Mini World Game Console

Sky Capital time was 9:30 p.m., already the peak hour for internet usage. Whether you were a white-collar worker who endured a day with a dim-witted boss, a salesperson who ran around under the scorching sun, or a programmer who faced seven to eight days of overtime a week, this was the time when everyone would relax a bit, browsing online for silly videos or checking chat groups for lurking "seasoned drivers."

Of course, many also chose to revisit the 'Ren Naiser series.'

So far, Ren Naiser had released:

The tense and thrilling short film "Killer's Blood Feast,"

A fifty-episode long documentary "If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters,"

The lengthy historical fantasy supernatural drama "Over My Dead Body,"

The first international Priest elimination competition "Jedi Priest,"

An action film starring Handsome Monkey King with a geographical introduction, "Opening the Spirit Treasury,"

The science fiction gaming film "Infinite Intrusion,"

Seven installments of the magical battle movies "Mage Under the World Tree,"

And the recently updated heartwarming and healing food film "Midnight Walker."

As everyone knew, the 'Ren Naiser series' videos were 100% real. The evidence was too abundant and the eyewitnesses too numerous, making it impossible for countries to cover them up—the barrage of comments on Ren Naiser's videos alone made its comment sections a lawless zone, such that even the websites themselves couldn't interfere with the videos, short of taking down the site altogether. Many believed that the existence of the 'Ren Naiser series' was what prevented nations from concealing the arrival of an era of extraordinary power, allowing the public to join the feast ahead of time. Although it was unclear whether this was good or bad, no one saw themselves as "ignorant masses who needn't be informed"; thus, many people supported Ren Naiser.

After eight videos, web users around the world stayed tuned for Ren Naiser's updates. When they had nothing better to do, they often rewatched the previous episodes, hoping to uncover some secret that might lead to a great opportunity. For example, the comments section of the recent "Midnight Walker" video buzzed with claims like, 'I achieved Awakening just by watching this film,' or 'I got better after watching it,' sparking widespread excitement. Besides, the 'Ren Naiser series' itself was synonymous with quality filmmaking; each movie had a good rhythm and compact plot that kept you hooked, making them captivating even if treated as ordinary videos. Therefore, even ordinary people with no significant hope for Extraordinary Strength would watch Ren Naiser videos. Lu Changyuan, for example, having become a father again, entertained himself at night by watching them.

However, he was currently trying to soothe his son, as his wife was utterly exhausted and already asleep in their room. Knowing how hard his wife worked, Lu Changyuan was very understanding. It was the end of August; the daytime was scorching hot, but the nights were refreshingly cool. So he carried his son to the rooftop garden, ensuring he wouldn't disturb his mother's rest.

While soothing his son, Lu Changyuan opened his phone, preparing to watch some videos to pass the time. His son wasn't awake because he was uncomfortable or hungry; he'd simply woken up and wanted to play. But when he played, he insisted on being held by his mom or dad, otherwise he'd definitely throw a tantrum. Lu Changyuan, however, could now handle his son quite easily.

Just as clingy as his sister…

Lu Changyuan looked around the garden, noticing that although there were only a few sparse flowerpots, they were still blooming brilliantly. Since his family owned the top floor, the rooftop was theirs to use, and no one else usually came up to hang clothes—everyone had balconies, so there was no need to go far. Therefore, his wife had started gardening on the rooftop nine years ago. But after "that incident," and with her subsequent pregnancy, the garden had gradually fallen into neglect. However, Lu Changyuan now noticed that, at some point, his wife had once again started tending to the small garden.

He sighed inwardly. Looking down at his son blowing snot bubbles, he couldn't help but smile. With no tissues on hand, he had no choice but to use his son's bib to wipe his nose.

"Bro, you're really here."

Lu Changyuan turned around to see Lu Manman dragging her luggage up. He couldn't help but laugh. "You're here and you didn't call?"

"I called after I got off the bus, but no one answered. You didn't take your phone with you, right?" Lu Manman complained as she swept her hair back. "I guessed you might have brought my nephew up here, and sure enough."

Lu Changyuan indeed hadn't taken his phone up to the rooftop. "You should have just called earlier."

"I was on my way back from Wuyi Mountain and suddenly wanted to come see you guys, so I didn't call. Anyway, since my nephew was just born, I knew you definitely wouldn't be out and about."

"You didn't disturb your sister-in-law, did you?" Lu Changyuan asked.

"No, I came straight up. Didn't you see I'm lugging my luggage?" Lu Manman came over and poked her nephew's little face with her finger, making him laugh out loud.

"I already have a second child, and you're still not married. You should put some thought into it, old maid," Lu Changyuan advised.

"Some thought? What kind of pastry?" Lu Manman asked, tilting her head.

"You're only three years younger than me, stop pretending to be young," Lu Changyuan glanced at her but didn't say anything more.

When it comes to matters of the heart, Lu Manman has been stuck for fifteen years without being able to move on. Others' words are of no use. He was just saying it casually. Besides, Lu Manman carried a sense of guilt—she always thought that something she did back then had caused someone's death. Lu Manman was his biological sister, but she was already a woman in her thirties with her own firmly established views; she wouldn't be easily swayed by Lu Changyuan.

DING-DONG.

A notification sound came from the tablet. Lu Changyuan glanced over and saw that 13 apps were simultaneously alerting him: 'Ren Naiser has updated a new video.'

These 13 apps included chat tools, audio and video tools, games, and reading software. Simply put, every webpage or piece of software with a 'video player' inevitably featured Ren Naiser's videos. Unless a platform was willing to discard its video player feature entirely, it had no choice but to humiliatingly, without any dignity, become one of Ren Naiser's countless output ports, subject to its every whim.

"It updated?" Lu Changyuan said, quite pleasantly surprised as he opened the video. "'High Energy Ahead'? What does that mean… Wow, a movie over two hours long…"

"Let's watch it together, let's watch it together," Lu Manman said, moving closer.

"Here's the key. Go downstairs and put your luggage away."

"I'll put it away after watching."

Lu Manman refused to leave, so Lu Changyuan had no choice but to hold his restless son and start watching the video with her.

He was already a middle-aged man entering his forties, not interested in the culture of scrolling comments, preferring to watch videos quietly. So, he chose a regular video portal.

As the video started, a young man in an outdoor jacket, apparently a hiker, yawned and sat up in a field of overgrown grass. He looked around and complained a bit. He seemed to have come here to camp with others, but when he woke up, he found his companions had left with the tent.

The start of this Ren Naiser video is as down-to-earth as 'Midnight Diner', Lu Changyuan thought. Could it be that this young man isn't ordinary?

Watching the video, he didn't notice that his sister Lu Manman's expression changed instantly when the young man appeared on screen. His son, who was always causing trouble, saw the expression on his little aunt's face and was immediately scared stiff, not even daring to cry.

While the protagonist was complaining, his expression suddenly stilled, and he muttered to himself, "Today I realize I am not myself... I remember now. I'm ready. It's time to fulfill the duties of an adventurer."

Then he began to Probe the nearby area, leading the audience to enjoy some beautiful scenery for a while, before naturally finding a cave. For some reason, before entering the cave, he expressionlessly took out a pair of very girlish Heart-Shaped Sunglasses from his backpack and put them on, seemingly explaining to himself, "It's better to be prepared."

Lu Changyuan muttered to himself. Wearing sunglasses into a cave? What kind of preparedness is that? Is he worried about encountering a Pretty Soldier transforming and bursting with holy light inside?

He watched the protagonist enter the cave. The cave was very narrow at first. The sound of rocks scraping against his body and the whooshing wind overhead made for a tense viewing experience. When light appeared at the end of the cave, Lu Changyuan and Lu Manman subconsciously relaxed, and the adventurer quickly rushed towards it.

The moment the adventurer stepped out, light burst forth like a broken dam, filling the screen with blinding brightness. At that moment, Lu Changyuan and his sister clearly heard a strange sound coming from behind the adventurer in the video!

The adventurer, wearing sunglasses, was unaffected by the bright light. Turning around, he saw a pair of Crimson eyes in the darkness and the strange, monkey-like face of a creature looming close!

"AAAH!—"

Lu Changyuan and Lu Manman screamed at the same time, startled by the sight, but the adventurer was fearless. He even wanted to catch the bizarre creature to make soup! However, the monster, terrified upon being seen by the adventurer, shrieked and ran away; the adventurer couldn't catch it at all.

"So, 'High Energy Ahead' is a horror movie?" Lu Changyuan breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that his son hadn't been frightened by his shout but was instead watching with great interest. He felt slightly embarrassed about his own reaction.

"It really is him…"

Hearing Lu Manman's soft mutter, Lu Changyuan glanced at her. Does she know this person appearing in Ren Naiser's video? But this person seems rather young... Could Manman be robbing the cradle? Yet, he also looks somewhat familiar…

Lu Changyuan repressed his curiosity and continued watching.

After exiting the cave, the adventurer encountered a pack of adorable stray dogs. He affectionately crouched down to pet them. As the dogs returned, wagging their tails, the adventurer suddenly ignited Fiery Flames in his fists and blew up the dogs' heads!

Lu Changyuan didn't understand why the adventurer had suddenly struck a killing blow. In the next second, the stray dogs let out a Furious Roar, transforming into ferocious and hideous monsters. However, with their heads already exploded by the adventurer, they could only burn to ashes in despair and dissipate.

"That gave me a start…" Lu Changyuan remarked. "This protagonist acts without any warning."

"His intuition has always been very sharp…" his sister murmured softly.

Then, the adventurer entered a village, met the Village Chief's son, and was taken to the Village Chief's Luxury Mansion in a top-of-the-line car.

What kind of village is this… they're too rich, aren't they? But there are real cars… Does Mysterious Country have such wealthy villages? The things the adventurer witnessed along the way left Lu Changyuan astonished.

The adventurer noticed that all the villagers he met were people of the Mysterious Country; there was no doubt this was a place in the Mysterious Country. However, he had never heard of such a village—the entire village was full of luxury mansions!

Yet, intriguingly, the faces of everyone the adventurer met were all blurry. A perfectly good 4K video suddenly displayed an image quality akin to 18P, resembling simple lines. It was basically impossible to discern their true faces; one could only confirm they had facial features and that their hair was black.

However, based on what the Village Chief said, the village seemed very peculiar. Once outsiders entered, they hardly ever left, and all supplies came from the outside world…

As someone who worked for the national power grid, Lu Changyuan's doubts grew. So, did the construction team that built the luxury mansions also stay in the village? How were the supplies distributed? Forget a supermarket; the adventurer hadn't seen a single convenience store along the way. There were no power poles on the roadside and no nearby power stations either. Without long-distance power transmission, did each household use underground diesel generators for electricity?

Meanwhile, the adventurer was already dining with the Village Chief and was led to a room to rest. Before the adventurer could settle down to sleep, there was a knock on the door. With no hesitation, he roared, "I've been prepared for this!" and took out a pair of… Cosmetic Contact Lens Power from his backpack!

Upon wearing them, his eyes instantly turned blood-red. Lu Changyuan was stunned. Is he cosplaying?

Lu Manman looked bewildered. He was prepared…? Could it be that the past fifteen years… weren't wasted?

But when the adventurer opened the door and fought against the Boy and Girl who suddenly attacked him, his eyes, equipped with the Cosmetic Contact Lens Power, spun rapidly, instantly gaining Insight into their swift movements. Three Fiery Flame punches left the assailants half-crippled!

The Village Chief, arriving later, showed no particular reaction. He seemed unaware of who the Boy and Girl were and simply asked the adventurer to switch to another bedroom.

However, the adventurer took action secretly at midnight, sneaking into the Village Chief's basement, where he found countless Gold and Silver treasures, sacrificial meats, and candles. When Lu Changyuan's son saw a room full of beautiful women, he giggled and clapped his hands.

Yet the expressions of Lu Changyuan and Lu Manman grew more grave. If this video had been posted by anyone else, it might not have mattered, but this video was released by 'Ren Naiser'…

The next day, the Village Chief mentioned that others wished to invite the adventurer to a banquet, and the adventurer gladly accepted.

The first household belonged to an elderly man. While the old man was preparing food, his bird tried to peck the adventurer to death. However, the adventurer was one step ahead; before entering the house, he had put on a strange vest and also taken out a copy of "Thought Cultivation"—God knew what it was for. But it seemed that because of these two props, the bird couldn't harm the adventurer. The Holy Light emanating from "Thought Cultivation" dispersed the bird's emerald-green poison fog, and the adventurer beat it until it squawked in defeat, soon dissipating into nothingness.

The old man wasn't worried when he came out and found his bird had disappeared. Instead, he invited the adventurer to eat and casually made a request: he wanted the adventurer to deliver a message for him.

After the adventurer agreed, the camera panned to the old man's face. There seemed to be something strange about the old man's face—anyway, Lu Changyuan felt an indescribable discomfort. It seemed the old man was sending messages to his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. When the names of his son and daughter-in-law were mentioned, the audio was noticeably censored; it seemed Ren Naiser didn't want to reveal this information.

So this video, this is what it means… Lu Changyuan slowly understood the implied content of the video.

If only it's truly as the video shows… With a touch of sorrow, Lu Changyuan watched as the adventurer moved on to the next household.

The second household featured a little girl's castle, and Lu Changyuan felt a hint of familiarity upon seeing it.

"Is this… Disneyland's castle?" Lu Manman asked uncertainly.

"Yes." Lu Changyuan remembered. He had seen a similar structure three years ago at Disneyland, and two years ago, he had bought a similar model.

A little girl emerged from the castle and led the adventurer to the garden. The little girl, like the others, had an extremely blurry face, making it impossible to distinguish her features. However, watching the girl's speech and actions, Lu Changyuan suddenly had an absurd thought.

Impossible.

Don't hope, and you won't despair. Don't overthink it.

The little girl left the adventurer in the garden, where he fought monsters mutated from the garden plants. This time, the adventurer again pulled out miraculous props and, speaking the language of the strong, crushed the plants with an overwhelmingly powerful posture.

At that moment, Lu Changyuan looked at the garden in the video and realized he recognized almost all the types of flowers—his wife had grown all of them! Then the little girl came pushing a dessert cart. The desserts on it also gave Lu Changyuan a strong sense of déjà vu—they were all things his wife frequently made!

When the little girl also asked the adventurer to convey a message, and the camera turned to her face, the little girl's face twisted, just like the old man's had. However, the difference was that while looking at the old man made Lu Changyuan feel uncomfortable, looking at the little girl's shaking, distorted face caused the visual information to combine with his memories, reconstructing a true face!

"Daddy, Mommy, doesn't this garden look just like ours at home? I super love it here, so I'm not coming back. Hehe, I only remember I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, wow, I was here from our home's garden! Later I found out this was a gift from Daddy and Mommy. I really love the castle too."

Lu Changyuan's head felt like it exploded with a bang. Thankfully, Lu Manman had anticipated this and quickly caught his son, who was about to fall as Lu Changyuan's hands went limp.

"Bro!"

Lu Manman's shout snapped Lu Changyuan back to reality. He took a deep breath, pressed a hand to his heart, and said, "I'm okay, I'm okay… You hold your nephew for a bit. I need to finish watching this. I have to watch it…"

The little girl's words weren't many, but they were quite rambling, with a lot of repetition. However, Lu Changyuan watched and listened intently without blinking, until the very end.

This was a message only they could understand, because only the closest people could recognize the true faces of these villagers.

It was only after the adventurer left the garden that he paused the video and said, "I need to go downstairs and find your sister-in-law. Little sis, please take care of him for me."

"Go," Lu Manman said. "Sister-in-law… Sister-in-law will definitely find Redemption this time."

"Yeah!" Lu Changyuan took the tablet and went down from the rooftop.

Lu Manman held her nephew and took out her own phone to start watching. Just then, the little rascal started wriggling again. Lu Manman gently patted his little bottom. "Be good now. You have to be as well-behaved as your sister. You need to be a little cutie too…"

Lu Manman started watching "High Energy Ahead" from the beginning. More than one person is seeking redemption, she thought.