Mini World Game Console

"I have listened to Grandpa Fugui and Grandma Jiazhen's entrusted words to their family (energy points +30).

It's getting late. I had planned to stay here for the night, but Grandpa Fugui mentioned there's an event tonight, and the Village Chief will come to pick us up soon."

When the adventurer left Fugui's home, several cars were already waiting outside on the four-lane road. The Village Chief, wearing glasses and dressed in a suit, sat atop a yellow hornet, gesturing for the adventurer to get in.

Fugui and Jiazhen also came out, sitting in the Batmobile behind the yellow hornet. Soon, the convoy set off, heading toward the woods behind the village.

That woodland, Ren Suo remembered, was a place the adventurer had once attempted to enter and only managed to gather this piece of intelligence:

"There are traces of burning in the clearing in the woods; perhaps the villagers come here for a BBQ (barbecue gathering)? (energy points +3)."

It seemed they didn't intend to keep the player waiting long, as the convoy soon reached their destination: the clearing in the woods.

By then, a bonfire had been built in the clearing. Broken stones were laid out in a circle around the woodpile to mark a boundary of danger; the woodpile itself was arranged in a pyramid shape, almost as tall as a person.

In front of the woodpile stood a blond-haired man in a white cape; three fireballs circled around him. As the adventurer got out of the car, he saw the man loudly shout, "Sunflame Shock!" The three fireballs merged instantly before soaring into the sky. The next second, a crimson light illuminated the woodpile, causing it to burst into flames!

Curious, the adventurer walked over. The blond-haired man, noticing him, asked with obvious pride, "Surprised, my friend? This is just a tiny bit of my power..."

"Starting a wildfire earns one a seat in prison," I kindly warned.

The blond-haired man fell silent, then responded after a moment, "We've taken safety measures. Shouldn't you be astonished by my great power, akin to that of gods and demons, that reigns supreme through the ages? Do you envy this power? Don't hide your feelings; shower me with your praise, friend."

"I'm not envious; at thirty, I'll have such power too," I said.

"My power isn't because I've remained a virgin from the womb until now!" the blond-haired man said, extremely angry.

"So you've just endured the suffering of being a virgin for nothing? How pitiful," I consoled.

"I... well, would you like to play cards?" the blond-haired man asked.

"No. But how should I address you? Mr. Hunter? Or Mr. Dragonborn?" I asked.

"I'm a Blood Mage now," the blond-haired man said. "Of course, I'm also the strongest master of Gwent Cards in this village..."

At this point, the Village Chief, the Village Chief's Wife, his son, and other villagers walked over.

The Blood Mage regretted not being able to play another round of cards with me, but he still joined the villagers, standing behind the Village Chief by the fire. The light of the flames conveniently cast away all shadows from their faces, revealing them whether young or old, smiling or sorrowful.

The Village Chief stood at the very front. He said, "Now that everyone in the village has invited me for a meal and entrusted their wishes to me, it's time for me to leave this place."

I waved my hand, saying, "Village Chief, your family hasn't asked me for any favors yet. Doesn't that mean I just ate your meal for free?"

"'We're different,'" the Village Chief said, his tone strange. "'Moreover, I don't have any messages for you to carry; after all, the outside world has long been nothing but a memory to me.'"

Then the Village Chief explained the way to leave. He told me that even if I retraced my steps, I'd get lost just outside the cave. The sound of the stream outside the cave, the confusing floral scents, every plant, every drop of water, every ray of light—everything was an enigma. Once I got lost and ended up here, I was doomed never to leave.

The other villagers were in the same predicament. Although they hadn't gotten lost but had come here willingly, they too couldn't leave this place and had to rely on nonexistent support from their families and self-sustenance to survive.

"And there is only one way to leave," he continued.

As soon as the Village Chief finished speaking, the villagers simultaneously took out various objects.

An old man pulled out a bag of homemade snacks, a little girl took out a crayon drawing, and the Blood Mage produced a certificate... They threw the items they had taken out into the bonfire, which immediately roared to life. Moments later, Fiery Flames soared into the sky, transforming into huge phantoms!

In these phantoms, there were tanks, Magical Girls, giant robots, and monsters...

The Village Chief said, "To leave this place, you need sufficient energy. Some of us want to leave, some don't, but without exception, we all have energy. However, one person's energy is far from enough for them to leave here; at most, it can allow their words to reach the outside world, informing their families through dreams."

The Village Chief looked at me. "But you are different. I knew from the first day that you could obtain the energy of others, even from animals and the environment. Thus, you are the only one who has a chance to leave this place, provided you obtain enough energy."

Seeing this, Ren Suo realized that this was where the adventurer's energy points mechanic was fully explained.

The Village Chief continued, "But having energy isn't enough. Our energy, filled with our intense longing, is like oil and water—it can't blend. However, you also possess many treasures formed from energy. If you accept the villagers' energy, it will randomly attach to your treasures, strengthening them, but there might be other side effects. Moreover, even the combined energy of the villagers might not be enough for you to leave. You need more energy. You can throw your treasures into the bonfire. The bonfire will burn the essence of the treasures, reducing them to their purest form of energy, though the effects of the treasures will be greatly diminished."

I looked at the enormous phantoms in the night sky and noticed there were nine of them, corresponding to nine households. I then asked the Village Chief where his phantom was.

The Village Chief chuckled, saying that his family hadn't entrusted me with any tasks, so their energy wouldn't obediently listen to me.

As if afraid I wouldn't believe him, the Village Chief's family also took out some items to burn. Soon, a solemn and majestic Three Heads and Six Arms Ming King Illusion appeared above their heads.

The Ming King Illusion was different from the other phantoms. Upon appearing, it immediately summoned thunder to attack me. Had the Village Chief's family not promptly stopped it, I would have been struck by lightning.

"The reason other people's tolls won't attack you is because they all have requests for you," the Village Chief said. "But our family has no requests for you. Therefore, our energy, to protect us, will directly target you."

The Village Chief also said, "When you go to other households for meals, you must have encountered some pets or inanimate objects attacking you, right? That's because in their daily lives, their energy dissipates into the objects they frequently interact with, granting those inanimate objects or pets energy strengthening. Thus, they will proactively attack you to protect their owners. These inanimate objects and pets gain strength from the energy, and as the primary subjects of the energy, our power is naturally much greater—at least five to six times that of those guardians."

I found it strange. What did protecting their masters have to do with attacking me?

The Village Chief explained, "When we offer all our energy, although we won't die, we will fall into a long slumber until our families outside reawaken us. The guardians, noticing your ability to obtain others' energy, naturally attack you out of caution."

I asked the Village Chief again if he really had no tasks for me. He shook his head and said, "Our family has lived here for decades. The people we knew have all left, leaving only descendants who send gifts to us yearly. We really have nothing we want to say to the outside world."

"However," the Village Chief added, "if you can defeat our family's phantom, we would also be willing to give you that energy."

At this point, the plot explanation was finally complete, and the adventurer entered decision time:

① "Accept the villagers' sentimental energy (randomly select nine treasures for 'Spiritualization,' strengthening the Spiritualized treasures, which can no longer be burned and will never be damaged for any reason) (Current number of treasures: 10)."

② "Burn treasures: Throw props into the bonfire to burn them. Prop effects are reduced by 90%, and 50% of their energy points are returned."

③ "Challenge the Village Chief Phantom (extremely dangerous)."

④ "Leave the village (not selectable): Requires 1,000 energy points (Currently 148 energy points)."

Ren Suo quickly sorted out his thoughts and understood this game's strategy. If he wasn't mistaken, as long as he didn't challenge the Village Chief Phantom, he was very likely to pass the game—albeit with minimal gain. First, the adventurer would need to throw all his props into the bonfire to gain 50% of their energy points and then opt to accept the villagers' toll fee. That total energy should just barely reach 1,000 points. Ren Suo felt that the adventurer's total earnings in the village over five days might be about five or six hundred energy points. Half of that income, added to the villagers' toll fee, would probably be exactly 1,000 points. After all, this was just a 2-star game without any in-app purchases; the condition for passing couldn't be too difficult. And Ren Suo currently had 148 energy points remaining, so passing seemed quite certain.

However, with the props' effects reduced by 90% after burning, even with the strengthening from the villagers' energy, they would likely still be of little value. And this portion of nearly worthless items would occupy a huge share of Ren Suo's lottery pool. Ren Suo had long known that the game wouldn't let him easily gain Merit Points and treasures, but he hadn't anticipated this critical cut to the conditions for passing! Undoubtedly, this was the game maliciously reducing Ren Suo's earnings from passing, and the only solution was to choose "Challenge the Village Chief Phantom (extremely dangerous)." The energy provided by the Village Chief Phantom might enable the adventurer to meet the passing criteria without needing to burn props!

But undoubtedly, the current adventurer couldn't possibly defeat the Village Chief Phantom. Ren Suo even believed that in this game, the adventurer could never find a way to defeat the Village Chief Phantom. According to the Village Chief, the strength of their phantom, as the primary energy body, was at least five to six times that of the inanimate objects and pets the adventurer had previously defeated. If the adventurer struggled against mere inanimate objects and pets, how could he possibly defeat the phantom? Even if the adventurer resorted to a mutual destruction tactic, it was hard to say whether the opponent might have a second life. Of course, since such an option existed, it certainly implied there was a way to pass the game. However, this method was unrelated to "High Energy Ahead."

"Village Chief, I choose to challenge your family's phantom."

The Village Chief looked at me in surprise and sighed slightly, as if lamenting why a young man would choose to jeopardize his life. The Village Chief's Wife hugged their son, covering his eyes with her hands, seemingly not wanting him to witness a bloody scene. The other villagers also showed expressions of pity, turning their heads away, unable to watch.

"'It's already acting, and I can't stop it. Are you sure?' the Village Chief earnestly asked."

I was sure. Consequently, the silent, giant Ming King Illusion above the Village Chief's head suddenly glared fiercely. All three heads began chanting the thunders, its six arms brandishing blade, spear, axe, whip, bow, and claws, manifesting blood light and golden aura as it charged at me simultaneously!

The earth began to quake, and thunder struck in an instant!

Mount Tai may crumble before me, yet my expression wouldn't change; a deer may leap to my left, yet my gaze wouldn't waver. Faced with the myriad crises instantly assailing me, I wasn't the least bit flustered.

In response to the villagers' pity, I felt only ridicule: Were they like frogs in a well, seeing only the patch of sky above and thinking it the whole world? Did the Village Chief, living in this small village, truly believe his phantom was the supreme force, capable of suppressing all dissent?

I will show you what true strength is.

Pay attention! High Energy Ahead!

The adventurer spread his right hand, and the ring on his right ring finger suddenly erupted in dazzling divine light!

"Rippling Spring Sounds" activated!