Mini World Game Console

"It's raining in Sky Capital, and the rain has spread to all regions across the country."

"London, Tokyo, Sydney, Rio, and New York have also experienced similar phenomena. The rain started in these cities and gradually spread nationwide, even to foreign countries—although due to rain clouds, some areas have heavy rain, some have light rain, and some have no rain at all. On the whole, however, it aligns with the patterns we've observed so far."

"Just like the six cities in Sky Capital with activated Spirit Veins suddenly becoming like six stones thrown into a lake, causing ripples…"

Ren Zuo's metaphor was met with nods of approval from the Researchers. "Indeed."

"At the same time, we have noticed that the average Spiritual Energy Value at the thirteen national and twenty-nine global Spiritual Energy observation stations is slowly rising."

Ren Zuo looked at his computer wallpaper. "Does this mean that the Spirit Veins around the world are all opening at the same time...?"

"Yes, today is also the deadline mentioned by the Pangolin," the Researchers said. "If we haven't miscalculated, there will be a wave of Awakenings over the next few days—many people will experience Awakening upon exposure to high concentrations of Spiritual Energy."

"If some of the already Awakened are lucky enough, they might even Awaken again, upgrading their awakened spells. During the first few days when the Mysterious Country's Spirit Veins were initially activated, there were several such fortunate individuals."

Ren Zuo wanted to say something, but in the end, he held back.

He felt that it didn't seem like an opening, but rather like... The initially activated Spirit Veins activating the unopened ones? The rich leading the way for the less rich?

However, this speculation was inconsistent with the facts stated by the Palace Nine-Tailed Fox. After a moment's thought, Ren Zuo decided not to raise the point—there was no need for complications.

He didn't want the government to form prejudices against the Fairy Palace during negotiations because of this. He wished to meet with someone from the Fairy Palace, preferably the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Most importantly, he wanted to meet with Ren Naiser.

「 」

"A word unheeded, trouble is seeded."

Ren Suo squatted in the corridor, completely speechless as he looked at Gu Yueyan, who had collapsed in front of him.

Rushing into the house to look for someone on her own, opening his room on her own, getting scared by a dozen roaches on her own, and hitting her head against the wall to knock herself out on her own. Were high school students these days really so proactive?

Ren Suo recalled his own high school days, where just getting a glance at someone he liked depended on turning his head during radio exercise routines.

Now the question was what to do.

Taking her to the school infirmary was out of the question—Ren Suo felt that if he were to carry the drenched Gu Yueyan there, he could pretty much forget about chatting up the Little Nurse.

And there was no need for that anyway; Ren Suo was capable of Healing her himself.

But Ren Suo decided to try his new Skill first.

'Target Type: Adult female of the Primate Order'

'Physical Condition: Impact to the back of the head, in a special Status'

'Cultivation State: first turn 33% (You have defeated 99% of Upright Apes worldwide!)'

'Back of the Head: Strong impact received, recommend using Touch of Healing or Magic Healing for treatment, can effectively alleviate the condition'

'Body Temperature: Currently dressed in wet, cold Clothing, prolonged exposure to this state may lead to colds, recommend removing, changing into dry Clothing, or not wearing any'

...

Damn, this girl has also reached first turn 33%! He himself was only at first turn 36%! And he had at least double the total Cultivation time compared to Gu Yueyan! He now had a very direct understanding of his own 'poor Talent.'

And Gu Yueyan wasn't even an adult yet, right? Why was she identified as an adult female? The natural world likely defined adulthood as... being able to forage for oneself? Being independent of one's parents? Being capable of reproduction?

However, among the body information, there was a suggestion for him to use Magic Healing. It seemed this 'data stream' also gave professional advice according to his abilities.

The only thing he couldn't understand was what the 'special Status' in her Physical Condition meant. After pondering for a moment, he decided not to dwell on it—it was quite normal for girls to have special conditions.

Ren Suo propped up Gu Yueyan's head and placed his right hand at the back of her head, switching to 'Spell Healing.' His right hand began to emit a clustered but not glaring bright white light, which slowly seeped into the back of Gu Yueyan's head.

He had never treated an unconscious person before and wasn't sure to what extent he should perform the Healing—his previous consultations had relied on visual inspection and questioning to figure out the patient's condition.

But now, with the data stream, he could switch abilities to check if Gu Yueyan's injury had healed, so he wouldn't waste Spiritual Energy unnecessarily.

Five minutes later, Ren Suo saw in the data stream that the injury at the back of Gu Yueyan's head had vanished, but she still hadn't awakened—she wasn't faking it; her breathing was steady.

"Tch..." Ren Suo scratched his head. "I'll call Lin Xianyu to come and take her away..."

He was only familiar with Lin Xianyu, and she didn't seem like a blabbermouth—besides, he could use the tactic of treating her to a meal to keep her quiet.

As for explanations, he could leave that to Gu Yueyan.

However, before Ren Suo could make the call, the doorbell rang again.

DING-DONG. DING-DONG. DING-DONG.

It rang three times in succession, but Ren Suo was patient and kept silent.

No matter who it was at this moment, he was definitely not going to answer. An adult male like himself, with a drenched, unconscious high school girl in his home... Wow, just the thought was thrilling.

CLICK.

Amidst the PITTER-PATTER of the rain, with his first turn 36% Cultivation and having trained the first chapter of Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records, Ren Suo's senses were sharp enough for him to distinctly hear the harmonious sound of metal grinding as it engaged—

How did an outsider just open the door!?

Wait, he remembered that to avoid any misinterpretations, he hadn't actually locked the door. The wind in the corridor had closed his wooden inner door, but the outer security door might have only been pushed ajar due to insufficient wind force. The security door couldn't be opened from the outside, but the wooden door could if it wasn't locked.

"Wait! I'm changing clothes!"

Ren Suo could only roar to stop the person outside from taking any further action—he didn't believe it was Lin Xianyu who happened to be looking for him.

He couldn't let his good reputation be ruined in an instant!

The person outside stopped too, and Ren Suo seized the chance to quickly pick up Gu Yueyan and head towards his bedroom.

He needed to hide her for a few minutes until he dealt with the person outside. The living room and other such places were obviously out of the question; the living room, littered with cockroach corpses, was even more so. His bedroom was the only option.

Put her on the bed? Ren Suo glanced at Gu Yueyan's dripping wet body.

Yuck.

He grimaced at the sight of the drenched girl's body. He then stuffed Gu Yueyan under the bed. His bedroom floor was covered with a coral fleece carpet that he cleaned regularly, so it wasn't dirty. That ought to be good enough for Gu Yueyan, he figured.

"Coming, coming."

Ren Suo hurried to the door, and upon opening it, was dumbstruck once again.

"Do you all just love to walk in the rain to my place?"

"You all?" Qiao Muyi, equally drenched, asked in confusion while walking into his place—facing a Second Stage Cultivator, Ren Suo couldn't stop her.

Ren Suo quickly changed the subject. "Never mind, I misspoke with the pronoun... Why are you here so late at night?"

"I just got off work and rushed over to tell you something. I didn't expect it to start raining when I was almost here," Qiao Muyi said, standing in the living room and wiping her face and hair with a tissue.

Ren Suo was helpless. "Couldn't this have been said over the phone?"

"Because this is very important, and I feel like I am taking advantage of you. It would seem insincere to say it over the phone."

Qiao Muyi glanced at the living room. "Has Dong Chengling looked for you these past few days?"

"No, what's up?" Ren Suo shrugged.

"Sigh," Qiao Muyi said. "It's about Dong Chengling."

"Of course... Never mind, keep going, and make it short if you can. What's up with Dong Chengling?" Ren Suo glanced at the bedroom. Could Dong Chengling be the protagonist of this world? Everything seemed to revolve around her.

"Our Lian River Countermeasure Bureau... "

As Ren Suo watched the bedroom, he waited for Qiao Muyi to continue. However, after waiting for a long while, Qiao Muyi didn't go on.

He turned his head and found Qiao Muyi inexplicably trembling, crouching with her arms around her head, as if chilled to the bone.

"What's wrong with you? Cold from the rain!?" Ren Suo was startled.

"How could that be? I'm a Second Stage Cultivator..." Qiao Muyi exhaled a breath of cold air. "It's just that for some special reason, I've become very vulnerable... However, continuing to wear these clothes might affect me..."

"Can I use your bathroom? I need a set of clean clothes—yours will do!"

Ren Suo asked, "Is it urgent? This is my home, after all, you..."

"It's important," Qiao Muyi nodded. "It's about awakened spells!"

Since Qiao Muyi had stressed the urgency, and it concerned awakened spells—the most significant abilities in this new era—Ren Suo found it hard to refuse.

He went into the bedroom to get a set of clothes and looked under the bed at Gu Yueyan.

Good, she's sound asleep. Keep it up.

Ren Suo could only hope that Gu Yueyan would remain asleep until Qiao Muyi finished changing and left.

Qiao Muyi took the clothes and immediately went into the bathroom. Unlike her usual chatty self, she didn't say much but gave Ren Suo a look.

The determination flickering in the depths of her eyes was as brilliant as Dong Chengling's—she was serious.

Ren Suo immediately raised both hands. "I swear I won't come anywhere near the bathroom."

Ren Suo sat back down in the living room, listening to the DRUMMING of the torrential rain outside and the PITTER-PATTER of the shower inside, and felt like something wasn't quite right about the night.

"Tonight... isn't it when the Complete Spirit Repository is supposed to open?" Ren Suo pondered on the opening time of the Mysterious Country's Spirit Treasury, confirming his thoughts. "But what does that have to do with me, a heartless game Player?"

"As I tear open the veiled universe of half a mile, a three-foot arc of azure light cleanses the muddled dust~"

The phone rang.

But Ren Suo actually breathed a sigh of relief—Better the phone than the doorbell.

Ren Suo checked the incoming call information; it was an unknown number. "Hello?"

"Ren Suo, it's Dong Chengling."

Ren Suo blinked. "...Good evening. Have you eaten?"

"I have," Dong Chengling's voice carried a hint of mirth. "What about you?"

"I haven't yet..." Only then did Ren Suo remember that he had missed dinner while playing 'data stream'.

"Well, that's perfect. There's heavy rain in Lian River today, did you get caught in it?"

What's so perfect about that?

Ren Suo replied subconsciously, "No, it's fine. I'm at the faculty dormitory."

"That's great."

Upon hearing this, a chill crept over Ren Suo's heart. He felt as if ghosts from the River of Three Terrors would crawl out of the television, Demons from the Sevenfold Underworld would appear in the kitchen, and Demons and Ghosts causing havoc could leap in from the balcony at any moment...

A tremble emerging from the depths of his soul swept over his entire body, making his hair stand on end and his blood surge.

"I'm outside your dorm. I brought food, let's eat together."