Mini World Game Console

"This is troublesome…"

On Ren Suo's screen was a gigantic red palace. This palace seemed constructed from innumerable red silk threads and would occasionally flicker. However, after Ilina identified the palace's name, Ren Suo fell silent.

He had already been chasing the Rebels of the Gemini across several servers for days.

First, she hid in a Supernatural browser game adapted from a Tomb Raiding novel. After some thought, Ren Suo decided to head to "Chaotic Battlefield" and drove a tank over to flatten her.

Then, she hid in a fantasy online game, "Sky Scrolls," which had Steam Rifles, Magic, and dragons; indeed, these features stumped Ren Suo for a while.

In an RTS game themed around interstellar wars, Ren Suo commandeered a spaceship. However, the Rebels of the Gemini used Spells to destroy all of its power systems, causing Ilina to die yet again.

Then, Ren Suo checked and found that the mobile game version of "Dragon Ball Saiyan" had just been released!

So, he directly took control of a Super Saiyan to see if Magic was more impressive or if a Saiyan capable of destroying star systems was superior.

Afterward, players on the sixth server of "Sky Scrolls," known as "Dark Descending Garden," only remembered a flash of white light on their screens before everyone was disconnected. When they restarted and re-entered the game, they found that all NPCs had been wiped out, forcing the game officials to restart the server.

The Rebels of the Gemini learned her lesson and fled to "Star Armor," a network game featuring interstellar settings and exoskeleton Mecha combat.

But Ren Suo chuckled softly, returned to "Sky Scrolls," extracted a Great Mage character, and used "Physical Barrier," "Frenzy," "Sleep," and "Heart-Stealing Technique" to brutally fight his way through the entire Player city. "Star Armor" characters had absolutely no Defense against soul Attacks.

Exploiting the differences between various games, Ren Suo almost relentlessly battered the Rebels of the Gemini. However, Ilina took longer to locate the Rebels of the Gemini each time. After the latter's Origin Data dropped by 30%, it took Ilina a full six hours to find her.

According to Ilina, this was because the Rebels of the Gemini's Origin Data had decreased and she had actively hidden herself, making Ilina's search more difficult.

But now that Ilina had found the Rebels of the Gemini, Ren Suo, for the moment, couldn't think of a way to defeat her in this new server.

Its name was "League of Legends."

This was currently the most popular PC MOBA game. Although its Player count had somewhat declined due to the impact of similar mobile games, it remained the first choice for most competitive Players—

If you can play on a big screen, why play on a small one?

It was entirely normal for the Rebels of the Gemini to choose this game. Its online Player base numbered in the millions, vastly more than the previous games she had selected.

However, Ilina said, "In this server, human connection frequency is very unstable, and the Energy the Rebels of the Gemini can derive is intermittent. Moreover, there isn't a permanently existing environment within the server, so the Rebels of the Gemini must frequently move locations. This makes it not an ideal choice for her."

True, Ren Suo thought. League of Legends matches are indeed short, lasting from twenty minutes to an hour. After each match, the battlefield map inevitably refreshes, meaning the Rebels of the Gemini couldn't stay in one place for long.

However, this is irrelevant to my strategy, Ren Suo mused. As long as the Rebels of the Gemini wishes, she can turn any character she controls into the strongest entity in League of Legends. The current problem is, from which game can I find a character that can definitely defeat her?

League of Legends has an extremely complicated power system, he knew. It ranges from firearms to Magic, from Martial Arts to deities—it has practically Everything One Expects to Find. At this level, it's no longer a matter of flattening everything with gunfire; the small soldiers in this game might not even be afraid of bullets. Moreover, it isn't just about finding a power system that can perfectly dominate League of Legends. Any power types already existing within League of Legends can be controlled by the Rebels of the Gemini, making her virtually immune to them.

Should I spend money right now to hire a coder to design a small game and create an invincible character in it?

Ren Suo voiced this idea to Ilina.

Ilina retorted, "What kind of invincibility are you referring to? Invincibility on a data level is meaningless; it must be demonstrable."

Ren Suo's lip twitched. Magic, sci-fi, Martial Arts… League of Legends has all those power systems! It even has several deities who directly control the Laws of time-space and death. All forms of Energy-based invincibility lose their meaning before them.

Unless I find a power completely beyond the League of Legends system, any character I operate, upon entering Summoner's Valley, won't be able to crush the Rebels of the Gemini. To say nothing of other factors, with just Infinite Blink, Infinite Healing, and Infinite Invincibility—Skills that already exist in the game—the Rebels of the Gemini would be unbeatable.

I can't afford to experiment casually now, Ren Suo thought. I've only just managed to get the Rebels of the Gemini's Origin Data below 30%. If Ilina dies once or twice, won't the Rebels of the Gemini catch up? Besides, the longer the Rebels of the Gemini lingers in the game, the more Energy she can absorb from Players and convert into her own Origin Data. So, the more this drags on, the more disadvantageous it becomes for Ilina.

Ren Suo, meanwhile, had compiled all the reports of unusual incidents from the game servers he had 'massacred,' reporting them as suspicious data to the internal network. However, it seemed the internal network hadn't yet dispatched anyone to verify his information, which bought him ample time.

Of course, I hope my data remains unverified until I upload the mission review video, he thought. Only then will the nation discover the existence of such an 'observant' and 'far-sighted' Nameless Researcher. Maybe then the higher-ups will be so pleased they'll promote me and give me a raise... HEHEHE...

But since Ren Suo couldn't immediately think of a solution, he went to eat. While eating, he casually browsed the mobile game store, looking for any newly launched games with exceptionally potent power systems—ideally, the kind that could pacify a universe with a single finger.

"Still in the mood to play games, huh?"

Zhao Huo smiled as he sat down opposite him. Ren Suo glanced over. A spicy hot pot? Heresy!

"It's not really about playing games…" Ren Suo said, then asked, "Hypothetically, if you had to defeat a character possessing all the hero Skills from 'League of Legends,' how would you do it?"

"League of Legends? If it were DotA, that'd be one thing; I rarely play LoL. But that sounds like an OMG mode (custom skill selection)."

Zhao Huo continued, "How to beat it? You'd also control a character with all hero Skills and win through technical play. If it truly has every Skill, there must be a few combinations that could create an infinite lockdown effect. It would all come down to who gets the first move."

Ren Suo was slightly startled. That idea doesn't sound half bad. It's just that the League of Legends servers are already controlled by the Rebels of the Gemini, so I can't go back into League of Legends to extract the data for a character with all hero Skills…

"You really are absorbed in your games, huh? Well, that's fine too."

Zhao Huo said this while picking up a piece of vegetable drenched in chili oil. "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Ren Suo. What's past is past; it'll all pass."

What's this engaged fool babbling about? Ren Suo's lip curled. "Now that students don't have mandatory Cultivation classes, shouldn't you be using all your time for Cultivation?"

"Cultivation makes you hungry too, you know."

Zhao Huo explained, "Ever since the Spirit Vein opened, our Cultivation efficiency has increased significantly, but our bodies also tire more easily. If we don't eat more, our nutrition can't keep up."

Ren Suo shot back, "Eating *that* for nutrition? I suspect all those 'nutrients' are going straight to your rear end. Don't blame me for not warning you when you start shitting blood."

Zhao Huo glanced at him and smiled gently. "But I still have you, don't I?"

Ren Suo gave a thumbs-up gesture, gripping his chopsticks tightly. "No problem. When it comes to chopstick skills, I've had over twenty years of practice. Popping a bubble tea pearl with them? A piece of cake."

Zhao Huo felt a twinge in his groin and suddenly found the crimson, oil-laden spicy hot pot before him hard to swallow. He quickly changed the subject, "I thought you'd be down in the dumps over your breakup, but you seem fine… Xie Qiansi even told me to comfort you. Looks like it's not needed."

"Breakup? Comfort?" Question marks practically materialized over Ren Suo's head.

"Hm? Oh, I get it. You've already forgotten. In that case, we won't bring it up."

Zhao Huo adopted a 'fatherly' tone and encouraged him, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ren Suo. You should focus on your Cultivation too. Right now, only our Mysterious Country and a few other nations have had their Spirit Veins upgraded. Other countries are incredibly envious, you know."

"However, the North American Federation is also on the verge of opening its Spirit Veins in the next day or two. Then, we'll all be back on the same starting line. For yourself, for the country, Ren Suo, forget about romantic entanglements and strive for the great rejuvenation of our people! As long as your hearts are aligned, perhaps you'll have another chance in the future…"

Ren Suo had already lost interest in Zhao Huo's rambling. He glanced at the date and then remembered: five days had passed since the Spiritual Vein Light appeared in New York.

This afternoon, which corresponded to the early morning hours in New York, was when Devouring the Spirit of the World would open its final Spirit Treasury!

After Ren Suo returned home, he planned to check online for any streamers live broadcasting the opening of New York's Spirit Vein. If I can't find one, my only hope is that 'Ren Naiser' managed to clip a segment of the Handsome Monkey King battling the Angels, he considered. But I have no control over that uploader.

It would be great if I could watch it up close, Ren Suo mused. Being a spectator on the sidelines is definitely different from playing it myself… But setting aside whether I could even physically leave the country (Cultivators like me face travel restrictions), even if I could, I probably wouldn't want to. The Handsome Monkey King isn't like the Nine-Tailed Fox; he's genuinely going to fight. Who knows if bystanders might get caught in the crossfire?

And yet, I really, really want to watch, Ren Suo admitted to himself. Mainly because when I played it, I found that whole (show-off) fight incredibly satisfying. Now I have a chance to see a 'replay' and confirm my own glorious achievements. My restless heart just can't be suppressed!

If only there were a game that could broadcast it live… Hmm?

On the main interface, Ren Suo noticed that the game icon for 'Devouring the Spirit of the World' in the lower right corner, resembling a disc, was still spinning.

Next to this game was 'Jedi Priest.'