Mini World Game Console

As for time, that was the second major challenge.

Ren Suo had played the game for three days, his hat count increasing from 13 to 16, yet he had only transformed five hats.

It was well known that hats required plot-driven idle collection of resources. However, each hat only needed about 3 to 4 hours. Ren Suo, being a night owl, could easily set an alarm to wake up on time, collect the resources, and continue the hat trials.

However, each hat trial presented a different scenario. While most were memories from boys' childhoods or adolescence, their troubles varied widely. Some required confessions to progress, while others wished to cherish their tender memories forever.

Each trial and error consumed resources. Sometimes, after a mistake, continuing only led to a dead end that drained resources in vain, wasting both time and resources, unless Ren Suo could still pull off Survival of the Fittest in such dire straits.

'The Truth Seeker stayed up doing homework until morning. Upon waking, his father, seeing him, scolded him as a disgrace and locked him in his bedroom, forbidding him from going to school and refusing him food.'

'One day passed, and the Truth Seeker would lose 2 portions of Courage and 1 portion of Gentleness due to Hunger.'

At that moment, two options appeared: 'Yell and admit his mistakes, begging for forgiveness (3 portions of Courage)', or 'Endure in silence.'

Ren Suo swallowed the teriyaki chicken fillet he had in his mouth, pondered for a moment, and equipped the Truth Seeker with the 'Unlimited Fried Chicken Set'.

'The Truth Seeker summoned the Fried Chicken Combo and made it through the first day.'

'The Truth Seeker summoned the Fried Chicken Combo and made it through the second day.'

'On the third day, 'father' appeared. He looked at the Truth Seeker, said nothing, then took him to the living room to drink porridge. After finishing, he said, 'Not bad, as tough as I was back in the day.'

'Li Ming's hat, successfully transformed.'

Successfully transformed six hats.

Ren Suo now vaguely grasped the game's routine. He realized it wasn't about making the Truth Seeker choose the correct options in the hat trials of life; instead, the goal was to find ways to prolong his stay within them.

Life is often filled with disappointments. The regrets these hat owners experienced, which they recalled as stemming from a lack of Courage or Gentleness, were actually quite normal occurrences in life. As long as they persisted, as long as they encountered a slight chance—like a kind stranger, a military recruitment ad, or a compliment that sounded like an apology—they could gain hope for the future and thus unlock their mental blocks, muster Courage, and continue on their life's journey.

"Have you been healing Xiaoyu these past few days?" Dong Chengling suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Ren Suo put away his phone, finishing the last few bites of his meal. "Yes, but she didn't come today. It seems like she's fully Awakened."

However, Ren Suo had already found an opportunity two days ago. He had allowed Lin Xianyu to sleep in the Healing room for a while and successfully obtained her Key. Therefore, he didn't really mind, at most just losing the chance to touch a high school girl's arm each morning.

"That's great." Dong Chengling picked up her tray and stood up, musing, "The stronger the awakened spell, the more side effects accompany the Awakening. But compared to what is gained, what is lost is insignificant."

Ren Suo picked up his tray and followed her. "Do you also want to Awaken?"

"Of course," Dong Chengling said as a matter of fact. "It is a gift bestowed by Destiny, signifying that one is unique. It is a power that one will never betray…"

After Dong Chengling set down her tray, she suddenly turned to Ren Suo and said, "I really appreciate you."

"Such formality all of a sudden, is the next sentence going to be 'you are a good person'?" Ren Suo said casually.

"You are a good person, and, if it were before, I might not have been unwilling to develop a romantic relationship with you," Dong Chengling said. "But when I stepped onto the path of Cultivation, I decided that I must follow this path to the end, to see scenery ordinary people cannot see. This is my dream."

"I do not want my progress hampered by emotions, nor do I want to waste Cultivation time on dating, going out, and expending meaningless energy in pursuing a partner. Heavenly Lotus Academy will only be a stepping stone. Whenever there is an opportunity, I will find a way to move to a better place to continue learning and cultivating."

Ren Suo became slightly serious and said, "You can do it."

"Thank you," Dong Chengling smiled slightly. "But I must admit, you did make my heart flutter slightly… You didn't bother me at other times, just shared interesting stories with me during meals. Other colleagues and students think I am aloof, difficult to communicate with, too serious, difficult to communicate with, and only you were willing to endure it."

Ren Suo said, "It's not too bad. Speaking straightforwardly without malicious sarcasm is fine, and it also saves time on interactions. At least I know that the gift you want most is time for Cultivation."

Dong Chengling nodded and said, "This manner of interaction, like two solitary boats on a placid lake, close but not touching, giving space to each other, indeed used to be the way I wanted to interact."

Ren Suo blinked and lowered his hat slightly. "Mm... Mm... I actually knew you were this kind of person from the first glance."

Actually, Ren Suo would only think of Dong Chengling during meals... and her future Key.

Dong Chengling sighed in relief. "Having made everything clear, I feel more at peace. I wouldn't mind if we never contact each other again, but if you still want to be my friend, I won't refuse—indeed, having meals with someone is more interesting."

"The friend card is enough for me," Ren Suo laughed. "Being able to dine with a future great master and become your friend, this is truly a bargain."

Even without the Key, Ren Suo was happy to build a good relationship with Dong Chengling. This was not only because she seemed to fit his aesthetic, but more importantly, because she was bound to become a powerful user of Space Spells.

Once he obtained the Key, it would be impossible for Ren Suo to associate with Dong Chengling any longer. After all, how could someone with Space Series awakened spells still stay at Heavenly Lotus Academy?

The ambulance stopped on the highway. The medical staff quickly lifted the stretcher out of the vehicle, as the accompanying doctor, Li Ran, instructed, "Xiao Qiang, Da Ming, you two remember the steps, slowly drag the driver out of the car—"

Li Ran stopped mid-sentence, for they saw the driver lying next to the flipped truck, starfished. Though still unconscious, this saved them a lot of effort.

Li Ran crouched down to check the driver's heartbeat, instructing others to lift the driver into the ambulance. He glanced at the ground, spotting a wallet, beside which lay a fourth-edition 100 yuan note blown about by the wind.

Did someone come by, drag the driver out, and also steal his money? Li Ran immediately considered this possibility. He quickly contacted the traffic police following behind to come over and take over the scene.

But as he turned his head, he seemed to see a dark shadow flashing by the back door of the ambulance.

Hmm? A stray cat? Li Ran hurried over to check. Stray cats and dogs carry many germs and could potentially cause infections if they came into contact with patients.

However, the ground near the ambulance was empty; there was no sign of stray cats or dogs.

I must have seen it wrong…