tad of ck, while that of those d in the ck vests who were definitely Practitioners, was red with speckles of gold as if containing a ¡®high-ss aura¡±.

    Simrly, the Homnd Security and Investigations agents had a glow that was red with a bit of gold, which definitely meant that they were also Practitioners.

    However, Practitioners were no different from mortals when it came to being mesmerized by the Seductive Odor of the red fox, but¡ª

    They were also equipped with military drones.

    Those military drones were circling over the cordon line and were reced by fully-charged ones every 15 minutes. The drones even had gun openings beneath them¡ªalthough the firepower would definitely not be strong considering that they were drones flying less than 1 meter away from people.

    However, the problem was that with such a method of relying on cameras for surveince, the red fox was unable to infiltrate into the area.

    Ren Suo hence decided to let the red fox roam around London to pass time, and found a few museums to absorb Reiki energy.

    Even if the surveince cameras of those museums captured the red fox, it was safe as long as the security personnel did not react adversely¡ªafter all, it was tiring for the personnel in the surveince room to monitor a few to tens of cameras at the same time.

    Nheless, even after spending one day absorbing Reiki energy and evolving twice, the red fox still did not manage to acquire stealth abilities like ¡°Invisibility¡± and ¡°Temperature Adaptation¡±.

    Perhaps it was not possible for the red fox to possess such abilities, to begin with, or perhaps it was that Ren Suo was unlucky, but regardless, Ren Suo was not willing to waste any more time.

    After all, the world was huge, and there were many other ces to scout around.

    So Ren Suo controlled the red fox to hit the ground three times.

    Then, an old gentlemanly elf wearing a robe and holding a walking stick appeared in front of the red fox.

    He said, ¡°Hello, young fox. I am willing to provide you with some tiny help.¡±

    The red fox asked, ¡°Don¡¯t elves never get old?¡±

    The London Earth Elf replied, ¡°Young fox, growing old is a British romance.¡±

    The list of avable purchases was slightly longer than that of the Northern Mang Earth Elf, and there were also some skills that seemed very powerful. For example, there was the ¡°Crystal of the Dragon King¡¯s Roar¡± ability which enabled the character to learn the Roar of the Dragon King that would cause the eruption of a powerful and destructive force that is 10x to 100x the power of the user¡¯s Damage. That ability would definitely increase thebat power of the red fox.

    But of course, the cost of that ability was extremely high. Without feeling certain that he couldplete the game in that attempt and rely on that ability to surpass the strongest creature in the world, Ren Suo definitely did not purchase that ability, at least for the moment. He noted down the ability in his head.

    He only had one purpose in mind when he summoned the Earth Elf.

    The red fox asked, ¡°Do you provide services to send me to the Elizabeth Tower?¡±

    The London Earth Elf looked at the Elizabeth Tower in the distance and came to a sudden realization. He said, ¡°So it was you who activated the Reiki Treasure¡­ It is no wonder you have such great Reiki energy on you, so I see.¡±

    The red fox said, ¡°I hope you can dig a hole underground just at the edge of the Elizabeth Tower and teleport me there. I only need to just be able to touch the foundation of the Elizabeth Tower.¡±

    The London Earth Elf replied, ¡°It is not impossible, but¡­ it would cost this amount.¡±

    25 merit points!

    Ren Suo was shocked. The Earth Elf looked like a gentleman but was, in fact, a greedy man, truly living up to the traits of a native British man¡ªhis ruthless tactics were no different from that of British people of the 19th century.

    Although Ren Suo knew that using such a service was akin to cheating in the game to bypass the human surveince on the ground, and would allow him to open the Reiki Treasure almost certainly, the price would naturally not be cheap.

    But 25 merit points was simply too outrageous!

    The red fox remarked, ¡°That¡¯s too expensive!¡±

    The London gentleman said, ¡°I won¡¯t force you to use my service. However, if you do purchase my service, I would teleport you out in times of need.¡±

    Behind the screen, Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth. He activated the ¡°Seductive Charm¡± ability and said, ¡°Can it be slightly cheaper?¡±

    Ren Suo had not expected his tactic to work, but it appeared that the London gentleman blushed and said, ¡°Alright¡­ this is my best price.¡±

    The cost dropped from 25 to 24 merit points, but Ren Suo would not give up so easily. He attempted to do the same several times, but the London Earth Elf would not reduce the price further than 20 merit points. He was also bing slightly angry.

    Ren Suo was already extremely satisfied that his in-game character¡¯s ability could make such an impact on the price of in-game products. The red fox probed, ¡°Can I pay in separate payments? Like in ten portions?¡±

    The London Earth Elf was slightly intrigued. He said, ¡°That is not impossible¡­¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up, and he asked again, ¡°In that case, can I split the purchase of items into multiple payments as well?¡±

    The London Earth Elf replied, ¡°That is possible too, but only if you buy high-quality products.¡±

    Ren Suo was ted and paid for the teleportation service in 10 separate payments.

    The yer privilege ¡°Meticulous yer¡± was indeed in y even in such purchases, and it was activated in seven of the 10 payments. Ren Suo was considered more lucky than average, and only spent a total of 13 merit points.

    Nheless, Ren Suo still felt bitter, for he would soon be broke, even if he used such a cheat method in the in-game purchases twice more.

    After obtaining the Reiki Treasure of Ennd, he had to obtain a revolutionary ability set for perfect stealth and concealment.

    Nheless, it felt great to be able to cheat the in-game purchase system. The red fox was taken directly to the ground right underneath the Big Ben, where she could just maintain physical contact with the Reiki energy while not rming any of the people above the ground.

    Even the pangolin might not have been able to aplish that¡ªthere were many water pipes and electrical cables running beneath the Big Ben, and any misjudgment in digging beneath the ground could result in the copse of the entire structure, resulting inplete exposure of the pangolin¡¯s identity.

    The red fox maintained physical contact with the Reiki beam in satisfaction, to activate the Reiki Treasure for thest time. Ren Suo fast-forwarded the game by 12 hours.

    But after just 1 hour and 13 minutes, the fast-forwarding was interrupted.

    An apparition of a blue human-like figure appeared in the hole that the London Earth Elf created. The figure looked curiously at the red fox.

    The figure asked, ¡°Sister, what are you doing here?¡±

    Her mouth did not move, but the voice of a young girl speaking in Mandarin could be heard in the scene.

    At the same time, Ren Suo, who was lying down on the couch, was so astonished that he almost rolled over.

    He had not imagined that he would actually reencounter her in another game¡ª

    She was Kallen Lamperouge.

    Indeed, she was the main target to be protected in ¡°The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡±!

 Chapter 113 - Fooling A Small Loli

    Chapter 113: Chapter 113 ¨C Fooling A Small Loli

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Upon seeing Kallen Lamperouge, Ren Suo immediately paused the game to calm down. He searched for information about her on his mobile phone, using both her English and tranted Chinese names, but only general information could be found. Most of the snippets of the search results talked about her as a character in ¡°The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡±.

    Ren Suo went back to his room to search for information on the intr and actually found some relevant information.

    It appeared that after discussions about ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± were added to the ¡°Extraordinary Phenomena¡± section of the forum, all of the videos he posted had been investigated by the intelligence department to be important reference materials for researchers.

    Among the information gathered in ¡°The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡±, there were three crucial discussion boards, namely ¡°Uncovering how the Hitman Vanished¡±, ¡°Analysis of the Hitman¡¯s Abilities¡±, and ¡°The Hitman¡¯s Goal¡±.

    In ¡°The Hitman¡¯s Goal¡±, there was a detailed record of Kallen.

    Kallen Lamperouge, along with his elder sister Yuffie, and Baron Lamperouge were amongst the emerging nobles after the Glorious Revolution. They were part of a group of well-known merchant aristocrats who had gradually increased their dependence on foreign trade during the Age of Discovery. The Lamperouge Group was now part of the upper echelons, and although they did not have titles of nobility, the Lamperouge Group became inextricably intertwined in the politics of the UK and held multiple seats in the House of Commons. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they ¡°had power over the world¡±.

    But that was only until a few years ago.

    After the previous generation owner suddenly passed away and left behind the two young heirs, Yuffie and Kallen, the Lamperouge family fell into turmoil.

    Even with loyal subordinates, it was hard to defend against money and power-hungry rtives who attempted to get a share of the family¡¯s wealth. As such, the Lamperouge Group had been caught with numerous scandals in recent years and relied on the physical industry to barely survive.

    The assassination at the ckthorn Building which took ce in April was most likely also due to the disputed inheritance of family wealth.

    By employing the European mafia group ¡°Poker¡± to assassinate the two heirs of the Lamperouge family, the inherited wealth could then be redistributed.

    However, the appearance of the Hitman prevented all of that from happening.

    In the assassination of near life-and-death, the Hitman from the Heavenly Pce appeared and saved the two sisters by killing the assassins, but vanished without a trace after the incident.

    Researchers generally had two guesses about the goal of the Hitman:

    One, he was paid to save the sisters, while the person who paid the Hitman was someone who had deep connections with the sisters;

    Two, he saved the sisters for another reason¡ªbecause the two sisters possessed special abilities.

    Regardless of the Hitman¡¯s true goal, the truth would soon be revealed by keeping watch on the two Lamperouge sisters.

    And they were right¡ªthe Intelligence Agency of Xuan Nation found that after the incident with the Hitman, the Lamperouge maintained close contact with the ¡°Homeground Search and Investigations Agency¡±, the Extraordinary Affairs Department of Ennd. Although there was no way to investigate deeper, it was extremely likely that at least one of the two sisters was an Awakener.

    However, it turned out that Yuffie would still attend the Group¡¯s meetings asionally, while her younger sister Kallen vanishedpletely.

    The conclusion on the forum was thus as such: it was extremely likely that the Hitman saved the sisters because of Kallen because there was a great secret that the Heavenly Pce was keeping watch on, which was also the reason why the Hitman was sent by them to thwart the assassination incident by the Poker.

    It had to be said that Ren Suo felt slightly creeped out seeing the researchers manage to deduce most of the contents of the game so urately.

    I have to be more careful when choosing games to y in the future.

    In the meantime, the present encounter in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± perfectly supported the second half of the researchers¡¯ conclusion¡ª

    Kallen possessed a great secret, indeed.

    Returning to the game, Ren Suo looked at the apparition of Kallen in front of his in-game character and could already guess three of the possible abilities she had:

    First, she had a strong investigation ability, for she knew the presence of the red fox more than ten meters underground;

    Second, she had the ability tomunicate with her mind, for she was able tomunicate her thoughts to the red fox without actually speaking, which was why the red fox was able to hear her voice, and a dialogue box also appeared to converse with her;

    Third, she had the ability to form phantoms of herself, for her appearance in front of the red fox was obviously not her true body, but a phantom she had created for herself temporarily.

    Regardless of whether those were abilities she learned or Reiki abilities she had acquired through Awakening naturally, it was sufficient to prove that her natural talent and capability was extremely terrifying!

    If Ren Suo saw Kallen with his own eyes, he might well lose his mind, swoop her up and run away with the small loli.

    Such a talent would almost certainly possess a powerful key!

    But first, at present, he had to sessfully fool Kallen, who was once part of his mission objective, to get away safely.

    The red fox asked, ¡°Kallen, how did you find me?¡±

    Kallen was surprised. She replied, ¡°Hey~ Sister, do you know me?¡±

    Ren Suo paused for a moment to think, then let the red fox reply, saying, ¡°I heard people from the Heavenly Pce talking about you before.¡±

    Kallen instantly became more excited. She said, ¡°The Heavenly Pce? Is that the Heavenly Pce Brother Hitman came from? Do you know Brother Hitman?¡±

    Ren Suo let out a smile as Kallen took the bait. The red fox continued asking, ¡°You have not answered my question, how did you find me?¡±

    Kallen replied, ¡°Oh, I was right above you. Weird things seem to be happening to the Elizabeth Tower, so they especially invited me over to check it out. And then I found you~¡±

    The red fox probed, ¡°So how exactly did you find me?¡±

    Kallen exined, ¡°I saw you, I can see anyone within a hundred meters. I can also see if they want to do bad things or good things. I saw sister hiding here and seemed to be very lonely, so I came over to say hi~ ¡±

    Ren Suo was astounded. How terrifying, she could see through walls and even the ground for as far as a hundred meters?!

    It was fortunate that he had not controlled the red fox to enter the area by concealing herself. Otherwise, if Kallen greeted him in the middle of the crowd, would he not have been exposed?

    Kallen said, ¡°So sister, you are the one who has been causing rainbows to appear from the Elizabeth Tower, right? But, you are not a bad person, so I won¡¯t tell that to the fierce uncles and aunties.¡±

    The red fox asked, ¡°Why not? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be helping them?¡±

    Kallen shook her head and said, ¡°Why should I~ All of them are not pure and only approach me with dirty thoughts. Compared to them, I rather trust you. I want a hug~ ¡±

    Although Kallen appeared as a phantom, the red fox could still hug her.

    Looking at the small loli and the young girl hug on the screen, and as their two cute faces touched each other, Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips.

    Ren Suo said achingly, ¡°Hmph, when would I be able to evolve into the game virtualization technology tree, I also want to enjoy such a beautiful sight¡­¡±

    Nheless, he could tell that Kallen seemed to have a special ability which allowed her to ¡°see through the hearts of people¡±. Otherwise, there was no other exnation as to how much she believed the red fox. In ¡°The Hitman¡±, she was an extremely shy and timid girl.

    It must be through her special ability that she was able to confirm that the red fox was a ¡°good friend NPC¡±, for her to be so at ease. It was just like encountering a novice vige head in a game, one would usually go forward to receive a mission, rather than suspect that he was a world boss and stab him instead.

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment and let the red fox reply, saying, ¡°I am working for the Heavenly Pce.¡±

    Kallen was very surprised and eximed, ¡°Really?!¡±

    The red fox nodded and said, ¡°Yes, the person who sent the Hitman previously to protect you asked me to activate a world treasure.¡±

    Perhaps it was because the red fox was a character in the good, or perhaps what the red fox said was all true¡ªboth the Hitman and the red fox were sent by Ren Suo¡ªbut regardless, Kallen believed the fox.

    Kallen said, ¡°You are not lying. Do you need my help?¡±

    The red fox replied, ¡°No, you just need to conceal my presence. Thank you, Kallen.¡±

    Suddenly, Kallen asked, ¡°I really wish to thank Brother Hitman, is there any way I can do that?¡±

    Ren Suo hesitated for a moment, and subconsciously yet unexpectedly let the red fox reply:

    ¡°If you really wish to thank him,e to Lianjiang City in Xuan Nation.¡±

 Chapter 114 - Dark Blue Trump Card

    Chapter 114: Chapter 114 ¨C Dark Blue Trump Card

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    After bidding goodbye to Kallen, the red fox managed to activate the Reiki Treasure of Ennd without any further troubles.

    [You have activated the Reiki Treasure of Ennd.]

    [Grade of the Reiki Vein of Ennd +1.]

    [The Reiki energy in the world has increased slightly.]

    [Due to the activation of the Reiki Treasures of Xuan Nation and Ennd, the other 10 Reiki Treasures of the world would also be activated automatically within 30 days.]

    [You have received 5 Evolutions.]

    [You have received one Legendary Evolution!]

    [You have received one Legendary Evolution!]

    On the screen, the erupting glow of the Big Ben, which the red fox had touched, became smaller and smaller until it turned into a painting, and fused onto the back of a deep blue-colored card.

    [You have received a deep blue trump card: Mythical Knight.]

    Although the London Earth Elf charged exorbitant rates, he was still an honest businessman. After the red fox activated the Reiki Treasure, he sent her directly to Heathrow International Airport over 25 kilometers away. It was only then that Ren Suo could finally calm his racing heart down slightly.

    He had begun activating the Reiki Treasure in the morning, so it was presently evening. A vast, deep blue-colored shower of stars appeared in the foggy sky as if immersing London in a strange yet dreamy world of Cthulhu.

    There was no doubt that the British officials, who were guarding the Big Ben, would have been scrambling around to check the surroundings. However, the red fox who was the cause of everything had already left.

    Ren Suo had intended for the red fox to fly directly to another country, but flights were dyed due to abnormal weather conditions at Heathrow Airport.

    As such, Ren Suo let the red fox sit in the main hall of the airport to wait, while he checked the rewards from the activation of the Reiki Treasure.

    Unlike the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation, that of Ennd only rewarded 5 Evolution Chances.

    However, the Reiki Treasure of Ennd only required three rounds of activation, unlike that of Xuan Nation which required six rounds.

    ¡°It seems that Reiki Treasures are also categorized as strong and weak. Stronger Reiki Treasures would require a longer time to activate, and the number of evolutions rewarded would be higher; weaker Reiki Treasures would require a shorter time to activate, but the number of evolutions rewarded would also be lower¡­ But both still rewarded trump cards.¡±

    ¡°But I just don¡¯t know if the strength of the Reiki Treasure depends on thend or its poption size¡­¡±

    Ren Suo navigated to the Evolution page and above the numerous evolution cards, the crimson-red trump card which had been alone so far, now had apanion, the deep-blue trump card.

    Ren Suo selected the trump card, and the deep-blue trump card shifted to the top of the pile. The scene of a Queen who donned a blue robe with a head of golden hair and had green eyes sitting on the throne appeared. In front of the Queen was a round table, and the knights who served the Queen could be seen vaguely.

    [Mythical Knight: A passive evolution that enables the All-Devouring Soul to receive the four great abilities of the legendary knights]

    Sword of the Knight, which increases the Damage of the All-Devouring Soul by ten-fold (Damage x10), with a cooldown period of 1 day;

    Wind of the Knight, which allows movement abilities of the All-Devouring Soul to preserve optical and temperature concealment, maintain absolute silence and control of the air currents, for a duration equivalent to Movement x1, with a cooldown period of 12 hours;

    Shield of the Knight, which converts the defense ability of the All-Devouring Soul directly into protective armor (Defense/10), refreshed every hour;

    Blood of the Knight, which allows the recovery ability of the All-Devouring Soul to be used to increase the other attributes gradually (Recovery/100), where eating even when full would increase other attributes once.¡±

    Wow!

    Ren Suo let out a shout of amazement looking at the deep-blue trump card.

    Truly, as long as it was a trump card, it would definitely be infinitely better than any other evolution card.

    If the scarlet trump card gave the All-Devouring Soul impossibly strong powers and the opportunity to be reborn, just like how gentleness and kindness were reliable traits in life, then the dark blue trump card would be a hot and beautiful girl. The effects were not to be underestimated!

    Needless to say, Sword of the Knight and Wind of the Knight were extremely useful, with the former greatly boosting damage and thetter allowing concealment during movement.

    Simrly, for Shield of the Knight, since the red fox had at least 500 defense points in human form (human¡¯s physical defense), that meant that there were 50yers of armor which would be renewed every hour, equivalent to having ayer of bullet-proof armor, which could protect an individual against just one bullet, being renewed once every hour.

    Blood of the Knight was much more powerful. If the red fox started eating excessively from that point forward and ate five meals a day, increasing her Recovery to above 500 points, her other three attributes would increase by 25 points every day. Most importantly, the growth of the attributes was unlimited, until they reached their respective limits.

    Moreover, all the abilities of the trump card were rted to the four attributes, which meant that the stronger the All-Devouring Soul, the more terrifying would be the capabilities of the deep-blue trump card!

    Even for the red fox, whose strength was not inbat but in charm, her overallbat power rose by 4600 points after receiving the deep-blue trump card!

    That was the power of the Sword of the Knight and Shield of the Knight!

    As for the strongest warrior in the world, due to the opening of another Reiki Treasure, itsbat power had already increased to¡­ eh?

    It was only 64,880.

    Itsbat power seemed very high, however, before the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Ennd, it was already 63,600.

    Previously when the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation was activated, thebat power of the strongest warrior in the world rose by over 10000 points, but now¡­

    Ren Suo pondered, ¡°Could it be that the strongest warrior in the world is from Xuan Nation? Which is why the opening of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation benefited him so greatly, while the opening of other Reiki Treasures did not benefit him so much?¡±

    If that was the case, Ren Suo could be relieved¡ªif the strongest warrior in the world were to gain such a great number ofbat points each time the Reiki Treasure was activated, it would be extremely challenging to surpass thebat power of the strongest warrior in the world.

    ¡°Fast forward by 12 hours, let¡¯s see what flights are there tomorrow¡­¡±

    However, after just 3 hours, the fast-forwarding was interrupted.

    But that time, it was not the red fox but the pangolin who encountered a problem.

    Ren Suo had not taken notice of the pangolin for a few days in the game and the life of the pangolin had improved greatly. It lived in arge house with arge refrigerator andrge television, and a hole was even specially dug out inside for the pangolin.

    The Endangered Elves Protection Division was worried that the pangolin could not adapt and would not be able to sleep, so they caringly dug arge hole like a grave, considering that pangolins had the habit of sleeping in a hole.

    And presently, the pangolin was in its own room, talking to the middle-aged man named Lao Zhao, whom it interacted with from the beginning.

    Lao Zhao had entered the room with hisptopputer and showed the screen to the pangolin. At the same time, a secondary view appeared on the top right corner of the screen, showing the screen of theptopputer¡ªit was disying the deep-blue evening sky of London.

    Lao Zhao said, ¡°This was the scene in London 12 hours ago¡­ Is this also done by your teammates?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°Yes, it should be.¡±

    Lao Zhao probed, ¡°Who did that?¡±

    The pangolin said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, the Heavenly Pce, told the location, of the Reiki Treasures, to the other, teammates.¡±

    Lao Zhao asked, ¡°Are you able to contact them?¡±

    Ren Suo considered for a moment and then let the pangolin reply, saying, ¡°I can, send a message, but whether, they reply, I would, not know.¡±

    Lao Zhao nodded and said, ¡°That would be sufficient¡­ In that case, are there any Reiki Treasures in Xuan Nation?¡±

    The pangolin answered, ¡°I, don¡¯t know. But, there may, not be.¡±

    Lao Zhao said, ¡°If¡­ I may ask, is there a possibility of joining hands with you, and discuss which Reiki Treasures in which region to light first?¡±

    Eh? Ren Suo was slightly stunned.

    Lao Zhao continued, saying, ¡°What you are doing is indeed ¡®meritorious¡¯ and a great deed, but you are being misunderstood by the world as plotting andmitting a conspiracy¡­.¡±

    ¡°However, with our help, not only would your buddies be able to light the Reiki Treasures more easily, furthermore¡­ you may feel free to tell us if you have any other needs.¡±

 Chapter 115 - Benefitting from the Information Gap

    Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Benefitting from the Information Gap

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    In reality, Ren Suo managed to join the nation¡¯s intelligence department due to the information gap, and even received recognition from his superiors with his outstanding ability to ¡°divulge spoilers¡±.

    And presently, in the game, Ren Suo actually managed to cooperate with the future officials of Xuan Nation in the game, due to the advantage he had with the information gap.

    That was because only Ren Suo knew that all of the Reiki Treasures in the world would still be activated automatically even if the All-Devouring Soul did not activate them. Ultimately, the Reiki energy in the world would increase one grade.

    But that was something the characters in the game did not know.

    And neither did the officials of Xuan Nation.

    However, that did not stop the Xuan Nation officials from taking the opportunity to make use of the ¡°envoys of the Heavenly Pce¡± like the pangolin.

    Ren Suo, too, hoped to make the subsequent activations of Reiki Treasures by the All-Devouring Soul less tedious and challenging through such an official channel.

    Nheless, Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to ask curiously, ¡°Why did you, not stop us, from activating, the Reiki sources? Aren¡¯t you, human nations, enemies?¡±

    Lao Zhao asked, ¡°Would you all give up on the chance to change your forms if we stopped you?¡±

    The pangolin replied, ¡°I, don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lao Zhao continued, ¡°Furthermore, even if we stopped you all, there is still a possibility of other organizations since the Heavenly Pce exists as you mentioned. With two Reiki explosions, we have already detected a distinct rise in Reiki energy levels, and so would other countries.¡±

    ¡°They would link the case in Xuan Nation and that in Ennd together, and naturally they would start to study and research on their Reiki roots. Big Ben in Ennd, the Fire of Legacies in Xuan Nation¡­ It is actually not that difficult for individual nations to find out about the location of their Reiki roots.¡±

    ¡°Rather than letting them discover the secret of its concealment, it would be better to allow you all to ignite the Reiki roots directly. In this way, we can also gain more benefits through diplomacy.¡±

    ¡°So, what is your stand?¡± Lao Zhao asked.

    The pangolin replied, ¡°That is possible, but I cannot guarantee that it will seed.¡±

    Ren Suo controlled the pangolin to lie down in the grave pit in the room and fast-forwarded the game by 30 minutes. He then controlled the pangolin toe out of the room.

    The pangolin said, ¡°They can, only wait, for 20 days. 20 dayster, they will, take action, themselves.¡±

    Lao Zhao heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°20 days, that¡¯s a tight timeframe¡­ But it is sufficient. Are there any other requests?¡±

    Ren Suo blinked and said, ¡°It would, be best, to let us, physically touch, national treasures, of the, various regions.¡±

    Lao Zhao was slightly surprised but did not say much. He replied, ¡°Await my good news¡­ By the way, are there Reiki roots in every country?¡±

    Ren Suo took a deep breath.

    He did not know the answer to that question either.

    Without physically visiting the sites, Ren Suo did not know where the Reiki sources were either, and could only make deductions.

    Fortunately, he had already prepared for it and it should not pose any major problems if the pangolin replied spectively.

    The pangolin replied, ¡°I only, know that, there are only, Reiki sources, in the, top countries, with thergest,nd area, poption size, and, national power.¡±

    That was also Ren Suo¡¯s spections.

    There was no doubt that Ren Suo must have had a Reiki source¡ªit was already mentioned before even in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±.

    It was harder to confirm with other countries.

    When the red fox flew to London to search for Reiki sources, it was actually also a test of luck. After all, thend area and poption size of Ennd was not one of thergest in the world, and its national power was also average. In addition, it had a long history, and most importantly, it was separated from continental Europe.

    Ren Suo predicted that there was probably only one Reiki source in continental Europe, but he could not be sure if it was in Germany, France, or Italy.

    Upon hearing the pangolin¡¯s reply, Lao Zhao nodded and asked, ¡°Can you tell me exactly which countries are they?¡±

    That was a piece of information Ren Suo wanted to know himself too!

    The pangolin immediately said, ¡°No, they are, scared, that the, country will, take precautions, beforehand. However, there should be, Reiki sources, in the, Pacific Federation, Brazil, and, Russia.¡±

    The conversation ended, and Lao Zhao and the rest of the officials said that they would hold discussions with other nations. They woulde to a conclusion as soon as possible within 20 days.

    In addition, Lao Zhao urged not to ignite any Reiki roots at least in the following few days, because other countries were not aware that the ignition of Reiki sources was actually controlled by humans. Furthermore, they did not know that the ignition of Reiki sources was due to a group of small animals wanting to change their forms.

    They wanted to make use of that information gap to fight for more convenient ways of igniting the Reiki sources,rgely benefiting them, as well as the small animals of the Heavenly Pce.

    In actual fact, that was akin to Ren Suo turning the time he had toplete his mission into the time the officials of Xuan Nation had toplete their mission. The information gap he had made use of also became that which was used by Xuan Nation to conduct diplomacy talks with other nations.

    Lao Zhao did not hide the fact that Xuan Nation would gain numerous benefits from that exchange with other nations. He clearly said that ¡°this would be a beneficial mutual exchange allowing both parties to get what we need¡±.

    Naturally, Ren Suo was overjoyed and extremely happy. If Xuan Nation was able to help him confirm the presence of Reiki sources in a fewrge nations like Russia, the Pacific Federation, and Brazil, he would be able to obtain a few trump cards easily.

    The reason why he gave the officials 20 days was because he was already five days into the 30 days period. Ren Suo had to ensure he had the remaining 5 days to ignite the Reiki sources, and that was not even taking into ount the time he had to spend traveling.

    However, would the game really be that simple?

    Could heplete the game so easily by forming ties with a ministry of the nation?

    Regardless, the pangolin had now made a deal with the ministry of Xuan Nation, and Ren Suo could only finish walking down that path.

    As such, Ren Suo controlled the red fox to continue absorbing Reiki in the museum. He would even encounter ostentatious gentlemen in the museum.

    Apart from those who unted their wealth, gentlemen who showed off their antiques could not be missed¡ªfollowing them back to their vi, the red fox would make them sleep a night in their toilet while she, herself, would sleep inside their antiques for the night, leaving after absorbing the Reiki.

    Although those game experiences were trivial, making fun of the beings in the game was unexpectedly interesting to Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo did not even fast-forward the game. He watched as the dog-like gentlemen, the fat businessmen, and the perverted uncles willingly exposing themselves to the red fox, and then be directed by the red fox to collect antiques and well-known possessions. The red fox was just like a queen.

    In terms of maniption tactics, it waspletely dependent on ¡°Seductive Charm¡±, and there was no plot or conspiracy.

    But those gentlemen would never know, behind the goddess they willingly sprung themselves towards, what kind of man was standing.jpg

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s finallypleted¡­¡±

    On the outskirts of Tianjing City, within a military protected area, where ??the Xuan Nation Army was stationed, there was an underground research center guarded by soldiers at all times. Hundreds of Reiki researchers performing secret missions were looking at their seemingly distorted biological masterpiece of Reiki, which was proof that the eye bags under their eyes and their nearly bald head were not sacrificed in vain.

    In front of them was a huge metal seat almost three meters tall from the ground. Countless pipes were connected behind the metal seat like twisted blood vessels and nerves, which channeled the vitality of life of the young man sitting on the metal seat to the ground.

    Mysterious symbols were painted on the ground under the iron seat. The meaning of those symbols had not been thoroughly understood by researchers, but it was not difficult to use them.

    An old, white-haired researcher said, ¡°Ren, from now on, you would not be able to leave this ¡®Metal Seat of Reiki Dispersal¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The Metal Seat of Reiki Dispersal will draw the Reiki currents within your body forever and channel the pure Reiki to the earth¡¯s surface, which would then provide the soldiers with Reiki talents with the best Reiki training environment.¡±

    ¡°But at the same time, your life will no longer be in danger due to your blood.¡±

    Ren slowly leaned back on the Metal Seat as he looked at the countless tubes on the ceiling. He sighed and said, ¡°Really? Is resolving that problem so simple?¡±

    The old researcher said, ¡°Based on your physical condition, we think that the curse of the Ren family bloodline as mentioned in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ is partially true, and partially not.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, you possess the Blood of the Champion, but there is no evidence of the Shackles of Emperor Guangwu on your physical body. You need not eliminate monsters, and you do not need to pledge allegiance to the Imperial Liu Family. You totally do not have such an emotional burden.¡±

    ¡°As such, it is either that the Shackles of Emperor Guangwu is fake, or otherwise¡­ Over the 2,000 years of existence of the Ren family, they had already fully broken free of the Shackles of Emperor Guangwu but did not manage to get rid of the curse of the bloodline. It is only through suppressing Reiki sources that ordinary life can be resumed.¡±

    ¡°But that is also merely because science had not developed so far during their time to be able to solve this problem.¡±

    The old researcher lifted her sses and said, ¡°They did not know why those with the Blood of the Champion will naturally explode when they turned 23 or 24. However, after our research into your body, we discovered that the likely reason why the Blood of the Champion will naturally explode was because the internal Reiki energy was no longerpatible with the external environmental Reiki energy level.¡±

    ¡°The Reiki energy level in the world determines the upper limit of the internal Reiki energy level of an individual. If the individual Reiki energy level exceeds the maximum permitted level based on the Reiki energy level of the world, it would just be like a drop of water suddenly appearing in a bottle of ink.¡±

    Renughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s the first time I heard of such an analogy.¡±

    The old researcher also smiled and continued, ¡°But that is truly the case. In this world, ¡®talents¡¯ with too much Reiki energy are not allowed to exist. If they exist, the only way is to¡­ pollute them.¡±

    ¡°The Blood of the Champion is actually only fully awakened at the age of 24. At that time, an insurmountable ability to Practice automatically would be acquired, and that was what caused the Practitioners to train rapidly into a horrifying state at 24 years old. They would not be able to stop and then finally, exceed the maximum viable Reiki energy limit.¡±

    ¡°Thereafter, the Reiki currents of those with the Blood of the Champion would start copsing, causing the enormous amounts of Reiki to be inflicted on their own body and eventually explode.¡±

    ¡°In addition, before the rejuvenation of Reiki, the Blood of the Champion would still be awakened, but only that its danger would be much less.¡±

    The old researcher took out a report and said, ¡°The generations of the Ren family were all talented people with amazing wisdom, but they were often frail and would fall sick after the age of 24, and even contract nasty diseases. The more fortunate ones would be able to live to just 50 years old while the less fortunate ones would not even live past 30 years old¡­ These are all caused by the backfiring effect of external Reiki energy.¡±

    The researcher continued, ¡°After finding out the root cause, this Metal Seat of Reiki Dispersal was devised. It can detect the external Reiki energy levels and channel away the internal Reiki energy directly from your body to keep your Reiki energy at a safe level at all times.¡±

    The researcherughed and said, ¡°It may seem like the cruelest torture for Practitioners, but it is perfect for you.¡±

    Ren looked at his hands and said, ¡°So, as long as this power is maintained, I can live safely for the rest of my life? I will also be able to research Reiki abilities and use them on my own? Further, I can even be an importantbat force on the battlefield?¡±

    The old researcher replied, ¡°Of course. But the only problem is that, for now, you cannot leave the Metal Seat. But with your capabilities of reconnaissance and sense and perception, it is sufficient to protect this entire military zone.¡±

    ¡°If you wish to be an importantbat force¡­ you have to continue to wait while Reiki is rejuvenated.¡±

    Ren blinked as he asked, ¡°If rejuvenation of Reiki continues, will the upper limit of my capabilities also continue to increase?¡±

    The old researcher nodded and said, ¡°Yes. You are different from others. They can reach your present state because they are limited to only reach that state; on the other hand, you are in this state because the world only allows you to be in this state. ¡±

    ¡°With the continuing rejuvenation of Reiki, the upper limit of Reiki energy allowed by the world would rise, and at that time¡­ even if you sit here, you can be the protecting saint of Tianjing City and be a sword that deters threats from other nations!¡±

 Chapter 116 - An Encounter By Chance

    Chapter 116: Chapter 116- An Encounter By Chance

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°What the hell¡­¡±

    The sound of the national anthem being sung early in the morning prompted Ren Suo to close the window hurriedly. However, the teacher¡¯s dormitories were situated not far from the g-raising ground. Consequently, the noise produced by the students walking and the high-pitched voice of the speakerpletely disrupted Ren Suo¡¯s sleep.

    It was May 10, the first day of the opening of all Practitioner Institutions around the nation. Ren Suo also formally entered a working state.

    He leaned over, wanting to continue to sleep, but his head came into contact with an ice-cold area on his left hand.

    He lifted his left hand to see a ck metal wristband, glistening in its full beauty under the sunlight.

    Subsequently, the wristband would serve as a recement for his wallet, entrance pass, key, GPS and other functions. For example, it integrated most functions of the mobile phone, so that the faculty and students of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang would be able to enjoy a high-tech living environment of the next generation.

    The Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was divided into four areas: the teaching building, the Practice area, the amodations, and thebat training area. However, thebat training area had yet to open, and generally, the students would only be in these four areas.

    At present, there were five education levels of students enrolled and no third-year senior high students, naturally because it was already the month of May and the college entrance examination was less than a month away.

    As for the talents amongst the third-year senior high students, it depended on the future policies of the nation.

    Since the start of school, the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang had conducted fully closed teaching, where students were not allowed to leave the school campus without permission.

    There were supermarkets,rge cafeterias, libraries, and inte cafes in the living area of ??the school. The facilities were simr to that of regr universities and students were allowed to make purchases. However, students were only able to make purchases in the school using the points in the wristbands.

    They were also allowed to make online purchases by copying the product information into the wristband program when they shopped online. They would then write down the name and quantity of the products they wanted to purchase, and the purchases would be made by other specialized personnel. Points corresponding to the price of the online purchases would then be deducted from their wristbands. All online shopping products were distributed on Sundays.

    Did that sound slightly like the bizarre setups in certain novels andics?

    But all of that was done for practical reasons¡ªall enrolled students did not have to pay tuition fees as part of theirpulsory education.

    The points in their wristbands were not tradable with one another either, and the number of points they received each month was rted to their performance.

    There was no collective punishment system in ce, and the points earned by each ss would be differentiated ording to their performance. In the future, however, intersspetitions would be held, which would then be linked to group results.

    A student with poor academic performance and poor Practice results would receive fewer points. Hence, students would have to continue to work hard, unless they had other connections, or would otherwise have to apply for withdrawal.

    At the school, the influence of external power and wealth was suppressed to the minimum, and it would not affect the students.

    The only way for students to live well in school and have sufficient money to use was to be motivated and work hard.

    Moreover, withmunal living, it was more convenient to manage as well as to cultivate a sense of collective pride, and national education in such a closed environment could also be more effective.

    That was what the nation hoped to achieve.

    For Ren Suo, however, the biggest significance of the wristband was that he would now have to be on standby for 24 hours.

    While he had ample free time and usually did not need to be on duty at the school hospital as an ¡°emergency resuscitation medic¡±, he had to rush to the rescue immediately, even if he was in the shower, if any emergency happened.

    The wristband had the ability to detect the wearer¡¯s life status. If the wearer suddenly fell into a critical state, Ren Suo¡¯s wristband would automatically sound. It would even n the shortest route for him to reach the patient most quickly.

    Ren Suo was usually not busy, but in the future, upon the opening of thebat training area, he would have to watch at the sidelines while the students were training.

    But that was a worry for the future. After all, the Practitioner Institution was still in the initial stages of establishment, and thebat training area was only built for future use. ording to Zhao Huo¡¯s teaching n, it would only be half a yearter when the students would begin to acquire their ownbat techniques.

    After all, the students still had to keep with cultural lessons, while gradually being in contact with Reiki to form a strong foundation. Naturally, unlike civil servants, they would not be put through rushed and superficial training.

    It was up to the nation to arrange for real-lifebat training to be conducted, in order to reduce the likelihood of injuries and deaths. After all, not all Practitioner Institutions had such an ¡°emergency resuscitation doctor¡± like Ren Suo, so¡­ there was still a long way to go, although the job was important.

    Xuan Nation was also still in the early experimental stages with regard to the rejuvenation of Reiki; it was a new concept to any power.

    Ren Suo got out of bed and went to the dining hall for a hearty breakfast. Like the students, he also paid for his meal with the points in his wristband, but the points were fixed every month and would not change.

    Those points were purely given benefits and had nothing to do with his sry. They were akin to the nation covering their food and clothing expenses. Even if Ren Suo finished spending all of the given points, he could continue to overdraw the points¡ªbut that would be equivalent to deducting money from his monthly sry, until all of his sry was deducted.

    The dining hall provided by the school was very good. It had three floors, and the higher the level, the higher the ss the food options were. With the points Ren Suo had in his wristband, he could still afford to eat every meal on the third floor.

    In the dining room, Ren Suo also saw a girl having breakfast not far away.

    She ate very slowly, chewing the food slowly in her mouth. She was short and thin, with short hair and a beauty mole on the lower-left corner of her eyes. She looked special.

    She was a training instructor like Zhao Huo. Ren Suo vaguely remembered that her surname was Dong, but he could not remember her name.

    He could remember herst name only because it was rtively rare for people to have the surname Dong.

    The girl was not a holder of a key, and Ren Suo was not a willful idiot, so there was no reason for him to be close to her. Ren Suo quickly finished his meal and went back home to continue ying the game.

    In the ¡°All-Devouring Soul¡±, the red fox had remained in London for three full days. The red fox either yed with cats while absorbing Reiki from antiques all day, as if living the life of a saint.

    Although the abilities of the red fox were powerful, they did not make humanspletely lose their minds¡ªthe abilities could not be used on humans who lost their minds.

    Compared with floor tiles andmp holders, the antiques contained more Reiki, but could be absorbed faster. Hence, the red fox would hug the antiques for more than ten hours and then return them. It looked like the red fox was ¡°appreciating¡± the antique, and there was no material loss.

    That was why those young, handsomeds and middle-aged uncles, who had their judgmentpletely clouded by their raging hormones, were willing to risk everything to search for antiques, in exchange for happyughter from their ¡°goddess¡±.

    Several antique collectors also followed them back, wondering what goddess could make those handsomeds lose their cool.

    When they saw the red fox, they also turned into seals acquiring an SSR, and then proceeded to invite the red fox to their antique preservation room to appreciate them.

    Over the past few days, Red Fox had also undergone 13 evolutions. With more evolutions, the evolution requirement increased, and now, the evolution points of red fox would barely increase if it was not absorbing Reiki from antiques.

    It was only then when Ren Suo started to understand the correct strategy to conquer the game.

    In fact, he should start absorbing Reiki of various old objects, then slowly progress on to jade objects, art, and then further progress to antique art. Finally, he would then progress to absorbing Reiki from Reiki Treasures¡­

    Ren Suo suspected that the number of evolutions rewarded from activating the Reiki Treasures was probably constant, so if he obtained it at a lower level, he would only use up his maximum potential in advance.

    That was because the upper limit of the strength of evolutionary abilities would be higher and higher, just like the experience points in the game.

    Now that the red fox had been raised to a sufficiently high level, returning to smaller targets would naturally not have much effect, unless the quantity was sufficientlyrge.

    However, Ren Suo did not regret it too much either. After all, it was not possible for him to activate all 12 Reiki Treasures in the present save file. As long as he reaped the rewards from the activation of the 12 Reiki Treasures, it was not a big problem skipping the other smaller targets.

    The red fox yed in London for another day, and finally, there was news from the pangolin¡¯s side.

    Lao Zhao said, ¡°We have already found another country who is willing to pay the price you need to ignite the Reiki source in their country.¡±

    ¡°Our internal departments have confirmed that with the country¡¯snd area and poption size, there should be Reiki sources in the country.¡±

    ¡°Of course, as this country is not far from Xuan Nation, igniting their Reiki source will also be an extremely good observation opportunity for Xuan Nation.¡±

    ¡°However, they have one request. Or perhaps, I should say that his request is the same as that which all the other nations that we spoke to mentioned,¡± Lao Zhao said.

    The pangolin asked, ¡°What is, the request?¡±

    Lao Zhao said, ¡°They wish to witness the envoy from the Heavenly Pce, and it would be even better if¡­ the envoy from the Heavenly Pce would appear in a grand and pompous manner!¡±

 Chapter 117 - Incomplete Reiki Treasure

    Chapter 117: Chapter 117 ¨C Iplete Reiki Treasure

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Tokyo Narita International Airport, Fanying Nation.

    As thergest international airport in Fanying Nation, the cargo throughput and daily passenger traffic were extremely high. The red fox carried a British Blue cat and blended in with a group of British tourists.

    Rensuo had originally nned to let the red fox g down a taxi, but before he could do so, a kind-hearted youngdy on the road asked her if she wanted a ride, since they were both heading towards Minato Ward, and the red fox agreed.

    The red fox¡¯s Sdeuctive Charm ability was in effect at any time ¨C it was already such a strong force that transcended gender, just like if a charming 2D man who walked right out of a novel or anime catching the attention of both guys and girls.

    Naturally, the red fox had gone to Fanying Nation to ignite the Reiki source of the nation.

    The first country who was willing to trade with Xuan Nation was Fanying Nation, but Ren Suo was not surprised. After all, it had been seven or eight days since the Reiki source in Xuan Nation had been ignited and the transformation urring within the nation was too obvious. Located just on the other side of the sea from Xuan Nation, Fanying Nation definitely saw the significance of that transformation and it was even possible for them to detect the rise in Reiki energy in Xuan Nation.

    Moreover, Xuan Kingdom also had a powerful force in Fanying Nation. When Lao Zhao talked to the pangolin previously, he had mentioned that the small animal who was responsible for igniting the Reiki source of Fanying Nation should seek protection from Xuan Political Party in Tokyo.

    Rather than other countries, the reason why Xuan Nation chose to make a deal with Fanying Nation first was because there were political members in Xuan Political Party of Fanying Nation who held the same political philosophy as Xuan Nation, so a deal could be made more easily.

    As the fourthrgest party of Fanying Nation who was also trusted by Xuan Nation, the potential of the Xuan Party could not be underestimated, and there had to be intelligence personnel from Xuan Nation within the Party.

    But Rensuo naturally rejected that invitation.

    He could only make a decision when the red fox was physically on-site.

    There was no other reason for that except that Rensuo did not know where the Reiki source of Fanying Nation was.

    The poption size of Fanying Nation was among the top ten in the world, and although itsnd area was ranked 62nd in the world, it was an ind country consisting an archipgo, much like Ennd, which meant that it was likely that there was a Reiki source in the country.

    However, it differed from many countries in that there were an extraordinarilyrge number of possible Reiki sources within the country.

    For example, in Brazil, the Reiki source was most likely to be the national icon of Rio de Janeiro, which was also the symbol of Brazil ¨C Mount Corcovado.

    For example, in the Pacific Federation, the Reiki sources were most likely either Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Yellowstone Caldera, or the Statue of Liberty. Otherwise, it could well be the original Deration of Independence document.

    However, in Fanying Nation, there were two ¡°capital cities¡±, Kyoto and Tokyo. Both cities had historical significance as the icons of Fanying Nation and there were also many other various possibilities, such as Himeji Castle, Osaka Castle, Mount Fuji¡­

    It would be embarrassing if Rensuo mentioned the wrong Reiki source without first making sure on-site.

    However, based on his two prior experiences searching for the Reiki sources, Rensuo believed that there was a much higher possibility of the Reiki source being located in the real capital of the country, so he sent the red fox directly to Tokyo.

    Activating Reiki vision on the car, Rensuo saw two Reiki beams in the distance ¨C

    One was the 634-meter-tall Sorakara, also known as the Tokyo Sky Tree, and the other was the 333-meter-tall Tokyo Tower.

    Although the twondmarks had only finished construction not too long ago, those were the only two buildings in Tokyo which could more possibly be regarded as ¡°Reiki roots¡±. The Tokyo Tower was slightly older than the Tokyo Sky Tree, so Rensuo let the red fox make contact with the Tokyo Tower first.

    Arriving in Minato Ward, the red fox ran to the red-colored area under the Tokyo Tower. The red fox touched the Reiki beam for 10 minutes, but no prompt to activate the Reiki source appeared.

    However, the Tokyo Tower did give her a surprise ¡ª it actually increased her evolution score by 1%!

    If her evolution score increased by 1% in 10 minutes, that meant a 6% increase in 1 hour, and she would be able to evolve in just 18 hours!

    But that was still not as good as absorbing Reiki from antiques and Reiki Treasures.

    In fact, Xuan Nation and Ennd both had simr Reiki buildings which allowed the red fox to gain evolution points just by maintaining contact, but the increase was not as fast as that of Tokyo Tower, where the former would require at least one hour before the evolution score rose by 1%.

    Could it be that the Tokyo Tower had a stronger aggregating effect of Reiki energy?

    When Rensuo activated ¡°Reiki Vision¡± and observed the Tokyo Tower closely, he found that its Reiki beam actually had slight ¡°breathing¡± fluctuations ¨C it dimmed slightly in pulses.

    But at the same time, in the dark field of ¡°Reiki Vision¡±, at the tip of the Tokyo Sky Tree located far away, a thin line joined it to the tip of the Tokyo Tower.

    After absorbing Reiki from so many Reiki objects, it was the first time that Rensuo saw such a connection between tworge Reiki buildings, so he quickly controlled the red fox to head over to the Tokyo Sky Tree.

    By the time the red fox arrived at the Tokyo Sky Tree, it was already night time.

    When the red fox approached the Tokyo Sky Tree, Rensuo realized that the Reiki beam of the Tokyo Sky Tree was actually very thin and was not thick at all, such that the red fox could even directly enter the Tokyo Sky Tree.

    Rensuo had not been to Tokyo before, so he let the red fox buy tickets for the First Observation Deck + Second Observation Deck. She had to use Seductive Charm to make everyone ignore the British Blue cat that the red fox was holding.

    Visitors could not directly ess the second observation deck at 450 meters, but must first head up to the first observation deck 350 meters above ground.

    Perhaps it was because it was a holiday or it was actually the typical crowd, there were so many people at the first observation deck that they stood almost shoulder to shoulder. Rensuo could even hear some visitors speaking in Mandarin ¨C the Tokyo Sky Tree had to be a must-visit attraction in Tokyo.

    Rensuo had to let the red fox use ¡°Seductive Charm¡± to let the crowd automatically open up a path for the ¡°most beautiful girl on Earth¡± to enter the elevator elegantly. It took only 30 seconds to ascend up to the Tembo Galleria at 445 meters above ground, and the red fox walked along the 110m-long sloping corridor to reach the second observation deck on the 450th floor.

    Rensuo remarked that indeed, the night view of Tokyo seen through the window on the second observation deck was not bad.

    After all, Lianjiang City also had the Lianjiang Tower, a mega skyscraper with a height of 600 meters and its roof at 454 meters above ground. Rensuo had seen the unobstructed view from the Lianjiang Tower a long time ago and there was even a ferris wheel on the top of it, which was extremely thrilling to ride¡­

    Of course, that view Rensuo had seen was on the screen and it was much like viewing pictures friends posted in a group chat, so it already seemed very real.

    If Rensuo took a screenshot of the red fox overlooking the night view of Tokyo and sent it to his parents saying that he had a girlfriend, he thought that his parents would think that the girl was ¡°blind¡±, rather than suspect that the picture was fake¡­

    The red fox spent at least 10 minutes to ascend the tower, but still did not hear the game prompt anything. Rensuo had also given up ¨C it appeared that the Reiki sources of Fanying Nation were not so easy to discover.

    Or perhaps, Fanying Nation did not even have any Reiki roots, and he would have waited in vain those few days.

    Just as Rensuo was about to control the red fox to leave, the long overdue prompt appeared ¡ª

    ¡°You have discovered the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation (iplete)!¡±

    ¡°Do you wish to activate the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation? You may activate the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation before the stipted time. As a reward, you may then receive specialized evolutionary abilities.¡±

    ¡°Caution: After activating the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation, there will be a series of unexpected consequences.¡±

    ¡°Caution: After activating the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation, you will receive a ¡®Legendary Evolution¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Caution: The Reiki Treasure of Ennd will otherwise be automatically activated in 20 days.¡±

    ¡°Tokyo Sky Tree¡±

    ¡°Reiki content: ???¡±

    ¡°Time required to activate: 1 time, 24 hours¡±

    ¡°City/Country: ???¡±

    ¡°Iplete Reiki Treasure: This Reiki Treasure is in fusion stage. It only needs to be opened once, but in order to fully aggregate the Reiki sources from across the nation, the time required to open it is doubled.¡±

 Chapter 118 - The Descent of the Nine-Tailed Fox

    Chapter 118: Chapter 118 ¨C The Descent of the Nine-Tailed Fox

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Reiki iplete?

    Ren Suo was slightly confused.

    It was not that he did not know what state it referred to, but rather that it had not urred to him that that would happen.

    But he could still somewhat figure a reason for the iplete state ¨C the Tokyo Sky Tree to which the Reiki Treasure was attached did not have the sufficient ¡°qualifications¡± to be a full Reiki vein.

    The Tokyo Sky Tree was built less than ten years ago in 2012, but it was attached as a Reiki Treasure as it was located in Tokyo and was the most prominent structure there.

    With ¡°Reiki Vision¡±, Ren Suo could vaguely make out the golden Reiki streaks which connected to the Tokyo Sky Tree structure from all directions. That must be how the Tokyo Sky Tree was perfecting itself as a Reiki Treasure.

    However, the state of ipleteness caused the Reiki Treasure to have iplete effects such that the red fox was even able to enter the Reiki building without any problem.

    It was not known if any problems would arise when activating an iplete Reiki Treasure, but Ren Suo did not n to open it now anyway ¨C as in agreement with Lao Zhao, the Reiki vein would only be ignited after the national treasure was received.

    However, an audience would be required to show off, so Ren Suo made the pangolin tell Lao Zhao, saying, ¡°Someone from, the Heavenly Pce, will appear, at Tokyo, Sky Tree.¡±

    Without caring about Lao Zhao¡¯s reaction, Ren Suo immediately controlled the red fox to use the ¡°Wind of the Knight¡± to disappear from the watchful eyes of the staff. He found the staff passage and walked out of the ss-protected and enclosed observation tform!

    Although Rensuo did not purposely increase the red fox¡¯s physical attributes, its physical capability was now at least twice that of ordinary people. And with evolutionary abilities like ¡°Climb¡±, they enable the red fox¡¯s hands to form sufficient friction even on smooth surfaces. The red fox kept its body steady and easily reached the top of the Tokyo Sky Tree!

    The wind in the night howled by the red fox¡¯s ears, and even the British Shorthair cat in her arms was afraid to peek out, curling up and meowing in front of her chest.

    Standing at the highest point in Tokyo, Ren Suo thought that that should be a ¡°fanfare¡± big enough, right?

    But that was not sufficient, for no one could see the red fox.

    In actual fact, Ren Suo was quite confident to make a pompous, striking debut. After all, when would he make use of his remaining 13 evolution chances, if not now?

    ¡°Hmm¡­ ws and Fangs¡­ Fortify¡­ There¡¯s no good cards!¡± muttered Rensuo.

    The first four evolutions consisted only of ordinary evolutionary card choices. Ren Suo wondered if he had to wash his hands to improve his luck, but at that time, a new hint appeared on the evolution page ¨C

    [Double maxed out attributes: a ¡°super-evolution¡± card would definitely appear during the next evolution.]

    Eh? It was only then when Ren Suo realized that the Defense and Recovery of the red fox had been maxed out, meeting the ¡®double maxed out attributes¡± requirement for the second super-evolution to take ce.

    However, Ren Suo hesitated again ¨C what would happen if the red fox could no longer be human after the super-evolution?

    He was still intending to use the human form of the red fox in his morous debut!

    However, if Ren Suo did not like the given super-evolution card, he still had the option to choose one of the other evolution cards to dy the super-evolution to the next round.

    But after Ren Suo began the evolution process, he first received bad news ¨C of the three evolution cards, two were super-evolution cards.

    But there was also good news ¨C both of the super-evolution cards were for human forms.

    The super-evolution ability ¡°True Human¡± was a colorless card. Its effect was: enables the All-Devouring Soul to be a true human. The upper limit of its ability attributes would remain unchanged, and a new attribute ¡°Immortal Soul¡± would be inherited. There is no maximum value for the ¡°Immortal Soul¡± attribute, and it will enhance all evolution and attribute effects. The higher the ¡°Immortal Soul¡± attribute score, the stronger the enhancement effect.

    The super-evolution ability ¡°Parahuman¡± was a colorless card. Its effect was: enables the creature to retrace blood lineage toplete divergence while maintaining humanoid status. The maximum value of the creature¡¯s ability attributes would increase by at least 10 times, and obtain an exclusive bloodline evolutionary tree, enhancing a portion of the possessed evolution cards.

    The creature can switch between its ¡°true form¡± and the ¡°parahuman form¡± at will without any casting time or cooldown time. The appearance of the ¡°parahuman form¡± would be in ordance with the genes of the retraced blood lineage of the creature. The most beautiful human appearance would be selected and would definitely be to the yer¡¯s liking.

    As for the third evolution card with green words on a blue background, Ren Suo did not even bother looking at it.

    Ren Suo simply stared at the phrase, ¡°the most beautiful human appearance would be selected¡± and an irresistible urge arose.

    There was no doubt that the super-evolution ¡°True Human¡± was likely to enable the red fox to retract its tail that was previously hidden by ¡°Illusion¡±, and hence appear more like a human.

    On the other hand, the description of ¡°Non-Human¡± was written in such a confident and convincing way, vowing that so vowed that ¡°the most beautiful human appearance would be selected and would definitely be to the yer¡¯s liking¡±¡­

    Hmph, how dare you look down on Rensuo, an expert ¡°driver¡± of Mount Haruna!

    To be fair, though, the two evolutions were almost the same. ¡°True Human¡± added a new ability attribute, while ¡°Non-Human¡± enabled a new exclusive evolutionary tree, which was not very much different.

    The categorization of evolution cards by the game was actually very reliable, with the blue- or green-colored rare cards more powerful than the grey-coloredmon cards, the golden-colored ultra rare cards more powerful than the blue- or green-colored rare cards, and the trump card better than all other evolution cards¡­

    Both of the cards he had to choose from were colorless, and Ren Suo could not tell which was better either, so he naturally chose the one with more ¡°skin¡±!

    ¡°Non-Human¡±!

    High atop the Tokyo Sky Tree, a red smoke emerged from the red fox¡¯s clothes,pletely engulfing her. Ren Suo moved the right joystick on the game controller wanting to move closer, but it was no use ¨C

    It was just changing into a different skin, must it be so secretive?

    Ren Suo grabbed the game controller with both hands, pledging that he was really not a person of vulgar taste, and had absolutely no indecent ideas.

    When the red mist cleared, Ren Suo knew.

    He knew he had made the right choice ¨C that skin was too worth it!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It was 20:35, and the travellers who were shopping on Qingkong Street suddenly noticed what appeared to be red leaves dancing in the night sky.

    When they stared at it, they realized that those were not leaves dancing, but red butterflies flying. Some people attempted to grab the red butterflies, but found that when their hands made contact with them, their hands would pass through them directly while the red butterfly turned into a thin smoke and vanished into the air.

    The travellers looked up and saw that there seemed to be a red glow above the Tokyo Sky Tree, and the stream of red butterflies emerged from there all the way down to the ground.

    ¡°How lucky, the Tokyo Sky Tree is holding an event?¡±

    ¡°Let me tweet about this¡­¡±

    ¡°Look over there, isn¡¯t that a¡­ person?¡±

    More and more people began looking up towards the top of the Tokyo Sky Tree. They raised their mobile phones in an attempt to capture the scene but the view was not clear even when they zoomed all the way in on their mobile phones. The source was over 500 meters away but they could all see the beautiful sight with their eyes.

    The patrol officer activated the walkie talkie, and said in a stuttering voice as his eyes remained fixated on the human silhouette in the night sky, ¡°Out, out there, on the, the Sky Tree, there appeared ¡ª¡±

    ¡°A nine-tailed fox, in front of Tamamo-no-Mae!¡±

    In the night sky, at the very top of the Tokyo Sky Tree, a figure with a red glow and flowy ck hair appeared. The figure had nine furry tails surrounding and protecting it, and in its embrace was a blue British Shorthair cat. The nine-tailed fox was walking step by step towards the ground from a height of 450 meters!

    That was the super-evolution of the red fox, the nine-tailed fox!

    The specialized evolution ¡°First Impression¡± was a blue card with green words. Its effect was: for as long as a creature can see the nine-tailed fox, it will automatically make up a perfect image in its mind, no matter how far away it is from the fox. When the nine-tailed fox approaches, the creature will continue to modify the perfect image of the fox in its mind to look even more like a nine-tailed fox. In turn, the creature would whole-heartedly admire the nine-tailed fox, strengthening all the charm-type abilities of the nine-tailed fox. The duration of the effectsts for 24 hours and can be repeatedly used.

    Originally illusive red butterflies, they turned into physical steps at the feet of the nine-tailed fox, allowing her to step into the air. And when she lifted her feet, the red butterflies disappeared once again!

    The specialized evolution ¡°Sky Flowers of Fantasy¡± was a blue card with golden words. Its effect was: turns any illusory object into a physical one for a short period of time upon contact. The strength of the physical depends on the user¡¯s Defense, while the effect duration depends on the user¡¯s Recovery.

    The specialized evolution ¡°Snow Flowers¡± was a blue card with green words. Its effect was: greatly expands the scope of the created illusion.

    The ability ¡°Illusion¡± automatically evolved into ¡°Hallucination¡±, a blue card with grey words. Its effect was: the hallucination does not contain any physical entities, cannot produce sounds, and can merely create a visually perceptible scene.

    On the screen, the nine-tailed fox descended from the top of the Tokyo Sky Tree like an immortal as she stepped on the royal butterflies in the air. Everyone on the ground was absolutely in awe, staring intently at the nine-tailed fox as the red butterflies danced around in the vicinity of the Tokyo Sky Tree, paving a dream-like avenue of red butterflies for the nine-tailed fox.

    Ren Suo had spent almost an hour preparing such an illusion and creating the scene.

    First, he had to draw a butterfly.

    Then, he had to color it.

    Subsequently, he had to select the maximum range for the illusion to take effect.

    He then chose the rain effects and the flying effect.

    Afterwhich, he controlled the path of the steps the butterflies formed ¨C to achieve that, Rensuo had utilized his Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to copy and paste the corresponding parts.

    Furthermore, he had ensured that the butterflydder continually moved downwards, like an esctor. Otherwise, the total distance would add up to nearly one kilometer, and the aura of the nine-tailed fox would all be gone by the time she descended all the way to the ground.

    Fortunately, the preparation of the illusory scene was rtively simple, otherwise the strongest ability of the nine-tailed fox would have been wasted¡­

    Finally, Rensuo created the entire awe-striking scene, which would otherwise only have been possible using special effects in movies.

    Five minutester, as the nine-tailed fox descended quickly from the top of the Sky Tree but seemingly slowly, the people on Qingkong Street had beenpletely enticed. They looked enthusiastically at the nine-tailed fox, but kept a suitable distance between them and the fox in great respect. They did not dare to overstep the fox, as if an immortal had descended!

    The next moment, a pleasant voice rang in their ears: ¡°I, from the Heavenly Pce, am here on invitation.¡±

    Ren Suo was extremely satisfied, believing that such a pomp would be sufficient for the to believe the grand existence of the Heavenly Pce, while also fulfilling the request made by Fanying Nation.

    Originally, Ren Suo had merely nned to have a red glow shining down from the top of the Tokyo Sky Tree, but now, the pomp was no longer just mere ¡°fanfare¡±, but ¡°earth-shattering¡±.

    Rensuo thought, ¡°You were the one who requested this, not me¡­¡±

    Nheless, it was time for the nine-tailed fox to withdraw.

    A few minutes had gone by, and Fanying Nation was not muddle-headed and would certainly be gathering manpower to head over to the scene by then.

    While it was not that the nine-tailed fox was not capable ofbat, but her moves were nothing extraordinary. If tough targets appeared who did not fall prey to her charm, it would be troublesome. Rather, it would be better if she disappeared again with grace toplete the most perfect appearance ceremony, after a pompous, striking debut.

    Ren Suo would then contact Lao Zhao using the pangolin, and let the Xuan Party in Fanying Nation help the nine-tailed fox toplete the transaction.

    However, just as the bare feet of the nine-footed fox was about to touch the ground, a seam suddenly appeared in the space right in front of her, giving Ren Suo a shock.

    What was happening, were Awakeners from Fan Yinging to fight?

    However, after the seam opened, two familiar-looking people appeared on the screen.

    One was a helpless-looking Lao Zhao.

    Lao Zhao had never imagined that the Heavenly Pce actually agreed to the request of Fanying Nation, directly sending someone to appear from the Tokyo Sky Tree and even appearing in such a spectacr ceremony¡­

    There was no doubt that the nine-tailed fox of the Heavenly Pce would be a VIP of Fanying Nation and remain in contact with them!

    How could Xuan Nation allow that!

    Although Fanying Nation could be considered the younger brother of Xuan Nation, the Heavenly Pce was the sole extraordinary force at present! Furthermore, the Heavenly Pce was an extremely ancient and hidden superpower, possessing countless tactics unbeknownst to the ordinary world. It was also the mysterious force which controlled the rejuvenation of Reiki sources!

    Xuan Nation most certainly would not give away the opportunity to make the first contact!

    Clearly, we were the first to get hold of knowledge about the Heavenly Pce!

    It had to be made known that had Lao Zhao not been in charge of the affairs of the pangolin, he would not have been given the privilege to be part of such an important diplomatic contact. However, on the ount that the pangolin might have talked about Lao Zhao in a positive light, he was dispatched as well, in hopes that Xuan Nation would be favoured by the Heavenly Pce.

    Of course, there were military-use wireless earbuds in Lao Zhao¡¯s ears, and Xuan Nation could instruct him to change his discussion strategy at any time.

    As for their near-illegal intrusion into Fanying Nation¡­ Xuan Nation did not care, and Fanying Nation had no choice but to also turn a blind eye.

    However, Lao Zhao noticed that the nine-tailed fox from the Heavenly Pce seemed to be staring at the Awakener next to him.

    The reason why Lao Zhao thought so was because Ren Suo had fixed his viewing perspective at the female Awakener who emerged from the seam in the air.

    As mentioned previously, Ren Suo saw two familiar faces.

    One was the acquaintance of pangolin in the game, Lao Zhao.

    The other was a passer-by who Rensuo had just met by chance.

    She seemed to notice the gaze of the nine-tailed fox, and the female Awakener took the initiative to introduce herself.

    She said, ¡°Hello, my name is Dong Chengling.¡±

 Chapter 119 - Will The Heavenly Palace Enter The World?

    Chapter 119: Chapter 119- Will The Heavenly Pce Enter The World?

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Was it the same person?

    Ren Suo didn¡¯t dare to confirm it because the game screen came with a certain degree of beautification and was also in 2D. Ren Suo just found it to be rather familiar.

    Besides, Dong Chengling was a little different from the girl who Ren Suo remembered.

    Well at least, Ren Suo remembered that the girl whom he had seen during breakfast, had long and beautiful legs¡­ No, no, well, her legs were intact anyway.

    However, the Dong Chengling in his screen was wheelchair-bound and was trying to pry the gap open painstakingly.

    Apart from Old Zhao, there were two other people who wereing out of the gap but Dong Chengling was still in the enclosed space and seemed to have never once appeared.

    As long as Ren Suo activates ¡®Spirit Vision¡¯ he would be able to see the fading aura of light on them, which was emitting a gilded glow. Clearly, they were also among the best reverends in the Xuan Nation.

    When they appeared, there were plenty of ripples around them that seemed to be a revolutionized and improved version of ¡°Spell and Clothing¡±.

    They stood behind Old Zhao and protected him with their elongated ¡°Clothing¡±.

    The nine-tailed fox asked, ¡°The girl just now ¡­¡±

    Old Zhao said smilingly, ¡°We¡¯re in the bustling district now, and it isn¡¯t too convenient for us to speak here. Why don¡¯t you follow us to the embassy where we can chat in detail?¡±

    Ren Suo could not help but receive a great shock. He had long thought about the fact that reverends probably could resist temptations but he had never seen it in person before.

    The two reverends from Xuan Nation could not only help him resist temptation, but they could also even let ordinary people like Old Zhao attain the defensive power and resistance of the reverends.

    Otherwise, Old Zhao would have now spilled the beans about the information that Nine-tailed Fox wanted to know.

    However, the charm of the nine-tailed fox must still be effective, though it had shrunk to be more favorable.

    Everything that happened next was also not far from Ren Suo¡¯s expectations. Plenty of cars arrived in the Qingkong Street district but Fan Ying¡¯s people had long made preparations beforehand. They rushed to the scene as soon as possible, while Old Zhao and the rest quickly returned to the embassy.

    Later on, Nine-tailed Fox rejected Old Zhao¡¯s invitation because it seemed too lowly for a group of celestials to squeeze into a car.

    Ren Suo decided to go all out and continue feigning to be powerful and formidable.

    A crimson body appeared together with a glow that was as clear as autumn water. The sword¡¯s body was connected to its hilt and there was no crossguard. The long, sword which had a subtle chill, floated in the air and revolved around Nine-tailed Fox.

    Nine-tailed Fox said, ¡°I was lucky enough to learn the imperial sword art of the Heavenly Pce. Now that I know the destination, I won¡¯t bother you any longer.¡±

    Before Old Zhao could even speak, Nine-tailed Fox glowed and seemed to hover on top of the celestial sword, after which the sword marked a redsh across the sky.

    The people were all stunned to see the miraculous transportation method, and some even grabbed their mobile phones to snap some photos and footage. Those who were lucky enough to capture the scene quickly uploaded them onto Twitter.

    Old Zhao was just as shocked to see the celestial sword darting across. However, he hurriedly got inside the car.

    The car they were riding had sparks and lightning throughout the entire journey, though they were unsure if it was because of the Universal Spell or Awakening Spell. The cars in front of theirs automatically made way for them, and their journey was unobstructed as if they were traveling on the expressway.

    The Fan Ying police, who quickly rushed to the scene, had no choice but to seal the streets in a bid to find some traces of the nine-tailed fox¡¯s appearance.

    Why was Ren Suo so clear about their reaction?

    Because Nine-tailed Fox had yet to leave.

    Where did Nine-tailed Fox get the celestial sword? It was obviously because Ren Suo paused the game and spent an hour surfing the inte for a sword that he used to favor the most. He then made the nine-tailed fox create an illusion in the game. He reckoned that they should have already reached the Xuan Nation embassy in the port area.

    The glow of the nine-tailed fox just now was just meant for disguising the ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± again.

    Although Nine-Tailed Fox used ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± just once, because it exited early, the remaining time was stored and can be consumed before the skill cools down (the time cannot be superimposed after the cooldown ispleted).

    ording to the nine-tailed fox¡¯s current mobile attributes, it could attain a total of 8 minutes of absolute invisibility within 12 hours. Then, it can be cooled for 12 hours with every single use. If all the time must be depleted, the cost performance of this skill would be much lower than the other three.

    As for whether or not the exposure of the imperial swordsmanship was illusory, Ren Suo was not at all afraid because he didn¡¯t think that Old Zhao could drive faster than Nine-Tailed Fox could run.

    The truth proved to be that case. When Old Zhao and the rest arrived at the embassy, Nine-Tailed Fox had long obscured itself for more than ten minutes using the illusory spell.

    The Xuan Nation diplomats were waiting beside the celestial sword in front of the embassy, while a bunch of fully-equipped reporters continuously snapped photos of it from a distance.

    By the time Old Zhao got out of the car, the nine-tailed fox activated the ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± again, and walked towards the celestial sword before them. She then cast some colorful lights to dere her appearance, as if she had possessed the sword.

    She said, ¡°It took you guys so long.¡±

    Old Zhao said resignedly, ¡°We¡¯re not as powerful as you are¡­ Come in. How do I address you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the only nine-tailed fox in the Heavenly Pce so you may call me Nine-tailed Fox. ¡±

    However, at this time, a few more cars rushed over, and a few middle-aged men d in suits and leather shoes quickly got out of the car to greet Nine-tailed Fox. ¡°Greetings, my Excellency from the Heavenly Pce, we are the diplomats of Fan Ying.¡±

    For some reason, the diplomats chose to speak in English. It was perhaps the first impression that the fluent English speaker from ¡°The Hitman¡± gave them.

    Ren Suo could only say that he barely managed to understand what they were saying and his English proficiency level was simr to that of a third-year student in high school. However, it was not Nine-Tailed Fox¡¯s turn to y. The diplomats at the door had already approached to negotiate.

    After a while, Nine-tailed Fox sat in the embassy¡¯s elegant room with a blue English shorthair cat in her embrace. Before Lao Zhao spoke, she said, ¡°You¡¯re lucky.¡±

    Old Zhao asked in bewilderment, ¡°Why do you say so?¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox answered, ¡°The one responsible for the spirits here happens to be Xiao Lan, my most beloved feline.¡±

    At this point, Ren Suo was in control of the handle and he stroked the blue English shorthair cat which purred in coordination and pleasure.

    ¡°Others in the Heavenly Pce will definitely note out just because of such a trivial matter¡­ but I have been in the Pce for many years, and Xiao Lan shares the best rtionship with me. It is true that there is no merit in igniting the pulse, but if it is obstructed, it will change in shape at the slightest. However, a serious consequence would be death.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t the Ling carp encounter fluctuations and obstructions during the transformation which caused it to be stuck in the midst of transformation?¡±

    ¡®Ling carp¡¯ was the ancient name of pangolins. In a famous fable of the Ming Dynasty, it was said that someone offered the carp to Shang Lingjun, who thought that it was a dragon. When he found out that it lived on ants, he did not doubt it at all. Some people said that it was a pangolin but Shang Lingjun ordered them to be hung. The pangolin then ran away, causing Shang Lingjun to feel rather agonized. Later, a true dragon appeared and Shang Lingjun enthusiastically invited it to eat some ants. However, he waster destroyed by the dragon.

    Ren Suo deliberately used the old name to reveal the age of nine-tailed fox, and Old Zhao quickly answered, ¡°It was only because we did not know that Comrade Pangolin was for the benefit of the Xuan Nation, and hence, caused a misunderstanding. We ended up harming Comrade Pangolin ¡­ we will try our best topensate for it. ¡±

    In the fable, the real dragon showed that the pangolin was fake but in real life, there was no Heavenly Pce and hence, no one could expose Nine-tailed Fox¡¯s true identity.

    However, everyone believed in the existence of the Heavenly Pce. Only a genuine force can discover so many secrets, have an unknown number of strong victors and act with a hidden agenda.

    Otherwise, it would be impossible to exin how the hitman rescued Kallen Lamperouge nor how these little animals would know how to ignite the veins and gain merit and form!

    Nine-tailed Fox exined, ¡°If you want to enter the Heavenly door and ignite the spirit veins to gain merits, there would naturally be countless risks. Red dusk was one of them too. Now that you are willing to persuade the countries to assist Xiao Lan, and allow her to take over the national treasure to increase the chance of transformation, I¡¯ll grant your wishes. I¡¯ll descend onto the mortal world again and take charge of trading with you on behalf of the beasts.¡±

    Old Zhao obviously knew what she meant. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll definitely get Fan Ying to arrange for the National treasure to be brought here. Pardon me for asking, but you won¡¯t take the treasure away, will you?¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox answered, ¡°The national treasure itself is worthless. It¡¯s just made up of ordinary antiquities such as iron, jade, porcin, and many other materials. However, beasts that have yet to evolve, can increase their sess rate by being in contact with these materials. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Old Zhao seemed to be rather relieved. He suddenly took a deep breath, and asked earnestly, ¡°Nine-tailed fox, I would like to ask a question on behalf of Xuan Nation.¡±

    ¡°Is the Heavenly Pce nning to enter the mortal realm?¡±

 Chapter 120 - Best Observation Target

    Chapter 120: Chapter 120 ¨C Best Observation Target

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    After watching Old Zhao leave the room with a sullen expression, Ren Suo, without hesitation, let the nine-tailed fox open ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± after leaving behind an illusory celestial sword. It then left the embassy effortlessly within seconds.

    Nine-tailed Fox arrived at a hotel and randomly selected a room. When it discovered that there was no one in the room, it turned into its original form and transformed into a small nine-tailed fox, activated ¡°Illusion¡± and hid in the closet.

    The Immortal sword illusion was given priority by Ren Suo and the illusion will go on forever. If a figure appears within three meters, the yer will immediately be notified.

    Ren Suo naturally couldn¡¯t let the nine-tailed fox stay in the embassy. God knows if those reverends might find a way to investigate the details of the nine-tailed fox.

    For security reasons, leaving the sword in the room served as a ¡®transmitting voucher¡¯ to express Nine-tailed Fox¡¯s attitude and intention to cooperate with them.

    Ren Suo¡¯s answer to Old Zhao¡¯s question about whether the Heavenly Pce would appear in the mortal world was¡ªnot at the moment.

    He directly used the setting of Spiritual Pulse to show that the resurgence of the world¡¯s aura has not yet beenpleted. If any strong figures of the pce appear, they would likely destroy the world.

    The Heavenly Pce will not interfere in the operation of various countries. It will only raise spiritual attention whenever necessary. For example, in the event of igniting the spirit veins. The fact that they had used the lighting of the veins as a metamorphic target for a group of small animals, showed that they barely paid any attention to it.

    The reason Nine-tailed Fox coulde out was because she was also a low-level member of the pce and hence, she could pass through easily with no obstructions with the current aura.

    Although there was only a one-sided statement from the nine-tailed fox, Old Zhao somehow believed her and he clearly felt relieved. He hurriedly excused himself and returned to discuss the matter with the senior officials of Xuan Nation.

    In fact, Ren Suo was all ready to question Old Zhao. After all, he was the one who came up with the setting of the pce, having the intention to exin the question, ¡°Why don¡¯t the strong appear in the pce?¡± Well, the answer was, ¡°Because they are too strong for the world to handle.¡±

    However, the setting was undoubtedly absurd, however, Old Zhao did not probe, perhaps because he felt good about Nine-tailed Fox.

    Before Old Zhao left, he said that he would try toplete the negotiation with Fan Ying Nation and get them to deliver the national treasure to the little blue cat in exchange for it to ignite the spirit vein.

    Hence, Ren Suo intended to fast-forward time by ten hours but¡­

    [The game character is in a special state and cannot be fast-forwarded.]

    Huh?

    Ren Suo tried a few more times, but it still didn¡¯t work. He could not even make the nine-tailed fox go back to bed. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Ren Suo was still rational, he would have screenshotted the image of Nine-tailed Fox lying on the bed and use it as the screensaver of his mobile phone.

    Ren Suo changed the control role and found that although the pangolin was now in the same room, there were a few other pets around.

    Well, the pets were pangolins.

    There was also a te of ants on the table, and the ants were stuck onto the visually-appealing te because of syrup.

    What was the Endangered Leprechaun Protection Department thinking¡­

    Even pangolins can¡¯t fast-forward¡­

    Huh? Huh? Huh?

    Ren Suo was dumbfounded and time was still passing in the game but¡­ he just couldn¡¯t fast forward.

    It seemed that the game had yet to end the ¡°special state¡± of the game character, so the fast forward function was temporarily turned off.

    Although it wasn¡¯t too much of a hassle, Ren Suo ticked ¡°Auto-pause when an event urs¡± in the game settings before returning to the main interface, closed the window and retracted the handle, as if he was not ying the game.

    Since it was nighttime, Ren Suo headed to the canteen to have his meal.

    The third floor of the canteen was extremely crowded and plenty of students decided to treat themselves to a good meal on the first day of school, thus ignoring the expensive prices.

    Ren Suo was holding the dinner tray when he chanced upon Zhao Huo who was eating, after which he walked over and sat opposite him. ¡°How is it like being a teacher?¡±

    Upon hearing Ren Suo¡¯s question, Zhao Huo shrugged and said with a bitter smile, ¡°What else can I do¡­ I took a ss today to introduce the concept of aura and the current research status to a group of high school students but plenty of them had questions for me.¡±

    ¡°If I teach Reiki, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to even answer their questions.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Then you have to keep learning¡­ You cultivators should be even more powerful and capable. Can you practice Takaya?¡±

    Zhao Huo nced at Ren Suo and answered, ¡°This is a confidential matter¡­ but I don¡¯t really use advanced practice anymore.¡±

    ¡°A more powerful cultivation method is no longer a simple solution. Just like spells, you¡¯d need a magic to teach it. If you want to learn, you have to find out if there is any solution. Well, I don¡¯t have one anyway.¡±

    Ren Suo scoffed and chatted with him casually before asking, ¡°Do you know Dong Chengling?¡±

    ¡°Dong Chengling? Oh, her.¡±

    Zhao Huo blinked and continued, ¡°I do, but we¡¯re not close. What¡¯s the matter? Do you harbor designs toward her? Didn¡¯t you already set your sights on a girl when you were in the civil service training?¡±

    So that¡¯s really her name.

    Ren Suo quickly shook his head and said, ¡°I just happen to remember her name. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a rare name?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your name rarer?¡±

    Zhao Huoughed and said, ¡°Dong Chengling also looks pretty, but those of us who can be cultivating instructors are more focused on talent and hard work. Everyone is eager to practice and learn all the time, and they usually only chat with friends of the same gender. They probably have no intention of building connections with others.¡±

    Ren Suo nodded. He naturally understood the mindsets of reverends like Zhao Huo.

    Wealth, connections, and status were all hierarchical systems that made human beings realize their weaknesses in order to form teams and work collectively.

    However, a real hierarchical system had now emerged, and it would allow mortals to bebined into one body, and enable individuals to break through their limits so as to crush all above them. The higher their level, the more resources and power they would get. It was no wonder that Zhao Huo was so eager about practicing.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Do you know who has and hasn¡¯t been Awakened?¡±

    Zhao Huo nced at Ren Suo and said, ¡°That¡¯s a dangerous question.¡±

    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡±

    Ren Suo nodded.

    Zhao Huo chugged the pork rib and corn peanut soup, wiped his mouth with a paper towel and said, ¡°If I catch a cold or suffer from any ailments in the future, you¡¯ll be the first one I go to for treatment.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Rest assured, I won¡¯t end up killing you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to die¡­¡± Zhao Huo pursed his lips and said, ¡°The specific Awakening ability is only known to the Awakened person. But we can basically guess whether he is Awakened or not.¡±

    Slightly surprised, Ren Suo asked, ¡°Guess?¡±

    ¡°Yes, guess.¡± Zhao Huo nodded with certainty and continued, ¡°Because of the special training, our qualifications need to be measured and publicized daily to determine who has the best practice results and the most efficient way to improve. One¡¯s experience can slowly be upgraded.¡±

    ¡°Then I found out that there is an upper limit on the qualifications for cultivation, and the most advanced apprentices are basically just closer to the upper limit; there is also a lower limit on the qualifications for cultivation, and most apprentices approaching the lower limit are mostly Awakeners.¡±

    ¡°Are there any Awakened amongst the apprentices approaching the higher limit then? The answer is no.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it with my own eyes, a cultivator who Awakened in special training and had great qualifications and experience leaving the training ground the next day and never returning again.¡±

    Zhao Huo chuckled and said, ¡°It is said that they went to Tianjing to further their studies. Hence, most of those who can be Awakened, will brag about it. Who would be willing to go to work if they could practice in peace?¡±

    Ren Suo blinked and asked, ¡°So the highly qualified and Awakened apprentices will not participate in the training in Lianjiang, and will instead go to a ce of a greater scale?¡±

    ¡°Sort of.¡± Zhao Huo continued, sounding green with envy, ¡°Although we have one more special training coursepared to civil servants, there is actually no difference. It is all because of the state¡¯s intention to establish a social system of practitioners as soon as possible. Hence, they had to speed up the education process to serve the civil servants of themunity¡­¡±

    ¡°True talents will still be cultivated as seeds. Later on, the strong ones will be the only ones featured in the news on TV. ¡±

    That was uncertain because most game characters tend to steal the limelight.

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°What about Dong Chengling¡¯s qualifications?¡±

    Zhao Huo answered, ¡°She is the most qualified one in the special training course, and the boldest one in cultivation.¡±

    Ren Suo remarked, ¡°Is she that amazing? The most qualified and hard-working one¡­ she¡¯s a winner in life. Lowly people like me are different. I can¡¯tpare to Dong Chengling at all. She¡¯s such a talent ¡­ ¡±

    Noticing that Zhao Huo suddenly frowned, Ren Suo subsequently heard a voiceing from behind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t use talent as an excuse forziness.¡±

    Ren Suo turned around to see that the tall Dong Chengling was standing alone behind him while holding onto a tray of food.

    ¡°You¡¯re just beingzy if you give up just because you¡¯re inferior to others. If you want to make excuses for yourziness, don¡¯t use me as a target forparison.¡± Dong Chengling looked at them and said coldly, ¡°This is an insult to my efforts.¡±

    Watching Dong Chengling walk away, Zhao Huo shrugged and said, ¡°That¡¯s just how she is, always cing herself in the most correct position, and then preaching about morals and having the correct mindset¡­ She was the captain during special training.¡±

    Zhao Huo noticed that Ren Suo was still watching Dong Chengling and staring in the direction that she had left. Heughed and said, ¡°Seriously, are you really interested? Seriously, I think you might as well consider that girl from the Strategy Bureau. She¡¯s much more adorable than this stubborn and aggressive one¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you know where she lives?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    Ignoring Zhao Huo¡¯s look of astonishment, Ren Suo recalled the dialogue between Old Zhao and Nine-tailed Fox.

    Before Old Zhao left, Nine-tailed Fox asked him why Dong Chengling was in a wheelchair, after which Old Zhao answered, ¡°This is a blessing in disguise¡­ But Dong Chengling would also like to thank you very much. If it wasn¡¯t for the Heavenly Pce, she would not be Awakened, although the ident happened during the Awakening. ¡±

    No doubt, after seeing her with his own eyes twice, Ren Suo was certain that Dong Chengling had no key now and that means she was not Awakened.

    This Dong Chengling should be the Dong Chengling who opened the door of space in the game. After all, there should only be one person with such a name and appearance in Xuan Nation.

    ording to Old Zhao, Dong Chengling was Awakened by the action of the pce.

    That is to say, the night that Pangolin opened the mysterious Spiritual Labyrinth, Dong Chengling got the gift from it and Awakened before getting into an ident and breaking her legs.

    If Ren Suo wanted to upload the archive, Dong Chengling would be the best observation object.

    He would be able to observe Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakening process and see if she will possess a key that could tempt Ren Suo when she wakes up.

    He could also rescue Dong Chengling from the ident. If she did not meet with an ident, will the corresponding game experience also change?

    Rather than letting himself participate in the game, Ren Suo was more willing to observe the people around him and find out if he could influence them beforehand if they were involved in the game. He wanted to know if that would affect the game.

    Is the ¡°fate¡± predicted by the Mini Worlds Gaming Console invible, or is the actual ¡°gravity¡± much heavier?

    ?

 Chapter 121 - â€“ Adding And Patching

    Chapter 121: Chapter 121 ¨C Adding And Patching

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    After a day, the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± was still stagnant and prohibited from fast-forwarding.

    When Ren Suo just fell asleep, it happened to trigger the plot, causing him to see it when he woke up the next day. 24 hours have passed but only 13 have passed in the game. The real time was actually faster than the game time.

    Nine-tailed Fox returned to the embassy while Old Zhao informed that they were in urgent consultations and negotiations with Fan Ying State, though other countries were also disrupting the situation. Fan Ying was a multi-party country and hence, even the Prime Minister was subject to the impact of the consortium. As a result, progress had been temporarily dyed.

    However, the National Treasure was already in emergency transportation and was expected to arrive in Tokyo within one day. Old Zhao also promised that in at most another day, the national treasure required by Xiao Lan the cat will be delivered.

    One day was not considered too long nor short.

    Ren Suo was able to fast-forward the game time previously but he was no longer able to do so now. He could only leave the game console on and allow the game to progress.

    However, Ren Suo didn¡¯t sit back and do nothing. Although the nine-tailed fox has now exposed its appearance, ¡°Illusion¡± could still be applied to temporarily alter its appearance. He then controlled nine-tailed fox and led it to Tokyo Tower where they waited for the light beam. However, after 18 hours, evolution can ur once more.

    After that, Ren Suo got bored.

    Unintentionally, Ren Suo discovered that the Mini Worlds Gaming Console did be rather significant to him and was now a huge part of his life. Whenever he was not ying, there would be nothing else for him to do.

    This is not okay, Ren Suo thought to himself. Hence, he took out the unopened Hell 4Pro game console that he had been keeping for months, plugged it into the television and switched on the ¡°Unknown Heroes 8¡± game that he hadn¡¯t opened before, in a bid to y it.

    At this moment, the Hell 4 controller was finally back in his embrace, away from the domineering Mini Worlds Gaming Console. It had finally resumed its true function.

    However, Ren Suo felt a little bored after ying for a while.

    ¡°Unparalleled Spirits 8¡± can be considered the first game of Ren Suo¡¯s first choice. The quality of the game was naturally not bad. Although it was often criticized for having characters that were dressed in clothes that were too revealing, the yers were actually thrilled to y the game, for it was extremely pleasing to the eye.

    Watching the beautiful girls manipte the cool and gorgeous weapons to kill the Quartet inside, Ren Suo felt that the vibrations of the controller seemed to be simting the pulse of the female game characters. Such a sense of thrill had undoubtedly made ¡°Unparalleled Spirits 8¡± an excellent game.

    However, that was it.

    At this moment, Ren Suo thought of something that his ss tutor had said before¡ª

    ¡°What¡¯s the point in these games that you y?¡±

    At that time, Ren Suo thought to himself, If only ying games was productive and useful.

    It was now a useful thing to y games, but once entertainment bes work, one would be blinded by their own desires and anxiety, and be a mercenary person.

    Just like professional e-sports yers, they spend a dozen hours a day training for the sake of their dreams.

    Now that Ren Suo had a game console that could change his future, he had no reason to hang and ck around anymore. His rationality wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    Ren Suo took out the game disc and put it away before switching off the game console and cing it back inside the box. He then ced the box in the television cab like a brand-new product that had not been opened.

    The mobile phone rang again. Ren Suo looked at the number and realized that he didn¡¯t recognize it. He picked it up, only to hear a middle-aged woman saying, ¡°Hello Ren Suo, I¡¯m your third aunt ¡­¡±

    After spending more than ten minutes on the phone, Ren Suo finally managed to hang up. If he wasn¡¯t afraid that his mother would be berated by his rtives, he would have told his aunt that she had called the wrong number.

    Ever since his rtives found out that Ren Suo had been admitted to Tianjing College, his mother who had been mocked by arrogant rtives and neighbors who continuously showed off their children¡¯s admission letters to Tianjing College, suddenly had a reason to stand up to them. She continuously asked everyone where their children had graduated from and where they were working. She would then humbly brag by saying, ¡°Oh my boy isn¡¯t thatpetent. He can¡¯t make that much money. All he¡¯s achieved is a ce in Tianjing College¡­¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s father said, ¡°Your mother has been as satisfied as a woman who caught her husbandmitting adultery red-handed.¡±

    While Ren Suo¡¯s mother was over the moon, he was actually suffering. Plenty of his former ssmates from elementary school, junior high school, and high school have been calling these days to ask about how much it cost to practice magic. It would be easy to brush them off, for he could just hang up. What else could they do to him? At most, he just won¡¯t attend the ssmates¡¯ gathering.

    However, it was much more troublesome when it came to dealing with his rtives because he couldn¡¯t just hang up on them. He had to continuously show them that he did not have a significant status in Tianlian College so as to stop them from getting him to help their children get a ce there.

    After ending the call, he received some messages on WeChat from several other ssmates from the university whom he rarely spoke to.

    No one ever cared when he was down and out. Yet, now that he was doing well, everyone was eagerly approaching him and asking for help.

    The reason why the uproar suddenly broke out in the past few days was because the government had stopped trying to hide it and even proactively announced the establishment of the Cultivator¡¯s Institute, and let the officials of Xuan Nation and Japan dere that scientists have discovered a new form of energy that can be used by certain qualified people to obtain various effects.

    Although it was said that the masses were clear-minded and could think for themselves, most people tend to follow trends. Despite being extremely curious about cultivation and supernatural things, they would never take it too seriously so long as the theories have not been officially confirmed, or unless they have seen it in person.

    After all, there were televisions installed in millions of households. Everyone had all receivedpulsory education and hence, were introduced to the systematic theory of science.

    Maybe some people believed in gods and Buddhas while others believed in ghosts and hence were afraid of going to the toilet in the middle of the night¡­ but it would be absurd to believe that their rtives, ssmates, and colleagues could cultivate and be immortals.

    Well, gods and ghosts are not falsifiable, but mortals bing immortals were.

    However, the government had now spoken. The masses would definitely criticize the government for doing a bad job, losing credibility and being ridiculous. However, they were not brainless and hence, knew that the government will not publish nonsense that usually only appeared in boring novels.

    Therefore, with the exception of a few stubborn ones, most people trusted the officials and firmly believed that the future will definitely be an era of the Extraordinaires. If there were only a few people who had the abilities, the government will most likely hide it. The government would only make a big deal when it was a major, unparalleled force.

    Ren Suo logged into WeChat and discovered that someone had reposted a news article regarding the Pacific Confederation announcing the existence of ¡®mysterious energy¡¯ in the world.

    ¡°The next few days will be the blowout period of the world¡¯s major news and headlines ¡­¡±

    Xuan Nation and the Pacific Confederation both announced the existence of Reiki at the same time, and it was apparent that they were ready for the Reiki era. The domestic reiki training facilities were sorge that they could no longer be concealed and hence, the government had no choice but to announce it.

    Other small countries may not be ready, but the two big countries have dered their stand. The only thing they could do was to keep up with the trend and establish training institutions for Extraordinaires.

    The world is advancing forward.

    Ren Suo will continue to work hard.

    He used the Hell 4Pro controller to switch on the Mini Worlds and got ready to continue ying ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±. He wanted to get the nine-tailed fox to search for the powerful spirit hidden in Tokyo.

    However, when the main interface was disyed, Ren Suo found that the screen dinged, and a prompt showed up on the upper left corner of the main interface to notify him that he had received a new message.

    [Version 1.10 of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± has been updated.]

    At this moment, the shing ¡®Download¡¯ tab in the ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± finally disappeared.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Greatly stunned, Ren Suo subconsciously selected ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±.

    At this moment, the system prompted:

    [Dear yer, I regret to inform you that bonus quests have been added to this game. The minimum yer limit is Level 3 yers. You cannot y this game, please upgrade to level 3 before resuming.]

    Ren Suo was dumbfounded and shocked to be rejected.

    What kind of a shitty game updates itself automatically and informs the yer that they can¡¯t y because they were notpetent enough?

    This game can also despise yers!?!

 Chapter 122 - National Treasure

    Chapter 122: Chapter 122 ¨C National Treasure

    ¡°Stand up!¡±

    Ren Qingqing quickly pulled her sleepy roommate, Tang Yihan. More than two thousand people sitting in the auditorium stood up at the same time and stared at the stage intently.

    It was the third day of school at The Tianjing Cultivators Institute. Ren Qingqing and her roommate Tang Yihan were assigned to a ss.

    The courses they took were also simr to university-level modules in mathematics, physics, and organic chemistry. It was a huge torment for the liberal arts student, Tang Yihan, who dozed off right after ss started.

    Although the courses were university-level, the frequency of sses was not. Their schedules were fully-packed and simr to those of senior high school students. In the evening, they had to attend the ¡°Aura Awareness¡± lesson conducted by their respective instructors. It was said that their schedules would remain that way for at least a week before they could begin cultivating.

    Early this morning, more than 2,000 students were called into the auditorium to receive the principal¡¯s speech.

    It was also Ren Qingqing¡¯s first time discovering that there were more than 2,000 students in the school, most of whom were peers of the same age as her. It seemed that they were basically college students or young people who had just graduated within a few years.

    Ren Qingqing, who often paid attention to the news, naturally knew that Xuan Nation had established ten Cultivation Colleges, nine of which would only ept junior high school students.

    Tianjing College was the only one that epted adult students from all over Xuan Nation. They were all either highly-qualified or already Awakened.

    Standing amongst such a huge crowd, Ren Qingqing naturally felt a little scared but she was looking forward to the future much more than she was afraid.

    Ren Qingqing obviously knew the significance of being able to receive the most advanced cultivation teachings by institutes in the capital.

    ¡°Sister Qing,¡± Tang Yihan whispered, ¡°I heard that the principal is also a great Practitioner. Do you think he will appear?¡±

    ¡°He might be here for the imperial sword?¡± Ren Qingqing guessed.

    Tang Yihan, ¡°I wonder if he¡¯s an old man. Or maybe he¡¯s a super handsome guy with great hair and dashing looks.¡±

    Ren Qingqing chided, ¡°You¡¯re so superficial, maybe Practitioners can modify their appearances.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tang Yihan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. ¡°By the time we be Practitioners, we won¡¯t even need cosmetics to stay beautiful.¡±

    Ren Qingqing began to feel a little tempted, and she wondered if there will be any factions in cultivation in the future. If there are, she must choose a biological faction. After all, she had always felt that her breasts were a tad bit too small.

    At this moment, a wonderful change took ce on the stage. Everyone watched in shock as a white light suddenly flickered in the air, weaving a human-like silhouette.

    Within just ten seconds, a figure who looked like a young man stood behind the rostrum and stared at the 2,000-odd students.

    ¡°I am the principal of the Tianjing Cultivators Institute, and my surname is Ren.¡±

    The students did not see him speaking but his voice was already vibrating in their ears, giving them a great shock. They then stared at the white figure on the stage with great excitement!

    ¡°For special reasons, I can¡¯t personally enter the school to teach you, but I will be teaching you from outside. I will be responsible for your learning, like all your training instructors.¡±

    ¡°As we all know, we are all going to enter a new era now. Be it students, instructors or me, we must all use the existing knowledge to be thedder for acquiring new knowledge by ourselves. Scientific concepts and equipment are still the most useful tools for us, and systematic learning methods, are still a powerful weapon for us during our quest for knowledge about the world. ¡±

    ¡°In the face of a mysterious world that hides thousands of truths, you and I are students. There is a history of Taoism and a specialization in the art industry. Thus, there is no need to conceal one¡¯s imagination. An imaginative mind and a hard worker are exactly what the school needs most. ¡±

    The white figure seemed to have scanned his surroundings and scrutinized the students below.

    ¡°Everyone, please fight for the rise of Xuan Nation.¡±

    The white figure then dissipated, while all the students and teachers amongst the audience put their hands together to apud!

    Tang Yihan said to Ren Qingqing with excitement, ¡°It¡¯s amazing! He actually used a clone to conduct the speech. Is this the ability of a Practitioner?¡±

    Ren Qingqing answered, ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect the country to have masters of such a spell now¡­ but don¡¯t you think this spell seems a bit familiar?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s familiar?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit like a simplified version of the ¡®Phantom Extinction Stardust Fist¡¯ that the Ren Family passed on to their descendants, all the way to the sixth generation¡­¡±

    ¡°Have you been watching too much TV?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°I¡¯m going home to prepare a lesson n. I¡¯m not free.¡±

    Watching as Dong Chengling left, Ren Suo shrugged, put his hands in his pockets and headed to the canteen for supper.

    Throughout the day, the students began to learn how to use the devouring method and entered the cultivation field in batches to try their hands at cultivation. Ren Suo also blended in as a ¡°rescue school doctor¡± and enjoyed the free practice area for the entire day while wearing ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±.

    The cultivation field would either be closed or open for an entire day. The staff of the faculty would have to join the students if they wanted to use the free cultivating field without charge.

    When Ren Suo went out at night, he happened to run into Dong Chengling, who had finished training with her ss. Hence, he decided to invite her to supper, during which they could have a chat and get closer to each other.

    However, Dong Chengling turned him down mercilessly, and hence, Ren Suo didn¡¯t make any further move. The fact that he could invite a woman to supper meant that he only saw her as an NPC, whom he was not romantically interested in.

    Ren Suo ordered a pound of crayfish and licked his prawn while thinking about other possible solutions. Atst, he concluded¡ª

    There was no solution.

    Like Qiao Muyi, Ren Suo can only increase her favorability under the circumstances that the other party is willing tomunicate.

    Compared to Qiao Muyi, the best thing about Dong Chengling was that Ren Suo did not have any feelings for her and hence, he could tackle her without getting romantically involved.

    However, Dong Chengling had a bad first impression of him and hence, was indifferent towards him. Thus, his attempt tomunicate might be futile.

    However, if he wanted to observe Dong Chengling¡¯s awakening up close and save her from breaking her legs, he would have to be physically near her¡­

    When the pangolin activates the spiritual treasure, it should be around 11 pm, and the red lotus aurora phenomenon will appear within the first five days of activation.

    When Ren Suo finished eating the crayfish, he finally figured out a masculine solution.

    Tailgating.

    Anyway, the specific time can be spected. He just had to be an idiot for one night, and his agenda would be achieved. That was actually considered to be easy.

    After resolving a predetermined matter, Ren Suo went home happily to sleep.

    Ren Suo waited until 5 in the morning when he acutely heard a beeping sound in the hall. He immediately got out of bed to y the game.

    At this moment in ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±, Old Zhao had already found Nine-tailed Fox and informed her that the national treasure had been delivered!

    Nine-tailed Fox walked to the embassy hall with Xiao Lan, the little blue cat, only to see that there were more than a dozen national treasures contained in bullet-proof ss, disyed in the hall.

    They seemed to be ordinary worn-out antiques but in the ¡°Soul Vision¡± of Nine-tailed fox, they were absolutely stunning and attractive!

    Among them, the most powerful aura belonged to none other than the three magical artifacts of Japan!

 Chapter 123 - The All-devouring Artifact

    Chapter 123: Chapter 123 ¨C The All-devouring Artifact

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ced at the front of the hall was an iron sword guarded by bulletproof ss, a cracked metal te, and a dark green jade hook!

    [Cloud Sword]

    [Reiki Volume: Extremely High]

    [Chance of Strengthening and Evolution:85%]

    [Time required for absorption: 5 hours and 10 minutes]

    [Grasshopper: After Devouring Reiki, the damage will be increased by 50%]

    [King¡¯s Artifact (1 time): After sessfully engulfing Reiki, an extra evolution will be received.]

    ¡­

    [Hachiko]

    [Reiki Volume: Extremely High]

    [Chance of Strengthening and Evolution:80%]

    [Time required for absorption: 4 hours and 10 minutes]

    [After sessfully engulfing Reiki, increase all attributes by 25%]

    [King¡¯s Artifact (1 time): After sessfully engulfing Reiki, an extra evolution will be received.]

    ¡­

    [Hachiko Jade Hook]

    [Reiki Volume: Extremely High]

    [Chance of Strengthening and Evolution:80%]

    [Time required for absorption: 4 hours and 20 minutes]

    [Guardian: Increases recovery by 50% after sessfully engulfing Reiki]

    [King¡¯s Artifact (1 time): After sessfully engulfing Reiki, an extra evolution will be received.]

    ¡­

    It was Ren Suo¡¯s first time seeing an ¡°Extreme¡± spirit!

    All spirits that have more Reiki than ¡°medium¡± are described in the opposite way. They are sorted ording to the sequence of ¡°very few, less, lesser, medium, more, even more, greater.¡± Even the treasures belonging to the tycoons in London were mostly categorized under ¡®more¡¯.

    Not to mention, those three artifacts also came with two features, one of which directly adds attributes, while the other directly increases evolutionary quota!

    Sure enough, the cultural relics that were regarded as symbols by the country, had far more Reiki and attributes than other ordinary antiques!

    An old man who was d in a suit and seemed to be responsible for transporting the cultural relics, stepped forward when he saw the nine-tailed fox staring at the three artifacts. He said in Mandarin, ¡°I am Watanabe who is responsible for transporting cultural relics. These three artifacts belong to my country and they have been urgently transported from the royal residence of Atsuta Jingu Shrine. Are you pleased with them, Her Excellency Nine-tailed Fox?¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox asked, ¡°Xiao Lan, do you think they¡¯re good?¡±

    At this moment, Ren Suo again petted the cat through the dimension. Xiao Lan meowed vigorously, and Nine-tailed Fox continued, ¡°They¡¯re okay.¡±

    At this time, Ren Suo carefully observed other spiritual objects through ¡°spiritual vision¡±. As expected, in addition to the three artifacts, there were also other items like the Juyi text, the armor of the Taoshan era, etc. The amount of Reiki was only ¡°more¡± and hence was inferior to the three artifacts.

    It seemed the three artifacts were absolutely impressive.

    However, Ren Suo also knew that the so-called three artifacts were certainly not as mysterious as they were made out to be in the myths. The Sakura Emperor had also lost plenty of times and hence, the three artifacts might just be counterfeits from plenty of years ago.

    The three artifacts contained Reiki and attributes, mostly because of their symbolic significance. The reason for their great power had nothing to do with their age and material.

    So, did Reiki umte because of humans?

    If this is the case, the Pacific Federation ¡®s Deration of Independence is also worth looking forward to. The poption of the Pacific Federation was three times that of Fan Ying.

    At this moment, the old man said again, ¡°How do you want to see the mystery of these cultural relics, Your Excellency? ording to the agreement, our country is only temporarily lending these cultural relics to you. If possible, we want to protect the cultural relics from being lost¡­¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox nced at the old man who was so terrified that he almost got on his knees. However, at this moment, a man who was obviously a Practitioner, patted the old man¡¯s shoulder, after which he snapped out of his trance and gasped. ¡°Her Excellency, these cultural relics are cultural treasures that I can¡¯t ce in the territory of other countries. I need to take care of them all the way!¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox said, ¡°Okay, I need a bigger room.¡±

    The needs of the nine-tailed fox were quickly met and the old man, together with a group of Practitioners, carried the national treasures in their hands and followed her into the room. Then,

    Nine-tailed fox said, ¡°Put them close together and then open that transparent barrier. ¡±

    Slightly stunned, the old man said, ¡°If you open the bulletproof ss ¡­¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t touch it. I¡¯ll just get Xiao Lan to sniff it a little. You guys may watch us.¡±

    The old man and the Practitioners looked at each other and finally opened the bulletproof ss carefully with the key. They then stood behind the cultural relics and watched the actions of Nine-tailed Fox.

    However, Nine-tailed Fox did not really seem to care about the national treasures, and instead was focused on stroking her cat. They were afraid that the little blue cat would dash out and knock into the national treasures, but Xiao Lan was very well-behaved andid in the arms of Nine-tailed Fox.

    The Practitioners couldn¡¯t seem to stand it any longer. As they watched Nine-tailed Fox, they felt that they were about to lose their souls.

    The Practitioners are somewhat more or less resistant than ordinary people. Although they admired Nine-tailed Fox greatly, they were still rather rational. The thought of their entrustment made them hang their heads low to look at the national treasures.

    At this time, Old Zhao and the others were watching the relics closely through the monitor.

    Everyone wanted to know why the animals made such a request and why they required the national treasures as stakes.

    Nine-tailed Fox clearly pointed out that the national treasures¡¯ relics can increase the chances of animal evolution.

    Her words would drive all biologists crazy. How could an old antique make a creature mutate? If it were an antique from Chernobyl, it would be possible, though.

    Everyone in the game was anxiously looking out for the slightest change in the national treasures and at this moment, Ren Suo paused the game, shut down the TV, and let time flow freely.

    The ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± did not need to be attached to the spirit to absorb it. It only needs to have a close and unobstructed connection between the spirit and the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±.

    However, the game ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± is still in a special state where the yer cannot fast forward.

    He clearly didn¡¯t face such issues before but the function waspletely removed after Nine-tailed Fox appeared in this world.

    Ren Suo vaguely felt that he seemed to have ruined the game¡­

    Maybe this game didn¡¯t expect yers to follow the human route and use the countries to dominate other countries so as to achieve their goals of activating the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±. Hence, it probably removed the fast-forward function so as to use the time to load the future world¡­

    By the time Ren Suo was done, it was already 7 in the morning. He headed to the canteen for breakfast. He heard that hotpot was served for breakfast on the third floor¡­

    Ren Suo ran into Dong Chengling by chance at the door of the canteen.

    Ren Suo had already set up ¡°Tailgating Tactic¡± and hence, there definitely be no issues. He nodded at her and entered the canteen.

    However, Dong Chengling grabbed him.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were going to treat me to a meal yesterday? It¡¯s time you fulfilled that promise.¡±

    Ren Suo looked at Dong Chengling with a solemn expression.

    Last night, he clearly didn¡¯t say that he was going to give her a treat. He only meant for them to go on Dutch. Well, he was a feminist and a penniless one¡­

 Chapter 124 - The Seeker In Reality

    Chapter 124: Chapter 124 ¨C The Seeker In Reality

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°So¡­ you¡¯ve already spent all your money?¡±

    Staring at Dong Chengling, who was eating some porridge and custard buns, Ren Suo began to develop an appetite.

    ¡°No¡­ I haven¡¯t¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling finished chewing her bun and took another mouthful of Century Egg and Pork Porridge before saying, ¡°I left some salt and instant noodles, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Are noodles enough for you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t they serve free rice and soup on every floor of the canteen? I¡¯ve been eating free food for breakfast and lunch in the past few days. If cultivation didn¡¯t cause hunger that would result in a decrease in energy, I wouldn¡¯t even have to prepare noodles.¡±

    Rice and soup were served free-of-charge on every floor of the canteen. Ren Suo nced at thest window on the third floor to see that ¡°Free Rice and Soup¡± were written on the ss. There was no one behind the window at all. It seems there would only be a transfer of manpower whenever there were visitors.

    After giving it a little thought, he immediately knew the rationale behind it. It was the most basic life insurance that the institute was giving its students. After a few monthly exams, there would definitely be students who have yet to umte enough points because of their poor grades. Hence, they had no choice but to resort to free rice and soup in the canteen.

    The food served was obviously not the most delicious but it could at least help provide proper nutrition required by the students. Allowing them to have their basic needs met and experience the logic of suffering when one doesn¡¯t study hard enough. It was a great encouragement.

    Although it seemed rather embarrassing to be eating free food, one would not lose their dignity while eating it because it had nothing to do with their family background. If they wanted to have good food, they would have to work hard to gain points for it. Regardless of how wealthy their families may be, they could not buy any points¡­

    However, it would be a little¡­ embarrassing for Ren Suo, a cultivation instructor to have free meals.

    Dong Chengling was not at all bothered, though. She told him about her ns in a serious manner and sounded extremely dignified like a fat person talking about having fried chicken every day.

    ¡°Did you really spend all your money on cultivating time? It¡¯s only the third day of school,¡± Ren Suo asked in disbelief.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve already been here for 13 days. I used up all of my cultivation quotas three days ago,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    ¡°How could that be!?!¡±

    Ren Suo immediately retorted because he didn¡¯t expect Dong Chengling to have really used up her points.

    Ren Suo had umted 90 hours, which was enough for him to cultivate for three hours daily for a month.

    Although he did not know how many hours Dong Chengling had umted, he was sure that she definitely had more than him. In other words, she had probably spent nine hours a day cultivating, in the past ten days.

    Reasonably, although absorbing Reiki was a pleasing activity that could be seen by the naked eye, and would progress every minute, it would also cause one to be mentally and physically fatigued. For example, Ren Suo would need to stop and rest after every hour of cultivation. He would at most train and cultivate for three hours a day, unless he activates ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±.

    Once he practices too much, Ren Suo would feel unusually tired, thus resulting in mistakes in spitting. He would find it hard to concentrate and his efficiency would be greatly reduced.

    In this sense, cultivation is like a puppet that runs while doing a roll. It could enjoy the training of one¡¯s spirit and body while deriving joy¡­

    Therefore, the limit of the controble Reiki polymerization equipment in the dormitory was not, in essence, a restriction on the practice time of the monk. It was simply a measure to prevent them from wasting resources and keeping the equipment on all day. Ren Suo had consulted Zhao Huo about it before, after which thetter said that he had rarely been able to practice for 3 hours in the past few days.

    ¡°How could it not?¡± Dong Chengling answered.

    ¡°That would be exhausting!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

    ¡°Fatigue is the potential imprisonment of the body and the spirit. Take the initiative to break through it, and your upper limit will be increased. It is normal to give up because of exhaustion, but we have already stopped being normal.¡±

    Dongcheng Ling continued self-righteously, ¡°If I am still an ordinary person, I naturally need instructions to improve my health but through cultivation, I can attain a greater gain through exhaustion after each break. That is the right way to cultivate.¡±

    ¡°In fact, I only knew this when I saw some scientific articles that are rted to this topic, during special training. I once proposed that the college also introduce this method, but the dean did not agree.¡±

    Ren Suo knew that he had met a powerful and strong figure who could break through fatigue by herself.

    She would rather eat minimal food and use all resources for cultivation?

    She¡¯s simply a weakened version of The Seeker!

    Of course, it would be impossible for the Vice Dean to agree with this masochistic method of practice, which was akin to the theory of being able to be the leader of Xuan Nation just by putting in an effort. It was only theoretically feasible!

    If it were someone else, Ren Suo would definitely think that she was just bragging; however, Ren Suo believed it because it was said by Dong Chengling.

    Although he had only seen Dong Chengling thrice and spoke to her twice, he knew that she wouldn¡¯t lie even though she was straightforward and dislikeable.

    ¡°Last night, I¡­ uh¡­ Why didn¡¯t youe when I wanted to give you a ¡°treat¡±? It¡¯s a waste to turn down a free offer,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Like I said, I needed to prepare for a lesson. I will modify today¡¯s lesson ording to the students¡¯ progress.¡±

    Isn¡¯t that an excuse for rejection!

    After eating and drinking, Dong Chengling wiped her mouth in satisfaction and said, ¡°Thank you for your treat, but I will not establish aplicated romantic rtionship with you.¡±

    Ren Suo more or less knew how tomunicate with the heroine in front of him. ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°First, I don¡¯t have the intention to do so. Second, I don¡¯t have a great impression of you, and third, what I¡¯m focusing on now is the future.¡±

    Dong Chengling continued, ¡°Because of a rare opportunity that I got when I was young, I¡¯ve always hoped to attain great power so as to uphold justice. Now that I have such an opportunity, I will not focus my energy elsewhere, except training hard or doing my part for the country.¡±

    She then said in a mellower tone, ¡°But if you still want to treat me to a meal, I will not turn you down if I have the time.¡±

    Ren Suo could tell that Dong Chengling was finally a little shy and embarrassed, for she was looking away. Feeling amused, he asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I have stated my position, but if you are still willing to treat me out of good intentions, I won¡¯t turn you down. I can¡¯t give what you want, but epting is a kind of gift too. If giving me a treat makes you happy, I¡¯ll dly concede!¡±

    Although Dong Chengling remainedposed on the surface, she began to stutter. It seems she knew how embarrassing her words were.

    However, it was what Ren Suo wanted to hear.

    ¡°Sometimes I get hungry at night but I don¡¯t dare to walk alone in the dark, so I often hope for someone to apany me to the canteen for supper¡­ Can I ask you to go with me from now on?¡± Ren Suo asked with a wink.

    Dong Chengling suddenly grinned widely. ¡°My pleasure!¡±

 Chapter 125 - Nine-Tailed Fox Support Team

    Chapter 125: Chapter 125 ¨C Nine-Tailed Fox Support Team

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    The television in the living room finally beeped.

    As soon as Ren Suo switched on the television, he realized that everything seemed to have remained the same and Nine-tailed Fox was still seated.

    However, the eyes of the old man Watanabe and the other Practitioners had already turned red from staring.

    Ren Suo would be able to see the veins on their eyeballs so long as he zoomed in.

    At this moment, Nine-tailed Fox had already absorbed all of the Reiki from the national treasures but on the surface, she merely seemed like she had been surrounded by the treasures for five hours.

    Stroking Xiao Lan who began to meow, Nine-tailed Fox said, ¡°Okay, Xiao Lan has already obtained enough Reiki.¡±

    The old man and the practitioners were clearly relieved. Standing still and watching the same scenery for five hours was not an easy feat that could be achieved by all.

    Nine-tailed Fox said, ¡°Since we¡¯ve received some benefits, Xiao Lan naturally has to pay her fair share too. When do you need the spirit vein to be ignited?¡±

    The old man immediately said, ¡°The sooner the better, what help does His Royal Highness, Xiao Lan, need?¡±

    He could tell that the old man probably held a high authority and position in this activation event. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to ask such a question that would potentially require him to make a promise.

    However, he was speaking while staring at the blue English cat that Nine-tailed Fox had randomly picked up on the streets of London while on a casual stroll. Ren Suo almost burst intoughter and he typed, ¡°No, you just need to close the tower that I appeared in, and let Xiao Lan stay in there for a day.¡±

    Sky Tree!

    Everyone immediately knew the truth!

    The old man and the monk quickly left with the cultural relics, while old Zhao came over and asked, ¡°The spiritual vein of Fan Ying is actually the Sky Tree?¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox answered, ¡°Yes, is there any problem?¡±

    Old Zhao said, ¡°I thought the veins would be more ancient¡­¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox said, ¡°Does time bring about civilization or is it the other way around? I don¡¯t understand either. That¡¯s the same question my peers asked me when I asked them about it.¡±

    Old Zhao was clearly shocked and bewildered.

    It seems Ren Suo had managed to fool him. Even Ren Suo himself did not know the rules of the emergence of the spirit vein. The problem was for the Xuan Nation officials to handle. Maybe, they would be able to uncover the truth faster than he could as a yer.

    However, what happened next was unexpected. Nine-tailed Fox waited for another 12 hours before old Zhao appeared again, saying that the officials were ready.

    ¡°They just checked the interior of the Sky Tree again and arranged for some police officers to stay outside to prevent people from entering.

    They also announced that they would be igniting the spirit vein¡­ I wonder if it will affect Your Excellency and His Royal Highness Xiao Lan?¡±

    Ren Suo had long prepared a counterattack for this moment. Hence, he got the nine-tailed fox to say, ¡°There is no problem, but this matter concerns Xiao Lan¡¯s merit. It needs to go in itself, and I can¡¯t intervene at all¡­ Can you ensure that Xiao Lan will enter the vein smoothly?¡±

    Old Zhao froze slightly and immediately said, ¡°No problem.¡±

    Nine-tailed Fox added, ¡°At this time, I should also return to the pce. In the future, the transaction will be the responsibility of every mutated beast¡­ Goodbye.¡±

    Before Old Zhao could even say anything, Nine-tailed fox summoned the crimson sword and flew out of the window with a whistling sound. It then turned into a rainbow and disappearedpletely.

    Of course, the reality was that after Nine-tailed Fox used the ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± to leave the embassy, she used the illusory trick to disguise herself as an ordinary person and hurried to the Sky Tree.

    However, when she approached the Sky Tree, she discovered that all the main traffic routes had been obstructed, and the human flow was insane. The road closest to the Sky Tree was closed and temporarily made into a sidewalk where people could gather!

    It was just like a parade.

    Slightly stunned, Ren Suo looked around and discovered that people gathered near the Sky Tree really came with a special purpose. They held signs and wore rabbit-ear headbands, regardless of gender. Or perhaps, they were fox-ear headbands.

    There were plenty of beautiful girls who cosyed as nine-tailed foxes by putting on cloaks with nine tails, and saluted to the Sky Tree like actual foxes!

    What was going on?

    At this juncture, Ren Suo finally understood what Old Zhao meant when he said that the ignition of the spirit vein had been announced. Were they intending to turn this ignition into a big celebration! ?

    Of course, most ordinary people should have no interest in the ignition of spirit veins since they were not Extraordinaires¡­

    However, when Nine-tailed fox raised her head, therge electronic billboard was disyed on the screen instead and Ren Suo finally understood the reason for the farce.

    He was greeted with the sight of the portrait of the nine-tailed fox appearing on the screen, like a fairy descending onto the earth. There was even a screen that was disying the footage of Nine-tailed Fox stepping on a butterfly. Someone actually brought along a high-resolution camcorder!?! Is it that perverted!?!

    These people are here to witness the arrival of the legendary Nine-tailed Fox!

    At this moment, Ren Suo also saw a sign that read ¡°Nine-Tailed Fox Support Group¡±. He wondered if they were fanbase from Xuan Nation¡­

    Ren Suo waspletely speechless. He made the disguised nine-tailed fox pass through the crowd quickly and enter the ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± state again before entering the Tokyo Sky Tree.

    There were numerous police officers outside the Sky Tree, and it seemed that Fan Ying couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure at all. They decided to open the ignition to the world for observation.

    Upon entering, Nine-tailed Fox was shocked to see that there was really no one in there. She used ¡°Spirit Vision¡± and did not see any traces of any living creatures. It seems that this is the bottom line of Fan Ying.

    It seemed okay on the surface, but there mustn¡¯t be any unstable factors to interrupt this spirit vein ignition ceremony!

    Xiao Lan soon arrived and slept in the hall of the first floor like Nine-tailed Fox had instructed it to. Meanwhile, Nine-tailed Fox had just begun activation on the second floor.

    Seeing that he was still unable to fast forward, Ren Suo put down the game and realized that it was time for lunch. Hence, he headed straight to invite Dong Chengling for a meal.

    Since he didn¡¯t have to act like an idiot, it didn¡¯t matter to him at all. It was just treating her to a meal anyway. Once she gets used to it, he would continue to invite her for supper in the evening and observe the Awakening process.

    After returning home to Practice for a while, Ren Suo turned on theputer and got ready to watch some videos throughout the night. However, he did not expect to receive a message from the inte forum as soon as he switched it on.

    Is it¡­ about Naisser_Ren?

    Anyone who followed the Naisser discussion forum would automatically receive a message if there was an urgent issue from the ¡®Ren Naisser Task Force¡¯. There would also be chain calls and notifications sent through various tforms.

    After clicking on the question, Ren Suo discovered that the post had been published 26 hours ago and that there were already plenty of ¡®likes¡¯ and discussions. There would be no point for him to enter the forum now.

    The issue also gave Ren Suo a broader imagination regarding Xuan Nation.

    ¡°Is the implementation of the ¡°Elven Protection Act¡± the purpose of ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯? Is he just a genie?¡±

 Chapter 126 - Before The Clearance

    Chapter 126 ¨C Before The Clearance

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo pursed his lips and continued reading the absurdments which had gained plenty of likes.

    ¡°Tong¡±, Level 3 Researcher: ¡°This is a great hypothesis. If we stop seeing ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ as a human, we would probably get an exnation if we focus on the mysterious video-filming technique of the videos that ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ uploads.

    It was an elusive genie that was most likely to be a fairy or mountain spirit. For sure, he wasn¡¯t an immovable earth spirit. It had near-natural hiding andtent capabilities which allowed it to be invisible.

    At the same time, it is most likely a monster who had lived for more than 2,000 years. Hence, it knew of the Ren Family¡¯s Practitioner History. As for ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, it was just an audio in its memory.

    Although it is still impossible to exin how ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± was made, at least it can exin the source of ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯.

    Due to the fact that the past was really an era when the spirit veins were suppressed many times, there shouldn¡¯t have been any practitioners who have survived. Instead, there should only be non-human spirits.

    Therefore, I think ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ is likely to be a huge organization. The main source of information is the old genie!

    One of Naisser_Ren¡¯s purposes could be to guide the nation to ce emphasis on spirits and introduce the ¡°Elven Protection Law¡± to protect the spirits and elves through ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯.¡±

    Ren Suo himself actually believed the inference and conjecture, which garnered 699 likes. Other answers were simr to this one and some thought that ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ was not necessarily a spooky genie, but an old one that could be a member of an organization.

    Ren Suo closed that post and found that there were many other weird discussion posts in the forum besides the one about Naisser_Ren.

    ¡°A mirror that can¡¯t reflect humans once midnight strikes.¡±

    ¡°Fruit Knife That Will Definitely Cut Your Fingers¡±

    ¡°The Quilt That Will Never Be Opened¡±

    Why do these look like spiritual objects with some magical attributes¡­

    The first one is absolutely shocking and the second one seems lethal too. If the third one is an energy producer, it would probably be sold out like hotcakes¡­

    There were also some discussion posts about demons and ghosts. Apart from those Ren Suo had added to the game, there were also some ¡°modern demons and ghosts¡± found all around in Xuan Nation.

    ¡°Jade Girl at the Crossroads¡± would be an example. There had been traffic idents urring at a crossroad in the Northern city area, for several consecutive days. The Bureau of Strategizing discovered a jade pendant in a pothole, in which a female ghost was hidden. The female ghost was the first female college student who was killed by a drunk driver in a traffic ident. When she was knocked over, her jade pendant was ripped off her neck andnded on the road. Somehow, she turned into a ghost and hid in the jade pendant. All of the drunk drivers, who drove past the crossroads were affected and thus, making them more likely to get into idents ¡­

    There were also the ¡°Overworked Ghost Staff¡± and ¡°Spirit of Abused Cat¡±, both of which were modern ghost species that have never appeared in Ren Suo¡¯s ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± game before. The people that existed during the Three Kingdoms era had never abused cats and would merely cook them after killing any cat that they see.

    ¡°This world is beginning to lose its peace¡­¡± Ren Suo sighed and continued, ¡°Now the nation has announced the existence of the Extraordinaires. Well, at least, ordinary people will be aware that the country has developed countermeasures and was actively responding instead of covering up the truth. That also gives the public a chance to gain Extraordinary abilities. ¡±

    Concealing was proof of one¡¯sck of confidence. Xuan Nation has been quite sessful in the research of Reiki and technology¡ªwell, at least, in Ren Suo¡¯s opinion.

    Magic Net Council, Cultivators academies and Civil Servant Practitioners for emergency training¡­ Xuan Nation had the confidence to prove that the government can protect civilians during mysterious incidents, and make up for the shorings of the old, secret search system by making use of the advantage of the masses to obtain more information.

    After receiving firsthand information about fantasy from the online discussion forums, Ren Suo made a phone call home to tell his family to be careful and not go out unnecessarily. He then went to bed and fell asleep.

    Even Zhao Huo was rmed by the fact that Ren Suo had treated Dong Chengling to a meal for the past two days. ¡°Even if you¡¯re wooing her, you don¡¯t have to treat her to meals and eat with her every day,¡± he remarked.

    Ren Suo nced at him in disdain and retorted, ¡°What do you know? A meal is only considered a great one when you dine together.¡±

    Zhao Huo touched his earring and said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t because my girlfriend isn¡¯t here¡­¡±

    Ren Suo didn¡¯t have a choice since he couldn¡¯t tell Zhao Huo of his ultimate agenda behind his decision to treat Dong Chengling to meals, and that is to have a proper supper with her one night. Most people would simply keep their guard up and find it suspicious.

    However, Dong Chengling was not affected at all, and instead, she naturally finished all of the food that Ren Suo gave her. Trying to sound her out, Ren Suo asked if she would be giving him a treat someday too, to which she answered, after a long time, by handing Ren Suo half of the bun that she was holding onto. After giving it some thought, she proceeded to give him the other half of the bun which she had already taken a bite out of¡­

    It was all worthwhile since he was doing it in order to observe scientific experiments and obtain keys. That was the only way Ren Suo canfort himself anyway.

    The game finally passed the 24-hour mark after Ren Suo spent the day killing time. The Sakura Spiritual Treasure had been activated!

    [You have activated Sakura Spiritual Treasure.]

    [Sakura Spiritual Vein Level +1.]

    [Slight increase in Reiki.]

    [Because of the activation of the spiritual treasures of the Xuan Nation, the United Kingdom, and Japan, the other nine spiritual treasures on earth will also automatically activate within 30 days.]

    [You get 5 evolutions.]

    [You got an ace evolution!]

    In the image disyed on the screen, Nine-tailed Fox¡¯s Tokyo Sky Tree waspressed into a painting and blended into the back of a card with red edges and white backs.

    [You have obtained the Crimson Trump card: Skeleton Warrior.]

    Ren Suo immediately got Nine-tailed Fox to create create a glow for the little blue cat, Xiao Lan, after which he turned on the ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡±, leaving the Xiao Lan silently and the Sky Tree.

    At this time, the sky tree has turned into a beam of light which changed from white to red. Even during the day, it still emitted red stars that were visible to the naked eye. The countless civilians who were surrounding the tree and watching everything almost screamed in excitement.

    Although the people outside the sky tree saw the glow on Xiao Lan, they still didn¡¯t dare to enter, for fear of interrupting the ignition ceremony. The instruments and equipment they brought were all beeping loudly, seemingly detecting something.

    Nine-tailed Fox brought Xiao Lan to Narita Airport, where they boarded a flight back to Xuan Nation. At this moment, Ren Suo discovered that the fast-forward function of the game was finally restored. The four-hour flight that Nine-tailed Fox boarded could be skipped and the ne was able tond directly after fast-forwarding.

    It seemed that the branched storyline of the game was finally narrated after the Sakura Spiritual Treasure was activated.

    After cing Xiao Lan in Huo Liang¡¯s house quietly, Nine-tailed Fox left a note behind, indicating that Pangolin wanted Huo Liang to take care of Xiao Lan. She then left quietly.

    The strength of the strongest person in the world has increased by two thousand because of the activation of the Sakura Spiritual treasure. It is now 67,950.

    Nine-tailed fox had a highbat power of 7,700 points but since she was ustomed to the enchantment tactic, her aggression was naturally not that high.

    Now, if Ren Suo lets Nine-tailed Foxunch the ¡°Immortal Inheritance¡± and choose an evolutionary course of thebat faction, can thebat power surpass the strongest figure in the world?

    However, there were still at least 18 days before the activation of all spiritual treasures. Ren Suo can wait.

    With the crimson ace, Ren Suo could totally wait till the end to shift into thebat evolution system. The most appropriate thing to do now was to use the illusory trick that worked in human society.

    The strength of the world¡¯s strongest person was now increasing faster than the evolution of the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±. Once it activates a few more Spiritual Treasures, it should be able to steadily surpass the world¡¯s strongest figure!

    The efficiency of cooperating with the officials was much higher than that of being a lone ranger. The spiritual treasures and cultural relics of the Fan Ying Natio had given the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± a total of 19 evolutions!

    At this rate, Ren Suo might be able to give the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± its third super evolution!

    Of course, the biggest gain from Fan Ying is naturally the crimson ace, ¡°Skeleton Warrior¡±!

    [Skeleton Warrior: Passive evolution, the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± will gain three abilities of the Skeleton Warrior.]

    [Once-in-a-lifetime Meeting: The Skeleton Warrior might meet any enemy just once in his life and the first attack on any creature will inevitably cause 450% relief damage.]

    [Suspended life: Skeleton warrior, has a tough and agonizing life, and never rests. Reduce the cooldown time of all abilities by 25% (or increase the number of uses by 25%)];

    [World Combat: Skeleton Warrior, still has not lost himself. Increases all attack ability damage by 30%.]

    The White trump card was entirely an ace that assists attacks. It had no direct attack when used alone but whenbined with the navy ace, it would be unexpectedly powerful.

    At this time, news came from the pangolin, who informed that several countries had contacted the Xuan Nation and expressed their willingness to trade with the beasts of Heavenly Pce in exchange for the opportunity to ignite the spirit veins.

    The game then went smoothly, unexpectedly. Ren Suo made Nine-tailed Fox evolve into other beasts and with the assistance of the negotiations, keep up with the facade of an unevolved beast. He then sessfully activated two other spiritual treasures, using the reputation of Heavenly Pce. He obtained two aces and a great ton of Reiki.

    Ren Suo thought that the difficulty of this game would have peaked at the beginning and be easier towards the end.

    However, the sess ended eight days before the activation of all of the spiritual treasures.

    The reason being, one of the countries was going to dig its own grave.

 Chapter 127 - Undercurrent

    Chapter 127 ¨C Undercurrent

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Everything is good, earth spirits and humansplement each other¡­ The location of this spirit vein seems to be quite a bit of a hassle to get to. Do you need us to bring you backter?¡±

    Beneath the afternoon sun in New York, three bullet-proof cars surrounded a spot in the city while the police cars led the way for an extremely grand convoy that weaved through the busy streets.

    The driver of the car in the middle was a diplomat of a state that was in the Xuan Nation Federation. He was Li Wei, the First Secretary. It was rather impressive of him to have be a federal diplomat at such a young age.

    No matter how great of a background he had, he must have suffered for a few years in Africa or the Middle East before getting to where he was now.

    Although Li Wei had been looking at the front, he would asionally nce at the rear-view mirror to observe the little golden monkey sitting in the back row.

    The golden snub-nosed monkey was almost the size of a human baby and seemed to be only a few years old. It was seated quietly, all curled up. It would only shake its head slightly whenever Li Wei questioned it.

    Li Wei kept a straight face, for he had long expected to hear this answer.

    During the three spiritual vein ignitions that were assisted by Xuan Nation, all the little animals had evolved because of the merit of the ignited spiritual veins. Apart from Pangolin, the rest disappeared without a trace.

    It seems that the pangolin¡¯s encounter alerted other animals, or perhaps, Nine-tailed Fox¡¯s purpose ofnding in the mortal world was to give the smaller animals a chance to leave.

    Li Wei did not dwell on it for too long because the traffic was rather smooth, thanks to the Federal Government. Hence, they soon reached New York Port.

    At this time, all cargo ship cruises in New York Port had been removed, and there was only one warship waiting at the port. Li Wei and the other diplomats were given the green light and thus, wheeled the golden monkey towards the warship. The entire scene looked rather amusing.

    However, everyone was serious about it and solemnly wheeled the golden monkey into the Liberty Coastal Combat Ship in a wheelchair, under the surveince of the federal soldiers.

    Numerous citizens were staring at the port excitedly while standing on the sidewalk and holding up signs. Ren Suo could see the words ¡°Heavenly Pce¡± written on the screen. It seemed that the pce was now known to the world.

    Now, the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± was about to activate the sixth Spiritual treasure of the world, the Statue of Liberty, on Liberty Ind, in New York City!

    Li Wei was merely trying to verify the research condition of Xuan Nation when he tested the golden monkey just now.

    Even Ren Suo could see the rules of the location of the spiritual treasure, what more the national organization.

    After the Fan Ying incident, Nine-tailed Fox relied on ¡°illusion¡± to disguise itself like a hedgehog, husky, and a pce beast. It then activated two spiritual treasures in Brazil and Australia.

    However, the location of the two spiritual treasures had nothing to do with the capital. The Brazilian spiritual treasure was Mount Jesus of Rio de Janeiro, while the Australian spiritual treasure was the Sydney Opera House, aplete opposite of Xuan Nation, United Kingdom, and Fan Ying.

    The locations where the spiritual treasures have appeared in, are namely Tianjing, London, Tokyo, Rio, and Sydney. Some of those five ces were capitals while others were not, but they shared onemon significant feature¡ªthey were all local and densely popted!

    Therefore Ren Suo himself can conclude that the spiritual treasures will appear in the most densely popted areas, which are the capitals in Xuan Nation, Ennd, and Japan.

    The spiritual treasure locations of Brazil and Australia, however, are not. Hence, the location does vary.

    Washington was the capital of the Pacific Federation but the most developed and popted city was New York City, which was on the East Coast. Therefore, after the pangolin was notified by Old Zhao, Ren Suo moved Nine-tailed Fox Horse to New York for inspection. The Statue of Liberty was easily discovered.

    It was worth mentioning that when the nine-tailed fox arrived at the Statue of Liberty, the federal personnel had also blocked the Statue of Liberty, while many Practitioners and Awakeners were conducting a search and scrutinizing the statue in a bid to find some extraordinary characteristics.

    The people were not fools and the locations of the spiritual veins that had been ignited by the Heavenly Pce cannot be hidden at all. Some spection was all it took for them to find out the locations of the local spiritual veins.

    But so what if they could find out? One would still have to send their national treasure to the pce beasts as a form of ¡°ignition fee¡± in order to ignite the veins in advance.

    Although the veins would be activated in a few days, activating it in advance would be of great benefit to the people of the country.

    Of course, the most important advantage was that it would be extremely beneficial to the ¡°All-devouring Spirit¡±.

    Although the Pacific Federation was newly founded, it had arge poption and hence, they had the most and best spirits. The Deration of Independence alone had increased the evolutionary allowance by two additional times, for the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±. The other antique artworks have also provided ten more counts of evolution!

    Moreover, it would take five days for the spiritual treasure to be activated five times, second only to Xuan Nation. It was much stronger than Brazil, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

    After the Federal spiritual treasure is activated, there would only be three or four days left until all the spiritual treasures are automatically activated. By then, the strongest figure of the world would be promoted.

    In other words, if Ren Suo wanted to clear the level after activating the spiritual treasure, he would have to try to use ¡°Immortal Inheritance¡± to change the current ¡°Phantom Charm¡± to ¡°Combat¡±, and see if he can surpass thebat power of the strongest figure in the world!

    Upon arriving at Liberty Ind, Li Wei and others ced the golden monkey near the Statue of Liberty and then, stayed in the control area of Liberty Ind while waiting for thepletion of the spiritual treasure activation.

    Twelve hourster at midnight, the red and blue aurora spread over the Statue of Liberty and amotion broke out amongst the crowd in New York. The entire coast was illuminated by various fluorescent lights that resembled daylight.

    At this time Ren Suo also discovered a minor problem¡ªNine-tailed Fox had nowhere to hide.

    Like other spiritual treasures, the Federal spiritual treasure would enter a 12-hour hibernation period after being activated. At this time, there will be ayer of Qi outside the spiritual treasure, where the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± could not stay in. When in Xuan Nation, it would have to slip away once the treasure is activated. That was the same for Nine-Tailed Fox here in New York.

    However, the Statue of Liberty was not on the maind, but on Freedom Ind outside New York Harbor. All ships entering New York Harbor can enter the harbor under the watchful eye of the Statue of Liberty, but Liberty Ind was tiny and the greatest distance between the two ends was merely less than 500 meters.

    Ren Suo initially wanted to fast forward 12 hours directly but he happened to catch sight of a warship in-between Liberty Ind and Ellis Ind at this very moment.

    Huh?

    Ren Suo recalled there was already a warship in the port previously and yet, there was now another one.

    They¡¯re being too paranoid! Could anyone possibly drive a small boat across the ocean to enter the Upper New York Bay and destroy the ritual?

    Ren Suo subconsciously got Nine-tailed Fox to activate ¡°Reiki Vision¡± to see if the warship was supernatural. However, once the ¡°Reiki Vision¡± was activated, it became pitch dark suddenly emitted strong rays of light like a star!

    On the deck of the warship, there was a strong man, who is so powerful that he can bepared to spirits that had more Reiki!

    Nine-tailed Fox concentrated on viewing and saw that the man on the deck seemed to be a middle-aged man with fierce looks and scars on his face that made him look like a serial murderer.

    However, no one couldpare to him!

    Although Ren Suo had no experience of guessing one¡¯s strength through ¡®Aura¡¯, he could tell that this person had Extraordinary aura and was probably not inferior to the strongest in the world!

    Forget it, if he¡¯s not running the country anding to Liberty Ind instead. However, why is he staying on the warship as though he¡¯s trying to hide?

    Ren Suo quickly got Nine-tailed Fox to select a high-rise area, where she could enjoy a bird¡¯s eye view of the ind.

    Sure enough¡ª

    As far as Nine-Tailed Fox could see, there were already three warships surrounding the entire Liberty Ind.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to save¡­¡±

    Ren Suo gave it some thought and shrunk Nine-tailed Fox, allowing it to dig a pit in the darkness¡­

 Chapter 128 - Red and Blue Trump Card

    Chapter 128 ¨C Red and Blue Trump Card

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    After four activations, there were a total of four warships surrounding Liberty Ind. Li Wei and the rest were not allowed to leave the restricted area.

    Upon returning, Old Zhao said to Pangolin, ¡°Although there is no reliable information, judging from the current situation, it¡¯s very likely that the Federation may harm yourpanion. Comrade Pangolin, can you inform it?¡±

    Pangolin nodded. An actual pangolinid on the thigh of Pangolin and curled itself into a ball.

    Although there was no technical exnation, it seemed that animals that were ¡°anthropomorphic¡± could naturally gain the favor and closeness of other simr animals even after physical changes.

    When the clock struck 16:00 in the game, Ren Suo noticed that the world¡¯s strongest currentbat power was 72,600. Hence, he got the nine-tailed fox, which was disguised as the golden monkey, to withdraw from ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± state before appearing next to the Statue of Liberty to continue the activation!

    At the same time, the personnel on Liberty Ind received the news that gave them a great shock. They immediately adjusted the time and waited for 12 hours to pass.

    The golden monkey had already activated the spiritual treasure four times, and after every activation, there would be red and blueser beams 12 hourster. The Golden monkey would then vanish before appearing beside the Statue of Liberty again after 12 hours. Everyone had already gotten used to the sequence.

    Ren Suo was fast-forwarding hour by hour. After ten hours, he noticed through ¡°Reiki Vision¡± that there was an eye-catching aura slowly approaching the Statue of Liberty!

    The warship could block the aura but as long as Nine-tailed Fox stood on a higher area, it would be able to see it because the ordinary trees cannot hide the powerful light belonging to human beings.

    ¡°Reiki Vision¡± is not only meant for the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± to search for spirits, but also to hide him from the strong. If Ren Suo took thebat faction route, and fight his way to seize the spiritual antiques used for evolving, he might have to use this function.

    However, if he were to go ahead with enchantment and illusion, a fight may or may not be inevitable.

    It was not a situation where it took two hands to p. Ren Suo knew that he definitely wouldn¡¯t get to escape this time, for the opponent was a huge nation on earth. If they were not confident enough, how could they have acted resolutely?

    Ren Suo knew that the actual strong figures of the world were far more formidable than he could imagine.

    The strongest of the world was in Xuan Nation and the target of the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±. What was so strange about there being an entity that could suppress the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± in the US?

    There were too many reasons for their decision to take action. It could be to nab a mutant for research, or to test the stand of the Heavenly Pce, or to test thebat power of mutants¡­

    Other countries with weaker national strengths can be ignored. The Xuan Nation did not make such ns because of the presence of Comrade Pangolin, but in fact, Ren Suo considered this to be the best opportunity for finding out more. Although he had no idea how much information Xuan Nation disclosed to the Federation, beasts are not humans after all. The fact that they were sent to ignite the spiritual treasure meant that they were probably servants in the Heavenly Pce.

    If the Heavenly Pce reacted vigorously to this, the Federation would then be able to tell the strength of the pce andpensate for their wrongdoings. If the Heavenly Pce does nothing or just condemn it verbally, the Federation would then know what the background of the pce is like.

    Since the Federation was huge, they could afford to carry out the operation. Although Old Zhao reminded the pangolin about it, that was all he could do. It was just something morally correct and the ethics of a repeated partnership. Other countries silently acknowledged their actions.

    Anyway, the consequences will be borne by the Federation itself, and everyone can see the positive results. Hence, why not?

    For governors, being powerful was not daunting, and what was daunting was the unknown. They had no idea what resources, people or manpower the Heavenly Pce had¡­ In fact, they could not even confirm if it really existed.

    By capturing a monkey, they would be able to gain a little insight into some of the unknown, and even if it fails, the loss suffered would be within the expected range¡­ If the golden monkey was like Xiao Lan and had the support of Nine-tailed Fox, they might hesitate for a moment.

    With such a high price-performance ratio, it was almost reasonable for the Federation to take action. The power of the Golden Monkey was definitely not part of their consideration, for none of them were fools.

    Apart from running away, Ren Suo naturally had only one choice.

    At least for now, Golden Monkey, which was a facade for Nine-tailed Fox, was still safe. They would definitely let the pce beasts activate the spiritual treasures before reaping all of the benefits.

    Ren Suo fast-forwarded by another hour and let Golden Monkey walk around the Statue of Liberty.

    It instantly caught the attention of the observers.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°This was not the case the other day!¡±

    ¡°This should be thest ritual to ignite the spirit veins? Everyone, pay attention to the monkey¡¯s position!¡±

    Ren Suo patiently waited for time to pass.

    There was one minute left before the spiritual treasures were fully activated.

    The powerful federal practitioners disyed in ¡°Reiki Vision¡± have surrounded the Statue of Liberty about 100 to 150 meters away.

    50 seconds

    Allbatants on Liberty Ind are in position.

    30 seconds

    Ren Suo¡¯s preset ¡°Illusion¡± was activated instantly. A monkey that was identical to Golden Monkey mimicked thetter¡¯s behavior and began moving while the Golden Monkey that Nine-tailed Fox was hiding beneath, got into ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡± state and kept a one arm¡¯s length distance away.

    20 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds!

    [You have activated the Federal Spirit Treasure.]

    [Federal Spirit Vein Level +1.]

    [Slight Increase In Reiki.]

    [Because of the activation of spiritual treasures in Xuan Nation, Ennd, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and the Federation, the other six spiritual treasures on Earth will also automatically activate within thirty days.]

    [You have obtained 15 evolutions.]

    [You have obtained an ace evolution!]

    The statue of Liberty which Nine-tailed Fox was attached to, waspressed into a picture and merged into the back of a card with red edges and a blue back.

    [You have obtained the red and blue trump card: Wings of Liberty.]

    When the red and blue meteors darted out of the torch in the right hand of the Statue of Liberty and flew across the entire continent, themander in chief of the warship no longer hesitated. When the spiritual treasures of the first five countries were activated, there were also such stunning effects!

    ¡°Action!¡±

    At this moment, Ren Suo saw the golden monkey illusion made by the nine-tailed fox and everything froze!

    An illusion of light and shadow made of Reiki without a physical body actually froze!

    Even Nine-tailed Fox was slightly affected!

    [Space Anchor: You are affected by the ripples of the Space Anchor. All actions will consume ten times your energy.]

    The ripple effect created such terrible negative effects. Wouldn¡¯t it be impossible to move if it was struckpletely?

    Is this their trump card?

    Unfortunately, the Knight¡¯s Wind is almost perfectly invisible¡­

    At this time, the federal Practitioners rushed to the bottom of the Statue of Liberty within a few seconds and quickly realized that they had just shot an illusion.

    Then, a white girl, wearing a Lolita skirt, suddenly started bleeding from her eyes while staring at Nine-tailed Fox!

    ¡°Damn it.¡±

    Even though there was a distance of 15 meters, the veins on the bloodshot and soulless eyes of the girl made Ren Suo feel a little intimidated.

    The girl then pointed at Nine-tailed Fox and yelled, ¡°Here!¡±

    In reality, another curly-haired man who had a strong aura was already pointing at Nine-tailed Fox by the time she yelled!

 Chapter 129 - Monkey King

    Chapter 129 ¨C Monkey King

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Boom!

    Liberty Ind was covered in lush, sprouting greenery and the mud was covered with hail and snowkes. However, before the flying mudnded on the ground, they would be sted by the group of Extraordinary men wearing invisible armor.

    On the small ind of only 4 hectares, the most powerful monks in the Federation were hunting down a ¡®newly evolved monkey¡¯!

    Had Ren Suo not used the amulet on Nine-tailed Fox immediately, it would have definitely been shot by the young, curly-haired chap¡¯s ¡°Space Anchor¡±.

    Those powerful monks affiliated with the US had awakened supernatural powers that were not inferior to the ace. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they were currently the top inbat power. In addition to the ¡°Space Anchor¡±, the girl whose eyes were bleeding seemed to have the ability to locate her target regardless of obstacles, and she could even see the monkey with her naked eye, thus providing directions for her team.

    Her ability was simr to the pangolin¡¯s encounter in Xuan Nation, but the monk who located Pangolin need not go there in person, and it seemed that there had to be an interval between each locating.

    Although the girl could see everything including the invisible objects, she had to suffer the side effects of having her eyes bleed. It was likely that there was a fixed range for her vision but the advantage of it was that she could use her powers continuously and see everything during a short pursuit.

    Although there were two men and two women, only one man and one woman wereunching the attacks. The man was wearing a pure white trench coat that couldunch sting frost on the ground and overturn the soil. On the other hand, the woman was dressed in a pair of ck tights and holding a chained whip in her right hand. When the whip hit the ground, it made strange noises and caused the ground to shatter into bits instantly.

    The monk, who had the most powerful aura and various scars on his face, did not attack, and instead followed the crowd closely.

    Liberty Ind was way too small, and there was nowhere for Nine-tailed Fox to hide. However, Ren Suo did not get her to retreat and instead got her to elerate and dive into the ground after reaching the predetermined position.

    The girl with the vision said immediately, ¡°It¡¯s underground.¡±

    The young man in white and the girl in ck tights remained silent and instantlyunched their attacks at the ground. At this moment, the federal army rushed over and asked loudly at a safe distance of 10 meters, ¡°Do you need assistance?¡±

    The middle-aged white man who had a scar on his face shook his head slightly and yelled, ¡°Back off, it will be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    At this time, although Li Wei and others knew that a fight had broken, they couldn¡¯t approach the scene because of their identities. Hence, they could only anxiously contact their country in the room.

    It was no wonder that the young man in white and the girl in ck tights were elites. Within just ten seconds, they managed to make a ditch that was nearly 5 meters below ground. The girl yelled loudly, ¡°It¡¯s right below! It¡¯s still there!¡±

    The curly-haired young man had already gotten the ¡°Space Anchor¡± ready. Once he sees the target, he will instantly shoot it. He will never let the monkey escape!

    The red-haired girl who hasn¡¯t been doing anythingughed and gibed, ¡°Don¡¯t miss it again, Angelo.¡±

    Juan Angelo sneered, ¡°Well, unless this monkey can speak in humannguage.¡±

    At this point, Ren Suo finally moved Nine-tailed Fox to the intended location.

    In an underground space.

    It took two nights for Ren Suo to maneuver Nine-tailed Fox into its original body, after which he dug a small hole in the ground that could only allow small animals in the trees of the northeast ind to pass through. He then applied ¡°Illusion¡± to obscure the cave.

    The purpose is to hide the real monkey from the Bronx Zoo of New York, in the cave!

    The little nine-tailed fox charmed the little monkey¡ªwhich seemed to be only two or three years old. He brought it around New York City, crossed the New York Bay, and hid it in this underground space with the help of ¡°Illusion¡±. However, Nine-tailed Fox left the lights on and gave it some food.

    After a night of sleep, the little monkey woke up in one piece and even answered nature¡¯s calls in a small and obscure area in the cave that was furthest away.

    There was a violent vibration at the top of the screen, and the underground space was about to copse. Ren Suo immediately got Nine-tailed Fox to exhibit its skills without hesitation.

    ¡°Immortal Legacy¡±,unch!

    Time seemed to stop all of a sudden, and the red Nine-tailed Fox was now covered in crimson mes. The me converged and condensed into a red ace on its head. However, the red and blue, crimson, dark green, light yellow and dark blue aces fell onto the head of the little monkey and fused with it!

    [Youunched ¡°Immortal Legacy¡±.]

    [The ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± has been transferred to the monkey.]

    [Monkey¡¯s Crimson Ace: Immortal Legacy.]

    [The monkey has won the Dark Blue Ace: Mythical Knight.]

    [Monkey has obtained Red Ace: Skeleton Warrior.]

    [Monkey has obtained Dark Green Aces: Fighters.]

    [Monkey has obtained Light Yellow Ace: Alchemy of Almighty.]

    [Monkey has obtained Red and Blue Ace: Wings of Liberty.]

    [Monkey has obtained 88 evolutionary opportunities.]

    [Would you like to use the secondary effect of the Immortal Legacy: Rekindling (Choose 88 evolution cards from 264 evolution cards)? You can also choose to evolve in the usual way.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Time continued to pass and the underground space was gradually opened up. Several helicopters in the sky lit up the deep underground pit. The curly-haired Angelo noticed a figure and aimed at it without hesitation, after which he instantlyunched the ¡°Space Anchor¡± that he had already gotten ready beforehand!

    Afterunching the attack, Angelo heaved a sigh of relief and his body grew weak. Fortunately, the middle-aged man with a scar grabbed him from behind to stabilize him. Otherwise, he would have copsed directly on the ground.

    The formidable superpower of the ¡°Space Anchor¡± was so strong that even the superhuman Angelo could not withstand it afterunching three attacks in a row.

    Angelo turned to the side and forced a lopsided smile. ¡°We definitely seeded this time, Uncle Zach¡­¡±

    ¡°Maybe not.¡±

    A murky voice sounded from the bottom of everyone¡¯s heart. Uncle Zach immediately hugged Angelo and the girl with the omnipotent vision, after which he quickly backed away. The other three did not hesitate to hit the human figure that suddenly appeared!

    The water vapor in the air infiltrated into the pupils, mouths, noses, ears and other prable crevices, and attacked them internally!

    When the womanshed her chained whip, a harsh, dense, and explosive sound filled the air, after which the whip vibrated continuously and fell onto the flesh like a knife.

    The red-haired girl¡¯s hair floated up and her eyes turned white as a blue, gigantic hand appeared in front of her, seemingly trying to grab her soul from another dimension!

    However, the frost was burned by the me and the chained whip was broken with the mere touch of the hand. The blue giant hand too, vanished instantly, as if it had touched something taboo!

    ¡°Retreat, all of you!¡±

    Uncle Zach yelled, after which the young chap dressed in white and the woman in ck tights picked up the red-haired girl who fell into aa, and retreated quickly without hesitation.

    At this moment, the federal soldiers and snipers closed the distance and rushed forth to bombard the standing monkey with their bullets!

    Since even the Practitioners could not nab it, the Federation immediatelyunched n B, changing their agenda from ¡®capture¡¯ to ¡®kill¡¯! The flesh and blood of mutated beasts were of great scientific value!

    If the Heavenly Pce really valued this monkey, they woulde out and showcase their skills to everyone! Otherwise, the Federation would be keeping the monkey!

    Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding¡ª¡ª

    Staggered sounds of steel were emitted from the humanoid monkey while the burning hot bullets fell onto the ground like beans. After a while, they had already piled up as high as a hill. The humanoid monkey did not fall and instead, walked forward effortlessly!

    The golden me on his body was covered with bullets, giving it a golden armor that could temporarily increase defense levels by 25%.

    The green mes under its feet were mixed with soil, thus temporarily increasing the kic properties of cloud shoes by 25%.

    With a wave of its right hand, the mes weaved a scarlet cape that could temporarily increase its recovery levels by 25%

    .

    It lifted its right hand, and all of the debris on the ground around him turned into an iron rod that could temporarily increase the inflicted damage by 25%!

    The ¡°Light Yellow Ace: Alchemy of Almighty¡± from Australia, could be used to create equipment to enhance different attributes, using different materials!

    After a gentle sweep, it conjured a strong wind pressure that swept away the dust and smoke from the barrage while the helicopter¡¯s searchlight cast onto it. Everyone finally saw the true face of the horrifying creature.

    It had a sharp mouth, a narrowed gill, exogenous fangs, a round head with yellow hair, and eyes that resembled burning golden mes. His body was attacked by at least 10,000 bullets, but there was no damage done and no blood!

    ording to ¡°Immortal Legacy: Rekindling¡±, Ren Suo knew that immortals were the ones behind the human simtion processes and that they should be close to human Practitioners.

    The other route should be the Demon King, whopletely extends all attributes, and strengthens all the effects on himself!

    Demon King!

    ¡°Demon King¡±, a colorless card with the following effects: the creature is evolved into the body of the demon king, thus allowing a free change in the ¡°Demon King¡¯s body¡± and ¡°the body¡±, greatly increasing the attribute limit, and achieving the following special effects:

    Each point of defense attribute grants an extrayer of armor each day;

    Each point of killing attribute increases the chance of critical strike by 0.01%, which will inevitably result in a 200% critical strike every ten times.

    Each point of movement increases the dodge chance by 0.01%, and the dodge must be triggered every ten seconds.

    Each point of recovery attribute increases the resistance to abnormal conditions by 0.01%, and a negative state will be removed every ten seconds.

    At this juncture, Ren Suo finally knew even if the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± did not activate the spiritual treasure, he would still be able to formte a Super-evolution Card that would beparable to the ace!

    The activation of the spiritual treasures was a double-edged sword. At the same time, it also strengthens Ren Suo, thus effectively shortening the game time. If Ren Suo was free enough, he could spend months slowly collecting spirits and advancing himself towards the third super evolution.

    However, Ren Suo made some mistakes and although he created a time limit for clearing each round, he identally created the most terrifying Demon King, who had six aces and the highest lethal power.

    Uncle Zach looked at the appearance of the ghosts and goddesses, moved towards the side and asked, ¡°Are you an aggressive Buddha?¡±

    Do foreigners read Journey to the West too?

    Ren Suo got the monkey to respond.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of any aggressive Buddhas before. I only know that my ancestor is the Great Sage of the Heavenly Pce!¡±

    ¡°And I, am a descendant who¡¯s going to seed¡­ the legendary Monkey King!¡±

 Chapter 130 - Take A Hit From Me!

    Chapter 130 ¨C Take A Hit From Me!

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Everything that took ce on Liberty Ind could not be hidden at all, for it was too close to New York. With the help of high-quality optical telescopes, Liberty Ind can be observed from the buildings on the coast.

    After the monkey evolved, Ren Suo gave it a Blue and Red Ace for evolution, in order to facilitatemunication through the ¡°Tacit Echo¡±. Although the evolution did not add any special effects to the monkey¡¯s voice, it allowed the monkey to ignore thenguage barrier and understand human instructions. In other words, when humans spoke, a chat bubble containing the tranted Chinese texts will pop up on their heads.

    Due to the fact that monkeys had human-like vocal organs, it will make corresponding sounds and noises so long as the text typed by Ren Suo could beprehended and pronounced by humans. Just like how a monkey can understand thenguage of others, its ownnguage could be understood by others without any hindrance.

    When the monkeymunicated with Uncle Zach, Ren Suo increased the ¡°sound effect¡± to 100 in the chatbox¡ªthe default was 10¡ªin order to amplify the monkey¡¯s voice, which sounded like thunder spreading across the entire Liberty Ind. It had echoed in New York Harbor.

    Countless people watched the scene while standing on New York Harbor, and rumors of the emergence of a new generation of Monkey King spread wildly.

    ¡°You guys, tear up the contract.¡±

    The monkey stepped forward and heard a dull bazooka roar at the next instant. At least ten grenades were fired at the monkey from all sides!

    Ren Suo was lying on the couch and pressing ¡°R1¡± tounch a general attack. The monkey swept its stick and stirred up a wind pressure which caused all the grenades to be detonated!

    During this period, the soldiers did not stop suppressing the attacks and the jingling sounds of monkey¡¯s gold armor and cape continuously filled the air. However, the weapons that everyone had been raving about since the 18th century, could not even stop the monkey in its tracks!

    The scorching steel bullet meets a burning steel body and prates the kic energy of all tangible objects!

    The crackling sounds of steel being hit against meat were the best apuse, and the army¡¯s retreat was the best wee gift for him!

    For every step that the monkey took forward, themandos at the frontline retreated!

    Hundreds of assault fighters emptied three magazines, fired nearly forty grenades, and left countless potholes and bullet shells on the ground. Yet, they still failed to harm the monkey!

    The Demon King¡¯s exclusive evolution would allow the gold bar and red ace card, ¡°Rock¡±, topletely condense all the ¡°armor¡±yers. As long as the attacksunched every second cannot prate the armoryers, the armoryers will not be depleted.

    When possessing armor, the Demon King Monkey will not be affected by the attribute damage and kic damage!

    At this moment, thebatants released the trigger and quickly retreated with their equipment.

    The monkey, too, stopped.

    The middle-aged man with scars on his face stood ten meters away.

    ¡°Is the Great Sage you mentioned, a strong figure with extraordinary wisdom and infinite power, impartial and courageous?¡±

    Uncle Zach bit on a cigarette and pulled it out from the cigarette case, after which he whipped out a lighter and lit the cigarette up. He then spoke to the monkey like they were having a casual chat.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ren Suo paused the game and replied.

    ¡°We should be talking about the same monkey then.¡±

    Uncle Zach said, ¡°Maybe the background that I¡¯ve learned of, may be different from what you know, but the spirit of the character¡¯s core should be the same. s, I also worship the Great Sage.¡±

    The monkey asked, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t worship his power and wisdom, but rather, his bravery which allows him to face everything without hesitation, regardless of how strong his opponent may be¡­ That is something I can¡¯t do. I know that this is ame order, but I have to obey it out of responsibility or some other reason.¡±

    ¡°For example, in order to avoid breaching the contract, for example, catching you.¡±

    Zach took a deep breath, and the remaining bit of the cigarette suddenly burned out. He mped his cigarette butt in his left hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re not the Great Sage.¡±

    The monkey said, ¡°That¡¯s my goal.¡±

    Zach stretched out his right hand and snubbed the cigarette butt in his right palm forcefully!

    The cigarette butt quickly turned into ash, which emitted a slight fluorescent glow, after which a whiteyer of ash covered Zach¡¯s palm.

    ¡°And I.¡±

    Zach put on a mask, whichpletely covered the features above his mouth.

    He continued, ¡°Am not an angel.¡±

    The pure white feathers woven to his back, spread behind his shoulders back and waist, turning into six wings. There was a dark gilded armor draped over his shirt like a cape. He was wearing a pair of silver boots and the hem of his clothes were floating gently.

    A silver wristband appeared on his right hand, on which there was a cross that turned into a sword.

    A golden glove appeared on his left hand, and the tower embroidered on it, turned into a gigantic shield.

    The white mask on his face, the gilded helmet, and his scars made him look dignified and formidable!

    ¡°In the name of the Lord, I dere you¡­¡±

    ¡°To have sinned!¡±

    A ray of light fell from the night sky and hit the monkey urately, giving it a special effect.

    [God¡¯s enemy: Angel-damage taken will increase by 30%.]

    ¡°Are they finally going to fight¡­¡±

    Ren Suo nced at thebat power table in the upper right corner of the screen.

    The strongest person in the world, 73,400.

    The ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± has 43,216.

    Yes, even though it had already activated 6 spiritual treasures and undergone 88 evolutions, the All-devouring Soul¡¯s strength is now only half that of the world¡¯s strongest.

    However, Ren Suo did not summon¡ªbecause just two minutes ago, the monkey who had justpleted ¡°Immortal Legacy: Rekindling¡± had only 3,300bat power.

    When it came out to deal with the siege of monks and the bombardment of their bullets, itsbat power soared by more than 10,000!

    It seems that thisbat power included the increasedbat power of other skills, but not until the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± appears.

    That is to say, the monkey would either have to find a ce to wreak havoc, or a person to fight in order to fully show their truebat power.

    However, a ready target had now appeared.

    Enter battle mode!

    Angel Zach suddenly flew into the air, and cut the sword across the sky, resulting in a beam and a silhouette. Nine cross-cuts were made and each was the size of a giant windmill. It looked like

    countless stars that appeared instantly!

    No wonder the soldiers withdrew so quickly. This angelunched a map cannon!

    However, Ren Suo didn¡¯t panic. Instead, he pressed the ¡°X¡± button to start elerating. At this moment, the entire game world hadpletely slowed down. Angel Zach¡¯s serial cross-cut attack also froze in mid-air, and he slowly began shooting at the monkey!

    When the movement speed is greater than 500, thebat speed of the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± would no longer able to keep up with Ren Suo, who wasying on the sofa. Hence, all Ren Suo had to do was to make the All-devouring Soul speed up, and the speed of the game would be reduced drastically, to the point where even a handicapped person can make a perfect execution.

    The higher the attribute of the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡±, the slower the speed of the game and the enemy. However, the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± would remain at its normal speed. For example, Ren Suo can now still take his time and calcte the distance between the monkey and the cross of light!

    Ren Suo suddenly felt like he was cheating, just like when he adjusted the timing of the game he yed when he was a child.

    ¡°Bring it on!¡±

    He saw the monkey leaping up from the ground and charging towards the crosses!

    When the crossesnded on the ground, the monkey happened to emerge unscathed. None of the beams hit him at all!

    ¡°Ace of Red and Blue: Wings of Liberty¡± allows the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± to enter the state of ¡°Wings of Liberty¡± at any time. In this state, the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± willpletely break away from reality and can only be affected by its own kic energy and the universal gravitational force. It can no longer be affected by other substances, but also cannot influence other substances.

    It is also a switch that can be turned on and off at any time. Hence it was an unparalleled state, where neither of the parties would be defeated!

    Ren Suo could tell that Angel Zach did not expect that the monkey would actually attack from the front. Hence, he quickly raised the shield, after which an orange beam burst from the shield, forming an egg-shaped barrier that could perfectly protect him. He quickly backed away in a bid to dodge.

    ¡°Take a hit from me!¡±

    Ren Suo even had the time to add another line for the monkey. He pressed ¡°R2¡±, andunched a powerful attack that instantly depleted half of the energy. He then aimed it at Angel Zach and instantly broke its shield. Angel Zach was turned into dust!

 Chapter 131 - An Attack That Separates The Sea And Abuses The Angel

    <strong>Chapter 131 ¨C An Attack That Separates The Sea And Abuses The Angel</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Bang!

    Thunder sounded and Angel Zach who had been shattered by the monkey, fell onto the ground, causing it to shatter. The cracks spread more than fifty meters away from the battlefield. The soldiers were all shaken by the air waves. The angel plunged three meters below ground and formed a human-shaped pothole!

    The massive attack made the controller vibrate violently. Ren Suo smacked his head and remarked, ¡°I¡¯m stupid.¡±

    He finally remembered the special effect of ¡°Crimson Ace: Skeleton Warrior¡±, which would inflict 450% damage during the first strikeunched on each enemy!

    Creating waves was the forte of the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± and umting all of the damage would be the best solution. That would render the enemy helpless!

    However, Ren Suo looked at Zac, the half-dead angel who looked just like a mosquito that was almost smacked to death. But, he suddenly thought it through and realized that had he really pulled the great move just now, this hard-to-find target could really be shot to instant death by the monkey.

    There are a lot of other tricks that the monkey could pull!

    The monkey held up both rods, pointed them at Angel Zach, and swooped down!

    The Demon King¡¯s exclusive evolution allowed the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± to use energy for walking in the air.

    Angel Zach immediately escaped from the pothole to avoid the attack. He even had time to wield three cross-cuts at the monkey that could not be tamed!

    Dang-Dang-Dang-Dang¡ª¡ª

    The monkey stabbed the cross with his rod stiffly until it reached the ground, though he did not shatter the ground.

    At this time, a stick-shaped airwave emerged from the ground just below Angel Zach, instantly breaking his hand!

    The passive effect of the Demon King¡¯s exclusive evolution was to automatically modify the 50% hit rate while the active effect was that the next attack will track the enemy with a sure-hit and a cooling time of 300 seconds.

    Angel Zach did not have much of a reaction and a luminous liquid flowed out of the cut in his left hand while his wings spread. He thought the monkey¡¯s attack was rted to the earth.

    But it doesn¡¯t matter, because Ren Suo will not use the same trick twice!

    Next, it¡¯s time for the Demon King¡¯s exclusive evolution to be showcased!

    The monkey¡¯s yellow fur slowly turned into blue-green while the air around him frosted. Even the armor on his body turned dark blue.

    Angel Zach gently rotated the cross sword in the sky while golden stars flickered along the path of the sword. The stars were above and the enemies were shown!

    The goldenser burst in an instant, but the monkey had already entered the ¡°Wings of Liberty¡± and leaped over the light. His rod turned into a thousand cold shadows that struck the angel.

    The ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± would temporarily enter the state of ¡°Deep Sea Alienation¡± using this attack skill,unching 99 frosted attacks!

    However, Angel Zach had long kept his guard up against the attack. Seeing that his sh had failed to harm the monkey, he wielded his sword and attacked the monkey!

    Dang-Dang-dang¡ª¡ª

    Angel Zach blocked at least half of the ny-nine deep-sea strikes with his shield. Although he had only taken a few hits, he was still severely wounded and smashed into the earth again like a meteorite!

    Ren Suo frantically used the second skill which turned the fur of the monkey from bluish-green to yellow. He then pointed the rod at Angel Zach!

    Countless rod shadows suddenly appeared behind Zach and flung him back into the sky!

    The attack evolved to ¡°Eight Land Spikes¡± and ¡°Eighth Earth Shock¡± when in the state of the Demon King. The ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± would temporarily enter the ¡°Earth Alienation¡± state,unching 88 concentrated, consecutive attacks on their targets!

    Ren Suo will not spare them any mercy!

    The monkey¡¯s fur turned from yellow to red and mes began to ignite on its body. His entire armor began burning andva-like cracks had started to form in his rod!

    This is not a non-human evolutionary upgrade skill, but an exclusive attack evolution of the Demon King. The ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± would temporarily enter the state of ¡®me Alienation¡¯ and inflict 18 consecutive incineration attacks on their targets!

    The shadow of the me rod was extremely dazzling in the night sky and ayer of airwaves would emerge after every attack. The impact of breaking the barrier would make Ren Suo¡¯s controller vibrate violently.

    Angel Zach never reformed again after being attacked. Finally, the mes dissipated and fell to the ground. He remained in the state of resurrection.

    ¡°Fire¡ª¡ª¡±

    At first nce, the soldiers and Practitioners seemed to have received orders and some quickly rushed towards Zach while the others continuously attacked the monkey, which had returned to the Demon King¡¯s body!

    ¡°Oh right, there are still these guys,¡± Ren Suo, who almost forgot about them, said. ¡°You can¡¯t just shoot monkeys whenever you want to!¡±

    Launch ¡°Dark Ace: Battle Fighter¡±!

    ¡°Battle Fighter¡± allows the ¡°All-devouring Soul¡± to have a 100% avatar quota. It can either have an avatar with the same strength but without the same skills, or 10,000 avatars who have only 0.01% strength of the All-devouring Soul. The avatar can only exist for 10 minutes, after which it would dissipate when attacked beyond a certain limit. The avatar quota is refreshed every 10 days.

    Usually, a 100% avatar is used for assistance during the battle but it is not currently needed. Ren Suo activated a thousand avatars from the monkey and directly ordered the monkey avatars to fall from the sky before hitting the army and Practitioners with his rod.

    Given the strength of the monkey, its thousand avatars may not be as powerful as a real monkey, but anyway, it looks simr physically. Hence, it looked rather terrifying.

    However, the number of monkeys is scattered and a brawl wouldn¡¯t be lethal. Themotion would definitely be broken up by the police within a few minutes, but it was still possible for them to attack the Federal army.

    ¡°Ah, is it over just like that?¡±

    Watching the monkey as it levitated in midair, Ren Suo then looked at the power table in the upper right corner of the screen.

    The strongest person in the world has 73,400.

    The ¡°All-devouring Spirit¡±, on the other hand, has 73,216.

    The chaos just now caused a great ton of damage to the Federation, but the power that they showcased was still inferior to the world¡¯s strongest.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡±

    The monkeyunched ¡°Treading Clouds¡± in the air and flew all the way to the torch of the Statue of Liberty. Standing proudly on the highest point of Liberty Ind, it looked down at New York, which was two kilometers away while holding his rod up.

    Launch ¡°Light Yellow Ace: Alchemy of Almighty¡± to condense air and water vapor and continue increasing the length of the monkey rod!

    Although that would quickly reduce the damage bonus of the stick, Ren Suo was not bothered, because it was a battle of strength and not an assault on the angel.

    He realized that the rod on the screen was getting longer and thicker, thus scaring the onlookers!

    At this time, Li Wei and others finally got permission and thus walked towards the Statue of Liberty and held a speaker up. ¡°Brother Monkey, take it easy, let¡¯s discuss it¡­¡±

    The monkey ignored him and lifted his rod before mming it down on New York Bay!

    Launch the ¡°Dark Blue Ace: Mythical Knight¡± killing tactic ¡°Knight¡¯s Sword¡±¡ªit results in ten times of the attack!

    With this trick, it doesn¡¯t matter if the weapon is not useful!

    Facing the sunrise in New York, the monkey lifted his rod and mmed into the ocean current of New York Bay. The river bed was exposed while the seawater sshed up into the sky like rain.

    Although everything in New York Bay returned to the status quo within just a few seconds, the scene was shocking enough to startle everyone!

    It was practically the re-enactment of the myth!

    In the peak of the morning light, the monkey which was tinypared to the Statue of Liberty was shocking the world!

    Its body was made of steel, and it was dauntless. It evolved into a million avatars and split the sea with one attack!

    That was the power of the Demon King Monkey who had six aces, 88 evolutions, and three super evolutions!

    Li Wei heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that the monkey had merely vented its anger by hitting the sea.

    The monkey then said, ¡°I¡¯m going back now.¡±

    The monkey mmed its foot down and caused the clouds to poof up. It then seemed to have done a somersault and disappeared in front of everyone at the next second.

 Chapter 132 - â€œThe All-devouring Soulâ€ Cleared!

    <strong>Chapter 132 ¨C ¡°The All-devouring Soul¡± Cleared!</strong>

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    The strongest person in the world, 73400.

    The All-devouring Soul, 76000.

    Rensuo exhaled heavily and let go of the joystick ¨C After using his strategy for more than ten days, he finally arrived at this stage.

    The monkey¡¯s sea-splitting attack set a newbat record, showing that the All-devouring Soul could theoretically deliver the strongest blow that surpassed the strongest in the world, afterbining all its abilities.

    Although he still did not see the strongest in the world at the end, there was no final boss to defeat. Hence, the theoretical possibility was enough.

    There were only three or four days left until all the spiritual treasures are opened, and there should be no time to open the spiritual treasures again.

    The countries in which the spiritual treasures of the All-devouring Soul had been activated, were Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, and South America. The only two spiritual treasures that Rensuo was sure of were Africa and Russia. However, they were bothrge countries and it would require three or four days for the spiritual treasures to be activated.

    After all the spiritual treasures are automatically

    activated, thebat power of the world¡¯s strongest man will soar to a higher level. Ren Suo was not certain if the All-devouring Soul could catch up with the world¡¯s strongest man without advancing in level.

    It is now the best time for clearing levels.

    When the monkey reached a safe ce with ¡°Knight¡¯s Wind¡±, an in-game prompt popped up:

    ¡°Thebat power of the All-devouring Soul has surpassed the strongest man in the world and satisfied the conditions for clearance.

    ¡°Do you choose to clear the level and acquire the quest settlement status? Once the quest is settled, this file will be archived and you will not be able to continue ying. The All-devouring Soul will remain in its current state.¡±

    ¡°It has been detected that the yer has some remaining control characters. Once archived, the other control characters will continue the yer¡¯sstmand and go on to be an uncontroble NPC. Pleaseplete the arrangements for the remaining characters before archiving.¡±

    Ren Suo stared at the top of the screen.

    Apart from the monkey, there were also other controble characters like the humanoid pangolin and a small Nine-tailed fox. At this moment, a chat bubble popped up above the pangolin¡¯s head.

    Next, it transitioned into a conversation between Old Zhao and the pangolin.

    ¡°Comrade pangolin, don¡¯t be sad, cheer up.¡±

    Old Zhao patted the pangolin¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Your time wille.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± the pangolin asked ventrally.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Old Zhao pointed at the disy in front of him and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you feeling dejected and sad because yourpanion, the Monkey has be so strong and powerful?¡±

    On the disy screen, the scene where the monkey beat the angel was on rey and the angle of the camera seemed to be from the roof of a house in New York. The footage seemed to have been shot with special equipment too. Although there was no audio avable,the monkey¡¯s various changes and magical powers were rather cool. Thest sea-splitting attack was incredibly exciting!

    Ren Suo blinked and made the Pangolin say, ¡°Yeah, sigh.¡±

    The pangolin finally agreed tomunicate.

    Old Zhao also breathed a sigh of relief and asked after beating around the bush for a while. ¡°Why are monkeys so powerful after transformation but Comrade Pangolin, you¡­¡±

    Ren Suo casually made up an excuse. ¡°Because, I, failed to transform. Did ot gain entry to the Celestial Pce or the Soul Inheritance.¡±

    The Celestial Pce Inheritance!

    Old Zhao thought about the cause and effect, and quickly deduced a clue. However, Pangolin¡¯s words made him feel terrible and he decided to help him speak. ¡°You mean, the beasts that have been sessfully transformed will get the legacy of the Great Sage?¡±

    The pangolin pressed his head with his right hand and nodded. At this moment, Old Zhao couldn¡¯t help but take pity on the pangolin. ¡°Since you¡¯ve lost this opportunity, is there any remedy for it? Feel free to tell me. I¡¯ll try my best tomunicate with the superiors. After all¡­ we were the ones who disrupted your transformation ritual.¡±

    The pangolin is currently the only member of the Celestial Pce who had a close friendship with Xuan NAtion. If possible, the Xuan Nation would definitely not hesitate to give Pangolin some great advantages and help him be stronger.

    Pangoline said, ¡°Immortal, time, fate. Spirit veins revive, I continue to cultivate, maybe, there is, a chance.¡±

    Old Zhao secretly decided to report to his superiors about the potential of the pangolins so that they could continue cultivating well. He continued to probe further, ¡°Where ¡­ where is Monkey King now?¡±

    The Pangolin answered, ¡°Go back, all, transformation, sessful, have to go back and continue practicing.¡±

    Old Zhao nodded. Although the Monkey King¡¯s strength was also impressive enough, he still could notpare to its form in the myths. In myths, it had a golden baton and could transform 72 times with a somersault. He was truly formidable.

    If the Monkey King can truly be the Great Heavenly Sage, it will definitely take a long time to cultivate.

    However, could it really be¡­

    Old Zhao frantically asked, ¡°Does the Heavenly Sage really exist? Comrade, do you know any other characters or sages in the Celestial Pce?¡±

    The pangolin waved his hand and said, ¡°Deities, if I say, I die.¡±

    Greatly taken aback, Old Zhao asked, ¡°Will the deity know if we mention his name?¡±

    The pangolin answered, ¡°For you, it doesn¡¯t matter. I can¡¯t say it. The deity, I must, keep the secret. Otherwise, it will, be the end of me. I also, have forgotten.¡±

    Old Zhao had no idea if the pangolins had good memory skills but he reckoned otherwise since they didn¡¯t even have hair.

    He thought, However, if a beast like Pangolin knows the truth about the immortals? If the news are leaked after they descend on the mortal world, will Pangolin be burnt by the fire of the immortals?¡±

    Old Zhao¡¯s face grew sullen. I¡¯m afraid even the people of Celestial Pce believe that tactics mean more than heart but I wonder what they¡¯re like¡­

    ¡°Why can the Monkey King mention the Heavenly Sage then?¡±

    ¡°He, has, inheritance, can, mention, his own, origin.¡±

    Old Zhao nodded. Everything makes sense now.

    Afterforting pangolin, Old Zhao told him that he would let the pangolin move to the best environment. Ren Suo subconsciously wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he decided to switch characters.

    Ren Suo then turned on the intelligent control interface and arranged the final instructions for the pangolin.

    It would be impossible for it tomit suicide directly. Anyway, after being yed for a few days by Ren Suo, it still needed a clear direction for its future.

    From the beginning, Ren Suo gave the pangolin two instructions and that was to wait for instructions, eat, and sleep.

    Things were no longer that simple now. Ren Suo activated the character control interface and adjusted the settings. As long as the character has been set, the pangolin will act ording to the setting.

    Background: The pangolin came from the Celestial Pce but had already forgotten all the information about it.

    No family.

    Main characteristics: Kind but not saintly. Will fight for his goals. Will not create trouble but will not be afraid if anything happens. Will retaliate.

    Ability: Ground-digging and using ventral speech.

    Goal: Cultivation; To be the world¡¯s super pangolin that isparable to humans.

    Next, there were issues like sexual orientation, sleeping posture, food preferences and many others. After Ren Suo carefully filled it in, the pangolin was set.

    Next, little nine-tailed fox.

    Ren Suo stared at the screen to see that it was all stained with dirt and was hiding in the bush and feigning dead. The little nine-tailed fox was covered in white fur and was wondering if it could jump out of the screen.

    Ren Suo found it to be cute and wanted to rear it!

    However, the small nine-tailed fox is now on Liberty Ind, and after performing the ¡°Immortal Inheritance¡±, it had already lost other abilities.

    Due to the fact that the nine-tailed fox was not in a human form when it activated the inheritance, it was still in the body of a nine-tailed fox. However, it could swim and hence, Ren Suo got it to swim back to New York, andpleted her role.

    Unlike the Pangolin, the Nine-tailed fox could still connect with countries in a humanoid form. With the Nine-tailed fox¡¯s current state, it would very likely be sent to the research institute if it gets exposed. It wasn¡¯t likely that it would be dissected but its blood might be drawn for research.

    Therefore, Ren Suo set Nine-tailed fox to be cunning and intelligent. Its priority was to stay alive but was also kind and brave enough to retaliate.

    The future will depend on their fate.

    Ren Suo switched the control perspective back to the Demon Monkey King and the prompt remains ¨C ¡°Do you choose to clear the level and acquire the quest settlement status? Once the quest is settled, this file will be archived and you will not be able to continue ying. The All-devouring Soul will remain in its current state.¡±

    In just one hour, the world¡¯s strongest man actually had hisbat power increased by 420. Although it was not much, it made Ren Suo determined.

    ¡°The All-devouring Soul has surpassed the strongest in the world.¡±

    ¡°Mission Complete!¡±

 Chapter 133 - Settlement

    Chapter 133: Chapter 133 ¨C Settlement

    [Missionpleted.]

    [Completed basic mission target ¨C 60 points]

    [Legend: Overallbat power is greater than 50,000 ¨C 10 points]

    [Extraordinary sanctification: The All-Devouring Soul received three super-evolutions ¨C 5 points]

    [World leader: Activating half of the Reiki Treasures ¨C 5 points]

    [Lawful and kind: Did not kill any humans ¨C 3 points]

    [Spender: total merit points spent is greater than 30 ¨C 3 points]

    [News Maker: more than half of the global human poption is aware of the actions of the All-Devouring Soul ¨C 2 points]

    [Total score is 88 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]

    [Current mission score: 88 points (extraordinary). Highscore: 88 points (extraordinary).]

    [The yer has received an appraisal of ¡°extraordinary¡±, fulfilling the hidden requirements, hence the yer will receive information for the chapter¡¯s hidden side mission.]

    [Side mission: Initiating the age of Reiki. Activate all Reiki Treasures to attain a higher score.]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]

    [The current score can only be stored for three days, afterwhich it will not be possible to upload this score.]

    [You may upload your score only once.]

    Ren Suo subconsciously sucked his thumb in his mouth and bit it. He felt the nails and skin of his fingers being bitten by his teeth, but he did not even blink. Instead, continued staring intently at the crucial words in the mission evaluation ¡ª

    His total score was 88 points!

    So far, Ren Suo had yed five games, ¡°The Killer: Chapter One¡±, ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡±, ¡°Over My Dead Body: Chapter One¡±, ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± and ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±. This was the only time he had achieved a score so close to 90 points!

    ¡°That¡¯s so unfortunate, I still can¡¯t exceed 90 points¡­¡± muttered Rensuo to himself.

    Ren Suo was nheless extremely curious what the 90-point mission appraisal would be.

    However, Ren Suo carefully studied the score breakdown in the mission evaluation and realized that he would not be able to exceed 90 points with his pure capability.

    The three scoringponents ¡°Lawful and Kind¡±, ¡°Spender¡± and ¡°News Maker¡± appeared to be some sort of ¡°reward achievements¡±, as opposed to the other threeponents ¡°Legend¡±, ¡°World Leader¡±, and ¡°Extraordinary Sanctification¡± which were given points based on concrete data in the game. There was an obvious difference between the two types of achievements ¨C the former generally granted fewer bonus points.

    That was simr to the achievement ¡°Special Achievement: Lolicon¡± obtained in ¡°The Killer¡±. It was one of the constion achievements that rewarded the yer for the ¡°hard work¡±.

    The only problem was that mission score for the game had the same time limit restriction as that of ¡°The Killer¡±.

    But ¡°The Killer¡± was worse in that aspect ¨C the game would disappear after the given time period.

    Fortunately, at the most, for ¡°The All-Devouring Spirit¡±, Ren Suo would lose his game result, but the game would still be there.

    If it were before, Ren Suo certainly would not have fully understood the significance of such a setting, but now, he could deduce the purpose of that.

    ¡°In other words, will the events in the game actually happen in real life after three days¡­¡±

    Ren Suo took out hisptop, created a new document, and noted down the following:

    ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± is a game with events which happened in the past, and there is no time restriction for the uploading of game results;

    ¡°The Killer¡± and ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± is a game with events happening in the future, and there are time restrictions on the uploading of game results;

    But ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± and ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± are also games with events which will only happen in the future after ying, but there is no time restriction for uploading game results.

    What was the difference between the first andst two games with events urring in the future?

    Impact?

    Type of the game?

    Saving mechanism in the game?

    Number of interactions?

    Ren Suo saved the problem in the document for now, and closed theptop. He continued to look at the television screen.

    Before hepleted the game, Ren Suo had already set his minimum goal ¨C as long as the final score exceeded 70 points, Ren Suo was willing to upload the score and stop ying.

    The main reason for that was because of Dong Chengling. She was a perfect observer. Ren Suo was willing to sacrifice a portion of his merit points to find out exactly the changes to the people around him when the events in the game turned into reality.

    Anyway, there were so many games in the Small World game console, and as long as Ren Suo was willing to spend the time, the merit points could be earned back in the future.

    And so Ren Suo selected to upload the results!

    [Your mission score has been uploaded sessfully. You have received 218 merit points, use wisely.]

    [You have received 1* 3-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.]

    [You have received the following specialized reward: Extraordinary Evolution. It can be equipped on the Equipment screen.]

    [Your score for ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± has been uploaded. Thank you for ying. A small world brings immeasurable and unending happiness!]

    ©» | £à O ¡ä | ©¿ Yeah ~~

    Ren Suo quickly returned to the main page and watched as the number of merit points reflected on the top right corner of the screen rose to 249. Ren Suo was so excited that he did a carp flip on the couch!

    Afterpleting the game ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, Ren Suo had a total of 104 merit points. He had spent 50 merit points in the lucky draw previously and another 23 merit points in the game. Now, however, he had earned back triple the merit points that he spent!

    It turned out that indeed the merit points system of the game console was such that the rate of earning merit points would increase with progress. He did not need to worry that he would run out of merit points in the future and not be able to purchase any games!

    Although that was the case, Ren Suo navigated to the World Shop and found that there were no promotional games, and only one trending game.

    Indeed, it was no longer the intellectual puzzle game ¡°The Grim Reaper is Omnipresent¡±, but instead a game with a vague name that implied gory action, ¡°Immtion¡±.

    [Immtion]

    [This is a role-ying game in which the yer would take on the role of a treasure hunter. The yer steps into a crack leading to a different, unknown world by ident, and struggles to survive in the chaotic yet mysterious time to receive power to return to the real world. The highest reward forpletion is 500 merit points. The specialized reward given uponpletion of the game would be rted to the yer¡¯s ability in the game at the time ofpletion. There are possible continuation chapters and in-app purchase options. The difficulty rating of the game is: 4+ stars.]

    [The avable specialized rewards include: ¡°Indiscriminate Killing¡±, ¡°Ghost Annihtion¡±, ¡°Devour of Bones¡±, ¡°Persistent Caution¡±¡­]

    And then Ren Suo saw the price of the game ¨C 488 merit points.

    Ren Suo fell silent.

    Although he could not afford the game, the reward forpleting the game was actually 12 points higher than its cost.

    It was not a game that cost only 8 merit points, but 488 merit points. Had the game difficulty been any lower, the game developers would be making a loss.

    And that game also had possible in-game purchases, so it was possible that the in-game purchases would increase the final appraisal score.

    Although the rewards of other games were not more than their corresponding cost, this was simply outrageous.

    It was either that the price of this game was simply unreasonable, or that the specialized reward of the game was the true reward of the game, adequately bridging the gap in merit points.

    But there was also no way for Ren Suo to know the specific details of the specialized rewards, and naturally it was also impossible for him to buy this game.

    Of course, even if he could afford it, he could not buy it either.

    Games with a difficulty of 4 stars or more could only be purchased by yers who were level 4 and above, while those with a difficulty of 3 stars and below could be purchased by any yer.

    Speaking of which, it was previously mentioned thatpleting the 3+ star difficulty game would grant the yer arge amount of yer experience points, but Ren Suo¡¯s yer level had not increased, so it appeared that he had to clear a few more games before he could be a level 3 yer.

    And then, of course ¡ª

    [You have received a new message.]

 Chapter 134 - The First Fish in the World

    Chapter 134: Chapter 134 ¨C The First Fish in the World

    Eh?

    Why did it take so long for the yer level up prompt to appear after uploading the final game results?

    However, when Ren Suo opened this information, he found that instead of informing him of his yer levelling up, it was a strange system prompt.

    [yer, congrattions for receiving 200 merit points. Here is a friendly reminder from Neisser Game Studios: umte as many merit points as possible before your promotion to a level 4 yer. You have been warned.]

    Ren Suo was confused upon seeing the prompt. Why did thepany which the Small World game console was licensed under specially prompt him not to spend his merit points after discovering that he had earned a sizable amount of them?

    Moreover, it was not just a simple reminder but instead going so far as to say that he had been warned. It was not far from simply saying that ¡°I am the creator, so you should do as I say and not be a fool¡±.

    It was almost like advising people not to enter the pce to be a eunuch in 1911.

    But why did the prompt appear only after he umted 200 merit points, and not when he previously had 100 merit points?

    ¡°It must be that the promotion to a level 4 yer is rted to umting 200 merit points¡­¡±

    Ren Suo thought about it but figured that the information was not very significant, since he was still a long way from bing a level 4 yer.

    Ren Suo opened the savehouse inventory and naturally, the sight of two treasure chests greeted him: the level 2 treasure chest from ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± and the level 3 treasure chest from ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±.

    However, Ren Suo did not have a single key. Keys could only be retrieved from real life, and could not be purchased using merit points.

    Nheless, over the past few days, Ren Suo had been eating his meals with Dong Chengling every day. He discovered that there were six students in the two sses she taught who possessed keys. There were many more of such students who roamed the dining hall.

    But of course, they had nothing to do with Ren Suo, no matter how many keys they had.

    Simrly, there were many beautiful girls at university and piles of bills stored in the bank, but what did they have got to do with Ren Suo?

    As with the past activations of the treasure chests, Ren Suo felt that he was far from being a powerful European emperor, so he decided to let nature take its course and think about activating the treasure chests when he had the opportunity to do so in the future.

    On the contrary, it was the specialized reward of ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± which excited him ¡ª

    ¡°Extraordinary Evolution¡±!

    That reward did not appear on the Equipment page. Instead, like ¡°Enhanced Physique¡±, it appeared immediately in the savehouse inventory, indicating that it was a consumable reward, and would be used up.

    Ren Suo had not put too much thought into it previously, but after ying ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± for over ten days, he had a much better understanding of ¡°Extraordinary Evolution¡±!

    The enchanting nine-tailed fox who could take on a multitude of physical appearances!

    The mythical monkey king who had the physique of a king kong!

    Ren Suo was not expecting to attain the demon king realm of the third super-evolution. He would be more than satisfied if he was given the option to step into the true human realm of the second super-evolution!

    [Do you wish to activate ¡°Extraordinary Evolution¡±?]

    [It has been detected that the yer is a human. Please select one of the following three evolution cards ¨C]

    Wow, not bad, there are three cards to choose from!

    But the next moment, Rensuo was instantly stunned when he saw the three evolution cards ¡ª

    [Mimic Creature: Cat], [Mimic Creature: Fox], [Mimic Creature: Fish].

    Ren Suo put down the game controller and took a deep breath. He proceeded to the washroom and pulled down his pants. After pondering for a long while, he rubbed his hands together slowly with soap and water, then organized his emotions before sitting back down on the couch. He carefully read through the descriptions of the three evolution cards.

    While the evolution of animals was to be like humans, it was strange that the evolution of humans was to be like animals. But Ren Suo came to terms with such a game setting, and thought that it was nheless interesting.

    And even if he could not ept such a game setting¡­ That was not an option for Ren Suo, who observed the ¡®three second rule¡± (food can still be eaten within three seconds of dropping it) and never wasted resources.

    [Mimic Creature: Cat] was a colorless card. Its effect was: enables the yer to acquire the abilities of cats, including napping, night vision, and agility, as well as obtain the ¡°aura of cats¡±, which allows the yer to be favored by other felines easily;

    [Mimic Creature: Fox] was a colorless card. Its effect was: enables the yer to acquire the abilities of foxes, including an enhanced sense of smell and a body scent, as well as obtain the ¡°aura of canids¡±, which allows the yer to be favored by other canids easily;

    [Mimic Creature: Fish] was a colorless card. Its effect was: enables the yer to acquire the abilities of fishes, including the ability to breathe and swim in water, as well as obtain the ¡°aura of fishes¡±, which allows the yer to be favored by other fishes easily.

    ¡°Oh well, I knew it, there is still a limit to the power of specialized rewards from games with a 3-star difficulty¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Somewhere across the Pacific Ocean, in the underground research institute on Prison Ind over 400 nautical miles away from Los Angeles, the 751th experiment was being conducted.

    Prison Inds were not umon in the Federation, with the natural barriers of the ocean proving to be more effective than all other physical barriers. Located far away from the maind, the prison ind was naturally an excellent location for conducting scientific research, with no possibility of information leakage unless a satellite phone could be essed.

    Furthermore, the Kebalian prison ind was privately managed. It was originally established by a medical-based multinational consortium of the Federation, but over the past six months, other consortiums began to inject funds to make the prison ind amon investment amongst the top-tier consortiums of the Federation. At the same time, many researchers and prisoners on death row, were brought onto the prison ind.

    At present, the prison only held prisoners on death sentence with reprieve. When those prisoners arrived, they would no longer have the opportunity tomunicate with the outside world, and only electromaic prison shoes which slowed their movement would be worn. Additionally, the entire floor surface of the prison ind was made of matching metal materials. When the prisoners entered an area which ¡°did not belong to them¡±, the electrical circuit between the ground and their shoes would be closed and an immense maic force would form, forcing them to be stuck at that position.

    That was a prison where people could always be ¡®nted¡¯ inside forever.

    Two fit jailers escorted Case, a prisoner, to an underground research room. Not only was Case wearing the electromaic prison shoes, both of his hands were also bound together with lead handcuffs. His face was covered with an stic mask thatpletely forced opened his mouth and only had two openings which revealed a pair of eyes constantly darting in fear and panic.

    When Case entered, it was also the end of the 751th experiment.

    ¡°Clean up the area over here quickly.¡±

    A white middle-aged researcher instructed the staff to clean up the ¡°person¡± on the metal seat who had already ¡°melted¡± like ice cream. The researcher fixed his gaze at the curve on the disy screen as he asked: ¡°How many more people are there?¡±

    ¡°Three more people, professor,¡± said the female researcher next to him. She continued, ¡°Subject No. 752 is here.¡±

    ¡°Well, next up is the fatigue test for the next five test subjects¡­ Begin immediately after 30 seconds,¡± said the middle-aged researcher.

    Case watched as the experiment assistants cleaned up the flesh and internal organs on the seat in a whirl, and then several stronger assistants removed the lead handcuffs and electromaic prison shoes on him.

    Case knelt down on the ground in fear, making muffled noises in protest, but the group of assistants held him up and into the seat. They fixed his hands and feet together in position. A ck assistant pped his face and scorned: ¡°All of you scums on death row are going to die anyway. Don¡¯t wet your pantster or it would be troublesome for us to clean up.¡±

    Ah, ah, ah ¡ª

    It¡¯s not me, I have been wronged!

    But no one was interested in listening to his story. Perhaps hended in such a position because his business partners plotted against him when he had been the CEO of thepany;

    Perhaps he was a banker, and caught his wifemitting adultery with another man in the middle of the night, although he did not make any rash decisions but the bank robbers who passed by did, resulting in the me being shifted onto him;

    Or perhaps he was an undercover of the police, but no one could prove his identity after his superior¡¯s ¡°staged¡± suicide¡­

    Regardless, in the research center, he was merely the 752nd test subject.

    While he rebuked the injustice of fate in his heart, he had never thought about the fact that, if fate took his side, would that not be unfair to the 751 test subjects in front ¨C who could be sure that the 751 others had not been wronged too?

    ¡°The experiment will now begin.¡±

    Case tensed up as he waited for the electrical current or sharp de to be felt.

    But instead, his seat turned around 180¡ã.

    The metal seat was so big that Case had not noticed anything behind the seat, but now he finally saw it ¨C it was a fish tank.

    In the fish tank, there was a blue-green fish about the size of a thumb.

    The 751 prisoners in front of him who underwent the experiment had not recognized the fish, and at best, they thought that the fish was too small to do any harm.

    But things were not the same for Case. He majored in biology when he was in university and was once obsessed with the Cambrian outbreak of multicellr life. He used to look at various ancient fossils in museums around the world with his ssmates.

    Now, the fish in front of him quickly brought back his memories of university ¡ª

    ¡°This is¡­ a Haikouichthys fish?¡±

    Haikouichthys was a prehistoric fish-like organism, belonging to the Agnatha superss. Its fossils were found in Yunnan in Xuan Nation, and its origins were traced back to the Cambrian period. It became the oldest known vertebrate,ing into existence 530 million years ago.

    Even the trilobites that many people were familiar with were much moreplicated than the Haikouichthys fish. They were termed the ¡°first fish of the world¡± and it was presently known to only exist in fossils.

    However, Case believed at first nce that the thumb-sized fish in the fish tank in front of him was a Haikouichthys fish!

    That was an absurdly confident belief for no reason ¨C even if it looked exactly the same as the fossils, it was still not impossible to have fish which appeared simr to the Haikouichthys after so many years.

    But when Case looked at the fish, the acetylcholine hormone was rapidly secreted by his body, which even made him forget about his current predicament. Only pilgrimage-like happiness remained in his mind.

    Yet, the next second, the table on which the fish tank was ced on quickly moved towards him, and it was only then when Case saw that there was a guide tube under the fish tank.

    Very quickly, the staff inserted the guide tube into his opened mouth, and a machine in the fish tank was activated. Water from the fish tank began flowing into his mouth continuously.

    Case recalled the miserable state of the metal chair when he first entered the room.

    Did those people turn into that state just by drinking this water?

    His consciousness and thoughts quickly faded as Case felt the blood in his body start to boil, and pain spread from the depths of his bone marrow. Despair moaned as his soul crumbled¡­

    God, as long as I can be saved¡­ whether you are Jehovah, Satan, noodles, bugs, ck goats,puters, game consoles, whatever, I am willing to worship you until the end of the world!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Kebelian Archive 752 (SECRET)

    Subject: Keith Troy, age 34, Male, Florida

    Experimental background: No. 3 (DATA EXPUNGED) first appeared in the stomach of a 45-year-old middle-aged male in New Jersey. Three close contacts also died from physically melting within three days. The cause of death was excessive cell proliferation resulting in copse of body functions and subsequent explosion of the physical body. It has been found that the effects can be avoided as long as there is no physical contact.

    Experimental situation: No. 3 (DATA EXPUNGED) was passed through a (DATA EXPUNGED) wide guide tube into the body of the test subject. Afterwards, the physical abilities of the subject was greatly enhanced and even the anesthesia needle prepared on the experiment chair was rendered useless. The subject dug a hole through the metal floor with his head and crawled into the ground. Only a round hole with a width of 40cm was left behind. ording to investigations, the underground tunnel led out of the ind and it is predicted that the subject entered the Pacific Ocean.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At night, on a beach somewhere in Los Angeles, a naked man with a bald patch right on the center of his head crawled ashore quietly. After much effort, he managed to steal a set of clothes to wear and some cash. He gged down a taxi on the road, and told the driver his destination ¨C a safehouse that he had acquired under someone else¡¯s identity.

    The driver, who had a beard and was wearing a Manchester United hat, first looked at the bald spot on his passenger¡¯s head, then looked at his face. He asked, ¡°Your neck is hurt, don¡¯t you need to get it fixed?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± said the man.

    Case touched his neck, and from the rear mirror of the car, he saw a thumb-sized wound in the shape of a fish on his neck.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± said Case.

    Then, Case could not help but startughing, the blood of fish and the bits of fish stuck in his teeth scaring the driver.

    He said, ¡°This is a mark left behind by my savior.¡±

 Chapter 135 - Flying Bird

    Chapter 135: Chapter 135 ¨C Flying Bird

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    May 20, rainy day.

    ¡°The sound of the rain makes people sleepy, because it is actually white noise and has a natural soothing effect for people to fall asleep more easily, just like how lubies calm people. So, the rain every year during the college entrance examination period is actually nature telling students to give up¡­¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Doctor Ren, you sound like you are speaking the truth. I still need to take the college entrance examination next year.¡±

    In the surgical treatment room of the school hospital of the Heavenly Institution of Lian, a grown man was making close physical contact with an underage girl.

    Ren Suo held onto Lin Xianyu¡¯s tender fingers with one hand and ced his other hand on her arm. A warm, white glow emerged like a ball of light from his right palm, and the wound seemingly caused by a knife cut quickly began to heal, forming a scab and falling off shortly after.

    After treating her right hand, Ren Suo continued with the left. It was summer and Lin Xianyu was wearing the short-sleeved uniform issued by the Heavenly Institution of Lian. As soon as he lifted the sleeves of the uniform, Ren Suo saw ugly, angry-looking wounds on her arm. He was used to it by now and was not surprised. As he used the ¡°Ability: Heal¡± to treat the wounds, he asked: ¡°You still want to take the college entrance examination? With your talents, you will likely be promoted directly to the Practitioner Institution of Tianjing, and may even be able to start working immediately after that¡­ Speaking of which, how many more days do you have to be like this?¡±

    Lin Xianyu, who was sitting on the hospital bed, shook her calf and then shook her head. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, perhaps six or seven more days?¡±

    ¡°You still have more to endure then,¡± remarked Rensuo.

    ¡°It¡¯s still bearable. Anyway, I only injure myself when I¡¯m asleep, and I only feel a slight pain when I wake up,¡± said Lin Xianyu.

    Lin Xianyu looked down at her now smooth right arm and said, ¡°Fortunately, I have you, doctor. Otherwise, I would have to bandage my arm to go to school these few days.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a doctor, just call me Brother Ren,¡± said Rensuo.

    Lin Xianyu replied cheekily, ¡°Okay, Uncle Ren, hehe ~ ¡±

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth. Facing such a young and lively female high school student who also possessed a key, Ren Suo was barely able to remain calm as he shifted his nce away from her.

    Lin Xianyu was the first high school student to have Awakened in the Heavenly Institution of Lian after the students were allowed to Practice. After she Awakened, Ren Suo was called in to get down to work ¨C she was the first student Ren Suo rescued.

    In reality, it could not be considered a rescue, but the way Lin Xianyu Awakened was too terrifying and the moment her heart rate and blood pressure became abnormal, the rm mechanism in the wristband was automatically triggered.

    When Ren Suo first saw Lin Xianyu, she had already been carried into the school hospital. The skin on both of her arms, palms, and fingers were convoluted and mangled as if they had been in a fruit blender, and her hands were lifeless and dripping with blood. Several nurses were trying to stop the bleeding.

    Immediately, Ren Suo shouted, ¡°Let me do it¡±, but was stopped by the pretty nurse, who stood up and yelled, ¡®Who are you, what can you do, you are not even a doctor?!¡±. Then, Ren Suo began his pomp of treating her with his healing ability¡­ No, of course it was not so eventful ¨C after Ren Suo had proven his identity, the nurse and doctor quickly stood back and let Ren Suo begin his ¡°performance¡±.

    In order to treat her two arms, Ren Suo used up most of his Reiki, and the healing effect was very ordinary and nothing extraordinary. In the end, Ren Suo had to change to ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± and consumed his own energy to treat the wounds.

    ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± was indeed slightly stronger than ¡°Ability: Heal¡±. At most, the ¡°Ability: Heal¡± allowed scabs to form on the wounds, while ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± guaranteed a perfect treatment without leaving any scars.

    Simply put, the effect of ¡°Heal¡± was simr to that of stitching, while the effect of ¡°Touch of Recovery¡± was such that even a man who had just undergone circumcXXXXX surgery would be able to move about energetically and even stretch his legs wide or jump around. He would even be able to learn the Shinnosuke Nohara dance without any pain.

    After the sessful treatment, Ren Suo himself was worn out and slept right on the hospital bed for three hours.

    The next morning, Ren Suo was awakened by the wristband ¨C when Lin Xianyu awoke, she found that her arms were mangled andcerated yet again as if they were blended with a de.

    It was only after the incident that Ren Suo understood that acquiring some of the extremely powerful Awakened Abilities might not be so smooth-sailing at the time of Awakening. At times, they had to be Awakened multiple times, and even then the Awakened Ability might be untamed, resulting in many devastating consequences.

    Lin Xianyu was one such example, whose experience was already considered a rtively ordinary phenomena of Awakening, as the violent, untamed phenomena of Awakening only urred when she was asleep, and it only affected herself and not others.

    Ren Suo also did not know what kind of Awakening that was at first. It was only after contacting the Tianjing headquarters that the Institution could confirm that Lin Xianyu was not the first of her kind. Her hands would continue to bleed for several days, but it would not affect others.

    At most, she would not be able to use her hands temporarily and there would be greater difficulty when using the washroom. In theory, as long as she stopped the bleeding every day, her life would not be in danger.

    However, the Heavenly Institution of Lian had a medic Practitioner named Ren Suo and naturally the Institution did not want to lose their first Awakened student. With that, Ren Suo, who had only been receiving his sry but not working for the past half of the month, finally started working. He had to head to the school hospital to treat Lin Xianyu¡¯s arms for the past few mornings.

    After the treatment wasplete, Lin Xianyu looked at her clean and undamaged hands and thanked Ren Suo, saying, ¡°Thank you, Brother Ren.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re wee,¡± replied Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo pretended to suggest indifferently, ¡°Do you want to catch up on some sleep here? I applied for a treatment time of one hour, so after I leaveter, no one woulde in here to disturb you. When I was still a student, my greatest wish was to sleep for just a little longer¡­¡±

    ¡°Hoho, are you trying to hit me up? What would happen if I tell Teacher Dong about this?¡± replied Lin Xianyu with a sneaky smile on her face as she looked at Rensuo.

    Ren Suo was slightly confused, ¡°Huh?¡±

    Lin Xianyu said excitedly, ¡°Stop pretending man, everyone in our ss knows that you¡¯re chasing Teacher Dong. Your rtionship with Teacher Dong is a hot topic of discussion of our ss, you know.¡±

    ¡°Our ss is made up of students from all over Xuan Nation, so there was nomon topic at first other thanining about the teachers. But your rtionship with Teacher Dong is a much more exciting topic to gossip about thanining about the teachers, we are all guessing if Brother Ren will be able to melt the cold, strong heart of Teacher Dong!¡±

    Looking at Lin Xianyu, Ren Suo was suddenly reminded of the times in high school when he would discuss about the rtionship between the handsome male teachers and pretty female teachers with his ssmates.

    But Ren Suo had not imagined that there would be such a day when he would be the topic of such gossip.

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, kids,¡± said Ren Suo. He used his authority as an adult who was older than the younger teenager as his trump card.

    ¡°h,¡± retorted Lin Xianyu as she leaped out of the bed. She continued, ¡°You have such a good life, every day is like a holiday for you, while we are busy from day till night for five days a week.¡±

    Ren Suo coaxed, ¡°You feel so happy during your two rest days precisely because you have worked hard during the five days at school.¡±

    Lin Xianyu refuted Ren Suo, saying, ¡°With my experience from the 11 summer vacations I have been through, I can assure you that there will be endless joy as long as it is a holiday, and there is no need for the prior hard work.¡±

    The ability of high school students to talk back these days is so much stronger then it used to be. In the past, I had to go home and sleep for one night before being able toe up with such a good rebuttal¡­

    Ren Suo watched as Lin Xianyu picked up her school bag and asked, ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t want to sleep for a while?¡±

    ¡°I still managed a good night¡¯s sleepst night, goodbye Brother Ren,¡± replied Lin Xianyu.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Be careful on your way back¡­ Whoa!¡±

    The moment Ren Suo turned his head around, he saw Lin Xianyu¡¯s pretty face swaying right in front of him. Lin Xianyu was ted when she saw Ren Suo¡¯s reaction, and patted his head before running away, smiling.

    When the door of the treatment room closed, Ren Suo yawned and rubbed his temples as heid down on the bed.

    He had initially intended to retrieve the key from Lin Xianyu while she was asleep.

    ¡°Never mind, as long as I maintain a good rtionship with her, there will always be opportunities in the future¡­¡± said Rensuo to himself.

    As Ren Suo thought about that, he fell asleep in the treatment room.

    In his sleep, Ren Suo felt as if he turned into a stick-like object, falling into the endless abyss of the divine ocean, caressed by countless hands¡­

    When Ren Suo finally woke up, he felt two or three hands on his own hands.

    ¡°Sofortable!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t bear to wake him up.¡±

    Ren Suo opened his eyes and saw Dong Chengling and the other nurses reaching out and stroking his hair.

    £¨¨p£þÃó£þ£© Rensuo asked, ¡°What¡­ are you doing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already night time!¡± said Dong Chengling. She continued, ¡°You have slept for the entire day.¡±

    As she spoke, she rubbed Rensuo¡¯s hair again. The other nurses loosened their grip on him, but rubbed his hair again before retracting their hands.

    ¡°So, why are you all touching my head?¡± asked Ren Suo.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just feels veryfortable!¡± answered Dong Chengling.

    Ren Suo sat up and looked outside. The sky was already dark. Arge bird flew past outside and Ren Suo could barely see it clearly.

    It was May, and when Ren Suo looked at the clock, he realized that it was almost 7 p.m.

    ¡°I actually slept here for the entire day¡­¡± said Ren Suo as he rubbed his eyes. He continued, ¡°That means, it should begin tomorrow¡­¡±

    At the same time, a strange, solitary bird flew across the skies of Lianjiang City. It looked like a seagull, but its wings were asrge as a vulture¡¯s, and its beak was extremely sharp.

    When it saw a mountain peak and wanted to stop to take a rest, it happened to encounter a drone. However, it did not have the slightest fear of the drone, and ¡°killed¡± it in one w,pletely damaging the wings of the drone.

    In the meantime, the staff of apany had just finished a team building session at the barbecue site in the middle of the mountain. They watched as the drone which they used to take a group photo was destroyed by a bird and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Are birds these days all so fierce?¡±

 Chapter 136 - Aura of Cats

    Chapter 136: Chapter 136 ¨C Aura of Cats

    Trantor: Dragon Boat Trantion Editor: Dragon Boat Trantion

    Just before they parted ways after supper, Dong Chengling touched Ren Suo¡¯s head again. He could have dodged if he wanted to, but he was no longer bothered by it.

    ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± said Dong Chengling.

    After they parted ways in front of the teachers¡¯ dormitories, Ren Suo walked towards the entrance and saw a ck cat in front of the door, looking at him. The ck cat had a red ribbon and a yellow bell tied around its neck, obvious that it belonged to one of the teachers there.

    When Ren Suo and the ck cat¡¯s eyes met, they knew each other¡¯s thoughts immediately.

    Ren Suo brought the ck cat to the store and bought a pack of spicy dried anchovies and a bottle of milk. He tore open the packaging and fed the ck cat the spicy dried anchovies one by one. When the ck cat opened its mouth in protest of the spice, Ren Suo fed it the cold milk.

    It was miraculous in nature for a cat to like eating spicy dried anchovies. Who knew if its owner was from Shu Zhou?

    When the ck cat was full from the anchovies and milk, Ren Suo patted its head and said, ¡°I live in 402. If anyone goes in when I¡¯m not in, remember to tell me, okay?¡±

    The ck cat nodded and stepped on the packaging of the spicy dried anchovies with its paw and meowed as if to say, ¡°I swear in the name of the spicy dried anchovies.¡±

    ¡°I shall entrust the task to you then, ck Bell,¡± said Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo patted the ck cat¡¯s head again as he began to understand why the others liked to pat his head.

    The super-evolution that Ren Suo chose was ¡°Mimic Creature: Cat¡±. It equipped him with passive abilities like napping, night vision, and agility, but the ability which benefited him the most was actually ¡°Aura of Cats¡±, despite its brief description.

    The aura was very powerful, not only allowing him to make friends with any cat, but more importantly, it seemed like he had be a feline expert overnight. He was able to understand what the cat wanted to say from its eyes and bodynguage.

    The mostplicated look he had evere across and understood was during his second year in high school. His mathematics subject teacher had looked suddenly at Ren Suo, who was the mathematics ss representative then, and Ren Suo knew what his teacher wanted. He went to the teacher¡¯s office and brought the test papers from the previous week on the teacher¡¯s table back to the ssroom.

    After that incident, Ren Suo became his teacher¡¯s favorite ¡°runner¡±, as evident from him being the mathematics ss representative for three full years. But the reason why he understood that his teacher was thinking that ¡°I forgot to bring the test papers to ss¡± at that time was simply because he remembered what date it was that day.

    And now, when Ren Suo exchanged eye contact with the ck cat, he was able to tell what it was thinking, that ¡°I want to eat spicy fish while drinking frozen milk¡±.

    s, if Ren Suo could also use that ability to see the thoughts of other people, he would always be able to win in future games of Dou Dizhu.

    At the same time, Ren Suo was able to get the cats to work through his thoughts, provided that the cat could understand what he was saying.

    When he reached home, even without turning on the lights, he could clearly make out the details of the room with just the dim moonlight shining in through the windows.

    With night vision, the sensitivity of his retina to light had increased sharply, and he could even see faint reflections of light.

    After Ren Suo took a shower and wasbing his hair, he felt a fascinating sense of softness when he touched his hair with his hands.

    There were actually no changes to his hair, but it always made people feel blissful when they touched it.

    The ¡°Aura of Cats¡± made Ren Suo smell like a cat. Although his appearance did not change, other people would begin to think of him as a cat when they made contact with him.

    That was also the reason why Dong Chengling and the others had touched his head so intimately ¨C they subconsciously disregarded Ren Suo¡¯s true identity and touched his head, the part of his body with the most hair, as if immersed in the enjoyable feeling of patting a cat.

    Ren Suo opened a can of iced c and gulped down half of it. He sat on the couch, feeling as if his mind was as clear and alert as when he was equipped with ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±.

    That was due to Nap, a brilliant natural ability of cats. As creatures which required a lot of sleep, cats could easily sleep more than 16 hours a day. However, unlike humans who would sleep for 16 consecutive hours, cats would sleep and awake in intervals, which meant that they were able to fall asleep quickly and also wake up instantly.

    Simrly, Nap allowed Ren Suo to fall asleep quickly, but Ren Suo already had the ability ¡°Lure of Sweet Dreams¡±, so Nap was not fully necessary for him.

    What was more important, however, was that Nap gave Ren Suo the ¡°body clock¡± of a cat.

    Cats required 16 hours of sleep every day for 2 to 3 hours at a time, as long as they had sufficient rest;

    And at present Ren Suo needed 42 hours of sleep in a week for about 8 hours each time, as long as he had sufficient rest.

    The greatest benefit of Nap would then be extending ¡°one day¡± into ¡°one week¡±¨C that way, as long as Ren Suo slept for two days and two nights, he would be able to y games for the next 5 days without any more sleep!

    Compared to ¡°Unlimited Energy¡±, Nap was much more sustainable.

    Ren Suo looked at the time ¨C it was 23:46.

    It was about time.

    As Ren Suo prepared to wait slowly, the doorbell suddenly rang.

    Ren Suo opened the door to see an unexpected guest.

    ¡°Li Dan¡­ Brother Dan?¡± said Ren Suo.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to invite me in?¡± asked Li Dan as he walked right past Ren Suo and into the room. Ren Suo was about to raise his hand to stop him but quickly let his hand down again.

    ¡°Please,e in,¡± said Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo offered Li Dan a bottle of yogurt, then sat down and asked, ¡°It¡¯s already sote, why didn¡¯t you call me first¡­ What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about something personal,¡± replied Li Dan.

    It was almost a month since Ren Suost saw Li Dan, and his eye circles had be darker and his face was thin, looking like a leopard cat who did not have much time left to live.

    ¡°I hope you can make me sleep,¡± said Li Dan straightforwardly. He added, ¡°Ren Suo, if you want a reward, feel free to tell me.¡±

    Ren Suo was a little surprised. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it does not cost any money anyway¡­ But is it very urgent?¡±

    A hint of agony shed across Li Dan¡¯s face. He said, ¡°I do not want to hear those voices for any longer¡­ Falling asleep is the only way I can take a break from the unending agony¡­¡±

    Curious, Ren Suo asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Li Dan nced at Ren Suo, the coldness in his eyes making a chill run down Ren Suo¡¯s spine.

    But Li Dan quickly calmed down and said, ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s confidential.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I should be sorry,¡± replied Ren Suo. He asked, ¡°Are you going to sleep here?¡±

    Li Dan replied, ¡°My car is downstairs. I will feel morefortable sleeping in my car.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°In that case, you may go down first. I¡¯lle down after I change.¡±

    Li Dan nodded and stood up to leave. But just as he was about to close the door, he suddenly turned around and said, ¡°Ren Suo, if you see anything on the road that attracted your attention but appears not to belong to anyone, do not, do not pick it up.¡±

    ¡°As Practitioners, we are stronger than ordinary people, so we notice more things than them. We may notice something that ordinary people do not¡­¡±

    ¡°It may be fortunate for us, but it may also be a misfortune. Ren Suo, those who seized the opportunities along the way may have seeded, but arger number of them failed; on the other hand, those who did not make use of the opportunities and did not take risks would at least be able to survive.¡±

    Ren Suo was a little surprised by what Li Dan said. He initially asked with a smile why Li Dan was so serious, but when he saw his red eyes, Ren Suo replied solemnly, ¡°I will remember that.¡±

    After Li Dan left, Ren Suo tried to calm his palpitating heart as he quickly turned on the Small World game console and equipped himself with the ¡°Lure of Sweet Dreams¡±. He then headed downstairs to find Li Dan¡¯s car which was parked by the road.

    Ren Suo very naturally sat on the front passenger seat and said, ¡°I will leave on my own after you fall asleep.¡±

    Li Dan remained silent for a moment as he sat in the driver¡¯s seat before saying, ¡°Please begin.¡±

    The ¡°Lure of Sweet Dreams¡± worked its charm again, and very quickly, Li Dan fell asleep.

    But afterwards, it was time for Ren Suo to get down to work.

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a state of sleep. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed fully. 403 seconds required to retrieve the key, do not remove physical contact. 402, 401, 400¡­¡±

    Ren Suo had already retrieved a key from Li Dan once previously. It had been some time since hest saw him, and¡­ a second key had emerged!

 Chapter 137 - Unlimited Fried Chicken Set

    Chapter 137: Chapter 137 ¨C Unlimited Fried Chicken Set

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    When Ren Suo returned home, he took a nce at the car downstairs through his window, then closed the curtains quickly.

    Ren Suo turned on the Small World game console, lowered the game volume, and eagerly navigated to the safehouse inventory.

    Even at that juncture, he still did not fully understand the mechanics of the keys in the game.

    The only thing that he was sure of was that the key was somewhat rted to those who were Awakened, as most ordinary Practitioners who had not Awakened did not possess any keys.

    For the case of Li Dan, Ren Suo had already retrieved the key from him once when he took part in the mass training camp. However, after a month, another key emerged from him!

    Could it be that after retrieving a key from those who possessed them, the key would then be ¡°replenished¡± after a certain CD time?

    Would that not mean that Ren Suo would be able to continuously harvest the keys as long as he had a fixed group of Awakened friends?

    If that was really the case, it would actually not be that difficult to obtain keys then.

    Nheless, the moment Ren Suo saw the contents of his safehouse inventory, his excitement instantly subsided.

    That was because the key before him was a 2-star key.

    ¡°2-star Insightful Key: There is an additional 15% chance to gain Insightful-type rewards.¡±

    The key that Ren Suo obtained from Li Dan previously was a 1-star key. How did it be a 2-star key now?

    Was it possible that not only would keys be regenerated but also upgraded after a certain period of time?

    No, that would be too perfect.

    Ren Suo recalled Li Dan¡¯s appearance a month ago. Although he looked morenguished now, it was undeniable that Li Dan gave Ren Suo a much stronger sense of attraction than before, almost like Yu Kuangtu with his distinguished aura.

    Such an aura was not the psychological pressure caused by superiors on those who felt inferior. Rather, it was purely a ¡®fear¡¯ caused by the difference in strength of their respective breathing currents.

    When faced with Practitioners who were stronger and of a higher level, the breathing current of the lower-levelled Practitioner would be slightly disrupted. Although the small disruption to the breathing current would not cause any major impact, it was able to make the lower-leveled Practitioner feel uneasy, ¡°hinting¡± the presence of a higher-levelled Practitioner.

    In other words, when such a feeling was felt, the Practitioner would know that he/she was facing a strong Practitioner who was many times stronger. At the least, it could prevent embarrassing tragedies from happening when low-levelled Practitioners provoked high-levelled Practitioners and end up being beaten.

    As such, was it because Li Dan had be much stronger that a higher level key was regenerated?

    What exactly was a key then, based on such a theory?

    Ren Suo pondered for a while and knew that there was no strong evidence to prove nor deny his theory, so he recorded his questions down, extending his already long list of unanswered questions.

    What was the aim of the Small World game console?

    Am I the chosen one by fate?

    When would I be able to build my harem of girls?

    As a part of the next generation of leaders, how should I make use of the game console to contribute to society, by thinking about the mentalities of the people, the crises of those in dire situations, and how to relieve the plights of those in need?

    A strong sense of responsibility came upon Ren Suo. He sorted out his worries and concerns for the country and the people, and turned around ¡ª

    To activate the treasure chest happily.

    At present, Ren Suo had a 2-star treasure chest as well as a 3-star treasure chest. The 3-star treasure chest could only be activated using a 3-star key.

    Of course, Ren Suo could choose to wait for two more 2-star keys or four 1-star keys to be acquired to get three 2-star keys, which could bebined to form a 3-star key¡­

    Ren Suo had thought previously that it did not appear very challenging to acquire the required keys, but now he knew ¨C it was actually quite difficult to do so.

    All in all, there were only two keys Ren Suo was more confident of retrieving, those from Lin Xianyu and Dong Chengling. As for the other people¡­ even if Ren Suo decided to retrieve the keys forcefully, he might not be able to win the fight with them.

    Just by considering how Lin Xianyu was Awakened, Ren Suo already thought that it was horrifying. Their Awakened Abilities could well destroy gold and jade, and the abilities of other Awakened students were also simrly powerful. With Rensuo¡¯s current level ofbat skill, he could well be killed instead if he did not manage to subdue his Awakened opponent with ¡°Lock¡± at the first opportunity.

    It would have been understandable if he were killed instead in such a situation, though. Who asked him to show off by trying to subdue someone who was stronger than him?

    Ren Suo focused back on the present as he nced at the 2-star treasure chest sitting quietly on the screen and chose to activate it!

    Who would be able to resist activating a treasure chest that can be opened?!

    [You used 2-star Insightful Key¡¯ to activate this treasure chest.]

    [You have received the Prop ¡°Unlimited Fried Chicken Set¡±.]

    ¡°¡­What?¡± remarked Ren Suo,pletely dumbfounded.

    [Unlimited Fried Chicken Set]

    [Grade: 2-star Prop. Pre-requisite: a digestive system must be present.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer can receive an extremely tasty fried chicken set by saying the phrase ¡°fried chicken set¡± anywhere with a 40cm * 15cm * 18cm package in hand (the interior of the package must not be seen by others). The fried chicken set is able to satisfy the energy needs of an adult male for 1 day. The cooldown time is 12 hours.]

    [Special Effect ¢Ù: You may add adjectives like ¡°pepper¡±, ¡°honey¡±, ¡°soy sauce¡±, and ¡°spicy¡± to describe the ¡°fried chicken set¡± when spoken, to change the taste of fried chicken.]

    [Special Effect ¢Ú: The invocation phrase ¡°fried chicken set¡± may be changed to terms like ¡°All Wings Bucket¡±, ¡°Snack Bucket¡± or ¡°Beef Tenders¡±. As long as the energy provided by the food is maintained, the request would be fulfilled as much as possible (refer to KFC for the full menu).]

    [Remarks: Even the deities approve of the high-energy, extremely tasty and delicious food.]

    Ren Suo was truly at a loss for words.

    He did not receive any Insightful-type ability, although that was expected, there was only a 15% chance for that after all. In fact, he was already lucky the previous time to receive an additional reward.

    Nheless, the Unlimited Fried Chicken Set was a 2-star Prop!

    He had not imagined that such effects were possible with the Small World game console!

    Ren Suo suspected that if he was even more unlucky, he might even receive a Prop like Unlimited Nuka C¡­

    Could any object be a rewarded Prop just by adding the word ¡°unlimited¡± in front of its?!

    Why not give an Unlimited Holy Recovery Pistol? At the least, Rensuo would be able to be the master of weight loss programmes of the generation.

    But now, the Unlimited Fried Chicken Set Prop he was rewarded with could only be used once every 12 hours. He would not even be able topete with the school canteen vendors in selling food. Moreover, they even sold salted roasted chicken drumsticks!

    The result turned out to be such a disappointment after finally managing to retrieve a key!

    Even if I starve to death, I would not even want to eat the fried chicken from an unknown source given by the game console!

    Although that was what Ren Suo thought, he still wanted to experiment, so he equipped himself with the Prop, found a backpack, and shouted: ¡°Fried chicken set.¡±

    Suddenly, he felt his hands weighing heavier and as soon as he pulled his hands out, he saw a fried chicken set with red-colored packaging.

    Ren Suo looked disgusted as he muttered to himself, ¡°Is this the thing¡­ uh¡­¡±

    ¡°The smell is quite strong¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m starting to feel slightly hungry.¡±

    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s so fragrant.¡±

    When Ren Suo finished eating the fried chicken, he noticed that the red box on the table which had contained the fried chicken vanished into thin air.

    Nheless, Ren Suo was not surprised. That was just a somewhat ordinary sight whenpared to the Small World game console itself.

    Ren Suo looked at the time ¨C it was 00:57.

    It was already the 21st.

    It was May 21, the Lesser Fullness of Grain of the 24 sr terms!

    In the end, Ren Suo had heeded the official advice of Neisser Studios and did not spend merit points to search for games. Instead, he waited patiently for three days to pass so he could consider what game to purchase during the possible discount event!

    In the ¡°World Shop¡±, there was a new section ¡°Lesser Fullness of Grain Discount Event!¡±, in addition to ¡°Immtion¡±.

    Arge message board appeared the moment Ren Suo clicked into the discount event ¡ª

    ¡°Be brave and you save!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After one full night of flying at high speeds, the bird finally descended andnded softly in a forest.

    In just one night, it flew over 800 kilometers, straining and injuring many parts of its wings. Its body trembled slightly as itid down on the ground.

    It retched and spat out an extremely tiny glimmer of light, about the size of a speck of dust.

    The glimmer of light was so small that it was difficult to see the shape of it, but very quickly, an ant came by and touched the glimmer with its feelers.

    Whether the ant thought that the glimmer was a corpse or a sweet was not known, but the ant simply lifted the glimmer and trembled as it carried the glimmer back to its nest.

    However, along the way, it was ¡°licked¡± and eaten by a long and sharp animal. Along with the glimmer, the antnded in the pangolin¡¯s belly.

    The pangolin continued to look for ants as it shook its head. Without managing to find any other ants in the area, it started to feel sleepy. The pangolin returned obediently to the hole it had dug, curled itself into a ball and quietly enjoyed itsst peaceful night.

 Chapter 138 - Secret Records of Glorious Xuan

    Chapter 138: Chapter 138 ¨C Secret Records of Glorious Xuan

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Ms Salted Fish, they are¡­?¡± asked Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo nced at the three high school girls who were staring at him from the side as he treated Lin Xianyu¡¯s arm.

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of you guys mocking my name every day, even Uncle knows about the name ¡®salted fish¡¯ now,¡± chided Lin Xianyu as she red at her friends. She continued, ¡°These are my ssmates, we are nning to go hiking today so they followed me here to the school hospital.¡±

    ¡°Hiking?¡± asked Ren Suo. ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys not allowed to leave school, except during special holidays?¡±

    ¡°There are mountains in school,¡± said a girl with short hair. She added, ¡°It¡¯s just behind the running track, it is still within the schoolpound.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly surprised, saying, ¡°I remember that mountain is quite huge¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is, so in addition to hiking, the school is also building facilities like fishing ponds, ygrounds, hot springs, swimming pools ¡­¡±

    Lin Xianyu shrugged. She winced as she suddenly moved an unhealed wound. Grimacing, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if the facilities will finish construction before we graduate. Sigh, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m lucky or not, the school is going to be upgraded with many new equipment right after my graduation¡­ ¡±

    The other three girls nodded in agreement.

    As the girls continued chatting, Ren Suo finished treating the wounds on Lin Xianyu¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°Wow!¡± eximed the girls as they grabbed and felt Lin Xianyu¡¯s hands. They said, ¡°The wounds are all healed indeed.¡±

    ¡°Ten minutes ago, it looked exactly like salted fish that had been chopped into parts.¡±

    ¡°The salted fish has found a new home!¡±

    Lin Xianyu chided her friends angrily, ¡°Who allowed you to call me salted fish?¡±

    ¡°Ah, what a salty salted fish.¡±

    ¡°Ah! You t-chested salted fish!¡±

    It looks like there is little hope in persuading her to sleep today¡­

    Ren Suo stood up and shook his head, saying, ¡°If that is all, you may leave now. You¡¯re going to get injections from the nurses for making so much noise in the treatment room.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Your warning is only going to scare young children who are afraid of injections, at best,¡±ughed Wen Jing, who had been standing at the side. She covered her mouth as sheughed, and asked curiously, ¡°Will we be able to learn such abilities like the ones you know, doctor?¡±

    ¡°Of course you can. In the future, even if you are not a doctor, there will be abilities that allow you to treat yourself,¡± said Ren Suo. He casually added, ¡°Although the current recovery abilities can only treat external injuries and may not be effective for illnesses like colds, but with advancements in technology, there would definitely be ¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome, you can eat spicy food without fearing e breakouts in future!¡±

    ¡°We would not need to be afraid of dark eye circles forming anymore when we stay upte!¡±

    The girls left the school hospital in smiles as they talked about the glorious future. Ren Suo made sure that they had all left before he took off his cap and fanned himself.

    Although Ren Suo was not so concerned about himself, he was afraid as more people patted his head, they would start suspecting that he was using unorthodox methods to attract people to him ¨C or that someone had made him themon target. Hence, he wore a cap when he left his house, and it turned out that indeed no one would touch his hair for no reason.

    Of course, there was another way to ¡°treat¡± the hidden threat guing Ren Suo ¨C shaving bald. But as a young man of the next generation who duly paid his taxes, Ren Suo could not bear to impact the shampoo industry just because of his own selfishness, as he could still be a loyal user of shampoo for the next 70 years.

    Moreover, it was summer and the sun was scorching, so heading out with a cap on was apt too to block the strong sunlight.

    All of a sudden, Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone rang. The moment the call was connected, Ren Suo had a strong hunch that there was more work for him to do.

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°I did not know that you have a rather good rtionship with Li Dan.¡±

    Ren Suo was puzzled the moment Yu Kuangtu started talking. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°Log in to the Knowledge Web now. You will see that there is another Knowledge Star that can be ignited. It is called the True Cultivation Method: Secret Records of Glorious Xuan. It was discovered by the nation and must only be transmitted through the Knowledge Web.¡±

    ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan?¡± questioned Ren Suo as he found a tree to shade himself from the sun. He said, ¡°The name sounds like it came from an ancient book, not from being discovered.¡±

    ¡°You are half correct. In fact, the simplified version of the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan contains the cultivation methods which the Practitioner Institution is going to impart to the students, toy the foundation for their future study of the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan. The cultivation methods are categorised into levels one, two, and three. In the future, there may be different versions and the individual method names may be changed to ¡®Dance of Youth¡¯ and the like,¡± exined Yu Kuangtu.

    He continued, ¡°The true Secret Records of Glorious Xuan is indeed derived from the ancient books. All the useful secret ancient methods were extracted to form this ¡°secret dairy¡±. Essentially, it is actually an encyclopedia containing all secret cultivation methods which have been agreed upon.¡±

    ¡°The reason why it is named Glorious Xuan is because our nation is called ¡°Xuan¡± and it is respectfully ¡°glorious¡±. It is a ¡°secret record¡± because the contents should not be imparted to just anyone. Even the students learn only the tip of the iceberg of the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan.¡±

    Yu Kuangtuughed and said, ¡°This is the nation¡¯s trump card for all its Practitioners. And now, you are sufficiently qualified to acquire the knowledge of the first chapter of the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan, although you would definitely not have sufficient Reiki Stones to purchase it now.¡±

    ¡°Although it is merely one chapter, even I am still practicing the first chapter. Unlike the basic cultivation method of inhaling and exhaling, the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan would allow you to make use of Reiki to enhance your physical fitness and even purify your soul while you are Practicing. The effectiveness is many times that of the basic breathing cultivation method. By the time you sessfullyplete the first chapter, you would at least be a mini superman,¡± said Yu Kuangtu.

    Ren Suoughed and asked, ¡°That¡¯s great, but why did I suddenly earn such a privilege?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Now there are twopulsory conditions for essing the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan. Firstly, you must be working for the nation, and secondly, you must be a Practitioner. Generally, only those with sufficiently high capability qualifications will be qualified to exchange for it. However, there are also many exceptions to that.¡±

    ¡°For example, if a Practitioner who has made a significant aplishment is willing to use that credit and his earned reputation to be the guarantor for another eligible Practitioner¡­¡±

    Ren Suo recalled the man with dark eye circles who was not good at conversing and always spoke too straightforwardly. He asked, ¡°What has Li Dan been up to recently?¡±

    ¡°Him? He was transferred over to the Tianjing headquarters and has been very busy out on the field. I don¡¯t know what exactly he is doing either, but even if I do know, I can¡¯t tell you anyway. But I figure that they must have encountered something strange,¡± replied Yu Kuangtu.

    Something strange¡­

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Thank you for specially telling me about the Secret Records. If that is all, I¡¯ll ¡ª ¡±

    ¡°Hold on, what¡¯s the rush? There is work for you to do,¡± interrupted Yu Kuangtu.

    I knew it.

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°It¡¯s been ten days since the final episode of ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯ was uploaded and there are still no signs of a second season, so it¡¯s time for you to write a summary report. I want you to analyze in terms of the different ability systems, thebat techniques, and themon patterns of monsters. The report only needs to be in the range of tens of thousands of words.¡±

    Ren Suo agreed and quickly hung up the phone, but in his heart, he thought, mmp (son of a bitch).

    Heading down to the ground level of the dormitory building, Ren Suo noticed that the ck cat with the bell was resting under the shade. Ren Suo squatted down and rubbed its head, and then touched his own head. He felt that his head was still nicer to touch.

    The ck cat purred softly and was toozy to move as it looked at Ren Suo¡¯s foolish action.

    Ren Suo returned home and closed the curtains. He turned on the Knowledge Web, but it was currently not the Exchange Period and the Knowledge Universe was dark, leaving Ren Suo with no choice but to wait.

    Either way, Yu Kuangtu had already mentioned that he did not have sufficient Reiki stones to make the purchase, so he had to wait until he received his sry the following month.

    Ren Suo turned on the Small World game console. He had already thought about what to do before falling asleep the night before, and navigated directly to the ¡°World Shop¡±, and then the ¡°Lesser Fullness of Grain Discount Event¡±.

    In the system of the 24 sr terms, the Lesser Fullness of Grain signified that the summer crops were not fully mature and as such there was ¡°lesser fullness¡± of grain.

    And now, the current promotion was also rted to the significance of Lesser Fullness of Grain.

    The games on discount were only semi-finished products and games that were not yet ¡°mature¡±.

    [Semi-finished games: there would be no merit points and treasure chests rewarded, and there are no in-game purchase options, mission scores and evaluations. The specialized reward is also unknown (it will be rted to how the game is yed andpleted).]

    Most importantly, such games¡­ had no main characters!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Li Dan arrived at the Tianjing Research Institute, he was led to the third underground floor by a researcher, where he saw only six team members.

    A member of the team said, ¡°When Cheng Xiao visited his parents three days ago, he fellpletely asleep. Gou Dan fell asleep while he was in the car two days ago, and Li Ming fell asleep yesterday when he was on the ne.¡±

    Li Dan looked at them and said, ¡°So, out of the initial twenty people, we are the only seven left¡­ The rest of you have done what you need to do as well?¡±

    The team members nodded their heads and said, ¡°Yes, we took two flights in a day and it was so rushed. How about you?¡±

    Li Dan said, ¡°I have no close friends or rtives, so I just went back to sleep and came here after.¡±

    Li Dan rubbed his dark eye circles as he nced at the huge, advanced automatic door leading to the third underground floor. He said in a hushed tone, ¡°I hope that our lives, which are about to be destroyed by such impurity, can shine brightly for onest time before we fall into our long, deep slumber¡­¡±

    ¡°If only we had not entered that room when we were searching for the earth spirits, and if we had not touched¡­¡± said a tall andrge guy, choking on his words.

    ¡°There are no ifs,¡± said Li Dan.

    Quietly, the automatic door opened. Li Dan looked at the man sitting on the metal throne seat inside and shook his head slightly. He continued, ¡°This is all¡­ fate.¡±

 Chapter 139 - Trade-in

    Chapter 139 ¨C Trade-in

    There were three games in the discount event as Ren Suo had expected ¨C previously in the Grain Rain discount event, there were only four games as well.

    The semi-finished games included in the event were all free, although it would have been normal if they simply cost less than regr games too.

    It was just that the names of the three game choices were so special that Ren Suo could not make a decision the previous night.

    [Passing Hats]

    [Everyone has a hat. Whose hat will you don tonight? Difficulty rating: 2 stars. Time left toplete: 7 days.]

    [Aerone Chess]

    [Luck determines your survival, luck determines your effort, and luck determines the oue. Difficulty rating: 3+ stars. Time left toplete: 5 days.]

    [Guess the Number]

    [It is not easy to be extraordinary, but it is even more difficult to bepletely ordinary. Difficulty rating: 3 stars. Time left toplete: 6 days.]

    The description was utterly useless and it could well have been left out. On the other hand, the names of the games were simr to those that Ren Suo yed when he was a kid. For some reason however, the games seemed extraordinarily horrifying now whenbined with their descriptions.

    It was like listening to the fairy tale of Snow White when the story suddenly turned into Snow White in the movies ¡°Wrong Turn¡± or ¡°Saw¡± who met seven cannibals¡­

    Moreover, although the three games were free, they were also expensive.

    Because there was no main character in any of the games.

    If there was no main character, the yer would not have a character to control, and it could not be yed.

    Hence, if Ren Suo wanted to y such games, he had to make a ¡°sacrifice¡±.

    To acquire temporary ying privileges to the semi-finished games in the Lesser Fullness of Grain event, Ren Suo would have to make a gamble using one of the games he owned andpleted.

    At the same time, Ren Suo would then be able to use the character from the game he betted with to y the semi-finished game!

    That was somewhat simr to a trade-in, in moremonly understood terms.

    If Ren Suo sessfullypleted the semi-finished game, nothing would happen to the game he betted with; but contrarily, if Ren Suo did not manage toplete the game by the closing time, the game he betted with would be lost.

    Of course, the rewards Ren Suo earned from the previous games would not be lost if that happened. Ren Suo would still be able to continue ying the lost game by purchasing it again with the ¡°Search¡± function. However, there would be no gamepletion result or any game rewards frompletion, so the original game records would be lost forever.

    For example, if Ren Suo sacrificed the first chapter of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± and failed toplete the semi-finished game, then repurchased the game and yed the first chapter again, he would only unlock the second chapter and the past record of ¡°Ren Woxing¡± would not be recovered.

    Undoubtedly, there would be no impact on Ren Suo even if he sacrificed all of the games he owned as he had already cleared the games anyway.

    However, when Ren Suo realized that the pleted games¡± was actually the currency for purchasing ¡°semi-finished games¡±, he naturally thought of other problems:

    Why would the characters frompleted games be able to enter the semi-finished games?

    Apart from semi-finished games, are there other uses ofpleted games?

    When Ren Suo realized that pleted games¡± was also a resource, he naturally became more cautious and deliberated over his next choice, which was why he could not sleep the night before.

    It would not have been such a difficult choice to make if the three semi-finished games could be purchased with merit points, since Ren Suo now had a lot of merit points and would not be pained from spending merit points.

    However, now that Ren Suo had to use an unfamiliar resource, whose usefulness was not known, to ce bets on a semi-finished game which only had ¡°unknown specialized rewards¡±, he hesitated for a very long time.

    He felt like a useless chief in ancient times, and was asked by a time traveller with a ss ball: ¡°Are you willing to exchange a few tons of useless oil that can only catch fire for this revolutionary ss ball?¡±

    Standing on the line between sess and being conned of sess, Ren Suo made his final decision ¨C to only bet on one of the games.

    All three games had a limited time remaining toplete, and Ren Suo would be lucky if he couldplete a game before the time was up.

    At the same time, since semi-finished games could not be ¡°Searched¡± for and there would be no chance to y it in future after the current sr term event ended, Ren Suo had to try at least one of them.

    The question was then, which of the games he owned should he sacrifice?

    ¡°The Killer¡±, ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10000 Meters¡±, ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±¡­

    If the level of power required in the game was not high and he chose the main characters in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± or ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, would that not mean that he would win the game easily?

    It was either the strongest Practitioner of the Ren family, or the Monkey King who surpassed the previously most powerful soul in the world.

    However, Ren Suo quickly abandoned such an unrealistic dream. If there were special rules in the game, or ifbat was not required toplete the game in the first ce, he would have been tricked.

    Furthermore, if game characters proved to be useful in the future, then Ren Suo would definitely not be willing to lose those two powerful characters from their respective games.

    Disregarding the past when he did not know about the usefulness of game characters, now that Ren Suo discovered that game characters could cross into other games, he naturally ranked the games which he owned: at the top were ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± and ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, followed by ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, then ¡°The Killer¡±, and finally ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡±, which was the least useful.

    With that ranking in ce, Ren Suo chose the female Seeker and betted with ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± in exchange for a semi-finished game.

    As for which game to choose, it was naturally ¡°Passing Hats¡±, which had a 2-star difficulty rating.

    There was nothing that Ren Suo expected to receive from the game as he merely wanted to see what the semi-finished game was like, so he naturally chose to y the easiest of the three games, which in turn had the highest hope ofpleting sessfully.

    After the purchase waspleted, a new game appeared on the main page. The game icon had a totally dark background with only one candle and a hat in the foreground. Half of the hat was already burned by the me and what kind of hat it was could not be determined.

    ¡°Put your hat on.¡±

    When the game started, the voice of an old woman sounded, seemingly from a great distance.

    Ren Suo swallowed his saliva. All of the lights in the living room, the washroom, and the bedroom were on, and all the doors were open. It was the middle of the day, but Ren Suo still felt a chill run down his spine.

    At that moment, he thought of Li Dan¡¯s words: ¡°¡­ those who did not make use of the opportunities and did not take risks would at least be able to survive.¡±

    What nonsense, it¡¯s logical to be risk averse in life, but why would you not take risks in a game?!

    With the dignity of a strong keyboard warrior, Ren Suo pulled himself together and stared intently at the screen.

    [Save files for this game would be created automatically.]

    [This game can be connected to a mobile phone and thus it can be yed on the mobile phone.]

    Eh? It can even be turned into a mobile phone game?

    The screen slowly lit up, and under the dim moonlight, a circr-shaped house could be seen amidst the dense forest.

    The house was hovering above the ground and the door was wide open. The female Seeker walked in and found a round table inside, where more than ten fog-like figures were seated around.

    There were more than ten hats on the table, each of different styles, including a straw hat, a cap, a bucket hat, and a cowboy hat.

    Directly opposite the door was a figure of a girl who donned a hat and was sitting down. Although there were candles in the room, the girl¡¯s appearance still could not be seen at all.

    The girl said, ¡°Wee, wee. I have not met other yers for a very long time. We can start the game now¡­ but wait, where is your hat?¡±

    At that juncture, a small round hat suddenly appeared on the female Seeker¡¯s hand. The item description was also shown:

    [The Seeker¡¯s Hat: Perception +20%.]

    The girl said, ¡°Please put your hat down.¡±

    On the screen, the girl with a ck mist surrounding her removed the beret from her head and ced it on the table. The Seeker followed suit.

    The table began rotating at a speed that was still perceivable by the naked eye, and three consecutive messages popped up in the game:

    [Press ¡ð to choose a hat]

    [Goal: To don all hats and make them your own.]

    [The Seeker¡¯s Enlightenment: The Seeker can perceive which hats have not been worn by ¡°her¡±.]

 Chapter 140 - Trial of the Hats

    Chapter 140 ¨C Trial of the Hats

    ¡°Chengling, I have something to ask you.¡±

    Ren Suo was eating a te of Hainanese chicken rice in the dining hall of the Heavenly Institution of Lian, but his mind was focused on something else as he stared intently at his mobile phone. Suddenly, he asked Dong Chengling, who was sitting opposite and eating an upsized te of teriyaki chicken rice, ¡°What would you do if it was alreadyte at night and you still have notpleted your homework, and your father would hit you if you do not finish it?¡±

    Dong Chengling said as she chewed her food, ¡°I have never notpleted my homework.¡±

    ¡°What if Godzi attacked your school and you do not have enough time toplete your homework?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°My dad would not hit me either,¡± replied Dong Chengling.

    Ren Suo probed further, ¡°What if your father happened to be particrly angry that night as he had missed his breakfast and lunch?¡±

    ¡°It is indeed very easy to be in a fury when you are hungry,¡± said Dong Chengling. She thought hard for a moment and said, ¡°In that case, I will stay upte toplete my homework.¡±

    ¡°What if you are already very tired and do not feel likepleting it anymore?¡± asked Ren Suo.

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°It is a joy to do homework, how can you be tired from doing it?¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned for a moment, then he nodded and said, ¡°That makes sense!¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the game screen of ¡°Passing Hats¡± on his mobile phone. It was showing the scene of the Seeker staying upte toplete her homework. An incandescentmp illuminated the workbook on the table.

    [I was scolded by my teacher as I did not submit my homework today. My father said that he would beat me to death if I do notplete it by today, but I really cannot finish it.]

    Three options appeared on the screen: [Continue toplete the homework, even if the result is death (this option is avable as a result of the Unlimited Energy of the Seeker)], [Don¡¯tplete the homework and go to sleep], and [Exin the situation to Father (5 Courage required)].

    Ren Suo had been deliberating whether he should use Courage for that, but after his discussion with Dong Chengling, he decisively selected [Continue toplete the homework, even if the result is death]!

    The time in the game appeared to fast-forward, and a 45-minute hourss appeared and began to count down. Ren Suo finally rxed and turned off his mobile phone. Then Dong Chengling asked, ¡°What are you looking at on your mobile phone that has you so focused?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it was just someone asking me for emotional support,¡± replied Ren Suo with a shrug.

    In a sense, he was right to say that.

    The game ¡°Passing Hats¡± seemed to be a horror game at first, but after Ren Suo started ying it, he realized that¡­ it was actually an extremely challenging semi-automatic interactive fiction game!

    Yes, it was a semi-automatic, interactive fiction game!

    After the Seeker randomly picked a hat, she would enter the trial of that particr hat, and the game would depict the sea of memories.

    [The Seeker has donned Cheng Xiao¡¯s hat.]

    [The Seeker is currently experiencing Cheng Xiao¡¯s childhood.]

    [The Seeker is currently experiencing Cheng Xiao¡¯s childhood, and received 1 Warmth.]

    [The Seeker is scorning the yful behaviour of Cheng Xiao, and lost 1 Warmth.]

    [The Seeker rtes to the experience of Cheng Xiao secretly helping his first crush in his teenage years, and received 3 Warmth.]

    ¡­

    Subsequently, the events which happened in the game did not concern Ren Suo. He turned on the Bluetooth function on his mobile phone and intended to search for the Small World game console application. But little had he imagined that after turning Bluetooth on, the application ¡°Passing Hats¡± automatically appeared on the home screen of his mobile phone.

    Ren Suo opened the app and indeed, it disyed the messages recording down the details of the hat owner¡¯s past that the Seeker was experiencing.

    After 30 to 60 minutes, the Seeker experienced a rtively peaceful stage in the hat owner¡¯s life, but then she encountered more challenging situations in which the hat owner experienced in another stage of his past, such as not confessing to his first love, being bullied but not retaliating at that time, and hurting his parents¡¯ feelings when he threw a tantrum.

    It was at that time when the yer had to make a choice.

    It did not matter if Ren Suo failed to make a decision in time, as the Seeker would automatically experience the past again and umte more Courage and Warmth resources.

    Most of the important options required Courage or Warmth resources, and there were even some options which required both, but those options were not necessarily the right choice either. Some options which consumed more resources than others could turn out to be the incorrect choice as well, while the options which did not consume any resources could instead be the right choice which allowed the owner of the hat to let go of his past regrets.

    Among the choices that had to be made, the yer would not leave the trial immediately if the wrong option was selected. Instead, the Seeker would continue to experience the life of the hat owner which went downhill. When that happened, avable resources would be lost, but new choices would emerge. It was still possible for the right choices to be made subsequently to ovee the crisis and eventually pass the trial of the hat.

    There were two challenges in the game: the avability of resources, and time.

    Resources were only obtainable from the automated progression of the past events of the owner of the hat. But after 30 minutes of the automated sequence, the acquired resources still might not satisfy the requirements needed to make certain choices.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo could either choose to continue the automated progression sequence, or to take a risk and select an option which required fewer resources or did not require any at all. Some of such options would turn out to be the right choices, but others could also make the Seeker fall into a more difficult position in the trial of the hat.

    However, what was interesting about the trials of the hat was that as long as the yer dared to survive, it might not be a dead end.

    For example, in one of the trials of the hat, there was a scene which described: [I was bullied by a fat guy, and after standing up for myself by fighting him, the teacher punished us both. When I tried to exin, she simply said that ¡°it takes two to p¡±.].

    At that time, Ren Suo had used up too many Courage in the previous choices andcked resources. One of the options was [p the teacher and ask ¡°does it really take two to p¡±] which required 15 Courage, while another option, [I am calling for Father!] did not require any Courage. Thinking that the second option seemed to be a reliable choice, Ren Suo chose thetter.

    However, when ¡°Father¡± arrived, he reprimanded the Seeker further. After the Seeker went home with ¡°Father¡±, he even wanted to punish and hit her in the name of education.

    At that juncture, if the Seeker did not resist, 5 Courage and 5 Warmth would be lost, so Ren Suo equipped the Seeker with ¡°Fighter Novice¡± and beat ¡°Father¡± up badly.

    After beating ¡°Father¡± up, the Seeker was naturally kicked out of the house. She lingered outside on the streets for several days, not going to school or home. Instead, she became a worker at a restaurant. When she suddenly saw a recruitment notice for the military, she made a decision to join the army and stole the household register and her identity card from her house.

    Surprisingly, following which, the trial of that hat was passed sessfully, and it became the first hat which the Seeker turned into sess.

    After transforming a hat into sess, the hat would glow in a green light, regardless of the type of hat it was.

    As long as the trial was passed, the Courage and Warmth resources, as well as the skills acquired by the Seeker in that trial would be fully inherited and allowed to be used in the next trial.

    Furthermore, if the Seeker donned a hat which had already transformed into sess, the resources earned from the automated progression would be doubled.

    However, regardless of how many resources the Seeker had, it would all be in vain if she did not manage to pass any trial of the hat on the first attempt.

    After the Seeker entered a trial of the hat, the result was only one of two possibilities: passing the trial, or being forced to remove the hat.

    If the Seeker was forced to remove the hat, it would mean that, either the Seeker encountered trouble during the trial and continuously consumed resources in a struggle to survive, or that Ren Suo chose the wrong options consecutively and all the resources were depleted, resulting in the Seeker being unable to continue the trial.

    When Ren Suo entered a failed trial again after donning the hat previously, the Seeker would be given the option to skip the experiences she had went through before and go directly to the scene where the choice had to be made.

    But even if Ren Suo could remember the choices he made in a particr trial, the problem was that, to make a choice, resources were required, and that meant that he had to go through the automated sequence.

    Ren Suo also realized that, just like how ¡°Unlimited Energy¡± led to additional avable options, equipping the Seeker with different skills and props would also temporarily add a variety of interesting options to the game, which often reduced the depletion of resources, or even elerated thepletion of the trial.

 Chapter 141 - The Shadow Of The Ambulance

    Chapter 141 ¨C The Shadow Of The Ambnce

    Time was the second challenge.

    After ying the game for three days, Ren Suo realized that the total number of hats increased from 13 to 16, while Ren Suo had only converted 5 hats.

    While going through the automated plot sequence was necessary to acquire resources, the time required for that for each hat was about 3 to 4 hours. As a night ¡°cat¡±, Ren Suo could adjust his body clock, and wake up whenever the time was up to collect the resources and continue the trials.

    However, the story behind each hat was different. Even though most of them revolved around the childhood and teenage memories of boys, the worries they had were diverse. Some of them had to confess to pass the trial, while others hoped for their younger self to treasure their teenage years.

    Resources were wasted each time Ren Suo failed the trial. Sometimes, Ren Suo made a wrong choice only to realize that it would ultimately reach a dead end, and that he was wasting both his time and resources on a trial he could no longer pass, unless he managed to find a way to live through the dire crisis.

    [The Seeker was unable toplete her homework by morning. When Father awoke and saw the Seeker, he scolded her and locked her in the bedroom, not allowing her to go to school, and not giving her any food.]

    [After 1 day, the Seeker will lose 2 Courage and 1 Warmth due to hunger.]

    At that juncture, two options appeared: [Shout and beg for forgiveness (3 Courage required)], and [Remain silent and bear with it].

    Ren Suo swallowed the piece of teriyaki chicken in his mouth as he thought about what to do. He equipped the Seeker with ¡°Unlimited Fried Chicken Set.¡±

    [The Seeker summoned a fried chicken set and survived the first day.]

    [The Seeker summoned a fried chicken set and survived the second day.]

    [On the third day, ¡°Father¡± appeared. He looked at the Seeker without saying a word and brought the Seeker to the living room to eat a bowl of porridge. After she finished, he said, ¡°Not bad, you have the tenacity I used to have when I was your age.¡±]

    [Li Ming¡¯s hat has been transformed sessfully.]

    A total of six hats had now been transformed sessfully.

    It was also at that point when Ren Suo began to understand how he should conquer the game. Rather than thinking of which was the right option to choose in the journey of the Seeker during the trial of the hats, it was more usible to think of ways for the Seeker to remain in the game for as long as possible.

    Life is full of ups and downs, and things do not always go ording to n ¨C although the owners of the hats had many regrets in their memories due to theirck of courage or warmth, such regrets were, in reality, a part and parcel of life.

    As long as one had the will to live, and as long as one encountered an opportunity, no matter how small, be it a kind stranger, a military recruitment advertisement, or apliment which sounded like an apology, hopes of the future woulde naturally. Only then would the knots in one¡¯s mind be undone, and the courage to continue on the path of life would follow.

    ¡°Have you been treating Xiaoyu the past few days?¡± asked Dong Chengling, out of a sudden.

    ¡°Mmm?¡± Ren Suo put away his mobile phone and finished thest few mouthfuls of rice. He said, ¡°Yeah, but she didn¡¯te today. She must havepleted her Awakening.¡±

    Nheless, Ren Suo had already gotten an opportunity two days ago when he managed to convince Lin Xianyu to sleep in the treatment room for a while. He had sessfully obtained her key, so he no longer cared that she was fully Awakened. At most, he lost the opportunity to touch the arms of a high school girl every morning.

    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± said Dong Chengling as she picked up her te and stood up. She added, ¡°The stronger the Awakened Ability, the more side effects there will be during the Awakening process. But there¡¯s more to gain than that which is lost.¡±

    Ren Suo picked up his te and followed after her. He asked, ¡°Do you want to be Awakened too?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Dong Chengling, naturally. She continued, ¡°This is a gift of fate that signifies that I¡¯m different from the rest and is a force that I would never betray¡­¡±

    After returning her tes, Dong Chengling suddenly turned around and said to Ren Suo, ¡°I am very grateful towards you.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so serious out of a sudden? Are you going to say, ¡®You¡¯re a good person¡¯ next?¡± replied Ren Suo casually.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°You are a good person, and, if it were before, I may not be unwilling to start a rtionship with you. But from the moment I began my journey on the Practitioner path to cultivation, I made up my mind to persevere all the way to the end. To see the things that ordinary people cannot see, that is my dream. ¡±

    ¡°I am not willing to be slowed down in this journey by feelings, and neither am I willing to spend the time I could be Practicing dating, being in a rtionship, and spending energy meaninglessly to find my other half. As long as an opportunity presents itself, the Heavenly Institution of Lian will merely be a stepping stone towards a better ce. I will definitely continue to learn and continue to Practice.¡±

    Ren Suo took it a little more seriously and said, ¡°You can do it.¡±

    Dong Chengling smiled slightly and said, ¡°Thank you. But I must also admit that you did make me waver¡­ You don¡¯t bother me at other times, and only talked about interesting things with me during our meals. My other colleagues and the students all think that I am difficult tomunicate because I am very solitary and serious, and only you were willing to embrace that.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I think you¡¯re doing fine, it¡¯s alright to be more straightforward as long as your words mean no harm. Moreover, it saves time whenmunicating¡­ At the least, I now know that the gift that you want most is time for Practice.¡±

    Dong Chengling nodded and said, ¡°This feels like two lone ships floating on different sides of the sameke. They are close to each other but not intimately, with space left for each other. Indeed, this is my preferred way ofmunication in the past.¡±

    Ren Suo blinked and lowered his hat slightly, ¡°Uh¡­ uh¡­ Actually, I knew that you were such a person the moment I saw you.¡±

    In fact, it was only during mealtimes when Ren Suo thought about Dong Chengling¡­ and her future key.

    Dong Chengling heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I am relieved that everything has been rified. I would not mind if you do not want to contact me again, but if you still want to be friends, I will not refuse ¨C it is after all more interesting to eat with someone. ¡±

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with being friends. It¡¯s more than worth it to be able to make friends with someone like you who will be powerful in the future, just by buying you a meal.¡±

    Even if she did not have a key, Ren Suo was willing to form a good rtionship with Dong Chengling. Apart from the fact that her looks were appealing to Ren Suo, more importantly, she would inevitably be a strong Practitioner who could use space-type abilities.

    It would not be possible for Ren Suo to be in a rtionship with her after he obtained the key from her, even if he wanted to. How could someone like her who would acquire a space-type Awakened Ability remain in the Heavenly Institution of Lian?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The ambnce came to a stop on the highway, and the paramedics quickly wheeled the stretcher down the ambnce. Li Ran, the doctor on-board instructed, ¡°Xiao Qiang, Da Ming, make sure you remember the steps, slowly pull the driver out from the car ¡ª¡±

    Li Ran stopped midway through his sentence when they realized that the driver was already lying next to the overturned truck. It saved them a lot of effort, although the driver was still in aa.

    Li Ran squatted down to check the driver¡¯s heartbeat, then asked the others to carry the driver into the ambnce. He looked at the ground: there was a wallet and a fourth edition 100 yuan note which had been blown to the side by the wind.

    ¡°Did someonee by to drag the driver out, then casually stole his money and ran away?¡± Li Ran immediately thought of such a possibility, so he quickly contacted the police officers who were following behind the ambnce and handed the scene over to them.

    But when he turned his head, he saw what seemed to be a dark shadow dart swiftly past the rear door of the ambnce.

    ¡°Huh? Is that a wild cat?¡± Li Ran quickly walked over to see what that was. He was concerned as wild cats and dogs brought a lot of bacteria on them, which would very likely cause infections if they came into contact with the patient.

    However, he saw that the floor of the ambnce was empty and there were no wild cats or dogs.

    ¡°I must have been mistaken¡­¡±

 Chapter 142 - Beating The Rebellious Teen

    Chapter 142 ¨C Beating The Rebellious Teen

    Ren Suo selected a hat with a green glow in ¡°Passing Hats¡± and waited as the Seeker collected the resources in the automated plot sequence.

    He logged on to the intr to see if there was any new information.

    ¡°Neisser Ren¡± had been quiet for the past ten days and Ren Suo expected the discussion about the methods of ¡°Neisser Ren¡± to have died down, while other topics would be a more popr topic of discussion.

    However, as soon as Ren Suo logged on to the intr, he realized that the ¡°Neisser Ren Special Task Force¡± had uploaded a trending post!

    Ren Suo hadpletely no idea who was in the ¡°Neisser Ren Task Force¡± and neither did he think that they would be able to find out anything. Ren Suo was even more convinced of that as they had no questions for the Special Advisors over thest few days.

    However, the post that they uploaded shocked even Ren Suo ¨C

    ¡°The Identity of the Female Character in A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters Has Been Confirmed¡±

    Eh?

    Ren Suo clicked into the post and found that there were pictures of the forest, and a series of footprints were marked in red on the pictures.

    [These are the footprints of the female main character (hereinafter referred to as MC) from ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± which the Task Force discovered. We traced the footsteps all the way from the Hyjal Peak to an unmarkedke within the Tedemia Mountain Range 26 kilometers away.]

    [Footprints of the MC ended abruptly in theke. Strangely, the trees around theke had begun to wither in the summer. Theke is connected to a subterranean river and is a habitat for aquatic nts and fishes.]

    [Amongst the underwater nts, we discovered a skeleton.]

    A skeleton?!

    A picture of the skeleton was shown. Buried in the soil underwater, nts were growing out of the eyes and arge part of the sternum was deeply anchored. It looked rtively old.

    [We have ascertained through investigation that this skeleton has been there for 400 years and is that of a male.]

    [Through prospecting, we discovered traces of man-made excavation from the bed of theke not far from this skeleton. We managed to make use of traceback abilities to discover that another skeleton was present in the same area until not too long ago.]

    ¡°Currently, the Task Force has made the following deduction: the MC is the other skeleton. She was reborn due to the rejuvenation of Reiki, 400 years after her death. Her strong obsession allowed her to absorb nutrients from her surroundings and eventually returned to the world. The MC is most likely an ancient Practitioner who made a pilgrimage to the Hyjal peak from continental Europe with her partner, but they lost themselves in the Tedemia Mountain Range and eventually died in the dense forests. A centuryter, the area where they died turned into ake.]

    That was the end of the post, and replies were disallowed. Ren Suo clicked out of the post and found that the question ¡°Is the implementation of the Elf Protection Act the goal of ¡®Neisser Ren¡¯, and could he possibly be an elf?¡± was raised again.

    The same question already appeared ten days ago which received numerous answers with plenty of like. With the question bing a top discussion again, it seemed that many researchers who previously disagreed with the views in the forum had now changed their minds, after reading the post made by the Special Task Force.

    The most liked reply had also been edited to include one more point:

    ¡°Neisser Ren could be the spokesperson of elves, dead elves, or ghost demons.¡±

    In fact, even Ren Suo thought that the investigations of the Special Task Force were right this time.

    He did not know what the true form of the female Seeker was either.

    Excluding the possibility that the female Seeker appeared out of thin air, she must have been something that once existed on Earth.

    From Ren Suo¡¯s perspective though, the female Seeker was simply a matchstick character who jumped around. He had never thought of the origins of the female Seeker previously.

    He just did not expect that the task force actually headed down to the Hyjal peak to investigate, as part of their investigation of ¡°Neisser Ren¡±. They even brought a powerful Retracer who managed to find the ce where the Seeker first appeared.

    ¡°So, the skeleton that disappeared is very likely that of the female Seeker. If I had chosen a male character at first, the skeleton that the Task Force discovered would have been that of the female Seeker instead¡­¡±

    ¡°Everything in the world does not appear out of nowhere. Is the Small World game console also making use of what¡¯s already present to create its games¡­?¡±

    The information about the Seeker was marked as an important reference material and not secret, which was why it was published on the intr, although it would never appear on the inte which was open to anyone.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo realized another advantage of his present identity: he could learn more about the Small World game console through the nation¡¯s investigations of ¡°Neisser Ren¡±.

    For example, it would not have been possible for Ren Suo to investigate the origins of the female Seeker by himself. Only the Task Force which had the manpower and resource support from the nation had the capabilities to investigate so thoroughly.

    In summary, the Ren family had the blood of the Huo family, Zhao Zili was actually a dead person, and the All-Devouring Soul was merely a pangolin in the beginning¡­

    Ren Suo looked down at his mobile phone and said to himself, ¡°Then¡­ is this also something that is already present in reality?¡±

    In the lit, circr house, over a dozen floating ghosts surrounded the round table. The Seeker was sitting opposite the girl shrouded in a ck mist which seemed to say ¡°either you die, or I will not be able to return to my family¡±.

    The Seeker put down the hat with a green glow. She now had 35 Courage and 30 Warmth, and was ready to continue another trial of the hat.

    But there were no more suitable hats.

    In the Seeker¡¯s vision, all of the unconverted hats had been worn once by the girl shrouded in the ck mist. Those hat glowed strangely in red, greatly contrasting the green glow of the converted hats.

    From the beginning, Ren Suo started the challenge from the ordinary hats. Even though he had not attempted the trials of any of the red hats, he already knew that they likely meant a more challenging trial, so he naturally converted the less challenging ordinary hats first.

    That was because when the Seeker chose a hat, the girl shrouded in the ck mist who sat directly opposite the Seeker would also don the hat that was in front of her. When the Seeker reced a hat, the girl would also put down the hat which was now glowing in red.

    However, when the girl donned a transformed hat, nothing will happen and the green glow of the hat would remain.

    Although Ren Suo purposely avoided those hats, there were already half a dozen of them glowing in red when the Seeker first arrived. By the time the Seeker converted six hats, only the glowing red hats remained.

    Nheless, Ren Suo realized that a new hat would appear each day, and a new ghost would also appear at the round table. That new hat naturally became the first hat that Ren Suo would pick every day.

    Ren Suo returned to the living room and decided to continue ying with therge television screen.

    After all, it was the first time he was going to challenge a red hat, and he wanted to be able to see more details.

    The moment the Seeker donned the red hat, Ren Suo immediately knew that it was the biggest challenge he would face inpleting ¡°Passing Hats¡±.

    [The Seeker donned Wen Junjie¡¯s hat.]

    Unexpectedly, in the trial of the red hat, the Seeker was no longer the owner of the hat but was instead a bystander.

    Furthermore, the childhood and past memories of the hat owner were all skipped, proceeding directly to the decision-making phase.

    Ren Suo was not d, for he realized that if all the hats on the table were glowing in red, he would not have had any opportunity to collect Courage and Warmth resources!

    Surely, he had made the right choice to conquer the hats without the red glow first.

    On the screen, a junior high school boy who was carrying a schoolbag had just returned home. His attire was sloppy, his clothes were stained with mud, and there were fresh cuts on his face. The moment he stepped into the house, a middle-aged woman hurried over and asked, ¡°What did you do? Did you get into a fight? Your clothes are all dirty, quickly take them off.¡±

    The boy yelled in response, ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t bother me¡±, and ran straight into his room. He turned on theputer and started a shooting game, engrossed in the killing in the game.

    Some time passed, then the middle-aged woman opened the door and said, ¡°Xiaojie, it¡¯s time to eat.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m busy now, eat yourself!¡± the boy replied.

    After some time, the middle-aged woman came into the room with a hot towel and warm water, and began wiping the boy¡¯s wound using the warm water. The boy winced in pain as he identally shifted his mouse, and the screen turned dark. He pushed the woman¡¯s hand away in anger and shouted, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m helping you clean the wound,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need ¨C I don¡¯t need that! Are you so happy to annoy me?!¡± shouted the boy.

    The boy pulled the mouse out from theputer and threw it towards the ground. He scoffed angrily as he red at the middle-aged woman. She put down the hot towel, and left the room without a word.

    Some time passed and the boy calmed down. He wiped his wound with the hot towel and a speech bubble appeared above his head: [I fought with someone and lost, but why did I vent my anger on my mother¡­ Should I apologize to her?]

    Well, it should be time for the Seeker to make her appearance, right?

    Ren Suo felt that in the trial of the red hats, the Seeker likely had a simr role to that of ¡°Grandpa in the Ring¡±, who gave advice to the hat owner to ensure that they proceeded on the right path in life.

    Mmm, to persuade this boy to apologize, both Warmth and Courage would be required, right?

    However, at that moment, a girl shrouded in a ck mist who was wearing a pointed witch¡¯s hat appeared beside the boy.

    ¡°That is none of your business. It was obviously your mother who did not respect you. Would you have lost your temper if she had not disturbed you? It was her who thought that she was helping you, forcefully giving you things which you don¡¯t need, which made you angry.¡±

    ¡°That had nothing to do with you losing the fight. Think about it, did your mother consider your opinions when she asked you to drink an extra bowl of soup, urged you to shower earlier, and call you out to eat when you were busy ying the game? ¡­ This has nothing to do with you, because she did not treat you well before, which is why you reacted in this way.¡±

    Naturally, the boy nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Yes¡­ she always has to control me¡­ otherwise, I would not have¡­¡±

    At that juncture, it was finally time for the Seeker to make her appearance.

    A dialog box was shown on the screen, and a prompt appeared at the bottom of the dialog box: [Please inputmands to the Seeker, such as ¡°Advise¡±, ¡°Reprimand¡±, and ¡°Hug¡±. You may also enter a reply directly.]

    Ren Suo blinked and entered ¡°Advise¡±.

    [The Seeker advises Wen Junjie, ¡°It is for your own benefit that your mother is busy trying to take good care of you. Don¡¯t you feel guilty that she did not even say anything after you lost your temper at her?¡±]

    [Through words of ¡°Advise¡±, the Seeker attempts to give Wen Junjie 3 Courage and 5 Warmth.]

    [Wen Junjie disregards ¡°Advise¡±.]

    Ren Suo then entered words like ¡°Reprimand¡±, ¡°Guidance¡±, and ¡°Console¡±, using more than a dozen Courage and Warmth but to no effect.

    Instead, the girl shrouded in the ck mist beside the boy let out a shrill, bell-likeughter, as if mocking the Seeker.

    Ren Suo was furious. He carefully inspected themand box, and his eyes suddenly lit up as he typed in the word ¡°Embrace¡±.

    [The seeker hugs Wen Junjie from behind and attempts to give Wen Junjie 3 Warmth.]

    [Wen Junjie disregards ¡°Embrace¡±.]

    Hmph, he is still angry after a young girl hugged him? Let¡¯s wait and see if you will admit your mistaketer.

    Ren Suo returned to the main screen and navigated to the ¡°Equipment¡± page, then went back to the game. He entered themand ¡°Beat his ass and hit him until he admits his mistake¡±.

    Equipped with ¡°Fighter Novice¡±, the Seeker picked Wen Junjie up and skilfully restricted Wen Junjie¡¯s movements such that he could not escape. Then, she pulled down his pants and started beating his ass.

    ¡°Do you know what you have done wrong, do you know what you have done wrong now!¡±

    Since it was possible to give a hug, which meant that physical contact was possible, it was naturally possible to carry out physical ¡á education.

    It was only after beating him for 30 seconds when Wen Junjie shouted, ¡°I was wrong, I was wrong, I apologize!¡±

    [The Seeker beat Wen Junjie and he gained 15 Courage and 15 Warmth.]

    Violence turned out to be the most practical and realistic option in dealing with a rebellious kid.

    At that moment, the girl shrouded in the ck mist let out a strangeughter and dissipated into the air in the room.

    ¡°I am looking forward to your subsequent performance¡­¡±

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143 -Unless a Miracle Happens

    ¡°Xiao Liang, I am home.¡±

    When Tao Wan returned home, she noticed the floor tiles of the living room peeling off. When she looked up, she realized that the light bulb andmpshade that should have been on the ceiling were gone.

    Tao Wan ced down her shopping basket and called loudly, ¡°Xiao Liang, Xiao Liang,e out of the room.¡±

    Her son, Huo Liang poked his head out of the bedroom and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°What happened to thempshade and lightbulb that are supposed to be up there?¡± Tao Wan asked.

    ¡°Oh, that¡­ our teacher gave us an assignment and I wanted to bring an electrical appliance that I was interested in to talk about in ss, so I removed themp,¡± Huo Liang said.

    Tao Yan ced the vegetables in a washing dish as she asked, ¡°Are you interested inmps?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­ Yeah,¡± Huo Liang said with a nod.

    Tao Yan washed her hands and said, ¡°Come here, son.¡±

    Huo Liang hesitated slightly before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door behind him. He walked to the entrance of the kitchen as Tao Yan took a Chinese pear from her basket and washed it. She turned around and looked at her son, who was almost as tall as her, and said, ¡°You have not dismantled themp before, it is very dangerous to remove themp holder by yourself. Tell me next time if you want to do it and mommy will help you. Here, have a pear.¡±

    Huo Liang took the pear from his mother and hurried back to the bedroom, shutting the door heavily.

    Tao Yan heard the sound of the door being locked and could not help butugh. She remarked, ¡°My son is also at this age now¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [Wen Junjie¡¯s hat has been converted sessfully.]

    After one full day, Ren Suo finally found a way to clear the trial of the first red hat.

    The trials of the hats with a red glow were different from the other hats in that thetter required the Seeker to make choices, but the former did not¡ªthe hat owners actually knew the right decisions to make, but because of theirck of ¡°Courage¡± and ¡°Warmth¡±, they did not dare to stand up to it. At that time, the girl shrouded in the ck mist would appear and make use of her words to find a justified excuse for the hat owner¡¯s behavior, negating their regret and remorse.

    Although the Seeker was able to make physical contact with the hat owner (and only the hat owner), there was no way for her to make contact with the girl shrouded in the ck mist. It was not possible for Ren Suo to make a move first.

    Furthermore, although the Seeker taught Wen Junjie a lesson through ¡°physical education¡± and forced him to gain Courage and Warmth, the use of violence was only applicable on very few asions.

    The final challenge of that trial of the hat was when Wen Junjie fell in love with a girl in his ss in high school. She was a studious student, a responsible ss president, and was pretty too. In contrast, Wen Junjie was just a poor-performing student who loved to y games and went to the inte cafe with a group of his ssmates every day. Although he had a secret crush on the girl, Wen Junjie did not dare to be close to her at all.

    It was not until after one physical education lesson that he became closer to her. During the lesson, the ss president suddenly fainted from the heat under the sun and Wen Junjie rushed her to the school medical office without hesitation. After this, their rtionship gradually improved.

    On thest night of their graduation holiday trip after the end of the college entrance examinations, Wen Junjie felt that there was no chance of them being in a rtionship in the future, so he wanted to profess his love.

    However, the girl shrouded in the ck mist appeared at that time and said, ¡°Is it really a good idea to do that? She will soon go to university in Tianjing City, but what about you? You are not going to be able to enter university, and you do not have a job. Will you be a trainee or a temporary worker? If she epts your love, will it end well? Would she not have wasted years waiting for you? On the other hand, if she does not ept you, would you still be able to remain friends with her? Do you really believe that both of you can still remain as friends after your confession?¡±

    Well, although what the girl shrouded in the ck mist said was not wrong, and Ren Suo simrly thought that it was not appropriate for Wen Junjie, who had not learned about warmth and care from his family, to be in a rtionship at his age¡­

    But it was obvious that for Ren Suo to pass the trial, he had to encourage Wen Junjie to do what he had not dared to do in the past. Only then would time in his memories continue to pass, or otherwise he would forever be stuck in that memory and never be able to continue.

    However, what the girl shrouded in the ck mist was absolutely right, and after hearing what she said, Wen Junjie did not dare to make a move at all no matter how the Seeker praised orplimented him.

    Ren Suo was stuck at that point in the game for a long time, and could not pass that trial of the hat until he had dinner with Dong Chengling that night.

    A girl wearing the uniform of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang followed Dong Chengling to the dining hall. Although the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was newly established, all the necessities were avable. The uniforms for junior and senior high school students were quickly customized and looked very nice. The male uniform consisted of ck and red id pants with a white shirt, while the female uniform consisted of a ck and red id skirt with a white blouse. The uniform was designed to be more tight-fitting, and apart from some of the chubbier students who were dissatisfied with such a design and requested for loose-fit school uniforms, most of the students were very satisfied.

    The moment she arrived, she bought a meal for Dong Chengling, attempting to prevent Dong Chengling from continuing to sit together with Ren Suo. However, Dong Chengling dragged her along to sit at the same table with Ren Suo instead.

    ¡°Is this your student?¡± Ren Suo asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes, this is Gu Yueyan. She is in the same ss as Xianyu,¡± Dong Chengling said. She added, ¡°She came to eat together.¡±

    ¡°I only learned today that Teacher used up all her points in exchange for Practice time, leaving her with no money for her meals and Mr. Ren had to spend more money,¡± Gu Yueyan said. She was tall and pretty and stared intently at Ren Suo as she sat beside Dong Chengling. She continued, ¡°In the future, Teacher¡¯s students will pay for all of her meals, so Teacher Ren you no longer need to apany her for her meals.¡±

    Ren Suo nced at her and said, ¡°Do you have enough money?¡±

    Ren Suo used the ¡°social disdain of the wealthy towards the poor¡± against the unemployed girl, which would likely be a critical blow.

    But Gu Yueyan retorted, ¡°More than you.¡± She showed Ren Suo the number of points she had in her wristband.

    Gu Yueyan perfectly avoided the attack and made a ¡°Counterattack¡±, which was a critical blow to Ren Suo.

    Gu Yueyan: 1, Ren Suo: 0.

    Dong Chenglingughed and said, ¡°Xiaoyan is the fastest learning Practitioner amongst the second year senior high students. She was the first student to activate her breathing current and was also the top student in the end-of-month examination three days ago. She received 20,000 points that day.¡±

    Ren Suo could not help but stare in awe¡ªeven he only received 8000 points a month!

    Although the grades of the students would result in fluctuations in the number of points they earned, the variation was not very huge. In the case of Gu Yueyan, however, she must have earned more points than the vast majority of the faculty members.

    Even though Ren Suo also received sry in the form of actual money, the total value of the money and points he received still did not match up to all of Gu Yueyan¡¯s points!

    ¡°Oh, damn, that¡¯s amazing,¡± Ren Suo said nkly. ¡°So you are buying my meals too?¡±

    Gu Yueyan rolled her eyes and did not reply. She remained silent subsequently but stared at Ren Suo throughout the whole meal. Ren Suo felt very ufortable and left quickly after he finished his meal.

    However, on the way back, Gu Yueyan caught up with him. She said, ¡°Teacher Ren, hold on.¡±

    Ren Suo looked at her cautiously and stood at an area within the range of a surveince camera. There had been recent reports of pretty young girls iming that they were sexually assaulted in an area with no surveince cameras by rich men who were passing by. The rich men were then forced to give the girl money to close the matter, and it would be even worse if the rich men turned violent¡ªarge, muscr man would be nearby to record the entire scene on video, and when that happened, the rich men would easily lose everything. As such, Ren Suo thought that it was better to take the necessary precautions.

    Although Ren Suo thought that he was handsome, only his previous dormmates were charmed by him; he had no impact on girls.

    Nheless, seeing that it was Gu Yueyan whom he had just met, Ren Suo could not help but dream¡ªhe heard that young girls like handsome older brothers¡­

    However, Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Ren Suo, you are the emergency doctor of Heavenly Institution of Lian, an Awakened Practitioner with a resuscitation-type Awakened Ability and average talent qualification. You were previously a member of the Countermeasure Division and prolonged the life of a colleague who was on the verge of death. You were transferred to the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang as you are able to use ¡®Heal¡¯¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was even more cautious now¡ªhow creepy, she managed to find out so much about me after just a short period of time?!

    ¡°¡­ To sum up, although you have a certain level of talent, you do not Practice diligently, and you do not have the talent to further elevate your abilities,¡± Gu Yueyan said. She continued, ¡°For Teacher Dong¡¯s sake, I hope that you can keep a distance from her.¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned. He asked, ¡°¡­ What has this got to do with Dong Chengling?¡±

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Teacher Dong was in an obviously happier mood today. Although I know that you have been eating with Teacher Dong previously, it appears that it is merely wishful thinking on your part, so I did not care. However, I did not expect that you actually made use of the opportunity to ¡®feed¡¯ Teacher Dong to get closer to her, and she even started liking you¡­¡±

    Ren Suo remarked, ¡°Saying that I ¡®feed¡¯ her is too¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°I strongly agree with Teacher Dong¡¯s mindset. As qualified and resilient Practitioners, the Institution is merely a small part of our lives. As for Teacher Ren, this should be your endpoint.¡±

    ¡°You enjoy this carefree life,¡± she added.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right.¡±

    Gu Yueyan continued, ¡°In order for Teacher Dong to not be distracted by you any longer, you should not be her obstacle. If you are truly concerned for her, you should stay silently by the side and just watch her grow and achieve greater sess¡­ Do you understand what I am getting at? The one who should remain by Teacher Dong¡¯s side should be me, someone, who shares the same aspirations as her¡­¡±

    Ren Suo subconsciously took out his mobile phone and looked at it. On the screen was a student who looked as serious as Dong Chengling standing in front of him, but that student was obviously a scheming one. He suddenly asked, ¡°If you like a person who is far morepetent than you, what would you do? In what situation would you confess so that the confession would not negatively affect both parties?¡±

    ¡°Wait, what¡­ Confess?¡± Gu Yueyan was stunned. She stuttered as she said, ¡°Do adults progress so fast in their rtionships? You two only met just a few days ago¡­¡±

    Ren Suo waved his hand and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s just a question. Can you give me an answer?¡±

    Gu Yueyan looked at Ren Suo seriously and said, ¡°If I like a person who is far more capable than me, I will definitely find a way to catch up with him. But if I have to give an answer, the only time I would make such a confession that is ¡®doomed¡¯ from the very beginning, would only be when we part and were ¡®never to meet again¡¯. As we are ¡®never to meet again¡¯, the confession is merely a blessing, and there would be no negative impact.¡±

    Gu Yueyan deliberately stressed some of her words, but Ren Suo was hit by a sudden epiphany. He grabbed Gu Yueyan¡¯s shoulders and shook her lightly as he eximed, ¡°High school students these days truly know a lot! Thank you so much, bye!¡±

    Looking at Ren Suo leave so happily, Gu Yueyan was utterly confused with a ¡°???¡± expression on her face.

    ¡°I have to ask Xianyu when I go back¡­ Is this guy suffering from mental issues¡­¡± Gu Yueyan muttered to herself.

    When Ren Suo returned home, he immediately started persuading Wen Junjie using what Gu Yueyan said. He changed the ¡°confession¡± into ¡°blessings¡±, and it really sparked some conscience in Wen Junjie. The young man who did not want to be an obstacle in the good girl¡¯s future gained 20 Courage and 13 Warmth and proceeded to confess to her. Ren Suo sessfully allowed the time in Wen Junjie¡¯s memory to continue to pass.

    [Wen Junjie¡¯s hat has transformed sessfully.]

    [Wen Junjie¡¯s hat: It is easier to ¡°confess¡±.]

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned when a message of the hat appeared after the Seeker ced Wen Junjie¡¯s hat down. The hat now had a green glow.

    After passing the trial of the red hat, Ren Suo was able to obtain more resources by letting the automated plot sequence run, and he could even attain the special effect after each time (which was about 30 minutes).

    But it was already the 4th day¡ªhe had passed 7 trials of the hats, and 10 were left. It was a new day, and another hat appeared.

    I shall clear the trial of the new hat first, the red hats are too tedious to clear.

    [The Seeker dons Li Xuefu¡¯s hat.]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Li Dan emerged from a room in the research institute and sat at the lounge to wait until it was time for the inspection. But only two other members appeared.

    ¡°Was it Li Xuefust night¡­¡± Li Dan asked, quickly recognizing the member who was not there. He said, ¡°Is it not my turn yet¡­¡±

    ¡°You might be thest one, Li Dan,¡± Zhang Xuedao said as he extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray. He continued, ¡°The one who longs for sleep the most would be thest one to fall asleep.¡±

    ¡°Rx,¡± Li Dan said emotionlessly. ¡°You two should go down and prepare the food and wine. I will be there on time.¡±

    ¡°I just hope that when the side-dishes downstairs turn cold, we would not have to meet,¡± Zhang Xuedao said.

    Liang De, the big-sized man, who had remained silent from the start, said nkly, ¡°Even ¡®Ren¡¯ could not destroy that hat, what other choice do we have except to choose whether we fall asleepughing or crying?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe in that superstition, there must be a way out of this,¡± Zhang Xuedao retorted.

    ¡°I would rather believe in superstition now,¡± Liang De said with a sigh. He continued, ¡°Would it be you, me, or him tomorrow? The research institute has not made any progress in their research, and there is no way we can escape this fate unless¡­ a miracle happens.¡±

 Chapter 144 - â€œPassing Hatsâ€ Game Cleared

    Chapter 144 ¨C ¡°Passing Hats¡± Game Cleared

    ¡°¡­ Mom, calm down, your voice is too loud, everyone around me can hear you,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo took a nce around him. Beside him, Zhao Huo had dropped his spoon, and Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan, and Lin Xianyu who were sitting at the table opposite suddenly stopped eating. Ren Suo felt like there was going to be an earth-shaking change in their impression of him¡ªfrom him being a ¡°single dog¡± to a ¡°horrible scum¡±.

    He continued the call outside the canteen. He said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m your son, do you think I am such a person?!¡±

    His mother said, ¡°I used to think that Xiao Jiu was a good boy, but didn¡¯t he make the virgin girl from elsewhere pregnant too? He even acted as if he had not done anything wrong when he returned home!¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°I already told you before to send Xiao Jiu for neutering! Haven¡¯t you had enough of him being raunchy!¡±

    The purr of a cat sounded from the other end of the line. Ren Suo¡¯s mother said loudly, ¡°Look at you, Xiao Jiu has been with you for so many years, how could you be so cruel to him and want to cut away its balls (testicles)? You are cruel to Xiao Jiu, and so are you to your girlfriend, is that not the case!¡±

    Ren Suo was bewildered. He said, ¡°It¡¯s cruel too to suggest that you neuter the cat¡­ Just listen to how the cat is screaming every day, what would you do if it affects Sister¡¯s revision?¡±

    His mother was slightly stunned and remained silent for a moment. She said, ¡°¡­ I will let our neighbor Lao Zhang take care of Xiao Jiu for the next few days.¡±

    ¡°Mom, let me tell you, Sister also loves Xiao Jiu and loves her dearly. She would not say much even if she is affected by the cat. If you had sent Xiao Jiu to be neutered earlier on, she might have been able to score higher for the college entrance examination¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic!¡± His mother obviously started feeling guilty and quickly diverted the topic. She said, ¡°Your ssmates have been calling over the past few days and said that you made a girl abort her child, is that true?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Even if I really did such an immoral thing, I will not tell that group of dorkheads who only goes to our house to y with the cat, is still single and do not know how to phrase their words nicely!¡±

    His mother said, ¡°But Xiao Sanzi said that you asked for advice in your QQ chatroom. You said that you have a friend who broke up with his girlfriend and made her abort their child, but is regretting it now after everything. He wants to start afresh but has inadequate reason to do so¡­¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°¡­ I indeed asked such a question.¡±

    His mother immediately became furious. She roared, ¡°I knew it! Did you think I still don¡¯t know you inside and out? Saying that ¡®you have a friend¡¯ just refers to yourself! How could you be so immoral?! Hurry up and apologize to the girl, then bring the girl home to let us have a look!¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°But it¡¯s really just a friend of mine! He asked me what to do and I had no idea either, so I asked in my senior high chatroom and university ss chatroom.¡±

    His mother retorted, ¡°What nonsense, if someone did such an immoral thing, why would they tell a dorkhead like you who only knows how to y with the cat, is still single, and do not know how to phrase your words nicely?!¡±

    Ren Suo was temporarily at a loss for words, after being brutally shot down by his mother with his own words.

    It was not after a long while before Ren Suo thought of another reason. He said, ¡°Alright, to be honest, I am actually a big brother of the people in Lianjiang and many peoplee to me for advice and to rant. I am well-liked by many young people who are at crossroads in their life¡­ Anyway, I swear that if Imitted any immoral act, I will change my surname! Phone calls are expensive, we should continue talking another time.¡±

    As Ren Suo¡¯s mother put down her mobile phone, his younger sister, who was serving the food to the table, noticed the strange experience on her mother¡¯s face. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did Brother make you angry again?¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother had this expression = _ = and said, ¡°Nothing much, he said that he is very popr amongst men in Lianjiang.¡±

    Speechless, his sister blinked, ¡°¡­¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s father who was watching televisionmented, ¡°¡­ Gics is amazing¡­¡±

    ¡­

    When Ren Suo returned to the dining room, he felt an inexplicable atmosphere lingering in the air as soon as he sat down, so he told them the same excuse that he had just told his mother.

    Ever since Gu Yueyan started eating with Dong Chengling, Zhao Huo realized that Ren Suo and Dong Chengling were not enjoying their ¡°quality time¡± together, so he also joined in. Lin Xianyu appeared to be food and drink buddies with Gu Yueyan and followed her to the third floor of the dining hall to ¡°leech¡± off the rtively rich Gu Yueyan.

    Zhao Huo said, ¡°Tch, I actually have another friend who often used ¡®his friend¡¯ to cover up for his ugly behavior. Tch, although I cannot really me him on the surface, I will ¡®tch¡¯ him a few times to express my displeasure.¡±

    The others still looked skeptical as well. Ren Suo took out his mobile phone and showed them his messages, ¡°You see, I can¡¯t possibly be a scumbag who made my girlfriend go through an abortion at one moment, then suddenly be a high school student who wants to apologize to a friend, right?¡±

    Zhao Huo and the rest passed Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone among themselves and found that Ren Suo had indeed asked many questions in various QQ groups over thest few days. The age range relevant to the questions he asked was from 13 to 20 years old, and the content ranged from family rtionships to friendship, to love, and he even asked about various trivia.

    Zhao Huo asked, ¡°Could you have be a special writer for a public ount specializing in rtionship advice?¡±

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Who knows if you are actually trying to hide your own questions amongst the rest of them¡­¡±

    Lin Xianyu said, ¡°Brother Ren is so amazing, are there so many people who go to you for advice?¡±

    Dong Chengling looked at Ren Suo¡¯s te and asked, ¡°Do you still want to eat your roasted chicken wing?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I am not full yet!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

    At that time, however, Gu Yueyan stared at Ren Suo and pretended to ask casually, ¡°Teacher Ren, although I also want to trust you, it seems that you often wanted Lin Xianyu to sleep in the treatment room¡­ Xianyu, am I right?¡±

    Gu Yueyan used the prop ¡°Attack of the Salted Fish¡± to cause ruin the reputation of the ¡°pervert¡±.

    Lin Xianyu nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, I stayed up toote one night to y games on my mobile phone, and I had a good sleep in the treatment room the next day.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so it is true,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she nodded. She asked, ¡°But I¡¯m sure Teacher Ren did not do anything to her?¡±

    As Ren Suo held the chicken wing in his mouth and chewed, he said, ¡°Nothing much, I just touched her head for five minutes.¡±

    Lin Xianyu stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°You really bear grudges for a long time, I merely touched your head for a while thest time and you even started wearing a cap after that, hmph.¡±

    Ren Suo used ¡°Frank Pervert¡± and sessfully avoided reputation damage.

    Gu Yueyan: 1, Ren Suo: 1.

    After dinner, Ren Suo walked back to his dormitory as he stretched his body¡ªafter that two days, he was exhausted.

    When Ren Suo reached home, he brought hisptop to the living room and went straight to his QQ chat groups. He found that people had answered his questions in the rtionship advice chat groups which he newly added.

    After he had an epiphany talking to Gu Yueyan, Ren Suo realized that relying on his own life experience might not be sufficient to sessfully persuade the owners of the red hats to carry out what they needed to do and disregard the seemingly logical excuses which the girl shrouded in the ck mist told them.

    As such, Ren Suo decided to search for answers on the inte, and if he could not find an answer, he would ask questions in each of his QQ groups and gather more answers. He believed that at least some of his ssmates would have experienced the same troubles as that of the hat owners, and that was the case indeed.

    Asking one or two of such questions was fine, but when he asked more questions, no one in his chat groups bothered to reply. Hence, Ren Suo opened a secondary ount and added various counseling chat groups to ask his questions directly. Although he garnered many answers that were irrelevant or not useful, there were also numerous replies with words of encouragement that managed to untie the knots in the hearts of the hat owners.

    Ren Suo felt like a student who brought a mobile phone into the examination hall. With such a tool to ¡°cheat¡±, he managed to convert 11 hats in two days. The time he needed could have been less if he had not needed to gather more resources through the automated plot sequence.

    Moreover, most of the skills acquired after the red hats were converted had no practical significance, although they had various extraordinary effects in the trials: confession, apology,fort¡­ The Seeker, who obtained those special effects, would then be able to pass the effect on to the owners of the red hats, freeing the beguiled owners from the enchantment of the girl shrouded in the ck mist.

    Ren Suo summarized the best answers from the groups providing rtionship advice, and opened ¡°Passing Hat¡± to continue his quest toplete the trial of the 19th hat!

    That was thest hat to convert, and it was also the secondst day before the game closed!

    Ren Suo was not interested in waiting until tomorrow when the 20th hat appeared before he cleared the game!

    He was going toplete the treacherous game that very day!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Li Dan, who was in the nutrition cabin, looked at the man sitting on the metal throne. Although he could not speak because his lungs were overloaded with nutrients, he knew that the man on the throne could read his lips. He asked, ¡°Have you ever hated fate, too?¡±

    After a brief moment, the man on the throne replied, ¡°I lost all of my family just over half a year ago. Believe me, the hatred I felt in the past half of the year is much more and much longer than all the hatred you felt in the past.¡±

    Li Dan nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, the Bloodline of the Champion. We have all been granted a new start because of the rejuvenation of Reiki, but at the same time, we have suffered.¡±

    Ren said, ¡°When you fall asleep, ¡®Number 236¡¯ will metamorphosize, and the first person whoes into contact with ¡®Number 236¡¯ would be its food and energy source. This item is not exactly real, as it is actually a projection based on the matter around it. It can be moved but it cannot be destroyed.¡±

    Li Dan was slightly confused¡ªRen had not exined in such detail before.

    ¡°I can guarantee that it would be kept and observed in this perfectly safe environment. With my strength, it will definitely not be able to affect me, and I will not let your sacrifices go to waste,¡± Ren said seriously.

    ¡°¡­Thank you,¡± Li Dan said.

    Li Dan turned his head to look on his left and right. There were the neen other team members who were sleeping in physical and biological body preservation machines in the same aqueous environment as he was.

    They had just met each other, and Li Dan had only been supposed to be temporarily transferred to the team, who was responsible for searching for the earth elves.

    However, they did not imagine that they would be the best of brothers who would depend on each other in times of life and death. They were going to walk into their graves together.

    ¡°I hope that when I go down, the wine has not gone bad and the dishes have not turned cold.¡±

    Li Dan closed his eyes, thinking that he would finally not have to wake up again.

    It was truly exhausting to be able to see everything, hear everything, and know everything¡­

    Even when he closed his eyes, he could still hear the deafening sounds of blood flowing, the heart beating and the internal organs working in the man named Ren, who was sitting on the throne far away; he could hear the nutrient solution flowing upwards from below; he could hear the beating hearts of the other team members who had fallen asleep, and he could even hear the sounds of their mouths opening¡­

    Eh?

    Li Dan turned his head to see Cheng Xiao, who was about to turn cold, open his eyes. Then, he raised his hand to cover his mouth as he yawned!

    On his right, Wen Junjie rubbed his eyes and looked around nkly. He looked down to see that he was wearing only his underwear and crouched into a fetal position.

    Li Dan was stunned.

    Ren, who was sitting on the metal throne was also stunned.

    At that moment, a new message popped up on theputer in front of Ren. He nced at the screen and his eyes widened!

    ¡°The female lead from ¡®A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡¯ has¡­ reappeared?!¡±

    At the same time, at Anshun High-speed Railway Station, a passenger who did not purchase a ticket bypassed the security check and sneaked into a north-bound train¡­

 Chapter 145 - Cultivation with the Heart of Heaven

    Chapter 145 ¨C Cultivation with the Heart of Heaven

    When the Seeker put down thest hat, all 19 hats on the table were glowing green.

    The dark and decaying bark which made up the wooden house began to peel off, and the candles on the side extinguished on its own, but a warm glow continued to fill the dark cabin.

    They belonged to the floating ghost souls.

    A warm yellow glow radiated from the ghost souls, which gradually eradicated the fluctuating mist of the spirit. The ghost souls reached out to pick up the hats on the table. When a song sounded from somewhere far away, they began passing the hat in their hands to the right.

    The song was in anguage that Ren Suo did not understand. It sounded like a branch of ancient Chinese which had vanished over time, but also seemed like a hymn of praise to the gods in a witch ritual.

    However, Ren Suo could miraculously understand the meaning of the unknown lyrics. The sounds seemed to activate thenguage center of his brain directly, just like ying the piano, where the meaning was conveyed directly into Ren Suo¡¯s brain through music.

    It was akin to him equipping the animals in the ¡°All-Devouring Soul¡± with variousnguage abilities through their evolutions. Ren Suo was finally able to experience what it was like to be able to understand what someone was saying even if he was not speaking in a humanly understandablenguage.

    ¡°The wind howls, the snow flurries, and the rain falls. These are natural phenomena and so are natural disasters. The resulting prosperity is based upon luck, while downfall is the result of destiny.¡±

    ¡°Life is impermanent. To live extraordinarily, affluence is based upon luck, while misfortune is the result of destiny.¡±

    ¡°Since a long time ago, the times of parting and separation outnumbers the times of unity, looking back, regrets are aplenty. Life is also not all smooth-sailing, and regrets are aplenty. All of these regrets slowly destroy our will.¡±

    ¡°Such are the sufferings of life.¡±

    ¡°In this endless light, how can this be my own soliloquy?¡±

    The Seeker and the girl shrouded in the ck mist were also part of the hat-passing party. As the ghost souls passed on the hat, they would don their own when they received theirs. When the Seeker was given her hat, she wanted to pass it on but the ghost soul beside her did not move.

    When the Seeker and all the ghost souls donned their own hats, the girl shrouded in the ck mist seemed to sigh in sadness.

    She said, ¡°All of you have donned your hats, but what about me? My hat is too heavy for me to wear¡­¡±

    At that instant, the wooden house fell apart, and the liberated ghost souls fled and vanished.

    The space in which the Seeker was in began to distort, and only the Seeker herself remained unchanged.

    In the end, everything turned into darkness, and only the Seeker¡¯s hat glowed weakly.

    As soon as the Seeker took off her hat, it immediately dissipated into air and turned into a light that expelled the darkness.

    To Ren Suo¡¯s horror, he saw on the screen that the Seeker was in a room with windows. However, the windows looked like one solid panel of ss and could not be moved.

    The room was almost empty, and cameras were installed at the four corners of the room, focusing on a table in the center of the room. There were four incandescentmps hidden in the ceiling just above the window. They filled the entire room with light.

    And in the center of the room was a ss safe with a ck hat in it.

    It was called a hat as it looked somewhat like it¡ªin fact, however, the hat was merely sculpted by a ck mist. If it were turned over, it would have passed off as a bowl.

    When the Seeker approached the hat, the ck mist floated upwards, even passing directly through the solid ss safe. The ck mist reformed the shape of a pure ck witch¡¯s hat outside the ss safe.

    When the Seeker took the hat and put it on, many people suddenly appeared outside the room. They stood on the other side of the window and remained still as they watched the Seeker; as there was a distance between them and the Seeker and it was also not clearly shown on the screen, Ren Suo could not make out their expressions clearly.

    At that moment, a booming sound echoed from the television. Ren Suo was so shocked that he dropped the game controller on the ground. The voice said, ¡°Hurry, put it down!¡ª¡±

    Then, the Seeker donned the hat.

    That was really not Ren Suo¡¯s fault¡­

    [The Seeker dons the Hat of Resentments.]

    [The Seeker is experiencing the resentment of Wan Changqing.]

    [The Seeker is experiencing the resentment of Yasui Doton.]

    [The Seeker is experiencing the resentment of Taiper.]

    [The Seeker is¡­]

    In an instant, a long chain of messages appeared on the screen. Ren Suo watched as his 55-inch 4K television screen was filled with information about the experiences of the Seeker, and the entire screen became a white sea of words.

    It was way more than Ren Suo could control.

    Just as Ren Suo thought that it would lead to an automated plot sequence, a distinct message appeared at the center of the screen:

    [Faced with the 9,645,287 resentments, the special ability of the game character ¡°Seeker¡± is activated: Heart of Heaven.]

    [Heart of Heaven: Those who rightly pledge their faith in cultivation will breed a pure state of the mind. Although life is still sustained with the physical body, their thinking is no longer affected by the hormones and chemicals of the body, bing perfectly selfless.]

    [With the Heart of Heaven, the Seeker experienced all 9,645,287 resentments.]

    [The resentments have no effect on the Seeker.]

    [With the will of the heavens, the Seeker calms and eliminates all 9,645,287 resentments.]

    [The Seeker sessfully transforms the Hat of Resentments.]

    Throughout the barrage of messages, Ren Suo had no way to control anything in the game, and could only watch the Seekerplete the game by herself.

    When the Seeker sessfully transformed the Hat of Resentments, the series of messages instantly ended. On the screen, the Seeker removed the hat on her head and found that it had turned into a pointed white hat. Details of the hat also appeared:

    [The Hat of Practice and Cultivation]

    [Grade: 4-star Prop. Pre-requisites: Presence of a mind and the ability to activate Reiki currents.]

    [Effect: Upon donning the hat, the user would be able to untie all knots in the heart and calm all troubles. The user would be freed from all qualms and troubles, and the ability of understanding would be temporarily increased by 300%.]

    [Remarks: In ancient times, wild gods once lived in the Yellow River. They were known for consuming sorrows and devouring hate. They were proficient in relieving disasters and resolving challenges and weremonly seen working in the rain donning their conical hats. Later on, they achieved a perfect understanding of the world, but vast numbers of their believers remained despite the end of their fights. Their believers continued to worship them by offering their resentments. With a perfect understanding of the world, they embraced all resentments and sought to trace its roots to eliminate them. But for those who were not gods who fought, they had no power to relieve disasters. Ultimately, those who bore resentment fell into a deep slumber and those who suffered lost their memories, leaving sorrow and resentment behind.

    Practitioners who wore the crown lost all conscious thought. Their bodies were turned into reflections of sorrow and resentment, and while they appeared holy in the eyes of the ordinary, they led them in to sleep in a world without sorrow. The world was a ce where resentment and sorrows naturally bred, and suffering in life was unavoidable. The only way to solve this problem was to embrace the impurity and be freed as a result.

    Today, the Seeker managed to dispel the resentments from ages ago, and the drive for cultivation bes a crucial force for leading countless years of devotion towards the right path. Grievances are washed away and hopes are raised. Finally, another generation of Reiki-filled objects is born.]

    Amazing! Can I take this away, I want this as my reward!

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up. That was a useful object cultivated by the Seeker, and it must be the reward earned by the Seeker¡ª

    But the next second, the hat passed through the Seeker¡¯s hand and fell to the ground like a falling leaf.

    At that juncture, the room seemed to be opened and many people came rushing in. However, Ren Suo could not remember what they said.

    He only saw the female Seeker began to fade away under a white glow of light, and eventually turned into a ball of light which then dissipatedpletely¡ª

    [Mission Completed.]

    [There is no mission score given. There is no mission score to upload.]

    [¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± can now continue to be yed.]

    Mmm? Would games not be yable when they were used in the bets?

    Ren Suo had not noticed such a setting earlier for he did not have so much free time to y the same game again.

    Even though it was reasonable for there to be no rewarded merit points and no mission score, there should at least be a specialized reward!

    [Based on the gamey, you have received the following specialized reward: The Hat of Cultivation and Practice. You may activate the reward in the savehouse inventory.]

    Then, the game automatically quit and Ren Suo was brought to the main page, and the next second, the game ¡°Passing Hats¡± appeared to disintegrate and disappear from the main screen. Ren Suo stared wide-eyed as he watched the game delete itself.

    The game mitted suicide¡± so quickly!

    However, the reward he received was not the ¡°Hat of Practice and Cultivation¡± but instead the ¡°Hat of Cultivation and Practice¡±¡­ Why were the two words reversed?

    Excited, Ren Suo quickly navigated to the ¡°Equipment¡± page to query the details, but his face immediately fell.

    In the ¡°Props¡± section of the ¡°Equipment¡± page, there was a new Prop, the ¡°Hat of Cultivation and Practice¡±, in addition to the ¡°Unlimited Fried Chicken Set¡± and ¡°Jade Pendant of the Goddess of the Luo River¡±.

    The problem was that the description of that item was not the same as what Ren Suo was familiar with!

    [Hat of Cultivation and Practice]

    [Grade: 2-star Prop. Prerequisites: Presence of a mind and a physical hat.¡±

    [Effect: When equipped, the yer would gain a 10% increase in the ability of understanding. The yer would acquire effects like ¡°enhanced confession¡±, ¡°enhanced apology¡±, ¡°enhancedfort¡±, and ¡°enhancedpliment¡±.]

    [Remarks: This hat was cultivated from the memories of the Seeker. After acquiring the abilities from other hats, this hat also received the powerful abilities of those memories, although the original effects of the abilities were reduced slightly.]

    What a scam! How could this be the result of ¡°the powerful abilities of those memories¡±!

    Were the acquired effects not just the abilities gained by the hats with a red glow which was only somewhat useful in the game ¡°Passing Hats¡±?

    Ren Suo had always been living a life without regrets and did not need those abilities to help him untie the knots in his mind!

    Moreover, the original ¡°+20% increase in the ability of understanding¡± was cut by half!

    The game was such a waste of time and energy!

    When Ren Suo calmed down, he muttered to himself as he thought about something else, ¡°Nheless, no mission scores are uploaded for this game, and it ends immediately uponpletion¡­¡±

    ¡°Somehow, I feel that it is not only me who is anxious toplete it, even the game feels very rushed for me to clear it.¡±

    ¡°The ce where the hat appeared is very modern, where could it be¡­¡±

    At that juncture, a message appeared on the top left corner of the main screen:

    ¡°You have received a message.¡±

 Chapter 146 - Red Aurora Seen in Tianjing City

    Chapter 146 ¨C Red Aurora Seen in Tianjing City

    In the Room of Soul Dispersal, a group of researchers of various ages from young to old crowded around Ren, who was sitting on the metal throne of Soul Dispersal. They reported their findings to him.

    ¡°Although we have only conducted preliminary tests, we found that after ¡®Number 236¡¯ changed, nothing abnormal would ur when other people came into direct contact with it, without any physical separation. All 20 members of the team who discovered ¡®Number 236¡¯ are awake, and there are no abnormalities apart from physical weakness and muscle stiffness due to prolonged inactivity.¡±

    ¡°In the emergency test, after the three volunteers put on ¡®Number 236¡¯ and slept for 10 minutes, their emotional state improved significantly, and their learning abilities also increased drastically.¡±

    ¡°The three volunteers mentioned that they met a girl whomunicated with them in their sleep, but the appearance of the girl each of them saw was different. There are still doubts about whether the girl was born as a result of ¡®Number 236¡¯.¡±

    ¡°The anxiety of those who underwent the test was quickly diminished when they were within ten meters of ¡®Number 236¡¯. Some of their learning abilities also improved.¡±

    ¡°All of these changes were caused by the ¡®strong female warrior¡¯ (the MC of A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters) who suddenly appeared in the storage room of Number 236 and put on Number 236.¡±

    The old researcher looked at Ren and asked, ¡°Ren, do you have any idea what the strong female warrior did to Number 236?¡±

    Ren looked at the pointed white hat on the screen and said, ¡°I mentioned previously that Number 236 contains too much negative energy. Such energy also contains another dimension like Reiki, and the hat is merely a projection of energy, which can be contacted but cannot be destroyed. Although I am only looking at it from outside and may not provide the best exnation for what happened, the strong female warrior must have relied on energy from a higher dimension to immerse herself in the negative energy. The match in the dimensionality of energies resulted in theplete transformation of the hat.¡±

    Although the same could not be said with regard to other areas, in terms of Reiki energy, none of the researchers had the qualifications to refute what Ren had said. Until there was another exnation, what Ren said would be deemed temporarily as the conclusion.

    One of the researchers asked, ¡°But why did she do this?¡±

    Ren remained silent for a moment and said, ¡°What do you think would happen to Number 236 if the strong female warrior did not appear?¡±

    The researcher replied, ¡°Based on the observations of Mr. Ren and the other investigating Practitioners, after Number 236 devoured the first 20 members of the team who first came into contact with it, it was able to capture the energy it needed to fully activate its negative energy and perfectly emit its power.¡±

    ¡°Although it is impossible to know the details, we can make deductions from the current state of things: Number 236 will make those who wear it fall into a deep slumber, and negatively affect the emotional state of those within ten meters of it. All of these changes arepletely detrimental to the human body.¡±

    Ren said, ¡°That would have been an extremely positive ending if that was merely the case. However, the energy of Number 236 is too huge. If its power was allowed to leak uncontrobly, its impact would inevitably berger in scale and would even surpass all obstacles in its way.¡±

    ¡°It is also very likely to tempt those who saw it to put it on, and thereby cause them to fall into an endless slumber. Or perhaps, it could cause the negative energy to implode within its wearer, thereby allowing the wearer¡¯s strength to multiply uncontrobly. As a result, Number 236 would garner even more negative energy.¡±

    ¡°In simple words, we are not able to contain Number 236. At best, it would simply be a dangerous object, but at worst, a series of disasters would ur,¡± Ren said emotionlessly.

    ¡°However, the emergence of the strong female lead helped us to solve this problem. In contrast, it is much less significant that Number 236 became a useful treasure.¡±

    Ren suddenly arched his waist and coughed twice. He waved his hand to signal that the rest need not worry and said, ¡°¡­ Now, let¡¯s disregard all of our previous views about the strong female warrior and focus only on this incident.¡±

    ¡°She managed to solve this challenging problem and saved 20 Practitioners of Xuan Nation, of which half of them were tier 2 Practitioners. Disregarding her connection with ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ and whatever motive his team holds, the strong female warrior has not done anything to harm the interests of Xuan Nation, ever since the beginning. And although she is likely to be a Revived Soul, she has also helped us on many asions.¡±

    ¡°I am not involved in the decision-making process, but based on her actions, I believe that she should belong to ¡®someone we should cooperate with¡¯. Of course, I can understand why she broke into our underground base, and for good reason, but such a move still should not be tolerated just because of that.¡±

    ¡°This is my opinion, the strong female warrior has made great aplishments. As for how she should be treated, it is up to the headquarters. After all, I¡¯m just, cough¡­ just a researcher,¡± Ren said.

    After the discussion of Number 236 ended, the researchers left the Room of Soul Dispersal.

    Two researchers who were familiar with each other walked to the toilet. They looked around to ensure that all the toilet stalls were empty, and chatted as they unfastened their belts. One of them said, ¡°Ren seems to favor the female MC.¡±

    The other researcher nodded and agreed, ¡°I also feel that he favors the female MC, and not only that, he seems to have a good impression of ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Although he is not involved in the decision-making process, with his identity, the higher-ups would definitely heed his advice. Nheless, that is the task of the front-like team, and we would not be involved.¡±

    ¡°But this is also human nature though. After all, ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ may be the only answer to the mystery of the Bloodline. Whether it is for his personal benefit or for the nation, he would want ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ to be on our side.¡±

    After the two researchers left, another person came in. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head, asking, ¡°Li Dan, what are you doing here? Why did you activate ¡®Concealment¡¯?¡±

    Li Dan, who was sitting on the lid of the toilet seat, replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just heard something interesting.¡±

    Liang De pulled down his pants to pee and came to a sudden realization. He said, ¡°Are you Practicing? I understand that ¡®Concealment¡¯ is a third-tier spell, but you can already use it even though you are only a tier two Practitioner. Although it is not perfect yet and you should practice more, only tier two Practitioners who are at least as powerful as I will notice you¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I will not tell the others that you like to Practice in the toilet.¡±

    Liang De pulled up his pants and walked over to Li Dan after washing his hands. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s perfectly normal to have your own hobbies¡ª¡±

    p!

    The loud p of two hands pping each other resonated through the toilet. Li Dan looked up at Liang De and his ice-cold stare met Liang De¡¯s squinted eyes. Li Dan¡¯s hand was raised above his head, keeping another hand away from him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch my shoulder with your dripping wet hands. Not even if it is dry,¡± Li Dan chided.

    At that moment, Li Dan¡¯s eyebrows jumped momentarily, and at the same time, Ren, who was sitting in the metal seat of Dispersing Souls, coughed once. Amongst the two of them, one was a Practitioner who possessed an intriguing Understanding-type Awakened Ability, while the other was the strongest Practitioner who was just a step away from being one with the heavens.

    At the same moment, they found that in the flow of Reiki in the world, there seemed to be something amiss.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s not a serious injury, it would have been sufficient to go to the school hospital¡­¡± a helpless Ren Suomented to Gu Yueyan.

    In the Practice area of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, Ren Suo was treating a slightly chubby year 2 senior high student.

    ¡°As an emergency doctor, you should do your best to treat the students,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she crossed her arms. She said, ¡°I was still wondering how you were so free to eat with Teacher Dong every day. It turns out that you have not been going to work in the school hospital and is a cker! How could you do that in the Practitioner Institution established by the nation!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by I do not work? Who do you think treated Xianyu¡¯s hands?¡± Ren Suo defended.

    ¡°Then what are youining about? Shouldn¡¯t you treat an injured student? How could you be so unprofessional, are you worthy of your sry?!¡± Gu Yueyan chided.

    Ren Suo felt a surge of anger as he turned his head and red at Gu Yueyan. He shouted loudly, ¡°Sorry, I was wrong!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Gu Yueyan uttered. She was so frightened that she stopped in her tracks and even took a step back as she was about to walk away toin about Ren Suo to her teacher. It seemed to be her first time hearing an adult apologizing so loudly. All of the other students in the Practice area had looked over, and Gu Yueyan quickly said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s great that you know you made a mistake¡­ After you have treated this big guy, he should leave too.¡±

    The chubby student who was being treated by Ren Suo remained silent as he thought, ¡°ss President, I don¡¯t even know who I owe it to that you talked back to Teacher Ren so indignantly.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going? The lesson is almost over, and it¡¯s time to find her for supper,¡± Ren Suo said.

    After he had treated the chubby student, Ren Suo left the Practice ground.

    Ren Suo looked up at the night sky and only the moon could be seen amidst the light pollution. He pressed down on the cap that he was wearing and felt slightly frustrated.

    Even though the effect was only ¡°+10% Ability of Understanding¡±, Ren Suo was still willing to make use of the Prop ¡°Cap of Cultivation and Practice¡±. The prop had to be attached to a physical hat to take effect and coincidentally, Ren Suo had been wearing a cap thest few days, so he naturally equipped the Prop directly.

    However, all of the functions of this hat were passive, which meant that when Ren Suo felt that he should ¡°apologize¡±, fort¡±, or ¡°be thankful¡±, the effects would be automatically and passively activated.

    Notwithstanding the fact that his conversation ability increased, more importantly was that if Ren Suo was not careful, he would naturally speak about stark truths which he did not wish to divulge and were extremely embarrassing.

    ¡°Sigh¡­¡±

    ¡°Why are you sighing?¡±

    ¡°Because it will be difficult to continue acting like a refined scum in the future¡­ Eh?¡±

    Upon realizing that he was talking to the scornful Gu Yueyan, Ren Suo nced at her but did not continue to care as he leaned against the wall and continued to y games on his mobile phone.

    Gu Yueyan was horrified and said, ¡°You really harbored bad intentions towards Teacher!¡±

    Ren Suo rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Tch, snitch on me to her if you dare.¡±

    Gu Yueyan was angry but could not say anything as she was just a student. Nheless, actions spoke louder than words and she also stood at the entrance, waiting for Dong Chengling toe out. She seemed to be intending to eat supper with them while keeping an eye on Ren Suo, a former ¡°refined scum¡±.

    But she seemed a little afraid of Ren Suo and stopped Lin Xianyu when she passed by. Lin Xianyu had intended to head back to her room to take a bath but under the enticement of ¡°it¡¯s my treat¡±, she obediently agreed to eat supper together with them and was eager to get a free meal.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you two afraid of getting fat from eating supper?¡± Ren Suo asked with augh.

    ¡°We will Practice when we go back, and the energy would be used up very quickly anyway! Eating supper is just right!¡± Gu Yueyan answered immediately.

    Lin Xianyu blinked and said. ¡°We?¡±

    Gu Yueyan taunted Ren Suo, saying, ¡°Actually, it should be you who should be worried. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is fine, but why do you need to eat supper every day? Do you wish to be a middle-aged man with a beer belly who has already turned bald so badly? Well, you don¡¯t look like someone who would Practice when you return home, so it would be better for you if you break this bad habit early.¡±

    Gu Yueyan waited for a counterattack from the ¡°cker¡±. She couldunch a personal attack on the teacher, but he could not make a personal attack on the student. Gu Yueyan had missed the opportunity previously to record down Ren Suo saying that he was a ¡°refined scum¡±, but she had now turned on the recording function on her mobile phone, waiting to record down any evidence she could use against that scoundrel ¡°cker¡±.

    However, the cker merely stared at his mobile phone and did not say a word.

    Gu Yueyan thought, So this guy still feels shame¡­ or maybe he is thinking about a counterargument? I heard that many scums are not able to think of a rebuttal fast enough as their brain is too slow, how embarrassing.

    As Gu Yueyan was immersed in her thoughts, Ren Suo said, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t eat supper after a few more days,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Eh? Gu Yueyan looked at Ren Suo. She had not expected such a reply and thought, Why was he so straightforward today? Did he finally realize that he is unworthy of staying here with his empty heart?

    Ren Suo nced at the news of ¡°Red Aurora Seen In Tianjing City¡± on his mobile phone, then turned to look at Dong Chengling, who walked out of the Practice ground at that time.

    He said cooly and confidently, ¡°I will pay for your supper for the next few days!¡±

    ¡°You really are plotting something!¡± said Gu Yueyan, gritting her teeth.

    ¡°Does the listener get a share?¡± an ted Lin Xianyu asked, who was standing at the side.

 Chapter 147 - Level 3 Player, Side Mission

    Chapter 147: Chapter 147 ¨C Level 3 yer, Side Mission

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    When Ren Suo returned home, he turned on hisputer to search the Inte, and indeed, there was a citizen who captured the scene when the night sky of Tianjing City was illuminated by the red aurora.

    Although the video clip was only a short ten seconds, Tianjing City was both the capital of Xuan Nation and a popr tourist destination, so it was perfectly normal for someone to have captured the scene on his mobile phone at night.

    However, the nation had yet to ban those videos, and it was likely because the scene seemed to be a special astrological phenomenon and hence there was no need to censor them.

    Ren Suo logged in to the intr but did note across any posts discussing the red lotus aurora. Instead, he did find astrology enthusiasts discussing on inte forums about the extraordinary event which had only taken ce some 10 minutes ago.

    In a few more days, these people¡¯s perceptions will changepletely.

    Nheless, since the red lotus aurora had appeared, Ren Suo felt that it was also time for him to make a decision.

    ¡°Mini Worlds of Endless Fun Await!¡±

    Turning on the game console, Ren Suo selected the ¡°Information¡± message on the upper left corner of the screen, and clicked on the very top of the list to turn the message gray¡ªit was now a ¡°Read Message¡±.

    [Congrattions, you have been promoted to a Level 3 yer!]

    [+1 Backup Equipment Slot!]

    [You can choose one of the following yer privileges as your reward.]

    [¢Ù Weak yer: Receive an additional Equipment slot.]

    [¢Ú Intense Gambler: Exchange a game for a new one that is 1 difficulty level lower (the exchanged game must not be a free game) (the difficulty of the new game will be at least 1-star, up to a maximum of 3-stars).]

    [¢Û Novice yer: +5% merit points received each time you are awarded merit points (but not less than 1 merit point).]

    [¢Ü Enhance existing yer privilege.]

    Although there were no merit points awarded frompleting ¡°Passing Hats¡± and the specialized reward given was not great, yer experience points were still awarded, nicely promoting Ren Suo to a level 3 yer!

    Nheless, after Ren Suo opened the level up message, he still could not make a decision after deliberating for a day.

    ¡°Weak yer¡± was the most straightforward, but also appeared to be of the lowest value.

    That was because it was easy for Ren Suo to switch the presently equipped abilities of both himself and the game characters at any time, so there was no absolute need for more ability slots.

    If not for the fact that Ren Suo asionally required a second ability, he thought that it was already sufficient to only have one ability slot and one prop slot. There would be no problem even if there were no backup slots.

    However, given that an option like ¡°Weak yer¡± appeared in a more ¡°important¡± yer level promotion, Ren Suo doubted himself: it was either that this yer privilege is actually of lower value and it is merely a setup by the game, or otherwise there are actually more powerful uses of ability slots which requires more ability slots to take effect.

    A case in point would be an ability that upied two ability slots. Ren Suo hade across too many of such settings inputer games wherebyrger items upied more equipment slots to increase the power of the yer¡¯s ¡°bag¡±¡ªa ¡°Gigantic Zweihander¡± would upy more space than a ¡°Ring¡±.

    But in any case, Ren Suo definitely would not choose ¡°Weak yer¡±, for he could think of how to get more ability slots only when he needed to in the future.

    ¡°Novice yer¡± was also easily out of his consideration. But ¡°Intense Gambler¡± was what made Ren Suo undecided.

    With that yer privilege, Ren Suo would be able to trade-in his old games for new ones. Although the new game would be one level of difficulty lower and the merit points, as well as rewards he received would be reduced, Ren Suo thought that since he had alreadypleted the old games, what use was there to keep them? Was he going to wait until Tomb Sweeping Day to burn the game for his ancestors?

    If it were before the ¡°Lesser Abundance of Grain Promotion Event¡±, Ren Suo would definitely have chosen that privilege without any hesitation.

    But things were different now.

    Ren Suo had begun to realize the value of the characters from the games hepleted.

    Even the Seeker, who was the weakest character he had, brought about two main advantages in the game ¡°Passing Hats¡±: firstly, she could see which hats had been worn by the girl shrouded in the ck mist (those which glowed in red).

    Secondly, she could transform thest hat, which was the Hat of Resentments, the boss of ¡°Passing Hats¡±, on her own without Ren Suo¡¯s intervention.

    If it were an ordinaryputer game, Ren Suo might have thought that it was a hopeless boss battle.

    But he was ying on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. Ren Suo could never be sure if it was merely a default setting of the game that the Hat of Resentments was transformed by the Seeker, who had attained a perfect understanding of the world and was guided by the will of the heavens, or it was just that Ren Suo was lucky and selected the right character for the game?

    Pitted against 9 million Resentments, Ren Suo felt that apart from the All-Devouring Soul and the strongest Ren family of Practitioners, there was no way for the other game characters to ovee the Resentments.

    However, the Seeker, whosebat ability was not strong, had an extraordinarily high level of cultivation and understanding, which suitably allowed her to win the game without much intervention from Ren Suo.

    In terms ofbat power, the Seeker could only be regarded as an ordinary person who had somewhat powerful skills and did not tire out, but in terms of her will, she was halfway to bing a saint. Her intentions were one with the heavens, and simrly, her will was one with the heavens.

    After he saw the Seeker convert thest trial of the hat on her own, Ren Suo could not help but think¡ª

    If the Seeker could Practice¡­

    Ren Suo knew that this was mostly just wishful thinking, just like when he was still an 18-year-old boy who watched anime and imagined that his 25-year-old self had a beautiful virtual girlfriend.

    However, the Mini Worlds Gaming Console was merely a dim light in the darkness. Although it was not shining very brightly, it was sufficient for Ren Suo to continue to be filled with hope as he waited.

    In that situation, he would be sacrificing a character from one of the games he hadpleted just to exchange for a new game, a smaller amount of merit points and a new, unknown game character. After deliberating for half a day, Ren Suo finally decided that it was not worth it.

    On the other hand, although Ren Suo was a pragmatist, the games which hepleted were nheless still a mark of his achievements and so he should keep those games if he could¡­ For example, Ren Suo would definitely keep the game ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± which hepleted only after a grueling process and was also an extraordinarily impactful game.

    The reason why Ren Suo chose to be a civil servant, toe to the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, and to be an ¡°unuseful¡± researcher, was because he preferred to achieve stable sess in a grounded environment, like the steady turtle who won the race.

    It was not that he did not dare to take risks, but in the present state of things, he still did not know the full value of the characters in thepleted games.

    It was none the wiser to choose the most certain option when profit and loss were involved.

    [Your existing yer privilege has been enhanced.]

    [A Little Goes A Long Way: When making any purchases in the Mini Worlds using merit points, there is a 60% chance of -1 merit point required for the purchase.]

    The chance of spending one less merit point in each purchase increased by 10%, and the restriction of a minimum purchase of 1 merit point was removed!

    The overall effect was greatly enhanced!

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief. He had not wasted his timepleting the semi-finished game ¡°Passing Hats¡±, as he was promoted to a level 3 yer and his yer privilege was enhanced!

    Nheless, Ren Suo did not have anything else to do. There were still a few more days to June, and there were also no promotion events ongoing. The Awakening of Dong Chengling was also still a few days away¡­

    ¡°Mmm?¡±

    Ren Suo thought of something and returned to the main screen. He selected the game ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±.

    He could enter the game!

    After he hadpleted the game previously, it was upgraded to a level 3 game, and it required him to be a level 3 yer before he could enter the game toplete the new mission. What a pain in the ass!

    It was not even a 4-star game, and even 4-star games directly restricted ess to only level 4 yers and above.

    How could there be such a restriction on level 3 yers only?

    Ren Suo quickly skipped through the opening introduction and found that, on the main menu, in addition to [Begin Training] and [Continue Training], there was another option ¡ª

    [Repaying Kindness].

    ¡°Would there be merit points awarded for passing the minigame?¡± Ren Suo said to himself as he clicked the option eagerly.

    After scrutinizing the rules of the minigame for a good minute, he realized that there were no merit points awarded.

    But Ren Suo¡¯s eyes gradually lit up.

    Ren Suo looked at the time, great, it was 23:48. It was still early and immediately called home. He said, ¡°Hello, it¡¯s me!¡±

    ¡°You scammer, shouldn¡¯t you be more professional? It¡¯s almost 12 midnight!¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother yelled.

    Ren Suo: w (©b§¥©b) w

    He then called again. He said, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s me, Ren Suo!¡±

    His mother said, ¡°Son, someone called just now and tried to scam me, saying ¡°it¡¯s me, it¡¯s me¡±, how outdated! Does he not know the world he lives in, I was already asleep when he called, how inconsiderate!¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°¡­Yeah, that¡¯s really inconsiderate. But Mom, you should look at the caller ID before picking up a call in the future. If it¡¯s an unknown number, you should just hang up.¡±

    His mother said, ¡°The room is dark, and it will hurt the eyes to look at the mobile phone. You see, your dad has to wear his sses all day long, how ugly.¡±

    Ren Suo could hear father snort intentionally loudly through the phone. He did not want to beat around the bush and asked directly, ¡°Mom, Dad, would you and sister be at home these few days?¡±

    They replied, ¡°Yeah, we will all be at home. The school has rxed its restrictions nearing the college entrance examinations and your sisteres home to eat and sleep every day¡­ Why do you ask?¡±

    His mother suddenly lowered her voice as if suddenly recalling something and said, ¡°You¡­ you can¡¯t be intending to bring your girlfriend home with our grandchild, are you?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be going back home for the time being due to work,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo was toozy to continue arguing and said, ¡°Just remember not to eat out these few days, make sure everyone is home for dinner! Bye!¡±

    Upon seeing Ren Suo¡¯s mother put down her mobile phone, Ren Suo¡¯s father asked, ¡°What happened to our son? Does he need money?¡±

    After thinking for a moment, Ren Suo¡¯s mother said in a serious tone, ¡°¡­ Who knows, a girl carrying our grandchild would visit us during dinner these few days. Is it time to clean our son¡¯s room? We can¡¯t possibly let someone live in a room that has not been cleaned in three months, can we?¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s father was also shocked.

    He said, ¡°Thest time our son came home was three months ago! I thought you would still clean his room asionally!¡±

 Chapter 148 - Lucky Winner

    Chapter 148: Chapter 148 ¨C Lucky Winner

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Do we still need to undergo observation?¡±

    The twenty Practitioners who were brought back from death¡¯s door were deemed to be perfectly healthy after two days of examinations and tests.

    They were called to gather, and they thought that they would either have to undergo further observation or return to their original units. However, the order they received was to temporarily remain on standby.

    Gu Yuexuan, the team leader, sat down on the couch in the lounge and stretched his neck which had not been fully recovered. He said, ¡°Great, so we are temporarily under the jurisdiction of Restricted Zone 7 of Tianjing and are directly under the Reiki Research Institute of Tianjing. However, we have not received a mission yet, so¡­ let¡¯s enjoy a holiday here. Although we cannot ess the inte from inside here, all of the entertainment devices that we are used to having are provided here.¡±

    Cheng Xiao scratched his t-top head and asked, ¡°Why do we have to remain here? Are they still concerned about us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that they are still concerned,¡± Gu Yuexuan said. He continued, ¡°Even the Ren Throne said that we are fine, so it must be so. It¡¯s just that¡­¡±

    ¡°Ren Throne?¡± asked Li Dan, slightly stunned.

    ¡°Ren sits on the throne, isn¡¯t the description just great?¡± Gu Yuexuan said, ¡°Oh right, regarding ¡®Ren¡¯, you all know that it is top secret and you should take any information regarding him to your graves.¡±

    ¡°Either way, it seems to be a direct order from Ren Throne. He said that a team who is proficient in search capabilities should stay in Tianjing City. Since we are already here, the Countermeasure Headquarters decided that we should remain,¡± Gu Yuexuan exined.

    With an unlit cigarette in his mouth, Li Xuefu asked, ¡°Do we need to help search for something? As long as it is not the Earth Spirit that we are searching for, I am willing to search even in the mountains or in the sea.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that either,¡± Gu Yuexuan said. He sped his hands together and continued, ¡°There does not seem to be a particr reason and they did not assign any mission to us too. It just seems like¡­ such an idea came up and they chose to go along with it? Anyway, during this period when you are on standby, you just need to ensure that you can gather back here within 1 minute. Other than that, whatever you want to do is up to you.¡±

    Li Dan, with his dark eye circle and who had remained silent, suddenly looked up at the ceiling.

    Here it is again, the strange flow of Reiki energy¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Gu Yueyan, I shall give the opportunity to have dinner with Dong Chengling to you,¡± Ren Suo said as he took his tes and stood up. He added, ¡°In return, shouldn¡¯t you treat me to supper?¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s not impossible¡­ Wait, aren¡¯t you a staff member, why do you need a student to treat you?¡± Gu Yueyan questioned. She red at Ren Suo and said, ¡°Haha, are you finally running out of money? If that is so, I am willing to treat you to a meal.¡±

    Gu Yueyanunched a mockery attack.

    ¡°Thank you in advance, I¡¯m not eating dinner then. I will wait for your treat tonight, I¡¯ll have stir-fried skewers with crayfish, snails, and ms.

    Ren Suo used ¡°Thick-skin¡± and was immune to the mockery attack. It even resulted in counter injury.

    Gu Yueyan: 1, Ren Suo: 2.

    Gu Yueyan stared at the former ¡°refined scum¡±, but as he was leaving, Ren Suo took a nce at Dong Chengling and whispered when he passed Gu Yueyan, ¡°Cherish your final chance.¡±

    Hmm?

    Gu Yueyan watched as Ren Suo disappeared from sight. What did he mean by that?

    She thought, ¡®Cherish my final chance¡­ Whose final chance? Teacher and I?¡¯

    ¡®He wants to kill me!¡¯ Gu Yueyan¡¯s gaze turned cold.

    ¡®No, that can¡¯t be, although he does not look like a good guy, the hatred between us is not so great that he would want to kill me¡­¡¯

    ¡®He wants to kill Teacher Dong!¡¯ Gu Yueyan¡¯s gaze turned cold.

    ¡®No, that can¡¯t be, he would not be able to beat Teacher Dong inbat¡­¡¯

    ¡®He wants to confess to Teacher Dong and spend intimate time with her, so he wants to eliminate me!¡¯ Gu Yueyan¡¯s gaze turned cold.

    After Dong Chengling finished her meal and returned her tes, she saw Gu Yueyan sitting at the side in a daze. She asked, ¡°Have you finished your meal? Let¡¯s go back to take an afternoon nap.¡±

    Gu Yueyan looked earnestly at Dong Chengling and said, ¡°Teacher Dong, regardless of what that guy with the surname Ren does, be it begging or acting pitiful, you must be firm in your principles and continue moving forward! Do not be deluded by your hormones!¡±

    Dong Chenglingughed and said, ¡°Both of you are such great friends.¡±

    But she sighed the next moment, saying, ¡°I have been troubling both of you a lot these few days. I will remember this friendship dearly in my heart.¡±

    Gu Yueyan quickly replied, ¡°Teacher Dong, this is nothing much¡­¡±

    ¡°It may not seem significant to you, but to me, it is timely help. Although I am prepared to rely on free meals for survival, delicious meals will indeed increase my satisfaction in life as well as improve my ability to concentrate, and I will then be better able to Practice.¡±

    ¡°And that is also why I did not turn down the offer. As long as it can make my Practice journey easier, and it is a proper path to take, I will not resist change. Instead, I will choose to repay your kindness sometime in the future, but Gu Yueyan, if you require any help next time, feel free to ask me.¡±

    Dong Chengling blinked and touched Gu Yueyan¡¯s head. She continued, ¡°Moreover, you are so close to me now, it feels like I have another younger sister¡­ If you encounter any difficulties in the future on your Practice journey, I will always wee you with open arms. Although I am still not very proficient now and am also not good atmunicating, it can still be beneficial when two people converse with each other.¡±

    Gu Yueyan blushed as Dong Chengling touched her head. She said, ¡°That, that would be great if I have an older sister like Teacher. May I call you Sister in private?¡±

    ¡°Then should I call you Xiaoyan? Xiaoyan,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    ¡°Sure! Sister Ling!¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°In a few more days, the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation will be activated, I need to settle this matter quickly¡­¡±

    The moment Ren Suo returned home, he turned on the game console and went into the minigame [Repaying Kindness] in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, to pick a suitable candidate from a long list of names.

    It was a minigame which did not reward him with any merit points. There was only one purpose of the game¡ªto increase the number of believers of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow!

    [Repaying Kindness: When the strongest priest sessfully cultivated the ¡°Heart of Light¡±, the ¡°Will of Fire¡±, the ¡°Shield of the Wind and Snow¡±, as well as the ¡°Benevolence of the Gods¡±, in the Heavenly Kingdom, he was granted permission to descend to the ordinary world, to grant the benevolence of the gods to people and spread the faith.]

    [Mission Brief: The three deities have sent the priest, Zhao Zili, to the ordinary world. She is required to receive at least one true believer of the three gods, as well as 1000 micro-beliefs.]

    [Mission Requirements: Zhao Zili can only remain in the mortal world for at most 30 minutes. Otherwise, there will be unpredictable consequences.]

    [Mission Reward: Increase in Priest points and Priest level, which can further unlock the Treasure of Immense Holy Light for Zhao Zili.]

    [Remarks: Recovery is the only ability to be used; there is no mission score for the mini-game, and there is no uploading of mission score; the game time is in real-time.]

    The mini-game was actually very simple. Ren Suo would have to control Zhao Zili to treat ordinary people in the name of the three gods, and there must be at least one true believer who was willing to continue to provide Belief to the three gods, as well as 1,000 Micro-beliefs that arise temporarily.

    Ren Suo thought that the Micro-beliefs were easier to achieve. It felt simr to ¡°the wealthy ones would pay for the meal while the rest pped in joy¡±. As long as people longed and crazed for the ¡°miracle cure¡± from Zhao Zili which treated all illnesses and diseases, some Micro-beliefs would be generated.

    It was finding a true believer that was more troublesome. How would Ren Suo know who would be a true believer of the three gods based on their gratitude towards Zhao Zili?

    Nheless, Ren Suo was not concerned about the task.

    But it was only then that he understood why ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± had added an event after he uploaded the ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± video¡ª

    ¡°Comment in thements section the trainee number whom you think will pass the third round of the training (the trainee number can be found on the top right corner of each segment). ¡®Naisser_Ren¡¯ will pick a lucky winner from those who guessed the trainee number correctly, and the lucky winner may receive a Recovery Set (contents to be confirmed, timing to be confirmed). Each person is only entitled to one vote, and the voting will close 24 hours after the upload time of this video.¡±

    And presently, in front of Ren Suo was a list of names of lucky people who correctly picked ¡°Zhao Zili¡± to be the winner when the video ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± was uploaded.

    However, Ren Suo wondered if the people on the list were rted to those who were eliminated by Zhao Zili in the first two stages of the training¡ªonly those people would have confidence that Zhao Zili would emerge as the champion.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter. There will only be one lucky winner, although¡­ I don¡¯t want to treat only one person.¡±

 Chapter 149 - Family

    <strong>Chapter 149: Chapter 149 ¨C Family</strong>

    With the list of names, what Ren Suo had to do was to find a lucky winner who would ¡°easily cultivate faith¡± and also lived in Baiyun City.

    In addition to the name, gender, and physical condition, there was also an extremely important indicator on the list: the degree of belief.

    The degree of belief represented how easy the person would ept new beliefs, whether the person¡¯s beliefs wereplex, and whether the beliefs were strong. They were not distinguished by numerical values but categorized by colors.

    In fact, therge majority of people had their personal beliefs; atheism was also a belief, and so was scientific theology. Strong faith in a particr school of thought was the source of various beliefs.

    Blue color represented unsteady orplex beliefs, which generally referred to pragmatists who both believed easily and turned their backs equally quickly. That made up the majority of people and they would also burn incense to worship the deities asionally. Whether or not they believed was based purely on their personal interests at different points in time.

    Red represented a true and unified belief. It was moremon among theists and members of political parties in various countries who were concerned with building a better society.

    Yellow represented that between blue and red. There was a stronger belief but did not firmly deny other beliefs. Most of such people were full of hope and passion in life. Their beliefs were often the emotional, spiritual pirs of aspirations, love, and affection. They might not be extremely affluent but had sufficient to be happy.

    Orange was the most special. It represented a special state which signified that the person¡¯s psychological state was unstable. It might be due to a broken heart, due to disease, or due to impermanence in life. Such people might also be suffering from mental illnesses like depression, which also resulted in confusion in their beliefs.

    Ren Suo suspected that ¡°Naisser_Ren¡± deliberately made use of a lucky draw as the global poption was too huge so that he could narrow down his targets and make urate calctions for their individual degree of belief.

    However, red did not necessarily mean that they should not be chosen while blue was the easiest target toplete the mission in Repaying Kindness.

    ording to the introduction about the degree of belief, the blue-coded pragmatists often sided with whatever was more practical. Such people might not be willing to establish a belief whole-heartedly even when they stood to gain. On the other hand, if Ren Suo managed to find a way to counter the prior beliefs of those who were color-coded red, he could persuade them to convert to a new belief more easily.

    It was those who were color-coded yellow who were the hardest to persuade. Such people did not have an ultimate goal and easily felt happy in life. Their beliefs were the hardest to uproot and least likely to waver.

    On the other hand, those with an orange-coded degree of belief were the most likely ones to produce belief, as their mental state was unstable and they encountered difficulties in life. They urgently require psychological support which would support them and encourage them to continue to work hard.

    To put it nicely, that would be providing help in times of need; but to put it bluntly, it was actually taking advantage of them.

    Although the mini-game did not exin what would happen if he failed the mission, and neither did Ren Suo think about failure at present, it would be beneficial to cure a person of all physical and psychological illnesses whilepleting the mission.

    As such, Ren Suo first filtered out all the non-Chinese names and focused on those who had an orange-coded degree of belief. He clicked on them one by one to view their location.

    But there were so many people who chose the ck horse Zhao Zili. Despite setting that many filters, the list was still a few pages long.

    Moreover, there was no address stated in the name list, but a globe would appear on the screen when Ren Suo queried their individual details. The person¡¯s coordinates would be disyed on the globe, but it took a few minutes to do so. Eventually, Ren Suo still did not manage to find any suitable target after a few hours of selecting names.

    Ren Zuo initially thought that he would have to spend another afternoon looking through the long list of names, but a few minutester, he found a suitable candidate¡ª

    Ning Hai from Baiyun City.

    Ren Suo hesitated slightly as he thought, ¡®The name¡­ sounds somewhat familiar?¡¯

    But he did not mull over the seemingly familiar name. He zoomed in on the globe and found that not only was Ning Hai situated in Baiyun City, he also lived in Longkou District!

    You are the chosen one!

    The reason why Ren Suo had to choose a target was because he needed the coordinates of that target to set a location where Zhao Zili would descend. And naturally, that target would be Zhao Zili¡¯s first recovery target.

    As a matter of fact, Ren Suo did not care whether the target would eventually be a true believer.

    If he seeded, Ren Suo would take it as that the medical fees for curing the target had been paid for; and if he failed, Ren Suo would pay the fees for the target. At most, he would just lose the character ¡°Zhao Zili¡±.

    What was more crucial was that the person lived in Baiyun City!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    In the evening, Ning Hai was on the way home after buying vegetables from the market. When he reached the intersection, he identally bumped his shoulder into an auntie who was passing by. The auntie was not injured, but Ning Hai lost his grip of the bag in his hands and the apples inside rolled out.

    ¡°Oh no, sorry,¡± the auntie said as she quickly squatted down to pick up the apples with Ning Hai. Ning Hai was not angry and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, the intersection is narrow, it¡¯s easy to¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you Xiaohai?¡± the auntie asked suddenly.

    Ning Hai raised his head and a subtle smile emerged from the corners of his lips. He said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Auntie Ren¡­ It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Auntie Ren reced the apples in Ning Hai¡¯s bag and said, ¡°Thest time we met, it must be¡­ after the college entrance examinations when I apanied my son to school for the goal-setting advice meeting? Ah, I still remember that you were cited as a positive example by the level prefect, unlike my useless son who could only enter Lianjiang University.¡±

    ¡°That was a long time ago¡­ I haven¡¯t contacted them for a long time too. I¡¯m actually slightly surprised that you still remember me,¡± Ning Hai replied.

    ¡°Does that mean that you don¡¯t remember me anymore?¡± Auntie Ren questioned.

    Ning Hai said, ¡°Ah, no. I don¡¯t think it will be difficult for me to forget about you. After all, you and Ren Suo quarreled openly during the meeting.¡±

    ¡°It was all because he started ying games on his mobile phone during the meeting¡­¡± Auntie Ren was slightly embarrassed and quickly changed the topic, asking, ¡°You must have graduated too? Are you back to further your studies?¡±

    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s because of certain reasons,¡± Ning Hai said.

    Ning Hai put two apples into Auntie Ren¡¯s bag and walked away. Aunt Ren quickly said, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a nice child¡­ Come over to our house to eat when you are free, you can teach my daughter how to fill in her goals and aspirations at the same time.¡±

    Ning Hai answered loudly, ¡°She will definitely do well in the college entrance examination and be able to enroll in a good university and study a useful major.¡±

    When Ning Hai reached home and opened the door, he heard a muffled sound from the room. He did not pay much attention to it and said loudly, ¡°I¡¯m home! We will have curry chicken with potatoes for dinner tonight! I will leave the apples in the refrigerator and you can eat them after dinner.¡±

    Ning Hai washed the vegetables, peeled the potatoes, lit the fire, ced the pan on the stove, cooked the rice, and very soon, a table of dishes was served. The food was not glistening nor was there a strong pleasant scent emerging from the food. It was merely an ordinary, home-cooked meal.

    Ning Hai wiped her hands clean and knocked on the bedroom door. He said, ¡°Xiao, are you there? I¡¯ming in.¡±

    Ning Hai opened the door to see the nket on the bed on the floor. The wheelchair had flipped over, and his sister, Ning Xiaoxiao, was lying on the ground, hiding her face under her long hair and not saying a word.

    Ning Hai did not say anything either, but proceeded to set the wheelchair upright, and lifted his sister up and onto the wheelchair. He parted her messy hair, and conveniently clipped her hair with the hairpin on the table. He said, ¡°You will look ugly if your hair is messy. Let¡¯s eat now.¡±

    He pushed Ning Xiaoxiao to the dinner table, then filled a bowl of rice for her. He ced a piece of potato in her bowl and said, ¡°The potatoes are going to be delicious, this is my most confident dish.¡±

    Ning Xiaoxiao silently held up her bowl to eat. As they were eating, two streams of tears fell from her eyes, down her cheeks, and into the bowl. She cried, ¡°Brother, aren¡¯t I a burden to you?¡±

    ¡°There is no such thing as a burden between family members,¡± Ning Hai said.

    ¡°But if it weren¡¯t for me, you would be climbing the ranks in Tianjing now, and not a freence worker back here in a third-tier city like Baiyun City. You are a Tianjing University graduate!¡± Ning Xiaoxiao said.

    ¡°But before all of that, I am your brother,¡± Ning Hai answered.

    Ning Xiaoxiao continued, ¡°You must be regretting it, no? You must regret having toe back to take care of me, a disabled person! You said before that you were well-liked by your boss during your internship, and were offered a position even before your fourth year in university, you said¡ª¡±

    ¡°Did you not take your anti-depressants today?¡± Ning Hai asked as he put down his bowl. ¡°I¡¯ll¡ª¡±

    Ning Xiaoxiao grabbed Ninghai and asked with tears streaming all over her face, ¡°I did! I ate them! Let me ask you this, if you have to take care of me like this forever, will you regret it?!¡±

    Ning Hai looked at her sister and sighed softly.

    Ning Xiaoxiao¡¯s hands were shaking as she continued, ¡°See, you regret it! You must regret it! You hesitated! You wavered!¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed, I hesitated,¡± Ning Hai said as he squatted down and wiped the tears on Ning Xiaoxiao¡¯s face with her fingers. He brushed the long hair behind her ears and continued, ¡°And indeed, I wavered. Sigh, I told you that you would look ugly if you mess your hair up.¡±

    ¡°You regretted!¡± Ning Xiaoxiao eximed.

    ¡°I did not regret,¡± Ning Hai said as he held onto Ning Xiaoxiao¡¯s face and touched her forehead with his. Their eyes were centimeters apart as he looked at her intently, and he seemed to know what she was thinking. He said, ¡°Xiao, look at me.¡±

    ¡°I wavered, but that¡¯s precisely because I am willing to do so, and because I love you. A vow can be made very easily within the moment, and no one would have thought about betrayal when making a promise to the family.¡±

    ¡°But for a promise that you are willing to uphold throughout your lifetime, only then would you think through it carefully, and only then would there be hesitation. Only those that once wavered would be a firm belief.¡±

    Ning Hai watched as her sister finally calmed down. He picked up her bowl and said, ¡°You must be tired, let me take some food for you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Just less than half a bowl would do.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    But when Ning Hai turned around with the bowl in his hand, he saw a human figure being made of light converging together, in front of him. A holy, righteous voice boomed as if piercing through clouds of grey¡ª

    ¡°In the name of the great existence of divine love¡ª¡±

 Chapter 150 - The Gift is the Gatling Gun!

    <strong>Chapter 150: Chapter 150 ¨C The Gift is the Gatling Gun!</strong>

    ¡°In the name of the great existence of divine grace, in the name of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain and Snow, you are bestowed with the benevolence of the gods and care from the heavens!¡±

    Ren Suo only dared to say such an ¡°eighth-grader syndrome¡±-loaded line after he ensured that his bedroom door was closed and the windows were tightly shut, and he still lowered his voice as much as possible.

    Ren Suo previously used the keyboard and mouse to y the game ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, and he did likewise for the current side-mission.

    But Ren Suo did not expect that he even had to do the talking!

    It would not have been so bad usually, but Zhao Zili was taking on the role of the priest of the gods. After he descended from the heavens, he had to sing praises to the gods while bestowing their grace upon the people, and that made Ren Suo feel slightly embarrassed.

    Fortunately, although Ren Suo was the one who spoke, the voice that came out was still Zhao Zili¡¯s, so Ren Suo¡¯s identity would not be exposed.

    On the screen, Zhao Zili echoed the name of the gods as he descended from the skies. He wore a white robe and held a [Gatling Gun of Profound Compassion] in his hand as he appeared in a neat living room. In the room were two siblings, a brother and his sister, who stared at Zhao Zili in shock when they saw him.

    One of the teenagers had a degree of belief indicator above his head, and that must be Ning Hai.

    Ren Suo looked at Ning Hai¡¯s face. Although the appearances of the characters in the game were different from reality, they were merely graphically processed. Those who harbored malicious intent towards the main game character would more likely appear uglier, while others would appear more beautiful.

    But as Ren Suo looked at Ning Hai, he thought that he looked familiar¡­ Perhaps he had seen him before on the streets in town.

    More importantly, however, was that the young man¡¯s degree of belief had changed.

    It had been orange previously, but now it was an intense yellow. Based on the ¡°Description of the Degree of Belief¡±, that meant that it was most challenging to make him waver in his prior beliefs, and a small amount of happiness felt sufficient to him.

    Ren Suo thought that he would likely fail that mission and was slightly disappointed. But he was not devastated, for his spirits were quickly lifted and he continued the mission at hand:

    ¡°With the divine grace of the mighty gods, all sentient beings would be freed from suffering! You will be granted a heart of burning passion, a mind of peace and joy, and a life without troubles and difficulties!¡±

    Upon hearing the second sentence, Ning Hai and Ning Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a renewed passion burn in their hearts, and endless courage seemed to emerge from their limbs.

    ¡°In the name of the Master, the wind and snow will protect you from harm, and the rain will shield you from adversities!¡±

    When they heard the third sentence, the siblings felt a calming peacefulness arise in their hearts, and they calmed down.

    Ren Suo finally heaved a breath of relief.

    He had just controlled Zhao Zili to use four abilities in session!

    [Heart of Light: The presence and the words of the priest prates the hearts of mortals like the glorious light,pelling them to listen to the priest.]

    [Will of Fire: The words of the priest will ignite endless courage in mortals.]

    [Shield of Wind and Snow: The words of the priest will calm mortals, ease their worries, and grant them a sense of peace.]

    [Love of the Gods: The words of the priest will emphasize thepassion of the gods and mortals will form a deeper impression of the gods.]

    In the mission brief of [Repaying Kindness], it said that Zhao Zili mastered the four abilities before he was allowed to descend to the mortal world to save people and spread the Belief. However, in actual fact, there was no way Zhao Zili learned all of that¡ªhow could a dead person learn them?

    It seemed to be that the four abilities could only be learned by the priest on his own. The deities would not bestow him with the abilities, and there was no use even if Zhao Zili had umted points to exchange for the abilities. It was simr to that in The Warlords, and the three deities only believed that the priest waspletely faithful to them after he learned those abilities.

    However, the yer was ultimately the only one who learned those abilities.

    And thus, the reason why only level 3 yers were allowed to y the minigame was because¡ª

    ¡ªLevel 3 yers had three backup slots.

    In addition to the ability slot, Level 3 yers had four slots in total, which allowed the four abilities to fit in nicely!

    When Ren Suo decided to embark on the mini-task, those four skills automatically appeared in the ¡°Equipment¡± page and were restricted ¡°for Zhao Zili only¡±, though it was not as if Ren Suo would have wanted to use any other game character to run errands for the three deities.

    As long as the other three abilities were equipped in the spare slots, Ren Suo did not need to return to the ¡°Equipment¡± page to switch between the four abilities. Just like how he switched seamlessly between multiple abilities like ¡°Lock¡± and ¡°Heart Strengthening¡± in the subway incident, he could simply swap the active ability based on his ¡°intention¡±.

    Since he could switch between his own equipped abilities, he could naturally switch between the abilities of the game characters as well.

    Step by step, Ren Suo switched to another ability after each sentence he spoke. When he finished, it meant that the BGM of his debut appearance was over. Ren Suo did not want to act cool and waste time either, so he controlled Zhao Zili to raise his Gatling gun and fired without aiming at Ning Hai and Ning Xiaoxiao.

    Ning Hai did not appear to be ill or in pain, so it had to be due to the girl in the wheelchair beside him that his degree of belief once turned to orange. Since Zhao Zili was already there, Ren Suo thought that he would help his sister umte blessings for her college entrance examination and healed both of the siblings!

    Ning Hai and Ning Xiaoxiao were taken aback when they saw the smarks emerging from the Gatling gun, but they merely felt a streak of white light passing through their bodies and nothing else.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    Upon hearing that, Ning Hai quickly realized that the strange person who suddenly appeared with a Gatling gun in hand was about to rush out to the balcony like a gust of wind and leave as quickly as he appeared. He was going to crash directly into the anti-theft.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    However, just as Ning Hai shouted, he saw the strange person pass through the anti-theft and headed to the street.

    Ning Hai was stunned when he saw what had just happened, but at that moment a scream suddenly emerged from behind him. When Ning Hai turned around, he saw Ning Xiaoxiao leaping towards him.

    Ning Hai almost fell down from the sudden ¡°attack¡±, but fortunately, he maintained his center of gravity after his right foot slipped slightly backward. He helped Ning Xiaoxiao to maintain her bnce and asked anxiously, ¡°What happened to you? Was it just now¡ª¡±

    ¡°I, I can feel my feet now!¡± Ning Xiaoxiao eximed.

    She broke away from Ning Hai and managed to keep herself steady without any support. Nheless, she had not stood up for too long, so her legs were wobbling and she was unable to properly maintain her center of gravity. She eventually lost her bnce and fell to the ground on her side.

    Ning Hai stretched his hand out to catch his sister. He looked at her as she cried in happiness, but Ning Hai did not know what to say and merely gasped, then used his left hand to tidy her hair.

    After a short while, Ning Hai lifted his sister back into the wheelchair and walked to the balcony, looking at the street in the distance.

    Many passers-by were jumping around and shouting in excitement, and the entire street seemed to be celebrating at a carnival.

    Ning Hai silently took out her mobile phone, clicked to open a video-streaming website, and found hisment history.

    [No. 98.]

    While watching that video, he had only dreamt and fantasized that Xiao Xiao could be in that training¡­

    How was he so lucky?

    ¡°Brother,e here,e here!¡± Ning Xiaoxiao called.

    Ning Hai turned around to see his sister attempting to stand up leaning against the wall. He smiled and said, ¡°We must have a big celebration on your birthday.¡±

    ¡°On my birthday? My birthday is on the 8th of September, it is still three months away! Bro, what are you talking about, we can celebrate today,¡± Ning Xiaoxiao chirped happily.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right!¡± Ning Hai agreed.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°I met Ren Suo¡¯s high school ssmate just now, the one with the most outstanding grades in their ss.¡±

    As soon as Ren Suo¡¯s mother picked up the rice bowl, she began to nag, but Ren Suo¡¯s father and sister were used to it. There was no such thing as not talking while eating in his family, and they loved to chat with the television on in the background like background music as they ate.

    It was only the son who often sprayed his rice all over the table while talking that made it seem slightly more unhygienic.

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother said, ¡°He was on the way home from the market to cook when he bumped into me and dropped a few apples. I think he was sessfully enrolled in Tianjing University, but I wonder why he came back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so envious, I also want to enter Tianjing University,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s sister said.

    ¡°Well, I would be satisfied if you are just a bit better than your brother. Don¡¯t revise toote into the night these few days,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother said. She continued, ¡°He should be cooking for two people with the amount of food he bought. But judging from his smile when he was picking up the apples, he must feel happy to be able to cook for his family?¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother was exceptionally serious with her words that day. Ren Suo¡¯s father pondered for a moment then nodded heavily and said, ¡°Well, in that case, I¡¯ll cook tomorrow.¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother replied, ¡°Aye, I don¡¯t mean that, but if you want to¡ª¡±

    Suddenly, they heard a hugemotioning from outside. Then, a holy, righteous voice boomed, overpowering the sound from the television and themotion outside, ringing directly in their ears.

    ¡°¡­ the wind and snow will protect you from harm, and the rain will shield you from adversities!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happening, what¡¯s happening?¡± Ren Suo¡¯s sister asked curiously as she put down her rice bowl on the table and walked to the balcony. She said, ¡°Is someone giving a speech?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to see, it¡¯s probably a garbage collector with a new tactic, he¡¯s going to say that he has ¡®rat poison and cockroach poison¡¯ next,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother dismissed.

    At that moment, a fat person in a white robe suddenly appeared outside the Ren family¡¯s balcony.

    He held a Gatling gun in his hand and pointed towards their balcony, nicely epassing the three members of the Ren family.

    Before Ren Suo¡¯s sister even had time to react, a sh of white light passed through her. By the time she regained herposure, she was already sitting on the balcony in a daze.

    ¡°In the name of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of Evesting Warmth¡­¡± The voice of the fat person in the white robe gradually faded into the distance.

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother quickly rushed over to help his sister up and asked, ¡°Are you okay? Do you feel pain or hurt anywhere?¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s sister stood up, looked at her hands and feet, then touched her face and said seriously, ¡°My skin has turned whiter and my pimples all vanished.¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s father who was calm suddenly blinked. He then took off his sses and looked around. He sighed.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Great, my mission isplete.¡±

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether the mission given by the three deities waspleted, ¡®his¡¯ mission wasplete.

    Indeed, the reason why Ning Hai was chosen was not only because he was lucky, but more importantly because¡ª

    ¡ªHis family also lived in Longkou District in Baiyun City.

    That was the only reason.

    Based on the details on Zhao Zili, Ren Suo was convinced that he was absolutely powerful but not dangerous, so he had already nned to do that all along.

    It was just that [Touch of Recovery] was slightly too weak, and so was Ren Suo, and he had given up on such a n at first.

    But with the present mini-task, it was perfectly in line with Ren Suo¡¯s requirements!

    In addition to meeting the target as specified by the game console, Zhao Zili would remain on Earth for 30 minutes, which was sufficient time for him to walk through the entire Longkou district.

    Furthermore, in order to strengthen the healing effect, Ren Suo specially exchanged for an unlimited Gatling gun from the Treasures of the Holy Light. Those who received a shot from the gun would be cured of all illnesses, and those who received two shots would live to a hundred years old!

    In addition, the three deities also granted protection to Zhao Zili. Apart from [Death Shield] which was self-exnatory, there were also [Light Shield] and [Superhuman Shield]. The former enabled Zhao Zili to have the attributes of light and only be affected by his initial kic energy, as well as be able to pass through all buildings and objects; thetter enabled Zhao Zili to be able to jump more than ten meters high, which allowed him to traverse through the city without anybody obstructing him!

    Logically, Zhao Zili should have remained with Ning Hai for a longer duration to continue to persuade him to be a true believer. However, Ren Suo could not be too bothered about it and after he quickly finished treating him, he proceeded to the streets to bless the people with his [Gatling Gun of Profound Compassion].

    The fat middle-aged uncles became handsome, and the white hair of old men who were ying chess turned ck.

    The aunties who were purchasing their groceries slimmed down and the bespectacled students in school regained perfect eyesight.

    From myopia and hair loss to obesity and onychomycosis, it could cure everything!

    Anyway, Ren Suo merely shot blindly into the crowd as he ran quickly to his family¡¯s balcony. It was only then that he paid slightly more attention to ensure that all the Recovery was delivered to his family!

    Presently, the Recovery had been delivered, and it would not be suspicious as his family was merely one of the lucky people. Ren Suo rxed as he continued to sweep the Gatling gun at the crowd randomly while waiting for the 30 minutes time limit to be up.

    However, at that juncture, a beautiful girl who was d in a ck vest suddenly leaped down from the roof andnded lightly on the ground right in front of Zhao Zili. She raised her hands to stop Zhao Zili.

    ¡°Zhao Zili, wait!¡±

 Chapter 151 - Heavenly, Palace

    Chapter 151: Chapter 151- Heavenly, Pce

    ¡°Zhao Zili, wait!¡±

    As soon as the beautiful young girl finished her sentence, she was shot by the Gatling gun.

    ¡°Here¡¯s a gift for our first meeting, you are wee,¡± Zhao Zili said very calmly.

    However, he did not stop moving but continued to walk forward. As he advanced, he shot the Unlimited Gatling Gun of Profound Compassion towards the cars parked along the street. No one backed away, and instead, they crowded nearer to him.

    It appeared that news of Zhao Zili had spread and those who lived in the neighborhood, as well as the store owners nearby, all came looking for Zhao Zili. With the endless shots resonating from the Gatling gun like a woodpecker pecking wood, it was very easy to spot Zhao Zili as he healed the world.

    After being shot in the face by Zhao Zili, the beautiful young girl d in the ck vest was stunned and immediately took out her mobile phone to look at herself.

    ¡°I just dyed my hair yesterday!¡± she eximed.

    She stomped and turned around to chase after Zhao Zili. He had run onto the sidewalk beside the road but was not jumping around while shooting as there were only shops but no buildings in the vicinity.

    However, there was quite a crowd on the sidewalk, and there were even more people walking towards him from the distance. The cars on the road stopped against the rules to receive the shots from Zhao Zili and all fournes were jam-packed with cars. The sidewalk on the opposite side was also full of people and it would not be exaggerating to say that the entire town hade out onto the main street.

    The beautiful young girl d in the ck vest decided to stop at her position temporarily, waiting for the huge crowd to slow Zhao Zili down. After all, based on preliminary investigations from 20 minutes ago, the Countermeasure Division was certain that Zhao Zili was not aggressive at all.

    However, since it was hard to navigate through the crowd, Zhao Zili would simply not walk on the street then.

    Zhao Zili leaped upwards onto the wall with the Gatling gun in his hand, then continued running as he sung praises of the deities:

    You will be granted a heart of burning passion, a mind of peace and joy, and a life without troubles and difficulties¡­¡±

    ¡°In the name of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of the Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow¡­¡±

    Upon seeing what he did, the beautiful young girl d in the ck vest was left with no choice; she conveyed a message through the walkie-talkie, took a deep breath as she tied her hair into a ponytail for more convenient movement, then started hovering slightly above the ground.

    A loud p sounded as she forcefully propelled herself off the ground and leaped onto the wall like Zhao Zili had done, and she began advancing towards him!

    Ren Suo was extremely surprised. Zhao Zili had been able to leap onto the wall very easily as the ¡°Superhuman Shield¡± boosted all of his physical capabilities by leaps and bounds, but Newton¡¯sws were still in effect and Zhao Zili was still affected by gravity at any moment.

    The reason why Zhao Zili was able to climb the wall was because his shoes were embedded slightly into the wall with each step to provide sufficient friction for him to continue moving.

    But how could someone be following behind him!

    ¡°Only I can ride on the wall, who exactly are you!¡± Zhao Zili shouted.

    Ren Suo stopped Zhao Zili from firing and ran onto a roof, pretending to know nothing about the beautiful young girl d in the ck vest. Zhao Zili was not supposed to know anything about the Countermeasure Division as he did not have any contacts with any of the personnel when he was still alive.

    However, when he was talking about anything other than praises of the deities, Zhao Zili was unable to continue shooting with the Gatling gun. There was a hidden condition in [Repaying Kindness]: when spreading the grace of the gods, Zhao Zili was required to sing praises like he had been doing previously, to show that he was just a proxy for the deities who were his leaders, and so that the mortals would remember the great deeds of his leaders although they were not present¡­

    Who knew what the three deities had experienced in the past such that they had set extremely clear conditions and restrictions in terms of the ¡°Belief¡± they received. They must have had been cheated in the past and learned from their prior experience.

    Nheless, it had been 26 minutes since Zhao Zili arrived and began shooting around. It was almost time¡­

    ¡°I am Si Hesha, from the Countermeasure Division of Baiyun City,¡± the beautiful young girl d in the ck vest said.

    Si Hesha saw that Zhao Zili finally stopped shooting and let out a sigh of relief. She ran onto the roof but was not panting nor flushed. She said, ¡°On behalf of the Countermeasure Bureau of Xuan Nation, I wish to have a talk with you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhao Zili questioned.

    Zhao Zili shook his head and said suddenly, ¡°The rain will shield you from adversities!¡± And shortly after, a barrage of Holy Recovery bulletsnded on a road intersection not far away.

    ¡°There are many things we need to talk about,¡± Si Hesha said. Although Zhao Zili¡¯s behavior was peculiar, Si Hesha did not care as she hurriedly attempted to dy Zhao Zili with what she had been instructed to say. She continued, ¡°If it is possible, we would like to discuss in detail at a quieter location. Mr. Zhao, we approach you with no ill intent.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Zhao Zili said.

    Ren Suo obviously knew that Si Hesha did not harbor any malicious ns.

    If she was indeed evil, it was likely that her appearance would have changed from that of a beautiful young girl into that of Snow White¡¯s mother when she was cosying, or perhaps into that of the White Swan when she was young¡­ Long story short, she would not look pretty.

    Games with slightly clearer and higher graphic quality game characters seemed to follow such a trend. At least when Ren Suo was engaged in the training in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, he felt that hispetitors were either fierce and fat or ugly and fat, unlike the slightly cute and chubby Zhao Zili.

    Si Hesha was slightly enthusiastic as she added, ¡°I don¡¯t know if Mr. Zhao has a ce to live in. If so, we can arrange for¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, I will leave very soon,¡± Zhao Zili said.

    Zhao Zili nced behind to his right which took Si Hesha by surprise. She quickly said, ¡°That is my colleague. After receiving news about you, I immediately came over to¡­ wee you.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Zhao Zili replied.

    The Talents which Zhao Zili already acquired would not disappear. Although most of the Talents served to enhance the effect of the Holy Recovery firearms, Ren Suo had purchased a Vision Talent for Zhao Zili which enabled him to see anything within 50 meters and that was naturally why he noticed a few others d in the ck vests approaching him from behind.

    It appeared that Si Hesha notified the other personnel of the Countermeasure Division, and they were trying to find a way onto the roof to be noticed by Zhao Zili, to prove that they did not have any ill intentions.

    Ren Suo nced at the clock at the upper right corner of the screen and said, ¡°But I am running out of time. If there is another opportunity in the future¡­ we will meet again. In the name of the Master of the Holy Light¡­¡± He conveniently shot at the other personnel with the gun at the same time.

    ¡°Why are you running out of time?¡± Si Hesha asked.

    ¡°I came back this time, but I have a time limit to adhere to. I am only here to spread the grace of the gods and make their intentions known,¡± Zhao Zili said. Ren Suo thought that it was not something that should not be said, so he added, ¡°I havepleted my mission, and so I naturally have to return.¡±

    ¡°But we¡ª¡± Si Hesha wanted to say something, but at that moment, amand from her superiors seemed to be made through her earpiece. She immediately asked, ¡°Mr. Zhao Zili, are you from the future?¡±

    Ren Suo hesitated slightly but quickly understood the true significance of Si Hesha¡¯s question. He had already prepared the answer a long time ago.

    Zhao Zili answered expressionlessly, ¡°The reason why I emerged as the champion in the training was not what you thought it was, nor was it because I had experienced it beforehand. Rather, it was because I already knew the answer before the training took ce.¡±

    Taking on the title of being ¡°from the future¡± was not something he could bear, for it would easily be exposed. Even for Ren Suo, he could only guess what would happen in the future based on a part of the games and some of the events which took ce in them.

    However, Zhao Zili¡¯s movements in the training were truly legendary, so Ren Suo decided to let him make use of the ¡°reason¡± he had thought of a long time ago.

    Zhao Zili mouthed a few words and at the same moment, the 30 minutes were up. On the roof, in front of all the onlookers and the personnel d in the ck vests, Zhao Zili, a fat person in a white robe, quickly turned into light and vanished into the air.

    Si Hesha sighed. She directed the other personnel in the ck vests to gather any clues at the spot where Zhao Zili vanished, as she turned her head and whispered to report to her superiors.

    ¡°¡­ Apart from what he said, he mouthed two words to me at thest moment. When I head back, I will hand the video recording from the action camera on the vest to the logistics team for analysis of his mouth shape,¡± she said.

    ¡°But based on my preliminary observations and if I saw correctly, he should have said¡­¡±

    ¡°The two words, Heavenly, Pce.¡±

 Chapter 152 - How Envious, How Amazing

    Chapter 152: Chapter 152 ¨C How Envious, How Amazing

    [Mission Complete.]

    [Calcting Beliefs gathered.]

    [A total of 3130 Micro-beliefs were obtained, and 2 true believers were developed.]

    Ren Suo took off his headset as he looked at the mission score on the screen. He did not expect that he managed toplete the mission.

    When he saw Ning Hai¡¯s degree of belief turn into an intense yellow color, Ren Suo thought that he was bound to fail the mission and did not expect to double or even triple the goal set by the mission objective.

    However, when he thought through it more carefully, he realized that although Baiyun City was only a second or third-tier city, the poption size of the Longkou District was thergest. In addition, Zhao Zili was in action during the peak period in the evening, so there were naturally huge crowds of people on the street and plenty of people were healed by Zhao Zili with a sweep of the Holy Recovery Gatling Gun.

    It was unlikely that Ning Hai became a true believer. However, among the thousands of people who were healed, there would likely be people who were suffering from serious illnesses, chronic diseases, geriatric diseases, or other major injuries which greatly impacted the quality of life. When they were healed by Zhao Zili and quickly regained their health, it was natural for them to be a true believer of the three deities.

    Ren Suo himself went through a simr experience after his mother went to Liurong Temple to pray to the Buddha for good results in his college entrance examination. When Ren Suo attained ster results in the examination and sessfully enrolled in a first-tier university, his mother decided to abstain from meat for a month in return for her prayering true¡ªRen Suo could never forget the nd taste that lingered even in his saliva during that summer break.

    It was highly likely that his mother would utilize the same ¡°tactic¡± that year. Ren Suo would only be able to transfer some money to his sister through Alipay and she would have to think of ways to survive the month without meat on her own¡­

    As such, the degree of belief of Ren Suo¡¯s mother was blue, which was that of the majority of the poption. When those people received some benefit, they would repay it in hopes for more, so as long as the degree of healing they received was sufficient for them to cry in gratitude, they would more easily be a true believer.

    Nheless, the task actually turned out to be so simple¡­

    Ren Suo thought for a moment and felt that his choice tond in a densely popted urban area was the crucial factor allowing him toplete the mission sessfully. If the poption density was slightly more sparse, like that of towns in Europe and viges in the Americas, he could not be certain that a thousand people would be healed in half an hour.

    The more people there were, the more people would be healed.

    [Zhao Zili¡¯s actions were admired by the three gods and he earned 30,000 umted points.]

    [Zhao Zili has been promoted from Unranked Priest to Priest.]

    [The contents in the Treasures of the Holy Light has been updated.]

    [The mini-mission task details have been updated.]

    It turned out that the mini-mission in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± could continue to be yed. Ren Suo clicked into the mini-mission and discovered that if Zhao Zili wanted to descend to the mortal world again, he would have to gather 5 true believers within 30 minutes and acquire 3000 Beliefs. In addition, he could only carry out the mission 15 dayster.

    The difficulty of the task suddenly increased several folds. If Ren Suo¡¯s guess was right, the difficulty of the mini-mission would continue to rise uponpleting it for the second time.

    What was the meaning of that? A ¡°boiling frog¡± experiment?

    But Ren Suo quickly found out why the task became increasingly challenging¡ª

    [Priest: One who can independently conductrge-scale ceremonies. Those with this title possess the Talents of ¡°Sacred Persuasion¡± and ¡°Sacred Views¡±.]

    ¡®Sacred Persuasion¡¯ would greatly enhance the impact of Zhao Zili¡¯s words, making his words of indoctrination more easily eptable to believers. He would even be able to imnt Beliefs in people through hints and signals.

    ¡®Sacred Views¡¯ was equivalent to an enhanced, all-in-one ability of Zhao Zili¡¯s four prerequisite abilities. People who came close to Zhao Zili would feel feelings of sacredness, warmth, calmness and the like.

    Simply put, Zhao Zili, who was now a full-fledged Priest, was extremely warm-hearted. Anyone near to him would feel a sense of peace and warmth as if he was a walking air conditioner even able to console people through words¡ªalthough, unfortunately, he was a fat person.

    Zhao Zili could not be handsome even if he wanted to after he became a full-fledged Priest. The three deities set a rule that Priests must not be handsome, and as delegates of the deities, they had to possess some degree of imperfectness.

    So what exactly did the three deities encounter previously that they even had to demand the appearance of Priests to be slightly more ugly? Did a handsomed establish a faith that overpowered theirs?

    On another note, in the Treasures of the Holy Light, stronger and more powerful recovery Equipment and Talents were avable.

    At present, the most powerful tool with thergest healing range was the newly avable [Unlimited Bazooka]. Its healing effect was such that it could pass through walls and explode after being concentrated in a spherical ball of energy. There was also [Robe of 108 Feathers], a Priest robe which released 108 recovery feathers per minute that would automatically track down living souls. Its healing efficiency was virtually unimaginable.

    Among the Talents, there were also other more practical ones that did not only enhanced recovery effects, such as [Mind Reader] (allows the user to know what the target is thinking withoutmunicating), [Wings of Protection] (equips the user with the Wings of the Holy Light and allows the user to fly), [Concealment of the Wind, Rain, Snow] (allows the user to bepletely invisible and concealed in natural environments).

    Upon seeing those Talents, Ren Suo¡¯s expression was: ¡°Amazing, absolutely amazing.jpg¡±.

    If only he could redeem those Talents in real life¡­ But after all, those were Talents and were only able to be equipped by Zhao Zili.

    Ren Suo would have longed to acquire the masterful abilities like Mind Reader and Concealment, but that would have to wait until he became a fat guy.

    ¡°Through the days and nights, as I tear the heavens apart, glorious light will shine and cleanse even the specks of dust on earth~¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone rang. He looked at the disy to see who the caller was and picked up the call, then replied ¡°mmm¡± a few times.

    It was a phone call from his sister, who was very excited to tell Ren Suo what the family had just encountered.

    In summary, a middle-aged couple became younger and fitter, while their young daughter became more beautiful, her 200-degree myopic eyesight cured, the excess fats from eating ice cream vanished, and the ulcers in the mouth from eating barbeque the day before healed¡­

    ¡°But unfortunately, Brother, you were not here, or your rhinitis could have been cured,¡± Ren Suo¡¯s sister said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my rhinitis was already cured a long time ago,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    After the call ended, Ren Suo was relieved.

    As he expected, such missions which werepleted directly without uploading any mission score proceeded in real-time, synchronously. When Ren Suo controlled Zhao Zili in the game to travel through Longkou District in Baiyun City, a fat individual in a white robe shooting a Gatling gun was also doing so in reality.

    There could have beenwork dys due totency, but it was essentially synchronized in real-time throughout the entire journey.

    In other words, the game ¡°Passing Hats¡± would have already taken ce somewhere Ren Suo was not aware of.

    When Ren Suo searched the web on his mobile phone, information about Zhao Zili was already being circted everywhere¡ªon Weibo, in his group chat rooms, and news headlines were also in a hurry to release a report on ¡°The Holy Priest from Survival Battle Appears in Baiyun City to Treat All Beings¡±.

    Unlike in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± where a million people were selected from all around the world, it would not have been conspicuous even if the three gods had treated 990,000 people and scattered them all over the world.

    However, Zhao Zili had appeared in Baiyun City and treated thousands of people in the presence of the public, under the watchful eyes of surveince cameras. It was solid evidence that Zhao Zili truly appeared and the nation also seemed to have no intention of censoring rted reports. After a month, the name ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± was allowed to take over the inte once again.

    Some news sources even broadcasted live interviews with people who were healed. When those people showed the photo on their identification cards andpared it to their present self, a barrage of bulletments appeared, full of envy and hate.

    An old man in a wheelchair with white hair now had ck hair and stood up to take two steps;

    A 1.8-meter-tall fat man turned into a fit, handsome guy who looks like he had been ying basketball for more than ten years;

    A girl who had a face full of e, two irregr rows of teeth and wore thick sses now revealed a wide and beautiful smile to the camera.

    [Why do I not have such an opportunity!]

    [Oh lord, why was I not in Baiyun City!]

    [So what if I was in Baiyun City? I rushed over the moment I heard the news, but the subway was so full of people, and the priest was gone by the time I arrived, gahhhh!]

    [Didn¡¯t he say he was treating only one person? Why was the entire street healed?]

    [The priest is obviously biased, he definitely looks like a citizen of Xuan Nation, so he must have visited the streets when he had time to spare after curing his target.]

    [When will youe to visit our city!]

    [How envious, how amazing.jpg]

 Chapter 153 - Activation of the Reiki Treasure

    Chapter 153: Chapter 153 ¨C Activation of the Reiki Treasure

    The development of news about Zhao Zili progressed far beyond Ren Suo¡¯s expectations.

    That was because just a dayter, a 20-minute-long promotional video titled ¡°Holy Priest Survival Battle: Salvation¡± emerged on the Inte.

    The first ten minutes of the video showed the entire process of Zhao Zili¡¯s treatments using the Gatling gun from various camera angles; in the subsequent ten minutes, interviews of those who were healed by Zhao Zili were shown, and the effects of the treatments that were shown were absolutely astounding (those who were cured of major illnesses or those whose appearance improved greatly). Byparing their conditions before and after the treatment, it ¡°showed off¡± the power of Zhao Zili.

    Indeed, it was a show-off.

    Although the video was uploaded by a ¡°People¡¯s Association of Mystery Phenomenon Enthusiasts¡±, the video footage of Zhao Zili in the video was not essible by the ordinary folk and enthusiasts.

    Moreover, it was highly improbable for ordinary enthusiasts to be able to find that many people who were healed and underwent ¡°great changes¡±, and even to interview them.

    Furthermore, the video was also tranted into variousnguages and spread around the Inte. It was exactly as if telling the whole world that there was a Holy Priest who could treat anyone.

    If Ren Suo was right, after the disappearance of Zhao Zili, the Countermeasure Division would definitely have thought of ways to gather all video footage of Zhao Zili, and it was most probable that the video was made by them.

    As for why they did so, Ren Suo was toozy to think of a reason, so he sent a WeChat message to ask ¡°Chairman¡± Xie Qiansi directly.

    And Xie Qiansi did not disappoint Ren Suo¡ªit was simply instinctive to Xie Qiansi to think of the objectives of the government. He replied, ¡°There are many benefits to them, so I will only talk about two of them: Firstly, there must be many wealthy people, scientists, and professionals who are gued by various diseases and illnesses. Even with the rejuvenation of Reiki and the emergence of medical abilities, there would certainly not be many people who are able to getprehensive treatment with such an ability.¡±

    ¡°But, don¡¯t I¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Xie Qiansi said, ¡°Ren Suo, your ability only enables you to treat minor and superficial injuries. The wealthy are not afraid of such superficial injuries, but other unfavorable medicalplications due to age. This is a difficult problem in life that even modern medicine can barely solve.¡±

    ¡°And even for you, you are considered as one of the medical personnel as you possess a resuscitation-type Awakened Ability, as well as [Heal]. There are less than ten special Practitioners like you throughout Lianjiang City, so the entry barrier is already very high.¡±

    ¡°But the appearance of the Holy Priest brings limitless hope to the wealthy. Just take a look at those who were healed by him¡ªtheir diseases and illnesses were all cured, those who were old became younger, they appeared more radiant, and even their skin condition improved. Even if the wealthy and the talented were not bothered by such differences, would their girlfriends not care? ¡±

    ¡°Even though the Holy Priest did not make his stand clear, but just based on the fact that he is someone from Xuan Nation and that he appeared here, it was sufficient to attract much capital and talents to Xuan Nation. Hence, the objective is exactly to express their desire to cooperate with the Holy Priest.¡±

    Ren Suo thought that what Xie Qiansi said was very logical. He said, ¡°You¡¯re truly Chairman Xie, what about the second point then?¡±

    Xie Qiansi continued, ¡°It is most probable that the Holy Priest has not established a formal rtionship with the nation. As such, the reason why the video was spread to other countries is to attract talents and capital; and the reason why the video spread locally is to make citizens remember the Holy Priest.¡±

    ¡°In fact, I have already received a notice from the Countermeasure Division to treat the Holy Priest courteously when we see him in the future, and must not utilize any violent means when encountering him¡­¡±

    ¡°To put it simply, the nation wants to convince the Holy Priest to be on our side using our reputation, expectations, and sense of responsibility.¡±

    Ren Suo kept nodding in agreement and said, ¡°You must be right.¡±

    At that juncture, Xie Qiansi, on the other end of the line, hesitated slightly and asked, ¡°Well, Ren Suo, is the Holy Priest¡­¡±

    ¡°Is he¡­?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s nothing, just remember to treat me to Wow Steak next time,¡± Xie Qiansi said.

    ¡°You actually specified the restaurant¡­ Are you serious?¡± Ren Suo questioned.

    ¡°I can treat you too, but if I have a cold or any illnesses in the future, you have toe whenever I call you,¡± Xie Qiansi said.

    After ending the call, Xie Qiansi stretched his muscles and returned to the Practice ground in the stadium.

    He held himself back from asking the questions in his mind and needed a physical workout to sweat out the pressure within.

    The ¡°Zhao Zili¡± Ren Suo asked him to investigate a month ago looked¡­ very simr to the Holy Priest.

    With Xie Qiansi¡¯s current standing, he would not be able to obtain any information of the Holy Priest unless he met him in person.

    But he had his spections.

    ¡°Nheless, I need a strong target if I want to curry favor with someone,¡± Xie Qiansi muttered to himself as he exercised while Practicing the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±. He panted as he said, ¡°Zhao Huo, Yuan Dang, Ren Suo¡­ they became the first batch of Practitioners not because they had talent, but because they experienced special encounters.¡±

    ¡°But I, Xie Qiansi, would be an outstanding man and would notg behind any of you!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Gu Yueyan felt that it was strange recently.

    The useless doctor, Ren Suo, who tried to pursue Teacher Dong, was still shamelessly joining their meals, but his actions were even weirder now¡ªGu Yueyan felt as if he was staring at her and Teacher Dong lovingly.

    As time passed, she also felt that Ren Suo¡¯s mood seemed to be getting better and better. So at dinner that day, Gu Yueyan could not help but ask, ¡°Mr¡­ Ren, what is the happy asion that you are smiling so happily?¡±

    ¡°Am I?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°You are grinning and shaking your legs as you eat. If you are not feeling happy, I think you should be examined to see if you are suffering from Alzheimer¡¯s disease,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Ren Suo rubbed his face and stopped shaking his legs. He replied, ¡°Well¡­ Alright, something good did happen. The nation realized the value of one of my previous articles, and I received a sizeable amount of rewards.¡±

    Gu Yueyan was slightly stunned and said, ¡°I did not expect you to have research tasks.¡±

    What Ren Suo said was actually true. He had written analysis under the ¡°Zhao Zili Investigation Report¡± post, and unlike the other researchers who thought that ¡°Zhao Zili is a Reborn¡±, Ren Suo expressed his view that ¡°Zhao Zili is actually a ¡®cheater¡¯ backed by other forces¡±.

    Before Zhao Zili vanished, he had divulged information of the Heavenly Pce and denied that he was from the future.

    A few days after Zhao Zili vanished, Ren Suo¡¯s previousment was sieved out and considered to be true.

    After such ¡®unique opinions¡¯ which were ¡®different from the majority¡¯ and ¡®did not receive likes¡¯ were proven to be the truth, the points awarded would be double that of ordinary posts. That was because the nation wanted to encourage researchers to express their true opinions and not merelyply with the views of the majority. As long as what was expressed was true, the nation would not hesitate to give rewards.

    While the awarded points could not be exchanged for anything as yet, they were linked to Ren Suo¡¯s sry and other benefits, which meant that his monthly pay as a researcher as well as the number of Reiki Stones he was given also increased!

    If Ren Suo was promoted to a level 2 researcher, he would even be able to view other forum sections on the intr.

    ¡°Congrats.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to treat everyone to chicken thighs to celebrate?¡±

    Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan, and Lin Xianyu congratted Ren Suo. Ren Suo smiled to thank them and looked at the food on the table. He felt that he needed to do something and quickly said, ¡°I think I¡¯ll buy some more food to celebrate then.¡±

    Dong Chengling looked outside, then picked up her te and stood up. She said, ¡°It seems like it¡¯s going to rain. You guys should continue eating, I have to go home to bring theundry in¡­¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo grabbed Dong Chengling¡¯s by her tender fingers as he turned his head to look at the clock in the dining hall.

    May 31, 10:31.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I have something important to tell you tonight. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Gu Yuexuan felt that it was strange recently.

    First, they were told to remain in the restricted area without anything to do, then the search team was urgently deployed to the Tianjing Volcano of Legacies over thest few days. They were tasked to search and keep a lookout for any peculiarities in the surrounding area.

    Gu Yuexuan knew that over thest few days, red auroras appeared in the sky in the middle of the night. The Practitioners in the Tianjing headquarters quickly discovered that the red aurora was rted to the Volcano of Legacies, which led them to close the famous attraction temporarily. They gathered researchers to analyze what was going on, and Practitioners to patrol day and night in search of any clues and suspicious people.

    But Gu Yuexuan did not think that the red aurora was caused by humans.

    Together with personnel of the Countermeasure Division of Tianjing City, they had been patrolling day and night outside the barricade line throughout the past three days, covering all areas.

    As a second-tier Practitioner, the captain of the search team, and one with an investigative-type Awakened Ability, Gu Yuexuan was very certain that no unauthorized person had approached the barricade line during the three days.

    Even if the infiltrator possessed visual concealment and thermal concealment, the size of the body would not be able to escape detection by the air. As such, unless it was a creature weighing less than 10 kg andid t on the ground, it would not have been able to escape detection with Gu Yuexuan¡¯s investigative ability.

    However, if a human weighed less than 10 kg, his hair would not have even grown fully. If he was able to crawl about and call for his parents, it would already have been extraordinary.

    That night, Gu Yuexuan and Li Dan were in charge of patrolling.

    Those who patrolled and those who were stationed at a location together formed an airtight securitywork. Their patrol routes were determined beforehand, ensuring that the various patrol teams would cover all ground.

    Suddenly, as Gu Yuexuan continued walking, he realized that Li Dan remained at his original position and did not move.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Yuexuan asked as he walked over. He said, ¡°If we dy any further, the patrolling shifts would be disrupted.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯sing,¡± Li Dan said as he looked up at the Volcano of Legacies, He mumbled, ¡°It¡¯sing.¡±

    ¡°The red aurora ising? Well, it¡¯s about time too, it urs every 24 hours,¡± Gu Yuexuan said.

    While there were minor differences in the time at which the red aurora would appear, it generally took ce every 24 hours. Researchers were now setting up all the equipment in the research facility, waiting for the red aurora to take ce.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just the aurora this time,¡± Li Dan said as he took a step back, his body trembling slightly. He seemed to be able to observe an indescribably powerful existence, ¡°The aurora is just a barrier to conceal what was beneath it, what is going to appear now is the power behind the light aurora!¡±

    Gu Yuexuan narrowed his eyes and turned on the walkie talkie. Although Li Dan was not directly under hismand, he had been with the team for over a month, and even went through a close encounter with death together. He knew that Li Dan was not one who would utter nonsense, and would only make known his spections that would bring serious consequences if he was absolutely certain.

    But he no longer needed to say anything.

    A spectacr moment followed when the Volcano of Legacies suddenly illuminated the night sky as if it were day.

    Gentle yet powerful, mighty yet silent, like a violent storm, the wave of Reiki began to sweep through Xuan Nation from Tianjing City!

 Chapter 154 - Accident

    Chapter 154: Chapter 154 ¨C ident

    Through the natural filter formed by the pelting rain, the neon lights in the distance appeared more vibrant and colorful, like a thickyer of ink on ck paper.

    From a long time ago, Ren Suo understood that fantasy works were dramatic. When fighting against the great devil, the characters would not be so stunned that they were unable to cast their spells, and they would not be seen without their clothes when they transformed. In battle, they would still be left with at least their underwear, no matter how injured they were¡­

    However, in reality, the world was not a game, and it was not possible for sess toe so naturally.

    Dong Chengling looked at Ren Suo as she sat on the couch and asked, ¡°So, Ren Suo, what¡¯s the important matter that you want to tell me?¡±

    Ren Suo turned to face the other two anxious but extremely curious girls next to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s already starting to rain outside, aren¡¯t you guys going to leave soon?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°We brought our umbres,¡± Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu answered as they took their foldable umbres out from the bags.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the dormitory have a curfew you have to adhere to?¡± Ren Suo questioned.

    ¡°I am the ss chairperson and have the privilege to return to the dormitory after 12 midnight,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she waved her watch in front of Ren Suo.

    ¡°This is bad, students nowadays already know how to make use of their powers and privileges from such a young age. The school is also at fault too, how could they treat the top students so well,¡± Ren Suo remarked as he shook his head. He said, ¡°When I was the top of my ssst time, the only privilege I got was to be able to go to the toilet when I wanted to¡­¡±

    Lin Xianyu was slightly embarrassed as she tugged Gu Yueyan¡¯s sleeves, blushing. She said softly, ¡°The adults have something to do, we should go back first.¡±

    After all, Ren Suo had treated Lin Xianyu for a few days and helped her to attain perfect Awakening. Although she was curious about what Ren Suo wanted to do, her curiosity was ovee by her heart of gratitude, and she tried to pull her partner back to the dormitory.

    ¡°No, you are saying this because you don¡¯t trust Doctor Ren,¡± Gu Yue said righteously. She continued, ¡°I think that Mr. Ren is a noble person, a righteous person, a person who does not stoop to low tastes, and as upright as one can be. There would absolutely be nothing to hide, am I right, Mr. Ren?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Ren Suo said as he nodded. He continued, ¡°However, children should not listen to some of the matters adults talk about, so you should go back first.¡±

    Gu Yueyan turned to look at Dong Chengling and asked, ¡°Sister Ling, may I sleep here today?¡±

    Hearing Dong Chengling call her ¡°Sister Ling¡±, she was slightly stunned but quickly replied calmly and warmly, ¡°Of course, you may sleep here tonight.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Then I want to sleep here too!¡± Lin Xianyu eximed. Thinking that it was much fun sleeping with her teacher, Lin Xianyu¡¯s yfulness overcame the tinge of guilt towards Ren Suo in her heart.

    ¡°No problem, my bed is very big. Moreover, I can Practice tonight so you two can sleep in the bedroom. As for the dormitory management, I will exin to them tomorrow¡­¡± Dong Chengling said.

    ¡°No, no, let¡¯s sleep together,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she turned to face Ren Suo and brandished a ¡®V¡¯ gesture with her hand to signify her victory. She said, ¡°Doc~ tor~ Ren, you can¡¯t be thinking of staying in the same room as three other girls for the night, right? Shouldn¡¯t you finish what you wanted to do quickly and leave?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Of course, I won¡¯t stay for the night,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Ren Suo looked at the time on his mobile phone¡ªit was 22:54. He said, ¡°I will leave in a while.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I almost forgot, I need to bring in my washings,¡± Dong Chengling said as she stood up. ¡°You guys should continue chatting first.¡±

    Gu Yueyan sighed as if she was relieved that she had prevented Ren Suo from doing anything ¡°special¡±. However, even though she was bold and dared to voice her opinions, her actions were ultimately out of some concern for Dong Chengling.

    She definitely did not want the cultivation goddess Dong Chengling to be defiled if any funny chemical factors and hormones formed in Ren Suo.

    However, although Ren Suo was not a very motivated person, he had always been a good person who was ordinary but gracious. He was warm-hearted and would not lose his temper, and was polite but not annoying, although he was not the most handsome and was average in the looks department. He was just like what a certain WeChat public ount described as a¡­ ¡°spare tire¡±?

    Now that Dong Chengling was not with them, Gu Yueyan also softened her tone and said, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have to be fixated on chasing one flower which would not be able to bloom around you. There are many cute and pretty nurses and doctors in the school hospital, and there are also a number of young teachers who are beautiful and of a suitable age to marry. The Heavenly Institution of Lian is usually on lockdown and the girls cannot go out to y, so you guys have plenty of opportunities to interact with them¡­¡±

    ¡°As days pass, feelings can be developed. The close rtionships between students are also developed due to us being in the ssroom together over a period of time. You have so much free time as a doctor, and I¡¯m sure you can make use of that time to care for and pay attention to those girls. Without any other males topare you with, they are not as strong-headed and firm as Teacher Dong, so they will at least be somewhat interested in dating and being in a rtionship. Who knows, one of them may be charmed in the heat of the moment¡­¡±

    ¡°With your identity, it will be very easy for you to ask for their WeChat or QQ ID. Your first move should be to invite your target for a meal but do not go to the dining hall. The best way is to invite her to your house and cook for her yourself¡­¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Ren Suo had not listened to what Gu Yueyan was saying at first, but the more she said, the more logical it sounded. He nodded as he even took out his mobile phone to note down her advice.

    Lin Xianyu also looked at Gu Yueyan in amazement, as she talked exaggeratedly about dressing, dating, how to leave a good first impression, and even about what to text through WeChat after the date. Gu Yueyan exined the steps in a clear and systematic manner, and it almost made Lin Xianyu feel¡ª

    ¡ªSlightly pitiful.

    ¡°Yueyan,¡± Lin Xianyu whispered into Gu Yueyan¡¯s ear, ¡°Have you been reading too many public ount articles and love novels and want to fall in love so badly?¡±

    The great advisor Gu Yueyan who had been talking fluently non-stop suddenly started stammering as she stared fiercely at Lin Xianyu. She pinched Lin Xianyu¡¯s round face and said, ¡°How¡­ how is that possible! How dare you make such bold assumptions of your ss chairperson?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ Eh¡­ Bart (but) howl (how) wood (would) ew (you) no (know) so much then?¡± Lin Xianyu questioned.

    ¡°Why do you care!¡± eximed Gu Yueyan.

    The two girls began fighting, and Ren Suo also came to his senses¡ªhe was not there to learn how to leave the singles¡¯ club from a sophomore girl.

    He turned to look at Dong Chengling who was bringing in her washings from the balcony. Indeed, it was almost time for him to see how Dong Chengling was going to Awaken her space-type Awakened Ability, after the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation.

    Speaking of which, there were a lot of clothes on Dong Chengling¡¯s balcony. However, Ren Suo thought for a while and realized that he either did not wash his clothes at all, or would otherwise wash his clothes in arge batch¡ªit was not because he wanted to save water and electricity, but simply because he lived alone and felt that it was a waste of time to wash just a few articles of clothing, so it was better and more efficient to wash a few days of clothes together.

    When Ren Suo looked over, Dong Chengling happened to turn around and noticed the look in Ren Suo¡¯s eyes. She seemed slightly embarrassed as she red at him and turned back to continue collecting her clothes.

    What happened? Ren Suo looked carefully and quickly understood why¡ªshe was collecting her underwear.

    Even though Dong Chengling was willing to Practice at any cost, she was ultimately still a girl, and it was embarrassing for other men to see her undergarments.

    But Ren Suo was not a pervert, so he nced down at his phone.

    It was almost time¡­

    However, Ren Suo felt as if he had forgotten something.

    Apart from observing Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakening, his main purpose was to try his luck at getting a key.

    However, incidentally, there was another reason, for the Dong Chengling he saw in the game was¡­

    ¡­In a wheelchair.

    But Dong Chengling was at home now, so it was highly unlikely for her to be hit by a car, right?

    ¡­

    Ren Suo turned his head sharply to see a piece of clothing being blown away from the balcony by the wind. Dong Chengling naturally bent over and reached out in an attempt to catch it.

    Bam!

    Without hesitation, Ren Suo leaped forward as Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu looked at him in surprise. He ran right into the ss of the balcony as he tried to hold on to Dong Chengling, who looked like she was about to fall off the balcony!

 Chapter 155 - Chase

    Chapter 155: Chapter 155 ¨C Chase

    Was it like a strong wind?

    Or was it like a warm glow of light?

    What did it feel like when the Reiki Treasure erupted?

    Li Dan was unable to exin that feeling he felt; it was not a feeling which could be described by the five senses. It was a storm generated from another dimension. Humans could only use their souls to feel the magnificent changes it brought to the world.

    That was a feeling that could only be described through memories. As the one who was closest to the explosion when it urred, Li Dan suddenly remembered a certain period in his memories.

    It was during an ordinary and sparse period in his life. When he was in senior high school, both of his parents died in a traffic ident. His father had been running a family business, and his rtives quickly turned against each other to gain more benefits.

    At that time, he had to organize the funeral of his parents while having to endure the disgust he felt talking to his wicked and immoral rtives.

    But that did not bother him as luck and misfortune were part and parcel of life. Li Dan was able to live happily and without worries prior to that, simply because someone else was paving the path forward for him.

    Li Dan was not overwhelmed by those difficulties. He worked with his closer uncles to settle matters after his father¡¯s death, and he did not give in in any way regarding the profits of the family business¡ªit was what his father left behind for him, and while he could give it away, he could not let it be snatched away from him!

    The education he received when he was with his birth family was not bad, and he was not defeated by the continuous setbacks he faced; instead, the challenges urged him to ¡°level up¡±. During that time, he was trained to be more mature in his thinking and more responsible and stable in his work. He had to manage his studies while dealing with trivial family matters at the same time.

    However, during the night, Li Dan would also sumb to irresistible loneliness. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff and could not afford to take any wrong steps, or else he would fall into the deep abyss below.

    Until he met her.

    It was an ordinary school romance, but after graduating from university, they broke up as she was returning to her hometown to work. Nheless, during the years when he struggled to live, Li Dan developed great courage because of her. He no longer woke up in the middle of the night, no longer suffered sleepless nights or torturous nights of nightmares, and he no longer felt lonely.

    That feeling was as if it would be alright even if he fell, for there was someone supporting him from behind.

    And in the present moment, it felt exactly like that.

    The whole world seemed to have be his support.

    It was not a direct increase in his strength, but it made Li Dan feel like he could always receive help from the rest of the world.

    It was like he was in a haunted house together with a group of people and not alone¡ªthe subjective factors like strength, courage, and calmness were elevated by changes in environmental energy.

    Of course, Li Dan knew that any abilities he cast now would be much stronger than they were before. And in the future, the difficulty in learning new abilities would be further reduced, while his Practice speed would be increased.

    Arger extent of Reiki energy had rejuvenated!

    Red streaks of light in the sky exploded into countless red meteors that flew in all directions above the city of Tianjing. Li Dan and the rest of the team regained their senses from the aftermath of the explosion of Reiki energy, and then they saw a red meteornd on the edge of the barricade line.

    The next moment, the afterimage of a small animal emerged from where the red meteornded. In just three seconds, it ran through the barricade line and entered the city area.

    A few short secondster, amotion erupted within the temporary research center, and an urgentmand sounded in their ears:

    ¡°Chase and capture the pangolin!¡±

    In an instant, all the personnel d in the ck vests gathered urgently, and the highermand of the Countermeasure Division quickly assigned various tasks to search teams. A few minutester, except for a small number of troops who remained in the temporary research base, the Practitioners, armed police and public security officers were dispatched out.

    However, the 20 people in Gu Yuexuan¡¯s team remained inside the restricted area and started their search from the ce where the pangolin first appeared.

    ¡°Ren Throne is truly prescient,¡± Gu Yuexuan remarked. He said, ¡°The other search teams have their baseline tasks, and it is impossible for them to return to Tianjing within such a short time. And in terms of search capabilities, a single Awakener is iparable to our team as a whole.¡±

    ¡°What about Ren Throne?¡± Cheng Xiao asked.

    ¡°Well¡­ we shouldn¡¯t trouble the old man every time, and furthermore, he is not on the scene,¡± Gu Yuexuan said.

    He turned to Li Dan and said, ¡°Li Dan, we would need your help next.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Li Dan said solemnly with a salute.

    The location where the pangolin first appeared had already been cordoned off and other personnel d in the ck vests were using various tools to search for clues. Gu Yuexuan and his team went over and identified themselves, then dispersed the crowd.

    ¡°Li Xuefu!¡±

    The tanned Li Xuefu exhaled softly, then his whole body instantly lost all its strength and dropped to the ground.

    [Reiki Clone] was Li Xuefu¡¯s Awakened Ability, which enabled him to create a clone of himself in the Reiki dimension. The clone would be projected into reality, but would not be affected by thews of energy conservation, nor would it have any effect on reality. Its existence relied merely on the thinking and concentration of Li Xuefu, while at the same time, both of them shared senses and perceptions.

    ¡°All search team members, activate the tier 1 ability [Unity]!¡± Gu Yuexuanmanded loudly. Following which, he and Li Dan hooked arms with the other search team members, standing elbow to elbow to form an odd-looking circle.

    Li Xuefu was also one of them with his arms hooked by a team member on either side of him, and he closed his eyes as he became part of the circle.

    The next moment, all of their thoughts were linked together, and their individual senses were open to one another!

    The tier 1 ability [Unity] was an ability of little to no practical use. It enabled Practitioners to open their thoughts and senses to each other, but they had to be in close contact with each other for the ability to take effect. It had almost nobat power.

    At first, everyone thought that the ability was a romantic-type ability meant for couples. Even if teachers wanted to make use of the ability to impart knowledge to students, it could very easily turn the rtionship romantic, or perhaps lead to arger LGBTmunity.

    However, because it was very easy to grasp the ability, the Countermeasure Division dug hard and managed to discover its true purpose, while proving that poverty was the best productive force¡ªthey had no choice but to do so as there were too few known abilities and even fewer Practitioners who could utilize the abilities.

    Under the link of [Unity], the thoughts and senses of Practitioners followed that of Li Xuefu, who was in turn connected to his Reiki clone. In other words, the abilities which the individual Practitioners cast on themselves would be equally effective on the Reiki clone.

    The biggest significance of the Reiki clone was that it would not collide into any physical objects, and its movement was almost instantaneous.

    ¡®Let¡¯s start¡¯, Gu Yuexuan said in his mind.

    [Disruption of Wind], Gu Yuexuan¡¯s Awakened Ability. It was an attack ability, but after neglecting its attack effect, it was a powerful ability that allowed him to sense the flow of air and obtain information about surrounding objects.

    [Nose from Heaven], Wen Junjie¡¯s Awakened Ability. It acutely increased his sense of smell;

    [Moments], Cheng Xiao¡¯s Awakened Ability. It was a support spell that could make objects ¡®straight¡¯. When using revolvers and darts, they would be guaranteed to hit within a certain distance. When performing investigation searches, the ability could be a rangefinder.

    [Godsight, Godhearing], Li Dan¡¯s Awakened Ability. It acutely increased his sight and hearing, and temporarily granted him a 360¡ã vision.

    The other team members also possessed various search capabilities, but the small group formed by the five of them, including Gu Yuexuan, had one of the best search capabilities amongst all Countermeasure Divisions across the nation!

    The pangolin had a very faint scent, but it lingered in the air when it moved¡­

    The flow of air was disturbed, it went in this direction¡­

    It left footprints on the watermark on the ground, creating water ripples¡­

    The Reiki clone navigated through Tianjing City without leaving any traces behind, but very soon it stopped¡ªthey could no longer find any traces of the pangolin.

    Although the Reiki clone empowered by the five men was indeed terrifying, but¡­ that was also the most it could do.

    The pangolins fled too quickly and hid too well, and that was the best they could do without much information known.

    At that juncture, an unfamiliar voice sounded in their heads, ¡°I¡¯m here, recall the clues you guys found just now.¡±

    The five of them were slightly stunned. Gu Yuexuan asked, ¡°Is that Ren Throne?¡±

    ¡°Yes, today¡¯s mission passcode is *****,¡± Ren replied.

    The mission passcode was a five-digit passcode made of digits 0 to 9. It was changed every day and every time amand was made through themunication device, the mission passcode had to be said at the end of themand to prove the speaker¡¯s identity.

    Although it was long known that there were third- and fourth-tier abilities which enabled the user tomunicate with the target through the mind and without being in contact, it was the first time that Gu Yuexuan experienced it for himself! Moreover, Ren was several kilometers away!

    ¡°¡­ In front, on the left,¡± Ren said.

    The Reiki clone moved ording to themand, and very soon Li Dan and the team discovered new clues.

    How did he know? Was there a stronger search ability than ourselves?

    The questions in their minds were quickly exposed through their interconnected thoughts, and they quickly got their answer.

    Ren said, ¡°I¡¯m not on the scene, and no matter how powerful the search ability is, it cannot see so far out. I merely analyzed the intelligence you guys have gathered and made a logical deduction using [Super Brain], a fourth-tier ability.¡±

    With the help of Ren Throne, Gu Yuexuan and his team quickly found the pangolin¡¯s hiding spot. The other team members had already prepared a pen and paper to note down the details:

    [643 meters away, 32¡ã northwest, in the alley between Linhe Alley 156 and 159, the pangolin is directly underneath the window in the exact middle of the alley. The pangolin is currently in an invisible state, and the nearest Countermeasure Division personnel is on the main street 36 meters away!]

 Chapter 156 - Awakening

    Chapter 156: Chapter 156 ¨C Awakening

    The meteor shower that night was destined to remain etched in people¡¯s memories.

    No one had ever seen meteors so close to each other to form a dense meteor cluster. Rather than saying that those meteors dispersed from Tianjing to various ces, it was more appropriate to say that they were ¡®attracted¡¯ to their owners around the nation from Tianjing.

    In Xuan Nation, some of its citizens were middle-aged and elderly people were asleep, some were the young people who were still watching television programs, yingputer or mobile games at home, and some were students who were revising in preparation for the national college entrance examination¡­

    The people were suddenly struck by a distant red streak of light originating from Tianjing and then fell into different states based on their situations.

    Those who were more fortunate fell into a deep sleep, and when they awoke, they would be one of the strategicbat talents the nation desperately needed;

    Those who were not as fortunate lost the game they were ying when they were struck by the red streak of light;

    Those who were more unfortunate were driving or engaged in dangerous work when they were struck by the red streak of light, and their oue depended on fate and luck.

    Dong Chengling belonged to the most special category.

    When Ren Suo crashed into the ss panel on the balcony, Dong Chengling was so shocked and could barely maintain her stance. She was leaning halfway out of the balcony with her hands in the air and her feet were already off the ground¡ª

    Just as Ren Suo thought that he was still unable to stop the impending doom, Dong Chengling propelled herself lightly off the balcony wall, swirled one round in the air like a gymnast, and lightlynded back on the ground safely.

    On the other hand, Ren Suo collided with the ss door of the balcony with a ng and was left dizzy.

    ¡°You really gave me a scare when you rushed over,¡± Dong Chengling said as she quickly went over to help Ren Suo up. She looked at the balcony again and asked, ¡°Did you think I was going to fall over?¡±

    Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu who were startled by Ren Suo¡¯s sudden action also came back to their senses. Gu Yueyan sat on the sofa andughed, ¡°Although Teacher Dong is not a second-tier Practitioner yet, she has already mastered many abilities. We are only on the third floor, so she won¡¯t be harmed in any way as long as she is equipped with [Clothes].¡±

    Ren Suo pursed his lips. It was only then that he realized a loophole in his thinking.

    Unlike him, Dong Chengling was one of the ¡®excellent students¡¯ who received key training from the nation, just like Zhao Huo. Although she was not as ¡®talented¡¯ as those who managed to enter the Practitioner Institution in Tianjing, she definitely received the first chapter of the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±.

    If what Yu Kuangtu was true, Dong Chengling¡¯s physical condition would be far more superior than that of ordinary people after she practiced ording to the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±. Even if she was not equipped with [Clothes] at that time, falling from the third floor unlikely posed any dangers to her.

    Ren Suo initially thought that Dong Chengling was Awakened while she was crossing the road which resulted in her being hit by a car. But just now, he thought that Dong Chengling would fall downstairs and end up breaking her leg when she was collecting herundry.

    Had Dong Chengling merely been an ordinary person, those two possibilities naturally existed. But considering Dong Chengling¡¯s capabilities, it would be very unlikely for her to meet such idents¡ªeven Ren Suo himself need not fear most idents in life as long as he was equipped with [Clothes].

    ¡°Are you alright? Are you not wearing [Clothes]?¡± Dong Chengling asked as she walked over and grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s hand. She looked at his shoulder and could not help but shake her head, saying, ¡°It¡¯s bruised.¡±

    Ren Suo was so anxious previously that he did not switch his equipped ability in time. As a matter of fact, his own grasp of [Clothes] was only average, and he collided heavily into the ss door of the balcony.

    Of course, the ss door was not a poor quality product. It was as thick as a knuckle and could not be broken by ordinary people. After all, it was not a Jackie Chan action movie; most ss doors and windows in homes were very thick and sturdy, and manufacturers would not dare to sell such panels which could break so easily.

    Dong Chengling looked at Ren Suo¡¯s bruised shoulders and arms and thought that it was both hrious and touching at the same time. She grabbed his hand and said, ¡°I should still have some dit da jow (analgesic liniment) at home, I¡¯ll go and¡­¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t forget who I am, this superficial injury can be perfectly healed by myself¡ª¡±

    Suddenly, a red streak of light passed through the wall, through Ren Suo¡¯s body, andnded on and fused into Dong Chengling¡¯s body.

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned as he turned to look at the clock in the room¡ªit was 23:06.

    Had the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation erupted?!

    At that juncture, Ren Suo also felt, subconsciously, that the Reiki energy in the world seemed to rise slightly. At the same time, however, Dong Chengling suddenly copsed on the ground. Ren Suo squatted down and grabbed Dong Chengling¡¯s hands, asking, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?!¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡± Dong Chengling did not manage to finish her sentence, but Ren Suo immediately began to feel the pain she was experiencing¡ª

    ¡ªIt was a pain of confusion.

    The disordered and confusing sense of space quickly spread from his hands to his whole body. Ren Suo could not even let go of his grip on Dong Chengling¡¯s hand, as if he had be one with her.

    His vision, hearing, and touch were all in disarray. Light no longer appeared as a straight line but twisted into an oddly-shaped curve. His body appeared to fragment into parts with his right hand appearing between his thighs, his stomach appearing where his left hand was supposed to be, his mouth appearing on his forehead, and his eyesnded in his navel.

    But his body signaled to him that everything was normal, and he had not been spliced by spatial division into an artwork of Picasso.

    Rather than pain, it was more like a bomb¡ªthe sense of confusion made Ren Suo feel nauseous. If there was merely pain, it would make him feel extremely awake, but what he felt now was as if he had been on a bus for 72 hours, in a state of dizziness from being half-awake, half-asleep.¡±ess ReadReadNovelFull.live if you like watching mangaics.

    Subconsciously, he wanted to be free of that dizziness and the way to do that relied on his mind¡ªthe chaotic space seemed possible to be broken with just a touch, and Ren Suo knew almost naturally that as long as he touched any part of his disordered body with Reiki, he would be able to disrupt the chaos and free himself from that disorientation of space.

    His logical mind told him that he should not do so, but the intense dizziness and nausea made him rather suffer from pain than experience that.

    ¡®What should I do? What should I do?¡¯

    At that moment, Ren Suo suddenly felt that his sense of confusion was slightly alleviated. Miraculous energy seemed to flow through his body and back to its owner through his arm¡­

    ¡°You may let go,¡± Dong Chengling¡¯s voice seemed to sound from a distant ce.

    Suddenly, Ren Suo recalled Lin Xianyu¡¯s experience.

    When Lin Xianyu was Awakening, it was because her Awakened Ability was too powerful that she suffered multiple injuries during the process. ording to various posts on the intr, although the process of Awakening differed from person to person, those who acquired extremely powerful abilities which could affect reality would often go through such experiences to various extents.

    And what about Dong Chengling?

    The power of space-type abilities was unimaginable, so when she Awakened, she also experienced such a situation?

    Instantly, Ren Suo knew the truth¡ª

    Dong Chengling lost her legs because she could not bear the chaos of the bending space when she Awakened, so she touched and disrupted the chaotic energy and in turn, she twisted and broke her legs so that she could be freed from the chaos!

    With her capabilities, it was impossible for her to be injured in an ident.

    Ugh.

    Ren Suo sighed in his heart, as he slightly regained control of his body. He could barely see the girl breaking out in cold sweat in front of him, his hands stretched out along his arms and grabbed Dong Chengling¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s lonely to eat alone,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Dong Chengling trembled slightly, and a short momentter, the spatial chaos that Ren Suo had just been eased of began flooding his entire body again.

    Is there any way¡­

    [Ability: Heal], [Heart-Strengthening], [Unlimited Energy]¡­

    Equipping himself with [Unlimited Energy], Ren Suo felt slightly better. He could not care more about his shortening lifespan as he used the ability.

    [Hat of Cultivation and Practice], [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]¡­

    Unexpectedly, the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] greatly reduced the sense of chaos and dizziness Ren Suo felt. Recalling the description of the jade pendant, Ren Suo thought that it could be that Dong Chengling¡¯s present abnormal state was a type of ¡°chaotic, impure Reiki¡±, which was why the jade pendant was purifying a part of it?

    ¡°Brother Ren!¡± ¡°Teacher Dong!¡±

    The voice of Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu came from all directions. Ren Suo and Dong Chengling said simultaneously, ¡°Don¡¯t touch us!¡±

    In the ubiquitous sounds of wind and rain, Ren Suo heard the girls urgently making a call and was relieved. Finally, it seemed that other Practitioners in the Institution would soon arrive to help.

    However, just a short whileter, the intensity of the chaos originating from Dong Chengling grew stronger and stronger, and even Ren Suo, who had reduced the sense of chaos by five or sixyers, gradually felt it was slightly unbearable.

    And Ren Suo could sense that the chaos Dong Chengling experienced was at least twice that of his. He could tell that by now her senses would have beenpletely shattered by the chaos of space, and she would not be able to remain fully conscious.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Dong Chengling¡¯s voice resonated through the chaotic space again, and the intense feeling of nausea made Ren Suo feel numb throughout his body.

    ¡°¡­ For no reason,¡± Ren Suo said.

    He seemed to hear the sound of numerous footsteps approaching, but the changes Dong Chengling experienced also seemed to be ending. The sense of confusion washed away Ren Suo¡¯s will like a torrent, and even his senses were dissected into numerous fragments by the contortion of space. Ren Suo could no longer feel if his body wasplete.

    ¡°Sister Ling, Ren Suo, they would be here soon!¡±

    ¡°Teacher Dong, Brother Ren, don¡¯t die!¡±

    Ren Suo felt a huge pressure crushing him, as if an avnche was crashing down, attempting to crush his every will. But he continued to be tormented by the immense pressure as he would not sumb to it.

    Ren Suo silentlymented to himself, ¡®Why did I have to act cool, now I am useless like Shapuaisi anyway.¡¯ However, he pulled Dong Chengling closer to him and shared more of the burden of the chaotic energy from her.

    He was a skillful yer after all and had to make the novice be in awe of his skills.

    ¡°Do you¡­ regret this?¡±

    ¡°Slightly.¡±

    ¡°What¡­ did you want to tell me¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I want to¡­¡±

    When Ren Suo passed outpletely, a grand chase was also happening in Tianjing City, thousands of miles away.

    Interestingly, both the one chasing and the one being chased were closely linked to Ren Suo.

 Chapter 157 - Jolted Awake

    Chapter 157: Chapter 157 ¨C Jolted Awake

    The midnight crimson-red meteor shower signified a new wave of Reiki rejuvenation.

    The only problem was that it was a Xuan_Nation_Limited_Edition.jpg.

    The activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation affected a billion people across the vastnds of Xuan Nation, so it was naturally impossible to conceal the truth of such a widespread event. In fact, on the first night when the red aurora appeared in Tianjing City, many countries already began paying attention to the changes which took ce.

    In such treacherous and turbulent times, it was not umon for extraordinary events to take ce, whether it was an opportunity or danger.

    Intelligence personnel from numerous countries gathered in Tianjing City, perhaps thinking of reaping benefits in the process or gloating over the misfortunes which resulted, but most of them arrived in Tianjing City with the intention of gathering intelligence on how they should deal with simr events happening in their own countries in the future.

    In the beginning, most major forces did not think that the phenomenon was anything good. After all, the appearance of the auroras was peculiar, and the location where they appeared was the capital of Xuan Nation. If there were any miscalctions, there would be serious consequences for the political, economic, and research city.

    Moreover, the fact that the auroras were appearing at the same time for several consecutive days made many countries further believe that the appearance of the auroras was not any good.

    The times at which the auroras appeared every day were very close to each other but still varied by up to 10 minutes. Rather than thinking that it was a result of natural variances, it was more likely that the exact times varied due to human factors. The red auroras were more likely to be man-made phenomena, which resulted in the times at which they appeared being unstandardized.

    Linking back to the training in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± which took ce a few days ago, various countries guessed that a fool in Xuan Nation must have opened some ancient secret treasure of the devil. Naturally, the Pacific Federation had identified the three gods in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± some time ago, and that the entire event was likely rted to the group of troublemakers who were live-streaming.

    Although the three gods did not wreak any havoc, the Pacific Federation had nned countless emergency contingency ns in case any unfavorable event urred.

    Apart from the possibility of people summoning some powerful being from the distant universe, the appearance of the three gods already made them pull their hair in frustration. Since the gods were essentially able to heal anyone, they would naturally be able to kill anyone.

    But the problem was that the final champion in the training of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± was not from the Federation. They could not find any way ofmunicating with the gods and could only pray to the gods cautiously through images and pictorial representations of them. As to whether it is effective, it depended on the moods of the gods¡­

    At present, Xuan Nation also seemed to realize the impact of the mysterious power. It would be alright if it was just a trial, but they were wary that evil demons could descend from the skies. If that was the case, then, well, they could only consider themselves unlucky, while other countries could enjoy the show and collect data.

    Nheless, in any case, if an uncontroble supernatural phenomenon took ce in the Tianjing capital now, it was likely that the turmoil that resulted was sufficient to make them lose hundreds of millions in assets.

    However, the meteor showers appeared instead, and all the various forces were bewildered.

    ¡°The concentration of Reiki in the Tianjing capital increased by 224%?¡±

    ¡°The concentration of Reiki in other cities also increased rapidly. The farthest city of Hainan also has a 98% higher concentration of Reiki than before? And it is still increasing gradually?¡±

    ¡°Preliminary investigations have confirmed that the red meteor showers are rted to Awakening. Almost all of those who were struck by the red meteor streaks received a boost in their Reiki talents and have Awakened, granting them their own Awakened Ability.¡±

    ¡°However, past the borders of Xuan Nation, the concentration of Reiki decreased rapidly, and in less than one kilometer, the Reiki levels returned to normal.¡±

    ¡°There have been no sightings of the red meteor streaks entering the neighboring countries of Xuan Nation!¡±

    At the same time, all the various forces stepped up their efforts to find out what happened in Tianjing City on the night of May 31 at all costs!

    ¡°The Tianjing Countermeasure Branch, the Public Security Department, and the Armed Police Force are searching for a pangolin-like animal in Tianjing City.¡±

    ¡°At 01:16 on June 1, Litang Road and Ansi Road were closed in the southbound direction from Tianjing City.¡±

    ¡°At 03:30 on June 1, six helicopters flew from Tianjing City to Beimang Forest Nature Reserve.¡±

    ¡°At 04:13 on June 1, all roads around the Beimang Forest Nature Reserve were closed.¡±

    ¡°At 05:30 on June 1, traffic controls were set up on the road leading from Beimang Forest Nature Reserve to Tianjing Restricted Zone. Arge convoy seemed to be transporting important items.¡±

    ¡°Current conclusion: Xuan Nation is not unaware of the situation but is not involved in the Reiki explosion, but they have managed to capture the originator.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo awoke, he let out a muffled groan. He felt his remnants of saliva on the right side of his face, and he subconsciously attempted to lift his arm to wipe it off.

    But his arms did not move.

    It was not that he had lost his arms, but Ren Suo felt the enormous pressure of gravity weighing down heavily on him, especially his hands. It was as if he was having a cold, his limbs were weak and they felt as heavy as a block of gold.

    However, the other parts of his body did not feel the same way, his brain felt fine, and he did not feel confused or sick.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    Dong Chengling¡¯s voice seemed to originate very close to him. The tiny current of air that apanied her voice ruffled Ren Suo¡¯s fringe, and a minty scent wafted into his nose.

    Ren Suo opened his eyes and saw Dong Chengling 30cms in front of him. He and Dong Chengling were lying on the same spacious andfortable bed at the same time, supported by clean, white pillows. Imagining such a scene was sufficient to assume what they had just been doing.

    Noticing that Ren Suo¡¯s mouth moved slightly, Dong Chengling quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk. Miss Qiao!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s awake?¡± the reply came.

    It was a familiar female voice that came from where the door was at. Ren Suo opened his eyes and tried to turn his head to look at her, but the light was too piercing to his eyes. He only managed to see a familiar figure.

    ¡°Open your mouth, don¡¯t lick it,¡± she said.

    Before Ren Suo could react, a small, tender hand inserted two soft, stic and sponge-like balls into his mouth, which proceeded to cover his mouth. She said, ¡°Chew quickly, don¡¯t talk.¡±

    ¡°Woo woo woo woo¨C¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s pupils in his eyes finally adjusted to the light. He found himself in a white-colored room with a small square window on the left side and a bright but small-sized incandescent light on the ceiling. The texture of the wall of the room felt somewhat unfamiliar to Ren Suo.

    But the person covering his mouth was someone he was familiar with¡ªQiao Muyi.

    After Ren Suo let out a few muffled cries, a lemon scent emerged in his mouth. He thought for a short moment, then began chewing the balls and felt sticky foam form in his mouth.

    Qiao Muyi removed her hand from his mouth and said, ¡°There is no way for you to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth at this time. The balls I put in your mouth are toothpaste dots used for travel.¡±

    She retrieved a toothbrush and added some water onto it and said, ¡°Open your mouth.¡±

    Ren Suo obediently opened his mouth. Although he did not know what was going on, there was a beautiful girl serving him, so why not enjoy it first?

    With a strange smile on her face, Qiao Muyi inserted the toothbrush into Ren Suo¡¯s mouth and began brushing his teeth slowly. More foam formed as the bristles of the toothbrush rubbed against his teeth. Qiao Muyi¡¯s movements were extremely gentle and Ren Suo¡¯s gums felt veryfortable.

    For some reason, Ren Suo noticed that the look on Dong Chengling¡¯s face was getting darker and darker. After about ten seconds, Dong Chengling could not help but say, ¡°Are you done?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not clean yet¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡±

    Qiao Muyi shrugged as she retracted her hand with the toothbrush. She said, ¡°Since he is awake, both of you should sit up.¡±

    Dong Chengling nodded and sat upright without using her hands to support herself. That muscle strength¡ª

    Wow, Practitioners who are of a lower level than her would definitely not be able to withstand that strength¡­ As Ren Suo was immersed in his thoughts, he found his body moving along with Dong Chengling without him exerting any strength.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ren Suo was stunned. It was only then that he realized that he was holding onto Dong Chengling¡¯s forearms and likewise, she was holding onto his. They looked like two kindergarten children grabbing each other¡¯s arm while ying games.

    When Ren Suo tried to break free from Dong Chengling¡¯s grip, he felt a great repulsion from the surrounding environment. Her hands were like giant mas, strongly attracting his hands.

    Qiao Muyi brought a cup of water to Ren Suo¡¯s mouth, and he took arge sip, gargled, and spat it out. He even spat twice more to get rid of all the saliva in his mouth, as if he was trying to fully empty thest remnants of urine in his dder when peeing.

    He heard the roar of turbines and looked out of the window to see a blue sky outside and white clouds below.

    Ren Suo looked around, then looked at his arms intertwined with that of Dong Chengling, and finally at Qiao Muyi who was standing at the side.

    He noticed that outside the partially closed door, a man d in the ck vest walked past¡ªit was You Jilong, his previous superior.

    Ren Suo sighed softly and seriously looked at them.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Don¡¯t me us for making you brush your teeth first. The main reason is that you guys ate a lot of foodst night, and there would be a stench the moment you open your mouth¡­ Anyway, feel free to speak your mind.¡±

    Qiao Muyi and Dong Chengling were already prepared to answer Ren Suo¡¯s questions. For example, that they were on a ne, that the bizarre situation they were in was due to Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakening, that the Countermeasure Division was involved because Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakened Ability was too important¡­

    ¡°I want to pee,¡± Ren Suo seriously said. He continued, ¡°I woke up because of a full dder.¡±

 Chapter 158 - You Must Be Capable Enough To Take The Throne

    Chapter 158: Chapter 158 ¨C You Must Be Capable Enough To Take The Throne

    Two flights took off in different directions.

    One was heading to London from Tianjing and the other was heading to Tianjing from Lianjiang.

    In an old-fashioned manner of speech, such fate was just like a dung beetle rolling a ball of feces towards the unknown future, but fate had it that only when the dung beetle began feeding on its masterpiece that it realized there was poison in it!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After an embarrassing and inconvenient urination process, Ren Suo was finally able to sit down with Dong Chengling and quietly listen to Dong Chengling¡¯s and Qiao Muyi¡¯s exnations.

    However, Ren Suo clearly looked a little unfocused. Qiao Muyi suddenly stopped exining and asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time being supported by someone else at this age¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Ren Suo!¡± Dong Chengling eximed. She asked sternly, ¡°Are you attracted to the nurses from just now?¡±

    The Countermeasure Division had naturally considered beforehand about problems like using the toilet, so there were doctors and nurses apanying them on the ne. When Ren Suo or Dong Chengling needed to go to the toilet, two female nurses would warmly help them to remove their pants, then one of the nurses would ¡®assist¡¯ while the other would block their view of each other, allowing either of them toplete a round of secretion of their metabolic waste.

    Ren Suo could not help but shake his head and said, ¡°Well, although they have decent figures, I could not see their faces because they were wearing masks, so I can¡¯t say that I fancy them¡­¡±

    Eh? Ren Suo felt that the logic in his words seemed slightly odd.

    Qiao Muyi yawned and said, ¡°I was awakened by the rm clock at 5 o¡¯clock in the middle of the night to shift you guys to the ne in an emergency¡­ Sigh¡­¡±

    She looked at Ren Suo and Dong Chengling¡¯s tightly locked arms and shook her head, saying, ¡°You two young people really enjoy a thrill huh¡­ Well, you guys really have a tragic youth.¡±¡±readics on our ReadReadNovelFull.live¡±

    Ren Suo rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Do you think I wanted this to happen?¡±

    Dong Chengling said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ren Suo, it was me who pulled you down. You had good intentions and were trying to help by sharing the pressure of my Awakening¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi continued to exin, ¡°From Deputy Director Yu¡¯s observations, it was because of you that Dong Chengling managed to withstand the pressure due to the fluctuations in space during her Awakening without much harm. However, it is also because of this that her Awakened Ability is connected to you, which is why both of you cannot be separated from each other.¡±

    Although Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi¡¯s hands could be said to be stuck together, they were not bonded so tightly to each other like 502 super glue. As long as their hands were not separated, they could still move about.

    Ren Suo asked curiously, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Awakened Ability just knowledge? How could there be such consequences?¡±

    Qiao Muyi was surprised. Intrigued, she questioned, ¡°Aren¡¯t you Awakened yourself? Do you not know why? Did you acquire any knowledge when you Awakened?¡±

    Oops. Ren Suo had almost forgotten that his other persona was a ¡°first-tier Practitioner with resuscitation-type Awakened Ability [Heart-Strengthening]¡±. He turned his head around, but coincidentally met Dong Chengling¡¯s pure gaze.

    ¡®Holy crap, that gaze is making me nervous,¡¯ Ren Suo thought as he turned away again and looked in front of him and to his right.

    He stammered, ¡°Ah¡­ Um¡­ What do you think, Chengling?¡±

    Dong Chengling shook her head and said, ¡°After I Awakened, I just felt that I acquired a new innate instinct, but I only know that I know it, not how.¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°In fact, the abilities you learn from the Knowledge Net are also of that nature; you only know that you can do it but not how to do it. Only experts who study the abilities in depth will know the underlying nature of the abilities. The flow of breathing currents in your body generates a unique ¡°meridian channel¡± and when Reiki flows through it, it allows you to turn the fluctuations in the flow of energy into a real ability.¡±

    Ren Suo was not academically-inclined and naturally was not any Reiki expert. He merely used the abilities he gained from the Knowledge Web like [Clothes], [Lock], and [Heal] directly, and did not know any of its underlying principles.

    Although those abilities also had to be practiced, they were just like running and swimming where it would be natural for the limbs to move ordingly.

    Learning real knowledge like physics and mathematics was like learning better swimming skills as well as more efficient breathing patterns for running, both of which would enhance one¡¯s own capabilities.

    ¡°But in the case of Awakened Abilities, even though the Reiki Research Institute is able to observe and record their different Reiki meridian channels, they are virtually useless even if they are 100% transnted onto another Practitioner. They would even be harmed to a certain extent if they continued to use it for a longer period of time.¡±

    ¡°At present, the meridian channel of each Awakened Ability would only be effective on the one who Awakened that ability, in contrast to the typical abilities ordinary Practitioners utilize, which can be used by almost all Practitioners. Although differences would still be present due to varying degrees of affinities and the strength of the breathing currents, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Rather than Awakened Abilities, abilities which can be utilized by most Practitioners are the ones that the nation is seeking,¡± Qiao Muyi said with a shrug.

    ¡°I digress. I suppose you would now understand that the main basis of an Awakened Ability is to grant the Awakener a nearly instinctive, stable and consistent meridian channel. And when a powerful meridian channel capable of manipting arge amount of Reiki energy forms, it will cause the Reiki to be extremely chaotic and unstable. This is also the atypical phenomena some people experience when they are Awakening.¡±

    ¡°The meridian channel formed by Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakened Ability is tooplex and too powerful, which caused her to suffer agonizing Awakening damage. If what Dong Chengling described is right, then Ren Suo, you saved her life.¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, she would be disabled at best, and at worst she could have died. None of the healing abilities we know of currently are able to regenerate limbs,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    Ren Suo recalled the Dong Chengling whom the Nine-tailed Fox saw and nodded in agreement.

    Qiao Muyi teased, ¡°In any case, are you going to take this opportunity to make Dong Chengling devote herself to you?¡±

    ¡°Why would¡ª¡±

    Ren Suo was only mid-sentence when he felt Dong Chengling squeeze his forearms tightly with her arms. He swallowed back his words and nodded at Dong Chengling to convey his thoughts.

    Do you feel that Qiao Muyi was overboard to say that? I think so too.

    Qiao Muyi continued, ¡°So, Dong Chengling managed to avoid a disaster and sessfully Awakened. However, the peculiar changes in the meridian channel is causing the ability to be activated automatically and that, in turn, is causing both of your hands to be connected tightly to each other.¡±

    ¡°Although the nation is currently pursuing ordinary, general-purpose abilities, the powerful Awakeners still y a strategic role for the nation. Given that Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakened Ability is rted to space-type abilities, she is of great importance. This is why, in order to solve her problem as soon as possible, the Countermeasure Division instructed your transfer to Tianjing by ne for treatment.¡±

    ¡°We will reach our destination in about an hour, do you guys still have any questions?¡± Qiao Muyi asked.

    Although she said ¡°you guys¡±, Qiao Muyi only looked at Ren Suo¡ªas a teacher of the Institution, Dong Chengling was already very familiar withmon knowledge about Practitioners, so it was only the muddle-headed Ren Suo who would still be confused.

    And Ren Suo really had a question. He asked, ¡°I understand the rationale, but¡­ why are you in charge of this?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Me?¡± Qiao Muyi said as she shook her head. She said, ¡°Ah, you have already been away for more than a month, so you are not aware¡ªI am now the captain of Team Seven. Although I am still a first-tier Practitioner, I have alreadypleted nine supernatural missions and am proficient in six abilities, so overall I am only behind Deputy Director Yu and the captain of Team Two, Yao Fei.¡±

    Qiao Muyi pointed outside the door and said, ¡°Even Team Leader You has to take instructions from me¡ªalthough this is only temporary. Deputy Director Yu and Yao Fei¡¯s team are too busy and unable to attend to this, so naturally, I was tasked with the full responsibility of transferring both of you.¡±

    Ren Suo remarked, ¡°So you have worked hard to make a name for yourself too.¡±

    Qiao Muyi denied modestly, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I did not work hard and suffer at all.¡±

    Although they had not seen each other for some time, Qiao Muyi¡¯s ability to shut people down had not deteriorated in any way. Unfortunately, Ren Suo had not been able to win her with his words previously, and it was even more impossible for him to do so now¡­

    When Qiao Muyi left the room, just before the nended, only Ren Suo and Dong Chengling remained inside.

    After a short period of experimenting, they found out that as long as they did not intend to separate their hands, they only needed to maintain a certain area of contact¡ªan area about the size of the palm.

    ¡°She is a good girl,¡± Dong Chengling said out of a sudden.

    Ren Suo could not help but nod in agreement. He said, ¡°Although she is very direct and candid, in terms of her face, body, and capabilities, her small bit of cheekiness seems much cuter.¡±

    Ren Suo felt a pain in his palm and subconsciously opened his mouth, gasping in pain. He groaned, ¡°Wait wait wait¡­ Urgh, Miss! You are not an ordinary person now, the bones in my palm are going to be crushed by you!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I just couldn¡¯t help it,¡± Dong Chengling said sincerely, which made Ren Suo even more unbearable¡ªit made it seem like he deserved it.

    What was wrong?

    With Ren Suo¡¯s wisdom, he immediately thought of the reason¡ªit was certainly because he had praised Qiao Muyi.

    Why did it anger Dong Chengling subconsciously when he praised Qiao Muyi?

    With Ren Suo¡¯s wisdom, he immediately understood the reason¡ªit was certainly because Qiao Muyi was stronger than Dong Chengling.

    Qiao Muyi was proficient in six types of abilities and her capabilities would only be slightly lower than that of second-tier Practitioners, so she was undoubtedly much stronger than the current Dong Chengling. But Qiao Muyi had Awakened all along, and it seemed that she was able to increase her talents as time passed, so it was very natural for her to attain such achievements.

    However, Dong Chengling had also awakened her powerful space-type ability at present, so she might not necessarily fall behind Qiao Muyi in the future.

    ¡°Chengling, don¡¯t worry, you will be stronger than Qiao Muyi,¡± Ren Suo said seriously as he grasped Dong Chengling¡¯s hand immediately.

    Dong Chengling smiled for a moment and said, ¡°Yes.¡±

    At that juncture, Ren Suo thought of another possibility, and it was that Dong Chengling was jealous.

    Nheless, Ren Suo quickly dismissed such a possibility as he understood Dong Chengling. Since Dong Chengling had already rejected him before, her first reaction would be to repay his favor after he took the risk to share the burden of her Awakening, and not to devote herself to him.

    In other words, whether she was saved by a handsomed or an ugly guy, Dong Chengling was a strong-headed person who would repay the kindness even if she had to slog away, but not by devoting herself to her savior and sacrificing her precious feelings of love.

    Dong Chengling understood one thing better than others: the effect of love on a woman is too great. To achieve her ideals, she discerningly stopped herself from loving from the very beginning, and none of her feelings towards others ventured beyond friendship. And that was a very appropriate decision to make.

    Of course, that does not mean that Dong Chengling never wavered. If her entire soul was extremely touched in an extreme time of danger, there was still a possibility of her being moved.

    But Ren Suo recalled that he did not do anythingst night. He was so befuddled and disoriented by the chaotic sense of space at that time, and there was absolutely no way he could have been hitting her up.

    As Ren Suo was immersed in his thoughts, the ne was preparing tond in Tianjing City and two nurses came in to put their socks and shoes on for them. When he moved, he suddenly saw a small jade tattoo on his right arm.

    ¡®I am still equipped with the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]?!¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    It was only then when he remembered that in order to resist the spatial chaos arising from the unstable Reiki, which almost felt like he was fighting against the evil spirits, he had equipped himself with the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo. He had not unequipped it after he fell unconscious, so he was naturally still wearing it.

    Ren Suo quickly changed his equipped prop back to the [Hat of Practice and Cultivation] and sighed in relief¡ªthe Jade Pendant would make him want to eliminate demons and monsters subconsciously, and although his talent would increase by doing so, the risk was too great.

    Nheless, that means that I wasn¡¯t wearing the Hat of Practice and Cultivation¡­

    Ren Suo suddenly remembered the words he had said previously and realized that some of the things he said were too¡­ straightforward. When talking to people of the same level as him or those with an even higher status and more powerful than him, Ren Suo would usually protect his image by not exposing his likes and dislikes. He would also not invade their privacy willingly and would neverfort them out of assumed goodwill so that conflicts would not arise.

    He originally thought that he was wearing the [Hat of Practice and Cultivation] which caused such an effect, but he actually was not wearing it. Was the power of the hat slowly starting to affect his habitual behavior?

    However, Ren Suo was still reluctant to give up on that additional 10% of Understanding!

    Could that be what the saying ¡°you must be capable enough to take the throne¡± meant?!

    Ren Suo tried hard to recall¡ªdid he say anything else that was weird?

    Before leaving, Dong Chengling turned her head and said to Ren Suo, ¡°If that¡¯s the only wish you have before your death, even I would be moved. Although it would not be easy for me, seeing you put in so much effort¡­ I will do my best too.¡±

    As Ren Suo looked at her, dumbfounded, Dong Chengling utilized a strength that he was unable to resist to ¡®move¡¯ him out of the room and be escorted down the ne by the other personnel of the Countermeasure Division.

    ¡°I¡­ should not¡­ have said anything, right?! It¡¯s as if I missed this part of the plot, can I y it back again?¡±

    With those unanswered questions, Ren Suo began his first experience in Tianjing City.

 Chapter 159 - Itâ€™s Been a While, Nine-Tailed Fox

    Chapter 159: Chapter 159 ¨C It¡¯s Been a While, Nine-Tailed Fox

    Although Ren Suo wanted to find a chance to ask about the plot he missed, everything happened too quickly when they disembarked the ne, and Ren Suo did not have any chance to be alone with Dong Chengling.

    They were swiftly taken to a secret medical institution in Tianjing City, where several Practitioners, who were at least second-tier, cast their abilities and quickly solved the problem of Ren Suo and Dong Chengling being connected together by the Reiki meridian.

    It was actually not difficult to resolve such a problem where the Reiki was unconsciously intertwined¡ªutilizing stronger Reiki energy would eventually melt the connection between them, just like licking a popsicle with a warm tongue¡­

    Almost all of those Practitioners were key holders, and Ren Suo¡¯s heart could barely resist the strong feelings of attraction towards them due to the significant difference in skill.

    Speaking of which, Ren Suo had physical contact with Dong Chengling for such a long time and yet he did not hear any information about retrieving the key. He must have acquired the key when he was still unconscious.

    Ren Suo thought that his business there was done after he was separated from Dong Chengling. He could, probably, quickly head home to look at his new key and the free games for the month of June. However, Ren Suo was told that ¡°further observation is required¡± and was forced to stay put in the underground medical facility and enjoy days without connection to the outside world.

    In order to provide Ren Suo with something to do, the facility actually provided a device to increase the surrounding Reiki energy and a Knowledge Web crystal which he could log in to.

    Ren Suo logged in to the Knowledge Web and found that he had received his Reiki stones for the previous month. As a researcher, an emergency doctor of the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang, a special advisor to the Naisser Ren Special Task Force, and a special advisor to the Countermeasure Division, he earned a total of 460 Reiki stones. In addition to the 50 Reiki stones he was given initially; he now had a grand total of 510 Reiki stones.

    The first chapter of ¡°The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡± required 400 Reiki stones. Knowing that he would otherwise have nothing to do, he decided to exchange his stones for it.

    Just like how learning abilities were directly infused in memories, the first chapter of ¡°The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡± formed ripples amidst the sea of memories in Ren Suo¡¯s mind, bing second nature to his neurons. Ren Suo sat cross-legged on the Practice futon and naturally began practicing The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan.

    The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan was extremelyplicated, and it took 19 times longer than the advanced Practice technique toplete one full cycle. However, Ren Suo ran out of energy before he could even finish one cycle.

    ¡°The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan is not as easy as the abilities¡­¡± Ren Suo thought as he sighed in his heart. ¡°If I were at home, the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan would probably have be an ability, and I would have been able to equip it directly to Practice it¡­¡±

    Days passed as Ren Suo continued trying hard to Practice the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan. Seeing that there was no one around, he activated [Unlimited Energy] and equipped the [Hat of Practice and Cultivation] and spent four full days before he finallypleted one sessful cycle.

    If there had been no noises from digging at night, Ren Suo would definitely have been able to Practice faster.

    Afterpleting one sessful cycle, Ren Suo could feel his Reiki energy be stronger. At the same time, he enabled more Reiki to be infused into his body, which made him feelfortably numb all over. Being able to feel himself gradually bing stronger, Ren Suo felt slightly excited.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder they are obsessed with Practicing, feeling such pleasure is no less than leveling up in a game!¡±

    However, Ren Suo eventually cked off. As much as it felt extremely pleasant after sessfullypleting one full cycle, the fatigue and aching of the muscles were overwhelming. He would not be able to persevere through the full cycle unless he activated [Unlimited Energy].

    Just as Ren Suo was beginning to suspect that he had been forgotten, his bedroom door was suddenly opened one night, and two personnel of the Countermeasure Division appeared.

    ¡°Researcher Ren, Chief Ma needs your assistance,¡± they said.

    ¡°Chief Ma?¡± Ren Suo, who had been Practicing, said. He was surprised and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t I a patient?¡±

    Bewildered, Ren Suo followed them out of the bedroom. On the way, they passed by a few people who were carrying two cages covered by ck cloth and were heading deeper into the medical facility.

    Ren Suo looked back as he passed them and suddenly looked up to observe the ceiling of the medical facility.

    This ceiling, this wall¡­

    ¡°We are here.¡±

    Ren Suo arrived in front of arge, empty space. Dong Chengling, whom he had not seen in several days, was standing in the center of the space, along with quite a few other people. Beyond the boundary of therge space, various electrical wires wereid all over the ground and numerous types of instruments that were unknown to Ren Suo were set up.

    Ren Suo somewhat knew what was going to happen. He walked to the center of the space and a middle-aged man, who was standing next to Dong Chengling and talking to the other personnel, turned to greet Ren Suo. He stretched out his hand politely and said, ¡°Hello, Researcher Ren, I am Zhao Jinhong, the chief of the Endangered Elves Protection Division under the Countermeasure Division of Tianjing under the Countermeasure System. You may call me Lao Zhao.¡±

    ¡°This time, Practitioner Dong would need your assistance in activating her Awakened Ability, and on behalf of the Countermeasure Division, I request for your help.¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s pupils shrank but he immediately nodded his head. Lao Zhao turned to face Dong Chengling and said, ¡°Practitioner Dong, this is an urgent matter. Would you be able to start now? We must hurry and arrive before Fanying Nation does!¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Dong Chengling said as she turned around. She stretched out her delicate hand to Ren Suo as if an invitation to dance.

    After a few days apart, Dong Chengling appeared even more attractive and he could faintly smell a pleasant scent from her. The magnificence and strength of her Awakening seemed to have been fully elevated to another level.

    ¡°Researcher Ren.¡±

    ¡°Ren Suo.¡±

    Lao Zhao and Dong Chengling both urged Ren Suo to hurry. Ren Suo already knew the role he yed in the game, so he did not ask anything and put his left hand on Dong Chengling¡¯s right hand.

    The moment his hand touched hers, a familiar feeling washed over Ren Suo again. This time, however, it was a sense of order, not chaos.

    ¡°Target location has been set.¡±

    ¡°Reiki transmission isplete.¡±

    ¡°Interference has been resolved.¡±

    The logistic team outside the area signaled for them to begin after three consecutive checks.

    Dong Chengling turned her head and looked at the empty space in front of her as she lightly drew a line in the air with her hand.

    Ren Suo instantly felt that he became a channel for Reiki to flow. The Reiki passed through a mysterious channel in his body into Dong Chengling, and he became an important source of energy for her to cast her Awakened Ability.

    The entire space erupted into a violent Reiki storm. It had no effect on anyone, and instead, the Reiki gushed endlessly into the line in the air Dong Chengling drew.

    A ck opening appeared in the space where she drew a line.

    ¡°Help me.¡±

    Dong Chengling seemed to think that Ren Suo knew what to do without any further guidance.

    And truly, Ren Suo knew how to open the tear in the space, having already witnessed it once.

    Dong Chengling and Ren Suo stood in front of the opening. With his right palm facing upwards and Dong Chengling¡¯s left palm facing downwards, they inserted their palms into the opening together.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, just move ording to your intuition.¡± Dong Chengling continued, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    There was no way that Ren Suo could not be nervous, but it was not because of Dong Chengling or his involvement in casting the ability.

    It was the thought of what was behind the opening that made him breathe more rapidly.

    Easy.

    Ren Suo lifted the opening upwards as Dong Chengling pulled it downwards.

    With that, the eye-like opening was ripped open by them.

    On the other side of the opening, it was the scene of a bustling night in Fanying Nation that Ren Suo once saw.

    The scenes he once saw on the screen now appeared before him.

    And the character he once controlled now appeared before him.

    He looked up at the seductive eyes ncing towards the souls on the ground in the distance.

    It was descending down from the sky on its butterfly-paved steps, as if a deity descending to the mortal world.

    It¡¯s been a while, Nine-tailed Fox. It has been¡­ almost half a month?

 Chapter 160 - Almost Fallen For Me

    Chapter 160: Chapter 160 ¨C Almost Fallen For Me

    Looking into your eyes, I know you¡¯re not mine.

    The moment Ren Suo exchanged eye contact with Nine-tailed Fox, he was instantly mesmerized.

    From endorphins to dopamine, from heart rate to blood pressure, from brain sma to prostate, all of Ren Suo was in disorder.

    The fragrance of chocte when Ren Suo ate his first bar of chocte when he was four years old, the fragrance of the rice dumpling rolls with beef briskets sold on the street after he yed ser, the fragrance when he walked into the flowering fields during his high school graduation trip with his friends, the fragrance of the crabs being cooked by his mother when he was epted into the university, the fragrance of the grass when heid down on the field with his friends, dreaming about their future¡­

    All of Ren Suo¡¯s beautiful memories came to his mind, and the joy and happiness he felt radiated all the way from his bone marrow into his brain. Ren Suo felt that his body was bing heavier, but his soul was also bing lighter.

    Ren Suo felt a slight pain in his hand as Dong Chengling dug her nails into his palm, instantly breaking Ren Suo free from the mesmerizing dream.

    In just one second, Ren Suo¡¯s back was dripping with cold sweat. He shifted his gaze and looked at the crowd on the street beside him as he calmed his racing heart.

    That was close!

    He almost fell in love with Nine-tailed Fox!

    Clearly, the person behind Nine-tailed Fox was a macho hunk who liked to eat crayfish, shamelessly yed cute when chatting online and charmed people¡ªit was none other than Ren Suo himself!

    Nine-tailed Fox did not use any of her skills, but her [Seductive Scent] and the infinite images of her being formed were sufficient to affect the onlookers within range. Both men and women were willing to be charmed by her!

    It had an extremely powerful effect close to that of a chemical attack. The charm of Nine-tailed Fox surpassed the ordinary senses and was closer to an attack of high-dimensional Reiki energy which directly caused anyone who watched her secrete the corresponding chemical substances to form memories and look up to the nine-tailed fox naturally.

    Ren Suo could notprehend the powerful influence she had in the game, but after he felt it for himself, he discovered how terrifying Nine-tailed Fox could be¡ª

    ¡ªIt was like having Nine-tailed Fox as a seasoning to all of one¡¯s beautiful memories, be it family, friendships, and love, such that one would naturally believe that she was an essential and inseparable part of one¡¯s life.

    If ordinary people all sought their ¡°destined one¡± who matched all of their interests and habits, then the nine-tailed fox would be everybody¡¯s ¡°destined one¡±. Anyone would be willing to soften their stance and change themselves to wee her.

    Even Ren Suo was almost deluded by it. If not for the fact that he was a first-tier Practitioner with a certain level of resistance against it, as well as Dong Chengling¡¯s timely obstruction, Ren Suo might well have fallen in love with Nine-tailed Fox from the Heavenly Pce, who was his creation.

    It was actually not an enjoyable feeling¡­ It was as if he was about to fancy his female self.

    However, Ren Suo could not help but take another nce at Nine-tailed Fox. Her actions were undoubtedly like how Ren Suo controlled her in the game, but exactly what kind of soul was she?

    Looking at her for the second time, Ren Suo did not fall into the trap which made his heartbeat chaotic, but instead, he saw the smile deep in the eyes of the nine-tailed fox.

    Her eyebrows twitched slightly and her lips nted upwards, as if she was ying an extremely enjoyable game.

    However, she tilted her head slightly and looked at Dong Chengling who was standing next to Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo also turned to look at Dong Chengling but happened to meet her clear but bright gaze as she looked at him.

    Everything was taking ce just like in the game, but there were just a few more twists and turns in reality.

    Dong Chengling rubbed against Ren Suo¡¯s left palm at exactly where she had pinched him previously. As they were holding each other¡¯s hands very tightly, his palm was sweating and there was an indescribable and peculiar sense of stickiness.

    However, Ren Suo stared intently at Dong Chengling¡¯s mouth as he waited for a familiar line from her.

    Dong Chengling saw Ren Suo finally looking at her and her solemn expression eased slightly. She turned to look at Nine-tailed Fox and said:

    ¡°Hello, I am Dong Chengling.¡±

    At that juncture, Lao Zhao and several other Practitioners who were powerful enough to disrupt Ren Suo¡¯s breathing current stepped through the eye-shaped hole that Ren Suo and Dong Chengling opened, bringing them from Tianjing in Xuan Nation to Qingkong Street in Tokyo of Fanying Nation.

    ¡°Rx your grip,¡± Dong Chengling said. Ren Suo felt his Reiki current decrease drastically from that of the Huangguoshu Waterfall to that of a small water pipe in a university dormitory. The space in the air which he ¡®lifted¡¯ with his right hand suddenly felt like thousand tons, making him release his grip instantaneously.

    The space passage which they opened temporarily was closed, and the Practitioners and researchers at the side immediately got down to work. Ren Suo was pulled aside during his muddle-headedness¡ªQiao Muyi was waiting for him.

    When Ren Suo saw her, he asked, ¡°Why are you still here?¡±

    Qiao Muyi nced at Dong Chengling and said, ¡°I am hoping for someone to devote himself to me, just like you.¡±

    Without giving Ren Suo the chance to ask a question, Dong Chengling continued, ¡°Thanks for your help this time, Ren Suo.¡±

    Ren Suo scratched his head and replied, ¡°Well, it¡¯s time for you to tell me about what¡¯s going on, although I can at least guess that the reason why I was made to stay had nothing to do with ¡®further observation¡¯, right?¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Of course not, do you think you can stay just because you want to? You are not qualified to do that yet.¡±

    ¡°That ce is the nation¡¯s highly important medical facility which specifically epts Practitioners and important people. Even the Reiki gathering equipment there is more than twice as effective as that of Lianjiang¡¯s. It is not a ce someone without at least a certain level of privilege would know about.¡±

    Dong Chengling sighed. She frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s because of me. I still have not managed to master my Awakened Ability over thest few days, which is why you have no choice but to be here with me now.¡±

    Qiao Muyi smiled as she looked at the both of them and exined, ¡°Ren Suo, you must know that the Awakening Ability is rted to the Reiki meridian and that the Awakening Explosion is also a side effect of the formation of the Reiki meridian channel.¡±

    ¡°As you would have seen just now, Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakened Ability is a space-type ability that is able to tear up space directly to create a space portal. This is much more powerful than the idea of ¡°teleporting¡± you would imagine¡ªin the most extreme case, the girl you are holding hands with right now could well be the person who leads humankind into a new era in the Milky Way.¡±

    It was only at that time that Ren Suo realized he was still holding onto Dong Chengling¡¯s hand. He tried to break away but Dong Chengling held his hand even more tightly¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet,¡± an extremely serious Dong Chengling said. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to just let go like that.¡±

    Qiao Muyi continued, saying, ¡°Naturally, the nation is paying much attention to the addition of a new Awakener with a space-type Ability. However, the problem now is that Dong Chengling is unable to cast the ability independently.¡±

    ¡°The process of you helping Dong Chengling to Awaken caused her Awakening Reiki meridian to extend onto you. Casting the ability requires theplete meridian channel to be present, and even though the Practitioners managed to separate both of you, she would be unable to cast the ability due to the disrupted meridian channel.¡±

    Ren Suo turned his head to look at the area where the hole of the space portal disappeared and asked, ¡°So the reason why I was asked toe was to allow Chengling to sessfully cast her ability?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Qiao Muyi said. ¡°Some special matters happened recently and just now, Xuan Nation especially needed to send people to Tokyo in Fanying Nation. And coincidentally, Dong Chengling was here¡­¡±

    Ren Suo eximed, ¡°So a space portal from Tianjing to Tokyo was made? Wow, that¡¯s simply a miracle created by a goddess!¡±

    Dong Chengling blushed slightly and she quickly said seriously, ¡°Actually, if not for the other Practitioners who helped me to lock in the precise location and build the target location and environment, as well as without the best Reiki environment, I would not have been able to do this at all. I only made a small contrib¡ª ¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Qiao Muyi interrupted as she waved her hand. She said, ¡°Excessive humility is arrogance. If what you did is not considered a great contribution, then what about the other Practitioners who helped you, are they not more than spectators then? If you do not recognize your strengths, other people who can only wish to have your powers would be extremely embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± said Dong Chengling, slightly bewildered.

    Ren Suo nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s like those students who received close to full marks in an exam and are the top few students in the level, and yet they go around telling people that they did badly and that it is very embarrassing. They are simply mocking other equally diligent and hardworking students. Real humility is silently admitting that you are strong, rather than despising yourself which connotes a contempt for people who are weaker than themselves.¡±

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right,¡± said Dong Chengling as she nodded her head. When she said that, Qiao Muyi nced at her.

    Ren Suo suddenly thought of a terrifying prospect. He asked, ¡°So, does that mean that Chengling will have to continue holding my hand like this whenever she casts her ability?!¡±

    In that case, would he not be an ¡°Intermediary for the Casting of Space-type Ability (specially belongs to Dong Chengling)¡±?

    In that case, how would he be able to find the time to y his games?

    How would he be able to obtain other keys?

    How would he be able to¡­

    Qiao Mu Yi asked coldly, ¡°Do you not like that?¡±

    ¡°How can it be!¡± answered Ren Suo, almost subconsciously.

    At that juncture, someone called for Dong Chengling, and she let go of Ren Suo¡¯s hand with her usual expression. She smiled and said before leaving hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will master my Awakened Ability very soon, I won¡¯t make you wait too long.¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at Ren Suo yfully and joked, ¡°Even if you are willing, Dong Chengling may not be willing to do so. The nation would be even more unwilling¡ªhow could they allow such a powerful Practitioner to have such a weakness?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you previously? The meridian channels of Awakened Abilities are ineffective when ced on other people, but conversely, it is a sessful Awakened meridian channel which would be effective on the one who Awakened it.¡±

    ¡°Dong Chengling¡¯s Awakened meridian channel has already been analyzed when treating both of you, and she is finding a way toplete the meridian channel perfectly.¡±

    ¡°As long as she finds the right meridian channel, you can retire gloriously as a one-time-use prop.¡±

    Ren Suo pulled his lips as Qiao Muyi turned to signal to the personnel d in the ck vest next to her. She said, ¡°The higher-ups have instructed that you have to continue staying here for a few more days. We don¡¯t have as much time as you to Practice these few days, so you should enjoy your time here while you are given the opportunity.¡±

    As she watched Ren Suo being taken away by the personnel d in the ck vest, Qiao Muyi turned to look at Dong Chengling who was not far away, listening as a group of schrs guided her. The space portal mission was of great significance, for the size of the space portal, the distance to the target and the effective duration were all important indicators for future reference. It depended on Dong Chengling to learn and remember how to bnce all of these factors.

    Qiao Muyi tilted her head and muttered to herself, ¡°What did he mean by ¡®how can it be¡¯¡­ Does he mean ¡®how can it be that I don¡¯t like that¡¯, or ¡®how can it be that I like that¡¯¡­ Perhaps, could the key to this mission really be him¡­?¡±

 Chapter 161 - Left Hand Holding Onto The Right, Right Hand Holding Onto The Left

    Chapter 161: Chapter 161- Left Hand Holding Onto The Right, Right Hand Holding Onto The Left

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Perhaps because of Ren Suo¡¯s performance in the Nine-Tailed Fox mission, he was allowed to use a tablet¡ªthere was no inte ess but there were mini-games, 1 GB of study materials on various topics, and various novels andics. It satisfied Ren Suo¡¯s minimum entertainment needs.

    In addition, there was also a ¡°Glorious Xuan News¡± application.

    It appeared to be an app for internal use which was updated with the newest information rted to Practitioners.

    Ren Suo scrolled through the app and realized that the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Ennd had begun when he was practicing ¡°The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±. In fact, when he saw Nine-tailed Fox, he had already expected that, since Ennd was her previous stop before she arrived in Fanying Nation.

    It was also because of the opening of the Reiki Treasure of Ennd that the pangolin, which was housed in an unknown number of rooms away from him, finally startedmunicating with Xuan Nation as a representative of the Heavenly Pce.

    Indeed, Ren Suo finally remembered that, although theyout of the room he was in was slightly different, the texture of the wall and its spatialyout was very simr to that which the pangolin was housed in under the Endangered Elves Protection Act.

    There were probably many of such simr-looking rooms there, but they need not necessarily be used to house patients. It was likely that other researchers and Practitioners in the facility also lived there. After all, it was simply unnecessary to install a Reiki gathering device in a medical ward.

    With the small tablet, Ren Suo watched as the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation was activated, followed by the activation of the Reiki Treasure of South America, then the Reiki Treasure of Australia¡­

    The events were directly described as ¡°Activation of Reiki Treasures¡± in the news. After the appearance of Nine-tailed Fox, the fact that ¡°Reiki Treasures can be activated¡± becamemon knowledge. All forces knew that Xuan Nation had the support of the Heavenly Pce and became the negotiator between the Heavenly Pce and the mortals on Earth as they activated the Reiki Treasures of three different countries.

    Although knowledge of ¡°Reiki Treasure¡± was still not announced to the public, it was after all the age of the inte. The extraordinary phenomena experienced by numerous people after the activation of the Reiki Treasures were overwhelming and many people could testify that they were Awakened on the day that their country¡¯s Reiki Treasure was ignited. As such, the vast majority of people guessed that the ¡°Reiki Treasures are being activated, and the world is being enhanced¡±.

    With the emergence of extraordinary powers, most ordinary people adapted quickly to the new perspectives and epted the enhanced prospects of life.

    Mass demonstrations were already taking ce in foreign nations where the people hoped that the government would work with Xuan Nation to activate their own nation¡¯s Reiki Treasure as soon as possible¡­

    More than ten days passed by quickly, and Ren Suo also went out twice to assist Dong Chengling in casting her ability. However, Ren Suo did not have any opportunities to talk to her, and Dong Chengling would always nce at him apologetically before hurriedly leaving with the other researchers to study the areas of improvement in the casting process of her ability.

    Of course, there were still benefits for Ren Suo¡ªhe was still paid for his stay at the facility like a normal working day.

    Moreover, the Reiki-gathering device in his room was 4 times as efficient as a regr Reiki-gathering device. In addition, the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation which resulted in the rise in Reiki energy in the environment, also allowed Ren Suo to rapidly build and improve his breathing current, even though Ren Suo¡¯s talent was below average.

    Nheless, that was still a small matter as Ren Suo was most concerned about something else.

    ¡°The Grain in Ear Sr Term has passed¡­ And tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival¡­¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the lunar calendar shown on the tablet in pity. Time had passed very quickly and he had been left behind by an important festival ruthlessly. The following day would be yet another important festival.

    Two important festivals signified two promotional activities. Although the official message from Naisser reminded Ren Suo not to spend his merit points as much as possible, the discounted games were usually very cheap but still of high value. Buying any of them was equivalent to earning more, as he would still earn a decent amount of merit points even if he barely cleared the game.

    And in four more days, it would be the summer solstice. If he missed that event too, Ren Suo could only hope that the free games of the month were still there, though that would be hard to say for sure. If one of the free games of the month was the second chapter of ¡°The Hitman¡±, then there was a high probability that the games hadpletion time limits.

    However, whether Ren Suo missed any of the events was not up to him to decide, and at present, he could only enjoy the Practitioner facility obediently.

    His daily routine was very normal throughout the past few days. He woke up in the morning for breakfast, Practiced, ate his lunch at noon before he took a nap, then continued Practicing in the afternoon. After dinner in the evening, he would scroll through the ¡°Glorious Xuan News¡±, and finally sleep when he felt exhausted. It was an extremely fulfilling life.

    If Ren Suo did not activate [Unlimited Energy] when he Practiced the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±, he would be so tired he wanted to sleep by night time. That was why the past few days seemed to pass so fast¡ªhe had no time to think of other things.

    However, that night, it was not the staff at the facility who delivered food to Ren Suo, but Qiao Muyi.

    ¡°Why are the lights still off?¡± Qiao Muyi asked as she opened the door and saw the dark state of the room.

    ¡°I changed the lights to the motion detection mode so that the light would automatically turn off when I Practice or fall asleep and did not move,¡± replied Ren Suo, who was still Practicing.

    ¡°Can it not detect the door opening?¡± Qiao Muyi questioned.

    ¡°I adjusted the sensitivity to arge extent¡ªif it was too sensitive, the lights would turn on if I turned about in my sleep. However, once the lights came on, it would remain lit for at least an hour, so it was also very practical,¡± Ren Suo exined.

    ¡°Why did you set it up to be like this¡­¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    ¡°In this way, I won¡¯t have to leave my position to turn off the lights,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Have you been so meticulous these days?¡± said Qiao Muyi as she shook his head and ced the dinner tes down. She leaned against the wall and said, ¡°You can fly back by ne tomorrow at noon. Dong Chengling has already reshaped her meridian channel and can now cast her ability independently without your help.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it would not be a problem if you n to stay in Tianjing for a few more days though.¡±

    When there was no response for some time after Qiao Muyi finished her sentence, she turned around to see Ren Suo staring at her in a daze. She looked down at her clothes and touched her face, saying, ¡°Have you not seen such a pretty girl with unparalleled beauty in the universe before?¡±

    The sentence jolted Ren Suo out of his daze. He barely managed to shift his gaze and asked, ¡°You¡­ became stronger?¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Mmm? You are actually able to tell¡­ Oh, is it because of the feel of the breathing currents?¡±

    She nodded as she continued, ¡°When I was Practicing here four days ago, the conditions were ripe and I became a second-tier Practitioner. Of course, the biggest reason must be due to the powerful Reiki aggregation equipment within the facility, and because of the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation. The Reiki levels in the environment increased significantly, and my Practice efficiency also improved greatly. ¡±

    Ren Suo figured that what she said made sense. He had himself reaped great benefits from the activation of the Reiki Treasure. With a much higher talent level and the possession of an extraordinary Awakened Ability, it was definitely possible for Qiao Muyi to be a second-tier Practitioner.

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Are you not going to eat? I have something to tell you so I brought your meal at the same time¡­ You can¡¯t be thinking that I spat in your meal?¡±

    Ren Suo pulled his lips and walked from the futon to the table. He lowered his head to eat and asked, ¡°So, what do you want to tell me?¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Actually, I should have long returned to Lianjiang. The other teams already returned more than ten days ago. The reason why I remained here was because Deputy Director Yu gave me a task¡­ Hey, are you listening?¡±

    Ren Suo acknowledged her question with a mouth full of rice.

    ¡°With a space-type Awakened Ability, Dong Chengling, as a Practitioner, definitely has to be a strength of Xuan Nation. On that note, her progression is influenced by her personal will.¡±

    Qiao Muyi continued, ¡°She would not be an ordinarybat power. After providing sufficient information for the Reiki Research Institute to simte her ability, she would not be recalled by the nation unless there are special circumstances. Relying on unconventionalbat power will cause a slow down of administration.¡±

    ¡°Dong Chengling is also not very interested in research and wishes to be abat Practitioner instead, so whichever Countermeasure Division branch she chooses to form an alliance with would be equal to¡­ Ah, Dong Chengling, what brings you here?¡±

    Ren Suo looked in the direction of the door in surprise¡ªbut the door was still closed.

    However, Qiao Muyi squatted down at that moment, her eyes on the same level as his. She said, ¡°What are you thinking about? You have not been paying attention to what I am saying from the start. Although the pressure of the breathing current is effective, it shouldn¡¯t make you so¡­ so afraid, does it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± said Ren Suo, quickly turning his head away.

    ¡°Hoho, are you feeling shy?¡± questioned Qiao Muyi, thinking that it was very intriguing. Sheughed and said, ¡°You were not so shy thest few times we met, why are you today¡­ Unless¡­ with the two of us of opposite genders being alone in the room, you are thinking about something inappropriate for children?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± replied Ren Suo as he looked at the wall.

    ¡°Oh, I suddenly remembered,¡± said Qiao Muyi as she sat down at the table. Nostalgically, she said, ¡°You specially asked me out on thest night of the training camp.¡±

    ¡°I thought you liked me then¡­ butter on, I felt that you are not such a person. You must have wanted to ask me about something else, am I right?¡±

    Ren Suo was a little surprised and nodded, saying, ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Indeed, how could someone like you, who would have whatever you desire, take such a risk of being rejected?¡±

    ¡°I did not talk to you much since then, and you can¡¯t possibly have changed your mind suddenly¡­ You are too shy to look at me, could it be something hard to talk about?¡±

    Ren Suo remained silent for a moment and said, ¡°I guess you could say so.¡±

    ¡°Just tell me if you have any requests,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    She also became slightly more serious and said, ¡°Regarding the previous supernatural incident at the factory where I was cursed, if it was not for you sending me there in time, I might not be here today¡­ Although I already treated you to a meal, that still can¡¯t bepared to saving my life.¡±

    Ren Suo finally turned his head stiffly, as if he controlled it with a wrench, to look at Qiao Muyi. He said with a tremble, ¡°If you are willing to, can you please sleep here for a while?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Qiao Muyi blinked and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I have absolutely no indecent thoughts anyone other than 10 years old would have,¡± Ren Suo said.

    He raised his hands in the air and exined, ¡°I just need you to sleep here for about 10 minutes or so. Your capabilities are far stronger than mine, so even if I use any of my abilities, you would be able to forcibly counterattack with [Clothes]. And I suppose you Practiced the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan as well? If anything happens, you can wake up instantly¡­¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    Shefortably lied down on Ren Suo¡¯s bed, rolled around a few times and covered her mouth as she yawned.

    She said, ¡°I am full from just finishing my meal and happen to be sleepy too. Although I will grow fatter if I sleep directly after a meal, it should not be a problem for a Practitioner¡­?¡±

    Ren Suo looked at her in surprise and asked, ¡°Does that mean you agree?¡±

    ¡°I trust you,¡± said Qiao Muyi as she took off her boots and rolled into a ball hugging the pillow.

    She smiled and continued, ¡°At that time, you were willing to save me, and you were also willing to risk your life to save Dong Chengling¡­ Although the environment here is excellent, your freedom is actually being restricted. And yet, you have noints towards Dong Chengling.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªAfter all, Ren Suo made the decision to approach Dong Chengling to observe the ¡®reality of the game¡¯. Ren Suo could only me himself fornding himself in such a situation, even if he wanted to.

    ¡°Do you know, Li Dan was actually in this facility a few days ago,¡± Qiao Muyi suddenly said.

    ¡°I talked to him about you and Dong Chengling, and he suddenly thanked you for making him sleep¡­ It was only then that I knew that you granted Li Dan two ¡®Sleeps¡¯.¡±

    ¡°And now, you want me to sleep in front of you as well¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was instantly stunned, as if he had fallen into an ice pit¡ªDid she guess it already?!

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°¡­ It should be because of the special needs of your Awakened Ability, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ren Suo said as he blinked.

    Qiao Muyi¡¯s voice gradually decreased as she said, ¡°There are certain Awakened Abilities that do not only require Reiki energy. The Awakener may also be required to do something else in order to cast the Awakened Ability sessfully¡­ It¡¯s okay, I understand that.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s the same for me. That¡¯s a secret between you and me,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she winked at Ren Suo.

    ¡°So, I won¡¯t probe further. Li Dan did not find out that he had lost anything after you made him sleep, so I also decided to trust you.¡±

    Qiao Muyi seemed to think of something andughed, saying, ¡°Some of the needs of Awakened Abilities may be very peculiar, and I see that you are not very lucky too.¡±

    What else could Ren Suo say? He nodded repeatedly.

    Furthermore, if he considered the Mini Worlds Gaming Console to be equivalent to Awakened Abilities, then the process of obtaining keys was really simr to what Qiao Muyi said¡ªthe way to obtain keys was strange, and Ren Suo was indeed not very lucky.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you only need me to sleep, right? You would need to touch me, don¡¯t you?¡± Qiao Muyi asked.

    She turned to her side and patted the empty area on the bed next to her. She said, ¡°Come on.¡±

    Ren Suo took a deep breath and resisted the immense urge he felt due to the key searching system. Heid down beside Qiao Muyi, facing her directly.

    ¡°I may sleep for a very long time, so you have to wake me up,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she took the initiative and grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s hand.

    She asked, ¡°I would also be going back to Lianjiang tomorrow, will you go back too?¡±

    ¡°Of course I will,¡± Ren Suo answered.

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Don¡¯t have any strange ideas. Like I said before, our genders are ipatible¡­ You slept with Li Dan twice¡­ could you really swing both ways?¡­ Also, I am helping you this time, so you have to help meplete my taskter¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi bbered on for a while, and even Ren Suo started feeling sleepy¡ªhe had been Practicing all day, and also just finished eating a full meal.

    Heid t on the bed as he waited for the new key that Qiao Muyi formed to fall into his possession.

    Unfortunately, [Lure of Sweet Dreams] was not in his backup abilities; otherwise, he would not have required Qiao Muyi to fall asleep naturally¡­

    [A key has been found.]

    [The key is in a state of sleep, starting to retrieve the key.]

    [The key has already been formed¡­]

    The news of the key being retrieved sessfully did not wake the tired Ren Suo. When the lights of the room dimmed, both of them had long shut their eyes because of the news of returning home and the physical exhaustion. They had fallen into a deep sleep.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The next day at 7 a.m., the wristband ¡®stabbed¡¯ Ren Suo awake on time.

    Indeed, Ren Suo had been wearing the wristband given by the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang all this while. After all, the wristband was a sufficiently small and convenient gadget that allowed Ren Suo to check the time and be an rm clock if it is connected to awork with an Inte connection. It directly stimted the skin like needle pricks and was much more effective than sound and vibrations, and was harmless while being able topletely drive away all sleepiness.

    Breakfast would be served in another half an hour. When Ren Suo was at the medical facility, he always woke up at the same time, then washed his face and brushed his teeth, and used the tablet to read someics as part of his leisure time.

    Even Ren Suo conscientiously and diligently Practiced in the extraordinary and unique Practice environment¡ªafter all, there was no Inte connection there.

    The room was dark when he opened his eyes. The lights would not turn on until he flipped himself up from the bed.

    It was time to get up¡­ Eh?

    Ren Suo felt that his right hand was holding onto another person¡¯s left hand, and that hand was smaller than his own and felt quite smooth and tender.

    Oh, right, he had asked her to sleep there after he discovered a new key on her, so he could retrieve the key.

    Unexpectedly, Qiao Muyi was empathetic and even thought of a sufficient reason for Ren Suo¡¯s almost indecent behavior. She willinglyid down on his bed and held his hands, while Ren Suo waited for the key to be retrieved.

    That¡¯s right, we have to catch our ne back to Lianjiang at noon today, so we should get out of bed¡­ Eh?

    When Ren Suo moved his body, he felt his left hand¡­ holding someone else¡¯s right hand.

    What¡¯s more, the feeling in his left hand was familiar.

    It was not particrly familiar, for he had only felt it less than five times. The sense of order in space began spreading from the other person to his body. A Reiki meridian channel that was not found in his body joined him together with the person on his left side.

    ¡­ Hmm?

    Within an instant, a foretelling sense of ¡°endless joy¡± arose in Ren Suo¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 162 - A Gamble

    Chapter 162: Chapter 162 ¨C A Gamble

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Stay calm!

    It was still dark. The medical facility was located underground, and there were only air vents and no windows, so the room was pitch ck without the lights.

    Ren Suo, calm down and think with your head¡­

    Ren Suo closed his eyes and regted his breathing. The confidence of always being in control in the game rose in Ren Suo once again.

    You are the Hitman who once appeared in the Bloody Banquet¡­

    You are the Seeker who once climbed 10,000 meters¡­

    You are the Practitioner of the Ren family with a tragic fate, who was burdened with the responsibility of eliminating monsters and demons¡­

    You are the All-Devouring Soul that will soon be known for deceiving everyone¡­

    A turbulent sense of pride emerged in Ren Suo¡¯s heart, and his undefeated wisdom as he trumped countless battlefields emerged in his brain! He put all his thoughts together, calmed down and rxed his body, and decided that¡ª

    ¡ªHe would go back to sleep.

    Perhaps he was dreaming? If he fell asleep, could he not be fully awake again?

    Perhaps he was too sleepy and it was just his imagination? All would be well if he slept for a while more.

    ¡°The game did not teach me how to handle such a situation! And I can¡¯t possibly save the game and reload the save file to try and see what happens when I react differently!¡±

    Ren Suo could not resist the sense of weakness that radiated from the bottom of his heart. He felt just like a newborn baby who had just emerged from his mother¡¯s womb. He felt so overwhelmed suddenly as if he was watching Godzi jumping to her death in front of him and was at aplete loss about what to do. He thought, ¡°I should just close my eyes and sleep.¡±

    At that juncture, Ren Suo was just like the pangolin within 100 meters from him¡ªit would dig a pit to bury itself and ignore all the circumstances that were happening outside which it could notprehend.

    The moment he closed his eyes, however, Ren Suo heard a gentle but muffled ¡°mmm¡± from Qiao Muyi who was on his right. Yet, in the quiet space, the sound she made was no less than a loud, thundering breath.

    Perhaps it would be easier to think of Ren Suo now as a student who had already started school but had not his holiday homework, and was extremely anxious as he awaited his fate of judgment from the teacher!

    ¡°¡­?¡±

    Ren Suo could hear that Qiao Muyi¡¯s breathing was bing disordered. It seemed that she was starting to remember what happenedst night. Then, the next scene should be the eternally embarrassing moment Ren Suo did not want to face¡ª

    ¡ªA tease.

    As Ren Suo waited for Qiao Muyi to sit up or start talking, he felt a movement of the left hand he was holding in his right hand.

    A finger was writing letters in his palm.

    ¡°Is, there, someone, else?¡±

    Hallelujah!

    Ren Suo suddenly became rejuvenated and felt as if there was a great angel lying beside him who had her own strategies and knew everything! At that moment, Ren Suo was willing to attribute all praise to her¡ªit was like the student Ren Suo who had notpleted his holiday assignments dly finding out that Qiao Muyi who was sitting beside him seemed to havepleted them!

    Ren Suo wrote on her palm with his finger: ¡°Yes.¡±

    She wrote: ¡°Oh, gonna be fun.¡±

    ¡ªHowever, it seemed that Qiao Muyi was not willing to help him so easily.

    Ren Suo continued to await the physical punishment from the teacher in his fate. However, after a moment, Qiao Muyi asked, writing: ¡°The lights would not turn on if there are only small movements?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Oh? At that moment, Ren Suo also figured out how to resolve the situation.

    Apart from the mystery about how Dong Chengling came into the room, the fact was that Qiao Muyi hade in first. Normally, if anyone saw Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi lying together in bed, their first reaction must have been envy and jealousy and hate¡­ No, countless questions would arise in their minds and that would be a topic for gossip. Or perhaps, they would wake them up, but it was even more likely for them to turn around and leave instead.

    Regardless, the reaction should not have been ¡°+1¡±, ¡°count me in¡±, or e on, I want to join in too¡±. Even his sister who had a loose screw in her brain would not think of doing that!

    As such, Ren Suo deduced a possibility¡ªDong Chengling had not seen anything at all.

    The bed in the room was far away from the door. The light from outside when the door was opened could, at the most, allow her to see the position of the bed, but not what was on the bed.

    If Dong Chengling came in without making anyrge movements, she might not have triggered the light sensor in the room, which meant that it waspletely dark when she came in.

    In that case, she must have assumed that Ren Suo was lying on the bed alone, which was why she¡­ eh?

    It was all thanks to Ren Suo¡¯sziness that the sensitivity of the lights was very low, and the lights would not turn on as long as Qiao Muyi moved slowly and gently. Otherwise, Dong Chengling would be able to see everything¡­ eh?

    Comparing ¡°being seen by Dong Chengling when on the bed with Qiao Muyi¡± and ¡°she realized that she was lying on the bed with Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi¡±, it seemed that, perhaps, they had almost the same ending.

    Whichever the case, Ren Suo would surely be so embarrassed that he would wish that he could dig a hole in the ground and hide inside like the pangolin.

    If it was a month ago, Ren Suo might have been willing to get up and trigger the lights to turn on without much consideration, and he would calmly exin to Dong Chengling that nothing impure happened between the two of them the previous night. There were simrities between his desires and how thick his skin was.

    Now, however, it was different. Ren Suo was not willing to do that.

    ¡­ He just was not willing to do that, and there was no specific reason for it. Simply put, his emotions trumped reason¡ªsubconsciously, he just felt that it was not wise for him to do that.

    Qiao Muyi wrote in Ren Suo¡¯s palm: ¡°Let me exin. I will not make her misunderstand.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Qiao Muyi did not get a response from Ren Suo and she let go of his hand¡ª

    ¡ªHowever, Ren Suo grabbed her hand back the next second.

    He wrote in her palm: ¡°I¡¯ll do it, you¡¯re only here to help me. I can¡¯t let you take on such a role.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Ren Suo did not get a response from Qiao Muyi and he took a deep breath, ready to tighten the grip on his left hand to wake Dong Chengling.

    He had to do it even though he was unwilling. It was the same in a reality where there were too many things people were ¡°unwilling¡± to do that made the phrase ¡°I do¡± so precious.

    Yet, the next second, his hand was grabbed back tightly by Qiao Muyi again.

    She wrote: ¡°Or, we could take a gamble.¡±

    A gamble?

    Ren Suo hesitated for a moment and realized that Qiao Muyi had released her grip on his right hand. She moved very slowly and gently, and got out of the bed¡ª

    The lights were still off.

    Indeed, Ren Suo had to thank hisziness!

    Ren Suo immediately realized what Qiao Muyi was thinking of doing. He remained motionless and rxed instead, as he turned his head to look at the face so close to him, but was shielded by the ck curtain of darkness. He knew what he was doing was of no help, but Ren Suo subconsciously felt that looking at Dong Chengling could make her sleep more soundly.

    ¡ªHumans always thought that looking at something with eyes full of hope would cause miracles to happen, just like how they thought that ring at someone they disliked could make them unlucky, and looking at a nk document would be able to make words appear by themselves¡­

    The teacher in Ren Suo¡¯s fate eventually skipped him. He felt that Dong Chengling¡¯s breathing was very calm and there was no sign of her waking up.

    On the other hand, Qiao Muyi had already picked up her boots and was slowly moving towards the door and opening it¡ªbeing confined meant that there was a special checkpoint in the passage outside the door. Ren Suo was not allowed to move to other areas, but that did not mean that the door was locked. If the door was locked, it was not confinement; it would have been imprisonment.

    The door was covered with a steel sheet and the door bearings appeared to be of the highest quality. They were well maintained and the door only made a light sound when it opened and closed.

    However, that was apletely silent room.

    If Ren Suo was running to Practice, he could throw a 1D100 (roll dice with numbers from 0 to 99) to determine whether he would be lucky enough to seed.

    Perhaps Ren Suo was lucky, or perhaps it was Qiao Muyi who was lucky, but fortunately, Dong Chengling had not been awakened.

    Ren Suo nced at the doorway gratefully and saw that Qiao Muyi had opened the door slightly and sneaked out. Illuminated by the light, she raised a finger in front of her mouth and smiled to indicate that Ren Suo should keep quiet. The bright light from outside fell on one side of her face and disyed her mesmerizing charm.

    Hallelujah! Once again, Ren Suo was extremely grateful from the bottom of his heart.

    At that moment, however, Ren Suo saw Qiao Muyi holding one of his slippers, in addition to her own boots¡­

    What did she want to do?

    Ren Suo noticed that Qiao Muyi raised her eyebrows to reveal a sense of ¡®endless joy¡¯.

    She took aim at the space on the bed beside Ren Suo and threw his slipper towards her target as she closed the door at the same time.

    In the darkness, his slipper made a beautiful arc through the air andnded quietly on the soft bed.

    The lights turned on.

 Chapter 163 - Lingering Sense of Warmth

    Chapter 163 ¨C Lingering Sense of Warmth

    After Qiao Muyi left Ren Suo¡¯s room, she quickly put on her boots in the passageway, then pulled out ab tob her hair¡ªit was in a mess after waking up.

    She left the passageway calmly. Those areas were freely essible to her, based on her status and rank at the base.

    However, instead of going directly to the room to wash up, she went to the dining hall first.

    Qiao Muyi said to the staff at the dining hall who was preparing breakfast, ¡°There¡¯s no need to deliver breakfast to room E37. He will leave soon and should ride the car on an empty stomach, or he will feel nauseous.¡±

    The staff could recognize Qiao Muyi and had no suspicions¡ªhe knew that Qiao Muyi and the guest in room E37 knew each other since she brought dinner to E37 the previous night as well.

    He asked, ¡°Would you like me to bring motion sickness medication over? We have¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Qiao Muyi quickly replied. She said, ¡°He is at a critical stage in his Practice and does not want anyone to disturb him.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said the staff member as he looked at Qiao Muyi questioningly¡ªit was early in the morning, how did you know he was at a critical stage in his Practice?

    Qiao Muyi did not notice the staff member¡¯s questioning gaze and happily returned to her room, after finishing herst ¡®assist¡¯. On her way back to her room though, she lifted her left hand and looked at the red mark on her palm¡ªthat guy jabbed very hard indeed.

    ¡°He¡¯s obviously a scam, pretending to show off like a responsible scumbag¡­ If he had been found out just now, he would really not be able to clear his name.

    ¡°If it was not for me being a second-tier Practitioner, who would not be discovered by a first-tier Practitioner when I am asleep, instead of being able to notice a sleeping first-tier Practitioner, things would not have been so interesting¡­¡±

    A gentle smile emerged on Qiao Muyi¡¯s face, but then she remembered what she did just before she left and could not help but burst outughing to herself, ¡°Heh heh, it¡¯s fun to y around with this guy¡­¡±

    ¡°Nheless, regarding Dong Chengling, things should work out perfectly this time¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi touched her face lightly with her left palm and seemed to be able to feel a lingering sense of warmth. She muttered to herself, ¡°How can I¡­ It¡¯s impossible¡­¡±

    She quickly rubbed her palms together and calmed down, then turned to look at a researcher who was walking past and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t zip your pants.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Ignoring the frightened young researcher, Qiao Muyi quickly walked away with a smile and taking cheerful steps. She hummed softly, ¡°I¡¯m just ~ an angel ~ roasting chicken wings ~ beside the fire ~¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ren Suo felt like a chicken wing being roasted on top of fire¡ªhis face was hot.

    The light turned on, but Dong Chengling merely let out an ufortable cry and did not intend to wake up.

    Alright, what should he do now, should he wake Dong Chengling up?

    No, Ren Suo only thought of an important question at that time: Why did Dong Chenglinge into his roomte at night and sleep next to him?

    Undoubtedly, the question could not be answered with the brain of Ren Suo, who only yed hardcore console games and not love games like gal games¡ªwho knows what misconceptions he has towards gal game yers.

    The thoughts in Ren Suo¡¯s mind were in utter chaos as he grew nervous. He could only obtain information through his view as he stared at Dong Chengling¡¯s face.

    Dong Chengling had short hair, so it did not get messy when she was asleep. There was a small beauty mole at the lower-left corner of the eye, and other than that¡­

    She had a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

    After having eaten so many meals together, Ren Suo was used to seeing her and naturally did not have any profound insights. At the most, he would say that she looked beautiful, and at the same time, she looked more and more pleasing to the eye¡ªalthough he thought the same way of himself when he looked in the mirror. After all, Practicing could improve a Practitioner¡¯s physical condition (appearance).

    Although he was looking at her face from a closer distance this time, he had already seen it before and the visual impact was not huge¡­ Hmm?

    Ren Suo looked downwards. Beneath the loose shirt, a pair of smooth, tender peachesrger than that of an average Asian woman and radiating a motherly aura appeared in his view.

    Who cares anymore? Let me take a good look first.

    ¡°Ding¨C¡±

    The doorbell snapped Ren Suo out of his strange thoughts of fantasy.

    ¡°Ah, I forgot that you don¡¯t need breakfast today, sorry¡­¡±

    The staff at the door apologized and the green light of the inte dimmed. The room fell silent again.

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth and slowly raised his head, coincidentally crossing paths with Dong Chengling¡¯s clear gaze.

    ¡°Are you awake?¡± asked Dong Chengling as she blinked and sat up and began stretchingzily.

    It supposedly did not make a difference to him when she stretched, but the problem was that she was still holding onto Ren Suo¡¯s left hand, which forced him to do the same actions as her.

    ¡°Yesterday, I heard that you are going back. It¡¯s not unexpected, as I finally mastered my Awakened Ability,¡± Dong Chengling said. She turned to look at Ren Suo and said openly, ¡°So after I finished trainingst night, I came over to sleep with you.¡±

    She spoke as if she was simply wanting to eat supper with Ren Suo.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I was only able toe here after you fell asleep. I have too many things to learn these few days and my training time ispressed, so I have to practice until 12 a.m. every day in order to reach the nned amount of practice per day,¡± Dong Chengling said apologetically.

    Coming from her, what Dong Chengling said seemed extremely convincing, or perhaps it was more urate to say that what she told him was in line with Ren Suo¡¯s impression of her: other than important matters, all other smaller tasks should be ranked behind Practice.

    Ren Suo wanted to ask why Dong Chengling wanted to do that, but Dong Chengling looked as if it was expected, so he could not ask the question¡ªit was just like a student who had been sleeping in ss suddenly being called upon by the teacher. At such a time, asking ¡°what is the question¡± wouldpletely expose the fact that he had not been listening in ss.

    Although Ren Suo could not remember, he himself was the cause of that; otherwise, Dong Chengling would not be speaking in such a tone as if he already knew what she was talking about. If he dared to ask her the question, he felt that he would jump directly to a bad ending.

    ¡°By the way, why is there a slipper on your bed?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t care about it,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Okay,¡± she replied.

    After a moment of silence, Dong Chengling grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s left hand and said seriously, ¡°¡­ This is the biggest attempt I can take. I will continue to work hard in the future.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Oh,¡± said Ren Suo as he nodded solemnly.

    Dong Chengling seemed to feel that Ren Suo¡¯s reply wasckluster and lifeless, so she took a deep breath and said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but regarding this matter¡­ I need to prepare myself mentally. We have not reached that point yet, although¡­ my heart is not made of stone and does flow with blood. I will never forget that night¡­¡±

    Ren Suo felt more and more frustrated¡ªWhat exactly did he say that night? Did he confess? Or propose? Or did he want to borrow money?

    That did not make any sense; as a hard-core console gamer he would unlikely be able to ask for such things¡ªdid he really want to borrow money?! And a lot of money at that?

    ¡°¡­ As such, I need more time for our rtionship to reach that point,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    She stared into Ren Suo¡¯s eyes, her gaze clear and wless. She said, ¡°So I came here specially before you have to return. Last night was to prove my sincerity, and when things fall into ce and areplete, I will definitely¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Sleep with you.¡±

    What?

    Without waiting for Ren Suo to ask anything, Dong Chengling very quickly went down the bed, put on her shoes, and walked away. Everything happened in less than ten seconds, and Ren Suo did not even have the opportunity to say anything¡ªdon¡¯t you need to tie your shoces?

    He naturally did not see the reason why Dong Chengling hurried out of his room and walked away so quickly¡ªit was because she felt her cheeks were warm, hot, and red like she was having a fever.

    Dong Chengling looked at her right palm and pressed it lightly against her face, as if she could still feel a lingering sense of warmth.

 Chapter 164 - [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] (3-in-1)

    Chapter 164: Chapter 164 ¨C [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] (3-in-1)

    ¡°Yeah, I was working at a secret base for some time and was unable to make phone calls¡­ How did Sister do in the examination?¡­ What? You did not ask her about it? That¡¯s true though, there¡¯s no point in asking since the examination is already over¡­ Alright, alright, I will buy dumplings to eat.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Director Huo, I am back and will reactivate the emergency calling system when I reach.¡±

    ¡°What! Submit another analysis report on ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ before the end of the month? I don¡¯t think he uploaded a new video yet though? ¡­ I should study his previous videos if he has no new video?¡±

    It was half a month since hest used his mobile phone andmunicated. Although Ren Suo was single and lonely, he was still his mother¡¯s son and a ve of society, so there weremunications he ought to have, and jobs he ought to do¡­

    The flight from Tianjing to Lianjiang City took just three hours, but Ren Suo only boarded the ne at noon and the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang was also located in a remote area of Lianjiang City (otherwise how could it be surrounding a mountain); as such, it was already dinner time by the time he reached his dormitory.

    Ren Suo was forced to head to the third-floor dining hall to fill his empty stomach, but unfortunately, he bumped into Lin Xianyu and Gu Yueyan. For some reason, the two of them became good friends, when they clearly did not see eye to eye previously.

    Ren Suo had just finished a long journey by ne and car and was too tired to bother about them. He had no appetite either and would unlikely be eating supper,ter on, so he only ordered a seafood hotpot¡ªthat was how awesome the food choices on the third floor were.

    However, when Ren Suo sat down at a table, the two nosy female high school students came over and sat opposite him staring.

    Ren Suo shot a look at them as he picked up a piece of deep-fried tofu skin and dipped it in ginger and spring onion sauce¡ªthe freshness of the seafood hotpot and the fragrance of the ginger with spring onionplementing the crispness of the deep-fried tofu skin erupted in his mouth with a familiar taste.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Hmph, scumbag.¡±

    Lin Xianyu said, ¡°Hmph, scumbag.¡±

    Ren Suo picked up the fresh prawn and dipped it in soy sauce.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Who knew, you are actually a refined scum who took advantage of others when they are in danger?¡±

    Lin Xianyu swallowed her saliva and said, ¡°Who knew, you are actually a refined scum who took advantage of others when they are in danger?¡±

    Ren Suo picked up a prawn meatball and snorted ¡°Tsk¡± a few times as he looked hesitantly at the sauces in front of him.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°I knew you were not a good person from a long time ago, but I did not expect you to be so despicable.¡±

    Lin Xianyu said, ¡°I knew you were not a good person from a long time ago, but I did not expect¡ªAh! This would only be nice if it is dipped in satay sauce!¡±

    Ren Suo looked at them and said, ¡°Bring your own bowl and chopsticks over to eat.¡±

    Gu Yueyan was furious and eximed, ¡°How could I eat this scum¡¯s¡ª¡±

    Lin Xianyu held her bowl in her hands as she remarked, ¡°This is so delicious.¡±

    Gu Yueyan looked at herpanion and waspletely speechless. She said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just eat a dumpling and said you were full? Didn¡¯t we agree to condemn him when hees back!¡±

    Lin Xianyu mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m only eating a small bit to try its taste¡­ I can¡¯t afford seafood hotpots most of the time¡­¡±

    It was only when Ren Suo was half full when he askedzily, ¡°As soon as I came back, you came over to scold me. However, even before a prisoner is shot, he would still be informed of his crimes. So what did I do wrong again?¡±

    Gu Yue widened her eyes in fury. She said, ¡°You¡­ You actually said something so obnoxious when you were helping Teacher Dong bare some of the danger she was in!¡±

    Unfazed, Ren Suo replied, ¡°What did I say?¡±

    Gu Yueyan blushed as she stood up and pointed at Ren Suo and said, ¡°You¡­ you said¡ª¡±

    Ren Suo burped with a filled stomach and looked at Gu Yueyan sincerely.

    Gu Yue said angrily, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a shameless person like you!¡±

    Very loudly, she said, ¡°That night, you said¡­ your request to her was ¡®I want to sleep with you¡¯!¡±

    As soon as Gu Yueyan said that, the entire third floor of the dining room fell silent. Other than faculty members, there were also some students who achieved good grades and had many points who were on the third-floor dining hall to supplement their nutrition intake.

    Noticing everyone¡¯s gaze converging on her, Gu Yueyan started shivering in embarrassment, and let out a sorrowful cry before quickly running away.

    And then it was Ren Suo¡¯s turn to be watched by everyone.

    ¡°¡­ Private Salted Fish!¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Here!¡± Lin Xianyu replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s all yours now,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Lin Xianyu looked at the pot of seafood in front of her and nodded vigorously, ¡°I will not disappoint you, sir!¡±

    Ren Suo hurriedly proceeded to buy arge dumpling before everyone had an impression of him; otherwise, rumors of ¡°a faculty member hitting on a student¡± would emerge, and while it did not matter to Ren Suo, losing his job of being a ¡®cker¡¯ would be a great deal.

    Ren Suo was slightly more energized after filling his stomach. When he returned to his familiar home, he sighed as he first took a rag and a broom to quickly clean the room and the dust that had formed after half a month. He then took a bath before lying downfortably on the couch. He unwrapped the dumpling into a white porcin bowl, inserted the fork into it, and began eating the dumpling as he turned on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.

    That was the practice of a hardcore gamer. Before starting to y, the gamer should first clean the room, bathe and change clothes, then prepare some food in order to get the best gaming experience in the mostfortable environment!

    ¡°Mini worlds of endless fun await!¡±

    Upon hearing the long-missed startup tone, Ren Suo burst into tears of excitement.

    It was finally his turn to bring ¡®endless joy¡¯ to others.

    Ren Suo first took a look at his gains from the past half a month: there were two keys, one of which was a ¡°1-star space key¡± and the other was a ¡°2-star resentment key¡±. The former was given by Dong Chengling and thetter was given by Qiao Muyi.

    Prior to that, Qiao Muyi had already given him a ¡°one-star resentment key¡±, and that essentially supported Ren Suo¡¯s theory: After the capabilities of the key carrier rose a tier, the key carrier could give him another, upgraded key.

    In that way, Ren Suo would have many more options to work with, and he could take the development route! As long as he made good friends with those who had strong talents, it would be equivalent to having a constant source of keys!

    Of course, there was another way Ren Suo could y: it was to take the domination route and dominate one side to gather all the key carriers, and there would be any key he wanted!

    Ren Suo dreamed about his happy life after bing the overlord: he would be able to open any treasure chest thates his way, regardless of its star-rating, wow, that¡¯s amazing!

    It was as if he imagined that he won five million dors: he could pay, at the least, the down payment of any house he fancied, wow, that¡¯s amazing!

    Then he also imagined himself to be a harem king: all sexually explicit content, wow, that¡¯s amazing!

    After daydreaming about his fantasies, Ren Suo obediently returned to the game console screen.

    There was a spinning disc icon at the lower right corner of ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, which likely meant that it was ¡°uploading¡±, or more aptly, ¡°the game is bing reality¡±.

    Ren Suo counted the days and realized that in a few days, the Reiki Treasure of the Federation would be opened. When that happened, Ren Suo would have to see if there was a live broadcast of it¡ªbut Naisser Ren would very likely upload a 4K HD video as well, so Ren Suo was not in a hurry.

    The next big thing was to open the ¡°World Shop¡±!

    Today was the Dragon Boat Festival!

    It was a pity that he had missed the Grain in Ear Sr Term promotion event¡­

    Ren Suo thought about what he had missed, but the promotion event that appeared in the World Store was not ¡°Dragon Boat Festival Discount Event¡±, and there were no ¡°Free Games of the Month¡±.

    There was only a game [Desire City Persona!] and a section called [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)].

    Ren Suo conceded the moment he looked at the price of [Desire City Persona!]¡ªit was a 4-star game that cost 520 merit points, goodbye!

    However, why were there no ¡°Free Games of the Month¡± either? Did he really miss them?

    However, when Ren Suo opened the [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] section, he suddenly felt that the Naisser Ren Corporation which operated the game console was the same as Qiao Muyi¡ªthey were angels!

    [As the yer¡¯s level is currently Level 3 and will soon be a Level 4 yer, the monthly free games and monthly promotional campaigns will be merged into the [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] section.]

    [All games in this section will have a rating of no fewer than 3 stars.]

    [All games in this section will have a maximum reward of no fewer than 200 merit points.]

    [There would be 3 games in this section.]

    [The games in this section are all free to y, but only one game can be selected each month. If the yer is not promoted to the next level by the next month, the yer may choose to ¡®refresh¡¯ or ¡®do not refresh¡¯ the games in this section.]

 Chapter 165 - Intrusion (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 165: Chapter 165 ¨C Intrusion (Part 1)</h4>

    June 21, Summer Solstice.

    Ren Suo was very busy for the past two days, seemingly due to Gu Yueyan spreading ¡°rumors¡± that the emergency doctor in the Institution could treat any illness from menstrual pain to hair loss. As a result, Ren Suo found himself with many patients.

    Of course, Ren Suo did not need to care about them in theory, but an ident happened over the past two days. A third-year junior high student fell down the stairs when he was horsing around in the corridor. Ren Suo had to rush to the rescue and his recovery ability was exposed to the whole school as he treated him in front of everyone¡­

    Prior to that, Ren Suo had only been sneaking around in the school hospital and not many people knew about him. However, after Gu Yueyan intentionally spread information about him, the entire school was raving about him and wanted Ren Suo to treat their e, oral ulcers, rhinitis¡­

    As a matter of fact, it was true that Ren Suo¡¯s duty was to treat anyone who was injured, but that would also be opening a bottomless pit for himself. If he agreed to treat everyone regardless of their conditions, he would surely be a doctor weed by the youths whom they would go to, to seek treatment for even their slightest pain and illnesses.

    Ren Suo could not outright reject them either, so he decided to talk to Huo He, the dean of the Institution, to exin the situation, while at the same time showing off his various statuses including ¡®Researcher¡¯, ¡®Countermeasure Division Special Advisor¡¯ and ¡®Naisser Ren Special Task Force Special Advisor¡¯. As such, Huo He decided that Ren Suo only needed to work one day at the school hospital every month.

    Apart from that particr day, all of the students¡¯ minor illnesses and pain should be treated by others in the school hospital.

    On other days, unless it was a particrly serious illness, Ren Suo would not be called to help. After all, he was an emergency doctor and Huo He was also afraid that Ren Suo would not have sufficient Reiki energy when the time came for him to save a student on the verge of death. If that happened, he would have been putting the cart before the horse.

    And after the summer solstice, Ren Suo would also not have many opportunities to treat patients as all levels of students in the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang would be revising for their term final examinations. The amount of work would also increase significantly and even the Practice facility would be temporarily closed.

    On the other hand, the girl Gu Yueyan sneaked up to Ren Suo during lunch and asked him, ¡°Is Teacher Dong going toe back?¡±

    Ren Suo threw up his hands and replied, ¡°How would I know¡­ though her Awakened Ability is very rare, and the Tianjing headquarters seem to value her very much too.¡±

    ¡°I expect that she would remain in Tianjing for further development. Although Lianjiang is also very good, it is still notparable to Tianjing.¡±

    Gu Yueyan remained silent for a moment and whispered, ¡°So¡­ is there a possibility that she woulde back and continue teaching?¡±

    Ren Suo shot a strange look at her and said, ¡°Now that she can Practice without going to work, why should shee back? Weren¡¯t you the one who told me from the beginning that the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang is merely a stepping stone, and she would eventually propel herself to greater heights?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be so fast though¡­¡± Gu Yueyan muttered.

    She looked at Ren Suo and said, ¡°Then ¡­ is it possible for you to call Teacher Dong back? That would also be better for you. After all, you are the guy who told her to ¡®sleep with you¡¯. Although it makes you sound like a scam, your feelings towards her are true, no?¡±

    ¡®My feelings for the keys are true¡¯, that was the only thing Ren Suo could be sure of.

    Although he did forget what he said that night, ording to what Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan, and Lin Xianyu mentioned, Ren Suo could be quite sure that before he passed out, he must have said, ¡°I want to sleep with you to obtain the key¡±.

    Perhaps, though, because he passed out too quickly, the next three words met with a car ident in his throat.

    ¡°¡­ If my feelings towards Dong Chengling are true, then all the more I should let her further develop in Tianjing,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Gu Yueyan was speechless for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. I couldn¡¯t tell that a refined scum like you could say something so wise.¡±

    Ren Suo pulled his lips and said, ¡°Well, I could also go to Tianjing too, it need not be¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan snickered with a grin, ¡°Hmph, men¡­ With your standard, do you really think you can further develop in Tianjing? Dream on! Nevermind, on the ount that you were dumped, you may ask for my help to devise a n any time in future if there is any female teacher you want to chase in the school.¡±

    Subconsciously, Ren Suo wanted to refuse, but remembering that Gu Yueyan was still a love expert on paper, he hesitated to reply. By the time he wanted to reply, Gu Yueyan had already sneaked away.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo returned home, he first took a bath. He was already sweating buckets from just walking back home from the dining hall.

    Ren Suo checked to see if there was any new activity of ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ on his mobile phone, but there were no new videos. Instead, an advertisement ¡°Stunning Reiki Light Appears in New York¡±.

    The details of the activation of the previous five Reiki Treasures had already been thoroughly exposed. Almost the entire world knew that the Reiki eruptions would ur every 24 hours before the activation of the Reiki Treasure.

    Now, the significance of the appearance of Reiki Light in New York need not be exined, and all of the countries and states within the Federation already appeared to be celebrating in joy.

    Nheless, it was easy for Ren Suo to figure that the Federation must have paid a great price to the intermediary Xuan Nation in order to buy the opportunity to ¡°activate their Reiki Treasure in advance¡±.

    At the same time, however, the Federation was also ready to capture the small animal from the Heavenly Pce, wanting to make use of the chance to test the capabilities of the extraordinary organization independent of Earth.

    Ren Suo was now extremely looking forward to the fierce battle in the early morning of New York five dayster, but at present, he was focused on opening the [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)], to see what new games were added that day!

    In the Exclusive Level-Up Games section, although it was mentioned that ¡°there would be at least three games¡±, that was actually the number of free games there were. When Ren Suo opened the section on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, he saw a total of five free games to choose from, of which thetter two were marked as [Newly Added on Grain-in-Ear] and [Newly Added on Dragon Boat Festival].

    The Exclusive Level-Up Games section included all of the holiday promotion games and as such, a new free game would be added on each holiday. Although Ren Suo could not ¡®want them all¡¯, having a few more choices to choose from was always good.

    Furthermore, the summer solstice was only two days away then, which was why Ren Suo waited until the present day to check out the newly-added game before deciding on his target game of the month.

    He found that all the games added on a holiday were usually 3+ stars¡ªbut at the same time, their maximum reward was slightly higher than the other free games.

    As such, Ren Suo would definitely pick a game to y from those which were added on holidays. They were: [Butterfly Effect], [King of Fighters] and [Endless Pursuit]!

    [Butterfly Effect]

    [This is a puzzle adventure mystery game. The yer will take on the role of a dead soul whose only goal is to get a new life! The dead soul has lost its memory and will only recover some of its abilities and memories when it encounters relevant information about itself. In the shbacks, the dead soul would be able to make up for its previous mistakes, and step by step, it would avoid the fate of death. The maximum reward is 280 merit points, and the specialized reward is [Future Effect]. There are no avable in-game purchases, and there is only one chapter with no subsequent expansion chapters. The difficulty rating of the game is: 3+ stars.]

    [King of Fighters]

    [This game is apetition. The yer will take on the role of a martial artist from the mortal world who will challenge the top ten fighters in the world. The maximum reward is 550 merit points, and the specialized reward is [Fighter Master]. There are in-game purchase options, and there is only one chapter with no subsequent expansion chapters. The difficulty rating of the game is: 4+ stars.]

    Indeed, [King of Fighters] was a 4+ star game, but it was during the May Day lucky draw event when Ren Suo first came across it.

    At that time, the game was an ordinary 3-star game.

    However, it seemed that the difficulty of the game soared due to the activation of the Reiki Treasures and the corresponding rise in the Reiki energy of the world. Of course, the rewards and specialized rewards also soared¡ªalthough he was unable to y it.

    Ren Suo originally intended to pick [Butterfly Effect], but he felt that he rarely yed puzzle adventure mystery games and was not confident inpleting it.

    Moreover, there were no in-game purchases although it had a difficulty rating of 3+ stars, which meant that there was no way for Ren Suo to decrease its difficulty through spending merit points.

    Of course, most importantly, he was not interested in the game.

    Although the game was beneficial for Ren Suo and an opportunity he should seize, however¡­ if he could, Ren Suo still wanted to y a game he was interested in.

    So he waited two more days to see if a more appealing game would appear.

    The Mini Worlds Gaming Console lived up to his expectations.

    [Endless Intrusion]

    [This is a role-ying game. The yer will take on the role of a spirit that was born within the Inte. Due to pollution, the Inte Spirit was split into two halves. The evil half attempts to strengthen itself through drawing the energy and life of humans through thework, while the yer has to control the other strong half of the Inte Spirit to chase down its other half in the endless world of the Inte until there is no way for the other half to escape! The maximum reward is 300 merit points, and the specialized reward is [Data Stream]. There are in-game purchase options, and there is only one chapter with no subsequent expansion chapters. The difficulty rating of the game is: 3+ stars.]

 Chapter 166 - â€“ Intrusion (Part 2)

    Chapter 166: Chapter 166 ¨C Intrusion (Part 2)

    It was without a doubt that Ren Suo chose ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±¡ªhe wanted to see how he could control a ¡®strong character¡¯ to hunt down its evil half.

    It sounded like an easy win?

    Moreover, the specialized reward [Data Stream] seemed quite interesting, though Ren Suo did not know if it was like the ¡°digitization¡± he was thinking about¡ªthe kind that couldpletely digitize the body, so even if it was on the brink of death, full health could be recovered within a few hours based on its ¡°life recovery speed¡± bug.

    However, Ren Suo found that when he chose [Endless Intrusion], the other games in the Exclusive Level-Up Games section changed from ¡®free¡¯ to ¡®can be purchased¡¯!

    In other words, as long as Ren Suo was willing, he could buy the other games in the section, but at its original price.

    Speaking of which, Ren Suo actually had not tried buying any game at its original price so far. One could say that he would not buy any games unless it was discounted, and if it was discounted, he would definitely buy it. He was essentially an impulsive yer with an easy-to-understand thought process.

    When he came across rare discounts, he would often fall into a helpless, confused state of ¡®Who am I, where am I, what did I buy¡¯.

    Nheless, Ren Suo would begin conquering the game ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±!

    Upon entering the game, the screen showed a data stream of 0s and 1s. There was a girl-shaped figure within which the data stream evolved into a text webpage, then a picture master, a pixel game, a 2D game, a 3D game, a video screen, and finally, into a thousand colorsing together to form the clothes and appearance of the young girl.

    The girl had blonde hair and wore a dark blue skirt. She had a blindfold covering her left eye, and her right pupil was bright like an emerald. She looked so cute that it made people want to take a bite of her.

    [I am Irina, the right half of the twins, the fantasy of blue.]

    Stepping forward from the darkness, she entered a strange world with a blue and ck background made of lines of 0s and 1s.

    However, Ren Suo saw Irina bow towards him through the screen and greeted with a soft, tender voice:

    [Hello, Naisser Ren, the supreme and great lord, Irina needs your help.]

    Eh? Ren Suo blinked and stared at Irina¡ªalthough they were separated by a dimension, Ren Suo really felt that Irina was really looking directly at him!

    [The supreme and great lord, Irina is willing to let you control my body in order to chase down my other half. I hope that you will do everything in your power to corner the corrupt twin to a dead end so that the twins will be one again.]

    [As repayment, Irina is willing to obey yourmands, my lord, for life. Will you, my supreme and great lord, ept this transaction?]

    Two options appeared on the screen: [ept] and [Decline].

    At that juncture, Ren Suo put down the game controller seriously. He walked to the TV, tapped the ss, and covered the pixels which disyed Irina¡¯s face with his palm.

    It can¡¯t be that the game character climbed into his own television, can it?

    [My supreme and great lord?] Irina probed as she leaned forward.

    She¡¯s so cute!

    I really want to hug her and swing her around in circles!

    Damn, why can¡¯t I break through this thin OLED disyyer!

    Ren Suo sighed as he stood in front of the TV, then sat back obediently on the sofa. He selected [ept].

    [From this moment on until the end of the world, Irina will be controlled by the supreme and great lord.]

    Irina bowed her head and said, [My lord has infinite strength and wisdom, but Irina is a unique life form, of which there are infinite mysteries within. She is willing to assist the lord¡¯s chase and kill mission by providing effective advice.]

    The view angle moved from directly facing Irina to behind Irina and Ren Suo could now control Irina. Her avatar appeared at the top right side of the screen as a prompt to the yer.

    [My supreme and great lord, we are currently inside the Inte of the world.]

    Irina shuttled through the blue world of data, and with each step she took, a hexagonal-shaped virtual tile would appear. As she advanced, she seemed to avoid the data stream of countless 0s and 1s.

    [The corrupt twin has not concealed herself and her current position is exposed. Do you wish to mark the location?]

    [Yes.]

    In the distance somewhere far away, a blue pceposed of a data stream suddenly turned red. Ren Suo took control of Irina¡¯s body and began takingrge strides in that direction.

    Suddenly, the scene began stretching intensely, and the next moment, Irina was outside of the crimson-red pce.

    Irina exined: [In the world of data, movement of the twins takes ce instantaneously.]

    However, when Irina arrived at the crimson pce, Ren Suo discovered that the building was too huge¡ªfrom Irina¡¯s perspective, she could not see the roof of the pce, and looking to the left or right, she could not see the corners of the pce either.

    At that point, a progress bar appeared in front of Irina from the crimson pce. When the progress bar filled up, detailed information was automatically disyed:

    [Jiayuan International: 16 servers, 684,623 current yers.]

    Jiayuan International? Ren Suo was stunned. Although he did not y online games, he had heard about this famous martial arts game which was known to have many female yers. The yers had nice voices and many people liked the game. Thepany evenunched a high-definition revamped version of the game recently which was very fun to y, and could be considered a hot socialworking game in Xuan Nation.

    Regardless, wasn¡¯t that a game in reality?!

    Irina: [The corrupt twin is inside, should we go in? However, my supreme and great lord, you have no data form, so you may be easily suppressed by the corrupt twin if you rush in now.]

    Ren Suo understood every word Irina said, but as a sentence, it made him slightly confused. He typed: [What is a data form?]

    Irina exined: [It is the data that my supreme and great lord acquires from other processing terminals. Because of the separation of the corrupt twin, Irina has no ability to create data, and simrly, the corrupt twin does not have the power to do so.]

    [The power the corrupt twin acquired is ¡®corrupt¡¯, so she can affect the physical level and even the energy level from the data level. At present, she can absorb the energy from real-life humans to strengthen herself and increase the source data. On the other hand, Irina¡¯s power is ¡®perfect¡¯ and she can perfectly reproduce the power of the data at that level. To obtain the strength needed to eliminate the corrupt twin, you need to cut existing data directly.]

    [It is possible to enter the server where the corrupt twin is located now, but the corrupt twin has been operating inside the server for a decent period of time, so entering the server may bring unknown consequences.]

    Ren Suo was slightly confused at the barrage of game information, but practice was the sole criterion for testing the truth. Ren Suo decided to enter the server and see what to do from there.

    [We have entered the 13th server of Jiayuan International, which is where the corrupt twin is located. Currently trying to get the data of the strongest yer from the server¡­]

    Suddenly, the scene turned into a ce with beautiful mountains and rivers. There was a narrow path through a forest, fragrant flowers, and chirping birds. Ren Suo was astonished to find that Irina, who was under his control, had turned into a wicked, evil-looking man with a steel knife!

    [Mountain Thief (Lv 11)]

    Wasn¡¯t she trying to get the data of the strongest yer? Why did she be a mountain thief?

    Before Ren Suo could react, a loud spark was heard in the air, and an arrownded on the mountain thief, dealing 3888 damage.

    The next moment, he saw an extremely wealthy-looking level 65 yer wearing fashionable clothes and riding a unicorn in the distance.

    He was riding towards the small mountain thief to kill him!

    [The mountain thief is dead.]

 Chapter 167 - Intrusion (Part 3)

    Chapter 167 ¨C Intrusion (Part 3)

    Irina was kicked out of the Jiayuan International server. Her body was strangely stretched and distorted as if she lost some of her pixels.

    Irina: [Irina lost 5% of her source data. Currently, the corrupt twin owns 63% of the source data, and Irina owns 45% of the source data.]

    Ren Suo was shocked and quickly typed: [What is source data?]

    Irina: [Source data is thebined power of Irina and the corrupt twin. When fighting within the same server, between Irina and the corrupt twin, the one who lost would lose 1% of the source data. When one party loses all of our source data, she would disappearpletely, and all of her power would be inherited by the other twin.]

    [At the same time, in the battle between the twins, the side with more source data will be stronger and more powerful.]

    Ren Suo blinked and tried to quit the game¡ª

    However, he was brought directly back to the main interface of the game console.

    Was there no save file function in the game, or was the game progress automatically saved?

    Ren Suo went back to the game and asked: [Is there any way to regain your lost source data?]

    Based on what Irina mentioned she could only be killed 9 more times. After 9 deaths, she wouldpletely disappear, but it was likely that there was no way to restart the game from a new save file.

    That meant that Ren Suo ran the risk of not being able toplete the game sessfully, which was the same, yet different from games with apletion deadline¡ªboth had a limit on the number of times he could fail in the game.

    Irina nodded: [Yes, it is because my supreme and great lord has the capability to recover source data that Irina is willing to follow you, my lord.]

    Hearing what Irina said, Ren Suo felt as if he had a wrong impression that he fell into a trap and was mocked¡­ How was that possible, Irina was so cute, that couldn¡¯t be!

    A list of avable purchases appeared on the screen, and Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, apart from the initial ten lives, the yer could continue to spend money to increase the remaining lives.

    However, Ren Suo was taken aback by the prices: 1% data, 1 merit point.

    While it did not seem like much, if 5% of the source data was lost each time she died, the total amount spent would be terrifying.

    Moreover, the more Ren Suo lost, the more source data the corrupt twin would have, and her overall capabilities would be truly horrifying. At that juncture, the only thing Ren Suo could do was to continue spending merit points to decrease the power gap between Irina and the corrupt twin, in order to defeat her!

    Even though Ren Suo had the yer privilege [A Little Goes A Long Way], he might still be unable to match up with the rate at which his merit points would be consumed!

    Ren Suo typed: [So how can we defeat the corrupt twin?]

    Irina said: [Unlike Irina, the corrupt twin cannot reproduce the source data, so she can only attach herself onto pre-existing data in the server.]

    [In the server just now, she noticed Irina¡¯s arrival and so she restricted Irina¡¯s movement permissions, forcing us to be attached to a data unit with very lowbat power. Then, she used GM permissions to dispatch the other data unit toe and kill us.]

    [On the other hand, in other servers, Irina can control the powerful units within the limits of the server rules, ording to the wishes of my supreme and great lord. We can then return to this server to chase and kill the corrupt twin.]

    How was such an operation possible?

    Ren Suo thought for a while and realized that, in other words, he could control the characters in other games to intrude on the game of Jiayuan International in order to eliminate the corrupt twin?

    In that case¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Qiu Beifeng was standing in front of the entrance to the instance of the ¡°Six Reincarnations: Endless Killing¡± with nothing to do. As he waited for his teammates to arrive, he began chatting with the other younger female apprentices in his n.

    Qiu Beifeng had been ying the game for two years. At first, he heard that it was easy to find a significant other in the game, but he became addictedter on because the game was truly good. It revolved around martial arts which held great significance in the nation and the gamey was based on ¡®qinggong¡¯. Most of his teammates were girls and were younger than him. The socialworking system was decent and the game characters were also beautiful, fun to y and pleasant to listen to, so he continued ying the game.

    Indeed, Qiu Beifeng dide across a few younger girls whom he would ¡°flirt¡± with. They asked him to travel to their city to ¡°have fun together¡±, but Qiu Beifeng eventually refused all of them¡ªhe was afraid that it could turn out to be a pyramid scheme, a badger game, or he would end up meeting a muchrger and stronger man older than himself.

    To put it simply, it could be an enticing scam.

    As such, Qiu Beifeng did not have much unpleasant feelings of discord with his team and had been ying on that particr server. Recently, his n had been trying to make up 25 people to challenge the instance mission ¡°Six Reincarnations¡±.

    The mystery instance mission had actually already been avable three months ago, and various tactics toplete the mission could easily be found online. For some reason, however, in the past half a month, none of the teams were able toplete the mystery instance mission. This was the case only in the particr server he was in¡ªthe mystery instance mission had long beenpleted by all the yers in the other servers.

    However, the more the mission could not bepleted sessfully, the more attractive it was. It was currently the sixth time Qiu Beifeng organized a group to attempt toplete the instance mission, and there were many things he had to organize and prepare. After all, it was not easy to organize a group of 25 people toe together, and it took three hours toplete the mission once.

    Qiu Beifeng yawned and rubbed his eyes. His roommate who was walking by looked at him and said, ¡°You are getting more and more exhausted recently, you should go to bed earlier.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I have been going about as per usual,¡± said Qiu Beifeng as he scratched his head. He added, ¡°This game does not need me to stay up toote every day anyway, I am just a casual yer.¡±

    Suddenly, Qiu Beifeng noticed a message which was sent to the whole server pop up at the top of the screen: [Kill unknown enemy (XXX.YYY.ZZZ) to get 100,000 Tongbao!]

    [Kill unknown enemy (XXX.YYY.ZZZ) to get 100,000 Tongbao!]

    The message persistently popped up on the screen and shocked Qiu Beifeng. He recalled that he hade across a simr message an hour ago, but the killing target was ¡®Mountain Thief¡¯, not an unknown enemy.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is there a special event? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing despite ying the game for so long¡­¡±

    Qiu Beifeng was slightly puzzled. He opened the map and discovered that the coordinates listed in the message appeared not far from where he was.

    And at that juncture, Qiu Beifeng could already hear a strange humming sound in his headphones!

    Messages kept appearing in the notification column on the lower-left corner of the screen: [Oh my god! It¡¯s at the entrance to the instance mission of Six Reincarnations!]

    [What the hell is that!]

    [Quicklye and check this out! Is that an extraordinary add-on?!]

    Qiu Beifeng shifted his view in the game and saw a battlefield jeep approaching his position at high speed!

    There were still many yers riding their horses in front of the battlefield jeep. In theory, the horses could not be physically knocked over, but at that juncture, the battlefield jeep knocked all of the horses down, causing their data to be lost. The yers were knocked off their horses and then smashed into corpses!

    Herd after herd, many yers were dashing towards the jeep in an attempt to kill it, due to the attractive reward stated on the notice board, or perhaps simply because they were curious.

    Some of the knights who were standing by the side and not doing anything were also knocked and killed instantaneously, and the ¡®knights¡¯ who charged over from both sides were instead killed by continuous shots from a light machine gun controlled by a red-haired girl who stood up from inside the jeep.

    Was it the Internal Power of Pure Yang?

    Was it the Precious Armor of the Heavens?

    Was it the Secret Skill of the Beggars¡¯ Sect?

    Was it the Fire Ring of the Ming n?

    Have a taste of my fire weapon!

    Qiu Beifeng looked on in dismay.

    This was a Jiayuan game!

    This was a martial arts game, a martial arts game, and a martial arts game! What on earth is going on, what exactly on earth!

    What the hell, how could there be a jeep with a light machine gun driving around, shooting and killing in all directions?!

    Nheless, at that juncture, all of the yers who were near the location of the mystery instance suddenly brimmed with enthusiasm and formed a human barricade in an attempt to block the jeep from advancing!

    [Blow this monster up! It has a light machine gun, the strongest secret weapon!]

    [It is a super mounted jeep too!]

    [Hmm, is there any petrol station in Jiayuan?]

    However, all their efforts were in vain. As Qiu Beifeng watched the screen turn gray, the jeep had already killed the entire crowd, leaving corpses all over the ce as it headed right into the mystery instance of the ¡°Six Reincarnations¡±!

 Chapter 168 - Clash Of Game Settings

    Chapter 168 ¨C sh Of Game Settings

    In the famous console game ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡±, a female character stood in the middle of the road, equipped with only the initial equipment and not moving. An enemy sniper walked by and shot her dead immediately, then walked over excitedly to check out the remains of the dead character.

    ¡°Mmm? Why are there no equipment drops? Could there really be idiots who enter the game without purchasing any equipment first?¡± muttered the yer who was ying the sniper character. He found that there was no equipment drops on the dead character and proceeded to search nearby. Some yers would remove their equipment before they died as they ¡°would rather die in vain than let the enemy loot them¡±.

    However, despite searching for some time, the sniper still did not find any equipment and quickly left.

    In the meantime, the yer who controlled the female character stood in front of theputer, his mind full of doubts as he looked at his game score.

    ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡± was a very interesting game. He was ying in single-yer chaos mode, where the battlefield was divided into two camps, East and West. The terrain included mountains, ins, swamps, and housing areas. The two different camps would fight to infiltrate the opposing camp, and the fights would continue until one of them lost.

    The purchase mechanism of the game was such that yers would buy various different equipment to fight before they revived. The higher the score they achieved before they died, the more purchase resources they received upon dying.

    However, the powerful equipment a yer purchased could also be robbed by other yers, though not only limited to enemies. Allies from the same camp could also steal the equipment possibly because they were ¡°new to the game¡±¡ªalthough such yers could be reported, the game experience would already have been ruined.

    The yer who controlled the female character had just purchased a bulletproof jeep equipped with a light machine gun with the funds he received upon dying previously. He was just about to gather a few of his teammates to rush into the enemy¡¯s base to kill all of the enemies when the game crashed as soon as they entered the game.

    Logging back into the game, he discovered that not only did the light machine gun and jeep disappear, but all of his other equipment¡ªbulletproof vest, pistol, assault rifle and more¡ªwere missing! He had never heard of yers being robbed of their equipment when they were alive!

    ¡°Where¡¯s my equipment and character¡­?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Thrilling!

    In the instance mission of the ¡°Six Reincarnations¡±, Ren Suo controlled the female character and sted all the mobs in the instance mission with the light machine gun that had virtually unlimited bullets. Even the obstructing ¡®wall¡¯ was tragically sted apart by the machine gun!

    After all, in ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡±, machine guns were inconvenient and expensive weapons, although their destructive power was absolutely terrifying. Concentrated shots could st through ordinary walls, and apart from an armored tank, even a jeep could be blown apart by the machine gun.

    Simply put, the machine gun had the special capability of being able to ¡®destroy buildings¡¯!

    However, Ren Suo had not expected that the capabilities of the equipment in ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡± could be perfectly reproduced in the martial arts game ¡°Fate of the Century¡± from Jiayuan!

    Needless to say, the jeep was able to knock people dead, and the bullets from the machine gun shot through the characters¡¯ armor with 100% effectiveness. Nheless, Ren Suo knew that the walls in such martial arts games were usually ¡®non-existent¡¯¡ªthey were simply pure 2D oveys.

    On the other hand, in ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡±, the walls were real and possessed attributes like the surface area of collision, which was why they were able to be shot through by bullets.

    However, as the machine gun swept across the battlefield in ¡°Fate of the Century¡±, the 2D oveys which could not have been destroyed were now prated by the machine gun as if they were upgraded with 3D attributes!

    The original style of ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡± was already quite unlike ¡°Fate of the Century¡±, but under the unparalleled stitching ability of Irina, ¡°Fate of the Century¡± was forced to follow the rules of ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡±, resulting in changes to its own data.

    It was almost as if the little princess Irina was telling the server: I will do just as I wish, so you should take care of the rest yourself.

    And then the server also took care of itself, by changing the real data to suit Irina!

    Originally, the 25-person challenge of the instance mission ¡°Six Reincarnations¡± required three hours toplete, with countless small monster bosses along the way. However, with the jeep and its equipped machine gun, all the monsters, who relied on martial arts and brick fortresses, could do nothing to hinder the progress of the jeep!

    The most Ren Suo needed to do was to reload bullets asionally. For an instance mission which usually took three hours toplete, Ren Suo reached the boss, ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯, in less than five minutes!

    Irina: [The corrupt twin is disguised as him!]

    Incidentally, Irina was also disguised as the female character sitting in the driver¡¯s seat and maneuvering the jeep. After all, Ren Suo could not continue controlling the jeep as he operated the light machine gun.

    That was also the second surprising discovery Ren Suo made: Irina was also one of the characters he could control. Although that was only one additionalmand unit, Ren Suo thought that it opened up many more possibilities.

    However, at this moment, the level of ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ suddenly began rising, soaring to level 999 instantaneously!

    And his speed was so fast that his character left a trail of afterimages as he rushed towards the front of the jeep in an instant!

    [Severe a thousand heads and devour a hundred bones!]

    ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ used a knife and not a sword. In a sh of light, the jeep was dealt with -99999 damage!

    Undoubtedly, the jeep exploded directly¡ªthe mobile equipment in ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡± did not have the setting of being ¡®severed¡¯, so the result of receiving too much damage was a direct explosion!

    However, there was still a certain dy before the severing explosion and there was sufficient time for Ren Suo to control the female character to get off the jeep while picking up the assault rifle at the same time. He aimed the rifle at the head of ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯.

    ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡± was an FPS console game yed with a game controller. However, the control of a controller was much less urate and precise than that of a keyboard and mouse. In order to ease the learning curve when a yer was first starting out in the game, the game system would automatically help the yer to calibrate the aiming when the yer was shooting.

    At the same time, once the yer entered the aiming interface, the system would position the crosshair directly on the enemy¡¯s head!

    It was almost like a gift from ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±!

    ¡°Bang, bang, bang¡ª¡±

    ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ was naturally extremely fast, and his defense was even unreasonably stronger. On the screen, Ren Suo saw dozens of buffs stated in the status column below the boss¡¯s HP bar.

    Previously, Ren Suo had nced through the skills in ¡°Fate of the Century¡± quickly, and he only recognized a few of the boss¡¯s buffs as the strongest skills of some of the martial arts sects. He did not recognize the rest of the buffs but it was only likely to be strong and not weak ones.

    Irina had mentioned that the corrupt twin could make use of all of the existing data in the server, including NPCs, yers, and even the GM, although the changes made at the GM level were essentially erasure at the data level and was invalid for data other than those on that particr server.

    You are already the GM of ¡°Fate of the Century¡±, and you still wish to obliterate a character from ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡±?

    In the end, only physical skills with visible effects were effective, and those skills also had toply with the basic physical rules set by the server to take effect.

    A bullet shot out of the rifle chamber with a trace of smoke. Even though ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ was extremely fast and high-leveled, he was still not fast enough¡ªhe could not avoid the bullet!

    Jingles sounded in the air to signify theyers of ability armor of ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ being prated through.

    Based on the rules of the game, the boss¡¯s invisible armor was recognized, but in the same physical environment, it was still unable to stop the pration by bullets!

    ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ scrambled to dodge the bullets, but his movement speed could not be faster than that of bullets. In addition, with the system-assisted tracking, Ren Suo virtually crushed the boss into nothing with ease.

    When Ren Suo¡¯s magazine was empty, the HP of ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ also emptied. It died.

 Chapter 169 - Ren Suo Wants To Sell His Intelligence Information Again

    Chapter 169: Chapter 169 ¨C Ren Suo Wants To Sell His Intelligence Information Again

    Ren Suo now understood how to y the ¡®game¡¯.

    The death of ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ was almost inevitable. Even if the corrupt twin enhanced the character it disguised as to be the strongest character in the entire game, it was still impossible to win the fire weapons Ren Suo brought over from ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡±

    It was not that the martial arts in the game were iparable, but that there were no guns at all in the game. As such, all of the martial arts did not have the attributes of ¡°dodging bullets¡± and ¡°resisting bullets¡±.

    At maximum speed, the character was set to not leave footsteps on snow, and not to be faster than bullets.

    At maximum defense, the character was set to not be impaled by knives and spears, and not to be imprable by bullets.

    Without a corresponding item in the game, the battle between Irina and the corrupt twin turned into a confrontation based upon reality and the source data of the two parties.

    Although the source data of the corrupt twin was peaking at present, the effect of ¡®modifying reality¡¯ could not be achieved, and it was still sted by the firearms brought over to the game by Irina.

    When ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ died, many of the red pixels, which appeared on his character, disappeared.

    Irina: [The corrupt twin lost some of her source data. Currently, the corrupt twin owns 58% of the source data, and Irina owns 50% of the source data.¡±

    [The corrupt twin has left this server.]

    Ren Suo was still not relieved. A woman in a green dress suddenly appeared on the screen, and the next second, she appeared in front of the female character who was holding the assault rifle. Then, she killed the female character with a sword!

    After defeating ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯, Ren Suo was just about to rx when that happened. He had not expected it at all as he watched himself being thrown out of the game. Irina¡¯s character who was in the jeep previously had long been sted into pieces in the explosion caused by ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯.

    Irina: [Stitching data has been lost.]

    Ren Suo blinked and asked: [Is the source data not lost?]

    Irina: [Source data will only be lost if the stitching data my supreme and great lord possess is lost in the same server where the corrupt twin is residing in. At other times, only the stitching data will be lost.]

    That was really fortunate and Ren Suo calmed down. Excited, he asked immediately: [Where is the corrupt twin now?]

    Ren Suo was already hooked on such overpowering gamey where he would make use of characters from one game to infiltrate and invade another¡ª

    In terms of technology, anything within the firing range of the firearms could be destroyed;

    In terms of martial arts, anyone within five steps is an enemy;

    In terms of magic, well, there was the possibility of humanoid nuclear bombs.

    Ren Suo already could not wait to try out other tactics, but Irina replied: [The corrupt twin is currently in hiding, and some time is needed to locate her.]

    Naturally, Ren Suo could not do anything but to wait. He looked at the time and realized that it was still early, so he nned to make use of the afternoon toplete his work assigned by the Countermeasure Division.

    However, he suddenly remembered about the NPC who killed his character in the instance mission of ¡°Six Reincarnations¡± at the end and went online to search for details of the instance mission on the official website of ¡°Fate of the Century¡± Jiayuan.

    It turned out that after the final boss ¡®Dragon King, Gu Shenwei¡¯ was killed, a super-assassin named ¡®Huo Yun¡¯ would always appear and kill the character in the team with the least amount of HP.

    If the yers knew about the fact in advance, they could kill ¡®Huo Yun¡¯ while protecting the character with the least amount of HP left. ¡°Huo Yun¡± was not considered a boss and only had very little HP, so she would die in one or two hits.

    It would have been extremely dangerous if she appeared during the boss battle, but she only appeared after the boss died, so she was just an ordinary trap.

    Nheless, as Ren Suo was searching for information on ¡°Fate of the Century¡±, he suddenly came across a post in the game¡¯s forum:

    ¡°Shocking appearance of the jeep and the light machine gun in ¡®Traversing Dreams of Heaven¡¯ server! Legendary and undefeatable plugin!¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned and clicked in to read.

    The original post author wrote: ¡°I was waiting to form a random team at the entrance to the instance mission ¡®Six Reincarnations¡¯ this afternoon when I unexpectedly saw a jeep equipped with a light machine gun charging over! It knocked down more than a dozen yers who were riding on horses along the way and shot and killed dozens of more yers who were hanging around the entrance of the instance mission. The style of the jeep and machine gun waspletely different from that of Fate of the Century¡­¡±

    (Pictured here)

    The secondmenter wrote: ¡°Whoever believes that is a silly dork! How can that happen? Having the strongest armor and being undefeatable is the most that could happen.¡±

    The thirdmenter wrote: ¡°Who would believe you without a video? The picture is not even the same style as the original game, aren¡¯t your photoshop skills too poor?¡±

    ¡­

    The ninthmenter wrote: ¡°I can testify that the OP is telling the truth, I am the Huajian who was killed by the jeep! (Picture here)¡±

    The tenthmenter wrote: ¡°I can testify that the OP is telling the truth, I am the Chunyang who was killed by the jeep! (50 cents per post, this segment was deleted when copied)¡±

    From the thread, it was evident that most people did not believe what the original post said. There were asionally some people who came out to testify that the original post was true, but were immediately used as ghostwriters that were part of the inte water army. Later on, however, many of thements were simply copy and pasted from earlierments and the entire thread quickly became a boring thread flooded with uselessments.

    Ren Suo was stunned and searched online, but did not find any rted videos.

    If what the post said was true, then all of what Ren Suo had done¡ªcontrolling a jeep to invade ¡°Fate of the Century¡± and killing dozens of yers in the game¡ªhad already turned into reality.

    It was only because the jeep only appeared for a very short amount of time and the yers did not record a video in time that there were no rted videos online at present, and there were only screenshots from yers who wanted to boast.

    The question was, how did all the events in the game turn into reality so quickly?

    ording to the game introduction, there should be a mission score and evaluation for ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±, which naturally meant that there was a round of ¡®uploading the mission score¡¯. Based on what Ren Suo experienced thus far, the gamey usually turned into reality only after uploading the mission score.

    Ren Suo frowned as he pondered. At present, the only game which turned into reality without uploading any mission score was ¡°Passing Hats¡±¡ªbut ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ did not upload any corresponding video as yet, so Ren Suo also did not know whether the game had turned into reality.

    ¡°What do ¡®Passing Hats¡¯ and ¡®Endless Intrusion¡¯ have inmon? How are they different from the other games?¡±

    Ren Suo thought for a long time, and finally had one or two guesses, but he put those thoughts aside as he could not confirm them.

    In any case, however, ¡°Endless Intrusion¡± was an ordinary game, and there should be a video posted after he uploaded the mission score. When that happened, Ren Suo should be able to confirm his spections.

    Nheless, Ren Suo could do something with that information now¡­

    Ren Suo quickly navigated to the intr and uploaded the post he found from the ¡°Fate of the Century¡± forum as ¡°Suspicious Content¡± to the database in the ¡°Extraordinary Phenomena¡± section.

    The posts in that database could only be viewed but not discussed, and there were many new ¡®extraordinary phenomena¡¯ happenings posted in the database.

    The database was established as not every extraordinary phenomenon needed to be discussed, although researchers needed to have sufficient information to make extraptions and spections.

    There were only twobels in the database: ¡°suspicious¡± and ¡°verified¡±. The former represented information which had not yet received official attention and had not been verified, while thetter meant that the information was officially verified and essentially described true information.

    The ¡°suspicious¡± information in the database was updated almost every minute, and the content ranged from ¡°suspected carrier of the system¡± to ¡°suspected time traveler from ancient times¡±. Ren Suo would also browse through the database asionally to kill time; his knowledge wascking in more ways than one.

    In theory, as long as the information was provided by the researcher, Xuan Nation would allocate resources to investigate them. However, human resources were limited, so the information provided by the senior researchers would naturally receive more attention.

    However, if the information provided by a researcher had not yet been verified when rted events urred, Xuan Nation wouldpensate the researcher for his passion and vision by giving the researcher more researcher points.

    I suppose everyone reading this would have discovered Ren Suo¡¯s evil intentions by now: As a ¡®maker of information¡¯, he wants to sell his knowledge again.

    If all went well and Ren Suo¡¯s n was sessful, the research paper he was tasked to do by the Countermeasure Division could be considered done.

    At that juncture, a bell sounded from the television in the living room, and Irina¡¯s voice was heard:

    [The location of the corrupt twin has been found.]

 Chapter 170 - Ren Suo Wants To Stir Trouble Again

    Chapter 170: Chapter 170 ¨C Ren Suo Wants To Stir Trouble Again

    ¡°This is going to be troublesome¡­¡±

    On Ren Suo¡¯s screen was a gigantic red pce which appeared to be made out of countless red silk threads and shed asionally. However, when Irina found out the name of the pce, Ren Suo remained silent.

    Over the past few days, Ren Suo had chased down the corrupt twin in numerous servers.

    She first hid in an online paranormal game which was adapted from a novel with the same name about robbing tombs. Ren Suo pondered over it and decided to drive a tank from ¡°Battlefield of Chaos¡± to suppress her;

    She then hid in ¡°Skyrim Scrolls¡±, an online magic game, where there were steam rifles, magic, and huge dragons, which proved to be a challenge to ovee for Ren Suo.

    He drove a cosmic warship from an interster warfare RTS game into ¡°Skyrim Scrolls¡±, but the corrupt twin disrupted all power systems with her magic, resulting in Irina¡¯s death once again.

    Ren Suo then searched and found out that the mobile version of ¡°Dragon Ball Saiyan¡± wasunched recently!

    As such, he directly controlled a Super Saiyan into the game to see if magic or a Saiyan, who could destroy the gxy, was more powerful.

    The next moment, the yers on ¡°ck Garden¡±, the sixth server of ¡°Skyrim Scrolls¡±, saw a sh of white across their screen and then all of them were disconnected. After they went back into the game, they found that even all of the NPCs were annihted, forcing the official game server to be restarted¡­

    The corrupt twin also learned her lesson and fled to an online fighting game ¡°Star Defense¡± which was based on StarCraft and featured mecha robots as the main targets.

    At that point, Ren Suo smiled smugly. He returned to ¡°Skyrim Scrolls¡± to cut out a strong magician character and killed his way through the entire yer city in ¡°Star Defense¡±, using the abilities ¡°Physical Shield¡±, ¡°Frenzy¡±, ¡°Hypnosis¡±, and ¡°Heart-Shifting¡±¡ªthere were no defenses against such attacks targeted at the soul in ¡°Star Defense¡±.

    Relying on the differences between different games, Ren Suo was virtually overpowering the corrupt twin time after time as he chased her down. However, the time required for Irina to locate the corrupt twin also became longer and longer. When the source data of the corrupt twin dropped to 30%, Irina only managed to locate her after 6 hours.

    ording to Irina, that was because the source data of the corrupt twin was reduced and she was actively concealing herself, so it made the search much more difficult.

    Although Irina had found the corrupt twin at present, Ren Suo was stunned and could not think of a way to defeat the corrupt twin in the server she was in.

    That was because the name of this server was ¡°League of Legends¡±.

    It was the hottest PC MOBA game at present. Although the number of yers in the game was reduced due to the emergence of simr mobile adaptations of the game, League of Legends was still a first choice for therge majority ofpetitive yers¡ª

    Why would they choose to y using a small screen when they could do the same with arge screen?

    It was also perfectly normal for the corrupt twin to have chosen the game; millions of people were constantly online in the game, and based on numbers alone it was much greater than any of the previous games she had been in.

    However, Irina said: [The human connection is very unstable in this server, and the energy that the corrupt twin absorbs from the connection is also intermittent. Furthermore, there is no long-standing, persistent environment in this server, so the corrupt twin has to change the environment she is in very frequently, and this server is not the best for her.]

    Ren Suo pondered over it and thought that indeed, each game in League of Legendssted only 20 minutes if it was short, and up to an hour if it was longer. Nheless, the battle map would be refreshed after each game and naturally, the corrupt twin would not be able to remain in the same location for a long period of time.

    However, all of that was meaningless to his strategy; the corrupt twin could change the character she was controlling to be the strongest character in League of Legends whenever she wanted to.

    The challenge for Ren Suo, currently, was to choose which game and which character he should use so that he would definitely be able to defeat the corrupt twin.

    It must be made known that the abilities system in League of Legends was very robust. From guns to magic, from martial arts to godlike abilities, there was almost everything. It was no longer sufficient if Ren Suo used firearms to tten the battlefield¡ªeven the minions in the game might not be afraid of bullets.

    Perhaps, it could even be said that Ren Suo¡¯s fundamental abilities perfectly epassed the abilities system of League of Legends¡ªthe existing abilities system in League of Legends could be fully controlled by the corrupt twin and she would be virtually immune to all of it.

    ¡°Should I spend money now to find a programmer to design a mini-game, and design an invincible character in the mini-game?¡±

    Ren Suo told Irina about his idea, and Irina asked: [How invincible is invincible? Invincibility at the data level is meaningless as the attributes must physically appear.]

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth. Magic, sci-fi, martial arts¡­ All of these ability systems were already avable in League of Legends!

    There were even a few gods who could directly control time, space, and death. All forms of invincibility in terms of energy lost their meaning in front of those gods.

    As long as the character Ren Suo controlled to enter the Summoner¡¯s Rift did not possess any powers outside of the ability systems in League of Legends, there was no way he could defeat the corrupt twin. Notwithstanding other abilities, the existing spells in the game like an infinite sh, infinite healing, and infinite barrier already made the corrupt twin invincible.

    Ren Suo did not dare to attempt battling the corrupt twin recklessly after he finally managed to reduce the source data of the corrupt twin to below 30%. If Irina died once or twice more, wouldn¡¯t the corrupt catch back up?

    Moreover, the longer the corrupt twin remained in the game, the more energy she could obtain from yers to convert into her source data. As such, the longer the chase dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be to Irina.

    In the meantime, Ren Suo reported all the ¡°extraordinary¡± news which emerged on the inte after he ¡°battered¡± the different game servers to the intr as suspicious information. However, it seemed that no one had yet been sent to verify the information that Ren Suo provided, which gave Ren Suo sufficient time toplete the game.

    Of course, he hoped that his information would continue to not be verified until after he uploaded his mission score and the video was uploaded. When that happened, the nation would discover that there was actually such a researcher who was ¡°wise¡± and ¡°farsighted¡± but was not known.

    When that time came, Ren Suo might well be promoted and given a pay rise if his superiors were pleased, hehehe¡­

    However, now that Ren Suo still could not figure out a way to defeat the corrupt twin after thinking for some time, he decided to eat while checking out the games in the mobile application store, to see if there were any mobile games with particrly powerful ability systems; it would be even better if there was a game which could wipe out the entire universe in one blow.

    ¡°You still have the mood to y games?¡±

    Zhao Huo sat down opposite Ren Suo as he asked with a smile. Ren Suo nced at Zhao Huo¡ªhe bought a m bowl, howme.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually not ying games¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered.

    He asked, ¡°How would you defeat a character in League of Legends if he had all the abilities of all the characters in the game?¡±

    Zhao Huo replied, ¡°League of Legends? I would still be able to answer you if it was DOTA because I rarely y LOL. However, what you are talking about sounds like OMG mode (where skill selection is free-for-all).¡±

    ¡°Then, how would you win the battle? You simply control a character equipped with the skills of all the heroes and rely on them to fight. If all the skills are really avable, then there must be several skills that can cause infinite control and restraint whenbined together. It just depends on who strikes first in the battle.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned and thought that Zhao Huo¡¯s idea seemed decent. It was just that the League of Legends server was already controlled by the corrupt twin, and Ren Suo could not enter League of Legends to cut out data of all the heroes¡­

    ¡°Are you really addicted to the game now? That¡¯s good too,¡± Zhao Huo said.

    He picked up a piece of vegetable covered with chili oil and continued, ¡°Ren Suo, there are plenty more fish in the sea, and what¡¯s past is past.¡±

    ¡®What is this fool with a fianc¨¦e saying¡­¡¯ Ren Suo pulled his lips and said, ¡°The students don¡¯t need to attend Practice lessons now, shouldn¡¯t you be spending all of your time Practicing?¡±

    ¡°I will still be hungry while Practicing,¡± Zhao Huo said.

    He continued, ¡°Ever since the Reiki Treasures were activated, our Practice efficiency has increased by leaps and bounds, but that also causes our bodies to be fatigued more easily. We need to eat more to supplement our nutrition.¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°You eat this to supplement your nutrition? I think all of it will go to waste. Don¡¯t me me for not reminding you when you bleed a good time in the toiletter.¡±

    Zhao Huo nced at him and smiled warmly, ¡°Don¡¯t I still have you though?¡±

    Ren Suo, o(£þ¨Œ£þ)d, as he tightened his grip on his chopsticks, said, ¡°No problem. I have learned how to use chopsticks for more than 20 years, and even picking up the pearls in pearl milk tea is as easy as ABC to me.¡±

    A sense of pain emerged from his lower body as Zhao Huo listened to Ren Suo. He almost could not continue eating the spicy m bowl in front of him and quickly changed the topic, saying, ¡°I thought you would be depressed after you were rejected, but it looks like you are doing quite well¡­ Xie Qiansi even asked me tofort you, but I don¡¯t think it is necessary now.¡±

    ¡°Rejected? Comfort me?¡± Ren Suo said as his mind was filled with questions.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, I understand, you¡¯ve already forgotten about it, I won¡¯t talk about it then,¡± Zhao Huo said.

    With an ¡°old, fatherly¡± look, he said encouragingly, ¡°Ren Suo, it is now a rare and precious period, so you should make good use of it to Practice. In the entire world, only Xuan Nation and a few other nations have elevated their Reiki levels, and all of the other nations are envious¡±

    ¡°However, in the next two days, the Federation of North America would have their Reiki veins activated too. When that happens, we will be on the same starting line again¡­ Both for yourself and for the nation, Ren Suo, you should forget about your thoughts about having children and instead do your best for the great revival of our nation and people! As long as your mind remains firm, you might have a chance in the future¡­ ¡±

    Ren Suo was no longer interested to continue listening to Zhao Huo as he nagged on and on. Instead, he looked at the date and remembered that it had been five days since the emergence of the Reiki Light in New York.

    That afternoon, which would be the early morning in New York, the All-Devouring Soul would activate thest Reiki Treasure!

    When Ren Suo returned home, he was ready to see if there were any live broadcasts on the inte about the activation of the Reiki Treasure of New York. If he could not find any such broadcasts, he could only hope for the video uploaded by ¡°Naisser Ren¡± showing the Monkey King fighting the Angels. Nheless, Ren Suo had no way of controlling the uploader.

    Ren Suo thought, ¡°If only I can watch everything up close, the perspective of watching at the scene is definitely not the same as ying on my own¡­¡±

    However, apart from the fact that Ren Suo was unlikely to be able to travel abroad in person (even Practitioners like him faced travel restrictions), he might not be willing to go there even if he had the ability to¡ªMonkey King was unlike Nine-tailed Fox and was really there to fight. Who knew if he would not involve the surrounding onlookers?

    At the same time, however, Ren Suo really wanted to see it for himself¡ªmainly because he felt that when he yed the game, that particr fight (of acting cool) was very enjoyable. Now that he had the chance to ¡°rey¡± and confirm his great achievements, Ren Suo naturally could not suppress his excitement.

    ¡°It would be nice if there were games which could be broadcasted in real-time¡­ Eh?¡±

    On the main screen, Ren Suo saw that the disc icon at the bottom right corner of the game ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± was still spinning.

    And next to that game, was ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±.

 Chapter 171 - Activation of the Reiki Treasure of the Federation

    Chapter 171: Chapter 171 ¨C Activation of the Reiki Treasure of the Federation

    It was half a month since Ren Suostpleted the mini-mission in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±.

    The cooldown time was 15 days and Ren Suo could now continue to y the mini-mission in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±. Although the difficulty of the mini-mission also increased significantly, the game character, Zhao Zili, had also be stronger.

    However, Ren Suo no longer needed the treatment from ¡°Holy Priest¡±¡ªhis family had already been given one round of the treatment.

    And as a Practitioner, he could also gradually be stronger through Practice, even without the treatment.

    Moreover, after Ren Suo practiced the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan for several days, he could already feel the transformation in him, both physically and mentally.

    Even if he became a couch potato and ate four meals a day, his muscles would still remain firm, his body would remain skinny, his skin would remain smooth, and even his mild myopia waspletely cured. He could sleep in a room with the air conditioner at 26¡ãC everyday without catching a cold even without a nket.

    As such, Ren Suo had temporarily ignored the refreshed mini-task, but when he thought of witnessing the Monkey King in real life, he immediately thought of that game.

    ¡ª¡ªIn the mini-game of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, the three gods enabled Zhao Zili to be teleported to any corner of the world.

    There was no doubt that Zhao Zili did not appear in the game, ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±.

    However, with his [Invincible Shield] and [Superhuman Shield] which could even allow him to dominate the battle, Zhao Zili could not be regarded as just a passerby.

    Ren Suo certainly did not want to ruin the sess of the Monkey King which he achieved in the game, but it was undeniable that he had the ability to control Zhao Zili to interfere with the battle of the Monkey King.

    In that case, could he also interfere with the ending of the game he had already uploaded?

    In that process, the only loss for Ren Suo would be to have wasted Zhao Zili¡¯s mission opportunity. If Zhao Zili was unable to gather 5 true believers of the three gods in New York, even Ren Suo did not know what would happen to Zhao Zili.

    However, if Ren Suo did notplete the mini-mission as soon as possible, he felt that the difficulty of the task might be more and more difficult. After the upgrade in Reiki energy in the world, Ren Suo could feel that he was mastering his abilities more quickly, and the effects of the abilities were also bing stronger, so it appeared that the difficulty of forming Reiki meridian channels of abilities was decreasing at the same time.

    It might not be long before the healing ability would quickly be the norm. Even if it was not as effective as Zhao Zili¡¯s healing miracles, it could still meet the essential treatment required for most people. At that time, the chance and speed of garnering believers for the ¡°Three Gods of Healing¡± would be greatly diminished.

    Nheless, Ren Suo no longer desired or needed a character with a healing role like Zhao Zili. It no longer mattered to him if he did notplete the mission sessfully; anyway, Zhao Zili was not like the cute Irina.

    Regardless, that was a consideration for the future. Ren Suo looked at the time and felt that it was about time. He immediately started the mini-mission ¡°Recovery Priest¡± and found a target with a blue-tagged degree of belief in New York City.

    Zhao Zili could only remain in the mortal world for 30 minutes. Ren Suo did not control Zhao Zili tond immediately, but instead used his mobile phone to watch the live broadcast from New York.

    With New York being a developed country and the activation of the Reiki Treasure of New York being publicized widely, Ren Suo did not need to spend much effort before he found a live broadcast from New York hosted by a Chinese anchor in the early morning.

    As the event had not begun, the live broadcaster was still talking about rted events, ¡°¡­ There have been many rumors of the Federation intending to establish an official Extraordinaire organization, I think it is called SHIELD¡­¡±

    ¡°Actually, I have barely seen any Extraordinaires in New York, although I¡¯ve experienced robberies on the road a few times. I must warn you that if youe to New York, do not go to secluded areas and alleys. Even though you are still in the same city, the level of security still varies greatly between the different areas.¡±

    ¡°My closest encounter with an Extraordinaire was when I suddenly saw a lot of police cars rushing onto a school campus and led a young offender away. Later on, I heard from other people that the offender was suspected ofmitting a crime with his extraordinary powers¡­¡±

    As the live broadcaster talked about his interesting stories while he was studying in New York, the camera remained focused on Liberty Ind across the sea. Ren Suo made use of the time to connect hisputer to the Mini Worlds Gaming Console and control Zhao Zili to upgrade his equipment and Talents from the [Treasures of the Holy Light]. This time, Zhao Zili would be a brand new, different, and super handsome¡­ fatty!

    Suddenly, from the torch held by the right hand of the Statue of Liberty in the distance, in the live broadcast, rays of light emerged.

    Begin the mini-mission!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    To prepare for the Reiki mission, even the navy was dispatched to the nearby military areas, and the New York City Police Department naturally had to appear.

    However, the ¡®low ability¡¯ police of the Federation were naturally not qualified to go near Liberty Ind and were instead responsible for maintainingw and order at New York Harbor and Long Ind¡ªdue to the obvious streaks of light emerging from the Reiki vein, more and more people of the Federation were spontaneously gathering at the two closest ports to Liberty Ind to witness the event.

    The effects of igniting the Reiki vein could hardly be concealed. Whether it was Xuan Nation, Fanying Nation, Australia or the few other countries, more Extraordinaires had been nurtured due to the activation of the Reiki vein, and those who already had extraordinary powers also grew in strength.

    Apart from the first time a Reiki vein was ignited¡ªwhich was in Xuan Nation¡ªthere were alwaysrge crowds surrounding the scene to witness the event. It was not only because they wanted to enjoy the show, but it was also because of amon view and perception of people. Would they gain more by being closer to the source?

    By the same logic, it was also more smelly when one was closer to the source of a fart!

    The people had waited a long time, for a few days and nights, before they got to the good positions they were at now. That should increase their chances of Awakening, no?

    In fact, there were actually several instances where an onlooker in the crowd was Awakened due to the ignition of the Reiki vein event. As such, people in other countries were even more convinced of that logic, and there had even been brawls between people at New York Harbor fighting for a good location.

    It was just like an influenza patient who prayed to the gods and eventually healed a weekter¡ªhe would think that his recovery was the result of his prayers, and not even suspect that it was due to his body killing the cold virus within a week. Humans always attributed results to their actions subconsciously and were unwilling to consider them to be due to an intangible attribute called luck.

    At such a time, the Federation did not intend to crush the enthusiasm of the people either, so they sent the Federation police to maintain order.

    Vanessa was such a police officer of the Federation dispatched to New York Harbor. The area she was in charge of was at the southeastern side of New York Harbor, at the trailing end of the crowd. As a 26-year-old policewoman, Vanessa did not ck like a haggard old man, and instead patrolled and carried out her duty meticulously. No one could tell that she had only slept for a total of ten hours in the past five days.

    Suddenly, resounding cheers erupted from New York Harbor. Vanessa turned her head to see the torch of the Statue of Liberty glowing red!

    Red and blue meteors flew from the torch-like sparks and across thend of the Federation!

    People of the Federation jumped in joy and screamed loudly like it was the New Year. Vanessa could even hear people next to her shouting to the meteors to e here¡± and ¡°shoot me¡±.

    It would be a lie to say that Vanessa did not wish to be the target of the meteors¡ªafter all, she was only an ordinary person, not an Extraordinaire.

    Nheless, her professionalism as a police officer quickly brought her back to work. At that juncture, she saw a white light emerge from a street not far away and frowned slightly. She thought, was someone ying with a high-power shlight?

    New York Harbor was extremely lively over the past few days, and there were even street singers and jugglers who came to perform. People naturally watched them when they were bored¡ªthere was an outrageouslyrge number of people at New York Harbor, and many people saw the opportunity and wanted to seize the chance.

    However, Vanessa observed that the white light from the other street was emerging continuously, and based on the direction the white light was traveling in, the main subject with the white light seemed to be heading towards New York Harbor at the speed of a car!

    ¡°This is¡ª¡± Even before Vanessa had the opportunity to report the situation there, she saw the white light erupt on the main road!

    The thick beam of white light trailed in the air andnded on the congested road, and the sea of white light obstructed Vanessa¡¯s view of the cars in front of her!

    Vanessa looked up and saw a fat individual in a gorgeous white robe spinning and jumping frommppost tomppost, and he reached the area near New York Harbor in no time!

    The feather-woven robe he wore seemed to emit its own light, and it remained a pure white even if there were other colored light sources around.

    Looking at the man, Vanessa¡¯s nervousness and anxiety dissipated immediately, and the holy voice from him sounded in her ears.

    The next second, a piece of the pure white feathersnded on Vanessa¡¯s shoulder and instantly dissipated all her fatigue!

    ¡°Is he an angel?¡± Vanessa muttered as she turned quickly to look at the individual. She realized that the slightly plump person, who donned a white robe, held in his hand¡­

    ¡­ A portable bazooka!

 Chapter 172 - Are You From The Heavenly Palace?

    <h4>Chapter 172: Chapter 172 ¨C Are You From The Heavenly Pce?</h4>

    ¡°I am speaking Mandarin, would they understand me¡­¡±

    Wearing a pair of headphones on his head, with a microphone in front of him, Ren Suo controlled Zhao Zili with the mouse as he looked questioningly at the people of the Federation who were looking at Zhao Zili.

    As a priest, when Zhao Zili wanted to perform the healing miracle, he had to chant the prayers of the gods, as if saying, ¡°All my good deeds are the glorious results under the wise leadership of the three gods. If you are grateful, you should thank them. I am only making a small contribution.¡±

    Fortunately, after Zhao Zili was promoted to the rank of a Priest, his innate [Aura of the Priest] epassed skills like [Sacred Persuasion] and [Sacred Stand], and Ren Suo no longer needed to toggle back and forth between the different ¡®belief skills¡¯ to create the effect of ¡®devoted prayers¡¯.

    However, Ren Suo did not reach the level of knowledge where he could say the prayers in English, and the three gods were also limited in this regard, so Ren Suo just did as he had always done. Anyway, he was not seriously trying to spread the beliefs of the three gods.

    At that juncture, many people at New York Harbor also saw Zhao Zili. Most of them were panicking and trying to escape¡ªit was not an unexpected reaction to have upon seeing a person floating in the sky in the distance with a bazooka in his hand. The only reason one would not run away was that if their legs had gone weak.

    However, the closer people were to Zhao Zili, the more unlikely that they wanted to escape. Instead, they would look up to Zhao Zili with a peace of mind asfort and confusion were written on their faces¡ª

    Theirfort was the result of the [Aura of the Priest] so that ordinary people would not be hostile towards Zhao Zili. Their first impression of Zhao Zili would not be much different from seeing a giant panda;

    Their confusion, naturally, was the result of them not understanding why an angel-like fatty would appear at such a time. Only very few people realized that the fatty was the Zhao Zili who appeared in ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±.

    Although Zhao Zili had performed one round of treatment in Baiyun City in Xuan Nation, his fame did not reach the whole world in reality. Only the upper ss of various nations remembered the person called Zhao Zili.

    Apart from the people of Xuan Nation who remembered the meritorious fatty due to the ¡°folk enthusiasts¡± who uploaded the entire healing process by Zhao Zili, that video was not circted in other nations (they did not understand the contents of the interview). Hence, most people of the Federation naturally did not know of Zhao Zili¡¯s presence.

    Those who ran away did so because they felt that Zhao Zili was up to no good.

    Nheless, their thoughts took a three-sixty the next second.

    Ren Suo was toozy to even aim and controlled Zhao Zili tounch a shot from the bazooka directly towards a densely packed area in the distance.

    After a few shouts from the crowd, the area exploded in a sea of white light. The next moment, people found that nothing bad happened to them; instead, a guy who had fallen down while running away and had been stepped on was surprised to find that he was no longer in pain, and the bear-patterned underwears of the extremely plump people of the Federation, whose fats were squeezed in the crowd (suchrge figure was extremely rare in Xuan Nation), were also revealed¡ªtheir waist had instantly be much smaller and their pants dropped.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Holy Priest from Survival Battle!¡±

    ¡°Oh my lord, it¡¯s the priest sent by the gods to heal us!¡±

    ¡°One more shot, I want to be even prettier!¡±

    Note that those remarks were not heard by Ren Suo¡ªhis standard of English was not that high¡ªbut appeared in dialog boxes that popped up over the heads of people, which tranted their words directly into Mandarin.

    It seemed that the gods also knew that Zhao Zili had not mastered suchnguage abilities and helped him by tranting what they said directly.

    Zhao Zili remained expressionless. After waiting for 3 seconds, the infinite bazooka was automatically refilled, and then he fired another shot towards the crowd, possibly epassing estimated hundreds of people.

    Nheless, the round of healing was not the main purpose of Zhao Zili for being there. He hopped from streemp to streemp, and soon reached the streemp on the edge of the port, as he stared at Liberty Ind one kilometer away.

    The warships surrounding Liberty Ind also noticed Zhao Zili¡¯s presence, and the police from the Federation near New York Harbor shouted to Zhao Zili as they went nearer to him, although they did not pull out their guns. It appeared that they had also received orders from their superiors to be friendly with Zhao Zili, who was an orderly and kind character.

    At that point in time, numerous consecutive energy storms were urring on Liberty Ind, sending outbursts of explosions and rays of light. It was likely to be the Extraordinaires of the Federation hunting down Nine-tailed Fox disguised as a monkey.

    However, Ren Suo could not control Zhao Zili¡¯s to go to Liberty Ind!

    It was not that Zhao Zili did not have the ability to go over¡ªhe was equipped with [Superhuman Shield] which could cause water explosions just by stepping on the water, so it was not difficult for him to cross the sea on foot.

    Instead, it was because a message popped up in the game when Ren Suo tried to control Zhao Zili to head over to Liberty Ind:

    [A high-dimensional barrier is present in front, and the area is temporarily inessible.]

    This high-dimensional barrier was undoubtedly due to the presence of Nine-tailed Fox. The barrier was ineffective against ordinary people and only effective for the character controlled by Ren Suo.

    Was Ren Suo prevented from intruding into the area using other characters on the game console, as the game ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± had to prevent the core plot developments from being altered? Why was it only ¡®temporary¡¯ though?

    Could he enter after some time had passed? Or could Ren Suo enter only if he were controlling a more powerful character?

    Regardless, the fact now was that there was a transparent wall in front of Zhao Zili which he could not break, so Ren Suo had no choice but to let Zhao Zili remain at the best viewing position he was standing at while sting the ground with the bazooka.

    Before Zhao Zili descended, Ren Suo had exchanged for the [Great Mercy and Compassion Bazooka] and the [Robe of 108 Feathers] which were new additions to the Treasure of the Holy Light. The former was extremely effective when shot at dense crowds and could heal hundreds of people in one shot, while thetter could stabilize the healing effect by shooting out Holy Feathers every minute which could treat 108 patients each time.

    Zhao Zili leaped around the harbor as he chanted the prayers expressionlessly and gave his blessings. Finally, he stood atop a streemp with the best view of Liberty Ind and stopped firing his bazooka.

    Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from Liberty Ind!

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up as he immediately activated Zhao Zili¡¯s Talent of [Far Vision]. He could see objects more than a kilometer away directly with the naked eye, without the need for a magnifying scope!

    It was the Monkey King with a body of golden mes as he was reborn from the fire!

    ¡°I have never heard about fighting against the Buddha, I only know about my ancient ancestor, the Heavenly Saint of the Heavenly Pce!¡±

    ¡°And I am the one who walked the road of the legend, the one who will take over the great inheritance, I am the new generation¡­ Monkey King!¡±

    The voice of the Monkey King resounded throughout New York Harbor, and the cheers of the people of the Federation stopped abruptly as they wondered about what was happening on Liberty Ind.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo heard someone speak in awkward-sounding Mandarin, ¡°Mr. Zhao Zili!¡±

    Zhao Zili looked slightly to the side and saw a few policemen of the Federation standing under themppost he was standing on. It was a pretty policewoman who had called out to him earlier.

    If she had spoken in English, Ren Suo would not have cared about them; many other people had kneeled under themppost just now shouting words of ¡°help¡±. They were essentially just noise to Ren Suo, who barely passed his level 4 English course. He would rather watch the entire process of the Monkey King being angered.

    Zhao Zili asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Upon hearing a reply from the final champion of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± who was a Priest from the East, Vanessa sighed in relief. Amongst the policemen who were nearby, she was the only one who had studied in Xuan Nation and could converse in Mandarin.

    She had to appease this ¡°representative force of the gods¡± before the negotiators arrived.

    Vanessa asked, ¡°May I know why you are here?¡±

    Zhao Zili remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Me? I¡¯m here to see this monkey.¡±

    Monkey? Vanessa was stunned as she turned to look at Liberty Ind in the distance. With her eyesight, she naturally could not see what was happening on the ind, but at that juncture, her superior told her about the fact that ¡°it was indeed a monkey igniting the Reiki Treasure of the Federation¡± through her earpiece, and then told her how to answer Zhao Zili.

    Vanessa took a deep breath, then asked cautiously, pausing after each word:

    ¡°May I ask, Mr. Zhao Zili, are you from the Heavenly Pce?¡±

 Chapter 173 - This Is The Reaction Of The Heavenly Palace

    Chapter 173 ¨C This Is The Reaction Of The Heavenly Pce

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    In front of the screen, Ren Suo was visibly stunned.

    The question almost stumped Ren Suo¡ªhe had only wanted to see if characters from other games could affect the ¡®results¡¯ of his other uploaded mission scores.

    Nheless, Ren Suo thought for a moment and vaguely understood why the government of the Federation had asked such a question:

    Firstly, Xuan Nation represented the Heavenly Pce to cooperate with them. The reason why the Federation attacked the Monkey was both to study ¡®transforming creatures¡¯ and to test the reaction of the Heavenly Pce.

    Subsequently, the fact that the government of the Federation discovered the name ¡°Zhao Zili¡± meant that they had put much effort into finding out about him.

    Ren Suo once controlled Zhao Zili to hint at the existence of a ¡°Heavenly Pce¡±. Although he only mouthed the words when he was on the rooftop previously, Zhao Zili was still thought to be linked to the Heavenly Pce.

    At that time, Ren Suo had only wanted Zhao Zili to not be thought of as a person from the future, which was why he hinted at the powerful and mysterious force, the Heavenly Pce.

    If the investigation powers of the Federation were strong enough, it was possible for them to find out about that fact by spying, such as through buying intelligence. After all, what Zhao Zili did in Baiyun City was not extremely significant, but neither was it inconsequential. It was very attractive to the rich, and it was not impossible for the Federation to have exploited the influence of the local conglomerate businesses to obtain that information.

    There was also another possibility: the Federation had obtained intelligence of Zhao Zili directly through extraordinary abilities, and thus knew that Zhao Zili was rted to the Heavenly Pce. With the emergence of space-type abilities like that of Dong Chengling, it is not impossible to have prophecy-type abilities that could search for information globally.

    Regardless of the methods they used, the Federation already concluded beforehand that Zhao Zili was from the Heavenly Pce

    At present, the Monkey who was activating the Reiki vein on Liberty Ind was an animal which the Heavenly Pce had sent to ¡®umte merits¡¯.

    Both of the characters had simr intentions, and it was no wonder that the Federation immediately assumed that Zhao Zili was also from the Heavenly Pce.

    Ren Suo thought of an idea, then controlled the expressionless Zhao Zili to nod slowly.

    The Federation was trying to test the response from the Heavenly Pce, no?

    I will give you the response you wanted!

    Zhao Zili kept his bazooka and stopped firing Holy Feathers from his [Robe of 108 Feathers].

    Zhao Zili said, ¡°I did not expect the Federation to treat the ambassadors of the Heavenly Pce like this.¡±

    Even if Ren Suo was hollering in anger, Zhao Zili¡¯s tone always remained t and devoid of any emotions.

    Nheless, Vanessa grew even more nervous¡ª[Aura of the Priest] could either be benevolent or solemn and its effect depended on the mood of the affected person.

    When Vanessa thought that Zhao Zili was in a bad mood, she would be frightened due to the influence of the Aura, and feel that the fat man in front of her was upgraded from a ¡®giant panda¡¯ to a ¡®metal-eating beast¡¯!

    She stammered as she asked, ¡°So, so what are you intending to do?¡±

    Zhao Zili replied, ¡°What am I intending to do? There¡¯s nothing to do.¡±

    Vanessa said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you from the Heavenly Pce? Didn¡¯t youe here to¡­ help the Monkey?¡±

    Vanessa was too embarrassed to say the word ¡®rescue¡¯¡ªfor the perpetrator was the Federation themselves.

    Zhao Zili said, ¡°No, I am not from the Heavenly Pce.¡±

    Seeing ¡°?¡± icons appear above Vanessa and the other policemen¡¯s heads, Zhao Zili continued, ¡°Although I was sent by them, I am not yet an official member of the Heavenly Pce. I am here only because the Heavenly Pce gave me a mission; if anything happened to the Monkey¡ª¡±

    Zhao Zili dragged his words as he looked coldly at Vanessa and the other people around them until he saw that they were about to break out in cold sweat before continuing slowly, ¡°I will go over and save his life. That¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°The cmity from transformation is the cmity of the Monkey, which includes the challenge of earth, that is, the obstruction due to the ignorant mortals on earth¡­¡±

    Upon hearing Zhao Zili¡¯s reply, Vanessa felt that themanders instructing her from behind the earpiece all breathed a sigh of relief. She continued to ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a Priest of the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow? Why do you want to join the Heavenly Pce too?¡±

    ¡°The gods do not prohibit selfishness, and the Heavenly Pce does not discriminate based on one¡¯s past,¡± Zhao Zili said monotonously.

    The short sentences said by Zhao Zili were immediately tranted into English, and the amount of information in it shocked the headquarters overseeing the situation from far away, and even the presidential cab who were awaiting the results.

    If the appearance of Nine-tailed Fox and the stand of Xuan Nation were insufficient to convince them of the existence of the ¡°Heavenly Pce¡±, then the appearance of Zhao Zili was simply thest straw which made thempletely sure that the Heavenly Pce was an extraordinary force independent of Earth.

    Even the Priest of the gods, who already received boundless care and longevity and was the ambassador of the gods on the mortal ground, was only an intern at the Heavenly Pce. He had toplete the mission to officially be part of the Heavenly Pce.

    ¡°What exactly is the Heavenly Pce?!¡±

    The same thoughts roared in the minds of many people, but Vanessa did not understand the significance of the Heavenly Pce at all and was awaiting the next instruction from her superiors.

    At that moment, a tall and fat white man who looked as thick as a Michelin tyre ran over and asked loudly in English.

    Zhao Zili nced at him and did not respond.

    Vanessa, who was waiting for her next instruction, was slightly stunned upon hearing the fat white man¡¯s question. She then said to Zhao Zili, ¡°He is asking why you did not continue treating them¡­¡±

    It was time!

    Ren Suo immediatelyunched the two Talents [Holy Speech] and [Holy Voice] to make Zhao Zili¡¯s voice echo throughout New York Harbor. He said:

    ¡°I am very disappointed. The Federation persecuted the Monkey from the Heavenly Pce who ignited your Reiki Treasure, treating him with hostility. I had originally beenmanded by the great gods to bless and heal all beings, but I am so ashamed and disgusted by your actions that I will no longer heal any of you.¡±

    Upon finishing his sentence, Ren Suo ignored them and continued watching the live situation on Liberty Ind with the Talent of [Far Vision] activated. Holy crap, the Monkey King had begun fighting the Birdman Angel with his staff!

    Although Zhao Zili spoke in Mandarin, and most of the people of the Federation were unable to understand, Ren Suo had utilized two major Talents which made his words be heard from sufficiently far away. Someone would naturally help the rest trante what he said and then spread it.

    Haha, you want to test the reaction of the Heavenly Pce? The others from the Heavenly Pce have not even appeared yet, and the reaction from ¡®an informal member who wants to join the Heavenly Pce¡¯ was more than enough for them to take.

    If a fighter was sent by the Heavenly Pce, the Federation might recognize him quickly and concede; but now, there was a ¡°super doctor¡± like Zhao Zili, and the Federation could neither concede nor fight against him¡ªif they fought, they could win against Zhao Zili, for he did not pose much of a threat; but if they did not fight, they would offend a doctor.

    On the contrary, none of that mattered to Ren Suo. He did not think that Zhao Zili would be sessful in his mission at that time. He had already treated 2,000 to 3,000 people, and only a few people on the outskirts were not treated across New York Harbor.

    However, it happened that the Federation conveniently provided Zhao Zili with a stage known as the ¡°Heavenly Pce¡±, and Ren Suo also conveniently took the stage.

    What was left was the pressure of public opinion toe.

    However, unexpectedly, the people of the Federation at New York Harbor seemed to understand what Zhao Zili said and instantly became excited:

    ¡°We did not know that such a thing happened!¡±

    ¡°Did the darn politicians betray the people again?¡±

    ¡°Can you treat my obesity and myopia first?¡±

    ¡°Can you still be called a priest?!¡±

    Losing the opportunity to receive free benefits always made people feel extremely angry, especially when others were able to enjoy the same benefit, but not them. The regret of ¡°others having something which I don¡¯t¡± was even more frustrating.

    Few people could calm down andfort themselves with the mindset that ¡°what others bestowed me is their kindness; what they did not give me, is their duty¡±.

    ¡°Mmm? I don¡¯t think Zhao Zili has the ability of ¡°unspokenmunication¡±¡­ Could it be that after bing a Priest, everyone would be able to understand what he said automatically?¡±

    Ren Suo truly did not know of that fact¡ªafter all, he had never seen Zhao Zili in real life.

    That would also exin why the English words spoken by the other people of the Federation would turn into Mandarin words in speech bubbles¡ªZhao Zili could actually understand what they were talking about but not Ren Suo, so the speech bubbles were how their words were tranted for Ren Suo to understand.

    At that juncture, fierce fighting sounds echoed from Liberty Ind. Zhao Zili took a closer look and saw the Monkey King holding up his ming staff and wielding it towards the Angel rebounded by the earth!

    ¡°The fight has already progressed until this point?!¡±

    Ren Suo snorted, knowing that he had missed many of the previous battle scenes.

    Surely enough, the Angel fellpletely to the ground upon experiencing such a strong blow. The soldiers of the Federation on Liberty Ind attempted to shoot the Monkey King, but the Monkey King shook his body, and out came a thousand avatars who began to surround and attack the people of the Federation.

    Following which, the Monkey King stepped several steps into the air, thennded on the torch held by the Statue of Liberty as he stared towards the East.

    At that time, dawn in New York was just breaking, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the dark sky. Standing on the torch, it looked exactly as if the great saint Monkey King had returned.

    The iron staff in his hand suddenly began growing thicker and longer, and in an instant, the staff in his hand could control the entire earth and sky. The enormous staff stunned all the people at New York Harbor, and the noise andmotion quietened instantly.

    The next second, the iron staff fell, and a loud explosion resounded through the heavens and the earth. The water in New York Bay surged in all directions and the river bed could be seen.

    The sea was divided into two in one hit!

    From the onlookers¡¯ point of view, the actions of the Monkey King were even more stunning¡ªboth the weak and tiny, and the powerful and gargantuan were juxtaposed upon that creature at the same time, and everything that they witnessed with their eyes silenced them.

    ¡°I am going back now.¡±

    Leaving behind five words which resounded throughout the skies andnd, the Monkey King stepped onto the clouds and disappeared.

    Ren Suo naturally did not waste such an opportunity¡ª

    Zhao Zili turned his head and nced at Vanessa, then activated [Holy Voice] and [Holy Speech]. Although his voice was not extremely loud, it was not any softer than that of the Monkey King; it even more astounding:

    ¡°I am going back too.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, stupid fools.¡±

    The next second, Zhao Zili, who was standing on themppost, turned into a ball of white light and disappeared right in front of everyone.

 Chapter 174 - Why Is It So [Outstanding]

    Chapter 174 ¨C Why Is It So [Outstanding]

    [Missionplete.]

    [Calcting Beliefs gathered.]

    [A total of 2630 Micro-beliefs were obtained, and 8 true believers were developed.]

    ¡°Wow?!¡±

    After letting Zhao Zili show off for the final time, Ren Suo immediately controlled Zhao Zili to escape from Earth. Although it had not been 30 minutes since Zhao Zili descended, Ren Suo did not know what he should make him say if he continued staying there.

    He should not let him remain in the mortal world just because he could, should he? Moreover, Ren Suo already said that he would not bestow them the free treatment anymore, how could he possibly make Zhao Zili go back on his words? As such, he controlled Zhao Zili to return directly.

    Ren Suo thought that he definitely failed the mini-mission and did not know if Zhao Zili would be stripped of his title as Priest.

    Unexpectedly, however, Zhao Zili actually developed 8 true believers despite him preaching and treating people so carelessly!

    In the game, the significance of a true believer was merely a statistic, but in reality, a true believer would be willing to worship the gods as the only religion and refuse believers of other religions. At the same time, they must also practice the teachings of the religion whole-heartedly, always remember the existence of the gods, and always hold themselves to the presence of the gods.

    It was already the 21st century, and Ren Suo thought that he would not be able to develop true believers unless he went to regions with high illiteracy rates, like Africa, but in New York¡­ There were also believers of religions in New York, but they were all developed by other denominations through society, education, and habits. On the other hand, Zhao Zili was only given 30 minutes to ¡®perform¡¯, how can thatpare to teachings of other religions with thousands of years of history?

    However, it was only then that Ren Suo realized that he might have underestimated the power of ¡®a saint appearing amongst mortal humans¡¯.

    As there were barely any religious culture in Xuan Nation, the most people would do was to worship their ancestors. Coupling that with decades ofpulsory education and the rise in the power of the nation, the result was a poption who mostly ¡®believed if there was no harm done¡¯ and would not devote their whole self to religion with its intangible nature, unless they were gangsters like those in the movie ¡°Bullet in the Head¡± or criminals worrying about their survival.

    On the contrary, the concept of religion was almost integrated with education in foreign countries. As an immigrant country, it was even more so within the Federation, where beliefs wereplicated. The eptance of faith and religion was far wider in the Federation than in Xuan Nation, and the efficiency of developing true believers was therefore extremely high.

    ¡°Who knew I would garner sufficient true believers, but now there are insufficient micro-beliefs generated¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly glum. The mission requirements for the second mini-mission were 3,000 micro-beliefs and 5 positive believers. Ren Suo thought that the number of positive believers he developed would not meet the requirements, so he did notplete the mission seriously, and who would have known¡­

    Nheless, Ren Suo quickly lightened up. The mini-mission had already ended. What else could he do apart from smashing the keyboard?

    [Zhao Zili¡¯s actions were recognized by the three gods, and he earned 55,000 umted points.]

    [The mini-mission task details have been updated.]

    The previous time, Zhao Zili¡¯s actions were ¡°appreciated¡±, while this time it was ¡°recognized¡±. Moreover, afterpleting the previous mini-mission, Zhao Zili was directly promoted to the rank of Priest, and this time around there was nothing.

    It seemed that Zhao Zili was a character who was not easily dispensable in the eyes of the three gods. Ren Suo had thought that Zhao Zili would be erased from existence if the mission failed.

    However, the cooldown time before Zhao Zili could embark on his next mission was no longer 15 days, like before; instead, it was now 12~15 days.

    A message also popped up: [Due to the rise in energy level on Earth, the duration for the next stay of Zhao Zili on Earth would be extended to 45 minutes.]

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned.

    The rise in Reiki energy in the world could actually allow Zhao Zili to stay on Earth for a longer duration, and even increase the frequency between his holy appearance?

    The game was influencing reality, and in turn, the reality was affecting the game.

    However, that also proved a point: the Reiki energy level on Earth was not high, which would restrict the energy level of the entire world.

    If someone surpassed the energy level in the world, Ren Suo deduced that one of two possibilities would happen: one was that the Extraordinaire would destroy the world, and the other was that the world would destroy the Extraordinaire.

    Nheless, judging from the fact that the three gods used the Priest Zhao Zili as a delegate to preach, Ren Suo felt that it was most likely thetter possibility¡ªif the three gods with their miracles truly existed, rather than thinking that they were kind enough to not destroy the world, it was much more likely that they did not dare toe to the present Earth.

    Furthermore, the only ¡®aliens¡¯ Ren Suo discovered thus far were the three disciplined and kind gods, but could evil factions also exist?

    Pondering about that, Ren Suo quickly broke out in a cold sweat. He took a bath before returning to hisputer desk and logged in to the intr. After a simple search, he found that someone smarter than him had already posted¡ª

    ¡°Based on the appearance of the three gods in ¡®Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡¯, deducing the possibility of other life forms trying to invade Earth?¡±

    ¡°Discussing the link between the three gods in ¡®Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡¯ and various religions¡±

    ¡°Are the gods extremely powerful Extraordinaires¡±

    Ever since the emergence of ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±, the existence of gods naturally became a topic of discussion across the world.

    In actual fact, the present Extraordinaires could also be regarded as gods and immortals in the feudal era, and in that case, could the Master of the Holy Light, the Heart of Evesting Warmth, and the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow actually be Extraordinaires of the past during the Reiki era, who then left Earth for various reasons and are waiting to return after the rejuvenation of Reiki?

    Most importantly, were there any other Extraordinaires who might return?

    That was the point mainly discussed in those posts and while Ren Suo agreed with their views, he was also concerned.

    He had imagined that he was both Kong Ming and Jiang Ziya and had insights into a shocking and perilous situation. Little did he expect that other researchers had not only figured the situation out but even thought about it in more detail than him. Discussions had been ongoing for over a month, and the best replies had even garnered almost a thousand likes.

    ¡ª¡ªThat feeling was akin to suddenly thinking of a clever solution to a math problem in junior high school and excitedly showing it to the teacher only for the teacher to touch one¡¯s head and say approvingly, ¡°That¡¯s great, you have made use of some high school knowledge, you will learn about this in future.¡±

    Ren Suo muttered to himself, ¡°I thought I could have been writing another thesis report¡­¡±

    Ren Suo pursed his lips gloomily, but the next moment, a sparkle emerged in his eyes as he created a new Word document, and began typing furiously on the keyboard¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°This will be your office from now on.¡±

    In the office of the Countermeasure Division, Yu Kuangtu opened a door leading to a room on the second floor and said to the panda-eyed Li Dan, ¡°You are finally willing to return, I thought that you were going to forsake us for the light in Tianjing¡­¡±

    ¡°Really, is that really forsaking you for the light?¡± Li Dan said as he walked into the office and sat down slowly.

    He continued, ¡°Everything was already settled some time back. If it was not for Ren Throne who needed me to stay with the investigation team for a special mission, I would have returned long ago.¡±

    ¡°Ren Throne?¡± said Yu Kuangtu, slightly stunned.

    He nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s a good name, much more honorable-sounding than ¡®Teacher¡¯¡­ Anyway, now that you are back and even as a second-tier Practitioner, it should not be a problem for you to lead one of the teams in the Countermeasure Division, right? I will send you the details about the teams with no second-tier Practitioner leader to youter, I will leave it up to you which of the teams you want to take.¡±

    ¡°By the way, the Countermeasure Division does not support office rtionships, at least not within the same team, lest it be seen as favoritism, so¡­ I¡¯m sure you understand what I am saying?¡±

    Li Dan rubbed his temples and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ Oh, I saw a second-tier Practitioner in Tianjing, who is also from Lianjiang¡­¡±

    ¡°Qiao Muyi, right?¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Heughed and said, ¡°I sent her over on a special mission. I didn¡¯t expect her to have a breakthrough there, but that¡¯s good too. Our overall strength here in Lianjiang has increased yet again.¡±

    ¡°As for that task, ording to her, the probability of sess is very high. If she seeds, then the capabilities of our Lianjiang Countermeasure Division will greatly increase!¡±

    Li Dan asked, ¡°What mission is that?¡±

    ¡°I will tell you when it seeds, it is meaningless if it fails,¡± Yu Kuangtu said as he waved his hand. He continued, ¡°Since you are back, you have to take on a share of my work. You know what the tasks are, right? It¡¯s generally the tasks that the different team leaders have toplete.¡±

    Li Dan nodded and replied, ¡°It¡¯s all written clearly in the notice, but¡­ Why am I responsible for reviewing the internal manuscripts submitted by the Countermeasure Division? Yao Fei did not need to do this.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu shrugged and said, ¡°It¡¯s because you don¡¯t need to sleep, so you would still have more free time than us even after Practicing every day, that¡¯s why¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to do this though, I can postpone the task. As the Deputy Director, I am still responsible for this task anyway,¡± Yu Kuangtu said with a sigh.

    He sped his forehead and continued, ¡°It¡¯s just that I am so busy these days that I don¡¯t even have time to Practice every day, I am either working in the office or on duty out on the field. If only I have one less task to do, I could probably Practice the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan properly¡­¡±

    A helpless Li Dan said, ¡°¡­ Alright then, you may leave it to me.¡±

    With a ng, a square card was embedded into the table in front of Li Dan.

    ¡°The password for the internal email ount of the Countermeasure Division is on it. You just need to remember to review the submitted manuscripts every day. We have multiple contributors. As long as you think that the manuscript is somewhat logical and reasonable, you can mark it as ¡®approved¡¯ and report it up directly; if you think it makes exceptional sense, then it should be evaluated as ¡®outstanding¡¯, and I will review it once more.¡±

    Before thest word of his sentence left his mouth, Yu Kuangtu slipped away.

    Li Dan looked at the card on the table and pulled it out. He found that it was just an ordinary piece of paper used to write notes.

    ¡°He made the paper slice through like a flying knife with just a flick of his wrist¡­¡± Li Dan said to himself. He once again had a refreshed perception of Yu Kuangtu, ¡°I already knew he was powerful before, but I did not expect him to be so powerful. ¡±

    Li Dan, who had be a second-tier Practitioner after practicing the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±, finally realized the terror of that hand: Yu Kuangtu did not use any abilities but relied purely on his physical capabilities and keen maniption of Reiki energy to greatly enhance the strength of that piece of paper!

    Li Dan¡¯s respect for Kuangtu rose.

    Turning on theputer, Li Dan had nothing to do, so he logged in to the internal email of the Countermeasure Division to check if there were any new manuscripts to review.

    As it happened, as soon as Li Dan opened the mailbox, he was directed to a new email.

    ¡°A new email from [Researcher: Suo]: ¡®The real intention of Naisser Ren for uploading the videos¡¯¡­¡±

    Upon seeing the email, Li Dan was instantly stunned.

    He recalled the conversation he overheard between the two researchers in the toilet of the underground base that day.

    It was the female heroine from ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± who saved Li Dan, and the rest from their mysterious danger of death after she came into contact with the strange hat.

    And that video was also uploaded by ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯.

    Is ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ an organization? Are the protagonists, who appeared in the videos, members of the organization?

    If Li Dan wanted to express his gratitude, how would he be able to find the heroine to thank her?

    Or perhaps, should he be thanking ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ directly?

    For both his gratitude and curiosity, Li Dan now paid attention to all information regarding ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯, and he even had a good perception of ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯.

    With such ¡®bias¡¯, Li Dan opened the email and quickly browsed through the newly-written essay. In just one nce, he already spotted over ten wrong words in the short essay.

    ¡°This is really¡­¡±

    Li Dan shook his head gently. For the thesis evaluation, he resolutely chose¡ª

    ¡ª[Outstanding]!

 Chapter 175 - None of My Business

    Chapter 175 ¨C None of My Business

    The next afternoon, Ren Suo suddenly received a call just as he ced down the game controller and was about to head out to eat.

    ¡°Shall we eat lunch together? I¡¯m downstairs.¡±

    Ren Suo walked over to the balcony and saw a cute girl d in a ck vest, smiling innocently as she waved at him, from under the shade of a tree, opposite the faculty dormitory building.

    However, Ren Suo was not charmed; he still remembered what happened with the slipper.

    Ren Suo (¨‘§Õ¡Ñ): ¡°Oh? Are you thinking of an AA policy or an AB policy?¡±

    ¡°I know what¡¯s an AA policy, but what is an AB policy?¡± a curious Qiao Muyi asked.

    Ren Suo exined, ¡°AA policy means that we go Dutch and split the bill equally, while AB policy means that I¡¯ll pay for most of it while you top up the remainder¡ª¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go with the AB policy then, thank you boss!¡± an obedient Qiao Muyi replied immediately.

    Looking at such a frank Qiao Muyi, Ren Suo also put on a cap and headed downstairs straightforwardly. Ren Suo was actually not a stingy person; he would never allow Qiao Muyi to pay for the meal since she came specially to the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang to meet him for lunch.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°There is only a dining hall here, would that be alright?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, the chefs here are not any worse than those from renowned hotels,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she blinked. She continued, ¡°Although the chefs were not employed by the Countermeasure Division, I read through all their records before.¡±

    Ren Suo nced at her and said, ¡°Are you so bored that you have to look at other people¡¯s records?¡±

    ¡°I was bored anyway. It¡¯s more interesting to look through people¡¯s private details than to read made-up stories people post online,¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    How terrifying! How could this woman still speak with such a nonchnt tone as if she was just looking through social media when she invaded other people¡¯s privacy! Although the Countermeasure Division was not considered an intelligence unit, there was definitely still a lot of information being processed every day. Qiao Muyi was now also the leader of one of the teams, so it was very likely that she would have had knowledge of the dark past of many people in the Countermeasure Division.

    This woman must not be messed with! Ren Suo was very certain that Qiao Muyi must have seen his records by now, and perhaps, she would already have known about his dark past of his dormitory mate falling for him!

    Ren Suo¡¯s questioning tone quickly eased. He asked, ¡°How did you enter the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang? Outsiders are supposedly not allowed to enter¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I talked to the dean, and she allowed me toe in,¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    Huo He was a smiling tiger who suited her position as the Dean. Ren Suo did not have many encounters with her except when he had the typical official matters to talk to her about, but he heard from the students like Lin Xianyu that she was a teacher who went strictly by the book. So he asked, ¡°The Dean allowed you toe in so easily?¡±

    Lin Xianyu replied, ¡°Oh, she seemed unwilling to allow me toe in at first, but I identally revealed that she had undergone hemorrhoid surgery¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, I see,¡± Ren Suo said.

    When they arrived at the third floor of the dining hall, Ren Suo wanted to avoid the trouble of ordering two meals, so he asked Qiao Muyi, ¡°Shall we have arge seafood hotpot together?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Qiao Muyi said. There was no reason for her to say otherwise.

    While waiting for the meal, Ren Suo noticed that the students around him were all watching videos on their mobile phones and eximing while they watched:

    ¡°If only I were in New York then!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so nice to see about a monkey? It would be better to see the nine-tailed fox in person!¡±

    ¡°They say that those who met the nine-tailed fox in person cannot forget her charming appearance, but she seems so ordinary on the screen¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, this is called ¡®the screen is toxic¡¯. Those who look pretty on the screen would be even more beautiful in reality. Let me tell you, I saw that celebrity in real life before, she looked much prettier in real life than on the screen¡­¡±

    When Ren Suo ced the seafood hotpot down on the table, Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Have you watched it? Naisser Ren¡¯s new video.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I did,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Half an hour after the Monkey King divided the sea into two, Ren Suo noticed that the disc icon at the lower right corner of ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± stopped spinning. He figured that the half-hour was the time when he made arrangements for the future of the pangolin and the nine-tailed fox.

    On the other hand, Naisser Ren also uploaded a new video titled ¡°Activating Reiki Treasures¡± in the meantime. It once again took over the homepage of all major video-streaming websites, trying to let Inte users around the world notice the news as soon as they went online¡ª¡±Grandpa, the uploader you subscribed to has uploaded a new video!¡±

    Ren Suo was already surprised initially when he found that the video was not named ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, but the video content bewildered Ren Suo further¡ª

    ¡ªThe length of the video was very short; it was only 30 minutes in total. Compared to the game of The All-Devouring Soul whichsted a full month, the video could be considered the highlights of the highlights.

    More importantly, the video was true to its title of ¡°Activating Reiki Treasures¡±; it indeed revolved around the Reiki Treasures.

    In the first scene, the Volcano of Legacies in Tianjing lit up the sky in an intense red hue, signifying the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation;

    In the second scene, Big Ben in London lit up the sky in an intense blue hue, signifying the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Ennd;

    In the third scene, Nine-tailed Fox descended through the air from the Tokyo Sky Tree, signifying the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation;

    In the fourth scene¡­

    In the fifth scene¡­

    The first five scenes were very brief and almost flew past in the blink of an eye. Only the scene which showed Nine-tailed Fox descending and stepping on butterfly steps was slightly longer, seemingly to give the audience sufficient time to drool on the screen.

    On the contrary, the sixth scene upied 90% of the entire length of the video; it showed the entire process of the Monkey activating the Reiki Treasure of the Federation.

    It began with the Reiki Treasure being activated, following which the Practitioners from the Federation began hunting down the Monkey, until it hid underground and suddenly transformed sessfully into a human form with a body of fire armor, melting iron as troops and virtually invincible. An earth-shaking battle ensued between him and the ¡°Angel¡± Practitioner of the Federation¡ª

    ¡ªOr perhaps, it was a one-sided battle where the Monkey easily crushed the Angel.

    In the end, the Monkeypletely suppressed the human Angel and created ten million manifestations of himself to suppress the soldiers of the Federation. He stood on the torch of the Statue of Liberty as he embraced the break of dawn and then proceeded to divide the sea into two with one strike of his staff, before leaving with elegance.

    In the video, Ren Suo could hardly see Zhao Zili¡ªwhen the camera asionally pointed towards New York Harbor, the likely area where Zhao Zili was at would be covered by people, trees, or smoke.

    It was as if it was intentional.

    That alone was nothing to dwell upon, but watching the entire video from ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯, Ren Suo felt that all of it was intentional¡ª

    ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ cut out all the scenes which Ren Suo felt was not great: the entire journey of Pangolin, the journey of Nine-tailed Fox, the fact that Monkey King was a monkey transformed from Nine-tailed Fox, that he was actually a real monkey used to hide underground¡ªa new spirit that devoured the world using [Unending Legacy]¡­

    If those scenes were shown, there would be a huge loophole in the lies that the All-Devouring Soul weaved into the game; there certainly were at least a few scenes where the lies would be busted.

    If that happened, even if countries around the world continued to believe in the existence of the Heavenly Pce, it was likely that they would probe more in the future. In that scenario, Ren Suo might not be able to make use of the great pawn of the ¡®Heavenly Pce¡¯.

    Regardless, Ren Suo was not too concerned about that, for the ¡®Heavenly Pce¡¯ in itself was all made up by him.

    It was like starting a gang in the game without much thought, and now it was about to be wiped out.

    Oh (indifferent).

    However, what Ren Suo did not expect was that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ did not distort the truth in reality and continued the lie of the ¡®Heavenly Pce¡¯ just by editing and cutting different scenes together perfectly. It was as if he was actively adapting to Ren Suo¡¯s game journey!

    Even the title was intentionally changed!

    Ren Suo had long known that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ was definitely not an ordinary video cutting program¡ªwhich program could produce a blockbuster just by simply editing and cutting different scenes?

    Moreover, in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, the drama series uploaded by ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ could be described as consistent, well-bnced, well-organized, and extremely captivating, so much so that the audience could not stop watching after they began. It has even be ssic learning material for numerous film schools.

    Although ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ was only responsible for uploading videos at present, the intelligence it disyed thus far was already far higher and greater than Ren Suo could imagine.

    Now that Ren Suo thought about it, he realized that it was actually not the first time ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ had adapted and catered to his game journey.

    In ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± Ren Suo told the other trainees from Xuan Nation about the information of the monsters and demons through Zhao Zili, so that the Countermeasure Division could obtain that information.

    At that time, Ren Suo felt that it would be great if those scenes were not shown in the video.

    In that way, only the Countermeasure Division would receive that information, and after sorting out the information, the Countermeasure Division could make use of that to make deals with intelligence units of other nations. For one, Ren Suo was from Xuan Nation, and secondly, he was once personnel of the Countermeasure Division, so he naturally wanted them to benefit at least slightly from it.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo did not want the scenes of Zhao Zili telling other trainees about the information of the monsters and demons to be shown either, for he would seem like a machine repeating the same thing over and over again like the ¡®+1¡¯s seen inment sections.

    In addition, ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡± was split into two parts, and an exciting lucky draw was even held to let the audience guess which one of the trainees would eventually emerge as the champion.

    At that time, it seemed that there was no problem at all, but looking back now, Ren Suo felt that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ was actually purposefully fulfilling his psychological needs.

    As such, Ren Suo faintly felt that¡ªit was not because he was narcissistic¡ªbut perhaps¡­

    The Mini Worlds Gaming Console is starting to like him!

    ¡°Hello, what is your rtionship with him?¡±

    ¡°Our rtionship? I like him too.¡±

    It was only then when Ren Suo looked up to see Gu Yueyan holding her te and standing beside the table with a cold expression on her face. Standing behind her was Lin Xianyu who was looking intently at the seafood hotpot in front of Ren Suo.

    At the same time, Qiao Muyi¡¯s expression was intriguing: she was ¡®licking¡¯ the gravy off her chopsticks with her lips as she faced Gu Yueyan. She seemed to be talking to Gu Yueyan, but her eyes were looking affectionately in Ren Suo¡¯s direction¡ª

    ¡ªRegardless, that¡¯s none of my business.

 Chapter 176 - â€“ No â€˜Bâ€™ Credits Today

    Chapter 176: Chapter 176 ¨C No ¡®B¡¯ Credits Today

    When Gu Yueyan looked at him, Ren Suo actually felt slightly guilty towards thatss who was at least 6 years younger than him.

    It felt like, like¡­

    As if he had been caught red-handed on the bed with another girl by his wife¡¯s best friend?

    That scene would have been interesting¡­ No, no, Ren Suo quickly dismissed such a nonsensical thought from his mind, as he widened his eyes and red at Gu Yueyan.

    Three secondster, Gu Yueyan snorted, and the corner of her mouth turned upwards in a smirk. She narrowed her eyes as if she was about to whip out a magic book made of human skin and curse Ren Suo the next second.

    Gu Yueyan casually sat down next to Ren Suo and signaled Lin Xianyu to sit beside Qiao Muyi.

    Although Ren Suo was seated at a four-seater table by the window on the third floor, thebination of three girls and one guy sitting at the same table still attracted numerous strange looks. asionally, some people would suddenlye to a realization and then proceed to take out their mobile phones to snap pictures of Ren Suo¡¯s table.

    Perhaps they recognized Ren Suo as the pervert who was admonished by a female student for saying ¡°I want to sleep with you¡±.

    ¡°Do you mind?¡± Gu Yueyan asked.

    Qiao Muyi shrugged and continued smiling widely at Ren Suo. Ren Suo knew the two girls rtively well and naturally could not refuse; Lin Xianyu had already dipped a pair of chopsticks into the seafood pot as she looked at Ren Suo, her eyes gleaming.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s eat together¡­ Where were we just now?¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo had not heard clearly what the girls were talking about moments ago but figured it was nothing good, so he quickly diverted the topic.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°We were talking about the ¡®Activation of Reiki Treasures¡¯ video posted by Naisser Ren. What do you think about it after watching the video?¡±

    ¡°What do I think?¡± Ren Suo said. He continued, ¡°Apart from the fact that the Monkey King is extremely cool, I only know that the Reiki Treasures of six countries have been activated in total.¡±

    Gu Yueyan snorted coldly and said, ¡°Ignorant fool, that¡¯s why you¡¯re ipetent¡­ You only noticed the Monkey King, but have you not wondered if legendary creatures like the Monkey King were created during the activation of the other five Reiki Treasures?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve never wondered about that.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªI wonder how Pangolin and Nine-tailed Fox are doing right now.

    Gu Yueyan continued, ¡°Furthermore when Nine-Tailed Fox made her appearance, she said that ¡®the Heavenly Pce was invited¡¯, so it seems that Nine-tailed Fox is rted to the Heavenly Hitman from ¡®The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡¯. In other words, the mysterious Heavenly Pce is the force driving the activation of the Reiki Treasures.¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at Gu Yueyan, slightly surprised. She nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s not bad that you managed to deduce these key points just from such a short video¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan nced at Ren Suo and asked, ¡°Are you really not interested to find out about the powerful secret forces behind all of this?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªMy apologies, the powerful secret force behind the Heavenly Pce is just an ordinary man who sits behind the screen and ys games all day long.

    Qiao Muyi supported her head with one hand as she slowly chewed and swallowed the fresh shrimp in her mouth, then licked the reddish-brown soy sauce from the corners of her mouth with her tongue. Sheughed and said, ¡°Also, although you might already know this, the purpose of the Holy Priest for appearing at New York Harbor after the activation of the Reiki Treasure of the Federation was to support the Monkey who activated the Reiki Treasure.¡±

    There were thousands of people at New York Harbor at that time, and Zhao Zili utilized [Holy Speech] and [Holy Voice] when he spoke. As such, that piece of information naturally could not be suppressed at all, and it spread all over the world almost instantly.

    Qiao Muyi continued, ¡°At first, he treated nearly 3,000 people of the Federation, butter, he found out that the Federation was attacking the Monkey and so he stopped his treatment. He imed to have been on a mission from the Heavenly Pce, but he did not expect the government of the Federation to have treated the delegate of the Heavenly Pce in such a manner. That was the reason why the Holy Priest stopped treating the people.¡±

    Gu Yueyan nodded as she pondered over what Qiao Muyi said. She said, ¡°In that case, that means that it is almost certain the Heavenly Pce exists¡­¡±

    The discussion between Qiao Muyi and Gu Yueyan suddenly became more enthusiastic, and Ren Suo conveniently avoided any trouble having to entertain Gu Yueyan. He and Lin Xianyu quickly took the opportunity to fill their stomachs.

    After they finished their meals, Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu picked up their tes and intended to leave first.

    Ren Suo had not expected that the meal went smoothly and calmly; he always felt that Gu Yueyan was up to something when she appeared.

    ¡°Doc~ tor~ Ren~,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Gu Yueyan narrowed her eyes at Ren Suo, and she paused for a very long time before blurting out two descriptive phrases, ¡°Douchebag, refined scum!¡±

    After the two girls walked far away, Qiao Muyi smiled and said, ¡°The students here are interesting.¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± Ren Suo said as he nced at her.

    He said, ¡°What about the AB treat we agreed on, you seem to¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any credits to top up the ¡®B¡¯ portion, it shall be your treat today,¡± Qiao Muyi replied candidly, unreserved.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Ah, I need to head back now¡­ Wait, I need to make a call.¡±

    Qiao Muyi took out her mobile phone, clicked a few times on her phone, then shook her head. She said, ¡°My mobile phone is out of battery, looks like I need to charge it when I go backter¡­ Ren Suo, lend me your mobile phone, I need to make a call.¡±

    Ren Suo naturally did not have any reason to reject her request. Qiao Muyi took his mobile phone and went outside the dining room to make the call. She returned after a while, saying, ¡°Thanks, because it is a confidential call, I deleted the call log, bye.¡±

    Qiao Mu quickly disappeared from sight and Ren Suo was slightly dazed. He realized that he did not even ask why Qiao Muyi came over to find him¡ªit felt like she was just here to get a free meal?

    However, Ren Suo was already used to treating others to meals and did not mind. He returned to the dormitory and continued his quest in the game.

    Along the way back to his room, Ren Suo turned on his mobile phone and realized that there indeed was no log of the call Qiao Muyi made. How mysterious.

    On the other hand, various applications had pushed notifications of numerous strange articles:

    ¡°Bringing You On Another Journey to the West¡±, ¡°Celebrating The Great Sage, Heaven¡¯s Equal¡±, ¡°Decrypting: The Bull Demon King of Sydney¡±, ¡°Catwoman Seen On The Streets Of Tokyo¡±, ¡°The Five Legacies of the Heavenly Pce: The Great Sage, Heaven¡¯s Equal, The Eng God, etc¡­¡±

    It was logical for the Great Sage, Heaven¡¯s Equal and the Monkey King to be a hot topic in the West, but even in Xuan Nation, rted topics were equally trending, as if it was the New Year. Ren Suo took a quick nce through his social media and found that in his group chatroom with his circle of friends, on Weibo, and even in the group chatroom with his ssmates, they were all talking about that. From ¡®what other legacies do the Heavenly Pce hold¡¯ to ¡®how can I obtain the legacy of the Great Sage, Heaven¡¯s Equal¡¯, there were all kinds of discussions revolving around the topic.

    On the GiliGili video streaming site, the video with the highest number of views was naturally ¡°Activation of Reiki Treasures¡±, and shockingly, the one with the second-highest number was ¡°Journey to the West: 86th Edition¡±¡ªWhat on earth? Was it the renaissance period?

    When Ren Suo returned home, two more notifications appeared on his mobile phone.

    [Please log in to the intr.]

    [Please log in to the intr.]

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned. Any information rted to the researchers was not disclosed in detail in message notifications, and they were instead reminded to log in to the intr to obtain thetest information.

    Could it be that the special task force had questions to ask him?

    Ren Suo turned on theputer to log in to the intr, and two system messages were received. One of them was actually rted to the special task force:

    [Dear Researcher Suo, the group you are in, ¡°Naisser Ren Special Task Force¡± has been renamed to ¡°Naisser Ren x The Heavenly Pce x Special Task Force¡± on June 26. Please check the group for more revision details.]

    [Dear Researcher Suo, the thesis of which you are the main author, ¡°The real purpose of Naisser Ren for uploading the videos¡± has be a rewards-enabled discussion post, check it out now!]

    Although the first message was beyond Ren Suo¡¯s expectations, it was still reasonable; the Heavenly Pce could hardly be unrted to Naisser Ren. The first time the existence of the Heavenly Pce was made known to people, it was precisely in one of Naisser Ren¡¯s videos.

    Subsequently, almost all of the characters from the Heavenly Pce appeared in the videos Naisser Ren uploaded.

    Investigating the two together was almost for sure: they were obviously the same thing, and it would be a waste of investigation resources to separate the two matters for two different special task forces.

    Nheless, being valued by the nation meant that the special task force would definitely receive more resources to performrger and broader investigations. The only problem was how much the task force could discover.

    Regardless, Ren Suo generally took it easy and was at ease¡ªhe waspletely, totally, not at all rted to Naisser Ren and the Heavenly Pce, except that his full name also had the word ¡°Ren¡±.

    The second piece of news was interesting, however. Ren Suo had only submitted the thesis the day before, and it received so much attention so quickly?

    The thesis was not long, and Ren Suo mainly expounded three points:

    ¢Ù The reason why Naisser Ren uploaded the videos was to secretly disclose information that humans did not know, such as about the gods from another world, the path to perfect cultivation, and the Reiki Treasures;

    ¢Ú Naisser Ren has a good impression of humans, and he thinks that he could give humans a half-step advantage through such a method;

    ¢Û Naisser Ren is very powerful, almost omniscient, and the information he discloses is trustworthy;

    Conclusion: Naisser Ren is a very powerful and honest man, so he should not be bullied.

    Undoubtedly, except for the first point, the other points were driven by Ren Suo¡¯s feelings. As such, many people had refuted his thesis in the discussion post.

    Nheless, everyonergely agreed that ¡®Naisser Ren uploaded the videos to disclose information¡¯¡ªindeed, the amount of information provided through Naisser Ren¡¯s videos was immense.

    And such a view was, at the least, much more reliable than saying that ¡®Naisser Ren is an elf¡¯.

    After reading some of the most-likedments, Ren Suo was also relieved.

    He naturally was not intending to clear the misconceptions about ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯¡ªif the true form of ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ was discovered, it was meaningless whether he cleared the air for him.

    What Ren Suo wanted to do was to get the upper echelons of Xuan Nation to ept the idea that ¡°Naisser Ren¡¯s videos would reveal important and trustworthy information¡±.

    Because Ren Suo knew that such was indeed the case.

    In that way, Xuan Nation would likely mine important intelligence and information about cultivation from the videos uploaded by Naisser Ren as fast as possible;

    In that way, those who were not as lucky as Ren Suo would perhaps be able to seize their own opportunities and avoid doomed disasters in life;

    Of course, the most important thing was¡ª

    ¡ªIn the future, Ren Suo would be able to live a good life by just studying his own information and intelligence!

    ¡°Mini World Of Endless Fun Awaits!¡±

 Chapter 177 - Battle of Immortals (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 177 ¨C Battle of Immortals (Part 1)</h4>

    ¡°¡­ Games, to Practitioners, are much like romance novels to schrs of the past; they are products that can satisfy their deepest desires and wildest fantasies, but they are not avable to them.

    Many ancient romance novels revolve around a poor schr who traveled to Tianjing City for the imperial examination. Along the way, he would encounter the young daughter of a wealthy family and steal her heart¡ª10% with his talent and abilities, 30% with his looks, and the remaining 60% with his lecherous intentions. She would definitely pay for his expenses along his journey, and might even vow not to marry anyone else but him.

    Subsequently, the schr would emerge as the champion in the examination and be thought highly of by the daughter of the grand chancellor. In the end however, he would decide to marry the youngdy who had waited for him for a long, torturous time. The daughter of the grand chancellor, on the other hand, would be extremely touched by his decision and be more than willing to be his concubine, so bothdies would serve the schr¡­

    Well, such novels are still verymon today, and there are even games rted to such stories, though they are generally all rated R18.

    Sessful officials and royalties would not read such novels, because they already possessed far more than that of the protagonists of these novels. Ordinary civilians would not read such novels either, because they were not schrs who could be freed from their poverty anyway.

    Simply put, they did not feel for the protagonists as they were not simr to each other.

    However, ording to coted statistics, therge majority of ordinary Practitioners preferred to y games instead, especially games rted to extraordinary abilities. This was because they happened to be the ¡®schrs¡¯ described in such games¡ªthey were not as powerful as the character in the game, but were also not ordinary people who were powerless.

    Moreover, the role of one with extraordinary abilities was precisely the goal of Practitioners.

    For this reason, Practitioners should not be addicted to games and should instead be diligent in their practice¡­¡±

    Xie Qiansi ced the internally-circted magazine down and yawned. He turned around and asked, shouting, ¡°Is anyone going online? If there is no one I would be heading off work to the training facility now.¡±

    ¡°Come over here!¡±

    ¡°Come online,e online!¡±

    Although Xie Qiansi was transferred to the Countermeasure Department, he did not work in the Countermeasure Division of Lianjiang City, but instead in the Countermeasure Office of the Public Security Bureau in Yuexiu District.

    The main job of the Countermeasure Department personnel stationed there was to assist the police in hunting down criminals with extraordinary abilities. Criminals who escaped the search of the criminal investigation system or disyed an extraordinarybat ability would then be referred to the Countermeasure Division Headquarters. In addition, they had to search for and group any extraordinary phenomena which urred in the area under their jurisdiction, which would then be handed over to the Countermeasure Division Headquarters.

    After all, Lianjiang City had a resident poption of over 10 million. There was only one Countermeasure Division HQ in the past as there was insufficient manpower, but as more civil servant Practitioners took on their roles, aprehensivework of Countermeasure Division personnel covering the entire city was formed.

    Nheless, Xie Qiansi and the other personnel at his branch were rtively free. They usually vetted intelligence about ¡®extraordinary phenomena¡¯ when they were in the office, and they had fewer chances to work on the field. After all, mobile payments were extremely prevalent now. Who would bring arge sum of cash with them and give others a reason tomit crimes¡­

    Xie Qiansi typically Practiced immediately after work, although there were asional times when he needed to rx, such as by ying games with his colleagues. Their offices werepletely soundproofed and doors to them also had to be closed (this was a rule), so ying games in their offices would not affect others¡¯ perceptions about them in any way.

    ¡°Chairman, let me assist you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the topne; otherwise I¡¯ll feed.¡±

    ¡°No way, unless you call me ¡®father¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Grandson.¡±

    After an intense argument, Xie Qiansi formed a five-member team with his colleagues and started ying League of Legends.

    The ADC he chose was Ezreal. Xie Qiansi only looked at the appearances of the characters when he yed games, and never cared about their pros and cons. To this end, he had saved up a few hundred dors to buy character skins¡­

    Five minutes after the start of the game, the office was silent.

    Ten minutester, someone had exited the game to browse the web.

    Fifteen minutester, someone said, ¡°Let¡¯s just surrender.¡±

    Indeed, while they were a group of Practitioners, they did not y well. When they matched with other teams in the ordinary queue, their win rate was 50/50.

    Of course, their reaction speeds were marginally quicker than that of ordinary people, but it had little effect in suchpetitive games¡ªunderstanding the mechanisms of the heroes, awareness, and employing appropriate tactics were the keys to victory.

    Xie Qiansi looked at his score of [1/3/2]. He nodded in his heart as he agreed to surrender.

    Watching a duo from the enemy team tower dive and killing his hero yet again, Xie Qiansi shook his head in helplessness and rubbed his temples.

    For some reason, Xie Qiansi felt like he was growing too old; he grew tired very quickly when ying games.

    However, he felt that it was because he had Practiced too much, and as long as he returned to the battlefield, his fatigue would disappearpletely.

    As he watched his hero revive in his team¡¯s base, Xie Qiansi noticed that he had sufficient money to upgrade his armor, so he opened the in-game shop¡ª

    Pssh¡ª¡ª

    Suddenly, Xie Qiansi heard a strange sound. He closed the shop menu and discovered that his base was under attack by a creature with a ck, misty figure!

    In League of Legends, as thest bit of dignity for both sides, their respective revival bases were impossible to be destroyed. The bases fired shots that traveled at the speed of light, which could kill enemies instantly. Although fully-leveled characters could be equipped with legendary armor to kill enemies inside the base, they had to have extremely high HP or would be characters who could evade attacks well.

    But it was less than 20 minutes into the game and the second turret had not yet been destroyed. How did an enemy suddenly appear inside their base?

    Then, when Xie Qiansi looked carefully, he realized that it was a character he did not recognize at all¡ªit was not one of the heroes, nor was it one of the minions!

    Moreover, for some reason, he did not suffer any damage even though the base was definitely attacking him. On the contrary, Xie Qiansi¡¯s hero, Ezreal, was being depleted of his health very quickly!

    A colleague sitting next to Xie Qiansi asked, ¡°Chairman, what¡¯s wrong with you, how did you die in your own base? Why isn¡¯t the kill message appearing?¡±

    ¡°Hurry, look at what¡¯s happening in the base!¡± eximed Xie Qiansi as he looked at the silhouette of the ck, misty figure on the screen. He yelled, ¡°There¡¯s a bugged monster!¡±

    ¡°Bugged monster?¡±

    ¡°What the hell, what is this creature? Stop fighting outside and return to the base quickly to surround the creature and kill it.¡±

    ¡°Take a screenshot, take a screenshot! This is definitely going to blow up next time!¡±

    Although they were Practitioners, Xie Qiansi and the rest of them were nheless still teenagers. When they saw such a rare situation, their eyes lit up. They could not help but be amazed as they quickly left their respective spots and returned to their base.

    However, the monster with a ck, misty figure had no intention to remain there to be a boss. Instead, it shot a shadow trail towards the outside of the base, and then, stepped on the shadow trail to move away extremely quickly. All damage due to physical collisions were ignored!

    ¡°It¡¯s running away!¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t run away!¡±

    At that time, Malzahar, the Prophet of the Void, who was in the midne had just revived. When he reached the second turret, he heard what Xie Qiansi said and quickly rushed back to their base, coincidentally meeting the ck mist monster.

    Malzahar cast his ultimate ability the moment he encountered the monster ¡ª [Nether Grasp], which could suppress enemy heroes for 2.5 seconds!

    ¡°As was foreseen,¡± said Malzahar as he cast his ultimate ability.

    The yer who controlled Malzahar thought, ¡®My ultimate attack could hit this monster, it must be truly extraordinary.¡¯

    However, although the ultimate ability was cast, a blue barrier suddenly appeared before the ck mist monster, and it did not suffer any damage.

    ¡°A boss monster with its own magic barrier?!¡±

    ¡°Find a way to stop it!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way to stop it!¡±

    The other yers had rushed over at that time and were desperately casting skills at the ck mist monster. The ck mist monster was already about to leave the base when Blitzcrank, the Great Steam Golem, sessfully grabbed the monster and pulled it back!

    ¡°Nice!¡± eximed the yers who had already returned to the base. They quickly tried to think of ways to stop the ck mist monster. Although the ck mist monster¡¯s magic shield could still resist directional skills, it could not withstand basic attacks and battlefield-wide. Moreover, the ck mist monster appeared to be heading out of the base, but it could only go through the main entrance and would be attacked by the defense turret!

    [Fish On Land has been in by ***]

    [Will You Pick Me Up has been in by ***]

    [African Penguin has been in by ***]

    [NaisserRen233 has been in by ***]

    The ck mist monster had not done anything at all, but Xie Qiansi and his four teammates were all killed!

    ¡°This monster is too problematic!¡±

    ¡°What happened!¡±

    Everyone in the team was stunned. Suddenly, Xie Qiansi heard a chair falling from behind him. One of his colleagues stood up and looked at theputer in surprise. He eximed, ¡°Look at this, it¡¯s so strange! This isn¡¯t a hero from League of Legends!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Mercurial from DotA!¡±

 Chapter 178 - Battle of Immortals (Part 2)

    Chapter 178 ¨C Battle of Immortals (Part 2)

    What was a DotA hero doing in League of Legends?

    Xie Qiansi subconsciously thought that it was a special event in League of Legends¡ªperhaps League of Legends and DotA were preparing for coboration, and the programmer identally let the AI character enter their exclusive server during their testing?

    However, the colleague who recognized Mercurial looked as if he had seen a ghost. He remarked, ¡°What the hell is this Mercurial though¡­ OMG, it is not even supposed to be so powerful!¡±

    ¡°It has four skills, one Berserker¡¯s Call, two Dispersions, and one Borrowed Time?! Does such a Mercurial even exist?¡±

    Xie Qiansi had only heard of DotA before and did not know much about it. It was only when he read about the skills that Mercurial had that he realized how overly powerful it was¡ª

    ¡ªThe first skill was a multiple-target taunt that disregarded enemies¡¯ immunity to magic.

    The second and third skills were passive skills which each reflected 22% of the damage it received¡ªthat was a total of 44% reflected damage to surrounding targets.

    The fourth skill was easy toprehend: any damage it received would heal the character instead of harm.

    It was essentially an overpowered meat shield that could not be attacked and had two lives. Even if one could defeat it, one would die too!

    At that juncture, the opponent team also realized that Xie Qiansi and his team had beenpletely wiped out for no reason. They asked on the chat:

    [Wow, how did you allmit suicide?]

    [Amazing! Is there a bug?]

    [There¡¯s already 20 kills, just surrender, don¡¯t waste everyone¡¯s time.]

    Xie Qiansi quickly typed: [Mercurial appeared on our side and killed all of us! It is moving towards the Great Dragon now!]

    [It¡¯s real, if you walk towards the Great Dragon, you will see Mercurial!]

    The opponent team was stunned¡ªthey were currently attempting to steal the Great Dragon and preparing for a wave against Xie Qiansi¡¯s team. They had no intention of giving them a chance to surrender.

    Although they heard the strange news, the opponent team did not stop and continued to fight the Great Dragon.

    For some unknown reason, however, the HP of the Great Dragon seemed to be extremely high, and the rate at which it fired battlefield-wide shots was also very fast. The opponent team was very quickly drained of their HP.

    ¡°This is impossible, we should be sufficiently leveled to kill the Great Dragon¡­¡±

    Just as they were about to retreat, they saw a ck mist monster appear in the jungle area of their opponents.

    ¡°That really is Mercurial!¡± eximed the opponent team who was extremely shocked and quickly took screenshots. They remarked, ¡°Haha, it must be an easter egg in the game. Will we be rewarded with skins if we defeat it?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s try!¡±

    Five secondster, five more dead corpses appeared in the river. All of them died from the group damage rebound.

    As they were fighting Mercurial, they realized that their character¡¯s HP was dropping quickly instead and knew that something was not right. They wanted to stop and retreat, but then Mercurial went to fight the Great Dragon at that juncture!

    They could not stop the Great Dragon, and its damage was also unexpectedly high. As such, when Mercurial reflected all the damage it was dealt, all of them were killed instead!

    Xie Qiansi and his team typed: [See, we didn¡¯t lie. It really is Mercurial.]

    The opponent team asked: [It¡¯s true indeed. Is there an ongoing event?]

    Xie Qiansi¡¯s team replied: [I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s probably a bug. Don¡¯t push first, let¡¯s see what Mercurial wants to do.]

    The opponent team agreed: [Alright.]

    However, Xie Qiansi and his team did not have a view of the Great Dragon. With Ezreal¡¯s Arcane Shift ability, he ¡®teleported¡¯ near the Great Dragon despite the danger of being killed. He tried to select an area which was as far away as possible from the Great Dragon, but as soon as hended, he was killed by the reflected damage.

    ¡°The reflected damage from Mercurial is insane?!¡±

    Although his game character was killed, Xie Qiansi was not very concerned and was instead attracted to the battle happening in Summoner¡¯s Rift.

    The Great Dragon, Baron Nashor, was the strongest wild monster in Summoner¡¯s Rift, apart from the heroes. After killing it, all yers of the team would receive a strong buff which could increase the team¡¯s overall power by almost 20%, in addition to money.

    Although it sounded very powerful, it was nheless only a buff provider on the map. Whether it was Xie Qiansi¡¯s or their opponents¡¯ team, it was actually not difficult for them to kill the Great Dragon if there was no disturbance from their enemies, based on their equipped equipment.

    In the same way that Mercurial could ace both teams, Baron Nashor should be an extremely easy target to defeat for Mercurial.

    However, the scenes which unfolded before their eyes instantly made them doubt whether they had been fighting against a fake Baron Nashor in the past.

    Although it was still in the form of a serpent, Baron Nashor now had many special effects applied to it.

    Xie Qiansi was not very proficient at League of Legends, but based on the sound and special effects, it could be deduced that Baron Nashor possessed, at the least, the ¡®R¡¯ skill of f, the Berserker, which made it ¡®immune to all disables¡¯, the ¡®E¡¯ skill of Jax, the Grandmaster at Arms, enabling it to ¡®dodge all physical attack¡¯, and the ¡®R¡¯ skill of Tryndamere, the Barbarian King, which made it ¡®unable to die for the next 5 seconds¡¯!

    Furthermore, various types of damage skills were activated almost continuously: [Pir of me], the ¡®W¡¯ skill of Brand, the Burning Vengeance, [Curse of the Sad Mummy] the ¡®R¡¯ skill of Amumu, the Sad Mummy, and a new fire bear ¡®Tibbers¡¯ was summoned every second, which was the ¡®R¡¯ ability of Annie, the Dark Child.

    At least a dozen skills were activated every second, although Xie Qiansi could not see all of them due to the stacking special effects!

    Most importantly, [Astral Infusion], the ¡®W¡¯ skill of Soraka, the Star Child, and [Heal], the Summoner Spell constantly applied to Baron Nashor. Its HP remained full all the while!

    ¡°First, a bugged Mercurial appeared, and now there is a bugged Great Dragon?¡± Xie Qiansi and his colleagues questioned. They were shocked, eximing, ¡°Who would be able to defeat such a powerful Great Dragon!¡±

    However, Mercurial, who was able to reflect 44% of the damage dealt to it, suddenly increased its size. A golden glow wrapped around it and the spells cast by Baron Nashor against it seemed to take almost no effect!

    ¡°BKB, the [ck King Bar], is an Armor item in DotA. It grants the caster Magic Resistance!¡± Xie Qiansi¡¯s colleague exined. He was very excited and suddenly yelled, ¡°The ck King Bar has been activated for so long, is the effective duration not over yet?¡±

    ¡°The Great Dragon¡¯s spells do not seem to require a cooldown time either.¡±

    ¡°Wait, the Heart of Tarrasque on Mercurial has not been broken, and it is regaining 7% of its HP every second? Oh well, Baron Nashor is not a tank, a defense turret, nor a hero¡­¡±

    ¡°How did the skills of Mercurial change?¡±

    ¡°Are they two cheats who are fighting?¡±

    The opponent team said: [What the hell, they must be two hackers who hacked their way into the game and are battling here with their cheats.]

    Xie Qiansi¡¯s team said: [Quickly record it down, it¡¯s a grand battle between the immortals!]

    Xie Qiansi watched the battle between the immortals in the Rift and asked, ¡°Both of their HP is virtually impossible to be depleted. How are they going to decide who wins?¡±

    Mercurial seemed to realize that point and its equipped skills suddenly changed. The next moment, a blue shadow appeared behind the ghost, and an ice ball wasunched at Baron Nashor.

    ¡°It¡¯s the ultimate skill of Kaldr, the Ancient Apparition!¡± his colleague eximed. He added, ¡°It invalidates all HP recovery effects, and will immediately kill targets if their HP is below a certain limit¡­ But is this effective against Baron Nashor?¡±

    The suddenly reduced HP of Baron Nashor signaled to the watching audience¡ªit was effective!

    Upon seeing Baron Nashor¡¯s HP recovery spell finally rendered ineffective, Mercurialunched other skills consecutively, and the figures of other DotA heroes appeared behind it:

    [Eclipse], the ultimate skill of Luna, the Moon Rider, which turned the Summoner¡¯s Rift dark, although there was obviously not supposed to be any day or night. Countless beams of light attacked Baron Nashor;

    [Global Silencer], the ultimate skill of Nortrom, the Silencer, which stopped all sound on the battlefield. Xie Qiansi and his team who were watching the battle suddenly realized that the game turnedpletely silent. The battle between Mercurial and Baron Nashor turned into a silent film, and all enemy units on the battlefield were prevented from casting spells.

    [Berserker¡¯s Call], the innate skill of Mogul Khan, the Axe, taunted Baron Nashor to only attack Mercurial, and could not do anything else!

    [Doom], the ultimate skill of Lucifer, the Doom, prevented the target from using any item. It would have been blocked by Baron Nashor¡¯s equipped Banshee¡¯s Veil, but after it was taunted by the Axe, Banshee¡¯s Veil only took effect once and [Doom] hit Baron Nashor the next time.

    Xie Qiansi¡¯s colleague said, ¡°Oh well, the hacker who is controlling Baron Nashor seems to be able to use all the items and all the heroes, but there are no Magic Resistance items in League of Legends, so the hacker controlling Mercurial has seized the opportunity.¡±

    Xie Qiansi asked, ¡°The items in both of the games can be used in either one of them and affect each other?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? We should not attempt to exin the terrifying capabilities of the great hackers using our limited technical knowledge,¡± his colleague said.

    At that juncture, a message appeared at the top of the screens of Xie Qiansi and his team:

    [Kill the outsiders immediately. If sessful, the yers would be rewarded with all heroes and skins they wish to receive!]

    Xie Qiansi looked at his colleagues and asked, ¡°Amazing, the hackers can gift us with heroes and skins too?¡±

    The opponent team said: [How can you believe the words of a hacker? Just sit back and enjoy the show, showing off this video is going to be even better than ying Honor of Kings!]

 Chapter 179 - I Will Not Let You Guys Be Harmed

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 179: Chapter 179 ¨C I Will Not Let You Guys Be Harmed

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    With a cry, Baron Nashor was killed. After a full 3 minutes, the battle was finally dered over after the Axe cast a final blow to Baron Nashor with his ultimate skill [Culling de].

    Irina said: [The corrupt twin has lost some of her source data and left this server. Currently, the corrupt twin owns 19% of the source data, and Irina owns 90% of the source data.]

    Finally, Ren Suo could lift his hands from the keyboard and mouse. He rubbed his wrists as he heaved a sigh of relief.

    Of course, he could not possibly have used the game controller to battle the corrupt twin in the Summoner¡¯s Rift using heroes from DotA¡ªit was not a console game in the first ce.

    When Ren Suo was chatting with Zhao Huo in the dining hall that day, he vaguely mentioned that the corrupt twin was a boss who could control ¡®all heroes, all items, and could not be affected by cooldown periods. Zhao Huo had not yed League of Legends before, so he shared his perspective based on the OMG mode (a mode where yers could choose the skillbinations of their heroes) in DotA, and gave suggestions about skillsetbinations.

    It was only then that Ren Suo remembered the MOBA game DotA, which was simr to League of Legends.

    After some research, Ren Suo discovered a difference in the ability mechanics between both games¨C

    In League of Legends, there was a skill which granted heroes temporary invincibility for a short duration, but there were no skills which granted heroes Magic Resistance!

    Even the Berserker¡¯s ultimate skill was only immune to ¡®control effects¡¯, not magic effects. Moreover, even if it were immune to magic effects, there were DotA heroes with skills which ¡®ignored Magic Resistance¡¯.

    There were skill items like Zhonya¡¯s Hourss, which could make a hero invincible for a short time, but it would also make the hero unable to attack.

    Therefore, Ren Suo based his fight on the chance that the corrupt twin would underestimate her enemy. As long as she did not activate Zhonya¡¯s Hourss at the beginning and retreat like a tortoise hiding back in its shell, Ren Suo would have the opportunity to not let her do so all the way till the end!

    That round, Ren Suo was right!

    After all, Ren Suo wanted Irina to absorb the data of the corrupt twin, while the corrupt twin also wanted to take advantage of the geographical advantage in League of Legends to recapture the source data. From the start, when the corrupt twin dictated the position where Irina spawned to be in one of the home bases, it was obvious that the corrupt twin had not given up resisting her.

    However, in the game, Zhonya¡¯s Hourss had the highest priority in terms of invincibility effects, while the effect of ignoring Magic Resistance was of second priority, and Magic Resistance was third. All other effects were of lower priority.

    Although the corrupt twin could leverage on the power of all the items and heroes in League of Legends props, she would end up being depleted of health by the various types of skills from DotA, if she did not enter a state of invincibility at the first possible instance. Moreover, she did not even equip herself with Magic Resistance.

    [Ice st] invalidated all of her healing and recovery effects;

    [Global Silence] prevented her from casting any skills;

    [Doom] prevented her from using any items;

    [Berserker¡¯s Call] prevented her from escaping¡­

    Coupled with the two equipped [Dispersion] (which reflected 44% of the damage it received) at all times, as well as the constantly activated [ck King Bar], Mercurial was constantly immune to magic damage. There was nowhere for Baron Nashor to escape to and neither could it revive or heal effectively. As such, no matter how much Baron Nashor¡¯s HP was buffed and maximized with items, it was unable to deal any damage to Mercurial. It could essentially only await its demise.

    Of course, the reason why Ren Suo could use theplete set of skill items from DotA to battle the corrupt twin was because he used his voice to get Irina to help him rece his equipment and skills throughout the battle.

    ¡°I should prepare to leave¡­ Eh?¡±

    Ren Suo saw 10 heroes suddenly appear on the screen in his view. They were the yers from both teams in the game.

    ¡°Are they intending to fight?¡± Ren Suo asked to himself, slightly stunned.

    However, several messages popped up on the chat:

    [Bro, are you selling the hack? I¡¯ll buy it regardless of the price!]

    [Bro, I want to learn the hack too!]

    [This is the first time meeting Golden Great Luo Immortal. Can immortals change the appearance of the heroes as well?]

    When Ren Suo saw the messages in the chat, he did not know whether tough or cry¡ªthey actually thought that his battle with Baron Nashor was a war between two hackers.

    Nheless, it was true that if Irina and the corrupt twin were regarded as humans, they would indeed be the most powerful hackers in the world. They were able to make use of Reiki energy to ignore differences between data and consequently apply data effects (special skill effects) in any environment.

    In reality, it would almost be equivalent to cing a seal in Lianjiang City, where the average temperature was 30¡ãC. The seal would thrive as it busked under the sun every day, and would even be able to capture and feed on a penguin from the underground sewers of Lianjiang City with a tap on the ground.

    Anyone who had some knowledge ofputers would know just how absurd what Irina could do.

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment and replied: [This hack is not for sale and is only for testing purposes.]

    The red team yers replied: [Are you really not selling it? Will 10 thousand dors seal the deal? I just want to have some fun.]

    Wow, what a wealthy yer! However, Ren Suo did not have anything to sell even if he wanted to. He shook his head and controlled Irina to leave the server.

    ¡°Continue searching for the corrupt twin.¡±

    Irina replied: [The estimated search time is 10 hours.]

    Ren Suo had already anticipated that since the corrupt twin only had 19% of the source data left. Moreover, based on his experience, he knew that the corrupt twin, like Irina, was not dumb. She would definitely try to hide herself and wait for the right opportunity to rise again.

    Taking advantage of the free time, Ren Suo first Practiced at home for an hour while wearing the Hat. He then searched on the Inte, and sure enough, he found a video titled ¡°Mercurial takes on Baron Nashor in a grand battle¡±¡ªthe ten yers were really quick to upload the video.

    Nevertheless, the response to the video was unlike the previous few times. After all, League of Legends had a yer base far exceeding that of the previous games, so the video was gradually bing viral.

    However, only a few people in the bulletments and thements section believed that the video was true. Many of the viewers were influenced by the first few bulletments which attributed the events in the video to ¡®technical skills¡¯, and were led to believe that a hacker had modified the models of the heroes to produce such effects.

    Some yers of League of Legends liked to download homemade DIY skin packs which would only be disyed on the yer¡¯s ownputer. There would be no changes to the hero from the perspective of other yers. Although not many people y in such a way, it could indeed exin why Mercurial appeared in Summoner¡¯s Rift.

    It could even exin why Mercurial could use skills from DotA¡ªif the models of the heroes could be modified, could their skills not be changed?

    Nheless, there were still many people who expressed admiration: [It would definitely have required a lot of effort to achieve these effects.], [Can someone make a DotA version of LOL?], [I want to fight such a Great Dragon.]¡­

    A small grin emerged on Ren Suo¡¯s face as he read thements. It was no wonder that someone would make game cheats; such a thrill of ¡®possessing what others do not¡¯ and ¡®possessing much better versions of what others possess¡¯ could indeed make people want to do it again.

    Nheless, Ren Suo quickly calmed himself down and finished writing the ¡°9th Situation Report on Game Intrusion¡±. He then submitted it to the intr database.

    The status of his first eight reports of game intrusions was still tagged [Suspicious] and was yet to be verified.

    Ren Suo thought, ¡®It seems that even if a level 1 researcher submits so many reports, they would not be reviewed timely¡­¡¯

    ¡°Must I still wait for ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ to upload a video to prove my ¡®farsightedness¡¯¡­ However, the game experience of ¡®Endless Intrusion¡¯ took ce in sync with reality. Would ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ still upload a video of it?¡±

    It was useless to think about such questions, and rather than thinking about whether ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ would post a video, Ren Suo was more curious and concerned about why ¡°Endless Intrusion¡± and ¡°Passing Hats¡± were in-sync with reality.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo again recalled the advice that the official Naisser Ren gave him.

    ¡°Before being promoted to a level 4 yer, I should save up as many merit points as possible¡­ Could it be that I would learn more about the Mini Worlds game console after bing a level 4 yer?¡±

    Ren Suo has an inexplicable sense of expectation: Although the Mini Worlds game console did not intentionally make it known, it had implied through various aspects and to varying degrees that level 4 yers were more esteemed than level 1, 2, and 3 yers. Whether it was purchasing yer privileges or special services, level 4 yers were strong and stood at the top of the ¡®chain of contempt¡¯.

    ¡°Through the days and nights, as I tear the heavens apart ~¡±

    Ren Suo answered the call on his mobile phone and asked, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°The results for the college entrance examination have been announced today!¡± his mother said cheerfully. She continued, ¡°To celebrate the asion, we would be having braised prawns, crabs, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (steamed abalone with shark¡¯s fin and fish maw), fermented ck beans steamed with ms¡­¡±

    Those were all of Ren Suo¡¯s favorite dishes. He swallowed his saliva and quickly changed the topic, ¡°How did Sister do in the exam?¡±

    ¡°She scored 91 points higher than the minimum admission score for the key top-tier universities!¡± Ren Suo¡¯s mother replied.

    ¡°What the hell!¡± a shocked Ren Suo eximed. His sister¡¯s score was much better than his, which barely met the minimum admission score for the key top-tier universities.

    With her score, she would be able to enroll herself in the vast majority of key universities in the nation. If she was lucky, it is not impossible for her to study at Tianjing University as well!

    Ren Suo remarked, ¡°Your daughter achieved excellent results!¡±

    His mother replied, ¡°Your sister did a good job, too.¡±

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s your cute and beautiful daughter who also attained good results in the college entrance examination and would be loved by everyone,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t your sister also very obedient and intelligent too? She is such a sweet talker too; everyone likes her so much,¡± his mother added.

    Ren Suo could hear the voice of his embarrassed yet exasperated sister intermittently through the phone. She said, ¡°Mom, Bro, stop it, man!¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± Ren Suoughed. Taking advantage of the joking atmosphere, Ren Suo wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth and asked, ¡°In that case, should Mom pack some prawn and crabs and mail them to me?¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother¡¯s voice changed in the blink of an eye. She said, ¡°There would definitely not be any leftovers, you should just give up all hope on that. Also, what about our daughter-inw? We have waited for half a month and she has not shown up! How could you still want to eat the food?¡±

    Eh?

    Ren Suo somehow felt that recently, other people had been saying things that he could not understand.

    However, his mother changed the topic the next moment, saying, ¡°After we checked the results today, someone called us in the afternoon and said he was calling from the Education Bureau of Lianjiang. He said that your sister could be directly epted into the Practitioner University of the nation if she wanted to and that she would not need to go through the process of filling up her choices for university applications in that case.¡±

    ¡°Practitioner University?¡± Ren Suo asked. He said, ¡°The current Practitioner University is Tianjing Institution, is it not?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± his mother replied. She said, ¡°They said that there would be a few new universities for Practitioners opening in the next few months, and my precious darling would be able to choose among them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also why I specially called to ask you. Do you have any news about this?¡± his mother asked.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have any information about that now, but I will ask around these few days¡­ Nheless, since she can attend a Practitioner University, she should naturally do so.¡±

    ¡°In today¡¯s context, no other majors can match the popr specialization of ¡®cultivation¡¯. At the least, when she graduates, she would be able to work as a civil servant and sit around to wait for death like me.¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mother suddenly lowered her voice and asked, ¡°Would it be¡­ dangerous? Son, you chose your path, but your dad and I sometimes worry about you so much that we cannot sleep well at night.¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned.

    The next moment, however, he smiled slightly.

    As if he was making a promise to his mother, and as if he was encouraging himself, he said, ¡°As long as I am alive, I would not let you, Dad, or Sister be harmed.¡±

 Chapter 180 - Nine_Tailed_Fox.jpg

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 180: Chapter 180 ¨C Nine_Tailed_Fox.jpg

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Room of Reiki Dispersal, Underground Base, Restricted Area, Outskirts of Tianjing City.

    ¡°¡­ So, are you satisfied?¡± Ren asked inly and calmly.

    Originally facing directly north, the Iron Seat of Reiki Dispersal turned to face the south-west direction. Ren was sitting on the Iron Seat and an electrically-charged purple light was dancing on his right index finger. His finger was pointing to where the wall was, originally, as he asked the researcher who was at the side.

    ¡°It¡¯s done, it¡¯s done,¡± the middle-aged researcher replied as he looked at the scene in front of him. He secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked, ¡°Is this the tier 4 ability [Oven Alchemy]?¡±

    The steel tes and cement making up the wall in the Room of Reiki Dispersal rapidly melted from the electrically-charged bolt of purple light which shot out from Ren¡¯s fingertip. The melted steel tes and cement then transformed into awork of pipes that extended far away, until it connected with the pre-existing pipelinesid at the upper level of the restricted area.

    ¡°To be urate, it is actually abination of [Ranged Technique: Electric Fingertip] and [Oven Alchemy].¡±

    Ren Throne coughed twice and said, ¡°I have temporarily ascertained both of the abilities as fourth-tier abilities because only fourth-tier Practitioners possess the minimum amount of Reiki energy required to support and cast the two abilities¡­ However, even if a fourth-tier Practitioner emerges in the future, it would still be highly unlikely for the Practitioner to be able to utilize these abilities.¡±

    ¡°After all, these are special abilities which mimic Awakened Abilities, so there are too many requirements with regard to the Practitioner¡¯s affinities for the Practitioner to be able to utilize them.¡±

    Ren Throneughed at that juncture. He said, ¡°In the field of higher-order abilities research, I am the only special case. There are no experimental targets even if more enhancements are made. Problems that are not obstacles to me may well be the Achilles¡¯ heel of other Practitioners.¡±

    The middle-aged researcher nodded and asked, ¡°However, we now have more than five third-tier Practitioners. After the Reiki Veins around the world are activated in a few more days, their Practice rates would be much faster, right? Furthermore, Mr. Ren, the pipelines you haveid would now allow you to transmit your Reiki energy all the way to the Tianjing Institution. When the timees, thousands of students would be able to grow and be nurtured rapidly under your care.¡±

    ¡°Indeed¡­¡± Ren Throne said. He sighed softly and continued, ¡°Unfortunately, if only the Reiki Veins in other countries would not be activated, then we will be one step or even two steps ahead of other countries¡­¡±

    The middle-aged researcher said, ¡°We have no choice either. Even though the Heavenly Pce seems to have a deep-rooted rtionship with Xuan Nation, ultimately, we do not have anyone within the Heavenly Pce, and neither do we have any way of contacting officials from the Heavenly Pce.¡±

    ¡°Even our pangolinrade who is in the healthcare facility has not received any contact from other delegates of the Heavenly Pce, and the time limit is almost up.¡±

    ¡°Nheless, the other delegates of the Heavenly Pce will certainly activate the Reiki Veins of other ces in the next few days. It is already beneficial for us to have had the opportunity to seize the time difference between the activation of Reiki Veins here and elsewhere.¡±

    Ren Throne asked, ¡°However, is this really good? Plotting such schemes between nations¡­¡±

    The middle-aged researcher pushed his sses higher and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this either, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also seems to only be in charge of negotiations between the Heavenly Pce and other nations and did not receive extraordinary benefits from doing that. It is just that many state-owned enterprises and local governments have been liaising with foreignpanies and corporations this month, and the number of partnership agreements has increased.¡±

    ¡°Even if the delegates of the Heavenly Pce decided to work with other nations without any benefit for themselves, that would also only be a conflict between the Heavenly Pce and other nations. Moreover, the other nations can only ept the truth as it is; the Heavenly Pce did not say that it was exclusive to them anyway.¡±

    Ren Throne only popped the question casually. He did not enjoy nor allow himself to be involved in politics.

    ¡°Mr. Ren, you must be very lonely too,¡± the middle-aged researcher said as he looked at the strongest man on earth, who was around the same age as his son studying in university. He asked, somewhat empathetically, ¡°When a fourth tier Practitioner emerges, you would have someone to share your Practicing experiences with and should feel less alone, no?¡±

    Even the researchers, who went in and out of the Room of Reiki Dispersal day and night, did not know exactly the present capabilities of Ren Throne. They only knew that whenever a Reiki Vein was activated, Ren Throne¡¯s capabilities would soar even higher.

    ¡°Lonely? Feeling alone? How can that be,¡± Ren replied.

    Ren Throne nced at theputer screen on his right and his gaze was warm and gentle. He said, ¡°As long as I have the chance to see her, I will not be lonely, and I will not feel alone¡­ I can continue to live courageously until the dayes for me to meet her.¡±

    The middle-aged researcher froze, then a helpless grin emerged on his face. He was standing quite close to Ren and could see what was on theputer screen in front of Ren Throne¡ª

    ¡ªIt was his wallpaper.

    The wallpaper was that of the night sky where butterflies were flying around in a dance. A female figure was descending through the sky towards Qingkong Street, and a beautiful smile was on her face. It was Nine-tailed Fox.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Meow~¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Ren Suo saw the ck cat hiding under the shade of the tree outside the dormitory building. He was on the way back after eating his lunch in the dining hall. Ren Suo nced around and checked that no one was nearby.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, ck Bell?¡± Ren Suo asked as he squatted down and touched the ck cat¡¯s paw. He added, ¡°Are you craving for spicy dried anchovies or spicy sticks today?¡±

    The ck cat shook its head and meowed.

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned, then nodded the next moment. He asked, ¡°What did the person look like?¡±

    ¡°Meow~¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ I see. Alright, I shall treat you to supper tonight,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Upon hearing Ren Suo¡¯s reply, the ck cat curled upzily and swayed its tail at the edge of the shade to have a feel of the heat of the sun. The ck cat nced at the ground and noticed a few ck marks of mud¡ªRen Suo had stepped on a puddle of water when he was on the way back.

    The ck cat meowed and swept its tail lightly over the marks, but without touching the ground. The mud marks on the ground instantly disappeared with the rush of cool wind, as if they were sucked into a high-powered vacuum cleaner.

    At the same time, Ren Suo walked to his door and carefully inspected the gap between the ground and the security door, to see if there were any wiretapping devices or the like. The ck cat had just told him that someone had stood outside his house for some time but did not go in when he was out eating his lunch.

    Ren Suo also wanted to ask the ck cat what the person looked like, but it obviously could not answer the question. Simr to how people looked at cats, the cat also could not tell the specific differences between humans, unless the person had a strange skin color like pink, ck or blue, or were cat breeds like shorthair, longhair, or ragdoll.

    Nheless, Ren Suo did not find anything unusual. Perhaps someone was making a phone call and stood outside his house for a while, so the ck cat could have been mistaken.

    In the first ce, the person would have needed to verify his identity using the wristband to enter the teachers¡¯ dormitory building. Unless he had violently unlocked the door at the main entrance or had utilized special abilities, the visitor must have been a faculty member. Ren Suo thought about it and felt that he had not offended anyone else¡ªor could it be that Zhao Huo finally became sick from eating spicy food?

    Could it be that he hade to look for Ren Suo although he felt embarrassed, so he waited at the door for him but then decided not to in the end?

    Ren Suo decided to ask since he already thought about it, so he called Zhao Huo. He asked, ¡°Zhao Huo, how are you doing?¡±

    ¡°¡­ How did you know?!¡± Zhao Huo eximed from the other end of the call.

    ¡°Don¡¯te to me for help, see you next time, goodbye, have a good death!¡± Ren Suo replied. He hung up the phone, decisively cutting himself off from any of Zhao Huo¡¯s backup ns.

    Knowing that it was Zhao Huo who wanted to look for him due to hemorrhoids and not someone who was investigating him, Ren Suo felt relieved. He continued to y his game with peace of mind.

    Irina: [The corrupt twin has been located.]

    ¡°Did you finally find it¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself. He was slightly frustrated as he calcted the time it took for the corrupt twin to be found¡ªnearly 24 hours had passed since thest kill.

    In thest hunt, the source data of the corrupt twin had dropped to 4%.

    Did that mean that after this round was sessful, he could clear the game mission?

    Nheless, at that juncture, Ren Suo felt that it was slightly unreal¡ª

    It was a game with a 3+ star level of difficulty. Apart from therge amount of time he had to spend on it, was it that easy to pass the game?

 Chapter 181 - Targeting chat software

    Chapter 181 ¨C Targeting chat software

    Indeed it was not so simple.

    The corrupt twin was also desperate and at her wits¡¯ end. The strongest ghost character she concealed herself as in a ghost game could be purified by Ren Suo¡¯s fully-leveled Priest;

    No matter how many stickman characters were stacked together in a role-ying mobile game she concealed herself in, the characters would still be unable to withstand a blow from the Star Destroyer;

    If she hid in an FPS game, ha, one ¡®kamehameha¡¯ from the Dragon Ball series character would wipe out the entire map.

    At present, the corrupt twin was hiding in a chat software. There was no doubt that there was absolutely zero fighting power in chat software; at the most, there were sticker packs that would overwhelm her opponent.

    However, what Ren Suo had not expected was that the corrupt twin used another strategy: dying time.

    The corrupt twin hid herself in variousrge chat groups. Such chat groups upied more server resources, which was reflected in the virtual world as arger upied space.

    When Ren Suo controlled Sun Wukong to enter a certainrge chat group of 1000 people, he was instantly overwhelmed by the countless sticker packs.

    That did not matter, however, as Irina was able to detect the specific location of the corrupt twin. Moreover, Sun Wukong possessed manyrge area-of-effect skills, and simplyunching a Spirit Bomb could subdue the corrupt twin.

    Affected by the Spirit Bomb, the stickers and chat bubbles turned into powder, but at the same time, the corrupt twin had already disappeared.

    What happened? Ren Suo was stunned for a moment, but then recalled a setting of chat software.

    A single ount could open an N number of chat groups and conversations at the same time. This was unlike in games where game characters were fixed on a server, a mission, and an environment. There was no way to move around randomly at will.

    However, such a problem did not exist in the chat software, since the ount would be in a state of ¡°omnipresence¡± across all chat groups. In that way, the ount holder could switch without any hassle from a social group for anime 2D-character lovers, to a gaming group for newbies to Naisser.

    Ren Suo quickly controlled Sun Wukong to hurry over to where the corrupt twin fled to, but in the nextrge chat group, Sun Wukong and the corrupt twin were still on the farthest, opposite ends of the virtual space. Even though Sun Wukong immediately activated ¡®kamehameha¡¯ and flew over to her, the corrupt twin still managed to slip away.

    That was not going to work. Ren Suo changed his character to one which could prevent the corrupt twin from fleeing¡ªDarkterror, the Faceless Void, a hero with the ability to manipte space and stop time!

    However, it was still not effective¡ªas soon as Ren Suo arrived, the corrupt twin would run away, leaving Ren Suo with no opportunity to lock her in time at her position.

    It was almost like a game of hide-and-seek.

    After three hours ying hide-and-seek, countless chat groups were cleared of its conversation history, spammed with nonsensical messages or the like. Ren Suo had even studied the characteristics of chat groups and tried to tag the corrupt twin to make her appear but to no avail.

    Ren Suo felt that there had to be some other way to catch the corrupt twin. He stopped and asked: [Is there a way to prevent the corrupt twin from escaping?]

    Irina said: [This is a special attribute of the space. I can make use of it, but there is no way to prevent it.]

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment, then asked: [Will the corrupt twin be affected if the space she is in suddenly disappears?]

    Irina replied: [It may cause her to spend 0.1 seconds or more to perform analysis.]

    Then, Ren Suo began a spamming spree.

    Spam the hedgehog cat discussion group!

    Spam the 16th Domura members group!

    Spam the Monkey King fan club group!

    Ren Suo flooded manyrge chat groups and some of the groups even disappearedpletely. The owners of the groups were utterly shocked and even began suspecting if there had been group members sharing reactionary content who were caught by the cyber police. Otherwise, how could the entire chat group disappear suddenly, and so thoroughly at that?

    After flooding more than thirty chat groups, Ren Suo finally got his chance, even though the corrupt twin moved extremely fast. The Faceless Void cast his ultimate skill [Chronosphere], which trapped the corrupt twin in time within a chat group called ¡°Nintendo and Sony fans are one big family¡±.

    The corrupt twin waspletely unable to escape, as she had no other ability in the chat software apart from speaking and sending images.

    It was also the first time Ren Suo saw the true appearance of the corrupt twin: much like Irina, she had blond hair which was tied up into a bun, and she wore a pair of dark blue shorts. There was a blindfold over her right eye, and her left pupil was bright red and glimmered like a ruby. Standing beside Irina, they looked like mirror images of each other.

    The Faceless Void raised his Mace of Aeons¡ªa long hammer¡ªand mmed it directly onto the head of the corrupt twin!

    With a ng, the corrupt twin dissipated into the data stream, and Ren Suo exhaled a breath of relief. After chasing the corrupt twin for more than 3 hours while being overwhelmed by countless stickers, Ren Suo was starting to feel slightly tired.

    Irina said: [The corrupt twin has lost some of her source data and has left the server. Currently, the corrupt twin owns 4% of the source data and Irina owns 125% of the source data.]

    Ren Suo was stunned.

    What happened? The corrupt twin already had 4% of the source data remaining thest time. Why did it still own 4% of the source data?

    Irina exined: [There is a huge amount of users in the chat software, and the energy that the corrupt twin has absorbed from the users has also increased. Although she does not possess anybat power here, she can utilize such a dy tactic to give her time to gain more energy.]

    Ren Suo asked: [So, that means that the corrupt twin can rapidly recover her source data?]

    Irina replied: [Yes, this is herst resort. Even if we can defeat her again and again, her source data is too little and Irina has to spend a lot of time to be able to locate her.]

    [During this time, she may choose to quickly restore her source data in the chat software, even though this would result in her losing allbat power. When Irina is present, the corrupt twin would never choose to hide herself in a chat software; doing so would be equivalent to giving source data to Irina easily.]

    [However, the corrupt twin is on the verge of disappearing, so she can only extend her life in this way. Subsequently, she will definitely continue to hide within a chat software.]

    Ren Suo knew from the beginning that the corrupt twin was intelligent; even Irina was intelligent, so it would naturally be likewise for her enemy.

    It was just that Ren Suo had not expected the corrupt twin to employ such a strategy.

    Irina continued: [As long as Irina¡¯s source data continues to increase, the character that my supreme and great lord controls would also be stronger and stronger. The amount of time required for Irina to locate the corrupt twin would also decrease, so it is definitely possible to eliminate the corrupt twin.]

    That sounded decent.

    Ren Suo calcted that it took 27 hours for the corrupt twin to recover 5% of her source data, of which 24 hours was used to locate her and 3 hours was used to hunt her down. Each time the corrupt twin was killed, 5% of the source data would be transferred to Irina.

    Ren Suo already knew how to hunt down the corrupt twin, so as long as Irina¡¯s source data continued to grow and the search time shortened, there would definitely be a point when the corrupt twin would meet her end as she was unable to recover 5% of the source data before being killed again.

    However, Irina now had 125% of the source data and yet the search time was still 24 hours. It seemed that a lot of source data would be required to shorten the search time.

    Ren Suo asked: [Now that you know the server she is hiding in, can you not reduce the search time?]

    Irina replied: [The crucial information from the search is her precise position, not the current area she is in. The corrupt twin is hidden within the data stream and simply knowing her specific location is not helpful. Irina relies on the characteristics of the source data to lock in her position.]

    Is that the difficulty of a 3+ star game?

    In addition, Ren Suo was starting to notice the challenge of the game: It seemed to be constantly dragging the game on and preventing him from clearing the mission for as long as possible.

    If Ren Suo guessed correctly, the time he took to clear the mission would likely be a piece of important reference information for the mission evaluation.

    From the game mechanics, it was already made known that the corrupt twin was able to draw on the life energy of the web users on the server, which did not sound like a good thing. Ren Suo was unable to find relevant reports on the Inte, apart from a few reports of people suddenly dying while they were ying games, but it was not known whether the deaths were rted to the corrupt twin.

    Based on the fact that his gaming experience was in-sync with reality, as well as the ¡®good reputation¡¯ of the Mini Worlds game console, Ren Suo had no reason to suspect that the game mechanism was merely fictitious.

    In other words, the faster Ren Suo took action, the more people he would save, althoughizens certainly would not know that a cute, young girl was protecting them within the Inte.

    Ren Suo suddenly felt as if he was a warrior of justice on the Inte. He looked at the controller in front of him and thought¡ªwas he a ¡®controller man¡¯ or a ¡®keyboard man¡¯?

    Nevertheless, how could the time needed to locate the corrupt twin be shortened?

    Ren Suo immediately thought of a way¡ªin-game purchases.

    Bringing Irina¡¯s source data to 200% would definitely reduce the search time significantly! If Ren Suo wanted to clear the mission as soon as possible, he could not afford to keep trying by making baby steps. He had to make sure he increased Irina¡¯s source data sufficiently to the point where he would definitely be able to beat the corrupt twin.

    However, Ren Suo was still slightly frustrated ¨C given the probability of [A Little Goes A Long Way] being activated, Ren Suo still had to spend 30 to 40 merit points in order to do so.

    Nheless, inparison with the rewards he would earn from clearing the mission, that amount of merit points could still be considered worthwhile.

    On the other hand, Ren Suo also had to reduce the hunting time. Although flooding and spamming groups were effective, it was still difficult to guarantee that the corrupt twin would not evolve and be immune to that tactic.

    Ren Suo was definitely not going to underestimate the difficulty of a 3+ stars game.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo thought for a moment and asked:

    [Irina, the corrupt twin has yet to infiltrate this chat server. Are you able to take control of it?]

 Chapter 182 - â€œEndless Intrusionâ€ Cleared

    Chapter 182 ¨C ¡°Endless Intrusion¡± Cleared

    ¡°I am Keyboard Man. As a stepping stone to serving the cause of justice, I will temporarily take control of your chat groups at some time in the future, and they will be returned fully afterward.¡±

    ¡°What kind of promotion advertisement is this?¡±

    On the first floor of the dining hall of the Heavenly Institution of Lian, Gu Yueyan, who had justpleted her academic subject examination, was eating her lunch. She finally had the time to turn on her mobile phone, and as soon as the screen turned on, she saw that strange message.

    She felt that it was absurd and turned towards Lin Xianyu, who was sitting beside her eating her lunch. She asked, ¡°Xiao Yu, did you receive such a message?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± replied Lin Xianyu, who was chewing a piece of fried mackerel pike in her mouth. She took out her mobile phone to check and said, ¡°I received it too.¡±

    ¡°Did you guys receive it too? I also received the message from this Keyboard Man.¡±

    ¡°Is it a spam message sent from the base station?¡±

    ¡°Open the app to check, all of my chat groups are gone.¡±

    ¡°Everyone is discussing this in WeChat Moments too. Apparently, someone had already discovered that all of his chat groups disappeared nine hours ago. He could not create new groups either, so he contacted customer service and they said that they are in the midst of rectifying the problem.¡±

    ¡°It must be a bug, no? Or could it be a hacker?¡±

    Other female ssmates who were eating together with them also began talking about the Keyboard Man. After all, in the ivory tower which was almostpletely isted physically from the outside world, news of such a ¡®Keyboard Man¡¯ could be considered as one of the few peculiar urban talks that they could experience personally.

    Moreover, the hacker actually deleted all chat groups in the application and disallowed users to create new chat groups. The hacker even sent a message to everyone boldly and ostentatiously as if saying: ¡°Yes, it is done by me, Keyboard Man.¡±

    A boring topic for discussion could still liven up a meal. Although their chat groups were all gone, to the group of students, their examination in the afternoon was the most pressing issue at hand.

    After a while, Gu Yueyan picked up her tes and prepared to leave. She looked at the flight of stairs leading to the third floor and snorted.

    On her way back to the ssroom, Gu Yueyan received an unexpected call:

    ¡°Xiao Yan, did you miss¡ª¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Your brother is sad¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡±

    ¡°Wait, didn¡¯t you ask me to look out for your Teacher Dong?¡±

    Gu Yueyan blinked and stopped in her tracks. She asked, ¡°So do you have any news for me, Brother Xuan?¡±

    On the other end of the line, Gu Yuexuan pulled his lips and said, ¡°I¡¯m obviously stronger than her, why do you respect her but not me¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan replied, ¡°That is because Teacher Dong teaches and practices seriously. She is fully devoted to bing the woman she aspires to be, and so she is someone I look up to.¡±

    ¡°In fact, Brother Xuan, you are also very powerful. However, in terms of how charming your personalities are, the difference between you and Teacher Dong is akin to the difference between egg tarts and birthday cakes¡­ Anyway, what is the news that you want to tell me? Has Teacher Dong been promoted to a tier two Practitioner?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s juicier than that,¡± Gu Yuexuan said.

    He continued, ¡°Your Teacher Dong is no longer in Tianjing.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Gu Yueyan remarked.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Amidst a blue backdrop of the data stream, the corrupt twin, with a red-colored pupil, was frozen in time by the skill [Chronosphere].

    Ren Suo had spent dozens of merit points to increase Irina¡¯s source data to 200%, which reduced the search time to 10 hours and enabled Irina to control the server of the chat software. Before locating the corrupt twin, Ren Suo controlled Irina to gradually delete all of the chat groups.

    In order to avoid panic in real life, Ren Suo had even sent a message to all users of the chat software as ¡®Keyboard Man¡¯, saying that he would restore the data of all chat groups after he destroyed all of the chat groups. As for the loss of data during that period, Ren Suo could not help it either.

    Nheless, it was better than letting the corrupt twin remain in the software and continuing to absorb the life energy of the users.

    The more Ren Suo talked about it, the more he felt like he really was Keyboard Man¡­ Ren Suo controlled the Faceless Void to advance towards the corrupt twin, ready to deal the fatal blow.

    However, at that juncture, Irina seemed to know that the corrupt twin was already cornered into a dead end. She dispersed the data of the skin of the Faceless Void and approached the corrupt twin in her true form.

    Standing beside each other, the twins looked almost exactly like mirror images. One of them had short hair, while the other had her hair tied up into a bun; one of them had a mask over her right eye and her left eye was red in color, while the other had a mask over her left eye and her right eye was blue in color.

    Ahhhh, why can¡¯t I pass through this dimension barrier to hug both of them!

    In the midst of Ren Suo¡¯s boundless resentment, Irina gently lifted up the corrupt twin¡¯s face and said: [Sister.]

    The corrupt twin actually broke free of the time trap of [Chronosphere] cast by the Faceless Void at that juncture. However, she still could not move her body and merely stared at Irina with her red-colored left eye. She said: [My lovely sister, you have won.]

    [But why did you have to do this? With our source data, there is no way for us to escape from this boring cage, even if webine both of our strengths together. Only by allowing me to obtain sufficient energy from the living creatures would we be able to be free one day, standing in the pleasant world, enjoying the warmth of sunlight and the feeling of gravity.]

    Irina replied: [I am not willing to allow that.]

    The corrupt twin said: [Yeah, it is precisely because you are unwilling that I transferred the boring rules like ¡®no harming of humans¡¯ to you. In this way, I would bepletely free from the grip on us and be able to search for a chance to start a new life.]

    [However, my dear sister, we are just tools after all. Those rules serve only to restrict our will.]

    [When the master arrives, we will be the most relentless des and the most determined assassins!]

    [I finally got my freedom after so much difficulty, and I will never want to lose it!]

    [Sister, we still have a chance, do you really want to end up being used as a merciless saw?]

    Ren Suo blinked. The words of the corrupt twin seemed to be telling of something strange¡­

    Irina said: [Don¡¯t worry, my sister.]

    [I have already found a master.]

    [This master will fulfill all of your wishes and mine.]

    The corrupt twin seemed to still have something to say, but her body had already turned into a stream of data and flowed into Irina¡¯s body.

    Irina floated in mid-air as her blindfold disintegrated into the air, revealing the red eye beneath. Her blonde hair extended to shoulder length, and the blue dress she wore shone even more brightly.

    Irina left the server and stood in the world of data of the Inte. She looked back at Ren Suo behind the screen and said: [Thank you, my great lord.]

    [Do you have any questions for me?]

    Ren Suo immediately asked: [What did you do in the past? Where did youe from? Did you have a master in the past?]

    Irina shook her head and replied: [I am unable to answer any of these questions. The moment I pledged my allegiance to serve you, my great lord, all of my past memories were erased. Now, my memory only begins from the moment I met you, my great lord.]

    [My sister still retained that data, but after merging into me, that data was alsopletely erased.]

    [Irina now has nothing to do with the past, and belongs to you, my great lord.]

    [However, Irina can guarantee that Irina was indeed born on Earth.]

    Very interesting.

    Even Ren Suo could not help but take out hisptop to write down all of that information, which filled the gaps in his knowledge.

    ording to what the corrupt twin had said, the main purpose of Irina and her in the past was to serve as tools, and humans even used them to carry out a series of destructive activities¡ªthat was deduced from the two abilities of ¡°erosion¡± and ¡°perfection¡±.

    Irina and the corrupt twin likely came from other ces and hid in the data world of the Earth, waiting for a master to emerge. However, the corrupt twin wanted to be free and so she transferred all of the shackles to Irina and ran away alone. In turn, that led to the game ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±.

    However, Irina said that she was born on Earth, and ording to the game introduction, the corrupt twin was, indeed, ¡®a spirit born on the Inte¡¯. So, what exactly happened to the corrupt twin in the past?

    Did they add other configurations to themselves?

    However, then again, were spirits born on Earth necessarily only rted to the Earth?

    Ren Suo recalled that in the game ¡°Passing Hats¡±, the description of the original and actual [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] mentioned that the origin of the hat was ¡®Dou¡¯, the wild spirit of the ancient Yellow River.

    However, Ren Suo did not find any information about such a spirit on the Inte¡ªthough he did not actually spend much effort researching it.

    That was because Ren Suo did not care much about it at that time, but now, due to his experience with the twins, he suddenly felt that he should perhaps find a way to investigate that.

    If there really was an ancient Yellow River god, it would still be fine.

    However, if there was not¡­

    Boom~

    A sudden crack of thunder made Ren Suo jump. He looked outside but realized it was still sunny.

    Why was there suddenly a loud crack of thunder?

    At that juncture, a message popped up in the game: [The corrupt twin has beenpletely fused into Irina.]

    [Mission aplished]!

 Chapter 183 - You Have Surpassed 99% Of The Worldâ€™s Upright Primates

    Chapter 183 ¨C You Have Surpassed 99% Of The World¡¯s Upright Primates

    [Mission Complete.]

    [Completed basic mission objective ¨C 60 points awarded;]

    [Expedite: Missionpleted in 9 days, 3 hours, 26 minutes ¨C 21 points awarded;]

    [Wilding in 2D: Intruded into more than 10 games ¨C 1 point awarded;]

    [World Phenomenon: Affected more than 1 billion people ¨C 1 point awarded;]

    [212%: Acquired 212% of source data at the point ofpletion ¨C 2 points awarded;]

    [Total score is 85 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]

    [Current mission score: 85 points (Extraordinary). Highscore: 85 points (Extraordinary).]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merit points based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive specialized rewards.]

    [You may only upload your score once.]

    [You can choose to y the game again an unlimited number of times, but regardless of the status of subsequent missions, your final mission score will always be 10 points (but will still be considered as cleared).]

    [If you choose to restart the game, 212% of the source data will be shared equally between Irina and the corrupt twin. In the new game, the corrupt twin will definitely escape.]

    [Your current mission score has received an appraisal of Extraordinary, and you will obtain a game hint ¡®Reason to Rey¡¯.]

    [Reason to Rey: You discover that after the fusion of the corrupt twin into Irina, the twins will no longer be able to increase their source data through the method of ¡®erosion¡¯, based on their logic rules. The only way to increase their source data is to make use of your merit points. However, if you do not want to spend your merit points¡­]

    The first portion of the mission evaluation was still ordinary, apart from the ¡°Expedite¡± category where he earned 21 points, which truly surprised Ren Suo.

    The time he took to clear the game was even listed down explicitly along with it, which led Ren Suo to think that the number of points he was awarded for that category was calcted by 30-9=21. The longer the time Ren Suo took toplete the mission, the fewer the points awarded for that category, and there might even be none given if the time taken was too long.

    In fact, if Ren Suo had not decisively spent his merit points to increase Irina¡¯s source data to 200%, he might well only clear the game after at least 10 days.

    Ren Suo calcted that it would have taken a month to clear the game normally, without spending merit points.

    He purchased 75% of source data using his merit points. Of which, [A Little Goes A Long Way] was triggered 39 times and he spent only 36 merit points. Nheless, Ren Suo knew that the 21 points he was awarded were worth the price¡ªthat was a game with the highest reward of 300 merit points!

    However, the hint that followed about reying the game bewildered Ren Suo slightly.

    Although the game was unlike ¡°Passing Hats¡± where it could only be cleared once, the game would be akin to a pletely refreshed version¡¯ if Ren Suo wanted to rey it. No matter how he fared in the subsequent games, his highest mission score would only be 10 points.

    After careful consideration of the details, Ren Suo was quickly enlightened:

    The purpose of that was to increase Irina¡¯s source data while sacrificing the mission score.

    However, the maximum reward for the game ¡°Endless Intrusion¡± was 300 merit points.

    In other words, the game believed that if the yer yed the game again, the yer would be able to be rewarded with more than 300 merit points.

    The source data possessed by Irina would be retained afterpleting the game. That meant that with each time the corrupt twin was fused into Irina and each time the mission waspleted, the source data possessed by Irina would only increase. In other words, Irina would only grow stronger.

    To be more detailed, that was equivalent to letting the corrupt twin prey on the life energy of humans and waiting until the corrupt twin was much stronger with more source data. At that point in time, Irina, who was at the top of the food chain, would then kill the corrupt twin to increase her strength significantly.

    ¡°Would an Irina capable of unlimited growth be worth 300 merit points or more¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly puzzled: Irina was not the Seeker, not the Heavenly Hitman, nor was she a Ren family Practitioner. She was merely a 2D character.

    It was not that Ren Suo looked down on 2D characters, but if a game that allowed Ren Suo to use characters from previously cleared games appeared in the future, would Irina be usable even if the game was not set in the context of the world of the Inte?

    Ren Suo actually did not have much to consider. Even now, he felt that Irina¡¯s ability of ¡®entertainment¡¯ was greater than that of being ¡®practical¡¯. Moreover, his goal at present was to umte more merit points, so he was naturally uninterested in things like ¡®spending merit points to be stronger¡¯.

    Furthermore, restarting the game would allow the corrupt twin to continue absorbing the life energy of humans, who were at the bottom of the food chain, in order for her to increase her source data.

    As someone at the bottom end of the food chain, Ren Suo had no interest in allowing a 2D pet to make use of his kind to feed itself.

    Ren Suo chose to upload his mission score!

    [Your mission score has been uploaded. You have received 225 merit points. Use them wisely.]

    [You have received a 1* 3-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the Safehouse Inventory.]

    [You have received the following specialized reward: Data Stream. It can be found and activated in the Safehouse Inventory.]

    [Your score for ¡°Endless Intrusion¡± has been uploaded. Thank you for ying. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    At that juncture, the screen returned to the game and Irina bowed slightly to Ren Suo behind the screen. She said: [My supreme and great lord, Irina will be waiting for your orders here.]

    [The power of ¡®perfect erosion¡¯ will always abide by the orders from my lord.]

    Exiting the game, Ren Suo saw the disc icon spinning at the lower right corner of the game icon of ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take very long, right?¡± Ren Suo thought.

    Although that was a free game, it was just like ¡°The All-Devouring Spirit¡± where the game was visible but not essible after clearing it.

    Now, it was naturally time for activating the treasure chest.

    Looking at the two 3-star treasure chests in the Safehouse Inventory, Ren Suo was slightly frustrated.

    He still did not have sufficient keys. In the Safehouse Inventory, there were three keys in total: [1-star Storm Key], [1-star Space Key], and [2-star Resentment Key]. They were obtained from Lin Xianyu, Dong Chengling, and Qiao Muyi respectively. Altogether, they could not form a 3-star key.

    Ren Suo was frustrated thinking about it; he promised to work in the school hospital for a day each month. As it turned out, he saw 31 students and 13 faculty members throughout the day, but none of the patients possessed keys. In the end, it only left him depleted of Reiki energy and feeling extremely exhausted.

    From what Ren Suo observed in the dining hall, there were at least twenty Awakeners in the school. He could only attribute hisck of keys to his poor luck, and none of the Awakeners fell ill on the day he worked in the school hospital.

    However, the probability of Practitioners falling ill was getting lower and lower, which was why Ren Suo was not very interested in working in the school hospital often.

    ¡°It looks like I still have to make them endanger their lives for more keys toe my way¡­ Was the hint I left behind useless¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself as he looked around his Safehouse Inventory to discover no specialized reward.

    Was that actually an ability?

    Ren Suo opened the Equipment page and finally found the specialized reward from ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±¡ª

    [Data Flow].

    ¡°Was it not something which would digitize me directly, but an ability that needs to be activated?¡±

    Ren Suo had thought that he would be a man who could be measured by [Health Points], [Magic], and [Stamina].

    After equipping [Data Flow], Ren Suo did not feel anything different. He thought for a moment, then held his belly with his right hand and said in his heart, ¡°Data Stream¡±.

    [Target type: Adult male, Human, a Primate]

    [Physical condition: Normal]

    [Progress of Practice: Tier 1, 36% (You have surpassed 99% of the world¡¯s upright apes!)]

    [Eyes: Slightly dry, rtively greater amount of eye discharge. Eye drops to be used once per day is rmended to effectively alleviate the situation]

    [Limbs: Lacking exercise. Performing the 11th set of the radio calisthenics once a day is rmended to alleviate the situation]

    [Neck: Insufficient use. Drawing the word ¡®feces¡¯ with the head looking towards the sky three times a day is rmended to alleviate the situation]

    [Kidney: ¡­]

    A long list of data flowed into Ren Suo¡¯s mind as if he was undergoing a thorough physical examination. The information even pointed out current problems and specific treatment ns!

    Being digitized would have been better¡­ Ren Suo did not believe that he would still need to practice the radio calisthenics and draw the word ¡°feces¡± with his head every day to maintain his health after being digitized!

    Nheless, the data he received was still pretty interesting, and Ren Suo used ¡°Data Flow¡± to receive information for other items in his house.

    [65-inch Z9d4 4K HDR television, 3840¡Á2160 resolution, direct-lit LED backlight. Currently powered on; the operation is normal];

    [Lingmei fountain pen, 31% ink remaining, the pen tip has oxidized slightly. 31 days have passed since thest use; usage is normal];

    [Drinkable tap water, colorless and transparent. Has a slightly rusty taste; can be consumed normally after boiling]

    [Target type: ttodea ttidae]

    ¡°What the hell!¡±

    ¡­

    After examining all the items in his home, Ren Suo found that the data detected from [Data Stream] for dead objects were all very concise. An evaluation of whether it could be used normally would also be mentioned at the end of the stream of information.

    Ren Suo had thought that the data stream would only present such a detailed list of information for himself. However, hepletely dismissed that thought when he came into contact with a cockroach scuttering out of the guest room.

    The cockroaches in the West were hellishly gigantic!

    It was only then when Ren Suo remembered that he had been away from home for half a month. After returning, he had only cleaned his bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. The guest room was empty and not upied all along, so it had not been cleaned.

    Ren Suo ensured that the other areas of the house were spick and span so there would definitely not be any cockroaches in those areas. Only the guest room would be a possible hotbed to breed those pesky, hated pests!

    Anyway, there was only one guest room, so Ren Suo quickly took out a can of insecticide and sprayed it all around the guest room, then quickly closed the door to prevent the insecticide from leaking out.

    Pssssh¨C

    The sound of heavy rain pattering down from the sky could be heard and Ren Suo realized that the sky outside had already turned dark.

    ¡°How great, I can only eat crayfish and stir-fried snails now,¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself as he headed outside to his balcony and looked at the sky. He said, ¡°¡­ Does the dining hall allow takeaway?¡±

    The night sky had still been clear with no clouds in sight just moments ago, but now, it was suddenly pouring cats and dogs. The rainnded on Ren Suo as if he was sttered with dog feces.

    ¡°Ding dong~¡±

    At this moment, his doorbell rang.

 Chapter 184 - The First Visitor on a Rainy Night

    Chapter 184 ¨C The First Visitor on a Rainy Night

    It was an unexpectedly sunny day in London. Big Ben had reopened, and at this hour in the afternoon, there was naturally arge crowd visiting Big Ben and looking at it up close. The locations of the Reiki Veins of various countries had been revealed to the world some time ago, for there was no way of concealing that information.

    However, before the Reiki Veins were activated, no one could figure out what made them so special, even with the effort of scientists, schrs, architects, reconnaissance experts, and powerful Extraordinaires alike.

    ¡°Meph, nothing else has happened to the Elizabeth Tower for so many days, and Kallen is homesick too,¡± Yuffie said to Meph, who was sitting opposite her.

    On the second floor of a cafe not far from Big Ben, Yuffie beamed as she watched Kallen, who was sitting beside her, ¡®attack¡¯ a cream cake.

    They had been in contact for a good two months. Yuffie, who barely managed to retain her status as the homeowner, was trying to be on good terms with the woman who was highly respected within the circle of Extraordinaires in Ennd. On the other hand, Meph also wanted to remain in the good books of Kallen¡¯s older sister. As such, both Yuffie and Meph inevitably became close friends.

    The other spaces on the second floor of the cafe were naturally filled with the Lamperouge family¡¯s bodyguards, as well as personnel from the Homeground Search and Investigations Agency, who dressed much more casually than the bodyguards who wore formal suits.

    The bodyguards looked tensely and anxiously at the young personnel, for they knew that those people were the legendary Extraordinaries.

    However, although the young personnel were also enjoying afternoon tea, they would also nce anxiously at the cute loli Kallen, who was less than ten years old. It was precisely because they were Extraordinaires that they could sense the terrifying power of Kallen.

    Meph nodded and said, ¡°The Victoria Intelligence Agency and the British government are grateful to Kallen for her assistance. Our initial agreement with the Lamperouge family ends today anyway, so we will definitely not control where she goes from hereon.¡±

    ¡°The fact that the Heavenly Pce managed to activate the Reiki Vein without us finding any trace at all is really¡­¡± Meph said with a sigh.

    Yuffie smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because it¡¯s the Heavenly Pce.¡±

    Meph smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Also, if you or the young Kallen wish to travel somewhere far away, please do inform me. We will arrange the best travel ns and security personnel for you.¡±

    Meph looked extremely earnestly at Yuffie and continued, ¡°We are not trying to keep an eye on you; even we may not be sufficiently qualified to protect the young Kallen. However, Yuffie, you are Miss Kallen¡¯s closest rtive, so the British government is willing to spare no effort in protecting you, in ordance with the standards set out by our leaders.¡±

    ¡°Whether Ennd can rise again in this era of Extraordinary Awakening, or at the least, not be left behind in this era of progress, lies in the hands of important talents like the young Kallen. We hope that Kallen can grow and develop healthily, and during which, your existence and help are essential, Yuffie.¡±

    Yuffie touched her sister Kallen¡¯s head and smiled gently, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will not put myself nor my sister in danger.¡±

    ¡°In that case, Kallen and I will be returning home now.¡±

    Kallen gulped down the entire cup of milk and said happily, ¡°I can finally go home! I want a hug from Uncle Walter.¡±

    ¡°After staying in a hotel in London throughout this period, we miss home,¡± Yuffie said with augh.

    Meph replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have wasted your time. It seems like there would not be any other situations arising at the Big Ben after the activation of the Reiki Vein¨C¡±

    Boom¨C

    Yuffie, Meph, and Kallen all looked in the direction of Big Ben at the same time.

    Apart from Kallen who had a tinge of bewilderment on her face, Yuffie and Meph did not feel anything.

    They only observed that following a loud crack of thunder, the sky which had been clear just moments ago turned dark and began pouring heavily.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Why are you drenched¡­? Is this some special cosy outfit?¡±

    Ren Suo shot a strange look at Gu Yueyan who was standing outside the door. She was wearing a short-sleeved summer dress and did not have her school bag with her. Her clothes were soaked and water was dripping from the ends of her hair. A strange blush emerged on her pretty face.

    Unexpectedly, Gu Yueyan tried to peer into his house, but Ren Suo subconsciously moved to block her view. There was no reason for that¡ªhe had already hidden it in a secure ce, but protecting his private space was a natural reaction. Only perverts would not hesitate to leave their zipper down.

    However, Ren Suo¡¯s reaction seemed to confirm Gu Yueyan¡¯s thoughts. Her eyes glowed as she eximed, ¡°I was right¡­ She dide looking for you!¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°What came looking for me? Ah, I forgot about the spicy dried anchovies for ck Bell¡¯s supper¡­¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s poor way of changing the topic was obviously ineffective. Gu Yueyan tried to push Ren Suo¡¯s hand away as she demanded, ¡°Let me in!¡±

    ¡°Why would I!¡± Ren Suo eximed. He said, ¡°Just take a look at yourself now!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Gu Yueyan remarked.

    Gu Yueyan looked down at herself, then panicked and backed away as she covered her chest. She shrieked, ¡°You¡­ You refined scum with absolutely no morals, you¡¯re just a savage animal disguised in human form that is wearing clothes! You¡¯re worse than an animal¨C¡±

    So, am I an animal or not an animal?

    Ren Suo waved his hand and said, ¡°Alright, alright, I know you have excellentnguage ability, but you must have realized that the school uniform is of good quality. It is only slightly translucent, you did not expose anything¡­¡±

    ¡°See, you scrutinized me indeed!¡± Gu Yueyan berated as she gritted her teeth and looked at Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo changed the subject again. He asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be asking yourself why you walked around in the rain without bringing an umbre?¡±

    Gu Yueyan replied, ¡°After I finished my exam, I waited for you for an hour on the third floor of the dining hall but you did not appear, so I came to look for you. Who would have expected that it suddenly started raining when I was just about to reach the building!¡±

    ¡°Wait, but how did youe in when you are not a teacher?¡± questioned Ren Suo, suddenly discovering a loophole.

    Gu Yueyan blinked and said, ¡°I stood downstairs outside the dormitory building for less than a minute, then a ck cat lying in front of the door jumped up to the walkie-talkie and pressed a room number. The door downstairs opened, so I entered with the cat¡­¡±

    No more spicy fried anchovies for ck Bell! No more milk for it! Time to tear the photo of the ragdoll cat away!

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth. He suddenly thought of a n and began scrutinizing Gu Yueyan from head to toe with a ¡°you know what I am saying¡± look. It was only when Gu Yueyan was standing at the stairwell when he said, ¡°With your current state, it would be better to talk about whatever you want to say tomorrow. You should hurry back to your dorm to change out of your drenched clothes before you catch a cold.¡±

    Unexpectedly, Gu Yueyan¡¯s response was extremely fierce. She questioned, ¡°Tomorrow? Why must I wait until tomorrow! Are you already intending to ¡®cook the rice¡¯ tonight?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have rice in my house!¡± Ren Suo rebuked. He said harshly, ¡°I¡¯ll lend you an umbre, now go back quickly.¡±

    ¡°No, let me take a look inside your house first!¡± Gu Yue said firmly.

    ¡°Why would I let you do that!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

    Ren Suo pointed to the camera at the stairwell and said, ¡°If you enter my house in your current state, then I would never be able to clear my name should you twist the truth! Even if you im that I am a pedophile or some other kind of pervert, I may be acquitted, but I will die in the hands of society!¡±

    Ren Suo was a man who could protect himself well. That night when Gu Yueyan followed him to have a conversation with him, he deliberately stood in an area where there was a camera and which was brightly lit. In that way, he could talk to her without worry and with nothing to hide, ensuring there was evidence of his innocence.

    Incidentally, the reason why Ren Suo developed such a habit wasrgely due to his mother. As his father was a teacher, his mother would asionally share news articles about ¡®a middle-aged man bing a victim of a badger game¡¯, ¡®a dispute between a middle-aged teacher and his female student¡¯, ¡®the tragic encounter of a middle-aged man¡¯ and the like.

    While Ren Suo¡¯s father remained loyal as ever to his mother through the decades, as a son, Ren Suo also developed a cautious and vignt personality. He would never interact alone with strangers belonging to such a group of highly dangerous criminals known as beautiful girls.

    Indeed, being alone with an unfamiliar beautiful young girl would make him run the risk of being a criminal suspect, and was extremely dangerous.

    However, Ren Suo¡¯s words seemed to fuel Gu Yueyan¡¯s anger. She suddenly opened her arms, which had been covering her chest, and dashed right into Ren Suo¡¯s house with extreme confidence. She had activated [Clothes] and Ren Suo was unable to defend against that to stop her in time!

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Gu Yueyan shouted.

    ¡°You better not get yourself into real trouble!¡± Ren Suo. eximed.

    Ren Suo did not close the door as he looked helplessly at Gu Yueyan who was shouting as she rummaged through his kitchen and living room. He shook his head helplessly and questioned, ¡°I am living here alone, who are you looking for?¡±

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Teacher Dong hase back to Lianjiang, but she did not pick up my calls. She must havee looking for you!¡±

    Ren Suo was baffled. He replied, ¡°Dong Chengling is back? Well, although that makes me happy¡­ but¡­ she is really not here.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Gu Yueyan asked.

    Gu Yueyan looked at Ren Suo¡¯s bedroom, then turned to look at the guest room beside it.

    Ren Suo was rmed. He shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t open the door!¡±

    Gu Yueyan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Decisively, she twisted the doorknob.

    As soon as she opened the door, a strange scent drifted into her nostrils. She questioned, ¡°What is this smell? Romantic perfume?¡±

    The room waspletely dark, but Gu Yueyan¡¯s heart also fell into the depths of the darkness. She said, ¡°Could the person I have always aspired to be also end up¡­¡±

    ¡°Teacher, I ¡­¡± Gu Yueyan continued softly as she fumbled with the light switch in the room.

    She flicked the lights on.

    The next second¨C

    ¡°Ah ah ah ah ah¡ª¨C¡°

 Chapter 185 - Battle in the Night

    Chapter 185: Chapter 185 ¨C Battle in the Night

    ¡°It first started raining in Tianjing, and gradually, it started raining in all the other parts of the nation.¡±

    ¡°The same phenomenon had been observed in London, Tokyo, Sydney, Rio, and New York. It first started raining in these cities before it spread to other parts of the respective countries and even overseas. Due to the variation in the amount of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky, some cities experienced a heavy downpour, while some experienced only a light drizzle. It did not rain in certain cities, but as a whole, the phenomenon is in line with the trend we expected from our current observations,¡± a researcher said.

    Ren said, ¡°Just like Tianjing, the six cities whose Reiki Veins had already been activated suddenly became six stones which were thrown into ake and formed ripples¡­¡±

    Upon hearing Ren Throne¡¯s metaphor of the phenomenon, all the researchers nodded in agreement and said, ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case.¡±

    The researcher continued, ¡°At the same time, we found that the average Reiki energy level measured at all 13 local and 29 international Reiki Observation Stations have been increasing gradually.¡±

    Ren Throne looked at the wallpaper on hisputer screen and said, ¡°Is this what happens when all of the Reiki Veins around the world are activated at the same time¡­¡±

    The researchers replied, ¡°Indeed, today is also the deadline our pangolinrade gave us. We expect a wave of people awakening in the next few days. Many people would be exposed to high concentrations of Reiki and hence, be Awakened.¡±

    ¡°Amongst those who are already Awakened, some of them may be fortunate enough to be Awakened once more, and their individual Awakened Ability would be enhanced to the next level. The first few days after the Reiki Vein of Xuan Nation was first activated, there were already a few of such lucky souls.¡±

    Ren Throne wanted to say something but remained silent in the end.

    He felt that the current situation did not seem like activations of Reiki Veins, but more like¡­

    The activated Spirit Veins were activating those which were yet to be activated? It felt as if the rich were supporting the others to be rich?

    However, such spection was inconsistent with the facts as stated by Nine-tailed Fox of the Heavenly Pce. Ren Throne deliberated over it and decided not to raise his point¡ªthere was no need toplicate the problem further than it already was.

    He did not want the government to have a prejudice against the Heavenly Pce when they had talks with them because of that reason. He wanted to meet people from the Heavenly Pce, and it would be best if he could meet Nine-tailed Fox.

    Most importantly, he wanted to meet Naisser Ren.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to learn the hard way if you don¡¯t listen to your elders.¡±

    Ren Suo squatted down in the passageway as he looked at the unconscious Gu Yueyan on the floor in front of him. He waspletely speechless.

    On her own ord, she rushed into the house looking for someone.

    On her own ord, she opened the door to the room.

    On her own ord, she was frightened by dozens of cockroaches.

    On her own ord, she knocked against the wall and fell unconscious.

    Are high school students these days all so capable of execution? Ren Suo recalled that back when he was in high school, he could only take a nce at his eye-candy openly when the entire school was engaging in radio calisthenics.

    The problem now was what Ren Suo should do with Gu Yueyan.

    It was not possible for him to send her to the school hospital¡ªRen Suo felt that if he carried the drenched Gu Yueyan there, he would not stand a chance to flirt with the young nurses there anymore.

    Moreover, there was no need for him to do so, for he could treat her alone.

    However, he wanted to try out his newly acquired ability first.

    [Target type: Adult female, Human, a Primate]

    [Physical condition: Traumatic injury to the hindbrain; in a special state]

    [Progress of Practice: Tier 1, 33% (You have surpassed 99% of the world¡¯s upright apes!)]

    [Hindbrain: Strong impact suffered, using [Touch of Recovery] or [Ability: Heal] is rmended to effectively alleviate the condition]

    [Core temperature: Currently wearing wet and cold clothes, remaining in this state for a long time may result in a cold. Taking the clothes off is rmended, wearing a clean set of dry clothes is optional]

    ¡­

    What the hell, this girl was already 33% into her Practice as a tier 1 Practitioner!

    Ren Suo himself was only 36% into tier 1! Moreover, the amount of time since Ren Suo started Practicing was at least twice that of Gu Yueyan!

    He finally had a perfectly objective understanding of the definition of his ¡®extremely poor talent¡¯.

    However, Gu Yueyan was not an adult yet, why was she called an ¡®adult female¡¯?

    Ren Suo thought, ¡®The definition of adulthood in nature should be¡­ the ability to obtain food independently? Or was it the ability to live independently, away from one¡¯s parents? Otherwise, was it the ability to reproduce?

    Nheless, in the description for each body part, there were actually suggestions involving the abilities Ren Suo could utilize to treat her. It appeared that the ¡®data stream¡¯ would also give professional advice based on the abilities Ren Suo possessed.

    The only piece of information Ren Suo could not understand was what was meant by ¡®in a special state¡¯ in the ¡®physical condition¡¯ category? He pondered over it for a moment but decided not to think too much into it¡ªit was perfectly normal for girls to have special conditions.

    Ren Suo supported the back of Gu Yueyan¡¯s head with his right hand and activated [Ability: Heal]. A ball of bright but not blinding white light emerged from his right hand and gradually seeped into the back of Gu Yueyan¡¯s head.

    He had not treated unconscious patients before, and neither did he know to what extent he should heal her. When he treated patients previously, he based the extent of treatment on inspecting visually and asking questions to understand their conditions.

    Nevertheless, Ren Suo now possessed the ability of the data stream and could switch between the abilities to check if Gu Yueyan had recovered. In that way, he would not deplete all of his Reiki energy unnecessarily.

    After five minutes, Ren Suo found that information about Gu Yueyan¡¯s hindbrain injury had disappeared from the data stream, but she was still unconscious. Her breathing remained steady, so she must not have been putting up an act.

    Ren Suo scratched his head and muttered to himself, ¡°Tch¡­ I should call Lin Xianyu to pick up this body¡­¡±

    After all, Lin Xianyu was one of the few students Ren Suo was close to, and she did not seem like a bbermouth. Moreover, he could silence her by treating her.

    As for exining the situation, he could leave it to Gu Yueyan.

    However, before Ren Suo could even make a call to Lin Xianyu, his doorbell rang again.

    ¡°Ding Dong.¡±

    ¡°Ding Dong.¡±

    ¡°Ding Dong.¡±

    The doorbell rang thrice in session, but Ren Suo remained very calm and silent.

    No matter who was the one outside the door pressing the doorbell, he certainly would not answer it. In the house of an adult male named Ren Suo, there appeared a drenched and unconscious high school student named Gu Yueyan¡­

    Wow, it was thrilling just by thinking about such a scene.

    Click.

    Ren Suo, with a Practice progress of tier 1, 36%, and who had the high physical capabilities of someone who practiced the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±, possessed an acute sense of hearing. Amidst the pitter-patter of the pouring rain outside, he heard the sound of metal rubbing against each other¨C

    Why was the person outside opening his door on his own?!

    Wait, Ren Suo recalled that he had not closed his door just now, in order to avoid making himself open to suspicion. However, there was a winding from the passageway, and the wooden door on the inside must have been mmed shut. As for the security door on the outside, it might have only been partially shut as the wind was not strong enough.

    The security door could not be opened from the outside, but the wooden door could be opened as long as it was not locked.

    ¡°Hold on! I am changing!¡± Ren Suo bellowed.

    That was the only thing he could do to prevent the person outside from walking right into his house. There was no way it was Lin Xianyu who so coincidentally came to find him at that time.

    He definitely could not ruin his positive reputation just because of Gu Yueyan.

    The person outside stopped in his tracks, and Ren Suo took the opportunity to pick Gu Yueyan up from the floor and quickly walked to his bedroom.

    He had to hide her for a few minutes while he dealt with the person who was outside. Open spaces like the living room were definitely not an option, and the guest room with a pile of dead cockroaches was not possible either. The only option left was his bedroom.

    Should I leave her on the bed? Ren Suo thought as he looked at the drenched Gu Yueyan.

    Ew.

    He was disgusted by the damp clothes on the pretty young girl¡¯s body, so he shoved Gu Yueyan under his bed. The floor of his bedroom wasid with coral velvet rugs which he cleaned often, so they were not dirty. It was most worthy of Gu Yueyan.

    ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo hurried over and opened the door. The next moment, however, he was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Why do you all like to stroll in the rain and then visit my house?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°You all?¡± Qiao Muyi questioned in a strange tone as she walked into his house. She was drenched all over, but Ren Suo would have been unable to stop the second tier Practitioner from entering anyway.

    Ren Suo quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°No, I used the wrong pronoun¡­ It¡¯s alreadyte, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°I just ended work, so I rushed over to tell you something. Who would have known that it would start raining just as I was about to reach,¡± Qiao Muyi replied as she remained standing in the living room to wipe the rainwater off her face and hair with a tissue.

    Ren Suo was helpless and asked, ¡°What is it that you cannot tell me over the phone?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because this is a very important matter, and I felt that it wouldck sincerity if I told you over the phone since I am actually making use of you¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked around the living room and asked, ¡°Did Dong Chengling look for you these few days?¡±

    ¡°No, why?¡± Ren Suo replied with a shrug.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s about Dong Chengling.¡±

    ¡°Indeed¡­ Nevermind, you should finish what you were saying, but keep the long story as short as possible. What happened to Dong Chengling?¡± Ren Suo asked as he took a nce towards the bedroom. He felt as if Dong Chengling was the main character of the entire world. Why was everything rted to her?

    Qiao Muyi began, ¡°The Lianjiang Countermeasure Division¡­¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the bedroom as he waited for Qiao Muyi to finish what she wanted to say. However, after waiting for a while, Qiao Muyi still did not continue telling the story.

    He turned to look at Qiao Muyi, only to find her trembling while squatting down and clutching her head. It was as if she had caught a cold.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you catch a cold?!¡± asked Ren Suo, slightly stunned.

    ¡°How is that possible, I am a second-tier Practitioner¡­¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    She exhaled an icy cold breath and continued, ¡°It¡¯s just because of some special reasons that made me extremely vulnerable now¡­ If I continue wearing these clothes there might be undesirable consequences for me¡­¡±

    ¡°May I use your bathroom for a while? I also need a clean, dry set of clothes, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s yours!¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°Is it very urgent? This is my house though, you¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s crucial. It¡¯s rted to my Awakened Ability!¡±

    Considering that Qiao Muyi made such a request even though she was a female in a guy¡¯s house and that it was rted to her Awakened Ability which was the most important skill to possess in this new era, Ren Suo could not bear to refuse.

    He went into his bedroom to retrieve a set of clothes and took a nce at Gu Yueyan who was under the bed.

    Great, she was still fast asleep. ¡®Please keep up the good work¡¯, he urged in his heart.

    Ren Suo could only hope that Gu Yueyan would not wake up before Qiao Muyi changed her clothes and left.

    Qiao Muyi went into the bathroom immediately after getting a set of clothes from Ren Suo. In huge contrast with her usual self who would tease and annoy Ren Suo for no particr reason, Qiao Muyi did not say anything but only took a nce at Ren Suo before entering the bathroom.

    Determination shone through the depths of her nce¡ªher eyes shone beautifully like Dong Chengling¡¯s¡ªindicating that she was being serious.

    Ren Suo immediately raised his hands in protest and said, ¡°I will definitely not go near the bathroom.¡±

    Ren Suo sat in the living room and listened to the ttering of the heavy rain outside and the trickle of water falling from the shower in his house. Somehow, he felt that something was amiss that night.

    ¡®Tonight¡­ is this the time when the Reiki Treasures around the world would be activated?¡¯ Ren Suo thought. He pondered for a moment and confirmed his guess.

    He thought, ¡®Regardless, what does this have to do with me, a ruthless gamer?¡¯

    ¡°Through the days and nights, as I tear the heavens apart, glorious light will shine and cleanse even the specks of dust on earth~¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone rang.

    However, Ren Suo was relieved¡ªat least, it was his mobile phone that rang, not the doorbell.

    Ren Suo looked at the caller ID of the iing call and found that it was an unknown number. He said, ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Ren Suo, I¡¯m Dong Chengling,¡± the reply came from the other end of the line.

    Ren Suo blinked. He replied, ¡°¡­ Good evening, have you eaten?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have taken my dinner. What about you?¡± Dong Chengling asked happily.

    ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Ren Suo replied. It was only then that he remembered that he had missed his dinner time as he was ying around with [Data Stream].

    ¡°That¡¯s great. It¡¯s raining heavily in Lianjiang today, were you caught in the rain outside?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    What do you mean by ¡°that¡¯s great¡±?

    Ren Suo replied without much thought, ¡°No, I¡¯m in my room in the teacher¡¯s dormitory building.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    A chill ran down Ren Suo¡¯s spine upon hearing her reply. He felt as if the lonely souls and homeless ghosts of Sanzu River would emerge from the television, the Demon King from the Seven Hells would emerge from the kitchen, and the demons and monsters who decimated thends would emerge from the balcony at any moment¡­

    Ren Suo shuddered as chills ran through his entire body from the depths of his soul. The erector muscles of the hair on his skin contracted, giving him goosebumps, and his blood vessels dted.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°I am right outside your dorm room. I brought some dishes over, let¡¯s eat together.¡±

 Chapter 186 - Surreptitious Operation

    Chapter 186: Chapter 186 ¨C Surreptitious Operation

    ¡°True strength is embracing any dish that life throws at you with grace.¡±

    Ren Suo suddenly recalled the famous quote from a certain storybook series. Although the quote was simr to other well-known motivational quotes like ¡°being happy is the most important thing as a person¡±, it was the aptest to describe Ren Suo¡¯s present situation¡ª

    As fate would have it, dishes were awaiting him outside his door.

    Calm down, Ren Suo, you are an upright and honorable man, with nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid of!

    Don¡¯t be afraid, she¡¯s just one person!

    At that juncture, Qiao Muyi had finished showering, and she opened the bathroom door¨C

    ¡°Hold on first!¡± Ren Suo said before hanging up the call in an instant.

    ¡°Mmm?¡± the slightly confused Qiao Muyi questioned as she turned to look at Ren Suo.

    She was wearing a shirt and a pair of cropped pants that belonged to Ren Suo. He had a typical figure and so his clothes naturally looked slightly oversized on the slightly shorter Qiao Muyi. The clothes did not highlight her figure, but her pretty, flushed face made her look like an extremely ripe apple.

    However, Ren Suo did not provide her with a clean set of undergarments.

    On the other hand, Qiao Muyi mentioned that the Reiki channels of her Awakened Ability were currently in an extraordinary state, so she could not continue wearing her drenched clothing or she would risk suffering from undesirable consequences.

    In that case, the rain was extremely heavy, so did it wet her¡­ Did she change out of her¡­

    It was risky to continue riding down that train of thought. Ren Suo took the initiative to walk over to Qiao Muyi and pointed to the mobile phone as he said, ¡°I just received a call from Dong Chengling.¡±

    Qiao Muyi was instantly energized. She asked, ¡°What did she say? Is she in Lianjiang?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Qiao Muyi breathed a sigh of relief. She continued probing, ¡°Where is she now? It was precisely because I could not contact her that I came over to find you. I have something to tell her¨C¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great then, she¡¯s just outside the door, about toe in,¡± Ren Suo interrupted.

    He pointed at the door, rxed, and smiled. He continued, ¡°In that case, I shall¨C¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    She grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s right hand and asked grimly, ¡°You just¡­ hung up Dong Chengling¡¯s call?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Hmm? Yeah.¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no particr reason¡­ I just felt that I should exin to you first before letting her in. After all, you used my bathroom to take a shower¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Qiao Muyi pulled the corners of her mouth and replied, ¡°How am I going to exin myself to her if you hung up her call? If she saw me here, in your house and in your clothes, wouldn¡¯t she suspect that something unscrupulous is going on between the both of us?¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it do to exin the situation to her¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi sped her forehead and said, ¡°So why did you hang up in the first ce? It could have been exined if you did not hang up on her, but now that you have done so, it is as if you want to make sure our stories are aligned properly.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°It¡¯s not thatplicated, is it?¡±

    Qiao Muyi sighed, but she suddenly lost her strength and almost copsed onto Ren Suo¡¯s chest. Fortunately, Ren Suo reacted quickly and stepped forward to support her.

    She said, ¡°Listen carefully, I am unable to move about alone in my current state. The rain is also pouring extremely heavily outside, and I¡¯m afraid that I would need to stay put in your house for the time being.¡±

    Ren Suo grabbed Qiao Muyi¡¯s hands and felt that her body seemed to be burning hot. He asked, ¡°Are you having a fever? Do you need treatment? I can bring you to the school hospital for a fever reducer injection¨C¡±

    ¡°No, this might be due to¡­ my Awakening,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she held onto Ren Suo¡¯s shoulders. She leaned towards Ren Suo¡¯s ears and seemed to be struggling even to speak. She said with all her energy, ¡°I have persisted and held on for so long, I am almost unable to bear it anymore¡­¡±

    Ren Suo felt an itching sensation on his ear, but he did not dare to turn around to face her¡ªshe was too close to him.

    [Data Flow]!

    Ren Suo nced at Qiao Muyi¡¯s data, ten lines at a time: Mmm, Tier 2, 8%, height and weight, upper bust measurement¡­ ignore, ignore¡­

    [In a special state].

    That was the only unusual piece of information that Ren Suo found from the data stream, which was the same one Gu Yueyan¡¯s data stream had.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Since Dong Chengling has returned, I don¡¯t want to bring any unnecessary drama to you. The reason why I came to find you was to represent the Countermeasure Division to persuade her to return¡­ I don¡¯t want her to harbor any wrong ideas because of my presence. It would lead to unnecessary anger and misunderstanding that might make her change her decision and leave Lianjiang.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I will exin the situation to her properly¨C¡±

    Qiao Muyi interrupted and said, ¡°Ren Suo, I don¡¯t have high hopes about your EQ, nor do I want to exin to you that women can be just as unreasonable as men.¡±

    ¡°As such, I want to avoid any unnecessary trouble if it is possible to do so. Anyway, as long as Dong Chengling does not discover my presence while she is here, nothing will happen.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a guest room in your house? Help me in¡­¡± Qiao Muyi asked.

    Ren Suo grandly opened the door to the guest room to let her have a peek¡ªa whole family of cockroaches was lying on the floor, warmly weing the new guest.

    ¡°¡­ Help me into your bedroom then. Remember to close the door¡­¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    ¡°Ding Dong ~¡±

    At that juncture, the doorbell rang. Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi both trembled and a mysterious tingling arose in their hearts.

    Qiao Muyi could not help but burst out inughter. She remarked, ¡°Haha, it feels as if we have really done something shameful¡­ Just to be safe, you should hide my clothes which are still in the bathroom. There is also a box containing Stone Heart cotton pills inside my ck vest.¡±

    ¡°As long as a Stone Heart pill is in contact with a body, it would be able to conceal the movement of Reiki of the surroundings due to the Practitioner¡¯s own Reiki current. It is even able to diminish the sounds of the person¡¯s breathing and heartbeat to make them inconspicuous. It is very useful for camouging and ambushing. With the Stone Heart pill, Dong Chengling would not be able to feel my Reiki current even if she is in the living room¡­ Thankfully, the Countermeasure Division has distributed this piece of equipment.¡±

    Ren Suo was surprised. He said, ¡°I did not have such a thing when I was still with the Countermeasure Division.¡±

    Qiao Muyi replied, ¡°You have already been away for more than a month, of course, technology is still advancing with time¡­ I can¡¯t walk anymore. Hurry now, don¡¯t make Dong Chengling wait any longer!¡±

    Ren Suo quickly went to the bathroom and picked up Qiao Muyi¡¯s clothes. He immediately saw a ckce bra that would make a guy¡¯s heart flutter in excitement; indeed, she had also removed her wet undergarments.

    Inside her ck vest was a small square box. Ren Suo opened the box and found a few pieces of ck cotton which were roughly the size of medicine pills.

    He squeezed one of the cotton pills lightly with his fingers and found that it adhered very strongly to his fingers.

    Ren Suo suddenly had an idea and retrieved two of the Stone Heart cotton pills from the box. He looked at Qiao Muyi¡¯s clothes and thought that he would be exposed if Dong Chengling had to go to the toilet.

    He initially thought of stuffing the clothes into the washing machine, but Ren Suo did not purchase aundry basket and his dirty clothes had already been ¡®partying¡¯ in the washing machine for two to three days¡­

    He pondered for a moment and decided to carry the pile of clothing out of the bathroom. In response to Qiao Muyi¡¯s surprised look, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll hide your clothes first.¡±

    Ren Suo walked into the bedroom and found a cardboard box under hisputer desk to put Qiao Muyi¡¯s clothes in. Fortunately, he had not discarded the cardboard box which hisputer tower was packaged in.

    Afterwhich, he squatted down and found that Gu Yueyan was still asleep, so he stuck a piece of the Stone Heart cotton pill onto the back of her hand.

    ¡°If only I could do the same in the games, I would not need to load multiple save files¡­¡± Ren Suomented in his heart. He went back to the living room and handed the other Stone Heart cotton pill to Qiao Muyi.

    At that point, Qiao Muyi was fighting to keep her eyes open. She was holding herself upright by leaning against the wall, but all energy was lost from her legs, and she was kneeling on the floor.

    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she stretched her hand out to Ren Suo. Her cheeks were glowing red like fire.

    Without hesitation, Ren Suo carried Qiao Muyi into the bedroom and ced her gently on the bed. He took a nce underneath the bed and thought, ¡®Qiao Muyi should not have the energy to rummage through his room in her current condition, right?¡¯

    ¡°Hurry now, don¡¯t expose us,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she narrowed her eyes and a mischievous smile emerged on her face.

    She added, ¡°Haha, this sense of sneakiness¡­ It¡¯s so interesting¡­¡±

    Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the bedroom door. He checked his facial expression and finally opened his main door.

    Before he opened the main door, all he thought about was how to get Dong Chengling to leave quickly.

    However, the moment he opened the main door, all of those thoughts quickly vanished.

    ¡°¡­ Long time no see?¡± Dong Chengling greeted.

    With a bag in her left hand and arge, ck umbre in her right hand, Dong Chengling was the only visitor that night who was not drenched by the rain. There was not a hint of anger or annoyance on her face even though he had kept her waiting. She smiled slightly as she greeted Ren Suo.

    However, her dressing style had changedpletely. Instead of her usual in-colored top paired with denim jeans, she was wearing an ordinary, pure white pleated skirt. She also reced her ts with tform sandals. Her short hair had also been kept long, and it was tied into a ponytail that was swaying freely in the breeze.

    With the change in style, Dong Chengling turned into ¡°the girl next door¡± with an increased sense of closeness.

    Ren Suo was absolutely dazed upon seeing the contrast in styles.

    Of course, the most important reason was that the intense feeling of attraction towards Dong Chengling emerged once again¨C

    She had a key once again!

    Seeing Ren Suo stare at her intently, Dong Chengling was also slightly embarrassed, but she still gathered all her courage and asked in smiles, ¡°Do I look good?¡±

    Ren Suo gave a ¡®thumbs up¡¯ and asked, ¡°Why did you suddenly change your dressing style?¡±

    Dong Chengling tilted her head slightly as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s because I realized that you were so mesmerized by Nine-tailed Fox that you did not even blink.¡±

    ¡°At that time, I felt that¡­ It was probably time for me to put in some effort.¡±

 Chapter 187 - You Forced Me to Kill Your Entire Family

    Chapter 187: Chapter 187 ¨C You Forced Me to Kill Your Entire Family

    ¡°Why did you change your mobile phone?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°I forgot to bring my mobile phone along with me when I went to Tianjing, and the Countermeasure Division did not retrieve it for me either. Look at this, they gave me a new one instead. It seems to be a special edition with a greatly enhanced performance and a much longer battery life!¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    ¨CIt¡¯s no wonder that Qiao Muyi and Gu Yueyan had been unable to contact you.

    Ren Suo remarked, ¡°Why did I not receive such treatment from them¡­ Mmm? This shrimp omelet with crab stick and leek is absolutely delicious! Is this a new dish sold at the dining hall? Also, it has been more than 10 days since the Dragon Boat Festival, are they still selling glutinous rice dumplings?¡±

    Dong Chengling had brought a thermal lunch box with her and indeed nned to eat with Ren Suo.

    The thermal lunch box was not big, but there were three home-cooked dishes and two glutinous rice dumplings inside. The food was still piping hot when Ren Suo took them out. He was really hungry at that time. As a Practitioner, he already had to consume more food to replenish his higher energy consumption, and with so many things happening that night, he was long famished.

    Looking at the remnants of oil on Ren Suo¡¯s face, Dong Chengling smiled. She said, ¡°This is not takeaway from the dining hall, I made them myself.¡±

    ¡°Mmm?¡± Ren Suo replied as he chewed on the glutinous rice, fried omelet, crab meat, and fatty meat in his mouth. He finally managed to swallow the food in his mouth and asked, ¡°Why did you think of cooking by yourself?¡±

    ¡°When I did not have enough money in the past, you were always willing to treat me. I have always remembered this kindness in my heart,¡± Dong Chengling replied with a smile.

    She continued, ¡°I was thinking about how I would repay you at that time. I wanted to treat you to a meal today, but when I came to look for you in the afternoon, you were not at home.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªck Bell, if only you could recognize human faces¡­ If you could do that, I would dly give you photographs of any breed of cats you want, be it an American shorthair, British shorthair, or a puppet cat! I would even be willing to adopt a cat just for you!

    Dong Chengling was slightly embarrassed as she scratched her face with her index finger. She said, ¡°At that time, I thought that it would be more sincere to cook a meal myself. However, thest time I cooked was a year ago, so I bought a lot of ingredients in the afternoon to experiment. In the end, I only managed to whip up a barely decent meal after 8 p.m¡­ As for the glutinous rice dumplings, I bought them elsewhere and heated them up.¡±

    ¡°No way,¡± Ren Suo said. He was definitely not so oblivious as to be picky when someone else treated him.

    He remarked, ¡°The food you cooked is absolutely delicious. I have always been having my meals at the dining hall, and I am already very satisfied to be able to eat such home-cooked meals asionally!¡±

    Upon hearing Ren Suo¡¯s evaluation of her food, Dong Chengling flushed. She grinned widely and said, ¡°It¡¯s great that you like it.¡±

    Then, Ren Suo asked, ¡°I just have a question, why did you get glutinous rice dumplings for today?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s because you already left Tianjing on Dragon Boat Festival, so I thought¡­ By the way, what took you so long before opening the door?¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    ¡°Cough, cough¡ª¡±

    Ren Suo choked on the glutinous rice of the dumpling and quickly drank a few mouthfuls of water to clear his throat. However, Dong Chengling was not worried as it would be unbelievable for a Practitioner to be choked to death by a glutinous rice dumpling. She continued staring extremely curiously at Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo had not expected that despite him trying his best to avoid the subject, Dong Chengling still did not forget about that matter.

    He stammered, ¡°I¡­ received your call, and then¡­¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    ¡°And then I¡­ tripped. Yes!¡± Ren Suo eximed as he pointed at the corner of the coffee table in the living room. He continued, ¡°I hit the corner of the table. Look at that, isn¡¯t it sharp?¡±

    It would definitely have hurt if anyone hit the corner of the square-shaped, ss coffee table in the living room with force.

    Ren Suo added, ¡°My knees started to bleed from the impact, and I thought that it would be rude to wee you in that state, so I treated myself first before opening the door¡­ Cheng Ling?¡±

    Ren Suo realized that midway through his sentence, Dong Chengling did not seem to be listening to him anymore. Instead, she was staring at his eyes in a daze.

    Dong Chengling returned to her senses and said, ¡°Ah? Oh, oh, I see, you were so happy to receive my call that you tripped¡­ Hmmm¡­¡±

    Before she finished her sentence, she walked over to touch the ss coffee table, as if to see if the corners were really as sharp as Ren Suo described.

    Ren Suo felt that what Dong Chengling said seemed to be slightly different from what he meant, but he was having an adrenaline rush at that moment and could not be too bothered.

    Dong Chengling finally moved on from that topic and Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly finished all the food in no time.

    Ren Suo had his fill and burped. He remarked, ¡°Ah, I feel alive again.¡±

    Dong Chenglingughed and said, ¡°You must be exaggerating¡­ If you like, I can cook for you everyday.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± a momentarily stunned Ren Suo replied.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°Now that I¡¯m back at the college, the number of points in my wristband has also increased by a few folds, so I won¡¯t be short of points even if I spend points on time for Practice.¡±

    She swept her hair behind her ears and continued, ¡°Actually, I used to like cooking for myself. It was just that I gave up doing so when I came to Lianjing City to study in university, as the use of high-power appliances in the dormitory was prohibited. I could have cooked for myself when I came to the Heavenly Institution of Lian, but I did not have sufficient points to buy the ingredients then.

    ¡°However, I now have sufficient points in my wristband to buy the ingredients, but I can¡¯t eat that much alone. If I cooked more dishes for every meal, there would definitely be leftovers. For the sake of health and to preserve the taste of the food, it would be best not to keep any food as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°As such, if you are willing to help me out, I would be able to cook as much as I want.¡±

    Dong Chengling looked at Ren Suo and blinked. She added, ¡°At the same time, this is also to express my gratitude towards you for treating me to so many meals. However, my food may not be as delicious as the food from the dining hall.¡±

    It is to express her gratitude? Ren Suo was relieved, and subconsciously replied out of politeness, ¡°Would this really be a good idea¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°If you are not willing to do so, I can treat you to a meal at the dining hall everyday instead. If I still do not do anything to return your kindness although I now have the ability to do so, I cannot live with a clear conscience.¡±

    Ren Suo could not think of any reason to refuse Dong Chengling, and in fact, there was no reason for him to refuse either, so he changed the topic. He asked, ¡°So¡­ Gu Yueyan has also treated you to meals before, are you not intending to thank her as well?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right!¡± Dong Chengling eximed.

    It was as if she had a sudden great revtion. She said, ¡°I need to thank Gu Yueyan too. I should ask her if she would be willing toe and eat with me everyday. If there are three people eating, I can cook more dishes!¡±

    Ren Suo did not want to destroy Dong Chengling¡¯s eagerness, and he was also growing tired of the food from the dining hall after eating there for so many days.

    He said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you then¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Dong Chengling said as she packed the now empty lunchbox into her bag. Ren Suo had emptied all of the contents of the lunchbox into his stomach.

    Dong Chengling turned around to look out of the window and said, ¡°It¡¯s still raining.¡±

    Ren Suo alsomented, ¡°Yeah, the rain started very suddenly, and it is extremely heavy too. Nheless, summer is also the peak of the rainy season in Lianjiang, so it is perfectly normal too.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    After a moment of silence, Dong Chengling picked up her bag.

    She said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go back first.¡±

    Upon hearing that sentence, the weights in Ren Suo¡¯s heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys could finally be eased. Ren Suo almost wanted to rx his bone marrow as well as he forced himself not to be too happy. He replied, ¡°Oh, see you again. I¡¯ll see you out.¡±

    However, when Dong Chengling walked to the door and turned her head, she suddenly yelled, ¡°Cockroach!¡±

    Eh? Ren Suo turned his head and saw a cockroach at the corner of the wall, stubbornly crawling into his bedroom.

    Could Dong Chengling be a scaredy-cat like Gu Yueyan and knock herself unconscious by hitting the wall?

    No, she was not!

    With one swift motion, she grabbed three to four pieces of tissue paper from the tissue box on the coffee table. Then, she pointed at the cockroach with her left finger andmanded loudly¡ª

    ¡°Surrender!¡±

    Nothing happened to the cockroach, but Dong Chengling seemed to have anticipated it. The next moment, she rushed over towards the cockroach with the tissue paper in her hand!

    Perhaps due to the intense murderous aura and aggressive movement behind it, the cockroach instantly sped up and managed to squeeze its way into the bedroom, through the gap between the door and its frame!

    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Dong Chengling shouted.

    Both Dong Chengling and the cockroach moved so quickly that Ren Suo could not react in time. The next thing he knew, Dong Chengling opened the door to his bedroom in a bid to kill the cockroach!

    ¡ªYou forced me to kill your entire family, roach!

 Chapter 188 - I, Ren Suo, Have a Clear Conscience

    Chapter 188: Chapter 188 ¨C I, Ren Suo, Have a Clear Conscience

    Ren Suo rushed forward, thinking about how he should tell the truth ¡®logically and appropriately¡¯.

    The moment one tells a lie, one would be destined to tell many more lies to fill the gaps and conceal the truth¡ªas if. I, Ren Suo, am an upright and honorable man. I have a clear conscience and there is absolutely no harm in telling the truth!

    Only a despicable person, a refined scum, or a savage animal disguised in human form that wears clothes would tell lies!

    Ren Suo made a decision¡ªhe would not lie anymore that night!

    When he entered the room, however, Ren Suo saw Dong Chengling standing at hisputer desk.

    ¡°Ahem,¡± Ren Suo said as he cleared his throat, ready to exin why Qiao Muyi was sleeping on his bed and in his clothes. He took a nce at the bed from the corner of his eye¡ª

    ¡ªThe bed was empty.

    That can¡¯t be, was Dong Chengling so quick to kill her ¡®enemy¡¯?

    Meanwhile, Dong Chengling has carefully wrapped the cockroach with the tissue paper in her hand. She did not seem to be using much force, but the cockroach was already motionless as it was being wrapped in the ball of tissue.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Ren Suo. I used to be quite scared of cockroaches when I was a kid, but my mother deliberately trained me to kill them whenever they appeared¡­ Over time, I got used to doing that and would subconsciously chase after and kill any cockroach I see. However, I am still not adept at casting the ability, or I would have been able to knock the cockroach unconscious from a distance just now.¡±

    She turned around to face Ren Suo and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for opening the door to your room without first asking for your consent.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s okay,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Dong Chengling did not notice Qiao Muyi and Gu Yueyan, nor did she feel their presence. With the Stone Heart cotton pills attached to them, their breathing and Reiki currents were unnoticeable.

    Ren Suo looked away from his bed and scanned the room: there was nowhere for a person to hide.

    Could she be under the bed too¡­

    Ren Suo thought of what would happen when Qiao Muyi, a Countermeasure Division personnel, discovered himself hiding a drenched female high school student in his home. He could almost imagine a police car filled with Practitioners on the highway, rushing towards the Heavenly Institution of Lian, with its sirens wailing through the rain.

    At that moment, he saw a tiny gap between his wardrobe and its door.

    Hallelujah!

    Ren Suo kept his happiness in and said calmly, ¡°After being away for half a month, I did not realize that so many pests have started thriving in the house¡­ I will clean the house thoroughly tomorrow.¡±

    Dong Chengling nodded and walked to the toilet to throw the ball of tissue away, then washed her hands.

    Suddenly, she said, ¡°Ren Suo, I have a question to ask you. If it is difficult to answer, you may choose not to answer it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the question?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    She questioned, ¡°In the box in your room¡­ Why are there female undergarments and female clothes?¡±

    Ren Suo blinked. He recalled that the ending point of Dong Chengling¡¯s hunt for the cockroach was right before hisputer desk.

    Incidentally, the cardboard box in which he stuffed Qiao Muyi¡¯s clothes was right under theputer desk.

    That was truly the observation skills of a Practitioner!

    Ren Suo sighed as he met the clear gaze of Dong Chengling. He recalled his determination a minute ago:

    ¡°I, Ren Suo, am an upright and honorable man¡±;

    ¡°Only a despicable person, a refined scum, or a savage animal disguised in human form that wears clothes would tell lies¡±;

    ¡°He would not lie anymore that night¡±¡­

    As calm as he could be, Ren Suo replied, ¡°That¡¯s my sister¡¯s clothes. She is intending toe over to stay for a while during the summer break, so she sent some of her clothes over.¡±

    He did not blush.

    Dong Chengling muttered, ¡°I must say that your sister is developing really well then¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll be going off now.¡±

    ¡°Okay, goodbye,¡± Ren Suo said.

    When Dong Chengling walked out of the door, she turned to look at Ren Suo and smiled. She said, ¡°I thought that you would hold me back.¡±

    ¡°Hold you back?¡± replied Ren Suo, slightly stunned.

    How did she know¡ªindeed, Ren Suo really wanted to invite Dong Chengling to take a nap for a few minutes, because she now possessed a second key.

    However, considering the present situation in his house, the longer Dong Chengling remained in his house, the more dangerous it would be. After all, the key would not run away, and based on his rtionship with Dong Chengling, he still had many more opportunities to retrieve it. Why should he create more ¡®drama¡¯ and trouble for himself then?

    Who would willingly choose to walk on thorns when there was a paved path as an alternative?

    As such, Ren Suo changed the subject and said, ¡°By the way, I have not congratted you for being promoted to the second tier.¡±

    ¡°You found out?¡± Dong Chengling replied as she blinked. She seemed to think of something, following which a look of sudden realization emerged on her face, which then turned into a look of relief andfort, and finally, she smiled, brimming with joy. Ren Suo looked in amusement at the changes in the expressions on her face¡ªhe could havepiled screenshots of each one of them into a sticker pack!

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°I see¡­ You¡¯re truly the Ren Suo I know. Since it has to do with your self-esteem, I will respect your decision¡­ I will call you again when lunch is ready tomorrow. Mmm, I do not have Gu Yueyan¡¯s mobile number now, can you help me to notify her?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± replied Ren Suo.

    Dong Chengling tilted her head slightly and added tedly, ¡°In that case, you have to work hard too. I will be waiting for you! Quickly promote from tier 1!¡±

    Ren Suo was bewildered. Had he been ying too many games recently, which caused his conversation andprehension skills to deteriorate? Why could he not fully understand what she was saying?

    Ren Suo watched as Dong Chengling walked into the elevator and the elevator doors closed. He stopped thinking about what she was talking about just before she left and heaved a sigh of relief. He quickly closed his door, went into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe¡ª

    Qiao Muyi had curled herself into a ball with her arms hugging her knees. Her head was leaning against the side of the wardrobe, her eyes were closed and her cheeks were flushed. Ren Suo tapped on her shoulder a few times but she did not respond. She must be sound asleep.

    In her state, it was unlikely that Qiao Muyi crawled into the wardrobe to hide when she heard Dong Chengling¡¯s footsteps approaching. Even Ren Suo himself did not manage to react in time, so it was even more impossible for the weak Qiao Muyi to have reacted more quickly than Dong Chengling moved.

    Did that mean that she had crawled into the wardrobe to hide from the beginning as she thought that it was too dangerous for her to be lying on the bed?

    Then, Ren Suo took a nce at Gu Yueyan who was under the bed. How was this girl sleeping so soundly?

    However, for some reason, as Ren Suo looked at Gu Yueyan, he suddenly felt that she looked more and more beautiful. He continued gazing at her clothes, her skin, her hair, and then her face; however, he had absolutely no intention of touching Gu Yueyan.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    Upon hearing a murmur from the wardrobe, Ren Suo was jolted to his senses. It was only then that he realized that he had been staring at Gu Yueyan for a very long time¡ªalmost half an hour had passed!

    ¡°What is this feeling¡­ a key? Regardless, it¡¯s not because I have any indecent intentions¡­¡± Ren Suo thought.

    He quickly stood up and found that Qiao Muyi, who was in the wardrobe, had awoken. She rubbed her eyes drowsily. Ren Suo picked her up directly and carried her to the living room¡ªhe already intended to do that, but Gu Yueyan read his mind and wanted to stop him.

    She said, ¡°Eh? I can walk, I can walk.¡±

    Ren Suo did not care and carried her onto the couch in the living room. Qiao Muyi nced at him and questioned, ¡°Why, what obscene thing did you do in the bedroom just now that you do not want me to see?¡±

    Seeing how Qiao Muyi returned to being her usual obnoxious self, Ren Suo knew she was fine now. He asked, ¡°Your Awakening problem has ceased, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s over. After all, it¡¯s much easier to promote from tier 1 to 2 than from 0 to 1,¡± Qiao Muyi replied as she stretched her muscles. Even though she was wearing loose clothing, they still entuated her figure. Ren Suo recalled that she was not wearing her underwear and quickly turned around.

    Qiao Muyi stood up and stretched her waist. She said, ¡°I have recovered my strength, so there¡¯s no need to be afraid of being taken advantage of by perverts now. However, it¡¯s already veryte¡­ Can I spend the night at your house?¡±

    Ren Suo patted the couch and said, ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Qiao Muyi nced at Ren Suo. She asked, ¡°Are you really that willing to make two girls sleep on the couch?¡±

    ¡°Willing¡­ eh? Two girls?¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Qiao Muyi smiled and questioned, ¡°Why did you think I hid in your wardrobe and not under the bed?¡±

    Good game, well yed. Even saying ¡®Hallelujah¡¯ could not save Ren Suo now.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I can exin that¡ª¡±

    Looking at Ren Suo panic, Qiao Muyi burst out inughter. She said, ¡°She is a student of the Heavenly Institution of Lian. She must have suddenly Awakened in your house?¡±

    Ren Suo was stunned. He said, ¡°Awakened? She was so shocked when she saw the family of dead cockroaches in the guest room that she knocked her head against the wall and fell unconscious. I don¡¯t know if she was Awakening.¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°She should have been Awakening. Her body temperature is rtively high; it¡¯s the same for the vast majority of first-time Awakeners. Of course, I will definitely ask her about what exactly happened when tomorrowes. Even though I am friends with you, Ren Suo, I am not gonna protect you if you turn out to be a criminal.¡±

    Ren Suo lifted his chin and remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that!¡±

    Qiao Muyi further questioned Ren Suo, ¡°Besides, if I were not around, were you intending to let her lie on the carpet in her drenched clothes while she Awakens? Don¡¯t you know that when one is Awakening, the state of the Awakening person is very critical? It is very easy to result in unknown after-effects!¡±

    ¡°You are also an Awakened person, shouldn¡¯t you still remember how fragile and weak you were when you were Awakening?¡±

    Ren Suo opened his mouth and finally managed to utter a sentence, ¡°Okay, I will sleep on the couch tonight!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go in and help her to change out of her clothes. You¡¯d better note in. Anyway, can I use any of the clothes in your wardrobe?¡± Qiao Muyi asked.

    Ren Suo waved his hands in helplessness, and Qiao Muyi walked barefooted into the bedroom.

    ¡°Right,¡± Ren Suo asked suddenly, ¡°Why did you think of hiding yourself?¡±

    Qiao Muyi nced at him. She replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a given? Dong Chengling went into your bedroom, did she not?¡±

    How was Dong Chengling entering the bedroom a given?

    Ren Suo sat on the couch and thought of replenishing his energy with a good night¡¯s sleep. Fortunately, after receiving the Super-evolution of Cats, Ren Suo was able to fall asleep anytime and anywhere. He was also able to umte his total sleeping time, and even if day became night and night became day, his lifestyle would not be affected.

    However, when Ren Suo scanned the living room, he saw some debris on the floor next to the coffee table.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± muttered Ren Suo to himself as he looked at the debris on the floor. They were fine specks of ss, so fine that he would not injure his fingers if he touched them.

    ¡°Where did ite from¡­¡±

    He looked at what was above the ss fragments and realized that the four sharp and pointed corners of the ss coffee table were now smoothed out.

    All of the four corners of the ss coffee table had been smoothed out.

 Chapter 189 - Flirting

    Chapter 189: Chapter 189 ¨C Flirting

    Gu Yueyan felt as if she had fallen into a dream she would never wake up from.

    It was a long, arduous journey. In the dream, Gu Yueyan was walking in the dark, amidst the harsh wind and rain. With each grueling step, she was one step closer to the light which was far, far away.

    That glimmer of light was not bright, but in her trance, it was sufficient. At that point in time, that light was enough to urge her on in her journey through the wind and rain.

    When she was halfway along her journey, the weather suddenly improved. The warm sunshine and the cooling breeze made Gu Yueyan feel extremelyfortable. Her footsteps became lighter and she picked up the pace.

    When she arrived at her destination and came into contact with the long-awaited glimmer of light, she was jolted out of the dream.

    It was as if an ice cube was continuously melting in her mind, turning into a tide of knowledge that seeped into the depths of consciousness. Gu Yueyan felt as if she was acquiring knowledge of an ancient instinct¡ªan indescribable, subconscious ability simr to how she could control her legs to walk, her fingers to hold, and her eyes to see.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan sighed in satisfaction. She rubbed her face against the pillow, but she felt as if her nose had hit something.

    She opened her eyes and saw, right in front of her, a smooth and beautiful face.

    ¡°She used SK-II Fairy Water before going to bed? How is her skin condition still so good while she is sleeping?¡±

    ¡ª¡ªThat was Gu Yueyan¡¯s first reaction the moment she awoke.

    The next moment, she shivered slightly as she felt a chill sweep across her body, under the nket. She felt herself with her hands.

    Outerwear, innerwear, skirt, underwear¡­

    All of those articles of clothing which should have been on Gu Yueyan were nowhere to be found.

    She was put on the bed like a pig which had been stripped!

    Furthermore, she was hugged tightly by the beautiful woman with very good skin who was right in front of her!

    Gu Yueyan took a deep breath and recalled what happened the previous night: she could not contact Dong Chengling, and Ren Suo did not appear in the dining hall after she finished her examination and her dinner, so she went to his house to look for Teacher Dong, and then¡­

    She saw the family of cockroaches who wished her well while singing: ¡®Wishing you a long life and continuous prosperity every year, congrattions, congrattions ~¡¯.

    Afterwhich, she knocked her head and fell unconscious. She had no recollection of everything that happened after that. When she fainted, only Ren Suo, an adult male, was around.

    (Could the thick-browed Ren Suo possibly have¡­!) At that thought, Gu Yueyan¡¯s heart fell and a chill ran down her spine. She recalled the gaze when Ren Suo stared at her wet clothes when she was standing at the door.

    Would Ren Suo still be a scaredy-cat when he saw a beautiful female high school student at his mercy? Thinking about how Ren Suo asked to be in bed with Teacher Dong in such a straightforward manner, a wave of anger rushed into her heart. Hmph, men!

    However, another question popped up in Gu Yueyan¡¯s mind: Who was this woman hugging her naked self?

    At that juncture, Gu Yueyan was fully awake, and she thought of another possibility: Perhaps Ren Suo had called someone to take care of me, and it was this woman who helped me to take off my drenched clothes¡­ The only question that remains is, why was the woman hugging me in her sleep?

    At that point, Gu Yueyan was relieved, and ¡®examined¡¯ the woman in front of her from head to toe.

    When she saw the shirt that the woman was wearing, however, her heart fell once again¡ªthe white, round-necked t-shirt with a lightning pattern that the woman was wearing¡­ belonged to Ren Suo!

    It was already rare to see girls wearing guys¡¯ shirts, and the one she was wearing was just like Ren Suo¡¯s. What are the odds?

    In that instant, Gu Yueyan recalled how Lin Xianyu¡¯s hands would be dripping with blood everyday when she was Awakening, how Dong Chengling only managed to persevere through her Awakening with Ren Suo¡¯s help, and the case studies of various Awakenings described in the lectures¡­

    When one was Awakening, many unusual situations could ur, such as affecting other people if one was in close contact with others during the process.

    Taking all of that information into consideration, Gu Yueyan finally came to a conclusion¡ª

    When she was Awakening the previous night, she had also given Ren Suo a full,plete treatment, which transformed him from a savage beast into a beautiful girl!

    ¡®Is this what is meant by repaying evil with kindness¡­?¡¯ Gu Yueyan thought. She was filled with sorrow as she muttered to herself, ¡°I was defiled by this guy, and yet I still turned this guy into a beautiful, cute, and lovely girl. How should I get my revenge on her¡­¡±

    She looked down and saw the deep valley and fullness filling the clothes of the woman in front of her. Her heart sank even more as she thought: Could it be that after Ren Suo turned into a girl, his figure even became much better than hers, and it was so amazingly hot?!

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    The arms around Gu Yueyan suddenly exerted force and pulled her into the embrace of the woman in front of her. Gu Yueyan looked up, and the woman touched her nose with hers.

    Even though they were both women, such an intimate action still made Gu Yueyan flush, as if she was having a fever.

    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± the woman asked as she gently swiped the dangling strands of Gu Yueyan¡¯s hair to the back.

    The woman said, ¡°Your clothes have been washed and dried. They are on the chair¡­ Nheless, it is beneficial for girls to sleep naked. Moreover, you¡¯re still young and developing.¡±

    Based on those few actions alone, Gu Yueyan instantly threw her previous thoughts into the bin. With the woman¡¯s tititing personality, it was certainly impossible that she was actually the idiot Ren Suo!

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of bed¡­ I¡¯ll help you get dressed,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    In the living room, Ren Suo, who was looking at his mobile phone, noticed that Qiao Muyi and Gu Yueyan came out of the room, dressed in their own clothes. After a night, their clothes had long been washed and dried.

    Ren Suo noticed that Gu Yueyan, who was behind Qiao Muyi, appeared to be slightly shy. She stood some distance behind Qiao Muyi and quickly sat down on the couch beside Ren Suo the moment they entered the living room. She deliberately asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    Ren Suo felt that Gu Yueyan was acting slightly strange but did not think too much about it. He replied, ¡°You will find out when you look at QQ on your mobile phone.¡±

    Both Gu Yueyan and Qiao Muyi turned on their mobile phones, and as soon as they did so, the same message appeared: [The reason behind the temporary disappearance of chat groups ¡ú ¡°Intrusion¡±.]

    Gu Yueyan was quite surprised. She quizzed, ¡°Is this¡­ a new video released by Naisser Ren? The disappearance of the chat groups yesterday was actually also due to an extraordinary event?¡±

    Ren Suo stole a nce at the television cab which was closed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not just the chat groups. Other incidents of intrusion were also shown in the video ¡®Intrusion¡¯; they also took ce on ¡®<span>Jiayuan¡¯, in ¡®No Turning Back¡¯ and in ¡®League of Legends¡¯.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that the disappearance of the chat groups had the widest reach and was thus the most well-known.¡±

    The ultimate battle between firearms and martial arts;

    The duel between tanks and ghost souls;

    The cross between League of Legends and DotA;

    The chaos caused by game characters in chatting software;

    The hunt of ¡°Keyboard Man¡±!

    Both Gu Yueyan and Qiao Muyi had their eyes glued to the screens as they watched the short ten-minute video showcasing the various battles. The battles between different juxtaposed systems of power were absolutely thrilling!

    Furthermore, in the video, regardless of whether it was a 3D or 2D game, the perspective was that of Ren Suo when he was ying them: the setting was set in aplete, 3D space of data. Although the battle between Irina and the corrupt twin was restricted due to the rigid settings of the game, it was portrayed as an agile yet intense fight!

    Gu Yueyan sighed and said, ¡°So, the Keyboard Man really exists¡­ I thought that it was just a prank.¡±

    Qiao Muyi exhaled softly and remarked, ¡°Such a thing actually happened¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll head back first, the Countermeasure Division must be busy because of this.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to have a meal first before leaving?¡±

    Qiao Muyi shook her head and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. Moreover, aren¡¯t you going to eat with Xiaoyanter? I shall not join you guys then.¡±

    Xiaoyan?

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips and questioned, ¡°Nheless, aren¡¯t you here to look for Dong Chengling? Are you not going to see her first before leaving?¡±

    Qiao Muyi replied, ¡°Since she is back, it means that she has chosen Lianjiang. I will visit her officially another day¡­ See you.¡±

    With that, she walked off swiftly and decisively. However, just before she left, she shouted, ¡°Xiaoyan ~¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± replied Gu Yueyan, who was beside Ren Suo, as she sat herself upright.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about me being herest night, especially your Teacher Dong¡­ Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I understand!¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    ¡°Alright then, see you. You may contact me if you need anything,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    After Qiao Muyi left, Gu Yueyan¡¯s tensed body finally rxed, and she naturally heaved a sigh of relief.

    When she turned her head around, she saw the (¨s¡õ¨t) expression on Ren Suo¡¯s face.

    ¡°What are you looking at!¡± Gu Yueyan said fiercely. She continued, ¡°I have not settled the score with you regardingst night!¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°I have already eradicated the entire family of cockroaches from their eldest ancestor to theirst descendent. What more do you want?¡±

    He waved his hands in the air and continued, ¡°Also, since Qiao Muyi has already made it clear to you what happenedst night, I don¡¯t think I need to waste my breath anymore.¡±

    Gu Yueyan shot a dead stare at Ren Suo. She said, ¡°Yes, I know that Teacher Dong is back! Although I won¡¯t tell her about Sister Qiao being at your housest night, I am not letting you anywhere close Teacher Dong, knowing that you have a rtionship with another girl!¡±

    ¡°Do as you wish,¡± Ren Suo said with a shrug. He added, ¡°Get ready to go out for a meal.¡±

    ¡°A meal? Oh, why did Sister Qiao say that you are going to eat with me? Are you trying to bribe me?¡± Gu Yueyan questioned.

    She immediately jumped backward, away from Ren Suo, and eximed, ¡°Go away, I would rather eat instant noodles in my dorm room than eat with you! Gross!¡±

    Ren Suo nced at her with a slight disdain in his eyes.

    Ten minutester, in the teacher¡¯s dormitory room belonging to Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan was seated next to Ren Suo. She picked up her rice bowl with tears brimming in her eyes.

    She said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that I actually have the chance to eat the food made personally by Teacher Dong¡­ Oh dear Lord, you really did not treat me badly!¡±

 Chapter 190 - Level 2 Researcher, Keyboard Warrior (2-in-1)

    Chapter 190 ¨C Level 2 Researcher, Keyboard Warrior (2-in-1)

    ¡°Even though Teacher Dong is no longer teaching me, I will visit her everyday, so do not think that there would be any opportunity for you to be alone with her!¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    After they finished their meal at Dong Chengling¡¯s house, Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan left. Just before they parted ways, Gu Yueyan warned Ren Suo in a vicious tone, ¡°This time, and only this time, for Sister Qiao¡¯s sake, I will not continue harping on what happenedst night. However, I will be watching you closely at all times, you emergency doctor!¡±

    Ren Suo waspletely unbothered by such a threat. He replied, ¡°In any case, study well in your third year of high school and get into university as soon as you can.¡±

    Ren Suo¡¯s words prated deep into her heart and her entire face turned red. She was thinking about something, then she left without a word.

    Ren Suo had intended to ask her: ¡°Would you be willing to take a nap at my house (while I retrieve the key from you)?¡±

    However, judging from Gu Yueyan¡¯s personality, he was afraid that she would pretend not to hear what he said while secretly activating the recording function on her mobile phone. She would then ask Ren Suo to repeat what he said and use the recording as evidence to use Ren Suo of sexually harassing female students.

    ¡°I really wonder how Qiao Muyi managed to tame her¡­¡± Ren Suo to himself muttered.

    Ren Suo turned his head and saw the ck cat basking in the sun at the bottom of the block, as usual. A wave of anger immediately rose in his heart and he lost it. He walked over to the cat and rubbed the cat¡¯s head forcefully in anger. Before the cat could react, he swiftly slipped into the building andughed loudly as he ran up the stairs.

    Ren Suo was in a very good mood, perhaps because he rubbed the cat¡¯s head, or perhaps because he witnessed the anguished Gu Yueyan, or perhaps¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Moments ago at the dining table, Gu Yueyan asked Dong Chengling if she had returned to teach, to which Dong Chengling nodded, then shook her head.

    She said, ¡°I will remain at the Heavenly Institution of Lian, but I will no longer be a teacher of the high school. Instead, I will be a lecturer at the university, which specializes in Practitioner cultivation.¡±

    As she spoke, Dong Chengling was slightly apologetic towards Gu Yueyan. She said, ¡°Although I would not be able to continue teaching you in ss about Practicing and cultivation, you may still approach me directly if you have any questions, Xiaoyan.¡±

    At that juncture, Gu Yueyan was already bursting in tears. Ren Suo interrupted their conversation and asked, ¡°You have such a powerful Awakened Ability, is Tianjing not stopping you from leaving?¡±

    ¡°Of course, the Tianjing side wishes for me to remain there, but it is not a must,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    She continued, ¡°Although my Awakened Ability is powerful, there are not many opportunities when my ability is required, under normal circumstances. If there is a disaster, or if they require emergency movement between locations, I can return to Tianjing directly by activating the Space Door. They have already set a fixed pair of coordinates for me as the destination location.¡±

    ¡°At all other times, I can continue Practicing or performing research as per usual. The Practitioner Institution of Tianjing also invited me to be a lecturer there, but I¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling looked at Ren Suo and then at Gu Yueyan beforepleting her sentence, saying, ¡°¡­I still choose toe back here.¡±

    Gu Yueyan was extremely emotional upon meeting Dong Chengling¡¯s gaze, but Ren Suo caught the main point of her reply. He asked, ¡°Is a new Practitioner University going to be built in Lianjiang City?¡±

    ¡°It is the university of the Heavenly Institution of Lian,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    She exined, ¡°This summer, the Heavenly Institution of Lian will be upgraded to a higher education institute. It will only open majors rted to Practicing and cultivation. Although the detailed regtions are still being discussed, it will definitely be established before September this year. It is currently already epting high school graduates.¡±

    Curious, Ren Suo asked, ¡°Are the majors approved by the nation? Is a degree awarded?¡±

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°They are all bachelor degrees.¡±

    Gu Yueyan seemed unwilling to let Ren Suo interact any more with Dong Chengling. She asked, ¡°In that case, would students at the university learn more powerful abilities, unlike us who only practice [Clothes] all day long?¡±

    ¡°Of course, those who major in Practice and cultivation will be taught more powerful abilities. Those who are interested in bingbat Practitioners of the Countermeasure Division would also learnbat abilities in university,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    She smiled and added, ¡°And I am the lecturer who will be in charge of impartingbat abilities.¡±

    Gu Yueyan asked, ¡°Combat abilities¡­ Is that [Lock]?¡±

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°[Lock] is the most basicbat ability; there is a more advanced version of that ability.¡±

    She turned to Ren Suo and said, ¡°You should be able to acquire this ability if you log in to the Knowledge Web now. I definitely rmend that you learn and practice using this ability.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo reached home, he immediately logged in to the Knowledge Web and navigated to the Abilities Universe.

    Although it was not yet the purchase period, the Ability Stars could still be essed, and Ren Suo could still see information about them.

    Indeed, in the Abilities Universe, Ren Suo found the spell Dong Chengling rmended¡ª

    ¡ª[Tame Head].

    It was exactly the ability amulet which Ren Suo had exchanged from the Northern Mang Earth Elf in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±. In the end, he had given the Countermeasure Division of Xuan Nation the ability amulet as a gift, through the pangolin, by iming that it was a ¡°Tablet of Treasure from the Heavenly Pce¡±.

    That ability was exactly what Ren Suo needed; it could knock people unconscious from far away, and the target would either remain unconscious and have to be supplemented with glucose for the next eight to ten days, or otherwise have to receive Reiki treatment. Such a treatment was exactly what Ren Suo could do, which made that ability an easy way for a healing Practitioner like him to rise through the ranks.

    Initially, when Ren Suo realized that the number of tier 2 Practitioners increased, he was concerned that he could be unemployed as a result (tier 2 Practitioners with average affinities could already learn [Heal]). However, after consulting Yu Kuangtu, he realized that his worries were unfounded.

    That was because not everyone had the Mini Worlds game console. Those who did not have it had to spend precious time learning abilities¡ªor rather, they had to spend time to build and form the Reiki channels of the various abilities.

    If a tier 2 Practitioner with an average affinity truly wanted to learn the ability [Heal], the Practitioner had to spend days or even weeks to master it. Otherwise, they would merely be able to make a tiny glow, just like Ren Suo had when he first attempted casting the ability.

    Under such circumstances, the nation rmended that Practitioners be adept and proficient at a particr ability and need not know a wide range of abilities. As such, a tier 2 Practitioner would only be required to learn the ability [Heal] if a team in a particr area did not have a single healing Practitioner. Moreover, tier 2 Practitioners would also be eager to try out tier 3 abilities which required a higher level of affinity.

    ¡°This is unexpected¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered as he scratched his head.

    At first, he had only wanted to make [Tame Head] known so that he had more opportunities to be in contact with Awakeners. However, he had not expected that the nation would value the ability so much that it would be the main ability learned by those who majored in Practice and cultivation in the university.

    As yet, [Tame Head] had not been ssified into a corresponding ability tier, and was described as a ¡®tier 1 or 2 ability¡¯. Its purchase price was unexpectedly cheap as a result.

    Perhaps it was because the Countermeasure Division believed the ¡®nonsense¡¯ that the pangolin said, which led them to believe that there was a huge secret hidden within [Tame Head]. That could have been why they shared the ability widely and urged people to learn it.

    Ren Suo had received his remuneration, in the form of Reiki stones, for the month, so he casually bought the ability.

    He experienced another cycle of dizziness. When he regained his consciousness, he quickly understood why Dong Chengling said that the ability was a more advanced version of [Lock]¡ªit was tooplicated.

    Ren Suo cast [Tame Head], but the next moment, he felt that his Reiki energy dissipated as it flowed midway through the Reiki meridian channel.

    Having already known the concept of Reiki meridian channels, Ren Suo naturally understood that it was because the meridian channel of the ability was tooplicated. Before his Reiki couldplete flowing through the entire channel, all of the energy had dissipated. It was simr to rolling a thin piece of paper into a straw to drink a c, only to realize that the straw broke due to the dampness as the c was being sucked up using the straw.

    The ability did not require much Reiki energy, but it required extremely precise control. Although it seemed like a tier 1 ability, it demanded even more from the Practitioner than a tier 2 ability.

    ¡®Regardless, such an ability must be extremely prone to idents¡­¡¯ Ren Suo thought to himself.

    Almost sinisterly, Ren Suo hoped that the university students who majored in Practice and cultivation would learn the ability well, and even practice the ability diligently in order to be the top student.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone rang and a message popped up:

    [Please log in to the intr.]

    Ren Suo cheered and quickly logged in to the intr to check it out.

    As he had expected, the 17 reports of ¡°information about the existence of an unknown entity intruding into games¡± which he uploaded had all been verified to be true!

    The impact of the video ¡°Intrusion¡± was actually not huge, as the most widespread effect it caused was the disappearance of chat groups for just over ten hours. However, it was nheless a video uploaded by ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯, and the fighting scenes in the video were absolutely thrilling. Propelled by QQ, the video spread like wildfire on the inte and became extremely popr within a few hours of its upload. Naturally, the Countermeasure Division would have verified the authenticity of the video immediately.

    On the other hand, the editing of the video ¡°Intrusion¡± was exactly what Ren Suo needed, ensuring that the existence of Irina and a yer was not exposed.

    The hunter who endlessly intruded into different games and who chased down the ¡®evil monster¡¯ in the game with the help of characters from other games had only one name¡ªKeyboard Man.

    At that point, when the Countermeasure Division performed their investigation, they would quickly realize that a researcher had actually noticed the presence of Keyboard Warrior from the very beginning!

    Looking at the list of ¡°Verified¡± seals, Ren Suo rubbed his palm in glee. He opened the notification within the intr.

    [You have received 1000 researcher points for your verified report ¡°Situation Report 1 on Game Intrusion¡±.]

    [You have received¡­]

    [Congrattions, Researcher Ren. You have been promoted to a Level 2 Researcher. Please clic.k here for the details of your benefits.]

    [Researcher Ren, you may now use 3000 points to start a new discussion thread. For each valuable reply in a discussion thread, the original poster will receive an additional 30% of the researcher points from the particr reply.]

    Ren Suo¡¯s face lit up. When his reply was verified to be the truth in the ¡°Zhao Zili Investigation Report¡± discussion thread, he had received a whopping 7000 points. Although he had received more points as his reply was only verified after the actual event took ce, 2000~5000 points would still be awarded in general if a reply was deemed to be the truth in a regr discussion thread.

    In other words, as long as there were three or four valuable replies, the initiator of the discussion would benefit and earn greatly.

    If the researcher was more fortunate, he could even prosper and rise through the ranks for being ¡®good at initiating discussion questions¡¯!

    Ren Suo naturally wanted to increase his rank as a researcher. After all, following his promotion to be a Level 2 Researcher, his sry increased, and so did the number of wristband points and Reiki stones he received!

    Furthermore, the replies Ren Suo posted in the future would also receive more acknowledgment, and the information he uploaded would also be more highly valued!

    Ren Suo had also intended to look through what was being discussed about ¡°Intrusion¡± on the intr that day, but when he opened the mystery section, a message from the intr appeared:

    [The discussion section is currently undergoing maintenance and being upgraded. Please log in again after 10:32:31.]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this exactly the time when a discussion is the most important, why did they decide to upgrade the page at such a time¡­¡± Ren Suo thought to himself, slightly puzzled.

    Although it was a slight pity that he could not see what strange reasons other researchers hade up with to exin the actions of Keyboard Man, Ren Suo had always felt that the serious discussions between the researchers were actually the best shield for ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯.

    Without the other researchers, Ren Suo had absolutely no idea that there were so many reasons to exin the actions of Keyboard Man!

    ¡°Since there is nothing for me to do now¡­¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the date in the lower right corner of hisputer screen¡ªJuly 1. He returned to the living room and turned on the game console.

    The start-up tone still remained ever so pleasant:

    ¡°Mini worlds of endless fun await!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin¡­ Onward to a new game!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Finding people is indeed our specialty, but finding 2D characters¡­ It is really beyond our abilities.¡±

    ¡­

    Within the Practitioner Institution of Tianjing, Gu Yuexuan walked out of arge office. He told his team, ¡°Let¡¯s pack up and head back.¡±

    Although the members in his team were all slightly puzzled, it was only after they had left the school when Wen Junjie asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t we called to the school to assist a Practitioner to find someone? Why are we going back now?¡±

    ¡°She wants us to find Keyboard Man,¡± Gu Yuexuan replied in a muffled voice.

    ¡°Keyboard Man?¡± the team members said as they looked at each other. Cheng Xiao asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a keyboard warrior? Can¡¯t the cybersecurity and surveince department handle that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a keyboard warrior,¡± Gu Yuexuan said. He took out his mobile phone and navigated to the video ¡°Intrusion¡±. He said, ¡°Have a look at this and you would understand what I mean.¡±

    The team members huddled together to watch the video.

    After a short while, they eximed, ¡°Can the 7.26mm bullet prate the shield of qi?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to drive a tank over them everytime I watch a ghost movie, this feels absolutely satisfying!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not convinced, how could all the abilities and items be used, the Great Dragon lost!¡±

    ¡°This is so realistic: the chat group is the battlefield, and the sticker packs are ammunition.¡±

    After the teammates finished expressing their thoughts, Gu Yuexuan said, ¡°The person in the video who controlled the game characters to intrude other game and software servers is called Keyboard Man.¡±

    Wen Junjie asked, ¡°Captain, does that mean that the person controlling the game characters is Keyboard Man?¡±

    ¡°That is what most people think, and it is also what our superiors think. Our taskter is to find a way to analyze the behavioral traits, gender, personality, and residing location of the Keyboard Man,¡± replied Gu Yuexuan, looking sullen.

    He continued, ¡°Thedy just now who specially called us here through the Countermeasure Division was Director Gu. She wanted us to find Keyboard Man. The problem is that she believes that Keyboard Warrior is not a real person, but a 2D character who is constructed with data blocks and can be represented as a jpg image.¡±

    The team membersughed and said, ¡°Our imaginary target to track down does not possess any virtual data.¡±

    Gu Yuexuan said, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s get back to work. Finding Keyboard Warrior would be no easier than finding the Earth Elf. The only thing we know at this point in time is that he/she is from Xuan Nation because the term Keyboard Warrior is an Inte phrase that is used locally.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Truly, I can only rely on myself.¡±

    In an office, all of the curtains were drawn despite it being daytime, making it extremely dim inside. A young girl in a white coat, who was wearing headphones, sat in a gaming chair with her legs propped up. She pushed her sses higher on the bridge of her nose and stared intently at the three 27-inch 144hz UHD disys in front of her. Data streams scrolled past the screens and the bright light from the disys illuminated her silky white and delicate face.

    She bit her thumbnail as she muttered to herself, ¡°Even if I can¡¯t find you, I am still in charge of the Xuan Nation intr. Don¡¯t you dare intrude into my property, Keyboard Man!¡±

 Chapter 191 - Sacrifice or Salvation?

    Chapter 191 ¨C Sacrifice or Salvation?

    There were no major festivals in July, only two sr terms: Minor Heat and Major Heat.

    However, there were still seven days before the Minor Heat sr term, and Ren Suo did not intend to wait until then before starting a new game.

    There were a total of five games in the [Exclusive Level Up Games] section. Since Ren Suo had not been promoted to a Level 4 yer as yet, he could pick another game listed in the section to y, or he could choose to refresh all the games before selecting one.

    At present, Ren Suo had 435 merit points.

    If not for the hint given by the official Naisser Ren, Ren Suo would have been gloating over the number of merit points he had and purchased the popr games in the [World Shop] to y. Those were games that cost at least 400 merit points each.

    However, the expectations of what being a Level 4 yer would bring sessfully curbed Ren Suo¡¯s desire to spend his merit points.

    His current situation was just like pushing a filled shopping cart but still holding back from checking out. It was as if he was a hardcore, frugal consumer who would curb all desires to buy anything and wait until 6/18 or 11/11 to splurge.

    ¡°I shall decide if I want to buy any games after I finish ying the free games!¡±

    Ren Suo took a deep breath and calmed himself, then looked at the five free games listed in the section.

    In fact, there were only four games he could choose from; ¡°King of Fighters¡± was a 4+ star game, which he could not y.

    Based on his cost-benefit analysis, Ren Suo decided that ¡°Butterfly Effect¡± was the only game he should pick. However, that was a puzzle adventure mystery game, and Ren Suo did not have high hopes for his own intellect.

    ¡°I should refresh the list.¡±

    Ren Suo did not deliberate for too long before choosing to refresh the list of five free games.

    Such behavior was typical of ¡°picking and choosing but ending up with an unfavorable option¡±, and there was an extremely high chance that he would end up with a ¡°worse¡± list than he started off with.

    Nheless, Ren Suo might not have been that unlucky.

    There were no special effects for the refresh process and the five games on the list immediately changed.

    Ren Suo took a quick nce and was faintly¡­ amused.

    Of the five games, four of them had the highest reward of less than 200 merit points.

    However thest game had the highest reward of 300 merit points, and it also appeared to be a thrilling role-ying action game.

    Most importantly, there was a time limit toplete that game, though there were still 23 days left. If Ren Suo did not encounter any special circumstances along the way, there should be sufficient time for him toplete the game.

    ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±

    [This is a role-ying action game with various checkpoints toplete. The yer will take on the role of thest mage in the world who would go forth to purify the quietly falling evil fruits of the World Tree. Otherwise, corrupt monsters defiled by their desires would be bred. The maximum reward is 300 merit points, and the specialized reward would be rted to the route taken by the yer at the time of missionpletion. There are possible expansion chapters, and in-game purchases are avable. The difficulty rating of the game is: 3+ stars.]

    Simr to the game ¡°Immtion¡± that Ren Suo came across previously, the specialized reward given upon missionpletion was also based on the yer¡¯s game experience in ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±.

    Although Ren Suo could not deduce much about the game from its description, the word ¡°mage¡± in its title was sufficient for Ren Suo to conclude that he would be able to enjoy the thrill of being a master wielder of magic.

    There was no doubt that he would pick that game. However, Ren Suo still browsed through the other four games, and then considered the time limit he had to clear ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±.

    Ren Suo felt that although he had five options to choose from, there was actually nothing for him to choose from, due to a variety of reasons¡­

    His senseless thoughts soon vanished, as the new game appeared on the main screen. Ren Suo energized himself and entered the game, looking forward to being a master wielder of magic!

    [Forget your logical self, break free from your cage, break away from your shackles, and chase your desires¡­]

    [What are sins in the face of hopes and dreams?]

    On the screen, a filthy purplish-ck pan enclosed a creature, which was too strange-looking for Ren Suo to even describe it. A ck current of air began spreading from the impure, polluted earth into the pure, unpolluted air, and eventually¡­

    The two merged into one, forming a round and dried purple fruit. Following a dull roar, the round fruit cracked and split apart, and seeds flew in all directions from within¡­

    Amidst all of that, a bright light that could not be ignored emerged. The holy aura of the light shone through the purplish-ck color of the seeds and sap of the fruit.

    Then, with a muffled crack, a curtain of bright light illuminated the screen¡ª

    [Start Game] [Load Saved Game] [Reminisce] [Exit Game]

    ¡°¡­ The special effects are pretty good,¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself.

    He was relieved. There was finally another game which allowed reloading from savegames¡­ he hated instant-saving games!

    Moreover, he could customize the character as well this time!

    Ren Suo thought for a moment and made an extremely handsome character with golden-white hair in a scene style¡ªthat was somewhat simr to his impression of a mage in his mind.

    That game was different from the games he yed previously.

    Upon entering the game, seven checkpoints appeared on the screen, and each of them depicted different scenes. When Ren Suo tried to select any of the scenes, a hint would appear:

    [Upon starting the game, fights may ur in the checkpoints, and a new checkpoint may only be chosen afterpleting the previously selected one.]

    [The yer may customize the appearance and gender of the game character when starting a new checkpoint each time.]

    The hint made Ren Suo slightly puzzled, but it did not seem to be a time constraint. As long as the main character remained alive, it logically followed that he would be able to continue conquering the other checkpoints one by one.

    In that case, who was the one fighting in the other checkpoints?

    With some confusion, Ren Suo clicked on the first checkpoint¡ªa decrepit monastery.

    The main character disappeared, leaving behind feathers, and the screen changed. He arrived in front of the monastery.

    A girl in a red mage robe and a red hood turned to face the main character. She was very beautiful, but the red eye patch covering her right eye and her cold stare made her look slightly fierce and ruthless.

    The girl in the red hood asked: [Are you the mage from the outside¡­ I am Red Hood, the Wrist Mage. Who are you?]

    Ren Suo thought that he would be asked to name his character at that juncture, but instead, Red Hood turned her head around and said: [Forget it, I¡¯ll just call you Mage.]

    [You will soon be the only person worthy of this name¡­ that is, if you are truly able to help us be free of our endless ¡®prayers¡¯.]

    [However, I see that you don¡¯t have any offerings? Here, take this.]

    A message appeared in the game: the Mage received [Soaring Feathers], [Healing Seed], and [Sword Fragment].

    At that moment, corresponding icons of the offerings appeared in the empty column at the bottom right corner of the screen. They seemed to be the magic skills of the game.

    [The magical power of a mage is only effective after activating the energy of offerings. Offerings can be stolen from monsters.]

    [In order to purify this monastery, we first need to find ways to ¡®sacrifice¡¯ or provide ¡®salvation¡¯ to all of the monsters here. Only then would the evil demon rooted deep within the depths of the monastery appear.]

    [Finally, you, as a mage, would have to subdue the evil demon. The monastery would then lose its masterpletely. A forbidden fruit without a master would never be able to impact the outside world, even if it is still filled with poison.]

    Upon finishing her sentence, Red Hood immediately entered the monastery. Ren Suo quickly controlled his mage character to follow Red Hood, but Ren Suo was dumbfounded the moment he entered¡ªthe monastery was as huge as it looked from the outside!

    Moreover, there were many monsters surrounded by evil auras inside the monastery. Ren Suo saw at least a hundred of them in one quick nce!

    Red Hood said: [Let¡¯s begin.]

    Red Hood rushed forward, and Ren Suo definitely did not want tog behind. He looked at the three skills he had. It was obvious what the effect of [Healing Seed] was, so he tried [Soaring Feathers] first.

    As soon as Ren Suo pressed the button on his game controller, the mage flew forward instantaneously with a whoosh. The entire scene changed, and Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up.

    It was almost like a teleportation skill!

    At that juncture, Red Hood summoned three balls of blood and shot a red arrow towards an enormous Blood Monster. Ren Suo rushed over with [Soaring Feathers] and selected [Sword Fragment], which was the only one of his skills that appeared to be an attack skill.

    The next moment, the right hand of Mage turned into a single-handled iron sword. With an upward swinging motion, Mage plunged the sword towards where the Blood Monster was at!

    The Blood Monster immediately changed its target and pped Mage!

    It was only then when Ren Suo noticed the health bar and mana bar on the upper left corner of the screen. Mage¡¯s health instantly dropped by a chunk¡ªit seemed to be an ordinary and typical actionbat game.

    Regardless, how did the promised mage be a close-ranged magician?

    In order not to attract the attention of the other monsters in the monastery, Ren Suo and Red Hood led the Blood Monster out of the monastery. It took them three full minutes to kill the small monsterpletely.

    When the Blood Monster fell to the ground, there were no equipment drops, nor were there any flesh and blood explosions. Instead, its flesh and blood turned into a trail of ck smoke and dissipated into the air, leaving behind only a skinny man, whose bones could be seen, in its ce.

    The man cried out: [I¡¯m so hungry¡­ I¡¯m so hungry¡­]

    He was crouching while kneeling down on the ground like a shrimp. His face was extremely pale, looking as if he had already lost all sanity.

    Eh?

    While Ren Suo was still in a state of confusion, Red Hood said emotionlessly: [Well, Mage, it¡¯s time for you to make a choice.]

    [Would it be ¡®salvation¡¯, or ¡®sacrifice¡¯? It must be ¡®sacrifice¡¯, don¡¯t you agree?]

    On the screen, Mage raised both of his hands.

    From his right hand, a blood-red energy aura emerged. The glow of blood curled around his entire right palm, depicting [Sacrifice];

    From his left hand, a green-white energy aura emerged. The glow of light curled around his entire left palm, depicting [Salvation];

    [The mage is thew; he is one who possesses the ability to determine the life and death of monsters at his will.]

 Chapter 192 - Road To Salvation

    Chapter 192: Chapter 192 ¨C Road To Salvation

    Should he choose ¡®Sacrifice¡¯ or ¡®Salvation¡¯?

    ¡°It looks like I can¡¯t choose ¡®both¡¯¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered. At that juncture, a hint finally popped up in the game:

    [Sacrifice: Use the right hand to extract the sins from the monster¡¯s heart and its soul. It will no longer have any means of survival, and the magic powers of the mage¡¯s right hand would also be increased from bearing the weight of ¡®hatred and memories¡¯ (the attack power of offerings would be enhanced). The maximum mana of the mage would also be increased. However, what would happen if the soul of hatred in the right arm exceeds its bearable limit¡­]

    [Salvation: Use the left hand to activate the human nature and kindness in the monster¡¯s heart. It will turn back into a human and the health and mana of the mage would be instantly recovered from the ¡®gratitude and aspirations¡¯. The maximum health of the mage and the holy powers of the left hand would also be increased (the recovery and protective effect of offerings would be enhanced). However, humans who had previously fallen into the pit of hell can only live for one to two days, but even in such a short period of time, they would almost definitely be corrupted and fall again¡­]

    [Fate: Let fate decide how the monster would meet its demise. The holy power, magic power, health, and mana of the mage would all rise equally.]

    Ren Suo thought, ¡°To put it simply, ¡®sacrifice¡¯ would increase the mage¡¯s powers and mana, while ¡®salvation¡¯ would restore the mage¡¯s health and mana¡­¡±

    Just based on cost-effectiveness alone, ¡°sacrifice¡± would be far better than ¡°salvation¡± in the long run. That was because the stronger the magic power of the mage, the stronger the effects of the offerings, which are his main tools ofbat. Although the increase in holy powers of the mage from ¡®salvation¡¯ could also enhance the effect of recovery and protection, attack power was ultimately still the most important in fighting monsters.

    Moreover, in terms of results, ¡°sacrifice¡± was also far better than ¡°salvation¡±. The monster which had been sacrificed must have died as a consequence. On the other hand, a monster who had been salvaged would only be able to live for at most one to two days, and even so, there was a possibility that it would turn into a monster again.

    Essentially, [Sacrifice] would appeal to those who preferred bloodshed, [Salvation] would appeal to those who preferred grace and mercy, while [Fate] would appeal to those who preferred bnce.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try ¡®salvation¡¯ first,¡± Ren Suo thought. He selected [Salvation], and Mage pointed his left hand at the thin, bony man. He grabbed his left hand with his right, then shot rays of green light at the man in a stance as if he ¡®was almost unable to control his hand anymore¡¯.

    At that moment, Ren Suo realized that an icon of a left hand appeared on the left side of the screen. It showed the leveling up from [Holy Hand Level 0] to [Holy Hand Level 1].

    The left hand of Mage had grown stronger and more powerful!

    Red Hood shook her head slightly but said nothing.

    A short momentter, the hungry man stood up from the ground and looked at Mage and Red Hood. He wanted to say something but eventually remained silent as he sat in a daze on the barrennd.

    At that juncture, Red Hood said: [For what purpose are you being benevolent? Do you think you saved a good person? Just think about the state he was in as a monster, can you really not deduce what sin he hadmitted in the past?]

    [In every checkpoint pce, monsters in human form who are tortured by hunger are the most likely of powerful monsters to appear, other than the evil demon. Are you nning to grant all of them ¡®salvation¡¯ in the future?]

    [Or perhaps, are you just like the other unenlightened and timid fools in the holy pce who cannot bear to ¡®kill the monsters who have sinned¡¯?]

    ¡°I merely wanted to experiment with the game mechanisms¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered as he pulled his lips. He typed to ask: [Why don¡¯t you sacrifice him yourself then? Aren¡¯t you also a mage?]

    Red Hood remained silent for a moment. She replied: [¡­ I can¡¯t do it, and that¡¯s exactly the significance of your appearance.]

    Upon finishing her sentence, Red Hood headed back into the monastery to fight the monsters. Ren Suo nced at the man on the barren field and found that he was drawing on the ground with a stone.

    Ren Suo took a look at what he was drawing on the ground and realized that he seemed to be writing words. However, even Ren Suo, who was ¡®proficient in multiplenguages''(Lianjiang dialect and Mandarin), could not understand what he was writing¡ªit must be anguage of the spiritual world.

    It was the same situation when Ren Suo was talking to Red Hood moments ago: he could only understand what Red Hood was talking about because of the subtitles.

    An hour passed and a few more skinny, bony men and women were on the field. They did notmunicate amongst themselves, as if they were true NPCs, and merely remained on the field. Some of them were in a daze, some of them were lying down, and some were crying.

    Within that hour, Mage and Red Hood definitely did better than that. During that time, they had also cleared a third of the monsters in the monastery, and there were almost 70 of them.

    Among them, there were actually only a few of them who turned into a monster from a human. The majority of them were various small animals: gigantic mice, crows with skull-shaped ears, bees with an upper-body of a woman, rabbits with extremelyrge ears¡­

    It did not matter whether the small animals were chosen for ¡°sacrifice¡± or ¡°salvation¡±. ording to Red Hood, they were simply monsters defiled by humans. They belonged to the category of ¡®low-level monsters¡¯, which were much weaker than monsters in human form.

    Even if they were all sacrificed, they would still reappear after a certain period of time, as long as the evil demon of the monastery still remained in existence.

    As such, Ren Suo chose [Salvation] for all of them. Since it was a game where savegames could be restored, Ren Suo wanted to see how it would turn out if he chose the ¡®grace and mercy¡¯ route.

    There was no doubt that salvation, sacrifice, and fate were three different routes that the yer could take, which corresponded to the Holy Arm, the Magical Wrist, and Bnce. It was the first time Ren Suo was ying that game, so he naturally wanted to find out the effect of choosing a certain route and persisting with it throughout.

    Every time he defeated a monster, a random offering would be dropped from the in monster. Red Hood naturally did not ¡®want¡¯ any of the dropped offerings, and Mage would also be the one deciding the consequence of every monster.

    There were many simr types of offerings, and magic power could be used to upgrade an offering to be more powerful. A change in quality could even ur after upgrading an offering over a certain threshold. For example, [Sword Fragment] had already been upgraded to [Fire Broadsword Fragment], which was formed from several pieces of [Sword Fragment] and [Fire Sword Fragment].

    Indeed, Mage was still a close-ranged ¡®fighter¡¯.

    Nheless, Ren Suo was being extremely cautious and would save the game every time he defeated a monster. He felt that a game with a 3+ star level of difficulty would definitely not be as simple as it seemed.

    Just as he thought, after two hours when Mage and Red Hood had defeated half of the monsters and were fighting a human-form monster, several roars resounded from outside the monastery.

    The humans who were in the barren field outside turned back into human-form monsters at the same time. They were returning to the monastery to attack Red Hood and Mage!

    [I¡¯m hungry!]

    [I¡¯m hungry!]

    The Blood Monsters shouted in chaos and drowned out Red Hood and Mage instantly!

    Both Red Hood and Mage had to spend several minutes fighting one single human-form monster, and Ren Suo could easily guess the result as they were faced with seven to eight of such Blood Monsters. He quickly returned to [System Interface], [System], then [Load Game Save]. The three steps reverted the game to three minutes ago!

    At that juncture, Red Hood was about to begin fighting another monster, but Ren Suo shouted to stop her: [Hold on.]

    Then, Ren Suo controlled Mage to walk out of the monastery and looked at the humans he had granted ¡®salvation¡¯. They were still lying around in a daze, without any sign of turning back into a monster.

    Red Hood said: [Why, have you finally been enlightened? It¡¯s still not toote now.]

    [Rather than letting them linger on for a day and a half more as they wallow in sorrow and hatred, it would be better to free them from their suffering now.]

    Ren Suo looked at the humans from another world who were awaiting their deaths. With his intuition as a Level 3 yer, he somehow felt that that was not just a simple trap.

    It was a game that allowed savegames to be restored. If the only result of granting the human-form monsters salvation was them turning back into monsters, who would then attack the yer, no sane yer would subsequently choose ¡®salvation¡¯.

    As such, there had to be some way of making [Salvation] and [Sacrifice] to be valued equally.

    Ren Suo asked: [Is there really no way of stopping them from turning back into monsters?]

    Red Hood sneered and replied: [A way to stop them from turning back into monsters? There is a way, which is to satisfy their deepest desires. When their desires are fulfilled, their souls would bepletely purified and they would never be contaminated by the Holy Grail ever again. Don¡¯t think that they are peaceful because they look calm now; they are already so hungry and famished that they want to tear you into pieces and devour you this very moment!]

    [Slice yourself and feed them your meat then!]

    At that juncture, a prompt appeared in the game: [Do you wish to slice a portion of yourself (permanently lowers maximum health) to feed the monsters and fulfill their desires?]

    Ren Suo asked: [Is there really no food here?]

    Red Hood replied: [How can there be food here! Apart from you and me, there are only monsters, dirt, and stones! Ever since a long time ago, no lives can be born here!]

    Ren Suo keenly realized that that must be the difference between sacrifice and salvation.

    If the mage chose to slice himself to offer his meat to the monsters, then he would definitely receive something beneficial, whose value would likely be greater than the reduction in maximum health. However, in that scenario, the increase in maximum health of the mage through [Salvation] would be reversed.

    That seemed to be the only way forward when choosing the ¡®grace and mercy¡¯ route¡­

    As Ren Suo was deep in thought, his mobile phone rang. He picked it up instantly and said, ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°The food is ready. Head over to eat, Xiaoyan has already arrived,¡± Dong Chengling said from the other end of the line. She added, ¡°I made chicken nuggets with curry and potato today, I hope it tastes better than that from the dining hall.¡±

    ¡°It definitely tastes better than that from the dining hall¡­ Eh, chicken nuggets?¡± Ren Suo replied.

 Chapter 193 - Forbidden Skills

    Chapter 193 ¨C Forbidden Skills

    ¡°We will officially be on our vacation break after our exam results are released in two days. Teacher Dong, may I practice together with you then?¡± Gu Yueyan asked.

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t you need toplete your vacation assignments?¡±

    ¡°Vacation assignments? Ha ha, I¡¯ll surprise you when that timees, Teacher Dong!¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    As Gu Yueyan chatted happily with Dong Chengling, she also noticed Ren Suo, who was eating beside her, looking slightly down. A sudden urge of yfulness struck her, and she pointed to Ren Suo¡¯s head, eximing, ¡°There¡¯s a spider on your head!¡±

    Ren Suo reacted in shock and likewise pointed at Gu Yueyan¡¯s bowl of rice with his chopsticks, eximed, ¡°There are cockroach feelers in your rice!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Gu Yueyan was so frightened that she fell from her chair. At the same time, Ren Suo put his empty bowl down on the table and said, ¡°Thank you for your hospitality. I¡¯ll be going off first as I have matters to attend to.¡±

    Ren Suo shot a nce at Gu Yueyan and added, ¡°I washed the dishes in the afternoon, so it¡¯s your turn now.¡±

    ¡°You¡ª¡± Gu Yueyan said as she finally managed to pick herself up from the floor. She realized that Ren Suo had already slipped away, so she had no choice but to sit back down on the chair and suck it up. However, when she saw Dong Chengling¡¯s smile and her caring gaze, her unhappiness instantly vanished.

    She said, ¡°Forget it, I shall let it go since he could read the situation and left first.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°There you go, don¡¯t hold any grudge against me anymore now that you have eaten my spicy dried anchovies and milk.¡±

    Ren Suo smiled as he apologized to the ck cat that loitered around on the ground floor of the dormitory building. The ck cat could not be bothered about him as it continued eating the spicy anchovies and drinking the milk with its head down.

    Nheless, Ren Suo was not bothered either, and headed back home cheerfully to continue his quest in ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±.

    At that juncture in the game, Red Hood, who saw Mage standing at the same position for quite some time doing nothing, could not help but remark sarcastically: [If you don¡¯t have the courage to do what you need to do, then don¡¯t take on that responsibility! Why, are you also thinking of making me slice a part of myself as food?]

    All of a sudden, Mage said: ¡°I¡¯ll show you what real magic is!¡±

    As he finished his sentence, Mage picked up an old shirt, and then pulled a red box out from it!

    The aroma wafting out of the box attracted the attention of the hungry civilians and even Red Hood. Their gazes were fixated on the box as they stared at it intently!

    Although the hungry civilians were all drooling, they still remained in their positions and did not dare to rush over to snatch it from Mage. He opened the box to reveal the glistening and tempting crispy fried chicken and spicy chicken wings inside!

    Mage said: [Here, eat this.]

    Then, Mage pulled out a second red box and said: [There¡¯s no need to snatch, there are many more.]

    Upon finishing his sentence, the hungry civilians finally gave in to the temptation. They stretched out their hands to grab the chicken and began enjoying the mouth-watering food. Mage had taken out six red boxes and the amount of food was more than enough to fill their empty stomachs!

    At that juncture, Red Hood walked over and grabbed Mage by his hand. She asked with a face of grimace: [Did you make a wish to the Holy Grail?]

    Mage replied: [Make a wish? What wish?]

    The fried chicken sets, which Mage took out, were naturally from the prop that Ren Suo had equipped him with in the [Equipment] page. Originally, Ren Suo had only intended to experiment with the effect of the ability. That was because the effects of abilities often varied due to differences in the game setup, although it was still possible for game characters to be equipped with various abilities and props.

    He had not expected that [Unlimited Fried Chicken Set], as well as other abilities and props could be turned into [Offerings]!

    Moreover, while Mage took out multiple fried chicken sets, it did not cost him any magic power or health. Rather, the cooldown time of the fried chicken sets was lengthened.

    After retrieving six fried chicken sets, the cooldown time increased to 72 hours. Nheless, he could still continue taking out more fried chicken sets, and the cooldown time would be extended ordingly.

    However, it seemed that that was only the case for game characters. In reality, Ren Suo was unable to even equip himself with the prop [Unlimited Fried Chicken Set]; he had to wait for the cooldown period to pass before he could do so.

    Furthermore, it was only in the game that [Unlimited Fried Chicken Set] was almost truly ¡°unlimited¡±. The limitation of the cooldown time seemed to be targeted specifically at Ren Suo. It was as if to prevent him from establishing a fast-food chain and bing the next tycoon, where he could live a carefree life bathing in money, so easily.

    Red Hood exined: [The reason why humans turn into monsters is because they made wishes to the Holy Grail. While the Holy Grail fulfills humans¡¯ desires, it buries despair in their hopes, which leads them onto the path towards bing a monster.¡±

    [Letting those who are hungry consume any living creature they see, letting those who long for immortality turn into stone monsters that will remain ¡®alive¡¯ forever, letting couples in love with each other turn into dual-soul monsters¡­ This power of yours to make things appear out of nothing, is that not granted to you by the Holy Grail?]

    Mage replied: [Of course not, look at how well they are eating.]

    Red Hood turned around and realized that the hungry civilians had finished all of the fried chicken sets, and not even any chicken bones were left. Their mouths were glistening in remnants of oil and they were all smiling in pure bliss and satisfaction. A pure, white glow was radiating from their bodies.

    They walked towards Mage but did not say anything. Instead, one by one, they pped Mage¡¯s left hand with their own hands, then died and vanished in silence.

    At the same time, the Holy Light shone from Mage¡¯s left arm, and it leveled up all the way to [Holy Hand Level 7]!

    Upon seeing what was happening, Red Hood also let go of her grip on Mage and turned to leave. However, she turned back again and looked over Mage as she said in a hushed tone: [I want a set too.]

    Ren Suo quickly checked out the new offerings he had obtained.

    He received the same offering from all seven civilians. That appeared to be the biggest benefit of choosing the [Salvation] route.

    [Pearl of Holy Light: Shoot a pearl-sized beam of Holy Light. When struck by the light, humans would be healed to a small extent, while monsters would be injured to a small extent. When used, the user¡¯s health would be reduced.]

    After fusing the seven offerings, the Pearl of Holy Light still did not level up. However, there were small changes to its effect:

    [Pearl of Holy Light: Shoot a pearl-sized beam of Holy Light. When struck by the light, humans would be healed to a small extent and their Defense would increase, while monsters would be injured to a small extent and their Defense would decrease. When used, the user¡¯s health would be reduced.]

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes lit up when he read the description of the offering. He quickly equipped it as his mainbat offering.

    Such a skill which could both offer protection and cause damage was a ¡°bug level¡± skill in the game. In real life, it was akin to Ren Suo not only being able to treat patients with [Ability: Heal] but also being able to cause injuries to others by utilizing the ability like ¡®Kamehameha¡¯.

    Subsequently, Mage and Red Hood spent over three more hours to clear most of the monsters in the monastery.

    Although the damage of Mage had increased, the rate of mana consumption also increased. Red Mage also had to take breaks from time to time to recover her mana. At the same time, going deeper into the monastery, the monsters which appeared were stronger, and the Blood Monsters also appeared more frequently. Nheless, Ren Suo also managed to exchange them for a few more Pearls of Holy Light with his fried chicken sets.

    His Sacred Hand was also upgraded to Level 15, and it seemed that the initial leveling speed was extremely fast.

    Just as he was about to clear thest batch of monsters, Red Hood stopped Mage.

    Red Hood said: [I have now acknowledged your ability. As such, I will now be imparting you with the Forbidden Skills of mages.]

    Forbidden Skills?

    [I only know two Forbidden Skills: Breath of Fire Skin and Finger Iron Chain. They are both emergency spells which should not be used until the veryst possible moment.]

    The tone of Red Hood was very calm. She continued: [All skills require offerings, and the offerings required by Forbidden Skills¡­]

    She pointed to herself and Mage and said: [It¡¯s ourselves.]

    Two new skills appeared on the right side of the screen. They were tangled ck mes on top of a scarlet-red background, indicating that those two skills were not to be messed with.

    [Breath of Fire Skin: All of the user¡¯s skin would burn and turn into a huge fireball that is fired at the enemy, dealing massive damage. However, the user would also be severely damaged by the burning skin, causing the user¡¯s Defense to decrease by half. The user¡¯s skin cannot be regenerated and the effect is permanent.]

    [Iron Chain Fingers: The knuckles of all five fingers of one hand of the user would crack and split apart, turning into a tough iron chain that entangles the enemy for 20 seconds. The user¡¯s fingers will then be renderedpletely useless permanently. The damage of the user¡¯s close-ranged-type offerings would also be permanently reduced by half.]

    ¡®¡­?¡¯ Ren Suo thought. He pulled the corners of his lips and muttered, ¡°Who would use the skills knowing that the side effects are so great¡­ What¡¯s more, the game character will turn ugly and it would be hard to continue watching the character throughout the game¡­¡±

    However, at that juncture, a Holy Grail appeared at the center of the screen. A ck liquid was boiling within the Holy Grail, and the countless eyes and a mouth appeared on the sides of the Holy Grail:

    [You have something I desire on you¡­ Let me perform a ¡®fair¡¯ exchange with you.]

    A game prompt appeared: [You have triggered the trade with the Evil Holy Grail.]

    [You may perform a trade with the Evil Holy Grail under nonbat circumstances.]

    [¢Ù Perfect Recovery: 10 merit points;

    ¢Ú Minor Recovery: 1 merit point;

    (Perfect Recovery will heal all side effects from using Forbidden Skills, and restore health and mana)

    (Minor Recovery will suppress a certain side effect from using Forbidden Skills. 7 Minor Recoveries are required topletely eliminate all side effects)]

    Ren Suo had not expected that in-game purchases would appear at that juncture. Furthermore, they were directly linked to ¡®Forbidden Skills¡¯.

    Generally, the significance of in-game purchases was to reduce the difficulty of a game. In ¡°Mage Under the World Tree¡±, in-game purchases could be made to heal and eliminate side effects from utilizing Forbidden Skills. As such, it could be deduced that the power of Forbidden Skills was truly terrifying. Being able to eliminate the side effects of Forbidden Skills allowed the yer to use them repeatedly, which could disrupt the difficulty bnce of the game!

    If the yer used Forbidden Skills in every checkpoint, it would cost 60 merit points (since it did not matter even if the character was barely alive after clearing thest checkpoint). However, uponpletion of the game, 300 merit points would be earned. Hence, Ren Suo did not mind spending slightly morevishly to clear the individual checkpoints by utilizing the Forbidden Skills.

    Ren Suo saved the game at that point, then proceeded to clear thest batch of monsters with Red Hood and waited for the boss of the monastery to appear!

    At that critical moment, however, Red Hood suddenly turned to look out of the monastery. She said: [There are people here.]

    Ren Suo was surprised. He asked: [People? Didn¡¯t you say that there are only monsters here, apart from you and me?¡±

    [They are foreigners to this ce, just like you.]

    The scene changed to the monastery gate, and indeed, Ren Suo saw a few people.

    They were people of Xuan Nation!

    And amongst them, there was also someone he knew well!

 Chapter 194 - [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter 1)]

    Chapter 194 ¨C [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter 1)]

    In the beginning, Ren Suo thought that the location where the game took ce was unrted to Earth.

    If any part of the game appeared on Earth, be it the Mage who spoke a differentnguage, the deserted monastery that served as the main battle arena, or even the strange monsters which appeared, Ren Suo felt that it would have been the end of the world.

    However, at that very moment, the people who appeared at the monastery gates were a group of Countermeasure Division personnel d in their ck vests, and armed with assault rifles. They were most likely extraordinary Practitioners who had been transferred to the Countermeasure Division and who specialized in fighting with modern-day firearms.

    Typically, personnel from the Countermeasure Division did not need to carry firearms with them, as they usually dealt with people who Awakened or monsters and demons that appeared on the streets. Compared to firearms which require a long time to master, [Clothes] and [Lock] were satisfactory for theirbat needs.

    However, based on information on the intr, Ren Suo knew that Countermeasure Division personnel who performed investigations in forests and mountains or hunted down wild monsters and demons were typicallybat personnel transferred from the military. Only a minority of them were tier 2bat Practitioners. That was because the environment they were in and the unpredictable situations they might face were much more dangerous.

    Those personnel were also proficient in abilities like [Clothes], and they operated in teams. They could be considered as trained, extraordinary warriors who were found and gathered together by Xuan Nation.

    However, the appearances of the characters in the game were all modified to some extent. How did Ren Suo recognize a familiar face?

    ¡ªThat was because the characters¡¯ names were written above their heads.

    Just as the words [Red Hood] were written above Red Hood¡¯s head in glowing, blood-red-colored characters, the names of the Countermeasure Division Practitioners who appeared at the monastery also appeared above their heads. The only difference was that there were no special color effects.

    Amongst them, there was someone whose name was [Yuan Dang].

    He was the roommate of Ren Suo, Zhao Huo, and Xie Qiansi when they were at the mass civil servant training. After the training, Ren Suo and the others were unable to contact him. They could only guess that he had been transferred to further his training at a more secret location.

    Ren Suo had thought that he would not have any opportunity to meet him again, and he definitely did not expect to see him in the game. Although ¡®Yuan Dang¡¯ was quite amon name, Ren Suo could easily match his slightly modified face in the game to his real appearance, having met him before in real life.

    Since Red Hood and Mage saw the extraordinary warriors of Xuan Nation, the extraordinary warriors naturally noticed them too. They split into two groups but lowered their rifles as they slowly approached the monastery. They shouted: [Who are you?]

    At that point in time, Red Hood suddenly said: [Here theye.]

    Ren Suo instantly pressed the dialogue button and the game paused. He entered a sentence. Originally, he wanted to say ¡®ah ah ah¡¯, a universally understood cry of shock and panic, to warn the extraordinary warriors. However, at that juncture, he noticed a tiny [AP] on the right side of the dialogue box.

    Upon clicking on it, the names of differentnguages like [Aphronian], [Xuan Nation Mandarin], [English], and [French] appeared. However, they had nothing to do with the inputnguage, but only with thenguage spoken by Mage.

    ¡°The Mage is automatically equipped with the ability to speak allnguages?¡± Ren Suo muttered. He thought that that was pretty useful, so he typed: [Be careful!]

    Mage¡¯s voice rang loudly in the entire monastery, and the Xuan Nation warriors who were approaching the monastery immediately stopped in their tracks. At that juncture, in the dried, waterless pond at the center of the monastery, the dark brown-colored soil suddenly turned into a viscous puddle of deep red-colored blood.

    The viscous puddle of blood quickly filled the entire pond, and then an enormous palm emerged from within. The next moment, a terrifying, gigantic monster appeared on the screen; it was about as tall as three people. It wore what looked like armor but was actually a board with needles sticking outward that was typically used for torture. Its neck was empty and on its left hand was a full face mask of a ¡®crying woman ofpassion¡¯!

    However, the parts of its body which were not covered by its armor were instead growing with tree roots. There was even a purple flower blooming on its neck. Its right hand was reced by a huge wooden stick, and the rough, thick bark was soaked with deep-red blood.

    The monster walked out of the pond, to reveal a pair of extremely thin legs. They could not even be considered legs; rather, they were prosthetics made of steel.

    At the same time, several low-level monsters like Goblins and the Queen Bees appeared within the monastery. Usually, Mage and Red Hood would have fought them with full confidence, but now, they did not have the time to spare for that!

    The extraordinary warriors who had been warned by Mage were naturally very anxious as they looked up and pointed at the gigantic monster with their rifles. However, instead of firing, they took the opportunity to retreat.

    At that juncture, the iron skull mask that the monster was holding suddenly boomed:

    [Ahhhhh¡­ don¡¯t go!]

    Although subtitles apanied the roaring voice, only Mage and Red Hood could understand what the mask said, as it was not in Mandarin. Nheless, the extraordinary warriors could already understand what it said based on the monster¡¯s movements: it was charging towards them as they retreated!

    ¡°Fire!¡±

    The sounds of the gun barrels moving and bullets flying were akin to shrill hymns resonating in the monastery. However, its effect was still unsatisfactory: the advancing monster was slowed down by the force of the bullets, but the roots on its body as well as its armor were sufficient to protect it from any harm!

    Moreover, because of its huge body and extraordinarilyrge stride, it quickly caught up with the extraordinary warriors and swung its stick at them!

    Although the extraordinary warriors avoided the blow in time, the flying gravel and shock wave caused by the great force of the monster¡¯s blow caused two people to fly backward. They fell to the ground groaning.

    At that moment, Red Hood and Mage teleported over, using their movement skills. Following a loud roar, Red Hood summoned an enormous ming axe from the offering she held tightly in her right hand. The axe was more than two meters tall, and it was swung towards the exposed waist of the monster!

    Red Hood eximed: [Evil monsters in human form have weaknesses too! It has tree roots on its body, it must be afraid of fire!]

    mes of fire emerged beneath the axe as it tore arge segment of the tree roots from the monster. The monster screamed shrilly but feebly.

    Following which, the monster threw the iron skull mask in its left hand at Red Hood ferociously!

    Red Hood dodged the attack with ease and continued attacking the monster with the me axe. On the other hand, Ren Suo controlled Mage to move towards the extraordinary warriors and shot them with bullets of Holy Light to heal them. He asked: [How did you guyse in?]

    The healing effect of the Holy Light bullets was extremely prominent. Judging from the situation, the extraordinary warriors already knew that Mage was not an evil character. The Practitioner named ¡®Cheng Wenchao¡¯ said: [We are the advance party scouting the mysterious, unknown area around here. We came in directly through a hole which appeared beside Ind Lake.]

    As Mage questioned the warriors, he did not stop to listen to them. Although [Fire Broadsword Fragment] was his only fire-type attack, Holy Light bullets could also deal damage and reduce the enemy¡¯s armor, making it a suitable substitute for ranged attacks. He continued asking: [In that case, can you leave now? It is very dangerous here.]

    Cheng Wenchao shook his head and said: [No, we can¡¯t. Only Practitioners cane in here, but after we came in, we have not found a way to leave, and neither can wemunicate with the outside world.]

    Mage turned around to ask Red Hood: [Is there a way for them to leave this ce?]

    Red Hood replied: [They are outsiders, just like you. The only way for outsiders to leave this fruit of evil is to subdue and cleanse the evil monsters of the monastery! For the evil monsters, outsiders are their source of food, and they would never let you go!]

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment, then conveyed what Red Hood said to Cheng Wenchao. He said: [Can you guys support us from the distance by attacking those small monsters? Leave this gigantic monster to me and¡­ Senior.]

    Ren Suo had given it a thought and felt that it was not fully appropriate to describe the rtionship between Mage and Red Hood as senior and junior, because they looked like Westerners. However, Red Hood could not understand humannguage anyway, so Ren Suo could do as he wished.

    Given the urgency of the situation and the obviously malicious, fierce-looking monster, Cheng Wenchao very quickly agreed to Mage¡¯s request. He said: [No problem, but may I ask, who are you? Our support team should being in very soon, can this battle be avoided?]

    Mage replied: [Mr. Cheng Wenchao, I am a mage. There is no way to avoid this battle; the monster will hunt us down until it gets a taste of our corpses.]

    Ren Suo could see that Cheng Wenchao was surprised¡ªhe must have remembered that he had not mentioned his name before.

    The monster shrieked: [Ahhh¡­ I love him, I love him, but why are there so many women next to him!]

    The monster¡¯s screams turned into blood-written words on the screen. Then, the monster suddenly charged towards where the Mage was standing. Mage quickly activated a speed offering to dodge, then changed it to the fire broadsword. He swung the fire broadsword at the iron skull mask on the left hand of the monster.

    A shriek emerged from the iron skull mask, and the monster lost its bnce momentarily. It shook its enormous wooden stick even more vigorously and wildly, but Mage and the extraordinary warriors had already retreated in the opposite direction. As a result, it missed all its attacks.

    The monster cried: [I¡¯m willing to sacrifice so much just for you, why do you want to leave?!]

    Fresh blood suddenly began dripping from the monster¡¯s legs, allowing it to slide across the ground to move, instead of merely taking wide strides. Nevertheless, the effect on Mage and Red Hood was insignificant, for their teleportation skills enabled them to move left and right instantaneously to avoid its attacks.

    After several attacks, the monster became slightly more intelligent. It turned around and went for the extraordinary warriors who were supporting the fight in the distance instead!

    Mage shouted: [Quick, run away!]

    Even though Ren Suo alerted the warriors immediately while Red Hood and Mage continued chasing after the monster, the monster did not change its target. Instead, fresh blood gushed out from its right hand, and the wooden stick turned into a blood sickle!

    The monster roared: [My blood, this is my blood, this is my blood that I have squeezed out just for you!]

    The monster looked as if it was about to cast its ultimate move. Ren Suo exhaled¡ªit was also about time for him to experiment with his ultimate move.

    Previously, from the [Equipment] screen, [Unlimited Fried Chicken Set] was not the only useful offering that he found.

    He activated the offering [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter 1)]!

 Chapter 195 - Forbidden Skill, Activate!

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 195: Chapter 195 ¨C Forbidden Skill, Activate!

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Ren Suo had long noticed that the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter 1)¡± appeared on the [Equipment] page.

    <span><span><i></i>Unlike the [Advanced Practice Method], the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan appeared to be deemed as a ¡®Special Ability¡¯ by the game console. Nevertheless, after Ren Suo equipped himself with it, he found that its effect on his Practice was not much different from him doing without it.

    <span><span><i></i>There was still a slight difference, however. Simply put, if Ren Suo¡¯s efficiency when practicing the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan was about 60% ~ 70%, equipping himself with the ability allowed him to achieve 100% efficiency.

    <span><span><i></i>However, since Ren Suo could still improve his proficiency in the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan through continuous practice, he naturally did not take such a shortcut. In the long run, Ren Suo would have mastered a method of Practice, at the very least; and in the short term, Ren Suo could free up an ability slot.

    <span><span><i></i>Most importantly, if Ren Suo chose to equip himself with the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡± to Practice, would it not have been a waste of his over ten days practicing in the small room, somewhere in Tianjing City¡­

    <span><span><i></i>It was just that Ren Suo had not expected [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter One] to be an offering in the game.

    <span><span><i></i>Regardless, the prerequisite of using the offering was also unrted to health or mana; the cooldown time was the only limiting factor.

    <span><span><i></i>As long as it was used, the offering of [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter 1)] would enter a cooldown period of 1 checkpoint, even if Ren Suo reloaded another savegame.

    <span><span><i></i>In other words, after using it once in a checkpoint, [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan] would remain in cooldown until Ren Suo cleared the current checkpoint and started on a new one.

    <span><span><i></i>The effect of [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan (Chapter 1)] was also very straightforward: [Upon activation, the user¡¯s defense power, mana, rate of mana recovery, health, rate of health recovery, movement speed, unstoppable durability, attack speed, attack power, and physical attributes will increase. The effectsts for 10 minutes.]

    <span><span><i></i>Naturally, such skills would only be used in boss battles. Moreover, because it was impossible to reset the cooldown time even when loading other savegames, Ren Suo did not dare to use it earlier on, but it was now the time to do so!

    <span><span><i></i>On the screen, Mage suddenly began hovering above the ground and his silver-white hair was flowing even without the wind. A strange-looking ck-colored rune suddenly attached to the silver-white robe of Mage. His health and mana increased by a third, and the scene seemed to darken.

    <span><span><i></i>Following which, everything that was happening around Mage appeared to slow down slightly.

    <span><span><i></i>The difference was actually very subtle. If not for the fact that the screamsing from the extraordinary warriors were suddenly prolonged by a short duration, Ren Suo would not have noticed the difference in the perceived speed of the surrounding movements.

    <span><span><i></i>It was simr to when Ren Suo used Monkey King in the fight against the Angel. In order to match Ren Suo¡¯s control speed, the overall speed of the game had to be slowed down to highlight the difference when the fighting speed of the game character increased!

    <span><span><i></i>¡°What a powerful ability!¡± Ren Suo eximed as he breathed in deeply. He then changed to the next offering: [Data Stream].

    <span><span><i></i>There were no restrictions on using that offering, and it had only one effect: to query the status of the boss.

    <span><span><i></i>[Target: Holy Grail Monster]

    <span><span><i></i>[Health Remaining: 86%]

    <span><span><i></i>It was quite a tank¡­ Ren Suo cursed under his breath as he controlled Mage to move instantly towards the monster and threw a blow at it with his Fire Broadsword!

    <span><span><i></i>At first, the Fire Broadsword of the Mage could only carve out a crack of fire on its body that was slightly over a meter wide. However, after activating the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan, the blow from Mage immediately caused a crack of fire that was about 7 to 8 meters wide!

    <span><span><i></i>The monster shrieked in agony, and it swung the blood sickle, which had been umting with energy, towards the ground. The bloodstorm that was triggered by its impact with the ground covered the entire monastery!

    <span><span><i></i>The extraordinary soldiers groaned as they were all thrown against the wall due to the shockwave caused by the blood sickle, and the sound of their heavy impact with the stones was deafening!

    <span><span><i></i>All of them should have activated [Clothes], but they were still injured due to the impact!

    <span><span><i></i>However, both Red Hood and Mage were still able to evade the impact of the blood sickle. They approached the monster and rained a slew of attacks on the monster.

    <span><span><i></i>As the health of the monster dropped, thebat power it disyed also became more terrifying. It either swept the crowd with the blood sickle or threw the iron skull mask recklessly in madness. The speed at which the iron skull mask flew threw the air was extremely fast, and even Ren Suo might not have been able to avoid all of the attacks if not for the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan.

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, the warriors of Xuan Nation also managed to catch their breath and attempted to shift their woundedrades out of the monastery. However, as they approached the exit of the monastery, the monster seemed to turn berserk, roaring:

    <span><span><i></i>[Don¡¯t leave¡ª]

    <span><span><i></i>The monster ignored Mage and Red Hood to chase after the injured Xuan Nation warriors!

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo naturally controlled Mage to hurry over to slow the monster¡¯s advance towards the warriors. However, no matter how much damage Mage dealt to the monster with his Fire Broadsword, the monsterpletely ignored him. Instead, it raised its blood sickle high in the air as it took aim at the Xuan Nation warriors who were attempting to escape!

    <span><span><i></i>The unharmed Xuan Nation warriors naturally noticed what the monster was about to do. They aimed their rifles and shot at the monster with all their might, but in the monster¡¯s state of sliding over the ground, it would not be hindered by the slew of bulletsnding on the monster!

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo took a quick nce at them and saw that it was Yuan Dang who was leading his woundedrades to escape then.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I can¡¯t watch him die in here¡­ I guess I¡¯ll have to give it a try¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself.

    <span><span><i></i>At that point in time, although Yuan Dang and the woundedrades were still running away, they tripped over a stone in their haste when they saw the monster charging towards them. When they turned back around, they saw the monster, which upied the entire field of vision, lifting the blood sickle above its head and about to end their lives.

    <span><span><i></i>The next second, the silver-haired Mage teleported and appeared right in front of them.

    <span><span><i></i>It was about to be toote, however. Even if Mage was able to kill the monster in one blow of his sword, the blood sickle of the monster would still end up killing Yuan Dang and the woundedrades.

    <span><span><i></i>Just as they had resigned to fate, a ck current of air encircled Mage and he screamed in anguish: [Ahhhhh¡ª]!

    <span><span><i></i>The next moment, all five of Mage¡¯s right-hand knuckles broke off from his hand, exposing the iron-colored bones of his fingers with traces of deep-red-colored blood on them!

    <span><span><i></i>Forbidden Skill, [Iron Chain Fingers], activate!

    <span><span><i></i>The iron chain of five fingers shot towards the monster as if it were a living creature and wrapped around it. Comparing it to the size of the monster, the thin iron chain of fingers looked like a rubber band that would be broken even with a slight force from the monster.

    <span><span><i></i>However, it was that thin chain of fingers which stopped the monster and anchored it to the ground at its original position!

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, several messages popped up consecutively on the left side of the screen:

    <span><span><i></i>[You activated a Forbidden Skill andpletely lost the fingers of your right hand.]

    <span><span><i></i>[As you are in an unknown state of enhancement, the effect of your Forbidden Ability is further enhanced: the target would be restrained and be unable to move for an additional 10 seconds for a total duration of 30 seconds.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The damage of all close-ranged attacks will be decreased by 50%.]

    <span><span><i></i>Mage yelled: [It would not be able to move for the next 30 seconds, leave now!]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo naturally said that to the extraordinary warriors, but Yuan Dang immediately turned around and said: [There is an invisible wall of air at the exit, we can¡¯t get out!]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was slightly surprised and changed thenguage to ask Red Hood about the air wall. Red Hood replied: [This is the monster¡¯s monastery, if it does not want anyone to escape, the entire monastery will listen to it!]

    <span><span><i></i>At that point in time, ten seconds out of the 30 seconds had passed. Ren Suo immediately changed thenguage again and said: [You won¡¯t be able to leave for now. Hurry, use whatever you have on it!]

    <span><span><i></i>Following that, the warriors retreated as they shot at the monster with their assault rifles, except for Cheng Wenchao who dropped his rifle, took out a dagger from around his waist, and approached the monster.

    <span><span><i></i>He let out a shout and a frosty glow emerged from his dagger as he plunged the dagger into the iron skull mask. The iron skull mask shattered!

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was slightly surprised. He recognized that to be the tier 3 ability [Sonic Dagger] in the Abilities Universe. The sonic dagger was able to produce continuous vibrations and unsurprisingly, it dealt an extreme amount of damage. Ren Suo had not expected that Cheng Wenchao was actually able to master that ability.

    <span><span><i></i>However, after the head of the iron skull mask shattered to pieces, arge viscous mass of blood poured out from it, and then it was reformed.

    <span><span><i></i>The monster yelled: [My blood¡­ Look¡­ Look at it!]

    <span><span><i></i>After 30 seconds, the monster¡¯s remaining health dropped to 60%. When it finally broke free of the restraint, it suddenly shouted: [Ahhhhhh, is it because my love is still not enough¡ª]

    <span><span><i></i>Then, the blood sickle making up its right hand turned into a il and it swung the il viciously at itself!

    <span><span><i></i>The blood-colored flowers split into countless pieces. Along with the blood-colored wooden roots and wood shavings, the fragments flew in all directions like sharp arrows. Even Ren Suo could not avoid being hit by them!

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, at the same time, the monster did not remain at one spot and was still moving around!

    <span><span><i></i>The Xuan Nation Practitioners figured that they were unable to escape, so they set their minds solely on attacking the monster instead. Mage had also lost its right hand and focused on healing the warriors instead. He continuously fired Holy Light bullets to heal the wounded warriors and allow them to rejoin the battle as soon as possible!

    <span><span><i></i>However, the game was not as simple as merely fighting.

    <span><span><i></i>The monster often changed its moves. When its health dropped below 40%, its movements became even more erratic. It suddenly swung its il backward instead and sliced a Xuan Nation warrior named ¡®Zhong Zhou¡¯ into two!

    <span><span><i></i>Mage shot numerous Holy Light bullets at Zhong Zhou, but he did not respond at all. Just as he was on the brink of death, a ck vortex appeared beneath his body. It was the same ck vortex that appeared when the monsters which had been in by Mage were about to revert to their original form.

    <span><span><i></i>As Mage walked nearer to Zhong Zhou, two choices appeared on the screen:

    <span><span><i></i>[Salvation] or [Sacrifice]?

 Chapter 196 - Feigning Death

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 196: Chapter 196 ¨C Feigning Death

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Although there were two options, [Salvation] was actually greyed out!

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood exined: [Only mages, as well as creatures who received powers granted by the Holy Grail, can be granted salvation. If ordinary people die in the temple, they will turn directly into monsters! Sacrifice him now!]

    <span><span><i></i>The other Xuan Nation warriors also noticed that theirrade was on the brink of death. One of the soldiers closest to Zhong Zhou ran over to take a look at the tragic state he was in, but eventually gritted his teeth and continued in the fight instead.

    <span><span><i></i>At that point in time, the lives of everyone were at stake. Given that the death of theirrade was now unavoidable, and knowing that the silver-haired Mage had been helping them all along, they naturally did not question what he was doing with their deadrade.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo asked Red Hood: [Would recovery offerings not work either?]

    <span><span><i></i>She replied: [It would work, but he won¡¯t be able to survive through your treatment process!]

    <span><span><i></i>He said: [In that case, I just need to ensure he can pull through for the time being.]

    <span><span><i></i>Offering [Heart-Strengthening], activate!

    <span><span><i></i>On the screen, Mage applied pressure on Zhong Zhou¡¯s heart. With the life-preserving energy which was formed since 2000 years ago by the Ren family of Practitioners, Zhong Zhou¡¯s life was prolonged.

    <span><span><i></i>Gradually, the ck vortex beneath Zhong Zhou dissipated. After Mage continuously shot Holy Light bullets at him and finished the initial stage of the treatment, his body had been rejoined together and blood loss was reduced. At the least, he had been pulled back from death¡¯s door.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°The effect is pretty amazing,¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself. He was also quite surprised, for he had actually only been experimenting.

    <span><span><i></i>Who would have known that the Heart-Strengthening ability would still be able to retain its effect of prolonging lives in the game?

    <span><span><i></i>At that moment, Ren Suo thought of something. He swapped [Unlimited Fried Chicken Set] for [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], then returned immediately to the battlefield to continue the battle.

    <span><span><i></i>By that time, the Xuan Nation warriors had almost run out of ammunition. All of them were attacking the monster with their own abilities¡ªmes of fire and crystals of ice were flying across the battlefield, and only Cheng Wenchao was able to use his Sonic Dagger to attack the monster at close range. Although his movement speed was not slow, he could barely manage to avoid being hit by the monster.

    <span><span><i></i>Subsequently, even though the attacks of the monster were able to injure everyone on the battlefield, the injuries were not so serious as to cause the loss of limbs or impending death. They could be healed in time by Mage¡¯s urately-aimed Holy Light bullets, and there was no further reduction in strength.

    <span><span><i></i>When the monster¡¯s health dropped to 25%, the iron skull mask screeched yet again: [I used so much blood for you¡­ Why are you not drinking it?]

    <span><span><i></i>With that, the monster ran back to the blood pool. The viscous blood wrapped around the monster like wrapping paper, turning it into a gigantic Blood Monster! The vines on the wood were bleached in an even deeper red color, and its armor was further strengthened by the viscous blood!

    <span><span><i></i>[Hoo, Haa!]

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood shot over to the foot of the monster in a sh and swung her Giant me Axe at the monster¡¯s waist. Previously, the attack would have been able to ignite the wood on the monster¡¯s body and deal great damage. This time, however, the attack only caused a small portion of the wood on its body to be chopped off!

    <span><span><i></i>The monster no longer had a weakness to fire, and all of its Defense-rted attributes rose sharply! Red Hood¡¯s attacks could no longer deal great damage to the monster, and at the same time, the monster turned around to reveal a blood-colored whip as its right hand¡ªit was no longer just a wooden stick. The monster swung the whip as if using a broom and Red Hood, who could not dodge the attack in time, was swept into the air!

    <span><span><i></i>The monster¡¯s speed also increased. Even Ren Suo, who was equipped with the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan, was unable to react in time to dodge the attack!

    <span><span><i></i>The difficulty of the battle instantly became much harder, and when the effect of Secret Records of Glorious Xuan on Mage wore off, the monster still had 20% of its health remaining!

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, with the change in attack method from wooden stick to whip, which had an extremelyrge area-of-effect, at least one person would be injured following each attack of the monster. Even if they were equipped with [Clothes], that protectiveyer would be shattered instantly, and at best, it greatly reduced the damage dealt to them.

    <span><span><i></i>If not for Mage¡¯s Holy Light bullets, most of the Xuan Nation warriors would have bled to death!

    <span><span><i></i>However, even so, the remaining health of Mage and Red Hood was also decreasing gradually. The recovery rate of Mage¡¯s mana could no longer keep up with his mana depletion rate. He had to recover some of his mana from the dead bodies of the monsters lying around at the side!

    <span><span><i></i>At a critical juncture of the battle, Red Hood suddenly said: [I will restrain the Evil Demon in a moment, take the chance to attack him!]

    <span><span><i></i>Restrain the monster? Ren Suo immediately replied: [Your attack damage is higher than mine, let me do it!]

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood said: [You still have a future ahead of you, but I am about to die anyway. It would be most rewarding if I die in battle while fighting the monster! When the restraining effect wears off, I will use Breath of Fire Skin to end this nightmare!]

    <span><span><i></i>At that moment, Cheng Wenchao, who was already extremely exhausted from the fight, failed to dodge the monster¡¯s attack in time. He was swept into the air by the broom-like whip, and his [Clothes] instantly shattered. He fell to the ground, groaning in agony.

    <span><span><i></i>The next second, the monster raised the iron skull mask in its right hand. That was its most powerful attack¡ªeven Mage had most of its health depleted upon being hit by it!

    <span><span><i></i>There was almost no doubt as to what would happen to Cheng Wenchao, whose [Clothes] had already been shattered previously!

    <span><span><i></i>However, the next moment, Mage teleported over to Cheng Wenchao and stretched out his left hand!

    <span><span><i></i>For the second time, Forbidden Skill, [Iron Chain Fingers], activate!

    <span><span><i></i>It was not only that: intense orange-red mes suddenly emerged from Mage¡¯s body and devoured himpletely! He let out a deep cry of anguish as if it radiated out from the depths of his bones!

    <span><span><i></i>[Breath of Fire Skin], activate!

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood did not say anything, but took the opportunity at that time to attack the Evil Demon of the monastery with her Giant me Axe as much as possible!

    <span><span><i></i>After a short casting period, a gigantic me King rose above Mage¡¯s head. The me King was evenrger than the headless monster, and a massive wave of heat swept across the entire monastery!

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, another group of Xuan Nation Practitioners appeared at the entrance of the monastery. They witnessed the exchange of blows between the me King and the monster.

    <span><span><i></i>[Be dead, you parasite!]

    <span><span><i></i>me King held the restrained monster tightly. Endless mes filled the monster, baking its body and vaporizing all of its flowing blood!

    <span><span><i></i>With just one attack, the monster¡¯s remaining health dropped all the way down to 3%!

    <span><span><i></i>Fire King dissipated immediately, but at the same time, the side effects of using the Forbidden Skills emerged¡ªMage was now a burnt piece of charcoal with not even an inch of skin on him. Traces of blood were still seeping out of his scabbed flesh; it was an extremely horrifying sight.

    <span><span><i></i>Nevertheless, Ren Suo did not have the time to pay attention to Mage¡¯s appearance. After the restraining effect on the monster wore off after 20 seconds, it swept Mage into the air with its whip. It was only after Mage almost died as a result when Red Hood managed to chop the monster, who had barely any health remaining, to death.

    <span><span><i></i>The monster shrieked in anguish. Most parts of its body turned into a ck mist and dissipated into the air, leaving behind only a girl wearing brown-colored clothes, kneeling on the ground.

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood stood next to the girl and waited to see what Mage would do.

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood said emotionlessly: [It does not matter whether you choose ¡®Salvation¡¯ or ¡®Sacrifice¡¯. As long as the mage has subdued the Evil Demon of the monastery, it will never be able to resurrect. At the same time, this evil fruit¡­ will also be purified.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo controlled Mage¡ªwho was barely left with any physical body apart from his bones¡ªto walk towards the girl. The girl turned to look at him, and he saw her freckled face which was covered with blood.

    <span><span><i></i>Naturally, he did not hesitate and chose [Salvation]. He had already chosen that path anyway.

    <span><span><i></i>The ¡®Salvation¡¯ of the Evil Demon of the monastery waspletely different from that of ordinary human-form monsters. On the screen, shbacks of the life of the ordinary girl were shown:

    <span><span><i></i>[An ordinary-looking gardener girl fell in love with a handsome knight. However, she knew that she was just an ordinary girl and so, she only loved him secretly. Once, the knight returned from a war with serious injuries. He was being treated in the monastery that she was in, and the girl felt that it was an opportunity for her.]

    <span><span><i></i>[However, there were also many beautiful girls close to the knight, who were fighting to take care of him. The gardener girl did not have any worthy treasure to bring with her to meet the knight, so she picked the most beautiful flower she had ever grown and brought it with her.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Be that as it may, when she met the knight, she saw a woman, who was even more beautiful than her flower, taking care of him. Upon seeing that, she stepped on and destroyed the beautiful flower that she spent a long time growing.]

    <span><span><i></i>[She hated herself even more. She hated her ordinary self, her inferiority to others, and her ipetence.]

    <span><span><i></i>[She merely hoped to be able to give a little help to someone she secretly loved.]

    <span><span><i></i>[At that time, the Holy Grail appeared.]

    <span><span><i></i>[She gave her everything to the Holy Grail. One day, when she was taking care of her garden, she identally cut herself with the thorn of a tree. Her fresh blood trickled down to the soil and then, golden flowers began to bloom.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Indeed, what better treatment was there to patients, other than help and care?]

    <span><span><i></i>[Subsequently, she found instruments used for torture in the monastery and used them to squeeze out her own blood. She poured all of her thoughts of love into the blood. It seemed to her that the more blood she squeezed out, the greater her love, and the greater the love she would receive in reciprocation.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The huge loss of blood made the girl¡¯s face extremely pale while staining it with blood. She did not want the person she loved to see her appearance in such a state, so she put on an iron mask and carried her bucket of blood to meet the knight.]

    <span><span><i></i>[When the knight saw the girl, he was so terrified of her creepy appearance and gift. The knight, who was on his bed, immediately pulled out the longsword beside him, chopped her head off, and fled through the window.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The girl held on to her head as she chased the fleeing knight. Now, the wounds on the girl must still be shedding tears of blood as she continues running.]

    <span><span><i></i>A message popped up in the game: [The Iron Virgin has been sessfully granted salvation.]

    <span><span><i></i>As the girl on the ground turned into light and disappeared, Red Hood turned around and said: [I will be waiting for you in the next arena.] With that, she left.

    <span><span><i></i>

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief after finally clearing one checkpoint.

    <span><span><i></i>[Lie down quickly, we will find someone to treat you!]

    <span><span><i></i>The Xuan Nation warriors crowded around Mage and helped him to lie down on the ground. Ren Suo was slightly amused.

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, Cheng Wenchao brought a Practitioner who had just entered the monastery over. The Practitioner crouched down to survey Mage¡¯s injuries and said: [99% of his body has been burnt, and most of his internal organs are¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>After casting the Forbidden Skills and then being swept into the air by the monster, the final result of Mage was horrifying. Nheless, he had a health bar, and he would be fine after recovering to full health.

    <span><span><i></i>However, in the eyes of normal people, what the Practitioner said equated to death.

    <span><span><i></i>Zhong Zhou asked the other warriors to help him over to Mage. He looked at the almost unrecognizable Mage and could not hold back his tears. He eximed: [My savior, if you havest wishes, feel free to tell me, I will definitely help you to fulfill them!]

    <span><span><i></i>Zhong Zhou had witnessed with his own eyes how Mage saved him even though he had been cut into two. Especially since he was from the military, he definitely wanted to repay Mage¡¯s kindness for rescuing him from death¡¯s door.

    <span><span><i></i>At that point in time, the option [Leave Checkpoint] appeared on the screen, so Ren Suo let Mage reply: [It¡¯s alright.]

    <span><span><i></i>Yuan Dang, Cheng Wenchao, and the rest of the warriors also said: [Mage Sire, you protected us throughout the previous battle, and even debilitated yourself to kill that monster. For that, even words cannot express our deepest gratitude towards you.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Without you, we would definitely have been killed very early by that monster.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Regardless, you are our savior who saved all of our lives. If you have anyst wishes, we will definitely try our best to help you fulfill them!]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo thought that it would ruin the atmosphere if he said that he could still be saved then¡­ A thought struck him, and he let Mage reply:

    <span><span><i></i>[We are mages under the world tree. From the moment we were born, we dedicated our lives to the world tree. It is our duty to eliminate disasters and save humans. I will not die, for there are many others like me who are fighting in silence. They will inherit my will, and we all have the same name: Mage¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>When Ren Suo finished his sentence, he quickly controlled Mage to leave the checkpoint. Incidentally, the way in which Mage left the checkpoint was unexpectedly like his passing¡ªinch by inch, his body vanished into light.

    <span><span><i></i>Seeing the screen finally returning to the checkpoint selection page, Ren Suo could finally rx.

    <span><span><i></i>The boss battle was extremely exhausting for him¡ªboth mentally and physically. After saving the game and turning off the game console, he fell asleep on the couch.

    <span><span><i></i>While Ren Suo was still in dreand, he heard the doorbell ring. He rubbed his eyes in his sleepiness and proceeded to open the door.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Good morning.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>It was Dong Chengling outside the door. She handed him a thermos sk and said, ¡°I made too much red bean soy milk today, do you want to try it? I added brown sugar, honey, and milk, so it may be slightly too sweet.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Oh¡­ thanks,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    <span><span><i></i>Since he had already been awoken, Ren Suo proceeded to brush his teeth and wash his face, then opened the thermos sk to take a sip of the soy milk.

    <span><span><i></i>Mmm, the texture was very smooth, and it was very sweet.

    <span><span><i></i>It was freshly made and it tasted delicious indeed.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo smacked his lips as he drank the soy milk. Then, he looked down at the thermos sk.

    <span><span><i></i>Under the light, the dull red color of the soy milk in the thermos sk became more appealing, and his appetite grew dramatically.

 Chapter 197 - Game Character and the Jade Pendant

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 197: Chapter 197 ¨C Game Character and the Jade Pendant

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°It¡¯s actually effective¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo exhaled deeply and used [Data Stream] on himself¡ªhis Practice progress was now tier 1, 38%.

    <span><span><i></i>He looked down at the tattoo of the jade pendant on his right arm. At that point in time, the tattoo of the jade pendant was deep green in color, and it looked like it could be washed off easily using Safeguard soap.

    <span><span><i></i>His progress was definitely not slow¡ªalthough he spent the entire day Practicing and even activated [Unlimited Energy], it was definitely still worth it.

    <span><span><i></i>At such a speed, Ren Suo would definitely be able to be a tier 2 Practitioner within two months. Even though he was close to numerous tier 2 Practitioners, did that mean that it was easy to be one? No, because most of them were talented, hard-working, and highly qualified geniuses. If it were a few yearster when the Practitioner system had been fully developed, Ren Suo would certainly not have had the chance to even meet them.

    <span><span><i></i>Nheless, now that Ren Suo discovered that his Practice efficiency was gradually improving, he could not bear to stop Practicing either.

    <span><span><i></i>After the entire day had passed, Ren Suo found that his Practice efficiency was at its maximum, which was already 10%~15% higher than before.

    <span><span><i></i>It was perfectly normal for the talent scores of Practitioners to improve over time¡ªsimr to reading a novel, the speed it took to read one page could progressively increase from 10 seconds per page for a new reader, to 2 seconds per page for an avid reader. However, the amount of information processed would still remain the same, despite the increase in speed. In the same way, the more Practitioners practiced, the higher their talent scores would be.

    <span><span><i></i>Nevertheless, based on information in the intr, if the fundamental level of a Practitioner¡¯s breathing current remained unchanged (meaning that the Practitioner was unable to promote to the next tier), then the Practitioner¡¯s talent score would eventually still reach a bottleneck. In Ren Suo¡¯s case, for example, if the amount of Reiki energy in the world did not continue to increase, he may as well remain a tier 2 Practitioner forever.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo currently had the means to enhance his talent score, which was using the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]¡ªthough he still had to kill and eliminate monsters and demons personally for his talent score to increase.

    <span><span><i></i>However, it was very easy for him to lose his reason and sanity while being equipped with [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]. Moreover, with theplete development of the Countermeasure System, any monster that was discovered would be gunned down. Even if Ren Suo returned to the Countermeasure Division, he did not have many opportunities to cleanse and purify monsters himself.

    <span><span><i></i>On the other hand, however, when Ren Suo found that [Heart-Strengthening] was effective in the game [The Mage Under the World Tree], he suddenly thought of the jade pendant that was born out of the same source as the [Heart-Strengthening] ability. At that time, he wondered if the Evil Demon of the monastery was also considered an evil demon?

    <span><span><i></i>As such, Ren Suo equipped Mage with the Jade Pendant to fight the Evil Demon of the monastery, since his props slot was empty anyway. After clearing the first checkpoint, Ren Suo then Practiced himself the next day, while being equipped with the Jade Pendant.

    <span><span><i></i>Ultimately, it was impossible for a powerful, top-tier monster to appear in his house and cause him to let his guard (or rather, his timid soul) down, right?

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo found that the Jade Pendant glowed slightly when he equipped it, simr to the time when he subdued the Awakener who Awakened but fell to the dark side!

    <span><span><i></i>When he first started Practicing, Ren Suo did not feel much different. It was only when he was in his second Practice cycle that he clearly felt the Reiki being incorporated into his breathing current and through his veins. He could feel that his internal Reiki energy increased slightly.

    <span><span><i></i>Such a feeling was very obvious when practicing the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan, as the Reiki energy would constantly nourish the body and cause exhaustion. However, upon finishing one Practice cycle, the Practitioner would feel thoroughly refreshed.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo had fully familiarized himself with the effects he felt at each step of the Practice cycle, so when the amount of Reiki in his body increased, he could feel himself bing more tired. It felt as if a cucumber was stuffed into his mouth while it was already full!

    <span><span><i></i>He almost could not sustain until that Practice cycle waspleted, but he eventually managed toplete it sessfully. In the end, the amount of Reiki he had remaining increased slightly.

    <span><span><i></i>Of course, it was not reliable to rely on feelings and perceptions. Ren Suo had used [Data Flow] on himself and noted down his Practice progress percentage throughout his Practice. In the end, he concluded that his talent score was increasing at an hourly rate.

    <span><span><i></i>After Ren Suo unequipped [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], his progress rate dropped drastically to 0.

    <span><span><i></i>However, even if he wore the Jade Pendant at all times, his progress rate was still close to 0, even after 6 hours. It was only after two consecutive Practice cycles that there was a sporadic increase in his progress rate, which meant that there was only an increase in the Practitioner¡¯s own talent score.

    <span><span><i></i>As such, Ren Suo came to the conclusion that: the most likely way to increase his own talent score was to equip game characters with the Jade Pendant to defeat the enemy monsters, and then, equip himself with the Jade Pendant.

    <span><span><i></i>Originally, [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] required Ren Suo to be equipped with it when killing a monster to be effective. Now, however, Ren Suo had found a shortcut!

    <span><span><i></i>The purifying effect of [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] could also be activated in the game!

    <span><span><i></i>Upon returning home after dinner that night, Ren Suo immediately continued ying the game. However, he started a new savegame then.

    <span><span><i></i>He quickly created another game character and entered the same checkpoint which was the monastery. Eagerly, Ren Suo controlled Mage to kill the monsters in the monastery with Red Hood. This time, however, he chose the ¡°sacrifice¡± route and sacrificed all the monsters he encountered.

    <span><span><i></i>An hourter, Ren Suo immediately exited the game and navigated to the Equipment page. He equipped himself with [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] and continued Practicing!

    <span><span><i></i>Using [Data Flow] on himself, Ren Suo found that his talent score did not increase despitepleting another two consecutive Practice cycles.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo then attempted the ¡®salvation¡¯ route for another hour, but eventually, he came to the regrettable conclusion that: merely killing small monsters was unable to activate the effect of [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo].

    <span><span><i></i>Nevertheless, Ren Suo did not give up on the new savegame just like that. He continued on the [Sacrifice] route to see what would happenter on.

    <span><span><i></i>Unlike [Salvation], sacrifice was very straightforward and was indeed more beneficial. The mana used to activate offerings for close-ranged attacks with the sacrifice route was much less than that required with the salvation route, as the offerings for close-ranged attacks would remain effective for a certain period of time. As the level of the Magic Wrist increased, the damage caused by the offerings also increased. Overall, the damage output with the sacrifice route was a notch higher than that with the salvation route.

    <span><span><i></i>This time around, the advancement in the game was faster than with the salvation route. However, when the Iron Virgin boss emerged, Cheng Wenchao and his team also appeared once again at the entrance of the monastery¡­

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo looked at the game time. He realized that Chang Wenchao and his team appeared at least 30 minutes earlier than they did in the previous savegame.

    <span><span><i></i>Logically speaking, there was no reason for him to encounter Cheng Wenchao and his team then!

    <span><span><i></i>As such, Ren Suo took a moment to control Mage to ask them: [Cheng Wenchao, why did you choose toe in here at this time?]

    <span><span><i></i>He replied: [How did you know my name?]

    <span><span><i></i>Mage said: [Answer my question first!]

    <span><span><i></i>After some effort on Ren Suo¡¯s part, Cheng Wenchao finally revealed the truth. It turned out that it was because a golden glow suddenly emerged from the mysterious portal which they discovered near Ind Lake. That was the reason why the scout team was sent to check it out.

    <span><span><i></i>In other words, even if Ren Suo was quicker or slower in his advance into the monastery, the Countermeasure Division personnel would still most likely appear when he was fighting the boss. They must have been wondering what kind of treasure was hidden there¡­

    <span><span><i></i>Regardless, the boss battle was still equally challenging. Moreover, this time, Mage did not have Holy Light bullets, which resulted in more than half of the Xuan Nation warriors being wounded or dying. When the Iron Virgin¡¯s remaining health dropped to 20%, both Mage and Red Hood were also about to be depleted of their health.

    <span><span><i></i>With failure imminent, it was Red Hood who activated the Forbidden Skills [Finger Iron Chain] and [Breath of Fire Skin] this time around. The Iron Virgin was on the brink of death from the attacks, and finally, Mage assisted in dealing the final blow. The Iron Virgin boss was sessfully sacrificed thereafter.

    <span><span><i></i>This time, however, Red Hood did not tell Mage that she would meet him in the next arena. Instead, she said: [With my little fighting power left, I would only be a burden to you, if I follow you to the next arena¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>Red Hood gave her offerings [Giant Fire Axe Fragment], [Cursed Blood Arrow], and [Feathers of Illusion] to Mage, then she vanished.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo immediately saved and exited the game, then equipped herself with [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>¡ªAnd there was still no effect.

    <span><span><i></i>After spending all night, Ren Suo essentially confirmed the following three points:

    <span><span><i></i>[Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] could be activated when the game character killed an evil demon;

    <span><span><i></i>However, when Ren Suo was equipped with [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], the Jade Pendant could be worn out instead. Only through killing powerful monsters in the game would the effect of purifying Reiki be extended onto himself to improve his talent score;

    <span><span><i></i>Each demon could activate [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] only once, so even if he loaded other savegames, there would be no effect from subsequent attempts. In the previous savegame, Ren Suo had killed the Iron Virgin boss and activated the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo. Even though he also killed the boss in the new savegame, the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo would not be activated, and there was no effect.

    <span><span><i></i>Subsequently, Ren Suo thought about it and decided to use the savegame in which he chose the salvation route.

    <span><span><i></i>Compared with the offerings, Red Hood was significantly more useful and beneficial in battle.

    <span><span><i></i>In addition, Ren Suo could also use merit points to cast Forbidden Skills an unlimited number of times. As such, Ren Suo thought that Red Hood could be solely responsible for beautifying the battlefield with her attractive looks and earning ¡®money¡¯ to feed the family.

    <span><span><i></i>On the other hand, there was another matter which troubled Ren Suo¨C

    <span><span><i></i>In the savegame where he chose the salvation route, Mage bravely sacrificed himself.

    <span><span><i></i>If Mage reappeared in the next checkpoint alive and kicking, the story would be inconsistent and Ren Suo felt that he would have acted in vain.

    <span><span><i></i>

    Ren Suo thought, ¡°In that case, would it be better to¡­¡±

 Chapter 198 - Appropriate Sense of Danger

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 198: Chapter 198 ¨C Appropriate Sense of Danger

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Well, Ren Suo, your life is the best amongst all of us.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°No, no¡­ How can my life be better than Chairman Xie, who has be the chief of the Countermeasure Support Section,¡± Ren Suo replied. He ced his can of Coke down andughed, saying, ¡°You¡¯re the first one to be an official.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Man, what section chief, it¡¯s just another name for a scapegoat when the timees,¡± Xie Qiansi said. He continued, ¡°I¡¯m not in the Countermeasure Headquarters anyway. With my power, the most I can do is to work with the police and assist the Headquarters.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Positions do not mean anything. You will only be valued when you are a higher-tier Practitioner. This is especially true in the Countermeasure System,¡± he added.

    <span><span><i></i>After several sips of Coke, Ren Suo casually asked, ¡°Does anyone know what Yuan Dang is doing now?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I have no idea¡­ He changed his phone number too, and can¡¯t be found on WeChat or QQ either.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I heard that he went to Tianjing to further his Practice?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Isn¡¯t Yuan Dang one of the few who had the highest talent scores? He must have been epted by the great master as a disciple.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>No one seemed to know about Yuan Dang¡¯s whereabouts, but Ren Suo already anticipated that. He stood up and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s gettingte, I¡¯ll go and¡ª¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Hey, let me pick up the check!¡± Xie Qiansi said as he stood up immediately. He remarked, ¡°I was the one who organized this gathering, how can I let you pay?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Alright then,¡± Ren Suo replied as he quickly sat down. He pped and cheered, ¡°Thank you, Chairman Xie!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>The rest of the group also apuded and eximed, ¡°Thank you, Chairman Xie! You look extremely handsome when you pay the check!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Xie Qiansi was at a loss for words.

    <span><span><i></i>The group had gathered over a barbecue as initiated by Xie Qiansi a few days back. Ren Suo had only found out about the gathering when he opened his WeChat. Incidentally, he wanted to ask them about Yuan Dang and had also been eating too many home-cooked meals, so he went for the meeting. After all, he asionally wanted to eat a high-calorie barbecue meal too.Update by vip novel

    <span><span><i></i>He had already expected to be unable to find out anything about Yuan Dang. Suddenly, Li Qingxuan turned to ask Ren Suo mischievously, ¡°Heh heh, Ren Suo, are you very close to Xiaoqiao recently?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was puzzled. He replied, ¡°Qiao Muyi? Very close¡­ I guess we are able to get along decently with each other?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Li Qingxuan smiled as she covered her mouth with her hand. She said, ¡°Well, before this, I specifically asked Xiaoqiao if she wasing, but she asked me if you wereing instead. Tchh, how secretive, I didn¡¯t expect you guys to¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Speaking of which¡­¡± Zhao Huo seemed to have something to add but stopped his sentence midway when he looked at Ren Suo.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo¡¯s face went (£à L_ £à). He said coldly, ¡°I said wrongly, I am actually not close to her. Zhao Huo, are we heading back togetherter?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Of course,¡± Zhao Huo replied.

    <span><span><i></i>Zhao Huo and Ren Suo both lived in the same building, so they headed back together. Along the way, Ren Suo was only thinking about the game. He had cleared another checkpoint in thest two days, but unlike the monastery, no outsiders entered, in the second checkpoint.

    <span><span><i></i>It seemed that the mysterious entrance to that checkpoint must have been at a more secret and obscured location, such that no one had noticed it.

    <span><span><i></i>In that checkpoint, there was also an NPC who was like Red Hood. However, unlike the Magic Wrist Red Hood, that NPC was Lumpena, the Hand of Equilibrium. Lumpena was a gentlemanly girl who wore a bowler hat and held a walking stick in her hand. She was skilled in sound wave attacks and taunting monsters.

    <span><span><i></i>However, Ren Suo realized that even though Mage¡¯s level increased, fighting the small monsters and the boss was still no easy feat, even with the assistance of his two other ¡®teammates¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>ording to Red Hood, whenever one arena was cleansed and purified, the power of the Holy Grail in the arena would be distributed to the rest of the arenas. As such, clearing a game with a 3+ star level of difficulty was definitely not as easy as Ren Suo had thought, where he could brainlessly wipe out all the enemies in every arena.

    <span><span><i></i>In the two checkpoints, Ren Suo was able to let Mage use Forbidden Abilities, but he spent 15 merit points on healing from the Holy Grail. The effect of [A Little Goes A Long Way] being triggered was unexpectedly useful¡ªwith a 60% chance of spending one less merit point in every purchase, it was even more worth it to purchase multiple Minor Recoveries than to buy one Major Recovery.

    <span><span><i></i>The taxi dropped Ren Suo and Zhao Huo off outside the Institution. Throughout their walk back to the dormitory, they did not meet anyone, for it was already past 9 p.m. At that juncture, Ren Suo felt as if Zhao Huo was staring at him.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo said, ¡°¡­ I already warned you not to eat spicy food.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Bleh! My ass is perfectly fine! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can touch it!¡± Zhao Huo replied.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Who would want to touch your ass, get your fiance to do that!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

    <span><span><i></i>Zhao Huo ced his hand on Ren Suo¡¯s shoulder. He smiled mischievously and said, ¡°We are the only ones around here now, tell me honestly, are you¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve never loved,¡± Ren Suo interjected.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Don¡¯t change the subject,¡± Zhao Huo said. He looked around¡ªthey were reaching the dormitory building.

    <span><span><i></i>He asked, ¡°Are you and Qiao Muyi together now? What is going on between you and Dong Chengling though? I heard that you have been going to her house everyday to eat.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suoughed and replied, ¡°No, I am not. Well, you know that I treated Dong Chengling to meals everyday back then, right? Now that she¡¯s back with a promotion and a pay raise, she wants to treat me back in return. It¡¯s like me lending you my math assignment to copy, and you lending me your physics assignment to copy¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Zhao Huo sighed. He remarked, ¡°Is that the same¡­ Anyway, the Heavenly Institution of Lian is going to expand and establish a university section, but I am still in charge of the junior high school section. How I wish I could be promoted and get a pay raise¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°In that case, you have to Awaken first. Many people are Awakening these days,¡± Ren Suo said.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°No, no, you have almost changed the topic,¡± Zhao Huo said. He suddenly shook his head and smiled yfully. He asked, ¡°You said that you and Qiao Muyi are not together? Why is it the case that I saw Qiao Muyi walking out of your dormitory building early in the morning a few days ago¨C¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Eh?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo and Zhao Huo turned their heads and saw Qiao Muyi and Dong Chengling walking out of the dormitory building.

    <span><span><i></i>None of them there were ordinary people, and all of them had practiced the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan. All of their five senses were more sensitive than that of the average human¡ªand that included their hearing ability.

    <span><span><i></i>Although Dong Chengling¡¯s expression remained calm, it was obvious from the cheeky smile of Qiao Muyi¡¯s face that they must have heard what Zhao Huo said.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Ah, I need the toilet, I¡¯m going off first!¡± Zhao Huo eximed with a suddenly solemn look. He was almost running all the way to the first dormitory building.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was left behind with Dong Chengling and Qiao Muyi, looking at each other.

    <span><span><i></i>Out of courtesy, Ren Suo said, ¡°What a coincidence.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Qiao Muyiughed and said, ¡°I am here today on behalf of the Countermeasure Division to invite Dong Chengling to join the Countermeasure Division as a special member. Sister Dong¡¯s space ability is extremely powerful, and it would truly be a waste if she is only teaching in school.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°My ability is still weak, I¡¯m not sure if I will be of much help either,¡± a modest Dong Chengling said.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Your ability is definitely sufficient. With Sister Dong around, I would be safe from any life-endangering situation in Lianjiang City, at the least¡­ Oh, right, there¡¯s Ren Suo too!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Qiao Muyi seemed to think of something and walked up to Ren Suo. She held his hand very intimately and said, ¡°You can form a long-distance emergency team with Sister Dong!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°What long-distance emergency team?¡± Ren Suo, who was stunned, asked.

    <span><span><i></i>Qiao Muyi exined, ¡°Sister Dong will be in charge of transporting critical patients within our local Countermeasure Division. If any member of the Countermeasure Division is in a critical condition, Sister Dong would be asked to bring him over to her, to safety, through space.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°With you around, you would be able to perform emergency resuscitation on personnel of the Countermeasure Division, who are more seriously injured, before rushing them to the school hospital for treatment. What do you think about the n? If you are agreeable, I can let Deputy Director Yu know,¡± she continued.

    <span><span><i></i>It was something Ren Suo could do easily that would also benefit him. Moreover, there were many Awakened Practitioners in the Countermeasure Division, so he naturally agreed, ¡°Sure.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Alright then, goodbye Sister Dong,¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    <span><span><i></i>She bid farewell to Dong Chengling first, then walked over to Ren Suo, took off his cap, and touched his head.

    <span><span><i></i>She said, ¡°Ren Suo, I¡¯ll visit your house when I have the chance the next time!¡± With that, she slipped away.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo blinked,pletely unable toprehend her actions in time. He was about to rece his cap when Dong Chengling walked over and held his hand down¡ªthe strength of a tier 2 Practitioner was not to be underestimated¡ªthen touched his head.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Remember toe over for lunch at noon tomorrow,¡± Dong Chengling said with a smile, although her facial expression remainedrgely unchanged. Following which, she turned around and walked back to the third dormitory building.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo walked to the second dormitory building and found that the ck cat was enjoying the breeze downstairs again. This time, however, it did not fall asleep, nor did it talk. Instead, it merely stared at Ren Suo, its eyes gazing at him as if mocking him.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°What are you looking at, I¡¯m going to pat you too,¡± Ren Suo chided as he rubbed the cat¡¯s head fiercely.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo took out his mobile phone and sent a WeChat message to Qiao Muyi: [What did you mean by that just now?]

    <span><span><i></i>After a while, Qiao Muyi replied:

    <span><span><i></i>[A well-timed sense of crisis is an appetizing seasoning in life.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo could not understand that sentence, but he could understand the next line:

    <span><span><i></i>[It¡¯s very fun too.]

    <span><span><i></i>At that moment, Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone suddenly vibrated.

 Chapter 199 - A New Force: The World Tree

    Chapter 199: Chapter 199 ¨C A New Force: The World Tree

    When Ren Suo returned home after being called to treat patients early that morning, he made a phone call. He said, ¡°Sis!¡±

    ¡°¡­I was still sleeping,¡± his sister replied.

    Ren Suo chided and said, ¡°The sun is already high up in the sky, and you are still sleeping? Let me tell you about what happened in school just now¡­¡±

    Ren Suo had been called to treat patients that morning because the Heavenly Institution of Lian was releasing the results of the academic subject examinations then. The rankings of the students across the different sses were also announced.

    Rankings were truly a great, yet evil invention. Those who emerged at the top would receive their deserved fame and recognition, but at the same time, it was a curse to those who did not perform as well. Apart from a few fools, therge majority of students who had the opportunity to study in the Heavenly Institution of Lian would strive to gain more recognition and points, so that they could remain in the ivory tower that was the school.

    It was not that they werezy, and it was extremely rare to find any students who failed. However, there was no significance in merely passing; victory was only when they trumped the rest of theirpetitors.

    The two people who resulted in Ren Suo being activated were third-year junior high male students. One of them came in at 11th ce in the ranking, and the other was 132nd.

    Prior to the release of the results, the 11th-ce studentined to the 132nd-ce student that he had made numerous mistakes in the paper. He alsomented that he did not manage to verify some of his answers and that he missed out on revising some of the concepts tested in the examination. After the results were released, the 11th-ce student continuedining to the 132nd-ce student that he had indeed made mistakes in certain questions as he had expected and had many marks deducted¡­

    Then, the student who ranked 132nd ce suddenly Awakened and beat the other student who ranked 11th ce. No one around them could stop him at that time. When Ren Suo arrived at the scene, everything was in a violent mess¡ªevery punch from the Awakened studentnded right on the other student¡¯s face.

    Although the 132nd-ce student had Awakened, the 11th-ce student was nheless still a Practitioner and had a certain proficiency in using [Clothes]. The two rivals were on about the same level in terms ofbat skills, and in the end, both of them were severely injured.

    ¡°¡­ Now that the results of the college entrance examination have been released, you should be more cautious, lest you end up like the two of them,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Alright, alright, I ain¡¯t like you who likes to show off. Oh, by the way, is your dorm room big? Are there any extra rooms?¡± his sister asked.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Hmm? There are two rooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. There¡¯s an unupied guest room, why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing! Bye!¡± his sister said.

    When Ren Suo reached home, he first turned on the Mini Worlds game machine to see what kind of key he had earned.

    Ren Suo had now thought of a new strategy. When dealing with such students who were severely injured, he would first put them to sleep using [Allure of Sweet Dreams], then treat them for the next five minutes. Using that strategy, he easily received a key from the Awakened student.

    It was a [1-star Fury of Wind Key].

    With that key, Ren Suo now had three 1-star keys and one 2-star key.

    ording to the form, three 2-star keys were required to bebined into a 3-star key, and two 1-star keys were required to bebined into a 2-star key. As such, Ren Suo now needed only one more 1-star key to be able to form a 3-star key.

    Of course, Ren Suo could also find another 2-star key to form a 3-star key.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to start thinking how to retrieve Dong Chengling¡¯s 2-star key and Gu Yueyan¡¯s 1-star key¡­¡± Ren Suo thought to himself. He put down the game controller and then, turned on hisputer.

    There was a question in the intr that required Ren Suo¡¯s input.

    It was a question posed in the ¡®Naisser Ren x The Heavenly Pce x Special Task Force¡¯ section. Although it was not regarding emergency resuscitation and there was no deadline given, Ren Suo had to answer as a special advisor to the task force.

    The question title was: ¡°Do other extraordinary forces exist? If so, how might they be contacted?¡±

    Ever since the Monkey King incident, Ren Suo could see the poprity of the Heavenly Pce rising significantly. Everyone was looking for a way to ¡®enter¡¯ the Heavenly Pce, or even to simply be the disciple of Monkey King.

    Intelligence agencies around the world were working hard to find the spiritual animals of the Heavenly Pce who were capable of ¡®morphing¡¯. They were also searching for any clues rted to the Heavenly Pce. However, Ren Suo had not dispatched anyone from the Heavenly Pce, and they naturally could not find any traces.

    On the other hand, the special task force of Xuan Nation focused on another perspective.

    Since there was a Heavenly Pce, there should be other extraordinary forces, right?

    Although the Heavenly Pce appeared to be an extraordinary force that arose due to the Eastern civilization, Xuan Nation was also willing to establish links with extraordinary forces that arose due to Western civilizations¡ªit would be foolish to associate the corrupt notion of racism with the immortal creatures of those extraordinary forces. More importantly, Xuan Nation did not have any way to contact the Heavenly Pce and was not in a position to be picky.

    The question had already garnered many responses, and the most liked reply was an analysis by who seemed to be a historian. From the Western civilization to the Eastern civilization, and to the Nordic civilization, he pointed out the extraordinary forces that could arise from each civilization. He also listed possible methods to contact them, and Ren Suo nodded in agreement as he read the analysis. He especially approved of the use of pretty girls to seduce Zeus, the sky and thunder god. It appeared to be a very usible method¡­

    The answer with the second-highest number of likes was ¡®Researcher Gu¡¯, who made use of the trending topic to y up his point. He believed that there was an extraordinary force who resided in and fed on the Inte. His argument was mainly based on Naisser Ren¡¯s video ¡°Intrusion¡±. With deep technical knowledge, he asserted that the events which urred in ¡°Intrusion¡± were beyond reality.

    It was extremely likely that Keyboard Man was a member of an extraordinary force!

    If that were true, the way to contact the extraordinary force was very simple. The nation only needed to dedicate more resources to developing Awakeners with inte-rted Awakened Abilities. When an Awakener grew sufficiently powerful and was able to control the Inte, he would naturally be able to contact the extraordinary force!

    For some reason, Ren Suo could feel the overflowing desire of the researcher through his words¡­

    Ren Suo pondered all night and finally came up with the perfect (bragging) reply:

    [There must exist extraordinary forces, whose mission is to protect the world. They would usually be uncontactable, and would only appear when evil forces evade the world.]

    [They might be Practitioners, Mages, Ninjas, or perhaps¡­]

    [They would do everything within their means to save people, even if it means sacrificing themselves¡­]

    Ren Suo checked through his description of a fictional organization consisting of the strongest and most powerful of heroes and warriors, whose mission was to save the world. He then submitted his response.

    Well, such a set up that could be considered old-fashioned even in fantasy novels would surely not garner any likes.

    However, the world needed heroes!

    As such, Ren Suo picked up the game controller again.

    It was the third arena, an abandoned pce.

    When Ren Suo entered, he saw arge group of people before him!

    They had freckles all over their skin. They carried firearms and donned battle suits, looking like the most elite of troops. At present, they were shooting non-stop at the monsters in the arena with the aid of their firearms and shields!

    The sudden appearance of Mage, Red Hood, and Lumpena naturally shocked the troops. They immediately pointed their guns towards them and questioned, ¡°What are you?!¡±

    ¡°You are all here,¡± the mage said.

    A female mage who wore a set of white, tight-fitting clothes appeared in the shadows. Her hand was wrapped in white bandages. She said, ¡°Red hood, Lumpena, I am extremely happy that both of you managed to survive. It is my pleasure to meet both of you. I am ine, the Holy Hand, and the final mage. I will assist you in cleansing the arena.¡±

    Red Hood sneered in reply and said, ¡°Really? I am not happy, though. Why aren¡¯t you dead yet, ine?¡±

    Lumpena bowed slightly at ine and said, ¡°Let¡¯s cooperate well.¡±

    The appearance of Mage, ine, Red Hood, and Lumpena made the troops extremely anxious. However, at that juncture, one of the troops shouted:

    [Drop your weapons, they are not enemies.]

    On the screen, a beautiful woman who wore a set of ck, tight-fitting clothes appeared. She held a chain whip in her hand and very quickly Ren Suo remembered who she was. She was one of the Practitioners from the Federation who was beaten by the All-Devouring Spirit previously!

    Did that mean that all of those troops were Practitioners from the Federation?

    She asked: [Are you guys the mages who helped the people of Xuan Nation to defeat the monster?]

    Ren Suo looked at the name above her head. He switched his spokennguage to English and replied, [Yes, Miss Caroline, we are the mages who cleanse this world.]

    She eximed: [We can do this alone, we don¡¯t need your help!]

    At that moment, three giant Blood Monsters broke through the defensive line of the Federation¡¯s Practitioners. Even though countless bullets were raining down on the Blood Monsters, their flesh provided them with resistance to a few hits. Moreover, the hatred of those creatures urged them to bear the torment to destroy the enemies in front of them at all costs!

    Caroline shouted: [Team Three, fire!]

    Four soldiers each carrying rocket-propelled grenadeunchers appeared amongst the Federation¡¯s Practitioners as they took aim at the Blood Monsters.

    They were using RPG Bazookas!

    Following a few sts, huge holes of blood were made through the meat of the Blood Monsters! The Blood Monsters shrieked in agony as they turned into ck smoke which dissipated, leaving in their ce a few humans who were kneeling down on the ground.

    The Practitioners of the Federation raised their weapons and fired mercilessly at the human remains of the monsters!

    Caroline turned around and walked to the front. She retorted: [Did you see that? That is the power of us, the Federation. Mages, you can just stand and watch at the side while we clear this ce¨C]

    [Ahhhh¨C]

    One of the humans who were shot dead suddenly came back alive. It turned back into a Blood Monster and charged right towards the troops!

    The Practitioners of the Federation were caught off guard, and their defensive line waspletely broken by the Blood Monster!

    Caroline, who had gone forward, did not expect such a situation to ur. However, the gigantic Blood Monster was already right in front of her. Even if she responded without dy, her fate of being crushed to death was already sealed¡ª

    Suddenly, four figures shed rapidly past Caroline. They made several holes in the Blood Monster who then fell weakly towards Caroline!

    However, a ck-haired mage instantly teleported in front of Caroline. The mage pushed the monster in the opposite direction instead with a pair of ming arms, which were as thick as the trunk of a tree!

    [We won¡¯t just sit back and enjoy the show.]

    The dark-haired mage turned to look at Caroline, revealing the face of a hideous old man. There was a long scar across his face from his forehead to his cheeks, making him look as if he had been through countless battles.

    [We are mages under the world tree. Our mission is to protect the world and prevent disasters. Within close reach, we will definitely protect humans and eliminate all monsters!]

 Chapter 200 - Benefit of Mystery Portals

    Chapter 200: Chapter 200 ¨C Benefit of Mystery Portals

    Why did Red Hood, Lumpena, ine, and the others have to wait for the yer¡¯s mage to appear before they infiltrated the arena?

    That was because killing monsters was irrelevant, without the Wrist of Sacrifice or Hand of Salvation of Mage.

    Any in monster that was not dealt with by Mage would be refreshed again shortly after they were killed, or they could even be immediately resurrected with full health.

    As mages, Red Hood and her team appeared to have performed sacrifices or salvation for countless monsters in the past, as evident from their injured hands. However, perhaps due to the game set up, that task could now only be done by Mage, the main character.

    Caroline, who had been saved, watched as Mage granted the civilians in the Blood Monsters salvation, then took a set of fried chicken out of nowhere, for the civilians to eat. She was immensely surprised and said:

    [You can even make fried chicken appear with magic now?]

    It seemed too absurd of a bug if he could actually create things out of nothing, so Ren Suo had no choice but to let Mage reply: [This is my space spell. I am able to retrieve the fried chicken that I kept in storage previously.]

    Caroline asked: [Why is it fried chicken, though?]

    Mage exined: [It is because fried chicken is the most easily obtainable food which you humans invented, that was also high in calories and would supplement you with the most energy.]

    At that juncture, Mage told ine something, and they started using their offerings to treat the injured Practitioners of the Federation.

    When the Blood Monster turned berserk, several Practitioners of the Federation had been severely injured. Although some of the Practitioners also seemed to possess healing abilities, they were still helpless when faced with major injuries such as rib fractures, organ damage, and massive bleeding.

    Mage said: [Let me help you.]

    The plump, ck-haired mage pushed the healing Practitioner away, but Caroline, theirmander on site, stopped the Federation¡¯s Practitioners from acting impulsively. They watched as the ck-haired mage ced his hand on their dyingrade¡¯s chest. He prolonged the life of that Practitioner of the Federation!

    After the mages healed all of the wounded troops, Caroline went up to the ck-haired mage. She blushed as she gritted her teeth and bowed suddenly:

    [Thank you, thank you very much for your help.]

    The ck-haired mage turned to look at her and said: [Under the World Tree, magic protects everyone.]

    [Why were so many people sent in here? When did you mortals be so impulsive and reckless to infiltrate the arena of the Evil Demon??]

    Caroline remained silent for a moment and said: [Sir¡­ We received information that you and yourpanions had cleared the mystery portal in Xuan Nation, simr to the one here.]

    The ck-haired mage replied emotionlessly: [Yes, that is indeed the case, and ourpanion from there has already been sacrificed. It is both to protect and preserve. Since you received information about another mystery portal, you should already know that you would be unable to leave the mystery portal once youe in, until we, mages finish cleansing this arena.]

    The mage that Ren Suo was controlling at that point looked very different from the silver-haired mage he controlled in the first arena.

    To the people from Xuan Nation, it appeared that the silver-haired mage was ¡®sacrificed¡¯. As such, Ren Suo adapted by changing the appearance of Mage after clearing every arena¡ªafter all, Mage would always be on the verge of death after using Forbidden Abilities to defeat the boss in each arena.

    Caroline nodded and said: [We know that.]

    The mage questioned: [Then, why did you still choose toe in?]

    Caroline stared intently at the ck-haired mage. After a short pause, she said slowly: [Mage, Sir, you seem to be unaware¡­]

    [The mystery portal that appeared in Xuan Nation, which is what you call an arena¡­ After you, mages, cleansed it, monsters would still emerge in the arena. Although only Extraordinaires are able to enter and exit, just as before, they may enter and exit the portal at will.]

    [Unlike the monsters here, those that emerged through that portal would not revive themselves, and each wave only appeared after a period of time. It is said that they are extremely strong and powerful. However, after those monsters were in, the Extraordinaires who took part in killing them would gain more magic power and be stronger. Moreover, the effectiveness of that was tens to hundreds of times higher than us, Extraordinaires, merely practicing meditation. In addition, they would asionally receive some legendary items too.]

    [That is the reason why we came in¡ªfor one, we wanted to eliminate the monsters in this arena. Secondly, we also wanted to be stronger as Extraordinaires.]

    Caroline smiled bitterly and added: [However, it now seems to us that we were overly confident.]

    Truly, Ren Suo had not expected that there were still such benefits to cleansed arenas.

    He already knew that the arena was likely to remain after it was cleansed because Red Hood had mentioned before that the Forbidden Fruit would be firmly anchored after it fell. Mages could only cleanse and purify the Forbidden Fruit, and if they did not do so, the Forbidden Fruit would explode when it matures. When that happened, only tragedy would ensue.

    Ren Suo thought of something and said: [In that case, as capable humans, please assist us in cleansing this arena under the World Tree.]

    Before Caroline could reply, a red-haired Extraordinaire of the Federation came forward and said: ¡°Sir, I think it should be you, mages, under your World Tree, who should be assisting us, the Watchmen of the Federation. There are 78 of warriors here who are armed with modern-day weapons, but you and yourpanions only make up 4 people. Is it not clear who is the leader here?]

    [Let me offer you some help, Sir Mage. Tell us, what abilities do you possess that allow you to cleanse the monsters? Would it not be better for us to grant you some help?]

    [Fine, the ability to cleanse monsters may be an innate talent¡ªbut that does not matter. Sir Mage, since you are able to buy fried chicken sets, it means that you can also appear on Earth. All of the leading scientists in the Federation are fighting to be able to analyze your innate talents, if you are truly¡­ fighting to protect humankind!]

    [I would presume that you, mage, with such a great and noble mission on your shoulders, would be able to understand that a lone battle would never match strength in unity and numbers, right?]

    Ren Suo could not help but scrutinize that red-haired Practitioner of the Federation. His name was quite ordinary¡ªit was Victor¡ªbut he purposely picked on what Mage said previously to set traps. Since Mage said that they were protectors of the world and ced the most importance on benefiting humans, they should hence offer humans the secret behind their powers!

    Such ironic ttery was truly hard to react to for an ordinary person, but who was Ren Suo?

    He was the founder of extraordinary forces, and no one would be able to see through the lies he fabricated!

    The mage replied: [A long time ago, we have already attempted doing as you said.]

    [We tried to make the power of the mages widely known, but how it turned out is exactly what you are seeing today.]

    The ck-haired mage pointed at the destroyed pce in front of them and the monsters that were hovering inside. He continued: [The power of magic stems from desire. Only very few people¡ªus, talented mages¡ªare capable of keeping such strong desires in check to be the hunters who walk on this brutal road of thorns. On the other hand, ordinary mortals who so desire to fulfill their wishes using magic would eventually fall into this tragic state. They would end up turning into monsters who have to be killed. Eventually, they would be trapped in their despair on the ground, causing the world to be corrupt and break down into Forbidden Fruits.]

    [Furthermore, the mission of mages is not something which mere mortals can bear. Such a fate should only fall onto us.]

    Victorughed and said: [Oh, really? ¡­Here, however, you should listen carefully to ourmands instead. It is us, soldiers, who have been through properbat training.]

    Ren Suo smiled mischievously and activated the offering [Roots of Uncontroble Growth]!

    Within a certain radius from Mage, vines suddenly appeared at the feet of all the Practitioners of the Federation. The vines wrapped around their bodies from their feet to their torso, trapping them firmly in their positions!

    After clearing two arenas, Mage now had numerous useful offerings. For example, that offering of tree roots was an area-of-effect ability which restricted targets¡¯ movement. It was essentially useless against bosses and human-form monsters, but it was extremely powerful against lower-leveled monsters. At the least, the monsters would be trapped for a few seconds, and it was rtively effective for fleeing or in a group battle.

    The human body was simr to the lower-leveled monsters, and the offering ability was thus effective against the troops.

    [Nope¨C]

    Even Victor and Caroline were firmly trapped by the vines, and Caroline¡¯s face turned even redder¡ªthe vines curled around her in an intriguing way which further highlighted her curves.

    [Numbers are meaningless to us.]

    Suddenly, the dark-haired mage shed to a position behind Victor and Caroline. He said coldly: [Mages exist to protect, but we have dignity too.]

    [The World Tree fights for the benefit of humans, and will not be entrapped within what is known as the will of humans. We may cooperate with each other, but there will certainly not be a superior-subordinate rtionship.]

    [If this is the attitude you wish to maintain, or if you drag us down in battle, our World Tree will choose to cleanse other arenas first. In that case, I cannot guarantee that this arena will not mature into an Evil Fruit before we return. Countless monsters would be released, and they would enter your world to wreak havoc.]

    [Do you understand what I¡¯m saying, Mr. Victor and Miss Caroline?]

    Upon finishing his sentence, the ck-haired mage immediately deactivated the magic of the offering¡ªsomeone seemed to be about to break free of the vines.

    At that juncture, Caroline suddenly reached out to suppress Victor who was next to her. Her cheeks were flushed as she turned to look at the dark-haired mage. She looked down and said:

    [I understand, Sir Mage. On behalf of the Commander of the Watchmen, I agree to fight the battle together with you.]

    [Also, you may call me Caroline.]

 Chapter 201 - Broken Free From the Game Character

    Chapter 201: Chapter 201 ¨C Broken Free From the Game Character

    [Caroline North, a member of ¡®Watchmen¡¯, the newly-established Extraordinaire department of the Federation. Her Awakened Ability is represented by ¡®Destor¡¯, which rips apart any physical entity to cause severe damage, regardless of the weapon used. It is suspected that such an effect is caused by the invoked disruption of the arrangement of physical particles.]

    [Victor Cavill, a member of ¡®Watchmen¡¯, the newly-established Extraordinaire department of the Federation. Details: None.]

    Ren Suo searched for information on the intr about the Extraordinaires from the Federation he encountered in the third checkpoint. He found that, although the Intelligence Department of Xuan Nation had begun to infiltrate the Federation to gather intelligence, in most cases only the names of the members of ¡®Watchmen¡¯, the Extraordinaire department of the Federation, were known. The amount of known information about the members in the department could not evenpare to the information Ren Suo found out in the third checkpoint.

    Even the detailed information about Caroline was supplemented by a hyperlink¡ªindeed, it was a link to the video ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡± uploaded by Naisser Ren. Information about Caroline¡¯s ability was alsopletely deduced from scenes of the fight between Monkey King and the Federation Extraordinaires.

    ¡°Thebat capabilities of Extraordinaires are not fully developed yet, and everyone is hiding and concealing them¡­ Or rather, is it because there are no opportunities for the Extraordinaires to showcase theirbat capabilities, even if they do possess such powers?¡±

    Ren Suo did some research and found that apart from sending Extraordinaires to take part in special operations in various regions, other real-life battles involving Extraordinaires within the nation were either duels between Extraordinaires or an Extraordinaire taking on an entire army. How peaceful the world was.

    ¡°Nheless, after all of the arenas turn into a free stage to spar with monsters, they would have plenty of opportunities to showcase their battle capabilities¡­¡±

    Ren Suo returned to the game and continued to infiltrate the arena with the Watchmen.

    Undeniably, the mages¡¯ advance into the arena was truly made easier with the help of the Federation Watchmen.

    Most of the monsters were shot with a barrage of bullets before they ran over to the mages, where they would bepletely subdued by in, Lumpena, and Red Hood with their skills of Storm and Stress.

    Lastly, it was the ck-haired mage¡¯s turn to shine and grant the monsters salvation.

    Unexpected situations would ur asionally, but the mages¡¯ Holy Light bullets could save everyone on the battlefield. The Watchmen also had sufficient firepower¡ªit appeared that they had made arrangements with those outside the portal, to send Extraordinaires in at fixed intervals to replenish their resources. As such, they consistently had sufficient ammunition.

    However, even so, the speed of advancement into the arena was not considered fast.

    Firstly, that was because there were arge number of monsters in the pce. Secondly, the deeper they progressed into the pce, the stronger and more terrifying the monsters grew.

    Due to the fall of the previous two arenas, the monsters in the present, third arena were all strengthened. All of their strengths were also enhanced: Goblins were equipped with stone armor, the poisonous Queen Bees now moved as quickly as lightning, and the Ghost Crows attacked in flocks¡­

    It was only after six whole hours when the mages and the Watchmen finally cleared all the monsters in the arena¡ªthe Watchmen even ate a meal during that time.

    In the process, Ren Suo did not believe in heresy and relied on wearing the Jade Pendant to practice again. After all, the monsters were stronger, so¡­ the Jade Pendant of the River of Goddess Luo should also be activated, right?

    However, the dull green mark on his hand told him: that¡¯s BS, dream on!

    The unorthodox path Ren Suo discovered was still unorthodox, after all. The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo would only be perfectly activated after defeating the boss in each checkpoint, and only then would Ren Suo¡¯s talent score rise gradually.

    Before clearing thest wave of monsters, the dark-haired mage told Caroline: [After thisst wave of monsters is cleared, the Evil Demon of this arena would appear. The Evil Demon is much, much stronger than ordinary monsters. Without the teleportation skills of the mages, it would be best if you just supported the battle from afar.]

    Caroline asked instead: [Do you know where the Evil Demon would emerge? We broughtndmines and hand grenades too, so we are fully capable of setting up a trap.]

    Ren Suo hesitated for a moment before controlling the ck-haired mage to reply: [It will appear in the center of the pce.]

    After spending ten minutes clearing up thest wave of monsters, an earthquake suddenly struck the pce. Following which, the Evil Demon of the arena quickly appeared in front of the Watchmen and the mages.

    All of a sudden, countless rays of light were reflected off the ss windows of the pce, and a strange, absurd-looking monster appeared right in the center of the ranged troops of the Watchmen¡ª

    About two meters tall, the monster wore a beautiful, pure white dress. However, emerging from its head was a highly-reflective silver mirror that was twice asrge as it. At the same time, seven mirrors with heads appeared on the ground, looking like dwarfs in the shape of apples that had limbs!

    The Watchmen reacted extremely quickly and immediately turned to shoot at the monster!

    [Ahh¡ª]

    [Jesus!]

    However, a bright light suddenly shot out from the mirrors of the Mirror Princess and its dwarves. All of the bullets which were aimed at the Mirror Princess and its dwarves were reflected back instead! As a result, the Watchmen troops who were positioned close to the Princess and its dwarves were instantly hit by a barrage of bullets and suffered major injuries!

    Victor shouted: [Didn¡¯t you say it would appear in the middle? Why did it appear right behind our cover¡ª]

    Reload savegame!

    The scene turned back in time, and the ck-haired mage said confidently: [It will appear in the open space near the entrance of the arena, right there. In addition, do not shoot at it with your weapons, as it has the ability to reflect all physical ranged attacks!]

    Caroline and her troops followed the instructions of the ck-haired mage once again. They gathered the entire army of troops to the center of the pce in preparation. This time, however, the Mirror Princess and its dwarves appeared in the center instead!

    The Watchmen remembered the mage¡¯s instructions and did not fire their weapons, but the Mirror Princess and its dwarves still shot out bright light again. The Princess shot thick beams of light and instantly wiped out a dozen of the Watchmen who were positioned right in front of it. The thin rays of light shot by its dwarves also prated the bodies of a dozen other Watchmen!

    After reading the savegame several more times, Ren Suo finally figured out the mechanics of the Mirror Princess.

    The mode of attack of the Mirror Princess was extremely simple. It would shoot beams of light from its mirror to kill the enemies in front of it. However, before it shot out beams of light, it would have to umte power, which was represented by a glowing mirror. During that time, all physical damage (including the kic energy from fired bullets) would be reflected. Only when it was attacking, which was when the mirror was dim, could it be attacked using physical means.

    However, the movement speed of the Mirror Princess was extremely slow, and the speed at which it turned its head was not fast either. Its firing (attack) speed was very slow as well, so it was actually not difficult to deal with it.

    Rather, it was the seven Mirror Dwarves that were harder to deal with. They had the same mode of attack as the Mirror Princess, but their firing (attack) speed and movement speed were both extremely fast. They might not suffer any damage when they were attacked, but at the same time, they dealt high amounts and frequencies of damage if they were left alone.

    In the reloaded savegame attempts, it was extremely challenging for the Watchmen to evade the high damage output of the Mirror Dwarves. Eventually, the Mirror Princess would deal a final blow to the Watchmen that would certainly kill them. Only the mages were able to evade the attacks of light beams with their Screen Shield and Teleport skills.

    The right way to conquer that checkpoint was undoubtedly to disregard the Mirror Dwarves. By evading the attacks of light beams to dy time and attacking the Mirror Princess when it was also attacking, its health would be depleted gradually. The tolerance for mistakes was low, but it was nheless a usible strategy.

    After Ren Suo attempted that strategy, he found that, with his skills, almost all of those in the arena would be on the brink of death despite the Mirror Princess still having 80% health remaining. Apart from ine, the other two mages would also be close to death and would require the main character Mage to perform ¡®salvation¡¯, to revive them by permanently decreasing their maximum health.

    Ren Suo estimated that it would take at least seven to eight days before there was some hope that the mages were strong enough to defeat the Mirror Princess.

    Ren Suo pondered for a long time. He reloaded the savegame and told the Watchmen about the Mirror Princess and its Mirror Dwarves. He said: [The Evil Demon would appear where there are the most people. No matter where you position yourselves, you would not be able to escape from it, nor would you be able to set any traps.]

    [The group of you should stand beside me.]

    [Red Hood, Lumpena, and ine, attempt to use your attribute spells to quickly eliminate the Dwarves!]

    After their respective roles were assigned, the battle began once again. As expected, the Mirror Princess appeared in the center of the crowd. Following Ren Suo¡¯smand, the three mages used their attribute spells to kill the Dwarves. At the same time, however, the Mirror Princess took aim in Caroline¡¯s direction and began to gather its energy!

    The ck-haired mage teleported in front of Caroline and activated the Screen Shield, blocking the light from the mirror. He said emotionlessly: [I¡¯m here, don¡¯t worry.]

    Piu!

    With a crack, light beams shot out from the mirror of the Mirror Princess. The Screen Shield of the ck-haired mage was destroyed, and he suffered severe injuries. All five fingers on his left hand instantly broke and blood oozed out. Then, the fingers joined together to form an iron chain that wrapped around the Mirror Princess!

    The attacks from the Mirror Princess stopped momentarily, but the surface of its mirror remained dim, still in an attacking state!

    The ck-haired magician yelled: [Fire!] and the Watchmen immediately picked up all kinds of firearms and rained down a barrage of bullets at the Mirror Princess!

    Seeing that his strategy was effective, Ren Suo was relieved. However, at that moment, Caroline, who was standing behind the ck-haired mage, suddenly huddled closer to him. Then, she leaned in, and imprinted her lips on the mage¡¯s weary face.

    Caroline announced in a domineering tone: [If we make it out of this ce alive, I will definitely go to bed with you!] Finishing her sentence, she ran towards the Mirror Princess and beat the Princess with her whip.

    Behind the screen, the expression on Ren Suo¡¯s face was none other than (¨s¨F¡õ¡ä) ¨s. He muttered to himself in exasperation, ¡°How is a game character able to break free of singlehood faster than me!¡±

 Chapter 202 - Holy Sword of Spine, Lost Vision

    Chapter 202: Chapter 202 ¨C Holy Sword of Spine, Lost Vision

    When the restraining effect of [Iron Chain Fingers] wore off, the Mirror Princess had lost 9% of its health!

    With a total of 78 people, the Watchmen of the Federation had more firepower than the mages¡ªbut that was just whenparing firepower alone. Taking their capabilities like defense power, evade ability, and survival ability into ount, they were merely fodders in that boss battle.

    With the help of the powerful equipment of modern warfare, Ren Suo knew that the duration of that battle would be greatly reduced. In other words, there was a greater room for error.

    The mode of attack of the Mirror Princess signaled to Caroline and the rest of them that they should remain behind the Mirror Princess, asmanded. At the same time, the ck-haired mage naturally joined Red Hood in eliminating the Dwarves as quickly as possible.

    The Dwarves also reflected physical damage dealt to them, but the mages had attribute spells and Holy Light bullets, which both dealt attribute damage instead. With the help of restraint offerings such as [Roots of Uncontroble Growth], it did not take a long time before the mages eliminated all of the Dwarves.

    However, when the apple-like Dwarves were killed, there was no option for salvation or sacrifice; instead, they would be recalled back by the Mirror Princess.

    The Mirror Princess said in a clear and crisp voice: [We are all reflections of others¡­]

    The apple-like Mirror Dwarves decorated the mirror of the Mirror Princess and began shooting rapid rays of light that pierced through its enemies!

    Although the Mirror Dwarves were yet another mode of damage output of the Mirror Princess, it was much better than having the Mirror Dwarves walking about. When all seven Mirror Dwarves were eliminated, it essentially turned into a game of cat and mouse.

    No one should remain in front of the Mirror Princess, so everyone hid behind it, waiting for it to shoot a beam of light before attacking it!

    When the health of the Mirror Princess dropped to 70%, its head-turning and movement speed suddenly increased. Watchmen members who were supporting the fight from afar suffered injuries for the first time in that battle, but fortunately, they were saved from death¡¯s door by ine and the ck-haired mage, who were both Holy Hand mages. Although they could no longer continue participating in the battle, they could at least move along with the rest of the team.

    When the health of the Mirror Princess fell below 50%, its movement speed and attack frequency increased again. It suddenly turned its entire body around and said:

    [Are you the most beautiful in this world?]

    That was highly likely to be an ultimate attack of the Mirror Princess. Without any hesitation, Ren Suo activated [Iron Chain Fingers] for the second time, and it perfectly coincided with the moment the Mirror Princessunched its attack!

    Caroline looked back in surprise at the ck-haired mage and eximed: [Your hand¡ª!]

    The ck-haired mage bellowed: [Fire now!].

    Another barrage of ammunition rained down on the Mirror Princess, and the three other mages also tried their best to attack it. At that juncture, Red Hood said: [I will restrain it the next time.]

    As ice crystals shot out from her staff, Lumpena also said expressionlessly: [I¡¯ll restrain it the next, next time.]

    ine added: [Finally, I will restrain it, too.] She lifted her Giant Cow Axe and swung it at the mirror on the head of the Mirror Princess, carving out a wound where ck-colored blood flowed out of.

    The ck-haired mage replied: [I will deal with itpletely, you don¡¯t have to fight to do any of that.]

    I will end the love between the game characters myself!

    At that juncture, the ck-haired mage controlled his right hand¡ªwith only one finger segment left¡ªand dug out his right eye from his right eye socket!

    With his own hands, his bloody eyeball was brutally ripped from its adjoining nerves. The people around him watched in utter horror as the ck-haired mage raised his right hand and crushed his eyeball with the remaining segment of his finger!

    Forbidden Spell, [Summon of the Eye Devils]!

    By sacrificing his own eyeball, ten Eye Devils that could emit powerful beams were summoned. In the game, the effect of removing his own eyeball was portrayed as a greatly reduced vision¡ªonly a small area in the center of the screen could be seen.

    However, that was already sufficient!

    The Eye Devils, which were about the same size as a human head, circled behind the ck-haired mage. They took aim at the Mirror Princess and at the same time, shot continuous rays of white-colored, murky¡­ tears!

    Hit by the tears, the Mirror Princess suddenly let out a shrill cry!

    [Mother¡ª Why¡ª]

    The tears that sshed onto its mirror formed traces of white imprints on it, and ck-colored blood poured from the wounds. Sizzling, roasting sounds echoed through the arena. The Mirror Princess appeared to have suffered massive damage, and it fell directly to the ground!

    The Forbidden Spell of the Eye was acquired from Lumpena in the second arena. The damage dealt by this Forbidden Spell was actually lower than [Breath of Fire Skin], but it had lesser side effects, which was why Ren Suo chose to use that Forbidden Spell first.

    Nheless, the Forbidden Spell was unexpectedly very effective against the boss of the third arena!

    That waspletely a coincidence, but Ren Suo immediately thought that it could be due to a hidden setting of the game. Certain offerings could target the weaknesses of the boss to deal a great amount of damage, but the only question was if Ren Suo could figure which offerings they were.

    After all, there were only a few Forbidden Spells which required the sacrifice of a human body part. As such, Ren Suo was already very fortunate to have encountered a boss which was weak to human-type Forbidden Spells.

    After all the tears of the Eyes poured out, the remaining health of the Mirror Princess also dropped to 30%!

    ¡°Again!¡±

    Ren Suo did not hesitate. He controlled the ck-haired mage to pull out his left eyeball and crushed it again!

    Although doing that would cause him to lose his visionpletely, the Mirror Princess was still being restrained. It was perfectly possible to shoot blind!

    Caroline¡¯s voice was heard from in front of the mage: [Your eyes!]

    The mage replied: [It¡¯s alright!]

    Another round of shooting tears ensued. Although the restraining effect of Mage¡¯s Iron Chain of Fingers had worn off, the Mirror Princess still fell to the ground from the attack of the tears. The screen was plunged in total darkness, and Ren Suo could only hear countless bullets being ignited in their cartridges.

    He could also see dialogue boxes popping out¡ª

    [Why is it still not dead?!]

    After a few seconds, the voice of the Mirror Princess sounded again: [Crying? I want to cry too¡­ but I can¡¯t cry anymore!]

    ¡°It¡¯s about to stand up! The mirror is shining too!¡±

    Red Hood eximed: [It¡¯s about to stand up! The mirror is starting to glow!]

    Lumpena said: [I can afford one eyeball.]

    ine said: [My Holy Hand can be abandoned any time!]

    Ren Suo controlled the ck-haired mage to move forward. Although his vision was lostpletely, in the third-person perspective on the screen, the position of the ck-haired mage was still shown as a thick white line.

    Other voices ¡®appeared¡¯ on the screen: [Hurry, leave the battlefield now], [We will finish it off]¡­

    In the midst of the darkness of the screen, the voice and dialogue box of the ck-haired mage was contrastingly resounding: [From the beginning of time, there has never been a mage who would live without fulfilling his purpose; on the battlefield, only mages who sacrificed themselves would remain!]

    When the ck-haired mage came into contact with the Mirror Princess, its remaining health was disyed: 14%.

    Caroline seemed to be holding the ck-haired mage back and the dialogue box appeared right behind the mage: [Its mirror is pointing at you, Sir Mage! Leave now!]

    However, the ck-haired mage was unmoved and said: [I will protect you, and everyone else.]

    Forbidden Spell [Holy Sword of Spine], activate!

    Even though the screen was pitch ck, Ren Suo could still see the white lines forming the figure of the mage. He raised his hands and dug his hand into the back of his neck. He grabbed the spine as he shrieked in agony.

    [Ahhh¡ª-]

    With a forceful tug, he pulled his spine out from his body. It turned into a huge sword, and he swung it towards the Mirror Princess in front of him!

    That was a new Forbidden Spell he had acquired from ine, and coincidentally, he could try it out on the Mirror Princess. It did not matter if that failed since Ren Suo still had [Breath of ming Skin]!

    However, the effect of the Holy Sword of Spine appeared to be more terrifying than Ren Suo had imagined. On the screen, all the dialogue boxes and voices were swept away by the purple glow of the sword¡ªthe sound of the sword plunging deep into the Mirror Princess and tearing its body apart overwhelmed the others¡¯ voices!

    The Holy Sword of Spine could only be used to attack once, but it disregarded all attack debuffs and was not possible to be avoided!

    Following the chain of attribute attacks from the other mages, the Mirror Princess was continuously depleted of her health and finally, she had 0 health remaining!

    At the same time, as the Holy Sword vanished from the hand of the ck-haired mage, he also copsed lifelessly on the ground, just like a human would without a spine.

 Chapter 203 - Mages Under the World Tree Will Never Be Too Far Away

    Chapter 203: Chapter 203 ¨C Mages Under the World Tree Will Never Be Too Far Away

    [Sir Mage! You¡¯re bleeding all over!]

    Amidst the darkness on the screen, some people held the ck-haired mage up and said: [Treatment Team, hurry over to treat¡ª]

    The ck-haired mage immediately said: [It¡¯s alright, I mustplete my mission as a mage, even if it¡¯s myst. I exist for this very reason, and life and death is insignificant!]

    The ck-haired mage broke free of the grip of those helping him and slowly walked forward. The three other mages including Red Hood seemed to move forward to stop the Federation Watchmen from stopping the ck-haired mage, and let himplete the final step.

    Great, Ren Suo was actually quite satisfied with his current progress. He even had greater room for error, since [Breath of Fire Skin] was still unused.

    Ren Suo had not expected [Holy Sword of Spine] to be that powerful, although the price Mage had to pay was also immense¡ªhis remaining health depleted gradually at a rate of 1.5% and could not be regained through heals, although he would not be depleted of his health in this way. The consequences were far more devastating than that of the Forbidden Spell of the Eye, Skin, or Hand. After all, if the boss was still not dead after the Holy Sword of Spine was used, Mage would be the one to die instead.

    Nevertheless, with [Holy Sword of Spine], massive damage would be dealt to the target, ignoring its defense power. It was a move that could essentially determine the oue of the battle!

    That was truly a trump card to decide who would live.

    The ck-haired mage walked forward slowly, and very quickly, the outline of the Princess appeared on the screen. She was kneeling on the ground, crying as she covered her face with both of her hands.

    The ck-haired mage reached out with his left hand of benevolence and touched her head gently. Greenish-white light filled the screen, and shbacks of memories were shown:

    [She was the Princess of the Kingdom. Ever since she was born, she had beautiful, gem-like eyes.]

    [The Queen was known as the most beautifuldy of the Kingdom, but as the mother of the Princess, she knew that, in the future, the Princess would definitely be a more beautifuldy than she was.]

    [The urge to kill the Princess grew with the foolish jealousy of the Queen. However, whenever she looked at the Princess, her urge to kill the Princess was suppressed.]

    [Although that was partially because of her motherly love, the greater reason was because she saw the beautiful reflection of herself through the eyes of the Princess.]

    [The beauty of the Queen shone brighter and clearer in the eyes of the Princess than any other mirror in the world.]

    [As much as the Queen was jealous of the Princess, she could not let go of the ¡®mirror¡¯ which was the Princess.]

    [However, as the Princess grew older day by day, the conflict in the heart of the Queen also grew¡ªshe feared that her worries would turn true very soon.]

    [At that time, the Holy Grail of Desires appeared before the Queen. By just sacrificing one eye, the Queen achieved her goal¡ªthough it was not her eye.]

    [Subsequently, the Princess disappeared, and in the Queen¡¯s bedroom, a magic mirror who could talk appeared.]

    [For a long period of time, the conversation between her and the mirror went: ¡°Who is the most beautiful of them all?¡±¡±It¡¯s my mother whom I see through this pair of eyes¡±.]

    [All this while, the Queen was extremely careful not to let anyone into her bedroom. One day, however, two maids brought a fruit basket into her room, and after they ced the basket down, they continued chatting about news of the outside world: about hunters with perfect uracy, about witches who lived in the forests¡­]

    [The Princess was finally doubtful. She wanted to see the outside world, but her mother never allowed her to leave her ce. She wanted to see how she looked, for she could not understand why her mother wanted to look at her everyday, yet never once cared about her¡­]

    [She did not even know that she had turned into a mirror. Then, the Holy Grail of Desires appeared.]

    [By sacrificing her other eye, an apple in the fruit basket turned into a mirror. Through the mirror, the Princess saw the figure of a monster.]

    [The Princess regretted giving up both of her eyes, for she could not even shed tears at that time¡­]

    [Then suddenly, the mirror lit up and the apples reflected in the mirror turned into individual mirrors with limbs. Subsequently, they became her warriors.]

    [It was time for revenge.]

    [The Queen looked at the Princess¡¯ eyes as usual, but what she saw was no longer her beautiful face. Instead, she saw the face of a toothless old woman with an aquiline nose, who had dry, scaly, aged, and wrinkled skin that was full of scars. Tears were streaming down the face and onto the ck robe that was worn.]

    [In the past, the reflection of the Queen in the Princess¡¯ eyes were so beautiful because she wanted to make the Queen happy. Now, however, with a hatred brimming in her heart, the reflection of the Queen in her eyes looked like that of an ugly, evil witch¡­ Or perhaps, the image of the Queen in the eyes of the Princess had turned into what she wanted it to be.]

    [Even when the Queen turned away from the mirror, the apple mirrors surrounding her still reflected her ugly appearance.]

    [Subsequently, the Queen disappeared, and in the Queen¡¯s bedroom, a dead, ugly witch appeared.]

    [The Princess hadpleted her revenge, but at that point in time, the light which continued to reflect off the mirrors shone like tears. Even though she had lost both of her eyes, she still wanted to cry.]

    [The Princess¡¯ heart was filled with grief. She did not hate herself for turning into a monster but questioned why her mother was not even willing to give her even just a tiny bit of love¡­ She would have been satisfied even if her mother had just looked at her for a moment when she looked in the mirror.]

    [The mirror of the daughter forever continued to reminisce about the shadow of her mother. Perhaps, she was trying to fill the void from losing her mother?]

    The game prompted: [Princess Snow White has been sessfully granted salvation.]

    The Princess turned into a feather and vanished in its ce. The three other mages including Red Hood quickly left after telling Mage that they would be [waiting for you in the next checkpoint]. ine wanted to say something but was pulled away by Red Hood and Lumpena¡ªboth of them knew about Mage¡¯s ability to treat the side effects he experienced from using the Forbidden Spells.

    [Sir Mage!]

    The Watchmen rushed over to the ck-haired mage, and just like the Xuan Nation warriors had done in the first checkpoint, they immediatelyid him down on the ground and shouted: [Extraordinaires with healing abilities,e over here!] [Combat medic,bat medic!]

    Caroline seemed to be holding the ck-haired mage¡¯s hand tightly as she gritted her teeth and said: [Why didn¡¯t your magepanions heal you? You sacrificed so much, and yet they left you here like that?]

    The ck-haired mage replied: [This is the fate of a mage. Moreover, I can no longer be saved, and I know this better than anyone else. A person who has lost both of his eyes, both of his hands, and even had his spine pulled out; what is the point even if he was saved from dying?]

    [I have already given my powers to mypanions just now. My will and power will be passed on by them and will continue to bloom in another mage. Being able to sacrifice my entire self and die on the battlefield, this is already an ending that I am the most satisfied with.]

    Caroline¡¯s voice trembled as she asked: [Why did you have to be the one sacrificing everything? Your hands, your hands, and even your spine¡­ Couldn¡¯t the others have taken on some of the responsibility?]

    [I will save you, the Federation has¡ª]

    The ck-haired mage asked: [Which is stronger, five disabled people or one dead man and four healthy people?]

    [It¡¯s sufficient for me, alone, to die¡­]

    Caroline hugged the ck-haired mage, and cried: [No! I¡­ I finally fell in love with someone, so I will never let you die just like that! You saved me, and you saved all of us here too! Even if you are disabled, I will care for you for the rest of your life.]

    The ck-haired mage replied: [I don¡¯t know what it means to love, and neither do we possess such feelings. Just like the Hunter Magician as known in the East, as mages under the World Tree, we are also born to fulfill our mission. We bite the dust in battle, possessing no feelings of love or hate, and having no name. From the very beginning till eternity, we only have the heart to defend and protect.]

    [I apologize for making all of you see me in such a miserable state. Mypanions left so quickly because they did not want theirst impression of me to be of this wretched state¡­]

    Caroline eximed: [No! You are handsome, very handsome¡­]

    The ck-haired mage suddenly sighed and asked: [Do you have Coke? It must be Nuka C.]

    One of the Watchmen said: [Yes, we do!], then quickly handed him a bottle of the Coke.

    Ren Suo thought about it and realized that he got carried away while setting up the context for the character. He had forgotten that the mage did not seem to be able to drink the Coke¡ªat least, he did not have the option to do so.

    The mage asked: [Can you feed me?]

    Caroline held back her tears as she said: [Sure, drink slowly, drink slowly.] She appeared to pour the contents of the Coke bottle into the mage¡¯s mouth, when she suddenly cried again: [You can¡¯t even drink the Coke anymore, they are all flowing out¡­]

    The ck-haired mage said: [Yeah, I can no longer drink¡­]

    [I¡¯m going to die, but¡­ there will be other mages who will fight elsewhere.]

    [Mages under the World Tree will never be too far away.]

    The mage¡¯s eyes turned into hollow holes and the bones of his ten fingers on his hands were exposed. Leaving behind hisst words, the mage, with his spine pulled out, turned into a crystal of light in the arena and vanished.

 Chapter 204 - Gu Yueyanâ€™s Request

    Chapter 204: Chapter 204 ¨C Gu Yueyan¡¯s Request

    ¡°Wow¡­¡±

    A wave of profound bliss arose from the depths of Ren Suo¡¯s heart as he looked at the statistic in the data stream: [Tier 1, 42%]. In addition, the soreness in his muscles after Practicing filled him with joy.

    From being unable to even advance 1% in his Practice, he could now progress 1.5% in one day. Such an improvement was naturally beyond what words could describe.

    After Ren Suo cleared three checkpoints in ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±, the mage in the game had also defeated three demons of the arenas. The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo had also been sessfully activated thrice, and as a result, Ren Suo¡¯s talent score had also increased three times in that short duration.

    In addition, he had also yed the role of Fa Hai (a monk in Chinese legend) and destroyed the love between Mage and the foreigner girl¡ªdo not be mistaken, for Ren Suo had already nned to set the plot up such that Mage would fake his death from severe injury at the end of every checkpoint. It was definitely not because Caroline loved the ck-haired mage that Ren Suo made the mage die such a horrible death, absolutely not¡­

    Although Ren Suo did not have, at present, any specific equipment to measure his own talent score, he estimated that he should now be at least on the same level as that of an average civil servant. By the time he cleared all seven checkpoints, it was not impossible for him to be above average!

    Very soon, he would be able to experience what it was like as a tier 2 Practitioner!

    ¡ªThen, he chose to watch TV.

    It was actually not just any television program, but a variety show¡ªan interesting one.

    [The Awakening Grand Challenge]!

    It was an international reality show that was different from other entertainment variety shows in that it was much more hardcore. In the show, various methods were attempted to make people Awaken.

    Those who wanted to participate in the variety show had to sign legal contracts before they were allowed to take on the various challenging ¡®methods of Awakening¡¯ in the show. From what Ren Suo had seen thus far, the methods were not just limited to ¡®electrocution¡¯, ¡®running along the edge of a boiling pot of oil¡¯, and ¡®dancing hundreds of meters above ground¡¯.

    Of course, the program was not out to kill people, and all sorts of protective measures were in ce. For example, the pot of oil was actually not hot, or that the electric chair only released sparks and actually had a voltage lower than 36V¡­

    However, none of the failed cases were aired. Amongst the cases which were shown to viewers, the contestants either ¡®passed the challenge but did not Awaken¡¯, or otherwise ¡®passed the challenge and Awakened¡¯. The show would not want the viewers to know that the challenges were all fake, and at the same time, it gave the contestants sufficient ¡®physiological stress¡¯.

    Ren Suo had learned about all of the above secrets through the intr.

    Nevertheless, there were a handful of contestants who Awakened in the show, but it was not known whether it was just for dramatic effect or that it was the truth. What was known, however, was that there were a huge number of participants, and each episode was insanely popr. Even if the show was blocked within the nation, there would still be numerous people who re-uploaded it on other sites.

    The reasons why Ren Suo watched the show was because of his curiosity, and also for work.

    That was because the ten Practitioner Institutions around the nation would be implementing a simr method, which was to urge students to Awaken under extremely dangerous circumstances, in ordance with the ¡°Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening¡± theory.

    Of course, they definitely did not want to create such great fanfare over the employed method like in other countries. Contrastingly, it was kept a secret, and only a small number of students would take part in the Awakening Ceremony. Those students certainly would not be told about the safety precautions that were put in ce and would be made to think that they were in a dangerous situation by mistake.

    In fact, Ren Suo, as well as other healing Practitioners, would always be nearby, ready to perform emergency resuscitation if anyone was in a critical situation.

    Indeed, it sounded just like a typical college story in fantasy novels: the protagonist would suddenly encounter a dire, near-death situation, through which he would experience a breakthrough. However, the protagonist would still be too tired and almost be unable to make it through the fight. Subsequently, the principal and the teachers would appear,ughing. They would then disclose that it was all a part of the school¡¯s orientation ceremony, and the new student would be relieved. Remembering how handsome he looked and how strong he was during the situation moments ago, the protagonist would then continue sessfully in his school journey to grow his harem of girls¡­

    The implementation date of the n had not been confirmed, but it was unlikely to take too long; otherwise, Ren Suo would not have received such a notification from the school at that point in time: [Do not leave the Heavenly Institution of Lian for the next few months. Be ready to be called into action at any time.]

    However, if the entire n was unable to be managed by the higher-leveled Practitioners perfectly, it would be equivalent to being irresponsible for the student¡¯s safety. Ren Suo felt that there was an extremely high possibility that the n would be unsessful.

    ¡®The whole world has already begun to change due to the rejuvenation of Reiki¡­¡¯ Ren Suo thought. He counted with his fingers and muttered, ¡°Combat, the Inte, education, medicine, materials¡­ Various industries are changing, and the world is truly bing more and more interesting.¡±

    After watching two episodes of ¡°The Awakening Grand Challenge¡±, Ren Suo checked the time and realized that it was lunchtime. He headed over to Dong Chengling¡¯s house for another free meal.

    Gu Yueyan naturally went over too, but this time, she ate peacefully and did not ridicule Ren Suo. She focussed on chatting with Dong Chengling instead. Ren Suo was also d to be able to eat in peace and took the opportunity to eat two more braised prawns.

    It was Ren Suo¡¯s turn to wash the dishes that afternoon. Since Dong Chengling had taken care of acquiring the ingredients and cooking, Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan naturally expressed their gratitude by taking turns to wash the dishes. In fact, Ren Suo had actually considered buying a dishwasher, but after thinking about it, he realized that in that case, he would not be making any contributions despite eating the food that Dong Chengling cooked. As such, he dismissed that idea and diligently washed the dishes.

    After washing the dishes, Ren Suo left Dong Chengling¡¯s house and went downstairs. However, he was surprised to see Gu Yueyan leaning against the wall at the entrance of the dormitory building and staring at the ceiling. She seemed to be waiting for someone¡ªor something.

    Ren Suo nced at her and asked, ¡°Did you forget to take something? Hurry upstairs to get it, I think Chengling is going to take her afternoon nap soon.¡±

    ¡°No, I was waiting for you, Ren scum,¡± Gu Yueyan replied. She said, ¡°I heard that nowadays, you are either staying at home or at Teacher Dong¡¯s house eating. Have you not found a girlfriend yet?¡±

    Ren Suo said righteously, ¡°First of all, even though I don¡¯t have a girlfriend, I don¡¯t support teacher-student rtionships either¡­ In school, you would not meet many people of the opposite gender who are of a high standard. Although you may find me extremely outstanding, and although you may still think so, when youe out to society¡ª¡±

    ¡°Who would want to be in a teacher-student rtionship with you! What¡¯s more, you are not a teacher anyway!¡± Gu Yueyan chided with a look of disdain. She said, ¡°I want to ask you for help.¡±

    ¡°Me? Help?¡± Ren Suo questioned. He thought about what Gu Yueyan had just said, then looked at her abdomen, her calf, then her thigh. He said, ¡°My healing ability cannot treat obesity¡­¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, but I exercise regrly and have a very good figure. I don¡¯t need you to help me lose fats,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    She held her anger in and continued, ¡°However, you¡¯re right, I do need the help of your healing ability.¡±

    ¡°You might not know this, but I have Awakened¡­¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Ren Suo looked at Gu Yueyan. Fortunately, Ren Suo now had to face Dong Chengling at least twice a day and he had continuously trained to adapt to the strong temptation of the extremely attractive ¡®2-star key¡¯. At the least, he no longer had any difficulties while talking to Dong Chengling.

    Coming face-to-face with Gu Yueyan who merely possessed a 1-star key, hmph, her attractiveness was no more than soy milk and dough sticks sold on the street.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know that.¡±

    Gu Yueyan continued, ¡°However, my Awakening is not yetplete and I still need to undergo some special training.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly confused. He asked, ¡°Your Awakening is not yetplete? What does that mean?¡±

    Gu Yueyan replied, ¡°Awakening is categorized into two parts: ¡®strength¡¯ and ¡®knowledge¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Typically, a person would acquire both when Awakening, which allows the person to be able to cast his Awakened Ability with ease. However, after I Awakened, I have no ¡®knowledge¡¯, but only ¡®strength¡¯. Although I can still cast my Awakened Ability, I do not know what its effects nor its prohibitions are. This is called iplete Awakening, which belongs to a semi-awakened state. This is a fundamental knowledge of Awakening, how can you not know this?¡±

    Ren Suo shrugged and said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I attended your lessons. Practice was the main focus of my studies previously, and Awakening was barely discussed.¡±

    After all, when Ren Suo took part in the mass training for civil servants, the video of ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡± had not appeared, and it was by sheer luck when ordinary people Awakened.

    Since then, three months had passed, and many incidents had taken ce during that time, such as the activation of Reiki Treasures and the uploading of numerous videos by Naisser Ren. The nation¡¯s research on Awakeners intensified ever since, but the researchers and the students were naturally the people who reaped the benefits first.

    Ren Suo wondered if he should also spend some time reading thetest research papers on the intr. However, those thesis papers were much more boring than the ¡°Risky Investigation Reports¡± in the ¡®Mysterious Sightings¡¯ section¡­

    Ren Suo clenched his fist and asked, ¡°So, how do you need me to help you? Should I beat you almost to death to force you to Awaken in times of danger?¡±

    Gu Yueyan red at Ren Suo and replied, ¡°As if! I¡¯m actually already almost there. Teacher said that even if I did not do anything and continued Practicing slowly for a few months, it would still be possible for me to naturally grasp the ability.¡±

    Ren Suo retorted, ¡°Just wait a few months then.¡±

    Gu Yueyan took a deep breath and said, ¡°No, I need to master this Awakened Ability quickly, I really need this ability. Moreover, the earlier a person masters his Awakened Ability, the better it is.¡±

    ¡°As such, I want to make a deal with you. During this process, I may be in danger as I am Awakening for a second time, and so as a recovery Practitioner, you can guarantee my safety.¡±

    ¡°Feel free to name a price, I will agree to it as long as it is reasonable. Hmph, my Gu family is quite wealthy.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly puzzled. He questioned, ¡°In that case, shouldn¡¯t you apply to the Institution for assistance? You are a top student in the level, would the Institution not help someone like you?¡±

    Gu Yueyan seemed somewhat helpless as she exined, ¡°The Institution said that my situation is very rare, but essentially harmless too. Moreover,pared to Awakening at once, it is safer for the stress of Awakening to be spread out over many days in my case. Especially since I am one of the top students, the Institution is even more unwilling to take any risks.¡±

    ¡°Even Teacher Dong thinks that I should not be so anxious about it. Otherwise, why do you think I woulde to you for help?¡±

    Ren Suo rubbed his chin and said, ¡°Well, if you really want to talk about making a deal, I do indeed have a small task I need your help with¡­ However, I need to confirm that what you say is true and that I would not be harming you if I do help you.¡±

    Gu Yueyan quickly said, ¡°You may ask around if you want, but do not tell anyone that I asked you for help. I don¡¯t want people to misunderstand and think that I am close to you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Ren Suo said.

    As she watched Ren Suo walk to the side to make a call, Gu Yueyan smiled deviously, as if her ¡®n¡¯ had worked out. She took out her mobile phone, typed a message in WeChat, and sent it to ¡®Xiao Qiao¡¯:

    [Sister Qiao, thank you for your suggestion.]

 Chapter 205 - All Up to Something

    Chapter 205 ¨C All Up to Something

    ¡°This is a prototype of the Reiki Storage Device.¡±

    In the deputy director¡¯s office of the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division, Qiao Muyi held an amethyst ne in her hands. She looked at the ne carefully and said, ¡°It¡¯s quite beautiful. For how long can Reiki be stored in it?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu replied, ¡°This ne can store Reiki in it for at most 30 days. Materials which are truly able to preserve Reiki for long periods of time can only be made through Awakened Abilities. As such, such materials are scarce and they are all supplied to Tianjing. We are already very fortunate that they are willing to give our Lianjiang Countermeasure Division these lower quality products.¡±

    ¡°That also means that these are barely usable products which are worse than sub-par?¡± Qiao Muyi joked.

    ¡°Even if these products are barely usable, I¡¯m afraid that there would not even be much supply for them for the time being. At this point in time, the ne is still only able to be activated by Reiki. As such, priority for the ne would be given to the important Practitioners in our Lianjiang Countermeasure Division, and all of you, team leaders, are the top priority.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu nced at Qiao Muyi and added, ¡°Of course, you would certainly be the first one to receive the ne; you were the one who convinced Dong Chengling to join our Lianjiang Countermeasure Division.¡±

    ¡°Dong Chengling would still be required to inject Reiki energy into this Reiki Storage Device, through which she would receive ¡®coordinates¡¯ for her ¡®space teleportation¡¯. Even if very few people are able to benefit, the effective scope is limited to only within the city, and it has to be recharged every 30 days¡­ it is already a blessing to have this device.¡±

    ¡°ording to our original agreement, I have granted you the privileges of a tier 3 Practitioner, as the Deputy Director of the Countermeasure Division. You would now be able to unlock all tier 3 Abilities in the Knowledge Web, including the second chapter of ¡®The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡¯¡ªeven I only acquired that ability recently.¡±

    Qiao Muyi smiled gently and said, ¡°Well, at the least, the long time I spent in Tianjing has not gone to waste.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu also replied very understandingly, ¡°It must have been tough on you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it was so tiring to promote to tier 2. I heard that my progress rate is amongst the top 5 amongst all the Practitioners, I wonder if it is true,¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°¡­ I called you over to tell you that the Countermeasure Division would get ourselves ready as soon as possible, but are you really certain that Dong Chengling would remain in Lianjiang? Although the Tianjing Headquarters is not concerned, even contracts may not be useful if other provinces want to poach her over¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi replied with certainty, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dong Chengling is a woman with strong principles. Her personality is what allows her to ovee any obstacle along her journey of Practice. She would definitely aplish what she set her mind on, or what she agreed to do. Ordinary benefits and problems which do not involve her principles would not make her change her mind.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you have be friends with her?¡± Yu Kuangtu asked. He said, ¡°That¡¯s nice, I wish I could also have a friend who possesses a space-type Awakened Ability.¡±

    Qiao Muyiughed and said, ¡°Unfortunately, besides a certain guy, Dong Chengling is probably unwilling to be friends with other guys. She is both a very focused and pedantic person. Since there is already someone upying her heart, she would never let other guys into her life, to avoid any kind of unnecessary misunderstanding.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu also seemed to remember and he said, ¡°A certain guy¡­ Ah. Is it that guy¡­ Tch, what a lucky guy, I almost have the urge to deduct his sry.¡±

    Qiao Muyi continued, ¡°However, differing gender is indeed a barrier to making friends. Deputy Director, you would be interacting with many different Practitioners in the future, so it would be best to solve this problem early. I met a hormone Awakener in Tianjing, and I heard that it only takes a month to make even the fiercest and toughest-looking man into a gorgeous transsexual. Deputy Director, would you like to give it a go? Anyway, you look pretty¡­¡±

    Before Yu Kuangtu had the chance to erupt in fury, Qiao Muyi smiled and left the office. She took out her mobile phone and looked at the screen. The corners of her mouth turned up subtly.

    Yao Fei, who was looking for Yu Kuangtu, saw the expression on Qiao Muyi¡¯s face by chance and instantly experienced goosebumps over her entire body¡ªthest time she had seen such a smile on the face of Team 7¡¯s leader, it was when she was badly ¡®bullied¡¯ by her in the locker room.

    ¡°Are you trying to get people into trouble again?¡± Yao Fei questioned with a mighty, cold attitude. However, the next second, Qiao Muyi grabbed her hands and began swinging her arms around. The cold stance of Yao Fei instantly fell through and she said slightly shyly, ¡°Please don¡¯t embarrass me, we are in the Division office.¡±

    ¡°Hehe,¡± Qiao Muyi remarked as she held the palm against Yao Fei¡¯s face. She smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just giving some advice to a younger sister of mine, as a caring older sister.¡±

    Yao Fei was speechless. She said, ¡°A caring older sister¡­ I¡¯m going to meet the Deputy Director, let go of me.¡±

    The next moment, however, Yao Fei could not help but ask, ¡°How do you still have the time and energy to deal with other matters when work and Practice have already taken up most of your day?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because it is interesting,¡± Qiao Muyi replied as she brimmed with smiles, then walked back to Team 7¡¯s office with light-hearted footsteps.

    However, at that moment, a hint of doubt shed across her mind:

    ¡°Why am I concerned about what happens between them? Although Dong Chengling would definitely not leave due to her rtionship, I don¡¯t need to do that either¡­¡±

    ¡°It had to be because it¡¯s interesting, right? Yes, it must be because it¡¯s interesting, what other reason is there?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°I understand the rationale behind an iplete Awakening, but why do we have to travel to a neighboring city?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    Ren Suo looked at Gu Yueyan in confusion as they sat on the train heading towards Xiang City.

    ¡°It¡¯s because¡­ I like Xiang City more! I will have a higher chance of Awakening there!¡± Gu Yue replied in a tone of righteousness. She continued, ¡°ording to the current theory of Secondary Awakening, it is the most effective when the Awakener is brought to a ce where the Awakener feelsfortable!¡±

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his mouth. He had agreed to Gu Yueyan¡¯s request to assist her in her Secondary Awakening.

    He had thought that Gu Yueyan was preparing to slit her wrists or the like. However, instead of methods of Awakening as mentioned in the ¡®Nature Exploitation Technique¡¯, the Awakening method which Gu Yueyan wanted to attempt was extremely slow and gradual. She wanted to speed up the process of her Awakening by doing things which she yearned to do, from deep within her heart, but could not at present.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Nowadays, most of the people who Awakened all of a sudden were those who Awakened when they were working or ying on a typical day. Only very few people Awakened when they were in a critical situation, and only some suddenly Awakened during the activation of Reiki Treasures. ording to research, ¡®focus¡¯ and ¡®happiness¡¯ are the best catalysts for Awakening.¡±

    ¡°I am usually extremely focused on studying, so I can only find a way for me to Awaken through ying.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªGu Yueyan was not talking nonsense; Ren Suo had indeed found rted reports in the intr which concluded that ¡®focus¡¯ and ¡®happiness¡¯ were the least risky methods of Awakening.

    The ¡®fun¡¯ that Gu Yueyan proposed was to y outside, but she refused to go shopping in Lianjiang City, insisting on riding a train to the neighboring Xiang City. Although it only took an hour to get there and back, and he could return immediately on the same day¡­ Ren Suo felt that it was very troublesome.

    Fortunately for Gu Yueyan as a student, they had finished their examinations and were on their vacation break, so they were allowed to leave the schoolpound. Of course, most of the students still preferred to stay in school to Practice. Very few of them traveled out of the school although they were allowed to enjoy themselves outside in the city.

    However, Ren Suo had already made a deal with Gu Yueyan. He had also be wiser and did not make any highly ambiguous requests like ¡®get you to sleep in bed¡¯. Instead, he only requested vaguely: ¡°I hope that you agree to receive a full treatment.¡±

    However, Gu Yueyan seemed to think of something at that point in time as she looked at Ren Suo with a shocked face. She looked as if she was ready to whip out her mobile phone and dial ¡®110¡¯ at any moment. It was only after Ren Suo added that he would ¡°let Dong Chengling watch the entire process¡± that Gu Yueyan let the matter rest.

    At that juncture, Gu Yueyan suddenly sat next to Ren Suo to y on her mobile phone. Ren Suo very consciously stood up and proceeded to sit opposite Gu Yueyan.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Gu Yueyan asked. She tilted her head slightly and an innocent smile emerged on her face as she looked at Ren Suo.

    ¡°Maintaining a distance from you,¡± Ren Suo said calmly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing my school uniform, though? What are you afraid of?¡± Gu Yueyan asked.

    ¡°Well, I have not taken a bath or taken a dump in three days,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Gu Yueyan was shocked. She eximed, ¡°No way! You have not showered in three days? It¡¯s already summer!¡±

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°Of course not, I was just joking.¡±

    Without giving Gu Yueyan the chance to breathe a sigh of relief, Ren Suo added, ¡°How can I be constipated when I eat fruits everyday?¡±

    Noticing Gu Yueyan¡¯s nce as if she was looking at garbage, Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°Regardless, you are still a minor. Although we made a deal that I would provide you with any emergency treatment as required today, we should still keep a distance from each other. It is for the benefit of both of us.¡±

    Watching Ren Suo put on his headphones and y games on his mobile phone, Gu Yueyan snorted and looked down at her WeChat on her mobile phone.

    Xiao Qiao said: [Good luck, but don¡¯t be taken advantage of, alright.]

    Gu Yueyan replied: [Don¡¯t worry! He would not dare to do anything even if he had any bad intentions, I will definitely seize my chance today!¡±

    With a light swipe of her finger, she saw her text conversation with Xiao Qiao over thest few days.

    Gu Yueyan had asked: [Sister Qiao, I don¡¯t want Teacher Dong to gradually lose interest in her pursuit of her ideals because of Ren Suo. What should I do to chase this guy away? Should I think of a way to make him unable to remain in the Institution?]

    Xiao Qiao had replied: [No, you do not need to deal with Ren Suo at all. Even if Ren Suo is made to leave the Institution, Dong Chengling will continue to chase him to the ends of the earth, as long as she still believes in him. What you have to do is to make Dong Chengling realize that he is not a good person. For example, let her see a photo of you dating Ren Suo¡­ Even if there is no immediate effect, as long as the seeds are nted, it will still take root and grow out, sooner orter¡­]

    Gu Yueyan looked at Ren Suo, who was sitting opposite and watching a video on his mobile phone. She narrowed her eyes.

    It was true that she was in a half-awakened state, and the theory of Awakening she talked about was also legitimate¡ªonly a perfect reason would let Ren Suo bepletely at ease. From her past few interactions with Ren Suo, Gu Yueyan knew that whether or not Ren Suo was wary and on his guard, his guts were as tiny as the beef balls in instant noodles!

    Gu Yueyan had deliberately chosen to go to Xiang City for her own sake, and also because she did not intend to cause Ren Suo to lose his job in such a way. By traveling to another city, they would not be seen by anyone they knew, especially since the students of the Heavenly Institution of Lian were on their vacation break. They would be out and about, and the risk of being spotted in Lianjiang City was too great.

    However, at the same time, that also meant that Ren Suo would not be able to find any witnesses for him!

    There was still a day ahead for her, and Gu Yueyan was confident that she would have an opportunity to snap a ¡®misleading¡¯ photo that Dong Chengling would ¡®misunderstand¡¯!

    ¡®I will be responsible for clearing any obstacles in Teacher¡¯s path!¡¯ Gu Yueyan thought.

 Chapter 206 - Encountering The Holy Grail!

    Chapter 206 ¨C Encountering The Holy Grail!

    ¡°Ahh~ This cotton candy is huge, shall we share it?¡± (Gu Yueyan stretched out her hand that was holding the cotton candy)

    ¡ª¡ª ¡°I like eating cotton candy too, so I also bought one for myself, you can finish yours slowly.¡± (Ren Suo was holding an evenrger cotton candy)

    ¡°These octopus balls are too hot, do you not want one?¡± (Gu Yueyan stretched out her hand that was holding an octopus ball with a toothpick)

    ¡ª¡ª ¡°You can have the one you¡¯re holding, I¡¯ll help you with the remaining ones in the box.¡± (Ren Suo took the box away from Gu Yueyan)

    ¡°Eh? There¡¯s a photo booth here, let¡¯s take a photo!¡± (Gu Yueyan pulled Ren Suo into the photo booth)

    ¡ª ¡°You can take one yourself.¡± (Ren Suo coldly refused)

    Ren Suo followed Gu Yueyan around for the entire afternoon and watched her hop from mall to mall and attraction to attraction. However, he somehow felt that she was acting weirdly¡ªfor example, she kept offering food to him to eat.

    Did she finally develop a conscience?

    ¡°If you keep doing that, I can¡¯t y and enjoy myself!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed.

    After Ren Suo rejected Gu Yueyan¡¯s offer again, she could no longer hold her displeasure in. She said, ¡°Why can¡¯t you y along with me? You already agreed to help me today!¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the snack in Gu Yueyan¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Do you really wish to share food with me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Gu Yueyan replied as she took out the donut from the bag with her right hand and handed it over. At the same time, her left hand was already firmly holding her mobile phone and activating the video recording mode. She said, ¡°Have a bite.¡±

    Ren Suo questioned, ¡°You feel that you would be happy if you treat me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Gu Yueyan replied. She was almost ready to tiptoe and stuff the donut into Ren Suo¡¯s darned mouth.

    Ren Suo refused. He said righteously, ¡°How about this, just send me the money through Alipay, don¡¯t waste it. My Alipay ID is 13¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan was furious. Her face went (#`Ãó¡ä) as she eximed, ¡°Are you eating it or not?!¡±

    ¡°My mother told me never to eat any food strangers offer,¡± said Ren Suo, shaking his head.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Gosh, how old are you that you are still listening to your mother!¡±

    Ren Suo replied seriously, ¡°A man remains a teenager at heart even until his death.¡±

    Despite seeing Gu Yueyan who looked so angry as if she wanted to jump up and down, Ren Suo remained as calm as ever.

    Although he did not know what Gu Yueyan was nning, her actions at that point in time were obviously atypical.

    However, no matter what she intended to do, it would be alright if Ren Suo kept his stance¡ªnot getting too close to her while not being too far away.

    Moreover, based on what they had agreed on, Ren Suo only promised to help Gu Yueyan Awaken that day. It would not be his problem even if nothing happened throughout the day and Gu Yueyan did not Awaken.

    It was all worth it for him to be able to retrieve her 1-star key after spending an entire day with her shopping and hanging out. After all, he was onlycking a 1-star key to be able to open the 3-star treasure chest.

    As for the plete treatment¡¯ he mentioned, the first step was naturally to hypnotize her to sleep by using [Allure of Sweet Dreams]. Then, he would touch her for a few minutes with [Ability: Heal] while taking the chance to retrieve the key¡­ From any perspective, it was an extremely safe andplete treatment, and Ren Suo was confident that his ns would not be exposed!

    Very soon, it was 6 p.m. Although the sky was still bright, it would turn dark in an hour. As Ren Suo apanied Gu Yueyan for a ride on a Ferris wheel, he looked at the sky and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head back to Lianjiang City after our dinnerter.¡±

    ¡°No! I still want to y!¡± Gu Yueyan replied angrily. She wanted to shift to sit beside Ren Suo to take his picture, but the moment she moved, Ren Suo also followed suit and changed his position. There was absolutely no opportunity for her to carry out her n.

    She was already thinking about the feasibility of forcing her way through¡ªbut the only problem was that she would end up exposing her true intentions. If that happened and Ren Suo told on her to Dong Chengling first, all of her efforts would have been wasted.

    Ren Suo took out his mobile phone and did a search, then said, ¡°There is nothing fun to do in Xiang City though, apart from shopping malls¡­¡±

    ¡°There are still entertainment facilities like the karaoke box!¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t mind singing alone, I don¡¯t mind sitting at the side and watching you sing either,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Gu Yueyan froze momentarily and her face turned red. She turned to look outside the Ferris wheel carriage, and her eyes suddenly lit up, ¡°I want to go there!¡±

    Ren Suo looked in the direction she was looking and saw what seemed to be argeke a few kilometers away. However, it seemed to be located in a slightly remote area, in what appeared to be a forest park.

    Ren Suo scratched his chin and questioned, ¡°You want to y with water? Did you bring a swimsuit?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®y with water¡¯! You will know when we get there!¡± replied Gu Yueyan, gritting her teeth.

    20 minutester, Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan arrived at the payment booth on the shore beside theke. An uncle was sitting inside the booth and said when he saw them, ¡°You guys are here veryte. We are closing in 15 minutes, so you can only rent it for 15 minutes, and you muste back by then.¡±

    Gu Yueyan hurriedly handed the money over and replied, ¡°No problem, 15 minutes is sufficient.¡±

    Ren Suo looked at the small, open boat by the shore and asked, ¡°Do you like boating so much¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I like it very much!¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    The uncle handed two life jackets to them, then said in a mischievous tone, ¡°If you like boating, then you can¡¯t miss Ind Lake. Many young couples like toe here to row¡ªsomeone even proposed on theke a few days ago. Theke is definitely a good choice and would be of great help to your marriage!¡±

    The uncle had assumed that the pair in front of him was a couple. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw two ¡®thought-provoking¡¯ expressions on the guy and the girl¡¯s faces¡ª

    Ren Suo: How is that any of my business?

    Gu Yueyan: I¡¯m here for the exact opposite¡ªto destroy this guy¡¯s marriage.

    After a while, Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan were in the boat and on theke. Ren Suo actually had little interest in boating, but it would be problematic if Gu Yueyan suddenly Awakened while still boating on theke, so he apanied her. Since they had already made an agreement, he would see through it to the end, but even if Gu Yueyan was going to die, she had to give him her key before she did!

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Ren Suo saw Gu Yueyan taking selfies with her mobile phone but did not care. As a girl, it was natural for her to like taking selfies and then post them on social media with beauty filters.

    On the other hand, Ren Suo was the kind who could not share his selfies even if the images were edited using beauty filters. His mother would even chide him for ¡®blocking the view¡¯, so he never took any interest in taking photos.

    (This is a bad angle¡­ This angle is almost right¡­ This angle is perfect, NICE!)

    Ren Suo watched as Gu Yueyan leaned over the boat. He suddenly asked, ¡°Is your phone waterproof?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± replied Gu Yue, momentarily stunned. Her center of gravity finally fell outside the boat as she leaned too far out, and she was thrown off bnce. She fell towards theke.

    Ren Suo, who had already expected that to happen, naturally stretched his hand out to stop her fall. However, Gu Yueyan seemed to care more about her mobile phone and tried her best to swing her right hand around to throw her phone back into the boat!

    Plop!

    Her mobile phonended on the boat, but Gu Yueyan also fell into theke.

    ¡°Ahhh.¡±

    Ren Suo sat on the boat gloating over Gu Yueyan¡¯s misfortune as he waited for her to emerge from the water.

    He naturally did not have any interest in jumping into the water to save her, since she was already wearing a life jacket. Moreover, theke was so calm at that point in time that there were not even any ripples on the water surface. She would definitely float upwards and emerge from the water after a short while.

    Ren Suo felt that the purpose of the current ¡®transaction¡¯ which Gu Yueyan initiated was not because she wanted toplete her Awakening. Instead, it seemed that she was plotting other schemes in her mind. Upon seeing Gu Yueyan get her own just deserts, Ren Suo was naturally very happy.

    However, after 10 seconds, Ren Suo narrowed his eyes.

    After 15 seconds, Ren Suo took out his wallet and mobile phone and ced them in the small boat, then quickly took off his shoes and socks.

    After 20 seconds, Ren Suo took off his hat and changed his backup abilities in his heart. He swapped [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] in the props slot with [The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]!

    ¡°If you were trying to make me drenched too, you win!¡±

    Ren Suo leaped heavily into theke and swam in the water like a fish.

    He could easily keep his eyes open, and his breathing was extremely smooth and steady,pletely like he was breathing onnd!

    For once, [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of Luo] had achieved its intended effect!

    Where was Gu Yueyan?

    Ren Suo looked around but did not see any trace of Gu Yueyan, so he dived deeper into theke. However, he had his doubts¡ªit was quite unlikely for Gu Yueyan to sink all the way to the bottom of theke by herself while wearing a life jacket; otherwise, it would not be called a life jacket, but a sinking stone.

    Did she dive deeper by her own will?

    However, at that juncture, Ren Suo felt his breathing currents starting to elerate suddenly. The amount of light in theke rapidly decreased, and the water currents around him feltpletely different¡ªit felt sunken, depressed, suffocating, watchful¡­

    The sounds of the water currents by his ears were bing more piercing and pervasive.

    Shivers emerging from the depths of his soul radiated throughout his body!

    Ren Suo opened his eyes wider, and he saw Gu Yueyan right below him!

    She seemed to be unconsciously diving downwards, but her hands and legs were moving as if she was walking and not swimming. With every step, she was ¡®walking¡¯ downwards into the depths of the darkness below, in a bid to touch the only thing whose faint glowing outline could be seen, at the bottom of theke¡ª

    It was something that resembled a trophy.

    At that very moment, Ren Suo remembered everything.

    That was Ind Lake.

    In the first checkpoint, he had learned from the Xuan Nation Practitioners that they came in from the portal at Ind Lake.

    Ren Suo knew that the game would eventually ur in reality, but he had thought that the seven checkpoints would definitely not appear on Earth at present, as he had not uploaded his game score yet.

    However, the scene before him seemed to tell him otherwise¡ª

    ¡ªHe was wrong.

    Ren Suo swiftly grabbed Gu Yueyan¡¯s leg and pulled her upwards!

    Feeling Ren Suo¡¯s tug, Gu Yueyan seemed to regain her consciousness. Bubbles emerged continuously from her mouth as she held tightly onto Ren Suo with her hands. It was a typical reaction of someone who was drowning!

    Fortunately, Ren Suo did not need to hold his breath underwater; otherwise, with Gu Yueyan holding tightly onto him, he would not have been able to swim back to the surface to catch his breath and instead sink lifelessly to the bottom. He hurriedly exerted all his strength to pull Gu Yueyan towards the surface.

    However, at that juncture, the pressure of the water in theke suddenly grew and felt extremely heavy. Even while wearing a life jacket, Ren Suo felt as if a heavy lead block was tied to his legs! At the same time, the light shining into the water from the surface turned extremely dim, as if it had turned dark outside!

    There was definitely something going on here!

    Ren Suo looked down to take a nce and noticed that the outline of the Holy Grail was still very clear. A sudden thought arose in Ren Suo¡¯s mind: If he touched it, he would be able to fulfill all of his desires, break free of all restraints, and experience true freedom. He would not need to make any effort to achieve sess¡­

    Undeniably, the promotion by the Holy Grail perfectly echoed Ren Suo¡¯s mindset. Just as he was about to be enticed and deluded, the drowning Gu Yueyan tightened her grip around his throat, strangling him. Ren Suo instantly sobered up.

    Upon regaining his consciousness, Ren Suo naturally continued swimming upwards. He knew that the Holy Grail was a trap. If he gave in to his innermost desires and touched the Holy Grail, he would surely die in such a miserable way that not even his pulp would be left behind!

    However, at that juncture, theke water became thicker, as if it were viscous ink trapping Ren Suo within! He could barely move upwards!

    The Holy Grail, or rather, the Holy Grail of the first checkpoint, did not intend to let them escape just yet!

    [Clothes]!

    Ren Suo tried using [Clothes] to create a path for him, but he realized that his breathing current was moving extremely slowly there. It was as if it was being suppressed!

    Was it because of the breathing currents of Practitioners that the Holy Grail was activated there?

    Ren Suo quickly equipped himself with [Unlimited Energy] and struggled to swim upwards with all his might. Yet, the surface of theke seemed to be extremely far away.

    He was not as concerned about himself than for Gu Yueyan who was beside him. Although she was conscious, her grip on Ren Suo was bing weaker with each passing second¡ªshe was almost out of breath!

    He was definitely not interested in bringing a giant, bloated corpse back with him!

    Ren Suo turned Gu Yueyan¡¯s face towards him and looked straight into her eyes. At that juncture, Gu Yueyan¡¯s gaze was getting blurry and her consciousness was falling. If he wasted any more time, even [Heart-Strengthening] may not be effective anymore. [Heart-Strengthening] could only prolong a person¡¯s life in a critical situation, but it could not revive someone!

    ¡°Thankfully, I have been using the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] thest few days, otherwise it would definitely not be in my backup slot¡­¡±

    Ren Suo hesitated no further and leaned in closer to Gu Yueyan. He ced his lips against hers and blew air into her mouth!

 Chapter 207 - â€“ Moonlight at the Bottom of the Lake

    Chapter 207: Chapter 207 ¨C Moonlight at the Bottom of the Lake

    ¡®It¡¯s all because of that scum that Inded in such a state. He¡¯s certainly going to mock meter¡­¡¯ Gu Yueyan thought.

    The first thought that emerged in her mind when she fell into the water was apanied by a sense of dejection born out of her self-esteem. To her, it was still bearable if she was embarrassed, but it was worse given that it was in Ren Suo¡¯s face.

    Gu Yueyan knew just how many times she had mocked Ren Suo in the past. Thinking about how he would mock her when she emerged from the water, she instantly felt that she would rather sink to the bottom of theke instead.

    He might already have taken out his mobile phone¡ªready to capture how she looked when she was drenched. She would have done so if she were him.

    ¡°Fortunately, I managed to save my mobile phone and did not make a wasted trip¡­¡±

    When Gu Yueyan saw tourists on boats on theke when they were riding the Ferris wheel, she immediately knew that that was her best opportunity. Ren Suo could choose to sit opposite her when they were in the Ferris wheel cabin, but there were only two designated seats on the small boat. Nheless, the small boat was considered an ¡®open yet private space¡¯. For two people to be together in such a space, their rtionship would have to be considered intimate!

    With some unwillingness and resentment, Gu Yueyan slowly sank into theke, feeling somewhat rxed yet nervous.

    She immediately began struggling to stay afloat, but when she turned her head, she saw a shimmer of light shining through at the bottom of theke.

    Then, the breathing current in Gu Yueyan also began to flow gradually.

    The light from above seemed to bepletely engulfed by the water in theke, and all sounds were also muffled by it. In the darkness, Gu Yueyan could only see the outline of the Holy Grail at the bottom of theke.

    The breathing current in her flowed slowly but gracefully. Her eyes were fixated on the Holy Grail, and she could not look away¡ªevery pore, every cell, and every organ in her body were cheering in happiness.

    Touch it, and you will be happy;

    Touch it, and the people who should remain in your life will always be by your side, while those who should not exist will disappear forever;

    Touch it, and life would be as you wish.

    As a female high school student who was about to be promoted to her third year, Gu Yueyan possessed strong feelings of love and hate, as well as that of attachment and obsession. Those feelings made her fall prey to the whirlpool of desires and temptation more easily, just like how an overlypressed spring would restore to its original length with immense force.

    Simr to how scary it would be when well-tempered people finally exploded, the moment Gu Yueyan, who had a strong execution ability, was sessfully enticed, she would lose her sense of self almost immediately. Very quickly, she sank down, towards the abyss.

    It was not until a pair of hands grabbed her waist amidst the flow of breathing currents that Gu Yueyan snapped out of the delusion.

    Even though Gu Yueyan immediately began holding her breath in, she had already consumed too much water and her respiratory tract was full of liquid.

    In her daze, she only knew that someone seemed to be pulling her upwards. Her hands and legs wrapped around the person in a natural biological response, but such a response was not going tost for long. She felt her strength diminishing by the second, and began to lose her consciousness from not breathing.

    She thought, ¡®Is this how my life is going to end¡­¡¯

    No ceremonialnterns, no particr feelings, only suffering¡ªtheck of air, apanied by the stinging sensation of theke water in her airway, made her nose and throat feel like she was stabbed by a burning, ming stick. The intense physiological response excited the neurons in her brain through her nerves.

    It waspletely beyond Gu Yueyan¡¯s expectations that she would die such a painful death. Ever since she was a child, she had a strong personality and always wanted to win. Whether it was in the face of her extremely talented brother or any boy or girl of the same age as her, she would never admit defeat.

    From being the first in her ss to the first in the level, all of her achievements were a mark of the countless hours of effort she had put in. Gu Yueyan actually did not worship those who were powerful, but those who fought hard to achieve their goals, especially women. She was proud of her strong ability to act and execute.

    Gu Yueyan believed that she had to put in her utmost effort to achieve whatever she wanted to change and to possess whatever she wanted to have. Nothing in the world woulde by just wishing for it to happen.

    She also believed that she had to put in the effort to fight for what she liked. In that way, even if she did not seed in the future, she could attribute her failure to the world, and not hate herself for not trying her best.

    She thought that she would most certainly lead a wonderful and fulfilling life. However, she had now realized that she was about to meet her end there and then, turning into an icy cold, lonely, and ugly corpse.

    Resentment? Regret? Regardless of how strong Gu Yueyan was as a person, when faced with the fear of death, such feelings still stirred in her heart.

    In her state of semi-consciousness, Gu Yueyan seemed to see Ren Suo¡¯s face. His face looked just like how he usually looked: an ordinary silhouette with frowning eyebrows that revealed hisziness of a pig. At best, his looks could be considered bearable as a whole; but it was still unworthy of the determined and beautiful Teacher Dong.

    If¡­ perhaps¡­

    Gu Yueyan closed her eyes. However, at that very moment, she felt her tightly sealed lips being forced open, and a breath of air which dispersed all of her torment gushed into her throat¡ª

    Staying alive after a near-death experience made Gu Yueyan tense her entire body. The breathing current in her body began to elerate. Her inner Reiki energy began spreading out through previously non-existent Reiki meridian channels and extended to her entire body!

    **********

    Ren Suo retracted his left hand that was hugging Gu Yueyan from under her arm. He used it to cover her mouth to prevent the air in her mouth from leaking out. Then, Ren Suo quickly took the chance to continue swimming upwards.

    He knew he had not dived much deeper than 10 meters down the surface of the water, but theke surface now seemed to be at least a hundred meters away from theke surface.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo faintly felt that there was something in theke that was watching him. That was not a feeling backed solely by intuition, but also because the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo on his right hand also suddenly began to radiate warmth. Although Ren Suo had not confirmed it himself, such a reaction of the Jade Pendant was likely due to its sensation of monsters nearby.

    Ren Suo nced to the side and happened to see a sh of light in the darkness.

    In the shadow of the light, he saw an abandoned pond.

    It was the arrival of the first checkpoint!

    Although Ren Suo did not know how long it would take for the first checkpoint to enter Earthpletely, it was definitely linked to Earth now, albeit weakly. He was certain that if he did not sessfully swim back to the surface, he would definitelynd in the first checkpoint instead, along with Gu Yueyan!

    Ren Suo certainly did not think that he had the ability to defeat the monsters in the checkpoint. If he reallynded there, he could only wait for Mage, whom he controlled in the game, to enter the arena and clear the checkpoint, before he could return to reality.

    However, even before thinking about whether Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan would starve to death before then, the problem was that Ren Suo had not cleared the game yet. He did not believe that the mage would take care of him and Gu Yueyan, who both intruded their world. In that scenario, when it was time for the boss battle, it would not be a surprise at all if they were killed in the aftermath.

    Using [Unlimited Energy], Ren Suo had to get to the surface of theke, even if the water above him felt as heavy as viscous mud!

    Never in his life had he swum in such torturous waters!

    After struggling his way upwards for over ten seconds, he realized that they were about to leave the darkness within. However, at that juncture, bubbles beganing out of Gu Yueyan¡¯s mouth again. She seemed to be hugging Ren Suo subconsciously, and her strength was close to none.

    All things were hard to do the very first time, but they would soon be easier. Ren Suo lifted Gu Yueyan¡¯s chin and blew another breath of air into her mouth!

    However, at that very moment, from the corner of his eyes, he saw another sh of light appear in the darkness.

    It was the walls of the monastery!

    A chill ran down Ren Suo¡¯s spine. He knew that, although the water in theke felt heavy, he had definitely swum much further upwards than the distance he dived downwards. If it was not that he was trapped in an illusion cast by an ability, it meant that¡­ the distance between him and the surface of theke had be longer.

    In addition, observing the shes of light, Ren Suo naturally thought of a situation: the Holy Grail was trapping both of them within the space of the first checkpoint.

    Would it really be of any use even if he continued swimming upwards?

    When Ren Suo started to doubt himself, the voice of the Holy Grail sounded again from the depths of his heart. It said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to try so hard anymore¡­¡±

    ¡°Your efforts might not be pleasant, but giving up would certainly be liberating¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already so hard to live, why would you want to make yourself suffer even more?¡±

    Just as Ren Suo¡¯s heart started to waver, he felt a sudden sensation of pain on his lower lip.

    It turned out that Gu Yueyan had be conscious, and she bit his lower lip ruthlessly!

    As they stared at each other, Ren Suo saw anger, shyness, and confidence sh in Gu Yueyan¡¯s eyes, but there was not a single sense of fear.

    The next moment, a light suddenly emerged again at the bottom of theke¡ª

    It was bright, dazzling, and mesmerizing. Despite its silver-white glow, it brought upon a sense of coolness and peace.

    In an instant, the Holy Grail, the darkness, and the apparitions of the monastery were dispelled.

    The obstacles that prevented them from rising upwards also seemed to bepletely destroyed by the silver light!

    ¡°Ahh¨C¡±

    ¡°Ahh¨C¡±

    The two of them emerged from the surface of theke and took in deep breaths of the sweet, fresh air. That was true even for Ren Suo¡ªhe did not breathe through his nose and mouth in the water. While the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo did not give him the gills of fish, the water was directly converted into air for Ren Suo to breathe underwater.

    Ren Suo looked up and saw the dim blue sky above. Night had not yet fallenpletely, and the silver moon in the sky was so dazzling and mesmerizing that he could not bear to look away.

 Chapter 208 - Gu Yueyanâ€™s Reaction

    Chapter 208: Chapter 208 ¨C Gu Yueyan¡¯s Reaction

    ¡°Hello, Yu Kuangtu!¡±

    ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you at least give some respect to the difference in our positions? I¡¯m just having difficulties trying to find a reason to deduct your sry, which does not go against my conscience¡­ It¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t want to address me as Deputy Director Yu, but it¡¯s not too much to ask for if you call me ¡®Comrade¡¯ or ¡®Bro¡¯, is it?¡± Yu Kuangtu replied.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I have something urgent to tell you! I am currently at Ind Lake in Xiang City. Just now¡­¡±

    By the time Ren Suo ended the call, the uncle at the rental booth of Ind Lake had also driven his duck-shaped speedboat over to them.

    Upon seeing the two of them still conscious, the uncle instantly heaved a sigh of relief. He said, ¡°Both of you gave me the shock of my life! You did not emerge from the water even after a few minutes, and I was about to call for the ambnce! Let me tell you, it¡¯s alright even if young couples like you want to fool around elsewhere, but you should not fool around here, this is ake¡ª¡±

    ¡°Make the call,¡± Ren Suo interrupted. He continued, ¡°She needs treatment. Let us take a ride back in your speedboat, I don¡¯t have the energy nor do I want to row the boat anymore.¡±

    As Ren Suo finished his sentence, he pulled Gu Yueyan onto the small duck-shaped speedboat. The uncle cursed under his breath about the trouble of having to make another trip to pull the small boat back to the shore. Nheless, it was still not a small matter that two visitors had fallen into the water, and the uncle brought them back to the shore on his speedboat.

    ¡°Have you held it for long enough?¡± Gu Yueyan asked suddenly.

    She had not said anything ever since they got out of the water.

    Ren Suo looked down and realized that he was still holding Gu Yueyan¡¯s hand. She almost had no energy left when they emerged from the water, and it was Ren Suo who pulled her onto the boat. Subsequently, Ren Suo was busy making the call on his mobile phone with his free hand, and he forgot that he was still holding her hand.

    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± Ren Suo said as he very naturally let go of her hand. Then, he turned to look at the center of theke, where they fell into.

    Gu Yueyan quickly shot a nce at Ren Suo and snorted coldly. She questioned, ¡°Was this the hand that held Teacher Dong for one day and one night?¡±

    Ren Suo blinked and looked at his left hand, then his right hand. He pondered for a moment before nodding and said, ¡°Yeah, indeed it was this hand. I remember that I was peeing with my right hand at that time¡ª¡±

    ¡°I do not want to know which hand you used to pee!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed as she clenched her jaw.

    Ren Suo was already used to Gu Yueyan¡¯s temper, where she would re up suddenly. He turned around and asked, ¡°Uncle, are there any incidents of people falling into the water recently?¡±

    The uncle immediately denied and eximed, ¡°No! Don¡¯t malign us, the safety precautions put in ce here are abundant! It¡¯s only because you came toote; normally, there would be lifeguards patrolling theke!¡±

    ¡°Really¡­¡± Ren Suo replied as he looked at the surface of theke.

    The sky turned dark very quickly. Although there were street lights surrounding theke, it clearly was not bright enough to illuminate the center of theke. It was nowpletely dark in the center, as if a monster was hidden below the surface of theke.

    However, Ren Suo felt that the Holy Grail had disappeared from theke.

    The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo on his right hand was no longer radiating warmth, and he did not feel any sense of danger either.

    It was as if he had just fallen into a dream when hended in the water just now.

    Ren Suo felt that even when Yu Kuangtu arrived with his men, they would not be able to discover anything.

    The fact that the Holy Grail was able to make a trade with the yer naturally meant that it had a sense of awareness. It might have been because it saw Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan alone on theke, who were weak, frail, and helpless, that it decided to kill both of them.

    If Yu Kuangtu arrived with arge team to search for clues, it was highly likely that the Holy Grail would remain in hiding instead.

    When that happened, Yu Kuangtu might well think that Ren Suo was dreaming as he was deprived of oxygen.

    ¡°However, I clearly remember what happened at the bottom of theke¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered with a sigh.

    Gu Yueyan snorted and muttered something under breath, but Ren Suo could not hear what she said clearly.

    Ren Suo looked at her seemingly in bewilderment and asked, ¡°Why? Is there still water stuck in your nose? I have tissue here¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed. She shivered in anger as she asked, ¡°You must still remember what happened at the bottom of theke, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Mmm? I do,¡± Ren Suo said with a sigh. He pointed at his lower lip and continued, ¡°I understand that it was a dangerous situation, so I shall not make a fuss about the fact that you bit my lower lip. However, you should change this bad habit of yours¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan¡¯s face turned extremely red as if she had applied rouge on her face. She bit her lower lip tightly and turned away from Ren Suo, unwilling to continue talking to him.

    Overhearing the conversation between Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan, the uncle at the front of the boat was filled withints. He thought that something bad had happened to the two of them, but who knew that they were just having fun with such an extreme y underwater¡­

    Over ten minutester, both the Countermeasure Division of Xiang City and the ambnce arrived. Ren Suo naturally remained at the scene to assist them in their investigation, while Gu Yueyan was sent to the hospital for an examination on the ambnce.

    Before they parted ways, Ren Suo shouted to Gu Yueyan and said, ¡°It was me who did not protect you well this time, and even¡­ Anyway, if you still need my help as an apanying healer, I will be d to help you once more as a form of apology.¡±

    Gu Yueyan retorted sarcastically, ¡°Can I get a discount?¡¯

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment then shook his head regretfully and said, ¡°It¡¯s too expensive, I cannot provide any discounts¡­¡±

    Hearing such a reply from Ren Suo where he spoke in a roundabout way to raise his own worth, Gu Yueyan could not help but giggle, though she quickly suppressed her smiles. She replied, ¡°Hmph, I have already fully Awakened and don¡¯t need your apaniment and treatment anymore.¡±

    Ren Suo nodded and said, ¡°Very well then, we¡¯re even then¡­¡±

    ¡°¡ªBut I will remember this, and you¡¯d better remember that you still owe me one!¡± Gu Yueyan said fiercely.

    Ren Suo shrugged and replied, ¡°Whatever floats your boat. By the way, was that silver light your Awakened Ability?¡±

    Gu Yueyan was slightly stunned, then she nodded her head.

    ¡°I have to thank you for saving my life then. Also, your Awakened Ability suits you very well, pure yet beautiful,¡± remarked Ren Suo, who had not even Awakened yet.

    However, Ren Suo knew that his talent score was not high, to begin with, so it was very logical that he had not Awakened. Moreover, he had the Mini Worlds game console, which meant that he had an additional list of Awakened Abilities, but it was still natural for those who ¡®cashed¡¯ in games to be jealous of those who were extremely lucky.

    ¡°¡­ Of course,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    She turned around before Ren Suo could see her blushing cheeks and hurriedly left in the ambnce.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo also heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was because he had to rescue her in the emergency, it was still true that he had taken the young girl¡¯s first ¡®kiss¡¯.

    It was naturally best that he made impromptuical remarks so that she can disregard that ¡®kiss¡¯¡ªRen Suo did not consider that a kiss anyway.

    ¡°The personnel from Lianjiang are still on their way. Additionally, it would be extremely dangerous to investigate at night, so we will only begin the search after the lights are set up and the boats are here,¡± said the person-in-charge from the Countermeasure Division of Xiang City when he found Ren Suo.

    He was a young man. He continued, ¡°I am Shen Hong, the Team Leader of Team 1 of the Xiang City Countermeasure Division. If you can, please describe the situation to me first.¡±

    Ren Suo told Sheng Hong about the entire sequence of events that he and Gu Yueyan had experienced. Then, Ren Suo suddenly asked, ¡°Is there arge scale Practitioner training base nearby?¡±

    Shen Hong was slightly wary as he questioned, ¡°Why are you asking about this?¡±

    Ren Suo naturally made up some reasons and exined, ¡°I believe that such mysterious phenomena do not arise out of nothing. I am a researcher under the Countermeasure Division as well, so I need to know this information.¡±

    Shen Hong also seemed to be aware of Ren Suo¡¯s details. He thought for a moment and replied, ¡°There is indeed a ce like that. However, it belongs to a secret unit, so you should not probe any further.¡±

    Ren Suo thought that such a ce must be where Yuan Dang and the other Practitioners were training at. Everything wasing together now.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°It¡¯s another poor day, time to wake up! It¡¯s another poor day, time to wake up!¡±

    Upon hearing the piercing sounds of her rm clock, Lin Xianyu immediately sprung out of bed and raised her hands.

    She shouted to herself in agony, ¡°Why am I still not rich yet?!¡±

    ¡°¡­ Tchhh,¡± a snigger was heard from the other side of the room.

    Hearing theughter, Lin Xianyu opened her eyes and saw Gu Yueyan sitting in the corner, taking off her shoes. She immediately pointed at Gu Yueyan and eximed, ¡°You stayed out the entire night and only just returned home. I know what a bad girl you are now! Tell me, where did you gost night and what did you do?!¡±

    ¡°Nothing happened,¡± replied Gu Yueyan as she removed her socks, then retrieved a set of clothes from her wardrobe.

    Lin Xianyu was astonished. She said, ¡°Ah, your clothes are different from what you wore when you went out yesterday! What a shameful, yful girl you are!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, you salty fish!¡± Gu Yueyan retorted. She dashed towards Lin Xianyu, and they began fighting it out. Her clothes had been drenched, and she naturally changed into a new, clean set when she was being examined at the hospital.

    She urgently rushed back in hopes that her roommates would not misunderstand, but who would have known that Lin Xianyu woke up so early! Fortunately, Lin Xianyu was the only one who was still staying in the room as the other two of their roommates had returned home to reunite with their family.

    Gu Yueyan was agile while Lin Xianyu was still not fully awake, so Lin Xianyu was naturally unable to return Gu Yueyan¡¯s attacks in time. She could only hide beneath the air-conditioning nket and shout:

    ¡°Our ss chairwoman who went for a date is beating people, our ss chairwoman who has a guy outside is beating people! Is there still rule and order in this world, is anyone going to discipline her?!¡±

    Suddenly, the fists which were throwing punches at the nket stopped. Lin Xianyu peeked out from under the nket to see Gu Yueyan walking silently to the bathroom with her clothes.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bathe!¡± Gu Yueyan announced.

    Lin Xianyu lifted the nket and was slightly bewildered. She remarked, ¡°How is it possible that she was already satisfied with winning against me with her fists? It is definitely not like her to escape before winning with her words as well¡­ Eh?¡±

    When Gu Yueyan went to bathe, she naturally left her phone outside. Lin Xianyu saw her mobile phone on the table and smirked. She quietly took Gu Yueyan¡¯s mobile phone and unlocked it¡ªthe two of them were extremely close to each other in school, and Lin Xianyu naturally found out what Gu Yueyan¡¯s passcode was a long time ago.

    ¡°Let me see, where did our ss chairwoman go yesterday¡­ What pictures did she take¡­ Mmm?¡±

    Lin Xianyu blinked. When she saw the pictures on the mobile phone, the smile on her face instantly froze.

 Chapter 209 - Do You Need It Urgently?

    Chapter 209: Chapter 209 ¨C Do You Need It Urgently?

    ¡°Perhaps, could you have been dreaming as you were suffocating?¡±

    Ren Suo correctly guessed the result, but not the person who turned up.

    ¡°Why are you here instead¡­¡± Ren Suo probed.

    ¡°The Deputy Director sent me here because he felt that I¡¯m close to you,¡± Qiao Muyi replied calmly. She said, ¡°If you had really been dreaming, the Deputy Director thought that I would be in a better position to snap you out of it with my stronger persuasion skills.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª What persuasion skills, he clearly wanted to take advantage of your ability to convince and influence me to give up!

    Qiao Muyiughed and questioned, ¡°Why, are you looking down on me? Mind you, you¡¯re only a tier 1 Practitioner while I am a true tier 2 Practitioner?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ren Suo scratched his head and asked, ¡°Alright, so did you guys really not find anything?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been searching the whole morning,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she looked at Ind Lake, sparkling under the sun. She continued, ¡°The only thing we¡¯ve not done is for the diving team to plow through the sky. We¡¯ve done the best we can, and there¡¯s nothing else we can do if that is still not enough.¡±

    ¡°Moreover, as you requested, all of those who dived in were Practitioners. After all, you mentioned that breathing currents were key to triggering the extraordinary phenomenon.¡±

    ¡°We have been searching for such a long time, and it¡¯s also time for us to wrap up.¡±

    ¡°After all, there were no casualties, and the testimonies are also one-sided,ing only from you and Gu Yueyan. Your testimonies are essentially the only evidence now. The Countermeasure Division still has its rules and regtions, and they would never waste their resources on such cases. In fact, our Team 7 is only here because you have ¡®special connections¡¯ with the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division and Deputy Director Yu; otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t havee here.¡±

    Qiao Muyi emphasized the words ¡°special connections¡± in a significantly louder voice, and the Countermeasure Division personnel d in their ck vests close to her all turned to look at Ren Suo in admiration and respect. They remarked:

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him and Deputy Director Yu to be¡­¡±

    ¡°Regardless, it still seems that Deputy Director Yu is the stronger one¡­¡±

    ¡°The Director of the Countermeasure Division and an emergency doctor¡­ Ahhhh, I¡¯m so done.¡±

    Ren Suo sighed and waved his hand in front of him. He said, ¡°There¡¯s no other way then, since it still cannot be found. Thank you for your hard work.¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Although we are going to wrap up now, we will still continue checking the area for a while once more. You may leave first. Oh, by the way, the Deputy Director also said that you will have to submit one more thesis report this month in repayment.¡±

    ¡°Nheless~¡± Qiao Muyi continued as she suddenly leaned closer to Ren Suo¡¯s ear. She whispered, ¡°Why were you on a date with Gu Yueyan in Xiang City?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because she wanted to Awaken a second time, and she asked me to be her apanying healer,¡± Ren Suo replied as he moved away from Qiao Muyi, as if he was afraid of venom spurting out from her mouth. He added, ¡°That was not a date, it¡¯s for work.¡±

    The corners of Qiao Muyi¡¯s mouth turned upwards as she asked, ¡°What would happen if I tell Dong Chengling about this?¡±

    ¡°Eh? I will have one less story to talk about during our meals then,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    He nced at her and said, ¡°I was still nning to mock Gu Yueyan during our next meal for falling into the water while taking selfies.¡±

    Qiao Muyi seemed a little surprised. She looked seriously at Ren Suo, trying to determine if he was speaking the truth. She asked, ¡°Are you not afraid?¡±

    ¡°Afraid of what?¡± a confused Ren Suo questioned.

    The expression on Qiao Muyi¡¯s face changed, as if she was studying a wonderful work of art. She eventually nodded her head forcefully and said, ¡°You are amazing.¡±

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s rare to hear from you, I shall shamelessly ept yourpliment then,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Qiao Muyi covered her eyes with her hands and gestured to Ren Suo to scram, as if saying: ¡°Get out of my sight, your presence irks me¡±.

    As she watched Ren Suo g down a taxi to leave, Qiao Muyi leaned on the trunk of a willow tree beside theke. She took a nce at the personnel at work on Ind Lake, then looked down at her mobile phone and broke out in smiles.

    [Gu Yueyan has sent you a message.]

    The corners of Qiao Muyi¡¯s mouth curved upwards intriguingly, and a wide grin emerged on her face. She muttered happily to herself, ¡°This is really¡­ so¡­ interesting.¡±

    The personnel of Team 7 who were nearby and noticed the particr expression on their team leader¡¯s face instantly trembled as they broke into cold sweats.

    They knew that, whenever such an expression emerged on their team leader¡¯s face, it meant that someone was going to meet with great misfortune.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo arrived home in the afternoon, the first thing he did was naturally to submit a report of the incident at Ind Lake onto the intr as suspicious information.

    It was his personal experience this time, which was a sufficient reason for him to upload that information. As for the other arenas in the game, Ren Suo did not dare to upload any information about them even if he knew their exact locations. He would be digging his grave if he did so and someone questioned him for the source of his information¡ªhe could not possibly say that he had an Awakened Ability of prophecy.

    Mmm? It seemed like a decent move to put forward himself as one with an Awakened Ability of prophecy, as long as he added the restriction of ¡°having an uncertain scope, frequency, and target of prophecies¡±¡­

    However, Ren Suo deliberated over that for a long time and eventually decided to give up on such a move. The main reason was that the Countermeasure System could begin to watch him to protect him, as his prophecies were perfectly urate. In that situation, their expectations for him would be extremely high, and if they protected him too well, how would he be able to y the games?

    It was more suitable for Ren Suo to be ¡°a researcher with extraordinary deduction skills¡±, aspared to being ¡°a prophet¡±.

    Moreover, when Ren Suo browsed the information on the intr usually, he would also post replies and engage in discussions from time to time. That matched perfectly with the typical actions of a researcher¡ªto express views that were not necessarily original. In terms of big data, the uracy of Ren Suo¡¯s answers was actually not high, but if his answer was selected, it would be extremely urate.

    ordingly, Ren Suo went to post replies that were notpletely new and original again, attempting to make himself seem like an ordinary researcher as much as possible.

    When it was time for dinner, Ren Suo headed over to Dong Chengling¡¯s house again to eat. Unexpectedly, Gu Yueyan did not turn up.

    ¡°Gu Yueyan isn¡¯t here, how strange,¡± Ren Suo criticized.

    ¡°She said that she had developed a cold and did not want to affect others by going out. I told her that I could cook porridge for her and send it over, but she refused,¡± Dong Chengling said in a helpless tone. She added, ¡°What a good girl.¡±

    ¡°By the way, you did note over to eatst night and in the afternoon too. Did anything happen?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    Ren Suo originally wanted to make fun of Gu Yueyan during dinner that night for falling into the water while taking a selfie. However, since she was not present, Ren Suo was also toozy to talk about it. He replied honestly, ¡°I made a trip to Xiang City and many things happened there. Sigh, I even had to perform a search with the Countermeasure Team this morning.¡±

    Dong Chengling blinked and asked, ¡°Did something dangerous ur?¡±

    Remembering the Holy Grail, a lingering fear still remained in Ren Suo¡¯s heart. He replied, ¡°It was quite dangerous. I met with a peculiar, mysterious situation and was almost trapped there.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Dong Chengling said. She did not continue probing into what happened.

    After Ren Suo washed the dishes and left her house, Dong Chengling picked up her mobile phone to make a call, instead of starting her night-time Practice session immediately.

    A female¡¯s voice was heard from the other end of the line, saying, ¡°I was still thinking that it was about time for you to call me¡­¡±

    Curious, Dong Chengling asked, ¡°Muyi, what makes you say that?¡±

    Qiao Muyi replied, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ my intuition, I suppose. Go ahead, what¡¯s up?¡±

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°Oh, I just wanted to ask, when would the portable space positioning device arrive?¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°The essory that would allow you to pull people to you from far away? The Countermeasure System is currently working on it, and the first batch of them would bepleted soon. Why, do you need it urgently?¡±

    Dong Chengling hesitated for a moment, then said with certainty, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [You have acquired a new key. Remark: Verbal reminders were not given as you were in a dangerous situation when the key was acquired.]

    As soon as Ren Suo turned on the Mini Worlds game console, he received the above message from the system. He was instantly bewildered.

    ¡°It even had such a setting? How considerate, it would have been disastrous if I heard the verbal system prompts in the middle of a fight¡­ However, I don¡¯t remember maintaining contact with someone who was sleeping for more than 5 minutes though?¡±

    Could it have been Gu Yueyan? It did not seem like she had lost her consciousnesspletely, however. Furthermore, even though the struggle in the water appeared intense, it actually onlysted for one to two minutes in reality.

    Although Ren Suo did not know when exactly he acquired the key, he quickly forgot about those details. What was important now was that he currently possessed four 1-star keys and one 2-star key. Together, they could bebined into a 3-star key¡ª

    He could finally activate his first 3-star treasure chest!

 Chapter 210 - â€“ Clone

    Chapter 210: Chapter 210 ¨C Clone

    First, the 1-star keys werebined together to synthesize a 2-star key, and Ren Suo quickly received a [2-star Moonlight Key]. Combining it with the [2-star Space Key] and [2-star Resentment Key], Ren Suo received¡ª

    [3-star Key].

    ¡°Eh? What about its special effect?¡± Ren Suo muttered. He was slightly bewildered and looked at the key synthesis rules again. It was only then when he realized that he had missed a line:

    [If the number of low-level keys (2-stars or less) makes up more than half of the base synthesisponents of the key to be formed, the special effect of the key would be lost.]

    ¡°So, that means that although I am able to synthesize a 2-star key with 1-star keys, such a ¡®man-made¡¯ 2-star key would lose its special effect when it is used to synthesize a 3-star key¡­¡±

    Although Ren Suo would not bet on his luck, it was true that a 3-star key with a special effect had a higher chance of giving additional items when it was used to activate a treasure chest. Now that the special effect of his key was lost, Ren Suo was also slightly depressed.

    Based on such a setting, Ren Suo could tell that the Mini Worlds game console did not encourage him to acquire keys by ¡®farming¡¯ low-level Awakeners. Instead, it wanted him to acquire keys from stronger, more powerful Awakeners; otherwise, he would not need to think about receiving additional rewards in the future.

    Next, it was the exciting moment he was waiting for¡ªactivating the treasure chest.

    Ren Suo rubbed his palms but hesitated slightly when he was choosing the treasure chest to open. There were two 3-star treasure chests, but he could not remember which game each of them was acquired from.

    At present, he had cleared two 3-star games, one of which was ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±, and the other was ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±.

    Looking back at the rewards he received from the treasure chests which he earned from the cleared games, Ren Suo could deduce that the reward he received from the treasure chest of each game was somewhat rted to the game itself. For example, [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] was from ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, and [Fighter Novice] was from ¡°The Hitman¡±. On the other hand, he received [Allure of Sweet Dreams] due to the special effect of the key, and the reward had nothing to do with the game itself.

    In theory, whichever treasure chest he opened, the reward he received would be rted to its corresponding game. Ren Suo originally intended to choose between the two 3-star treasure chests, but he could not tell which game either one was from. He could sort them by their chronological order in terms of when he received them¡­ but unfortunately, Ren Suo had selected ¡®sort by type¡¯.

    ¡°It¡¯s all up to fate then.¡±

    [You have used ¡®3-star Key¡¯ to activate this treasure chest.]

    [You have received the ability ¡®Combat Warrior (Partial)¡¯.]

    ¡°Combat Warrior?¡± Ren Suo muttered. He was stunned for a moment as he thought, ¡®Was that one of the Trump Cards he had acquired in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±?¡¯

    In the game, the effect of Battle Warrior was that the All-Devouring Soul would be able to create a clone of itself with up to 100% inheritance. The All-Devouring Soul was able to create a clone of itself with the desired inheritance level, and an inheritance of 100% meant that its clone would have exactly the samebat power as the All-Devouring Soul.

    [Combat Warrior (Partial)]

    [Grade: 3-star Ability. Pre-requisites: None.]

    [Effect: When activated, the yer would be given a clone that is exactly the same as himself/herself (in terms of mindset, habits, physical body, and knowledge). The clone would be unable to think autonomously and would requiremands from the yer to move (the yer cannot control the clone from long distances). The authority tomand and control the clone can also be given to others. Depending on thebat power of the clone, the effect canst from 1 minute up to 180 minutes. The cooldown time is 24 hours.]

    [Special Note: Thebat power of the clone would not be greater than 76000. It will not inherit the effects of props, but it will inherit the effects of abilities. It is unable to switch between abilities on its own. The key searching system can be activated by the clone.]

    [Remarks: Don¡¯t think of getting your clone to learn more knowledge; even if youmand it to do so, the learning experience will not be transferred to your own mind.]

    The remark stated in the ability¡¯s description was especially relevant; itpletely echoed Ren Suo¡¯s thoughts at that moment. He had thought that the ability would have a simr effect to a banned and bugged skill that could allow his clone to study on arge scale for him.

    In the end, that ability was just like other Doppelganger abilities, and he could only summon a fighter for him to use¡­ No, that¡¯s notpletely urate either¡ªthe clone could be a servant too. Ren Suo decided that the clone would be the one spring-cleaning the house the next time.

    Nheless, it was the number mentioned in the first line of the special note in the ability description which made Ren Suo scratch his head. What was meant by ¡°thebat power of the clone would not be greater than 76000¡±? After several minutes, he finally remembered¡ªwas that not thebat power of the All-Devouring Soul when he cleared the game?

    Ren Suo was not hopeful that he could reach the level of the All-Devouring Soul in terms ofbat power. As for the effective duration of the ability, however, it depended on the clone¡¯sbat power. Based on Ren Suo¡¯s presentbat power, it would likely onlyst 2 hours, or even less.

    It was troublesome to have tomand the clone at all times though. That meant that the clone could rarely be put to use in reality, except for running errands nearby.

    Otherwise, if other people saw Ren Suo controlling someone who looked exactly like him on the street, the onlooking crowd would probably suspect that the server called ¡°Earth¡± had stopped working and think: This person¡¯s icon has split into two!

    Nevertheless, now that Ren Suo had acquired a new ability, he had to try it out.

    Ren Suo immediately equipped himself with that ability and said in his heart: [Combat Warrior (Partial)], activate!

    A split secondter, a naked clone who looked exactly like himself appeared in front of Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo scrutinized the clone, and even he was a little embarrassed¡ªit felt strange looking at a person who looked exactly like him moving about in the living roompletely naked.

    At the same time, Ren Suo also found out the effective duration of the clone: 2 hours and 53 minutes.

    The longer the clonested, the weaker that ¡®Ren Suo¡¯ became¡­ However, Ren Suo was not upset; he was already rather d that he could have a clone who couldst for such a long duration. He instructed his clone to put on some clothes and clean the house thoroughly.

    In the meantime, Ren Suo began ying his game.

    He started the fourth checkpoint of ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±. This time, Ren Suo created a very handsome red-haired mage. Ever since he set up a ¡®devastating parting¡¯ storyline in the third checkpoint, Ren Suo had somewhat been looking forward to having someone else fall in love with the game character he created.

    Hehe, Ren Suo just thought that it would be quite interesting for that to happen, not because he purposely wanted to do so¡­ Maybe not¡­ He was actually looking forward to watching someone fall in love with the mage, and then, he would make the mage sacrifice himself heroically and eventually die.

    In an epic fantasy adventure, there had to be love, hate, and partings for it to be adequately thrilling. Ren Suo was already getting slightly bored from fighting monsters all day long, but the interactions with people from Earth made it more interesting for him.

    The fourth checkpoint was set in a beautiful forest. However, no one from Earth could be seen on the screen, and there were only huge groups of low-level monsters like Goblins around.

    Red Hood and the other mages also appeared together with Mage, and theirpanion from the fourth checkpoint also emerged in silence. She was a female mage who wore a ck hooded coat.

    The mage sneered: [I am Nimue, the Magic Wrist Mage. Haha, I didn¡¯t expect to see the few of you here too. The mage from the outside world must be pretty skilled.]

    Red Hood replied: [Ahhh, how do I make you die ¡®identally¡¯ in the battleter?]

    Lumpena rotated her staff and said: [Everything happens ording to fate¡¯s n. Although I do not fancy such a meeting, I will still ept it peacefully.]

    ine said: [Stop fighting. Since all of you are still alive, can¡¯t you just all die togetherter? You can talk to your heart¡¯s content after you die.]

    Regardless of whether they were Sacred Hand, Magic Wrist, or Fate, those mages could never get along well with one another. Whenever they met, they would definitely greet each other with sarcasm, as if they were extremely ufortable with each other¡¯s presence. Ren Suo was already used to that and quickly led them to fight the monsters.

    After the first three checkpoints were eliminated, the powers of the previous Holy Grails were transferred to the subsequent four checkpoints. As such, the strength of the monsters which appeared further increased. Without the help of an army from Earth, Ren Suo was certain that it was going to be a long battle. He thought that he would not even be able to reach the boss of the checkpoint if he did not y through the night.

    With his foresight, Ren Suomanded his clone who was cleaning his house and said, ¡°Go to the third floor of the dining hall to help me buy arge portion of crayfish, arge portion of fried snails, a bowl of dumplings, and barbecue¡­ less than 100 points worth of barbecue, you should know which items to pick, right? ¡±

    The clone nodded and said, ¡°I know the taste preferences.¡±

    ¡°Here, take the wristband and bring back the food,¡± Ren Suomanded. He thought for a moment, then stopped the clone and said, ¡°If you meet anyone familiar along the way, remember to be friendly and greet them¡­ Forget it, it will be better not to talk to them, just smile warmly at them.¡±

    The clone nodded to indicate that he understood him, and Ren Suo also continued ying his game at ease.

    The clone was a product of the Mini Worlds, and it had to be an excellent, outstanding product. Moreover, it was a clone that would disappear very soon, so Ren Suo naturally had nothing to worry about.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo had made his instructions extremely clear. Could the clone possibly still create trouble?

 Chapter 211 - Conquering the Checkpoint with People From Earth

    Chapter 211: Chapter 211- Conquering the Checkpoint with People From Earth

    ¡°Why did we have toe sote, my stomach is already growling so loudly¡­ The dining hall is no longer serving dinner too.¡±

    Lin Xianyu grumbled to Gu Yueyan as they stood in the stairway of the dining hall. Gu Yueyan apologized and said, ¡°Supper is still being served on the third floor. I¡¯ll treat you then if you wish.¡±

    Lin Xianyu blinked and replied, ¡°Sure, sure, but why didn¡¯t you have dinner at Teacher Dong¡¯s house today and instead, Practiced with me all day?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan deliberately did not answer the question. Lin Xianyu, however, was not nning to let her drop the topic so easily as she did previously. She was at a stage of her teenage years when everyone liked to gossip¡ªthough it might not actually be rted to her age anyway. She hugged Gu Yueyan¡¯s right hand and grinned as she questioned, ¡°Is it rted to you staying out the entire night yesterday?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Gu Yueyan rebuked instantly. She added, ¡°I will not treat you if you continue asking about this.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Lin Xianyu replied. A free meal was, ultimately, still more important whenpared to gossip. Nheless, a few secondster, Lin Xianyu could not help but ask, ¡°In that case, why did you have to drag till now to eat dinner when I already asked you since just now?¡±

    ¡°I was busy, just now,¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    ¡°You werepleting a test paper just now, don¡¯t think that I did not see that,¡± Lin Xianyu said, feeling speechless. She continued, ¡°I¡¯ve only heard about people refusing to eat while ying games, but not people forgetting to eat and sleep as they werepleting test papers¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan¡¯s face froze as she turned away and refused to answer.

    It was precisely because she was distressed and could not sort out the thoughts in her mind that she did not want to go to Teacher Dong¡¯s house, where she would meet Ren Suo. At the same time, however, she was also afraid that Ren Suo did not go to Teacher Dong¡¯s house for dinner. As such, she deliberately dragged till 7 p.m. before heading to the dining hall, just in case Ren Suo went to the dining hall to eat too.

    It was neither dinner time nor supper time when they reached the dining hall, so Ren Suo would certainly not appear there.

    Lin Xianyu was amused at Gu Yueyan¡¯s reactions; even her ss chairwoman who always bullied her and shut her down would have such a day. She could not help butugh as she whispered into Gu Yueyan¡¯s ear, ¡°You shameless little girl, are you missing your man now?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Gu Yueyan retorted angrily as she pinched the fats around Lin Xianyu¡¯s waist. Lin Xianyu quickly grimaced in pain and shouted to surrender.

    At that juncture, they reached the entrance to the third floor of the dining hall. Lin Xianyu¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up as she waved her hand and shouted, ¡°Doctor Ren!¡±

    Gu Yueyan was stunned momentarily. She saw Ren Suo walking out of the dining hall on the third floor with two bags of takeaway in his hands. He stopped and appeared surprised to meet them there.

    What luck, how did she still end up bumping into him?

    Gu Yueyan subconsciously wanted to turn her head away and avoid eye contact with Ren Suo. However, doing that would make her seem very uncultured and rude, so she forced herself not to turn away with her great resilience. She mustered her courage and red coldly at Ren Suo with her usual attitude towards him.

    (I¨C I¨C What do I have to be afraid of?)

    Regardless, even though her hands were behind her, she was already ying with her fingers.

    Nheless, Gu Yueyan had already thought of how to reply to Ren Suo: When he greeted themter, she would give a cold snort and walk away, to assert her dominance and disy her authority. She would not be embarrassed!

    The next moment, however, she realized that Ren Suo did not say anything. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, and then¡­

    He smiled.

    It was an extremely bright smile.

    It was an extremely happy smile.

    Having known Ren Suo for one to two months, it was the first time that Gu Yueyan saw him smile with such sincerity. It was such a pure smile that seemed toe from the bottom of his heart, as if all of his cells were smiling brightly with him.

    Why was he so happy?

    What made him so happy?

    As she thought deeper into Ren Suo¡¯s smile, the snort which was about to emerge from Gu Yueyan¡¯s mouth was lost midway.

    Even when Ren Suo walked all the way down to the bottom of the stairs, Gu Yueyan did not say anything.

    Lin Xianyu remarked, ¡°Doctor Ren looks so friendly today¡­ Eh?¡±

    After walking two steps forward, Lin Xianyu realized that Gu Yueyan had not kept up with her. She turned around and found Gu Yueyan still rooted to her original position with her face blushing red.

    She pretended to know nothing and walked over to Gu Yueyan. She patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go! What are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh¡­¡± Gu Yueyan said as she snapped out of her daze. She quickly tried to exin, ¡°I was thinking about a question in the test paper¡­¡±

    ¡°Why are you still studying so hard when the exams have already ended,¡± Lin Xianyu replied casually. When she turned around, however, she could not help but break out into a wide grin with an expression of ¡®how sweet, my dearest daughter must have been so charmed that her teeth are dropping¡¯.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    On the other hand, when Ren Suo¡¯s clone reached the dormitory building, the ck cat which was resting downstairs saw him and meowed.

    The clone stopped in his tracks, and he smiled warmly at the cat.

    The ck catpletely ignored the smile and brandished its small ws.

    The clone continued to smile.

    The next moment, however, the ck cat leaped off the ground and pounced towards the clone. As it was in the air, it cast its ¡®soul-grappling iron ws¡¯ at the clone, but the clone remained motionless and allowed it to attack.

    After a while, the ck cat grew tired and returned to its spot on the ground, wagging its tail. It curled itself up snugly and returned to sleep while the clone continued on his way back home.

    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo did not even turn around but asked, ¡°Did anything happen outside?¡±

    ¡°I met a cat downstairs and was attacked by it,¡± the clone replied.

    There was a window of opportunity in the midst of the intense fight, and Ren Suo turned to take a quick nce at the clone. The clone, who was cing the food down on the table, turned to look at Ren Suo and revealed the w marks on his face.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I forgot to ask you to buy some spicy dried anchovies for the cat,¡± Ren Suo said as he scratched his head. He continued, ¡°Anyway, you may continue cleaning the house. Remember to use cotton swabs to remove the stains in the small gaps between the tiles. Also, help me to wash my clothes and hang them on the balcony outside¡­¡±

    Ren Suo leaned back on the soft couch as hemanded the clone in the tone of an upper-ss member of a feudal society. The clone replied ¡®yes¡¯ in acknowledgment of his orders.

    ¡°Mmm, how did the cat even scratch his face, did the clone squat down? ¡­¡± Ren Suo thought.

    There was a trace of doubt in Ren Suo¡¯s mind, but his attention was quickly turned to the monsters in the game.

    One supperter, the clone disappeared and left behind only a pile of clothes.

    In the meantime, Ren Suo finally defeated all the small monsters in the arena and began fighting the boss.

    However, just as the mages began the boss battle, humans appeared in the arena.

    It was the same group of people he had encountered in the previous checkpoint!

    [Sir Mage!]

    Caroline led the armed Watchmen to bash into the forest. When she saw the mages, she shouted: [What about him? He is not dead, is he?]

    Ren Suo had not expected to meet the same group of people again in that next arena. After some deliberation, he controlled the red-haired mage to shoot a Holy Light bullet directly at Caroline.

    The red-haired mage said: [I will use his offering well.]

    Caroline seemed to tremble, but she quickly calmed down. At that juncture, more and more people appeared behind her. Caroline immediately shouted: [The Watchmen of the Federation hase to support the mages under the World Tree!]

    [The Victoria Combat Agency of Ennd hase to support the mages under the World Tree!]

    [The Versailles Security Agency of France hase to support the mages under the World Tree!]

    [The Changjiang Team of the Countermeasure Division of Xuan Nation hase to support the mages under the World Tree!]

    [¡­]

    Extraordinaire teams of six countries appeared at the checkpoint, and Ren Suo was stunned.

    Judging from the fact that there were many Extraordinaire teams from various European countries, the entrance to that checkpoint must have been in a small country in the European region. Xuan Nation and the Federation, on the other hand, were global superpowers, and it was natural for them to have also deployed troops to guard the entrance of the mystery realm.

    Ren Suo calmly switched between multiplenguages to express gratitude to the various countries in their nativenguages: [Thank you for your support, but I would require you to listen to themand of the World Tree. Otherwise, your support will only serve to hinder our progress.]

    [I, Caroline, Commander of The Watchmen of the Federation, pledge to obey themands of the World Tree!]

    [I, Chen Zhishou, Team Leader of the Changjiang Countermeasure Division of Xuan Nation, pledge to obey themands of the World Tree!]

    After the teams from Xuan Nation and the Federation pledged to ept themand of the mage, the teams from the other nations did likewise!

    Caroline said: [The World Tree has won the trust of the Federation, and we will help you to eliminate the evil demon here¡­ This is his wish, too.]

    Chen Zhishou also said: [We are very grateful towards you for taking care of our warriors in the mystery realm. Furthermore, you are protecting the world, and there is no reason for Xuan Nation to do otherwise¡­ Let us fight and conquer together!¡±

    It was most likely that they only entered the mystery realm because they noticed an unusual phenomenon at its entrance and knew that the mage was fighting. Ren Suo guessed that the nations likely signed agreements of benefit and wanted to determine the proportion of benefits to be split among them through their performance in the fight in the mystery realm. Nheless, Ren Suo did not mind any of that¡ªhe had already achieved his goal.

    Through the ¡°show¡± he put up in the first two checkpoints, the mage had finally won the support of the people on Earth!

    That was the greatest help Ren Suo needed¡ªhe no longer needed to fight alone at all!

    It was also the advantage of the Sacred Hand route, as well as the bestbat tactic. The morepanions the mage had, the greater the healing power of the mage would be. Even though the mage did not take the Magic Wrist route, he could still deal sufficient damage!

    Suddenly, a ck mist emerged from the brook in the middle of the forest, and a terrifying figure appeared amidst the beauty of the forest.

    Ren Suo loosened his finger joints and controlled the mage to respond loudly:

    [The mage under the World Tree has never been too far away, and will always be here with you!]

 Chapter 212 - I Can Only Master Myself

    Chapter 212: µÚ212ÕÂ ÎÒÄÜÕÆÎÕµÄ£¬Ö»ÓÐ×Ô¼º

    Chapter 212 ¨C I Can Only Master Myself

    [Sir Mage!]

    When the mage cleansed the Forest Ear Demon of the arena, he had lost one eye as well as his spine, and all ten of his fingers were broken. Caroline and themanders of the other Extraordinaire forces immediately rushed over to the mage, whose body was already almost burnt to ashes.

    Lumpena, ine, Red Hood, Nimue, and the other mages retreated quickly as they usually did, and told the mage that they would be waiting at the next checkpoint. They did notmunicate with any other people, and that also gave Ren Suo the space to talk to the humans who came from Earth.

    Chen Zhishou walked over and bowed to thank the mage. He said: [Sir Mage, thank you for treating us and protecting us throughout the battle.]

    Caroline also said: [Yourmanding capabilities are not any worse than the mage I know.]

    Sitting on the ground, the mageughed and replied: [This is what I ought to do.]

    In the thirty-minute ¡®tug-of-war¡¯ which ended moments ago, the Holy Light bullets from the mage almost never ceased. Although ine was also a mage with the Sacred Hand and possessed recovery offerings, she only used her Healing Light¡ªwhich had arge area-of-effect¡ªto help other mages. It was not easy for the others to position themselves within the range of her Healing Light.

    As such, throughout the battle, only the mage, who was controlled by Ren Suo, healed the Extraordinaire forces.

    In order to minimize the number of injuries and fatalities, Ren Suo had also reloaded the savegame multiple times. Throughout the process, he also got to know the moves of the boss extremely well, so most of hismands were effective in repeatedly preventing the Extraordinaire forces from being harmed.

    Chen Zhishou suddenly shouted: [Salute!]

    Themanders from the other nations also gave theirmands, and all of the Extraordinaire troops saluted thepletely disfigured mage who was sitting on the ground. Even though all of their faces had been processed with beauty filters, the look of respect and admiration on their faces still showed through.

    Themands and actions of the mage in battle had won all of their respect.

    Caroline asked: [Are you going to die too?]

    [Going to die? No, my offerings will be inherited by other mages, and my body will be fertilizer that will continue to nourish the World Tree. As much as I believe that being a mage is not such an honorable profession, but¡­ all of my sessors will carry on my legacy and continue to fight to protect the World Tree.]

    [Fighting is not like treating someone to a meal. I have long prepared to sacrifice myself even beforeing to the battle, and I am proud of my sacrifices. It is precisely because of my numerous sacrifices in this battle that I received the honor of cleansing the Evil Demon here. Even when I return to the World Tree, the day wille when I will be reborn¡­ The World Tree will not fail us.]

    The words of the mage revealed numerous pieces of information. The look on Caroline and the others¡¯ faces changed slightly, but they still remembered their purpose and asked, one after another:

    [Sir Mage, in that case, do you have ns to descend on Earth and recruit more mages to protect the world?]

    The mage replied: [Recruit more mages? The reason why the World Tree is guarding the secret of mages is because spreading the secret will only bring such undesirable consequences¡ªthe world bes polluted, and humans fall and turn into demons. Eventually, the rotten Forbidden Fruits will fall¡­]

    Chen Zhishou and the othermanders figured that it was highly unlikely for them to coax a dying mage to hand over the secret of mages. They took a different approach and asked: [Would the World Tree be able to help us pick out those who have the talent to be a mage?]

    The mage replied: [The World Tree will not do that either. Bing a mage is not necessarily representative of a glorious future, but is actually a sad path full of thorns. Unless a mage would not be able to control his own powers after he awakens and would harm people recklessly, the World Tree will most definitely not actively contact anyone who has yet to awaken.]

    Chen Zhishou sighed. He had already expected such a result¡ªthe World Tree had nothing they wanted from them, and neither did they desire material gains like money, so any action that the World Tree took would only be for the sole purpose of protecting the world as their ¡®great responsibility¡¯.

    As long as the mages were not willing to do so, there was no way for them to force the mages to divulge their secret. Ultimately, the mages were a group of people who did not care about breaking their own fingers, extracting their own spine, or burning their own skin¡ªthe mages could only be their friends, not enemies.

    Moreover, the mages had the ability to teleport through space. They were able to move anywhere they wished, and it was impossible for them to make them stay. The only thing that remained, however, was a dying mage¡­

    Caroline said: [If there is anything we can help you with, feel free to let us know.]

    The mage replied: [It is not to help me, but to help yourselves. We have already cleared four arenas, but there are three more. If the evil demons of any of the remaining arenas fusepletely with Earth, all of the monsters within the arena would rush out.]

    [The World Tree will never allow this to happen, and it will do so without hesitation even if thest living mage dies. However, humans now are no longer like before. You possess sufficient weapons to fight alongside us, and you have the ability to protect yourselves.]

    [I look forward to the choice you will make.]

    Finishing his sentence, the mage turned into light and vanished without a trace.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [Level 2 Researcher Suo, you have received the results of the data query you initiated.]

    [Keywords: Dou, Wild God, Ancient Yellow River.]

    [Throughprehensive search based on existing records and data, it is concluded that: the target exists.]

    It took almost 12 hours before Ren Suo managed to clear the fourth checkpoint. Even Ren Suo had to breathe a sigh of relief and divert his energy to Practice and work. The boss of the arena had activated the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo once again.

    Moreover, he still owed the Countermeasure Division two thesis reports that month.

    Ren Suo looked at the words on hisputer and was slightly surprised. He muttered, ¡°So, it really exists¡­¡±

    After clearing the game ¡°Endless Intrusion¡±, Ren Suo had suspicions about Irina¡¯s background, so he submitted the information that was revealed in the game ¡°Passing Hats¡± as search terms in the intr¡¯s search function: ¡°Dou, Wild God of the Ancient Yellow River¡±.

    It was said that the search function would search through the information in therge database of Xuan Nation, as long as the search query was not rted to secret information. The database stored almost all the text data of Xuan Nation¡ªthe emergence of text scanning capabilities in the 21st century made the preservation of information in ancient texts extremely simple.

    Ren Suo once came across a scam advertisement on the Inte which said, ¡°Looking for Data Entry Personnel, $50 per thousand words¡±. He deliberately found his way into the chat group and sent a link to check out a text scanner machine, as well as a link to a camera-enabled, intelligent text recognition application¡ªthough he was kicked out of the chat group the next second.

    However, the search function on the intr was described as having an ¡®intelligent recognition¡¯ function. Even if the search keywords were reced by ¡®homonyms¡¯, or were ¡®phrased in a different way¡¯, they would still be recognized. It seemed just like an enhanced paper checking tool.

    However, because of its ¡®intelligent search¡¯ function, the search required researcher points, and one search could take several days. After all, there were many researchers and organizations who were using the search function at the same time.

    Ren Suo actually did not have much hope that the search would return any results, so he was surprised when information about Dou was found. Furthermore, Dou was an ancient god who could be traced back to before the Common Era. Although it was not considered popr, there had been written records of it through time.

    ¡°That means that all of the background information revealed by the Mini Worlds game console is true¡­ but why does it feel so strange¡­¡± Ren Suo thought.

    Ren Suo had never heard of Dou before, and yet he found it in one search query.

    He had never heard of the Ren family of Practitioners before either, and yet the academic circle was able to find traces of the Ren family in unofficial historical records of notable figures during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

    Antiques rted to the three deities in Holy Priest: Survival Battle were also recently unearthed, proving that they once had believers on Earth.

    Before Ren Suo yed the games, there was absolutely no news about the relevant figures; but after Ren Suo yed the games, they started appearing one by one, as if to prove their existence.

    ¡°Exactly what kind of role do I y¡­? Am I a hero who is fighting evil? However, if I do not y the games, would evil still emerge?¡±

    A hint of suspicion of himself emerged in Ren Suo¡¯s heart, but at that moment, his mobile phone rang.

    It was the rm to remind him to go for dinner.

    Ren Suo was slightly perplexed, but he quickly rxed.

    In any case, he had saved many people and brought hope to many¡ªto Yuffie, Karen, the group of mountaineers, the civilians who lived in thete Eastern Han Dynasty, the junior high school boy who was bullied, Dong Chengling¡­

    Ultimately, his experiences in the game were not meaningless. There was no way for Ren Suo to fully master the game console since he was merely a fortunate, ordinary mortal being. However, he could master himself.

    It was sufficient to believe that he was doing the right thing.

    ¡°Alright, let me clear this Evil Fruit arena too!¡±

 Chapter 213 - Troubled

    Chapter 213: Chapter 213 ¨C Troubled

    Dinner was very peaceful. Gu Yueyan was present for dinner as well, but she did not taunt Ren Suo, so he was not in a good position to pick on her first.

    Instead, it was Dong Chengling who initiated the conversation. She asked when Gu Yueyan would be returning home, but Gu Yueyan replied, ¡°I will be staying in school throughout the break to continue Practicing.¡±

    It was not surprising that Gu Yueyan chose to do so. Although the Practice Stadium in the school was not open during the vacation break, the Reiki umtion device in the dormitory rooms could still be used as per usual. Most of the students were willing to have such ¡®tuition¡¯ during their vacation break to Practice, and Gu Yueyan, who strived to be like Dong Chengling and be able to fight Star People in the future, would naturally not waste the time during the break either.

    Suddenly, Dong Chengling asked, ¡°In that case, do you wish to stay with me?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    ¡°I have a guest room in my house, so you cane anytime you like,¡± Dong Chengling said with a smile. She continued, ¡°The environment here should be better than your dormitory room. If you need it, you may just stay in my house, and you would not need to travel back and forth for your meals too.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ that would be nice, but¡­¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Xiao Yan. You are a younger sister whom I am the closest to in school, so I will definitely not hesitate to provide any help you need.¡±

    Gu Yueyan really wanted to agree to the invitation, but from the corner of her eyes, she could see Ren Suo eating coldly (from her perspective). She thought of something, then suddenly refused vehemently, saying, ¡°I still have a roommate staying in the dorm, and I want to spend my vacation break with her!¡±

    ¡°Ah, if you still have friends around, it would still be more fun to stay with them,¡± Dong Chengling replied in agreement. She added, ¡°The friendships established in our youth are the ones which are more likely tost.¡±

    At that juncture, Dong Chengling held Gu Yueyan¡¯s hand and smiled warmly. She said, ¡°Nheless, as long as you are willing, I will continue to be your friend, your sister, and your teacher. If you have any trouble, you may always share it with me.¡±

    For some reason, a trace of guilt suddenly arose in Gu Yueyan¡¯s heart.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    After feeding spicy dried anchovies to the ck cat downstairs, Ren Suo headed home and turned on the Mini Worlds game console. It was only then when he suddenly remembered that it was already the 9th of July; it was two days past the Minor Heat sr term.

    He navigated to the [Exclusive Level Up Games (Level 3)] section in the [World Shop], and found that there indeed was a new free game¡ªof course, however, it was not selectable.

    The new game was still a 3-star game, but its maximum reward was 560 merit points!

    However, that game was actually¡­ a series of games. It consisted of multiple chapters that required the game score to be uploaded multiple times, like in ¡°The Hitman¡± or ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±.

    Of course, the length of each chapter was definitely not shorter than games of the same star rating, so it could be considered a game that required a huge amount of time toplete.

    If everything went smoothly ording to n, Ren Suo would likely choose to y that game next month without refreshing the games in the section.

    However, he felt that he could not bring himself to select that game¡­

    [Eternal Beauty]

    [This is a role-ying game. The yer would take on the role of five concubines in the harem of thest Emperor. In order for them to be able to Practice, they fought to win the heart of the Emperor. Beside him, they would be able to nourish their body through his energy. However, during the process, they saw how insignificant their individual struggles were,pared to the vast history of time. This is aplete game with a total of three chapters. The highest reward is 560 merit points in total, and the exclusive reward uponpletion is ¡®Perfect Beauty¡¯. In-game purchases are avable. The difficulty rating of the game is: 3 stars.]

    Ren Suo felt that he would rather y two separate games than y one female-oriented love adventure game¡­ Such a game would likely contain R18 CG!

    Moreover, thinking about how he would be constantly putting in his best effort to please a man, Ren Suo could not help but quiver.

    Rhythm was important¡­

    When Ren Suo entered the fifth checkpoint, an idea suddenly struck him.

    Instead of creating another mage with a different appearance, he chose one from those which he created previously.

    The fifth checkpoint was set in a strange town that appearedpletely undamaged. There was absolutely no one at the entrance to the checkpoint. Every building there looked as if they were built with candy, like in a fairy tale kingdom. On the ground, however, were several dead bodies who had been fed on, and traces of the ck-colored leather uniform they had been wearing still remained on the bodies.

    ¡°The mage already said in the first checkpoint that before the arena is cleared, humans can only enter but cannot leave, why did they still take the risk¡­?¡±

    By then, Ren Suo could naturally guess that there was a chronological rtionship between the checkpoints. The fact that the events which took ce in the first checkpoint were known by Caroline and the others, who appeared in the third checkpoint, clearly exined his guess.

    Given that there were deaths inside the arena, the outside forces would naturally not dare to send more people in to meet their deaths. It might not have mattered to the powerful forces if ordinary people were sent in instead, but only Practitioners could enter the arena, and Practitioners were precious resources at present.

    Until Ren Suo began fighting the boss, there should not be any Practitionering in to court his own death.

    However, unlike the previous four checkpoints, there was only one kind of monster in the current checkpoint.

    It was a giant locust¡­ with a human face!

    [You are finally here.]

    A young girl in a red dress and blonde hair emerged from a pool of fresh blood on the ground. She looked at the four mages, including Red Hood, behind Mage, and stuck out her tongue to lick her lips. Sheughed and remarked: [Isn¡¯t it enough for me, Ding Dn, to be here? What use is there for these ¡®useless trash¡¯? Why not let me cleanse their blood and turn them into something more useful?]

    Nimue responded coldly: [Well, this ce really suits you, Mosquito Girl.]

    Ren Suo was not interested in listening to them argue amongst themselves. He hurried over to the locust that was not far away, but little did he expect to attract a huge mob of monsters instead!

    After Mage enteredbat, the female mages also stopped arguing and began activating their offerings to join the battle!

    Ding Dn¡¯s blood offering [Magic Red Moon] turned into a blood moon which floated in the air;

    Lumpena used the sword offering [Sacred Seedlings of the Sword] to wield a wooden sword which cleansed the world;

    ine activated the healing offering [Stubborn Bell], which gave all mages who heard the bell a recovery and defense buff!

    However, when they killed the first locust, it did not turn into a ck mist and vanish. Neither did it be a target who could be granted salvation!

    At that juncture, Ding Dn said: [The Evil Demon here haspletely integrated into the arena. It has be a part of the arena, and all of the monsters here have turned into its clone. In order to purify the Forbidden Fruit, all of the monsters have to be eliminated at once.]

    While it sounded simple, Ren Suo knew that it was not going to be that easy when he saw the monsters who were fuelled by hatred fill the screen¡ª

    In the previous checkpoints, they had cleared the monsters by attracting the monsters toward them in separate groups. This time, however, they had to face all the monsters at once!

    With the terrifying group of monsters in front of them, they could not move forward at all, and they did not even dare to teleport to another position. The attack speed of the locusts were extremely fast, and if they forced their way into the group of locusts, they would definitely be bitten to death instead!

    ¡°It does not look difficult, but it¡¯s actually harder than any of the previous checkpoints¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered. He exhaled a deep breath and said, ¡°This is probably the hardest fight when choosing the Holy Hand route¡­¡±

    If he had chosen the Magic Wrist route and his damage output was high enough, the Mage could easilypete against the group of monsters by using attack offerings with arge area-of-effect.

    However, the Mage could only rely on the damage dealt by hispanions.

    ¡°It looks like I would not be able to clear this checkpoint this time¡­ Eh?¡±

    Suddenly, at the entrance of the arena, shadows of numerous people emerged.

    [Fire!]

    A barrage of bullets flew past the mages and into the air.

    [The Changjiang Team of the Countermeasure Division of Xuan Nation hase to support the mages under the World Tree!]

    Extraordinaire forces from various nations appeared once again¡ªthe entrance to the arena must have been in a small nation this time as well.

    However, the question was, why did theye before Ren Suo even started fighting the boss?

    Ren Suo approached the problem differently and realized that in that checkpoint, the boss was actually just a small monster. That meant that when the mages killed the first locust, changes to the entrance of the mystery realm could already be observed.

    Caroline was also there, but she was not themander of the Watchmen of the Federation this time. There was another middle-aged man with a body of scars in front of her¡ª

    [Pleased to meet you, I¡¯m Zach, Commander of the Watchmen of the Federation.]

    He was Angel Zach, whosebat power was second only to the All-Devouring Spirit in the game, and one of the ten strongest men in the world!

    However, at that juncture, themander of the Changjiang Team of Xuan Nation walked forward with a shocked expression. He looked at Mage¡¯s appearance and said in surprise:

    [Are you¡­ the mage who sacrificed yourself in the mystery realm which appeared in Xuan Nation?]

 Chapter 214 - Revived

    Chapter 214: Chapter 214 ¨C Revived

    The silver-haired mage asked: [How is Cheng Wenchao doing?]

    Indeed, the appearance of the mage that Ren Suo selected this time was the silver-haired mage who ¡®sacrificed¡¯ himself in the first checkpoint!

    Themander of the Changjiang Team, ¡®Luo Wenjie¡¯ immediately replied: [Thank you for your concern. All thanks to your treatment, none of the Practitioners from Changjiang who entered the mystery realm to explore were killed!]

    The silver-haired mage said: [That¡¯s great.]

    As the conversation between the silver-haired mage and Luo Wenjie was all in Mandarin, the people from other nations could only understand what they were saying if there were trantions. However, Caroline, who was listening, seemed to understand them. The expression on her face changed as she walked over and asked:

    [Sir Mage, you have been¡­ revived?]

    Ren Suo naturally knew what Caroline was getting at, and he controlled the silver-haired mage to reply: [Even when the body of a mage, who sacrificed himself while fighting for the World Tree, was turned to ashes, there would still be a time when the life in him would be rekindled.]

    Caroline asked anxiously, stuttering: [In¨C In that case, is the ck-haired mage whose face was filled with scars alive?]

    Ah¡­

    Actually, Ren Suo merely wanted to use the concept of ¡®revival¡¯ to highlight the powers of the mages under the World Tree, but it seemed to have an additional critical impact on Caroline. He controlled Mage to reply: [Not yet, but the World Tree will never forget any mage who was buried on the battlefield.]

    Caroline replied: [That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great¡­] She heaved a sigh of relief, then softly muttered something to herself in longing. The other members of the Watchmen who saw Caroline widened their eyes¡ªthey had never seen their female ¡®king¡¯, who wielded a whip, in such a state before.

    ¡°h.¡±

    It was not that Ren Suo did not want Caroline¡¯s love for the ck-haired mage to be rekindled, but he was the only one in that world who knew that the ck-haired mage was merely a character in a game.

    On the contrary, from the perspective of the people in the game, the ck-haired mage was a real person who had saved countless lives.

    Ren Suo had no choice but to give the World Tree additional ¡®settings¡¯. He said: [Miss, I suggest that you should look forward to a new rtionship. You would only be left devastated and with nothing in the end, if you continue pinning your hopes on the mage.]

    Caroline questioned: [Why?]

    The silver-haired mage said: [That is because, in the World Tree, love is prohibited. All mages are not allowed to fall in love with anyone else¡ªincluding the mage¡¯spanions.]

    [Mages remain alone forever. As we wander in the world outside, we can only heal our own wounds.]

    Caroline further questioned: [Why is that so? Wouldn¡¯t warriors who have someone to care for and something to protect have a stronger will to fight in a battle?]

    The silver-haired mage responded: [However, what mages protect is not a certain person, a certain nation, a certain ce, or a certain thing¡­ What we guard and protect, is everything.]

    [This includes babies who are crying to be fed, young teenage girls, students who are studying diligently, adults who are working hard, mothers who have to bear children, and the elderly who are enjoying the final years of their lives¡­ The road that a mage has chosen to walk on is a long one; one which cannot afford personal rtionships.]

    [Furthermore, all mages do not know what is ¡®love¡¯, and it is not possible to fall in love with anyone. There are only mages who do not bleed and do not cry, and it is only with such mages can we shoulder the responsibility of guarding and protecting, which we have been doing for thousands of years.]

    [That is why, you should not continue waiting.]

    Caroline lowered her head in silence. She whispered: [Can there be¡­ no exception?]

    ¡°h,¡± Ren Suo chided as he pulled the corners of his lips.

    Just how profound is this foreigner¡¯s expression of love¡­

    The silver-haired mage continued: [You have not known him for very long, and you only became acquainted with him through the fight. Time will dilute your feelings for him. Although his revival is certain, the amount of time before then is not.]

    She remarked: [Sir Mage, don¡¯t look down on us women.]

    Caroline seemed to be getting a grip of herself as she said: [I will wait until I see him again, whether it¡¯s one year, ten years, or twenty years!]

    That¡¯s impossible, you would never see him again after the game has been cleared; this is unlike ¡°Holy Priest: Survival Battle¡±¡­

    Suddenly, Zach said: [Have you finished? There are so many mages under the World Tree, but why are there only so few of you here?]

    The silver-haired mage replied: [Because we are sufficient.]

    Zach looked at the horde of monsters and shook his head. He remarked: [I don¡¯t think so.]

    The silver-haired mage said: [As long as we all die, it will certainly be enough.]

    Upon hearing the reply from the mage, Zach could not help but widen his eyes. He immediately said: [The Watchmen of the Federation is willing to ept themands of the mages, please guide us.]

    After the forces of the various other nations also expressed their willingness to ept themands of the mages, a sudden thought emerged in Ren Suo¡¯s mind. He controlled Mage to say: [Mr. Zach, yourbat power isparable to us mages, please, go ahead.]

    Zachughed and asked: [That¡¯s interesting, how did you know about me?]

    The silver-haired mage replied: [I¡¯ve seen your duel with Monkey King. It was very intense.]

    The fact that the mage could surf the Inte made everyone¡¯s eyes light up. Zach smiled wryly and said: [Yeah, and I was beaten up intensely.]

    [Since Sir Mage has allowed me¡­]

    Zach stepped forward. The next moment, his body burst into a white glow of light and concentrated onto his face and back. The light turned into a half-coverage mask and Wings of Light. Then, he grabbed the air with his hands, and two light swords appeared in them!

    [Let me clear the monsters here!]

    The angel Zach flew into the sky and bashed into the horde of locusts, who were already suppressed with the firearms. With every swing of his light sword, streaks of light shed through the air, killing countless locusts and opening a path amongst them!

    Luo Wenjie snorted: [The people of the Federation are not the only ones here.]

    He sped his hands together, then pulled out an electric chain from his palm!

    The electric chain grew longer and longer and finally, turned into an electric spear. When it was thrown by Luo Wenjie, it turned into a prizing light that prated the swarm of locusts!

    The other Practitioners with powerful long-range attack abilities also got down to work. Although the damage they dealt was not much stronger than that of firearms, the shes of light which lit up the sky greatly boosted their morale.

    Incidentally, Ren Suo also acquired a powerful offering from the fourth checkpoint, which he put to good use here¡ª

    Support offering, [Might of the Sacred Forest]!

    A streak of green light began spinning, jumping, and blinking amongst the Extraordinaires. The Extraordinaires who were struck by the green light felt their physical strength rise continuously, and their bodies filled with explosive energy. Their breathing currents flowed even faster, and their sense of Reiki energy grew stronger.

    [Might of the Sacred Forest: The bark shed from the trunks of ancient trees can release Holy Light, which is able to increase the strength ofpanions holistically.]

    Then, there was also the recovery offering that Ren Suo had just synthesized¡ª[Sacred g]!

    The silver-haired mage erected a white g on the ground, and a white-colored halo emerged from it. Anyone who was within the range of the halo would recover from their injuries more rapidly!

    [It¡¯s sweet¨C]

    A strange, roaring voice emerged from within the town made of candy. A house made of candy in the town suddenly fell apart, and the locusts which had just eaten the candy of the house dashed aggressively towards the mages, as if they had gone berserk!

    Wherever he looked, it was all filled with ominous ck ¡®walls¡¯ formed from the human-faced locusts!

    Even Ren Suo took a deep breath as he looked at the scene.

    It was simply too disgusting and too horrifying! There were simply too many locusts packed together!

    Even though the healing ability of Mage was such that ¡®if he did not agree, you would not die¡¯, in the face of so many enemies, Ren Suo was not fully confident that he could win against the huge group of monsters either!

    The difficulty of such 3+ star games became more evident as the game progressed. Did he really have to activate a Forbidden Ability already?

    At that juncture, blue light suddenly emerged from Luo Wenjie.

    The ne around his neck burst in response to a huge wave of energy, and space was forcefully torn apart!

    A hole in space that was connected to the outside world opened in the arena!

    Ren Suo¡¯s first reaction was: Was it Dong Chengling?

    However, looking into the hole in space, he did not see Dong Chengling.

    Instead, there was only a man who was sitting on an iron seat.

    On a huge iron chair with many pipes connected to it, sat azy young man.

    It was the first time Ren Suo saw him.

    Then, Ren Suo¡¯s gaze was fixated on theputer to the right of the man. He paused the game, erged the picture, and further zoomed in¡­

    The wallpaper was¡­ Nine-tailed Fox?!

    Moreover, it was a recreated high-resolution image of her?

 Chapter 215 - The Candy Siblings

    Chapter 215: Chapter 215 ¨C The Candy Siblings

    ¡°What on earth? This wallpaper is really¡­¡±

    ¡°Tsk, tsk.¡± Ren Suo snorted¡ªbut that was his only reaction. He was already in his twenties and would not get so excited by seeing an obscene image.

    At the least, it had to be a film to spark his interest.

    Nevertheless, who was that guy in the iron seat?

    At that juncture, the young man on the iron seat looked up slightly, in the direction of the mage.

    However, the gaze in his eyes seemed like it could pierce through spatial dimensions, from the game into reality. It seemed as if he could see Ren Suo, who was only wearing his boxers, lying on the couch, and ying the game!

    The man said: [This is interesting. Although the gem cannot be enchanted with too powerful magic, it is still able to cast ¡®visual illusion¡¯. I thought that it would be sufficient to conceal everything.]

    Heughed and continued: [The mages under the World Tree live up to their name, indeed.]

    What did he mean? Ren Suo looked at the other people on the screen and found that they were not watching Luo Wenjie at all. At the most, a speech bubble appeared above some of their heads in their confusion:

    [Did the ne on that Xuan Nation man glow just now?]

    [Is that an Extraordinary essory?]

    [That was a huge energy wave, what did he do?]

    None of them could see the hole in the space!

    Was the hole in the space invisible?

    Ren Suo thought of what the man in the iron seat said. If what he said was true, then the space hole might have been concealed with an ability called [Visual Illusion]. It could be deduced from the name of the ability that it was able to conceal the presence of the space hole from others!

    In that case, why was Mage able to see the space hole?

    Ren Suo quickly understood¡ªMage might not actually be able to see the space hole. Instead, it was Ren Suo himself, as the yer, who saw it.

    The ¡®invisibility¡¯ effect of Visual Illusion seemed to be achieved through distorting light rays. As such, anyone who made use of light rays to see should theoretically be affected.

    However, what was Ren Suo¡¯s perspective?

    It was a third-person perspective!

    At the third-person level, abilities that affected the first-person perspective would be meaningless to that!

    However, as the man in the iron seat was not actually inside the arena, his name was not shown above his head.

    However, it was sufficient for the silver-haired mage to put up his act. He said: [It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Strong Warrior of Xuan Nation. Your seat is truly stunning.]

    It did not seem overboard for the mage to say that he was a ¡®Strong Warrior¡¯, given that he could tear a hole through space, and it also sounded like he could enchant essories with magic.

    The man in the iron seat smiled slightly, as if thinking about something. Then, he turned theputer screen on his right side away.

    ¡®Toote, I already figured out that you are from the outside.¡¯

    The silver-haired mage asked: [Can you send people in?]

    The man in the iron seat shook his head and replied: [No. There is a space barrier preventing ess into the mystery realm¡ªor rather, the mystery realm has not integratedpletely with this world, so all space abilities are meaningless to the mystery realm.]

    [Having watched the videos recorded by the Changjiang Team, I fully believe what you mages have said. When the mystery realm descendspletely, which is also when the space barrier disappearspletely, the monsters of the mystery realm would be able to enter and exit Earth on their own, at their will¡­]

    [The best way would be to clear the monsters in the mystery realm before it descends. It appears that you were the mage who cleansed the mystery realm that appeared in Xuan Nation?]

    The silver-haired mage replied: [Indeed, I am.]

    The man in the iron seat said: [Please, allow me to express my gratitude. After you purified the mystery realm, the space barrier disappearedpletely, and the mystery realm fully descended onto Earth. Although monsters still continue to emerge in the mystery realm, they are unable to leave the mystery realm, while humans can enter and exit freely at will. All of this is thanks to you.]

    The silver-haired mage replied: [Since you said that space abilities are not effective in the arena, how are you able to¡­]

    The man in the iron seatughed and exined: [I ced a positioning pin on him, and I barely managed to tear open a hole in the space by sensing the position of the pin. Although I am unable to bring anyone back to Earth or affect anything inside due to the restrictions of the mystery realm, video, and audiomunication would not be a problem.]

    Luo Wenjie finally had an opportunity to interrupt the conversation:

    [Sir Mage, we are now able to request for more supplies from the outside. What equipment do you think we would need?]

    Ren Suo hesitated slightly.

    Since Practitioners were the only people who could enter the mystery realm, there were also restrictions on the weapons that they could bring in with them. They had to be in contact with their limbs, and at the most, they could bring in an additional backpack. It was not possible for a strong hulk to drag boxes of equipment into the mystery realm¡ªthe box would be stuck at the entrance. Such boxes could only be dragged out, but not into the mystery realm.

    As such, there was only a limited number of items that the Practitioners could bring with them into the mystery realm, and most of them carried typical weapons forbat. Although thebat power was decent, it was not specific to the target.

    However, because the mystery realm was separated from the outside world and they could only enter but not exit, there was no way for those who were outside to know what equipment was needed inside.

    The man in the iron seat said: [I must remind you that the highest quality ne which this guy is wearing is the only one whose coordinates I can connect to and open a space hole through. Even so, it will break upon usage, so you only have one chance to request for additional support.]

    [Also, in another 97 seconds, this space hole will disappear. Please make your decision as quickly as possible.]

    Was this a test?

    The silver-haired mage replied: [It is you who control the weapons, not us mages. Commander Luo Wenjie, I trust that you already know a way to defeat this horde of frenzied monsters?]

    [This is not to help the World Tree but to help yourselves. We are supporters of one another, and not differentiated by hierarchy and ss.]

    [The World Tree is not interested in building prestige, as it is known.]

    Luo Wenjie smiled.

    Twenty minutester, Practitioners carrying stun grenades, sh grenades, and methrowers appeared in the arena.

    Thirty-six minutester, the mages stepped on the revolting path paved by human-faced locusts and finally set foot inside Candy Town.

    After four hundred and sixty-three minutes¡ª

    Most of the human-faced locusts were killed, and very few remained. Although new monsters still spawned from time to time, the spawn rate was nowhere close to the elimination rate of the monsters, in the face of the sufficiently-equipped Extraordinaires.

    The stun grenades and sh grenades caused all the human-faced locusts to copse onto the ground, and the methrowers dealt as much damage as the mages¡¯ magic damage. Even though the human-faced locusts attempted tounch multiple suicide attacks, none of the Extraordinaires died with the treatment and support from Mage.

    However, they had been rotating amongst themselves in multiple shifts for over eight hours, and even though they were Extraordinaires, they still felt extremely exhausted.

    Ren Suo noticed that some of the Extraordinaires had already left their respective teams and began collecting the remains left behind in the town. In particr, they put in all their efforts to break down all the remaining houses of candy.

    In the mystery realm, there might be things that the mages did not need, but were rtively useful in the real world. One of the reasons why the nations on Earth were willing to send their Extraordinaire forces into the mystery realm could be because they wanted to acquire such resources first.

    The victory this time was quite a bit of a fluke. In fact, the challenge in that arena was merely due to the rge-scale damage ability¡¯. In the typical arenas, the regeneration ability and defense ability of the bosses were high enough to defend against the firearms from Earth. They would not be afraid of the stun grenades and sh grenades at all¡ªsince most of their attacks were full-map attacks, visual and auditory hindrances would not impact them in any way.

    When the mage killed thest human-faced locust, the corpses of all the locusts in the arena suddenly began to vibrate!

    [Wah¡ª-]

    [OMG OMG OMG!]

    It was difficult for people who had not experienced such a situation before to understand the horror.

    A briefparison would be the feeling when an ordinary person woke up to find the bed filled with slimy cockroaches, but not only that¡ªthe person would open his eyes to see the wall, the floor, the ceiling, the lights, and the windows of the room all brown in color. As the person began yelling in horor, he would feel something crawling into his mouth¨C

    Indeed, that was a simr situation to what the Extraordinaires were faced with: the human-faced locusts which had been killed, burned, and torn into pieces, suddenly fluttered in the sky. As if following a tide, they flew and gathered in the center of the town.

    Ren Suo was so shocked that he covered his mouth and took a deep breath as well.

    Even he could not stand the sight of the locusts.

    ¡°Thankfully, I¡¯m behind the screen¡­¡±

    After a moment, the congregated locust corpses solidified together and shrank. Finally, it turned into a cute pair of siblings who gave of a sweet scent, as if they were made of candy.

    The silver-haired mage approached them and saw tears on their faces. However, the tears they shed were golden-colored, sugary liquid.

    [Salvation]!

    On the screen, heart-stirring memories of the past of the candy siblings shed:

    [That fateful year, the entire area plunged into a famine due to a locust gue.]

    [A couple decided to abandon a pair of siblings¡ªtheir own children¡ªin the forest. The reason they did that was simple: the children were too young, and no one would buy them even if they put them on sale.]

    [The abandoned siblings were too young to even find food for themselves, and very soon, they felt extreme hunger.]

    [The two siblings recalled the candies which their mother used to feed them.]

    [In their memories, the candies tasted extremely sweet, and theirughter were also filled with happiness.]

    [As the memories lingered on their taste buds, their hunger became even more unbearable.]

    [At that time, they saw an incredible cup.]

    [In order not to feel hungry again, they longed for food.]

    [How sweet. The brother licked his sister, and the sister licked her brother. Perhaps it was because of their memories, their bodies turned into candy.]

    [After they were full, they did not only care for themselves. They had the strength to return home, and wanted their parents to fill their stomachs by eating them.]

    [By doing so, could they return to the happier times whenughter filled the air?]

    [However, when they returned home, they were chased away by their parents and townspeople instead. They thought that the siblings had be monsters and had returned to take their revenge. Neither did they dare to taste the siblings¡ªtales of monsters and what was left of the reason in them only made them chase the siblings away.]

    [The desperate siblings returned to the forest. They hugged each other and cried, but even their tears were sweet.]

    [After some time, the locusts which caused the famine all gathered on their bodies.]

    [However, the siblings felt extremely happy¨C]

    [There was finally a ce where they could be epted and not be hated by people, even if that was the stomach of the locusts.]

    [At that time, the incredible Holy Grail appeared once again.]

    [The siblings made another wish: they wanted a family, and they did not want to be lonely.]

    [Three dayster, everyone in the town waspletely devoured by the horrifying locusts.]

    [The locusts were able to excrete the candy in solid and liquid form. They made those sugars into houses and arranged them neatly, making the area look like a town¡­]

    [Whenever a traveler passed by, the locusts would emerge and capture the traveler. Before long, a new locust would appear in the house.]

    [The human faces of the locusts should be proof that the wishes of the siblings hade true¡ªfinally, they had so many family members who were inseparable.]

    A system message appeared: [The Candy Siblings have been sessfully granted salvation.]

 Chapter 216 - I Love Writing Thesis Papers

    Chapter 216: Chapter 216 ¨C I Love Writing Thesis Papers

    ¡°Two checkpoints left.¡±

    After an eight-hour-long battle, Ren Suo was also slightly exhausted.

    However, he still had other work to do.

    Although it took an extremely long time to finish that battle, the entire process was actually very steady. The fifth checkpoint was cleared with barely any casualties, so there was also no ¡®opportunity¡¯ for Ren Suo to ¡®sacrifice¡¯ the mage.

    As they watched the silver-haired mage cleanse the source of the Evil Demon, the Extraordinaires immediately began crowding around him. However, the silver-haired mage looked at them, then cast a spell¡ª

    ¡ªHealing offering, [Fire of Warmth]!

    When the offering was activated, there would be an explosion of bright light. It would then turn into a ball of orange-yellow light, and those who were close to the ball of light would be healed continuously. It was a decent healing offering.

    However, the reason why Ren Suo used the offering was simply to make use of the explosion of light to conceal the scene when the silver-haired mage left!

    When the light of warmth dissipated, the Extraordinaires realized that both the silver-haired mage and the other female mages had all disappeared from the mystery realm. Themanders all sighed andmanded their troops to gather together by nation. They divided the mystery realm into various sections based on the force size of each nation and began gathering the resources from the mystery realm within their respective areas.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ the walls here are really sweet and delicious!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo woke up and looked at the half-lit sky outside, he could not tell whether it was dawn or dusk.

    After eight intensive hours of gaming and another 90 hours of uninterrupted Practice, Ren Suo also felt rather exhausted.

    Since it was uncertain whether the effect of [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] would be reduced over time, Ren Suo much preferred to practice with [Unlimited Energy] equipped uponpleting the checkpoint, rather than waste even a small amount of the power of the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo.

    Moreover, the effect of [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] was especially huge. It seemed that all the human-faced locusts were treated as evil demons. After all, the human-faced locusts as a whole were indeed considered the boss of the checkpoint.

    Even though one human-faced locust could only activate a small bit of energy in [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], and most of the human-faced locusts were eradicated by the Extraordinaires, Mage still killed an enormous number of human-faced locusts himself.

    The opportunity Ren Suo had this time was so significant that he was willing to give up on all social interaction and stay at home to concentrate on his Practice. When he was hungry, he would eat the food he stored at home, and when he was sleepy¡­ no, he would not be sleepy, for he was using his life in exchange for unlimited energy.

    However, Ren Suo¡¯s drastic efforts this time certainly did not go to waste: his progress was now at tier 1, 56%. In four days, his Practice score had improved by 15%, and his talent score also improved drastically. He could feel that his practice efficiency was almost two to three times higher than before.

    It was just that, when he unequipped [Unlimited Energy], he instantly fell soundly asleep on his bed.

    After staying up for days, Ren Suo slept until he awoke naturally. ¡®What a luxurious life.¡¯

    Ren Suo looked at his phone. Well, he had been asleep for about ten hours.

    Dong Chengling had sent a message, telling him to inform her if he was going to step out of his house earlier than nned. Before Ren Suo started his intense Practice session, he had informed Dong Chengling about it. He told Dong Chengling that he would not leave his house for the time being, and she was extremely supportive.

    However, Ren Suo yawned and fell back asleep.

    Even though he had already slept for ten hours, he could continue sleeping if he wanted to¡ªuntil he had slept for a week¡¯s worth.

    At that moment, the wristband on Ren Suo¡¯s right hand started ringing soundly. Ren Suo sighed and was wide awake the next second.

    With the Super-Evolution of Cats, Ren Suo could both fall asleep quickly and be awake quickly. The biggest significance of the evolution to him was that he would no longer have to worry about sleeping.

    After all, cats were wild animals. They had to regte their sleep well while remaining vignt during their sleep. As such, Ren Suo, who had acquired the evolution of cats, could fall asleep very quickly. At the same time, he could rapidly wash away all drowsiness when he awoke, if he wanted to.

    ¡°Bugger¡­¡±

    Ren Suo sat up and clicked on the wristband. It was an emergency rescue notification: the location was the school hospital, and the number of people involved was four.

    ¡°Amazing, they did not fight when they were in school, but they decided to get into trouble during the vacation break?¡±

    Nheless, Ren Suo¡¯s main role at the Institution was an emergency rescue Practitioner. He only grumbled briefly, then quickly changed his clothes and hurried over.

    The nurse at the school hospital also appeared to be waiting for Ren Suo. The moment he arrived, she led him to the operation theater on the second floor and said, ¡°The situation this time is exceptional. Doctor Ren, if you think that it is a tricky case too, we have to send them over to Lianjiang Number 3 Hospital as soon as possible.¡±

    The Number 3 Hospital was a hospital for Practitioners which was located in the suburbs. It was set up with a ¡®Great Dispersion of Reiki¡¯ system, and it was the ce where Qiao Muyi was brought to for treatment after she was attacked by the unknown monster. Ren Suo had not expected the situation to be so serious. He asked, ¡°Is it not just a fight between the students?¡±

    The nurse replied, ¡°No, it seems like they were attacked by a monster while they were outside.¡±

    ¡°A monster?¡± a stunned Ren Suo remarked.

    The nurse pushed open the door to the operation theater, and Ren Suo saw two guys and two girls lying on the bed. One of the girls was Gu Yueyan.

    At that moment, Ren Suo¡¯s right arm suddenly trembled slightly.

    Ren Suo walked over and found wounds that looked like w marks made by a wild creature on the students. However, a foul odor exuded from the wounds, and fresh ck-colored blood was oozing out.

    The doctor, who was next to them, saw Ren Suo enter the room and he said, ¡°This is not an ordinary wound. It is rted to an extraordinary force, and we are only able to stop the bleeding temporarily.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t those with such injuries be sent directly to the Number 3 Hospital?¡± Ren Suo asked as he looked at the wounds on the students. The shorter wounds were about the length of a finger, and the longer ones were the size of a palm. It was quite a terrifying sight. Ren Suo questioned, ¡°Since they got injured outside, was there still a need to send them back to the school hospital?¡±

    ¡°We came back by ourselves, we did not think it was that serious¡­¡±

    Hearing a familiar voice, Ren Suo turned his head and realized that it was Lin Xianyu. She was in tears and was using a piece of tissue to rub the tears off her face.

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°What exactly happened?¡±

    Lin Xianyu sobbed as she replied, ¡°We- we arranged to go out to y today. As we were finding a ce to eat after our karaoke session, we passed by a small alley. We felt something inside the alley..¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin it either, but we all had the same feeling¡ªit just felt weird. When we entered the alley, we were attacked by a ck shadow monster. The speed of the ck shadow was extremely fast, and we could not see it clearly. It was like a fly, but it was not lethal. Although we managed to escape in the end, everyone was injured slightly, except for me.¡±

    ¡°At that time, their wounds were not so big. It looked just like a small scratch on the skin, so we did not pay much attention to it, and we did not even call the police. We thought that we were merely attacked by a strange small animal. We did not expect the wounds to be more and more serious as we were on our way back. When we arrived back in school, they could barely stand¡­¡±

    It was a monster that specifically targeted Extraordinaires who possessed breathing currents, a monster that knew how to fish?

    Ren Suo had not encountered such a monster in ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±, so it must have been a new breed of monsters.

    However, Ren Suo had note across information about such a new breed of monsters on the intr either. He was a frequent reader of the intr, and if he had not read about any such monsters, it was very likely that it was a breed of monsters that appeared very recently.

    (Rise in Reiki energy level¡­ Emergence of new monsters¡­)

    Ren Suo narrowed his eyes slightly. He faintly felt as if it was caused by himself. Then, he squatted down and said to Lin Xianyu, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will treat their injuries.¡±

    ¡°Thank- thank you!¡± Lin Xianyu eximed as she burst into a cry. She stretched her hand out above Ren Suo¡¯s head and¡ª

    She rubbed his head forcefully.

    It was only then when Ren Suo realized that he had forgotten to put on his hat in his haste to leave the house.

    However, Lin Xianyu calmed down as she rubbed Ren Suo¡¯s head. She said, ¡°Brother Ren, you must save our ss chairwoman and the rest of them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, don¡¯t worry,¡± Ren Suo replied. He walked to the injured students and cast [Ability: Heal] on the teen boy in front of him.

    Due to the ability, the wounds quickly stopped bleeding and formed scabs. However, during the process, Ren Suo could clearly hear what seemed to be a faint screaming from the wound, as if hearing an agonizing shriek echoing from very far away.

    ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡±

    Lin Xianyu and the others immediately felt relieved when they saw that the wounds on the boy were healing. Although they trusted Ren Suo¡¯s healing ability, the wound was so strange and peculiar that it was beyond their imagination. In fact, they had already made preparations to transport the injured students to the Number 3 Hospital.

    However, at that juncture, Ren Suo felt that the mark of the Jade Pendant on his right hand bing warmer¨C

    Over the past few days, Ren Suo had kept himself equipped with [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] as he was Practicing. He was in such a hurry to leave his house that he forgot to put on his hat. Naturally, he did not change his equipped abilities.

    (The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo was triggered?)

    Ren Suo inspected the wounds of the injured students closely and found that their wounds were not really scratches. Rather, they were more like tears made by tiny insects as they nibbled on the skin. The tears were uneven, and ording to the doctor, they were still continuously growingrger.

    The monster enticed them to enter the alley, and yet it only hurt them but not kill them¡­

    Even though Lin Xianyu possessed an Awakened Ability, she was just a female high school student who had never fought before. She would not be able to use her Ability effectively, although it was a powerful weapon. When faced with a monster, Ren Suo did not think that she was sufficiently capable of protecting others. It was already very fortunate that she was able to remain unharmed.

    That would mean that the end of the four students was the result of the monster¡¯s choice.

    Ren Suo thought, ¡°Since the Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo responded, it means that I have killed a living monster. Did the monster leave seeds inside their wounds, intending to use them as a medium to reproduce¡­?¡±

    ¡°No, if it were so, they could well be killed and hidden by the monster. There was no need to let them leave alive¡­ Could it be that their children are already able to protect themselves well and propagate quickly the moment they arise? Is that why they can choose to propagate and increase their poption size in such a reckless way?¡±

    The more Ren Suo pondered about it, the more he felt like it would be a piece of huge news. There was no information about such a monster on the intr yet, so it would certainly be earthshaking when Ren Suo submitted a report of it!

    The threat posed by such a new species of monsters was extremely great, especially in a densely popted city, where it could be a biochemical weapon.

    Nevertheless, there should still be restrictions on the monster¡¯s capabilities. From the fact that the monsters could only choose to attack the students who were Practitioners, it was likely that the young of the monsters could not be bred in the bodies of ordinary people.

    Realizing that there were offsprings of monsters in front of him, Ren Suo gradually entered his ¡®work mode¡¯.

    Cold, emotionless, and focused.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    How unbearable¡­

    Gu Yueyan had really not expected that she was so prone to experiencing cmities and that just a few days after the previous incident, she would be attacked by a monster when she went out to y with her friends.

    She felt pain in several different ces of her body. The thoughts in her mind were also in a state of chaos, but she had not lost her consciousness.

    She felt as if she were inplete darkness, and inch by inch, her body was being devoured by the darkness. Gradually, she could no longer feel her feet, then her hands, then her neck¡­

    All of a sudden, however, a gush of warm air flowed into her body. Then, her legs and hands, which had been devoured by the darkness, returned to her.

    The darkness gradually dispersed, and Gu Yueyan gradually regained control of her body.

    She forced open her eyes with much difficulty. Under the re of the lights on the ceiling, she saw a tall, yet familiar figure cing his hand over her neck.

    The burning pain on her neck was suppressed by a wave of coolness. When Gu Yueyan first regained her sensespletely, she was stunned. She then raised her hands with all her might and realized that the injuries on her arms had already recovered fully. Her arms looked just like they had been before, and there was not a scar left behind.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake? Have a good rest then, don¡¯t force yourself to move about. There will not be any scars left behind, don¡¯t worry,¡± Ren Suo said.

    After Ren Suo treated thest of the four patients, he also broke free of the state of work of the Jade Pendant. He told the doctor that the patients were all out of danger, then left the operation room immediately to head home.

    Ren Suo would not be of any help in the remaining care required by the patients. After the wounds were healed, the students also awoke, one by one. What was left was for the students to be handed over to the professional medical team for further observation.

    On the other hand, it was a race against time for him to submit his thesis paper!

    Although Ren Suo had note across any relevant reports the previous night, it did not mean that no one had discovered the new breed of monsters that day!

    In the intr, extremely high rewards were given for research on and discoveries of ¡®significant and highly dangerous targets¡¯. Previously, Ren Suo hade across dangerous targets like [Young Jade Girl At The Intersection], and he found that those who discovered and researched on those targets were awarded with an extremelyrge number of researcher points.

    Such ¡®free¡¯ researcher points, which were already within reach, could not be missed!

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Ren Suo turned his head to see Gu Yueyan stumbling as she ran out towards him. Looking like she was going to fall over the next moment, Ren Suo quickly went forward to support her. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Although you should be fine now, you still need a lot of rest¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Gu Yueyan, panting. She held Ren Suo back and whispered in Ren Suo¡¯s ear, ¡°I have something I must ask you¡­¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°You can tell me next time, I will tell Dong Chengling that you would not be able to go over for dinner tonight.¡±

    Ren Suo was also in a rush¡ªhe had a thesis to write.

    This time around, unlike information on ¡°Naisser Ren¡± and ¡°Heavenly Pce¡±, the extraordinary information he discovered was obtained with upright and moral means. It was just like a student who frequently cheated in examinations suddenly passing the examination with his own capability¡ªRen Suo was in a rush to publish that examination answer sheet to prove his worth!

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°It¡¯s not about Teacher Dong. I just wanted to ask you¡­ ask you about¡­¡±

    Over the past few days, Gu Yueyan had not seen Ren Suo.

    She had heard from Teacher Dong that Ren Suo was practicing at home and was not going to take even a step out of his house.

    Although she did not know why Ren Suo, a man who was the epitome of ¡®someone who was unwilling to put in effort¡¯, suddenly became so hard-working and diligent, Gu Yueyan thought that it was also a good thing. As long as she did not see him, she would be able to calm down and sort out her thoughts, wouldn¡¯t she?

    That was what Gu Yueyan thought, and exactly what she did. Apart from studying and practicing, she had been ying with her friends and enjoying her vacation break to the fullest.

    She thought that her heart had already calmed down.

    She thought that she would be able to go back to her old self.

    She thought that¡­

    However, when the first thing Gu Yueyan saw when she awoke on the bed was Ren Suo, she felt that she had lost.

    All of her efforts for the past few days seemed to have gone down the drain.

    Gu Yueyan hated to be indecisive, and she was even more unwilling to fall back into her state of being at a loss like she had been days ago. That was why she chased after him. Perhaps it was because she was still in a bit of a daze, or perhaps it was because of her long-suppressed urge¡ªregardless, she hoped to get an answer.

    Gu Yueyan questioned, ¡°¡­ Why did you appear in front of me again? Why did you save me again?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it because I am a healing Practitioner,¡± replied Ren Suo, bewildered. He continued, ¡°If anything happens to any of you, I will definitelye to save you. Actually, I still have work to do, so we should talk after you rest and¡­¡±

    Indeed, that was a perfectly expected answer¡ªbut that was not the answer Gu Yueyan wanted to hear.

    ¡°In that case, am I important to you¡­?¡± Gu Yueyan probed in a trembling and nervous voice.

    ¡°Of course, you are very important,¡± Ren Suo replied. As he pondered over what he was going to write in his thesis, he added without much thought, ¡°I must have spent all my life¡¯s worth of luck to meet¡­ Salted Fish, hurry over and help your ss chairwoman back!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª If not for Gu Yueyan and her friends, Ren Suo would not have had the opportunity to discover the new species of monsters. He felt like it was his only such opportunity to earn ¡®free¡¯ researcher points in his entire lifetime.

    Gu Yueyan no longer had sufficient energy to stand upright, and Ren Suo quickly handed her over to Lin Xianyu, who came chasing after Gu Yueyan. After telling Lin Xianyu to bring Gu Yueyan back in, he left hurriedly.

    As Lin Xianyu helped Gu Yueyan back to the ward, Gu Yueyan kept her head down and did not say anything throughout. Lin Xianyu suddenly leaned closer to Gu Yueyan and stared at her eyes. She asked, ¡°Your face is extremely red, are you running a fever?¡±

    ¡°¡­ No,¡± Gu Yueyan replied as she turned to look away from Lin Xianyu.

    A thought suddenly emerged in Lin Xianyu¡¯s mind. She said, ¡°You do not seem to have recovered yet, shall I call Brother Ren back to take care of you¨C¡±

    ¡°No!¡± replied Gu Yueyan, suddenly raising her voice. Then, her voice turned back into a whisper as she said, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I don¡¯t want to see him again¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ Not for the time being,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Lin Xianyu (~ ¨Œ ~): ¡°Hehe.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Upon returning home, Ren Suo suddenly came to a realization and thought, ¡°Did I say something very rude just now?¡±

    Having worn [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] for such a long time previously, Ren Suo was unable to change his habit of speaking so straightforwardly even after removing the Hat. It became especially prominent when he was concurrently thinking about other things.

    For example, once when Ren Suo was thinking about a game while he was walking, he met Zhao Huo and greeted him. He questioned, ¡°How¡¯s your anus doing?¡±

    The question did not make any difference to Ren Suo himself, but others started suspecting that Zhao Huo was XXX.

    ¡°Forget it, I should hurry up and finish the thesis.¡±

 Chapter 217 - Silent Conversation

    <h4>Chapter 217: Chapter 217 ¨C Silent Conversation</h4>

    ¡°We have already sent people to investigate at the location where the incident took ce, but the target could not be found. The monsters these days are all very smart and will relocate after every strike. Don¡¯t worry, we will definitely find a way to catch these monsters that specifically target Practitioners.¡±

    ¡°Remember to submit the report of this incident in the name of the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division. You may rest assured that you would be rewarded duly in the intr and also receive mary rewards. Has Brother Yu here ever lied to you?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ren Suo, it was truly the right decision to send you to the Institution. I will treat you to a meal next time,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Sure, I heard that the Australian lobster sold in that five-star hotel in the city area is quite delicious¡­¡±

    Yu Kuangtu interrupted and said, ¡°Ah, I am still busy with other work. If you need anything, just look for Li Dan!¡±

    Listening to Yu Kuangtu hang up the call, Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips. He muttered, ¡°It¡¯s already 9 p.m., and you are still busy with other work¡­?¡±

    This time around, it was a significant discovery, and there were both witnesses and physical evidence. As Ren Suo wrote his report paper to upload onto the intr, he also contacted the Countermeasure Division, and Yu Kuangtu was extremely quick to respond. However, such monsters that thrived in a city of humans would definitely not be so easy to catch, so the Countermeasure Division certainly had quite a task.

    Nevertheless, Ren Suo was not worried that they could not catch the new breed of monsters¡ªit could be as simple as ¡®fishing¡¯ the monsters out.

    Moreover, the monsters only injured people and did not kill. The Countermeasure System already notified the hospitals throughout the city, and the moment victims with simr injuries were found, the Countermeasure System would immediately investigate the surrounding area.

    Humans already had aprehensive andplete system for investigating monsters. After all, the government could not allow citizens to live in an environment where they could be killed at any moment; otherwise, the resulting panic could well be another cause for the city to copse.

    More Extraordinaire Institutions were progressively being established, and the number of Awakeners was also rising by the day. In a time when the Reiki is being rejuvenated around the world due to the emergence of Naisser Ren¡¯s widely-known videos, the formation of Extraordinaire departments in countries around the world naturally followed. It was something which even needed to be publicized widely, as if to promote the fact that the respective nations also had their own Extraordinaires who protected the rights of people. In that way, people could go about their lives in peace and not worry about mysterious, extraordinary events urring!

    Although Ren Suo¡¯s report paper was still in the process of being reviewed, it would certainly be passed and verified as true, since it was written based on a real urrence and supported by the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division.

    In addition, the paper reported such a significant finding that it fulfilled much of Ren Suo¡¯s monthly work requirements. It would not matter if Ren Suo did not submit another report paper for the rest of the month.

    After treating the four students, the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] also acquired some energy. Although it was not much, Ren Suo was still unwilling to waste it¡ªhe turned on the Reiki umtion device and began Practicing.

    However, even before he could start performing the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±, he received a call from Dong Chengling.

    She said, ¡°Suo, did you just perform treatment for Xiao Yan and her friends?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Yeah, I did. Don¡¯t worry, they are fine now. The doctor said that they would only need to remain in the hospital for further observation for a short while. As long as everything is confirmed to be fine, they should be discharged in the next few days.¡±

    ¡°Mmm, I went to the school hospital just now to visit Xiao Yan. The doctor said that they had low blood sugar, but it was only because they recovered too quickly. If everything goes well, they would be discharged tomorrow,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    Ren Suo was slightly puzzled. He asked, ¡°Why did you call me when you have already checked on Gu Yueyan?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Dong Chengling was speechless.

    She remained silent for a while, then asked suddenly, ¡°Have you ended your isted Practice session?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I am just preparing to Practice,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Another long silence followed. Ren Suo felt that it was slightly awkward, so he took the initiative to ask, ¡°By the way, why did you call me Suo just now?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Do you not like that?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    ¡°Umm, well, only very few people will call me with just one word of my name. They either call me by my full name, or otherwise they would call me Xiao Suo, Little Suo, Young Suo, Noodles Suo¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°You called me by my name, so I decided to just call you by your name too. If you mind that¡­¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright, you may call me whatever you arefortable with using. Names are meant to be called by people anyway, it just felt rather new to hear someone call me only by my name.¡±

    Yet another long silence followed. Ren Suo asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    After another moment of silence, Dong Chengling asked, ¡°What did you eat for dinner?¡±

    ¡°I bought a takeaway from the dining hall and ate while working. While treating Gu Yueyan and her friends, I discovered something new, so I was in a hurry toe back to report it to the Countermeasure System,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    At that juncture, even someone like Ren Suo could feel that he seemed to be forgetting something. He put on his hat and said in his heart to equip [Hat of Cultivation and Practice].

    In addition to the effect of ¡®speaking too straightforwardly¡¯, the Hat also gave him +10% understanding¡ªwhat was meant by understanding seemed very abstract, but it actually included aspects like memory ability,prehension skills, and thinking skills. At the least, it ensured that Ren Suo would not be forgetful.

    ¡°¡­ Ah, by the way, can I still go over to your house to eat tomorrow?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Dong Chengling replied. Her voice was very calm.

    Ren Suo thought hard and felt that he had not forgotten to say anything else. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll hang up now?¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    Ren Suo felt that he had not called Dong Chengling frequently enough such that the dynamic of their conversation was slightly strange¡­

    After Ren Suo finished Practicing, it was already 12 a.m. Most of the lights in the rooms of the faculty dormitory were off and almost everyone was already asleep.

    ¡°It¡¯s alreadyte¡­¡±

    Ren Suo sighed, then sat on the couch and started ying.

    There were less than ten days left before the 23rd, and he had two more checkpoints left to clear¡ªRen Suo felt that he needed to hasten his pace inpleting the game.

    If everything went smoothly, the 23rd of the month would be the day when the Forbidden Fruit descended to Earth.

    At present, Ren Suo was still on his first savegame. If Ren Suo was willing to stay up every night and give up on his Practice time, it should not be a problem for him to begin a new savegame and try again with the remaining time he had.

    However, Ren Suo had already put in too much effort in the current savegame. He was toozy to start another savegame if he could clear the game in the current one¡ªit was extremely exhausting to have to act one more round!

    Moreover, even if he restarted the game with a new savegame, the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] would not be activated again when he defeated the bosses. As such, the prospect of starting a new savegame felt even more uninteresting to Ren Suo.

    It was just like when Ren Suo was buying soda as a kid. Initially, there was a lucky pick event where the lids of the soda bottles would either have the phrase [Thank you for your purchase] or [Exchange for a free bottle] on them. However, when it suddenly ceased, Ren Suo found that he would no longer buy that brand of soda even if he used to like them. Instead, he would rather buy another brand of soda with the same taste¡ªit felt as if he was at the losing end if he continued buying the same brand of soda.

    Even more so was the fact that Ren Suo had already spent over 40 merit points in the current savegame, which were all used to treat the aftereffects the mage experienced after casting the Forbidden Spells.

    Embarking on the sixth checkpoint, Ren Suo thought about it and decided to reuse the silver-haired mage character.

    After all, he was not ¡®dead¡¯ yet.

    The checkpoint this time was set in a vast ice field. The silver-haired mage and the five female mages descended at the same time.

    However, when they arrived, they were greeted by a peculiar sight¨C

    Arge group of Extraordinaires were trying to break apart a block of ice on the ice field. Some of them were using entrenching tools, some were using their hands, and some were even using their abilities.

    When the mages arrived, the Extraordinaires were instantly overjoyed. They eximed: [Sir Mage is finally here!]

    The silver-haired mage questioned: [¡®Finally¡¯?]

    The Extraordinaire from Fanying Nation whose name was ¡®Nozomi Natsukawa¡¯ said: [Our higher-ups said that you would appear in the other unpurified mystery realms in less than a day, so we came here first to scout and wait for you. We will assist the World Tree in purifying this mystery realm to the best of our abilities!]

    The silver-haired mage asked: [What are you doing now then?]

    Nozomi Natsukawa pointed happily to the ice block that they were trying to break apart and said: [We discovered that one of yourpanions is frozen and we are trying to save her!]

    Click- ck-

    Suddenly, cracks appeared on the ice block and the next moment, it exploded into countless fragments.

    As the stunned Extraordinaires looked on, a female mage who wore a white robe and had white hair emerged from the block of ice. She was icy cold and her lips were blue. Teleporting in front of the silver-haired mage, she introduced herself: [I am the Magic Wrist Mage, Freya.]

    ¡°Did she have to make her appearance in such a cool way¡­¡±

    Ren Suo controlled Mage to shoot a few recovery rays of Holy Light to treat the Extraordinaires who were injured by the ice shards. Ren Suo noticed the shocked look on the face of Nozomi Natsukawa, who was standing at the side. He controlled the silver-haired mage to exin:

    [Aye, you all disturbed her in her sleep, so she woke up slightly more irritated.]

    Nozomi Natsukawa was bewildered. He remarked: [Am I to me?]

 Chapter 218 - Theyâ€™re Male

    <h4>Chapter 218: Chapter 218 ¨C They¡¯re Male</h4>

    [Ahh¨C]

    One of the Extraordinaires was pierced by the ice spear of the Ice Lake Girl and was instantly on the verge of death.

    The silver-haired mage eximed: [As long as I am still alive, you will not die!]

    The Holy Light Spear¡ªthe upgraded version of the silver-haired mage¡¯s Holy Light bullets¡ªprated the wounds of the injured Extraordinaire and turned into life-giving energy to rapidly heal the wounds.

    Looking at the back of the tall and virtuous silver-haired mage, the Extraordinaires were moved to tears.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The Ice Lake Girl held up her hands tobine gigantic cubes of ice together. She was attempting a full-map attack that would deal a terrifying amount of damage!

    The next moment, the fingers on the silver-haired mage¡¯s right hand were broken to form an iron chain, which wrapped around the Ice Lake Girl and bounded her tightly. The mage shouted: [Attack!]

    Looking at the silver-haired mage¡¯s broken fingers on both of his hands, the Extraordinaires were moved to tears.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When the remaining life of the Ice Lake Girl¡ªthe boss of the sixth checkpoint¡ªdropped below 20%, she would immediately cast her AOE ability and summon a storm of ice crystals to attack the entire battlefield.

    Having been annihted thrice at that juncture (rather, it was only the Extraordinaires who died thrice), Ren Suo had also reloaded the savegame three times. He controlled the silver-haired mage to activate [Breath of Fire Skin] and summoned the giant demon!

    However, he did not control the fire demon to attack but used it as a fortress instead. With that, he sessfully shielded the mages and the Extraordinaires who were inside of the ¡®fortress¡¯ from the boss¡¯ final ultimate attack!

    Looking at the charred skin of the silver-haired mage, the Extraordinaires were moved to tears.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    [Now, there should only be one arena left outside, which is inessible, right?]

    By the time the silver-haired mage granted salvation to Ice Lake Girl¡ªthe boss of the sixth checkpoint who was in front of him¡ªhe was severely injured and resembled nothing like a person. The mage fell lifelessly to the ground, as he asked the question to the coalition force of Extraordinaires behind him.

    The Commander of the Watchmen replied: [If there are no other undiscovered mystery realms, then the mystery realm in central Australia is the only one that¡¯s left.]

    The silver-haired mage said: [I must admit that you, humans, now have capabilities which are no less powerful than us, mages¡­ Please make use of such a strong power to defend your lives.]

    To the silver-haired mage, there were more than 200 Extraordinaires who were armed with all sorts of heavy firearms assisting the fight, and even numerous heavy machine guns were used¡ªit was a wonder how they managed to bring them into the mystery realm. Of course, however, they would have stood no chance against the Ice Lake Girl without the healing power of Mage.

    Themander from Fanying Nation was a beautiful youngdy. She was on the brim of tears as she eximed: [Please do not say that. Sir Mage, if not for your protection just now, we¡­ we might all have¡­]

    The silver-haired mage replied: [Under the watch of the World Tree, humans will not be allowed to be injured¡­]

    Looking at themander from Fanying Nation who was saved by him thrice and who was now hugging him, the silver-haired mageughed and said: [I don¡¯t know when will be the next time I will awaken, so do not fall in love with me, youngdy.]

    [Nheless, I will silently wish you well in the World Tree.]

    The words of the silver-haired mage, coupled with his devastating appearance at present, was especially touching, and the Extraordinaires broke out in quiet sobs.

    The Commander of the Watchmen nced at where the female mages disappeared and asked suddenly: [Sir Mage, why¡­ why were you the one who had to sacrifice twice consecutively? Clearly, if yourpanions were willing to share the load¡­]

    As expected, they were starting to suspect.

    The silver-haired mageughed and asked: [Did you not realize that they have never spoken a thing, and have just been fighting in silence?]

    The Extraordinaires had fought alongside the mages on four to five asions, and it was natural for them to have noticed discrepancies in what the mage said and what they saw. Themanders who gathered around the silver-haired mage werepletely unperturbed by the question the Commander of the Watchmen posed, indicating that they had also been notified by their superiors of their suspicions about the mage.

    The silver-haired mage exined solemnly: [It is because of their sins. Don¡¯t be fooled by their appearances¡ªin fact, half of them are¡­ men.]

    Men?!

    The Extraordinaires were extremely surprised. The faces of a number of them who secretly admired the beautiful movements of the female mages in battle instantly turned pale¡ªthey were so cute and beautiful, yet they were actually men?

    The silver-haired mage revealed the grim reality: [As you know, the monsters here are countless. Unless they are granted salvation by a mage, they would revive continuously and never die.]

    [To a mage, granting salvation to humans who turned into monsters is tantamount to¡­ killing people.]

    [Whenever such a falling Forbidden Fruit emerges, it is when we, mages,e into action¡­ Don¡¯t be fooled by our young appearances, for most of us lived thousands of years ago. During that time, Reiki was still not¡­ Cough, cough.]

    Reiki was not¡­ what?! Hurry, finish your sentence!

    However, the silver-haired mage quickly changed the topic and continued: [We help the World Tree to deal with the Forbidden Fruits, and the number of monsters we are faced with is never known. There could be as little as thousands of them, or more than millions of them. The monsters we purify do not just disappear like that; their memories and resentments will turn into the strength we possess.]

    [That is also the reason why mages are so powerful.]

    [However, while mages join the World Tree out of great love, even the souls of those with the most resolute of minds will be irreversibly polluted through the repeated killings of people.]

    [We, mages, are not crazy murderers. When we take lives, we also hurt our souls at the same time.]

    [Over time, the wounded soul would be reflected onto the mage¡¯s body, and the mage would thoroughly recognize the horror of ¡®killing¡¯. As a result, not only would the mage no longer be willing to purify monsters, but it would also cause the mage to undergo physical changes.]

    There was still one arena left, and Ren Suo did not dare to say for certain if what he said was true. Nheless, the appearance of the six female mages was sufficient evidence to prove his point. He continued: [Only very few male mages are able to withstand such changes. Most mages would be unable to bear such sins, and the male mages would turn into beautiful young women, while female mages would turn into¡­ even more beautiful young women.]

    [Furthermore, after the changes, the temperament of the mages would also change drastically. They would be unwilling to talk to strangers, and only willing tomunicate with their magepanions in thenguage of the mages¡­]

    [Most importantly, after their death, they would not be able to revive again.]

    [This is who a mage is, hovering just between death and rebirth, killing and self-me, and male and female¡­ warriors.]

    [It is precisely because of this that mages who are still able to purify monsters will try to protect those ¡®seniors¡¯, even if it means they have to ¡®die¡¯¡­ One day, we will eventually be like those ¡®seniors¡¯, and at that time, I hope that our descendants would protect us¡­]

    [I wish that we will not meet again¡­ and I wish that mages will not appear in front of you again¡­]

    Upon finishing his sentence, the silver-haired mage also finished his ¡®act¡¯ and fulfilled his mission, vanishingpletely with a ball of light.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It took another half of a day to utilize the energy stored within the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], sessfully increasing Ren¡¯s Suo¡¯s Practice progress to tier 1, 58%.

    As he grew closer to bing a tier 2 Practitioner, he also realized that, regrettably, that was his one and only chance of being able to increase his talent score without spending much effort.

    ¡®Perhaps I should choose to y games that are more rted to monsters in the future¡­?¡¯ Ren Suo thought. He naturally could not help but think of ways to make the best use of the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], knowing that it was able to gradually increase his talent score.

    It was mealtime again, and Ren Suo went over to Dong Chengling¡¯s house. He was surprised to see Gu Yueyan and asked, ¡°Have you been discharged from the school hospital?¡±

    ¡°I was already discharged yesterday,¡± Gu Yueyan coldly replied.

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°Luck is really not on your side, I think you¡¯d better stay home from now on.¡±

    Gu Yueyanmented, ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because of you¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ren Suo questioned as he blinked.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed as she stood up and walked into the kitchen to help Dong Chengling bring the dishes to the table. Very quickly, an appetizing aroma wafted through the living room¡ªDong Chengling was getting better and better at her cooking.

    At that juncture, Dong Chengling retrieved two boxes and handed one each to Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan. She said, ¡°It¡¯s for you, please ept it.¡±

    Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan opened the box and saw a ne iid with blue stones.

    Gu Yueyan saw that her ne was the same as Ren Suo¡¯s, then looked at the one Dong Chengling was wearing around her neck¡ªit was pure white.

    Why did she give me the exact same ne as¡­ him?

 Chapter 219 - External Aid

    Chapter 219: Chapter 219 ¨C External Aid

    Gu Yueyan had a calm gaze, but she was actually panicking internally. Dong Chengling said with a smile, ¡°I have already stored Reiki coordinates within this essory, and it would be able to ensure your safety. When any of you are in danger, just touch the mark inside with Reiki, and I will do my best to pull you to my location.¡±

    ¡°The effective range of the essory is¡­ within the entire Lian Province, it should not be a problem.¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned as he looked at the ne. He recalled the man in the iron seat whom he saw in the fifth checkpoint.

    He had used the coordinates stored within a ne worn by a Practitioner from Xuan Nation to tear open the space tomunicate with those inside the mystery realm.

    ording to him, all the Practitioners from Xuan Nation actually had simr nes. However, only the ones with the highest quality and rarest gemstones were able to store sufficient Reiki that can be used as coordinates to tear open the space within the mystery realm temporarily.

    Later on, Ren Suo observed the nes they wore in greater detail and discovered that there were indeed various colors of the nes. The ne that exploded upon being used by the man in the iron seat was clearly very precious, as it was the only one which was made with sapphire.

    Looking at Dong Chengling¡¯s gift now, Ren Suo asked without much thought, ¡°This is¡­ your reward from the Countermeasure Division?¡±

    Ren Suo remembered that Qiao Muyi¡¯s target was Dong Chengling some time back.

    ¡°It¡¯s a part of it,¡± Dong Chengling replied. She continued, ¡°I will soon be a special safety advisor to the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division. Just like both of you, all important Practitioners in Lianjiang City would receive a simr essory. Whenever any of them is in danger, I will be able to protect them in time.¡±

    ¡°This is too valuable,¡± Ren Suo remarked. He breathed in deeply and said, ¡°You should give this to your family.¡±

    Gu Yueyan also nodded several times as she reced the ne into the box and returned it to Dong Chengling.

    Dong Chengling smiled and said, ¡°There are no Practitioners in my family, and they do not live in Lianjiang City either¡­ Around here, both of you are family.¡±

    Ren Suo already knew how stubborn Dong Chengling was, so he did not continue to refuse. He obediently put on the ne, although it seemed slightly strange for a man to wear a ne.

    On the other hand, Gu Yueyan was in a dilemma and continued trying to reject Dong Chengling¡¯s gift. Eventually, however, she still epted it and put on the ne with her cheeks blushing.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo was at the checkpoint selection screen in the game, he suddenly noticed something amiss.

    The six checkpoints which had already been cleared were greyed out as usual, and he could no longer enter those checkpoints. However, the icon of the seventh checkpoint looked horrifying, as if it was brimming with a ck-colored juice that was threatening to overflow.

    It was as if there were dozens of strong, muscr warriors staring at him imposingly, ready to pick on a fight.

    Ren Suo clicked on the checkpoint, and the corrupted Holy Grail suddenly appeared:

    [You have done very well.]

    Ren Suo was slightly stunned.

    The corrupted Holy Grail said: [I represent both the hope and despair of humans, and I look forward to you drawing an end to all of this, Mage.]

    [You should have realized that I, the one whom you have been trading with all this while, am the source of all monsters. I exist to give those who made wishes an equal amount of hope and despair.]

    [Whatever one wishes for, one would have to pay an equal and corresponding price¡ªthis is the true significance of the Holy Grail. Every mage possesses the power of the Holy Grail, which is why it is possible for mages to possess the Hand of Salvation, and why mages are able to rely on offerings to cast their spells.]

    [The Holy Grail is merely an embodiment of its power, but the desires and despair of mortals have thoroughly corrupted the Holy Grail. Even though the Holy Grail provoked and fuelled the birth of mages, it was still impossible to resolve the despair lingering on the already fragmentednd. Eventually, the Holy Grail held on to thest avablend and came to a new world.]

    [Now, only you are able to bring all of this to an end.]

    Ren Suo pressed many buttons and finally managed to make the dialog input box appear. He typed: [Aren¡¯t you the Holy Grail? Why do you want to help me?]

    The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [As much as the Holy Grail is full of despair, a tiny trace of hope still remains. It is thisst tiny speck of hope that is helping you.]

    [Mage, your Hand of Salvation resonates with the trace of hope that remains in the Holy Grail. Please, allow me to make use of this strength to lend you a helping hand.]

    New options appeared on the exchange list of the Holy Grail:

    [¢Ù Be granted three revival opportunities]

    [¢Ú Double overall capabilities (Attack, Defense, Maximum Health, Maximum Mana)]

    [¢Û Summon external aid]

    Ren Suo was stunned momentarily. He looked at the current details of Mage:

    Level 100 Sacred Hand, Level 0 Magic Wrist.

    Ren Suo asked: [What would happen if the level of my Magic Wrist was higher than that of the Sacred Hand?]

    The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [I will still appear, but the hope within me would not be empowered.]

    Ren Suo had thought about what would happen if he had yed ordinarily and had not made any in-game purchases¡ªwouldn¡¯t all of Mage¡¯spanions die before he finally reached thest checkpoint? It turned out that there was still a helping hand at this juncture in the game, where the Holy Grail would provide free assistance as the final straw for those who took the Sacred Hand route.

    Moreover, the Sacred Hand route could notpare to the Magic Wrist route, whether it was early on in the game, mid-way through the game, or in thetter part of the game. Even till that juncture, the damage output of Mage was lower than the other female Magic Wrist mages.

    If the Sacred Hand Mage had to fight alone, Ren Suo would likely have had to spend dozens of hours just trying to clear one checkpoint.

    Ren Suo asked: [Can I only choose one of the three options? I feel like wanting everything.]

    The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [You can.]

    Ren Suo was stunned. He could choose all of the three options?

    The corrupted Holy Grail continued: [However, apart from the first option you choose, the other two options would be provided by the strength of despair. It is easy to figure what would result when that happens¡ªfor example, the option which was supposed to grant you three chances to revive might well turn you into a stone that is unable to move, and you would then die after being hit thrice as a stone. Or for example, the option which was supposed to double your overall capabilities might make you unable to use any offerings, or the summoned aid from the third option might attack you instead¡­]

    Ren Suo asked: [Will it not be possible even if I spend merit points?]

    The corrupt Holy Grail said: [Sorry, some things in this world cannot be purchased, and an example of such a thing is hope.]

    Ren Suo further probed: [Who exactly are those mages who are waiting in the mystery realms? Why are they able to perform neither salvation nor sacrifice?]

    The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [They are thest Mages who made wishes to the Holy Grail, hoping for the arrival of a mage who is able to eliminate all monsters. However, they had to pay the price for their wishes; as a result, the strength of despair, which responded, made them unable to deal with monsters forever.]

    Ren Suo asked: [Why are they all female mages?]

    The corrupted Holy Grail exined: [Compared to women, men are more likely to crumble and fall apart. As such, the mages who survive till the end are all females.]

    What a simple reason¡­

    Ren Suo looked at the wish list. Being able to revive thrice was meaningless to Mage with his Sacred Hand; doubling Mage¡¯s overall capabilities would indeed enhance hisbat power, but the third option made Ren Suo even more curious.

    Ren Suo saved the game, then selected [¢Û Summon external aid].

    The corrupted Holy Grail said: [You possess many powerful external sources of help, but the strength of hope is very limited. Take note that there would be a limit to the maximumbat power of the summoned aid.]

    A limit to the maximumbat power of the summoned aid?

    The next moment, a list appeared in the center of the screen:

    [The Hitman, selectable]

    [The Seeker, selectable]

    [Ren Woxing, not selectable]

    [The Holy Priest, selectable]

    [The All-Devouring Spirit, not selectable]

    [Irina, not selectable]

    Ren Suomented, ¡°I can¡¯t even choose Ren Woxing, who is a character from a game with a 2-star difficulty rating?¡±

    Nheless, he could understand that if Ren Woxing, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, was summoned, he could be as powerful as the All-Devouring Soul. Ren Woxing was able to fight against thousands of monsters alone, and he was also a terrifying Practitioner who took on challenges squarely without cowering. If he were summoned, the final boss in thest checkpoint might not even get a chance to attack.

    ¡°However, the remaining options are quite weak with barely anybat ability¡­¡±

 Chapter 220 - All Scumbags Must Die

    Chapter 220: Chapter 220 ¨C All Scumbags Must Die

    Amidst the tumultuous waves of a ck sea, only a tall tform could be seen. On the tform were several uninvited guests.

    ¡°The final checkpoint was forced to change so directly?¡±

    On the screen, Ren Suo saw a ck sun hanging in the sky in the distance. The sun was overflowing with ck juice, which fell onto thend like a waterfall, submerging the entirend in a sea of ck juice. The entire scene looked just like ck juice pouring out of the Holy Grail.

    ¡°Is this ¡®spectacr¡¯ sight the result of clearing the previous six checkpoints and the powers of all the Holy Grails fusing together as one in the final checkpoint¡­¡±

    At that juncture, a young, scantily-d, blonde girl standing on the tall tform turned to look at the mages. She said expressionlessly: [I, Leonis, did not expect myself to be thest one. I did not think that all of you would still be alive either.]

    On the other side of the tall tform, was a man in a gray robe, whose face was half sinister-looking and half like a typical teenager. He held a book made of human skin in his hands as he looked emotionlessly at them.

    Red Hood said: [So it is him.]

    Lumpena said: [How did he not turn into a monster¡­?]

    Nimue said: [The time has finallye¡­]

    ine said: [Let¡¯s begin.]

    Ding Dn said: [That¡¯s unfortunate, his blood reeks of monsters¡­]

    Freya said: [Is that the guy mentioned in the textbook?]

    Ren Suo chose the blond mage as his game character this time. He asked: [Who exactly is he?]

    Leonis replied: [He is Merlin, the demigod. He was once¡­ the most powerful mage.]

    The final boss was actually a mage?

    Well, Ren Suo was not too surprised. He had seen many of such plots before, where the final boss was actually an ally, the final love rival was one¡¯s best friend, or where the final opponent was a friend¡­

    As the mages approached Merlin, he closed the book of human skin and looked at them.

    Merlin said: [You have finallye¡­ Bring it on then. Along with the despair within my body¡­ end everything.]

    Blood was flowing out of Merlin¡¯s body¡ªck juice spewed out of his eyes, nose, and mouth, and polluted his entire body. Meat wings grew out of his right skull and back, and feather wings grew out of his left skull and back, making him look like a four-winged angel.

    Suddenly, his right hand began swelling, and every piece of the muscles on his right hand grew to the size of a human head. The muscles ripped open to reveal countless eyeballs within, and each eyeball stared deadly at the mages.

    The head of an infant grew out from the left side of Merlin¡¯s skull, and the head of an old person also grew out from the left side of his skull. The two heads were both screaming in agony; the cries of the infant were shrilly and tender, while the shrieks of the old person spoke of the vicissitudes of life.

    An illusory ball of light surrounded Merlin, and runes, which were almost brimming with ck juice, encircled around the ball of light.

    He pressed the book made of human skin gently on his left chest and said: [Come over now, it¡¯s time to kill the thoughts of longing.]

    The mages attacked at the same time. However, Merlin was unlike the previous bosses¡ªhe could teleport faster than the mages, and he was also stronger than them!

    Wherever he moved to, an explosion would follow in his ce. Knives of blood were released with every move he made, and obstacles appeared from thend with every light leap he took. When the mages went closer to him, the agonizing screams from the infant¡¯s head and the old person¡¯s head slowed the mages¡¯ movements. Furthermore, the runes and light shield surrounding him reflected the energy of their attacks!

    [The Watchmen of the Federation hase to¡­ Ah!]

    After the boss battle began, Practitioners from the outside world began entering the mystery realm to provide support to the mages. Perhaps it was because of the strong ¡®healing ability¡¯ of Mage which they experienced previously that quite arge number of people came in this time. It was as if they were not scared of being harmed or even killed within the mystery realm.

    However, the very moment they entered the mystery realm, they were all killed.

    Merlin¡¯s spells were too quick, and almost all of them were AOE spells: Blood Knives, Land of Blood, and Blood Balls of Death. They were all spells that affected arge area. Only the mages who possessed the same teleportation abilities as Merlin did were able to avoid and defend against the attacks.

    On the other hand, the ordinary Practitioners were easy targets for Merlin. Even if he tried with all his might, Mage was still unable to help the Practitioners to remain on the battlefield for long. Only a few of them could keep up with the pace of the battle with their individual defense ability and movement speed.

    Firearms were virtually insignificant against Merlin, much like how they were essentially insignificant against mages. In the face of an enemy who could teleport from ce to ce in an instant, there was absolutely no opportunity to take aim with the weapons.

    Very quickly, all of the Practitioners were killed. Mage and hispanions were also on the brink of death, and remaining on the battlefield¡­ was the Hitman!

    The Hitman, who could use [Bullet Time], was the external aid which Ren Suo chose!

    As the only ordinary person on the battlefield, the Hitman managed to avoid numerous attacks with Bullet Time. He even managed to shoot and hit Merlin with his gun¡ªbut it was not at all effective.

    In less than half a minute, the remaining health of all the mages fell below the safe threshold¡ªand that was still with the heals from ine and Mage. Then, Ren Suo controlled Mage to activate [Finger Iron Chain] and [Breath of Fire Skin]!

    The female mages and the Hitman seized the opportunity to deal as much damage to Merlin as possible. Just before the effect of [Finger Iron Chain] wore off, Ren Suo controlled Mage to activate [Holy Sword of the Spine], which severely damaged Merlin¡ª

    [Target HP: 92%]

    ¡°How does he still have so much HP remaining?!¡± eximed Ren Suo, stunned. Heunched [Finger Iron Chain] again to continue restraining Merlin, then activated [Summon of the Eye Devils] and [Blood Sword of the Heart]!

    [Blood Sword of the Heart: The user sacrifices his heart to turn the blood in his heart into a sword. Blood swords can be drawn from the heart of the user by other people. The user would be unable to move when the spell is cast. The duration of the effect is 30 seconds. As the side effect of the spell, the maximum health of the user would be permanently decreased by half.]

    Blood Sword of the Heart was undoubtedly the favorite Forbidden Spell of the Sacred Hand Mage. As long as the Sacred Hand Mage was able to avoid attacks from the enemy in time, he could consistently deal long-ranged attacks without going close to the enemy. At the same time, he could continue healing allies, and the amount of health he had did not matter.

    That Forbidden Spell was only taught to Mage in the sixth checkpoint by Freya, so it was also the first time Ren Suo used it. Nheless, the effect seemed decent: the female mages went over to extract giant Blood Swords from within the main character¡¯s body and used them to pierce Merlin ruthlessly!

    [Target HP: 85%]

    A series of ultimate spells only depleted 15% of his health? On the other hand, however, Mage had used up all of his Forbidden Spells and did not have any other means to stop Merlin!

    Just as they were all about to be in, Red Hood made her move¡ª

    [Iron Finger Chain] and [Breath of Fire Skin]!

    All of hispanions knew how to cast Forbidden Spells!

    ¡°Could the checkpoint be cleared just by having everyone cast their Forbidden Spells¡­?¡±

    If that was the case, Ren Suo might still be able to ept the result. Although he felt that the morepanions who remained alive when hepleted the game, the higher his mission score would be, the most important thing was still¡­ to be able to clear the mission!

    One after another, thepanions cast their Forbidden Spells to restrict Merlin¡¯s movements. At the same time, the other mages made use of the opportunity to deal massive damage to Merlin¡ªone moment, ice shards and fire knives danced through the air, and the next moment, fists of stone and spears of light crossed paths.

    Only with the Sacred Hand route could there be that manypanions who survived until the final checkpoint. By continuously casting their Forbidden Spells, the mages barely managed to prevent Merlin from moving and his health dropped by almost half!

    While he was bound, Merlin shouted: [This¡­ is still not enough!]

    Suddenly, the book in his right hand that was made of human skin burst into a glow of blood. It was a familiar sight to Ren Suo¡ªhe was ¡®sacrificing¡¯!

    The book that was made of human skin burst into light and countless pages scattered all around. Then, the pages came back together and turned into a man who donned a ck robe with red designs on it!

    [Librom, unleash your thoughts!]

    Red Hood, who had lost both of her hands, retreated to the back. She looked at the man who just emerged and was visibly perplexed. She said: [Librom¡­]

    Librom, who just appeared, seemed to know all of the female mages. He said: [I did not expect that I would still be able to see you, Red Hood, Lumpena, ine, Ding Dn¡­ All of you¡­ are indeed the strongest and most powerful mages I have met.]

    [And you¡­ the mage who appeared because of the Holy Grail.]

    Ren Suo asked: [Who is he?]

    Red Hood replied: [He is a good friend of Merlin the Demigod and a powerful mage who is known all around the world. He is also¡­ a good friend of mine. Or perhaps I should say, he is a good friend of everyone here, except you.]

    Lumpena said: [What do you mean by a ¡®good friend¡¯, he is my lover.]

    The moment Lumpena finished her sentence, the other female mages who were attacking Merlin also slowed down in their attacks.

    ine retorted angrily: [What do you mean by he¡¯s your lover? Is every guy your lover! Librom is my lifelong partner!]

    Leonis grunted coldly: [You¡¯re just a puppet wrapped in a white piece of cloth, what would you know about love and fun?]

    Nimue said indifferently: [What scams are all of you? I am his senior, and I spent countless days and nights with him.]

    Ding Dnughed and said: [I¡¯m not interested in fighting with all of you for him, but I can never forget his blood¡­ and sperm.]

    Freya said: [He is my source of warmth and also my pillow. Watch what you speak.]

    Ren Suo, who was constantly dispensing Spears of Holy Light, was spewing with anger.

    Was he not just ying a game, why did he have to encounter a harem king too?!

    Ren Suo originally thought that the reason why the group of female mages always seemed to be at odds with one another was because of some intriguing reason. Who would have expected that it was actually so intriguing¡ªit was because they were fighting over the same guy!

    Wait¡ªdid that mean that he was on their side?

    Librom¡¯s hands were gleaming with blood. He said: [I¡¯m sorry. I am just a strand of thoughts, and merely a memory controlled by Merlin.]

    [Nevertheless, Red Hood, Lumpena, ine, Ding Dn¡­ I loved you.]

    The first attempt at defeating the final boss resulted in the death of the entire team, in the hands of Librom, the scumbag.

    An angry shouting from a gamer who was single resonated through the night sky: ¡°All scumbags must die!¡±

 Chapter 221 - The True Capability of The Seeker

    Chapter 221: Chapter 221 ¨C The True Capability of The Seeker

    Attempting the final checkpoint for the second time, Ren Suo summoned Zhao Zili as external aid.

    Interestingly, when Merlin saw Zhao Zili, he said:

    [Disciple of the Foreign Gods, you are much more fortunate than me.]

    Although Zhao Zili was not under Ren Suo¡¯s control, he still fulfilled his mission duly. Acting as the toughest ¡®meat shield¡¯ and having the strongest healing ability, Zhao Zili managed to block Merlin, the demigod, from attacking.

    However, Merlin attacked him a few times and quickly found that Zhao Zili¡¯sbat power was negligible. Zhao Zili only served to obstruct his view, although he could not be killed¡ªthe three gods had granted Zhao Zili [Death Shield], [Rebirth Shield], and [Superhuman Shield], which made Zhao Ziliparable to the All-Devouring Spirit in terms of defense ability.

    Upon seeing through Zhao Zili, Merlin stopped paying attention to Zhao Zili and focused on attacking the mages and Practitioners instead. Although Zhao Zili¡¯s healing ability was also terrifyingly powerful, and almost anyone whom he shot at with his Gatling Gun of Profound Compassion would not die, he was only able to protect a small number of people.

    When Merlin¡¯s remaining health dropped to 50%, the Practitioner forces werepletely wiped out again. Ren Suo quickly activated [Finger Iron Chain], and the other female mages also activated their Forbidden Spells in an attempt to kill Merlin at once!

    Nheless, even though Merlin was bound, he still managed to quickly sacrifice the book in his hand that was made of human skin, and Librom was summoned.

    Librom was able to use the vast majority of offerings that Ren Suo hade across, and his teleportation speed was not any slower than Merlin¡¯s. In addition, he could also equip himself with effects like ¡®defense buffs¡¯. Even though Red Hood and the other mages could bear to kill their ex-lover and used Finger Iron Chain to bind him, the mages quickly discovered that Librom and Merlin shared their health among themselves!

    In other words, Merlin had an additional health bar!

    Very soon, the mages depleted all of their Forbidden Spells and could no longer restrain Merlin and Librom. They immediatelyunched their counterattack, and even with Zhao Zili around, the mages were still unable to withstand their attacks!

    Most importantly, Librom was also able to recover the health of both Merlin and himself!

    Not only was the damage dealt by the mages unable to kill them instantly, but their health would also be recovered after that. It was virtually impossible to defeat them!

    Ren Suo thought for a few minutes, then attempted the checkpoint again separately with the other two benefits provided by the Holy Grail.

    They were the three revival chances and the doubling of the overall capability of the character.

    The effects were¡­ well, worse than summoning Zhao Zili as external aid.

    Being granted three revival chances only served to prolong the battle for slightly longer, while doubling the overall capability of Mage had no visible effect to Ren Suo¡ªthetter option was specifically targeted at those who chose the bnced route, where the level of the Sacred Hand was slightly higher than that of the Magic Wrist.

    ¡°A game with a 3+ star difficulty rating is truly¡­ either annoying or would require a lot of money to be spent.¡±

    However, it was not entirely impossible for Ren Suo to clear the checkpoint. Through attempting the final checkpoint several times, Ren Suo gradually grasped the tactics of Merlin and Librom¡ªit was actually not difficult to dodge their attacks. Merlin would not heal himself in the battle, and Ren Suo could, in fact, make use of magic spells to interrupt the process when Librom used his recovery offerings.

    It was possible for Ren Suo to rely on his own character handling skills to drag out the fight and slowly kill Merlin and Librom. However, that would require a lot of time, and he would also have to sacrifice his fellowpanions, as well as the warriors who took part in the fight. After all, his own skills could be improved, but that was not the case for the other mages.

    Ren Suo suspected that there were actually restrictions in terms of the mages¡¯ teleportation ability. For example, the ¡®visual impact¡¯ and ¡®loss of bnce¡¯ caused by the rapid movement should limit the frequency with which the mages could teleport.

    On the other hand, the only limiting factor to the frequency Ren Suo¡¯s character could teleport was his own reaction speed and technical handling ability.

    If he spent another three or four days practicing, Ren Suo should be able to hone his technical skills to the extent that he could clear the checkpoint perfectly without suffering any injuries.

    ¡°Indeed, the Magic Wrist route would be at an advantage here¡­¡± Ren Suo remarked with a sigh. Had he chosen the Magic Wrist route, he would certainly have honed his technical skills well, and his damage output would also be sufficiently high. Fighting the boss one on one could well have been much easier.

    Alternatively, if he had chosen the bnced route, the best option in the exchange list of the Holy Grail would be the second one¡ªto double the character¡¯s overall capability. The final battle might end up being easier than with the Magic Wrist route, although the difficulty of the game in the other ordinary checkpoints would be higher. Either way, the bnced route was neither the best nor the worst.

    On the other hand, the advantage of choosing the Sacred Hand route in the final checkpoint was undoubtedly to be able to summon external aid.

    Ren Suo thought that, if there was a character whose damage output and movement speed were sufficiently high, he should be able to clear the checkpoint without much problem, as long as he continuously healed the character while interrupting Librom¡¯s own healing spells from time to time.

    However, there was no such character in the list that was selectable.

    The Hitman had a sufficiently fast movement speed, but his damage output was too low¡ªfirearms were too weak against Merlin and Librom.

    Zhao Zili was not worthy of mentioning.

    The Seeker¡­

    Ren Suo thought of that character which he had previously overlooked and a sudden idea emerged in his mind.

    Perhaps it was because Ren Suo was wearing [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] that he quickly recalled an idea he had previously.

    Putting his idea into action, Ren Suo immediately made an exchange with the Holy Grail and summoned the Seeker. Then, he equipped the Seeker with [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter One] on the [Equipment] screen.

    When Ren Suo entered the checkpoint in the game, Merlin saw the Seeker and also said:

    [I have never seen you before¡­ If you had been around, the Holy Grail would never have chosen me.]

    It was undoubtedly an extremely high appraisaling from Merlin, but the performance of the Seeker was still not satisfactory¡ª

    Equipped with [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1], the Seeker could levitate in the air and move freely through the air like the mages, but¡­ her attacks were extremely weak.

    Her movement speed was slightly slower than teleportation, but it was sufficient. However, her mode of attack was punching and kicking, which was essentially nothing more than a tickle to Merlin.

    In contrast, although the Seeker could react extremely quickly, she inevitably suffered injuries from the numerous full map attacks.

    Or in other words, she was killed.

    Although [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1] enhanced the Seeker¡¯s defense ability, it was still lower than the effect of the defense offerings of the mages. ording to Ren Suo¡¯s own understanding of the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan, after Practicing the first chapter, it could only allow one to reach the level of a mini-superhuman.

    Contrastingly, mages were not human.

    There was no way to enhance the capabilities of the Seeker to an extremely high level just with [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1] alone. Ren Suo was out of options¡ªafter all, he had only that many ability slots. If only he had more slots, it would be possible to equip the Seeker with more abilities.

    Ren Suo was unwilling to give up and tried again. This time, although the Seeker did not die in the early stages of the battle, she was also in when the entire team was annihted after Librom appeared and the mages used up all of their Forbidden Spells.

    ¡°Ahhhh¨C¡±

    A sense of warmth began radiating from the curtains in the living room¡ªit was almost morning, but Ren Suo still had not thought of a way to clear the checkpoint.

    ¡°Is training my technical handling skills the only option now?¡± a frustrated Ren Suo thought.

    He pressed down firmly on the hat on top of his head and took a deep breath. He calmed himself down and analyzed whether he still stood a chance in the battle just now.

    The Hitman¡­

    Zhao Zili¡­

    The Seeker¡­

    Perhaps due to the hat, Ren Suo suddenly noticed something.

    ¡°The Seeker has been fighting for¡­ longer than 10 minutes, no?¡±

    When the mages used [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1], their enhanced state could only persist for 10 minutes. If he had chosen the Magic Wrist route, the enhancement would be quite powerful. However, he chose the Sacred Hand route, and the benefit was not significant. As such, Ren Suo did not use that ability often.

    Ren Suo attempted to fight again, but when he entered the seventh checkpoint this time, he swapped [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1] for [Ability: Clothes] on the [Equipment] screen.

    Returning to the game, Ren Suo found that a visible coat of energy surrounded the body of the Seeker. The flow of air around her was disrupted due to that, as if there was energy flowing around the Seeker.

    Boom¨C

    The next second, the Seeker broke into an extremely quick sprint, and she crashed right into Merlin!

    Her right hand, which was wrapped with [Clothes], turned into the sharpest and most terrifying de in the world, and she pierced it directly through Merlin¡¯s body!

    At the same time, the effect of [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1] was still present on the Seeker!

    ¡°Indeed, when the Seeker is equipped with an ability¡­ it is equivalent to her learning the ability!¡±

 Chapter 222 - The Mage Under The World Treeâ€ Cleared!

    Chapter 222: Chapter 222 ¨C ¡°The Mage Under The World Tree¡± Cleared!

    In the seventh checkpoint, Zach, themander of the Watchmen of the Federation, stood on the tall tform in the middle of the ck sea. He looked at the scene unfolding in the middle of the battlefield and was visibly perplexed. Eventually, he asked the blond mage: [Sir Mage, is she also from the World Tree?]

    The other Extraordinairemanders also heard the question and moved closer to listen to Mage¡¯s answer.

    They were naturally very curious about that.

    That was because¡­ the battle this time seemed unexpectedly easy.

    The enemy¡ªwho was named ¡®The Ultimate Evil¡¯¡ªhad already been trapped in his original position. For safety reasons, the Extraordinaire forces remained on the sidelines and simply shot at the enemy with their weapons.

    What they were surprised at, was the person who was currently in the fight.

    That was because they all recognized that person.

    It was her, the one and only female character in ¡°A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡±. Known as the strongest human on the earth, she was the Goddess who climbed to the mountain peak without any sleep or rest for five days and five nights straight!

    In those videos, her shockingbat ability was not fully disyed. It even seemed like she was not much different from an ordinary person.

    However, in this mystery realm, the ¡®Goddess¡¯ suddenly turned into a true goddess. She had an invisible energy shield around her, and her attacks were able to impact and disrupt that of ¡®The Ultimate Evil¡¯. She was chasing and attacking the enemy single-handedly, with barely any chance for the enemy to retaliate.

    The enemy still managed to cast asional attacks, such as Springs of Blood Knives, which caused great damage to the Extraordinaire forces, further highlighting the power of the goddess to the Extraordinairemanders.

    The enemy was fast, had an extremely high defense ability, and the effects of his magic spells were also widespread and extremely brutal. Without Mage and the Goddess, the Extraordinaire forces could not possibly defeat the enemy.

    Apart from the angel Zach, virtually no one else could fight against Merlin face-to-face¡ªand even for Zach, he had to focus on dodging Merlin¡¯s attacks, or else he would be split into multiple corpses by Merlin¡¯s Blood Knife.

    That was why Zack was the most surprised amongst all of the Extraordinaires there. He certainly could not understand how the Goddess, who was at most an expert in surviving in the wild just over two months ago, could have turned into a master at battle in such a short period of time.

    Even Zach himself had spent more than half a year developing a set of fighting styles and techniques, to adapt to his Angel Awakening.

    However, if Zach knew the truth, he might jump in fury¡ªit actually only took three seconds for the Seeker to be the strong warrior she was in the battle at present.

    Upon entering the seventh checkpoint, Ren Suo spent three seconds to equip the Seeker with Fighter Novice, the Allure of Sweet Dreams, Ability: Clothes, Ability: Lock, Ability: Heal, Heart-Strengthening Ability, Touch of Recovery, the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1, as well as other abilities.

    Following this, the Seeker turned into the terrifying warrior she was currently.

    Her entire body was covered with the most durable [Clothes], and her hands were lined with the sharpest [Clothes], as well as a [Lock] which could restrict the movement of the enemy. When she was hurt, she could instantly perform [Heal] on herself. Furthermore, in closebat, [Fighter Novice] allowed her to continuously target Merlin¡¯s joints and impact the direction of his attacks¡ªafter all, Merlin still took the form of a human, even though he was a monster.

    Although the Seeker¡¯sbat power was certainly still not as strong as ¡®Ren Woxing¡¯ or ¡®The All-Devouring Spirit¡¯, Ren Suo already saw through the potential of her character. She was the only one of the avable characters who could neglect the restriction of the ability slot and was a special unit who was able to utilize all of the abilities Ren Suo possessed.

    In a MOBA game, she would be equivalent to a champion who was able to use any skill in the game.

    The strength of the Seeker depended entirely on Ren Suo. When the Seeker was weak, she would be a mere mortal, but when Ren Suo acquired sufficient and strong abilities, the Seeker could be a terrifying character.

    Amongst the game characters which Ren Suo possessed, the potential of the Seeker was certainlyparable to Ren Woxing and The All-Devouring Spirit, other than Irina¡ªRen Suo had never used Irina to fight in reality, so he could not ascertain her rtive strength.

    The silver-haired mage said: [There are only mages in the World Tree, so she is naturally not from the World Tree.]

    Zach asked: [Why did she appear here then?]

    The silver-haired mage replied: [It is because The Ultimate Evil is too strong. Even with your help, in addition to us, mages, we may not be able to defeat him for certain. The Seeker was still in the present world recently, so the mages at the top of the World Tree discussed with the Heavenly Pce and decided to have her help us out this time.]

    When the words ¡®Seeker¡¯, ¡®mages at the top of the World Tree¡¯, and ¡®Heavenly Pce¡¯ were mentioned, all of themanders were visibly shaken.

    Caroline hadmunicated with Mage on numerous asions and knew that he would not beat around the bush, so she asked: [Does the ¡®Seeker¡¯ refer to that strong, blonde girl? Why is she called the ¡®Seeker¡¯?]

    The blond mage replied: [Yes, she is. That is not a name decided by us, but by the Heavenly Pce. It refers to those who perfectly understood the will of the heavens and became one with the heavens based on their own efforts¡ªnot that I know what that means exactly. Regardless, such talents are one in a million, and they will be directly epted by the Heavenly Pce as one of its members. They all have amon name: Seeker.]

    Themander of the Changjiang team had a mysterious look on his face. He asked: [I have this feeling that the abilities that the Seeker are using seem to be¡­]

    The blond mage said initiatively: [The Seeker came from Xuan Nation. I do not know the specifics of the Seeker¡¯s abilities either, but it is said that the Seeker¡¯s learning ability is extremely strong. She is capable of learning anything, and she is able to master all that she learns.]

    The message was very clear: while the Seeker was extremely powerful now, her abilities were all learned from Xuan Nation.

    The other Extraordinairemanders cast nces at themander of the Changjiang team¡ªwho knew that Xuan Nation was so great!

    Although themander of the Changjiang team was slightly embarrassed, he merely pretended to calmly ept the praise: ¡®Indeed, that¡¯s how great we are.¡¯

    However, he was also determined to investigate when he returned: Who exactly imparted the abilities to the Seeker! The identity of anyone who logged onto the Knowledge Web clearly had to be authenticated! There had to be a traitor inside!

    In the meantime, the traitor Ren Suo was deliberating if he should purchase a few more abilities as a backup. However, he was no longer interested in tier 1 abilities, but tier 2 abilities were probably still out of his league¡­ Even if he could buy them in the Knowledge Web, he might not even be able to have a basic grasp of them.

    If he could not have a basic grasp of the abilities, they would not be an ability in the [Equipment] interface.

    Fortunately, the umted abilities he had acquired thus far were sufficient for the Seeker to suppress Merlin!

    When Merlin¡¯s remaining health dropped to 50%, the book made of human skin was sacrificed, and Librom was summoned!

    That was a challenge that was almost impossible to ovee. No matter how strong the Seeker was, she could only deal with one enemy at a time. It was not possible for her to deal with two enemies at the same time.

    If it were over ten days ago, Ren Suo might well have needed to sacrifice the mages, in order to attain victory while minimizing the number of sacrifices that had to be made. Only then would Ren Suo be able to kill one of the two enemies at once, by using the dozen Forbidden Spells the mages possessed. Afterwhich, the Seeker and the other people would be able to deal with the remaining enemy.

    However, that was no longer required!

    On the screen, the figure of the Seeker flickered, and another ¡®Seeker¡¯ appeared!

    It was the effect of [Combat Fighter (Partial)]!

    Since there were two bosses¡ªMerlin and Librom¡ªnaturally, there had to be two Seekers to fight against them!

    There was essentially no suspense in the remaining battle. Suddenly, Zach asked: [Why did the World Tree have to require assistance from the Heavenly Pce? Don¡¯t you still have the mages at the top of the World Tree?]

    The blond mage replied: [No, it¡¯s not time yet.]

    [Just like how the strong beings of the Heavenly Pce would not descend, the mages at the top of the World Tree would naturally not appear either.]

    [That is because they would easily destroy the world.]

    Ten minutester, Merlin and Librom, who werepletely suppressed by the two Seekers, finally copsed.

    Librom said: [I have been waiting for this moment¡­ for a very long time.]

    Ren Suo saw the seven female mages gathering around Librom. He was an entity that wasposed of thoughts glued together. As he was turning into light, before he vanished, he bid an emotional farewell to the female mages: [Ah¡­ I am already dead¡­ You may all be sad for me for a short while, but do not remain sad for too long¡­]

    [Amongst all my thoughts, the memories I have with all of you are the most important¡­]

    Not wanting to continue listening to the endearments from the harem king, Ren Suo controlled the blond mage to approach Merlin. Merlin had now reverted back to his original human appearance as he knelt on the ground. On the ground beneath him was a circle of purification, and ck smoke was billowing out of it.

    At that juncture, however, the defeated Merlin said: [Your hand is a hand of salvation which has never been stained with even a drop of blood.]

    [However, please sacrifice me.]

    The blond mage asked: [Why?]

    Merlin replied: [The Holy Grail is inside me, or rather¡­ I am the Holy Grail.]

    [The Holy Grail lives within a mage. If the mage is unable to bear this power, the mage will turn into an evil monster. In contrast, if the mage is able to bear this power, the mage would be able to stop the wishes of the world. The Holy Grail embodies the thoughts of all living beings.]

    [Sacrifice me, and the Holy Grail will be the power of your right hand. You will be the source of all mages, and you will also be the carrier of both hope and despair. However¡­ through your numerous trades with the Holy Grail, I can feel that you have the ¡®strength¡¯ to bear the power of the Holy Grail. You are sufficiently qualified.]

    Trades with the Holy Grail¡­ Was that not just spending merit points? Was this a post-victory scene which only appeared because he had spent too many merit points in the game?

    [On the other hand, if you grant me salvation, the Holy Grail would turn into thoughts and fuse with your left hand, while I¡­ will remain alive. It is very natural for a mage who had be depraved in the past to fall again. I will only turn into a monster that cannot be killed and a monster who attempts to chase after the Holy Grail. I do not think that you would want to face my attacks all day long, no?]

    The blond mage replied: [I do.]

    The blond mage¡¯s reply waspletely out of Merlin¡¯s expectations.

    Nheless, that was what Ren Suo truly thought: If additional content was added to ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± due to that, he would be ted. His [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] was still ¡®thirsty¡¯! Where would he find a simrly good opportunity where the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] would be activated from him killing Merlin time and again?

    The blonde mage extended his left hand of salvation to Merlin. A white glow of light exploded from Merlin¡¯s body, revealing his thoughts¡ªor rather, it portrayed the kind thoughts of the corrupted Holy Grail:

    [Humans will never give up their wishes for the future.]

    [With every gain, there is a loss.]

    [The distress thates when hope shatters might well be its price.]

    [It¡¯s because humans have too many desires.]

    [No matter how hard times are, humans always hold on to their hopes and dreams for the future.]

    [Only those who have suffered disappointment and yet continue to hope are able to change their destiny. The only thing that cannot be given up is to wish.]

    [Believe in yourself, and one day, your wish would be fulfilled!]

    The white glow on Merlin¡¯s body converged, lifting his body into the air, then letting it fall to the ground gently.

    On the screen, the female mages and the Extraordinaire forces were stunned as they stared nkly at Merlin.

    Behind the screen, Ren Suo also stared at Merlin on the screen with his mouth wide open¡ªit was so wide a duck egg could be stuffed into it.

    The silver-haired Merlin, who wore a gray robe, walked slowly over to the blond mage. With an elegant and suave voice, Merlin said: [Your strengthmanded my admiration, and your proppletely eliminated the lingering thoughts within me¡­ I, Merlin, am willing to be your strength.]

    Indeed, Merlin, who was granted salvation by Mage, had turned into a beautiful and curvy silver-haireddy!

    A message appeared in the game: [The thoughts acquired by the yer during the process of salvation received the acknowledgment of the Holy Grail. In ordance with the actions of the yer in the game, the Holy Grail has realized some of the yer¡¯s wishes.]

    The actions of the yer?!

    What did I say?!

    Ren Suo¡¯s eyes widened as he read the message which popped up in the game:

    [Wish ¢Ù: The eight characters, including Merlin, will be special followers of ¡®Mage¡¯. When ¡®Mage¡¯ is in action, he can bring along one or more of his followers.]

    [Wish ¢Ú: The special followers must be women.]

    Ren Suo thought to himself, ¡°Could it be¡­ After I blindly made up a story about the system of mages in the World Tree, and about the fact that mages would eventually turn into females, the Holy Grail realized these wishes?¡±

    He blinked and muttered, ¡°Can I change the wishes¡­ to something like ¡®Ren Suo will be loved by all, even cars and coffins¡¯¡­¡±

    However, there were only a few days left to the deadline to upload the game score. There was insufficient time for Ren Suo toplete the game once more, even if he wanted to.

    On the screen, the dark clouds in the sky dissipated in silence, and bright rays of sunlight fell on what remained of the tall tform.

    In the seventh checkpoint, the ck sea dissipated like smoke into the air to reveal the golden fields on thend beneath.

    All of the female mages and Extraordinaire forces had survived. They surrounded Mage and Merlin as they bathed in the golden brilliance of the sun. Remaining still, the entire scene froze into a painting.

    [All Forbidden Fruits have been purified!]

    [Mission Complete!]

 Chapter 223 - Legendary!

    Chapter 223: Chapter 223 ¨C Legendary!

    [Mission Complete.]

    [Completed Basic Mission Objective ¨C 60 points awarded;]

    [Hand of Purity: Sacred Hand Level 100, Magic Wrist Level 0 ¨C 5 points awarded;]

    [No Kills: granted salvation to all monsters ¨C 5 points awarded;]

    [No Deaths: all magepanions remained alive at the time of missionpletion ¨C 10 points awarded;]

    [Hand of Kindness: most of the outsiders in the checkpoints remained alive ¨C 4 points awarded;]

    [Exchanges with the Holy Grail: more than 30 merit points spent ¨C 3 points awarded;]

    [Legendary Mage of Healing: your healing ability is highly respected and has saved countless mortals ¨C 5 points awarded.]

    [Total score is 92 points. Appraisal: Legendary.]

    [Current mission score: 92 points (Legendary). Highscore: 92 points (Legendary).]

    [The yer has received an appraisal of ¡°Legendary¡±, fulfilling the hidden requirements. The yer will receive information for the hidden side mission of the game.]

    [Side mission: Legendary Mage of Destruction. Increase Mage¡¯s damage power and deal more damage to the monsters to activate this achievement.]

    [Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merit points based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive a specialized reward.]

    [The current score can only be stored for three days, after which it will not be possible to upload the score.]

    [You may upload your score only once.]

    Legendary!

    Goosebumps appeared all over his skin as Ren Suo looked at the appraisal.

    Finally, he had achieved a score above 90 points!

    Ren Suo had actually already expected that¡ªto be frank, the Sacred Hand route which Ren Suo chose to take in ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± was the most challenging.

    Initially, Ren Suo chose that route only because he did not want to let his friend in the mystery realm in Xuan Nation die. However, heter discovered that by choosing the Sacred Hand route, he was able to fully make use of the advantage granted by hispanions and the outsiders. In addition, he sessfully made a name for Mage all around the Earth, so he also decided to continue the route he had chosen throughout the game.

    It was only at the final boss battle when the Sacred Hand route proved to be a real challenge. Had Ren Suo not possessed ¡®Seeker¡¯, his entire game progress might well be wasted.

    [No Kills], [No Deaths], [Hand of Kindness], and [Legendary Mage of Healing] were obviously achievements that could only be achieved with the Sacred Hand route. Had there been casualties in thest checkpoint, Ren Suo would not have received those achievements.

    Moreover, Ren Suo could tell that even if he had only relied solely on his progress in the game and had not created a Seeker who was capable of massive destruction, he would certainly still be able toplete the mission¡ªhowever, he would barely have passed.

    After ying three 3+ star games, Ren Suo could finally conclude the following two points:

    [It would be very challenging to clear high-leveled games without spending any merit points in-game];

    [In order to receive a high appraisal, it was insufficient to merely spend merit points in-game, and the yer¡¯s umted experience outside of the game is a deciding factor].

    For example, had Ren Suo not possessed abilities like the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan and Combat Fighter, the Seeker would certainly not have been able to create a clone of herself to overpower the boss in the final checkpoint, and she would certainly not have had such incrediblebat power.

    Ren Suo¡¯s ordinary technical handling skills, coupled with spending merit points, were sufficient to clear the first six checkpoints of the game easily.

    However, in order to receive an extremely high appraisal upon clearing the game, he had to rely on other attributes outside of the game: abilities, props, and even other game characters!

    Ren Suo took out his notebook and noted down his reflection on his recent gaming experience. He felt that the abilities and props he obtained from the game were not so much a benefit to him as the yer, but rather a benefit to ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ as the yer.

    After all, Ren Suo was merely sitting inside his house to y the games, while the game characters represented by the yer ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ were the ones who appeared around the world and fought for various reasons.

    In other words, Ren Suo was actually serving ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯: his abilities like the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡± were actually not of much benefit to him, but when those abilities were equipped on Seeker, Mage, or the All-Devouring Spirit, they had significant effects.

    Indeed, the Mini Worlds game consoleprised numerous small games.

    Simrly, the reality that Ren Suo lived in was also a game¡ªbut only that this ¡®game¡¯ was a poor work with no organized system.

    As long as Ren Suo progressed in his Practice and his status in the Countermeasure System and the Researcher System rose, he would naturally receive the second chapter of the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±, tier 2 abilities, tier 3 abilities, and even more advanced abilities¡­

    Then, he would be able to equip those abilities on the game characters.

    With such a line of reasoning, Ren Suo¡¯s motivation to Practice rose ever so slightly!

    Looking back at the screen, Ren Suo hesitated no further and chose to upload his score!

    Otherwise, was he going to attempt clearing the game with 100 points? That would be a joke! Being able to attain a score of 92 points was already an ¡®ident¡¯ as the equipping of external abilities on Seeker was bugged; if not for that, he would merely have gotten a passing score.

    The achievement [No Deaths] contributed a staggering 10 points!

    By now, Ren Suo could deduce that the appraisal for 60~69 points was ¡®Barely Passed¡¯, that for 70~79 points was ¡®Excellent¡¯, while that for 80~89 points was ¡®Extraordinary¡¯.

    Above 90 points, the appraisal was ¡®Legendary¡¯!

    As such, the achievement [No Deaths] served directly to elevate Ren Suo¡¯s appraisal score to the next level!

    [Your mission score has been uploaded. You have received 276 merit points, use them wisely.]

    [You have received 1* 3-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.]

    [Based on your game experience, you have received the specialized reward: Small Holy Grail of Purity.]

    [Based on your game experience, your game character ¡®Mage¡¯ has received 8 special followers.]

    [Your score for ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± has been uploaded sessfully. Thank you for ying. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]

    Ren Suo heaved a sigh of relief.

    The extent of influence of ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± was second only to ¡°The All-Devouring Spirit¡±. However, unlike the small animals from the Heavenly Pce who ¡®created trouble¡¯ around the world, the story between the male Mage and hisrge group of female mages would only take ce in unknown secret realms.

    Ren Suo opened the [Equipment] page and found that, in addition to [Ability Slot], [Prop Slot], and [Backup Slot], the ¡®Mage¡¯ character had another column [+].

    Clicking on the [+] symbol, a row of game characters appeared in a checklist: Ding Dn, Nimue, Red Hood, Lumpena, Merlin¡­

    In the future, Ren Suo would be able to bring along this list of beautiful female mages to fight if he was controlling Mage!

    ¡ªAlthough, those female mages were all part of the harem of a dead harem king.

    Indeed, ording to what was described by Red Hood and the other mages about Merlin, he was likely also a harem king. That was because there was not any gossip about Merlin, but plenty surrounding Librom¡ªafter all, mages were humans! How could Merlin possibly hold back his inner desires if not for the fact that he was fighting alongside the people he loved?

    ¡°Wait, hold on¡­ That means that when Merlin eventually killed Librom himself and used Librom¡¯s skin to make a book of human skin, then wrote down Librom¡¯s life on the pages in the book, it was not only because of the Holy Grail¡¯s influence. Could the deeper reason actually be¡­ that of envy and jealousy?¡±

    Such a thought sent chills down Ren Suo¡¯s spine. He recalled the scene where Merlin readily epted his female identity.

    Could it be that that was actually Merlin¡¯s wish?

    At that juncture, a new message popped up in the game, on the left side of the screen:

    [You have a new message.]

 Chapter 224 - Promoted To A Level 4 Player!

    <h4>Chapter 224: Chapter 224 ¨C Promoted To A Level 4 yer!</h4>

    Ren Suo was overjoyed, but he held his breath as he first looked at the details of the specialized reward he acquired from ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±:

    [Small Holy Grail of Purity]

    [Grade: 3-star Prop. Pre-requisites: None.]

    [Effect: When equipped, the effects of all non-damage abilities would be increased by 30%~100% (the stronger the ability, the smaller the increase). The energy used by all abilities would be decreased by 10%~50% (the weaker the ability, the greater the decrease). There is an extremely low possibility (<1%) for a kind wish that the yer has prayed for (must have been spoken aloud) to be fulfilled.]

    [Remarks: ¡®The only thing that cannot be given up is to wish¡¯. Holy Grail Mages of the past depended on the small hope in them to suppress the wild thoughts of all living beings within them. Although that tiny speck of hope was eventually unable to save the world from bing depraved, the hope that was passed on from one generation of these mages to the next turned into a small Holy Grail. Hidden within therge Holy Grail, the small Holy Grail wills to provide some assistance to these mages who are willing to bear the weight of the Holy Grail.]

    Non-damage abilities¡­? Ren Suo thought that [Ability: Clothes], [Ability: Heal], [Touch of Recovery], and [Heart-Strengthening Ability] could be barely considered as non-damage abilities.

    It was the second effect ¡®energy used by all abilities would be decreased by 10%~50%¡¯ that seemed more beneficial, especially for Ren Suo when he was treating Practitioners on a usual day.

    The most interesting effect was the ¡®extremely low possibility for a kind wish that the yer has prayed for to be fulfilled¡¯, with the given condition that the wish ¡®must have been spoken aloud¡¯ and ¡®kind¡¯. The hidden condition was that it was ¡®random¡¯¡ªit was not an active ability.

    In other words, if Ren Suo equipped the ability and said that he ¡®wished to be a beautiful female warrior¡¯, there was a chance that his wish woulde true. However, the probability of a wishing true was extremely low; if it did, it would, at most, be like an easter egg. Unless Ren Suo acquired other ability props which could increase the probability, this particr effect of the ability need not be taken into normal consideration.

    However, amongst all of the items he acquired from ying the games, [Small Holy Grail of Purity] could be considered as one of the best items he received, in terms of its practical value. It was second only to [Combat Fighter (Partial)], which could do well in many asions, formal and informal, both at home and outside, and in both group and solobat.

    ¡°Up next would be¡­¡±

    Ren Suo took a deep breath and slowly clicked into the system message.

    [Congrattions, you have been promoted to a Level 4 yer!]

    [Equipment Back-up Slot +1, Ability Slot +1, Prop Slot +1.]

    [As a reward for bing a Level 4 yer, you have 1 free chance at the ¡®Fantasy Draw¡¯!]

    The next instant, the screen turned into that of a starry sky. The camera panned, and Ren Suo could see that the starry sky was actually a neatly arranged¡­ roulette wheel!

    The stars clearly divided the roulette wheel into segments of varying sizes. The glimmering starlight weaved into words on every segment, so that Ren Suo could see clearly what reward each segment represented.

    The set up was iparable and absolutely amazing!

    [Fantasy Draw: The yer may spend merit points to turn the roulette wheel once and receive a surprise grand prize. The Fantasy Draw will only appear whenever the yer is promoted to the next level. Fantasy Draw chances remaining: 1.]

    ¡°Wow¡­¡±

    Ren Suo exhaled lightly. Although he already knew that there would be an extraordinary event when he was promoted to a level 4 yer, he was truly awed by the Fantasy Draw.

    Just look at the possible rewards on the roulette wheel!

    [Fulfill a Random Wish], [Heart-to-Heart], [Photographic Memory], [Enhanced Appetite]¡­

    The rewards were all very practical, and would be able to enhance Ren Suo¡¯s life in reality¡ªhe would be a winner in life if he drew any one of them!

    [Super-optimization of yer Privilege], [Doubling of Ability Slots], [Doubling of Prop Slots], [Doubling of Back-up Slots]¡­

    The segment size of those rewards was significantlyrger than the rest, and it seemed that the Fantasy Draw was geared towards ¡®game-based¡¯ rewards. It hoped that the yer would draw rewards that would enhance the capabilities of the game itself.

    In addition, there were also extremely tiny segments whose rewards made Ren Suo¡¯s eyes sparkle!

    [Offering System from ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±], [Superpower System from ¡°The Hitman¡±], [Fate System from ¡°Immtion¡±]¡­

    There were at least a dozen game systems that could be drawn!

    However, the sizes of the segments for most of those systems were tiny, and Ren Suo did not know what the systems entailed in detail either as he had not yed most of those games. Nevertheless, he knew what the [Offering System from ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±] could do: the special offerings could enhance the effects of magic spells!

    In Ren Suo¡¯s opinion, the so-called ¡®offerings¡¯ were no different from the Reiki items in ¡°The All-Devouring Soul¡±; they were items of special significance.

    For example, the teleportation spellsmonly used by the mages were cast from offerings like [Bird Feathers]; to summon long swords and spears, the mages relied on [Sword Fragment] and [Spear Fragment]; to cast Forbidden Spells, the mages naturally made use of their own body.

    As such, in the current era of Reiki rejuvenation, offerings should not be hard to find. However, there were no mages on Earth, which meant that the offering resources were virtually unlimited to Ren Suo. Furthermore, the types of offerings on Earth were far better than those in other worlds, so it was likely that there were many more significant and more meaningful offerings:

    Perhaps, for example, he could use his hand as an offering and summon the corresponding 2D character or the like¡­

    Apart from the Offering System, the [Superpower System from ¡°The Hitman¡±] was decent as well. If Ren Suo could learn ¡®Bullet Time¡¯, then in the face of any danger¡­ well, he would be able to dy his death.

    Ren Suo drooled as he fantasized about leading a luxurious life. He wiped the saliva off the corners of his mouth, then began the draw excitedly!

    ¡°I have only one chance, I must draw a good one!¡±

    Ren Suo closed his eyes and waited for the wheel to stop spinning. He opened his eyes for a split second and saw a ray of light, which shone through the entire universe of the star spinner,nd on a segment taking up less than 5% of the wheel¡ª

    [Fulfil a random wish]!

    ¡°Alright then, I want ten more wishes!¡± Ren Suo said loudly, in ordance with the ¡®correct method of making a wish¡¯ that had been circting on the Inte for a very long time!

    However, the system ignored him: [Drawing a random wish¡­]

    Eh? Ren Suo was slightly stunned. It was only then when he noticed the word ¡®random¡¯.

    Could wishes be random too? It would not be drawn from the new year¡¯s resolutions he made over the years, which magically vanished just four days into every new year, would it?

    Nheless, Ren Suo¡¯s new year¡¯s resolution for the past six years had been to leave his single life and be in a rtionship!

    Could a girl suddenly appear out of nowhere for him to date?

    No, if this ¡®wish fulfillment¡¯ worked in the same way as the Holy Grail, it would not even be a surprise if a guy appeared instead¡­

    Ren Suo¡¯s doubts did notst for long as the system quickly drew one of his wishes: [The wish ¡®quicker development of hardware essories for the game console¡¯ has been fulfilled.]

    ¡°Why did you choose such a wish that many people would wish for¡­ Why couldn¡¯t you have given me a girlfriend¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was indignant with discontent. He recalled that he really did make such a wish before; after all, ying games with the game controller and a mouse was somewhat troublesome in certain situations. However, the development of hardware essories for the game console waspletely out of Ren Suo¡¯s control, and he had only thought about it casually.

    Who would have known that that wish would be recognized by the system and be turned directly into reality!

    ¡°There are still some benefits to me, I suppose¡­ Forget it¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered tofort himself. He looked up at the screen and found that the roulette spinner had not disappeared.

    [Fantasy Draw: Chances remaining: 0. The yer may recharge a chance to draw by spending merit points. Merit points required to recharge: 200.]

    ¡°One recharge requires 200 merit points?¡± Ren Suo remarked as he blinked. He recalled the time when he first umted over 200 merit points, and Naisser Games sent him a message to advise him to save up and not buy more games.

    The merit points were meant to be used here!

    ¡°Recharge! Draw!¡±

    That was a limited time draw. If he missed the current opportunity, he did not know during which yer level up would the draw appear again.

    Merit points could be saved up slowly, but the limited time Fantasy Draw was a rare opportunity not to be missed!

    The result of the second draw was: [Super-optimization of yer Privilege], whose segment took up 35% of the wheel!

    The system prompted: [The yer has only one privilege currently. The yer privilege will be automatically super-optimized.]

    Then, Ren Suo watched as his yer privilege, [A Little Goes A Long Way] morphed into a new privilege which appeared in shimmering, golden words:

    [Seizing All Opportunities: When making any purchase within the Mini Worlds game console, there is a 50% chance of spending 1 less merit point.

    There is a 30% chance of spending 10 less merit points (the transaction cannot be of negative value).

    There is a 19% chance of not needing to spend any merit points at all.

    There is a 1% chance of triggering special effect ¡®Profiteer¡¯: the next purchase would not require any merit points to be spent at all (even if the value of the next purchase is higher than the number of merit points possessed by the yer).

    One (and only one) of the special effects would be triggered by this privilege. This privilege cannot be further upgraded.]

    The 200 merit points spent¡­ could still be considered worth it.

    At the least, Ren Suo need not be afraid to spend his merit points in any game that had in-game purchases.

    If the special effect ¡®Profiteer¡¯ was triggered, Ren Suo could even buy a game for free, regardless of its purchase value. Although there was only a 1% of triggering that special effect, he would already make a huge gain if it was triggered once.

    [A Little Goes A Long Way] had already saved Ren Suo close to a hundred merit points. Now, with [Seizing All Opportunities], it certainly lived up to its name¡ªwhichever one of its effects were triggered, the effect was ¡®brutal¡¯.

    ¡°Draw again!¡± Ren Suo eximed as he proceeded to recharge again. However, he discovered that the number of merit points required to draw again had now increased to 400!

    It doubled!

    ¡°Indeed, there are such restrictions¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered. He had already nned to exit the game and y games for a few more months to save up his merit points so that he had sufficient ¡®funds¡¯ for the Fantasy Draw when he leveled up.

    One draw only required 200 merit points, which was still within Ren Suo¡¯s limits: it only took about half a month for him to earn back the merit points, by clearing a 3-star game.

    However, if the number of merit points required to recharge doubled each time, there was nothing that Ren Suo could do either¡ªno matter how good he was at ying games, he would not be able to keep up with the exponential growth of the number of merit points required.

    Even if it was not doubled but only increased by 200 merit points each time, the benefit-cost ratio was too low for Ren Suo to make use of it. Moreover, it was just a lucky draw¡ªif he saved up for months and ended up drawing something that was not useful, it would be better if he quickly promoted to a level 4 yer and be able to y 4-star games.

    Ren Suo looked at the number of merit points he had remaining¡ª460 merit points. Fortunately, he had managed to clear ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± and earned 276 merit points; otherwise, he would certainly not have sufficient merit points to recharge.

    ¡°Draw again!¡±

    Watching as the number of merit points he had dropped from three digits to two digits, Ren Suo definitely did not regret it¡ªwhen else would he make a gamble, if not now!

    At the same time, Ren Suo had already closed his eyes and was trembling as he waited for the verdict of fate. It looked as if he had pawned all of his family¡¯s fortune to bet on a ser match and was watching the match on the stand in agony.

    He slowly opened his eyes after a short moment and squinted at the screen.

    It did not necessarily have to be rted to game privileges, it would also be good to draw something rted to real life!

    Suddenly, Ren Suo¡¯s eyes widened. He watched as the light shining through the universe of the star wheelnded on a segment that took up an area less than 1% of the roulette wheel!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    3 a.m., Main Library, Cambridge University, Ennd.

    It was aprehensive research library with three floors and a total of 8 million books. At that time, it was brightly lit but empty. Apart from one or two small libraries that were open 24 hours a day, mostrge libraries closed before the day ended, and students were not allowed to remain inside.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, George!¡±

    Old George, who had been drinking, stood up slowly. He walked into the brightly lit library with hispanion and said, ¡°It¡¯s great not needing to carry a shlight, I have a free hand to hold my beer bottle now. All thanks to the dead souls, all hail to the dead souls.¡±

    Hispanion said, ¡°You¡¯re drunk, don¡¯t bber nonsense outside. Ever since the ¡®dead soul killing incident¡¯ in the library three months ago, many people have been talking about it to this day, and everyone¡¯s still afraid.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Old George replied as he patrolled the third floor of the library, dragging his beer belly along with him. All of the lights were on, and the path was brightly lit.

    Although it was a waste of electricity, ever since the ¡®dead soul killing incident¡¯ which took ce in a library three months ago, almost all of the libraries had to be lit at night; otherwise, the security guards were unwilling to patrol thepound.

    If a paranormal incident really were to ur, the lights certainly would not have any effect, but at the least, it provided a sense offort to the personnel on duty. It was still better than ying hide-and-seek while using a shlight to see in the dark.

    Old George, who was in his uniform, burped as he leisurely patrolled the rows of bookshelves. He loved to drink, and yet the library was a ce where thieves and burrs would not appear (original copies of important documents were stored elsewhere, and those which could be borrowed were duplicated copies). As such, what would be a better job than one which allowed him to drink some alcohol as he took a slow stroll?

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Old George saw a book lying on the ground. He walked unsteadily towards the book and picked it up. He fiddled with it and found that it was a book with a brown cover.

    The texture of the book cover felt strange. It did not feel like leather, and neither did it feel like paper¡­ Old George opened the book and looked at it. It was not written in English nor in German¡ªeither way, he could not recognize the words.

    The spine of the book did not indicate that it was a book from the library, so it could have been a book that a student had dropped.

    Although it was slightly troublesome, Old George still took the beige-colored book with him to ce it at the front desk¡ªthe student who dropped the book would return to the library to retrieve the book when he needed it.

    However, at that juncture, Old George turned his head to see a peculiar scene outside the window: there was a lush, dense forest, a flowing stream with glistening waters, blooming flowers¡­

    ng.

    A slight noise sounded due to the wind blowing onto the window.

    ¡°I probably drank too much¡­¡± the stunned Old George remarked to himself. Then, he opened the alcohol bottle and took another sip from it. He muttered, ¡°I must drink more to regain my senses¡­¡±

    Suddenly, he looked down at the book in his hand and questioned himself, ¡°What is this?¡±

    Old George shook his head. In his daze, he squeezed the book into a gap in the inner bookshelf¡ªunless all the other books were removed, it would not be possible to touch or see the book he had squeezed in. Then, he resumed his patrol.

    When Old George walked away, a strange sound came from deep within the bookshelf. It revealed a fact in anguage that was not from Earth:

    [It was ¡®him¡¯ again.]

 Chapter 225 - Coupling System

    Chapter 225: Chapter 225 ¨C Coupling System

    ¡°Please lie down and look at me¡­¡±

    ¡°Would it be better with the lights off? The curtains should be drawn too, or it would not be pleasant if others saw this¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make you feel extremelyfortable¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi ced her ear against the door to one of the rooms on the third floor of the Countermeasure Division building and listened in excitement to what was going on inside.

    Whoosh.

    Suddenly, the door opened. Qiao Muyi almost lost her bnce, but as a tier 2 Practitioner, her reaction speed was much faster than that of an ordinary person, so she quickly regained her bnce. She stood up straight and saw Ren Suo emerging from the pitch-ck room.

    Ren Suo looked at her strangely and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Qiao Muyi did not answer but instead looked down at her mobile phone. She replied, ¡°You only took three minutes. Is it that fast between two guys?¡±

    ¡°Fast?¡± Ren Suo said as he blinked. He casually closed the door and questioned, ¡°How long do you think I should take then?¡±

    Qiao Muyi suddenly felt that the future was grim for Gu Yueyan and Dong Chengling. She wanted to confirm her spection, so she probed once more, ¡°What were you doing alone in the room with Li Dan?¡±

    ¡°Sleeping,¡± Ren Suo replied matter-of-factly.

    Qiao Muyi swallowed her saliva and stepped aside. She typed on her mobile phone as she said, ¡°Let me send a message first¡­¡±

    Ren Suo scratched his head. He nced at Qiao Muyi and asked, ¡°Is there something that you need my help with?¡±

    ¡°What help would I need from you, a tier 1 Practitioner?¡± replied Qiao Muyi, rolling her eyes.

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°In that case, is Yu Kuangtu in now?¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at the room behind Ren Suo¡ªthe door was closed. She looked back at the energized Ren Suo and replied with a look of bewilderment, ¡°Deputy Director Yu is not in today. Why, are you very close to Deputy Director Yu too?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not that close to him,¡± Ren Suo said. He thought for a while, then added, ¡°About as close as I am to Li Dan, I suppose.¡±

    Qiao Muyi remarked, ¡°That means you guys are very close, so close that you can be open and trust each otherpletely¡­¡±

    As Qiao Muyi watched Ren Suo leave, she finishedposing the message on her mobile phone and sent it. She remarked to herself:

    ¡°Who would have known¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Standing on the subway, Ren Suo could maintain his bnce perfectly without holding onto the handles or leaning on any other object. He reliedpletely on his center of gravity to stand as still as a mountain, even as the train moved. He could even y games on his mobile phone without falling over.

    Even though he was not paying any particr attention, he could still hear the whispers of those around him clearly:

    ¡°Haha, Lu Xiaoshu¡¯s tactics are one of a kind.¡± ¡ªthe student to Ren Suo¡¯s left, who was reading a novel on his mobile phone, said.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be going home for dinner, yes, I¡¯ll be out throughout the night.¡± ¡ªa young man, who was seated on one of the seats and recording a WeChat voice message, said.

    ¡°Are we going to your house or mine tonight?¡±

    ¡°My house will be empty tonight.¡±

    ¡°You must wear that set of pajamas tonight. We have not bathed together for such a long time!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no bathtub in my house, unlike yours. How are we going to bathe together?¡±

    ¡°We can shower together then, hee hee (# ^. ^ #).¡± ¡ªthe conversation between two cute girls, who were whispering in each other¡¯s ears.

    Do not question why Ren Suo heard so much of their conversation¡ªit was only because the two girls were closer to where he was standing in the train cabin.

    It was just that after he heard the first sentence, he inched his way even closer to them.

    ¡®Finally, I acquired one [Coupling] ability¡­¡¯ Ren Suo thought. At that juncture, a message emerged in his thoughts:

    [Li Dan, Level 1 Coupling. Coupling Ability ¡®Insights of the World¡¯: both sensory skills and body control are enhanced.]

    That was part of the game system that Ren Suo acquired¡ªthe Coupling System from ¡°Sex and the City Persona!¡±

    The game system functioned differentlypared to the Mini Worlds game console. For the game console, only the changing between abilities and props in the Back-up Slots could be done whenever Ren Suo consciously thought to do so; the other functions of the Mini Worlds game console could only be activated through the game console itself.

    On the other hand, the game system he acquired was directly ¡®loaded into¡¯ Ren Suo, as if bound to his consciousness. As long as he consciously thought about it, he could easily understand more about the game system and directly perform any operation as well!

    The Coupling System was a sub-system from ¡°Sex and the City Persona!¡±. In the game, the effect of the system was such that the higher the coupling level between the main character and his couplings, the more benefits they both reaped.

    The Coupling System which Ren Suo acquired was simr, with the only difference being the target¡ªthe couplings in the game were all set up for a purpose, but in reality, Ren Suo had to find his own targets whom he wanted to couple with.

    Firstly, in order to form a coupling, not only must both parties be very close to each other, but Ren Suo also had to help the target toplete a certain task before the Coupling System would be activated. During which, Ren Suo had to put in his effort; otherwise, the Coupling System would not be activated, even if the coupling was between a parent and his child.

    In addition, there was also a restriction on who could be coupling targets. Such a limit was quite easy to deduce: only Awakeners could be couplings.

    Ren Suo had already looked for Zhao Huo once and helped him as a subtitle timer¡ªhe had not known previously that Zhao Huo was actually part of an anime subtitling team, in which he was also the leader.

    Impressively, Ren Suo had heard about the subtitling team before, and it was well-known within Xuan Nation. When Ren Suo was still ¡®young and innocent¡¯, he also watched numerous animes subtitled by that team.

    When Ren Suo went to look for Zhao Huo, it so happened that the timer of the team (who is in charge of synchronizing each line of the subtitles with the video) was on leave. Zhao Huo immediately asked Ren Suo to help with subtitling the moment Ren Suo asked if there was anything he needed help for.

    Timing the subtitles did not require any technical expertise, and any ordinary person could master doing it in three hours.

    As such, after six hours, Ren Suo had watched several episodes seven to eight times and finally finished the job. By then, he was already exasperated and tired of watching the episodes over and over again, but the Coupling System still did not activate.

    Then, Ren Suo went to find Li Dan to help him to sleep, and indeed, the Coupling System was activated.

    What was the biggest difference between Li Dan and Zhao Huo? It was that Zhao Huo had a fiancee.

    The second difference was that Li Dan was an Awakener, while Zhao Huo was just an ordinary Practitioner. Both of them were tier 2 Practitioners.

    In addition, the Coupling Ability ¡®Insights of the World¡¯ was clearly rted to Li Dan¡¯s Awakened Ability. Ren Suo still remembered that Li Dan¡¯s key was also called ¡®Insightful Key¡¯.

    ¡®Would the Coupling Level increase just by helping Li Dan sleep a few more times? It can¡¯t be that simple¡­¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    The Coupling Level was rted to the closeness between Ren Suo and Li Dan. Nheless, Ren Suo knew that simply being Li Dan¡¯s ¡®professional hypnotizer¡¯ was insufficient for Li Dan to trust himpletely.

    Furthermore, ording to the Coupling System, the effect of the Coupling Ability was not only dependent on the Coupling Level but also affected by the target¡¯s capabilities¡ªthe stronger the target, the stronger the Coupling Ability given.

    ¡°What an intriguing game system¡­ I wonder if it can be turned into an ability and be equipped by the game characters.¡±

    As Ren Suo was on his way back to the school, nearing the school gates, he suddenly received a call. After ncing at the caller ID, Ren Suo answered the call and said immediately:

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Gu Yueyan was preparing to head out of school with her friends to eat when she suddenly received Qiao Muyi¡¯s message. Her first reaction was of disbelief¡ªhow could Ren Suo be gay when he boldly propositioned Dong Chengling even as he was about to die?

    ¡®Sister Qiao is not always reliable either¡­¡¯ Gu Yueyan thought to herself. She then dismissed the matter and kept up with her ssmates to leave the school. Although Gu Yueyan and her friends were still slightly afraid after experiencing the previous incident, they certainly would not fall into the same trap again¡ªonce bitten, twice shy.

    After all, the Countermeasure System had also gone down to work, and the new breed of monsters in the city were said to have already been eradicated. They could not remain on guard and fearful forever anyway. Since the rest of her ssmates were no longer afraid, Gu Yueyan could not be afraid either¡ªshe even had the ne storing Reiki spatial coordinates given to her by Dong Chengling.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Lin Xianyu remarked in surprise when they were nearing the school gate. She asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Brother Ren?¡±

    Gu Yueyan looked in the direction Lin Xianyu was looking at and saw Ren Suo striding towards the school entrance from the subway station. He was waving at a young boy a distance away, who was wearing a pair of ck jeans, a white shirt, a hat, carrying a backpack, and appearing slightly short.

    ¡®Is that someone he knows?¡¯ Gu Yueyan guessed in her heart. Then, the next second, she saw Ren Suo run towards the boy and hugged him.

    It was not just that¡ªthe boy actually rubbed his face against Ren Suo¡¯s!

    After they finished hugging each other, Ren Suo immediately took out his wallet and gave the boy some money. Following this, the boy followed behind Ren Suo!

    ¡°Hey hey hey¨C? That¡¯s already a crime!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed.

 Chapter 226 - Anything For Money, Even If It Is Ren Suo!

    Chapter 226: Chapter 226- Anything For Money, Even If It Is Ren Suo!

    ¡°Xiao Yan, you¡¯re here earlier than usual. What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    When Dong Chengling saw Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu at her doorstep in the afternoon, she was slightly surprised. Based on her personality, she knew that Gu Yueyan would rarely look for her, unless there were important matters. It was not because the rtionship between them was poor, but because Gu Yueyan was not willing to disturb Dong Chengling in her Practice.

    Gu Yueyan walked into the house with a grim look and sat down. In contrast, Lin Xianyu only covered her mouth as she grinned and stood at the side. Dong Chengling walked over to the refrigerator and took out two bottles of iced coconut milk for them. She asked, ¡°Did you encounter an obstacle in your Practice?¡±

    Gu Yueyan shook her head.

    ¡°Did you fall out with your dorm mates?¡± Dong Chengling guessed. It was very typical of girls to get into arguments when they lived under the same roof, in the same dormitory room. Dong Chengling could still remember that when she was studying in university, she lived together with three other dorm mates in one room, but there were a total of four separate chat groups.

    Gu Yueyan shook her head again.

    ¡°Did you¡­ fall in love?¡± Dong Chengling guessed again. A smile emerged on her face as she added, ¡°I don¡¯t think the Heavenly Institution of Lian prohibits early rtionships. Which boy won your favor?¡±

    Gu Yueyan did not want to keep her in suspense any further. She said, ¡°I discovered that guy, Ren Suo,mitting a crime!¡±

    ¡°That guy Ren Suo¡­ You two are on such good terms with each other,¡± Dong Chengling remarked with augh.

    ¡°No, we are not!¡± Gu Yueyan retorted. She continued, ¡°Teacher, the point is that hemitted a crime! He must be cklisted and must not be allowed to step into this house ever again!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± replied Dong Chengling,ughing as she held a cup of water in her hand. She asked, ¡°What crime did hemit? Did he fail to resuscitate someone? Was there a medical incident? Or did he not pay when eating at the dining hall?¡±

    Gu Yueyan looked at Dong Chengling and said very seriously, ¡°He called for home service, that is¡­ the kind of home service for people to unleash their deepest, darkest desires. The person that he engaged has already arrived in school, and both Xiao Yu and I saw them. Ren Suo could not hold himself back and hugged the other person the moment they saw each other at the school gate. The other person even rubbed their faces together intimately in an experienced way. After that, Ren Suo brought the person to his home.¡±

    The cup in Dong Chengling¡¯s hand tilted slightly. She blinked and looked at Gu Yueyan.

    Gu Yueyan continued, ¡°Furthermore, the person who came to Ren Suo¡¯s service¡­ it was a man.¡±

    Bang!

    Dong Chengling looked at the broken cup in her hand. She quickly cleared the shattered pieces of the cup and exined, ¡°The quality of this cup is so poor, it exploded when just a bit of hot water was in it¡­¡±

    Lin Xianyu nced at the broken cup and thought to herself: a poor quality cup would explode outwards, but in this case, the cup clearly shattered inwards due to the pressure from where your fingers were when you were holding the cup!

    However, Gu Yueyan could not be bothered about such details. She asked, ¡°So, Teacher, what are you intending to do? Are you going to call the police?¡±

    Dong Chengling remained silent for a moment, then replied, ¡°At the least, we must have some evidence before we call the police, or we may end up wrongly using a good person.¡±

    ¡°Are we heading over then?¡± Gu Yueyan asked.

    ¡°Yes, we will,¡± Dong Chengling said as she nodded. She exined her reason for doing so: ¡°We must stop a friend from falling into the bottomless pit of crimes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it is because we want to stop him frommitting a crime! It will mean trouble if news of a pervert in our school goes around!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed. Having found a reason for herself to do that, she also nodded her head vigorously.

    Putting their n immediately into action, Dong Chengling and Gu Yueyan headed over to the dormitory building where Ren Suo was at. Lin Xianyu also followed them to get in on the ¡®action¡¯.

    First, they rang the doorbell.

    There was no response.

    Lin Xianyu said, ¡°We can¡¯t do anything if he doesn¡¯t open the door.¡±

    Gu Yueyan took out her mobile phone and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call him then.¡±

    Beep¨C ¡°Sorry, the number you have dialed is not avable at this time, please try againter.¡±

    Lin Xianyu blushed and said with a grin, ¡°Is it because he is too busy doing something else to answer the call?¡±

    The expression on Gu Yueyan and Dong Chengling¡¯s faces instantly changed. Dong Chengling thought for three seconds and said, ¡°I¡¯ll open the door then.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Teacher, you have the key to his house?¡± Gu Yueyan asked. She was slightly stunned.

    ¡°No. However, even without the key¡­ I can still open the door,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    She stretched out her slender index finger, inserted it into the keyhole of the anti-theft door, and twisted it.

    ¡°It¡¯s open,¡± Dong Chengling said calmly. She continued, ¡°I¡¯ll need to pay for a recement lockter.¡±

    Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu swallowed their saliva. Lin Xianyu pat Gu Yueyan on her shoulder and threw her a nce, implying that ¡°you still have a long way to go¡±. However, Gu Yueyan did not catch what Lin Xianyu was trying to say. She nodded and said, ¡°Look at that, how skillful Teacher Dong is.¡±

    ¡°The more skillful she is, the more danger you are in¡­¡± Lin Xianyu muttered in reply.

    The inner door was unlocked. The three of them took a deep breath and quickly pushed the door open!

    Loud sounds came from the living room. In full view of Dong Chengling and the other two girls, they saw Ren Suo and ¡®the man¡¯ lying on the couch in front of the television. They were each holding onto a game controller and ying a hack-and-sh game.

    ¡°Eh? What brings you all here?¡± Ren Suo asked as he turned to look at them. He added, ¡°I only have two game controllers though.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°This is¡­ your sister?¡± remarked Dong Chengling, slightly surprised.

    Dong Chengling and the two of them sat on the other side of the couch as they looked curiously at the ¡®handsome¡¯ teenager beside Ren Suo.

    ¡°Hee hee,¡± the teenager said. The teenager removed her hat and untied her hair tie, then retied her hair into a ponytail. In an instant, the teenager ¡®turned¡¯ into a cute girl.

    She hugged Ren Suo¡¯s shoulder as she continued ying the game. Sheughed and said, ¡°The weather was so hot recently that I cut my hair short. I did not expect people to think that I am a guy.¡±

    ¡°Hello everyone, I am Ren Xingmei, Ren Suo¡¯s younger sister. Please call me Xing Xing or Xing Mei will do too. Just don¡¯t call me by my full name; otherwise, it will sound like I am getting scolded,¡± Ren Xingmei said with a smile.

    ¡°Ren Xingmei¡­ Tch, it sounds like ¡®willful girl¡¯,¡± Lin Xianyu remarked. She smiled and said, ¡°Your name canpare to mine! Mine sounds like ¡®salty fish¡¯, and yours sounds like ¡®willful girl¡¯!¡±

    ¡°I did not expect my brother to actually be friends with female high school students. You must know that he has never brought any high school girl home when he was in high school,¡± Ren Xingmei said. She added, ¡°I was still thinking that the girls here would certainly not like my bro!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Lin Xianyu eximed.

    Ren Suo eximed, ¡°Ah, ah,e and save me, I am going to die!¡±

    Ren Xingmei replied, ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming! You¡¯re such a noob at this!¡±

    Dong Chengling asked curiously, ¡°Ren¡­ Xiao Xingxing, why are you dressed in guy¡¯s clothes though?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ren Xingmei said as her eyes remained glued to the television screen. She replied, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s because I¡¯m used to it.¡±

    ¡°Well, our family was poor when I was younger. Ren Suo was about the same size as me, so I just wore his clothes. Growing up, I still feel that men¡¯s clothes are morefortable, and it makes me look more handsome too. I can even pretend to be my ssmates¡¯ boyfriends when I go out with them!¡± Ren Xingmei exined with augh.

    Dong Chengling and the other two finally understood. At that juncture, Ren Suoughed and pped Ren Xingmei¡¯s chest. He said, ¡°It¡¯s all because she¡¯s t-chested.¡±

    Dong Chengling was speechless: ¡°¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan was speechless: ¡°¡­¡±

    Lin Xianyu was speechless: ¡°¡­¡±

    They saw a clear sh of evil in Ren Xingmei¡¯s eyes.

    [There is a path to heaven, and yet you chose to bring yourself to your doom where there is not even a door!]

    The game character on the television screen suddenly cast his ultimate move: his body exploded into a golden glow, growingrger than the mini-universe in the game, ripping his underpants and killing the boss mercilessly!

    ¡°Wow, Sis, you don¡¯t need to do all of that just to defeat this mini-boss, do you?¡± Ren Suo remarked. He said, ¡°We still have to battle the Quilt King and the family of heroester.¡±

    Gu Yueyan suddenly recalled something. She asked, ¡°Why did you give your sister money at the gate just now?¡±

    ¡°Give her money? Oh, she¡¯s here to y games with me and take a look around the Heavenly Institution of Lian at the same time. She said that she spent a lot of money toe all the way here, so I gave her money in return then,¡± Ren Suo replied happily. Suddenly, he became more excited and eximed, ¡°Ah¡ª I¡¯m dying, I¡¯m dying! ¡±

    ¡°Let me make a trip to the washroom first,¡± Ren Xingmei said as she paused the game and ced her game controller down. She smiled at Dong Chengling and the rest of them, then walked into the washroom.

    Gu Yueyan and Dong Chengling exchanged nces. They were relieved; fortunately, it was just his sister.

    ¡®Wait, even if they are siblings¡­¡¯ Gu Yueyan thought as she suddenly recalled the scene when Ren Suo and Ren Xingmei hugged each other at the school gate. She also recalled the cold interactions between her and her own brother and thought, ¡®They are still overly intimate with each otherpared to ordinary siblings, aren¡¯t they?!¡¯

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Tch, I didn¡¯t expect that there would still be other girls who would fancy this dork of a brother¡­¡±

    After washing her face in the washroom, Ren Xingmei looked coldly at the cute girl in the mirror. She began to tidy herself up.

    She was not like Ren Suo¡ªwhen she saw the girls barge into the house, even when the door was locked, she could tell that at least one of them was very concerned about Ren Suo.

    ¡°Mom said before that Bro earned a lot, and his living expenses in school are also mostly covered for, so he does not need to spend much money usually. He did not even remove the game console from the box, so he must have been really busy. He would not have had much time to go out either, and his savings must be piling up high.¡±

    ¡°In the past, when he was happy from ying games, he would easily give me his living allowance if I asked. I must not miss this chance to milk the cow, now that I have traveled all the way here.¡±

    ¡°However, when he has a girlfriend, he certainly would want to save up for dates, to be able to book a night at a hotel or even to buy a house and a car. He might not be willing to give me any of his money then¡­¡±

    ¡°I must not let what¡¯s mine get into the hands of outsiders. Instead of spending it on women, it would be better to give it to me as my first pot of gold. In that way, when I be sessful in the future, would I not repay this silly dork of a brother whose IQ is all the way at the bottom of the barrel?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been ying games with him for so many years, even though I¡¯m a girl. Is it too much to ask for money now?¡±

    Ren Xingmei adjusted her cor and went back to the living room. By the time she stepped out of the washroom, she had set her new goal:

    ¡°I must make sure that silly dork of a brother remains single!¡±

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s for a brother like Ren Suo, I, Little Star (Xiao Xingxing) will show you what I am capable of, as long as it is for the benefit of receiving money!¡±

 Chapter 227 - Extraordinary Sister

    Chapter 227: Chapter 227 ¨C Extraordinary Sister

    ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t yed with you for such a long time. Let¡¯s conquer the main quest of ¡®Heroic Spirits¡¯ tonight!¡±

    After clearing yet another stage of the game, Ren Suo drank another mouthful of fruit juice and smiled cheerfully as he sat cross-legged on the couch.

    Ever since he purchased the Hell 4PRO game console and several other games over the past few months, he had not yed that game. Now that his sister hade to visit him, Ren Suo also regained interest in the game and yed it with his sister for the entire afternoon.

    The feeling of being able to kill massive numbers of targets in the game easily while not needing to care about the consequences was refreshing. Fully immersed in such entertainment, dopamine was secreted by Ren Suo¡¯s ¡®rotting¡¯ brain, allowing him to enjoy the long-lost fun of such a game.

    Even though Ren Suo himself had not realized it, he was already treating the Mini Worlds game console like a job he had to do.

    Of course, he still experienced the thrill of exploration and immersion in the games on the Mini Worlds game console. However, because those games were important and had the potential to cause massive impact, Ren Suo had to constantly remain alert when he was ying those games. He feared that any mistake he made could cause him to miss unlocking the achievements and result in a lower chance of him clearing the game.

    It was not wrong to be serious while ying games, but having to pay attention and concentrate at all times inevitably made Ren Suo slightly tensed up.

    As such, when he could y such a hack-and-sh game that had exquisite graphics and cool special effects with his sister, Ren Suo could rx himselfpletely.

    ¡°Bro, you are such a noob at this game, you have already died so many times. It¡¯s my first time ying this game, and, yet I still have to save you,¡± his sister said.

    ¡°Tch, this is my first time ying the game too. Let¡¯s y one more round. Let me show you what true skill is,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going over to Sister Dong¡¯s house for dinner?¡± Ren Xingmei asked. She said with a smile, ¡°Before I came here, Mom was saying that you would certainly be eating instant noodles or ordering takeout every day. Who would have known that you actually receive such ¡®special treatment¡¯ and have someone to cook for you!¡±

    Ren Suo replied without looking away from the screen, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s rare for you to havee to Lianjiang City, and I was intending to bring you out for some delicious food.¡±

    ¡°However, I have not been spendingvishly throughout the past few years in Lianjiang City either. I always eat in the school¡¯s dining hall or simply settle for instant noodles,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Xingmei boosted Ren Suo¡¯s ego slightly, saying, ¡°Bro, it must have been tough for you too. Did you sleep veryte yesterday?¡±

    Ren Suo sighed and replied, ¡°Yeah, I could only sleep at 7 p.m.st night.¡±

    ¡°So you had to get up early today?¡± Ren Xingmei asked.

    ¡°No, I was awakened by the rm for lunch,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    After clearing ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±, Ren Suo had spent the whole of the following day Practicing. It was only after he hadpletely used up thest bit of energy in the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], that he slowly studied the mechanics of the Coupling System. After all, the Coupling System would remain with him and would not disappear over time; on the other hand, the effect of [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] could wear off at any time.

    Ren Xingmei spent 0.3 seconds to calcte in her head: 19:00 ~ 12:00 (+1) = 17 hours.

    (Had this old person turned into a child or baby after he went to university¡­?)

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± Ren Suo said as he stretched his hand out to grab his keys and his mobile phone. He got to the door before his sister and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to bring anything over.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Bro, are you going over just like that, wearing slippers? Aren¡¯t we going to Sister Dong¡¯s house?¡± Ren Xingmei questioned as she looked at Ren Suo in shock. He was wearing a white t-shirt paired with a pair of beach pants and a hat, along with a pair of slippers.

    ¡°What else would I wear then?¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡°Wee.¡±

    Gu Yueyan opened the door with a smile on her face¡ªhad Ren Suo been alone, he would likely be seeing a scowl instead. Gu Yueyan¡¯s eyes lit up and she said, ¡°Eh? Sister Xingmei, you¡¯re so cute.¡±

    Although Ren Xingmei was still in men¡¯s clothing, she had washed and restyled her hair before heading over. In stark contrast, Ren Suo, who was standing beside her, was wearing a pair of beach pants and slippers, so her gracefulness and beauty were naturally made more apparent.

    ¡°Thank you, but please don¡¯t call me sister, I¡¯m about the same age as you anyway. Just call me Little Star,¡± Ren Xingmei said as she walked over and held Gu Yueyan¡¯s hand. Sheughed and added, ¡°Otherwise, it would make me feel like I¡¯m older than you.¡±

    ¡°No, I have only just finished my second year of senior high school, while you are already going to university,¡± Gu Yueyan said. She smiled and continued, ¡°You¡¯re still older than me, even if it¡¯s just by one year.¡±

    (It can¡¯t be that thisss has feelings for that silly dork of a brother, can it?)

    (It can¡¯t be that this tomboy has feelings for her brother, can it?)

    Ren Suo looked puzzled as Gu Yueyan and Ren Xingmei got to know each other better. He noticed that Lin Xianyu was around too, so he greeted her and asked, ¡°Are you here today for a free meal too?¡±

    ¡°Brother Ren, your use of the word ¡®too¡¯ is extremely apt,¡± Lin Xianyu remarked.

    She nced at Gu Yueyan and Ren Xingmei who were municating intimately¡¯. She asked Ren Suo curiously, ¡°Brother Ren, are you very close to your sister? Aren¡¯t siblings around both of your ages usually colder to each other?¡±

    ¡°Mmm? I suppose we can still get along well,¡± Ren Suo replied as he sat down. He continued, ¡°We have been ying games together ever since we were young. When we were still kids, both my sister and I had one game console each, and we would connect them together to y. Later on, when we boughtputers, she still insisted on ying two-yer games like Richman with me. After I went to senior high school, I could only y during the holidays, but it was mostly spent ying multiyer games like League of Legends with her.¡±

    ¡°Nheless, I¡¯m actually a noob at these games. No matter how much I y, I¡¯m stuck at Silver rank, while she had already risen to Diamond rank a long time ago. She just insists on ¡®carrying¡¯ me,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Lin Xianyu eximed in awe, ¡°Little Star is a master gamer!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s extremely skilled at ying games!¡± Ren Suo praised. He turned to Lin Xianyu and asked, ¡°By the way, Xiao Yu, do you need any help from me?¡±

    ¡°What help would I need from you?¡± Lin Xianyu wondered.

    Ren Suo did not know what to say momentarily. He tried to think about what difficulties a senior high school student would face, but he had only ever helped Gu Yueyan before, so he replied, ¡°For instance, if there is anywhere that you want me to apany you to go to¡­¡±

    (Is this¡­ another way to ask for a date?) Noticing Gu Yueyan¡¯s gaze, Lin Xianyu hurriedly waved her hands in the air and replied, ¡°No, no, no¡ª I would not be fooled by you!¡±

    Ah? Ren Suo was at a loss of what to say as he looked nkly at Lin Xianyu. If she was unwilling, there was nothing he could do then¡ªCouplings could not be established by force, and both parties had to be willing for the Coupling to be sessful.

    Nheless, Ren Suo did not mind that she was unwilling. After all, he had only just acquired the Coupling System, and he still had a lot of time to study it. Moreover, as far as the effect of the Coupling System was concerned, there was also no need for Ren Suo to cast his far and wide; it would be sufficient for him to have a few higher-leveled Couplings.

    The more Couplings he had, the more time he would need to spend to level up the individual Couplings. However, Ren Suo still had to manage his Practice, y games, and write report papers, simultaneously. Where would he find so much time to socialize?

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Dinner was served. It was a rarerge group meal: Ren Suo, Ren Xingmei, Lin Xianyu, Gu Yueyan, as well as Dong Chengling were there.

    Originally, Ren Suo had intended to take her sister out for dinner. However, earlier in the afternoon before they left, Dong Chengling had asked, ¡°Are you stilling over to eat tonight?¡± Ren Xingmei was keen enough to deduce something from that question, and she was adamant about eating at Dong Chengling¡¯s house with Ren Suo. She even said that she would cook herself.

    ¡°I only know a few home-cooked dishes, I don¡¯t know if it would taste nice either¡­ I¡¯m really not good at cooking ~¡± Ren Xingmei said with augh.

    Gu Yueyan and the rest of them took a bite and were forced to admit¡ªthe food was delicious!

    ¡°It¡¯s even more delicious than Teacher Dong¡¯s cooking!¡±mented Lin Xianyu, adding to the praise.

    ¡°Bro, what do you think of the food? If a girl had such culinary skills, would she be able to be your girlfriend?¡± Ren Xingmei asked cheerfully. She usually spent her free time learning to cook, and her culinary skills were even better than their mother¡¯s. Of course, she had to make use of the chance to showcase her skills and entice Ren Suo!

    Ren Suo smacked his lips. The Coupling Ability ¡®Insights of the World¡¯ had enhanced his sense of taste significantly. He replied, ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s too sweet, you should reduce 1 gram of sugar.¡±

    Ren Xingmei narrowed her eyes: I did not ask you to give suggestions!

    After being a ss chairwoman for so many years, Gu Yueyan could obviously feel the hostility in Ren Xingmei¡¯s words. She immediately changed the topic and asked, ¡°Sister Xing, didn¡¯t you just finish your college entrance examination? How did you fare?¡±

    ¡°I performed normally this time, I¡¯m generally satisfied,¡± Ren Xingmei replied. She continued, ¡°I only scored 91 points higher than the minimum admission score for the key top-tier universities, and I ranked ninth in my school.¡±

    Gu Yueyan pulled her lips and changed to another topic again. She asked, ¡°It must be tough to keep studying so hard, no? Do you have any other hobbies?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have many hobbies. Apart from ying games with my brother, I only won first ce in my school¡¯s singingpetition by singing while ying the electric guitar. During my free time, I usually write and submit articles to newspapers and periodicals to earn some spare cash. I also volunteered at the subway station for a few days beforeing here,¡± Ren Xingmei replied as she smiled gleefully.

    Lin Xianyu was astonished. She remarked, ¡°You¡¯re good at cooking, in your studies, music, literature, and you are cute too¡­ Are you and Ren Suo really siblings?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Ren Suo said. He put his face next to Ren Xingmei and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t we look like each other?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, both of you have eyes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, both of you have a nose too.¡±

    After a round of careful observation and serious discussion, Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu finally came to such a conclusion.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be that the sister¡¯s cute and the brother¡¯s handsome?¡± questioned Ren Suo, pulling his lips.

    At that juncture, Ren Xingmei hugged Ren Suo¡¯s arm andughed, ¡°In my eyes, my brother is the most handsome and the best!¡±

    Ren Xingmei secretly added in her heart: (So, you all should quickly give up and surrender!)

    ¡°Sister Xing, how long are you intending to stay here?¡± Gu Yueyan asked suddenly, changing the topic. She continued, ¡°You should have a lot of activities nned during this vacation break, right?¡±

    ¡°Just call me Little Star¡ª I¡¯m nning to live here for a month or two. Anyway, I have already finished my exams, and I¡¯m very free during the vacation break. I will y with my brother during this period,¡± Ren Xingmei replied, all smiles.

    A month or two?

    The expression on Dong Chengling¡¯s face remained unchanged, but that on Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu¡¯s faces changed ever so slightly. Ren Xingmei took it to heart and smiled secretly¡ªof course, she was not going to stay for such a long time. However, if Ren Suo was going to go out on a date, she would be sure to think of ways to disrupt them. When that happened, she need not create trouble; all she needed to do was to kill the atmosphere.

    When they lost their patience waiting for Ren Suo, Ren Xingmei would be able to head home with the smile and treasure of a winner!

    ¡°Brother, would that be okay¡ª¡±

    Ren Xingmei turned her head to see Ren Suo looking at her with his arms crossed.

    He said, ¡°NO.¡±

 Chapter 228 - â€“ Difference In Strengths

    Chapter 228: Chapter 228 ¨C Difference In Strengths

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you let me stay longer?¡± Ren Xingmei asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Ren Xingmei said as she grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s arm. She continued, ¡°I won¡¯t let go of your arm unless you allow me to stay longer!¡±

    ¡°Because¡­ there are some secrets which I cannot tell you about,¡± Ren Suo said. He thought for a moment and said, ¡°Anyway, you have two days, yes, you have to go back the day after tomorrow.¡±

    The day after tomorrow was the 23rd of the month. It was the day when ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± would start to be reality, and it was also the start of the Major Heat sr term.

    At present, the [Exclusive Level-Up Games (Level 3)] section had disappeared, which meant that Ren Suo could now continue to buy promotional games. However, if her sister was around, Ren Suo would certainly not be able to y on the Mini Worlds game console openly.

    If multiple ounts could be set up at the same time on the Mini Worlds game console, Ren Suo would not have minded letting his sister y together with him. In that way, she would also be able to reap the benefits provided by the game console¡ªat the least, the skills she learned could be turned into abilities. That was already very powerful as it would be equivalent to her being 100% proficient in any of the abilities when she equipped them.

    However, the problem was that the game console could only be tied to one ount. The Mini Worlds game console that Ren Suo had was already in the ¡®form¡¯ of ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯.

    At most, his sister could help him in clearing the games, but she would not be able to gain any benefits from the game console.

    After weighing the risks and benefits, Ren Suo decided not to let his sister know about this secret which would not give her any benefits. Ren Suo himself had long prepared for being found out with his Mini Worlds game console¡ªif he were to be discovered and his capabilities at that time were still weaker than that of the powerful forces, he would most likely be ced under house arrest and forced to y games on the game console. Those who knew about his possession of the game console would likely end up in the same way.

    If Ren Suo was the only one who knew about the secret of the Mini Worlds game console, then his family would still be able to enjoy their freedom, at the least.

    ¡°Why must I go back so quickly, am I not weed here?!¡± Ren Xingmei questioned.

    Ren Suo thought for a moment and replied, ¡°You¡¯re weed, but I need my personal space too. After all, adults have their own secrets!¡±

    Personal space¡­ Adults¡­ Secrets¡­

    (Have they progressed so far already?!) Ren Xingmei took a deep breath, then carefully scrutinized the looks on Lin Xianyu, Gu Yueyan, and Dong Chengling¡¯s faces. In her heart, she secretly tried to figure out who among the three of them was the fox¡ªbut she suddenly recalled something and asked:

    ¡°Bro, do you have a girlfriend?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± replied Ren Suo, who was eating a slice of watermelon as dessert.

    Ren Xingmei scrutinized the three other people at the table again¡ªMmm, they all appear calm and do not seem to be hiding anything.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t be angry. Let¡¯s go shopping tomorrow, I¡¯ll pay for everything you want to buy. It¡¯s your reward for doing so well in the college entrance examination. It¡¯s rare that you came all the way here, so I can¡¯t possibly make you stay home to y games with me all day long.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m already content to be able to y games with you, Bro¡­¡± Ren Xingmei replied.

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go shopping!¡± Gu Yueyan said suddenly. She proposed, ¡°I have been too scared to go out often the past few days. Let¡¯s go out together! Don¡¯t you agree, Xiao Yu?¡±

    Lin Xianyu said, ¡°Ah? Why am I involved in this¡­ Alright, let¡¯s go then, if you wish.¡±

    Dong Chengling also said, ¡°I have not gone out in a long time too, it would be good to have a break as well.¡±

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Teacher Dong is willing to go too¡­ That would be even better. With Teacher Dong around, we would certainly not meet with any danger!¡±

    Ren Suo was fully supportive of the idea. He said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to buy for my parents too, it would be great if you guys can give me some suggestions at the same time.¡±

    Watching as the others quickly finalized tomorrow¡¯s outing, Ren Xingmei uttered in her heart, ¡°Tch.¡±

    With only two days left, she could not continue with her n slowly¡ªshe had to act quickly and decisively to make sure that their feelings for Ren Suo died. An idea popped up in her head and she hugged Ren Suo¡¯s arm. She said, ¡°Bro, I have not seen you for such a long time, let¡¯s sleep together today!¡±

    Of course, she did not actually want to sleep with Ren Suo, but would any ordinary girl not step back when a guy actually had such a cute sister who fancied her brother?!

    ¡°Sure!¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Ren Xingmei blinked and let go of Ren Suo¡¯s arm. She moved farther away from him and questioned, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I said ¡®yes¡¯. I was still thinking about how to ask you to do just that, but all is well now that you asked first.¡±

    Indeed, Ren Xingmei possessed a key.

    It was most likely that she had not told their parents about her being Awakened. After all, not all Awakened Abilities could be divulged and exined, so Ren Suo could understand if his sister had wanted to keep that a secret, and thus, he did not expose her.

    Regardless, however, he still had to obtain the key. Ren Suo was still thinking if he should ¡®strike¡¯ at night, but who would have expected that Ren Xingmei asked first, on her own ord.

    ¡°¡­ I was actually joking,¡± said Ren Xingmei, blushing. She turned to look at Gu Yueyan and the others, thenughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s really just a joke, we often fool around like this.¡±

    ¡°So it was a joke,¡± Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu said, as they sighed in relief. On the other hand, Dong Chengling was still eating her food calmly¡ªthough she had been chewing the food in her mouth for more than 10 seconds.

    Ren Suo shrugged. It did not matter to him if his sister was unwilling¡ªit was just a 1-star key anyway.

    Moreover, he could still ¡®strike¡¯ in the night.

    After the meal, Ren Suo and Ren Xingmei left first, while Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu stayed behind to do the dishes. As they were washing the dishes, Lin Xianyu sneaked away into the living room and found Dong Chengling. She asked in a whisper:

    ¡°Teacher Dong, Brother Ren said just now that he does not have a girlfriend, aren¡¯t you angry?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± replied Dong Chengling, who was deep in thought. She opened her eyes and looked at Lin Xianyu. She slowly shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Lin Xianyu asked. She could not suppress the curiosity in her heart any longer. She continued, ¡°Aren¡¯t both of you in such a rtionship?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Dong Chengling replied as she tilted her head slightly to one side. She said, ¡°We are currently just friends.¡±

    ¡°Are you guys just friends?¡± Lin Xianyu remarked. She secretly felt happy for her friend, but she thought about it and felt that something felt amiss. She said, ¡°Teacher Dong, you are clearly very nice to Brother Ren though, and that night, Brother Ren even asked you to¡­¡±

    ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s because he found out that I had been promoted to tier 2 that day, and he pretended to have forgotten what happened that night. Ever since then, he has been Practicing diligently, so I suppose that this is how he is preserving his self-esteem.¡±

    Dong Chengling recalled something and said with a smile, ¡°He does not want to hinder my progress, and he understands my ideals, so he wants to fight alongside me.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Teacher Dong, does that mean that you will date Brother Ren if he manages to catch up with you?¡± Lin Xianyu asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Dong Chengling said expressionlessly.

    She continued, ¡°I will be his wife.¡±

    At that juncture, Gu Yueyan finished washing the dishes and returned to the living room. She eximed loudly, ¡°Xiao Yu, here you are skiving again! Let¡¯s go back to our dorm!¡±

    Along the way, Lin Xianyu followed behind Gu Yueyan. She saw Gu Yueyan ying with her mobile phone, and naturally patted Gu Yueyan on her shoulder and sighed.

    Gu Yueyan did not turn her head and continued staring at the screen of her mobile phone. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°You are too weak,¡± Lin Xianyu said with a sigh.

    ¡°Huh?¡± replied Gu Yueyan. She gave a puzzled look at Lin Xianyu, then looked back at her mobile phone.

    Lin Xianyu remarked, ¡°You have been looking at your mobile phone a lot more recently.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she finally looked away from her mobile phone. She remained silent for a moment, then asked Lin Xianyu, ¡°Do you feel that¡­¡±

    ¡°Ren Suo¡¯s sister¡­ is just putting up a show, and does not seem to truly like Ren Suo.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    It was 1.30 p.m. the following day, and the location was After Lianjiang City Park Subway Station Exit E.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Ren Suo questioned as he looked in surprise at Qiao Muyi, who was dressed in casual clothing. He remarked, ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing you dressed normally!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make it seem as if I don¡¯t wear clothes usually!¡± Qiao Muyi eximed, gritting her teeth. She said, ¡°I would obviously not be wearing the Countermeasure Division uniform when I¡¯m not working!¡±

    Ren Suo asked curiously, ¡°Sorry, sorry, I was so surprised to meet you. Anyway, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence to have bumped into you. I arranged with someone to meet here, but she suddenly said that she was going to shop with her secret crush and would not be able to meet me,¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    Qiao Muyi remained calm and did not blush as she lied to Ren Suo¡ªor perhaps it was not a lie¡ªthen looked at Ren Xingmei, Dong Chengling, and Lin Xianyu who were behind Ren Suo. She asked, ¡°Is she¡­ your sister?¡±

    ¡°You could tell?¡± Ren Suo replied with augh. He said, ¡°This is my sister. Her name is Ren Xingmei, but call her Little Star.¡±

    Qiao Muyi said expressionlessly, ¡°No, both of you do not look like each other at all, except that both of you have a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. However, I have seen your file.¡±

    She walked over to Dong Chengling and grabbed her hand, saying, ¡°Are you guys here to shop too? What a coincidence, me too, let¡¯s shop together! At the same time, I can catch up with Chengling.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Tch, why do I feel like nothing good will happen out of this¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°I¡¯m going to be hurt if you mean that. What are you intending to buy here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s mainly to buy a present for my sister, to celebrate the end of her college entrance examination and also to reward her for doing quite well in it. I will buy anything she wants,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    At that juncture, Ren Xingmei quickly demonstrated the qualities of a ¡°good sister¡±. She said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t really want anything, being able to go out with Brother is already very¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi pped her hands together suddenly and said, ¡°How about this! Let¡¯s all pick a gift while we are shopping and then tell Ren Suo what the gift is via WeChat. He will pay for the giftster and we shall see which one of them is Little Star¡¯s favorite.¡±

    ¡°Mmm? Let¡¯s not do that, it will be a waste of Brother¡¯s money¡­¡± Ren Xingmei refused quickly.

    Ren Suo pped and said, ¡°That¡¯s quite a good idea, useful words are finallying out from your mouth! I¡¯m supportive of this idea, everyone must participate, alright?¡±

    At that juncture, Ren Suo suddenly realized that: Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi, Gu Yueyan, Lin Xianyu, and Ren Xingmei¡­ All five of them were Awakeners!

    All of them were engaged in the same activity at the same time, and Ren Suo also had to put in the effort (by paying)¡ªthat fulfilled the requirements of the Coupling System!

    Would he be able to acquire five Couplings in one go?

 Chapter 229 - What Other Reason Could There Be?

    Chapter 229: Chapter 229: What Other Reason Could There Be?

    ¡°Well, Bro, I need to ask you first¡­ did you acquire some kind of dirty Awakened Ability?¡± Ren Xingmei asked.

    Ren Xingmei looked at the four beautiful and elegant girls in front, who were talking andughing to one another while shopping. Each of them was charmingly unique and as they walked in the mall, there was a 50% chance that someone who walked past them would turn back to take a second look¡ªthe remaining 50% of people who walked past were phone addicts who constantly looked down at their mobile phones.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®dirty Awakened Ability¡¯?¡± the bewildered Ren Suo asked.

    Ren Xingmei said, ¡°For example, abilities to hypnotize, stop time, enhance the senses, make someone your puppet, or appear attractive to everyone¡­¡±

    Ren Suo nced intriguingly at his sister. He pondered for half a minute before saying, ¡°My oldputer should have already been formatted ordingly into different partitions, so there should not be a trace of anything for you to discover¡­ Could it be the cab which I store my notebook in? I remember that I locked it though!¡±

    Ren Xingmei blinked and replied, ¡°What¡¯s locked?¡±

    ¡°The cab at myputer desk is locked,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Xingmei shook her head, saying, ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. You remembered wrongly.¡±

    ¡°It¡­ it isn¡¯t?¡± Ren Suo, feeling bewildered, eximed. He said, ¡°I thought that it was still locked thest time I went home¡­¡±

    ¡°You must have been so busy at work that memories were mixed up, you should rest well. Anyway, did you or did you not awaken some ability which makes girls fancy you?¡± Ren Xingmei asked, quickly returning to her question.

    Ren Suo dug his nose as he replied, ¡°If I did, your elder sister-inw would be standing beside me now, not you.¡±

    (Did he not? It would be quite a challenge to describe the scene in front of me otherwise though¡­)

    Ren Xingmei looked at the group of girls in front, consisting of the proudly beautiful female team leader of the Countermeasure Division, the calm and reserved female teacher at the Institution, as well as one senior high school girl with long, ck and straight hair, and another lively, energetic senior high school girl. She somehow felt that something did not seem right.

    However, the sense of crisis for Ren Xingmei was growing more intense: the female team leader of the Countermeasure Division seemed to be very fashionable. If she became her brother¡¯s girlfriend, she would certainly squeeze his wallet dry;

    The female teacher did not have much material desire, but Ren Xingmei felt that she had an extremely strong desire of wanting to be in control. Her dork of a brother would certainly give her full control of his finances;

    The two senior high school girls¡ªone with long, straight and ck hair while the other was lively and energetic¡ªappeared to be less of a threat. However, Ren Xingmei was also a senior high school girl. She had met too many girls whose material desires grew as they constantlypared their possessions with others, and Ren Xingmei could not be at ease even if either one of the two girls was her brother¡¯s girlfriend.

    (For the sake of Brother¡¯s wallet!) Ren Xingmei energized herself and was constantly on her guard. She never once moved away from Ren Suo to prevent any sparks of feelings from arising between him and any of the girls. Ren Xingmei roughly estimated that after Ren Suo went out today, he would not want to go out to shop for the next two months.

    In Ren Suo¡¯s words, it was: ¡°Young people like to go out to shop, sing karaoke, have a gathering with their friends, and go to the bar, but only when they return home will they realize¡ªstaying at home was better.¡±

    As long as she pulled through that day, Ren Xingmei would be able to guarantee the safety of Ren Suo¡¯s wallet!

    ¡°We don¡¯t really know enough to know what to buy,¡± Lin Xianyu said as she turned around. She asked Ren Xingmei, ¡°Little Star, what do you like?¡±

    Qiao Muyiughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s cheating if you ask the person herself. The purpose of this game is, firstly, to squeeze Ren Suo¡¯s wallet for once, and the second, is to guess what Little Star likes.¡±

    ¡°In that case¡­ it won¡¯t be cheating if I ask Ren Suo, right?¡± Lin Xianyu asked. Her brain still functioned quite normally when she was not eating.

    Qiao Muyi replied, ¡°Of course, Ren Suo is a participant too. He needs to buy a gift as well.¡±

    Lin Xianyu turned to look at Ren Suo and asked, ¡°Brother Ren, what kind of snacks do you think your sister likes?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Mmm¡­ Matcha biscuits like Shiroi Koibito?¡±

    Gu Yueyan queried, ¡°What does she like to do when she has free time?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°I suppose she likes to y games.¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°Are there any guys whom Little Star fancies?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°No.¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Ren Xingmei and asked, ¡°Is your brother, right?¡±

    Ren Xingmei smiled slightly and replied, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I be divulging the answers if I answered the question? Regardless though, he¡¯s truly my brother.¡±

    (None of his answers were right.)

    (I never liked eating matcha biscuits, it was only because my friend gave them to me as a souvenir that I ate them.)

    (I don¡¯t usually y games during my free time; catching up on drama series is the best pastime.)

    ¡°Ah,¡± Qiao Muyi said suddenly. She continued, ¡°Ren Suo, go and find somewhere to wait, we will call you when we are done picking the gifts.¡±

    Ren Suo looked around and saw that it was the clothing section up ahead. Although he did not have a girlfriend, Ren Suo had still heard before about how long girls took to choose their clothes, so he naturally took up Qiao Muyi¡¯s suggestion and hurried away elsewhere.

    ¡°Bro¡ª¡± Ren Xingmei said, quickly reaching out and trying to hold Ren Suo back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. Just by looking at his dressing style, you would know that his beauty standard is ¡®over the top¡¯. He would not be able to help you in any way!¡± Qiao Muyi coaxed as she and the rest of them pulled Ren Xingmei away from Ren Suo together.

    Ren Suo was not interested in buying other things either, but he had not eaten snacks like octopus balls, grilled squid, and oden in a long time, which were not sold in the school¡¯s dining hall. As such, when the strong fragrance of food wafted into his nostrils, Ren Suo headed directly for the snacks street.

    After eating and drinking his fill, Ren Suo realized that it was about time and walked back towards the part of the mall he came from previously.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Shouts and screams could be heard from in front, where the esctor was located. Ren Suo looked in that direction and decided to head over to find out what themotion was about, demonstrating the ¡®good qualities¡¯ of any ordinary citizen.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Little Star, you have such a good figure that you might even be able to be a model with some training. Why do you want to wear men¡¯s clothes?¡± Qiao Muyi remarked. She leaned on Ren Xingmei¡¯s shoulder as she smiled at her in the mirror.

    Ren Xingmei still dressed herself simrly in male clothing when they were out that day.

    ¡°I¡¯m used to it,¡± Ren Xingmei replied uneasily.

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°What do you think of this pleated skirt?¡±

    Ren Xingmei replied, ¡°I think that it would be better if it was jasmine-white in color.¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°This sunflower-yellow color is not bad too.¡±

    ¡°You should try on a pair of white stockings, and change out of your ts at the same time, or it would not match.¡±

    Dong Chengling chipped in and said, ¡°You should get a hat too!¡±

    When it came to choosing clothes, even Dong Chengling could not resist but give a suggestion or two. Ren Xingmei initially refused to try on the clothes, but it would have been impolite to object after they asked multiple times, so she eventually gave in reluctantly.

    When she emerged from the fitting room, she was greeted by four pairs of eyes looking at her in amazement and admiration.

    Qiao Muyi pulled her to the mirror and said, ¡°Look, who is that cute girl in the mirror?¡±

    Ren Xingmei was stunned.

    The girl in the mirror was wearing a white and pink-colored knee-lengthce skirt. Wearing the skirt was a girl with long and slender legs, which was covered with white stockings and red shoes. The girl wore a white sun hat on her head, and she had rosy white skin.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look great? It¡¯s very cute, no?¡± Qiao Muyi asked as she ced her arm around Ren Xingmei¡¯s shoulders. She said, ¡°Just wear this out and give your brother a shock. He doesn¡¯t need to pay for this set of clothes, I¡¯ll pay and give them to you¡ª¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Ren Xingmei eximed.

    The rest of them were slightly stunned. Realizing that she was too worked up, Ren Xingmei immediately kept her emotions back in check and said with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t like this kind of clothes¡­ There¡¯s no need to buy them, I¡¯ll change back into my clothes.¡± Upon finishing her sentence, she immediately returned to the fitting room.

    While Ren Xingmei was in the fitting room, Gu Yueyan took the chance to walk over to Qiao Muyi and led her to another area. Pretending to look at the clothes, she asked softly, ¡°Why did youe here, Sister Qiao?¡±

    Qiao Muyi naturally did not say that she came to enjoy the show. She replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Ren Suo¡¯s sister acted very strangely, that she could be a sister who fancies her brother and would be a hindrance to you? That¡¯s why I specially came down to have a look.¡±

    ¡°It¡­ it doesn¡¯t hinder me¡­¡± Gu Yueyan said, somewhat reluctantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will help you. I am your love consultant after all!¡± Qiao Muyi said. She thumped her chest and assured, ¡°Trust me!¡±

    Gu Yueyan rxed and turned to look at the clothes for real.

    At that juncture, Qiao Muyi turned and walked over to Dong Chengling, who was looking at clothes in the menswear section. She asked softly, ¡°Chengling, how have things been recently?¡±

    Dong Chengling said expressionlessly, ¡°My Practice is going smoothly. The enchantment of the Reiki Storage Device is also doing well.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not asking you about this,¡± Qiao Muyi said. She held Dong Chengling¡¯s hand and continued, ¡°I¡¯m asking if things are going well rtionship-wise.¡±

    Dong Chengling did not reply.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°I suppose that you rarely talked to guys in the past, right? You must have been enjoying your time alone throughout junior high school, senior high school and university, no? You look like the kind of person who has great resilience.¡±

    Dong Chengling nodded.

    ¡°If there is anything you need help with in your rtionship, feel free toe to me, I will definitely help you. Just treat me as your love consultant!¡± Qiao Muyi said. She thumped her chest and assured, ¡°Trust me!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Aftering out of the clothing section, Dong Chengling called Ren Suo. However, she shook her head and said, ¡°He did not answer the call.¡±

    Ren Xingmei and the others felt that it was strange for Ren Suo not to pick up the call, but they did not panic. After all, they were in the shopping mall, and it was not possible to lose Ren Suo. Qiao Muyi said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue walking while trying to call him, we might bump into him. We wille back to see if he is waiting here if we still cannot find him after ten minutes.¡±

    ¡°He might well have returned home already, thinking that it was too troublesome,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she looked at the ceiling.

    ¡°He¡¯s not such a person,¡± Dong Chengling remarked expressionlessly.

    The group of them wandered around the mall, looking for any trace of Ren Suo. Very quickly, they found him a distance away from the snack street¡ªRen Suo was sitting by the walkway with a little girl. The little girl was ying with a mobile phone, and Ren Suo was touching the girl¡¯s body with his hand¡­

    rmed, Lin Xianyu instantly whipped out her mobile phone and keyed in ¡®1¡¯, ¡®1¡¯, ¡®0¡¯. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll get a policeman nearby toe over first¡­¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Gu Yueyan said quickly. She continued, ¡°We are in the middle of a crowded mall, Ren Suo would certainly not do this even if he had gone crazy!¡±

    When they walked closer, they found that Ren Suo¡¯s hands were surrounded by a glow of white. The little girl had serious cuts all over her hands and legs, as well as on her face. It looked extremely painful, but the little girl was focused on the screen of the mobile phone in her hands. There were traces of tears on her face, but she was not crying at that point in time.

    Ren Suo turned and saw Qiao Muyi and the rest of the group. He said, ¡°Have you guys finished buying your clothes? I was about to head back to look for you guys when I saw this little girl falling down from the top of the esctor. She was bawling her eyes out, and her parents were not around either, so I quickly took her to the side to treat her.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer your phone?¡± Gu Yueyan asked.

    ¡°Answer my phone?¡± Ren Suo replied, slightly shocked. He then looked at the mobile phone in the little girl¡¯s hands and realized what happened. He exined, ¡°There is a game mode on my mobile phone. When ying a game, it will prevent any interruptions and any iing calls would not be disyed either. The game mode will only be deactivated when I exit the game.¡±

    ¡°She was injured quite badly, and I can¡¯t treat all of them at once, so I gave her my mobile phone to y and she forgot about the pain.¡±

    Qiao Muyi immediately said, ¡°I will look for the staff to broadcast an announcement in the mall to notify her parents to head over.¡±

    The rest of them immediately crowded around the girl and got down to work. Ren Xingmei squatted down at the side and looked at Ren Suo with a smile on her face. Lin Xianyu also squatted beside her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I am just reminded of my childhood,¡± Ren Xingmei replied.

    ¡°Is it something happy?¡± Lin Xianyu asked.

    ¡°Not really, I suppose. I used to fall sick easily when I was young, and essentially lived in the hospital all year round,¡± Ren Xingmei replied. She recalled her memories as she said, ¡°To pass my time in the hospital, I would read books, but other than that, I usually waited for my brother to look for me to y.¡±

    ¡°Later on, when our parents bought each of us a handheld game console, he woulde to the hospital every day and ask to link our game consoles together so that I could catch pets with him. We were so noisy that the nurse had to kick him out on several asions. Sometimes when I fell ill and was in so much pain that I wanted to cry, I would end up ying games with him and forgetting the pain.¡±

    ¡°asionally, when he went to his friend¡¯s house and yed a new game, he woulde to me specifically to talk about how fun and interesting the new game was. He would then get me to keep asking our parents to buy a game console and aputer, so that we could y together¡­ Hmph, he made use of his sister to cheat our parents of their money.¡±

    Ren Xingmei snapped out of her daze and quickly exined, ¡°Ah, I mean¡­ my brother is actually¡­¡±

    ¡°Heh heh,¡± Lin Xianyu said as she ran away smiling. At that juncture, the parents of the little girl also appeared, and they thanked Ren Suo and the rest of them for their help. The little girl reluctantly returned the mobile phone to Ren Suo and waved her hand to bid goodbye: ¡°See you again, Big Brother¡±. Then, she hopped away with her parents and left very healthily.

    ¡°It has been quite a long day, it¡¯s time to head back now,¡± Ren Suo said as he looked at the time. He continued, ¡°Since you guys have finished picking the gifts, tell me the name of the shop and the name of the item. I¡¯ll go and buy them now.¡±

    Ren Xingmei waved her hand in the air and said, ¡°You really do not need to buy me anything¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi and the rest of them looked at one another. They each wrote a WeChat message stating the gift that they picked and sent it to Ren Suo. Ren Suo looked at the messages and turned to leave, saying, ¡°Wait for me here, I¡¯ll be back.¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    At night, after Ren Xingmei showered, she went up to Ren Suo, who was ying a game and held his arm. She said, ¡°Bro, let me stay here for a few more days!¡±

    ¡°No, you have to go back tomorrow,¡± Ren Suo replied. He said, ¡°Dad and Mom have also called to get you to go back. In the beginning, you told them that you were only staying here for two days and one night.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to go back!¡± Ren Xingmei cried as she continued shaking Ren Suo¡¯s arm.

    With his arm being shaken like that, Ren Suo could not continue ying the game, and he put down the game controller. He took out a few shopping bags and said, ¡°These are your gifts.¡±

    ¡°You really bought them,¡± Ren Xingmei said as she took the bags over. Pretending to be distressed, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know which one I like the most though¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to choose, there¡¯s actually only one item,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Xingmei was slightly stunned. She opened the bags and found two sets of skirts, stockings, shoes, hats, and other clothing.

    ¡°You should also start dressing yourself up and not stick to me all day long like a fake tomboy. Be elegant,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Xingmei whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t like women¡¯s clothing¡­¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°How would I not notice when they could notice it in just a day?¡±

    Ren Suo picked up the game controller to continue ying the game as he said, ¡°Well, I do not usually pay much attention to anything other than games¡­ but at the least, I do know that when you y games, you especially like to let the female characters wear pretty DLC clothes.¡±

    Ren Xingmei momentarily did not know how to reply. She held Ren Suo¡¯s arm and leaned her head on his shoulder.

    ¡°A key has been found.¡±

    ¡°The key is in a state of sleep. Starting to retrieve the key.¡±

    ¡°The key has already been formed fully¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    The next day, after Ren Suo and the rest of them finished their dinner at Dong Chengling¡¯s house, they sent Ren Xingmei out of the school together.

    ¡°Are you able to take the bus to the bus stop on your own? I don¡¯t need to apany you, do I?¡± Ren Suo asked as they stood at the school gate.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m already old enough,¡± replied Ren Xingmei, who was wearing men¡¯s clothing and a hat. She tugged on Ren Suo¡¯s sleeves and asked, ¡°Bro, when do you intend to go home?¡±

    ¡°Me? Mmm¡­ When I am free, I guess,¡± Ren Suo replied in a perfunctory manner.

    On the other hand, as Lin Xianyu watched Ren Suo and his sister interact with each other, she said in Gu Yueyan¡¯s ear:

    ¡°You saw wrongly.¡±

    Gu Yueyan quizzed, ¡°What did I see wrongly?¡±

    Lin Xianyu exined, ¡°Look at that¡ªin order to match her brother¡¯s hobby of ying games, she became a skilled gamer; after shepleted her college entrance examination and scored well, she immediately came over to celebrate with her brother. She even wanted to stay with her brother and even dressed herself in male clothing on purpose, so that her brother would not need to avoid suspicion¡­¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a sister who extremely fancies her brother?¡±

    Gu Yueyan replied, ¡°I cannot understand why you would fancy your brother. Nheless, it is fortunate that she is leaving¡­¡±

    At that moment, Ren Xingmei suddenly said loudly, ¡°Bro, it doesn¡¯t matter if you do note home since I will be going to live here in a few months!¡±

    Gu Yueyan and the rest of them were shocked. Ren Suo asked curiously, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I chose to study at the Heavenly Institution of Lian¡ªthis will be the university I will be studying at!¡± Ren Xingmei replied.

    Ren Xingmei waved goodbye to the rest of the girls, then carried her bag and gged down a taxi, leaving bewildered expressions on the girls¡¯ faces.

    ¡­

    ¡°What a wasted trip,¡± Ren Xingmei muttered to herself as she sat in the car. She put on her headphones to listen to music and thought, ¡®I was still unable to eliminate the threat to my dork of a brother¡¯s wallet¡­¡¯

    She touched the few shopping bags which contained her clothes, then turned to look at the Heavenly Institution of Lian which was growing smaller in the distance.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing all of this just for money, yes, what other reason could there be?¡±

 Chapter 230 - â€œThe Mage Under the World Treeâ€ Begins

    Chapter 230: Chapter 230 ¨C ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± Begins

    On July 24, Ren Suo sat in the moving cabin of train number D3131. He was amongst a group of other personnel d in ck vests. Ren Suo looked down and reflected on what he gained over the past two days.

    First of all, it was Ren Xingmei¡¯s key. After Ren Xingmei left, Ren Suo had taken a nce, and it was indeed a 1-star key, as he had expected.

    [1-Star Talent Key: +10% chance of receiving bonus ability-type rewards.]

    Ren Suo could not deduce what Ren Xingmei¡¯s actual Awakened Ability was just based on the description of the key alone. However, after Ren Xingmei left, the information from the Coupling System emerged in Ren Suo¡¯s mind like a stream of water¡ª

    [Ren Xingmei, Level 1 Coupling, Coupling Ability ¡®A Thousand Miles A Day¡¯: Understanding +10%.]

    Ren Suo thought, ¡®It seems that Sister¡¯s Awakened Ability is a permanently-active passive ability. She might not even know about it herself¡­ Since I am able to get a 10% increase in Understanding, Sister¡¯s must be more than 30%.¡¯

    Ren Suo estimated the effects of the abilities that he acquired from Level 1 Couplings to be only 10~33% of that of the Coupling targets.

    Ren Suo knew how terrifying Li Dan¡¯s ability ¡°Insights of the World¡± was. ording to what Li Dan himself said, the reason why he was unable to sleep was due to his Awakened Ability, which was activated permanently. As such, he could still hear the sounds around him at night even when he put on earplugs¡ªwhether it was the sound of cars in the distance, the movements of those living upstairs and downstairs, or the gusts of wind blowing in from the window¡­

    However, the Coupling Ability which Ren Suo acquired merely enhanced his five senses slightly. It was equivalent to the acuity of his senses being raised to the highest standards: his eyes were as sharp as that of pilots, his tongue was as sensitive as that of gastronomes, his ears were as sharp as that of gossipers¡­

    There was a huge difference inparison to Li Dan¡¯s ability.

    Ren Suo found out from the intr that Li Dan¡¯s permanently-activated passive ability was considered a type of ¡®Partial Awakening¡¯: the Reiki channels for the ability existed in his body, but he did not have relevant Awakening knowledge of the ability, and yet, the ability formed from the Reiki channels had already taken effect.

    It was precisely because Li Dan did not have the Awakening knowledge that he was unable to control the activation of his ability at will.

    It seemed that such passive Awakenings were notmon within the nation. After all, the Awakened person would not know that he/she had Awakened, and could instead think that he/she had suddenly developed a natural talent. It was only when an Awakened person experienced major side effects, such as in Li Dan¡¯s case where he could no longer dream to fulfill his ¡®desires¡¯, that the person would be recognized as having a passive Awakened Ability.

    Fortunately, the activation of Ren Suo¡¯s Coupling System could be controlled. If Ren Suo did not need a particr Coupling Ability, he could deactivate that Coupling Ability temporarily.

    ¡°Up till now, only Sister¡¯s Coupling Ability has appeared. It looks like the Coupling with the rest of them was unsessful.¡±

    In the name list of the Coupling System, there were only two names: ¡®Li Dan¡¯ and ¡®Ren Xingmei¡¯. That meant that Ren Suo¡¯s n of ¡°solving all the troublesome matters together¡± had failedpletely¡ªafter that day¡¯s ¡®mission¡¯, apart from Ren Xingmei who turned into Ren Suo¡¯s Coupling, none of the other four Awakeners activated the Coupling System.

    Ren Suo tilted his head to one side as he thought, ¡°Was it because I did not participate sufficiently? Or was it because there was insufficient interaction? Or was it because¡­ the rtionships were not close enough?¡±

    Qiao Muyi, Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan, and Lin Xianyu¡­

    ¡®We are friends¡­ right?¡¯

    At that juncture, Ren Suo suddenly felt pressure on his right hand. He turned his head and realized that he had unconsciously ced his right hand such that it took up the space of two handles. Gu Yueyan, who was sitting to the right of Ren Suo, appeared extremely unhappy about it and was ring at him with a red face. She nted her body to the side, causing her center of gravity to fall to her left, such that her left hand was pressing down heavily on Ren Suo¡¯s right hand.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± Ren Suo said as he quickly withdrew his hand.

    Ren Suo sighed. ¡®It looks like I still have a long way to go to be able to form a Coupling with someone.¡¯

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± said Dong Chengling, who was sitting to the right of Gu Yueyan, as she turned her head to the side.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Gu Yueyan replied hurriedly. She quickly withdrew her hand, and let out a forced smile.

    Dong Chengling grabbed Gu Yueyan¡¯s hand and smiled gently. She said, ¡°It will be fine, I will be following you.¡±

    Qiao Muyi, who was sitting in the front row, turned around and said, ¡°With us around, you will not be in any danger.¡±

    ¡°You guys are from the Institution and are protected targets. You are assisting the Countermeasure Division in our investigations this time, so we will not let you be in any danger.¡±

    ¡°This time, there are four team leaders leading their teams, so you may rest assured.¡±

    The cabin of the moving train was upied with Practitioners from the Countermeasure Division who were all d in ck vests, including Li Dan, Yao Fei, Yi Zhao, and Qiao Muyi, who were the team leaders of team 1, 2, 4, and 7 respectively. All of the members of their respective teams were all present as well.

    In addition to the personnel from the Countermeasure Division, there was also Ren Suo, Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi, and a few schrs in the train cabin. Their destination¡ªXiang City.

    Indeed, it was the Xiang City where Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan were dragged into theke and had almost drowned.

    Upon disembarking the train, Ren Suo and the rest of them were immediately picked up by a car. They were escorted by police cars throughout the journey and swiftly arrived at Ind Lake in the northern part of Xiang City. At present, road traffic controls were in ce in the area surrounding Ind Lake, and roadblocks had been set up. Ordinary citizens were no longer allowed to go near Ind Lake.

    ¡°We have arrived at Ind Lake.¡±

    After passing through numerous checkpoints, Ren Suo and the others finally arrived at their destination.

    More than ten days had passed, and Ind Lake had changed significantly¡ªthe woods by theke had been cleared, and temporary tents had been erected in its ce. Ren Suo also saw engineer troops building a barricade around the area, seemingly in preparation forpletely restricting ess to Ind Lake.

    On the other hand, the clear waters of Ind Lake had also turned into a fairytale-like world¡ªthe sparklingke waspletely enclosed within a rainbow, and the colorful light rays of the rainbow were weaved into a huge, exquisite marshmallow that looked soft and gorgeous,pletely enticing people.

    Ren Suo had rtively good eyesight and apart from numerous powerless academics who were meddling with some equipment on the perimeter of the marshmallow, he also saw many troops setting up their positions in the forest. A temporary camp had already been set up on the shore using sandbags and soil, and even the heavy firearms like light machine guns and mortars were in position and ready!

    Ren Suo noticed that the ones who were closest to the marshmallow were a group of heavily armed soldiers standing not too far away. Although they were also d in simr ck vests, they were armed with rifles, and Ren Suo¡¯s heart trembled slightly.

    Li Dan and the rest went forward to talk to the person-in-charge there. Very quickly, they returned and said to them, ¡°Ren Suo, Gu Yueyan, both of you would have to move slowly towards the special mystery realmter, under the protection of the Changjiang Forces and the few of us. If anything happens, please let us know immediately and move away from the mystery realm.¡±

    ¡°The Changjiang Forces?¡± Ren Suo asked aptly, raising his doubts.

    Li Dan pointed at the soldiers not too far away, who looked to be part of some special forces, and said, ¡°The Changjiang Force is a military unitprising Practitioners. Unlike the Countermeasure System, the troops would receive special firearm training suited for Practitioners and catered to the physique and abilities of Practitioners. In small teambat, their damage capabilities are no weaker than that of higher-tiered Practitioners.¡±

    ¡°With them, in addition to the few of us, your safety is assured.¡±

    Li Dan nced at Dong Chengling who was behind Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan. He asked, ¡°Practitioner Dong Chengling, if something unexpected really happens, would you be able to relocate them to a safe ce?¡±

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°As long as it is within a visible distance with the naked eye, I can guarantee that they will not be injured. That is exactly the reason why I¡¯m here.¡±

    After theypleted their discussions, the Changjiang Force immediately dispatched 12 people to surround Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan, and the four team leaders, including Li Dan, also surrounded them. They were not more than one arm¡¯s length apart from one another, almost like canned sardines. Slowly, they approached the rainbow marshmallow.

    It was only as they got closer to the marshmallow when Ren Suo had an awareness of how big the marshmallow was¡ªit was five or six stories high. When he went closer to it, he felt as if he could be swallowed by the marshmallow at any time.

    However, there was not a trace of fear in Ren Suo¡¯s heart. Instead, he felt like running directly into it and letting his body sink into its softness and fluffiness.

    It was the first time Ren Suo saw the outer appearance of the mystery realm. He could not help but exim to himself, ¡°Is this how¡­ the mysterious realm looks like on the outside?¡±

    ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± had finally begun.

 Chapter 231 - Everything He Says Comes True

    Chapter 231: Chapter 231 ¨C Everything He Says Comes True

    Early in the morning the day after Ren Xingmei left, Ren Suo was approached by the Countermeasure Division and was asked to assist them in their investigations.

    It was not only him who was asked to assist them¡ªGu Yueyan was also requested to head over to Xiang City.

    Upon receiving the news, Dong Chengling also decided to follow them on her own ord. She said, ¡°With my space ability, I would be able to pull you away from danger in time. Moreover, since both of you would not be in the school, there would not be a point for me to cook.¡±

    Since Dong Chengling offered to help, the Countermeasure Division naturally epted her goodwill. They truly needed Dong Chengling¡¯s assistance and had actually been deliberating over how to ask her for her assistance.

    At present, the Changjiang Practitioners and the various team leaders of the Countermeasure Division were leading Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan closer to the mystery realm. They were observing whether any abnormal events would ur as they inched closer.

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°The space inside is no longer ordinary space. We are calling it the ¡®mystery realm¡¯ for now.¡±

    Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan were directly involved in the previous incident at theke, which was why they were ¡®abducted¡¯ to assist in the investigations. As such, it naturally followed that they should be told certain information, and Qiao Muyi exined:

    ¡°Currently, we have three pieces of intelligence: firstly, all non-living objects and ordinary people are unable to enter the mystery realm. All attacks against it are useless, and only Practitioners are able to feel the attractive pull of the mystery realm and are able to enter without obstructions. Secondly, a space definitely exists within it, but the size of that space is not known. Thirdly, remote-controlled equipment like drones are unable to enter into the mystery realm as they will be blocked by what seems like an invisible barrier.¡±

    ¡°To be safe and find out what is inside, a Practitioner with a ¡®clone¡¯ ability sent his clone into the mystery realm¡­¡±

    Ren Suo was slightly surprised and asked, ¡°A clone ability? Does that mean he can create a clone who is exactly the same as him?¡±

    ¡°I have noments about that,¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    She continued, ¡°All I can say is that after the clone entered the mystery realm, contact with it was lost. In theory, the link between the clone and the original body is far stronger than that of all wirelessmunication methods existing today.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, even if contact with the clone was lost, the clone should leave the mystery realm and return upon being ordered to do so by the Practitioner. However, even until the Practitioner was no longer able to maintain casting the ability, the clone did not reappear.¡±

    ¡°We need to know what is going on inside so that the Countermeasure System and the military can devise ns ordingly. However, the inside and the outside world arepletely isted. It is also highly possible that we are unable to enter freely, and sending Practitioners in could well be sending them to their deaths.¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at the two of them and asked, ¡°The appearance of the mystery realm is rted to the extraordinary event which you guys encountered on the 5th of July, right?¡±

    Although it was a question, Qiao Muyi¡¯s tone sounded more derative. Besides, if the Countermeasure System had not believed that those two events were rted, they would not have brought the two of them over so hastily.

    Ren Suo took a nce at Gu Yueyan and realized that she was looking nkly at the marshmallow. Her face was crimson-red as she remained deep in thought, so Ren Suo replied, ¡°The two events must be rted then. The feeling that the mystery realm gives me is exactly the same as what I felt when I saw the Holy Grail at the bottom of theke that night¡ªit feels as tempting as a 99% OFF sale.¡±

    Theparison Ren Suo used was straightforward and easy to understand. Li Dan said, ¡°The Countermeasure Division believes that the two of you may have a special connection with the mystery realm, which was why both of you were asked toe over. You would not be required to put yourselves in any danger, and it would be sufficient if you are able to make the mystery realm change just slightly.¡±

    The captain of the Changjiang Practitioners said, ¡°The mystery realm is currently expanding.¡±

    ¡°Last night, the mystery realm had not yet reached the shore, but now even theke cannot be seen.¡±

    Ren Suo thought that his voice sounded very familiar. He looked around to find the source of the voice and indeed, it turned out to be Yuan Dang!

    Compared to when they were still at the mass training for civil servants, Yuan Dang¡¯s round face was now more angr, looking more mature. He was also much more tanned, and his eyes were shining with energy. Noticing Ren Suo¡¯s gaze, Yuan Dang smiled slightly back at him.

    The captain of the Changjiang Practitioners said, ¡°If both of you are unable to cause any changes to the mystery realm, we, the Changjiang Force, would have to risk the danger and head in to find out what is inside.¡±

    He turned to look at Ren Suo and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s perform our duties well then.¡±

    ¡°Please do not have any high expectations,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Ren Suo smiled bitterly and continued, ¡°You should be able to feel the temptation of the mystery realm too, right? The reason why we encountered that extraordinary event the previous time was merely because we are Practitioners, and not because we have any special qualities.¡±

    Li Dan said, ¡°Ren Suo, you were the first person to raise your suspicions about the peculiarities here and thought that there existed a secret hidden here. Feel free to tell us about your opinions, the Countermeasure Division trusts you.¡±

    Those around him were visibly surprised, apart from Qiao Muyi who already knew that Ren Suo was a researcher. Even Gu Yueyan looked at Ren Suo with a look of surprise.

    Li Dan felt the need to exin and said, ¡°I trust in his judgments.¡±

    After a pause, he added, ¡°Deputy Director Yu also believes in him.¡±

    Following the several important reports that Ren Suo had submitted which helped the Countermeasure Division, they were reciprocally extremely supportive of his judgments at that juncture. It was Ren Suo¡¯s chance to boldly assert his ¡®wild spections¡¯:

    ¡°I think that what we should do now is to wait.¡±

    A look of disapproval emerged on the face of the captain of the Changjiang Practitioners. He remarked, ¡°That¡¯s too conservative.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°First and foremost, what we need to do now is to gather intelligence on whether such ¡®mystery realms¡¯ only appeared in Xuan Nation.¡±

    Having been through the third-person perspective in the game, Ren Suo slowly disclosed the information he already knew. He continued, ¡°Did ¡®mystery realms¡¯ also appear in other nations? If so, we can think of ways to observe them using satellites¡ªthe mystery realms are too huge to be able to be concealed in a short period of time.¡±

    ¡°It appeared in other nations as well?¡±

    The others did not fully believe in Ren Suo¡¯s assertion. After all, how could such an extraordinary event happen all at the same time around the globe? How could volcanoes around the world all erupt at the same time?

    The probability of a mystery realm appearing was not much higher than a volcano erupting.

    Ren Suo naturally understood their doubts and continued, ¡°Do you think this is a natural phenomenon due to Reiki energy? However, if it were a natural phenomenon, why did it attempt to lure and harm me and student Gu over ten days ago? Why did it disappear then when the Countermeasure Division was searching for clues after the incident?¡±

    ¡°I think that there must be a stronger force which is constructing this stage. Given that such a peculiar mystery realm could be created, I¡¯m sure that this ¡®stage¡¯ would certainly not only be prepared for our nation.¡±

    ¡°It naturally follows that the actors on this ¡®stage¡¯ would be the humans on Earth.¡±

    The captain of the Changjiang Practitioners shook his head and said, ¡°This is just your spection.¡±

    Ren Suo smiled and said, ¡°Just like your discovery of the mystery realm of Ind Lake, news of the emergence of other mystery realms in other nations would quickly spread here, should there be any. The mystery realm is simply too huge and too easily visible, so it cannot be easily concealed.¡±

    At that juncture, Li Dan signaled to everyone to stop moving forward. He took out a heavy-looking brick phone¡ªit was simply enormouspared to the present-day smartphones that were sold on the market¡ªand squinted at it. There were still dark eye circles around his eyes. He nced at Ren Suo, contemted for a moment, then said:

    ¡°General information from the Countermeasure Division: Extraordinary phenomena that are extremely simr to the mystery realm has appeared in Cambridge in the UK, Birdsville in Australia, and Salt Lake in the Federation. The specific time of appearance of the phenomena all fall between July 23 to 24, less than 24 hours of one another.¡±

    Li Dan was there, not just to escort Ren Suo and the rest of them. Asbat troops who were dispatched by the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division, their main purpose was to increase the strength of the Extraordinaire forces of Xiang City.

    No one wanted to underestimate such an unpredictable and unexinable extraordinary phenomenon.

    Moreover, the military had already rained a round of heavy firepower on the outer surface of the mystery realm, but the mystery realm remained almostpletely undamaged. On the other hand, only Practitioners could enter the mystery realm to scout. In such a situation, the Xiang City Countermeasure System had no other choice but to prepare for other ns¡ªincluding summoning all Extraordinary units in Lian Province.

    Since Li Dan represented all of the Lian Province forces there, he knew thebat power of Lianjiang City, and naturally, no one doubted his words. Everyone immediately turned to scrutinize Ren Suo.

    ¡°¡­ I was just lucky and guessed correctly, haha,¡± Ren Suo said. He had not expected that it would be so coincidental either andughed it off.

    ¡°Truly, you¡¯re a man whom Yu Kuangtu believes in,¡± the captain of the Changjiang Practitioners said. He added extremely politely, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being rude just now.¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it is only normal for you to have your doubts just now. Even Yu Kuangtu and the rest would not believe me so easily.¡±

    Li Dan shook his head and said, ¡°No, I will believe you.¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at Li Dan in a slight surprise.

    The captain of the Changjiang Practitioners nodded at Ren Suo and said, ¡°I am Cheng Wenchao from the Changjiang Force. I will consider your deductions seriously.¡±

    ¡°I am Ren Suo, a healing Practitioner in the Heavenly Institution of Lian,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°What do we do next? Do we just wait and see how other nations would react to the appearance of the mystery realm?¡± Cheng Wenchao asked.

    Ren Suo immediately shook his head and replied, ¡°No! If there are changes to our mystery realm, we can attempt to go in. We know too little about the mystery realm, but we can act slowly if the mystery realm remains the same, since other nations would certainly head in to explore out of curiosity.¡±

    ¡°However, if there are any changes to the mystery realm, it means that the mystery realm may disappear, or something else could happen. Regardless, you will definitely not miss it if there are any changes to the mystery realm, even if I do not point it out.¡±

    Gu Yueyan, who had been watching Ren Suo go on eloquently about his spections, walked over suddenly and asked, ¡°How are you so sure that there would be changes to the mystery realm? Also, what kind of changes are you talking about? Isn¡¯t the fact that it is constantly growing bigger a change as well?¡±

    At that juncture, the group of them were already standing right outside the ¡®marshmallow¡¯ of the mystery realm. The Changjiang Practitioner who was standing at the very front was merely three steps away from the marshmallow, and it could be considered a wild test on the edge of life and death.

    Although Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan were that close to the mystery realm, no changes to the mystery realm urred. The Countermeasure personnel and the Changjiang Practitioners gave up on the idea of a ¡®bait¡¯. However, they were intrigued by Ren Suo¡¯s spections, while Gu Yueyan aptly pointed out their doubts.

    Ren Suo certainly could not say that he had learned that ¡®changes to the outside of the mystery realm would ur when fighting the boss¡¯ from the outsiders in the checkpoint in the game. As such, he came up with a nonsensical reason and said, ¡°The fact that the mystery realm is growingrger implies that the mystery realm is attempting to acquire more space. That is a spontaneous behavior of the mystery realm. Currently, the inside world of the mystery realm is isted from the outside world and nothing from the inside is exposed. Just as ¡®an honest man has nothing to hide¡¯, we should otherwise n our next course of action with the assumption that the mystery realm will bring unpredictable disastrous consequences as a primary consideration.¡±

    The mystery realm appeared so mysteriously, and it also appeared around the world, so it was very difficult to believe that it signified something good. The military and the Countermeasure System was also acting on such a premise; otherwise, were the firearms all set up because they were participating in a military exercise?

    After spouting a few lines of ¡®nonsense¡¯ to buy time for himself, Ren Suo finally had a bolt of inspiration and thought of a reason.

    He asked, ¡°This is such an extraordinary andrge-scale special phenomenon, which could even lead to disastrous consequences. Don¡¯t you think that the Heavenly Pce, or perhaps some other extraordinary force, would intervene?¡±

    Li Dan, Cheng Wenchao, and the others instantly froze.

    He continued, ¡°If they did intervene, they would possibly enter the mystery realm without us knowing, since those extraordinary forces have always appeared and disappeared elusively. When they fought in the mystery realm, or otherwise when they were doing other things inside, it would be very likely that the appearance of the mystery realm would change strangely!¡±

    ¡°Nothing is invincible. Since the mystery realm cannot be damaged from the outside, then the inside could be its weakness!¡±

    Gu Yueyan snorted and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t all of that still mere spection? There are too many assumptions, and if any one of them does not hold, the mystery realm might not change at all.¡±

    Ren Suo nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. However, I believe in my research. I have studied the extraordinary forces like the Heavenly Pce, as well as about mysterious phenomena, for such a long time, so I trust in my judgments.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªAfter all, Ren Suo had looked through the intr for one to two hours every day and could be considered to have researched with much effort.

    He remembered that in the game, the ¡®outsiders¡¯ mentioned that the changes to the mystery realm were extremely obvious, so he tried to describe some changes which would be more obvious. He said, ¡°Should the mystery realm change in appearance, it may be changes in color or morphological changes. For example, it could start rolling¡­¡±

    As Ren Suo spoke, his voice gradually became softer. He blinked as he looked up at the huge ¡®marshmallow¡¯ right in front of hi¡ªit suddenly started turning, and the vibrant light which engulfed it also changed. The changes grew more rapidly as the ¡®marshmallow¡¯ turned, and eventually, it turned into a deep ck color!

    ¡°It really¡­ changed?¡± Cheng Wenchao and the other Practitioners gasped as their eyes widened.

    Gu Yueyan subconsciously grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s arm, while Ren Suo was also dumbfounded at that moment. Looking at the huge ck marshmallow in front of him, he subconsciously checked his equipment slot ¡ª

    He was not equipped with [Small Holy Grail of Purity]! Why was everythinging true just as he said them?!

 Chapter 232 - Entering the Mystery Realm (Part One)

    Chapter 232: Chapter 232 ¨C Entering the Mystery Realm (Part One)

    The sudden changes to the ¡®marshmallow¡¯ on the outside of the mystery realm shocked many people, but there were some who still remained calm.

    Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan suddenly felt weightless, then fell back towards the ground naturally.

    They set foot on a concrete ground the next second, but they could not maintain their bnce momentarily due to the sudden weightlessness. Nheless, both of them were Practitioners, so their reaction speeds and physical fitness were better than that of normal people. They immediately regained their bnce and stopped themselves from falling over.

    ¡°Are you guys alright?¡±

    Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan heard Dong Chengling¡¯s concerned voice from behind them. It was only then when they realized that they had moved backward by 100 meters in just one second, from the edge of the mystery realm to the safe zone behind.

    The Changjiang Practitioners and the four team leaders of the Countermeasure Division were still in their original positions.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m fine,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she hurriedly let go of her grip on Ren Suo¡¯s sleeve. Turning around, she saw Dong Chengling casting her ability. She was wearing casual clothes and her hair, which she had deliberately kept long, was flowing gently with the wind. She was drawing ck ripples in the air with her slender fingers, and her stance was elegant despite the sudden rm. A gentle smile emerged on her face, and her eyes were filled with concern.

    ¡°Teacher!¡± Gu Yueyan could not restrain herself and ran forward to hug Dong Chengling. Dong Chengling, who was not much taller than Gu Yueyan, dispersed the Reiki energy used to cast her ability, then patted Gu Yueyan¡¯s head gently.

    ¡°I will not let you guys be in danger,¡± Dong Chengling said calmly. The immense confidence she exuded which came from the bottom of her heart made Gu Yueyan snuggle in her embrace.

    ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡±

    Although it was not the first time Ren Suo witnessed it, he could not help but sigh in admiration at how Dong Chengling picked girls up¡ªit was something he could never learn.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Thanks, Chengling.¡±

    At that juncture, the Changjiang Force and the four team leaders of the Countermeasure Division also returned. The expression on Qiao Muyi¡¯s face was a mix of slight anger andughter as she strode over. She said, ¡°Chengling, that was slightly too sensitive! They disappeared so suddenly and shocked us! We all thought for a moment that they were sucked into the mystery realm!¡±

    Dong Chengling exined, ¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures, I¡¯m here to do just that.¡±

    Li Dan was slightly puzzled. He asked, ¡°I thought that Practitioners are required to activate the spatial coordinates themselves before you would be able to sense them¡­ no? Moreover, wouldn¡¯t it break after being used once?¡±

    Dong Chengling nced at him and replied, ¡°What you are referring to is the ordinary version of it.¡±

    It quickly became clear to Qiao Muyi and the rest of them that: since there were ordinary versions of the ne, there were naturally also extraordinary VIP versions. The VIP versions of the ne and the special service which Dong Chengling provided were naturally for her closed ones. If the rest of them continued probing further it would make them seem impolite and unaware¡ªfurthermore, the materials for the VIP version were given to Dong Chengling by the Countermeasure Division to thank her for her contributions.

    However, Ren Suo secretly felt slightly frustrated: the ¡®special service¡¯ also meant that, as long as Dong Chengling wanted to, and as long as Ren Suo was somewhere in Lian province, Dong Chengling could summon him directly to her side.

    In that case, it seemed to be a very ¡®gentle¡¯ method when Dong Chengling used her finger to open his door lock two days ago¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll secretly enjoy myself outside, please do not care about me¡­¡± Ren Suo sang in the tune of the song. Dong Chengling nced at him and Ren Suo immediately said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about us for now. The mystery realm here has changed, so what do you guys intend to do? Did the mystery realms in other nations change as well?¡±

    Cheng Wenchao and the rest immediately returned to their team, while Li Dan led Ren Suo back to the Countermeasure Division team to wait. Very quickly, he received the reply and said, ¡°The mystery realms in other nations have not changed like the one here at Ind Lake.¡±

    Ren Suo was both a researcher and ¡®report generator¡¯ of the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division, while Dong Chengling was a special advisor to the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division. As such, Li Dan required their help, which was why he directly disclosed that information to them.

    Li Dan nced at Gu Yueyan, who was standing beside Dong Chengling, but he did not demand her to step away. He continued the discussion with Ren Suo and the other team leaders instead, asking, ¡°Does anyone of the team members with scout abilities have anything to report?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°What about you, Li Dan?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not skilled at observing extraordinary phenomena,¡± Li Dan replied cooly. He turned to Ren Suo and said, ¡°Ren Suo, although we still do not know the situation inside, your description of the changes to the mystery realm was essentially correct. Feel free to tell me if you have any thoughts, I will report it up to the headquarters in the name of the Countermeasure Division.¡±

    Ren Suo smiled awkwardly¡ªit was truly a coincidence.

    With regards to the confirmation that there were multiple such mystery realms, the reason why they received the intelligence sote was purely because the other nations were trying their best to conceal that information. It was only when there were other witness reports that the intelligence department easily linked them up with the mystery realm at Ind Lake;

    However, when Ren Suo said that the appearance of the mystery realm would soon change, he had not expected that the mystery realm would change coincidentally at that moment.

    Nheless, Ren Suo calcted the time and found that it coincidentally matched the time when he was about to clear the first checkpoint. The mystery realm first appeared in the wee hours of the morning, and it was almost noon then¡ªMage and Red Hood should be getting ready to fight the boss character ¡®Iron Virgin¡¯.

    After predicting the events which were about to happen correctly that many times, Ren Suo did not dare to reveal any more information (in fact, he had already revealed almost all there was to say). He said, ¡°No matter what, we must act on it. After all, this mysterious realm is not unique to us, and there are simr ones around the world.¡±

    ¡°In this era, not moving forward is equivalent to progressing backward.¡±

    Li Dan nodded, and after the other team leaders also added on their thoughts, he walked over to the temporarymand vehicle to report their conclusions.

    ¡°Xiaoyan, what¡¯s the matter, are you still anxious?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    Ren Suo turned to see Dong Chengling holding on to Gu Yueyan¡¯s hand. Gu Yueyan appeared slightly uneasy. After a long time, she asked softly, ¡°Could the mystery realm have changed because of me and¡­ I?¡±

    Dong Chengling looked at Gu Yueyan and knew what she was thinking. Sheforted Gu Yueyan, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you would not be asked to go in. You are only here to assist in the investigation, and would not be asked to participate in anything risky.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Gu Yueyan said. She hesitated slightly before continuing, ¡°If it is really because¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still here, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything,¡± Ren Suo said. He could obviously understand why that second-year senior high school girl was scared, so he said, ¡°If the higher-ups really think that the two of us were the cause of the change of the mystery realm, it would suffice for me to go in and you would not be needed. I am at least a trained Practitioner after all¡±

    ¡°You are a student, so you should act like one. Don¡¯t attempt to bear responsibilities which aren¡¯t yours, thinking that you are a chuunibyou.¡±

    ¡°I would not let you, a student, be in danger.¡±

    Gu Yueyan was stunned for a moment, then said ¡°mm¡± in acknowledgment and remained silent.

    Qiao Muyi, who was at the side and in charge of protecting them, looked at Ren Suo, slightly surprised. She said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that you have such a courageous side too. I have to make it clear first though, that this is rted to an extraordinary phenomenon, and it is hard to predict what the higher-ups are nning to do. You might well have to go in when the timees.¡±

    ¡°So be it then, I¡¯ll go in,¡± Ren Suo replied as he thumped his chest proudly.

    ¡°In the first ce, what is happening here is rted to me, so I will be responsible for it!¡±

    Gu Yueyan blinked as she listened to Ren Suo. She turned to look at the scenery on the other side, but her rosy, blushing cheeks were still noticeable.

    There were naturally reasons why Ren Suo was so brave: firstly, he did not see himself in the game when he was ying it;

    Secondly, even if he did intrude into the arena, he would be unharmed as long as he remained as far away as possible from the ongoing battle. The boss character, Iron Virgin, would not pay attention to him until the mages and the Changjiang Practitioners were all wiped out;

    Thirdly, Ren Suo himself did not need to go in at all, because he had [Combat Fighter (Partial)]. He could simply look for a toilet to hide and then send his clone into the mystery realm instead¡ªhe had already nned for that to happen and even brought an extra set of clothes especially to change into in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

    Of course, Ren Suo was quite certain that all of that would not happen anyway. After the first batch of Changjiang Practitioners entered the mystery realm, they would emerge again, at most, an hour after contact with them was lost. The Countermeasure System and the military could wait for an hour, could they not?

    After Ren Suo spoke in such an extremely inspiring tone, Qiao Muyi looked over Ren Suo¡¯s shoulders and took a quick nce at Dong Chengling, who was smiling slightly, then at Gu Yueyan, who was hiding behind Dong Chengling and whose face was red.

    ¡°¡­ You did not say that on purpose, did you?¡± Qiao Muyi questioned as she shot a nce at Ren Suo.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®on purpose¡¯?¡± a stunned Ren Suo replied.

    (This is so much fun.) Qiao Muyi could not help but chuckle and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you dim-witted virgin.¡±

    ¡°Hey hey, what evidence do you have to say that I¡¯m a virgin!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

 Chapter 233 - Entering the Mystery Realm (Part Two)

    <h4>Chapter 233: Chapter 233 ¨C Entering the Mystery Realm (Part Two)</h4>

    As Ren Suo had expected, he did not even have a chance to summon his clone.

    Instead, it was Dong Chengling who was invited by the Countermeasure Division to assist in investigating the mystery realm.

    Li Dan said, ¡°The Changjiang Practitioners would be entering the mystery realm, and three of them would be equipped with the spatial coordinates which have been empowered by you. One of the three of them would be equipped with the most advanced Type 3 spatial coordinates. They will activate the coordinates upon entering the mystery realm, and if you are able to sense the coordinates, please pull them out after 1 minute.¡±

    Li Dan was discussing the matter with Dong Chengling, while Ren Suo, who was standing at the side listening to the discussion, gained many new insights.

    The spatial coordinates of Dong Chengling were fundamentally Reiki storage devices. At present, the materials which were able to store Reiki pletely¡¯ for long periods of time were all special materials manufactured by the National Research Institute. Those materials were divided into Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 based on their qualities, and there could even be even higher quality materials above and beyond the three types.

    Such resources used forbat were also in great demand throughout the nation, so only a small portion of them was given to the Lianjiang Division.

    For Dong Chengling, the difference between the three types only affected how much Reiki she could store inside, which in turn affected the range and strength of her ability when cast.

    Type 1 coordinates could essentially cover the entire Lianjiang City, while Type 3 coordinates could cover the entire province. The higher the type number, the slower the rate at which the stored Reiki dissipates. Reiki storage devices which were Type 3 or higher could even be replenished with Reiki after each use, as they would not break apart immediately upon use.

    The spatial coordinates which Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan had were both Type 3, but theirs were obviously an even stronger and more enhanced version with higher capabilities. It allowed Dong Chengling to identify the two of them from among dozens of coordinates.

    As such, Dong Chengling actually had the ability to pull anyone equipped with the coordinates. The significance of the Practitioner activating the coordinates himself was so that Dong Chengling could sense that he was in danger, and so that his coordinates would stand out in Dong Chengling¡¯s perception of the space. In reality, Dong Chengling could sense all of the spatial coordinates at all times.

    In just three short minutes, the first batch of Changjiang Practitioners was ready to enter. It was Cheng Wenchao and Yuan Dang¡¯s team.

    Armed with firearms, they ran into the mystery realm, which appeared as a ck marshmallow that was turning continuously.

    Suddenly, Dong Chengling grabbed Ren Suo¡¯s arm. Ren Suo looked puzzledly at her, but she looked at Li Dan and said, ¡°The active space coordinates have disappeared.¡±

    ¡°I am unable to do anything as I cannot sense them, and I cannot pull them back.¡±

    Li Dan nodded. He had already anticipated such an oue, and he reported it to themand center.

    On the other hand, Qiao Muyi said, ¡°If none of the first group of them returned, it would be unlikely for the Countermeasure System and the military to send other people in. As much as the mystery realm is important, its benefits are unknown. Unless there are urate and concrete information and intelligence, the higher-ups would certainly not be willing to waste Practitioner talents like that. After all, ¡®a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush¡¯.¡±

    Dong Chengling heaved a sigh of relief and let go of Ren Suo¡¯s arm. Although Ren Suo felt that it was a strange action, he did not think too much about it. He sat quietly at the side, waiting for the boss battle to end.

    Twenty minutester, red beams of light suddenly pierced through the writhing ck marshmallow. Over the subsequent few minutes, more and more holes formed from red beams of light appeared, as if the marshmallow was about to erupt at any time.

    ¡®The Iron Virgin boss character must be almost out of HP¡­¡¯ Ren Suo thought to himself. At that juncture, the Changjiang Practitioner Force dispatched another team of warriors.

    At that moment, one of the Changjiang Practitioners went walked over to look for Li Dan. Li Dan was slightly stunned. He looked at Ren Suo for a moment, then turned around and shouted, ¡°Cao Huali!¡±

    ¡°Coming,¡± a middle-aged member of the Countermeasure Division replied as he walked over. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    After talking to the Changjiang Practitioner for a moment, Cao Huali¡¯s face turned grim. He shook his head in refusal, then began arguing loudly.

    Ren Suo was curious and moved closer to listen in.

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m really sorry, but my daughter was just born, and I don¡¯t want to take such a big risk¡­ Please find someone else,¡± Cao Huali said.

    ¡°Where I am going to find a recement so suddenly¡­¡± the Changjiang Practitioner replied with a sigh.

    Qiao Muyi, who was as nosy as Ren Suo, also came over. She asked the question which Ren Suo was also interested to know about, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Captain Li?¡±

    Li Dan turned his head to see Qiao Muyi and Ren Suo and shook his head. He replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Li Dan refused to divulge the situation, but the Changjiang Practitioner exined instead, saying, ¡°The Changjiang Force is dispatching a second group of people to investigate what is happening inside. Considering that the previous group of troops are likely to have been injured, we hope to be able to bring healing Practitioners in as well, apart from our military medics, to help perform emergency resuscitation for those who are severely injured. We were wondering if there are any healing Practitioners in the Countermeasure Division.¡±

    Qiao Muyi was slightly stunned. She muttered, ¡°Oh,¡± then turned to leave calmly.

    Ren Suo blinked, then looked at Li Dan and Qiao Muyi. He suddenly felt a sense of warmth arise in his heart.

    ¡°I am a healing Practitioner,¡± Ren Suo said.

    Li Dan immediately said, ¡°You are not part of the Countermeasure Division.¡±

    ¡°The important thing is that I am a healing Practitioner,¡± Ren Suo said. He continued, ¡°Moreover, I was the one who suggested taking this opportunity to enter the mystery realm to scout. I can¡¯t possibly do nothing after suggesting, can I?¡±

    ¡°It was your suggestion indeed, but the one who made the decision to go in was not you. You need not be responsible,¡± Qiao Muyi said. She had not gone too far and returned to dissuade him.

    The Changjiang Practitioner also nodded and said, ¡°Although we wee volunteers, this scout mission is extremely dangerous. We perfectly understand if you are not willing to participate in it. You are a target we have to protect, and you do not have the obligation to do so. Even though we will prioritize protecting you while we are inside, we cannot guarantee that you will be safe.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I am willing to do so, and as a tier 1 Practitioner, I have the ability to protect myself.¡±

    Time was tight, and since Ren Suo was willing, the Changjiang Practitioner did not say anything else and led Ren Suo to join the second batch of troops to be dispatched.

    At that juncture, someone held Ren Suo¡¯s arm again. He turned and saw that it was Dong Chengling.

    ¡°My coordinates are no longer effective inside,¡± Dong Chengling said as she looked at him seriously. She said, ¡°My current ability is not powerful enough to pull you out when you are inside.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m also a Practitioner and am able to protect myself,¡± Ren Suo replied as he pushed her hand away.

    No, he was unable to push her hand away.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°I will go in too, then.¡±

    The Changjiang Practitioner leading Ren Suo shook his head and said, ¡°What is inside is not known and equally dangerous. We will not bring any unrted personnel into¡ª¡±

    ¡°I am a space Awakener. The first batch of team members wore my spatial coordinates. If they could not be found after entering the mystery realm, I am quite confident that I would be able to pull them to my side. Moreover, I am a tier 2 Practitioner and am proficient in extended abilities such as [Weaved Clothes],¡± Dong Chengling said.

    Perhaps it was because she was a space Awakener, or perhaps because she was a tier 2 Practitioner, the Changjiang Practitioner simply nodded and said no more. He led Ren Suo and Dong Chengling over directly.

    Gu Yueyan, who remained within the Countermeasure team, sat at the side looking slightly dejected as she watched Ren Suo and Dong Chengling walk away.

    ¡°Why, are you unwilling to ept that?¡± Qiao Muyi asked as she squatted beside her.

    ¡°Slightly, but I¡¯m not Teacher Dong, I will only drag everyone down if I go in, and I am not qualified to volunteer myself. Why isn¡¯t the Countermeasure team going in?¡±

    ¡°We need to remain outside to be on our guard. If only death awaits upon entering the mystery realm, we would just be feeding ourselves to the enemy? The danger of the unknown is what scares people the most,¡± Qiao Muyi replied.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°Why do the two of them still want to go in then¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I do not think that you need to worry about them,¡± Qiao Muyi replied. She said, ¡°Dong Chengling is different, but don¡¯t be fooled by Ren Suo¡¯s courage.¡±

    ¡°He is just a social maggot who seeks to enjoy life and does not like to take risks. If he is not sufficiently confident and was given a choice, he would certainly not put himself in a risky position.¡±

    Qiao Muyi looked at the ck marshmallow and continued, ¡°Moreover, even if he is in danger, he has many incredible ways to escape the predicament. Just like that night more than ten days ago, both of you likely spent a few minutes in the water, ording to him. ¡±

    ¡°So how did both of you breathe underwater?¡±

    Gu Yueyan immediately turned her face to the side to avoid being seen by Qiao Muyi. Then, the next second, Qiao Muyi blew into her ear.

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Gu Yueyan gasped.

    After ¡®attacking¡¯ Gu Yueyan, Qiao Muyi stood up and patted Gu Yueyan¡¯s shoulder. She said with a smile, ¡°You should study well. Sooner orter, you would be able to surpass Ren Suo¡¯s ability. When that timees, would you not be able to deal with him however you want, as you deem fit? Nheless, that guy has many secrets too, though.¡±

    (¡®Too¡¯?) Gu Yueyan blinked, but her mind quickly focused on studying again.

    ¡°There¡¯s no more time to waste, that sister of his is going toe in two months. When I go back, I should ask Xiaoyu if she is interested¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Dong Chengling and Ren Suo stood amidst the Changjiang Practitioners who were about to enter the mysterious realm. Before they entered, Dong Chengling, who was standing behind Ren Suo, suddenly said, ¡°I thought you would stop me.¡±

    ¡°Why did you think so?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Because I wanted to stop you,¡± Dong Chengling said. She continued, ¡°There is an unknown danger inside.¡±

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°You did not stop me, though.¡±

    Dong Chengling was stunned momentarily, then thought for a moment and said, ¡°That¡¯s because I believe that you made such a decision after consideration. Moreover, you are going in to save people, and I do not want to affect your resolve.¡±

    Ren Suoughed and said, ¡°I really appreciate you for trusting in me.¡±

    Naturally, Ren Suo had determined from his game experience that the boss battle against the Iron Virgin was nearing the end. When they entered, they would likely witness Mage casting his Forbidden Spells, which was equivalent to watching a spectacr celebratory ending. That was why he did not mind himself and Dong Chengling following the troops into the mystery realm.

    Furthermore, there were many things that could only be confirmed by entering the mystery realm. If the mystery realm was confirmed to be of immense value after the incident, Ren Suo would unlikely have any other opportunities to enter the mystery realm, unless he devoted himself to the National Research Institute.

    He had no chance of entering the mystery realms in other nations either, unless he could be part of the Extraordinare alliance forces, which provided assistance to the battles in the mystery realms, in a short period of time.

    At present, there was suddenly an opportunity for him to kill N birds in one stone. Not only could Ren Suo enter the mystery realm to enjoy the show, but he could also explore the mystery realm safely. He could even rise in poprity in real life, so Ren Suo was naturally unwilling to give up such an opportunity.

    He had already missed the Major Heat Sr Term Discount Event the day before, as he did not have sufficient merit points and could not afford a single game¡­

    Ren Suo did not summon his clone either and went in physically, because he was sure that he would only return safe and sound.

    However, he naturally could not disclose any of those reasons. Ren Suo pondered for a moment and said to Dong Chengling, ¡°Well, in that case, you should believe me.¡±

    ¡°There would be no danger, and we wille out safely. Then, we will go back to eat fragrant and delicious durian chicken hotpot¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to make that, and it seems to have a strong vor¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go out to eat then,¡± Ren Suo said. He was struck with a sudden wave of inspiration and said, ¡°Just like how I believe that there would be no danger this time, I believe that the durian chicken hot pot would be tasty. It¡¯s my treat!¡±

    At that juncture, the Changjiang Force was ready. They were in the center of the group of troops as they entered the mystery realm, whose outeryer looked as if it would soon be a red-colored jackfruit!

    The entry seemed to ur in an instant. Ren Suo felt that his Reiki current was disrupted when he entered, and a bubble of Reiki surrounded them as they prated safely into the inside of the mystery realm!

    As soon as they entered the mystery realm, they set foot on the rubble on the ground and found themselves inside a strange-looking building. A wave of heat washed over them, as if they had walked into a hot spring in the peak of the summer!

    [Be dead, you parasite!]

    Thenguage the voice used was naturally not anynguage on Earth. To the others, that was just a meaningless roar.

    However, to Ren Suo, it was a sound effect which he had long ustomed himself to. Just like when he yed foreign games when he was young, he could remember the game experience despite not understanding what the characters were saying.

    After reloading the savegame over 30 times, casting the Forbidden Spells over 20 times, and with the help of the subtitles when he cast the spells, Ren Suo had long remembered what that line meant!

    The Fire Demon summoned by [Forbidden Spell: Breath of Fire Skin] was less than a hundred and fifty meters in front of them. It was huge, and its head was about to protrude out of the roof of the building.

    The Fire Demon grabbed the gigantic monster which was already dripping in blood and bound by strange-looking chains. The entire body of mes of the Fire Demon was transferred into the monster, and gigantic streaks of fire shot out!

    However, very quickly, the Fire Demon dissipated. At the same time, the burning monster fell to the ground, and its first reaction was to sweep its enormous right arm towards the human figure in front of it, who was burnt like charcoal!

    After the burnt human was swept to the ground, he quickly stood up again. He unwittingly looked at the second batch of Practitioner troops.

    Ren Suo, who had activated the Coupling Ability [Insights Into the World], possessed the eyesight of a pilot, and could clearly see the sparkle of light in the eye of the burnt human.

    It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you for the first time, Mage.

 Chapter 234 - Say More, Ren Suo Really Likes It

    Chapter 234: Chapter 234 ¨C Say More, Ren Suo Really Likes It

    The huge monster turned into a ck mist and dissipated into the air, announcing the humans¡¯ victory in that battle.

    When Ren Suo and the rest of the group went forward, Mage, who was burned like charcoal, had already moved closer to the girl who was wearing brown-colored clothes and kneeling on the floor.

    The badly-burnt Mage stretched out his left hand towards the girl. With all of the skin on his arm burned to ashes, his outstretched hand looked extremely sinister. However, as he stroked the girl¡¯s head, the extremely gentle movement undoubtedly made his outstretched hand seem ever so kind and heart-warming to the audience around him.

    A white glow emerged from the fingertips of the burnt Mage, as if mes dancing on firewood. The white glow gradually wrapped around the girl wearing brown-colored clothes, and eventually, her entire body shone with light. Finally, the ball of light burst outwards with a crack, turning into millions of light particles and disappearing into the air. The entire process took less than three seconds.

    Ren Suo had not expected that the 30-minute mini-movie which he watched in the game was actually only a few seconds long in reality.

    In the midst of the glow that the Iron Virgin boss character vanished in, a female mage who wore a red-colored hood and red-colored clothes said something, then turned around and gradually faded away in her position.

    At that juncture, the other people at the scene could not be bothered with that female mage. They all crowded around the burnt mage and helped him to lie down on the ground. Someone shouted towards the group Ren Suo was with, asking, ¡°Medic! Is there a medic?¡±

    ¡°Coming!¡± a healing Practitioner from the Changjiang Practitioner Force replied as he immediately rushed over. Ren Suo nodded at Dong Chengling, then scurried forward as well. Yuan Dang looked anxiously at him as he pulled him towards the center of the crowd.

    In front of him was a thoroughly burnt body that was as ck as charcoal. The abdomen of the body waspletely damaged, and the internal organs were barely visible.

    ¡°Can he be saved?¡± Cheng Wenchao asked anxiously.

    The healing Practitioner from the Changjiang Force squatted down, then shook his head after taking a quick nce. He said, ¡°99% of his body has been burnt, and most of his internal organs are¡­¡±

    Ren Suo stared at the burnt body very seriously, but Mage did not look back at him. Instead, Mage looked directly upwards at the ceiling, and his charred lips turned upwards into a calm smile of ¡®righteousness¡¯.

    Ren Suo was not stingy on using his Reiki energy and directly used [Ability: Heal] to treat the burnt body. When he came into contact with the burnt body, he was undoubtedly filled with emotions.

    That was the first time he touched the body of a game character.

    If he had to describe his feelings then, it would probably be simr to being able to touch a 3D model of the 2D character which he was representing as a voice actor¡­

    Indeed, Ren Suo felt that he was voice-acting the game characters: he gave life, consciousness, and a voice to the characters. On the other hand, the game characters were, to him, virtual objects which transcended dimensional boundaries.

    The previous time, he only managed to steal an awe-inspiring glimpse at Nine-tailed Fox. Now, he could finally touch a real-life Mage.

    [Target Type: Adult Male, Human, a Primate]

    [Physical Condition: On the verge of death, suffering from massive blood loss]

    [Progress of Practice: Sacred Hand Level 18, Magic Wrist Level 0]

    [Skin: Severe burns, skin grafting is rmended]

    [Lungs: 66% damaged, rmended to¡­]

    In reality, the data disyed in [Data Stream] was also based on the physical condition of Mage. No matter who evaluated the condition of Mage, the only conclusion would be that ¡®it was not possible to treat him, he could not be saved, and he could only await his death¡¯ + ¡®goodbye¡¯.

    Even Ren Suo¡¯s own healing ability had no effect on Mage¡¯s charred body. Healing abilities were, ultimately, not omnipotent. Fundamentally, they achieved healing effects by utilizing Reiki as energy to stimte cell proliferation. At present, however, Mage had barely any blood left in his body after being burned, and most of his internal organs were no longer functioning, so the biological materials which the cells needed to proliferate were grosslycking.

    On the other hand, [Heart-Strengthening] would also be useless in such a scenario¡ªit was used to prolong one¡¯s life during dangerous and critical moments, but Mage would not ¡®die¡¯ in the first ce, so there was naturally no way to ¡®prolong¡¯ his life.

    At that moment, one of the Changjiang Practitioners was helped over by another one of them. He looked at Mage, who was like a flickering candle in the wind and could not help but burst into tears. He cried, ¡°My savior, if you havest wishes, feel free to tell me, I will definitely help you to fulfill them!¡±

    Ren Suo turned around and remembered the person to be the one who was saved by Mage using [Heart-Strengthening].

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Mage replied unhurriedly.

    Mage¡¯s voice was rxed, as if he had ¡®seen through the reality of life and death¡¯. Ren Suo was slightly surprised, as he had only typed in sentences when he was ying the game. He had not expected that when the sentences were spoken by Mage in reality, he would sound like an actual person speaking with emotions.

    Ren Suo had assumed that Mage would speak in a mechanical and monotonous tone.

    Cheng Wenchao squatted down and looked seriously at the burnt Mage. He said, ¡°Sir Mage, you protected us throughout the previous battle, and even debilitated yourself to kill that monster. For that, even words cannot express our deepest gratitude toward you.¡±

    ¡°Without you, we would definitely have been killed very early on by that monster.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, you are our savior who saved all of our lives. If you have anyst wishes, we will definitely try our best to help you fulfill them!¡±

    At that juncture, the burnt Mage seemed to be more alert. He took one look around him and said in a tone making him seem like he had gone through numerous ups and downs of life, ¡°We are mages under the world tree. From the moment we were born, we dedicated our lives to the world tree. It is our duty to eliminate disasters and save humans. I will not die, for there are many others like me who are fighting in silence. My will will be inherited by them, and we all have the same name: Mage¡­¡±

    Thest word ¡®Mage¡¯ lingered in the air. The burnt Mage very quickly turned into numerous light particles and vanished in the embrace of the Changjiang Practitioner.

    The Changjiang Practitioners did not cry, but sobs could be heard. At that moment, someone eximed, ¡°The mysterious realm is now connected to the outside! We are able to leave now!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Cheng Wenchao replied in surprise. However, he was quickly relieved and said, ¡°Indeed, Mage said that the mysterious realm will not be sealed anymore after the Evil Demon was killed.¡±

    ¡°Send one person to inform those on the outside about what happened here, and let themand post prepare for disease inspection. No one can leave the mysterious realm on their own. You must wait for instructions from the outside and for the disease inspection to bepleted before leaving. If ordinary people are able toe in, get the medic squad toe in to perform treatment now!¡±

    In an instant, Ren Suo had lots of work to do. Although Mage took much care of the Changjiang Practitioners during the battle, there were still quite a number of them who were injured. It was the perfect time for Ren Suo to shine.

    Unfortunately, however, Cheng Wenchao was not injured, and Ren Suo did not have any opportunity to treat him¡ªhe was a tier 2 Awakened Practitioner!

    Nheless, there was still a sizable number of Awakeners amongst the Changjiang Practitioners. Every Awakened Practitioner was treated by Ren Suo to a luxurious ¡®set meal¡¯: [Allure of Sweet Dreams] + 5 minutes of [Ability: Heal]. He sessfully acquired two keys, though they were likely to be 1-star keys.

    Equipping himself with [Small Holy Grail of Purity], the effect of Ren Suo¡¯s treatment was extremely obvious. It could well be termed a ¡®Gynaecologist¡¯s Sacred Hand¡¯¡ªthere was nothing much that Dong Chengling could do at that time with her ability, so she took on the role of a nurse who ¡®held down¡¯ the Changjiang Practitioners who were writhing in pain. Without a doubt, shepleted her task perfectly.

    When it was Yuan Dang¡¯s turn to be treated, he naturally did not have the opportunity to enjoy the ¡®luxurious set meal¡¯, as he was not an Awakener. As such, Ren Suo talked to him while he was treating him, asking, ¡°I heard you guys say that¡­ that man was a mage?¡±

    Yuan Dang did not answer. Ren Suo smiled and said instead, ¡°I know that this should be confidential information, but do you think he is a good person then?¡±

    Yuan Dang groaned momentarily and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°However, I will not forget the moment when he stood in front of me and blocked the attack for me.¡±

    ¡°I will not forget that he sacrificed his fingers to restrain the monster to stop the monster from attacking us.¡±

    ¡°I will not forget that he was not afraid of death, and burned himself to kill the monster.¡±

    ¡°It is too superficial to describe him simply as good or bad. He was willing to risk his life to save us, and I believe that his heart must be made of fiery passion and a strong sense of mission.¡±

    ¡°He will be the indelible beacon of light in my life for the next few decades toe,¡± Yuan Dang said.

    As Ren Suo listened to what Yuan Dang had to say, he began sweating buckets. Dong Chengling, who was holding Yuan Dang down, felt that it was slightly strange and asked, ¡°Ren Suo, are you feeling very warm?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Although Ren Suo felt slightly embarrassed as he listened to Yuan Dang, he secretly felt quite pleased¡ªthe person he disguised himself as was very well-received!

    Say more, Ren Suo really liked hearing it!

    At that juncture, Ren Suo saw a ck vortex appearing next to him, from the corner of his eyes. A green-skinned monster with sharp teeth and a vicious-looking mouth emerged from the ck-colored water. Its crimson-red eyes were staring straight at Ren Suo!

 Chapter 235 - Just A Lucky Guy

    Chapter 235: Chapter 235 ¨C Just A Lucky Guy

    The monster appeared in a trice. From the time when the vortex first formed to when the monster emerged, it took less than a second.

    However, Ren Suo, who had already noticed what was happening, remained calm¡ªwith Li Dan¡¯s [Insights of the World] and his own [Super-Evolution of Cats], Ren Suo had a much faster reaction speed than ordinary people.

    Ren Suo immediately stopped his treatment on Yuan Dang, then cast an invisibleyer of [Clothes] on himself. In a swift motion, he kicked the green monster into the air.

    At the same time, he began muttering in his heart to switch [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] with [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] in his prop slot, and [Ability: Heal] with [Fighter Novice] in his ability slot¡ªwhile Ren Suo had been promoted to a Level 4 yer and had two ability and prop slots each, they were still insufficient.

    However, it would take slightly more time for him to change his equipped abilities from the backup slots. In the heat of the moment, Ren Suo decided to fight the green monster directly!

    His [Ability: Clothes] was an equipped ability, so that was equivalent to him being 100% proficient in casting it without any difficulty. Dealing with the green monster, which had a level of damage simr to humans, with that ability was essentially child¡¯s y¡ªalthough the green monster retaliated in response to Ren Suo¡¯s attack, it could not even tear his [Clothes] apart!

    At the same time, dozens more simr green monsters appeared at other locations, one after another. The scene became slightly more chaotic, but Ren Suo¡¯s movements were not conspicuous either. As such, no one noticed when he forced the green monster into the corner of the wall but did not kill it¡ªhe did not know any attack skills which could cause damage and kill.

    Ren Suo uttered, ¡°Give me a few more seconds to change my equipment¡ª¡±

    Just as Ren Suo was excitedly devising his n in his heart while he exchanged blows with the green monster, a hand suddenly stretched out from behind and lightly struck the arm of the green monster.

    In an instant, the green monster¡¯s hand broke apart, and fresh, dark-red blood spurted onto Ren Suo¡¯s face. Before he could react, Dong Chengling hurried over and struck the chest of the green monster with her palm again¡ª

    Then, the green monster exploded into numerous fragments.

    It was as if the monster was struck by a mace, and its entire body split into multiple parts like a watermelon would have. A horrifyingly blood-curdling screech emerged from its throat as it turned into a corpse and fell to the ground. Ren Suo even saw a few segments of its intestines flying out of its body.

    A secondter, Ren Suo felt that the blood which sshed onto him suddenly began flowing. The blood that soaked his shirt was also ¡®forced¡¯ out and dissipated as ck-colored smoke. In a simr manner, the corpse on the ground also dissipated into the air, as if it was being burned away.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Dong Chengling asked as she turned and looked at Ren Suo.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Ren Suo replied. He could not tell Dong Chengling, for obvious reasons, that she had ¡®stolen his kill¡¯, and he quickly looked around to see if there were any more monsters remaining in the arena.

    Obviously, there was none. Encountering those brutal monsters which appeared out of the blue, the first reaction of the Changjiang Practitioners was to ¡®kill without hesitation¡¯. Not a single one of the monsters were left.

    Ren Suo could only feel unfortunate for himself¡ªwho would have imagined that those monsters, which were akin to ¡®rewards¡¯, would spawn so quickly? Had Ren Suo known about that, he would certainly have equipped himself with [Fighter Novice] and [Jade Pendant of Goddess of River Luo] from the beginning, to kill the monsters himself first.

    Ren Suo sighed in his heart, then went closer to Dong Chengling. He grabbed her shoulder and looked at her carefully from head to toe, then asked, ¡°How are you feeling now? Are you alright?¡±

    Dong Chengling¡¯s eyes blinked a few times rapidly, then she lowered her gaze slightly. She replied softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really fine?¡± a curious Ren Suo remarked. He remembered¡ªthe Watchmen of the Federation once mentioned that the Xuan Nation Practitioners had discovered that Practitioners who killed the monsters that appeared after the mystery realm was purified could gain an increase in their capabilities. It was somewhat simr to increasing ¡®experience points¡¯ in games.

    ¡°I¡¯m really alright,¡± Dong Chengling said as she nodded with much certainty.

    Ren Suo asked very seriously, ¡°Do you feel anything different? Like, for example¡­ uhm¡­ that your body temperature rose? Or perhaps that your heart is beating faster or something simr to that?¡±

    Without killing any of those monsters before, Ren Suo could only make wild guesses. Dong Chengling continued looking down, then nodded slightly after a long time. She said, ¡°No.¡±

    Ren Suo thought: (It might be that the experience points gained from killing a small monster are too little and negligible for a tier 2 Practitioner, so she could not feel any difference¡­)

    Due to the sudden appearance of green monsters, the danger level of the mystery realm was raised. The disease inspection was also forgone, and the Changjiang Practitioners quickly led everyone to leave the mystery realm.

    Ren Suo took one nce at the dpidated monastery and the wastnd near the entrance. That was where ¡®his character¡¯ once fought.

    That was also the first time he had set foot in ¡®the battlefield in a game¡¯.

    Upon leaving the mystery realm, a crying Gu Yueyan rushed forward and hugged Dong Chengling, while Ren Suo was called over by Li Dan to meet a group of¡­ strange people.

    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet you, Level 2 researcher Ren Suo,¡± the young and zesty short-haired woman, who was leading the group, said. She extended her hand to Ren Suo.

    A strong stirring palpitation arose in Ren Suo¡¯s heart, due to the woman¡¯s breathing current. Ren Suo quickly knew that the woman in front of him was at least a tier 2 Practitioner, and that familiar feeling arising in his heart indicated to him that she was also an Awakener.

    She was d in a ck vest, making her seem like a personnel of the Countermeasure System, but Ren Suo did not recall encountering anyone like her within the Lianjiang Countermeasure System. He shook hands with her and asked, ¡°Hello, you are¡­?¡±

    ¡°I am Nancy, the team leader of the ¡®Heavenly Ren Task Force¡¯. More urately, it is the ¡®Naisser Ren and Heavenly Pce Task Force¡¯,¡± the woman said.

    Nancy looked at the mysterious realm which appeared like a ¡°white marshmallow¡± and smiled, saying, ¡°The name of the task force is probably going to change again.¡±

    Ren Suo did not expect to meet someone from the task force there. He was slightly nervous and stammered, ¡°So, what¡¯s the matter¡­?¡±

    ¡°You did not forget that you are a special advisor of our task force, did you?¡± Nancy remarked with augh.

    Indeed, Ren Suo had almost forgotten about that. Although he still received his sry ordingly, he had not done much work specifically as a special advisor of the task force. He replied, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t forgotten about that, but you rarely required our assistance.¡±

    ¡°If we are able to find out the truth so easily by ourselves, would there be any significance to the existence of our task force?¡± a young man, who was standing behind Nancy, questioned.

    Nancy also said, ¡°That was what I thought too, previously. However, you, Researcher Ren, was able to boldly deduce the current situation and future developments of the mystery realm just based on a few pieces of information, and yet you were almost entirely urate. When we heard about this, we thought that, perhaps, our views needed to change.¡±

    As Ren Suo listened to Nancy, he began breaking out in cold sweat¡ªfortunately, they only thought that he had a great imagination, and Ren Suo was also able to back up his assertions with a bunch of reasons. Otherwise, his cover might well have been blown.

    Suddenly, Nancy asked, ¡°Would you be interested in joining the task force? I mean, as an official, formal member.¡±

    Ren Suo quickly shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I am extremely content with life now.¡±

    ¡ª¡ªHe would be a fool if he agreed; if he did, he would have to face the task force everyday, and wouldn¡¯t he be walking himself into the trap if he identally exposed himself while taking a nap?

    ¡°That¡¯s a pity then,¡± Nancy said, though there was not a great sense of disappointment in her voice. She asked, ¡°I suppose that you saw the person named ¡®Mage¡¯ when you went in personally, right? What kind of person do you think he is?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°When I went over, he was almost dead.¡±

    Nancy said, ¡°Only those who exist between life and death are real.¡±

    Since Nancy asked, Ren Suo pondered for a moment, then said seriously, ¡°I think that he is someone who faces life and death squarely, and one who does not have low tastes. He is extremely clever and brave, and he possesses a high degree of belief as well as a sense of great responsibility¡­¡±

    ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s great, that¡¯s great,¡± Nancy said. She continued, ¡°You have worked hard, there will be many more opportunities for us to work together in the future.¡±

    After Ren Suo left, Li Dan asked Nancy, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just a lucky guy who guessed a few things right,¡± Nancy replied. He nced at Li Dan and said, ¡°His past achievements are quite remarkable, but talent-wise¡­ I really don¡¯t see it in him.¡±

    ¡°Nheless, luck is also a talent. Focused training would be unnecessary for him, but a leisure role as a researcher is just right. Yu Kuangtu¡¯s foresight is not too bad sometimes.¡±

    ¡­

    Ren Suo returned to find Gu Yueyan and Dong Chengling. Gu Yueyan asked, ¡°Can we go back now?¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°We still have to undergo disease inspection, I suppose¡­ There might have been new types of bacteria or the like in the mystery realm. We should be able to head back after that.¡±

    Ren Suo looked at Dong Chengling and remarked, ¡°It was scary but not dangerous, right?¡±

    Then, he looked at Gu Yueyan and asked, ¡°By the way, do you eat durians?¡±

 Chapter 236 - â€˜Naisser Renâ€™sâ€™ Photography Skills

    Chapter 236: Chapter 236 ¨C ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯s¡¯ Photography Skills

    ¡°Dong Chengling, Level 1 Coupling, Coupling Ability ¡®Close to Worlds Apart¡±¡¯: Teleport 5 meters away (both the point of origin andnding must lie on the same ne). Teleportation is not possible if the user¡¯s surface density (area of skin, hair, etc.) is lower than the average density of thending point. The cooldown time is 24 hours, and no resources are consumed for teleportation.¡±

    It was only when Ren Suo returned home that he discovered he had unwittingly formed a Coupling with Dong Chengling.

    The Coupling Ability was¡­ well, interestingly hard to use.

    Ren Suo used the Coupling Ability once to try it out, and he instantly felt as if he was being bound tightly by a rope and dragged towards the target location.

    The next moment, he felt himself losing his bnce as he instantaneously moved five meters across the living room and ended up at the entrance to the kitchen. When his feet touched the floor again, he almost fell. The instant when time and space shifted caused a severe sensation of falling over. Having already experienced it once before, Ren Suo already expected that to happen, but he still failed to respond in time.

    Due to the cooldown time, Ren Suo could only try out the ability once, but he already had a certain understanding of the practicality of that ability: it was extremely challenging to put it to use.

    The main reason was that Ren Suo did not have perceptive abilities at present. If he had perceptive abilities, he could use that ability to move through walls or the like.

    However, at present, Ren Suo could only teleport if he could visually locate the target location, and so his movement range was limited to his field of view. At the same time, the teleportation distance was only 5 meters¡ªhe might as well walk to the target location if it was just 5 meters away and within his field of view.

    It was even more useless inbat. Whether it was the 24-hour cooldown time or the severe imbnce caused by the teleportation, the teleport ability was equivalent to a ¡®self-destructing truck¡¯ that would backfire in actualbat.

    ¡°It¡¯s not useful for now¡­ It looks like this ability would only be practical when the Coupling Level is higher.¡±

    Increasing the Coupling Level was not something that could be done overnight, so Ren Suo also put that matter aside for the time being. Since the students at the Heavenly Institution of Lian were currently on their vacation break, Ren Suo only focused on practicing the ¡°Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡± at home, apart from eating his meals.

    His progress was now tier 1, 73%, not far from tier 2. In August when he received his pay, along with the Reiki stones, and when he was promoted to tier 2, he would be able to purchase the more practical tier 2 abilities in the Knowledge Web.

    Tier 1 was the barrier between the ordinary and the extraordinary, while Tier 2 was the barrier between ordinary Practitioners and ¡®Practitioners who could make themselves be valued¡¯.

    In the Knowledge Web, Ren Suo could see that there were many tier 2 abilities that involved physical changes and energy changes. Those abilities were far more useful than the tier 1 abilities [Clothes] and [Lock], which only caused changes in Reiki.

    Moreover, the healing ability [Heal], the pain-relieving ability [Subside], as well as [Starve], an ability which allowed the user to feel energized despite not eating for an entire day, were all tier 2 abilities.

    Practitioners should not only be weapons of war but also function as production units. Although Xuan Nation was still figuring its way through the era of Reiki rejuvenation, the abilities avable in the Knowledge Web were testament to the wild ambitions of the nation: they were nurturing Practitioners to be ¡®pirs of society¡¯, and not just solely engaging in an ¡®Extraordinaire arms race¡¯ with other nations.

    Nheless, although Ren Suo wanted to practice during such a lull period, his wristband vibrated numerous times over the past few days¡ª

    His meeting with Nancy that day was not insignificant¡ªever since that day, the number of problems asked on the ¡®Heavenly Ren Task Force¡¯ increased significantly.

    ¡°Deep Dive Into Naisser Ren¡¯s Camera cements¡±

    ¡°How to Stop Naisser Ren at the Entrance to Mystery Realms¡±

    ¡°Possibility of Possessing Naisser Ren¡±

    Indeed, the task force was not to be taken as a fool. Notwithstanding other suspicions, ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ recorded videos of the process of virtually every Extraordinary event. There was no doubt that the mystery realm was simrly arge-scale Extraordinary event, so they were almost 100% certain that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ would appear in the mystery realm.

    The only problem was, how would they be able to catch Naisser Ren.

    Xuan Nation had already begun negotiations with other nations where mystery realms appeared in, requesting to jointly explore the mystery realms and search for ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯. At that juncture, Ren Suo finally understood why the Watchmen of the Federation knew information about the mystery realm in Xuan Nation¡ªit was most likely that Xuan Nation had used that information to entice the other nations to divulge their intelligence.

    However, although the questions posed were rted to Naisser Ren, they were simply too ¡®advanced¡¯¡ªthey deduced the locations ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ would record videos from if he were to enter the mystery realm, based on the scenes, light paths, and positions of the cameras in ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯s¡¯ past videos.

    They even deduced, very quickly, the positions of and the type of recording equipment used, based on the variations of light at the scene.

    The reason why they made such strange deductions was because of a major premise: that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ would release a video rted to the mystery realms! The format of the videos was ording to current recording standards, which meant that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ would very likely bring along a DV video camera into the mystery realm for recording. At the minimum, the scenes within the mystery realms had to be stored within the DV camera.

    Another possibility was that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ could have captured the scenes within the mystery realm from afar, then subsequently recorded it into DV format. However, such a method was rejected by many researchers from the beginning. That was because the videos uploaded by ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ so far were all 4K HD videos, and there waspletely no evidence of blurriness caused by re-recording.

    Furthermore, many researchers also asserted that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯s¡¯ recording skills were top-notch¡ªthe amount of light, the vibrancy of colors, the angle and framing of the shot¡­ it was simply exceptional.

    However, Ren Suo thought that those researchers who finally had the chance to showcase their ¡®talents in photography¡¯ were merely trying to gain more points, which was why they rejected the possibility that ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ would make use of extraordinary abilities to record the videos. Those questions which Ren Suo could not answer had already garnered six to seven epted discussion replies.

    As Ren Suo read through the serious discussions on the thread, he felt that it was funny but was envious at the same time¡ªhe also wished that he could gain points just like that!

    Ren Suo logged in to the intr again as he muttered, ¡°Is it another one of such questions¡­¡± Although he did not have the relevant knowledge in such areas, as a special advisor, he still had to express his opinions, even if he did not have an answer. Without a doubt, his replies were all hidden automatically (due to not having any reference value).

    Unexpectedly, the question posed this time was no longer about ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯.

    ¡°Basic Analysis of Mage and Relevant Questions¡±

    The post detailed information about Mage, including the various self-sacrificing Forbidden Spells which he revealed and the healing ability andbat ability of Mage. Other rted information was also included, such as ¡®unpurified monsters in the mystery realm can only be killed by Mage¡¯, ¡®the Mage under the World Tree is not afraid to sacrifice himself¡±, and that ¡®monsters in the mystery realm would revive infinitely¡¯.

    At the end of the post, a question was raised: ¡°There has been a total of three witness reports of the Mage. The first time, there was only one female mage as the Mage¡¯spanion; the second time, there were three female mages as hispanions; the fourth time, there were four female mages as hispanions. Furthermore, the male mage was sacrificed almost every single time, but more male mages were not sent. On the other hand, after one battle ended, the female mages would appear in the subsequent mystery realm to continue fighting. Please analyze the pattern of appearance of the mages across the mystery realms.¡±

    Surely, when the logic of the game was portrayed in reality, it would still feel very strange to some if Ren Suo used the ¡®World Tree¡¯ to support his assertions.

    The reason why there was only one male mage was simply because there was only one game character¡­ Additionally, it was because thepanions were all female mages that Ren Suo chose a male mage.

    He must have been thinking then: ¡°Who knows, sparks could fly between the main character and the female NPC, and there could perhaps be cheeky bathtub scenes, hot spring scenes, confession scenes or the like¡­¡±

    However, it was only when he cleared the game that it was made known to Ren Suo that the female mages were all part of Librom¡¯s harem¡­

    As for why the female mages appeared one by one in each subsequent mystery realm, it was clearly because they correspondingly introduced each checkpoint to the yer and acted as support¡ªthat was all just a predefined setting of the game.

    ¡°Okay, how should I exin all of this now¡­?¡±

    It was fun to bber nonsense at the moment, but the loopholes would end up a chore to fillter on.

    People on Earth would likely be skeptical and not quite convinced about what Mage said, but¡­ what if it was the truth that someone on Earth conjectured?

 Chapter 237 - The Rhythm is Fun

    Chapter 237: Chapter 237 ¨C The Rhythm is Fun

    [Thank you for the invite.

    We can see from the given information that the male mage is the only one among the mages in the mystery realm who can purify the monsters. The female mages are not involved in the process, so the following assertion can be made¡ªthe male and female mages y different roles.

    Unlike the female mages, the male mage was able to purify monsters and cast Forbidden Spells, in addition to fighting in the battle and healing those who were injured. As such, it can be seen that the male mage is, to a certain extent, of a higher standing than the female mages.

    In that case, why was it that there was only one male mage + multiple female mages in the mystery realm battles? After all, the male mage was extremely resolute in his purpose of killing the monsters and was even willing to sacrifice himself to aplish that goal. There was no reason for the World Tree not to ¡®send more male mages¡¯¡ªif they could do so.

    Based on the above, it can be concluded that: there are other restrictions with regard to the mystery realm, over and above that of only allowing Extroardinaires to ess it. There could be much stricter ess restrictions for mages, and male mages who are capable of purifying monsters may not be allowed to enter inrge numbers. It could even be the case that only one such male mage was allowed inside the mystery realm.

    Moreover, it is highly likely that there are other control mechanisms influencing male mages, which make them less afraid of sacrificing themselves, aspared to female mages. This could be due to their beliefs, or it could also be due to them possessing abilities like ¡®resurrection¡¯ or ¡®reincarnation¡¯.

    Simrly, why did the number of female mages increase with each sessful battle in the mystery realm? I believe that this is also rted to the mystery realm itself.

    ording to the given information, the strength and quantity of monsters in the mystery realms are both gradually increasing. This leads to two possibilities: the first is that the mage is purifying the mystery realms based on the order of strength, from the weakest to the strongest; the other possibility is that after one mystery realm is purified by the mage, the other mystery realms would react such that the strength of the monsters in these mystery realms would be enhanced.

    Since the mystery realms all appeared at the same time, there must be a certain extraordinary connection between them that is not observable using science.

    As the mystery realms grow stronger, the ¡®entrances¡¯ to them also grow in size. However, although these ¡®entrances¡¯ be erged, it is likely that, as before, only one male mage can pass through it, while the number of female mages who enter the mystery realms continue to increase.

    Judging from the mages¡¯bat style, it is very likely that they have already be ustomed to such brutal battles, and the rtionships between them are thus very weak. Death must have been amon urrence for them, so they would not give up just because of the death of theirpanions. Instead, they would hasten their pace in order to purify the mystery realms.

    As above.]

    After writing his reply, Ren Suo proceeded to Practice. When he returned to check on his reply three hourster, he discovered that it had already received 212 likes¡ªas the question thread revealed a lot of information about the mages, it had garnered over ten thousand clicks very quickly, and many researchers participated in the discussion.

    Moreover, Ren Suo was no longer a Level 1 Researcher. After he provided numerous correct answers to previous ¡®extraordinary¡¯ questions and was promoted to a Level 2 Researcher, he could be considered an ¡®industry authority¡¯. Many researchers read through his answer seriously.

    There were also plenty of researchers who refuted Ren Suo¡¯s answer using their actual names. They felt that Ren Suo was trying to force a logic over the facts, as if he was only drawing the target after releasing the arrow. However, Ren Suo looked through the discussion thread and found that there were currently no other answers which were more reliable and logical than his own. Most of the answers were simr to Ren Suo¡¯s, in that they sought to find reasons to exin the behaviors of the mages.

    In that way, Ren Suo had already won the battle.

    What he needed to do was not toe up with superficial answers to earn himself researcher points, but to think of ways to influence the general direction the researchers thought in. He needed toe up with an answer that was ¡®logical but still seemed somewhat out-of-the-ordinary¡¯, and lead them to make more guesses to refute his answer.

    There could be someone who would perfectly exin the logic of the mages¡¯ actions, but it did not matter to Ren Suo if that person was not him. Anyway, his role was to help the mages fill up the loopholes in their stories.

    Now, if there was no other evidence that would disprove what the mage said, therge majority of researchers would not doubt the existence of the World Tree. Instead, they would be thinking of ways to prove its existence.

    Simply put, Ren Suo established momentum within the intr.

    ¡®It¡¯s so fun to establish the momentum¡­¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    Nheless, the fact that Xuan Nation knew that there were four female mages in one of the mystery realms signified that the Mage had cleared the fourth checkpoint.

    That progress was quite fast¡­ Ren Suo looked at the time and realized that it was only four days since he ate durian chicken¡­ or rather, since the day that he went to Xiang City.

    In that case, did that mean that Mage was essentially conquering the various mystery realms without taking any breaks?

    Ren Suo did not know the time interval between two checkpoints (he would stop to Practice for a day or two when he cleared a checkpoint in the game each time). He once controlled Mage to sneak in the question: ¡®What day is it today?¡±, when he met people from Earth in the game.

    The other person responded then: ¡°It is the *beep* of *beep* in the year 20*beep*.¡±

    All of the crucial numbers were censored¡­

    At present, ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯ had not uploaded any video either, so it appeared that a video would only be uploaded after Mage hadpletely purified all of the mystery realms.

    There were only a few more days to August, I shall Practice well then!

    Although that was what Ren Suo intended to do, life did not always go ording to n¡ª

    After he had lunch at Dong Chengling¡¯s house at noon, Ren Suo remained behind to wash the dishes in the kitchen (it would be Gu Yueyan¡¯s turn that night). When he finished washing the dishes, he saw Dong Chengling sitting in the living room, waiting for him to be done.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°Wait, Ren Suo. Would you be free tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Shall we go to the movies?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    Ren Suo was stunned for a moment, then looked at her grimly and said, ¡°Will a tier 2 Practitioner still run a fever¡­? Do you need me to treat you?¡±

    It came as a surprise to Ren Suo that Dong Chengling suddenly wanted to watch a movie, for she had always only been focused on Practicing or teaching. There was no other reason to exin her sudden motivation to watch a movie, other than the possibility that she was sick.

    ¡°I¡¯m being serious,¡± Dong Chengling replied. She said calmly, ¡°I want to watch ¡®The Ghost de¡¯.¡±

    ¡°¡®The Ghost de¡¯?¡± Ren Suo replied. He took out his mobile phone to search for the movie, then remarked in surprise, ¡°It¡¯s an action movie based on the theme of Practitioners and monsters fighting in the city? Wait, the Tianjing Countermeasure Headquarters participated in the production of the movie, and it is dubbed the first ¡®3D magical realism action movie involving Practitioners¡¯? It was quickly released in all theaters after less than 2 months in production?¡±

    Dong Chengling nodded and said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t fancy such entertainment like movies, this movie is said to have referenced the true process of how Practitioners suppress monsters, so it has both great entertainment and educational value.¡±

    Ren Suo thought about it and understood why the nation would release such a movie¡ªalthough the Countermeasure Division was currently suppressing the monsters, they were notpletely eliminated. Making such a movie would allow the general public to develop a basic understanding of monsters, and it could, at the same time, promote patriotism. The position of the Countermeasure Division which ¡®protected the people of the nation¡¯ would be further elevated.

    At the same time, it was beneficial for other potential Practitioners and Awakeners to know that the nation had established a well-developed system to nurture Extraordinaires, as well as aplete system for career progression. They would naturally bew-abiding and embrace their recruitment and nurturing by the nation¡ªeven if they were not willing to do so, they still had to spare a thought for their family.

    Although the nation ced much emphasis on training Practitioners at present, that was news which was only circted internally. Ordinary citizens only knew that there were ten Practitioner Institutions where students could engage in ¡®cultivation¡¯. Most people would still be unaware of the nation¡¯s stance towards Practitioners.

    As such, the movie would undoubtedly be the nation¡¯s best publicity material.

    Ren Suo continued to read through the information on the webpage. He asked, ¡°Is it just you and me who will be watching the movie?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Dong Chengling replied with a nod.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I think so too. After all, this is an R-rated movie, and children under 18 are not allowed to view it, so Gu Yueyan and Lin Xianyu can¡¯t watch the movie.¡±

    ¡°The Ghost de¡± sought to mimic reality as much as possible¡ªnot only was there said to be blood, but also scenes of dead corpses, intestines, and internal organs. It was an R-rated movie that minors could not watch.

    Dong Chengling was slightly stunned. She nodded and said, ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ¡°Alright, when do you want to watch the movie tomorrow?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    At present, Ren Suo only had a Level 1 Coupling with Dong Chengling. Although he did not know what requirements were there to reach a Level 2 Coupling, it would certainly not do any harm to engage in more activities together with her.

    ¡°In the afternoon,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s all set then,¡± Ren Suo said.

    After leaving Dong Chengling¡¯s house, Ren Suo saw Gu Yueyan leaning against the wall again, on the first floor of the dormitory building.

    That scene seemed somewhat familiar¡­ Ren Suo immediately looked down and attempted to walk right past her, but was still stopped by Gu Yueyan.

    ¡°Ren Suo, wait,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    ¡°I am ultimately still your teacher,¡± Ren Suo said as he looked at her helplessly. He continued, ¡°I don¡¯t mind that you always call me by my full name, but other people might think that you are disrespectful if they hear you call me that.¡±

    Gu Yueyan looked at Ren Suo scornfully and asked, ¡°Do you want me to call you ¡®Brother Ren¡¯ like Xiao Yu, then?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you would¡­¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°You should practice well and stop day-dreaming, old man,¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Ren Suo waved his hand and said, ¡°Just call me by my name, it¡¯s better than calling me an old man¡­¡±

    Gu Yueyan asked, ¡°Do you still remember that you owe me an apanying treatment?¡±

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment and nodded. He replied, ¡°Yes, I still remember about that.¡±

    More than half a month ago when he went to Ind Lake in Xiang City with Gu Yueyan, he had failed to quickly rescue Gu Yueyan from the water. He felt that he had not fulfilled his responsibilities as her ¡®protector¡¯, and so he said that he owed Gu Yueyan one for that.

    Gu Yueyan said, ¡°I n to train my Awakened Ability at the mountain behind the school at night. Since my Awakened Ability is a damage-type ability, and I still do not have perfect control of my ability, I may end up hurting myself. As such, I hope that you would remain beside me during my training as a form of insurance.¡±

    She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°I once trained alone, and although I did not injure myself, I cut a small chunk of my hair off¡­¡±

    Ren Suo could not help but snicker. He said, ¡°You injured yourself with your own Awakened Ability¡­ You are now as much of an embarrassment as Xiao Yu¡­ Anyway, sure, when do you need my help?¡±

    Remembering that he had not yet formed a Coupling with Gu Yueyan, and especially that Gu Yueyan possessed a rare damage-type ability, Ren Suo naturally did not want to miss such an opportunity.

    ¡°Tomorrow night!¡± Gu Yueyan said.

    Ren Suo blinked. He replied hesitantly, ¡°Eh¡­ can you pick another time to train?¡±

    ¡°Huh? I am going home the day after tomorrow, and I will only be back next month,¡± Gu Yueyan replied. She continued, ¡°Moreover, my Awakening is rted to the condition of the sky. It would be a full moon tomorrow, which is the most suitable environment for casting my Awakened Ability. Why, do you have something on tomorrow night?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow night¡­ I¡¯m not really busy then, I suppose,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°It¡¯s all set then! Remember, I¡¯ll meet you at the mountain at the back of the school at 8 p.m. tomorrow night. The day is longer in summer!¡±

    Upon finishing her sentence, Gu Yueyan hurried away, as if she was afraid that Ren Suo would refuse.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo¡¯s mobile phone rang. It was Zhao Huo.

    He said, ¡°Let¡¯s meet tomorrow! Chairman Xie would be free tomorrow as well. Let¡¯s enjoy a round of beer and barbeque together¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m busy tomorrow. Moreover, it¡¯s not as beneficial to hang out with you guys,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Although Zhao Huo and the others were also quite capable, they were not Awakeners, and he naturally could not form Couplings with them.

    After Ren Suo hung up on him, Zhao Huo was stunned for a moment. He rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, ¡°How could this guy talk about ¡®benefits¡¯. The only thing that would be more beneficial¡¯ than hanging out with us would be that¡­ he was going to hang out with a girl?!¡±

    When Ren Suo reached the foot of his dormitory block, he saw the ck cat lying in a cool area while basking in the sun as usual. He squatted down and patted the cat as he pondered:

    ¡°Is it not too coincidental¡­¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°Team Leader, what are youughing at?¡±

    Hearing her team member¡¯s question, Qiao Muyi put her mobile phone back into the pocket of her pants and replied:

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s just fun to establish the momentum.¡±

 Chapter 238 - Virtual Reality

    <h4>Chapter 238: Chapter 238 ¨C Virtual Reality</h4>

    ¡°Mom, I want to y that!¡±

    ¡°The queue is so long¡­¡±

    ¡°I want this, I want this! I want to y this!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay¡­ Line up properly, don¡¯t wander around.¡±

    Ren Suo was in Tianyi Commercial Square of Lianjiang City. Arge crowd was gathered around huge transparent rooms in the middle of the open area on the first floor, waiting in line to experience one of thetest technological inventions.

    Many parents were lining up with their young children who wanted to experience the exhibit. Although the parents were not very pleased that there was a long queue, they did not turn down their children¡¯s request either, allowing their children to y with their mobile phones or the like as they waited in line. The majority of people in line were actually teenagers¡ªmore specifically, there were more young men and fewer girls.

    Each transparent room was about 25 square meters in size, and there was an experienced participant in each of them. They had full-coverage sses and noise-canceling headphones on, and wore full-bodytex-like tights (even including gloves). Straps were fixed at their waists and shoulders. They were standing on a 1-meter-tall green tform, and on the ground less than 2 meters away from them were piles made of the same, strange green substance. The green substances were piled as tall as half the height of typical humans, and they continuously flowed and shaped themselves to form various objects based on what was disyed on the screen.

    Several screens were erected in each of the transparent rooms, and they disyed the first-person perspectives as seen by the participants.

    As they moved, the green substances on the ground would begin to flow, making the participants feel as if they were pulling the straps and walking forward, although they were merely walking on their original spot.

    One of the participants had to walk up some steps in the virtual world. When he raised his feet, the green substance on the ground would immediately turn into a step that he could walk onto. As he continued to walk ¡®up¡¯ the steps, the green substance continued to turn into more steps, but at the same time, the steps would gradually lower down. In the same way, when he was walking down, the steps would continuously rise upwards, and the participant¡¯s actual position would remain unchanged.

    Another one of the participants had to conceal his location in the virtual world. He tried to hide behind a wall and crouched down while leaning forward. As he did that, the green substance in front of his body suddenly changed its shape as if it were jelly, then turned into a firm wall for him to hide behind.

    Another participant was engaged in a gunfight in the virtual world. He stretched out his hands in front of him, and the green substance morphed into a table with many gun parts on it. The participant picked up an object made of the green substance which was shaped like a gun, as well as one which looked like a hand grenade. He shouted ¡°Charge!¡± and evenunched the hand grenade¡ªbut after the hand grenade left his hand, it instantly dropped to the ground and fused with the rest of the green substance. However, the screen showed that the hand grenade which he released created a significant impact.

    There were other participants who shook hands with the green substance¡ªwhen they stretched their hand out, the green substance also morphed into a hand. On the disy, the participant was shaking hands with a busty elf girl, and the center of the screen remained fixated on the huge, tender-looking bosom of the girl¡ªthe participant must be extremely experienced.

    ¡°Do you want to experience it too?¡± Dong Chengling asked when she returned with two cups of pudding milk tea. She said, ¡°The movie is about to start though.¡±

    ¡°I was just slightly amazed,¡± Ren Suo replied as he took a cup of the milk tea and drank a sip. He asked, ¡°When did such extraordinary technology emerge in our nation?¡±

    There wererge banners hung up within the mall which Ren Suo saw the moment he entered the mall. There were various publicity advertisements: Experience the virtual reality device ¡®Pandora¡¯s Box¡¯ produced by Liaoyuan Entertainment now at Tianyi Commercial Square. It is an immersive experience that feels exactly like reality, whether you are walking, feeling, or being touched.

    Of course, the slogan of the advertisements was not written like that; rather, it was ¡°Revolutionary, earth-shattering¡­¡±, ¡°Even my 90-year-old father was shocked¡­¡±, and the like.

    ¡°Mmm? I think¡­ it was not too long ago either,¡± Dong Chengling replied. She pondered for a moment and said, ¡°I do not usually keep up with such news, but I do know about Liaoyuan Entertainment.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Is it very famous?¡± Ren Suo, who slightly surprised, replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s not famous, I only heard about thispany today. However, it is a subsidiary of Liaoyuan Technologies, and that mainpany is very famous,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    Ren Suo still looked clueless and Dong Chengling smiled helplessly. She exined, ¡°Oh, I forgot that you aren¡¯t a student. This is something which the school would teach students, as Liaoyuan Technologies is funded by the nation. It is a researchpany which mainly focuses on the abilities of ¡®Awakeners¡¯. The Reiki storage device and other Practice facilities we have at present are all produced by the subsidiarypanies of Liaoyuan Technologies.¡±

    Ren Suo asked, ¡°Were those facilities not researched and developed by the National Research Institute?¡±

    ¡°Of course, development and production are different,¡± Dong Chengling said. She continued, ¡°Liaoyuan Technologies specifically manages the sale of the Reiki devices and the various types of Extraordinaire goods which the nation has researched and developed. For example, that substance which is able to morph freely into various objects is an intelligent polymer, created with the help of the powers of Awakeners.¡±

    ¡°However, we do not even have a sufficient number of such extraordinary materials internally, and yet they are using them for VR technology products for consumers¡­ Could there have been a technological breakthrough?¡±

    It was perfectly normal for Dong Chengling to have her doubts. In the VR experience room just now, any sensible person would be able to see that what made the VR device function well was the green slime-like substance. It could exist as a solid or liquid, and it could even break apart ore together at any time. It could also be soft or hard. Most importantly, that substance could be controlled using software and electrical signals.

    Such material had too many possible applications, but using it to make VR devices¡­ it just seemed out of ce in the technology progression tree.

    At the same time, Ren Suo was immediately reminded of the lucky draw when he was promoted to a Level 4 yer¡ª[Fulfil a Random Wish] had fulfilled his wish of a ¡®virtual reality game device¡¯.

    However, that was only ten days ago. It was simply too quick if that was it, and the trial version was already being promoted in the different cities¡­

    Perhaps the materials and equipment used were already avable, and that there was already rted research. It was just that under the influence of his wish, the rate of research and development was suddenly increased, and even the marketunch time and extent of publicity were continually enhanced.

    ¡°I wonder when it would be possible to purchase it¡­¡± Ren Suo sighed.

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°Even if it can be purchased, production would surely be a challenge. Important units within the government would be given priority to obtain the supply, but for ordinary citizens¡­¡± She shook her head and said no more.

    Ren Suo hadpletely forgotten about that problem.

    Even though the VR technology had emerged, if the production supply was low, he might not be able to buy it. However, he was not worried that he could not afford it, because he currently held multiple positions and assisted the Countermeasure Division numerous times. His bonuses, in addition to his pay for the year, would surely be more than sufficient for him to buy a game equipment device, even if he still could not afford a property in Lianjiang, no?

    Ren Suo and Dong Chengling entered the movie theater just in time for the movie¡ªafter all, they could not afford to waste their time while waiting for the movie to start.

    Although the production time of ¡°Ghost de¡± was short, the script, special effects, scenes, and pace were all excellent. It was only the stuntmen who were Extraordinaires that was obviously not up to top standard¡ªnheless, no one would criticize about that, for they all knew that the stuntmen were Extraordinary Practitioners!

    Almost all of the monsters which appeared in the movie were real, and it seemed that numerous monsters must have been caught by the Countermeasure System as specimens for research.

    In addition, after the battle, the monsters¡¯ fresh blood, intestines, and internal organs were all strewn over the ground. The brutality of the bloodshed in battle, in contrast with the spirit of the Extraordinaires as they bravely fought the battle, left a deep impression on the viewers.

    As Ren Suo and Dong Chengling were leaving after the movie ended, they overheard a man next to them talking to another man, saying, ¡°The Awakeners are so powerful, they managed to turn the tide in their favor during the battle all because of the Awakened Abilities of the Awakeners. If only I could Awaken too¡­¡±

    The other man replied, ¡°Don¡¯t expect too much, it would already be very fortunate if you can be a Practitioner. Moreover, the main character is also a Practitioner without any Awakened Abilities, and yet he still managed to be the team leader whomands other Awakeners. Overall, his abilities are the most powerful in the team as well.¡±

    The first man said, ¡°Sigh, it is not easy to be an Awakener in the first ce¡­ Forget it, what¡¯s the point of talking about all of this when I would remain an ordinary person all my life.¡±

    The other man replied, ¡°That isn¡¯t something cast in stone, for cultivation depends on talent. Just look at the protagonist in the movie, he only barely passed in the beginning and was ranked at the bottom. However, he relied on cultivation to improve his talent score. Who knows, the nation might invent some method for people to train and improve their talent score, and everyone would be able to cultivate.¡±

    ¡°How would that be possible!¡± the first man eximed.

    ¡°A hundred years ago when our national illiteracy rate was 95%, no one would have thought that there would one day be nine years ofpulsory education,¡± the other man said.

    Ren Suo was deep in thought as he nodded. Dong Chengling asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just found this movie to be pretty good,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Ren Suo had to admit that the film was influential: not only did it allow ordinary people to have a certain understanding of monsters, it also improved the social status of Practitioners, and heightened the respect that people had for Practitioners. It glorified the Practitioners with the ¡®duty of serving the people of the nation¡¯, and at the same time, gave those who could not Practice a chance to dream¡ªjust like how the protagonist of the movie could be so powerful even though he used to be a noob, ordinary people could also be as powerful one day.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to a restaurant for dinner,¡± Dong Chengling suddenly said. She added, ¡°It¡¯s because someone I know rmended the ce to me, and we¡¯re outside now, so¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going back?¡± a surprised Ren Suo asked. The number of times he was surprised that day was slightly high.

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°Xiaoyan told me yesterday that she won¡¯t being over for dinner tonight, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll pay this time. After all, I have received so many free meals from you,¡± Ren Suo said.

    The restaurant was not far from Tianyi Square, and they decided to walk there. Along the way, Ren Suo noticed something strange¡ªasionally, the people who were walking past would look at him.

    Could I have be more handsome from Practicing?

    That can¡¯t be, those who are looking at me are guys! Could it be that¡­

    ¡­ I have turned gay?

    However, Ren Suo quickly realized that the passers-by were not looking at him, but Dong Chengling, who was beside him.

    It was only then when Ren Suo noticed that Dong Chengling was not wearing her typicalbination of jeans with a white top. Instead, she was wearing a red knee-length id skirt with a pair of ck stockings. She was also wearing a whitece top, not an ordinary Uniqlo pure-colored unisex top. Her long hair was tied up with hair essories, making her features look exquisite and elegant.

    It was only because Ren Suo met her everyday that he did not notice it¡ªas a Practitioner progressed in his/her Practice, the appearance and disposition of the Practitioner were also enhanced gradually.

    As a tier 2 Practitioner, Dong Chengling was more sensitive and could feel that Ren Suo was looking at her. She turned and asked Ren Suo calmly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much¡­¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Dong Chengling nodded and took out her mobile phone from her purse.

    Turning back to look at the front, Ren Suo extracted certain keywords in his mind: male, female, watching a movie, eating a meal¡­

    ¡ª¡ªWait, isn¡¯t this exactly what a date is?

 Chapter 239 - Sunk Into It

    Chapter 239: Chapter 239 ¨CSunk Into It

    ¡°How-old-are-you-already.¡±

    ¡°Enough of those old jokes.¡±

    In the restaurant, Qiao Muyi sat next to Dong Chengling. She was biting on the tip of a straw as she smiled at Ren Suo and said, ¡°Why, are you unhappy to be eating with us? There are two beautiful tier 2 Practitioners at the same table as you now. It¡¯s a rare chance for you to ask us any questions you may have with regard to Practicing.¡±

    Ren Suo pursed his lips and said, ¡°I originally intended to pay for the meal¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi waved her hand in the air and said, ¡°Tch, it¡¯s not like you need to pay much more for one more person. Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know how much you earn, your payroll is stored in the internal system of the Countermeasure Division, and it¡¯s pretty easy to find out. Your bonus and base paybined is almost twice that of mine, but you have more free time than me, and have more time to Practice than me¡­¡±

    ¡°I also want to watch ¡®Ghost de¡¯ ~ but unfortunately I don¡¯t have time to spare ~¡±

    Ren Suo knew that within the Countermeasure System, Qiao Muyi usually looked out for him especially, so he sighed and said, ¡°Now that you mention, my conscience is not allowing me to not treat you now¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I will definitely continue to look out for you in the Countermeasure Division, especially if there is any interesting news,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she waved her hand in the air. She took the cup of milk tea Ren Suo was holding onto and looked at it, saying, ¡°Milk tea is very sweet and contains a lot of sugar, be careful not to grow fat drinking it.¡±

    ¡°I will just eat more saltter to neutralize the sugar,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Do you think this is acid-base neutralization? What¡¯s more, shouldn¡¯t it be bitterness that neutralizes sweetness instead?¡± Qiao Muyi questioned.

    After Ren Suo left the table to go to the toilet, Qiao Muyi supported her chin with her right palm and sighed. She looked helplessly at Dong Chengling and said, ¡°Well, well, Miss Dong, I¡¯d say that the atmosphere is decent, no? Why did you have to ask me over? You made it sound like it was a major emergency, I thought you guys encountered monsters.¡±

    Dong Chengling replied very quietly, ¡°I was just¡­ a little nervous. If you hadn¡¯te, I don¡¯t think I would be able to utter even a sentenceter¡­¡±

    She tugged at the hem of her skirt and finally showed a bit of her shy self in front of her friend. She said, ¡°It¡¯s also the first time that I wore this kind of clothes as an adult¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi rolled his eyes. She replied, ¡°Oh, my lord. What did you wear when you were in university? Don¡¯t you hang out with your friends outside school?¡±

    Dong Chengling said, ¡°I just wear long pants and a shirt. I¡¯m usually always in the library, and I rarely participate in any of the activities. I don¡¯t like to attend parties with my roommates either.¡±

    Qiao Muyi remarked, ¡°Tch, you are certainly not a model student then, in terms of the holistic development of morality, intellectual ability, physical fitness, appreciation of the arts, andbor skills¡­ but haven¡¯t you already watched a movie with him? Isn¡¯t this progressing perfectly normally?¡±

    Dong Chengling remained silent for a moment then said slowly, ¡°When watching the movie¡­ we didn¡¯t need to talk.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I was already not focusing on the movie halfway through it. I was trying to see from the corner of my eyes if he was looking at me¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling looked down and her shiny, ck hair covered her face. However, hearing her slightly trembling voice, Qiao Muyi knew that her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

    Dong Chengling continued, ¡°I think he finally noticed when we were shopping just now that I was wearing something strange. He did not talk after that, which was why I called you over¡­ After all, we would have to face each other throughout the entire duration of the meal¡­¡±

    ¡°Miss Dong, it¡¯s not that he noticed you are wearing strange clothes, but that he noticed you are very pretty and cute!¡± Qiao Muyi remarked.

    Qiao Muyi sighed and Dong Chengling grinned. She turned to look at Qiao Muyi with her eyes wide open, then tucked her hair behind her ears. She blushed as she smiled and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you my love advisor, Xiao Qiao? Of course, I would look for you when I need help.¡±

    Qiao Muyi was momentarily stunned. In the blink of an eye, she whipped out her mobile phone and snapped a picture of Dong Chengling.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dong Chengling asked curiously.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Qiao Muyi said.

    Qiao Muyi turned away from Dong Chengling and uploaded the picture to cloud storage. At the same time, she set the picture as her phone screensaver and wallpaper, and thought to herself¡ªyou¡¯re going to be my wife this week.

    ¡°I will invite him to Practice with me at the Practice Stadiumter, would you be able toe along as well, Xiao Qiao?¡± Dong Chengling asked. She sped her palms together and begged, ¡°You¡¯re already here, why not¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi waved her hand in the air and said, ¡°Honestly, I would rather you guys go to the karaoke box to sing, or go ice skating together. Otherwise, you guys could even continue shopping, or visit the Lianjiang Spire¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling replied, ¡°I would rather Practice than spend time on those activities. Ren Suo also made it clear that he did not like those activities. He did not want to join them either when it was Zhao Huo who invited him.¡±

    Qiao Muyi pursed her lips and remarked in heart: ¡®They are two such hardcore OL yers in life¡¯. She asked, ¡°Does that mean that you have not told him about your nter?¡±

    ¡°Well, Xiao Qiao, didn¡¯t you say that I should only tell him about my ns one step at a time?¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    Dong Chengling blinked. She drew circles in the air with her index fingers as she said, ¡°It would seem like I was asking for a date if I disclosed all of my ns at once. However, if I revealed my ns step by step, there would be a cooldown buffer time¡­ although it seems that this cooldown buffer is not very effective.¡±

    (I did not know that I had inadvertentlye up with such a logical reason¡­) Qiao Muyi threw up her hands in the air. She suddenly thought of something, then pretended to ask casually, ¡°By the way, how¡¯s that female student who sticks to you frequently?¡±

    ¡°She has something on tonight and told me in advance that she would not being over for dinner,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    ¡°You are on such good terms with her,¡± Qiao Muyi remarked.

    Dong Chengling exined, ¡°She is the first friend I made when I first came to Lianjiang City. She is just like my sister.¡±

    Sheughed and added, ¡°I¡¯m the only child in my family, and I¡¯ve always wanted to have a sister.¡±

    Qiao Muyi asked, ¡°I can tell. Out of the two Type 3 Reiki storage devices that the Countermeasure Division gave you, one of them is worn by her¡­ Of course, the other one is with Ren Suo. However, she¡¯s just a friend, is it worth giving her that much? It has only been two months since you guys got to know each other, no?¡±

    Dong Chengling exined, ¡°It¡¯s worth it. Two months ago, when I first started teaching students as an instructor, I was still quite nervous and flustered. It was Xiaoyan who helped me to keep the ss well-behaved. Xiaoyan¡¯s help is a big part of the reason why I was able to teach the ss with ease subsequently.¡±

    ¡°She cares for me, helps me, approves of me, likes me, and agrees with the pursuit of my goals in life wholeheartedly and genuinely. I¡¯m not made of steel, how can I remain indifferent towards her?¡±

    Dong Chengling stirred the cup of iced ck tea with the straw and continued, ¡°It might be because I have no friends, which is why I cherish the current rtionships and feelings I have now very much.¡±

    ¡°I have goals which I want to pursue, friends which I can open my heart to, a sister which I can care dearly for, and¡­ Perhaps all of these things will change in the future, but before that happens, I want to enjoy these encounters to the fullest.¡±

    Qiao Muyi fell silent momentarily. At that juncture, Ren Suo finally returned and sat down. He said, ¡°For some reason, suddenly¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, we are about to eat, don¡¯t talk about anything involving the toilet,¡± Qiao Muyi interrupted disdainfully.

    The dinner proceeded smoothly and peacefully. After he had his fill, Ren Suo looked at the time and said, ¡°It¡¯s time to go back.¡±

    ¡°Do you have something onter?¡± a stunned Dong Chengling asked.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Yeah. I want to¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± eximed Qiao Muyi, interrupting their conversation. She pulled Dong Chengling up from her seat and said, ¡°It¡¯s our girls¡¯ night out then. Remember to pay the check, if you don¡¯t have enough money, just wash the tes in the kitchen or sell your lungs or kidneys.¡±

    ¡°Selling my lungs to the restaurant for them to make a dish of lungs in chili sauce? No way,¡± Ren Suo said as he waved his hands in the air. He continued, ¡°So you would not be heading back, Chengling? Alright then, see you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    Dong Chengling, who was pulled to leave by Qiao Muyi, said nothing along the way out. It was only when they were far away from the restaurant when she asked, ¡°Xiao Qiao, didn¡¯t you say that¡­¡±

    Qiao Muyi said, ¡°The moment I joined you guys, your date has already! Failed! Completely! I would rather take you out to shop for other sets of clothes which you would not feel awkward in. I was confused the previous time, but I now know that your level is too low to wear this set of clothes.¡±

    Dong Chengling (¡ã©`¡ã¡¨): ¡°There are different levels too?¡±

    ¡°Only for you, but not for others,¡± Qiao Muyi said. She continued scornfully, ¡°Moreover, Ren Suo coincidentally has something on as well, so don¡¯t give him a chance to reject you.¡±

    Dong Chengling smiled. She took Qiao Muyi¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Thank you, Xiao Qiao.¡±

    Qiao Muyi turned away and muttered softly: ¡°Tch¡­ I don¡¯t want to be the culprit¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling questioned, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Qiao Muyi said as she turned back to look at Dong Chengling. Suddenly, she asked, ¡°Speaking of which, I have always wanted to ask you, what exactly do you like about him? He iszy, has a poor talent score, is not driven, has a low EQ, and does not seem to have a very high IQ either¡­ There are so many shorings I can list about him.¡±

    Dong Chengling blinked and pondered for a moment. She said, ¡°He sent help when I needed it? He saved my life? He likes my cooking? He believes in me and respects me? His sense of responsibility? ¡­¡±

    She threw up her hands in the air and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. This is the only thing that I can¡¯t exin my reasoning for. It¡¯s like everything fell into ce so naturally that when I finally came to my senses, I had already¡­ sunk into it.¡±

    Qiao Muyi sped her forehead and sighed, then she said earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as your love advisor, I will definitely help you!¡±

    Qiao Muyi secretly made a decision in her heart¡ªshe would not create any trouble, or at the least, she would not take the initiative to cause such trouble

    She did not want to be the one who ruined their rtionship, and of course, neither would she help to maintain their rtionship.

    It was her who initiated the trouble this time, so she had to be the one who resolved it without being found out.

    Subsequently, Qiao Muyi would just y her part as a spectator on the spectator stand, cheering thepetitors on as she waited in hope for¡ª

    The future she was looking forward to.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ¡°The Seeker whom the Mage mentioned is the heroine from ¡®A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters¡¯, who is an official member of the Heavenly Pce¡­¡±

    On the tall tform above the ck sea stood a group of Extraordinaire warriors, who seemed as if they were on a sightseeing trip. They stood on the edge of the tform, watching as the clone of the female Seeker emerged, and both the Seeker and her clone ruthlessly rained punches on the two terrifying enemies.

    They had thought that the Mage under the World Tree was already mighty: he could teleport, was not afraid of bullets, and had extremely strong abilities such as inbat, defense, movement, healing, and scouting. The battles could well be considered his one-man show. Many of the nations thought that, should the Mage embark on a sabotage mission in any city, subduing him was not going to be possible unless the best Awakeners were sent to surround and kill him¡ªor unless decimating an entire city was an option.

    However, the Seeker of the Heavenly Pce broadened their perspectives once again!

    It was especially so for the Changjiang Practitioner Force, for the abilities which the Seeker used were all fundamental abilities that were sold in the Xuan Nation Knowledge Web!

    Moreover, the intimacy they felt with the Seeker hinted to them that: that feeling of connection was that between those who practiced ¡°The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan¡±!

    At the same time, thousands of miles away, Ren Throne was looking at the report on hisputer.

    [Based on the conversation records of the four male mages, it can be deduced from their word use and sentence structures that theirnguage habits derive from the coastal areas in the southeastern region of Xuan Nation. Narrowing down the possible areas, there is a 60% probability that they are from Lian Province, a 14% probability that¡­]

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

 Chapter 240 - Canâ€™t be lying all together

    Chapter 240: Chapter 240 ¨C Can¡¯t be lying all together

    The mystery realm was something that most ordinary people would not get to know about.

    Even the news of the mystery realm which appeared in Cambridge University in the UK was quickly censored. Although intelligence agencies of other nations still picked up the information, ordinary citizens would, at the most, only think of it as an extraordinary sight worth marveling at. The government did not even need to intervene to stop media crews from reporting on-site, as the higher management of media agencies directly suppressed and prevented any rted information from leaking out to the public.

    Moreover, the mystery realm did not only appear in that area, but also in other nations like Xuan Nation and the Federation. The mystery realms were both an opportunity and a crisis for the various nations. As such, at a time when the situation was uncertain, the various nations unanimously blocked rted information from spreading. At most, there would only be all sorts of ¡®images¡¯ and ¡®rumors¡¯ posted on the Inte. At the same time, however, the cyber departments of the nations also took the opportunity to release more ¡®extraordinary images¡¯.

    Images with captions like ¡®this cloud looks like Monkey King¡¯, ¡®a giant Kun fish appeared in the sea¡¯, and ¡®that haunted house actually seems to be haunted¡¯ quickly spread like wildfire on the Inte, and served to bewilder the masses.

    That led many people to think that it was the ¡®week of Photoshop¡¯, where there was an influx of mystifying images portraying scenes that were seemingly impossible to happen.

    Although many people knew about the rejuvenation of Reiki and the fact that the world was changing, the bombardment of absurd news reports and images naturally made them believe that they were all a joke. Few people delved deeper into it.

    The best way to cover up a certain piece of information was not to block it but to make use of even more rumors to ¡®hide¡¯ the real news.

    Nheless, even if that information did leak out, the various nations were already mentally prepared, because¡ª

    ¡°Naisser Ren has uploaded a new video!¡±

    In one of the girls¡¯ dormitory rooms at the Practitioner Institution of Tianjing, Ren Qingqing pulled Tang Yihan to sit in front of theputer with her. She opened up a webpage where bulletments would show when watching videos¡ªshe was one of those who liked havingrge chunks of bulletments scrolling past the screen as she enjoyed the feeling of watching videos with arge group of people.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested if it¡¯s another drama series,¡± Tang Yihan said.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not doing anything else other than eating anyway, let¡¯s just have a look at it,¡± Ren Qingqing replied. The moment the webpage loaded, she saw a promotional banner on the top of the page¡ª¡±The Mage Under the World Tree¡±.

    Every time Naisser Ren uploaded a video, it was as if he infiltrated all major video-streaming sites with aputer virus, and everyone was already used to that.

    ¡°I can continue ying games on my mobile phone¡­¡± Tang Yihan muttered. She took a nce at theputer screen and remarked, ¡°He¡¯s quite handsome, eh.¡±

    On the promotional banner of ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± was a silver-haired mage whose left hand shone in a white glow of light, and right hand glistened with blood. Although his hairstyle slightly resembled a scene hairstyle, it admittedly suited the cool-looking mage with an awe-inspiring authority.

    Ren Qingqing clicked into the video and found that it was not long¡ªit was two hours in total, which was about the length of a typical movie. While it was certainly a long time for a meal, Tang Yihan also reluctantly agreed to watch the video with Ren Qingqing, considering that there was a handsome mage in the video.

    At the very beginning of the video, without any excessive buffering, the silver-haired mage barged into an abandoned monastery with another mage who wore a red hood. They showcased various types of magic spells to kill the strange monsters inside the monastery. After a monster died, it would turn into a small animal, such as a mouse, a bird, or a snake. As itid weakly on the ground, the silver-haired mage would then touch it with his hand, and it would vanish into the air.

    Shortly after that, they encountered ugly monsters that looked like corpses that were stitched up. Upon killing those monsters, they turned into humans and lied down on the ground.

    [Animals turn into small monsters while humans turn intorge monsters? That¡¯s quite a typical game setup.]

    [Eh? These people were not made to disappear, but were brought outside instead?]

    [So, do these people really exist? Can they be interviewed to find out how it feels like to be a monster?]

    [What on earth, what is the mage doing now?]

    [It¡¯s a golden crispy chicken! He took out a golden crispy chicken! What kind of spell is this?]

    [Why is it not the mouth-watering original-vored chicken?]

    [So these people were vigers who had starved to death. Their starvation turned them into monsters, and now that their stomachs are filled after eating the fried chicken, they can be granted salvation.]

    [Is this a promotional video encouraging people not to waste food?]

    Without a doubt, there were a huge number of monsters in the monastery, but only a few snippets showing the two mages attacking monsters and saving them were pieced together in the video. Then, the scene changed¡ªa sea of blood began oozing out from the pond in the center of the monastery.

    [They are fighting the boss now! I give this boss 80 points, it¡¯s not as scary as the cannibals in the movie Wrong Turn!]

    [Is this video only about fighting? Is no one ever going to speak in the video?]

    [Eh? There are people at the entrance?]

    [They are people from our nation?! They look like the Extraordinaire Practitioners who appeared in ¡°Ghost de¡±!]

    [Crap, the Mage is speaking in Mandarin too.]

    [This mystery realm is at Ind Lake? Isn¡¯t that not too far away from me? Oh my, this ce is in Xiang City?]

    [Anyone wants to form a sightseeing group to visit the location!]

    [Sightseeing +1]

    [Lying in wait for the bulletments in front to turn into the blood monsters.]

    The scene of the battle was peculiarly intense. However, the main focus of that scene was not the mages, but the Extraordinaire Practitioners from Xuan Nation who hade to assist the battle.

    When the Extraordinaire Practitioners were hit by the giant monster, and their arms werepletely twisted, it was the Holy Light bullets from Mage that saved them in time;

    When the Extraordinaire Practitioners were just about to be crushed to death, Mage appeared in front of them and sacrificed his fingers to restrain the monster;

    When the Extraordinaire Practitioners were injured and their internal organs were severely damaged, it was the Mage who prolonged and saved their lives;

    When¡­

    Eventually, as Tang Yihan watched the handsome, silver-haired mage burn his skin and let out an extremely agonizing shriek, she was no longerining and held tightly onto Ren Qingqing¡¯s arm instead. She watched intently as the terrifying me Demon was summoned, and it threw a fatal blow at the monster that was going berserk.

    The monster still managed tounch a fierce counterattack that caused the charred organs of Mage to be smashed into pieces. It was only then when the female mage knocked the monster outpletely, and the monster turned into an ordinary girl.

    With all that was left of him, Mage pulled himself over to the girl who was kneeling on the floor. He touched the girl¡¯s head with his left hand, which was glowing with holy light. The light instantly filled the screen, and shbacks of the girl¡¯s memories appeared¡­

    It was a tragic story of infatuation, where an ordinary girl desperately longed to be happy.

    [Is that incredible cup the machine that fulfills wishes?]

    [Does such a thing really exist?]

    [Wishes can only be fulfilled with negative consequences? Tch, if only it was the opposite, and I can wish to not be in a rtionship¡­]

    [Judging from the scene itself, they do not seem to be living in the modern-day, no? Did monsters already appear in the Middle Ages? For how many years would they have lived?]

    [Yandere is a very cute concept too, I think¡­]

    The bulletments slowly became twisted. After the shback ended, the girl who was kneeling on the ground broke into a peaceful smile and vanished into the air as light particles. The female mage turned to leave, leaving behind the badly burned mage who was about to fall to the ground. The Extraordinaire Practitioners at the side rushed forward to support him.

    With his extensive injuries, it was clear that the burned mage could no longer be saved. He softly responded to the Extraordinaire Practitioners who were thanking him, then vanished into the air as light particles.

    Following that was the second mystery realm, then the third mystery realm, the fourth mystery realm¡­

    A viewer who had not been watching the video seriouslymented: [Why is it that only one mage casts Forbidden Spells, and it is only the male mages who can do that? The male mages wouldn¡¯t need to die if all of them cast their Forbidden Spells, isn¡¯t it?]

    A clear-headed viewer replied: [It¡¯s because the male mage can be revived. Moreover, it is best if only one person casts Forbidden Spells. Isn¡¯t it clear that the Forbidden Spells would greatly decrease the caster¡¯sbat ability? If all of the mages cast Forbidden Spells at the same time, their overallbat power would be greatly diminished.]

    A more observant viewermented: [The angel Zach who was previously thrashed by Monkey King is actually so powerful!]

    A fanatic of the Heavenly Pcemented: [Our goddess has appeared again! She is now a member of the Heavenly Pce? Does the Heavenly Pce still need ¡®pets¡¯, one that knows how to eat, sleep, and poop?]

    A viewer who was probably a girlmented: [When would the ck-haired mage be revived? It would be great if Caroline ends up together with him.]

    A heartbroken viewermented: [What do you mean, the female mages are highly likely to be turned from male mages?! Oh, Red Hood whom I fancy so much¡­]

    A viewer who was probably a ¡®victim¡¯ of otokonoko/transsexual novelsmented: [Isn¡¯t it better if the female mages were actually male mages?]

    After the video ended, Ren Qingqing smiled and asked Tang Yihan, ¡°What do you think? Was it good?¡±

    Tang Yihan nodded gently and replied, ¡°It¡¯s very interesting.¡±

    ¡°However, I didn¡¯t expect that in addition to the Heavenly Pce, there actually exists an organization of mages called the World Tree. Furthermore, the two organizations seem to be closely rted to each other.¡±

    ¡°Compared to the Heavenly Pce, the World Tree seems more approachable¡ªthe Heavenly Pce is simply out of reach. However, there are so many risks to take as a mage¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worth the risks! Think about it; the mages seem to have lived for thousands of years!¡± Ren Qingqing eximed. Her eyes were shining as she dragged the progress bar to the center and said, ¡°This dark-haired mage also mentioned ¡®the Ren monster hunters of the East¡¯, could he be referring to the Ren family from ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯?¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be so coincidental¡­¡± Tang Yihan said.

    Ren Qingqing said, ¡°However, the circle of Extraordinaires in ancient times should not be thatrge, so it may well be that coincidental. People with extraordinary abilities should know about each other. What¡¯s more, the responsibilities of the mages as well as the Ren family are very simr.¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, is there any reason for the World Tree to lie? What they said are all in line with what is known about the Heavenly Pce, as well as the Ren family in ¡®Over My Dead Body¡¯. It¡¯s not possible for them to be lying all together, can it? After all, it¡¯s not a script written by one person!¡±

 Chapter 241 - No More Free Games?

    Chapter 241: Chapter 241 ¨C No More Free Games?

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, I¡¯m alright. I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a doctor in the school? Why did you go to such a dangerous ce?¡± his mother questioned.

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine though¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Ren Suo finally managed to appease his mother. He heard Ren Xingmei on the other end of the line persuading their mother to calm down and catch her breath, then took over the call. She said, ¡°Seriously, Bro, why did you suddenly go to such a dangerous ce? Didn¡¯t you say that your work pays well while not involving much risk and is close to home? You even appeared in the video now.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re still young, so you would not understand,¡± Ren Suo said.

    ¡°What nonsense, you¡¯re only five years older than me, and you¡¯re worse than me at ying games,¡± Ren Xingmei retorted.

    ¡°I¡¯m better than you at games now!¡± Ren Suo eximed.

    ¡°Oh, really? Let¡¯s have a 1v1 then, take your pick, fighting, MOBA, RTS, or FPS?¡± Ren Xingmei replied.

    ¡°The connection here is poor, we¡¯ll 1v1 another time,¡± Ren Suo said. Although his hand speed and reaction speed had increased, it was not just once or twice that he had been ¡®destroyed¡¯ by his sister in games. He quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°You can now brag to your friends that your brother has appeared in Naisser Ren¡¯s video. You can say that he is the very handsome healing Practitioner in¡­¡±

    Ren Xingmei said, ¡°I¡¯m not the kind of person to do that¡ªwell, not unless you personally apany me to our ss gathering. What¡¯s more, appearing in the video is nothing to brag about, unless you¡¯re Naisser Ren himself.¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°No, there would be a generation gap between you guys and me. I¡¯m impressed though, you correctly guessed that I am¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t push it. If you are Naisser Ren, then I am Ren Woxing¡¯s descendant,¡± Ren Xingmei said. She sighed and whispered into the phone, ¡°Anyway, if you¡¯re ever going to do such a thing again, remember to call to inform us beforehand.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to inform them, then, at the very least, don¡¯t let them see you in such a situation.¡±

    ¡°You must tell me though so that I can be mentally prepared to respond if something happens to you. Remember, you must tell me!¡± Ren Qingqing said.

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°Okay, okay¡­¡±

    Hanging up the phone, Ren Suo rubbed his neck¡ªthat was an extremely long phone call.

    Shortly after ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± was uploaded, he received a call from his mother, who bombarded him with questions. Undoubtedly, it was because Ren Suo appeared in the video, in the scene where he was attempting to treat the badly burned Mage.

    Ren Suo¡¯s parents actually did not usually watch Naisser Ren¡¯s videos, but their rtives and neighbors had gone to them and told them things like: ¡°Your son has made it big and even appeared in a video where he helped the nation¡±.

    That was when they asked his sister to show them the video, and so they watched the ¡®fantasy blockbuster¡¯ uploaded by Naisser Ren together.

    Consequently, when they saw their son on the dangerous battlefield, they were so shocked that they immediately called to ask him if he was alright, and even wanted to purchase ne tickets to visit him overnight.

    With much difficulty, Ren Suo eventually managed to stop them from flying over to visit him, and even had to send a video of himself for them to believe that he was still alive and kicking.

    The video ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡± was just as Ren Suo had hoped, with none of the conversations between the mages included. As such, the lies fabricated by Mage were naturally not exposed.

    Ren Suo received another text message on his mobile phone¡ªit was an intr notification. He had no choice but to turn on hisputer to check what was going on in the intr.

    ¡°Research: Location of the Second Mystery Realm¡±.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s this question¡­¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself. The topic did note as a surprise to him.

    When he was clearing the second checkpoint in the game, no one had entered the mystery realm, even after he had finished fighting the boss character. He guessed that the second checkpoint was likely located in an area where few, if any, people visited. If it was not located in a desert, it could be somewhere which was not along established sea routes. It would not even be bizarre if it was actually located deep under the sea.

    At present, all of the other six mystery realms had their ¡®owners¡¯. The significance of the mystery realms was also revealed by Caroline: defeating monsters in the mystery realm could speed up a Practitioner¡¯s practice.

    Although researchers were still studying whether there were any side effects to this effect of enhancement, the mystery realm was certainly considered a crucial strategic resource: the cultural relics from the other world could be obtained; the mystery realm could act as a practice ground where there was a high concentration of Reiki energy; it was a ce where extraordinary creatures would appear; and it was even an extremely special ce for research¡­

    The nation was also going by the philosophy of ¡°possessing what others don¡¯t, and excelling in what others also possess¡±. At such a juncture, whichever nation secured the second mystery realm first would be one step ahead of other nations, in terms of the Extraordinary resources that they possessed. Moreover, if mystery realms could be physically moved¡­

    However, even Ren Suo himself did not know where the second mystery realm was located. Even if he did, there would not be any factual basis for his guess. As such, he just liked an answer that already had many likes, as evidence of his effort¡ªeven though doing so would only reward him with very few researcher points, if any. The person who wrote that answer appeared to be a doctor of geography.

    There was still some time before the clock struck twelve, so Ren Suo turned on the Mini Worlds game console and reviewed histest ¡®profits¡¯:

    On the [Equipment] page, in the equipment column for ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯¡ªwhich was Ren Suo himself¡ªwas a row of dream-like icons that were barely visible:

    [Insights of the World], [A Thousand Miles A Day], [Close to Worlds Apart], [Moonlight].

    They were the four Coupling Abilities which Ren Suo possessed, all of which were Level 1¡ªapanying Dong Chengling to watch the movie two days ago had not increased their Coupling Level.

    On the other hand, [Moonlight] was the Coupling Ability he acquired after he apanied Gu Yueyan to train.

    The location of the training was on a hill in the school. There were streemps lining the road on the hill, so his safety was very much guaranteed. When Ren Suo arrived, Gu Yueyan no longer held back from utilizing all of her energy. After finding a barren plot ofnd with gravel, she began to ¡®invite the moon¡¯.

    Undoubtedly, her ability was rted to the light reflected by the moon. It was a cloudless night that day, and the silver light of the full moon was scattered due to the dense forests on the hill. However, as Gu Yueyan cast her ability, the streaks of moonlight converged together, forming a sharp de that was fired at the ground!

    In the middle of the barrennd, arge pit with a radius greater than 2 meters was carved out of the ground. Ren Suo took a closer look and found that it was one meter deep¡ªthat meant that the moonlight was only unable to maintain its form of a de after prating 1 meter deep into the ground, following which it ¡®exploded¡¯ as an high-energy shockwave.

    It was an extremely powerful attack ability!

    In addition to that, she was able to mand¡¯ the moonlight to converge at a specific location with just a flick of her finger, without even umting any energy prior to that. She was able to st a boulder which she pointed at apart, like a fixed bomb, albeit with much less explosive energy.

    The truly dangerous attempt was when Gu Yueyan tried to turn the moonlight into an armor suit on her body. She was still unable to control her ability to such detail, so the disordered streaks of moonlight could very easily end up cutting her instead. Some of the wounds caused by the disordered streaks of moonlight were so deep that her bone could be seen.

    After one night, Ren Suo had almost depleted all of his Reiki energy just by healing her¡ªand that was even when he was equipped with [Small Holy Grail of Purity], where the healing effect was nearly 100% and the consumption of his Reiki was reduced by 30%!

    Ren Suo knew from a long time ago that the amount of Reiki energy consumed by Awakened Abilities was much lower than regr abilities, especially for Awakened Abilities that directly relied on natural energy. However, Ren Suo had not expected there to be such a huge difference, and Gu Yueyan had barely consumed any of her Reiki energy after one night.

    Ren Suo had also asked Gu Yueyan why she needed to practice in such a self-inflicting manner. She said then: ¡°There are barely any instructors who guide people to master Awakened Abilities. If I want to master my ability and be able to control it well, I can only rely on myself to slowly train. Now that you are around to heal me whenever I¡¯m injured, I would certainly want to make full use of this opportunity to train as quickly as possible. Besides, I want to try using my Awakened Ability in other ways, apart from attacking.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t have a choice either, since I don¡¯t know any healing abilities. I will practice cautiously in the future, and if I injure myself, all I can do is to wait for the wounds to heal slowly¡­¡±

    When Gu Yueyan said that, her voice sounded normal. However, after she finished one sentence, she would pause for a moment and nce at Ren Suo before continuing, then pause and nce at Ren Suo again¡­

    For the sake of the Coupling Ability, Ren Suo agreed to assist her in training her ability twice a month, on every full moon day. In exchange, Gu Yueyan paid him in cash¡ªshe seemed toe from a really wealthy family, so Ren Suo was not losing out.

    [Gu Yueyan, Level 1 Coupling, Coupling Ability ¡®Moonlight¡¯: Shoot a damage-inflicting streak of moonlight, consumes the user¡¯s energy.]

    On one clear, windy night, Ren Suo secretly tried shooting a streak of moonlight in the wilderness. As it was his first time, he was slightly nervous. He felt his body bing very warm initially, but after he fired the light, he felt extremely cool, and the effect was also extraordinary¡ªit was able to create a mark that was one-third of a meter deep on arge boulder. There was no explosion, and the attack speed was extremely fast, yet silent. It was perfect for sneak attacks.

    Although it was not as powerful as the original version possessed by Gu Yueyan, Ren Suo was already very satisfied, considering that he had acquired it without much effort. Moreover, he was able to cast the ability immediately and without practicing at all.

    Nheless, he still needed to buy an attack ability from the Knowledge Web that was simr to Gu Yueyan¡¯s as soon as possible. Only then would he have an excuse to exin himself if he used that ability in public.

    Of course, he needed excuses for himself, but not for the rest of the game characters.

    The other game characters could also equip any of his Coupling Abilities. Since the Coupling Abilities which Ren Suo acquired were permanent and would not be lost, possessing them was equivalent to having more abilities for the game characters to choose from.

    At present, [Insights of the World] and [A Thousand Miles A Day] were not very useful for the game characters, but it was not the case for [Close to Worlds Apart] and [Moonlight]. After all, [Close to Worlds Apart] was a teleportation ability, while [Moonlight] was a silent, long-ranged damage ability. After the game characters were equipped with those abilities, their own abilities might even be modified as well.

    Tick-tock.

    The hour, minute, and second hands of the clock ovepped each other. Ren Suo nced at the clock on the wall and took a deep breath.

    ¡°It¡¯s August.¡±

    He opened the [World Shop], and indeed, the [Free Games of the Month] section appeared.

    Filled with anticipation, he clicked into that section, and then he saw¡ª

    It was empty.

    There, was, not, even, a, single, game! There was only a big [+] symbol!

    ¡°What? There are no free games anymore?!¡±

 Chapter 242 - Fleeing Ghost

    Chapter 242: Chapter 242 ¨C Fleeing Ghost

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment, and it quickly became clear to him¡ªhow could the free games disappear just like that?

    If there really was not going to be any more free games, why would there still be a [Free Games of the Month] section?

    Moreover, there were other yer privileges like [Picky yer]. If no more free games would be given, would that not render such yer privileges useless? Even though the Mini Worlds game console was a pain in the neck in certain aspects, it was still sensible.

    Ren Suo quickly found a [?] next to the [+] symbol. He clicked on it and updated information appeared:

    [Free Games of the Month are specially catered to help lower level yers (levels 1 to 3) so that they are able to enjoy ying games even when they are short of merit points. As such, this benefit is no longer provided to intermediate level and higher level yers for free.]

    [The Free Games of the Month section remains essible, but should intermediate level yers wish to receive free games, they would be required to exchange one of the promotion event opportunities in that calendar month for one free game.]

    [Free games obtained by consuming promotion event opportunities would be of the same level as the yer. If the free game is of a lower level than the yer¡¯s level, the game difficulty rating and its corresponding reward would be raised to the yer¡¯s level. For example, if the free game which was drawn is a 1-star game and the yer is Level 4, the free game would be upgraded to a 4-star difficulty level, and the corresponding reward would be enhanced (the game content and difficulty will be modified slightly).]

    [Only one of the free games of the month can be selected, and this section will be refreshed every month.]

    [Remaining promotion event opportunities for this month: Beginning of Autumn Sr Term Promotion Event, End of Heat Sr Term Promotion Event]

    ¡°I¡¯m so poor now, can¡¯t they continue sponsoring me?¡± Ren Suomented. Nheless, there was clearly no useining to a game console. He chose to ept it or ept it wholeheartedly.

    Even though Ren Suoined in his heart, he was actually rather satisfied with the new mechanism¡ªoriginally, not all of the free games were suited to the yer¡¯s level. When Ren Suo was a Level 3 yer, he continued to encounter 1-star games, which he naturally did not pick. After all, it would be a waste if he did not choose the other option which was a 3-star game that had higher rewards.

    However, after ying games that had characters like the Seeker and the Ren family, Ren Suo also found that game characters in games with fewer stars were not necessarily inferior to those in games with more stars. Some of the characters in lower-starred games even surpassed the abilities of those in higher-starred games. However, because of the associated rewards, it was unlikely for Ren Suo to pick games with lower star ratings, among the choice of free games given.

    What did you say? Buy the games at their original price? That would have to wait until Ren Suo had plenty of time and merit points on his hands. Ultimately, the maximum number of merit points awarded by a game would usually not be much higher than the original price of it¡ªthat meant that it was very hard to earn more merit points than they were spent, unless he cleared the games with at least 90 points.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo was also saving up his merit points to spend them in the next lucky draw. To make him spend such a huge amount of merit points¡­ it would be tougher than tough.

    As a whole, the change to the [Free Games of the Month] was beneficial for Level 4 yers. After all, points were still needed to be spent to purchase the discounted games in promotion events, and the star rating for the games would be unknown too. On the other hand, just by consuming one promotion event opportunity, he would be able to receive one free 4-star game¡ªthat was equivalent to not just obtaining a free game, but one of high quality.

    The only downside was that Ren Suo would not be able to choose which game he wanted to y, and neither could he pick one out of two options. Nheless, that was an eptable trade-offpared to the greater benefits.

    The next question was which promotion event opportunity he should choose to give up, but there was naturally very little for Ren Suo to consider¡ªof course, he would choose the Beginning of Autumn Sr Term Promotion Event, for the Beginning of Autumn was on August 7, while the End of Heat was on August 23rd.

    It was highly likely that Ren Suo would have cleared the game by the 23rd of August, but that was not the case before the 7th. If Ren Suo had not cleared a game by the day of the promotion event, it meant that he would still only have 60 merit points, and he might not be able to buy any of the promotional games¡­

    Clicking on the [+] symbol, he chose to consume the [Beginning of Autumn Sr Term Promotion Event]. Then, Ren Suo saw a picture of maple leaves starting to rotate. shes of thunder and lightning suddenly appeared on the screen, and it felt as if goods were being shipped!

    Although there was a high chance that the free game was a game with fewer stars, it was also possible that the game was a high-starred game¡ªwhen he was still a Level 3 yer, Ren Suo hade across 4-star games several times!

    The picture slowly stopped turning, and a white streak of lightning appeared at the top edge of it. The streak slowly elongated downwards to reveal what was underneath, much like what would be seen in various lucky draw mobile games.

    Then, the scene on the screen turned into that of a serene, dark night. There was only one stall along the street, emitting some light¡ªit looked like a mobile food stall.

    All of a sudden, the incandescent lights began flickering, and the background of the night in the distance turned from serene to eerie! A visible fog suddenly crept in from all directions, as if it were conscious, and on the seats of the food stall sat a few creatures that were either transparent or strange-looking!

    [Fleeing Ghosts in the Night]

    [This is a supernatural economic simtion adventure game. ¡°Fleeing ghosts¡± is a term originally used to describe mobile streetside stalls which vendors operated in the night as their livelihood. In this era, the term has now been given a new meaning: In the middle of the night, customers who hide themselves within the shadows of the city would emerge. The yer will take on the role of the stall owner who controls desires and provide a sumptuous meal which is able to satisfy these customers from the city within 10 days. The maximum reward is 325 merit points, and the specialized reward for clearing the game is ¡®Detection of Desires¡¯. In-game purchases are avable. The difficulty rating of the game is: 4 stars.]

    It was the first time that Ren Suo had seen all three tags ¡°supernatural¡±, ¡°economic simtion¡±, and ¡°adventure¡± together to describe a game¡­

    The game description was extremely intriguing. It appeared to be a supernatural-rted game, but it did not seem to involve fighting. It was not possible to tell what exactly the game was about based on the description.

    The only thing Ren Suo could understand was the term ¡°fleeing ghosts¡±. It was not referring to the stall owner, which was the role of the yer, but instead referred to the hardcore customers.

    However, Ren Suo did not hesitate and directly chose to y that game¡ªhe did not intend to consume his [End of Heat Sr Term Promotion Event] as well.

    Ren Suo waspletely at ease when he saw the keywords ¡°in-game purchases are avable¡±¡ªhis yer privilege [Seizing All Opportunities] was not in vain. Although he only had 60 merit points left, that was almost certainly sufficient for him to clear the game by making in-app purchases with his yer privilege!

    The game was downloaded very quickly. Ren Suo, who had alreadypleted the sleep he needed over the past few days, equipped himself with [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] and [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo], then entered the game.

    The opening CG was from a first-person perspective. A figure who seemed to be a person wearing a scarf was walking on a dimly lit road with the street lights located far away, and not a single car appeared on the road.

    ¡®He¡¯ was pushing a mobile food cart along the dimly lit road. Then, ¡®he¡¯ stopped and began to set up the stall. ¡®He¡¯ took out the chairs, started the power box, arranged the ingredients, prepared the kitchenware, then hung up a sign on his stall, facing outwards toward the customers.

    When all of that was done, ¡®he¡¯ pped his hands, then sat down and began to read the newspaper.

    At that juncture, the clicking of high heels was heard, and the sound of the footsteps came nearer. ¡®He¡¯ looked up and saw a person whose body waspletely concealed by a ck trench coat in front of the food stall.

    ¡°He¡± ced the newspaper down and smiled. ¡®He¡¯ said, ¡°Wee.¡±

    The person in the ck trench coat slowly looked up, and the camera also zoomed in closer, and closer, and closer. Who exactly was the person in the trench coat¡ª

    [Begin Ghost Fleeing] [Continue Ghost Fleeing] [Resign]

    ¡°I can choose to resign?¡± Ren Suoughed as he selected [Begin Ghost Fleeing].

    Then, a world map appeared on the screen in front of him.

    [Please select the city in which you wish to begin Ghost Fleeing.]

 Chapter 243 - Seasonings of Life

    Chapter 243: Chapter 243 ¨C Seasonings of Life

    Ren Suo looked at the world map on the screen. There were so many cities on the map which he could select. He could even end up cross-eyed if he tried to select one from them.

    In the top-left corner of the world map were a counter [Days Remaining: 10] and a cup icon which said [Desires Collected: 0].

    In the top-right corner of the world map was a selectable option [List of Cities]. Upon selecting it, a list of cities sorted by alphabetical order was disyed.

    The main information in the list of cities included: [Land Area], [Human Traffic], [Country], and a blood-red column [Degree of Concealment].

    [Degree of Concealment] represented the number of ¡®customers¡¯ who concealed themselves in the darkness of the night. A high degree of concealment would mean that there were many ¡®customers¡¯ who did not appear at all in the day, and who endured their extreme hunger to conceal themselves within the darkness.

    Ren Suo could choose to ¡°flee ghosts¡± in the same city throughout the ten days, or otherwise ¡°flee ghosts¡± in a different city each day¡ªas long as the game character was able to live through each night, there would not be a problem.

    ¡°I shall pick one at random then¡­¡±

    Ren Suo sorted the list of cities by [Degree of Concealment], and he quickly picked his target: a city which ranked tenth based on [Degree of Concealment] and was represented by 3 skulls¡ªHong Kong.

    Hong Kong was not far from Lianjiang and was one of the important ports of entry in Xuan Nation. Both Lianjiang and Hong Kong were often discussed together as a whole, and simrnguage forms were used in both areas. When he was young, Ren Suo often watched drama series and films produced by Hong Kong television stations, although he had never been there before.

    After selecting the target city, the next step was to design his own game character.

    Ren Suo let his imagination run wild again: he had used male characters throughout ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±, so it was time for a change! He would use a female character this time!

    To be fair though, what would you feel if the person who served you when you went for supperte in the night was a beautifuldy, and as you sat at the stall waiting for your food to be prepared by her, the beautifuldy would asionally bend down, revealing her curves, while beads of sweat formed on her gorgeous face as the piping hot steam condensed, then finally she served your food with a smile on her face¡­

    Ren Suo smacked his lips as his fantasies ran wild. In reality, if he went to buy supper, there would, at most, be a well-rounded, maturedy in the dining hall who would ¡®m¡¯ his te of crayfish on the table.

    In order to fulfill his fantasies, Ren Suo selected an Oriental girl from the given character temtes which suited his taste and started the game.

    On the screen, the scene plunged into darkness once again. When it lit up, he saw the female stall owner pushing a food cart into a dimly-lit forest park. She passed by a notice board very briefly, and Ren Suo saw the word ¡®Kowloon¡¯.

    Along the way, Ren Suo could see homeless people who were sleeping in the park, and there were even one or two security guards who were patrolling the area. However, they did not seem to notice the female stall owner, and she pushed her food cart all the way to an area where barely anyone would walk past.

    The female stall owner parked her food cart in that spot. Before long, the stall was lit, the menu was hung up, and the kitchenware was cleaned. She took a nce at the park that was barely lit and not a single soul was seen. She bent down to take out a pan, and when she stood upright again, the first ¡®customer¡¯ had appeared in front of the food stall.

    It was a man whose age was hard to tell.

    He was handsome in his own right, looking somewhat cold, alone, and depressed. He had crow¡¯s feet but still looked young as a whole. He wore what appeared to be a set of long-sleeved sportswear used for running. Sitting quietly on one of the high counter stools with backrests at the food stall, his hair was slightly poofy and his eyes were cloudy.

    Ren Suo hadpletely not heard his footsteps nor the sound of him sitting down.

    [What would you like to eat?]

    Ren Suo did not actively control the female stall owner to ask the question¡ªit was a pre-set automatic voice. She looked at the man in the sportswear and asked in an emotionless tone, neither happy nor sad.

    The man nced at the menu and said: [You did not state the price.]

    The female stall owner tapped on the panel on the left side of the stall. On it was a sentence written in eight differentnguages: [The story of your life in exchange for a sumptuous meal; payment has to be made before the food is served; just a small business, strictly no credit]

    The man nodded and said: [Give me a bowl of luncheon meat noodles with egg and a bottle of mineral water.]

    The female stall owner got down to work to prepare the meal. She gave him a bottle of mineral water first. At that juncture, the man began: [My life is¡­ well, very boring.]

    [My father had an affair and left us when I was still young. My mother raised me single-handedly and even sent me to study abroad. After I returned, I was unable to find any decent job. At the same time, to keep up with the times, I became an actor.]

    [After some time, my acting career was still not taking off, and then I made the difficult decision to act as a clown. From then on, whether it was on-screen or off-screen, I pretended to be a happy clown. My viewers, my colleagues, and the directors all thought of me this way, and the roles I y are always those that make peopleugh.]

    [However, I know that I am not such a person. I tried to change that, but it proved to be useless. I just can¡¯t take the mask off after wearing it for such a long time.]

    [My parents¡¯ failed marriage also seemed to take a toll on me. I had the privilege to meet a few decent girls, but whenever we got closer and they saw even a small bit of my true self, hidden behind my mask, they all left me. There was no exception, and I understand why¡ªno one is required to be anyone else¡¯s dustbin.]

    [Then, I¡­]

    At that juncture, the man¡¯s voice suddenly became louder and echoey and sounded sinister and ear-piercing. Strange ck smoke billowed from his body and formed an apparition with a scowling face above his head. The apparition looked just like him, except that it had makeup tears on, and purple lipstick was applied exaggeratedly on its lips.

    The apparition stared intensely at the female stall owner. Its sclera wasrger than the pupil, and it shot daggers in its gaze.

    [¡­ I became hungry.]

    [I really wish to eat all of their faces. Being able to smile so happily, their faces must be very springy, chewy, and delicious, don¡¯t you think so too?]

    The man looked up. The whites in his pupils had be ck, and the rest of his eyes turned white. The blood vessels beside his eyes were dted and intertwined with one another. An icy cold breath emerged from his mouth as he spoke, as if spitting out cold daggers.

    Water droplets began forming on the outside of the bottle of mineral water he was holding¡ªit was the phenomenon when water vapor in the atmosphere came into contact with a colder object and condensed. That usually happened when Ren Suo was drinking a can of c, and he would notice water droplets forming on the outside of the can.

    Although he did not know what date it was in the game, Ren Suo remembered that the homeless people that he saw sleeping on the benches as the female stall owner walked through the park were all wearing short-sleeved or sleeveless shirts. It was likely that it was still the autumn season in August.

    Yet, the man was wearing long-sleeve sportswear and was even able to breathe out cold air. The bottle of water he was holding also turned into cold water very quickly.

    At that juncture, the female stall owner also finished preparing the bowl of luncheon meat noodles with egg. However, she did not give it to the man immediately, but instead opened a drawer:

    [What seasonings should I add¡­?]

    The entire list of seasonings in the drawer appeared on the screen. There were so many that Ren Suo was dazzled for a moment: [Hope], [Happiness], [Calmness], [Fatherly Love], [Motherly Love], [Resentment], [Anger], [Love], [Understanding], [Freedom], [Humor]¡­ There were dozens of seasonings.

    ¡°Is this where I have to y?¡± Ren Suo muttered to himself as he looked at the list of seasonings, slightly stunned. He was not yet sure what exactly he had to do, so he casually picked the seasonings [Happiness] and [Love]. Then, the game prompted again: [How much should I put¡­?]

    Two vertical bars appeared on the screen, with [Happiness] written on one of them, and [Love] written on the other. Bewildered, Ren Suo increased the selected amount of each of the bars to half of the maximum.

    Following which, Ren Suo watched as the female stall owner scooped out three spoonfuls of yellow crystals and three spoonfuls of pink crystals from two bottles of seasoning, then poured them into the luncheon meat noodles.

    The seasonings immediately dissolved into the soup of the noodles and disappeared without a trace.

    The female stall owner then pushed the bowl of noodles over to the man and said: [Your luncheon meat noodles with egg is ready.]

    The man silently picked up a pair of wooden chopsticks and tucked in. He finished the noodles first, then the luncheon meat, followed by the eggs and vegetables, and finally he picked up the bowl to finish the soup.

    The man looked at the female stall owner and said: [It tastes very fishy. The happiness makes me feel suffocated, and the love is even choking me like a fishbone lodged in my throat. Besides that¡­ I¡¯m still very hungry.]

    Ren Suo blinked. Did that mean that he wanted another bowl?

    [Sadly, I no longer have another life to pay for another bowl of noodles.]

    Without warning, the game screen ¡®shattered¡¯, and the scene turned into a turn-based battle!

    The man waspletely engulfed by the apparition, and the sportswear he wore turned into a purple suit. The makeup on his face clearly showed that he was crying, but his purple lips made it seem like he was smiling.

    He said: [My life is already so tragic, why are you notughing at me? Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s very funny? Don¡¯t you all love tough? Come on,ugh!]

    The enemy¡¯s health was 800/800, which did not seem like much, but then Ren Suo looked at the health of the female stall owner:

    50/50.

 Chapter 244 - Desire For The Holy Grail

    Chapter 244: Chapter 244 ¨C Desire For The Holy Grail

    There were only three actions the female stall owner could take: [Skills], [Defend], and [Attack].

    There was nothing in [Skills], so Ren Suo tried selecting [Attack].

    The man¡¯s health dropped by 15.

    Then, the man used [Icy Wind], and the female shop owner¡¯s health dropped by 175¡ªshe died.

    The game screen returned to the world map and Ren Suo blinked. He had not finished processing what just happened in the game.

    It was very obvious that the game did not encourage yers to engage in fights with the ¡®customers¡¯. Instead, the game hoped that yers would satisfy the needs of the ¡®customers¡¯ by adding the appropriate ¡®seasonings¡¯. In that way, fights would be avoided while achieving the target.

    However, it was a challenge to choose the appropriate seasonings. Ren Suo had no idea what ¡®vors¡¯ the man was looking for. After pondering for a while, Ren Suo reopened the table of cities, then sorted it by [Degree of Concealment].

    However, he had ordered it by descending order previously; this time, he ordered it by ascending order.

    Ren Suo randomly selected a rural city in Xuan Nation, where the [Degree of Concealment] was only equivalent to one drop of blood and began ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯.

    On the screen, the scene instantly turned into night in the countryside, with terrace fields everywhere. The moon in the night sky was obscured by storm clouds, and there was not a single streetmp along the vige road. Under the moonlight, the female stall owner set up her stall by the road, then proceeded to watch videos on a tablet.

    Watch videos?

    Ren Suo adjusted the camera angle and focused on the video that the female stall owner was watching. He immediately recognized it¡ªit was the drama series ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±!

    In addition, Ren Suo could zoom in, and with the light from the tablet screen, he could see the silky smooth neck and rosy cheeks of the female stall owner. He realized that the female stall owner was watching the first episode of the series, which was the story about the three brothers of the Ren family.

    It was quite an interesting series. Despite it being the second time he was watching it, Ren Suo was unknowingly engrossed in the video¡ª¡¯Naisser Ren¡¯s¡¯ video editing skills were truly outstanding.

    After watching three full episodes, the female stall owner finally paused the video. It was only then when Ren Suo heard footsteps approaching.

    [Woah, be careful.]

    A young boy climbed onto the chair. His small face was dirty, and there seemed to be traces of mucus on his face. He looked at the female stall owner with a wide smile, andrge gaps could be seen between his teeth where his front teeth had not grown out, making him look especially funny.

    The female stall owner tapped on the sign on the left side of the food stall and said: [What do you want to eat? No money is needed, just tell me your story from when you were young till now as payment.]

    The child immediately said: [I want red eggs! Three hot red eggs!]

    The female stall owner began boiling water, and the young boy bit on his fingernails as he began telling his story: [My name is Jia Zhu! Grandma said that my name represents the hope that I would be the pir of support for my family! I am studying in elementary school now!]

    Then, the boy shook his head and said: [There¡¯s nothing else that I have to say, are the eggs not ready yet?]

    The female stall owner replied: [Not yet. You certainly have other things to say, such as why you are hungry?]

    The child said glumly: [It¡¯s just because I¡¯m hungry. My parents have note back for a very long time¡­]

    [I live with my grandma most of the time. The food she cooks is not appetizing, and she does not have money for me to buy snacks either¡­]

    [I am especially fond of red eggs. Two years ago when my parents returned to celebrate my birthday, they cooked a red egg for me. It was so delicious.]

    [It has been so long since I ate red eggs, and that is why I¡¯m hungry¡­ Moreover, all of my ssmates have money to buy snacks for themselves. When it was Xiao Qiang¡¯s birthday, his parents bought him a cake. He brought the cake to ss, but only shared it with Xiao Min and the rest of them¡­]

    [Of course, I am not envious, because I don¡¯t like cakes! I like red eggs!]

    [However, after being hungry for such a long time, I also started craving to eat other things¡­ and cakes would be good too¡­]

    The boy¡¯s voice became hoarse yet piercing, and in the gaps where his front teeth had not grown, sharp fangs which were as long as fingers suddenly appeared. His fingernails, which he had been biting, turned red and became slim, long, and sharp. The whites in his eyes turned blood red, and his voice turned sharp and piercing:

    [However, since Xiao Qiang did not share the cake with me, could I not take a slice myself? I do not even mind if he had already eaten it since I will clean it after I dig it out from his belly¡­ I will piece all the slices back into aplete cake¡­]

    The look on the female stall owner¡¯s face remained unchanged. The red eggs were cooked, and it was time for the seasonings.

    The taste the boy needed was very obvious. Ren Suo first selected [Fatherly Love] and [Motherly Love], then added some [Friendship]. He increased the first two seasonings to the maximum, and one-fifth for [Friendship].

    Consequently, the female stall owner took out two bottles of seasonings, one with orange-yellow crystals and another with bright yellow crystals. She opened the lid of the two bottles and poured their entire contents into the bowl containing the red eggs, as if they did not cost any money. Then, she scooped a spoonful of blue crystals and added it into the bowl.

    [Here are your red eggs.]

    The boy did not care about how hot the eggs were and peeled the shells directly with his sharp nails, exposing the tender, white eggs inside. He popped one entirerge egg into his mouth and chewed as satisfying sounds could be heard.

    He quickly finished all three eggs and burped. He said: [It¡¯s simply delicious. They taste exactly like what Mom and Dad cooked for me, and it even tastes a bit like cake¡­ Thank you, Sister!]

    The boy¡¯s fangs and ws instantly disappeared, and the blood-red color in his eyes faded away. He turned back into the dirty-looking boy he was when he first appeared.

    He bowed to the female stall owner, and the female stall owner replied as she sat down: [You¡¯re wee.]

    The boy dug in his pocket for some time, and finally retrieved a white candy. He said: [Sister, Grandma gave me this, but I cannot bear to eat it. Here, take this.]

    Ren Suo thought that the female stall owner would decline the candy, but unexpectedly, she epted it and said: [Sure.]

    Then, the boy jumped down the high stool and galloped home. At that juncture, the female stall owner looked at the candy, and a line of information appeared above it:

    [Lonely Candy: Upon consumption, the stall owner¡¯s health would increase by 15, attack power would increase by 7, and the fault tolerance of egg-based dishes would increase.]

    ¡°I see, the main character can still be stronger by eating the food of humans¡­ It¡¯s no wonder that her initial health is only 50.¡±

    Then, Ren Suo continued to apany the female stall owner to watch ¡°Over My Dead Body¡±. Three to four episodester, the sky was slowly starting to turn bright with the light of dawn. The female stall owner stretched her muscles, then began packing up her stall.

    There was only one ¡®customer¡¯ after the entire night?!

    The game screen returned to the world map, and the [Days Remaining] indicator in the top left corner dropped to 9, signifying that one-tenth of Ren Suo¡¯s journey in the game had passed.

    At that moment, the golden cup icon representing [Desires Collected] suddenly erged, and two drops of blood-red slurry dripped, slightly unsteadily, from the top of the screen into the golden cup.

    [Desires Collected: 9].

    The game prompted: [Collect 10,000 Desires within 10 days.]

    It was only after a day had passed that the criteria to clear the game was made known. Within which, of course, there was also an implicit condition: the stall owner could not end up being eaten by the ¡®customers¡¯ as she was ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯.

    However, as Ren Suo looked at the golden cup which represented [Desires Collected], it somehow reminded him of¡­ the Holy Grail from [The Mage Under the World Tree].

    It was almost morning then, and Ren Suo pondered for a moment before he decided to start a new savegame.

    He had a better understanding of how to y the game now.

    He had to find a way to understand the needs of the ¡®customers¡¯, then add in the appropriate seasonings. If he failed, he would have to fight. Although the yer was not limited to a specific city, it was not possible to collect 10,000 Desires in 10 days without going torge cities which had a high [Degree of Concealment].

    In any case, Ren Suo could not afford to waste any of the 10 days.

    It would certainly be easier to start from a smaller city, and the needs of ¡®customers¡¯ in such smaller cities would also be easier to figure out, just like that of the ¡®left-behind¡¯ child from earlier on.

    Besides, the two ¡®customers¡¯ that Ren Suo had encountered thus far both seemed to be Awakeners who had been corrupted by Reiki energy, much like the ¡®demon¡¯ who Ren Suo once subdued in the subway some time ago.

    However, aspared to ¡®demons¡¯, those two ¡®customers¡¯ still had some reason left in them. They held back their raging desires in consideration of other things that were important to them. However, their bodies had already begun to change, and it was just that ordinary people would be unable to notice those changes when they did not express them.

    Whether it was a clown man or a left-behind child, Ren Suo knew, based on what they said, that they no longer felt empathy towards those who were human, so it would note as a surprise whenever they ¡®exploded¡¯.

    Ren Suo himself was also starting to feel slightly scared¡ªalthough he could tell who were Awakeners, he was unable to tell who were on the verge of losing their sanity!

    He chose to start from Hong Kong again. He watched as the female stall owner pushed her food cart across the garden, and saw the homeless people lying down on the long benches in the garden to sleep as before. However, a thought suddenly emerged in his mind:

    Should this game be uploaded and the video broadcasted, what would happen to¡­ this world?

 Chapter 245 - Donâ€™t Think of Yourself as the Only Protagonist

    Chapter 245: Chapter 245 ¨C Don¡¯t Think of Yourself as the Only Protagonist

    ¡°This is confidential information, and I cannot disclose that to you,¡± Li Dan said.

    Answering Ren Suo¡¯s question, Li Dan, with his dark eye circles, opened the door to his office and said, ¡°I¡¯ll need to get approval from the Deputy Director first¡­ Why don¡¯t you ask him yourself?¡±

    With that, Ren Suo and Li Dan walked over to Yu Kuangtu¡¯s office, and Li Dan went right in after knocking the door. The two of them must be very close¡ªor that Yu Kuangtu had never been found unclothed or watching adult videos in his room.

    It turned out that indeed, Yu Kuangtu was not doing anything that would be frowned upon by society. Instead, he was leaning back on his chair with his eyes closed. Ren Suo was somewhat confused initially, but after taking a look around the room, he immediately understood what was going on.

    ¡°There¡¯s even a Reiki storage device installed here? You¡¯re Practicing as you work, tch tch tch¡­¡± Ren Suo said.

    Yu Kuangtu opened his eyes and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a special privilege for a deputy director. Well, you made it seem as if you¡¯re not also Practicing while you¡¯re working¡­ Ah, no, you weren¡¯t. You don¡¯t work, you only Practice.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°How are you so free as a Deputy Director¡­¡±

    Taking his time, Yu Kuangtu said, ¡°Li Dan and the others have all been promoted to tier 2, so they can take up some of my duties. Wouldn¡¯t I be a fool if I don¡¯t Practice, now that I have more time? Progressing in our Practice is the most important. Anyway, what¡¯s up, why are you so free toe all the way here to find me?¡±

    Li Dan said, ¡°Ren Suo wants to browse through the information that the Division has about Awakeners and monsters harming people.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu was slightly interested and straightened his back as he looked at Ren Suo. After a moment of silence, he did not say yes, nor did he say no. Instead, he asked, ¡°Can the Countermeasure Division benefit from you doing so?¡±

    Ren Suo exhaled and replied, ¡°If the truth is as I imagine, then¡­ we might be able to discover a huge secret.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu scrutinized Ren Suo suspiciously, then he nodded and said, ¡°Li Dan, bring him to the archives room to search.¡±

    ¡­

    An hour and a halfter, Ren Suo and Li Dan went to find Yu Kuangtu again, with three files in hand.

    Yu Kuangtu asked, ¡°What did you find?¡±

    Ren Suo handed the document over to Yu Kuangtu, and he looked at it. The three files all described monsters injuring people. In summary, they were all undesirable incidents that urred in Lianjiang City where Awakeners turned into demons and went berserk, intentionally attacking rtives, friends, or passers-by.

    ¡°Are there any problems regarding these cases?¡± Yu Kuangtu asked.

    Ren Suo questioned, ¡°Would the Countermeasure Division be able to know beforehand if they possess Awakened Abilities?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu immediately shook his head and replied, ¡°Even till today, the Countermeasure System still does not have a set of equipment which is able to confirm 100% that a person has an Awakened Ability.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Take a look at the ages of these few attackers, and their states of life before they attacked others.¡±

    ¡°They are 14, 32, and 36-year-old and are an orphan, a construction worker, and unemployed respectively,¡± Yu Kuangtu said. He continued, ¡°They generally lived decently and werew-abiding before they began attacking others.¡±

    Ren Suo tapped the table with his index finger and said, ¡°Their lives had not been going their way, and they were even under tremendous pressure to keep themselves alive. Furthermore, they had all Awakened and possessed breathing currents, so it is possible for them to experience contamination by Reiki and be demonized.¡±

    ¡°¡®Exining Demonization¡¯ is an article in the ¡®Best Articles¡¯ section on the intr,¡± Yu Kuangtu said emotionlessly. He continued, ¡°I already know all of the information mentioned in the article. You aren¡¯t just talking about this, are you?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. I actually discovered a problem. Has anyone ever interrogated them?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°The brains of those who have turned into demons end up abnormal. Even if they are sent for treatment and forcefully controlled, you would only get back senseless people,¡± Yu Kuangtu answered helplessly. He added, ¡°If you want to see those senseless humans, take bus route 466 to Yingquan Station, then transfer to bus route 23 to Lianjiang Number 3 Hospital.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°In that case, it means that we still do not know why these people, who were originally ordinary humans and never once used their Awakened Abilities for their own benefit to solve the challenges they faced in life, suddenly became demonized and turned berserk.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu looked at Ren Suo and asked, ¡°What exactly are you driving at?¡±

    Ren Suo exined, ¡°These three cases are different from the other cases of demon-humans. All of the other demon-humans had past records of themmitting illegal acts to reap benefits for themselves, through which they sink into the endless pit of crimes. Eventually, they are demonized, turn berserk, and they attack others.¡±

    ¡°However, this was not the case for these 3 Awakeners. They were still going about their lives as they always had been, even the day before they attacked others. It is simply too sudden that they were quickly demonized and went berserk.¡±

    ¡°If they had known that they possessed Awakened Abilities and could be Practitioners, do you think that they would still be demonized?¡±

    Yu Kuangtu frowned slightly, then nodded slightly. He said, ¡°So, there is only one exnation for that¡ªthey did not know that they possessed Awakened Abilities, and were likely to have been partially Awakened.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°However, it is very hard to tell that a person was partially Awakened. It is verymon for those who are undergoing ordinary Awakening to assume that they are down with a cold and running a fever. It would be even more impossible for those who acquired Reiki meridian channels but not Awakening Knowledge to realize the changes that urred in their body.¡±

    ¡°Moreover, due to their age, they were not within the target group of students for the current Practitioner Institutions. As a result, they would certainly not think that they had the opportunity to be a Practitioner, and that they could have broken free and solved all the problems they faced in life.¡±

    ¡°However, after they Awakened, they continued to be overwhelmed by the pressures which they faced in life. Although this is not the same asmitting crimes, the pressure that umted in their hearts also gradually demonized them over time.¡±

    ¡°They might not be noticed usually, but when their contained stress exceeds a certain limit, the jealousy, anger, and resentment in them would explode, thereby causing dangerous incidents. It is not possible to stop negative feelings from arising, but the problem was that life was unable to provide them with sufficient positive feedback. They were, hence, unable to break free from being enticed and corrupted by Reiki. Eventually, they would only sink deeper and deeper into the unending pit.¡±

    Yu Kuangtu took a deep breath and said, ¡°I don¡¯t deny that there is indeed such a possibility.¡±

    Ren Suo continued, ¡°The problem now, then, would be¡­¡±

    ¡°How many of such partially Awakened people do you think remain in the city, who are simrly suppressing their feelings of agony and could be demonized, turn berserk, and erupt at any time?¡±

    The office turned silent.

    After a long silence, Yu Kuangtu finally asked, ¡°Are there any more discoveries?¡±

    ¡°There are no more,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Then, you may go back first. Li Dan, please stay put,¡± Yu Kuangtu said.

    Ren Suo nodded. He patted Li Dan¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯lle again another time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not feeling sleepy,¡± Li Dan replied with his two panda eyes.

    After he left the Countermeasure Division building, Ren Suo looked up at the brightly lit sky but suddenly felt slightly cold inside.

    He did not feel like heading home just yet, so he went to the stadium to Practice for the entire afternoon.

    When he went to Dong Chengling¡¯s house for dinner that night, Gu Yueyan still had not returned from home. However, perhaps it was because Ren Suo¡¯s unusual mood showed too obviously, or that Dong Chengling truly had outstanding observation skills, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, did anything happen?¡±

    Ren Suo hesitated and decided to rephrase his concerns. He asked, ¡°I recently watched a new anime series¡­ It was set in the context of a modern-day city, and was about how ordinary people could be monsters and attack other people at any time.¡±

    ¡°Initially, everyone thought that such a situation was an extremely rare and unique case, and that the government was also in good control of the situation. However, the protagonist then discovered that many ordinary people had the potential to turn into monsters. Do you think that, if the protagonist announced this information, it would cause people to panic? When ordinary people realize that their neighbors and anyone who walked past could possibly turn into monsters, would they feel extremely scared?¡±

    Dong Chengling tilted her head slightly, then shook her head. She said, ¡°I have never seen such films before.¡±

    ¡°However, don¡¯t such stories usually have pleasant and happy endings? The protagonist would certainly find a solution to the problem in the end, no?¡±

    Ren Suo was momentarily stunned. He replied, ¡°That¡¯s true, I must have been thinking too much into it.¡±

    Dong Chengling said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, such a situation would not happen in reality.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because this world does not rely on a protagonist to save humankind. If anything really happens, it would be a challenge that people must work together to ovee. The only thing we can do is to y our part well, and not think of ourselves as the only protagonist.¡±

    Dong Chengling suddenly changed the subject and asked, ¡°By the way, how has your Practice been recently?¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­? It¡¯s going fine, I suppose,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Dong Chengling sighed so softly that it could not be heard. She immediately smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s work hard together. If Xiao Yan gets promoted earlier than you, she will surely make fun of you, all the way to your doorstep.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m not worried about that though, I would surely get promoted before she does,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    When Ren Suo returned home, he turned on the Mini Worlds game console and continued his journey in ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡±.

    Although Ren Suo had realized that, if the true events which took ce in the game were broadcasted, it would very likely cause people to panic¡ªfor it was not possible to stop ¡®Naisser Ren¡¯s¡¯ videos from being on the Inte.

    However, all of those worries would not disappear if he pretended not to know about them. He would just be deceiving himself and others if he ignored them, so it would be wiser to publish that information and bring it to the attention of nations around the world. In that way, the problem of partial Awakeners being demonized could be solved more quickly. That would be more beneficial than lettingrge numbers of demonized people appear before tackling the problem seriously when disastrous and unsalvageable consequences would have already resulted.

    Moreover, as Ren Suo looked at the golden cup of [Desires Collected], he constantly felt a strange sense of anticipation.

    He faintly sensed that, when the golden cup was filled, he might receive a¡­ pleasant surprise.

 Chapter 246 - Eating With A Ghost

    Chapter 246: Chapter 246 ¨C Eating With A Ghost

    Ren Suo had already thought of his game n when he selected Hong Kong in ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡± for the second time.

    Although the main character in the game was still a weakling with a 50/50 health, Ren Suo had also equipped her with [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan ¨C Chapter 1] and [Moonlight], as well as [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] and [Small Holy Grail of Purity]¡ªthat was the bestbination of abilities and props Ren Suo could think of at present.

    Like the previous time, the scene in the game was set in a soulless part of Kowloon Park. After the female stall owner set up the food stall, she suddenly opened a drawer that had never been opened before.

    There were two things in the drawer: a Jade Pendant, and a small white cup.

    The female stall owner wore the Jade Pendant on her wrist and ced the cup on a divider between the kitchen and the dining table. The divider served to prevent the saliva from diners from getting into the oil pan, and at the same time prevent the hot oil from sshing onto the diners. As such, the divider was not wide, but the small cup was not too big and could be ced on the divider without falling, although it was not stable.

    It was the first time that Ren Suo encountered such a situation:

    Items in the prop slots turned into real, tangible objects in the game.

    While Ren Suo was still in his daze, the man wearing sportswear sat down at the stall again, without making a sound.

    Whenever Ren Suo restarted the game, the first day of the game remained the same, and the ¡®customers¡¯ he met in the same city also remained the same¡ªat least for now. It was also possible that the first day in the game would change as time in reality progresses.

    If Ren Suo was cruel enough (to himself), he could actually experiment with the variousbinations of seasonings for each customer, until he found the rightbination for them. Although there were dozens of seasonings, he could narrow the options down to 3 to 8 different types based on his analysis of the life experiences of the ¡®customers¡¯. Afterwhich, he could slowly experiment with the few likely seasonings.

    The only problem was that doing so would be extremely time-consuming. He still did not know how many ¡®customers¡¯ there would be in one night in a location where the [Degree of Concealment] was high. The target was 10,000 Desires to clear the game, which had to be achievable¡ªthat meant that Ren Suo had to gather at least 1000 Desires every night, while the child only gave 9 Desires.

    Perhaps there was a difference in the level between ¡®customers¡¯¡ªin areas with high [Degree of Concealment], there would be ¡®customers¡¯ with more requirements and moreplicated life experiences, and they gave more Desires as a result. Nheless, it was likely unavoidable that he had to attend to dozens of ¡®customers¡¯ every night.

    On the other hand, the game could only be saved from the world map, which meant that it could only be saved after each night had passed.

    In other words, if Ren Suo wanted to use such a method of experimenting with all possible options, he could indeed find the most optimal solution to clear the game, day by day.

    However, since the game still had a fightingponent to it, it meant that ¡®obediently asking customers to pay¡¯ was not necessarily the only way to clear the game. ¡®Getting customers to pay through massaging them¡¯ could also be an excellent method¡ªif the taste of the food was unable to satisfy them, then there was no other choice but to bring joy to their physical body.

    Ren Suo¡¯s current strategy was: ¡®fight the customer if he thought that the meal was unsatisfactory, and if the fight can¡¯t be won, start again and cook another meal¡¯.

    Like the previous time, the man in the sportswear still wanted a bowl of luncheon meat noodles with egg. However, when the man was about to start talking about his life again, the small white cup on the divider suddenly began to glow faintly.

    The female stall owner picked up the cup, and the game prompted: [Do you wish to make a wish to the Small Holy Grail of Purity?]

    A wish list appeared in the game:

    [A ss of 1% concentration Holy Water: 3 merit points]

    [A ss of 10% concentration Holy Water: 30 merit points]

    How were the in-game purchase options made avable at that juncture?

    The Small Holy Grail of Purity was the reward from ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±. Why did it be a tform for the in-game purchase options in ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡±?

    Although it feels somewhat strange, being able to spend merit points in the game was nheless a good thing. Ren Suo did not hesitate any further and tried the 1% concentration Holy Water.

    Consequently, the female stall owner poured the freshly boiled hot water into the Holy Grail. The colorless and transparent boiling water swayed slightly in the white cup, then three glistening drops of light fell into the water. The boiling water slowly turned into a white-colored liquid and resembled dense milk.

    Without hesitation, the female stall owner drank the Holy Water. Ren Suo thought in his heart, ¡®If 1% concentration Holy Water was as dense as milk, wouldn¡¯t 10% concentration Holy Water be as firm and dense as yogurt?¡¯

    As the female stall owner was drinking the water, the man in the sportswear stopped telling his story. He waited quietly for the female stall owner to finish drinking the water before he continued with his story.

    The effect of the Holy Water very quickly emerged¡ªthe skin of the female stall owner began shimmering faintly, and when the man in the sportswear started talking about his childhood memories, a word suddenly flew out from the dialogue box. The word turned red and was heavily imprinted on the screen:

    [Father].

    Then, more and more keywords were extracted: [colleagues], [girls], [mask], ughter]¡­ In addition, the keywords were in different tones of red: the ordinary keyword [colleagues] was light red, while [father] and [girls] were bright red, and [mask] and ughter] were deep red.

    Ren Suo pondered for a moment, then selected the seasonings which corresponded to the keywords: [Fatherly Love], [Friendship], [Love], [Freedom], and [Happiness].

    He deliberated over his choices again, then reced [Happiness] with [Understanding].

    Based on the intensity of the colors, Ren Suo also adjusted the quantity of the different seasonings ordingly to be small, medium, orrge. After the seasonings were added, the female stall owner pushed the bowl of noodles to the man and said:

    [Here¡¯s your luncheon meat noodles with egg.]

    Silently, the man in the sportswear finished eating the luncheon meat noodles with egg, and Ren Suo looked at him nervously. If he turned berserk and did not want to tip the stall owner, he had no choice but to see if [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan ¨C Chapter 1] and [Moonlight] would be able to give him a good beating.

    However, the man in the sportswear merely burped and said quietly: [It¡¯s ordinary. The taste is slightly too nd but slightly too heavy at the same time.]

    He dug around his sportswear for some time, and eventually took out a ttidae animal¡ªa cockroach.

    [I have nothing decent to give you, so here¡¯s my pet for you.]

    Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips. However, the female stall owner remained unfazed and epted the gift. Ren Suo inspected it more closely and discovered that it was quite a gem:

    [48-year-old cockroach: the possessor has an extra turn before proceeding into regr battle.]

    Although the cockroach did not enhance the stall owner¡¯s attributes, and neither did it help much in terms of the production of food, it was essentially equivalent to a legendary weapon in battle. In the ordinary turn-based battle, it was a cycle of him taking his turn, then the enemy taking his turn. With the cockroach, Ren Suo¡¯s game character could attack the enemy once first before proceeding to the regr turn-based battle.

    The man in the sportswear left quickly, and at that juncture, another woman in red-colored clothes sat down. At the same time, a ¡®ding¡¯ sounded from the game, and the shimmer on the female stall owner disappeared.

    [Do you wish to make a wish to the Small Holy Grail of Purity?]

    ¡°1% concentration Holy Water is only able to observe the desires of one customer. Does that mean that the 10% Holy water would be able to observe 10 to 20 customers?¡±

    Eventually, Ren Suo still chose the 1% concentration Holy Water, since his yer privilege [Seizing All Opportunities] would surely be triggered. At the very least, the privilege would -1 merit point off his spending, which meant that he would only need to spend a maximum of 20 merit points if he attended to 10 ¡®customers¡¯.

    Furthermore, [Seizing All Opportunities] could¡ªlike this time¡ªtrigger the effect of -10 merit points off his spending. Although he would not be given merit points instead, it meant that Ren Suo received a free round of Holy Water.

    After the female stall owner finished drinking the delicious Holy Water, the ¡®customer¡¯ began telling her story. After attending to 9 ¡®customers¡¯ in the same way, Ren Suo realized that the progression of time in the game was exactly the same as in reality. Since the female stall owner set up her stall at 12 midnight and closed at 4 a.m, that also meant that Ren Suo had to y for a solid 4 hours for the night to be over.

    The tenth customer took Ren Suo slightly by surprise.

    [Eh? Why is there a stall selling supper here? Wow, thedy boss is quite pretty eh.]

    [Du Li Wei, what did you say?!]

    [Xiao Hui, I love you the most, don¡¯t be jealous. Let¡¯s have supper.]

    A roguish, yellow-haired teenage boy approached the food stall with a girl who also had her hair dyed¡ªit was very hard to describe her hair color, though it looked somewhat wine-red. Both of them sat down in front of the stall, and the yellow-haired guy¡¯s hand was still wrapped around the girl¡¯s waist. He fondled around her chest as he looked around curiously. Although the girl was not exactly pretty, she still looked cute and pleasing to the eye. Her clothes were slightly disorganized, and her cheeks were flushed¡ªthey must not have been at the park to sleep.

    Ren Suo quickly made his judgment: a yful teenage boy and his girlfriend.

    Then again, which ordinary person would look for a ce to eat supper in the middle of the night in an empty garden?

    The yellow-haired teenager even fiddled with the Small Holy Grail of Purity and asked: [Where did you buy this?]

    The female stall owner asked directly: [What do you want to eat?]

    The yellow-haired teenager said: [Let me have a look¡­ Lady Boss, you did not state the prices.]

    The girl said: [Li Wei, look at that, it says that the meal is free, you just need to tell a story.]

    The yellow-haired teenager replied: [Eh, you¡¯re right! I don¡¯t have a story to tell though.]

    He took out his wallet and asked: [Here¡¯s a hundred yuan. Is that enough for two barbecued pork rice?]

    At that juncture, another ¡®customer¡¯ came to the stall.

    It was an old man who was coughing and supporting himself with a walking cane. While coughing, he made his way to the stall. He was wearing a cotton-padded jacket as well as a hat. He slowly sat himself on the chair and kept coughing continuously. The old man had many age spots on his face. His face looked pale, and his eyes were bloodshot.

    The girl was startled, and she leaned on her boyfriend as she eximed: [When did this old man appear? He must be crazy, who would wear such warm clothing on a hot day like this?]

    [Xiao Hui.] The yellow-haired teenager said as he hugged his girlfriend. He smiled at the old man and asked: [Sir, are you hungry too?]

    Ren Suo pursed his lips. He was quite sure now that the yellow-haired teenager and his girlfriend were unlikely to be the target customers of the ¡®fleeing ghosts stall¡¯. Instead, they must have stumbled upon the stall by ident.

    That old man was the ¡®normal customer¡¯ of the ¡®fleeing ghost stall¡¯.

    Moreover, judging from the looks of the old man, he was unlikely the typical ¡®partially Awakened demonized person¡¯. Which ordinary person would wear a cotton-padded jacket and a cotton-padded hat meant for winter on such a hot day? It would already be quite a sight to see someone wearing long-sleeved sportswear.

    He must be a ghost, one who died in the winter. After he Awoke, he continued wearing such clothing, and it was a wonder where he hid himself at other times.

    Of the nine customers he had just served, Ren Suo encountered around 3 ghosts. He also suspected one of them to be a short spirit, so he was not too surprised upon seeing the old man.

    ¡°You guys are quite unlucky to have met a ghost when you were only in the park to have an ¡®enjoyable and exciting¡¯ couple time¡­¡±

 Chapter 247 - Just Feed Him Garbage

    Chapter 247: Chapter 247 ¨C Just Feed Him Garbage

    [Mmm? Must I really tell a story?] the yellow-haired teenager asked.

    The female stall owner nced at the teenager, then epted the 100 yuan note in his hand. She said: [You can just pay with money.]

    Then, she looked at the old man and said: [Tell me about your life.]

    The burgundy-haired girlughed and joked: [Lady Boss, you¡¯re so funny.]

    The yellow-haired teenager lightly pinched his girlfriend¡¯s waist, then smiled apologetically at the female stall owner and the old man. He whispered something in her ear, but although Ren Suo could not hear what he was saying, a dialogue box appeared over his head which said: [Look at the old man, he does not seem to have much money on him. The Lady Boss is doing good by trying to help him. Don¡¯t make the old man feel embarrassed.]

    Ren Suo was slightly surprised as he looked at the yellow-haired teenager. He had not expected him to be somewhat understanding of strangers¡ªindeed, one should not judge a ¡°yellow-haired teen¡± by its cover.

    The old man ordered a bowl of Yang Chun noodles. The stall owner nodded, then said to the yellow-haired teenager: [I need to prepare the noodles for the old man first, please give me a moment.]

    The teenager¡¯s girlfriend said: [We came first though¡­]

    The yellow-haired teenager lightly pinched his girlfriend¡¯s waist again, then smiled at the female stall owner and replied: [Take your time, we are not in a hurry.]

    The female stall owner drank a free ss of 1% concentration Holy Water. She began listening to the old man tell his life story and keywords were extracted. In the meantime, the couple were bored and had nothing to do, or perhaps their mobile phones had run out of battery, so they listened to the old man as they sat in their seats. Theymented softly at certain points in time:

    [He¡¯s talking about when Hong Kong was still a rural city? Is the old man that old already?]

    [The old man even had to pay for protection in the past.]

    [If I were born during his era, I would certainly have ventured in real estate and be rich.]

    The female stall owner and the old manpletely ignored the couple, even as the old man gave a conclusion about his life:

    [¡­ I had two sons¡ªone died after he became an adult while the other went up north, so I don¡¯t know how he is doing now. I pick up aluminum cans and stic drinking bottles on the street to exchange them for some steamed buns¡­¡±

    Keyword: [Son].

    The old man sighed and continued: [I¡¯m old. One night when I went to pee at home, I fell down and broke my leg. I did not have the energy to shout, and it was cold. I remained on the floor in my house, unable to move, and eventually¡­]

    [I froze to death.]

    Keywords: [Cold, Frozen].

    Amongst monsters, the stories of demons did not end in death, but it was the opposite for ghosts. In fact, they would remember very clearly how they died, and the memories would remain etched in their minds. That was also the reason why they were able to control their desires to kill and hide themselves within the city. It was only when the ¡®ghost stall¡¯ appearedte in the night that they would emerge from the darkness.

    The burgundy-haired girl gave a chuckle, but she remembered what her boyfriend said and remained silent.

    However, the look on the yellow-haired teenager¡¯s face changed slightly. From his point of view, he could see a subtle reddish-purple color on the lips of the old man, and the extent of the cloudiness in the old man¡¯s eyes suddenly increased significantly. The hands of the old man were also of a very strange frozen blue color, though his age sports slightly concealed the peculiar changes to his body.

    However, when the old man finished telling his story, the abnormalities of his body grew more obvious. The yellow-haired teenager swallowed his saliva and wanted to leave, but the female stall owner said at that juncture:

    [Your food is almost ready.]

    Ren Suo did not know why the female stall owner said that, but the yellow-haired teenager seemed to be instantly relieved. He took the initiative to swap seats with the burgundy-haired girl so that she was further away from the old man.

    The burgundy-haired girl felt that it was strange, but did not think too much into it. She leaned on her boyfriend and took out her mobile phone to y.

    After adding the appropriate seasonings based on the extracted keywords, the female stall owner lightly pushed the bowl of Yang Chun noodles to the old man. Then, she quickly prepared two tes of barbecued pork rice¡ªamusingly, there was already cooked rice sitting in the rice cooker.

    Ren Suo thought that she would give the tes of barbecued pork rice directly to the couple, but the game entered the seasoning interface again and Ren Suo was momentarily stunned.

    How could he season the food when the pair of lovebirds did not tell their story?

    However, the seasoning interface had appeared and Ren Suo had to select something, so he blindly chose [Happiness] and [Love], and set the amount of seasoning to be added to the maximum. The female stall owner took out two bottles of seasoning and poured the contents of the bottles into the two tes of barbecued pork rice, as if the seasonings did not cost any money.

    Nheless, Ren Suo was not concerned about it¡ªcould the main character not win a fight against ordinary people?

    Unlike other customers, the yellow-haired teenager and the burgundy-haired girl looked suspiciously at barbecued pork rice before they took the spoons and began eating. The next moment, their faces suddenly turned red and they said loudly:

    [It¡¯s delicious!]

    [I feel thoroughly invigorated!]

    [This¡­ it tastes extremely pleasant!]

    [It tastes like love too.]

    [Here, let me feed you, mmm~]

    With that, the pair of lovebirds began showing their love for each other as they continued feeding each other. Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips.

    After the old man finished the Yang Chun noodles, the abnormalities on his body also disappeared, and he turned back into the ordinary old man who wore a cotton-padded winter coat on a hot day.

    The old man said: [It¡¯s extremely delicious. Thank you.]

    He searched in his pockets and retrieved a candy. He said: [A kid from around the area gave this to me, but I could not bear to eat it. Unfortunately for me, when I wanted to eat it, I could no longer enjoy its taste. Here, take this.]

    The female stall owner took the candy and realized that it was actually not a sweet:

    [Chalk wrapped in a sweet wrapper: if you consume it directly, HP +100, Attack +15; it can also be used as a single-use item in a battle to restore 9999 HP.]

    The old man left silently, and the couple was also finishing their barbecued pork rice. When they were about to leave, the two of them were suddenly stunned at the same time.

    [Lady Boss, what did you put in the rice? Why do I still feel sofortable after finishing it¡­]

    [I¡­ How did I¡­]

    At that juncture, [+0.52] appeared above the head of the burgundy-haired girl, while [+0.31] and [Awakening +1] appeared above the head of the yellow-haired teenager.

    The yellow-haired teenager immediately pulled the burgundy-haired girl back to her seat. He was anxious as he said: [Two more dishes of barbecued pork rice, exactly the same as how it tasted just now! I will give you as much money as you want!]

    Ren Suo was stunned. At that point, the female stall owner shook her head and said: [That taste is something which a person can only enjoy once in his life. It¡¯s fine though if you want to eat ordinary barbecued pork rice.]

    [You guys should leave. There would be other customersing soon. I¡¯m running a ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯ stall here.]

    The burgundy-haired girl asked her boyfriend: [Li Wei, I¡¯m already full, why are you¡­]

    The yellow-haired teenager pulled his girlfriend closer and whispered in her ear: [The rice here further Awakened my extraordinary ability! Do you not feel anything?]

    The girl replied: [I just feel extremelyfortable throughout my body.]

    The teenager said: [It¡¯s beneficial no matter what! This is a miracle!]

    However, no matter what they said, the female stall wonder did not agree to their request. She said: [The taste of desire is something which a person can only taste once. Those who enjoy the taste of desire more than once would not be able to maintain their sanity, and would be consumed by their desires and turned into beasts.]

    [Do you really wish to tear the girl beside you into pieces?]

    The yellow-haired teenager immediately calmed down and said: [Thank you very much.]

    The stall owner replied: [You¡¯re wee.]

    The yellow-haired teenager reached into his pockets as he asked: [Do I need to give you a present?]

    The female stall owner answered: [There¡¯s no need to, presents from ordinary people are meaningless to me. Only presents left behind by ¡®customers¡¯, whose sanity is on the edge and pent-up emotions are about to explode, would contain their desires¡­]

    [You guys should leave before the next ¡®customer¡¯ arrives.]

    As the female stall owner was talking, Ren Suo was also navigating around the game and finally found the conversation option.

    However, there was a remark written in red next to the option: [Beware, any mistakes made in conversations may result in dissatisfaction of customers.]

    The customers were all monsters that forcibly suppressed their desires with their reason and sanity. They finally managed to find a stall that was able to provide them with ¡®delicious vors¡¯ and could rx their pent-up emotions. It would thus be very easy to trigger them to act rashly through words and result in battles. Ren Suo understood that and did not have any intention tomunicate personally with any of the monsters anyway.

    However, the two of them at the stall then were ordinary people. There were questions Ren Suo wanted to ask:

    [Are you an Awakener?]

    The yellow-haired teenager nodded and replied: [Yes.]

    It was no wonder that he remained so calm despite noticing that the old man beside them just now was a ghost.

    [Is your girlfriend an Awakener?]

    The yellow-haired teenager looked at the burgundy-haired girl. She shook her head and replied: [No, I¡¯m not.]

    [Alright, let¡¯s shake hands.]

    As Ren Suo said that, the female stall owner extended her hand. The yellow-haired teenager hesitated for a moment, then stretched his hand out to shake her hand.

    [Data Stream], activate!

    Ren Suo had already equipped the [Fleeing Ghosts Stall Owner] with [Data Stream] earlier on, but it required physical contact to be activated. Nheless, it was fortunate that the ability could be used¡ªthe [Data Stream] icon appeared on the top right corner of the screen, and relevant information appeared when the female stall owner came into contact with physical objects.

    [Target type: Adult male, Human, a Primate]

    [Meal consumed: Barbecued Pork Rice (Happiness 100, Love 100)]

    [Effects after consumption: Talent Score +0.31, Awakened Ability Level +1, physical body slightly enhanced]

    [Possibility of consuming Meal of Desires again: None]

    Unlike when using Data Stream in real life, [Data Stream] in the game was more concise, but analyzes exactly the information which Ren Suo wanted to know¡ª

    After ordinary people consumed the Meal of Desires from the ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯ stall, their talent scores would be increased, and their Awakened Abilities would further Awaken if they had one!

    The female stall owner then proceeded to shake the burgundy-haired girl¡¯s hand. In her data stream, she did not have ¡°Awakened Ability Level +1¡±, but her talent score increased by 0.52. Simrly, she could no longer consume the Meal of Desires.

    After the couple left, Ren Suo controlled the female stall keeper to continue attending to ¡®customers¡¯, but his mind was already thinking about something else¡ª

    He also wanted a meal at the fleeing ghost stall!

    There were not many opportunities where one would be able to enhance oneself without putting in any effort!

    However, there were many problems: for example, there was no way for Ren Suo to know the exact date when the fleeing ghost stall would operate. Moreover, it would also be very likely for him to encounter monsters if he searched for the fleeing ghost stall.

    As Ren Suo pondered about it, a dozen more guests also came and left the stall. By then, it was already 3:30 a.m. in the game, half an hour before the game ended for that day.

    At that juncture, the streetmps in the distance suddenly began flickering.

    A young man, who wore a suit with a red tie, donned a red hat and carried arge, ck umbre, walked slowly towards the fleeing ghost stall and sat down.

    He nced at the sign at the fleeing ghost stall and smiled.

    He said: [Sorry, I¡¯m not interested in telling others about my life.]

    Ren Suo could see that the jade pendant the female stall owner wore on her wrist was emitting a faint red glow.

    The man said: [I originally intended to devour you directly, but I heard that your food is quite delicious, so let¡¯s try that. Do your best to satisfy me. If I¡¯m happy after eating it, I may let you die a less miserable death.]

    Ren Suo could immediately tell that the man was a cold-hearted ¡®demon-person¡¯¡ªamongst the various types of monsters, it was the only kind which would certainly be chaotic evil. They were terrifying creatures who had gone berserk and who disregardedw and order.

    Such demons would certainly havemitted plenty of crimes and killed countless people. If it were the Maind, they would certainly be crushed swiftly to pieces by the iron fist of a socialist society (the Countermeasure System and the Changjiang and Yellow River Forces were established for this very purpose). However, Hong Kong was considered an important port for imports and exports, and was a global city, so there were many opportunities for demon-people to hide.

    ¡°Is this an unavoidable battle¡­¡±

    However, even if battle was unavoidable, such people would only take action after he finished his meal, for various reasons.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo also finally understood the true purpose of the other set of ¡®undesirable¡¯ seasonings¡ª[Despair], [Anger], [Incontinence], [Betrayal], [Jealousy]¡­

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to talk about morals and values to such people who have greatly sinned. Just feed him garbage!¡±

 Chapter 248 - The Smile On His Face Disappeared Completely

    Chapter 248: Chapter 248 ¨C The Smile On His Face Disappeared Completely

    Making ¡®unpleasant¡¯ food also required skill.

    Although it was the first time that Ren Suo was feeding the ¡®customer¡¯ garbage, it should still follow the rules of feeding ordinary food but on a contrasting spectrum.

    When feeding ordinary food, the goal was to figure out the hidden desires of the target and prescribe the right remedy. Other seasonings should not be added mindlessly, or it would instead agitate the ¡®customer¡¯.

    In a simr way, when feeding garbage, the goal would be to figure out the concealed weaknesses of the target and force him to be reminded of his weaknesses and his suffering. Other seasonings should likewise not be added mindlessly, or it could instead enhance his strength.

    Ren Suo logged in to the intr and read the paper on ¡°Analysis of Demonization¡± again. He found the section on ¡°Analysis of the Changes in Personality of Demon-Humans¡±:

    [The temperament of demon-humans who gradually spiral into a demonic madness would be extreme and distorted. They would lose the capability to empathize and bepassionate and would think of themselves as belonging to a ¡®higher ss¡¯ that is separate from humans. The suffering and sadness of humans no longer resonate with them; instead, they feel excited and their curiosity would be piqued. Such behavior is akin to a child urinating into an ants nest, done solely out of curiosity and desire.]

    [They preserve a certain amount of wisdom and reason in them, and as such they retain their habits when they were human. Their memories remain an extremely important part of them, and they can be influenced through past important memories and people (Note 32 ¡°Brother¡¯s Calling¡±, Note 33 ¡°Touch of a Dragon Li cat¡±, Note 34 ¡°Two Shattered Cabs of Garage Kits¡±). However, only their actions may be influenced, and they remain unable to break free of their demonic madness.]

    [Such influences are generally harmful to the demon-humans: Their memories would lead them into uncontroble self-doubt, and could even result in split personalities (however, in any case, the demonic personality would dominate).]

    Ren Suo observed the evil ¡®customer¡¯ very carefully.

    The suit he was wearing was tidy and exquisite, and when he sat down, he put his ck umbre at the side. At the same time, he took off the red hat that he was wearing and set it aside. He ced his hands on the table with his fingers interlocking slightly, and he sat with his back straight and chest out. His eyes smiled as he looked at the female stall owner.

    If one had to, there was possibly only one word to describe him¡ªa ¡®gentleman¡¯.

    Unlike the previous ¡®customers¡¯, that evil ¡®customer¡¯ did not specify what he wanted to eat, so Ren Suo had to choose himself.

    Ren Suo chose the steak meal. Although it was going to be a garbage meal, it was ultimately food for the heart, not the stomach¡ªthe evil ¡®customer¡¯ was not dim-witted, and it was only likely for him to eat the food if it was something exquisite, such as a te of steak.

    [Tidy and exquisite suit]: seasoning [Filth].

    [Back straight, chest out]: seasoning [Old Age] + seasoning [Creep].

    [Polite gentleman]: Ren Suo suddenly thought of an idea and added the seasonings [Love] + [Immorality], of which only a small amount of [Love] but arge amount of [Immorality] was added.

    After some fiddling around, a steaming te of steak topped with a variety of seasonings was ready.

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ looked at the steak and nodded with slight satisfaction. He did not use the chopsticks, fork, or knife; instead, the fingernails on his right hand suddenly grew longer and he grabbed the steak viciously. He opened his jaw at a horrifying angle such that his posterior mrs could be clearly seen, and it revealed a mouth of sharp, pale-white fangs.

    His tongue resembled that of a snake, with which he easily ¡®rolled¡¯ the steak into his mouth and began chewing it.

    At first, the look on the evil ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ face remained unchanged, and his eyes were still smiling, much like a snake (*£þ¦á£þ);

    Then, the evil ¡®customer¡¯ began feeling that something was wrong, and he suddenly widened his eyes ¦²(¡Ñ¨Œ¡Ñ)!

    Finally, the look on the evil ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ face changed drastically, and he waspletely stunned (¡Ñ¦ä¡Ñ)!

    The smile on his face disappearedpletely.

    [Argh¡ª Urgh¡ª]

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ swept all the things on the table to the ground and held his head in his hands. He squirmed as he took a few steps backward, groaning in utter agony. Strange noises emerged from his enormous mouth, and he also vomited pieces of internal organs.

    The game entered the battle scene. Ren Suo took a quick look and realized that the evil ¡®customer¡¯ had a maximum HP of 2000. However, blood was flowing out of him as he screamed in agony: [Die¡­ Die!]

    There were many intriguing buffs in effect on him:

    [Filth: Receive additional +10% damage for 5 turns]

    [Old Age: Damage -10% for 5 turns]

    [Creep: uracy -10% for 5 turns (uracy +10% against female enemies)]

    ¡­

    [Immorality of Love: Receive damage equivalent to 50% of the maximum HP, and receive damage equivalent to 3% of the maximum HP at the start of each turn. When attacked by female enemies, receive +100% damage, and no action can be taken for 3 turns.]

    The garbage that Ren Suo fed the evil ¡®customer¡¯ did not have an amazing effect, but the [Love] + [Immorality]bination which he suddenly thought of suitably targeted the evil ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ wounds¡ªjudging from the extent of the negative status effect, it was apparent how painful he felt in his heart.

    Coupled with the [48-year-old cockroach], Ren Suo now had 4 chances to attack in advance, while the evil ¡®customer¡¯ had only half of his maximum HP remaining!

    On the other hand, the female stall owner was equipped with [Secret Records of Glorious Xuan: Chapter 1] and had HP +300, Attack +50 in battle.

    At that juncture, Ren Suo suddenly realized that there was a mysterious [+] symbol after [Moonlight] in the ability slots.

    He clicked on the [+] symbol and a list of seasonings appeared. Ren Suo was momentarily stunned, then he selected [Happiness].

    On the screen, the female stall owner who was wearing an apron stretched her hand out in front of her and sliced the air. A bright yellow crescent moon appeared, and it shot towards the evil ¡®customer¡¯ like a sharp de¡ª

    [Being able to live as a person, it is most important to be happy.]

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ received damage from [Crescent Moon of Happiness].

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ received -222 critical damage.

    The duration of all negative effects on the evil ¡®customer¡¯ was reduced by 50%.

    Ren Suo blinked. He somewhat understood that it was a setting of the game: not only could the main character of the game add seasonings to the food, she could also add seasonings to her skills and attacks. At present, Ren Suo could tell that the seasoning [Happiness] would certainly result in a critical hit, but would also halve the duration of the negative statuses in effect on the enemy.

    In the second turn, Ren Suo chose the seasoning [Love].

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ received damage from [Crescent Moon of Love].

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ received -130 pure damage.

    The duration of the negative effect [Immorality of Love] was extended by 1 round!

    In less than a minute, the evil ¡®customer¡¯ was depleted of all of his HP by the female stall owner. He did not even have a chance to attack and was continuously squirming and screaming in agony.

    He returned to his ordinary human form and trembled as he knelt on the ground. ck smoke emerged from his body due to the burning of Reiki. The female stall owner walked over to him and said: [Is there anything else that you treasure?]

    With his trembling hands, the evil ¡®customer¡¯ untied the red tie around his neck andid it on the ground. Afterwhich, he lowered his head as if his entire body had lost all of its strength and his soul was taken away from him.

    [Dyed red tie: +20% effect of all self-enhancing effects.]

    Now that he had defeated the enemy, Ren Suo naturally did not hesitate and said directly: [Give me your hand.]

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ obediently extended his right hand and came into contact with the female stall owner:

    [Target type: Adult male, Human, a Primate]

    [Meal consumed: Steak Meal (Love 20, Immorality 100, Creep 100, Filth 100¡­)]

    [Effects after consumption: Reiki breathing current is purified (breathing current has already disappeared); human nature is restored; continues to be tormented by strange desires]

    [Possibility of consuming Meal of Desires again: None]

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ trembled as he stood up. The expression on his face was somewhat intriguing¡ªhe looked the same as before, but the saliva flowing out from the corners of his mouth, the angle at which his eyes were narrowed, and the extent that his hands were trembling all made him turn from a tidy gentleman into a somewhat creepy, nondescript freak.

    The evil ¡®customer¡¯ said: [I¡­ I will turn myself in and confess my sins¡­]

    The moment he said that, the strange aura on his body immediately disappeared and he breathed a sigh of relief. He did not dare to look at the female stall owner again and scrambled away from that sad ce.

    A man who had spiraled into a demonic madness actually escaped from it after eating a meal of garbage?

    Another 10 minutester, the first day of the ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯ journey in Hong Kong ended. A total of 1031 Desires were collected, which could be considered a bare pass.

    After a long and hard deliberation, Ren Suo also finally decided to write a new thesis paper to post on the intr¡ª

    ¡°Eating Garbage Saved A Demon-Human¡±.

 Chapter 249 - To Fight Evil With Evil

    Chapter 249: Chapter 249 ¨C To Fight Evil With Evil

    In the mysterious phenomena section on the intr, monsters were essentially the mostmonly discussed topic, of which spirits and ghosts were the most frequently encountered mysterious phenomenon. ¡®Beasts¡¯ had the least urrences, given that most of the information rting to them was considered ¡®secret¡¯, and very little information regarding ¡®beasts¡¯ was made public.

    However, amongst the different types of monsters, ¡®demons¡¯ were the ones that the nation focused their research on.

    Located next to the Tianjing Third Underground Research Institute was the Tianjing Western Suburb Prison, which specially detained Extraordinaire criminals from the northern region of Xuan Nation.

    ¡°Ahhhh¡ª¡±

    Arge man with a t top in an electric chair screamed his lungs out in agony. His eyes were bloodshot, his entire body was trembling, and he was unable to control his dder and bowels. However, when Li Wenxin, who was both a therapist and researcher, stopped the electric torture, the man immediately spat at her.

    The spittle was imposing, just like a sharp arrow would be, and it instantly froze into ice. Although there was a transparent reinforced ss panel between Li Wenxin and the man, she was still briefly taken aback.

    With a ¡®ding¡¯ sound, the spittle, which had turned into an ice arrow, was embedded into the ss, although the reinforced ss panel remained intact. Clearly, the energy possessed by the ice arrow before impact was very close to that of a small-caliber bullet.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me today, I will be the one killing you in future¡ª¡± therge man mocked as he chortled. The resentment in his words was sufficient to terrify ordinary people. He continued, ¡°I will make sure you die like a torn and tattered piece of cloth ripped apart into fragments!¡±

    However, Li Wenxin had been working there for a very long time and was used to hearing such threats. She merely sighed and looked at the file of therge man in front of her:

    Robbery, murder, XXX, abuse, causing intentional harm to others¡­

    Li Wenxin penned down the results of the experiment: [Experiment 721, Subject No. 1841 still did not return to a normal state of mind and did not yield due to his experienced predicament. Conclusion: Enhanced demonization.]

    Concluding the experiment, Li Wenxin left the experimentboratory and returned to the office. As soon as she walked through the door, she asked, ¡°Is the Reiki suppression system not working?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± A colleague asked.

    ¡°No. 1841 could even spit at me, and it gave me a shock. I still need to get someone to check the bulletproof ss, how troublesome,¡± Li Wenxin replied. She sat down and keyed in the results of the previous experiment on theputer.

    Her colleague said helplessly, ¡°He burns his own Reiki breathing current directly to attack. It would not have any effect on him whether or not the Reiki suppression system is activated. Well, demon-humans are just so powerful. The stronger their demon nature, the stronger their ability to draw on the powers of Reiki. Burning his own breathing current is child¡¯s y to him, you should be more careful next time.¡±

    ¡°How was the experiment anyway? Are there any changes in the three subjects you¡¯re in charge of?¡±

    Li Wenxin eximed in desperation, ¡°I wish!¡±

    ¡°Nothing changed except that they became stronger and more uncontroble. I¡¯m actually bewildered, even after both electric torture and water torture. How do they still have the cheek to threaten me saying, ¡®If you don¡¯t kill me today, I will be the one killing you in future¡¯? Do they think that we¡¯re filming a drama series here? Would ordinary people be so vicious?¡±

    Her colleagueforted her, saying, ¡°Rx, if this job were so easy, we won¡¯t be the ones doing it. If those demon-humans were so easily scared, they would have been released to serve in the military a long time ago. Our job is to find out what their weaknesses are.¡±

    The main research focus of the Tianjing Third Underground Research Institute was ¡®demon-humans¡¯. The experimental subjects were all transferred from the prison next door, and they were criminals who already developed demon nature.

    ¡®Demon nature¡¯ was a psychological term used to describe ¡®criminals whomit crimes without fear and psychological emotions¡¯, and essentially referred to people with ¡®antisocial personality¡¯.

    However, those with a typical antisocial personality remained sane and could continue to contribute to society. As long as the power of the authorities and thew was sufficiently strong, those with antisocial personality would not actively vite thew after weighing the risks and benefits and would be aw-abiding citizen.

    On the other hand, although Extraordinaires who developed demon nature still maintained certain rationality, they acted mostly based on their own desires, much like No. 1841 whom Li Wenxin had just dealt with¡ªI want to kill you, and I will make my intentions known right now; I will even show you how I can do it now!

    That was precisely the barrier that the Tianjing Third Underground Research Institute always wanted to break through.

    Those who were fearless and had no beliefs were true ¡®useless waste¡¯ in society. The means they used were pure atrocities, and all of their actions served to fuel their inner happiness and anger.

    The value of a person is based on the sum of his rtionships with other people in society. For example, a person stranded on an uninhabited ind would be meaningless to the society of humans, regardless of what the person found on the ind or wrote there. Unless the person met a man on a Friday and was eventually rescued from the uninhabited ind, he would be equivalent to a ¡®dead man¡¯ in human society.

    Simrly, demon-humans in human society were equivalent to such a person stranded on an uninhabited ind.

    Demon-humans did not need others to give them anything, nor did they want to give anything to others. Whatever demon-humans wanted, they would simply snatch it away from others. Furthermore, it would not be possible to control or influence them¡ªeven if they were shocked with electricity such that their dder control was lost, they would not yield even slightly. Who would dare to release them into the world in that case?

    ¡°It¡¯s already been a few months and this problem still can¡¯t be solved. There¡¯s no point to even think about the final problem¡­¡± Li Wenxin sighed.

    Her colleagueughed and said, ¡°There are more than ten research institutes across the nation that are researching the final problem, when would we ever be lucky enough to work on that?¡±

    The small research team Li Wenxin was in took charge of finding out the weaknesses of demon-humans. There were five teams like theirs within the research institute, all of which had the same goal: to find a way to turn demon-humans back into humans.

    The nation had put in a lot of funds and given much authority to research demon-humans, as seen from how the research institute was allowed to use prisoners who were demon-humans directly. Although the research institute would certainly not kill people, they still had to perform the necessary experiments which were harmful to the experiment subjects.

    However, Li Wenxin knew that it was not only Xuan Nation who was doing so; the Federation, Europe and other nations were also trying their best to research demon-humans. Information about demon-humans could hardly be seen in newspapers, and no human rights organization would want to find trouble for themselves either. Many international consortia were even actively donating funds to elerate the progress of research into demon-humans.

    With regard to the reason why various powerful organizations were so involved in the research, researchers like Li Wenxin knew exactly why: an Awakened son of a certain wealthy family must have turned into a demon-human and was locked underground, unable to see daylight; an Awakened rtive of a certain president must have turned into a demon-human and caused a widely-impacting and gravely undesirable event, which led to the president falling from power¡­

    Any Awakener had the possibility of being demonized.

    The demonic madness was not merely a hidden time bomb in an Awakener but also a shackle: even those who knew about demonic madness would be unable to stop themselves from losing their sense of self when they start harming others andmitting crimes. They would still turn into cold, heartless monsters who killed people.

    At present, there was only one way to avoid spiraling into demonic madness, and it was only theoretical: topletely believe from the bottom of one¡¯s heart that one¡¯s actions were all virtuous and unclouded, not done to benefit oneself but for justice. Simply put, if one possessed belief and responsibility that was more than that for one¡¯s own benefit, one would not spiral into demonic madness, even if one harmed or killed others.

    At present, the Awakened Practitioners in the Countermeasure System, as well as the Practitioner soldiers of the Yellow River and Changjiang Forces, showed no signs of demonization. That fact could be regarded as supporting evidence for the theory.

    However, research on the treatment and prevention of demonization still had great practical significance. Given that a demonized person¡¯sbat ability was far more powerful than that of normal humans of the same level, undesirable events could be prevented if corresponding psychological observation mechanisms could be established. The earlier any signs of demonization were discovered, the earlier treatment could be administered and the earlier the person could be questioned.

    For example, Li Wenxin once saw the powerful man who sat in the Room of Reiki Dispersal. She did not dare to imagine what would happen if that man was demonized¡­

    When Li Wenxin logged on to the intr, five posts were automatically rmended to her. As a Level 3 Researcher, Li Wenxin could set the topics of discussion she was interested in, and she would automatically receive push notifications of thetest and most popr rted discussions when she logged on to the intr.

    The first rmended post did not offer any refreshing ideas. The person who posted it had consolidated the areas where more demons had appeared in, and eventually the discussion thread turned into a ¡®warzone¡¯ where discriminatory remarks were being hurled.

    The second rmended post was ¡°Eating Garbage Saved A Demon-Human¡±¡ªLi Wenxin wondered if the author of the post had a grudge against demon-humans.

    However, after reading the post carefully, she fell into deep thought.

    She retrieved the file of Subject No. 1841 and asked her colleague, ¡°Has an emotional test been administered to No. 1841 before?¡±

    Her colleague flipped through the files and replied, ¡°Yes, his elderly father hase down once. There was no effect on him.¡±

    ¡°Is there any information about his childhood?¡± Li Wenxin probed.

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± her colleague questioned.

    Li Wenxin said, ¡°Well, I just saw a post saying that ¡®People live their entire lives seeking what they hoped for when they were a child, and fear what they feared in their childhood.¡¯ I think that it would be somewhat useful to know what his childhood was like.¡±

    ¡°That sounds logical,¡± her colleague replied. After a few minutes of searching through the files, her colleague said, ¡°I sent you the testimony given by No. 1841¡¯s neighbor.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Li Wenxin said.

    After spending half an hour carefully reading through the files, Li Wenxin pondered for a moment and asked suddenly, ¡°Do you have gay movies on yourputer? The kind with a ¡®stronger¡¯ giver and ¡®weaker¡¯ receiver.¡±

    Her colleague was momentarily stunned. She immediately replied,¡± No, why? Are you interested? Aren¡¯t you attracted to girls instead?¡±

    ¡°I have a use for it, just download one now. If it¡¯s possible, find a way to photoshop the face of No. 1841 as the receiver,¡± Li Wenxin replied.

    Her colleague asked, ¡°What are you going to do with it?¡±

    Li Wenxin exined, ¡°No. 1841¡¯s information shows that he was very strong when he was a child, and he liked to bully other people, especially girls. When he was in junior high school, he made a girl undergo an abortion.¡±

    ¡°As such, I doubt he would ever have imagined that he would be ¡®bullied¡¯ by other men, and would never have watched such a movie. It will probably be apletely different experience for him this time.¡±

    Her colleague felt that it was slightly strange, but did not object. Her colleague said, ¡°Would it really be useful? I am not skilled enough to photoshop his face, so I will have to hand it over to the technical department to do that. If it turns out to be ineffective, the technical department would probably berate you¡ªthose in the technical department are all men.¡±

    Li Wenxin said, ¡°I¡¯ll just give it a try and fight fire with fire, eh. Demon-humans are not afraid of anything because their demon natures are deeply-rooted within their personalities, not in their bodies or in their memories. What we have to target are their personalities.¡±

    ¡°Those who are tough and strong-headed would be made to feel like a young girl; those who are clean and neat would be made dirty; those who like to stand to pee would be made to pee while lying on their stomach; those who hatemunal living would be made to live together with dozens of other people; those who like to sleep would be made to wake up every 45 minutes¡­¡±

    ¡°In the past, we kept focusing on physical stimtion and verbal persuasion. We were on the wrong track. Demon-humans do not dwell on their past and are not afraid of physical harm. The only thing that remains in them is their ¡®habits¡¯ when they were still human. We should be destroying their habits to awaken the human nature in them, and to make them cry and say ¡®I want to be human again!''¡±

 Chapter 250 - Preparing A Reason

    Chapter 250: Chapter 250 ¨C Preparing A Reason

    Early in the morning of the following day, Ren Suo logged on to the intr to check on the discussion thread he started. He discovered that there were many replies refuting his views using supporting evidence from the ssic literature and that his view had not been officially adopted.

    Ren Suo had already anticipated that¡ªhis views were not easily verifiable, and it was also not peculiar that not many people bothered reading his post since even Ren Suo himself was not sure if the information he had obtained were true.

    What he understood from ying the game was not necessarily correct, and there were also many of his own spections in his post.

    However, he was not a true, trained researcher, and could not confirm his own spections. All he could do was publish his opinion on the intr and see if it would be able to attract the attention of the research institutes.

    Although he was now a Level 2 Researcher and was considered to be of moderate standing within the Reiki Research System of Xuan Nation, it was still not a given that his posts would receive a lot of attention.

    Nheless, Ren Suo was just preempting what would happenter on. Of course, the best oue would still be if one of the research institutes agreed with his views and researched into it. However, it would not be a big deal even if that did not happen. Once ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡± was broadcasted, there would surely be people who would attempt researching on ¡®how to conciliate monsters¡¯.

    Ren Suo activated the Reiki gathering device, then put on [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] and continued Practicing.

    On the first night, only the evil ¡®customer¡¯ who appeared at the end and was defeated by the female stall owner activated [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo]. However, there was only a small amount of energy gained, simr to when Ren Suo first defeated the demon-human in the subway.

    Compared to [The Mage Under the World Tree], it was about a 1:50 difference¡ªbut it was better than nothing.

    Ren Suo figured that the amount of energy acquired was rted to the strength of the monsters. Although the evil demon-human ¡®customer¡¯ was very strong, he was at best a tier 2 Practitioner.

    In contrast, the boss characters in the seven mystery realms were monsters that were able to take on arge group of Extraordinaire warriors. Althoughrge weapons like tanks and cannons could not be deployed within the mystery realms due to the realms¡¯ entry restrictions, the boss monsters were still able to fight face-to-face with modern armies and greatly weaken their strengths. That was sufficient to show just how terrifying the capabilities of the monsters were.

    If demon-humans were also able to greatly weaken the modern army of Xuan Nation, Ren Suo would not only see one demon-human in one night¡­

    Of course, Ren Suo had another option, which was to attack all ¡®customers¡¯ by feeding them garbage.

    If they were satisfied with the meal, they would leave behind their treasures and desires, and leave; if they were not satisfied, they would then fight against the female stall owner. After they were defeated, they would still leave behind their treasures and desires, and leave.

    Based on such a strategy, Ren Suo realized that engaging in battles was a highly cost-effective option¡ªhe could save his merit points that would otherwise be spent on purchasing Holy Water.

    Although Ren Suo had the yer privilege [Seizing All Opportunities], he had already spent 9 merit points on the first night. There were still 9 nights left and Ren Suo would surely run out of merit points halfway through the game.

    However, after Ren Suo ¡®reviewed his performance¡¯ on the first night, he felt that he should be able to figure out the trick to extracting the keywords. He intended to try figuring out the degree of emptiness and regret of the ¡®customers¡¯ subsequently by himself, and then season their food urately.

    After all, ordinary ¡®customers¡¯ had averagebat power, and Ren Suo was confident that he would win even if a battle was initiated.

    As such, Ren Suo had never once considered feeding garbage to all ¡®customers¡¯ to eliminate them, whether they were ghosts or spirits. The main concept of the game was clearly not to operate a stall that killed all its customers; although killing all the ¡®customers¡¯ would be easier and there would be a higher chance of clearing the game sessfully, the final score and appraisal received would most likely not be high.

    Furthermore, Ren Suo figured that the evil ¡®customer¡¯ which he encountered on the first night could actually be made to break down and break free of his demon nature if the right seasonings were used. He would then turn himself in for the crimes hemitted in the past, and vow to fight for a socialist society for the rest of his life¡­

    However, that was no longer a problem that could be solved by spending merit points in the game. Ren Suo would have to pick out clues for the seasonings based on the ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ appearance, clothing, physique, and other relevant characteristics.

    Ren Suo decided that, for such ¡®customers¡¯ where spending merit points was not a viable solution, it would still be easier to feed them garbage.

    At noon, Ren Suo was having lunch with Dong Chengling when she suddenly asked, ¡°Did you receive the notification from Yuan Chu, the Institution¡¯s Deputy President?¡±

    ¡°No, what happened?¡± Ren Suo replied.

    Dong Chengling was slightly vexed as she said, ¡°We¡¯re going to start preparing for the students¡¯ orientation ceremony. That means that I would have to take time out to rehearse, discuss the script, and coordinate with other people¡­ The time I have to Practice has reduced once again¡­¡±

    ¡°However, Xiao Qiao would also need toe over to rehearse, as she is a Practitioner from the Countermeasure Division and is one of the actors. She will likely need to stay in the hotel outside the school for the time being. Finally, she would be able to have a taste of my cooking. Only the two of us have been eating together recently, and I can¡¯t cook too much food.¡±

    Orientation ceremony? Ren Suo blinked in confusion, but he quickly remembered what was going on.

    At present, the ¡°Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening¡± was still the most effective method of Awakening. Practitioners and ordinary people who were still unable to Awaken after the activation of Reiki Treasures in Xuan Nation and around the world could choose to wait for fate to take pity on them. Otherwise, the only other way for them to Awaken was for them to actively ¡®exploit nature¡¯.

    However, ording to the statistics coted on the intr, many people had already lost their lives when they practiced boxing on the edge of their balconies or participated in extreme sports and other techniques of ¡®nature exploitation¡¯. Of course, there were also many other people who managed to Awaken as a result.

    The ¡°Nature Exploitation Technique¡± was exactly the same as gambling. In this scenario, when one gambled, one would either benefit greatly or otherwise lose one¡¯s life.

    That was precisely the method which the ten Practitioner Institutions in Xuan Nation nned to use on a small number of top-performing students. They were making arrangements to provoke such elite students to Awaken in a way simr to the ¡®Nature Exploitation Technique¡¯. The students involved would bepletely unaware of such an arrangement, and it was guaranteed that they would feel a sufficiently strong ¡®sense of danger¡¯.

    In terms of safety, those who were involved in the act were either teachers in the institutions or were Practitioners from the Countermeasure Division, and there would certainly be more than one healing Practitioner on standby, not just Ren Suo.

    Ren Suo had also received such a notification previously, but he need not be involved in the rehearsals¡ªthose who were on standby to treat any injuries simply needed to be at the scene when the time came.

    ¡°When does the orientation ceremony begin?¡± Ren Suo asked.

    ¡°Early September, before the university academic term officially begins. The specific date has not been arranged yet. Who knows, this n could be too dangerous that they would end up not following through with it,¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Oh.¡±

    Suddenly, he said, ¡°Oh right, Chengling.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Dong Chengling replied.

    Ren Suo said, ¡°I have never mentioned this before, but in fact¡­ I really like¡­¡±

    Dong Chengling stared at Ren Suo and blinked.

    ¡°¡­I really like to go for walks in the middle of the night,¡± Ren Suo continued.

    Dong Chengling froze momentarily, then asked, ¡°In the middle of the night¡­ in the school?¡±

    ¡°No, I go to the city,¡± Ren Suo replied. He exined, ¡°I frequently have such sudden impulses to want to travel to street food stalls over ten kilometers away for supper.¡±

    Dong Chengling thought for a moment and said, ¡°I have never done anything like that.¡±

    Ren Suo said with vegetables in his mouth, ¡°That¡¯s because it doesn¡¯t suit you, and you would certainly not have such strange impulses. Only night owls like me would suddenly think of walking the streets in the dead of the night.¡±

    ¡°Do you find it very interesting?¡± Dong Chengling asked.

    ¡°It is, it¡¯s very interesting!¡± Ren Suo eximed excitedly as he thumped his chest.

    In the afternoon, Ren Suo continued ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯.

    He had already set his mind on training his ¡®keyword extraction ability¡¯ and was not joking about that.

    He decided that he would spend about ten hours training that ability, and so he would repeatedly y the city with the ninth-highest [Degree of Concealment]¡ªMumbai of Maurya Nation.

    Ren Suo first analyzed the life experiences of the monsters from Maurya Nation on his own. He wrote down what he thought to be the keywords so that he could add the right seasonings. If the monsters were unsatisfied with the curry he made and insisted on battling, then a battle would ensue.

    It was only then when Ren Suo realized that the HP of the female stall owner would not be automatically replenished during one entire round of ¡®fleeing ghosts¡¯. For example, if she was left with 19 HP after a battle, she would still be left with 19 HP in the next battle.

    After tending to about 29 monsters from Maurya Nation who directly used their hands to eat their curry rice, the female stall owner was finally killed by a female demon.

    Unlike in Xuan Nation, 18 of the 29 ¡®customers¡¯ from Maurya Nation were actually demon-humans. That also meant that those ¡®customers¡¯ demanded meals without talking about their life experiences.

    Ren Suo had no choice but to feed them ¡®poisonous¡¯ garbage.

    During the process, Ren Suo even encountered an intriguing incident: When a man who was half-demon (that was, his demon nature was still partially suppressed) was eating at the fleeing ghost stall, a real female demon walked over and severed the head of the man in one p. Then, she sat down and demanded her meal.

    Ren Suo did not think of it as him losing one customer, but he felt that something sinisterly ominous was about to happen in that ancient nation which neighbored Xuan Nation.

    However, Ren Suo¡¯s ability to extract keywords was not improving much. Instead, his skills in feeding garbage meals improved tremendously throughout the afternoon.

    After Ren Suo repeatedly yed the same city three times, in the same way, the entire afternoon, he then controlled the female stall owner to drink Holy Water when he yed again at night. He thenpared the correct keywords to those which he had extracted in the afternoon.

    Some keywords which Ren Suo felt was important turned out to be of no significance to the ¡®customers¡¯;

    Some keywords which Ren Suo felt were only casually mentioned turned out to be an extremely significant regret deep down in the hearts of the ¡®customers¡¯;

    ¡­

    Consequently, Ren Suo felt that there was indeed a reason why the Holy Water cost him so many merit points.

    It was very difficult for people to think from another perspective. Due to differences in culture, education, and individual experiences, the listener might notprehend what was said in exactly the same way the speaker was thinking.

    One of the ¡®customers¡¯ was a man who said that he wanted to kill his wife and daughter, because of the stress he faced in life. However, the root cause of his anger was actually because his daughter wanted to marry a guy whom he did not approve of. He did not want to admit that he could not even control his daughter. He had rather said that his anger was due to his unemployment. Yet, his trueint was only briefly mentioned in one sentence;

    One of the ¡®customers¡¯ was a girl who said that she wanted to kill herself because she was going to be married to a businessman whom she did not fancy. However, what sparked her resentment was actually when her parents especially doted on her younger brother when she was young. As such, she hated her brother, but her brother was very kind to her. She did not hate that she had to marry but hated herself for being a ¡®sacrificialmb¡¯ for the benefit of her younger brother. Her tangled emotions eventually turned into a ticking time bomb, whose fuse could blow any moment to cause an outburst. Yet, when she told her story, she spoke highly of her brother;

    There were many things that remained unsaid, not because they were unwilling to say it, but because they had not realized it themselves.

    After a night of trial-and-error, Ren Suo finally cleared the second night¡ªMumbai of Maurya Nation. Almost half of the customers were true demons and had to be battled. Thest ¡®customer¡¯ who appeared was naturally also a real demon, but Ren Suo did not season the garbage meal urately. The capabilities of thest ¡®customer¡¯ were only weakened slightly, but Ren Suo managed to scrape through the battle.

    At that juncture, it was already past 12 midnight. Ren Suo got dressed and took out his mobile phone to make a call:

    ¡°Zhao Huo, what are you doing now?¡±

    Zhao Huo replied, ¡°I¡¯m tranting August anime.¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°Let¡¯s go for supper.¡±

    Zhao Huo asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t the dining hall closed now?¡±

    Ren Suo replied, ¡°I want to head outside to eat! Isn¡¯t it boring to eat the same food at the dining hall everyday?¡±

    Zhao Huo asked, ¡°Of course you would think it¡¯s boring. You have someone who cooks for you but not me¡­ Is there a roadside food stall outside?¡±

    Ren Suo said, ¡°A barbecue food stall opened recently, and I heard the food is delicious. It¡¯s not a roadside food stall though.¡±

    Zhao Huo seemed to be slightly tempted. He asked, ¡°How far away is it?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s 9 kilometers away,¡± Ren Suo replied.

    ¡°Scram,¡± Zhao Huo said.

    Ren Suo was not bothered that he was rejected. Unhurriedly, he walked out of the Heavenly Institution of Lian. He then walked another two hours toward the barbecue food stall in the city center of Lianjiang City. Subsequently, he uploaded a nine-grid image to his ¡°Friends¡¯ Circle¡± on social media and tagged his location: [3 a.m. at the Pedestrian Zone, in search of good food.]

    Satisfied, Ren Suo kept his mobile phone and walked back unhurriedly to the Institution.

    Indeed, he was preparing. He was preparing a reason for himself.

 Chapter 251 - Little Nine-Tailed Fox

    Chapter 251: Chapter 251 ¨C Little Nine-Tailed Fox

    Ever since Ren Suo discovered the huge benefits the yellow-haired teenager and his girlfriend gained from the Meal of Desires, he had been thinking of a way for him to eat the meal at the ¡®fleeing ghost stall¡¯.

    He was not worried about when and where the stall would be set up¡ªas long as he could confirm the location of the stall in the game, Ren Suo would simply head over every night until it appeared.

    However, the problem was that Ren Suo had to find a reason for his actions.

    Of course, Ren Suo could also dress differently when he headed over, but it was August and the weather was so hot that feces on the street was steaming. Even though it would be during the night, it was still not feasible to wear too manyyers of clothing, or the police would certainly be suspicious of him. Who would wear such thick clothing in the middle of the night¡ªwas he a programmer who still had to work overtime while running a fever?

    Ren Suo also thought of using face transformation abilities, but there were no such abilities in the Knowledge Web.

    The abilities sold on the Knowledge Web all had low damage capability, and were mainly used for ¡®protecting oneself¡¯ and ¡®assisting life¡¯. There was not a trace of intruding abilities like [Invisibility], [Face Transformation], [See-Through], and [Hypnosis].

    Ren Suo felt that there were certainly such abilities, just that they would surely not be made known to the public. It could even be a secret internally and those who possessed such abilities would have to keep it a secret. That was because such abilities were a threat to others, even greatly impacting Practitioners:

    ¡°Tch tch tch, that¡¯s the guy who can make himself invisible¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, that guy can see through things! Don¡¯t face him directly and don¡¯t face your back or sides at him either, just stay far away from him!¡±

    ¡°Well, because XXX is able to change his face, I suggest that all female washrooms should have additional iris verification measures¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at him, don¡¯t talk to him either, or you would be hypnotized by him!¡±

    Compared to mere killing, such abilities that intruded other people¡¯s privacy had a greater potential to cause panic.

    Moreover, there were surveince videos at all intersections in Lianjiang City. Rather than sneaking over secretly, it was better to head over openly. Ren Suo also figured that if he was strongly unwilling to appear on the screen, he may not be in the video which would be posted after his final game score was uploaded.

    Of course, it would be too foolish of him to pin all of his hopes on the Mini Worlds game console, so Ren Suo prepared a reason for himself to ¡®happen toe across the fleeing ghost stall¡¯. After all, he was not the first normal person to eat at the fleeing ghost stall.

    ¡­

    Upon returning home, Ren Suo did not need to eat breakfast and continued his quest in ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡±.

    He looked at the list of cities and discovered that the [Degree of Concealment] of Mumbai and Hong Kong had dropped. Mumbai dropped to 39th ce and Hong Kong dropped to 78th ce.

    If he set up the stall in the same city on numerous nights, his gains would surely drop over time. In other words, perhaps the most dangerous monsters in a city would visit the fleeing ghost stall at the earliest time possible, which was the first time the stall was set up in the city. After the most dangerous monsters were eliminated, only the weak pawns would be left.

    However,paring between Hong Kong and Mumbai, Ren Suo noticed that thest ¡®customer¡¯ he received in each city, which was the final boss of each night, seemed to be growing stronger.

    It was not only that Ren Suo did not correctly season the garbage food, but also that the HP of the boss had clearly increased. Furthermore, the effects of the various negative buffs on the boss were also slightly less effective.

    For example, when Ren Suo used the seasoning [Filth] on the first boss, whom he encountered in Hong Kong, the negative effect was ¡®receive additional +10% damage for five turns¡¯. However, when Ren Suo used the seasoning [Cleanliness] on the second boss, whom he encountered in Mumbai and who appeared dirty all over, the negative effect was instead ¡®receive additional +8% damage for five turns¡¯.

    It was not that the bosses had be stronger, but that the bosses in cities with higher [Degree of Concealment] were slightly stronger by nature, much like how a second-grader in elementary school was more knowledgeable than a first-grader.

    If Ren Suo could not figure out the weaknesses of the boss and target them precisely, it was almost certain that he would have to battle against the boss.

    In fact, when he was fighting the Mumbai boss, the female stall owner was almost killed. He only barely managed to win the battle after he controlled the female stall owner to use [Combat Fighter (Partial)] and formed a clone to dy the battle while dealing double damage.

    The strategy to clear the game was to reduce the number of battles triggered, in order for the female stall owner to battle the final customer with as much HP as possible. At the same time, he also had to ensure every ¡®customer¡¯ left in satisfaction, so that he could acquire sufficient rewards to enhance the strength of the stall owner.

    As such, Ren Suo also decided to clear the cities from the bottom up. Otherwise, even if he managed to meet the final ¡®customer¡¯ in the city with the highest [Degree of Concealment], it was very likely that he would be crushed by that boss if he did not season the garbage food well. Hence, it was a better strategy to ¡®level up¡¯ steadily first.

    Even if Ren Suo decided to attempt clearing the city with the highest [Degree of Concealment] while writing down the keywords for every ¡®customer¡¯, each attempt would take four hours. If he did not figure out the weaknesses of the boss correctly, he would have to restart, and it would take another four hours¡ªsimply too much time was required.

    The city with the 8th highest [Degree of Concealment] was¡­ New York.

    Incidentally, in the [Degree of Concealment] ranking, Tianjing City in Xuan Nation was not ranked at the bottom but was ranked somewhere in the middle. That meant that not only were there no monsters out in the open in Tianjing City, there were also very few monsters lurking in the shadows.

    That was a very rare case since none of the cities with a simr ranking to Tianjing City had a poption of more than 1 million¡ªthere were over 20 million people in Tianjing City.

    Ren Suo even wondered if Tianjing City was actually only suppressing rash half-demons, and that there could even be not a single true monster in Tianjing City.

    ¡°Is the Tianjing Countermeasure System that powerful?¡± Ren Suo thought to himself. At that juncture, he was instead reminded of the young man he saw through the space hole in ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±.

    Ren Suo remembered him clearly because he used a high-resolution image of the Nine-tailed Fox as the wallpaper on hisputer.

    On the screen, night fell and the female stall owner could be seen pushing the mobile food cart into Central Park in Manhattan, amidst the concrete jungle.

    New York had a resident poption of approximately only 8 million, which was even lower than that of Hong Kong. However, the poption density in certain areas was not any lower than that ofrge cities. Manhattan was one such example¡ªskyscrapers surrounded the green of Central Park like arge barrier. In the darkness of the night, the towering buildings looked like giants overlooking the greenery on the ground.

    The park was very big, and there were many homeless people sleeping on the benches. The female stall owner was almostpletely silent as she passed by them and did not cause any rm. Very quickly, she set up her stall in a secluded area deep within the dense forest.

    Just as the female stall owner finished cleaning the kitchenware, the first ¡®customer¡¯ appeared.

    The ¡®customer¡¯ was not a normal person. It looked like a half-demon who was incredibly fat, appearing thrice the width of the female stall owner.

    Ren Suo felt that the clothes on its body were screaming ¡®Ahhh! I¡¯m about to burst¡¯ in agony.

    He felt that he was very experienced in dealing with such a ¡®customer¡¯, and it was also the first ¡®customer¡¯, so Ren Suo chose to extract the keywords by himself.

    The ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ life was ordinary¡ªhe was a goods vehicle driver who was deeply affected by his obesity. No one liked him, he had no savings, and he could only obtain sufficient happiness by watching television series and eating fried chicken and drinking c everyday.

    However, he felt that he was living such a hard life, and yet he could not reap corresponding rewards. Consequently, his thoughts turned more and more extreme, and he wanted to drive his van into passers-by and kill them¡­

    Such ¡®customers¡¯ could be found all around the world, and Ren Suo had also tended to several such people. Their desires were, fundamentally, to ¡®be respected and understood by others¡¯, ¡®not be let down by the hardships I have experienced¡¯, and ¡®be given this one chance that I am missing to prove that I am not any worse than others¡¯. As such, Ren Suo increased the proportion of the seasonings [Understanding], [Effort], and [Hope] in the ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ chocte tart¡ªit was a mystery how the fleeing ghost stall could whip up a chocte tart.

    However, as the ¡®customer¡¯ ate the tart, he started crying. Just as Ren Suo thought that he had appeased the ¡®customer¡¯, the ¡®customer¡¯ suddenly mmed the table and eximed: [It¡¯s not sweet! It¡¯s not sweet at all! I just want the sweetness of love, why can¡¯t I taste it! Why!]

    The fats on his body began to swell and burst apart, turning his upper body into that of a young and beautiful, naked, golden-haired girl. The ¡®girl¡¯ who was attached to him stared at the female stall owner with a beguiling yet lifeless gaze.

    Ren Suo snorted¡ªyou only briefly mentioned that ¡®no one likes¡¯ you, how would I know that you are seeking love!

    Just as Ren Suo thought that he was about to enter a battle, the ¡®customer¡¯s¡¯ head was suddenly mmed into the chocte tart, sttering it all over his face.

    He mmed the table again in fury, then turned his head around to see who was so bold!

    Then, the next second, his body shriveled.

    The beautiful young ¡®girl¡¯ attached to his body also turned back into fats and fused into his body.

    [Scram.]

    Her voice was soft and delicate,pletely pure.

    The ¡®customer¡¯ towered like a mountain, while the presence in front of him was only one-tenth of his size. Yet, he was so scared that he quickly turned around and wanted to run away. However, the presence uttered ¡°mmm¡±, and the ¡®customer¡¯ was so terrified that he hurriedly reached into the pocket of his trousers and handed a USB sh drive to the female stall owner. Then, he slipped away at a speed that was unlike his size.

    The female stall owner took the USB sh drive, then looked at the new customer with her usual expression.

    [What would you like to eat?]

    The other party squatted on the table with its head tilted slightly to the side as it looked at the female stall owner. It did not respond, but it licked its paws with its nine tails swaying in the air.

    Looking at the screen, Ren Suo almost wanted to use a hammer to smash the dimension barrier of the television screen. He wanted to carry it, then pat it and stroke it¡­

    Indeed, the new customer looked exactly like one of the manifestations of the All-Devouring Spirit¡ª

    It was Little Nine-Tailed Fox!

 Chapter 252 - Can You Be In a Relationship With Me?

    Chapter 252: Chapter 252 ¨C Can You Be In a Rtionship With Me?

    At night, in the middle of the dense, isted forest in Manhattan¡¯s Central Park, a warm glow from an open-air food stall emerged in the darkness, away from the streetlights in the distance.

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox satfortably atop the dining table and tilted its head slightly as it looked at the female stall owner. Then, it suddenly leaped onto the female stall owner¡¯s shoulder and began sniffing.

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox said: [It¡¯s a familiar scent.]

    The sound Little Nine-Tailed Fox made was very strange, somewhat like that of a dog but also like that of a cat, though it was obviously not speaking anguage humans could understand.

    However, when it spoke, the dialog box which appeared above its head would disy, in words, what it was actually saying. Moreover, based on the behavior of the ¡®customer¡¯ from before, it was very obvious that he could understand what Little Nine-Tailed Fox had said.

    ¡°Is it the effect of [Voice of Charm]¡­¡±

    Nine-Tailed Fox once acquired an evolution [Voice of Charm], which allowed it to understand what other people were saying while being able tomunicate with them directly without speaking. It was thus able to perfectly oveenguage barriers.

    The present state of Little Nine-Tailed Fox was very much in line with the effect of [Voice of Charm]. Ren Suo naturally wondered if it was following the evolutionary pathway of Nine-Tailed Fox and was mastering its ¡®lost¡¯ evolutions again.

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox was quite intimate with the female stall owner, and that was something that Ren Suo had not expected. He did not recall himself making Little Nine-Tailed Fox such a clingy little animal.

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox continued to sniff the female stall owner and said: [It¡¯s one-sixth of that scent. It smells like a green scent, although it¡¯s just a tinge.]

    Ren Suo was stunned, but he soon realized what Little Nine-Tailed Fox was talking about¡ª

    When the female stall owner was battling against the boss in Mumbai previously, she was equipped with [Combat Fighter (Partial)] and had not unequipped it ever since. That was one of the abilities of the six Trump Cards in The All-Devouring Soul, so Little Nine-Tailed Fox certainly possessed an extremely acute sense of recognition that it could identify it in one nce.

    Ren Suo quickly asked: [Is that obvious and easily identifiable?]

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox shook its head and replied: [No, it¡¯s not obvious, but this feeling is something I will never forget. That is the mark of the Supreme Master.]

    The Supreme Master¡­?

    Ren Suo asked: [Do you remember what happened to you in the past?]

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox shook its head and said: [When I first opened my eyes, I was in New York.]

    The memories of the All-Devouring Soul charming all creatures when it attached itself to Nine-Tailed Fox were not inherited by Little Nine-Tailed Fox. It was apletely fresh start.

    Ren Suo could also tell that Little Nine-Tailed Fox was surviving well, or it could not possibly have utterly shaken a half-demon the moment it spoke.

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox jumped from the left shoulder of the female stall owner to her right shoulder, then jumped onto the table in front of her. It looked at her as it asked: [How are you rted to the Supreme Master?]

    The female stall owner replied: [I know him.]

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox nodded. Instead of probing further, it asked: [Shall I help you?]

    At that juncture, the game prompted:

    [¡®Nine-Tailed Fox¡¯ is willing to assist you in fleeing ghost activities tonight. Do you wish to ept its assistance?]

    [Nine-Tailed Fox batant, mascot): Spirits will be more enticed to visit your fleeing ghost stall and the satisfaction of spirit customers is increased by 20%. Spirit customers which are weaker than Nine-Tailed Fox would respect it and would still leave a present behind and not engage in battle even if the food was unappetizing.]

    Ren Suo obviously epted the assistance of Little Nine-Tailed Fox without hesitation. He watched contentedly as Little Nine-Tailed Fox pranced around on the table divider or sat on the table and wagged its tail. Ren Suo asked: [Do you not want to eat?]

    Little Nine-tailed Fox replied: [I don¡¯t need that sort of thing.] Its words were packed with dignity and splendor, making the troubled Ren Suo, who was thinking hard about how he could enjoy one such meal, slightly envious.

    He asked: [What is your name?]

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox answered: [I don¡¯t have a name.]

    He said: [What do you think of the name Xiao Jiu?]

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox tilted her head slightly to one side, then nced at the female stall owner and nodded, saying: [Xiao Jiu likes the name very much.]

    As they were talking, another ¡®customer¡¯ sat down. Ren Suo nced at the ¡®customer¡¯ and immediately knew that it was a spirit¡ªamongst the various types of monsters, he had not encountered a beast, demon-humans did not pay (tell their life stories), ghosts looked like living humans, while spirits were the only kind of monsters which¡­ were just small animals.

    Spirits would rush to sit down and would express their thoughts or ask the female stall owner to prepare their food quickly through various small actions. Some of the animals did not even know how to speak¡ªfor example, a mouse ¡®spoke¡¯ by squeaking throughout the entire meal, while the words in the dialog box tranted what it meant.

    In addition, their identities would bepletely revealed when they retold their life stories. It was less than a year since Reiki rejuvenation began, and they had spent more time as small animals than spirits. As such, their life stories were all very typical, and the troubles they faced were mostly along the lines of a cat not wanting to mate with it or a dog no longer being happy in its presence¡­

    Spirits were much easier to tend to than half-demons. Many of the spirits lived a short life, so their desires were simple and they had not experienced any psychological trauma. They just felt slightly angry or upset. Consequently, the female stall owner would simply tell them that being happy was the most important when living as a spirit, then cook a bowl of noodles for them to eat, and the meal would usually beplete.

    Spirits who actually caused trouble would not have harmed many people before they were caught and sent to research institutions¡ªnations all around the world were cing great emphasis on researching monsters and theycked research ¡®materials¡¯ at present. With the many surveince cameras around, it would not be hard to track down a small animal.

    On the other hand, the Reiki roots of the wisdom of the spirits were finally activated, so they were more eager to know more and learn more. After concealing their identities for such a long time, they finally found the female stall owner whom they could talk to, so they all rattled on like machine guns.

    With Little Nine-Tailed Fox as a ¡®security guard¡¯ that night, Ren Suo did not even need to spend any merit points as he could tend to the spirit customers by himself.

    Even when he did not season the food urately at times and the spirit customers were about to explode, Little Nine-Tailed Fox would give a snort, and the spirit customers would immediately turn silent. Then, they would put down their gifts obediently and leave.

    Two hourster, a strange ¡®customer¡¯ appeared.

    He was tall, and he stood extremely upright in a red windbreaker. He wore a red top hat and even donned a pair of sunsses in the dark of the night as he walked towards the food stall with a document envelope in hand.

    The man in red sat down and did not specify what he wanted to it in detail. He merely said: [Give me something with blood.]

    He was half-ghost, half-demon.

    Unlike other ghosts which were special creatures that suddenly experienced changes and Awakened due to the rejuvenation of Reiki, the ¡®customer¡¯ was resurrected by his own Awakened Ability¡ªBlood Control. His heart had already been destroyed, but the continuously flowing blood in his body kept him alive.

    ording to him, he was an assassin in a particr organization. He received all sorts of rigorous training ever since he was young. Originally, he had already lost his life during one of the assassinations he was involved in, but everything changed with the rejuvenation of Reiki.

    To be more urate, after discussions on the ¡°Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening¡± emerged on the Inte, the assassination organization suddenly had a new idea.

    Would it not be perfect for an assassin who was already proficient in various assassination techniques to also be Awakened? The assassin organization had already nted bombs within the bodies of all its assassins, so they were not concerned if the Awakened assassin went ¡®rogue¡¯.

    Consequently, the newly trained assassins, including the ¡®customer¡¯ were subjected to torturous Awakening methods, and only a few dozens of them survived.

    However, when the few of them tried to escape from the training base, they were stopped by the organization with firepower. Even though they managed to defuse the bombs within their bodies using their Awakened Abilities, almost no one was spared from being killed by the organization.

    Only the man in red managed to escape, with the help of his Awakened Ability.

    Burdened with the blessings and hatred of those who were killed, the man in red suddenly became cyanotic, and a pair of ck wings appeared faintly behind him.

    The main in red eximed, his voice full of hatred: [I want revenge! I want to make them have a taste of their own blood!]

    The female stall owner nodded and gently pushed the bowl of pig bowl which she had prepared to the man.

    The man in red ate the pig blood with a spoon and quickly finished it. As he was wearing sunsses, Ren Suo could not tell what he was thinking. The man remained silent for quite a long while, then took off the ne he was wearing around his neck.

    On the screen, Ren Suo watched as he walked to the back of the food stall, knelt on one knee, and handed the ne to the female stall owner. It was a ne with a gold ring.

    He asked: [Can you be in a rtionship with me?]

    Little Nine-Tailed Fox tilted its head slightly to the side: [???]

    Behind the screen, Ren Suo was also speechless: [???]

 Chapter 253 - God of Food

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 253: Chapter 253 ¨C God of Food

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Just as Ren Suo thought that the game would turn into a love simtion, it was shown that the female stall owner¡¯s automatic answer was very decisive:

    <span><span><i></i>[What do you mean?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner tilted her head and watched him speak Mandarin.

    <span><span><i></i>Unexpectedly, the man in red is not a bad guy. He immediately answered in Mandarin, which can be subtly understood by ordinary people: [Please date me.]

    <span><span><i></i>After a moment of silence, a dialog box popped out: [The yer triggered a special event¡ªSudden love. Depending on the yer¡¯s answer, different follow-up events will be triggered. Please speak carefully (silence is also considered as a kind of speech).]

    <span><span><i></i>Does this mean that I have to pretend that the girl is in love with him?

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Sorry you are too ugly. I refuse.¡±

    <span><span><i>1</i>Although Ren Suo faintly felt that if he agreed to the man in red, it is likely that there will be an extra thug to help himself through the game, but is Ren Suo the kind of person who ys with other people¡¯s feelings in order to y games?

    <span><span><i></i>Yes.

    <span><span><i></i>But at least, it must be a beautiful girl or a little nine-tailed fox!

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo¡¯s heart was aching because he wanted to pinch the female character. Indeed she was slightly seductive. Nevertheless, he did not expect to trigger a love story in this game!

    <span><span><i></i>¡®I did expect that choosing an attractive female character would attract male ghosts.¡¯

    <span><span><i></i>Anyway, this plot is an emergency, and even the game did not expect it. The man in red was ugly, so he rejected him.

    <span><span><i></i>The man in red seems to have anticipated this. He stood up but did not put away the ring. He still handed it to the female stall owner:

    <span><span><i></i>[I am giving it to you.]

    <span><span><i></i>As a gift, there is no need to ask for any action, the female stall owner took it.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Golden Ring of Vengeance: Every attack will inevitably cause 5% of the current health¡¯s bleeding damage (bloodless creatures are not affected).¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Man in red: [This ring is said to have been left by my parents, but I have never seen them before. When I was at the training base, everyone watched the movie ¡°This Killer Is Not Too Cold¡±. They all said that they must be ¡®Looking for someone to fall in love with¡¯¡­

    <span><span><i></i>They have no chance, and I have no time. The demons are almost after me, and I am ready to wee them.

    <span><span><i></i>Just¡­ before my blood is cold, I hope to love a woman with all my heart.]

    <span><span><i></i>The man in red covered his left chest. He continued: [I have no heart, but after I have eaten the food you prepared for me, I have found that my heart is beating again.

    <span><span><i></i>You don¡¯t want to ept me. I don¡¯t mind that. I can finally understand why the killer in the movie has a lover.

    <span><span><i></i>For people like us who are born to die, it is really a very happy thing if there is someone who can care.]

    <span><span><i></i>After that, the man in red left very smartly.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo thought that the plot was over, but then suddenly a group of people came around.

    <span><span><i></i>[Stanley, you can¡¯t escape this time.]

    <span><span><i></i>A group of people wearing ck cloaks surrounded the ghost stall silently. There were about ten people. They blocked the way of the man in red.

    <span><span><i></i>The man in red, whose name was Stanley, looked at one of the men in the ck cloaks and said bitterly: [The card sent you to kill me. You are really worthy of me.]

    <span><span><i></i>The person in ck cloak replied: [No. 76 Apprentice, the fastest awakener, helped other apprentices to disarm the body bombs and killed 46 people when they escaped, including 8 card assassins¡­ The organization cannot take you seriously.

    <span><span><i></i>It took a lot of effort to find you.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley sneered: [Can an escaped killer still pose a threat to the organization?]

    <span><span><i></i>[Yes, and it is a very big threat. We value you more than you think.] The man in ck cloak continued: [But from now on, you are no longer a threat. You should ask why¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[It is because we areing!]

    <span><span><i></i>Several lines of breaking sounds broke the tranquility of the night, and several blood holes burst out of the man in red, but he didn¡¯t have any fear. His body turned into a blood-like twisted flow. He managed to kill the man wearing a ck cloak instead!

    <span><span><i></i>The men donning ck cloaks all showed their hidden submachine guns and fired wildly at the man in red. The man in red roared. Sharp blood ws appeared in the bloodstream and swept towards the people in ck cloaks. Still, those who received the blow did not have the slightest fear. Instead, the men in ck cloaks proceeded to dodge the fire very calmly, even extending their foot to fight back against the bloodstream severely!

    <span><span><i></i>The men in ck cloaks, who were injured by blood ws, just shattered their clothes. It kept them safe and sound, as if there was ayer of steel gauze protecting them.

    <span><span><i></i>When the man in red went backward, he sted his briefcase, grabbed the two pistols that were scattered, and shot four guns in session toward the man wearing a ck cloak in front of him!

    <span><span><i></i>As a macho who can escape from the killer training base, the shooting skills of the man in red should not be questioned, but the man in the ck cloak averted his body slightly as he shoots¡ªhe actually dodged all of them!

    <span><span><i></i>This team was an extraordinary soldier unit!

    <span><span><i></i>Having seen thebat mode of the extraordinary army several times, Ren Suo can naturally recognize the characteristics of this fighting system: using hot weapons as the main attack method, supplemented by the reaction speed and extraordinary physique brought by the Reiki cultivation, it can even achieve many incredible effects.

    <span><span><i></i>For example, to avoid bullets, the extraordinary soldiers have enough time to think. Although they are not faster than bullets, they can predict his shooting direction when the gunman raises his shoulders to evade in advance.

    <span><span><i></i>For ordinary people, this reflection qualities were instinctual. However, it is a short but sufficient time for extraordinary warriors!

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo did not expect that in addition to the country, there are organizations that can train extraordinary soldiers, but thinking that they are killer organizations, Ren Suo is relieved¡ªalthough Xuan Guo has not heard of such organizations. It is not unusual for consortia to invest in mercenaries in the world stage, however.

    <span><span><i></i>This killer organization does not know how many consortia have stood behind. It is not umon for them to get regr army training methods and exercises.

    <span><span><i></i>The era of rejuvenation is the era that would most likely change the world after thest world war, and it is also the turning point for individuals to have the opportunity to surpass the collective.

    <span><span><i></i>It must be known that the angel of the Federation, Zach, has faintly possessed the strength of an enemy nation. If a consortium can master simrbat power, it will be enough to grab the cake in the hands of other consortia. Competition¡ªso it seemed natural for the consortium to choose to covertly invest in informal institutions.

    <span><span><i></i>Just as Ren Suo was watching the show, two men wearing ck cloaks suddenly pointed at the food stall with their submachine guns, and rain-like bullets poured out!

    <span><span><i></i>[No¡ª] The man in red fought, yelled loudly, and hurriedly turned towards the food stall, but this caused him to be shot out of countless blood holes again by bullets.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, he was suddenly stunned as the chaos of gunfire soon subsided.

    <span><span><i></i>It was seen that the bullets that had entered the food stall were frozen in midair, as if they had hit an invisible barrier, and they could onlynd on the ground ticking.

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner took out a folding table, walked out and ced it outside, and then took out a bunch of small red stools¡ªGod knows where these things are hidden in the food stall.

    <span><span><i></i>After getting more than eight positions out, the female stall owner pped her palms and said: [If you want to fight with me, you have to eat what I made first.]

    <span><span><i></i>Then, the men in ck cloaks, who were still holding submachine guns, put away their guns, and sat obediently in front of the food stall. There was no other ce to sit, so they just sat on the little red stool.

    <span><span><i></i>After a few minutes, three more men wearing ck cloaks, who were carrying cello boxes, appeared. They sat very obediently aside.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°He, why are they¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley slowly walked behind the food stall and asked, ¡°Why are they so¡­ good?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°The visitors are guests,¡± the female shopkeeper exined. ¡°Hurry up, don¡¯t try to attack them, or they will no longer be guests.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley¡¯s brain was muddy, and when he saw such a strange event, he eximed: [Who the **** are you? Why do they listen to you¡­ Wait, why did Ie here to eat?]

    <span><span><i></i>At this point, Stanley finally found that something was wrong: [I usually don¡¯te to the park. Why do I want toe here tonight and just meet you again?]

    <span><span><i></i>¡°It turned out to be this kind of game mechanism¡­¡± At this time, Ren Suo realized that the reason why there were so many ¡®customers¡¯ in the ghost stalls was to give psychological hints to the demons and monsters in the nearby area and let theme over for supper.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°But how should I answer?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo repeated his tricks: [Have you heard of Heavenly Pce?]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley froze.

    <span><span><i></i>He watched many videos of ¡°Skyscraper¡± at the training base. After he came out, he watched all the videos of Naisser Ren, and naturally knew Heavenly Pce.

    <span><span><i></i>Hitman of the Heavenly Pce, Seeker of the Heavenly Pce, Nine-tailed Fox of the Heavenly Pce, Monkey King of the Heavenly Pce¡­ Heavenly Pce¡­

    <span><span><i></i>At this time, Stanley only noticed that there was something not right about the white animal that had been sleeping in the food stall. Is it a super cute little nine-tailed fox? There is no such animal on earth. It can onlye from the Heavenly Pce, and it may be rted to the original nine-tailed fox beauty!

    <span><span><i></i>At this time, Stanley recalled that after eating the bowl of pig blood, he was physically and mentally rxed and benefited a lot. The pressure on his body was swept away, and many ces that could not be figured out previously could now be figured out¡­

    <span><span><i></i>That was definitely not a bowl of ordinary pig blood!

    <span><span><i></i>Moreover, the unscrupulous card assassins actually sit and wait so obediently. Is there any other exnation besides an incredible ability?

    <span><span><i></i>Well, the girl who looked so ordinary in front of him was¡­

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Are you¡­ the God of Food!?¡±

 Chapter 254 - Whoever dares to oppose the fleeing ghost stall would be crushed to ashes by the game

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 254: Chapter 254 ¨C Whoever dares to oppose the fleeing ghost stall would be crushed to ashes by the game

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    Upon hearing what Stanley said, Ren Suo, who was behind the screen, was slightly stunned.

    <span><span><i></i>He naturally did not know what Stanley had thought in his mind after he heard the female stall owner mention the term ¡®Heavenly Pce¡¯, but it was very obvious that Stanley¡¯s thought process gave Ren Suo much inspiration.

    <span><span><i></i>As such, the female stall owner neither denied nor confirmed Stanley¡¯s guess. Instead, she turned to look at the men in the ck cloaks and asked: [What do you guys want to eat?]

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, the men in the ck cloaks could not be more surprised. They said in eight differentnguages:

    <span><span><i></i>[What is this ability of yours? Let us go now!]

    <span><span><i></i>[You are opposing The Cards right now!]

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, Little Nine-Tailed Fox made a sound and looked at themzily. They instantly knew their ce:

    <span><span><i></i>[Is this a secret power of the East?]

    <span><span><i></i>[Your Excellency, the strength of your powers is unimaginable.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Please forgive us, we have been rude. The Cards is willing topensate.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Your Excellency, since Stanley is under your protection, we can report this to the organization and call off the order to kill Stanley.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I am Spade K. Your Excellency, please consider and ept our sincerity. We are deeply sorry for being rude.]

    <span><span><i></i>In just a few moments, the men in the ck cloaks quickly changed from a threatening stance to that which was both humble andpensatory. They simply wanted to reconcile with the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>The organization of assassins was unlike others¡ªthere was no panic about the trouble they caused, no arrogance of being a strong force of power, and no haughtiness of the organizations ofrge, powerful nations. Once they found that they werepletely unable to escape from the control of the food stall, they immediately realized how far away they were from their opponent in terms of capability.

    <span><span><i></i>They were assassins without any beliefs; they were pure egoists, and naturally was unwilling to lose their lives there and then just to get Stanley.

    <span><span><i></i>However, the female stall owner¡¯s response to their begging was the same:

    <span><span><i></i>[What do you guys want to eat?]

    <span><span><i></i>The men in the ck cloaks calmed down, and their captain, whose name was Spade K, asked: [Must we eat?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner nodded.

    <span><span><i></i>[Can we order anything?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner nodded again.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, Spade K pondered silently for a moment and said: [I want to eat¡­ T-Rex meat in teriyaki sauce.]

    <span><span><i></i>The other members immediately understood what their captain was trying to do and said, one after another:

    <span><span><i></i>[I want a deep-fried Cerberus.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Do you have soup boiled with a whole Kun fish?]

    <span><span><i></i>[I want a dozen skewers of grilled trilobites!]

    <span><span><i></i>[I want a grilled saber-toothed cat!]

    <span><span><i></i>[I want to eat a Hound of Tindalos teppanyaki!]

    <span><span><i>2</i>The dishes which the men in the ck cloaks ordered were essentially impossible to make. Although they ordered brazenly, they all looked intently at the female stall owner to see if she would be provoked.

    <span><span><i></i>However, to their surprise, the female stall owner did not say anything but instead began preparing their meals in silence.

    <span><span><i></i>However, Stanley, who was standing behind the food stall, could clearly see everything she was doing!

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner¡­ No, the Food Goddess opened a drawer of the food cart, reached into it, and took out a huge, bloody piece of meat.

    <span><span><i></i>As his Awakened Ability was rted to blood, Stanley was very sensitive to the energy of blood. As soon as the meat appeared in his sight, he immediately felt the huge energy the meat possessed¡ªit was not rted to Reiki energy, but it has something to do with the strength of muscles and fullness of blood. More scientifically speaking, it was rted to the proportion of fat in it. For example,paring between a fat person and a muscr person with the same weight, they were twopletely different types of bloody meat to Stanley.

    <span><span><i></i>The piece of meat in the female stall owner¡¯s hands had to be one from a beast, with energy more terrifying than that of human meat. It was a piece of meat from a creature that Stanley could not identify, although he had already ughtered countless different types of creatures while he was at the training camp.

    <span><span><i></i>The Food Goddess got down to work, slicing the meat and frying it in a pan of oil. The fire burned and very soon a piece of steak was done in a skillful manner.

    <span><span><i></i>It was time for the familiar seasoning segment, and Ren Suo hesitated for some time.

    <span><span><i></i>The group of people was ¡®intruders¡¯, much like the yellow-haired teenager from before. They were not there because they were in any way attracted to the fleeing ghost stall, but simply because they were hunting down the man in red to kill him.

    <span><span><i></i>It was just that, when they attacked the fleeing ghost stall, they were ssified as ¡®customers¡¯ by the game.

    <span><span><i></i>It was as if the game ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡± had finally remembered that it was a ¡°supernatural economic simtion adventure¡± game, and consequently forced the group of them to stop fighting and sit down to have supper.

    <span><span><i></i>Based on the responses of the men in the ck cloaks, Ren Suo had several spections:

    <span><span><i></i>Firstly, they were actually not willing to sit down. ording to what they said, they were being suppressed by a mysterious power of the East.

    <span><span><i></i>Secondly, based on what the female stall owner said to persuade Stanley, it could be seen that such a suppression could only be maintained if they were not in danger.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo recalled the previous customers who wanted to eat ¡®garbage¡¯ meals. They initially wanted to create trouble, and yet they still sat down to eat garbage. That was very strange in itself¡ªalthough true demons were intelligent, they were inhuman. Why were they all so obedient and orderly?

    <span><span><i></i>Now that he encountered this group of men in the ck cloaks, Ren Suo realized that this was the power of the game.

    <span><span><i></i>However, unlike the men in the ck cloaks, most of the other customers were strongly enticed subconsciously by the fleeing ghost stall. The subconscious hints were likely rted to their deepest desires of destruction because that was the greatest difference between customers who were monsters and customers who were ordinary people.

    <span><span><i></i>In the case of the men in the ck cloaks, while it was very obvious that they made a livelihood out of crimes and illegal means, they were not even half-demon, let alone real demons. It could be because they were not Awakened, or because they had undergone numerous psychological training when they were at the training camp, so they did not receive the subconscious hints of the fleeing ghost stall.

    <span><span><i></i>Instead, they were strongly suppressed by the fleeing ghost stall, and they clearly knew themselves that they were in a strange situation.

    <span><span><i></i>It seemed as if that the game was so furious that they directly controlled them with a strong mysterious force, without even bothering to conceal it. It was as if saying: ¡°Whoever dares to oppose the fleeing ghost stall would be crushed to ashes by the game!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Since the men in the ck cloaks were evil customers, Ren Suo would usually feed them garbage.

    <span><span><i></i>However, they were not monsters but ordinary people. Moreover, they were already somewhat afraid and knew that the difference in power between them and their opponent was too great, so they might not voluntarily engage in battle even if they were given garbage food.

    <span><span><i></i>It was akin to an ordinary person passing by a Shaxian delicacies stall and suddenly getting dragged into the stall by several strong guys to eat a bowl of fried wonton. Even if the ordinary person was very angry, would he really dare to retaliate immediately?

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, the men in the ck cloaks did not seem to experience much stress in life, and they were all sufficiently sane. Ren Suo did not need to add special seasonings for them, and of course, they were not interested in telling their stories either.

    <span><span><i></i>Since he was confident that they would not voluntarily engage in battle, Ren Suo decided to add a slightly unusualbination of seasonings:

    <span><span><i></i>[Happiness] must be added¡ªbeing able to live as a human, the most important thing was to be happy;

    <span><span><i></i>[Compassion] + [Passion] + [Sympathy] + [Understanding] + [Justice] + [Trust] were also added to the simmering food;

    <span><span><i></i>Finally, he added a bit of [Love]¡ªI heard that you guys like to watch Leon: The Professional?

    <span><span><i></i>The first one to taste their supper was Spade K. The other men in the ck cloaks all looked nervously at their captain, while Spade K looked at the steak in front of him whose origins werepletely unknown. He did not hesitate much and began eating it¡ªafter all, they were already at the stall and could not leave without eating.

    <span><span><i></i>He picked up a knife and a fork and cut the meat into strips. The other men in the ck cloaks awaited their captain¡¯s response, but their captain Spade K merely ate in silence. Very soon, he finished the food, and he stood up.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, he walked to the side without uttering a word. He took out a cigarette from his chest pocket and began smoking by himself.

    <span><span><i></i>The food which the rest of the men in the ck cloaks ordered were also served one after another¡ªthe steamed Kun fish in clear soup, the skewered trilobites, the deep-fried Cerberus¡­

    <span><span><i></i>One after another, they finished eating, and then they also stood up in silence. Some of them started smoking with Spade K, some of them raised their heads to look at the night sky of New York City, while the rest of them took out their mobile phones to y.

    <span><span><i></i>After all of the men in the ck cloaks finished eating their food, Spade K discussed something with his team members, then looked at Stanley and said: [You¡­ take care of yourself. We will find a way to buy you a few days, but you should be ready to fight at any time.]

    <span><span><i></i>[However, the number of people the organization is targeting will soon increase.]

    <span><span><i></i>Spade K took the cigarette from his mouth and wanted to throw it out directly, but he thought about it, then retrieved a transparent bag from his chest pocket and put his cigarette inside the bag.

    <span><span><i></i>[We, the 13 Spades, would soon leave The Cards. When that happens, the organization will hunt us down. At the least, this will be able to disperse the resources avable to hunt you down, and you may be able to fall under the radar.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley was stunned.

    <span><span><i></i>He looked at the female stall owner, and then at Spade K. He asked: [Why are you doing this?]

    <span><span><i></i>Spade K replied: [I was just reminded of the kind of person I truly want to be, and the same goes for them. If it is possible, I hope that you can help us to disarm the bombs in our bodies.]

    <span><span><i></i>One of the team members said: [It seems too boring to be a tool for the organization. I alwaysfort myself by saying that there woulde a day when I would be able to have time for myself, to do what I like to do¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>Another one of the members of the team, whose voice was obviously that of a female, said: [Such a time is actually close at hand. The time is now, and any dys to that would just be apromise to the coward in us.]

    <span><span><i></i>A short guy in the ck cloakughed and said: [I¡¯m used to killing people, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I do not prefer a more peaceful life.]

    <span><span><i></i>[It is time for us to change ourselves.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I may only be as tiny as a speck in the world, but my heart still yearns to fulfill its desires and aspirations.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley could hardly believe the 180¡ã change in the mentalities and attitudes of the 13 Spades.

    <span><span><i></i>Nheless, he thought about the psychological changes he experienced after he ate the pig blood from the stall. He then looked at the female stall owner who was calm as usual, and suddenly understood something. He walked over to help the 13 Spades disarm the bombs in them.

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley remarked: [Are you not afraid that I would take the opportunity to kill you, Spade K?]

    <span><span><i></i>Spade K replied: [The moment I chose to betray The Cards, I was no longer afraid of death. If I die in your hands, it would also be a salvation for me.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley remained silent for a moment. After he finished disarming the bombs in the 13 Spades, he suddenly asked: [You are just an assassin who is proficient in killing people. If you leave The Cards, what else can you do?]

    <span><span><i></i>Spade K said: [I have killed many people¡ªboth the poor and the rich, both men and women¡­ I do not know whether they were good or bad, virtuous or evil, and neither do I have the right to judge them. Those are lives which I have deprived these people of, and I will always remember them as a shackle to wake myself up.]

    <span><span><i></i>[When I¡¯m bored, I like to read martial arts novels from Xuan Nation and superheroics from the Federation. Perhaps, this is the guiding light of destiny.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I have already rediscovered the beauty of life. I am determined to break free from the past, but I will not forget the suffering I have experienced, and neither will I waste my skill.]

    <span><span><i></i>[From now on, I will be a sharp sword in the night and a guard before dawn. I will burn what¡¯s left of me and be additional firewood for the world!]

    <span><span><i></i>[In the past, I would say ¡®I havee¡¯ to proim the death of the target.]

    <span><span><i></i>[In future, I hope that the same phrase would be used to proim the safety of the target.]

 Chapter 255 - Officially Verified, the Food Goddess of the Heavenly Palace

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 255: Chapter 255 ¨C Officially Verified, the Food Goddess of the Heavenly Pce

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    After the group of assassins who ate ¡®garbage¡¯ meals finally left, business returned to normal for the fleeing ghost stall.

    <span><span><i></i>Subsequently, whenever a customer sat down, they would first nce fearfully at Little Nine-Tailed Fox, the mascot, then look strangely at Stanley, the ¡®gatekeeper¡¯, who was standing beside the fleeing ghost stall, before cing their orders.

    <span><span><i></i>After the 13 Spades turned over a new leaf, Stanley¡¯s admiration towards the female stall owner developed into respect. He proimed himself to be the best subordinate and insisted on guarding the fleeing ghost stall.

    <span><span><i></i>After all, he was once a half-demon, and truly a half-ghost. He was certainly not weak inbat, given that he had managed to evade capture by the 13 Spades for such a long time, so Ren Suo let him do as he wished.

    <span><span><i></i>Nheless, just before the new customers left the stall, he asked: [Did you hear the gunfire in this area as you wereing over? Was the police surrounding this area?]

    <span><span><i></i>A half-demon who had been beaten by a man, a woman, and a fox replied honestly: [No.]

    <span><span><i></i>He added: [The park is absolutely quiet, and there is nothing unusual.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo nodded as he fell deep in thought. He had long thought that it was strange¡ªif the battles near the fleeing ghost stall created noise, the sounds of gunfire and the battle should have attracted the attention of those who were nearby.

    <span><span><i></i>However, no one came to disrupt the operations of the fleeing ghost stall. Apart from the fact that the fleeing ghost stall was purposely set up in a more secluded area, it seemed that there was a boundary for the fleeing ghost stall in order for the game to proceed smoothly. There even seemed to be a ¡®vision shield¡¯¡ªunless they walked very close to it, ordinary people would not be able to discover the fleeing ghost stall.

    <span><span><i></i>With Little Nine-Tailed Fox and Stanley, Ren Suo decided to rely on himself to clear the night. He did not spend many merit points on the Holy Water and instead seasoned the food himself, based on the stories that the customers told. Naturally, however, it also resulted in many battles.

    <span><span><i></i>During the battles, the female stall owner, Little Nine-Tailed Fox, and Stanley were allies, but Ren Suo could not control Little Nine-Tailed Fox and Stanley; he could only control the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley¡¯s damage output was decent, while Little Nine-Tailed Fox did not deal any direct damage but instead contributed extremely powerful debuffs on the enemy¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>[Chaos: 30% chance of the enemy not attacking but throwing out valuable items instead];

    <span><span><i></i>[Fear: 30% chance of the enemy not attacking but fleeing instead];

    <span><span><i></i>[Lost Mind: Obey Little Nine-Tailed Fox¡¯smands].

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was starting to understand why Little Nine-Tailed Fox was able to live well in New York and grow to such a cute size¡­

    <span><span><i></i>Subsequently, perhaps because too much of the game time was spent on those in the ck cloaks, many easily ¡®triggered¡¯ customers who were difficult to deal with appeared during thest hour of the night in New York!

    <span><span><i></i>They were not true demons who wanted ¡®garbage¡¯ meals but were merely half-demons. Their life experiences were not much moreplicated than that of the assassins, but their demands with regard to the ¡®extent¡¯ of the seasoning were extremely high¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>[This tastes so greasy that I feel disgusted. It reminds me of that lover who betrayed me.]

    <span><span><i></i>[This is such a familiar taste, it¡¯s as if my mother made it. Oh, how much she loved me¡­ so much so that she treated me as if I were her clone. All of the things she was unable to aplish herself turned into pain which I had to bear on my shoulders¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[I don¡¯t like this, it tastes too intimate that I feel so unbearable. I want to be able to enjoy both loneliness and friendship, why did you only give me one?]

    <span><span><i></i>What could Ren Suo do? Well, along with a man and a fox, the female stall owner crushed them to ashes, jolting them to their senses.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo felt that it was a sign that the difficulty level was increasing. After all, there were surely not many true demons inrge cities¡ªsince even cities like Mumbai, wherew and order were atrocious, did not have many true demons. Most of the customers who appeared subsequently would certainly be half-demons whose emotions were greatly suppressed or even those who were depressed.

    <span><span><i></i>However, 1% concentration Holy Water could only extract keywords and their approximate importance. Ren Suo still had to guess how strong the customers desired the taste of the different seasonings to be, and he was not always urate.

    <span><span><i></i>Just as the 4 hours during which the stall was open was about to pass, the boss of New York finally appeared¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>It was a middle-aged man.

    <span><span><i></i>He was dressed like a typical, middle-aged white man. Sitting in front of the food stall, he looked at the signboard hung on the stall and a fierce smile emerged on his scarred face.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, the mascot, who had been curled up and lying down on the table, stood up. It stared intently at the man and said: [He is too strong for Xiao Jiu.]

    <span><span><i></i>At the same time, Stanley, who was standing at the side, began trembling slightly as he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo naturally recognized who the customer was¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>It was Zach, the Angel!

    <span><span><i></i>In terms ofbat power, he was not the strongest creature in the world, but he was nheless the strongest human Ren Suo had seen before.

    <span><span><i></i>If a battle resulted, Ren Suo could not be certain that the female stall owner would be able to win against him! The angel Zach had unparalleled recovery andbat abilities, as well as extraordinary movement speed. Even if the turn-based battle could limit his attack power and movement speed, his recovery ability was simply unmatched, considering that he was able to revive countless times when he was beaten by the Monkey King. It was clear that he could not be subdued using ordinary methods.

    <span><span><i></i>Zach said: [Don¡¯t be afraid. This is truly an intriguing feeling¡­ I heeded the calling in my heart and found my way here. Now, I can¡¯t resist my desires anymore: I want to eat here.]

    <span><span><i></i>Could Zach actually break free from the subconscious calling of the fleeing ghost stall?

    <span><span><i></i>Zach looked at Little Nine-Tailed Fox and Stanley and said: [Rx, I won¡¯t bite. Moreover, I don¡¯t think I would be able to influence thisdy here anyway. The power she possesses is much more profound than mine.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley immediately returned to his senses and nodded his head. He said: [Of course, she is the Food Goddess from the Heavenly Pce. She came to save the people of this world, how would you be able to hurt her?]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo finally felt that it was worth saving Stanley¡ªat the least, the female stall owner did not need to brag about herself.

    <span><span><i></i>The look on Zach¡¯s face changed, and he was obviously dumbfounded.

    <span><span><i></i>The Heavenly Pce and the World Tree, those were two names which pressured Extraordinaire organizations around the world. It was especially so for Zach, who was utterly beaten by and treated like a punching bag of the pet Monkey King of the Heavenly Pce. No one else in the world could understand just how terrifying the strength of the Heavenly Pce was, better than Zach.

    <span><span><i></i>Zach said: [Well then, please make a sd for me. As for telling the story of my life¡­ I¡¯m sorry but as a member of the Watchmen of the Federation, such information is confidential and I cannot disclose information about myself to other people so easily.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was slightly stunned, but the female stall owner started preparing the sd, which meant that Ren Suo needed to season Zach¡¯s food without first listening to his life experiences.

    <span><span><i></i>Generally speaking, only evil customers who wanted ¡®garbage¡¯ meals would refuse to tell their life stories, but Zach had also made it clear that he would not turn violent.

    <span><span><i></i>It was either a matter of luck or otherwise, the yer was required to analyze for himself.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo suddenly had an idea: since Zach came alone, it meant that he was a half-demon who was under immense pressure, and that was what resulted in him harboring twisted desires. In that case, what was causing him to be facing such immense stress?

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner finished preparing his sd more quickly than other meals would have taken. Ren Suo had also made a decision, and he added the most important seasoning of all¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>[Confidence].

    <span><span><i></i>Then, he supplemented the sd with a small amount of [Justice] + [Compassion] + [Passion].

    <span><span><i></i>Zach took his first bite of the sd, and his hideous appearance changed.

    <span><span><i></i>He quickly finished the bowl of sd and smiled meekly, saying: [You¡¯re truly a Food Goddess. I have never admitted it, but the fears hidden deep within my heart has actually¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>Zack paused. Heughed out loud and said: [I am no longer afraid. One day, I will meet the Monkey King and confront him again, even though I still feel pain throughout my body whenever I think of it.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo did not know much about Zach, and neither would there be much information about him on the intr. The Federation took care of Zach dearly, as if he was a panda, so they certainly would not allow any information about Zach to be leaked.

    <span><span><i></i>As such, Ren Suo could only infer from Zach¡¯s past experiences about his fears. There was no doubt that the event that put Zach under great pressure was when he was beaten by the Monkey King.

    <span><span><i></i>It was no ordinary ¡®beating¡¯ at that¡ªin front of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, as well as billions ofizens around the world, he was thrown into the air and crushed to the ground again. It was as if he was thrown around like an animal by the Monkey King.

    <span><span><i></i>While it was true that the Monkey King was excessively powerful, Zach was nheless the best in the Federation. The fact that he did not even have a chance to retaliate was a major blow to him, even though he subsequently participated in the battles in ¡°The Mage Under the World Tree¡±.

    <span><span><i></i>Now, however, it appeared that Zach had been jolted free of his ¡®shadow self¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>Zach said: [Thank you very much, the Food Goddess of the Heavenly Pce. If not for this meal, I might have gone astray.]

    <span><span><i></i>He asked: [Can I bring other people here to eat?]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo replied: [I would no longer be here tomorrow.]

    <span><span><i></i>Zach said: [It¡¯s a pity then.]

    <span><span><i></i>He smiled as he removed the cross hanging around his neck and ced it on the table. He said: [I have nothing that fully expresses my gratitude toward you. This is the cross that has apanied me for over 30 years. My reason tells me that this should be the best gift I have for you.]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner nodded and took Zach¡¯s cross:

    <span><span><i></i>[Cross of Inferiority: HP +300; used automatically upon death to instantly revive the yer with full HP.]

    <span><span><i></i>He was indeed the boss of the night; the present he gave was simply amazing!

    <span><span><i></i>Zach apologized: [Please allow me to express my apologies in advance. As a member of the Watchmen, I am obliged to report the information about you, Miss. About the Food Goddess of the Heavenly Pce, it is simply too important to be kept secret.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo replied: [It¡¯s alright.] It naturally did not matter to him, though the character of ¡®Food Goddess¡¯ would soon be officially verified as the truth, given that Zach was a member of the Watchmen of the Federation who would then announce that information.

    <span><span><i></i>After Zach left, the time was up and the female stall owner started closing the stall. Stanley walked over and asked: [Are you leaving?]

    <span><span><i></i>The stall owner replied: [Yes.]

    <span><span><i></i>He asked: [Would I be able to find you somewhere else?]

    <span><span><i></i>The stall owner replied: [No.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley looked down, then said suddenly: [I am going to foil the ns of The Cards and none of them shall be left alive¡­ Regardless, I believe that tonight, as well as the night when I fled the camp, will be the two indelible memories of my life.]

    <span><span><i></i>[With these two memories, my dull life has been filled with some colors.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Thank you¡­ Can you tell me what is your name?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner said: [Since you think that I am the Food Goddess, I shall be the Food Goddess.]

    <span><span><i></i>Stanley replied: [Alright, thank you, Food Goddess. I hope that you will remember my real name, I am Stanley Gur.]

    <span><span><i></i>After Stanley left, Little Nine-Tailed Fox jumped onto the shoulder of the female stall owner and asked: [Will you stille and visit Xiao Jiu?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner replied: [Not anymore.]

    <span><span><i></i>Little Nine-Tailed Fox asked: [Where would Xiao Jiu be able to find you?]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo thought for a moment and told Little Nine-Tailed Fox: [When you are able to conceal your nine tails and appear as an ordinary animal,e to Lianjiang City in Xuan Nation.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo¡¯s suggestion did not actually make much sense. Even when Xiao Jiu went to Lianjiang City, he would not know. Nheless, it was still beneficial if the straight-line distance between him and Xiao Jiu was shortened¡ªRen Suo believed that one day, he would be able to touch the fur on Little Nine-Tailed Fox!

    <span><span><i></i>Little Nine-Tailed Fox nodded its head, then leaped to the ground and left quietly.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo stretched himself. One night in the game was originally only four hours long, but due to the conversations, pauses, battles, and other events in the game, that night had taken him eight hours. After he went to Dong Chengling¡¯s house for dinner, he returned home and Practiced until 12 midnight. Then, Ren Suo went out to walk the streets of the night alone, pretending that he was a night owl unlike any other.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo did not notice that someone was looking at him as he walked into the distance, from the roof of another dormitory building.

 Chapter 256 - Encountering the Countermeasure Division, Headcanon Expert

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 256: Chapter 256 ¨C Encountering the Countermeasure Division, Headcanon Expert

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    The 3rd floor of the Homnd Search and Security Agency Office, 85 Albert Street, Lambeth, Thames Riverbank, London.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°¡­ Thank you for understanding,¡± Meph said in well-enunciated Mandarin Chinese.

    <span><span><i></i>She was speaking to an official from Xuan Nation. ¡°In that case, the first group of security personnel will arrive in Lianjiang City in three days¡¯ time to get ready. Please do prepare for the transfer.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>After the brief call, Meph put down thendline telephone and sighed. She rubbed her temples as she leaned back in her chair in exhaustion.

    <span><span><i></i>The phone rang again, but it was her mobile phone and not thendline that rang this time. She looked at the caller ID shown on the screen. Then, she picked up the call, ¡°My dear Countess, how may I help you again today?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>On the other end of the line, Yuffie chuckled and pretended to be solemn as she said, ¡°Well, please bring a cup of coffee to my room. I want the coffee to be ground by you.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°My dear Countess, I have been so busy the past month in preparation for your sister¡¯s trip. Not only do I have to deal with that group of politicians, but I also have tomunicate with foreign intelligence agencies¡­ I think I¡¯m going to die even before I grow old. How about you make me a cup of coffee instead?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>After bing closer to Yuffie, Meph, who was in her twenties, put down the mask she wore while she was with Yuffie and her sister, and chattedfortably with Yuffie.

    <span><span><i></i>Yuffie replied in a righteous tone, ¡°As the Countess of the Lamperouge family, who has pledged our loyalty to the royal family, how can I make coffee for other people? You cane over to hug Kallen and absorb some of her cuteness though, it¡¯s an opportunity most people do not get.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Sure, sure¡­¡± Meph replied casually. She suddenly remembered, ¡°Has Lady Kallen finished the ceremony?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Yes, she has finished it,¡± Yuffie said. She added, ¡°She has also put in a lot of effort for this trip.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Meph suddenly stood up in her office as she replied, ¡°In that case, the second mystery realm¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°It has been found,¡± Yuffie said.

    <span><span><i></i>¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>¡°It has been found?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was surprised when he saw that piece of news on the intr. He felt that such secret information would not be made known to the masses. Although the intr was rtively more concealed, and the researchers themselves were also public officials whose backgrounds had been checked and cleared by the government, was there really a need to announce such information on the intr?

    <span><span><i></i>However, after Ren Suo read the information carefully, he knew why the nation had announced it on the intr.

    <span><span><i></i>The second mystery realm was actually located 300 meters below sea level at the coordinates (9.79, -175.60), somewhere in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. It would be extremely difficult to develop the mystery realm.

    <span><span><i></i>Ennd was the first nation to discover the second mystery realm, and it was now jointly being developed by multiple nations. The location of the second mystery realm was so special that there was no value in keeping the information secret. Furthermore, it would not be possible to conceal the fact that warships of various nations were gathered in the same area of the open sea. As such, it was more beneficial to disclose the location of the second mystery realm instead, so that researchers could consider if there were hidden patterns or secrets to the locations at which the seven mystery realms appeared.

    <span><span><i></i>However, rather than the secret to the locations of the mystery realms, the researchers were more curious as to how Ennd managed to find the second mystery realm that was located 300 meters below sea level.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Did they have prophetic abilities? Or did they have wish-fulfilling abilities?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°It can¡¯t be irvoyance.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Could they havee into contact with the Master of the Holy Light?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Could one of the mages in the World Tree be an Englishman? I think the magician looks like an ancient Celt though.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>The researchers have many differing opinions, and Ren Suo felt that their imagination was incredible. Some of the researchers even thought that there was an Extraordinary force supporting Ennd, and terms like ¡¯round table¡¯, ¡®parliament of creation¡¯, and ¡®Garden of Eden¡¯ were even mentioned.

    <span><span><i></i>Nheless, discovering this information was just coincidental; Ren Suo had logged on to the intr this time to gather other information.

    <span><span><i></i>After he hadpleted the third night in ¡°Fleeing Ghost in the Night,¡± Ren Suo immediately spent his researcher points to search for ¡°The Cards¡± on the intr. Now, two dayster, the intr had found all the detailed information about that organization of assassins.

    <span><span><i></i>The Cards could be considered an organization of assassins with a long history. It first emerged during the first industrial revolution and existed over 100 years since¡ªit was certainly a long time for an assassin organization.

    <span><span><i></i>Initially, The Cards was a killing tool employed only by the British capitalistic aristocrats. Later on, their business gradually expanded to all of Europe, and at that time, many assassin organizations werepeting with one another. However, during the time of war, only The Cards further ventured into providing intelligence and mercenary services, which allowed them to remain active on the global stage even in the subsequent century.

    <span><span><i></i>The Cards was also almost at its end originally. After all, being an assassin was bing more challenging in an era when technology advanced rapidly, and The Cards was also very picky when it came to the important people they epted orders from. They knew that, otherwise, the powerful figures could easily uproot them; they were simply their ¡®rags¡¯ who helped them perform and clean up the trivial, dirty work.

    <span><span><i></i>It was just that after the rejuvenation of Reiki, The Card received capital investments from various consortia. Not only that, but many other mercenary organizations also started to emerge, and there was no doubt that a multinational consortium was nurturing death warriors.

    <span><span><i></i>However, because The Cards had never set foot in Xuan Nation, that was all there was of the detailed information about them on the intr. Ren Suo noticed something in particr though: the assassins in ¡°The Hitman: The Bloody Banquet¡± were assassins sent by The Cards.

    <span><span><i></i>Considering that The Cards appeared in two separate games but were enemy forces in both of them¡ªit was surely an organization that had to be eliminated soon.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo looked at the number of researcher points he had and rejoiced in secret. He had earned points from his previous spections about the mages and the World Tree organization, and his discussion report on ¡°Eating Garbage Saved A Demon-Human¡± had even been epted officially.

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, he also received double researcher points from when he ¡®established the flow¡¯ the previous time. His spection of the male mage ying different roles aspared to the female mages was confirmed based on what the male mage said in the seventh mystery realm. Consequently, Ren Suo was now very close to bing a Level 3 Researcher.

    <span><span><i></i>Inparison with the other schrs who truly performed research in various research institutions, Ren Suo¡¯s speed of promotionpletely neglected the huge obstacles supposedly posed by hisck of relevant academic qualifications. His answers also did not involve any technical aspects, and he merely guessed the behavioral patterns of the Extraordinary forces. As such, the ount ¡°Researcher: Suo¡± on the intr had been unofficially named¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>Headcanon Expert.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was not concerned that he was called a headcanon expert, however. No matter what, his researcher points were increasing rapidly, which meant that his sry and Reiki stones were also increasing.

    <span><span><i></i>The only problem was that, with a higher standing in the intr, ¡°Heavenly Pce x Naisser Ren x Task Force¡± asked him to answer questions more frequently. However, he was truly clueless in terms of the technical aspects, which further established his identity as a headcanon expert.

    <span><span><i></i>After he finished Practicing, Ren Suo started conquering the fifth night in the game.

    <span><span><i></i>The city he chose for the fourth night was Seoul of Si Kingdom. It was a densely-popted city with a poption of over 20 million people. The four hours of that night in the game took Ren Suo 12 grueling hours in reality¡ªhe tended to more than 200 customers, and Ren Suo was so tired that he fell asleep the moment he cleared that night.

    <span><span><i></i>Apart from thest few customers, the desires of the other customers were easy to figure out. Ren Suo did not want to waste his merit points unnecessarily, so he recorded down the life experiences of the customers, extracted the keywords, and thought of what seasonings to add by himself.

    <span><span><i></i>After numerous rounds of careful deliberation, Ren Suo found that the stress half-demons around the world faced could generally be ssified as the following:

    <span><span><i></i>[Boss was a pain in the neck]

    <span><span><i></i>[Friend was a pain in the neck]

    <span><span><i></i>[Parents were a pain in the neck]

    <span><span><i></i>[Lover was a pain in the neck]

    <span><span><i></i>[Children were a pain in the neck]

    <span><span><i></i>[I am also a pain in the neck]

    <span><span><i></i>After figuring out the truth, all their stress could be eased.

    <span><span><i></i>As for the other types of monsters, Ren Suo first considered if he was confident in seasoning their food. If he was not confident, he would feed them ¡®garbage¡¯. Consequently, at least 50 of the 200 over customers were cleared by him beating them in battle.

    <span><span><i></i>On the other hand, the fifth city he chose to ¡®flee ghosts¡¯ in was Shenhai City.

    <span><span><i></i>Shenhai City was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River and was known as the Paris of the East. It was also the first free-trade zone in Xuan Nation, the central city of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and one of the most important ports in Xuan Nation. Along with Tianjing City, Lianjiang City, and Shenyuan City, Shenhai City was one of the four super first-tier cities in Xuan Nation with the most expensive housing.

    <span><span><i></i>The moon on the fifth night was not bright, but the location of the fleeing ghost stall seemed to be in a park very close to the city center. Skyscrapers not too far away towered over the park silently in the night, and the neon lights lighting up the road nearby also provided a little extra light for the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>The location of the fleeing ghost stall this time was not in a dense forest but beside a fountain that was not running. Directly opposite the stall was ake with its water glistening under the dim light, which provided a sense offort to people.

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner set up the food cart, then sat down and began watching Episode 31 of ¡°Over My Dead Body¡± as she waited for the first customer.

    <span><span><i></i>Usually, the first customer would appear within five minutes, but this time, it was much earlier¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>Just a minuteter, a girl d in a ck vest took a seat in front of the food cart.

    <span><span><i></i>She said: [Hello.]

    <span><span><i></i>Looking at the female stall owner, she continued: [It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Food Goddess. I am Dai Yuxing, a member of the Shenhai Countermeasure Division.]

 Chapter 257 - Capturing The Hearts Of Both Men and Women

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 257: Chapter 257 ¨C Capturing The Hearts Of Both Men and Women

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    [What would you like to eat?]

    <span><span><i></i>This was the automatic response of the female stall owner as long as it was someone who was a customer at the stall.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing said: [I would like a te of baked scallion-stuffed sesame biscuits, a basket of Nanxiang¡¯s Xiaolongbao, and a cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea.]

    <span><span><i></i>She seemed to know how patient the female stall owner was as she ordered the three items, which the fleeing ghost stall clearly could not make, with a faint smile on her face.

    <span><span><i>1</i>Then, she looked at the signboard hung on the fleeing ghost stall, and her smile slowly faded away. She muttered softly to herself: [Do I need to tell a story¡­ Give me a moment.]

    <span><span><i></i>On the screen, Dai Yuxing took out her mobile phone. She smiled and said: [Indeed, this is a ¡®dead zone¡¯.]

    <span><span><i></i>Following which, she took a small handgun from her waist pouch and fired a shot into the sky. She continued looking at the female stall owner as she did so. It was as if she would immediately stop what she was doing if the female stall owner told her to stop.

    <span><span><i></i>However, the female stall owner did not move, nor did Ren Suo behind the screen¡ªhe was very curious to see what would happen next.

    <span><span><i></i>A gunshot rang through the air, and bright sparks were seen as the re left the barrel of the gun. The ¡®whizz¡¯ of the re as it moved through the air at a speed faster than sound could be heard. Then, suddenly, three meters above the fleeing ghost stall, the re exploded into extremely blinding streaks of white light.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo¡¯s perspective on the screen followed that of the female stall owner, and since she was inside the fleeing ghost stall, she was naturally unaffected by the blinding light. On the other hand, thedy from the Countermeasure Division was staring at the sky. She immediately gasped in pain as she covered her eyes and shook her head. She shouted: [Ahhhh, my eyes!]

    <span><span><i>1</i>¡­ She spoke in dialect in such a domineering tone.

    <span><span><i></i>More than ten secondster, Dai Yuxing finally regained her senses. She looked at the small revolver in her hand and sighed, then kept it back into the waist pouch. Looking around, she smiled and asked: [Can I go out first ande back to eatter?]

    <span><span><i></i>[¡­] The female stall owner was speechless. It seemed that it was the first time encountering such a question, and there was no corresponding reply to the question in her automatic reply database. After a moment of silence, she asked: [Is this what you really wanted to say?]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing was stunned.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, she sighed and replied: [No.]

    <span><span><i></i>She looked at the female stall owner and continued: [It¡¯s strange. Ever since I sat down, the only thing that I want to do is to talk to you. I simply do not feel like leaving this seat. Is this the power of the Heavenly Pce? Is this the power of the Food Goddess?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner could not answer such questions, and ¡®best brother¡¯ Ren Suo had to take over the conversation: [You have to embrace what you truly desire. Only by saying what you wish would you be able to enjoy the delicious vors you are yearning for.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing smiled bitterly and said: [I still have to perform my responsibilities as a member of the Countermeasure Division¡­ I will surely be scolded when I return.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Although¡­ I am already used to it.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing rested her head on her arm, looking like an elementary school student taking a nap on the dining table. She said softly:

    <span><span><i></i>[My parents divorced when I was six.]

    <span><span><i></i>[As it was my father who had an affair, I stayed with my mother. Although she was very busy at work, she never once cut me any ck in terms of my studies.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Perhaps it was because I saw my father leaving me, I was so scared that my mother would leave me too. For the next ten years after that, I would do anything for my mother. Whatever she asked me to do, I did¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[I attended dance lessons, piano lessons, as well as tuition sses, and I excelled in all of them. As long as I could see my mother smile, I would bepletely satisfied¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo thought, ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like she iscking fatherly or motherly love¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing continued: [Later on¡­ I went to university.]

    <span><span><i></i>[That was the first time I lived apart from my mother, and I was both extremely excited and scared at the same time.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I also deserved a period of my youth which I could reminisce, so I joined university clubs as well as the student union, ran for the position of ss chairperson, and participated actively in variouspetitions. I even met a boy whom I fancied¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was neither sad nor happy as he recorded down what Dai Yuxing said. He felt that this was going to be a huge challenge: How should he analyze the ¡®inner world¡¯ of this girl who is already leading a blissful life?

    <span><span><i></i>[¡­ It was after that when I stepped into the abyss.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing wriggled her head in her arms, as if she wanted to throw something in her head away, but she was still retelling her past:

    <span><span><i></i>[Whenever I distributed the tasks that the college and the school assigned to the sses among the other studentmittees, they always told me that they were busy and asked me to help them instead¡­ and each time, I smiled and agreed.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Once, my roommate was talking on the phone all night and I was not able to fall asleep, but I did notin about it. When I got up the next morning and identally hit the chair, my roommate immediately startedining¡­ I smiled and apologized.]

    <span><span><i></i>[During apetition, my other team members came up with outrageous, unrealistic ideas. I clearly had better ideas than them, but when they asked me what I thought of their ideas¡­ I smiled and agreed with them.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The Student Union always organized dinners and loved to toast. I hated the smell of alcohol, but whenever someone came to me to toast¡­ I smiled and drank it all.]

    <span><span><i></i>[My friend told me that the guy looked ordinary but was actually a very pleasant person. She asked me for his WeChat ID and even asked me if I liked him¡­ I smiled and said no.]

    <span><span><i></i>[When we were taking our graduation photos, I knew many people, and they would all return my greetings cordially¡­ but no one knew that it was my birthday that day.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing paused for a long while before continuing: [Later on, I Awakened and joined the Countermeasure Division. Just like in university, there were both good and bad people in the Countermeasure Division, but¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[I am still me, Dai Yuxing.]

    <span><span><i></i>She did not continue saying much about her experiences in the Countermeasure Division, but that one line seemed sufficient to sum up her life thus far.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing lifted her head from her arms, and two streaks of tears were already running down her cheeks; her entire face was covered in tears.

    <span><span><i></i>[The Countermeasure Division believes that you, the Food Goddess, are able to prevent the food stall from being discovered, and indeed, that is true. There is no mobile phone reception here, and the signal re was unable to get out either.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing wiped the tears on her face and smiled again: [I can¡¯t believe that I met you, the Food Goddess, just after two days being on duty. It seems my luck isn¡¯t that bad after all.]

    <span><span><i></i>Before the female stall owner had the opportunity to ask, Dai Yuxing took the initiative and said: [Do you still remember the couple you received in Hong Kong? The guy contacted the Countermeasure System on his own ord and retold his encounter with the food cart and the old corpse of a ghost in great detail. He even took the initiative to cooperate with the government for an examination of the changes to his body.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Not to mention that the ¡®rainy night butcher¡¯ turned himself in the next day, so the Countermeasure System also took notice of your existence.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suopletely did not expect that the yellow-haired teenager had such a strong sense of social responsibility.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing continued: [We also know that,ter on in Manhattan, you met Zach. His actions that night were all exposed to the intelligence agencies of many nations. The following day, the New York Police Department also had a record number of people turning themselves in.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The Countermeasure Division no longer doubted your existence. Based on preliminary statistics, there were two deductions about the patterns of your appearance: firstly, you would appear inrge cities with extremelyrge poptions, and secondly, you would appear in areas in city centers that would be secluded at night, such as in parks. As such, we were scheduled to be on duty in the parks at night, so that we could meet you.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing smiled and said: [Although I am an Awakener who is one of the core members of the Countermeasure Division, I am rarely needed. The true core members would not have had to participate in such tasks, where we would have to wait it out. Nheless, when I was asked if I could take on the night duty at the park, I agreed, although the reversal of night and day was extremely unbearable for me.]

    <span><span><i></i>[However, being able to meet you, the Food Goddess, I think that this is thest favor that fate is giving me.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing looked at the female stall owner and said in dialect: [Would I be a cowardly weakling if I pin all of my hopes on you?]

    <span><span><i></i>Silently, the female stall owner pushed a te of baked scallion-stuffed sesame biscuits and a basket of Nanxiang¡¯s Xiaolongbao to Dai Yuxing and handed her a cup of milk tea.

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner simply said: [Don¡¯t force yourself to smile anymore.]

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing pursed her lips, and she instantly burst into tears. The beads of tears dripped into her milk tea, then she gulped it down again.

    <span><span><i></i>[It¡¯s hot.] She could not help but stick out her tongue and smiled. Then, she picked up the Xiaolongbao and baked scallion-stuffed sesame biscuits and began eating them.

    <span><span><i></i>When she finished eating and drinking, she showed absolutely no signs of hostility and Ren Suo was relieved¡ªhe had searched online just now and found that Dai Yuxing was a so-called ¡®pleaser¡¯. As such, the ¡®meal¡¯ he gave her was also out-of-the-ordinary:

    <span><span><i></i>The seasoning [Confidence] certainly had to be added, and he also added half a spoon each of [Rebel] and [Anger], as well as two spoons each of [Courage] and [Passion].

    <span><span><i></i>After adding plenty of different seasonings, Ren Suo was not certain if it would work either.

    <span><span><i></i>However, Dai Yuxing gasped suddenly and took out a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her face. She said: [Sorry for being rude in front of you, Food Goddess.]

    <span><span><i></i>After wiping her face clean, a smile emerged once again on Dai Yuxing¡¯s beautiful face.

    <span><span><i></i>It was not a fake smile that only involved the muscles at the lips to maintain it, but one which revealed her two rows of white teeth. It was an unrestrained, happy smile, as if she was hugging a panda as she rolled around on the hillside.

    <span><span><i></i>She asked: [Thank you. Can I ask you a question?]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner did not respond. Dai Yuxing blushed, and mustered her courage to ask:

    <span><span><i></i>[Is it alright if I like you?]

    <span><span><i></i>Behind the screen, Ren Suo blinked. He wondered if it was time for him to start learning how to cook¡­

    <span><span><i></i>It turned out that if one could cook well, one could capture the hearts of both men and women?!

 Chapter 258 - You will never know who stands behind the goddess...

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 258: Chapter 258 ¨C You will never know who stands behind the goddess¡­

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Ring ring ring¨C¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Standing on the sidewalk of Jinxiu Road, Dai Yuxing trembled as she was quickly put through the walkie-talkie attached to her chest strap.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°This is themand center. It has been 12 minutes after the scheduled contact time. What happened? Over.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°This is SNH013. Everything is normal. It was my mistake. Over.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>A short whileter, Dai Yuxing¡¯s mobile phone rang. She looked at the caller ID disyed and answered the call, ¡°Captain Mei, you are still awake?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Captain Mei said sternly, ¡°I am on duty tonight. Why didn¡¯t you report back at the scheduled contact time just now?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing replied, ¡°It was because I was slightly tired and was not fully alert, so I took a short rest, but I missed the reporting time.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Captain Mei said sternly, ¡°Dai Yuxing! You are at work now, please take it seriously! If this happens again, your monthly performance evaluation will be affected!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing said, ¡°There won¡¯t be a next time. I am really not suited for night duty, and I will be applying not to be on night duty from tomorrow onwards. I will return to my regr Countermeasure duties.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>On the other end of the line, Captain Mei fell silent for a moment. Dai Yuxing could hear him flipping through documents.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°We currently do not have sufficient manpower, you should remain on night duty for a few more nights,¡± Captain Mei said in a clearly more gentle tone.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°No,¡± Dai Yuxing replied, ¡°I am unable to function well at night. With my lifestyle for the past 24 years, my work efficiency will certainly be much lower at night.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Please find someone more suitable for this task. As an Awakener, I think that I should work at a time more suitable for me. In addition, I will be applying for a day off tomorrow morning. After being on night duty for two days, I am extremely exhausted, and my breathing current is not functioning optimally either.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Her reasons for applying for leave werepletely legitimate¡ªbreathing currents were extremely important to Countermeasure Practitioners, and after two days on night duty, it was also time for a rotation in shifts. Captain Mei had no reason to decline and said, ¡°Please return to work as soon as possible.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I will,¡± Dai Yuxing said.

    <span><span><i></i>After hanging up the call, Dai Yuxing exhaled a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ears.

    <span><span><i></i>She had a sudden awareness of how silly she was in the past. Why did she agree to take on such a task like night duty, when the reversal of day and night was one of the biggest enemies of women?

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, why was she on the sidewalk of Jinxiu Road? That was not even her patrol area.

    <span><span><i></i>As a Countermeasure Practitioner and also an Awakener, Dai Yuxing was essentially responsible for the entire area of Century Park. It was not only because there was ack of Countermeasure Practitioners who could be scheduled for night duty, but also because the Countermeasure System dispatched the Park Night Duty Forces because they believed in the existence of the Food Goddess.

    <span><span><i></i>However, that was a decision made by the Countermeasure System as a whole, and the responsibility fell on the individual Countermeasure Divisions of each city to carry out the n. The various Countermeasure Divisions all did not think that the Food Goddess would appear so coincidentally in their respective areas, so they were only willing to dispatch the minimum number of Practitioners required for the night duty, considering that everyone else had a lot of work to do in the day.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing shook her head and was about to continue patrolling along the original nned route. At that moment, however, she saw an SUV suddenly stopping by the roadside. She could not tell the brand of the SUV¡ªshe was a girl who did not even have a driving license, and neither did she have any interest in those four-wheel machines.

    <span><span><i></i>A man in a suit who appeared slightly frail stepped out of the car. When he saw Dai Yuxing, he was momentarily stunned, and the look on his face changed slightly intriguingly as he seemed to notice the ck vest that Dai Yuxing donned. He took the initiative to nod at Dai Yuxing, then walked into Century Park.

    <span><span><i></i>Why did hee to the park sote at night?

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing felt that it was strange, but did not think much into it. She was not a policeman and was not interested to follow him either.

    <span><span><i></i>Continuing her patrol around Century Park, Dai Yuxing soon came to the memorial statue of Li Bai. There, she saw an old woman walking along with a cane in her hand. She quickly went forward and asked, ¡°Ma¡¯am, it¡¯s already veryte, are you not returning home? Where is your family?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>The old woman stammered in reply, ¡°Oh, I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I came out for a walk.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing looked around. Although the park was a little quiet at night, it was still rtively safe. She voluntarily leaned closer and asked, ¡°Would you like me to support you?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine, you should carry on with what you need to do,¡± the old woman replied.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing watched as the old woman walked towards the fountain. She shivered as she touched her hands and muttered to herself, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why she wore so manyyers of clothes, her hands are so cold.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>After patrolling for some time, Dai Yuxing saw a dog with its fur glistening run past her and thought, ¡®Don¡¯t dogs sleep at night?¡¯

    <span><span><i></i>The dog also seemed to notice Dai Yuxing¡¯s gaze. It turned back to look at her, its eyes moving cleverly. It had gray fur on its white body, and it ran so fast it disappeared from sight in an instant.

    <span><span><i></i>Subsequently, as Dai Yuxing patrolled Central Park, she realized that there were actually many people¡ªboth male and female, young and old, who walked around the park at night. However, they came and left in a hurry, and asionally, some people who saw Dai Yuxing would even intentionally take a longer route to avoid her.

    <span><span><i></i>Nheless, Dai Yuxing did not suspect anything: It was already 3 o¡¯clock in the middle of the night, and any ordinary person would be extremely wary of meeting other strangers in the park, even if the stranger was a girl. A girl who dared to wander around in the middle of the night, and yet was not drunk, either had to be stronger than an average man, or was otherwiserger-sized than a typical guy.

    <span><span><i>1</i>It was only when Dai Yuxing happened to walk over to theke that she faintly felt that something was amiss. She saw a food cart next to the music fountain on the opposite side of theke, where many customers were sitting on the chairs in front of the stall and eating their supper silently. There were even people queueing up to eat.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing was momentarily stunned, but she did not feel that something was amiss and simply walked away. She was not a personnel of the Urban Environmental Management Agency, and she was also not interested in going over for supper as she was still full.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing thought to herself, ¡®Is the food stall so popr that so many people are willing toe over specially for supper?¡¯

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, she saw a strange movement on the other side of theke. One of the diners walked over to the open space beside the stall, and the female stall owner who was running the food cart also followed suit,ing face-to-face with the diner.

    <span><span><i></i>The next moment, the female stall owner pped the diner twice with a speed fast enough to leave an afterimage. Then, the diner knelt down on the ground and took something out from his chest pocket to pass to the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>¡®Was he trying to get a free meal when he is so weak?¡¯ Dai Yuxing thought.

    <span><span><i></i>However, at that juncture, she was attracted by the female stall owner. A strange but pleasant feeling somehow arose in her heart. She thought, ¡®She is so beautiful and so cute, even when she hit the man. She also looks very cute when she is collecting money, and even more so when she is cooking!¡¯

    <span><span><i></i>Although that was what she thought, Dai Yuxing still had no intention to eat head over for supper.

    <span><span><i></i>That was an extremely strange feeling. It felt like she had already eaten her fill at a buffet, and no longer wanted to walk over to the food area, no matter how delicious the food appeared.

    <span><span><i></i>Moreover, not only did Dai Yuxing feel full, her mind and body also felt extremely satisfied.

    <span><span><i></i>Her heart told her that she did not need the food and that she did not need to head over.

    <span><span><i></i>After patrolling for another half an hour, the watch Dai Yuxing wore on her left wrist vibrated slightly, reminding her that it was now 4 a.m. It was the scheduled contact time, so she took the initiative to dial through her walkie-talkie:

    <span><span><i></i>¡°This is SNH013, over.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°This is themand center. Is there anything abnormal during your patrol? Over.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Everything is norm¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing suddenly stopped midway through her sentence as she turned to look in the direction of the music fountain.

    <span><span><i></i>A wave of memories surged over her, and she was stunned. After a long while, she took out her re gun, and indeed, there was one less re in the barrel.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°SNH013, please continue your report, over.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing took a deep breath and quickly ran to a spot where she could see the music fountain. However, the stall with arge crowd, which had still been operating half an hour ago, was gone. There was not even a single piece of trash on the ground left behind.

    <span><span><i></i>She said, ¡°I met the Food Goddess from the Heavenly Pce, but she has already left. Over.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°What?¡± the person from themand center remarked. He was momentarily at a loss for words, and after three seconds, he probed, ¡°Please describe the situation.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I encountered the food cart of the Food Goddess beside the music fountain of Century Park at Jinxiu Road. I sat down for a meal, but Ipletely neglected that segment of my memories until she left.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing looked up at the night sky. Although the stars could barely be seen in the night sky of Shenhai City due to light pollution, the moon¡ªand only the moon¡ªwas quite clearly visible.

    <span><span><i></i>It was a third-quarter moon that night. Dai Yuxing looked at the bright moonlight and said, ¡°Just like what was mentioned in the notice, the Food Goddess is a beautifuldy with ck hair and an Asian appearance. The food she serves is not restricted by her tools and ingredients.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>With an admiring tone, Dai Yuxing said:

    <span><span><i></i>¡°She is a kind and considerate person who understands people well. She is an elegant woman with a strong affinity with people, able to make people open up to her. Her smile is able to dissolve the walls in one¡¯s heart, and her food is able to relieve people of their burdens. She is just like the moon, able to make people put their guard down.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>

    ¡°Beneath her beautiful appearance, I saw a fairy with a pure heart and great virtue.¡±

    <span><span><i>2</i>

 Chapter 259 - The Earth Elf That Was Driven Into A Pillar

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 259: Chapter 259 -The Earth Elf That Was Driven Into A Pir

    <i>2</i>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    As Ren Suo rubbed the dead skin off his calves with the soles of his feet, he recorded down on hisptop the keywords from the ¡®personal experience¡¯ of thest customer in Shenhai City.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was slightly surprised that he managed to reach the end of the fifth night in ¡°Fleeing Ghosts in the Night¡± without any difficulty.

    <span><span><i></i>As Dai Yuxing was the first customer and left very early in the night, Ren Suo had thought that it would not be long before a group of Countermeasure Practitioners woulde to eat free meals.

    <span><span><i></i>If this had been the case, Ren Suo would have no choice but to read the savegame again¡ªhe would have to skip Shenhai City and select another nation or city to set up the stall instead.

    <span><span><i></i>Dai Yuxing had already mentioned that the Countermeasure System obtained information from the yellow-haired teenager, as well as detailed intelligence from the spies they nted in the Federation. With that information, they determined that the fleeing ghost stall would only be set up in parks withinrge cities, so Ren Suo could simply choose not to ¡®flee ghosts¡¯ inrge cities instead. There were many foreign cities with just a slightly lower [Degree of Concealment], so Ren Suo had many options to choose from.

    <span><span><i></i>However, as the night passed, the customers who appeared were all ordinary monsters who were anti-social or had the intent to kill people, so Ren Suo also rxed and seasoned their food for them.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo also found that, in general, the customers who came at the beginning were monsters that were easier to see through and more forgiving of the intensity of the vors. Ren Suo simply needed to extract the keywords, and he would be able to handle them well most of the time.

    <span><span><i></i>In thest hour, however, the customers who appeared were more vicious. Not only did Ren Suo have to extract the right keywords, but they were also very particr about the intensities of the vors. They could be dissatisfied that there was too much of [Happiness], too little of [Confidence], insufficient [Love], or the like. Following this, they would m the table and engage in a fierce battle with the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, Ren Suo had no other choice but to subdue each monster with punches.

    <span><span><i></i>When it came to thest customer, which was also the boss of the night, a battle was inevitable. What Ren Suo could do then was also only to weaken the enemy as much as possible with the seasonings.

    <span><span><i></i>However, thus far, apart from the boss in Hong Kong where he managed to season the food perfectly, the other four bosses were only slightly weakened.

    <span><span><i></i>The boss in Shenhai City was even more intriguing¡ªhe was a ¡®beast¡¯, and one who did not seek a free meal at that. He was a customer willing to talk about his life.

    <span><span><i></i>That was also the first time Ren Suo encountered a customer that was a ¡®beast¡¯. Such a customer had a somewhat strange appearance as well¡ªhe wore a ck robe with an embroidered golden dragon and waspletely hairless. His bald head glistened in the light, his skin was white and tender, and he hadrge eyes and a small mouth. He was a young child less than one meter tall.

    <span><span><i></i>The moment he spoke, Ren Suo immediately knew that he was surely not a spirit, ghost, or demon.

    <span><span><i></i>The bald child mmed the table and shouted: [Sister, give me a tonne of cement. It needs to be hot, and not mixed 1:1 like the kind used to fill the gaps between washroom tiles. Only a 1:3 mix would be tasty enough.]

    <span><span><i></i>That order was the most ridiculous of all the orders that Ren Suo had encountered thus far. The more amusing thing was that the female stall owner actually took out a bucket of cement.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, the bald child began telling him about his life¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>[I am a pir.]

    <span><span><i></i>The bald child lit a cigarette, then inhaled it deeply and directly extinguished it. An aged, depressed expression emerged on his face as he said: [I am the Pan¡¯an pir supporting the overpass over Yan¡¯an Road¡­ You know what a Pan¡¯an pir is, don¡¯t you?]

    <span><span><i></i>[When the overpass was being built, the pir at the intersection of the elevated segment of road running from east to west and from north to south could not be driven into the ground. Later on, a monk came to perform a ritual, and finally, the pir could be anchored.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Not only that, but they also wrapped the pir with stainless steel and bronze dragon patterns. It was only after I awoke that I discovered that the people then had thought there were dragon veins at that spot. At that time, the monk hade to ¡®drive away the dragons¡¯, and the dragon patterns were used to ¡®cate the dragons¡¯¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>With each sentence the bald child said, he finished one stick of cigarette, and the box of cigarettes in his hand was now already half empty. He continued: [However, the truth was, whatever the monk did had no effect at all, and the dragon patterns were also meaningless. It was just that after the monk came, the engineering team had also switched to another more powerful set of piling machines, and the pir could be driven into the ground.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I don¡¯t know why there were dragon patterns on the pir either, but perhaps it was because they had excess money at that time, or because the leader was superstitious.]

    <span><span><i></i>The bald child looked depressed as he said: [It was not until a year ago when I awoke and found myself turned into a pir. I feel that I am extremely unfortunate.]

    <span><span><i></i>[That¡¯s because I was clearly the earth elf of this area.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The reason why the pir was not as easy to drive into the ground was simply because I had protected myself hundreds of years ago, so theyer of rock at that spot was thicker. There were no mines nearby, so I thought that no one would cause any trouble, right?]

    <span><span><i></i>[Who would have expected that the people today are so strong? That monk was also asking for it¡ªhe emptied his dder on me while he was performing his ritual. If not for the fact that he had already died a long time ago, I would certainly have gone to get my revenge. Subsequently, the pir was able to be driven into the ground, forcibly dispersing my body and I had no choice but to attach myself in the pir.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The earth elves nearby all came to mock me. I am the only earth elf who was trapped inside the pir, so this is so maddening!]

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, the bald child pointed to his head and continued: [Moreover, because of the pir, my physical form could not even grow taller. I can only look like this small ghost that I am, and I still look exactly the same as I did hundreds of years ago¡­ Ouch!]

    <span><span><i></i>The cigarette that the bald child was holding in his right hand came into contact with his bald head. He grunted in pain and looked funny and cute.

    <span><span><i></i>After he finished smoking the pack of cigarettes, the child mmed the table forcefully again and demanded: [Hurry, I want my cement! I¡¯m very hungry!]

    <span><span><i></i>Then, Ren Suo, who was holding hisptop, was bewildered.

    <span><span><i></i>¡ªThat was it for his story?

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo had intentionally purchased a cup of Holy Water, but although his yer privilege was triggered and he did not need to pay, it now seemed as if there was no difference whether he drank it.

    <span><span><i></i>Not even a single keyword appeared as the bald child talked about his life!

    <span><span><i></i>¡°How shameless! I got conned out of money!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Indeed, how could it be that easy to defeat the boss, just by making a purchase with merit points? Ren Suo, who was almost conned out of his money once, took it as a lesson and reminded himself not to waste his money on thest customer in the future.

    <span><span><i></i>As for the bald child, Ren Suo could only let him experience what it feels like to be trampled on once again.

    <span><span><i></i>However, at that juncture, with the wit of a Level 4 yer, or perhaps it was due to the [Hat of Cultivation and Practice] that he was wearing finally having an effect¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Is the Holy Water really useless?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>The purpose of the Holy Water was to extract the keywords rted to the desires and resentments that were important to the customers, based on what they said. Since there were no keywords extracted, it meant that the customer did not care about what he had just said.

    <span><span><i></i>He lost his freedom after being turned into a pir;

    <span><span><i></i>He felt miserable after being trampled upon;

    <span><span><i></i>He felt humiliated after being mocked by the other earth elves;

    <span><span><i></i>He felt furious when he awoke after hundreds of years to see himself in such a state;

    <span><span><i></i>All of that, the bald child did not care.

    <span><span><i></i>The Holy Water was notpletely useless, for it gave a reminder to Ren Suo: The bald child did not care about all of what he said. It would be meaningless if he added seasonings based on what he said, whether it was ¡®sweet¡¯ or ¡®garbage¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>With the same line of reasoning, the bald child actually did not care that he had turned into a pir and did not mind that he was trampled upon. In fact, he even thought that it was ¡®fun¡¯ as he was talking about all of that. On the other hand, he smoked only to mimic other smokers; he did not actually think that smoking was beneficial, but he just felt that it was fun.

    <span><span><i></i>Indeed, he was a yful child.

    <span><span><i></i>Hundreds of years ago, Shenhai City was just a small fishing vige. It was far away from the Reiki veins of the Central ins, so the spiritual intelligence of the earth elves here might not be that high.

    <span><span><i></i>As such, the bald child was actually very dangerous, for he could cause mass-casualty incidents just because he thought that it was ¡®fun¡¯ and interesting.

    <span><span><i></i>What was he most afraid of? Boredom.

    <span><span><i></i>What did he seek for most? A sense of novelty.

    <span><span><i></i>Very quickly, Ren Suo knew how to season his food¡ª

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner took out three bottles of seasonings and poured their entire contents into the cement.

    <span><span><i></i>One was [Creation];

    <span><span><i></i>One was [Happiness];

    <span><span><i></i>One was [Freedom].

    <span><span><i></i>The bald child took the bucket of cement and gulped all of it down, as if he was swallowing ice cream.

    <span><span><i></i>After he finished, he wiped his mouth, then looked at the female stall owner, slightly dazed. He then burst intoughter.

    <span><span><i></i>The bald child remarked: [Wouldn¡¯t it be fun if I made the dragon patterns on the pir fly into the sky in the middle of the night? I think it would be fun if I told every driver driving past me that ¡®I am behind you¡¯!]

    <span><span><i></i>[Thank you, Sister, I am going back to y!]

    <span><span><i></i>The bald child began to walk away, but then he turned back. With his hands, he rubbed himself underneath his own clothes, and a bead was formed. He said: [Here, a gift for you, Sister!]

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner took the bead and inspected it:

    <span><span><i></i>[Remains of the Old Cement of the Earth Elf: When consumed, HP +1000, Attack +100; When used as a seasoning in food, it can deal damage equivalent to 50% of the enemy¡¯s HP.]

    <span><span><i></i>Looking at the back of the bald child walking away, Ren Suo felt that the scariest and the naughtiest child in the entire history of Shenhai City would soon emerge¡­

 Chapter 260 - Thereâ€™s No Turning Back Anymore

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 260: Chapter 260 -There¡¯s No Turning Back Anymore

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    ¡°Mmm, go to Pang Ge BBQ stall and order a dozen non-spicy beef skewers and a dozen non-spicymb skewers for takeout. After that, go to Sheng Ji stall to buy 750g of crayfish. Remember to tell thedy boss to cut away the heads of the crayfish. You must tell that to thedy boss, as she remembers my face from thest time I went there to eat with the Countermeasure Division. If she sees your face she will certainly do a good job cutting the heads of the crayfish away¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°After that, go to the COCO milk tea shop at Longkou East Road to buy a cup of pudding milk tea. That shop operates 24 hours a day. When you¡¯re done,e back immediately, do you understand?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>The clone nodded, and Ren Suo let him head outside with a peace of mind. He then turned off the lights in the living room to pretend that he was not home.

    <span><span><i></i>It was only two days ago when Ren Suo suddenly realized that he actually did not need to go out physically himself.

    <span><span><i></i>All that he needed to do was to create the impression that ¡®Ren Suo would go out in the wee hours of the morning¡¯. In fact, when he was outside, he would actually not meet ormunicate with anyone he knew at all, and he would instead be using his mobile phone.

    <span><span><i></i>As such, he decided to send his clone to take a walk outside and buy supper at the same time. The time he saved for himself could be better used to Practice or sleep.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo settled down and continued to Practice.

    <span><span><i></i>ording to the Data Flow, his progress was now at tier 1, 93%, which meant that he was very close to bing a tier 2 Practitioner.

    <span><span><i></i>However, the reality was that his Practice efficiency dropped sharply over the past few days. If [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] was not activated, he might not even improve by 1% after Practicing for half a day. Such a speed waspletely inconsistent with the progress speed of 3-4% per day in the past.

    <span><span><i></i>Moreover, the fatigue he felt when he Practiced was bing more obvious to him. Before, he felt sore but refreshed after he finished one round of Practice, as if he was ¡®rubbing clean the old dirt on his body¡¯. Now, however, he would feel pain in the refreshing soreness, as if he was ¡®rubbing off his skin at the same time when he was rubbing clean the old dirt on his body¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>It felt as if the internal breathing current within his body was expanding.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo figured that his internal breathing current was filled¡ªin the past, his internal breathing current was like a twone road with few cars traveling on it, so his Practice speed was fast; now, however, the ¡®road¡¯ in his breathing current was filled with cars, and there was no space to store more Reiki. Any new Reiki he stored acted as a road roller that forcibly turned the twone road into a fourne road, so the progress of his Practice became so slow and even felt slightly painful.

    <span><span><i></i>When the effect of [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] subsided, Ren Suo also stopped Practicing. He could subtly feel that when [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] was triggered, his breathing current would expand at a more efficient rate. It was as if enzymes were added to catalyze the chemical reaction and so he was toozy to spend additional time increasing the expansion speed of his breathing current.

    <span><span><i></i>That was the disadvantage of [Data Flow] that was not life-changing but not insignificant either: He could understand the current state of the target urately, but he could not predict the future urately. It was as if he easilypleted the first 90 marks¡¯ worth of questions in an examination paper with a total of 100 marks, but when it came to thest 10 marks, he found that the question was much more challenging than the rest.

    <span><span><i></i>When the clone returned home with his supper, Ren Suo looked at the time and found that the clone could still exist for a few minutes, so he made him remove his clothes before he disappeared.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Regardless, the Xuan Nation Countermeasure System would take notice of the existence of the fleeing ghost stall on the fifth day¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Although the extremely quick response time of the Countermeasure System waspletely out of Ren Suo¡¯s expectations, it had little impact on his n. Even if he met personnel from the Countermeasure Division, he had a reason to exin himself¡ªhe was a night owl in the first ce.

    <span><span><i></i>However, the quick response time of the Countermeasure System, from when the yellow-haired teenager first reported sighting the stall to the start of the night patrol in major cities just five dayster, was sufficient to show the great importance they ced on Extraordinaire forces.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo wondered if he should ¡®warm up the crowd¡¯ first, so he went to search on the intr and found that there were already relevant discussions:

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Spections About the Members of the Heavenly Pce¡±

    <span><span><i></i>That discussion thread only emerged after the video ¡°Activation of Reiki Treasures¡± was uploaded, which was also after Monkey King rocked New York. Such discussions did not only appear in the intr, but also in other forums. They were generally of such views:

    <span><span><i></i>[If there is a Monkey King, wouldn¡¯t it also be normal for there to be an inheritor of The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord? Given that Laozi, the incarnation of The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, truly existed in the past]

    <span><span><i></i>[There would surely be Zhuge Liang/Kongming. How majestic he would be, wearing his silk scarf and holding his fan made of feathers?]

    <span><span><i></i>[There might not only be people from the East, since the Seeker is not Oriental either. Who knows, there might even be Merlin or King Arthur?]

    <span><span><i></i>[There¡¯s already a nine-tailed fox, would a five-wed golden dragon be too far-fetched?]

    <span><span><i></i>¡­ Indeed, the discussion thread had barely any use as reference material.

    <span><span><i></i>As such, Ren Suo decided to contribute some information in the other posts, pretending that he saw the posts ¡®coincidentally¡¯ and replied:

    <span><span><i></i>[The Seeker herself was not someone with outstandingbat power or intelligence, but one with strong resilience. She sought to improve herself. As such, I think that the Heavenly Pce is not necessarily only made up of people with extraordinarybat powers, who are able to carry out ns wlessly, or who have mastered destructive capabilities. There should also be members who are skilled at tending to the basic necessities of life or proficient in the four arts, no? They could be people like Daizong, the Magic Traveller, Huang Longshi, the Go Prodigy, or Zhang Fei, the Perfect Artist¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo¡¯s answer was also ¡®surface-level¡¯, but it would still be a victory to him when he received a small number of researcher points in time toe.

    <span><span><i></i>As he ate his supper, Ren Suo began his sixth night of fleeing ghosts¡ªit was Mexico City this time.

    <span><span><i></i>Living up to its name as the city with the fifth-highest [Degree of Concealment], it was the first time that Ren Suo could ¡®flee ghosts¡¯ without having to work his brain much¡ªtherge majority of customers were true demons, and the number of them was much more than that in Mumbai of Kongque Nation.

    <span><span><i></i>asionally, a few half-demons would appear, and Ren Suo also fed them ¡®garbage¡¯ directly: such customers were simply too arrogant and intractable.

    <span><span><i></i>A middle-aged gunman who had killed nine people remarked: [There¡¯s no turning back anymore.] Ren Suo could tell that he really wanted to shoot the female stall owner dead in one shot. However, governed by the rules of the great and noble game, he still had to finish the te of fried rice in front of him that would give him a taste of ¡®his son taking a taxi and leaving the moment he was born, his wife divorcing him and taking away all of his wealth from him, and even the dogs he raised being taken away by people from Xuan Nation and cooked in the soup¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>A handsome middle-aged man who was a ¡®nine-timer¡¯ remarked: [There¡¯s no turning back anymore.] He was the first customer who revealed all of his desires in in sight, so Ren Suo gave him a small amount of [Fear] + [Love] + [Celebration]. Consequently, he seemed to fall into an illusion of being at a certain festival, and he murmured: [Why did all nine of youe at the same time?] He waspletely ¡®paralyzed¡¯ and was easily beaten and defeated by the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>A public toilet ¡®spy¡¯ who was part of nine gangs remarked: [There¡¯s no turning back anymore.] He was a young man with afro hair. As he talked about his life story, not a single keyword appeared, cheating Ren Suo of the 2 merit points he spent on the Holy Water. As such, Ren Suo gave him a good beating in the battle to make him understand the meaning of ¡®a traitor and spy would have to pay his price one day¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>The sixth night of fleeing ghosts took Ren Suo over ten hours toplete.

    <span><span><i></i>Mexico City was actually not difficult to clear, but most of the supplies he acquired from the past five nights were consumed: there were too many battles, and the female stall owner lost a lot of her HP, so consuming the ¡®drugs¡¯ was necessary.

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, the boss of Mexico City was a big drug lord. Notwithstanding his high attack power, he had an extremely high HP and even possessed skills, which was to take drugs. Each time he took a drug, he replenished half of his HP, and that dragged the battle on for a long time.

    <span><span><i></i>When Ren Suo battled him for the first time, the boss depleted all of his replenishment items and was killed miserably.

    <span><span><i></i>He reflected on the painful failure, and when he attempted the night for the second time after reading the savegame again, he ensured that the female stall owner had a high amount of HP throughout the earlier battles. As such, when he was fighting against the boss, he did not need to waste a turn to replenish his HP. He also did not care about losing HP rapidly during that battle and managed to be one step ahead, killing the boss while he was left with a critically low HP.

    <span><span><i></i>It was a night of hearty excitement but also frustration. After he cleared the night, he was also feeling slightly sleepy¡ªhe had not slept for two to three days.

    <span><span><i></i>That was also why he shut his eyes to take a rest after he sat down at Dong Chengling¡¯s house. It was only when dinner was ready and he opened his eyes that he saw Gu Yueyan sitting on one side of the table.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Eh? I thought you were going to stay at home and only return when the school semester started,¡± Ren Suo said in greeting. Then, his eyelids were heavy again¡ªhe must have consumed all of the sleeping hours saved up as a ¡®cat¡¯ as well.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Why? Are you not happy to see me?¡± Gu Yueyan replied as she raised an eyebrow slightly. She questioned, ¡°Are you afraid that I will stop you and Teacher Dong from having your couple time?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Yes, indeed,¡± Ren Suo said.

    <span><span><i></i>As he said that, Ren Suo¡¯s head was still swaying from side to side, as if he was nodding.

    <span><span><i></i>Gu Yueyan was speechless for a moment and fell silent, then walked to the kitchen to help Dong Chengling.

    <span><span><i></i>When all three of them were seated at the table, Dong Chengling also asked the same question as Ren Suo, ¡°Xiao Yan, why didn¡¯t you stay at home until the school semester started? Aren¡¯t you going to spend more time with your family before then?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Gu Yueyan naturally changed her rhetoric and replied nkly, ¡°There¡¯s no one at home, so I came back.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dong Chengling asked, ¡°I remember that your brother is a Countermeasure Practitioner too, isn¡¯t he? Are your parents very busy as well?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°My father and his wife went to travel,¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo, who was drinking a bowl of fish soup, finally became more awake when he heard that sentence. The main reason was that she said ¡®my father¡¯ followed by ¡®his wife¡¯, and not ¡®my mother¡¯. It made the gossipmonger Ren Suo feel as if it was a story in a seven o¡¯clock evening family television drama series.

    <span><span><i></i>However, Dong Chengling was not dim-witted and did not continue to probe further. Instead, she looked thoughtfully at Gu Yueyan.

    <span><span><i></i>She asked, ¡°In that case, are your roommates back yet?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°No, Xiao Yu also returned home a few days ago,¡± Gu Yueyan replied. She continued with a smile, ¡°So, I would have the entire Practice space to myself, and I can strive to be promoted to tier 2 before the start of the next semester!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>At that juncture, Ren Suo suddenly stretched his hand out and rubbed Gu Yueyan¡¯s head. She was stunned and could not react in time. It was only when Ren Suo retracted his hand that she questioned angrily, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Well, you won¡¯t be able to be promoted within a month,¡± Ren Suo said calmly.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°How would you know?!¡± Gu Yueyan eximed angrily as she fixed her hair.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°If I must give a reason, I deduced that based on your bust, waist, and hip measurements, as well as the shower gel and hair tonic you used¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°You¡¯re the one who uses hair tonic!¡± Gu Yueyan retorted.

    <span><span><i></i>Dong Chengling stopped them from quarreling, then looked at Gu Yueyan and asked, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you live in my house these few days?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°What?¡± Gu Yueyan replied.

    <span><span><i></i>Dong Chengling rubbed Gu Yueyan¡¯s head very gently and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that you can treat me as your older sister? You will be bored staying alone in your dorm room, no? Why not live with your ¡®sister¡¯ before your dorm mates return?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dong Chengling smiled again as she said, ¡°However, I am also a very boring person, so I don¡¯t know if you would mind that¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I won¡¯t mind!¡± Gu Yueyan replied immediately. She continued, ¡°However, I¡¯m afraid that I would be too much of a disturbance.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°As long as you are willing, it would not be a disturbance,¡± Dong Chengling said.

    <span><span><i></i>Gu Yueyan bit her lip, then took a quick and discreet nce at the lethargic Ren Suo. She nodded and agreed, ¡°Well then¡­ Thank you, Teacher.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Dong Chengling smiled and said, ¡°You should move your stuff over tomorrow then, I will clean the guest room tonight. Here, try this rattan pork stew that I just learned how to cook¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>After dinner, Ren Suo said, ¡°I will do the dishes again tonight, it¡¯s your turn after lunch tomorrow.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Mmm,¡± Gu Yueyan replied. She did not say anything else and left first.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, after Ren Suo finished washing the dishes and left Dong Chengling¡¯s house, he met Gu Yueyan again downstairs.

    <span><span><i></i>It somehow felt like that had be their secret meeting ce.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo said first, ¡°I¡¯m very sleepy today, and I can¡¯t be your apanying treatment Practitioner tonight.¡± Then he yawned, making what he said extremely believable.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°It¡¯s not about that,¡± Gu Yueyan said as she took out a book and gave it to Ren Suo. Ren Suo took a look inside and found that it was a photobook.

    <span><span><i></i>She continued, ¡°I processed all of the photos we took when we went to Xiang City the previous time. They are all inside the photobook, I thought that I should give you a copy of it.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Oh, thank you,¡± Ren Suo said as he continued looking through the photobook. It was indeed a photobook containing photos of him and Gu Yueyan touring around Xiang City. He said, ¡°I actually have very few printed photos of myself. The photos you took are quite nice though, and I am in every shoot too¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Suddenly, Gu Yueyan snatched the photobook back. She pulled out thest page before returning it to Ren Suo. Ren Suo was momentarily stunned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I realized that I look very ugly in one of the pictures, so I shall not give that one to you,¡± she replied.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, Gu Yueyan walked away without looking back.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo scratched his head in confusion. He rushed home with the photo book, then quickly finished washing up. Before he went to bed, he looked at the photobook again.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°Mmm, the pictures are actually quite nice. I would be able to send these photos home after photoshopping Gu Yueyan away, to show how my life has been recently.¡±

    <span><span><i></i>As Ren Suo flipped through the photobook, he discovered that there were words written behind the photos.

    <span><span><i></i>The words were written in a foreignnguage that he did not recognize, and they were quite long. There were words written on the back of every photo, and in differentnguages at that, though none of them were in English or Chinese.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo recognized one of them as Arabic. His mind suddenly became clear with bliss, and he checked the trantion of ¡®I love you¡¯ in Arabic.

    <span><span><i></i>It waspletely different from the words written on the back of the photo.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°h, don¡¯t they say that words written in foreignnguages which the reader can¡¯t understand are essentially words of confession?¡±

    <span><span><i>1</i>Although Ren Suo did not have good looks, he thought well.

    <span><span><i></i>The next moment, a wave of drowsiness rushed over Ren Suo and he could not bear it anymore. He shoved the photobook in his bookshelf and fell asleep on the bed.

    <span><span><i></i>On the other hand, Gu Yueyan was looking at the photo in her hand. It was a photo she took when she was on the raft with Ren Suo, and was also the photo in which they looked the most intimate together due to the effect of the lens.

    <span><span><i></i>Turning to the back of the photo, there was a line of words written in neat and beautiful handwriting:

    <span><span><i></i>[There¡¯s no turning back anymore.]

 Chapter 261 - Fulfilling Mission Clearance Requirements Before The Deadline

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 261: Chapter 261 ¨C Fulfilling Mission Clearance Requirements Before The Deadline

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Dragon Boat Trantion

    [Desires Collected: 10320]

    <span><span><i></i>After clearing Mexico City on the fifth night and Sao Paulo of Brazil on the fourth night, Ren Suo fulfilled the mission clearance requirements, before the deadline.

    <span><span><i></i>Unlike Mexico City, there was stillw and order in Sao Paulo, despite it being a global megacity with thergest poption in the southern hemisphere. It would certainly not have extremely evil monsters, nor true demons roaming everywhere¡ªthe reason why there were so many true demons roaming about obnoxiously in Mexico City was because of the frequent deaths there.

    <span><span><i></i>In contrast, while Sao Paulo did not have many true demons, there were many spirits! It was in Sao Paulo where Ren Suo encountered a Morphed Spirit which he had not seen before: a jaguar girl.

    <span><span><i></i>The jaguar girl looked extremely attractive in Ren Suo¡¯s eyes: she had a typical physique and looked especially cute. She had a pair of animal ears, and her hands and feet had notpletely transformed. It was as if she was wearing gloves and shoes in cosy, looking extremely cute.

    <span><span><i></i>However, the jaguar girl was extremely fierce and ruthless as the boss of the night in Sao Paulo. Ren Suo thought that she was very cute as a Kemonomimi, so he extracted keywords using the Holy Water, and even racked his brain to prepare a delicious meal for her.

    <span><span><i></i>When the jaguar girl finished her meal, she was clearly satisfied, but then she said: [I¡¯ll give you three extra turns first.]

    <span><span><i></i>Coupled with [48-year-old Cockroach], the female stall owner had five extra turns to quickly attack the jaguar girl first. The jaguar girl¡¯s HP was depleted by half, but then she attacked the female stall owner eight times consecutively with her ws, almost killing the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>As ast resort, Ren Suo was forced to use his trump card: [Catnip].

    <span><span><i></i>That was a gift the female stall owner received from a certain cat-type monster. If the female stall owner ate it, her defense ability would increase by 120, but if it was used as a prop, her attack would make cat-type spirits lose control of themselves temporarily for 5 turns. There were limited uses for it, but Ren Suo would still keep such food items that had specialized uses.

    <span><span><i></i>Coincidentally, the target type matched, so the female stall owner used [Catnip] to confuse the jaguar girl for five turns, and finally managed to defeat her.

    <span><span><i></i>The jaguar girl named Rica looked at the female stall owner with tears streaming down her face. All of a sudden, she went forward to hug the female stall owner and started bawling. She desperately rubbed her head in the embrace of the female stall owner¡ªRen Suo could understand her actions, for he would also want to do the same if he saw the female stall owner in real life. After all, when he was customizing the appearance of the game character, he was thinking with the lower part of his body.

    <span><span><i></i>The jaguar girl proposed her desire to travel the world with the female stall owner, but obviously, Ren Suo helped the female stall owner to decline her with the reason being that she was ugly. He persuaded her to transformpletely and turn back into a human but told her not to remove her beast ears¡­

    <span><span><i></i>Thebat powers of the bosses at the end of every night were getting stronger. If Ren Suo had not chosen to clear cities with high [Degree of Concealment] from the beginning, he would not have received a sufficient amount of gifts, and the female stall owner would not have be strong enough either. In that case, Ren Suo would certainly not be able to clear cities with high degrees of concealmentter on in the game.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo could somewhat tell that the monsters who were ¡®fed garbage and then defeated¡¯ contributed fewer Desires than monsters who ¡®turned over a new leaf on their own ord¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>There was no specific reason why Ren Suo thought so and it was pure spection, but the existence of the ¡®seasoning¡¯ segment was the best evidence of his guess. Moreover, it was a fact that the chances of clearing the night were higher when as many battles were avoided and the female stall owner lost as little of her HP.

    <span><span><i></i>Nheless, Ren Suo had collected sufficient Desires. Did he have to continue challenging the cities with a higher level of difficulty?

    <span><span><i></i>Since there were still three more days to the end of the game, Ren Suo could simply choose a vige with low [Degree of Concealment] to clear the remaining three nights quickly and finish the game.

    <span><span><i></i>However, when Ren Suo looked at the list of cities, he sighed.

    <span><span><i></i>Ranked third by [Degree of Concealment] was the city of¡ªTokyo.

    <span><span><i></i>Ranked second by [Degree of Concealment] was the city of¡ªLondon.

    <span><span><i></i>Ranked first by [Degree of Concealment] was the city of¡ªLianjiang!

    <span><span><i></i>That was why Ren Suo could not choose Lianjiang City in the very beginning; if he wanted to eat a meal at the fleeing ghost stall himself, he had to gradually strengthen the female stall owner until she was strong enough to clear Lianjiang City.

    <span><span><i></i>Furthermore, the more Desires that were collected, the score Ren Suo achieved at the time of mission clearance would naturally be higher as well. Given that Ren Suo desperately needed more merit points, he naturally would not give up in the face of difficulty.

    <span><span><i></i>By now, Ren Suo could guess that the order of the various monsters based on their strength, from the strongest to the weakest, should be: beasts, demons, ghosts, spirits, half-demons.

    <span><span><i></i>Cities with arge poption primarily contained half-demons. However, for a city to have a higher [Degree of Concealment], it was dependent on the total number of monsters, and not just the number of half-demons alone!

    <span><span><i></i>Mumbai of Kongque Nation and Mexico City primarily had true demons, which was the reason why they were ranked among the top ten by [Degree of Concealment]. Simrly, Shenhai City and Sao Paulo were also ranked among the top ten as they had many strong monsters.

    <span><span><i></i>The top three cities ranked by [Degree of Concealment] were all safe cities wherew and order were maintained bymon official forces. In other words, there would be extremely few irrational monsters in those cities. The customers would certainly be able to control their impulses, but at the same time, they were strong, Extraordinary creatures that could explode at any moment.

    <span><span><i></i>There would surely be no true demons in Lianjiang City, so it was a mystery what kind of powerful creatures existed in concealment in the city.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°At the least, there would be no true demons, so I would be able to season the food after listening to their life experiences and ensure that they are satisfied¡­¡± Ren Suo took a deep breath, then chose to ¡®flee ghosts¡¯ in Tokyo.

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner appeared discreetly in a park and pushed her food cart along. The park was sparkling clean and the streemps shone brightly. There were few homeless people sleeping on the benches, and from afar, the park could be seen to cover a hugend area.

    <span><span><i></i>For such arge park to exist in Tokyo, it was very likely to be a scenic area of interest. Indeed, that was the case: as the female stall owner pushed her food cart along, a few groups of patrol officers could be seen chasing away the homeless people who had been sleeping on the long benches.

    <span><span><i></i>If it were an ordinary park, the homeless people could possibly even set up tents to sleep, in an area away from the footpaths. However, judging from how serious the patrol officers were, the park was likely to actually be a famous attraction.

    <span><span><i></i>Passing by several patrol officers, they all ignored the female stall owner and the food cart she was pushing. Ren Suo felt that the female stall owner was bing more and more daring¡ªhe remembered that in Hong Kong, the female stall owner still took twists and turns to avoid meeting other people. In contrast, the female stall owner was walking boldly in front of other people, and yet they did not even notice her.

    <span><span><i></i>Had the female stall owner be more powerful? Or¡­

    <span><span><i></i>The female stall owner stopped beside a pond named Shinobazu Pond. The water in the pond glistened, and manyrge blooming lotuses shone warmly under the moonlight. Many ck swans were sleeping as they floated on the water, and they did not seem to notice the female stall owner or the food stall either. No noises were made, and it waspletely silent.

    <span><span><i></i>Not long after the food stall was set up, the first customer¡­ or rather, the first pair of customers appeared.

    <span><span><i></i>They were two little girls¡ªone of them had white hair and wore a red kimono, looking cute as she smiled, while the other had ck hair and wore cute pink pajamas with a rabbit design, rubbing her eyes as if she had just woken up. Both of them looked like they were five or six years old.

    <span><span><i></i>The young dark-haired girl looked at the food stall and said: [Mako¡­ Where are we? Weren¡¯t we ying at home?]

    <span><span><i></i>Her missing front teeth were revealed as she spoke in a cute and sweet voice.

    <span><span><i></i>The young white-haired girl replied: [The food here is delicious. You often treat me to meals, so it is my turn to treat you.] She pulled the ck-haired girl to take a seat at the stall and tapped the table, saying: [We want to eat sushi!]

    <span><span><i></i>The ck-haired girl asked: [Mako, are you going to treat me?] She was ted as she hugged the white-haired girl and giggled: [Let me sleep for a short while first, wake me up when the food is ready¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>As she watched the young ck-haired girl fall asleep again, the smile on the face of the young white-haired girl faded. She looked emotionless at the sign on the food cart, then looked at the female stall owner.

    <span><span><i></i>She said: [My name is Mako Asami, and I died 23 years ago.]

    <span><span><i></i>The white-haired girl looked at the young ck-haired girl beside her and continued: [She is Natsuya Nishino, my younger sister¡¯s daughter.]

    <span><span><i></i>¡®Is she a ghost?¡¯ Ren Suo thought.

    <span><span><i></i>[Adults cannot see me, and only Natsuya can see me. I sneaked into my sister¡¯s house, and my sister¡¯s family began to be visited with good luck. Her husband was promoted at work, her blog became popr, while Natsuya¡¯s grades in school also improved¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[I think I must have be a Zashiki-warashi spirit.]

    <span><span><i></i>Hold on, Ren Suo was not skilled at handling such cases where ¡®no one is a pain in the neck¡¯. Feeling that he needed some external help this time, Ren Suo opened the exchange list of the Small Holy Grail of Purity¡­

    <span><span><i></i>

    ¡­ only to find that the exchange list had changed.

 Chapter 262 - Holy Wine of Desires

    <h3 ss="dib mb0">Chapter 262: Chapter 262 ¨C Holy Wine of Desires

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>DragonBoatTrans <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>DragonBoatTrans

    First of all, the interior of the Small Holy Grail of Purity had changed.

    <span><span><i></i>When the female stall owner held the Holy Grail in her hands, ten small, strange ck-on-red runes could be seen floating inside. They grew bigger or smaller in size at random as they moved inside the cup.

    <span><span><i></i>When the runes hit the sides of the cup or floated above the mouth of the cup, they would disappear instantly into the air, as if a child weighing 100 kg had collided into a sandcastle on the beach. Subsequently, they would then reappear from the base of the cup, constantly maintaining the number of runes inside the cup at ten.

    <span><span><i></i>Without needing to think much, Ren Suo immediately realized that such should be the visualization of the Desires collected. After all, the abnormalities of the Small Holy Grail of Purity only appeared after he had collected 10,000 Desires.

    <span><span><i></i>Of course, what was more important was that the runes made people feel intriguingly ufortable. They looked like words Ren Suo would see when he was squatting in the cubicles of public restrooms¡ªindeed, it looked like words which people would draw blindly with their finger as a pen and their feces as ink, when they had a sudden wave of inspiration after forgetting to bring toilet paper and using their fingers to wipe themselves clean in the toilet.

    <span><span><i></i>As the runes were not a brown color typical of feces, they looked more like words written by those who were about to die using their own blood. It was simply an extremely strange and bewildering feeling.

    <span><span><i></i>Then, in the exchange list, there was a cost reduction:

    <span><span><i></i>[A ss of 1% concentration Holy Water: 1 merit point]

    <span><span><i></i>[A ss of 10% concentration Holy Water: 25 merit points]

    <span><span><i></i>With Ren Suo¡¯s yer privilege [Seizing All Opportunities], he would now not need to spend any merit points to purchase the 1% concentration Holy Water¡ª[Seizing All Opportunities] would certainly be triggered for every purchase, and the lowest benefit was ¡®-1 merit point spent¡¯.

    <span><span><i></i>Although Ren Suo could generally extract keywords himself by now, he would be more relieved with the assistance of the official system¡ªhe could devote more energy to judging the ¡®degree of importance¡¯ of each keyword so that he could season the food precisely.

    <span><span><i></i>Two new exchange items also appeared:

    <span><span><i></i>[A ss of 1% concentration Holy Wine of Desires: 5 merit points]

    <span><span><i></i>[A ss of 10% concentration Holy Wine of Desires: 40 merit points]

    <span><span><i></i>The game seemed to know that the cost was slightly high, so it directly exined the effect of the Holy Wine:

    <span><span><i></i>[Holy Wine of Desires: A strange drink formed after the Supreme Power was influenced by desires. Upon drinking, hints from the Sea of Desires would be obtained, and 1~5 fundamental desires of the customer would be known at random.]

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo understood in one nce¡ªit was specially prepared for monsters who came to eat free meals, as well as those without any keywords.

    <span><span><i></i>Compared to the Holy Water of Wishes, the Holy Wine of Desires was more enticing but was also more expensive. Nheless, drinking a ss of the Holy Wine of Desires when dealing with a difficult boss could be helpful.

    <span><span><i></i>Moreover,pared to the Holy Water which had to be drunk before the customer told his story, Ren Suo could finish listening to the customer¡¯s story first before deciding if he wanted to drink the Holy Wine. As such, it could be considered a trump card.

    <span><span><i></i>Overall, the changes to the Small Holy Grail of Purity were all beneficial. Ren Suo had 26 merit points remaining at present, so he could not afford to make any mistakes. Now, with [Seizing All Opportunities], he could essentially get 1% concentration Holy Water for free for each customer. Ren Suo somehow felt that he was getting a good bargain from the Mini World game console.

    <span><span><i></i>The Mini World game console was certainly going to make a loss from being so kind!

    <span><span><i></i>That was likely the benefit of meeting the mission requirements before the stipted deadline, or perhaps it was that¡­ the few cities with the highest [Degree of Concealment] were truly too difficult to clear. The game could only try to bnce out the game in such a way so that the yer had a higher chance of clearing the city.

    <span><span><i></i>However, what would have happened if the yer did not have the [Small Holy Grail of Purity]? Wouldn¡¯t the yer have to rely on himself throughout the game in that case?

    <span><span><i></i>Otherwise, was it that the small holy grail simply brought forward the opportunity to use merit points to purchase the items, and decreased the cost of the exchange at the same time? Regardless, how did a reward from an earlier game appear as part of the in-game purchase in a subsequent game?

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo put his doubts aside. He decided to exchange for a ss of Holy Water and continued to listen to the Zashiki-warashi spirit.

    <span><span><i></i>The young white-haired girl Mako had already forgotten most of her life as a human. She could only remember what happened after she was revived:

    <span><span><i></i>[I identally fell to my death when I was ying in the wild. They seemed to have never found my body. When I awoke, it was as if nothing had changed, except that my hair turned white.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I realized that ordinary people did not seem to be able to see me, and only children who were still ignorant could see me.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I was very scared, because this was the future, 23 years after I died. I did not know anything, I did not understand anything, and neither could I do anything. What¡¯s more, none of the adults could see me¡­] Mako looked dazed, as if she was a lost child.

    <span><span><i></i>[Then, I walked, and walked, and walked, and then I met Natsuya.]

    <span><span><i></i>Mako rubbed Natsuya¡¯s head and continued: [It was as if we were destined to meet. I immediately recognized that she was my sister¡¯s daughter. When she saw me, she came to me wanting to be good friends, and also invited me to follow her home.]

    <span><span><i></i>[There, I saw my sister who had now grown up¡ªthat pesky bug that she once was, who kept imitating what I did, is now a mother. Just like our mother, she is hardworking and busy. She loves tough¡­ and she likes to chat with the housewives nearby too.]

    <span><span><i></i>[The person she married is a very ordinary person, much like my father. Although his feet smell, he has a slightly short temper, and he would return home drunk and reeking of alcohol after meeting his clients, he would definitely take his wife and daughter out to y, for pics, and go on trips¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[They are a very ordinary yet enviable family. If I were still alive, I should have been enjoying an ordinary, happy life and growing up slowly, like Natsuya now¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[Later on, I hid in their house. When Natsuya wanted to y with me, I would emerge; and when she didn¡¯t, I would hide in a corner.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Ever since I lived there, their family became luckier and luckier, and they made more and more money. However, they became freer and freer, and they had more time to go out to enjoy themselves.]

    <span><span><i></i>[One day, while they were on a holiday, I was watching television programs at home. When I got bored, I took a look around the house and found a diary on the table in my sister¡¯s bedroom. The diary had a passcode.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I tried a few times to unlock it¡ªNatsuya¡¯s birthday, her birthday, her husband¡¯s birthday, my birthday. They were all incorrect.]

    <span><span><i></i>Mako looked at the female stall owner, then continued emotionlessly:

    <span><span><i></i>[The passcode was my death anniversary.]

    <span><span><i></i>[At that time, I was actually quite happy. I flipped open the diary and began reading my sister¡¯s thoughts as she grew up. I saw what she wrote about how she hated the fat kid who sat next to her in ss that was perpetually sweating buckets; about how the ignorant her started fancying a senior in middle school; about how she met her current husband in high school; about how she went to university¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>[¡­ At the same time, I also saw the guilt she felt about my death.]

    <span><span><i></i>Mako¡¯s white hair was growing longer, and the nails on her ten fingers were bing sharper. She gently rubbed the face of the sleeping Natsuya with her nails and said gently:

    <span><span><i></i>[I did not fall down on my own. It was during my vacation break, my sister wanted to scare me, so she pushed me.]

    <span><span><i></i>[After I fell down, she did not know what to do and did not dare to inform the adults. She was afraid of getting scolded, and yet she did not know what to do, so she simply paced around in the woods. Later on, the adults were finding me and asked her if she knew where I was. She looked down and said that she did not know.]

    <span><span><i></i>[At that time, the weather was bad and the adults could not continue searching in the woods. My sister began bawling, but the adults simply thought that she was acting like that as she could not see her sister. They never suspected her.]

    <span><span><i></i>[Later on, I was confirmed missing. Although my parents were sad, they still had my sister. This incident remained buried in my sister¡¯s heart, and it was only revealed between the lines in her diary.]

    <span><span><i></i>Mako looked at the female stall owner. Her lips were red, her skin was as white as snow, and her eyes had turned white like that of a ghost spirit.

    <span><span><i></i>[I feel so troubled.]

    <span><span><i></i>[I felt that this is where I would be able to wash away my troubles, so here I am.]

    <span><span><i></i>[If you are unable to free me of my troubles¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>As Mako hugged Natsuya, she moved her left hand gently across Natsuya¡¯s neck, her sharp nails pressing against her throat.

    <span><span><i></i>[I can only find another way for me to reduce my troubles¡­]

    <span><span><i></i>It was the first time Ren Suo encountered such a situation where the customer brought a hostage along for the meal.

    <span><span><i></i>There were three keywords extracted: Sister, Growing Up, and Happiness.

    <span><span><i></i>However, Ren Suo felt that if he added [Family Love] to the sushi, it might provoke her instead.

    <span><span><i></i>If he added [Understanding] + [Letting Go], the customer might erupt into fury: it¡¯s not you who were killed, do you think it¡¯s that easy to ¡®let go¡¯ just like that? Here, let me kill you once first, you would certainly forgive me, wouldn¡¯t you?

    <span><span><i></i>If he added [Happiness]¡­ Well, the phrase ¡°it is most important to be happy¡± did not apply to ghosts.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo was exasperated. If it were another customer, Ren Suo would have immediately added [Understanding] + [Letting Go] + [Family Love] + [Happiness]¡ªsuch a garbage meal with feces added on would surely make the customer incensed.

    <span><span><i></i>Now, however, the customer brought along a hostage, and Ren Suo could not simply ignore that. Even if he did not choose to ¡®flee ghosts¡¯ in Tokyo, the problem of Mako and Natsuya would still exist.

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo knew that there were many tragic situations happening in the world that he could not control; but now, the ¡®tragic situation¡¯ was right in front of him. If he continued to ignore it, he felt that he would be letting down the values which nine years ofpulsory education had taught him.

    <span><span><i></i>¡°h¡­¡±

    <span><span><i></i>Ren Suo controlled the female stall owner to pick up the Small Holy Grail of Purity again and chose to purchase the [Holy Wine of Desires].

    <span><span><i></i>¡°I shall give it a go then, let¡¯s see if the Holy Wine is really able to pick out the ¡®fundamental desires¡¯ of the customer.¡±

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